Journal Entry-- June 17th (Day 3)

8:32 p.m. (Zambia Time) We made it! All 10 hours of our flight went well and we arrived in Lusaka around 9 in the morning. We went through customs successfully and made it to Africa with all of our bags! By 9:24 the whole group and all of our bags was loaded into the bus with the help of Tim, our bus driver. Then began our very, extremely long bus ride to the Forest Inn. On the bus ride we slept alot and we also took tons of pictures of me and women and children that we past by(photo of two young boys walking above). The people seemed so similar to us but in so many ways they were completely different. Watching their culture and their lives was amazing. We stopped at the Brothers of the Sacred Heart's Residence and we met a few day students from the Shitima school and local people from Kabwe. Sometimes it was a little difficult to understand what they were saying but it was an incredible experience to just sit down and talk with kids our age, even though they seemed so much older and more mature. I am still almost in disbelief that I am in Africa! It is beyond exciting! After we stopped in Kabwe we drove another 3 hours to arrive at the Forest Inn(around 6 p.m.) where we got our room assignments for the night. I am with Michelle and Natasha. It took awhile to find my suitcase, at first I thought it was lost and I got pretty nervous but then we found it and Michelle, Natasha and I went to Room 3 to settle in! I am so lucky and so happy to be here. I am excited to meet and help all the kids but now (9:33 p.m.) I am starting to feel a little nervous. I think its just adjusting to having absolutely no form of communication, I know it has only been 3 days, but imagine having no cell phone, no computer nothing for 23 days. I feel so so drained of energy but I am trying to sleep as much as possible and I am drinking a lot of water to stay hydrated! Eating habits are kind of weird, we had an amazingly delicious breakfast on the plane but an awful lunch at what we would call a fast food restaurant called Steers. I only ate french fries (which they call "chips") but I don't think they sat well with me because a little later in the afternoon I felt sick to my stomach. I feel fine now, I slept it off and ate a good meal (spaghetti) for dinner at the Inn(photo Me, Michelle, Natasha, at dinner above). I am sincerely looking forward to tomorrow! I cannot wait to be with all the people! Tomorrow we will arrive at St. Francis High School in Malole, where we will spend the bulk of our trip and I am so ready to be there and help out. Well we are going to bed now, I'll need my rest, but I'll try to write again tomorrow!

My First Journal Entry-- June 16th

Throughout my trip I tired to journal and write about what was happening so I am going to share my journal entries through this blog. This was the first entry I wrote, it was on June 16th which was the day we spent in London.

6:29 p.m.(London Time)- Yesterday we left BG at a little past 3 and while it was hard to say goodbye to my family I was so excited and anxious for this amazing experience to start! The bus ride went really quickly and once we got to Boston it took us a while to unload all of our bags and then even longer to get carts and distribute all the bags among the students. It took multiple carts and multiple trips but we eventually figured it all out and everyone had their two checked bags and their two carry-on bags. We got to the airport sooo early so we grabbed a drink at Starbucks and had dinner at "Wok and Roll" a Japanese restaurant in the Logan Airport. After everyone ate we all kind of ended up at the gate for our flight but we still had about 4 hours or so to kill so we ended up playing card games! We were all playing spoons (with straws...) on the floor of the airport and two young guys came and played with us too. Soon enough we were so close to the departure time and the anticipation grew by the minute. Once we boarded the plane I fell asleep and unfortunately I slept through dinner...but I woke up sometime during the night and watched a movie on the TV. I fell asleep again during the movie but Jaci woke me up for breakfast (tea and a cranberry muffin) and we realized that we were in London! This was my very very first time out of the country and I was beyond thrilled! We arrived at about 9 in the morning London time ( roughly 4 a.m. American time) and immediately went to sight see! Brother Don lead us all through London, we took the tube to Leicester Square where we walked around and saw Big Ben and Parliament(photo to above right)! We also ate at this place called Cafe in the Crypt, the food was not too good but we did enjoy the tea. While in London we also ate soft serve ice cream (which was amazingly delicious!). In London we saw so many exciting things! There was a demonstration in a park, we saw a man playing the bagpipes on the streets, Brother Don showed us old castles, we visited St. Maragarets Chruch in Westminster Abbey, we walked by the London Eye, and we all had fun with the telephone booths(photo below)! Lastly we went to Buckingham Palace but by the end of our day in London everyone was exhausted from walking all over the city and seriously jet lagged. We all took the tube back to Heathrow Airport where we washed up in "the toilets, " we washed our faces and changed our t-shirts, it was extremely refreshing after a day on the plane and a day in London. Jaci and I also bought sandwiches and a chocolate bar to snack on while we waited for our flight to Lusaka (soo exciting!). Finally the chaperons called us to go get our flight, we had to take a train ride to a detached terminal where we boarded our plane. Unfortunately the flight began a little dramatically, some of the seats were not next to each other and one student had a completely unnecessary breakdown that brought down every one's mood. However, the flight attendants were extremely understanding and bent over backwards to try and make us all comfortable, and we greatly appreciated it.

