developments in communication

the main form of speech we've been practicing while here is 'baby talk.'

just-over-1-year-olds are fun to play with and then turn back over to
their mamas. ;)

we have two here-J and M. yesterday, we played in the wash water. then
we did 1-2-3-whee with M. J likes playing with the big rubber ball.
Both enjoy hide and seek around the sofas. and M enjoys watching Aunt
Chrissy and Aunt Jennifer 'play' volleyball. J gives cheesy
grins--really cheesy grins: he's gonna be some flirt in the future. M
likes bananas--a LOT. Well, he basically likes food in general.

and now, for your practice:
'bup pwese' = up please
'iit, iit' = sit
'ooter, ooter' = water
'oo waay!' = no way!
'mup pwese' = more please

shout-out to Brittany

Chrissy is thankful for:
-sunshine and warmth and no jiggers yet. And hot water and new friends.
-old friends that I cannot wait to see!! And easy communication and
lots of water.

Jennifer is thankful for:
-Internet that is actually working today, pumpkin pie even in the
wilderness, and a calmed down stomach.
-Internet. Period.

Holidays. All of 'em.

We went to Boston in the Fall...for Columbus Day, in fact.


We went to Alabama for Halloween...

And now we're spending Thanksgiving in Uganda. No turkey involved. :-P

Pictures when we have Internet again. (I'm actually writing this before we leave...so don't get all excited about there being new pictures...yet...although, there might be. Who knows.)

I'm old

What better way to spend your birthday than in the hot African sun,
eating fresh tortillas, and playing with Malachi...after *finally*
learning to french braid your own hair?

That was my day.

--

http://jennimarie.com

We're Here (And no Internet)

We're alive. Bambino is Chrissy's favorite dog. Nala isn't cute
anymore (and apparently she heard me say so, beacuse she doesn't like
me anymore. hehe). And, yes, Internet is even slower than I remember
it.

The moral of the story? We're alive and getting tanned. =D

Seeing.

By the time you read this, we'll have spent some time in the London airport, eaten lots of airplane food, and probably have had at least one fight with the stewardess. :-P

But.

It will be all worth it because this is what we'll be seeing...

(Nala, but much much much bigger by now)

(Syd and Andrea ... PLUS Malachi now that he's born!)

(Lots of people. Lots and lots of people.)

(And soon, a real live African sunrise.)

speechless

going to a foreign country? wondering what to say? why not start with 'hello'??

here is what we'll be practicing on the plane. and if you practice while we're gone, we'll be sure to correct your pronunciation when we return.

after all, no one likes to hear 'hello' misspoken. ;)

Good Morning: Wasuze otya nno?
Hi: Ki kati (the ki is pronounced Chi)
How are you?: Oli Otya
I am ok: Gyendi (the g here is pronounced like a j)
Have nice day: Siiba bulungi (the g like a j)
Please: Mwattu
Thank you: Weebale
And if a lion doesn't eat you, say Thank you very much: Weebale Nnyo
Always a good phrase: Do you speak English?: Omanyi olungereza
I don't understand: Sitegeera
Please speak slowly: Ekigambo ekyo kimpandiikire
And finally, a useful phrase in any language: I do not have any money: Sirina Sente

Read this in a British accent

This has been your Thursday evening entertainment hosted live by Chrissy and Jennifer.  We hope you have enjoyed our program and are looking forward to future episodes. Please stay tuned as our upcoming installments will have a rather spontaneous schedule.

Get a good nights sleep and put an extra hour in there for us.

Over. And. Out.

Is anybody there? Does anybody care?

Enough yet? (Part 2)

Enough yet?

Enjoying our mobile podting? Thanks to smartphoneds we are too. (Qwerty boars are not my forte!)
And of course, the obligatory 'we made it thru security, we going for real!!s!! picture is attached.

The maze

Chrissy navigates with three suitcases...leaving me with three tubs and a suitcase. She gets to roll the bigger carryon now. Payback.

