2. May 8, 1967

    May 8, 1967, is the date of the letter we went to TEEA accepting their offer to go to East Africa for two years.

    Dear Mr. Kelly,

        We received your telegram of May 6, 1967, offering us a tutoring position with TEEA. We will be very happy to accept this offer...."

    There was probably more to the letter, but it is lost in the long list of Things To Do and in the rush of getting them done. There also were numerous letters with instructions from TEEA that did not survive the move. One of the first letters announced the date, July2, that we were to be in New York to begin orientation. That left eight weeks to get ready!

    We were told to get our passports in order. This was a new experience too, because we didn't have any. First of all we called the Boise post office to see what we needed to do, and the first thing was to get our pictures taken. We were to have two passports, one for Frank and one for the children and me. So we all dressed up and went to Caldwell for the picture. Then a day or so later back again to pick them up and on to Boise post office to fill out the application and pay the money. They came by mail from Seattle, Washington.

    Then came a large package of books to read and a list of other books for especially Frank to read. More letters arrived about the orientation program in New York and information about Columbia College, New York City, and the apartment where we would live for six weeks. There were instructions about packing and sending sea freight, making reservations for the trip to New York, tips on what to take, and suggestions on getting our affairs in order. One request was that we pay all our bills before leaving!

    The books that were sent were on a variety of subjects..."The River Between", "Prehistory of East Africa", "Politics of Independence", "Markets in Africa", "Child of Two Worlds", "Lonely African", and of course "Intro to Swahili", and a Swahili dictionary. We skimmed through all of them, and became more and more interested in the project we had undertaken. 

    But now to the task of getting ready to go! First the sea freight must be packed and sent. A shipping company in Caldwell agreed to pack our belongings for shipping, so we began to fill boxes with gear we would need for the next two years. TEEA's checklist included books, clothes, bedding, dishes and kitchen things, games and entertainment, and tools. We were allowed about 2000 pounds of sea freight and were advised to save a few pounds for sending over things we found we had forgotten once we had landed. Also we were advised to pack a "survival box" which would fly with us. This would contain the items we needed until our sea freight arrived. About May 20th, the boxes were ready to go, and we placed a check next to "Pack and send sea freight".

    As soon as the word came that we would really be going, I began to take stock of our clothes. We would indeed each need a new wardrobe! How could we go clear to Africa with all these old clothes? We were programmed according to the school year...new clothes in the fall and by spring most everything was outgrown, worn out, or already thrown out! So soon large stacks of fabric were piled on my work table, and the sewing machine hummed day and most of the night in between the other jobs. Practically everything we wore then was sewed at home, and I gave no thought to buying "ready made".  Frank must have viewed it as an endless job for he finally asked, "Aren't you ever going to be finished?" But the end finally did come.

    Next on the list was "Settle debts and sell items we don't want to keep". Our biggest bill was the gasoline. We had a certain amount hauled in each month to use in the tractor and car and paid for it as the money arrived. I wrote a check for $250.00...a huge amount then!

    We were all enthused and happy about the prospects of going to Africa, and one of the pleasures of being accepted was to extol our perceived good fortune to everyone. My home town paper published the following:

Teacher Selected for African Post

    Mr. Frank Cochrane, Caldwell, Idaho, is one of 45 teachers recently chosen to serve in teacher training colleges in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. Mrs. Cochrane is the former Barbara Line, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Milton Line, Sterling.

    Cochrane was selected by the Teacher Education in East Africa Project. It is administered by Teachers College, Columbia University, New York City. 

    Under the terms of a two year contract he will participate in an orientation program at Teachers College from July 2 to August 11. He will then serve as an education officer with one of the East African governments in a primary of secondary teacher training college. 

    His family will accompany him. Their present address is 616 West 116th St., New York, N.Y., 10027.

There were all kinds of responses to our announcement, from "I wish I was in your place" to "Why do you want to go there?" Our relatives had mixed feelings too. Some of them wondered aloud if they'd ever see us again. We made the rounds visiting each one, and said our goodbyes.

    Back home again, we ran the advertisement listing the things we had decided to sell: truck, hay bailer, grain drill, tractor, and several other pieces of machinery. One by one they were sold and there was a feeling of accomplishment as each item left the yard and we came a step closer to our departure. Sometimes with a feeling of relief, as with the hay bailer.  That machine had caused plenty of consternation with its balky habits during its tenure. That machine had a mind of its own when it came to performing. The prospective buyer wanted to hear how well it ran. Frank said "Please..." under his breath as he turned the crank, and lo and behold, on the second turn, the motor came to life and ran as it hadn't in some time! For the next two days we waited for the phone to ring with a disgruntled buyer because the bailer wouldn't work. It didn't happen, maybe the bailer was glad to be rid of us! 

    The next major tasks were to find someone to rent the land and someone to live in the house. There was a man in the neighborhood that I talked into renting the land. He was none too eager, but did agree. And finally I found someone that would take the house furnished so as to eliminate the necessity of moving and storing the furniture. 

    Amongst all this, came the letter with tickets in our names telling us to make the reservations for our trip to New York City. Our first experience with a travel agent. We didn't know what to expect and when we found out her services were free, and she could get us a hotel room as well, it was a big relief. We were scheduled to fly on June 29th. Now there was a real deadline to meet.

    Our survival box was packed in the "Big White Box". This was a wooden box four feet long, two feet wide and a foot and a half tall that my dad had built for me to take to college. It would hold more that you could lift and was a bit of a problem to handle, but useful never-the-less. We filled it with our sleeping bags, dishes and pans, and a few extra clothes, and took it to the train depot in Caldwell to be shipped to New York City the day before we were to fly out. 

    We began to pack the things we would not be taking with us in boxes, which would be stored in the granary. By now the children realized that we really were going to Africa! As the days passed the pile of boxes in the granary grew, the suit cases filled to bulging, and the house grew empty. The last garments were finished, and the sewing machine was packed away. The car had been sold and the new owner would take possession when we left. On June 29, 1967, we said goodbye to the house and went to Uncle Jim's and Aunt Joan's for the night. Early June 30, we boarded the plane in Boise bound for New York City. Late that night we landed at Kennedy Field. Our adventure had begun!