The Rundown...

It seems like the first question that automatically follows me telling anyone that I'm going to Africa this summer is "What are going to do there??" Assuming that the only people that travel to Africa are missionaries or students or volunteers--like there has to be some over-all much larger purpose of doing something for the Africans.

And, I am.

I am going to travel; to immerse myself in the various and rich cultures and society; to fall in love with the people and the wildlife and the land. And, in doing so I am making an investment in the people and the economy. I will come back with amazing stories and so much excitement and emotion that surely I will inspire others to travel Africa as well. There's amazing purpose in just doing that--you'll fall in love and want to return as I'm sure I will...



And to fulfill that now burning question of what we're going to be doing, a little more specifically---

We are getting a ride to Chicago tomorrow (Friday, May 16th) and are staying with a great friend (jill) for the weekend. We fly out on Sunday for an 8 hour flight to London and then from London we have another 8-10 hour flight to Nairobi, Kenya. There we will meet another good friend (Isaac) who is a wildlife guide (http://wildconnectionsafaris.com/profiles.aspx). He's going to take us on a short safari in Kenya and we will travel with him back to his village and stay with his family for a short time. Then we're travelling to Lamu, an island village on the coast of Kenya and staying there for a couple of weeks. We'll then travel back to Nairobi to meet Betty (the Doane prof that Jill went to Africa with the last two times, also author of Africa on Six Wheels: A Semester on Safari) and Carla (her partner and a good friend). We are all going to Uganda and Rwanda for a fairly short trip, then back to Nairobi, and down to Arusha, Tanzania. Lauren (the other friend travelling with Jill and I) and I are going to safari with Betty to the Ngorongoro Crater--it is literally a bowl full of animals, it's own self-contained ecosystem! We'll stay for quite a time in Tanzania before travelling down to Malawi and hopefully will run into our friends, Austin and Sara who are Peace Corps volunteers there. And that will conclude the trip--we'll travel back up through Tanzania and Kenya to Nairobi and leave for home on August 1st.



Now, for all those concerned family and friends. I love you first off. We will be safe and come home safe. You can expect to hear from me via the blog and maybe personal email at least every week and a half. The time in Kenya is 7 hours later than it is here, so if I call butt early in the morning you'll love it anyway!



Also, my personal email has changed for while I'm in Africa because I don't want to waste precious internet time filtering through chain letters and prayer forwards and over-all junk. SO personal emails should be sent to megmjackson@gmail.com. Don't forward me any junk or I will just have to block you :).



I love you all. Check in often and leave comments!!

Megan