Locked and loaded

Chrissy's parting wisdom to her roommate: 'Eat my mushrooms!'

Almost gone

So here we go. Last minute rearranging (and making sure our ten pounds of british money is easily accessible for tomorrow mornings airport stop) before Brittany comes to take us to the airport.

Excitement today:
-the last long hot shower for a long time (short or cold, here we come)
-the last bed until after 24 hours of airplanes (ewww)
-being pseudo celebrities at Chrissy's workplace because everyone's following the blog (we feel shpecial)
-being commissioned by almost *everyone* to give one hug to Syd, one to Andrea, and a bazillion to Malachi (that's a lotta hugs, btw)
-the last Chick fil a milkshake until after we return (can we wait thaaaat long?)
-making sure that all the extra boxes are under the weight limit (they are)
-fiiinalllly being *so close* to Uganda.
-cleaning the bathroom mere hours before an int'l flight (be happy, Kara! Its done!)

Thanks, Mommy

Chrissy IM'd me this morning: "don't forget your passport and plane ticket"

What does she think I am, dumb or something?

the worst part of travel

I detest packing.

In theory, packing is fun. It signifies the start of your trip, the paring down to bare essentials, a mental challenge to make everything fit, to ensure you have everything.

In practice, packing is miserable. It's a constant fight against my controlling nature, my desire for comfort and fashion, my fear of the unknown. Thankfully, a practical friend was here to be my naysayer. Sometimes her skeptical look is all I need to stop my crazed thinking.

As Harry Truman once said about leaving the White House, "If I'd known how much packing I'd have to do, I'd have run again."

For me, if I'd known the logistical nightmare involved in packing for a Ugandan summer and a London winter, perhaps I would have...skipped London?

...

Naw.

So now, back to packing. Maybe a movie would help...

PS--if you google packing list, amazing and astonishing things pop up. And this is by far one of the best/funniest. Donate money to help people pack less?? Sounds more like a wallet-thinning operation than a bag-thinning one. ;)

funny people

Funny people think up things like this:

Here's a solution to all the controversy over full-body scanners at the airports. Have a booth that you can step into that will not X-ray you, but will detonate any explosive device you may have on you.

It would be a win-win for everyone, there would be none of this garbage about racial profiling, and this method would eliminate a long and expensive trial. Justice would be quick and swift. Case Closed!

This is so simple that it's brilliant. I can see it now: you're in the airport terminal and you hear a muffled explosion. Shortly thereafter an announcement comes over the PA system:

"Attention standby passengers, we now have a seat available on flight number..."

So. My coworkers are jealous. Even if they won't admit it. (Right guys? :-P)

But should I be concerned when they start serenading me? Are they so excited to be done with me for three weeks that they're left singing to me? Or are they, well, seeing one too many white walls?

"Weeee are the wooooorld, weeeee are the fuuuuturrrrre"
(It was a duet, mind you. Kind of disturbing, too.)

"You should watch the movie Avatar before you go...that's what I imagine Africa will be like." - Anonymous Coworker

"Jenn, if you bring back a cheetah, that'd be awesome" - Coworker Who Will Remain Anonymous

"You better eat all you can of those muffins...they won't have Mrs. Fields in UGANDA..." - Unidentified Coworker

Call Me Father Christmas

I just wrote a really long post about how I packed last night, how I will be Santa Claus when I arrive in Uganda with four tubs of gifts, supplies, and junk food, and how much I enjoy this process...even though its a logistical nightmare.

But.

Blogger ate my post.

So instead, I'm just going to let the pictures speak for themselves.

Cuz words can't do it justice.

tidbits and weblinks

Movies are always fun to find, especially these.

Restaurants are even better to find.

Like this one, a true hole-the-wall that cracks me up. Alma's. With a name like that, who needs Mom's Diner?

Or this one, in the London neighborhood of Fitzrovia. What an awesome name--both the restaurant and the location. Fitzrovia. I'm excited to go there. Though probably not to the Crazy Bear restaurant. Looks a little expensive for going without a date to pay for the meal.

