Exhausted after 3 days of travel and no sleep...

Hello America!

After a tear-filled take-off and a grand total of 39 hours of flight time plus lay-overs I'm finally home! As we were flying out of Malawi it was difficult flying over the vilages and realizing that my time there was over and that I don't know when or if I will be coming back. It was hard having to say goodbye to my fellow interns/friends as we all had to go our seperate ways from London to the States. However, I'm glad we made it back safely and that after 3 days I was able to sleep in a bed and take a nice shower (it was a refreshing change to have hot water and pressure!!) My sister welcomed me at LAX yesterday with my favorite spring flowers and some snacks that I have missed. It was great to see her, but it's hard to be excited about being home. A huge part of me didn't want to land because I knew I was going to miss the Malawian culture right away. The first thing I noticed was how big, loud, and fast everything was around me. It's going to be hard to adjust to it all.

BUT I'm soooo thankful for Mexican food!! I had a fabulous burito and chips and salsa for dinner last night and it never tasted so good! Haha. Then I forced myself to stay up until 7 and woke up at 6 this morning. I don't think I have ever slept so hard!! After enjoying a cold bowl of cereal for breakfast, catching up on some Olympic highlights, and eating a scrumptious turkey sandwich and fresh fruit for lunch, my sister and I ran a couple of errands. I hopped into my car for the first time and it was sooo weird to drive (not to mention on the right side of the road haha). It was filthy so my sister paid for me to get it washed and an oil change! I'm holding off on filling up my tank until tomorrow.. I didn't miss the gas prices that's for sure!! Tomorrow morning after another good night's rest I'm driving back down to San Diego to settle in to my new apartment. It will be nice to have a little over a week to get prepared to go back to school since I start after Labor Day this year! My parents just booked a flight for my sister and I to come home that weekend so the 4 of us can spend some time together and I can share about my trip, show pictures, and distribute gifts as well as getting much anticpated hugs and kisses from my parents :)

Thank you for all your prayers and for the warm welcome home! Please continue to pray for me as I begin to process my summer and get used to my surroundings. I hope to talk to you soon! Please don't hesitate to give me a call if I don't give you one first :) I will let you know when my pictures are ready to post. Love you all!!

Love,
K