Bon Voyage

I am about to make my first international flight ever - from Chicago to Paris and then onto Niamey, Niger. I am traveling with a crew of scientists to excavate a site in the Northern part of Niger. I'm not sure what to expect, but I know that Niger is a predominately French-speaking country. I can't speak French, but I've been trying to pick up phrases over the summer! Much of the territory is located in the Saharan Desert, including the area we will be excavating. The airport, however, is in the more temperate Sahel region. Water is much more abundant there and it is in this region that we stand the highest risk of contracting malaria (we're all on anti-malarials, but I still worry). The trip is being sponsored by National Geographic Magazine, and I've signed a contract not to publish details of the excavation until the story runs in the magazine, so I'll only be putting up a few highlights here.