Has anyone noticed that it's hard to find a English restaurant in London? Apparently the stories about English food are so true that even the English don't want to eat it. But there is the Bumpkin--I would go there just for the name.

A non-schedule!

Only a select few get to know the details of our whereabouts. We're practicing to be Michael Westin.

But here's an abbreviated version of

The Itinerary

We leave.

We're in Uganda for a while. We might see these and these, and we will see
this and this.

Then we go to London for an shorter while.

Then we come home.

"Attention: Your Trip to Entebbe, Uganda is about to Begin"

I just got an email. Now, granted, I get lots of emails. But this email was particularly exciting.

It was from TripIt.com.

Subject:

Your trip to Entebbe, Uganda is about to begin

Oh oh oh.
Really???
Reeeeeallllllyyy????

I've been in Canada for the past few days (another story for another day) and while I've been gone, Chrissy has been telling you how Africa has become a part of her heart ... and now her life. And, actually, I didn't know most of the story. I mean, I knew the story...but I didn't know the story. I knew the facts, but I didn't piece it all together to see the whole picture. Its amazing to me to see how its all come together, how we have both gone from don't-send-me-to-Africa-EVER to being-so-excited-we're-dancing-around-our-respective-offices-annoying-our-coworkers.

I'm inspired. (Also by her use of colors.)

I'm going to try write my Africa story.
After I finish getting over Canadian jetlag.
And before I actually get on the next airplane.
And while I'm panicking about all the packing that needs to be done.

2 years later...

I was inspired to do Go ED. I was going to spend a summer in Africa. It was going to be awesome. Plus, I would be the first PHC student to study abroad in Africa. Perhaps I'd make it on the website!

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord." (Jer. 29.11)

Unfortunately, God's plans for me did not include Go ED. PHC wouldn't approve it.

So I was left with a newfound interest in East Africa, yet with nowhere to direct that interest. Suddenly, senior year hit. I studied, I wrote, I played, I wrote, I worked, I wrote. I went to Mexico with my family. I got my first 'real' job. I helped plan multiple weddings. I graduated.

Meanwhile, God wouldn't let Africa slip off my radar. In the midst of my senior year, Jennifer spent several months working with Syd and Andrea at Musana Camps in Uganda (yes, where we are going!). I kept hearing from fellow FH interns about various plans to visit Africa, some through Go ED. Right after I graduated, a co-worker left to spend a year in Ghana. World Magazine kept featuring articles on the African church.

Then, in October 2009, there was a brief IM conversation that had long-term consequences.

Now, I am going to Africa. And God-incidentally, to the exact country that initially piqued my interest in Africa over two years ago.

"in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them." (Ps. 139.16)

The Switch

I never gave much thought to Africa. Let other people worry about Africa--I would be a missionary to Europe. Or India. Or Russia. Somewhere not hot and dusty and poor.

You may laugh at my childish understanding of world affairs.

I can’t pinpoint the exact beginning of my change of heart. Perhaps it was the African boy my family sponsored through Compassion. Perhaps it was the Geography Bee at age 12 that required me to learn the names of African countries. Perhaps it was the many places my dad took us, slowly opening my eyes to the wonder of travel and people and cultures. Perhaps it was the few mentions of Africa in my International Relations class, or my Comparative politics class--or that other upper-lever night class, where we sat in a circle and talked with Dr. Baskerville about places far and wide. And wrote papers. The longest papers I had ever written to that point.

I can list the exact point where my interest in Africa--specifically East Africa, even more specifically Uganda and Rwanda--started. In 2008, I spent a summer with the Food for the Hungry internship program (which, ironically, no longer exists). While there, I learned about FH’s Go ED. program (which, even more ironically, also no longer exists). Basically, Go ED. was a study abroad program run by FH that sent students to a couple different countries in East Africa over the course of a semester.

