Mailing costs

I went to the post office today to get an estimate on the cost of mailing and it is as follows (keep in mind this is from Charlotte): 4 oz. is $5, 8 oz. is $9, 12 oz. is $13, and 16 oz. is $17 so that pound of candy can be pricey. You also have to fill out a customs form. They might also like to get your local magazines and local high school publications if there are any. I might be tempted to make her a t-shirt that says, "I survived the Chobe Chuckapalooza" as she was one of the ones spending the night in the 'loo.

Hi everyone,

The night before last, 2:30am, the phone rang here. Before my feet hit the ground Gary said "it's Morgn". Hooray, we had a great talk with a clear connection. She shared some of the same information you have heard from your girls, and said the Salt Pan was the highlight of the trip so far. She has also updated her blog, where she talks about singing songs with the guys who poled the dug out canoes. On the phone she said she got to try and pole the canoe and it was very difficult. The guide in her boat gave her at totem, which she explained as a special name or designation in the Shona culture, her totem was dik dik...a very small antelope.

We did hear some about the "chobe chuck fest" At this point it was cause for more laughter than distress.

She shared that she and Mariel already have plan to take a road trip around the country to visit "TTS girls" after they are home. "We'll either have a southern trip or western trip" :) ... How exciting it is to see them becoming independent, confident women in the world.

The videos are awesome. Alice's birthday makes me cry every time!! - Thanks to all for sharing.

Kathy

Maun

Hello All,

Well all the photos, videos and Gennifre's poem made me tear up several times! What a beautiful thing to see. I spoke with Mariel yesterday and today! What a miracle! She says they are having a great time in Maun after their trip to the Okavanga Delta. She was most impressed with the zebras they saw yesterday morning on the way back from the delta. She says the Merecats are much smaller than they look on TV and really friendly. She has decided that Baboons are really dirty nasty creatures at times! Mariel says they had a wonderful night out on the salt flat at Planet Baobab sleeping on pads and that they did a wonderful ritual together where they all held hands at night in a circle then they all turned around and faced out then broke the circle and walked as far as they had to into the darkness to not be able to see another person. At that point she says it was miraculously quiet and wonderful with a beautiful sky filled with stars. She also says the the sun looks different there. It is not like the sun from America. It is a huge disc and you can look almost straight at it when it sets and rises. She has taken many pictures of the sunrise and sunset. Also, she says Baobab trees are incredible and that she took photos of all the girls in a tree that is over 4,000 years old.

Mariel says she has lots of homework and is learning that her capacity for organization is more than what she thought and that classes are fun and going well. She espeically loves her languages of Africa class. She says all the girls are healthy right now and that they will be going to Namibia tomorrow. They have a new truck driver, PaPa. He will be with them the rest of the trip. She says the food is outrageous in that the have plenty and for all of you who have vegetarians on the trip like she is, there are vegetarian selections at every meal. So that's the Maun report from Mariel! Take care all, Kim

News from Maun

Alice had a lot to tell us yesterday about what they had been doing since we talked from Livingstone. She had one of "the best birthdays ever" at the school, being with the children, helping with the plastering, and then the children sang Happy birthday and threw a bucket of water over her...a tradition apparently, which she said was just what she needed at the end of a hot day!!
Another great highlight was the salt pan "the size of Switzerland", where they slept under the stars all bundled up in extra warm bedding as it was freezing cold. It was SO quiet, the stars SO bright, the sunrise stunning, "It was magical".
They did a walking safari which was fascinating as they got a completely different perspective from being on wheels, footprints, scat, insects and always the excitement of what might be around the next corner!!
Seeing the elephant, hippos and of course the lion eating an elephant carcass was "so cool", but then Alice's love for anything on 4 legs surpasses all else!! The stomach bug did not feature much only that most of them had spent one night on the floor close to the "loo"..."it was the best place to be"
It seems that all fun, busy and cool with the girls, they seem to make friends wherever they go, i hope all is well with all of you.
Caroline

A poem for the girls...

I wrote this poem for the girls and read it to them on the truck in Zambia before I got on the plane home...

Getting on a plane and flying away,
is so very difficult, but knowing you'll stay
to play and to learn and to love and to grow,
and fall in love with this place I love so...

Whitney, your leader, so loving and strong,
Chrissie, with confidence - helping nothing go wrong,
Leah, so thorough, so kind and so quick,
Shannon, so happy - being here is a kick.

You've already done so much in such a short time,
tents, money belts, full backpacks and synched time.
Learning the cadence of this daily life,
understanding how to deal with poverty and strife.

Margo, so sweet and open to all,
Mariel, so gentle and standing so tall,
Nicole, asking her great questions with a quick grin,
and Laurel, quietly smiling while taking it in.

How to tell people back home about what you see?
Naughty monkeys? Laughing children waving with glee?
Eating breakfast on the Zambezi enjoying your bread,
while a mighty elephant crashes through trees with its head.

Alexa, the free spirit, with positive feeling,
Alexis, her passion will break down the ceiling,
Sarah, so open and kind to us all,
Kendall, so thorough and watching it all.

Alice, so helpful and such a good friend,
Morgan hoping the semester won't end!
Phoebe so strong with her super happy grin,
Amsara, our diva, taking each experience in,
and Allegra engaged in each moment she's in...

And so many adventures still left to do...
Elephants, kayaking, perhaps a cheetah or two?
The journey you're on is completely your own,
and when you return - your mind will be blown
with all that you've learned and now want to share
since you'll have just been in African air.

And know that I'll miss each of you so much,
and I hope that you will all stay in touch...

