Ice Cream in Zambia

Hello again!
I arrived in Lusaka, Zambia yesterday at 1pm. The vice-principle and his wife (Mr. and Mrs. Moore) met me at the airport and then we went to pick up the two other youth volunteers (Neda and Tahirih) from the market in town.

We decided to stop for ice cream, and what a fiasco that was! I was waiting literally right in front of the cashier for 20 minutes, surrounded by hungry ice cream-wanters, lots of noise and light, before Mrs. Moore came in and loudly demanded service! So what I know of Zambians so far is that they take their ice cream very seriously.

I'm getting settled into my room, using my mosquito net to keep me safe at night and learning my way around this rather large campus. Last night there was a Salsa Night for the staff on campus, so I had a dance party on my first night! The students will be arriving on Sunday, till then we're just getting ready for school to start. I'm supervising dorm A, which is the grade 8 girls who I'm told are very nice.

Unfortunately the internet is too slow to upload many pictures... I'll work on getting my computer and cell phone set up so you can see where I am!
Love

Safe in Johannesburg

Hello!
I landed in Johannesburg last night and am staying with my grandma and aunt in their flat.

The flight was long and uneventful, except for one cute story. Leaving Montreal I was sitting next to a sweet lady from Romania. She was clearly Christian because she was crossing herself enthusiastically as we took off. She even crossed me for good measure! Naturally I couldn't explain that as a Baha'i, I recognize Jesus as a Messenger of God but that I don't cross myself. Anyway, I appreciated the gesture. Later she tried talking to a young Muslim woman from Iraq. It was nice to see how the limitations that language impose can still be overcome with pure intention. I also was very pleased with the diversity of our seating :)

I leave for Lusaka on Sunday morning and until then I'll just be visiting family here. I'll have more exciting stories when I get to Zambia I'm sure!

Love to all!

Getting ready to leave

(Just practicing this blog business...)
I'm starting to count down the hours till I leave, trying to keep as busy as possible so I don't focus too much on what a big adventure I'm about to go on!
I'm going to Toronto for 4 days for an Association of Baha'i Studies conference. I'll get to say goodbye to a lot of friends and learn a lot and be inspired before I leave. Then I fly the day I get back from Toronto. So I think I'm keeping busy pretty well!