Okeedoke, I'm home. You can come back now.

Well, I expect I've gone and alienated the few people who actually read this blog by my long absence, but if you happen to drop by, come back and stay! I promise to be better from now on!

And since I only have 6 weeks left in Malawi before I go on maternity leave, I will have to share lots of the little details of life here before we go back to the land of strip malls, soccer moms, and pre-packaged foodstuffs. Seriously, Jorge and I were trying to think of reasons why it will be nice to be back in the U.S., and we were coming up with pretty much squat, apart from being able to go to the movies. And I suppose it will be cool to hear music that isn't three years old and already played a gazillion times on my i-pod.

So...our vacation...well, we spent 10 days in Malawi doing the usual - safari in Zambia, Lake Malawi, and Zomba mountain. The highlight for me was staying at the Zomba Forest Lodge, a cozy little mountain retreat with possibly the best chef in Malawi.

Then we spent 10 days in South Africa. First we went to Cape Town, which is lovely, but not really "the most beautiful city in the world," as we had been told. We drove down the Cape and saw penguins, which are the cutest birds ever - no wonder there are so many movies about them - then we went to Franschhoek, in the winelands region. Yes, I did taste the wine. It was delicious. When my child turns out to be unruly and hyperactive, you can blame my poor antenatal self-care (although I will know that it's really just genetics and karma biting me in the ass. I mean, a joint product of Jorge and me? We're doomed already).

Finally, we went to Kruger National Park in the north for a few days. More animals. Ho-hum. I have been in Africa much too long. (Actually, I had a very nice time).

I haven't had time yet to sort through my photos yet, as my dear friend and former roommate from Eritrea, Leila, is visiting until tomorrow. But as a freebie, here are a couple sneak peeks until I can get some more up:

It's hard to believe that in this picture I am packing about 20 extra pounds. Where is it all hiding?

Then I see this picture and think, "Oh. Yeah."

And here's me with my terrific dad, who is doing his approximation of smiling. It's actually very close to the real thing this time.