Silver & Gold

Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other's gold.

I was never in Girl Scouts, but April was, and in her sisterly love she passed that little ditty on to me in childhood. I was reminded of that song with the arrival of Brit and Erin yesterday morning! It is such a joy to have friends from "home" visit my new "home" out here!

So far they have dived right into life in Zambia. We have ridden mini-buses with way too many people on them, hitched a ride in the back of a truck with way too many eggs in it, and walked around with way too little sunscreen on. Our first day we spent lounging around, grabbing coffee at a bakery and then napping at Munda Wanga Gardens. After finally letting them bathe we met up with some Peace Corps friends for a great dinner. Today I let them sleep in (I think the 12 hours of rest did them some good!) and we have been bartering at the market and getting great deals all morning. They just recognized the glory of seeing a movie in Lusaka, since the theatre is the only place with air-conditioning. We are heading back to the Gardens now to stay the night and tomorrow we will be heading out to my village! We have 8 hours of travel ahead of us tomorrow; pray that they still want to be my friend after hours in the back of a truck!

I have no doubt there will be plenty of stories coming your way as they get a taste of village life. I hope you are making and keeping friends of your own!