(Thank you for sharing your daughters with us - they are amazing!)
-Gennifre

Photo Reflections

Hi everyone,
I agree that the pictures were wonderful. I find myself revisiting them regularly. We have not heard from Morgan for about a week. Her last communication was a blog that outlined animal sightings.... we continue to hear words like amazing and incredible.....I don't know about the rest of you but I check this blog and e-mails daily(at least). I think it gives me a way to feel connected and I appreciate everything that folks are sharing.

We continue to track the group's progress with maps and through internet searching whenever we get specifics about their location. Multiple generations of our family are learning about the world as we follow the girls. Morgan's Grandma reported that she spent over an hour in Chobe National Park the other day!! Good wishes to everyone. Kathy

Being Independent

The photos were wonderful and reassuring. Mariel had a huge smile several times and I loved seeing them all working together to make things happen. Mariel has not communicated much as she is trying to be independent (a point she made to me when she left, nothing personal Mom) She did say she got through the virus quickly and that she is doing wonderful. Hopefully, when they are in Maun I will hear more. I do know she is working hard and having a great time. I think for her, at least, when she has these types of experiences she holds them close and things come out over time as we live together again. So I always look forward to spending time with her when she returns. I hope you are all having a wonderful fall and enjoying the colors wherever you are! Kim

Wasn't it fantastic to see our girls in Africa! Wow! Alexa is doing well, except for that virus and a little missing me. Most of her emails contain "it was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen".The pictures really connect for me "what" she is doing. I would love to hear how your daughters are doing. Be well, Kathy aka Alexa's Mom.

For those who thirst

Actually, I just wanted to get Sarah's photo lower. I didn't realize it would be so big. I was just trying to help people connect a name to a face...

I found it helpful to read through some of the TTS12 parent blog to get an idea of all the things they did and how they changed.

News from Livingstone II

Thank you for the details Caroline, Alice was much more detailed. Sounds like they are seeing so much. Glad to know about the orphanage etc. Mariel says she is doing wonderful and that her roommate who was bitten by the monkey is dong fine. She said they had a 6 hour truck ride to Livingstone and asked about her brother then had to get off because they were using someone's cell phone and there was a long line of girls. A quick I love you and off she went. No e-mails from her either so I was glad to see why they have chosen not to do that in your note. I was so happy to hear the lilt in Mariel's voice and to know that she is wonderful is all that is important. Take good care!

Kim

News from Livingstone

I feel sure that everyone must have heard from their daughters by now; Alice was very concerned that we didn't talk for too long as there was a queue of others needing to use the phone too!! Alice was positive about everything, Lake Kariba, seeing the animals (elephant, Hippo, crocs, impala and the fish eagle "I got a photo of it for you Daddy, but it was quite far away"), the camping, the truck, making toast on the fire and even the school work, "because we are learning about where we are"!! Everyone and everything was "cool"! We couldn't have had a happier and more enthusiastic voice down the phone.
They were off to Victoria falls yesterday and to visit an orphanage on Monday, which she thought was going to be a perfect way to celebrate her birthday, apparently two others on the trip have birthdays this week too. She said the internet access was slow and expensive...no time for that...boring, so no emails for the time being from Alice!!
Alice's first impressions "Africa is amazing"
Caroline

Communication

Hi All,

I just spoke with Jennifer about past parent communication protocol as I don't want to be stepping over any bounds and she really encouraged me to just use the blog. I am sorry about the reply all messages on e-mail as I do know, like me, many of you have work e-mail, many may not use e-mail at all etc. Thanks for your patience.

Some news form Africa...Jennifer said she had talked with Leah today and that the girls had a great cultural exchange at the school they visited and that everyone was feeling up and getting ready for dinner.

Take care,

Kim

The begining of the adventure

Here are a few photos, especially for those who were not in Washington, of the girls and one of parents/sisters looking on!! The teachers did an excellent job of making some apprehensive faces smile and laugh and now they are on Lake Kariba...what a transformation!! As others have said, Google earth does give some idea of where they are, but other than this we'll have to wait a while.

Caroline

Kaiba Error

Hello!

My friend who had been in Zambia and told me about the power not being generated from the dam at Kariba just wrote to say that her info is outdated and that power is now being generated there. So correction noted.

I hope all are well on this fine Sunday.

Take care,

Kim

Google Earth is Fun Too!

Hi all,

Gary and Kathy are right you can find all kinds of things on the internet. I used Google Earth to look at the lake. It is huge! You can zoom right down to the shore line and see small houses or villages.

It was such a pleasure to meet all the wonderful girls on this trip in Washington DC. They were all so excited and full of life. A few tears were flowing but in general everything was terrific. The teachers were great and I truly enjoyed meeting all the other parents that came. If anyone would like to visit please feel free to e-mail me.

I am just so thrilled that all of our girls get to build a community to learn and grow in together!

Cheers and blessings to all,

Kim Colvin

Bird's eye view

Hi Folks, Gary and I have been having fun looking at satelite images of Lake Kariba . We used Virtual Globetrotter and were able to find the airport in Lukasa. We then scanned south and found the lake. You can get a good look at the shoreline. We were also able to see Victora Falls. Pretty amazing !!!

And They're Off

I just watched your girls as they made their way through security at the airport. They felt a mixture of eagerness to set out on their new adventure and trepidation to be taking such a big step away from what's familiar. Over the course of three and 1/2 months, we will all be traveling vicariously along with them. If you have news from the group, please share it here. The other parents will be grateful. Meanwhile, I'll keep you posted.

Thanks for sharing your daughters with us at The Traveling School.

Jennifer