A hop, skip, three planes, and a bus...

So I am leaving for Africa in three days. Malawi to be more specific.

I am only going to be gone for seven weeks, but a well traveled kindred spirit advised me to write a blog while I was gone, and I figure if I have the blessing of a returned peace corps volunteer(rpcv)...it must be okay.

I have always wanted to do something like this. In fact, I idolize my rpcv and global teaching friends. I really do. I have never quite gotten up the courage to do something like this and am so glad that I am finally taking the plunge, even in a small way.

So what am I doing you may ask? Well, that's a very good question. One that I often ask myself. As I am sure you will continue to see, there are lots of really good questions about this whole endeavor and I do have answers for some of them...others, not so much.

Many of you know I am at the tail end (god willing) of my M.A. program at Teachers College where I have been studying international educational development for the past two years. And as luck would have it, I was offered the wonderful opportunity to go to Malawi by a research center at Columbia University during my last semester.

I will be doing an educational needs assessment in Blantyre, the largest city in Malawi, as part of the Millennium Cities Initiative. This assessment is just a small part of a lot of work being done on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which I am not really going to go into in great detail here. I will say that the United Nations has outlined eight goals aimed at reducing extreme poverty and the "education goal" is for there to be universal primary education by 2015. So I am going to Blantyre to see what it would take, mainly in terms of costs, for this to happen there in that time frame. Okay, I am done with my explanation now. All of you can exhale with relief. For those of you who have listed patiently with glassy eyes for the last few years while I try to explain what I am studying, this will have to do. I promise that I will not focus my blog on these technicalities.

So off I am going to Malawi, via Italy, via Ethiopia and hence the title of this first post. I am not going to think about the route I am taking for my return flight yet, that will have to be the subject of another post. I am arriving in Lilongwe, the capitol of Malawi, on Monday morning where I will stay for about five days until I take a bus or turbo prop to Blantyre. That is the most concrete information I can give you right now. Do I know where I am staying? Will someone be meeting me? Do I have any kind of plan?!?! No, not really. And strangely, I am really okay with that finally. I certainly have spent hours pondering, worrying, searching the internet...and for the first time, I have a total sense of calm about the complete lack of a plan. It's going to be okay (mom, dad, repeat that with me).

I saw a wonderful documentary last weekend as part of the DC Environmental Film Festival called "Water First." The entire thing was shot in Malawi and actually the NGO featured in the film is based in Blantyre. "Water First" focuses on the "water goal" of the MDGs and is fantastic. I encourage you to visit the website, and see it if ever possible. Anyway, I met the filmmaker and she has already put me in touch with the head of the NGO in Blantyre. He emailed me right away. In addition, an American teaching English about an hour from my city has treated me like an old friend. The staff at the embassy has tried to help me even though I will not be in the capitol and am in no way associated with the post there. Repeatedly, everyone has gone above and beyond, is continually gracious, and welcomes me to the "Warm Heart of Africa." If total strangers are so great, why worry?

With that I will say "tiwonana" (Chichewa for see you later) and "hello" to the Warm Heart of Africa. Wish me luck!