Nothing like the lullaby of a lion's roar

This past Friday was Independence Day (1964) so of course we had the day off work. We were pretty keen on getting out of the city so Heather, our other friend Leila and I made plans with our friends Ebrahim (Ebs) and Salim to go to Kafue National Park, about 3 hours away. Unfortunately Heather had to go out of town for work so she couldnt come with us. We camped for the weekend, in the middle of the bush. The camp was beautiful, right on the Kafue river. It was very basic, no lodges or anything, just tents. A lovely eating area and very impressive bathrooms with proper toilets and everything! By now I am used to going in a latrine when I go to the compounds so this was luxury. We arrived Friday afternoon, rested for a few moments and then eagerly went on an evening game drive. We saw elephants, heaps of puku and impala (similar to deer), warthog, monkeys, baboons, waterbuck, kudu, and birds. It was amazing! We got back to camp and had a lovely meal. Saturday morning we woke up with the sunset and went on an early drive. Our driver told us that only about 15 minutes before we woke up, there was an elephant a mere 20 feet from our tent! On the drive we really wanted to spot some cats. No such luck, but we did see more elephants, some zebras, and vultures eating the leftover carcass of an impala. After breakfast we headed to another part of the river, 60km into the middle of nowhere, off the main road. A couple of times we had to stop the car to lift up a tree that had been broken down by elephants. We spent the afternoon relaxing, it was so peaceful there. We fished (I caught 2 fish!) and just sat by the water with the hippos not too far from us. There were no other people in sight, just the sounds of the birds and groans of the hippos. On the drive back to the main road we were lucky enough to spot a herd of about 50 elephants. It was quite something. We stopped in at a lodge that we had heard had a hippo that hangs out there. This was true, a hippo just lying there on their balcony overlooking the river with nothing more than a wicker bench separating us from him. Basil is his name. He is a wild hippo, not fed or trained by the lodge staff. He starting going there a few years back when he was being beaten up by the bigger hippos. I would too, it was a beautiful lodge! Now he is there on a daily basis, the owner told us. Great for business though!

Another delicious meal back at camp and a relatively early night to bed, considering we had woken up so early that morning. On our way back from the washrooms (after dark) I saw a set of eyes next to our tent, with my headlamp and immediately knew it was some sort of animal. I figured it was an impala or a puku since they are so rampant but when it didnt jump away but rather walked away ever so graciously, I knew it was not. I saw its approximate size and figure, described it to Ebs (who lived in the bush for many years) and sure enough.....it was most likely a leopard. A leapord???! Yikes! Apparently there is a female leopard with her cubs that pass through camp every so often. No need to worry though, I was quickly told. They are not at all interested in humans. Just don't bother them, they are more afraid of you then you are of them. So we sat and just talked for a while longer, only to hear a roar in the distance. Lions, Ebs says...they are likely fighting over a kill they had made. What's next? The sounds of elephants breaking down tree trucks for food. Don't worry, really - you are in a tent, you' re fine. So here we are in a camp with nothing more than a piece of nylon protecting us from the wild animals of Africa. As you can imagine, I didn't sleep all that well. But alas, I am fine. It was an amazing experience and a very relaxing weekend indeed.

I wanted to add some photos of the weekend but I only had a few minutes at the internet cafe so there wasn't enough time to upload them. Next time!

And thus let the rains begin!

Friday afternoon, the rains began. About an hour before it started raining Mwande told me, "it's going to rain today. The clouds are getting dark, the weather is changing and it smells like rain". My response was "no...it's too early isn't it?" The rains aren't supposed to start until mid to late October. What do I know though?! We both left work at the same time and minutes later it started trickling down. Minutes after that it started to rain rain. And minutes thereafter, it started to pour. I have never seen rain quite like it. I even had to take a different path at one point as my normal route was completely flooded. Even so, my alternate path I still had to walk through about a foot of water. I was totally not prepared for the rains to begin, mentally I mean. I felt that my whole aura was thrown off! Also physically I am not ready, no umbrella or gumboots as of yet. Apparently when the rains start early we can expect the next week or two to be really hot...as if the recent 40 degree weather hasn't been hot enough! But I know I will be aching for the heat once it starts raining everyday and I realize how unpleasant it is to be wet all the time.

