One month.

Exactly one month ago I woke up in my best friend Dave's house in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. He drove me to Valley Forge and I went and said goodbye to my dearest friend Becky (by the way - I really miss you both.) After that I walked over to Phil's apartment. He drove me the whole long drive to D.C., complete with chocolate chip cookies from his mom (which were amazing of course!) and a couple of mountain dews.

Three hours later I was sitting in a car saying goodbye to my best friend in this world. It was probably one of the hardest moments of my life. Every other goodbye we had had, I was still in the United States which involves cell phones and east internet access. This was very different. I was moving to Africa for the next four months. I was leaving at the end of summer and will not be back till the cold days of winter. That goodbye still rings in my head, it was so hard to walk away.

One month ago, I walked into an airport. Missing my family and already missing that boy. I was immediately greeted by a mass of people who were telling me their names and asking questions. I wanted my parents and Phil. I wanted a minute to sit and gather myself, but there was not a second. I am still not sure that there has been one. I felt out of place and just wanted something - someone familiar.

About 3 hours after my goodbye I had gone through security, eaten pizza, and was boarding a plane. I was trying to make all my last phone calls to my family since I had no clue as to when I could talk to them again. I got on the plane and just wanted to cry. I am not good with goodbyes and I had had so many that week...

About 24 hours later I landed. In AFRICA. It had not felt real up until that point. Some days, I still have to remind myself that I am here.

The first two weeks felt like two months. I was tired and ready to go home. I missed my papa and mommy and just wanted to sit for more than 5 minutes. They had us going 24/7 and I was just ready to be done.

Then we finally got into a routine - kind of. Classes began, I started my practicum, and I could kind of know what was going on. I got thrown into home stays, but now that too is over tomorrow.

I am in disbelief that I left the U.S. a month ago. I only have 83 days left here, that is less than three months! I am so very glad that I made the choice to come here. I would truly not have it any other way. There are hard days. I get hungry alot, I have a crazy practicum (that will be the next blog no worries), everything is different... I will not deny that there are not days that I would love to have 24 hours in the U.S., a hot shower, a steak, and ice cream. America is definitely convenient, and so easy to live in, even on a bad day, but I love it here.

I am learning a lot about myself and just life in general. I still have to deal with stuff in the U.S. such as classes for next semester which is difficult from this side of the world, but I am learning patience to the umpteenth degree, in more than one way. Things simply run differently here. Our leaders give us few details cause things may change, grade setup is different, I do not have an unlimited texting plan on my cell phone, etc... But I love this life too. It is so much more simple. People live. It does not always make sense, families have random people in their houses, hardly anyone has electricity, and most people grow a great deal of their food.

I could talk forever about everything. To put it simply a month ago I left, to a country I had never been to. Excited, yet nervous all at once. I am having the time of my life and beyond happy that I came here. I do miss everyone so much, but this once in a lifetime opportunity... I am so glad I took it. And even though things are different, things are good. I quite love my life right now.