Cookie Dough Egg Rolls

While I was in Africa I was lucky enough to purchase some handmade goods from some of the mothers of the children at one of the schools we visited.  They were so happy to make some money and we were so happy to buy their things. One of the things I bought was this awesome apron:

If you know me then you know I love to bake...but I'm pretty messy so an apron is something I actually need. I couldn't wait to try it out and lucky for me I had a couple of friends who had birthdays this week.  First up Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Egg Rolls.

Now I know this sounds crazy but they are delicious and pretty easy to make. The key is to make an awesome cookie dough that does not contain eggs. Once the cookie dough is made you just plop the dough in the egg roll wrapper, roll them up and freeze for a few hours. You don't have to freeze them but it actually holds everything together so I usually do it. Once they are frozen you heat up some oil and fry them (just pretend the oil is fat free and not adding a million calories.) I like to serve them with vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of chocolate syrup.

Here is the recipe I use:
1 stick of butter or margarine
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c white sugar
1/8 c water
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1 tsp salt
1 1/8 c flour
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 pkg egg roll wrappers

Blend butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add water, vanilla, and salt. Add flour a little at a time. Blend completely. Add chocolate chips and mix until combined.
Add a small scoop of cookie dough to the egg roll. (I use a pampered chef cookie scoop and it was just the right amount.) If you aren't sure how to roll egg rolls you might want to google it. Once the egg rolls are rolled stick them in the freezer for about 3 hours. Once they are frozen heat some oil in a pan. I don't usually heat up enough to submerse the egg rolls, I just use enough to cover about 1/2 the egg roll and then turn them over after a minute or so.

Serve with vanilla ice cream and you'll be the hit of any party!

Post Tanzania Thoughts

I’m finally back from my trip to Africa with Soles4Souls after about 30 long hours worth of flights! I returned last Friday and have been thinking about what I wanted to write for this blog ever since. When I would tell someone that I was going to Tanzania to pass out shoes to orphanages and schools I heard the same response over and over again…”what a life changing experience.”  I knew I would come back with a different mindset but I had no idea how hard it would be to express it.
I have always been someone that wants to help people. I volunteer with several local charities and I’m always trying to think of a way I can do more. I thought this was a great opportunity to see firsthand the difference I could make in someone’s life. I have always loved this quote by Edward Everett Hale: “I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything but I can do something.” Sometimes volunteer work can be frustrating because you don’t see the results and you wonder if you are actually making a difference. This opportunity was a completely different experience and it’s been very hard to process and take in.
We spent the week in Kigoma which is a town in western Tanzania. We visited 8 orphanages/schools and were able to provide hundreds of kids new shoes! Some of the places we visited were nicer than others but the reaction to us coming was all the same. As soon as the kids would see our big purple bus pull up they would run out to greet us. It was sometimes overwhelming to hear the roar of the children as we were getting off the bus. They would patiently wait while we got set up and then they would line up to receive their new shoes.  Each distribution ran the same with one or two people sizing the kids feet on paper size charts and then sending them to the next group of people to get their feet washed and then finally to get their new shoes.  After the kids had received their shoes we would have time to play and talk with the kids.
I was lucky enough to be a sizer for two of the days we distributed. Because I’m the kids shoe buyer I get asked a zillion questions everyday about kids sizing, and the sizing chart we have on our website has been a pain in my side since the day I started here (until my hero Bill came along and redid it for me!  Yay!) So it was kind of funny that I would be a sizer on this trip. I say I was lucky to do it because it allowed me to see what the kids were wearing (or in some cases not wearing) before they would get their new shoes. Some of the kids had shoes but they were badly worn or just not appropriate for the conditions they live in. Children in America have a pair of shoes for every activity they do. Soccer or baseball cleats for sports, dress shoes for church, tennis shoes for play, here most have one pair of shoes for everything they do. Imagine trying to play soccer in boys dress shoes. And on top of that imagine those shoes being two sizes too small. Many of the children had no shoes at all and their feet were cut and scratched from everyday life. In the moment I wasn’t thinking of these things because I was trying to entertain the kids but it was definitely something I thought about once it was over.
The kids we helped this week were given Crocs and they treated them like gold. Many of us in the fashion industry think Crocs are silly and we would never wear them but these kids would get them and then rush over to the side to take them off and put their old shoes back on so they could save them. I saw one boy who just couldn’t decide if he should keep the strap on top of the shoe or wear it around his heel. They were so happy to have these new shoes and they could not stop smiling! Sometimes we would not have a child’s exact size so we would give them a size too big so that they could grow into it but I didn’t hear one single complaint.  Some of the bigger sizes ran out quickly and we would have to take the child’s information so that we could send a pair to them later and again, not a single complaint. These kids stood in line with 100 other kids and not once did I see pushing or fighting. There was no complaining or whining. There was just pure joy at the fact that someone was there to help them and give them something they so desperately needed. Something that we all take for granted.
There is so much more I could say about these amazing kids and that has been my issue in telling everyone about my experience. When someone says to me, “How was Africa?” I’m not sure what the correct response is. Amazing doesn’t seem like the right way to describe it. While my experience was amazing it just doesn’t seem like the most fitting word to use. This trip made me think. It made me reevaluate a lot of things. It made me see how much joy I, one person, could bring to a child’s life. I was able to give them hope just by showing up. I was able to provide them love (even if it was just for one day) through a hug. Yes the shoes were important but listening to some of their stories or playing with them was just as important. So I think the best answer I could give to the question, “How was Africa?” would be, “You just have to go and experience it for yourself.”
Here are a few pictures for you to enjoy!!