And of course, being surrounded by former and prospective Go ED. students, I heard the stories, saw the pictures, and was inspired. I wanted to do Go ED. Even if that meant going to Africa.

The summer of 2008 was life-changing for me.

Partly because that summer, I changed my mind about Africa.

one week.

in one week, we will be waking up in the tropics.

where will you be?

Africa? Really?

I was the kid who prayed

“Dear God, please don’t ever send me to Africa. I’ll do anything else, but not Africa. Please.”

I’m not sure why. I guess I thought Africa would be a hot, dusty, unfriendly, bug-and disease-ridden torture chamber, eerily reminiscent of that eternal destination that is also hot. In my childish eyes, only missionaries who were either very holy or very desperate went to Africa. You know, the ones who wanted to be a missionary at all costs, even if it meant going to {insert the place you prayed against as a kid here}. Why would anyone ever want to go there?

Don’t judge me. I was a kid. And the great thing about being a kid is that you change.

‘When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.’ (1 Cor. 13.11)

Right on, Paul.

So now, in a week, I will be in Africa. And I’m excited. Like, actually almost-jumping-out-of-my-skin, sometimes-I-can’t-sleep excited (the I-CAN’T-sleep excited will come on Wednesday next week). What gives? I’m not very holy (ask my car. as it heard me ranting about P-ville traffic this morning). I’m not very desperate either; at this point in my life, God has not called me to be a full-time missionary and I’m perfectly ok with that. Moreover, we didn't even start out planning a missions trip--it was just a way to use two weeks of vacation time!

Well, it’s kinda a long story. That I am beginning today and finishing tomorrow. And maybe Sunday too. I mean, Jennifer’s in Canada right now and I kinda doubt she’ll have time to post.

So you get to read my rambling thoughts for a couple days.

Tough luck, I know.

a mango tale.

tonight i ate a mango.

it will not be hard for the mangos in africa to beat that mango.

they need only be ripe.

Dear Mom. Don't Read This. Love, Chrissy and Jennifer.

I'm just wondering: is this normal? Because if not, I might have to commit my traveling companion to an insane asylum (or insanisylum, as my childhood brain always spelled it). Soon.

Applications for a trip to Uganda and London now being accepted. Must be able to travel under the alias of "Jennifer Pinkerton." Apply before reading the following stories.

True conversations.
5 days ago
Jennifer: "not something to show your mom :-P"

And then she sends this link.

My response? "holy. cow."

Today
Jennifer: "don't show this to your mom"
And again, another crazy link.

I responded with "lol."

Read that again. "lol." Really, Schneider? In the face of rioting students and smashed windows, you laugh?

Obviously, I was so scared that I thought she was joking.

Normal?
Now, I just have to wonder: is this normal? To search out scary news stories about the places you are traveling, share them with your companion, traumatize her with the possibilities of death, disease, and kidnapping, and then tell her NOT to share those with her mother, who is possibly her strongest encourager of stick-to-something-you've-paid-thousands-of-dollars-for???

Mom, Read This.
In close, for all the mothers in the audience: weren't you young and carefree and invincible once? Sure, you were wrong, but please. Let us enjoy our youth.

And remember, moms: our kids will follow our foolhardy youthful examples and travel the world someday. If we survive to have kids. And when that happens, we will wish we had listened to our mothers.

Addendum.
In further close, I'd like to point out these wonderful articles:

• Frommer's Favorite Travel Stories.
• Health News from Uganda.
• Horrible, horrible things about London.
  

Mobile Post?

This is a test of mobile posting...will it work?

Good job, Mr. Bank Man

"Okay, class, who has a travel-related story to tell?"

[jumps up and down]

"Ooh ooh ooh! Pick me! Pick me! Pick me!"

"Well, Jennifer, I think you must have a story, you should tell it!"

"Ohhhh, whaaat a relief. I thought I'd buuurst if I didn't tell this story!"

