Its about d@#m time...

that I got around to writing my first blog! It is probably less than reassuring to my family that I can't even seem to sit down and write on this in Lincoln, let alone Africa!

So we are all in Chicago after a wonderfully American road-trip with the DeGrave fam!! We ate at the Machine Shed in Iowa and stopped at the "Worlds Largest Truck Stop" also in Iowa. Whoever started that nasty rumor that there is nothing to do in Iowa is just plain wrong! :)

We are staying with Jill McCann in Chicago and she has been great at showing us around and helping us to get some last minute items (although I am not sure where we are supposed to put them as all of our bags are packed to the limit!!

We are going to be here in Chicago until Sunday, May 18th (tomorrow) at 6:00pm when we board a plane to London. We have an 8 hour flight to London, a 12 hour lay over in London, and a 10 hour flight to Nairobi Kenya. So Megan will get to spend her b-day in an airplane/airport, what more can a girl ask for?? I have posted our itinerary below (note that all times are local and that there is as 7 hour time difference from Lincoln and Kenya):

VIRGIN ATLANTIC AIRWAYS LTD. flight 40
Departs: Sun, May 18 2008
From: Chicago, IL, US (ORD) at 6:00PM
To: London, GB (LHR) at 8:00AM Mon, May 19 2008

VIRGIN ATLANTIC AIRWAYS LTD. flight 671
Departs: Mon, May 19 2008
From: London, GB (LHR) at 7:15PM
To: Nairobi, KE (NBO) at 6:05AM Tue, May 20 2008

We are arriving in Nairobi very very early on Tuesday and our very good friend Isaac Kinyanjui is picking us up at the airport and taking us to our accommodations in Nairobi (www.upperhillcampsite.com). Isaac is a safari guide (maybe the best in the world if you ask me) and we are going to try to round up a couple more people in Nairobi for a 3 or 4 day safari in the Masai Mara/Serengeti and at the Nakuru River. If you ever find yourself in need of a safari guide in Kenya give this man a call (www.wildconnectionsafaris.com/profiles).

After our safari we will be traveling to Isaacs village in Northern Kenya to volunteer our time in a school/orphanage in the area. Isaac has gone to the trouble of setting up a "program" for us while we are there meaning they will be more than ready to put us to work!

Next we will head to Lamu, Kenya which is a small island in the Indian Ocean off the east coast. It is certainly in my top 3 favorite places to be in the world and will offer us some time to relax, read, get a tan, and swim in the ocean. I hope that many of my friends from Lamu are still there and that I will get a lot of time to reconnect and see how life has been for everyone in the last 3 years.

Betty and Big K (Carla) arrive in Nairobi on June 20th so we will plan to meet them there and then head off quickly to Rwanda and Uganda.

And I am going to stop telling you our plans now because I am tired of typing and they may very well adjust as the trip continues so check back here on Tuesday or Wednesday of next week to see my first post from afar!

If you want to comment here I will read the comments when I can and also if you need/want to send me an email it is best to reach me at mzungujill@hotmail.com because my other accounts are just too full of peace and justice for me to keep up with them.

Also all of the photos seen here any any others I will be able to upload can be found at http://s47.photobucket.com/albums/f156/jfrancke/Africa%202008/.

So contest #1 the first to correctly identify the meaning of mzungu wins a prize, and being as I am going to Africa you could be winning a zebra for Pete's sake!!!!

Peace and Love to everyone! See you on the flip side!
Jill