Friday, May 30, 2008

For the Love

Have you ever had one of those days where everything just seems completely magical and almost surreal? Today was one of those days for me. A day where I look around and have to practically pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming. I mean, seriously - I get to do something I absolutely LOVE, and this is my job?!? It's days like today that make me fall in love all over again with photography. And honestly I'm just so incredibly amazed and thankful, knowing that I'm able to do something I love. (click here to see a few of my shots from our workshop shoot at the beach this morning.)

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

No blogging this week...

Hey everyone, just letting you know that I'll be taking a little hiatus from blogging this week. Why? I'm co-leading a photography workshop here in San Diego for pro photographers who want to learn how to incorporate boudoir shoots into their wedding business (if you're interested, stop on over at The Boudoir Divas blog - that's where I'll be blogging this week). Also check back here next week - I'll be sharing more Africa images after the workshop is over. xoxo, Kimberlee

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Jet lag Sucks.

I thought I had it beat, but - alas - jet lag is getting the best of me (seeing as how the past two mornings I haven't been able to sleep past 4:30am). Yuck. Oh well, since I'm wide awake long before the sun is up on this fine Saturday morning, I figured I might as well post a photo from Zambia:

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Almost Home

Africa was amazing! It's been a long few days, with 45+ hours of traveling; and now I am (finally!) about to board one last flight on my way home to San Diego. Can't wait for a hot shower and my comfy bed! :)

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Benzu

(Caitlin here again)...
Kimberlee was given the Tonga name “Benzu”, meaning visitor, within the first minutes of meeting friends from my village. She has proven to be a great visitor, easing into life in the village and shining like a rockstar throughout! She has picked up lots of Chitonga words and spews them out like no one’s business.

After only one week in the village she can now teach all of you back home how to:
-Roll out tortilla dough using a Starbucks travel mug
-Carry water on your head
-Make nshima for you and your neighbors
-Sweep your yard with sticks
-Pick ticks off your dog
-Teach you and 40 African children how to do the chicken dance
-Jump on a bench when you fear a rabid dog might bite you (*click here to read the whole story)
-Pay no attention to a heard of cattle walking through your meetings
-Make up totally illegitimate Boggle words
-Pee in a hole while strategically preparing to run from bats
-Allow your cousin to win a few rounds of Rummy so she will still play cards with you
And probably anything else you may need for day-to-day survival.

Except for making a fire. This is one area where Kimberlee will be focusing this next week. Past visitors have struggled as well...Erin and Brittany to name a few. We both laughed for a while at the following conversation that took place while Kimee was attempting fire making:
Kimberlee: “How do you....? Oww!”
Caitlin: “Know when the charcoal is hot?”
Blog readers, word to the wise, to check if charcoal is hot, it is best to place your hand near, but not directly on, the charcoal. I am sure Kimee will ace this within the next week and you will be calling her to your next bonfire in no time. I am sure the blisters will have gone down by the time she is back home.

We have one more week together. Time is going too fast! We have been laughing a lot, talking about everything, and just enjoying all the amazingness of life in Africa. If you play Boggle soon, just know that “amazingness” is a legitimate 10-point word. The word “Dif” however will get you 0 points.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Photo Shoot in Choma

So what if we're in the middle of Africa? You know I'm still gonna make my cousin model for me... here are a few pics of Caitlin yesterday while we were in "town" (Choma - although this so-called town has no stoplights- yeah, it's a pretty small town).

Monday, May 5, 2008

Zam Pics - #1

This is C again, posting for K. She is busy on another computer so I will put up some of her amazing photographs here. We are having a wonderful time and head to my village today. We should be back into town in a week or so to recharge batteries and upload more photos! Enjoy her work, she is so talented! Check out more pictures here.

Saturday, May 3, 2008

ooh, aah, what an adventure....

...here on the jungle cruise! First of all, I have to say that I'm loving Zambia! And a big thanks to my cousin Caitlin for taking over my blog yesterday. Ok so let me explain her comment about the Jungle Cruise. On an infamous family trip to Disneyland back in the '80s, Cait and I told our poor younger cousin Stacy that the hippos were real, and that they were going to attack our boat (I know, so mean, right?) Well today we had some major payback for that meanness. Let's just say that we thought we were signing up for a calm and peaceful canoe ride down a calm and peaceful river. Not so. My cousin did an amazing job of explaining our entire experience on her blog - check it out here. We've spent the last few days in Livingston; it's been amazing! Tonight we're going to watch the sun setting over one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World, and then we'll be heading back to Caitlin's village tomorrow. It's been so fun to see all the "tourist-y" things in Zambia, but I'm also very excited to see what Cait's life has been like in her rural village. She promises she's going to teach me to carry water on my head and cook over her little fire (can't wait!) She also says she's going to make me kill and pluck a chicken (no thanks!) I've got tons of pictures to share but it'll be a while until I have a chance to upload them. I promise I'll post some soon!

Friday, May 2, 2008

The Package Has Arrived

Kimee made it to Zambia! In case you are starting to think she has taken to speaking in the third person, this is her uber-fabulous and humble cousin in my first attempt at "guest blogging".

I love this girl. She was waiting at the hotel for me once I had finished a conference, and we were eating orange chicken and sipping red wine within the first hour! And I haven't even touched on the enormous amounts of American goodies she had stowed away in her bag. I need to insert a "Thanks grandma" here too! When she returns you will need to ask her about the chaos she faced in London when they told her she could only check one bag. The check-in guy at Heathrow had little faith in her abilities to cram super-sized bags of Starburst into small compartments, but she really showed him. Oh, He of little faith.

So far we have only stopped talking to sleep, and it is so fun to speak English! Kimee advised me on her arrival that she knew she had been alone in London too long because she was talking to herself in a British accent. I love it! We spent today on the bus, laying by the pool, and buying fruit off of women's heads. I highly recommend doing all of those things as soon as you can!

Tomorrow we are off on a little real life Jungle Cruise...this time the hippos are really real, Stacy! We are doing a full day canoe trip down the Zambezi River, should be a wonderful time.

Unfortunately we aren't able to upload any photos yet, but they will be coming! Keep checking back for more adventures from C and K! Check out Kimee's perspective of the trip so far here!