7:38 p.m.(London Time)- So the flight was supposed to leave at 6:50 no one is exactly sure why the flight is so delayed right now but I guess I'll just get settled and comfortable because I've got a ten hour flight ahead of me...

7:53 p.m.(London Time)- Well the pilot just announced that one of the flight attendants is sick so they need to get a replacement crew member which I guess means we have about an hour until we can leave London, I'm feeling so so exhausted but I'm trying my best to stay awake so that I will sleep during the flight

9:41 p.m.(London Time)- WOOHOOO! We are finally in the air and it is beyond exciting! We took off at 9:28 p.m. which was about 2 hours behind schedule but that's ok because the pilot thinks we will be able to make up lost time in the air. While its kind of a bummer that we're behind schedule we did get to see a beautiful and vibrant sunset over the city of London which was a great way to say good-bye to my first day in an international city!

Day #1: Leaving on a Jet Plane

The first day of my trip was full of anticipation, excitement and lots of waiting! I woke up in the morning full of energy and looking forward to the long awaited trip! I kept saying "I'm leaving for Africa today!" and to anyone who would listen, "Can you even believe it!?!" I myself couldn't even believe it. My Mom and I ran around picking up last minute necessities, a first aid kit, a mirror, a comb, a toothbrush, shower shoes, and work goggles and with barely anytime left I was all packed and ready to go! I took my last true shower and savored every second because I knew it would be weeks before I experienced that kind of clean again. Then I put on my "BG Mission Trip to Africa" t-shirt and with my little sister and my mother we drove to BG so I could meet the group and we could head off to the airport. Families and friends were all gathered together in the courtyard of the school helping to load the bus and weigh our bags (mine weighed in at 41.2 lb.s 8.8 lb.s underweight which meant I could fit some donation items into my personal bag). At last it was 3 O'clock, and so I said good-bye to my sister, mother and my father and boarded the bus (photo to upper left).

Our flight was departing from the Boston Logan Airport at 9:30 p.m., and we, the 17 students and 4 adult chaperons, arrived at the airport at 3:30. While it took us a considerable amount of time to unload all of our personal bags (one per person) and all of our donation bags (one or two per person) we still managed to make it through security and customs with about 5 hours to spare. This was just the beginning of the waiting we would experience on our mission trip, those 5 hours were spent eating airport food, playing huge card games on the floor, reading books and chatting away (photo above)! Finally 9:30 p.m. came around and it felt like we had been waiting for days, boarding onto the plane took forever, we boarded by row and since we were a large group majority of us were in the back of plane so we were some of the last to board! We settled into our seats and after all the waiting and craziness, I was finally flying through the air on my way to Africa! So I closed my eyes and slept (right through dinner!) all through the 7 hour plane ride, and when I woke up it was breakfast in London!

I'm Home!

It has been almost two months since I returned home from Zambia. I came home with so many new perspectives and opinions. I cannot even express the influence this trip has had on my life. Three and a half weeks immersed in a culture so foreign to me has forever altered my view on living. Zambia is a country that is rich in spirit but poor in money, and as cliche as it sounds there is only truth in that statement. The people of Zambia are kind and welcoming, they were inspiring. However, these wonderful souls live in a state of poverty unlike any other and it is absolutely heart wrenching to watch. During my stay in Africa I visited a Catholic High School, multiple primary schools, and an orphanage. These are experiences that will stay with my forever.
Throughout my trip I kept a journal, and while I was not as diligent with my entries as I had hoped I am going to post something detailing everyday I was there. In addition to the journal posts I have photos that I am going to share. I hope that this information from my trip can inspire you as they have inspired me.
In Zambia I learned how fortunate I am. I met people who wake up not knowing when they will have their next meal and I wake up every morning with an abundance of food at my disposal. I met people who have one or two outfits to get them through the year and I have a closet full of clothes that I should appreciate much more than I do. I met young children without blankets or stuffed animals and as a child I was never without a toy. I met children who used grocery bags for backpacks and when I was in grade school I had a new backpack every year. I met people who, even though they had nothing, told me they were grateful and appreciative for what God had blessed them with. All I can hope is that God blesses me the way He has blessed them, because then I too will be a very lucky person.

