The Beginning

10:43am

Hard to believe it's Friday already. We fly out of Joburg tonight at 7:30, and will be back home to Santa Barbara by around 5:00 pm on Saturday.

As I sit in our hotel room in Sandton typing, a multitude of thoughts run through my head. It feels as this trip has come to quite an abrupt halt... on one level I'm excited to return to friends, family, and particularly the ocean, but on the next I am sad to say farewell to such a captivating continent. Three weeks is a long time, and looking back on photos and journal entries, Beira feels like ages ago. But the past 21 days have been quite a journey, and one that I will never forget. Through our adventures (for lack of a better word) I have learned much. That is why the next 10 blog entries or so will be 'Lessons Learned' (at the wise suggestion of my father). I will be recapping comedic moments, interesting experiences, culture clashes, humbling thoughts, and more... so just because I'm back in the states doesn't mean that the blog is over. I will still be "Painting the Story"... so stay tuned

Photos are: Water pools in the mountains/valleys of Entabeni. Rhinos (the highlight of my game park experience) sparring, various birds spotted (white breasted kingfisher, and a european bee eater) I will be including various photos in "Lessons Learned" that more often than not won't have anything to do with the text. But everyone likes photos