[takes a deep breath]

"So here's what happened to me this morning. I was calling my bank and credit card company to give them "travel notification" so I can use my debit and credit card while abroad. Seems easy enough, right? In fact, my credit card company was super duper easy. I didn't even have to talk to anyone. Thats ALWAYS a good day, right? Especially when dealing with grumpy customer service repts.

"Well, it didn't go so well when I called my bank. Ugggh. I had to be on hold AND navigate the menu AND give them ALLLLL my personal information. Here's hoping its not a scamm. Cuz if so, they have everything they need to reeeally ruin my day.

"Also. The guy was a complete moron. Sorr, Mr. Bank Man, but its true. Here's how it happened."

I need your 16 digit account number.
Okay, here it is.
Oh wait, I think I missed a number. Could you repeat yourself?
[I did]
Oh, I found it. Yeah, now i've got it. Thank you, Ms. Peterson. (Aside: PETERSON?!?!? Can he NOT. EVEN. Read?!?!)
So where will you be traveling?
Canada, England, Uganda.
Canada...mmmm...okay. United Kingdom...got it...Uganda? I've never heard of that country before. (Aside: HAVE YOU NEVER STUDIED GEOGRAPY?! You obviously weren't homeschooled. Sheesh.)
Thank you.
Now is that all the countries you're visiting?
Yes sir, thats all. (But ohmyword, thought I, is three countries in 3.5 weeks not enough?? Eeeeeee.)

And THAT is what happened when I called my bank.

Too Much Adventure, Perchance?

(source)

Just off the shore of my everyday life
Only a heartbeat away
Adventure is pulling up anchor tonight
I’ve got no time to delay

I had an idea. A brilliant idea. A fabulously marvelously brilliant idea. I sent Chrissy the link, to see what she thought. "Nile High Bungee" seemed to me to be the perfect type of adventure. An epically amazing experience for our epically amazing trip.

I want to sail
Into the sunrise
Right to the edge of the new
Way beyond me, out ‘cross the sea
Into a beautiful truth
A journey awaits
Incredible stories
I’ll live to tell you the tales

But Chrissy wasn't as enthusiastic. She shot down that idea super super super fast. Faster even than it took me to tell her about it. Faster than I thought possible. I wasn't even done telling her and she said. No. No. No. Really loud. And more than slightly emphatically.

What a spoil sport.

"A blog is the only possible context in which I would ever include the words "Chrissy" and "bungee jumping' in the same sentence." quoth she.

See, thats why she's my friend. And that's why its good I have her around. She makes sure I don't do stupid things. Stupid things like bungee jumping over the Nile. Because whatever adventure I have, I'd really really really rather live to tell about it.

But what do you think? Could we convince Chrissy to bungee jump? Or should I not even try?

(The song is by Scott Krippanye. And might become my new theme song. But I have lots of theme songs.)

Original vs. Big

This website is awesome: http://www.visitlondon.com/

On this website, we found several good deals on bus tours of London. And since we are flying all night (12:40am to 6:45am, Entebbe to London) on Dec. 1, we decided a bus tour might just be the thing to do on our first day in London.

Then suddenly, a dilemma: The Original London Sightseeing Tour or the Big Bus Company Tour?

We went with The Original (because what type-A person can resist that name!), since both tours were pretty much the same. In addition to the bus tour, we get 3 free walking tours, a river Thames cruise, and the chance to ride the bus around London for not just 24 hours, but a winter special of 48 hours! That's a whole extra day of riding for the same price just because we're visiting in the winter.

We're smart tourists, we are.

Pop Culture Speaks

A few years ago -- as I was preparing for one of my trips across The Big Pond -- my friend Nick sent me a link to a Toto song. Now, let me clarify: I am not a pop culture aficionado. He is. Plus, while I am *now* pop culturally literate, I am not literate on culture of the past. And, yes, I would say Toto is of the past. (Does that make sense? Or am I pop culturally illiterate again? *Is* he of the past?)

Also. I'm pretty sure the lyrics make no sense at all.

Probably written while on a not-so-proverbial high?

But it has one line. Which aptly describes the situation right now.

