The Night Before

 It's 10pm and we're nessled into a hotel accross from the Buffalo airport.  Jenny's gotten her last dose of 'Grey's' for a while and we're packed up and ready to go!  
  We moved out of York yesterday - our last day was long and tough but warm with well-wishes and many visits - thanks to everyone for all their support!  We moved back to moma Bursaw's in Funnville and spent the day getting things in final order.  We're all set and ready to tuck in for our early departure.  We're pretty much ridiculously excited and though we need to get as much sleep as possible tonight, I think it'll be hard to do so =).
 
So what's next?  We thought we'd let you all know our plans, so here goes:
  Tomorrow our journey begins at 4am!  Our flight from Buffalo leaves at 6am to Washington. From Washington we fly 8 hours to ... ROME!  We're so sad we'll only be there for about 30 minutes but we're hoping we'll be able to see some sites from the plane! 
  Next up is Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (one of the highest capitals in the world), but again, all we'll see is the airport... and then... Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania!  We hear that the East Coast of Tanzania is traditionally Muslim, so our first bout of culture shock will involve having to wear clothes that cover our entire bodies in blistering heat!  Jimi's also very determined to use the flight to become fluent in Swahili... we'll keep you posted!
  Now, from all we've read and heard, flying between countries in Africa is often easier and cheaper to book when you get there, so the ast leg of the trip is a bit 'up in the air' - so to speak... hehe....  So, we'll organize a flight to Harare as soon as we can, and we're totally excited to meet up with Risina and Angie Mandivenga (Chi's brother and sister-in-law).  We'll be spending a week in Zimbabwe with the Mandivenga family =).
  A week later we'll be heading to Zambia toward our primary destination - Chishawasha School and Orphanage around Lusaka.  We'll be spending a month there contributing in any way we can - and we absolutely can't wait to be there!  We've brought some classic Canadian children's literature to share with the kids.  We figure the appeal of Robert Munsch is pretty universal.
  The rest of the trip is a bit 'uncharted' - we have hopes of touring Zambia and seeing some wildlife - we'd also like to do some rafting on the Zambezi - maybe a bit later when the rains start closer to December.  The last week we'll head back for Dar.  We'd like to take the train from Lusaka to Dar Es Salaam (2-4 days train accross the savannah) to see some of the countryside.  Then we'll take a boat to the island of Zanzibar for a few days before flying out of Dar mid-December.  Maybe Jenny should invest in a burquini?
  So there you have it - our plans - at least as they stand today!  But as we all know, life is an adventure and we'll see where the wild winds blow!

So that's it for tonight - next stop - fatigue and culture shock - we can't wait - no really, we're travel geeks like that =)

Okay, until next time,
Much Love - Jenny & Jimi

9 Days to Go...

We're 9 days away from departure for our long-anticipated epic journey to Africa, and we're just about ready to go!  We've had our last shots today, we've bought half the contents of Shoppers Drug Mart and of MEC, and we've gone through several books about travel in Africa (mostly Jimi... I've never seen him so interested in reading!).  But the main thing that's gotten us ready is the wonderful people who are helping us organize our trip.  Chandni and Ami from the Zambian Children's Fund Canada have been absolutely amazing - full of information and advice about Zambia and the surrounding areas, and they are the ones who are making it possible for us to volunteer at the Chishawasha Children's Home and school just North of Lusaka, Zambia.  We are endlessly fortunate and grateful to have the opportunity to work with them on this initiative, and that they were willing to set it up for us.  Hiren has been awesome as well with getting us started and helping us navigate the tourism industry in Zambia and beyond, and we are so lucky to have the opportunity to spend some time with Chi's family in Zimbabwe... we just wish they could all come with us!  Altogether, these people have helped us create an incredibly unique chance to experience Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Tanzania as authentically as two born-and-bred Canadians can, and we cannot thank them enough.  From our hearts...thank you!

For us, this trip is about experiencing the world and opening our minds to the ways that we can contribute to making it better.  In deciding to travel in Africa, we always knew that volunteering would be a crucial part of the experience.  Since we live with privilege, we believe we have a duty to do what we can to empower those who do not, but we also recognize that we aren't familiar with the contexts and lives of the people we'll be living with.  We don't expect to change the world (this time)... we're just hoping to learn as much as we can about what would help most, and hopefully this will be the first of many opportunities for us to contribute.  Next time, we'll return with more knowledge and maybe a more specific purpose.

Experiencing the world is also about seeing all of the things that make it so amazing, and we can't wait to come face to face with the boundless natural beauty of Southern Africa!  We're particularly excited to see as much wildlife as possible (maybe even from the back of an elephant!), to check out Victoria Falls, and to visit Zanzibar, both for the culture and the landscape. 

Now, if only I can convince Jimi that, despite what the Africa book says, we probably shouldn't knock on farmers' doors and ask to camp on their lawns...     

So welcome everyone, to our journey (or 'safari' as it is said in Swahili)!  We'll do our best to keep you updated as frequently as we are able.  In the meantime, check out ZCFC via the link to the side.

Sincerely and with much love,
  ~ Jenny & Jimi