It's On...

Yay! I am finally at my homestay in a village outside of Kilosa. I live with a family with four children. I'm not sure which ones are my siblings yet as there are many neighbors around, but I'll let you know when I have it all figured out. They are very nice and are dealing with my horrendous Swahili quite graciously.

My three year old brother can always make me smile and my sisters love it when I (attempt) to dance. Hopefully I'll aquire some Africa hips while I'm here. I am also rocking at the ball games the kids play (although they were too nice to try and get me out). :-)

Swahili lessons are going pretty well. It's hard, but between classes during the day and my siblings lessons at night....it's coming along. :-)

I don't have any exciting stories yet, but now I know where the nearest Internet cafe is, so I promise to write again when I do! Much love!

Safe and Sound :-)

Well, after a good 24 hours on the plane, I stepped out into beautiful Tanzania, and realized...yes...it is much cooler in Africa than in New York right now! I don't want to take up a lot of computer time now, but I just wanted to check in. For the next 10 weeks or so I won't have much internet access because I'll be training in a smaller city. All the current Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) assure us that training is the worst, most horrible, most tiring, most stressful part of service. It's all verrrry encouraging. ...haha. But I'm ready...nothing can be as bad as back-to-back Dr. Mrs. classes, right? (Just kidding, I miss you, Dr. Mrs.) I am happy to be in Tanzania, but I am already getting anxious to learn the language and get to my placement. I'll drop another line when I have more to report.

Oh...and Happy Father's Day, daddy!!! Sorry I'm a bad daughter. Your card is likely to be 2-3 weeks late. I love you!

Heading Out...

Well, it's pushing midnight and my roommate and I set our alarm clock for 4:20, so this will be a brief post. I just wanted to say thank you so much for all the love and support you've given me in this tumultuous last year and a half. I don't know how I would have made it without my family and friends. I'm leaving tomorrow and I can honestly say that I am not most anxious about creepy crawlies, electricity, squatty potties, theft, violence, or political unrest...I'm truly not worried about going, I'm worried about leaving. It's an awful feeling to feel like you've abandoned the people who care about you most (and who you cherish the most) to follow your dreams. I am so blessed to have friends and family that encourage me to follow my heart, even when it means away from them. I want you all to know that you are dear to my heart, and I will be thinking of you often. Feel free to contact me on the internet, or if you prefer the long-lost art of letter writing I can give you my address if you write me an email.

Tomorrow I leave for Tanzania....it's really happening.