Becoming an "official" American

Now more than 5 months after arriving, I was ecstatic to learn this week that I will now be considered an “official” American here in Mozambique.

The ways people are hired and contracted through the US Government are incredibly complex and have included countless forms and paperwork, getting both a full medical and security clearance, taking a course (in Atlanta) on “Preparing to Work Overseas” (mostly security related), and countless emails, phone calls, etc almost on a daily basis. This has meant that while the paperwork was being processed, I was still under a temporary contract and not able to settle in here more fully.
My final clearance came through this week which means I should be transitioning over from my temporary contract to the direct CDC contract in the next couple of weeks.

Now as an “official” American in the eyes of the CDC and US Embassy here, I can finally...move into more permanent housing...all my things (which are still in storage in Malawi) can be shipped to Mozambique...I can purchase a car...and I can get a visa that no longer requires me to go to the border each month.

Needless to say this is some of the best news I've had and am happy that the end is in sight!