So I am having difficulty uploading the pictures on this site but I put them here. So check them out. They are a few pictures from my travels in South Africa and then a football match between Zambia and Norway.
A nice break from the village begins with....well I am not sure but this time it began with some delicious soup and chocolate cookies in Solwezi, a delayed bus ride to Ndola then a flight to South Africa.
I decided to visit South Africa for New Years and my birthday. I wanted to go back to the place that stole a piece of my heart 5 years ago. The trip was amazing. However it did start out to a bit of a rocky start. The bus that I was taking the day of the flight to travel the 4 hours to the airport was held up at the weigh bridge because it was overweight (part of the reason why I prefer hitch hiking). They made some people get out and get on a different bus, which then proceeded to drop them off a few kilometers down the road and we picked them up again after we had made it out of the weigh bridge. We also had to reposition people from the back of the bus to the front of the bus so we could get the weight right. Needless to say after 3 attempts over an hour at the weigh bridge, and what was supposed to be the second bus passing us we finally made it out of the weigh bridge. And yes I made it to ndola in time to catch my flight.
The flight itself was awesome. I felt so bwana (a Zambian term used to describe living the high life in comfort and luxury). I had plenty of leg room, the temperature was great, the seats were clean, no one was sitting in my seat, and I even got fed and got a drink. I forgot how great airplanes are. However when we made it to Johannesburg the person who agreed to pick us up from the airport and let us stay at his house bailed on us so we were in a bit of a pickle. Luckily Leanne and I don't get thrown off by these types of things. We found a backpackers and stayed there.
In Johannesburg we didn't do very much. We planned for the rest of the trip and went to the mall for a bit of shopping. The mall was huge (or I have just been in the village for too long). There were so many shops and clothing and everything you could ever need. If I was rich I am pretty sure I would have gone on a shopping spree instead I decided to be practical and get a pair of flip flops because mine were breaking (later in the trip one of the old ones broke and the other was lost in the Indian Ocean) and a hair clip.
The next day we took a bus to Durban. The bus ride was just for fellow backpackers and was a nice and fairly comfortable way to see some of the places along the way. We ended up getting in not to late and took a walk to uShaka's world and the boardwalk along the ocean where we got some seafood for dinner. The next day we went to the beach! The water was so warm. The Indian Ocean is amazing. That night it was New Years Eve so we walked to a bar along the board walk and danced the night away then took a swim in the Ocean to ring in the new year.
The next morning at 06:00 we had to catch a bus to Port Elizabeth. The bus took all day but luckily the next day was a night bus to Cape Town so we had a chance to walk around the city and the beach.
The next day when we got into Cape Town we had my friend from Stellenbosch, Louis, waiting to pick us up at the bus station. It was so great to see him. It is crazy how long it has been but how easy it is to feel like it was just the other day that I last saw him. He took us around the city a bit. We rode the Wheel of Excellence, the local Ferris wheel, and went to Kirstenbosh Gardens. The next day we took a site seeing tour of the city and went to the top of Table Mountain.
Next we decided to go to Stellenbosch and visit my old home. It was crazy to see the things that have changed but it was also amazing how well I still knew my way around. We spent one day going wine tasting and the next meandering around the town visiting some of my favorite places.
When we went back to Cape Town we decided to go visit those crazy Jack Ass penguins. They have now blocked the beach off so you cant go right next to them or swim in the same water as them but it was still an experience. And leanne got to touch the Atlantic Ocean for the first time, who would have ever thought that she would be doing it from Africa and not the United States?.
The next day we met up with another of my friends Brownyn and had a birthday lunch which was amazing. We went to the top of signal hill for an amazing view of the city, Hout Bay to walk along a beach, Camps Bay for drinks and then back to Cape Town for one more drink before bed.
The next day was just flights back to Johannesburg, then Lusaka but at the Jo'burg airport I got to see another friend from Stellenbosch for a short time.
It was a great trip over all and a nice break from the village.
Monday, January 14, 2013
Holiday Reflections
I would be lying to you if I said that the holiday season wasn't one of the hardest times to be a Peace Corps Volunteer. It is one of the few times where within a few months so many things that I love, i am unable to partake in. There are so many events with family and friends that you miss serving abroad and then hear about the fun times had at these. There are traditions that are not and cannot be followed. The normal food and drinks are not available. Basically the familiarity and the comfort of the holiday season is gone. The love that is normally felt is not given and received. But with all of this said you learn to appreciate things differently and share and receive love in ways that I didn't expect.
First to all of my friends and family back home in America you are amazing. Your support means the world to me and the fact that even if we don't talk, email, or write all that often, I know that I could call on one of you and you would be there in a heartbeat to support me.