Day 7

Day 7 (I think..)
Today was our last day of distributions so it was a little sad. I will definitely miss making the kids laugh & smile but I'm also really tired! It was a little rough to get moving this morning as I think most of us were a little sore fro. The chimpanzee trek yesterday! My shoulder is hurting from my crazy fall but I took some advil & once I was around the kids I forgot all about it. 
This morning we visited a school of street kids. These kids live on the street but somehow manage to still come to school & learn everyday. They only get water at this school once a week so we opted not to wash their feet because we didn't want to use ip their water supply. Instead we just wiped their feet with towels & sized them. There were several little kids at this school & a few little babies running around. Two older boys were getting ready to go to college & were amazing to talk to. One of them, Bernard, wants to be a doctor. I talked to the other one more, Antony, and he loved to read. They both have sponsors which is allowing them to study and go to college. Antony said he has read all the Harry Potter books and other Americsn books like The DaVinci Code. I wondered how he got the books & he said that the books are not his but since his English is very good he reads them to other people who own the books who cannot read English. We asked him
 what other books he would like to read and he said he wants to read "Think Big" so one of the girls is going to try to send it to him. He was very impressive to talk to & we got his email address so we can keep in touch with him. At the end we all gathered around & they had a group of boys that were gymnasts perform for us. Then we all sang & said our goodbyes. 
The second school was small kids which was good because we ran out of larger sizes! When we got to the school all the kids were sitting in a room waiting for us & once we dat down to hear about the school they had older boys come in and dance for us. I took some video do I'll post that when I can! Since this was the last distribution we were all trying to give the last of our toys away. I still had a bunch of cheap jeweled plastic rings so as the girls came through the line to get sized I out one on their finger.  They loved them!! Some of the boys wanted them too but I gave them all silly bands instead. I also gave out several stickers. One of the girls had some little nerf footballs and had to show them how to throw them because they don't have those there. I also had some sunglasses left and again they created quite the stir but the kids didn't fight over them which is amazing because that would never happen here. There are so many things I have realized and learned on this trip and processing everything is going to be hard. We were all sad to leave this place but we have heard we have a "grand" dinner for us tonight! When we got back to the hotel we had lunch which was pizza. It was more like a quiche but they said it was Zanzibar pizza. After lunch we got free time. Several went to the beach to swim and hang out, others went to the pool. I opted to go back to the school where the mothers had items to sell with Michele & Wanda. We got a cab & one of our guides went with us so we would know where to go. It was nice to go with only a couple of people because we got to see more since it wasn't so crowded. At the school I bought a fabric basket and several necklaces & bracelets. The woman that had made them told our guide she was so happy when I gave her my 40000 shillings (about $40 in US). I was so glad to be able to support her. We also went back to the little market store & bought a few more things. This time I was able to take some pictures so you'll see how small it actually is. After that we came back to the hotel & I'm writing this post! 
Since I wasn't able to post this earlier I will just add to it. Tonight was amazing. First we met in the lobby for a group picture and a debriefing. We all went around the room & said what we would take with us from the trip. Mine is that the simplest thing makes them so happy. They would have been thrilled just to have us take their picture & show it to them. Not once did any of the kids complain about their shoes or that we didn't have their size. They were happy just to have us there. There was no fighting or pushing in line and when we rN out of things they didn't get mad. It's really unbelievable. There were a few tears shed tonight but it was really amazing to hear what everyone thought. After that we loaded up in a few vans for a quick ride to the beach. They had a bonfire & a table for our dinner! It was very cool to have dinner on the beach our last night there. As we were sitting around having drinks and eating plantains, kebobs, fish, potatoes, etc. someone noticed that there was an eclipse! It's so amazing that on our last night in Africa we got to sit on the beach and watch the moon go dark!! Our hotel made a cake for us which was so cute and after our bellies were full we all loaded up and went back to the hotel. We probably would have stayed longer if it weren't for the fact that we have to be up at 4:30 am tomorrow for our very very long (24 + hours of flight time) back to the states. 

