{siku mbili wa kushoto}

{two days left}

i have turned out to be a horrible blogger. turns out that posting every day seemed to be too much for me to keep up with. so out the window with that idea. oh well! i'll do my best to post a little bit each week while i am there if i have the time and ability.

as for now! i have all my bags packed except for the little things like my toothbrush, and ipod, things you dont pack until last second, you know? i am getting so thrilled and excited for my adventure! its almost makes me nervous that i'm not nervous...but i have complete confidence that everything is going to work out perfectly and that its going to be experience of a lifetime! i cant wait to get over there and meet all the children, and the people i'll be staying with at the hostel. i'll have the opportunity to meet people from all over the world, in a foreign country, speaking a language i dont understand, eating strange food, yet all there for the same reason, to serve.

i have to mention the one thing keeping me from being completely excited about my trip. meet terra lee.

she's the blonde on the right, and also my best friend as of 13 years. yes, that is right ladies and gentlement, 13 years. we met in the 2nd grade when her family moved in across the street from me. she was a little girl, with a "funny accent" (seeing as she was hailing from Maryland, a town far far away in the mind of a 2nd grader), yet a very strong opinionated person at such a young age, and she seemed to correct my english a lot, "it's moutain! see how it has a 't' in it?" Who says mountain? It's moun'ain.

     we have claimed time after time that we are not the typical little girls who skip arm in arm, you know? the "typical best friends" but i have finally come to accept the fact that i'm pretty sure we are. we have matching everything--matching skirts, matching haynes obsessions, matching camera's, matching purses, matching backpacks, and this list could go on. we've done everything together. we played the flute together starting in 6th grade, we played lacrosse together in 9th, we got our first job together at jamba juice, and what do you know? we went to college together.

 it seems as if every memorable moment of my life involves this girl, which is why it may be easy for you to understand why this trip will be hard for me, not because i'll have to live without my best friend for two months, but because when i come home she will have moved out to college without me, and i will be going to a different college on my own...without her. we have been going through a bit of what some may call...separation anxiety for the past few months, but we've come to a good conclusion and i am comforted by what terra has told me.

       i found this wonderful note today which eased my spirits just a bit.
I have put a lot of thought into this following statement.... Kelsie the answer is Yes, of course I will wait for you while you are in Tanzania. I will be faithful and I will write, we will stay best friends when you come back. I don't care what odds are against us or what people may think. I won't find another 
- Terra Lee


terra has been blessed with a great way with words, and a great sense of humor in my opinion. we both agree that we are probably the funniest people in the world. 


most importantly, i want to thank you for being a great example to me all my life! one of my best memories will always be of our temple trip in which we attended 5 temples in one day to do temple work. you've always been a good example through the choices you make, the way you treat other people, the fact that you read your scriptures and said your prayers every night without fail. thank you! 

i'll miss you terra, but just remember, we'll always be best friends. thanks for all of the adventures, from playing the flute, to staying up all night long laughing at creeking sounds through the walls, or our petty little jokes, or building forts that take up our entire living room, kidnapping christine, to all of other crazy things we've done which might not be appropriate to share in a blog. i'll miss you