FAQ's

Jambo!  I can't believe it's December 1st!  I pushed the submit button at work yesterday even though they extended the deadline to Friday due to server slowness the last few days and I called in my own snow day today.  I'm so excited to be able to spend this snowy day on this little blog-o-mine.

As more and more people see this blog I'm getting lots of good questions so I thought this would be a great time to answer and share.  My sister called me a week or so ago and said she just got caught up on my blog and asked if I was superwoman because she doesn't know how I am doing all of the reading, blogging, hiking, bicycle riding, going to class, doing my homework, working full-time, holidays, vaccination and dental appointments, ongoing Africa prep, etc.  Good question and I can only say it is by the grace of God.  I have never had so much on my plate nor have I ever had to budget my time so carefully but I'm definitely not complaining because wow, I'm so committed and invested in this and I am unbelievably blessed to have the support of a very loving husband and family!

So on to more FAQ's:

What does Mzungu mean?
- It loosely translates to "white wanderer" in Kinyarwanda which is the language spoken in Rwanda.  The plural form is wazungo/wuzungo/wzungo.

What will you eat when you're working at the orphanage?
-  I will be eating the same meals as everyone else in the orphanage which is a rice/bean/porridge/soup-type dish.  They cannot afford to eat meat.

Where will you sleep?
- I've been told I can sleep at the orphanage or I can walk the kilometer back to the hospital every night.

What is the luggage situation?
- We get 2 pieces of luggage at 50 lbs. each plus a carryon however, 1 piece of luggage will be devoted primarily to medical supplies and topped off with some orphanage supplies.  On our last night of the medical mission the children at the orphanage perform a cultural dance for the team and in turn we provide s'mores for the party.  The s'more supplies and some donated laptops will be parsed out amongst our carryon luggage.

Will you be updating your blog/posting pictures to FB while in Africa?
- In Rwanda they have RwandaTel so I will take hubby's cell phone and see if I can pull off a technological feat.  We were able to use hubby's cell phone on our middle eastern cruise and in Oman.  Bottom line, don't hold your breath but rest assured I'll be posting tons of pictures when I get home.  

Some Swahili words and phrases to be used in Kenya and on safari:

Jambo = hello
Kwaheri = good-bye
Hakuna Matata = no problem
Kupiga Picha = take a picture
Simba = lion
Punda Milia = zebra
Gnu = wildebeest

Kwaheri family and friends!