Chimpanzee Day!

Day 6 Chimpanzee Day!!!
We were all very excited to get the opportunity to have a day off & go see chimpanzees. We ate breakfast early & then loaded a bus that took us down to the beach. There are 24 of us on this trip plus 2 guides so our bus is always full! Once we got to the beach we loaded into 2 boats. All the people that get motion sick were on a Fiberglass speed boat & all the rest were on a wooden boat. It was about an hour & a half boat ride on Lake Taganyika to the Gombe Forest lodge where we would start our trek. The water is absolutely beautiful in the lake. It looks like ocean water, very clear and vey blue. Luckily no one in the sick boat actually got sick so once we docked we were all ready to go. We split up into 4 groups: 2 fast groups, 1 medium group, and one leisure group. I went with the medium group & there were 8 of us. We started hiking into Gombe National Park. This is the park where Jane Goodall studies the chimpanzees. It's a very beautiful place but the paths are pretty steep & a little hard to walk. I wasn't expecting to climb so high and our guide apparently thought we were a fast group so we kept having to tell him to slow down. A few minutes into the park we had to stop, take a step back & line up because a chimp was coming our way. He literally walked right in front of us..so close I could reach out & touch him. He didn't pay any attention to us whatsoever! After he passed we went on. We climbed further and further & I got really hot. I had worn a long sleeve shirt & a hat to keep the branches from scratching me but I had to stop & remove them. I freaked out a little because it was also hard to breath but after a quick rest & some water I got back up & kept going. I'm glad I did because just ahead there were a couple of chimps playing in the trees! After a few minutes of observing them they hurried down a tree & were out of sight. We then started down but the incline we were on was very steep & pretty narrow so it was difficult to navigate. We had to go single file and when it was my turn I stepped on a piece of dirt that everyone else had stepped on but it was no longer stable and I went sliding down the incline. I had to reach out & grab a vine to stop myself & then pull myself up w/ both hands & the help of our guide. It was a little scary but thankfully I put in a lot of hours watching Lost so I knew what to do! Unfortunately there was no Jack or Sawyer to pull me up though. After that little incident we moved on & then had to climb backwards down a small incline holding on to a vine so that we wouldn't fall. I thought I was just going to be walking along an easy path but oh no! It was a little intense. After we made it down we were on our way to the waterfall when the first half of our group walked through a hill of army ants that sting. Luckily I was at the back of the pack! Our guide took us a different route but we had to walk through a stream. Luckily I had my Drainmakers on so the water was no big deal for me. Plus I'd rather be wet than get bit! After the first half of our group got all the ants out of their pants (not trying to be funny but they almost had to take them off to get them out!) we moved on. We walked through a section where our guide said the Black Mamba snakes live so we picked up the pace & luckily didn't see any. After that we finally made it to the waterfall which was beautiful! All the groups ended up meeting there and several people got under it to cool off. After a small rest we split up into a couple groups. The first group was hiking to the top peak to overlook the park & the rest of us were heading back to camp. We were extremely hot & sweaty so I opted to go back to camp. There were a lot of us that decided to do that so we ended up splitting up into 2 groups. I was in the 2nd group & on our way back we came across a troop of baboons!! There were about 10-15 of them and we pretty much just sat down on the path & watched them play all around us. There were a few babies & one was only a week old. They all let us take their picture & just kept running all around us! We sat there for about 45 minutes or so. When we finally got back to camp we met a girl from the Universfity of Minnesota who was there working on her PHD studying the baboons. She knows them all by name! I have no idea how she can even tell them apart! When we were finally finished we got back on the boat to head to the lodge where they served us lunch. We had yellow belly fish which was excellent & then loaded up the boats & returned to our hotel for the night. The day was tiring but it was so worth it to be able to experience everything. 

