In a little more than 48 hours I will be in Ohio -- where the temperature is 20-something Fahrenheit and there are mounds of snow on the ground, I am told. A dramatic switch from summer in South Africa. I expect to have other adjustments besides getting used to the cold. I'll be with my sisters, friends and other family members saying a final goodbye to my father, who passed away just before I left the country in August. It will be a bittersweet, but necessary time of reconnecting with my American support system and dealing with this loss. But I am also eager to return to Africa to get started on my plans for the new school year, to learn more about this multifaceted country, to utilize all the gifts my father and others who touched my life have given me and to remain wide awake through it all.