I feel changed... not because I know more, but because I know less.

We're home! And thank God!

The trip was amazing - the sights and experience incredible and impossible to put into words. After being gone for a month, taking 15 flights, an adjusting to an 11 hour time zone difference, travelling over 20,000 plus miles, a few skeptical bus rides and intense dreams from prophylactic anti-malarial meds, we're thankful to be home.

I feel changed through our experiences and through the sights of the various countries in Africa, but not because I know more, but because I know less.

This trip was undeniabley the most insane trip Brett and I have or will ever take together - fingers crossed. Africa is a continent like no other. After visiting three countries, Egypt, South Africa and Tanzania we are so thankful to be home - and American. The poverty and quality of life in some parts of Africa that we drove through/saw is heartbreaking.

Most, if not ALL the areas we visit thrive due to tourism. You have Egypt which has the pyramids of course, and most of the individuals make a living either through tourism or agriculture- mainly tourism. South Africa more developed and more first world (we even tasted some of the best wine we've ever had) however, the economy down there has taken a hit due to news that the area is unsafe to travel - which Brett and I unfortunaltey experienced ourselves (more in a bit). Finally, Tanzania is again tourism (Safari and Kili hikes) and agriculture yet the income provided by tourism leaves the country at the hands of foreign investors who own/invest in the safari lodges - they actually fly in the food we were eating because the food would make the average tourist too sick to enjoy their vacation.

In South Africa, we stayed in the Gardens district, which was about a 10-15 minute walk to the VA waterfront. On our first day there (New Years Eve), we left our Guest House and decided to walk down to the VA Waterfront, which we assumed would be perfectly safe, considering it was the middle of the day and light outside. Upon approximently halfway there, after stopping through the local market where touts sell trinkets, carvings and souvieres we continued to make our way through to the waterfront. I saw this neat statue type thing in the shape of a rainbow and wanted to take a photo in front of it. It had a beatifult view of table mountain in the background. As Brett and I were crossing the street, a homeless man approached us asking us for money - not unusual. Brett kindly told him he didn't have any cash, which we didn't pull any of SA currency, Rand, out yet. The gentleman wouldn't leave us alone and actually waited for Brett to take the picture of me and continued to follow us, talking us up, telling us how he "know people like us have money" and to "stop lying and running away from him." Even after Brett continued to kindly tell him we were trying to enjoy our time and that we weren't running from him (just walking really fast) asked him to leave us alone he kept following us and asking us for money. Finally, waving his beenie for money in our faces, he pulled his long sleeved shirt back on his right arm to show a large steak knife. We continued to ask him to leave us alone and his response was that he would leave us alone but keep following us. We grabbed the first cab we saw.

This incident was much scarier than when I type it out, as you're in the moment, in foreign land, foreign and alone, after reading about how unsafe SA is, only to find out the truth was not only heartbreaking but terrifying. We were both quite taken back by the situation - things we thought you only read about, but now here it was becoming our reality. Needless to say, we shook it off and continued to enjoy our day, just a bit more skiddish and aware.

I want to share with you some of the journaling I did while we were over there. I'll post a few in the days to come from the different coutries/lands we were in.

Happy to be home.