Second to my friends and family in Zambia, thanks so much for welcoming me into your traditions and celebrations and for coming along in this crazy journey.
I thought that I would share a bit of my Christmas experience in the village with you all. Every time I hear the word Christmas I cringe a little now. Christmas here doesn't mean what it does in America. If someone says Christmas to you it means "What are you going to give me because it is 2 weeks before the 25th of December, the 25th of December or 2 weeks after the 25th of December?" (This is the same for the word New Years). So people just walk by (both me and other Zambians) and say Christmas and are hoping that money will be thrown into their arms. So instead of money I spent about a week making over 100 friendship bracelets to give you to the 4 families that I am closest within the village.
Christmas morning itself I woke up and mad e pancakes for my host family with the children helping. They enjoyed them a lot..but this was only the beginning. As soon as I went to go and fetch my water someone in my family called me over to sit and eat a HUGE bowl of rice and sugar...I was so full but I couldn't say no. Rice is a huge luxury, rice and sugar that is being decadent. It was so nice of them to share with me.
On Christmas Eve one of my friends, Minata, invited me to her house on Christmas at 9. When I arrived I brought some pancakes which were devoured as soon as I arrived. I then had each one on her compound come and close their eyes then choose a friendship bracelet out of the bag, which was a little overwhelming because people kept wanting more or asking to change but luckily Minata kept things under control. Then Minata proceeded to bring my inside her house and feed me again (I just ate less than an hour ago!). She had prepared tea with powdered milk and sugar(very rare and super expensive) just for me no one else was drinking it (i felt a little guilty about that), a big bowl or rice and sugar, 2 buns which she saved just for me instead of selling and butter. This was a very very extravagant meal and such a kind gesture to prepare this sort of meal and invite me over for it.
Later in the day everyone was at church so I had some alone time to sit and reflect on my time in Zambia. We even held a women's club meeting that day. I then just hung around with my family and kids it was very relaxing. I got to talk to my family in America and I made a huge pot of rice pudding for my family in Zambia.
It was definitely not my typical Christmas, I would be lying if I didn't say I missed that kind of Christmas, but I was surrounded by people who loved me and got to experience something that I may never experience again. I felt loved by so many on that day.
First to all of my friends and family back home in America you are amazing. Your support means the world to me and the fact that even if we don't talk, email, or write all that often, I know that I could call on one of you and you would be there in a heartbeat to support me.
Second to my friends and family in Zambia, thanks so much for welcoming me into your traditions and celebrations and for coming along in this crazy journey.
I thought that I would share a bit of my Christmas experience in the village with you all. Every time I hear the word Christmas I cringe a little now. Christmas here doesn't mean what it does in America. If someone says Christmas to you it means "What are you going to give me because it is 2 weeks before the 25th of December, the 25th of December or 2 weeks after the 25th of December?" (This is the same for the word New Years). So people just walk by (both me and other Zambians) and say Christmas and are hoping that money will be thrown into their arms. So instead of money I spent about a week making over 100 friendship bracelets to give you to the 4 families that I am closest within the village.
Christmas morning itself I woke up and mad e pancakes for my host family with the children helping. They enjoyed them a lot..but this was only the beginning. As soon as I went to go and fetch my water someone in my family called me over to sit and eat a HUGE bowl of rice and sugar...I was so full but I couldn't say no. Rice is a huge luxury, rice and sugar that is being decadent. It was so nice of them to share with me.
On Christmas Eve one of my friends, Minata, invited me to her house on Christmas at 9. When I arrived I brought some pancakes which were devoured as soon as I arrived. I then had each one on her compound come and close their eyes then choose a friendship bracelet out of the bag, which was a little overwhelming because people kept wanting more or asking to change but luckily Minata kept things under control. Then Minata proceeded to bring my inside her house and feed me again (I just ate less than an hour ago!). She had prepared tea with powdered milk and sugar(very rare and super expensive) just for me no one else was drinking it (i felt a little guilty about that), a big bowl or rice and sugar, 2 buns which she saved just for me instead of selling and butter. This was a very very extravagant meal and such a kind gesture to prepare this sort of meal and invite me over for it.
Later in the day everyone was at church so I had some alone time to sit and reflect on my time in Zambia. We even held a women's club meeting that day. I then just hung around with my family and kids it was very relaxing. I got to talk to my family in America and I made a huge pot of rice pudding for my family in Zambia.
It was definitely not my typical Christmas, I would be lying if I didn't say I missed that kind of Christmas, but I was surrounded by people who loved me and got to experience something that I may never experience again. I felt loved by so many on that day.
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