Monday, September 29, 2008

I'm in Africa!!

I made it safely to South Africa and will be heading to Malawi early tomorrow morning. I'm exhausted! But love it here:) I won't have email access for a couple months so please send letters!!! Love you all...
Peace and love,
Courtney


Courtney Wright, PCT
Peace Corps/Malawi
Box 208
Lilongwe, Malawi
Africa

mark letters with air mail and par avion

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Ready...Set...GO!!

In less than 12 hours I will be on a plane heading for Philly where i'll be until I depart for S.Africa on Sunday. I'm ready, i'm at peace, and i'm hopeful that this experience will bring me a deeper appreciation for all aspects of life. Thank you again Bridgette for the wonderful going away party and thank you to all the people that came and made my last couple days in the states for 2.25 years a memorable one. I will carry your love and support with me as I continue on my journey.
I love you and will miss you all dearly(this is for ALL my friends near and far) and will see you later!

Please write!!!

(I'm not sure when i'll update this again, please keep me in your prayers and remember- NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS!)


Mom-
Not sure when you'll read this but please know that you have instilled in me the confidence, common sense, motivation, determination, and love to make this happen. I will miss you the most but know that I will be seeing you sooner than later. Please take care of Mr.Carrot and Goopy(I will get them off your hands when I get back..haha), continue to do things that make you happy, and most of all please don't over-worry about me. I'm fully capable of handling this especially because I know I have the love and support of a mother like you. Couldn't have asked for more.
Love always,
Court

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

9 days...

I finished packing today! well pretty much...still have a few things to put in my suitcase but it's all ready to go. Tomorrow i'll be taking my cats to get groomed( a must if my mom will keep them...haha love you mom) and helping Bridgette get things ready for my going away party. I finally followed my mom's advice and took care of everything ahead of time so next week when it gets down to the wire, i'll be able to relax. The days seem to be going by faster with the anticipation of next Friday and my mind is still running in a million and one directions but atleast i'm a little more relaxed.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

10 days and counting...

I just got home from spending the last couple of days in Portland with my twin brother Nick. I enjoyed myself but had the lingering thought that these will be the last moments we share together for a couple years. We won't be able to call and harrass eachother or provide support when needed. Although I have two other brothers that I love dearly, there is nothing like having a twin. We came in the world together and shared our worlds way before our grand entrance. We're more then just siblings, we're friends and saying goodbye was pretty hard. I was quite surprised that I didn't cry, I watched him from the escalator as he got back on the Max to head home and just told myself "2 years is not forever and he'll be o.k." I got a chance to see his life in Portland and feel comfortable knowing he has a security net of loving friends to keep him in line and provide the support he'll need. I'm getting pretty good at these goodbyes and I think I have cried once(he knows) but I just tell myself that it's time for me to live my life. This is something that I have wanted to do since I got to college, it's something I have researched and researched, and just as I was sure about other things in my life I couldn't have been more sure of this. This is where my heart is leading me and God is telling me to go. Many people have asked me would I be able to come home if I wanted to, of course. I'm not a prisoner, but every time I hear that question I think to myself"why would I come home?" I see this as a challenge and if you know me, you know that I don't back down from a challenge. Life has not always been the easiest and from the struggle comes triumph, I know that this experience just as the past ones, will shed a whole new light on how I view the world, the people around me, and what it is exactly I want out of life.
As I wrap up these next 10 days, I can't help but contemplate each moment when it happens. I think more deeply about how funny life can be at times, how in a year i'll be looking at the same moon but from a different perspective, how those that have brought me comfort and laughter will be thousands of miles away, and how I think too much about the moment and trying to appreciate it that i'm not actually in the moment and living it. As I challenge myself, I present a challenge to you. Many times in life we get caught up in the day to day life, going through the motions, but never really stop to think if this is making us happy. Do what makes you happy, if you're in relationship that makes you unhappy-leave, if you don't like your job-quit, don't like your living situation-move. Don't waste precious time in a preventable situation, don't sacrifice you're happiness for a possibility of future happiness. Enjoy happiness in the moment because there is no guarantee that there will be happiness in the future.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Restless...

I made it back to Chicago in record time Sunday evening. I was lovingly greeted by my awesome mommy and cute kitties :) I unpacked my car and wanted to show my mom all the great gifts I received from my job(I love them and provide such great inspiration for me!) and as I was telling her I wanted to show her something, her first guess was an engagement ring! Haha, not quite there yet, but one of the many creative tactics she uses to keep me here. She supports me wholeheartedly and I think she is secretly getting excited about buying me things for this trip(is it a trip? I think more like a short but kind of long term move)(it's kind of like a scanvenger hunt trying seek out all the things that will help me survive life in Africa). I'm her only daughter and we provide pretty good support for eachother, so I can understand where she is coming from. I know she knows deep down that I'm capable to taking care of myself and making good decisions, but is still afraid of the endless things that can happen to me an ocean away. I try not to think of those things because it will drive me nuts, plus I don't think about them here so why stress myself out? Anyways, I've been having a hard time sleeping or staying asleep at night. I'm anxious and excited and my mind runs in a million and one directions. I think of all the things I have to get and all the things I want to see, all the people I want to spend time with, and of course hanging out with my mom as much as possible. This weekend my mom and I are going to Kenosha to do some shopping, I think I have my list down to the things I need, but find myself adding on daily. Today I bought bug repellent, fogger to kill bugs in my house, a heavy duty poncho, a battery charger and extra battery for my camera. Yesterday I bought my luggage and backpack, a few books off Amazon, and a sarong skirt.Malawi is conservative and long skirts are a must but no one sells long skirts anymore! So I ordered one off of Amazon to see how it is, if it's good i'll be another one or two or three...I'm sure tomorrow i'll find something else to buy. I have about 3 weeks to get everything together, but for some reason it doesn't seem like a lot of time. Plus, i'm looking forward to spending 5 days in Portland,OR with my twin, so that narrows it down to about 2 1/2 weeks of gettings together. I don't know if i'll be able to handle being this excited and anxious for the next 3 weeks.