Da's hands

My grown up little brother

My brother moved to Chicago yesterday to start his first job.

I got to go to his graduation a few weeks ago - it was so wonderful to get to see where he's been the last few years and meet his friends. He completely rocked college - he was honored as the top Finance student of the university.

I am SO excited for his new adventures and ridiculously proud of him.
I also am excited to visit him and explore Chicago!!

I am watching him and my parents on T.V. (ESPN internet) RIGHT NOW!!
For a graduation gift, my parents got tickets for them to go to the Cubs game - and got seats RIGHT behind the catcher. Every time the camera shows the batter, you can see them.

Super fun - I almost feel like I am there with them!

Go get 'em Bri!!!!

Happy Mothers Day

To all the mamas out there.

Especially mine. :)

Reunions

This holiday I had the opportunity to reconnect with some of my oldest and best friends. It was so wonderful to see everyone and to reconnect. Our lives have surely taken us in different directions, and it is truly beautiful to see how each of us has found what we are passionate about in such different ways. I love you girls.
This is Robyn and her wonderful son Lucas. I am in awe at what a wonderful mom Rob is. I will surely be calling her when I have my own kids for advice.

This is Rob and Lucas, me, Karlee (who just texted me saying she was asked to interview for vet school at her top choice - whoooooooooooo!!), and Cat, who is hands down the most successful and motivated person I know. These girls are all part of what I think of as home.

And here is my favorite person on earth, my brother. He took me out on a date to the classiest restaurant in town (ha!) - and it was perfect. Love you Bri.

Christmastime

My heart warms just thinking of Christmas at home. My mom and dad have always been incredible about making holidays extra-special, and Christmas is no different. Our house is literally bursting with Christmas cheer - here is a picture of our living room in all of its glory.

Even the squirrels in our yard want in on the action.

We didn't have any candy canes in the house this year, so Mom and I decided to fill the gap:

And on Christmas morning, we had a very special visitor come and visit - humpy bear. I'll have to let one of the boys in our family explain that one.

This is a picture of Sophie, the adorable bulldog puppy that belongs to my aunt Donna. She is one of the most precious puppies I've ever seen.

Family Time in the Mountains

My dad arranged for a mini family vacation before Christmas, so that we would actually all have some quality time together before the chaos of the holidays fully set in. Though I was VERY skeptical about this idea (mainly because the HIGH was supposed to be 3 degrees), I think we all agreed that it was an absolutely wonderful time.

We stayed in a condo overlooking the mountains of Ketchum, Idaho. It was snowy and wonderful, but cooooooooooold cold cold. Here is the view from our condo:
The first night we were there we took a sleigh ride to dinner and froze the whole way.... or I WOULD have frozen the whole way, but fortunately for my time in South Africa, I had one of THESE tucked under my sweater:
Yes, that's right, a hot water bottle. I am telling you, they are the best things EVER. Everyone in South Africa uses them since there is no central heating, and they make a world of difference. Trust me. I could do an infomercial on them.

Here are the gigantic horses that pulled our sleigh.

Here's me and my cute little brother on the sleigh ride. I am personally impressed that I kept my hands out of my mittens long enough to take some pictures.

The cute padres.

My mom and I spent the days shopping for last minute Christmas gifts and enjoying the snow. :)

On the drive home we drove through Hailey...

Home Sweet Home.

I made it!! After essentially 4 straight days of travel, I am officially back on American soil, snuggled into the folds of freezing Burley, Idaho. I've been home now for about 60 hours, so I'm already forgetting some of my first impressions of being back.

Some Thoughts:
1. There a lot of white people in America.
2. There is also a ridiculous amount of 'stuff'.
3. People are wonderfully friendly and smile all of the time, I love it.
4. Thank you Lord for Mexican food.
5. I still can't figure out what side of the car to get on, and I definitely turned the wrong way onto Main Street yesterday.
6. I love the fact I can just pick up the phone and call my loved ones.
7. No one does customer service like the USA.
8. It is cold, and I may never be warm again.

