Lekker Soos a Krekker

"Cool like a firecracker." That was our very first impression of South Africa and a phrase in Afrikkans that we picked up on the 17 hour airplane ride over from Washington D.C. to Johannesburg....with a refuel in Dakar, Senegal. It was a long ride but boy was it worth it.

We spent about 36 sleepy and jet-lagged hours in Johannesburg, South Africa with Barbara and Eddie (the "found" cousins") who fed us well and showed us some sights. They were overly hospitable and we love our new family....and their two dachshounds! We picked up as much Afrikkans slang as possible and learned about their love for "biltong" - beef jerky. Who knew?

Monday we got back on the plane for just a hop-skip-and-jump up to Livingstone, Zambia. We were 3 of about 15 new volunteers ariving this month. Our program has two volunteer houses that are divided mostly by age group. We are staynig at a lovely house on Mushili Way with electricity, running water and real toilets. It has far exceeded any expectations I had. There's another volutneer house called "Pongo's Palace" but we're so glad to be at Mushili with the big kids. Tim has equated the two houses to Survivor tribe names, but fortunately they give us our food without having to win one of those awful challenges.

This week we are getting oriented with the volunteer sights, the town, the wildlife and the people. It has been just wonderful so far. We worked this morning in the Maramba clinic and will spend all our mornings there. In the afternoons we will go to various community projects and do farm work, building and help in the orphanage.

Today we started out at the baby weighing station and continued on to various parts of the clinic - the lab and the TB clinic. After brief learning and adjustment, it was so nice to feel useful especially since the small clinic is so busy with the 37,000+ community members it serves. We will be working!

This afternoon we enjoyed a short game drive about 2 miles from where we are staying. We saw elephants, impala (antelope), warthogs, baboons, zebras and two albino giraffes. Wow.

Everyone who we have met from the program (all brits!) and otherwise are all wonderful. It's a really busy little city with outdoor markets, shops, crazy drivers and little kids with huge smiles. We're completely welcomed and very safe which makes it so easy to enjoy everything about this town and the people.

Tomorrow we're going to the tribal village in the town and will meet the cheif. His son is on the African Impact staff - good connection to have! In the afternoon we'll be on one of the community projects.

Sorry no pics for now...it appears everything is on a dial up connection. Will work on it soon. You've got to see these animals!