T-minus 13 hrs

Hello everyone! This is Scott Zuckerman, a medical school classmate, dear crony, and basketball teamster of one of Harambee For All Children's visionaries...Matthew Grady Gartland. As I contemplate our upcoming trip to Kenya, a plethora of nervous thoughts, expectations, questions, and uncertainties run amok in my already cluttered brain.

The background research is drawing to a close, the video camera has been tested, and the light baggage has been packed. Our excursion starts tomorrow, May 21st, 2009, when Matt, Billy, and myself depart from JFK en route to Nairobi - Rafal will be joining us on a separate flight and Rajshri some weeks later.  

This is my inaugural trip to Kenya, and the only way I could physically be more excited was if A-Rod was coming (yes, I'm a Yankee fan...and yes, an A-Rod fan does exist...and yes, this is extremely irrelevant).  

Anyway, I am impatiently gearing up for the experience of being in Africa for the first time, and the opportunity to work at the Ikumbo Secondary School will exponentially augment our time there. For me, this trip will include a closed mouth and two open ears. I hope to gather as much information as possible with regards to how the secondary school operates, how to assess the greatest areas of need for the school, and how to effectively integrate new technologies in the classroom. Furthermore, I will relish the opportunity to immerse myself within the community of Ikumbo and connect with students, teachers, parents, and community members. This trip is sure to be an experience of a lifetime, and I anxiously await 2:00pm tomorrow, when my younger brother, Matt, chauffeurs me to the airport (thanks little bro).

Take care, be good, see you in Kenya, go Yanks.

Scott