I am still all off on when I eat and sleep - I ate two tacos al carbon before 5 am this morning.

Today, my family and I are taking a mini-vacation to Sun Valley, Idaho, where my Dad has lined up a sleigh ride for us. This does not exactly sound appealing at the moment as the HIGH temperature of the day is supposed to be 6 degrees Fahrenheit (-14.4 C). I'll let you know if I make it back alive. Considering less than a week ago I was in Zanzibar, where it was around 90 degrees F (33 C), I will be experiencing more than a 85 degree temperature change in less than 6 days.

Much more coming about my last week in Grahamstown, travels in East Africa, and wonderful homecoming. The Merriest of Christmases to you all!!!


Here are links to pictures from Kenya and Tanzania, more pics coming soon:
Lamu, Kenya:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2057169&l=4ca63&id=3000795
Zanzibar, Tanzania:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2057190&l=e3068&id=3000795

Twenty-five

I am now - officially a quarter of a century old. And I have loved every second - I wouldn't give a minute of it back. I have been pretty inundated with my thesis lately, so I expected to have a very low-key birthday this year... but I was in for quite the surprise. Victor drove in from Cape Town, COMPLETELY catching me off guard (I had NO idea) and surprised me!!!! In addition, my parents tracked down the owner of a pizza restaurant in town (we stayed at a guesthouse owned by the same people when they were here in June), and arranged for pizza-dinner party with my friends. This has been a tradition since I was in middle school - my birthday always used to fall on a basketball game, so my parents would always bring pizza for my team, and put up banners and such in the stands (love them). When I left for college, the kept the tradition going by tracking me down WHEREVER I am and having pizza delivered to me and my friends....So far, this has meant that they have delivered pizza to:

• 2002 - A random hotel in California where I was recruiting for Rice's swim team (yes, this is my other life I lived somewhere back there)
• 2003 - A history class in a university in Sevilla, Spain (this one was a MIRACLE considering they don't speak Spanish and until that point I had never seen a pizza restaurant in our town)
• 2004 - hmmm - I must have been at Rice in Houston.
• 2005 - YES Prep Public School in Houston, TX - The whole staff ate pizza with me (apparently they tried to deliver it to my house but no pizza place would deliver to my house in the ghetto!! haha)
• 2006 - Again at YES Prep in Houston, but this time I ate with my students as well.
  
• 2007 - My house in Denver where I was in the middle of my first graduate-school finals.
• 2008 - Grahamstown, South Africa! - this year's pizza was a chicken and avocado dream, of course with hot sauce (thanks Brenda!).

They are amazing AND diligent. And it always makes my birthday so special knowing they have put in all of that effort to keep the tradition alive (I bet they weren't counting on all of the international trips when they started it!!)

It was also WONDERFUL to read all of the messages from friends and family - it is such a reminder of how loved I am. !!!! So blessed.

PS - please notice the blatantly phallic dessert they served me after dinner (pictured below).

Missing you Grandma!

I had a terrible wave of homesickness yesterday, as my entire family is gathering in Idaho today to celebrate my grandmother's 75th birthday!!! This is the very hardest part about being so far away. I am fortunate that I hardly ever get homesick, or if I do, a phone call home or whatnot usually is enough to get me through - but missing events like this makes me feel homesick all the way to my bones!

All of that said, I am so happy that everyone is getting together to celebrate my grandma today. She is one of my favorite people in the ENTIRE world, and truly one of my best friends. Since I was little, hearing her voice on the phone has been one of my favorite things ever, and I have never been as relaxed as I am when I spend time with her and Da on the ranch. She is one of the most resilient and adaptable people I know - she has spent her adult life moving all around the world, raising kids. Now she helps run a ranch and is also the best cook in the entire world - one of my life goals is to be able to cook even a portion as well as she does.

I feel so lucky to have such a close relationship with my grandma, especially one as special as mine. I am bummed I am missing the get together, but I am celebrating her from afar!

I am definitely there is spirit today. Happy, happy birthday Grandma, I love you!

Pictures from my Parent's Trip - South Africa, Zambia, ZImbabwe and Botswana!!