"God bless the rains down in Africa."

Cuz right now, it really really really needs to rain at the camp. And preferably before we show up and want to work on our winter tan.

So please pray that it will rain. Now. Soon. Fast. And hard.

God bless the rains down in Africa.

Indispensable

"Who approved that?" is not exactly the phrase you want to hear when you remind your boss(es) that you will be out of town--no, make that out of the country--for 2.5 weeks.

Thankfully, it was a joke.

Being indispensable, however, is no joke. Does anyone else find it scary that my entire 'department-that-is-not-really-a-department' will grind to a halt during my absence? The mere thought of the e-mails I will have waiting in December makes my heart go bam-boom. bam-DOOM.

But what's a few paltry e-mails compared to the awesomeness of me n'Jenn going to Africa? Throw a few days in London in, and my heart goes pitter-patter, pitter-pat, pause (it's stopped in wonder)!

Besides, isn't a vacation supposed to revitalize your motivation for work?

Work--I leave you in 10 days. May you be kind to me until that point.

Africa--I greet you in 11.5 days. May you be even better than I ever imagined.

The Best View Ever

I have two favorites places in the whole wide world. One of them is in the middle of nowhere Virginia. And one of them is in the middle of nowhere Uganda. (Do we sense a pattern, say whaaat?!)

In two short weeks (less than, depending on the actual itinerary once we land in Entebbe), Chrissy will get to experience this view. And I will bask in its beauty once more.

Can you say: FINALLY?!?

I would sit on the ridge -- on my favorite rock -- and look out over the water. I will hear the birds singing. I will feel the hot hot equator sun (yes, I do anticipate a winter tan by the time I get back). I will watch for monkey's in the trees. And I will not want to move. Ever. Nothing can beat this sight. Nothing.

It'll be a little different this time. A lot has changed in the past 18 months. But the view will be the same. And that's all I ask. =)

Me and Malaria. Hopefully not together.

After Chrissy kept telling me about her Mom's concerned emails -- and after I checked my vaccination records, passport expiration date, and State Department travel warnings in the middle of the night THREE times after waking up paranoid that something had gone wrong -- I realized it was about time to start taking action on my...bug patrol.

Yes, bugs.

And not as cute as the butterfly above that I saw last year.

We're talking the big, vicious, scary monsters.

(I didn't take the above image.)

And, more importantly, the disease they can spread to poor unsuspecting tourists.

Malaria.

I decided to call my doctor. She'd give me a prescription, right?

Or not.

"But you haven't been in to see us for two years. You'll have to schedule a full physical with one of our new physicians before we are able to prescribe malaria pills."

Oh reeeeally.

So because I've been healthy for two years, you're going to penalize me for that?!??! Make me do all sorts of blood work and lab tests just for one prescription?!?!

Gooood griiieff.

Grrr.

Who needs the bureaucratic health care system of America? I'm taking matters into my own hands.

I'm buying pills from The Ugandan Chemist.

So there.
:-P

(Oh, and btw, no matter how many times I check my passport expiration date and vaccination records at 3am, its ALWAYS current and valid. Yay me.)

Six-pack...vaccines??

Almost two months ago, I received a trio of e-mails from my mother:

• "Travel to Uganda" (the CDC recommendations for vaccines to visit Uganda)
• "Flu shots" (get a flu shot and what to bring in our first aid kit)
  
• "One more travel item"(don't forget to register with the State Dept!)

Then, a little less than a week later, my favorite email waiting for me after work: "do not swim in fresh water even wade in it in the countries you are going to." (and yes, the message was shorter than the title).

Ahh, my mother loves me. :)

Like a good daughter, I took action. And in honor of completing all the actions she suggested I do, I am posting.

