Gratitude

I spent a good amount of time yesterday writing thank you cards to family members who have sent me money to help with expenses for my trip, and I still have more to write. The first few came all at once, and I was overwhelmed with the response my letters received. So I just want to take a moment to say that I am incredibly grateful to have a family who is so supportive, both materially and spiritually. This journey would not be possible without you.

Welcome!

In exactly 26 days, I will be getting on a plane and going to Rwanda. Though I have already proven myself to be a rather unreliable blogger, I will do my very, very best to keep this up-to-date with stories of my adventures and everything I'm learning.

Right now, I'm still in the wow-this-is-really-happening phase. I've been thinking about and planning this trip for so long (I applied way back in September) that it took a while for the reality of my impending departure to hit me. That didn't happen until yesterday, when I went to REI and bought a backpack. Though after much agonizing (I am so indecisive), I picked the size I needed. It's amazing how small a backpack I need to go to Africa for 4 months. I suppose we are all capable of much more than we expect.

Obviously, I don't have much to say about my trip yet, since I have not left, so I probably won't update much between now and when I leave. However, I know that many people are not very familiar with Rwanda's genocide, so I will update soon with a sparknotes version of that history to give everyone some context of what exactly I'll be studying.

Thank you so much for supporting me on this adventure. I look forward to sharing my stories with all of you.