Moving On.

We spent four plus days in both Philly and transit. We are a close friendly group where bonds were made easily. The plane touched down in Maputo and we were just a bunch of twenty-somethings looking for a life experience. After 3 hours at the airport, we loaded on to three shapas (mini buses) and departed for the city; we had never been more happy, more talkative, more excited. We were thrilled to be in Africa and our faces were glued to the window. We were lively at the moment, gazing at the locals of the richest city in Maputo. As I observed the lives of Mozambicans, it took me some time to realize that the chatter had come to a halt. The saying goes, you could have heard a pin drop. It struck me as the first time we realized what our job really was. The lives we were observing were, simply put, nothing like our own. A rich city never seemed so without. I think that at that moment many of us aged in our transit to a new home. Since then we have all been staying in compounds in Maputo, excluded from participation in the real world. But...

Today is a new day and we could not be more happy. We are leaving for homestay in the country. The nerves are evident and the language is young. But we are so happy to be saying goodbye to our sheltered world. From that moment in the bus seriousness and determination has taken over our studies and aspirations. We are a new group with a new dynamic, ready for what lies ahead.

As I head into the bush I will lose a considerable amount of computer access. I will do my best to update friends and family on my condition. Thanks for reading.

chase