Just click on the picture below to take you to a picture album!

The Fletchers do South Africa

animal pics from parent's trip!

I left most of the animal pictures out of the album - but here are the highlights!

Happy 21st Bri!

Today is my brother's 21st birthday!

I feel very fortunate that I have a little brother that I completely look up to - and not just because he is taller than I am. :) He's about to be a senior (!!) at the University in Idaho, and is literally rocking his business program there. For the rest of my life I will definitely be going to him for any business/financial-related matters. But far more important, he is possibly the most genuine, caring, loyal and loving person I know.

Bri - I am so proud of you and am so lucky to be your sister. Happy happy 21st!!!!!! (and be safe... i do have half of mom's genes....then again so do you.)

Whirlwind!!! - Kruger, Grahamstown, and headed to Uganda/Rwanda!

After Botswana, we flew from Zambia to Johannesburg, got upgraded to the most ridiculously large hotel room I have ever seen, and drove to Kruger National Park.

We spent two days viewing game in the park, seeing the Big 5 (Lion, leopard, elephant, water buffalo and rhino!!) within 24 hours, and then drove from Kruger to Durban.

From Durban, we drove another day to get to Grahamstown, where we are now!!!

Right now Grahamstown has been transformed by the National Arts Festival - the 2nd largest arts festival in the WORLD! It is incredibly fantastic. Last night I heard one of the best choirs I have ever heard in my entire life - one of my Rotary scholar friends, Sam, is part of it (see her blog from the links on the side of my page)!! Links coming ----

Today I am running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to get ready for tomorrow, when we leave for Port Elizabeth.

From PE, I say goodbye to my parents :( and head to UGANDA and RWANDA with Rosa!!!!!

I may or may not be able to post for the next couple of weeks as I travel over there, but know that lots and lots of updates and pictures are coming!

Lots of love!!!

Botswana - Chobe National Park

Today I entered my 21st country!!! My parents and I crossed the border of Botswana to go to Chobe National Park. We had a lovely morning boating on the Chobe river - saw dozens of hippo, crocodiles, elephants, hundreds of birds, giraffe, impala, kudu, mongoose, etc. etc. In the afternoon we took a game drive.

The border crossing was fascinating - my mom counted over 70 trucks waiting to cross from Zambia to Botswana. At this crossing, you have to cross a river to go from one country to the other, but they have not yet built a bridge. Instead, they have one ferry which runs back and forth across the river, meaning that only one truck can cross at a time. Apparently trucks have to wait 3 or 4 days or even a week before they can get their supplies across the border. Also, just as the ferry pulls away, as many people as possible jump on to it, with their luggage and supplies on their backs and heads, in order to cross into the other country. It was fascinating to watch.

We, on the other hand, had a private motor boat from the tour company take us from one side to the other - no lines, no jumping. It is such a conflicting feeling to see one reality taking place right in front of our eyes while at the same time living an entirely different one.

The biggest stress to me all day was the fact that my passport only has two pages left in it, which I am reserving for my Uganda/Rwanda travels, and every place we went today was STAMP HAPPY -- every time we got to a border post I started sweating and pointing furiously at little places where I wanted them to stamp. I fortunately made it through with my two pages in tact, but I have stamps covering literally every other inch of my passport.

Tomorrow we are headed back to South Africa!

Zimbabwe

My parents and I 'snuck' across the border to Zimbabwe today, along with dozens of people crossing to try to get food. (and by snuck, I mean we walked across a bridge)..

My heart is still aching from what we saw - dozens of trucks of food backed up on the Zambia side trying to get into Zim... People packing food in suitcases in Zambia to take back to their families in Zimbabwe... dozens and dozens of people camped out at the border post with all of their luggage, trying to get across. We talked to a few people about how they were feeling about what is going on, they just said that it was bad.

I was so glad that my parents were up for the 'adventure' of seeing what it was like on the other side. I think all of us were profoundly effected by it. There was such a strikingly different feel from the Zambia to the Zimbabwe side - such a strikingly different feel to the people. People on the Zim side had a look of desperation to them that squeezed my heart.

