(EDITOR'S NOTE: Katherine Cox, a graduate of Abilene High School, is a senior at Davidson College in North Carolina. Interested in women's reproductive health issues, she is participating in a medical mission in Mwandi, Zambia. She is the daughter of Bart and Jackie Cox.)

(From original e-mail to family and friends)

After 4 days (with less than 4 hours of sleep each night) of travel on four different planes we have finally arrived in Zambia. When we arrived in Johannesburg, South Africa, after a 17 hour flight we went immediately to our hotel where we ate our first meal in an Irish pub! The city was so big; it seemed more like New York instead of Africa. There were so many skyscrapers and nice car driving around that the only thing I noticed was that this city was not poor!

The next day we boarded a plane for Livingstone, Zambia. The atmosphere here is much more what you would expect of Africa except that it is freezing (yep, it is winter here!). On our first drive into town a man waved excitedly and said "Hey, white people!" We made our way to the market where the people were very nice and excited for the opportunity to talk. I spoke to one man for a while about the AIDS epidemic here and he felt that the only way for the situation to improve was for the Zambian government to improve the education system here so that people can get better jobs. He even mentioned that many women are turning to prostitution because they have no other way of obtaining an income. Although I knew most of this before coming, it was great to get to speak to an actual Zambian about it. Interestingly, this man actually liked President Bush because of all the money he has sent here for the AIDS medicine. This feeling did not seem to be widespread however, because the next vendor down expressed his dislike for Bush's policy. I guess the feelings are mixed here just as in the states.

The lodge that we are staying at here is beautiful! The rooms are open-air thatched roof huts (with mosquito nets and waterfall showers!). I can't wait to show all of you the pictures. It is like an African resort that you might see in the movies, and the food and people are so nice.

Today was the best day yet. We went to the breathtaking Victoria Falls. I cannot describe the power of the water through the falls which were over a mile long and 108 meters high. We even hiked down to the "boiling pot" which was down where all the water mixes together at the bottom of the falls. It was quite a hike, but the view was worth it. Luckily, my rain suit kept me dry, although I didn't really care because the water in my face only added to the experience. I can truly understand why it is one of the seven natural wonders of the world. I felt completely alive when I looked up and knew that there had to be a God to create such a magnificent structure. On our hike back up the cutest baboon family came up to us and I took lots of pictures of the baby baboon (don't worry no monkey attacked us this time!).