Today's the Day!

Today, June 15, 2010, I am leaving for Zambia! I cannot even describe the excitement I am feeling. In two hours I will be leaving for the airport in Boston. I am all packed (finally!) and hopefully I did not forget anything! This experience seems surreal to me! At this moment I feel like the luckiest person alive. I know it is not the typical way to spend the summer, but in all honesty there is nowhere else that I would rather be. I cannot imagine how amazing this will be and I am so so excited to get to Zambia and meet all the children and families.
This trip is a big deal for me and I hope that with everything I do I can make the most out of it, there is so much to learn from a mission trip like this one and I am very fortunate to have this experience!

I will be gone for 3 and a half weeks (until July 9th) and during my time in Africa I won't have access to Internet or computer (or phones). So I will be writing in a journal everyday my experiences and memories and when I get back I will post the journal and pictures that I will be taking! So this it, I'll be back later!

A Quarter Sized Challenge

When traveling in or to Africa there are many different precautions that need to be taken. One of the most important parts of this is making sure the traveler has received all the necessary shots and immunizations and vaccinations. When preparing myself, I went to a Travel Medicine Clinic. There I received 5 shots for various different diseases ranging from Typhoid to H1N1. In addition to these immunizations I received two prescriptions and a LOT of information on the area I will be traveling to and its history of infectious diseases, how to prevent them, and tips to staying safe.
When traveling out of the country, especially to areas like Africa or less developed areas, it is so important to find a respected and reliable center for Infectious Diseases and Travel Medicine. I was so grateful for the center where I got all of my treatments because they really educated me not only on what I was being protected from but why it was so important. One of the most serious diseases I am at risk of because of this trip is Malaria. The vaccination for this was a shot and also pills. The pills are supposed to be taken 1 week from entry into the country and then once weekly while there and weekly for a month upon arrival back into America.
This is the biggest challenge for me so far. The malaria tablets are a little smaller than a quarter and I need to start taking them today. While this shouldn't seem to be a problem it is because I have never been able to swallow pills, not even baby aspirin or tic tacs (I have been trying to practice with tic tacs, and unfortunately have been unsuccessful...). This is yet another obstacle for me. I overcame the first, which was shots. I have had a huge fear and dislike of shots, but when I got the shots for Africa I just had to suck it up because I knew that there were parents dying and suffering everyday so their children could receive such vaccinations. Now, I need to swallow these Malaria pills, so wish me luck and I'll let you know how it goes!

Getting Ready

It seems that the closer I get to finally leaving for Africa, the more I learn about it. I am grateful and blessed to know many people so willing to share experience with me. There are so many different aspects to taking an international trip, especially a mission trip in Africa. I received my travel visa the other day, a document that allows me double entry into the country as a volunteer worker. Without this document I would not be able to attend this trip. When I opened my passport and saw the official stamp from the Embassy of the Republic of Zambia joy and relief and excitment overwhelmed my every thought. At my school we have been running a drive (fundraiser) to collect items we need to bring to Malole for the High School. We have also been having meetings to prepare ourselves for the environment we will be immersing ourselves in. The lifestyle that the Zambians live is one that none of us (myself included) are accustomed to. The possibility of not having water, all different types of wild animals, no control in regard to temperature, sicknesses and diseases, as well as diet and hygiene differences. This trip is all about discovering and learning a new culture and then helping to improve it; to enhance the natural beauty and unique quality of this community. On this trip, we will be rebuilding dormitories in St. Francis High School, we will be painting classrooms, organizing the library, attending mass, and helping out in the classroom with English and math and computers and more!

I have no words to describe how appreciative I am for the chance to finally give something back to community who needs it. I am lucky to wake up everyday and be able to shower, eat, drive, go to a school with heat and air conditioning. I am lucky to wake up everyday with both of my parents alive and neither suffering from AIDs. I am lucky to wake up everday and not have immense worries bearing down on me. Most of all, however, I am grateful that I have the opportunity to travel to Zambia and meet extraordinary people with a motivational story and an inspirational philosophy on life.