In the past three weeks, I:
-Got malaria medication (did you know Giant stocks that??)
-Registered our trip with the State Dept (the last e-mail they sent me was about the February elections in Uganda...nothing about the UK yet...)
-Received a wonderful first aid starter kit from my mom
-Had 6 (yes, SIX) shots: Yellow Fever, Typhoid, Hep A, Flu, Polio Booster, and Meningitis (as Mom said, "you are going to be one heck of a pin cushion.")
So now, let the countdown begin:

Two. Weeks. And. One. Day.

Boston in the Fall

Above is a Cream Puff. A very large cream puff. A very delicious cream puff. A cream puff being devoured by a very cute Chrissy. A very cute Chrissy who went to Boston with me. A very cute Chrissy who will now tell you all about our trip o Boston In the Fall.

Pictures by Jennifer.
Words by her.

These dudes were deprived. If you noticed how never been to Boston in the fall is a constant theme of the song—and if you’ve been paying any attention to this blog recently—you’ll know where I’m going with this: Boston. In The Fall.

For if those pirates had been invited to Nick and Abby’s wedding, they too would have had the opportunity to visit Boston, in the fall. And instead of a catchy ditty about deprivation of life experiences, they instead would have created a stellar tribute song to Boston in the fall. And what, you ask, would this tribute song include? Well, I can’t speak for the pirates, but mine would include three things:

-The Food. Boston has incredible food. This was probably my absolute most favorite thing about Boston. Whether waiting 45 minutes for the most amazing cream puff in the North End (and quite possibly, in the world), or chowing down on tasty bruschetta in Beacon Hill, or buying fresh fruit for a dollar at Haymarket, or squirming through Quincy Market for pizza, Boston truly gave us its best where food is concerned.

-“The Experience.” This phrase became a euphemism for “look out gals, we’re about to have an adventure.” By ‘adventure,’ of course, I am referring to one of several things. Being Lost. Driving in Boston (despite the warnings in every single guidebook, Boston drivers aren’t that bad. It’s rather like DC, actually). Coming Upon Unexpected yet Interesting Delays (Brooklyn break dancers in Boston? Check. 1980s Olympian running a women’s 10k race? Check). And of course, The Experience in Boston would not be complete without Visiting Every Site Where Paul Revere Possibly Spat His Tobacco.

-The Friends. My travel buddies are super awesome. “You know what I’m talking about??” Without their perkiness, goofiness, and street smarts, Boston would hold much less appeal. “But the key worked.” We trooped around, through, up, and down across Boston and Cape Cod. “My legs…” And every minute was bettered by their presence. “We’re in the pipeline!”

To the three highlights of Boston: May you repeat yourselves again soon!

Girls in Asia...or not...

At 9:07am on August 31, 2009, we began an IM conversation: "Welcome to Monday," I typed. "Hello Monday," she responded.

And so began our day. A normal day, so we thought. Just a typical Monday.

Turns out, it was a very formative day in our lives. In fact, we still talk about that IM conversation...a few lines of text that we exchanged 14 months ago.

me: hey, so we could go to Thailand together next year
that'd be cool, too, huh?

Chrissy: oooh, yeah!!

we should go over labor day or columbus day

so we could make our trip longer by a day at least

me: Columbus Day 2010

Chrissy: nice

me: Girls in Asia

Chrissy: it's a plan

me: Booyah

I really don't think I usually use "Booyah" in a sentence. Somehow, that word makes me think of the Marines. Or being in the Marines. Or a Marine war whoop. (And many apologies to any Marines reading this who are now offended by a) my use of the, b) my misunderstanding of what a war whoop sounds like, or b) my use of the word "war whoop.")

But in this case, thats what I said.

And I can't rewrite history.

So I won't.

But history took a turn and instead of "Girls in Asia: Columbus Day 2010" it turned into "Girls in Africa: Columbus Day 2010". And eventually Africa plans had to be postponed, so it became "Girls in Boston: Columbus Day 2010."

But here we are, 14 months later, and closing the gap on the day when our airplane will finally leave the runway headed straight for Uganda.

Its not Columbus Day.

Its not Thailand.

But it is Jennifer and Chrissy.

And we're going to Uganda.