The run-off elections were supposed to take place this Friday, but Mugabe announced that he would wage war if the opposition won, so the opposition leader pulled out of the race saying that he could not ask people to go out and vote knowing that they would face extreme violence. That means - --- I don't know what that means. It means that the elections won't happen as planned. It is not good.. at all.

This crisis has been on my heart heavily anyway the last months, but after seeing a glimpse of the situation first hand, it is all consuming to me. Please pray for the situation, if you are a pray-er.

Love to you.

Victoria Falls

Is possibly one of the most majestic natural wonders I will ever see.
Definitely cried (with my mom).
Pictures are coming as soon as possible.

Livingstone, Zambia

Hello from Zambia!
This is just a quick note---
I spent a lovely couple of days with Victor in Cape Town, meeting his friends, spending some time with Jeannie, going to the best farmer's market ever...
And then on Saturday, my parents arrived!!!!

We had a spectacular and chaotic 36 hours in Cape Town, where we managed to cram in a tour of Robben Island, a trip to the Cape of Good Hope, an adventurous outing to see penguins (it is mating season... watch out), and several lovely meals with good friends, (even running into one of my friends from Rhodes and her parents!!)
This morning, we woke up at an ungodly hour, and took off for Zambia. We arrived this afternoon and I am already in love with this country. I love the smell, the red dirt, the amazing smiles from the people here --- more details later, but the second we landed I my heart just swelled.

Tomorrow we are going to see Victoria Falls, and the next day we are headed to Botswana.
And we are traveling CLASSSSSY--- I don't even know what to do with myself. I didn't even know this nice of places existed on this continent. We have certainly upgraded from the way I normally travel. :) Tonight we are staying at possibly the nicest resort I have ever seen. I have also seen more Americans here than I have the entire rest of my 6 months in Africa combined.

It is so incredible to see my parents and be able to share this adventure with them.
They are so much fun to travel with.

More soon, this adventure is just beginning...
much love

PS - We miss you Brian, hardly an hour goes by without one of us saying that we wish you were here. you would love it. love you.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!

Happy Father's Day to my amazing Dad!!! I got to talk to my dad a few hours ago, and am SO EXCITED that I will get to celebrate a belated Father's Day with him next weekend! That's right, the padres are coming to Africa in just a few days!

Dad, I can't wait to see you this coming weekend!!! Happy happy 25th father's day! (Just think, you have been a father for a quarter of a century, thanks so me.) I love you so much. Thank you for your continued love and support, I am truly blessed to be your daughter.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

This is a picture of the most amazing mother in the world. I couldn't have done anything that I've done without her incredible love and support. Every day of my life she told me that I could do anything that I wanted to do, and instilled in me the belief that anything is possible if I was willing to work for it. She has been the epitome of unconditional love despite the fact that I have put her through far more than her fair share of 'adventures' as a mom. This lady is crazy brave as well, she travelled with me to India and is coming this summer with my dad to South Africa, she straps herself into boats and floats down the Grand Canyon, and scares away bears and snakes with her bear bells on hikes through the wilderness. While I was growing up, she never missed a performance (no matter how small a part I had), game (no matter how bad I played), match, speech, etc. and on top of that was THE best fan/coach/fundraiser around. By the end of watching approximately 1000 basketball games through my and Brian's careers, she can now tell you the rules of the game as well as any referee. :)

Now that she's technically an empty nester, she has only picked up more involvement in the community and is now in the process of designing a new library for our hometown, as well as being the president of her PEO club and an ever active member of the Lions club, all while working full time.

I'm not giving even partial justice to the things that she does, but even more important is who is she is. She is a rock in our family. I have heard again and again from extended family on both sides, as well as from her friends - she is a source of strength and energy, and when you are loved by her, you have a champion on your side. I am lucky to have half of her genes.

Mom, you are truly an inspiration and I hope that I am able to give even a fraction of the love you have shown me to the people in my life. Happy Mother's Day!!!!!