Happy Thanksgiving!

For the past 2.5 months I along with my fellow trainees have been learning Malagasy, how to teach English as a foreign language, and the ins and outs of Malagasy culture. Along the way through the generosity of our host families and our community we have learned what it also means to become part of the Malagasy family. There are so many stories I could share from the past few months about how challenging, transformative, mundane, beautiful, unique, intense, and quite simply unexplainable my time here has been so far. The highs are high and the lows are low but I’m so thankful to be here and for the many amazing relationships I formed already. I’m thankful for my host family who took such good care of me and taught me how fun yet exhausting having three little sisters can be. I’m thankful for all my new Peace Corps friends as they are now the only people who really get everything I’m going through day to day since they are sharing my experiences; we’re a diverse bunch but this experience really brings people together and I couldn’t do this without them. I’m thankful for the Peace Corps staff who have prepped us as much as possible and have been patient with us as we navigate this new world. While I’m at it I’m also incredibly thankful for all my friends and family back in the States. I’m not the best at always communicating and it can be so easy to forget about people when they live thousands of miles away but I have never felt that way. I LOVE the way so many people have continued to stay in touch and shown their love even with me living so far away. I’m incredibly thankful to be living here and for the experiences I have had so far but it is definitely challenging being so far away so thank you everyone for making the distance not seem so far! I’m excited to be moving to my permanent site and can’t wait to share all about my life there! I'm officially a Peace Corps Volunteer!!!