because laughter is the best medicine. Enjoy!)
the Serengeti for two days to observe hippos, zebras, giraffes, gazelles,
buffalo, elephants, and lions in their natural habitat was one amazing
experience! The baby lions were awesome;
they even practiced their roar, which sounded like a high pitched ‘meow’! We also saw two elephants charge & fight
each other…they were so close to us, only about 15 feet away!
hands on seasons 1-3 of the hit TV show about forensic anthropology called
Bones. The girls and I developed a
slight crush (obsession) with Booth, the steamy FBI agent on the show. We watched an episode each night before
sleeping and it made even the worst days bearable! Combine biology & a good looking man and you have me hooked.
heavy & hot in Africa. We all took them out within a few days. The lady who braided my hair practiced Islam
but I quickly discovered she has what Cindy calls “friends”… aka demons. When the pastor argued with her about
Christianity, she became volatile. Every
time he said the name Jesus, she would instantly jerk my head with vicious
force. It was as if she couldn’t control
her actions in response to His name. Welcome
to Africa.
lived at the top of a mountain in Mwanza, and had to climb uphill at an angle
of over 60 degrees everyday. The
mountain is full of rocks, slick sand, trash, and animal feces. One would think we would have killer bodies
from hiking a killer hill all month, but unfortunately, all we ate were simple
carbs so the workouts did absolutely nothing for our figures.
suit, skinny tie, knows how to fight, and defends the woman he loves… next to
Jesus, he’s the man.
was a church member we visited. Her
husband cheated her on and gave her AIDS which she unknowingly passed to her
future children. Upon the husband’s
death a few years ago, Winfrieda discovered she and her kids were HIV+. They have been suffering recently, in &
out of school while Winfrieda lives off of the support of others in the
community. She offers counseling to
other HIV+ neighbors, which keeps her busy. I feel in love with Winfrieda-she has such a sweet spirit amidst the
pain she endures. I brought her bags of
food and hung out with her and the kiddies all this month.
had a giant,
walk-in,
floor
to ceiling, refrigerated chocolate closet! A Willy Wonka treasure sent from
God. I’ve never seen such beauty! Needless to say, we freaked out and spent a
fortune in the store.
decorations (compliments of Crux), a throne with his name above, a hat, mardi
gras beads, and a cake. Ebie fed a piece
of cake to the mouth of each guest (similar to a wedding).
enough to fight the bad guys and soft enough to play with kids…what a man!
Victoria was completely safe. Being the naive Americans that we are, we dove in and had a fun
afternoon. A few days later we found out
from our German med-student friends that the lake is contaminated with
microscopic worms that absorb into our skin. Whoops. We’ll be de-worming after
India! (It’s totally curable, no worries!)
-Chipati! Our
favorite African food is chipati (a thick tortilla) with butter &
sugar…tastes just like a doughnut! Katie
& I rushed to the dinner table each night eagerly checking for
chipati. You’d be surprised how excited
racers become about food that even remotely resembles anything American.
-Jump-Start Fan! We
borrowed
a stand-up fan that the family never used, but the house didn’t have
enough electricity to actually power the fan. Not to worry, racers are
quite creative. We took off the case, started pushing the fan as if to
jump-start it,
and then turned it on. IT ACTUALLY
WORKED! We enjoyed our ghetto breeze and
slept soundly.
-Supper Bellies! A
combination of 7 bodies, steaming foods, and hot tea made our dining room a
sauna each night. Sweat literally poured
off our faces while we ate. We joked
that we worked hard for our bodies; we sweat for these bellies!
loves ice hockey and his FBI office is decorated with goalie photos…I think
we’re soulmates.
little lady was my favorite. 5’0, bald,
teeth missing, and always sporting a green turban, Granny was all smiles. She fell in love with John and asked to be
his bride! John is too much of a
sweetheart to refuse; instead he just smiled and pretended he didn’t notice her
following him everywhere.
-Earplugs! After
suffering massive headaches from the loud church services in Kenya, I
learned my lesson. I wore earplugs to
each service & crusade this month and it helped tremendously! I was so grateful to leave a worship service
without a pounding headache.
-Pronunciation! Tanzanians & Americans have trouble pronouncing each other’s
names. Katie was Kitty and Steph was
Stuffu. Poor Audrey didn’t have a chance
with her name-she was called “oo-ju” all month.
-The Rooster! Ducks,
chickens,
cats, and a rooster run wild in our backyard. I thought roosters crowed
at sunrise. I was wrong. This rooster cock-a-doodle-doos all day long,
starting from 4am to
midnight. The rooster had a sense of humor
too…he would stand right under our window and cock his little vocal
chords to
death. We all had a few choice words
when he woke us up at what my daddy calls, “o-dark thirty”.
bullet for his lady and is man enough to wear pink…did I mention he’s a
Christian? HOLLA!
