buying luggage

well, continuing to prepare. It is odd to shift from one focus (Grad School) to another. Its been nice to finish up with all that work and be able to relax. As soon as we got through all of that, focus began to shift much more towards the journey ahead.

This past weekend we had planned to go up to Devon to buy some luggage and electricty adaptors. We totalled the car a few months ago, as Rose was driving it to work, so we had no way to get up there. (Devon is on the far nothern extreme of the Chicago area, we're in the middle southern part of the Chicago area.) I was dreading going up there on the train, and had forgotten that I was stuck covering the Saturday morning shift at work. Afterwards I was tired and didn't want to have to take the CTA all the way north and back again. Rose reminded me that our time was getting short, so if we waited until the following weekend to see if we were going to be successful, we may not have luck and then be out of time to order something online.

So, we ended up finding everything we needed and saved some money in the meantime.

inching that way

Yes, as we approach the date it is getting realer and realer. It has been 7 years since I was in Zimbabwe, and I'm sure that so much has changed and yet so much has stayed the same. It is interesting to think back to the first impressions I had of arriving in Africa, weary and worn after the long flight. To me, it felt so much like Jamaica, lush, slow and slightly chaotic. It will be so exciting to experience this with Rosemary, being able to connect in a different way.

Last time I was there, I was staying with the wonderful Banky family. Since then, they've all left Zimbabwe (from what I hear.) I hope to be able to connect with some of their family members that I met. I know as well, that I'll be meeting a whole bunch of family members of my own. It is quite an interesting thing to meet your father in law, mother in law, etc. for the first time. Not quite the same experience as meeting them as a hopeful suitor of their daughter, but intimidating none the less.

It will be interesting seeing the situation first hand, what exactly the effect of all of the economic struggle the country has gone through. We have some freinds who return from Zimbabwe that seem to think that there's nothing wrong with the situation and that Mugabe is a swell guy. Others return and think that he really has to go. I hope I can give a straight perspective on that to all of you.

Stay tuned, I hear they're warming up the engines on the plane...