I'm Leaving On A Jet Plane...

I finally made it to Lesotho safe and sound last night, had a busy day today, and have finally gotten on to write a new post.  I have only been here for a day and I have so much to share!  I'm going to have to post all of the things I've learned and experienced so far in separate posts so I don't bore anyone, and I'm going to start with this journal entry I wrote on the way here...

"On the plane to South Africa!!  Leaving my dad at the airport this morning brought to life a mix of emotions...sad to leave home and the people I love for six weeks, excitement for the incredible journey ahead of me, and tons of irrational fears like What if they don't let me on the plane at security because I forgot to take all of the water bottles out of my bag?  And as I sit on the plane right now, halfway across the world, I still can't believe that I'm about to be spending the next six weeks in one of the most remote places in Africa.

I'm going to Africa!  I've never really expressed this to anyone, but I was pretty dead-set on having my field experience take place in Africa.  The multitude of cultures has always intrigued me and the devastating stories we hear about poverty and disease I just had to see for myself - mostly so I could learn how to fix these issues.  I still don't think the reality of this experience has truly hit me yet, so I guess I'm in for quite a rude awakening when step off the plane.  I don't know if all the preparation in the world could really get me ready for this experience!

My plane from JFK, USA to Johannesburg, South Africa.

What's also funny is I've had to hold myself back from taking a bunch of pictures in the airport and on the plane already.  It's as if everything that represents this trip or says the word 'Africa' needs to be documented.  I guess it's just a product of all the excitement...or am I just crazy?! (It's okay, I know everyone is probably thinking crazy.)

But seriously you should've seen the meal on this flight!  It was like having all the options of South Dining Hall on my tray!  Sweet & sour chicken with rice and veggies, a salad with light Italian dressing, TWO dinner rolls, cheese & crackers, and cheescake...yum!  I was going to take a picture of it, but I held back out of embarrassment. Maybe I will build up the courage to snap a pic by meal #2.

So I did build up the courage to take a picture of breakfast, not as extravagant 

as dinner but still so good.  P.S. I ate that raspberry yogurt Mom and Dad!

One thing that's definitely pumped me up so far is the number of people I met on this flight headed to Africa to do global health work.  A lot of times at home I feel like people don't really understand what global health is, what exactly it is I'm studying, and why I've become so passionate about it.  It's hard to find people who don't think I'm a little bit insane to go spend six weeks in a place where I need to boil the water before drinking it just to avoid getting sick.  So far I've met one girl headed to Zambia for one year to do research for her PhD in nutrition at Cornell (she already has a Master's in Public Health!), an undergraduate student going to Zimbabwe to complete research for his senior thesis, and a few students from Clinton's School of Service (including the guy on the plane next to me) on their way to Uganda to help a college create sustainable agricultural projects through Community Based Participatory Research (ND's Center for Social Concerns would be proud!).  It's amazing meeting so many people hoping to go out and change the world!  I can only hope myself and these new friends of mine can truly have an impact on the lives of the people we are serving."

More posts coming soon with plenty of new pictures to add! Until next time!