Day 5?

Day 5 (Actually I really have no idea what day it is but oh well!)
Today was a whirlwind day! We visited 3 different locations and a lot of kids! The first school we went to is owned by the same man who owns our hotel. He is a very rich man in this country and you can tell because the school was very very nice. Most of the places we have been do not have electricity but this one did. They also had ceiling fans in the classrooms. The classrooms at this school were pretty amazing. They even had a physics lab which was very impressive. This school was also mixed w/ orphans & students who have parents. they wear uniforms and it is mixed w/ Muslims & Christians. Today I was designated to be a sizer! I thought I was getting away from explaining how kids sizing works but I have given a lesson on it every day!! This distribution was very organized so we got done fairly quickly & played w/ the kids. I handed out silly bands again which they love. They also got toothbrushes & toothpaste from one of the girls & they were very excited about that! We also have been blowing bubbles w/ them and they love to run after them. This school had a big soccer field so a bunch of the kids & volunteers played soccer. The kids were really really good! I talked to a big for a long time who was very smart & had very good English. (at this school all the lessons except the religion class is taught in English.) the boys name was Saleem and he and his brother both went to school there. I asked him what he wanted to do with his education & he told me he wants to be a politician. I just started tearing up as I wrote that because to see the way he lives & to know that he still has big dreams is pretty amazing. 
The second location we went to was pretty chaotic. The group was told there were about 100 kids to give shoes too but when we showed up there were way more than that. So we jumped right in and started sizing them. They were all excited to get their new shoes but we didn't get much time to play with them. They didn't speak English very well but I did meet one boy who did and he showed me his Geography book. It was all in Swahili so I have no clue what they were studying but the kids do try to take care of their books by wrapping them in newspaper or cardboard. I wish I would've brought book covers for them but now I know! Unfortunately with is group I saw a lot of sores on their legs that haven't healed & many of them didn't have shoes to begin with. Alot of the kids at least have something to wear and when we put on the new pair they walk outside & take them off because they want to save them. Most of us could not care less about a pair of Crocs but these kids are treating them like gold. I will definitely think about that forever. 
This was a busy day but before our last stop our guide took us to buy African bed sheets. These are large pieces of material that they use as blankets but the colors are gorgeous and they are hand embroidered. A lot of us bought them & were glad to give the money to the community. They only cost about $28 in US money. 
The next stop was a younger grade school & because we had given out extra shoes at the last stop we didn't have enough for them. This location had only been told we were coming to see and play w/ the kids so it was ok but I think we were able to leave some shoes for them in the end. The kids at this school have been learning English and sang us 3 songs. I forgot to mention that when the kids sing to us we in turn sing "if you're happy & you know it" to them. They love it. I handed out more silly bands & started handing out little sunglasses which were a HUGE hit! Unfortunately I didn't have enough & the kids were begging for more. But they got other cool things so they were happy. One of the best things about this school was that some of the mothers were there to help & also sell things to help out. We were all very excited to purchase their wares. I bought a bag, an apron, some change purses, and a lot of beaded necklaces. I think my total was only around $40. I gave them extra because they definitely need it more than I do. 
After that stop we had another short stop at Kigoma Market. There were many stands of fruits & vegetables which looked gorgeous but of course we can't eat them. We wanted to take pictures but they would not let us. Then there were several stalls of African fabrics that were also very pretty but most of us were looking for jewelry or purses! There was one stand that our guide knew of & we were all very excited but it was so small it was hard to see everything. I did buy more stuff there & again gave a little extra. I'm sure the lady that owned the stand was thrilled when she saw us coming!
Now I'm back in my room after dodging the zebras running around out front! Last night one of them was standing in front of one of the ladies doors when she started to go out for dinner. The food here has been a little tricky for me. I'm basically eating just enough to keep my energy up. Breakfast has consisted of toast w/ all kinds of jelly, peanut butter, and nutella, fresh pineapple which is amazing, eggs, cereal, sausage, etc. Pretty normal breakfast food. Unfortunately my malaria medicine makes me a little queasy in e morning so I can't eat much. They bring us lunch everyday & it's usually some kind of chicken. We've also had samosas but I'm usually too hot to eat much so I've been sticking to the fruit they bring and lots & lots of water. Dinner is served poolside every night & there have been a variety of things. They use a lot of curry in their dishes & I don't really like curry so that been a bit of an issue. We did have some pretty incredible egg rolls last night & I tried something called small fish which is deep fried sardines. Not my favorite but I tried it! We also had beer last night-Killamanjaro-which was a light colored beer & was pretty good. I have to run over there now but tomorrow is Chimpanzee tracking so hopefully I can post!

