It's 4:30 Am

 The past two days have been filled to overflowing with preparation for our big visitor visit. The advance teams of our visitors are 60 in number and the tension is high high high. There is a serious layer of secrecy surrounding today, but after 5:00PM tomorrow, I can tell you who we hosted. Be sure to tune back in, because you will want to know!

In the meantime, I have spent a lot of time with 20 students from the Ludzi School and 10 from the Mchingi Day School. MAN! These kids are something. They are all in high school (secondary school is what they call it here), and every single one of them is engaged, interested, and curious. When you talk, every single one of them is listening. Every one, to a number, eagerly soaks up the words you say. They ask questions like: Are there female pilots in America? I want to be a pilot! Or how do you become an

optometrist? So many people here have problems with their eyes because of the sun, and I want to help the people in my village. One of the girls, Chisomo, told me that I look like a princess-- imagine that, with my gray hair and everything! HA, I got a kick out of that one (and gave her a big hug).

It's 4:30 AM, and we leave for the school in one hour. I must get ready-- apply a little anti-itch cream, drink some coffee, and straighten my hair. Be thinking of me today, and send good vibes into the universe!

Here is a short clip of the girls welcoming line. You walk between the two lines of girls as they sing and welcome you in. This sound of all of them together, flanking the entryway, surrounding you with song and joy, is a visceral experience that permeates to the very core of your heart and humanity. It's a connection with the world that you feel as you pass through these girls and a feeling that I've only touched briefly. I feel privileged today to have known it.