Guest Post from Mom!

Hello from Sue, here in Lusaka! After over 24 hours of travelling, I decided I still don't like to fly. But I, and my 3 large suitcases made it to Zambia safely- and I didn't even get charged for an extra bag!

Beth knows me very well, and so allowed me to take a shower the minute we got back to the house. While taking a rest, the girls cooked me a fabulous Martha Stewart birthday dinner, consisting of pasta with chicken and eggplant, a yummy salad, and a caramel cake! The next day, we were off to the Zambezi River- chock full of hippos, elephants (we saw at least 50!), and lots of birds. We even saw one croc- pretty scary. It was a gorgeous, sunny, breezy day- and for the first time in 30 years, my hair wasn't frizzy.

On our drive south, we saw several Zambian tribal villages. It was shocking to see some of the conditions people live in, but I guess it makes sense since 70% of the Zambian population is unemployed. Beth told me that the average income is less than $2 a day! However, things are very expensive. I'm learning a lot...

Last night we had a chick-flick extravaganza (I'm sure Allen really feels like he missed out), complete with popcorn, cake, Mike and Ikes (I brought Beth a 5 lb bag!), and Sleepless in Seattle. They don't have a TV, so we all gathered round the computer screen to watch.

Today began with my wonderful daughters bringing me coffee in bed, and then a day out around town in Lusaka. We went to a cute cafe for brunch, and while we were there, we set up my Facebook account (yes, I finally caved). Then, we went to a cultural craft marketplace, where families live and sell their crafts. We got some paper jewelry and baskets for Beth's room. After that, we went to the mall, where they have a few stores that remind you of a mixture of Pier 1/Target/Super Walmart. The grocery store was very interesting, and very hard to tell how much things cost. I am currently working out a formula to figure it out, you know me, I am math girl through and through.

We had lunch at Curry in a Hurry- it's funny that I only eat Indian food when I am outside of the continental US, but it was very yummy. Now, we are having a relaxing afternoon on the patio. I do find it interesting that Beth's house is surrounded by a 10 ft cement wall that has glass shards stuck in the top, as well as a four tier electric fence on top of that. I guess that means we are safe. Not to mention, the two South African mastiff puppies who roam around the yard.

Here are some pictures for you all to enjoy...