Day 4

Day 4
Today has been a day filled with so many emotions. First we went to a school with about 150 kids. Some have parents & some are orphans. They were all amazing! More of the kids knew English at this location so e were able to communicate a little better. On this distribution I was assigned to play with the kids. There are 24 of us on this trip & all of us have a job. One person sizes the kids foot, the child then goes go get his feet washed by one of us. The washers works in pairs & their partner goes to get the shoes. The rest of us spend time talking & playing w/ the kids. I handed out dilly bands to everyone & they got really excited. When we give out gifts the word spreads fast so we are mobbed in a matter of minutes. I also handed out some stickers and the kids put them all over their arms & faces. I made a new friend at this school whose name is Melle. She was sitting on a bench and pulled me over to sit beside her. She didn't speak English but she loved being hugged and just wanted someone to sit with her. She kept touching my hair and moving my hand to her face. It was so cute. The kids also love it when you take their picture and show it to them on the camera. They think it's really funny so they all ask you to take their picture if they see your camera. Dome of the girls were wearing little fancy dresses & I took some pictures so I'll add them later. 
After this distribution we went to a Muslim school where all the kids were in uniform. On this distribution I was a runner which meant it was my job to go get the correct size shoe to give to the person washing their feet. I didn't get to play with the kids there much but we did get a few minutes after we were done to play & talk w/ the kids. 
So far this has been an amazing experience. We all seem to have bonded and how could you not in the middle of the desert in 116 heat! I did take some pictures of my room since everyone kept asking me if I would be sleeping in a tent. Currently I'm sitting at the little desk in my room watching 3 amazing zebras eating grass & playing right outside my balcony. Crazy right?
Of course no trip comes without crazy thing happening & this one is no different. I apparently caught a cold on the plane & was pretty much miserable yesterday but I am being a trooper & taking a lot of cold meds. & trying to get sleep. Last night there was a terrible thunder & lightening show in the middle of the night. It didn't rain but the thunder was so loud it woke everyone up. The lightening started a fire outside of our rooms but the hotels staff got it under control in a matter of minutes. And then today the bus we take had a little issue. The roads here are basically just dirt & we had to go over some railroad tracks. Well when we did the gas tank hit the track & created a hole. So they had to call other buses go come get us! It wouldn't be a tripmif something didn't happen right? We also have quite the tally of things people have lost & I'm sure there is more to come! 

Tanzania Day 1& 2

Day 2
After a total of 4 plane rides I am now in Tanzania. We stayed in Dar Es Salaam for one night but our flight was a little delayed so we didn't get to do much there. The next morning we boarded yet another plane to get us to Kigoma which is the village we are staying in for the rest of our trip. This plane was a little charter plane and a few of us got sick  once we finally got off. I never get sick on the plane but this was pretty rough. from there we were transported to our first distribution. I cannot tell you how amazing these kids are and how grateful they are that we came. This school that we went to was actually on summer break but several kids stayed behind to meet us & receive shoes. This place had no electricity and one of the girls had brought little flashlights to hand out and the kids loved them  The conditions there were not the best so the kids were thrilled to receive their new Crocs! After their feet were washed & they had their new shoes on they gathered around to sing a goodbye song to us. During the song they would call out one of our names & bring us into a circle to dance with them. It was so fun! We bonded with them even though their English is not that good. We also have learned several words in Swahili. If you want to ask someone their name you say "Jina lako nani?" and if they ask you your name you say "Jina langu Brandy" we have also learned "thank you "ahsante" and when greeting someone you say "jambu."  One thing that i think is funny is when the person from their school was introducing us to the kids and they aren't sure what America is he tells them "Obama" and then they all clap. I also have seen two boys with Obama shirts on. Every time we leave a place the kids run along side our bus which is heartbreaking because they don't want us to leave. More tomorrow!

Dubai!!

