far-away friends

 My son returns home today after a wonderful trip to Africa.  He shall be a sophomore in college and this trip was part of an ROTC program called CULP.  He applied last year all by himself for this trip and the good news came last Christmas that he would be traveling to Tanzania.  He taught 3 classes of English a day to students.  They played basketball, soccer and other games to connect with the students.

 Part of the programs philosophy is to create a classroom as they travel, learning along the way.

He went on a Safari, toured Africa, a trip to Zanzibar where he stayed in a tropical spot and he told me the flowers were incredible.  He told me he is bringing saffron.

 Visiting historic ruins as a group and learning about the culture, the history directly from the native people.

Here is a shot of the classroom.  Pretty simple compared to our classrooms in America.  We kept in contact via e-mail and he told me each time how honored to be a part of this trip.  I cannot wait to see him and to hear all about his trip, his new far-away friends and to see what souvenirs he brings home.

hakuna matata

a little cupcake safari celebration was in order last night....

thank-you diane for the lovely cupcakes.

pardon my fuzzy photo.

I never imagined 19 years ago that one of my sons would be an ROTC cadet and have the privilege of traveling to Tanzania for the CULP program.  He left today and I can hardly wait for him to return with many stories.  Part of this cultural program is to increase the humanitarian efforts of our ROTC cadets.  He will be there to teach children english and to learn about their culture.
I think about my sons and look forward to the day they are Fathers.

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads all over the world and to my Dad in Kentucky.