My #1 and #2 most fun days in Zambia thus far

So last Saturday I was invited to my friend Mwande's home, the same friend that came to Melanie's birthday with us and in the photo with me from my last post. She lives with her mother, three year old daughter Emma, niece and two nephews. I arrived at 10am and she met me at the bus stop by her compound. We started off by buying some food at the market for lunch, followed by watching a dance competition that coincidentally was on at that time. It never seizes to amaze me how the people here can shake their hips! We then continued on to her place. When we were about 200m away I saw a pin sized figure in the horizon, slowly getting bigger and bigger. Mwande then says, "oh, there's Emma!" as she was running towards us with excitement. She ran right into my arms, it was so sweet. She was then my little buddy all day, attached to my hip. The original plan was for me to go to her place the weekend before last but since I was still not 100% well after the malaria, we decided to postpone. But Mwande had told Emma about me and she got really excited to meet me. Apparently, the weekend I had to cancel, Emma dressed herself early in the morning and was waiting by the door for me by the time Mwande woke up. As you can imagine by this, she was quite disappointed after her mother told her I wasn't coming. They live in a very densely populated shanty compound on the outskirts of Lusaka which does not see many (if any at all) white people. Emma had never met a white person before, and she was petting my arm, in awe with the colour of my skin. She didn't speak English but most often you don't need a common verbal language to communicate (which I have learned in working with some of my kids at the CICC who don't speak English). So we got to their place and within minutes, a pile of neighbour kids were coming to visit. We made lunch, outside on charcoal burners as they do not have electricity (or plumbing). We made nshima, rape (green vegetable) with groundnuts (peanuts), and soya pieces. It was delicious! Then we started off, visiting Mwande's family in neighbouring compounds. First was her grandmother, then her sister, and ending with her auntie. Boy did we ever walk a lot, in total of about 1.5 hours in the blazing sun! Throughout our adventure there, more and more kids followed behind us. Everyone was so friendly, greeting us and smiling and wanting to come along. It was such an amazing place, everything and everyone seeming so peaceful and joyful. I just couldn't stop smiling. We had only planned on staying at her aunties for a little while but then she turned the music on and the dance party begun...we started off slowly, everyone a bit shy, and only about 5 people. However, within a short while it seemed like the whole neighbourhood was in her auntie's tiny living room dancing away. There we were, about 25 people (4 adults and the rest kids) dancing to various Zambian and Congolese rhumba artists. I think I lost about 5 pounds in sweat! We danced for about 3 hours before heading back to Mwande's. We got back just before dark, I stayed for supper, sat with her family in their living room (lit up by a candle) and then made my way home. A day I will always remember, that's for sure. I have been invited back every Saturday.

This leads me to my second most fun day thus far. Yesterday, I went back to Mwande's place. Unfortunately Emma was with her grandmother at the farm so I didn't get to see them. Mwande picked me up, we bought some food from the market for lunch and headed straight to her auntie Stella's place. I cooked the nshima this time. I can tell that I am getting better at cooking it, as there are no longer dried chunks of mealie meal (corn flour) that have not been properly mixed in. They both told me a bit about their past, the "hell" they have been through, which gave me goose bumps. It is an inspiration to see where they are now, their successes and achievements, with all they have overcome. We then headed to Mwande's friend's baby shower, for 2 month old Janet. There were about 20 women, all with babies. I have in heaven, as you can imagine. It started off with singing and praying. There is always one or two people who lead the songs while the others follow, clapping away. Again, I got goose bumps and chills through my whole body. It is incredible how a group of women who likely have never all sung together as a group can sound like a professional choir. The songs were just so powerful and passionate, despite me not being able to understand them as they were in Nyanja. We then ate and opened presents and danced. Presents varied quite a bit, from 10pin (about $3) in cash to a soother to dresses. Mwande and I washed, rinsed, and dried all the dishes and the women were telling us they hope we have lots of babies who grow up and be as hard workers as us. No washing machines in sight. My cheeks hurt from smiling so much. All in all, quite a different baby shower than those in Canada. I will be back there next Saturday, for yet another baby shower!

The photos - last post I forgot to mention what the photos were. One of is of my friend Mwande and I and the other I took in the village I had visited. This post, the photos are of my flat. My landlord and his family live in most of what you see. We live in the right portion, where you see a window, a door and another window. Then the other photo is of our living room and kitchen (with Heather sitting there). To the right of that photo there is a tv and another couch and to the left is the rest of the kitchen and our bedrooms. Small but cozy!