Home Sweet Home!

So there are a few things that I would like to accomplish in this post...
The first is to update you all on the final parts of my trip:
Wednesday was one of the most intense days that I had the entire trip! Firstly it was one of the longest, and secondly it was just insane. So Danny, Sam and I decided that we wanted to see the farm that day so we met Carol in town and started the 1 and half hour trek to the farm. Let me explain a little bit about the farm. The farm is the continuation school of Salvation Home. When the boys get too old and/or Carol cant control them but doesnt want to put them back on the streets, the farm is where the boys go. So these are the worst of the worst. And as sad as it is to say, there are kids there that really have no hope of getting their acts together, ever. They lie and steal and a few of them have pregnant girlfriends that they are now avoiding. The farm land was acquired through a petition process where Carol had to go to a traditional tribe in Zambia and plead her case for the land, she had to explain who would live there, what it was for, etc. Then the tribe had a meeting and decided that it was ok to have the land to farm on. When we were there, a few of the boys from the farm had badly beaten someone from the area and then threatened to beat up one of the tribal members. The head woman of the tribe called a meeting with Carol and so Sam, Danny and I attended that as well. It was a very civil interaction where the bottom line was simply to come to a solution. The entire time the meeting was being held, one of the boys from the farm was giving attitude and lying and just being really disrespectful, it was really uncomfortable. When the meeting was done, we were instructed to stay seated until the elders got up, then we were dismissed and headed back to the farm to figure out some logistics. The agreement was that after the corn had all been harvested, all the boys currently at the farm would have to leave. Then from there they could come stay at Salvation is they wanted to and then there would be an application process for them to reapply is that wanted to. So that made them mad..and a few of them started getting upset and threatening Mama Carol with pitch forks and fists. Mama Carol got right up in the mix and had them by the collar..it was a little intense. Finally it was resolved enough for us to be able to leave and make the trip back to Salvation. When we got back it was time to start making dinner. There were 7 SJSU students who had decided that they wanted to make dinner for the kids..and out of that 7...3 actually helped. It ended up being the 2 girls from Portland, me and Wendy and then Danny helped bring it all together. I NEVER feel the need to cook for 50 people ever again in my life...but it was fun and we made pasta and the kids liked it so that was good! we cooked outside on a fire pit!! it was a lot of fun! At 9:00 it was time to head back so that we could make back to Salvation the following day by 830am!
The next day I went into crazy bitch mode...it was our final day and NOTHING had been taken care of for the chicken coop...I have done the dimensions, I had made the list, I have figured out costs and I hod told everyone that before I could do anything I would need them to give me the money...So Thursday morning when I didnt have it all...I was pissed. I will remind you that this was a joint idea to get the chicken coop done, not just mine and in fact it wasnt even my idea to begin with. But since I dont believe is making empty promises..I wanted to make sure it got done! So I finally collected most of the money and get out with Carol and a few of the Salvation boys and headed out to get the supplies...4 hours later we had finally gathered everything up, headed back to Salvation, and then it was time to leave. I didnt really get to spend much time with the kids the few days leading up to our goodbye but I felt justified knowing that the work I had put in would benefit the house long term and that was at least some what satisfying. It was sad to say goodbye but I know that I will keep in touch with the kids and with Carol and I am so grateful for the experience!
That night...of course...we went out! We had a great time, we always do..danced the night away, got home and started packing at 3am since we needed to be at the airport at 830...Taxi came and picked us up...got to the airport and realized that our flight was leaving at 1245...not 930! OOPS! so we just hung out in the airport for a while and started our 2 day adventure back home!
We flew from Lusaka to Kenya, had a 9 hour layover in Kenya, flew from there to London, had a 5 hour layover in London, then London to SFO...i slept most of the time! But my travel mates didnt sleep as much...got home, got through customs, had a burrito!!! and it was back to the house for me! I was so ready to be home and not in airplanes!!! I am happy to be home but I know I will miss my travel buddies, my new firends and Zambia but for now I think the travel bug has been satisfied!
I want to thank you all for following my adventures! It was really quite an experience!

Lower Zambezi and Safari!

Yes, thats right, I can officially say that I have been on safari in Africa! AMAZING! Let me just tell you that that was hands down one of the most amazing experiences of my life!
Firstly the showgrounds with the kids on Friday was really fun!They had lots of animals and the kids were allowed to take my camera and take as many pictures as they could...which resulted in about 500 pictures of pigs, 300 pictures of cows, and about 150 of my butt...there are some things about boys that are universal! I had 5 of the younger boys and we just laughed and had a great time! The only issue we had was that one of the boys who is on a new regiment of Anti retro viral therapy started to feel really sick and we had to figure out how to help with that, but other than that, we had so much fun! I was with Aptekar's son Sam, who is 14 but has an old soul and has proven very easy to be around. The kids love him! By the end of the day we were all so tired that we were ready for bed at 3pm!
So Safari time:
HOLY HELL..I cannot wait to show you all the pictures of my chalet! It was beautiful. I had a balcony that literally was waterfront and opened up to a plethora of hippo and elephant hanging out in the Zambezi. The best part was that I had the whole chalet to my self because the girl that was going to stay with me wanted to be a part of the bigger group, so she bailed...so to explain that a bit more..there were 20 people that wanted to go on safari and there were no lodges that could accommodate all of us, so as fate would have it, I ended up in a smaller group of 8 and was the happiest person alive! My group included Aptekar and his wife Leslie and their son Sam, Wendy from the cohort, the two girls from Salvation Home (Ally and Alicia) and Mama Carol who was Wendy's guest for the weekend. It was really amazingly fun. I really needed a break from the group and it was nice to have a really relaxed group of people to be able to spend time with. We canoed with Hippos and went on game drives! We didnt see much game but we did see a leopard and wort hogs and impala, water buck, kudu, and that might be it...oh and tons and tons of elephant. My favorite moment was when the elephant were hanging out outside my chalet and bumping up against it and eating! It was truly amazing and I really cant wait to share all of my pictures. I do have t say that I was really bummed the first night to not have my partner in crime there with me! Ana was truly missed but she had an amazing weekend and saw even more game on her "cheapie" safari...so everything worked out in the end! I definitely felt like I was having Ana withdraws so today I forced her to have dinner with me and we talked about our weekends and our sites and decompressed a bit about all the stress that this trip has produced! I am so happy to be here but I think that we have both reached our limits and are looking forward to coming home in a matter of days!