kaitlininamerica.surprise!.com

Dear All,

As most of you know by now, I am in America at the moment.

To answer some basic questions I have been asked the last week:

Is everything ok? Yes!

Did I tell anyone I was coming? Not really!

Am I glad to be here? YES!

Am I going back to Malawi? YES! 

So yes. I decided it was time for a trip home in early February. I kept getting these huge tsunami waves of homesickness as the months ticked by... 5.... 6.... 7..... and I came to the conclusion that it would be worth the money to take a break. My original intent was to surprise my mother on the morning of her birthday, April 15. My sister and I sneakily paid for the tickets behind her back. Mama Dot had no idea!! But then talking to her on the phone one day, sweet Mama D said, "What if you come home for my birthday instead of me coming over there? I'd like that better." How could I NOT tell her?? So, I did, and all was well. I did not, however, tell hardly anyone else.

I left Malawi on March 28, spent 2 wonderful days in London (my favorite place!), spent the night in the Amsterdam airport (not too bad) and arrived in the USA for the first time in 7 months on April 1. How nice it was to lie on my own bed!! I arrived in Chapel Hill on April 5 and have been surprising people since I got here. There have been some pretty priceless reactions- one friend ran away from me, another thought I was a ghost, another hid in the closet and started crying, another fell on the floor..... etc. It's been quite fun.  I will be in North Carolina until May 13, will spend 6 days in London, and arrive back in Lilongwe on May 20th!

I've only been gone 2 weeks but I already feel a difference in my overall mood/demeanor/outlook. Now I really see the value in taking a step back, looking at the past 7 months from a different angle, and letting them sink in.  This is totally necessary for me. For a while in Malawi I struggled with myself, thinking, "Well, if I go home for a bit people will think I'm a wuss!" Then I realized that's just silly. People can think what they want to think- this trip home is EXACTLY what I need to be doing at this moment.  It will be good for Andrew Finn as well, I know. To see my friends and family, to be anonymous, to feel safe, to run outside, to eat at Carrburritos and Mama Dips and Breadmans and Weaver Street and everywhere else is just what the doctor ordered. I know that by the end of these 7 weeks I will be able to face the next 3-4 months in Malawi much better than I would have if I had stayed. 

So this entry is just to say that kaitlininafrica is taking a little break, but she will be back and ready for action before you know it.