i'm here.

i arrived in mozambique today, after quite a bit of flying in order to get here. let's just say i left my philly hotel at 8:40am on tuesday and arrived here today around one pm. it was a bit of flying but it was well worth it to finally arrive without any huge mishaps minus a $100 fee and a broken suitcase, woohoo. the flight to johannesburg took 18 hours (!!!!) and then we spent last night in south africa before catching a flight to maputo, the capital of mozambique, today. for the next few days i am staying at a hotel/"resort" near the beach in maputo getting oriented to the next few weeks. we will move to namaacha this sunday. word has it is that my communication will be extremely limited over the next couple of weeks. so i'm sorry for that and the curtness of this blog post--my time is very limited and it was good luck that i even got internet. i am buying a phone, however, that will allow me to text the US and to receive calls, so do me a favor and go buy an international phone card so you can call me. it is crazy weird being here, i have never experienced something so profoundly different than the world i've always been surrounded by--and i'm in the nicest area of the country that i'll probably see. i realize that the next few--or even several--months will be extremely hard. i know i'm gonna have to battle loneliness and confusion and wondering what it is that i'm doing here. but i also know that i'm meant to be here, and that will carry me through the rough parts of transitioning to a new continent, a new culture, and a new life. and hopefully i will start learning portuguese soon.

i miss you all terribly, please write and/or email although i have no idea how long it will be until i can check this again.

with love from africa,

courtney