I'm here!

After an extremely stressful three months of dealing with visa paperwork and saying goodbye to my friends and family in California, I have arrived in Jo'burg to live, teach and celebrate all that is great in life.

I was a bit nervous coming here since this is my first time to just pack up my life and move across the world for an indefinite amount of time. Knowing that I was going at it alone and having to jump into a rental car, drive a stick shift on the left side of the road and all that was a bit intimidating.

What I realized the first night here is that I am in no way doing this alone. I met some great new girlfriends on my first night who not only offered their friendship but a place for me to possibly live.

Night two was New Year's Eve and words cannot explain what a great experience I had. I was able to reconnect with all of my friends from the summertime and make some new ones too. Our hosts, Pule and his parents, brought out the turntables and a big group of us danced, laughed and enjoyed some deep soulful house music until the wee hours of the morning.

I have since been sleeping off the jet lag and relaxing at a super cute and crafty hotel in the university district of Melville.

My good friend Thabang has been helping me navigate the crazy streets of Jo'burg as I re-familiarize myself with the intricate web of highways and streets that confuse the heck out of me. I cannot wait until the day where I feel like I know where I am going without having to get lost 8 times over on my way to anywhere. The whole city is under construction right now in preparation for the World Cup, which complicates things even more.

Next week will be pretty exciting for me because I'll have a chance to reconnect with my students, who do not know that I am back.

It is truly a dream come true for me to be back here, none of which could have happened without the overwhelming support I've received from my family, friends (especially Gene and Jorja who have hosted me for the last few months), Teach with Africa, my colleagues at Kennedy High and especially the LEAP school.

Below are some pictures from the last couple months in California as I prepared for my departure...I miss you all already and cannot wait for you all to visit!!