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.

I convinced my brother to skip school tomorrow, so we'll be hanging out for the last time (read: wandering the Lou aimlessly and pretending we know where the heck we are), and hopefully it will begin to sink in that I'm actually leaving. It's still surreal to be planning my last stateside meals, last Skype dates, and last hours spent staring mindlessly at Netflix.

I am gut-wrenchingly excited to get started, meet my training group and host family, learn Portuguese, and maybe even see a honey badger or two. Continue to keep me updated on your lives here at home, and keep me in your thoughts and prayers!         

                                                                             Elizabeth