Departure

I deserve some kind of award for the amount of stuff I have fit into my suitcases.

I am officially packed, though flirting dangerously with the 100lb weight limit, and now just finishing up some sappy goodbyes in St. Louis and spending my last 24 hours with the family. I fly out of Lambert at 6 A.M. on Tuesday, then will be in Philly on the 25th to meet my fellow Moz 19 trainees. We're driving to JFK, then flying 15 hours to Johannesburg, and finally boarding one last plane for Maputo on the 27th. From there, we launch directly into 10 weeks of intensive language and culture training as I prepare for two years of teaching.

M-I-Z!!

Last week, my spectacular friends threw me a Halloween party, a Thanksgiving dinner, and a mini-Christmas. I got to attend my last Mizzou tailgate, had one last night bartending, and cried leaving Jones Hall for the very last time. Leaving Columbia was much harder than I thought it would be, and it's hard to think about not going back for over two years.

Countdown to Staging

Welcome to the 27-month chronicle of my Peace Corps adventures in Mozambique! I am officially three weeks away from staging in Philly (but I’ve been packed for about 2 months…). To recap, I’m slated to teach chemistry in the Secondary Science Education program. Yep, I’ll be teaching a subject in Portuguese that I’m not sure I’m qualified to teach in English. This may end tragically.

Rather than actually studying Portuguese, I’ve been spending my summer working, traveling, and drinking lots of domestic beer. I think I’ve technically been homeless and/or a squatter since graduation, and must say that it’s highly underrated! Since May I’ve called at least six different couches home, but in exchange have had some excellent spontaneous adventures (including a tour of every Indian casino in central Oklahoma).