David and I have been in Africa nearly three months now andhave about a month to go.  Our checklist of places visited includes Kenya, Uganda, DRCongo, Rwanda, and nowTanzania for over a month.  We hit our goal of living on $1.25 for two months and decided some rest and relaxation were well earned. This trip has been hard and stressful on both of us in many different ways. I think we have overcome every challenge though and have dealt with everything well.  So my bro and I have been vacationing on Zanzibar Island, Tanzania for the week. We came here to cover the slave trade as our excuse but we wanted to eat well and relax also.  We both lost lots of weight and all the wonderful seafood is fattening us healthfully. 

Also, with being in a diverse paradise, we had to do some SCUBA.

We fished, snorkeled and relaxed with the most mazungus (white people) we have seen on the whole trip within a few days. All with our own monies so you know we are maximizing all your donations. 

It is an amazing thing that neither of us has been sick yet.To live in poverty, we had to eat and drink everything the medical pamphlets told us not to.  Our immune systems must be bomb proof thanks to our father who raised us healthy.

So it has been a life changing experience. I had previously thrown around the words extreme poverty but never understood it like I do now after living with it and in it.  I won’t say I fully understand it but the whole point of this thing is simply to try.  To get me out of my bubble of a comfort zone and just try to understand more. 

It is a daunting, possibly unattainable task to make a difference in the whole world. I have realized, what is most important, is to make small differences in individual’s lives. It may not change the world but it will change that person’s world.  My world is also changed for the better in the process. 

“You will find your life unkind when you focus on your own needs you’ll see” Those Bright Lights by Sherwood.

I love my brother so much now that we have been doing this together.  It has not been perfect traveling with him but I understand him and respect him more than ever.  David is the perfect traveling partner on this trip because he has helped me to understand tons about myself and even more about the world as he sees it. Dude is strait inspiring.

So we will get back to it now. We have scheduled a few more stops in Tanzania because we love it so much and have met such amazing people. Then we will hop back up to Kenya to be within reach of Nairobi.  We are waiting and hoping for a call any day now inviting us on a flight into The Sudan and possibly upto Darfur.  We are considering a possible overland route but the border crossing may be a bit tricky. We willalso consider Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa as we have a connection there.  Our hope is for both and more but time is running out and there are still great distances to be covered.