Bean Town aka Boston

Please pinch me. I think I've fallen into a dream and can't wake up. I love my new job, except for one painful day when I felt like I took 10 steps backward rather than any steps forward. Overall I am learning and contributing to work that I always wanted to do!

Most recently, I traveled for a week of Monitoring & Evaluation training in Boston with the renowned John Snow Inc. This is all because the project I'm working on for Mozambique is a New Partners Initiative project with the United States President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), and they want to make sure we're well trained.

Not only was it a great week of training, it was a wonderful week to meet new colleagues also involved in similar work and to have some fun exploring one of the most beautiful American cities. Here's a peek at our week:



We got the doorman to get in a picture with us at our swanky hotel. We definitely enjoyed the jacuzzi and yoga at 6:30 am, but room service was a bit much.



Boston is famous for the midnight ride of Paul Revere. I walked the Freedom Trail and got to see his home near this statue. I also visited the Old North Church where he established a lantern signal to warn of the Red Coats approach, "One if by land, Two if by Sea." I had to call my dad to ask him to remind me of the significance of that church. It's funny how you forget American history, but it can come alive hundreds of years later.



Guess how we got to the airport from our hotel? We took a water taxi through Boston Harbor. Here's a picture looking back at our hotel and Boston's skyline. Lovely.