After a very long plane ride I made it to Dubai!!! So far the trip has been amazing & I have no idea where to start so I'll just start from the beginning. 
I got in to New York and met up with some other trip members for dinner. It was nice getting to know a few people in advance even if it was only for a few hours. We had to rise and shine pretty early and meeting the rest of the group at the airport was a little overwhelming. But everyone seems super friendly and I think we have a good bunch of people. We took Air Emirates to Dubai which I highly recommend. I was really impressed w/ the service we got & even the plane meals weren't too bad. Everyone tried to get some sleep because we had a million things planned for Dubai but the movie selection was tempting so i don't know how much sleep everyone got. We arrived around 8ish, checked in to our rooms, freshened up a little and a group of us met in the lobby to go to the gold souks. We shopped around there for a little bit but everything was pretty expensive so I didn't buy anything. We could have stayed there all day looking at stuff but we had booked tickets for the observation deck at the Burj Khalifa. The Khalifa is the worlds tallest building. I took some pics of the buildings below & they look like a model you would do in architecture class.
After that we jumped back in our cab to head back to the hotel to be picked  up for our desert safari. our cab driver had stayed with us the whole day and kept taking us the long way so we could see evertyhing.  We saw the Sheiks palace and the atlantis hotel. Everything is so clean & they have great buildings to check out. 
We got back to our hotel just in time for the 4x4 drivers to pick us up. About 12 of us ended up going so we had to take 2 cars. It was so fun!! We picked the best driver too. We started toward our destination & had to make one quick stop along the way so the driver could let some of the air out of the tires for better traction on the sand. It was insane how we would literally slide straight down the dune sideways. That was our favorite part. We were out there for about 45 minutes and he let us stop a couple of times to take pictures. One girl in the other car got sick but she was a trooper & got back in! Once the dune bashing was done we headed to e camp where they had a huge BBQ for us along w/ drinks. There were so many cool things to do at the camp and I knew we wouldn't get to all of it so we went straight to the camel rides. So funny! Some of the girls got henna tattoos but since I had already done one before I passed on it. They had a tent where you could try on the traditional dress but it was to hot that we all passed on that too. By the way I don't think i mentioned that the temperature in the desert was a balmy  116 degrees. Once we were all settled down for dinner a whirling dervish performed. I had never seen done and it was so cool. The guy didn't stop spinning once! The food they had for us was really good and there were a lot of choices. After dinner a belly dancer performed and then we al Ed it a night. At that point we had been awake for about 30 hours so needless to say we were all tired. Oh one funny thing that happened was that our 4x4 driver loved one of the girls in our car & he basically proposed to her by the end of the night. We all had a very good laugh about that!
So that was day 1 of the trip. Not sure when I'll get to post this but I wanted to write it out so that I don't forget anything! And if there are typos in this don't think i have bad grammar, I'm typing it on my ipad which isn't the easiest thing to do!

Tomorrow is the Big Day!!!!

I am finally leaving on the journey of a lifetime!!

When I signed up to do this trip with Soles4Souls in January it seemed like it was so far away and now it's here. There are 25 people on the trip and I've been emailing with several of them in the last week or so. We are all very excited to be embarking on this journey where we will wash the feet of children and fit them for shoes that will protect them in their everyday life. Of course we have some playtime scheduled too. I am bringing a bunch of little gifts for the children and I can't wait to see their faces when they get their new shoes.

I head to New York tomorrow where I am planning to meet up with some of my travel companions for dinner. We leave for Dubai early Wednesday morning. We already have several fun things scheduled for Dubai including a ticket to go up to the observation deck of the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building. That night we have booked a desert safari where we will get to go dune bashing in 4x4's, take camel rides, get henna tattoos, and have dinner while the sun sets over the desert. It's going to be a once in a lifetime experience and I can't wait to share it with everyone!

Then it will be on to Tanzania where we will spend one day/night in Dar Es Salaam before heading to Kigoma which will be our base for the remainder of the trip. Everyone keeps asking me if we are sleeping in tents and the answer is no! We will be at a hotel with running water and a bathroom....thank goodness!

Packing has been a little bit of an experience. I thought I was a good packer until I had to get my bag down to 33 lbs. But I finally managed to do it and I have extra pounds to spare which means I can bring back some goodies!

I think I'm totally ready so tonight is just all about relaxing and waiting. I'm sure I won't get much sleep because I'm going to be so excited to get to New York and meet everyone.

Don't forget to check back throughout the week. I'm hoping we have an internet connection and if so I will blog! If not I'll do a detailed post when I get back!

Thanks again to everyone for their donations, encouragement, prayers, and excitement. It means a lot to me and I can't thank you enough!