Both Home and Away for the Holidays

Ok, I realize I'm posting twice in one day, but I don't know when I'll be able to access internet again...there’s so much to say, and I’m so curious as to how you all are. I hope everyone had amazing holidays and wishing you all the best for the new year. It was so wonderful to reunite with my family after such a long time (almost 5 years). Some are taller, some have a few more wrinkles, others have deeper voices and some look like they haven’t aged a day.

My Christmas in Lusaka was so beautiful. I spent the day with my beloved Granny, my cousin Beverly and her family. It was different being away from Mum and Ashlyn for the first time, but I still had such a great time. I did miss the snow, though…especially after hearing about how much Ottawa got this Christmas.

I spent my New Years in Livingstone, Zambia …home to the mighty Victoria Falls. Mosi-oa-tunya (the cloud that thunders) is what the locals call this 7th natural wonder of the world. It’s named this for the thundering cloud of mist that rises from the falls and can be seen for miles away. On New Years Eve my cousin Delese and I decided to take a walking safari tour to see the Victoria Falls from a completely different perspective…the edge (the side that thunders). With our guide Roland holding our hands tightly we crossed the mighty Zambezi; one slippery rock at a time and sometimes in waist-deep rushing water. The river can be so mesmerizing…there were more than a few instances where I almost fell over dizzy from watching it flow past my legs (I noticed Roland rarely looked down). My adrenaline was racing, knowing that one little slip could have meant being swept down the falls.

We waded through the river for about 1.5 hours until we finally reached "the swimming pool," a crater right at the edge of the falls. After carefully listening to Roland’s instructions as to where it was safe to swim and where to avoid, we eagerly dove in (I almost lost my bathing suit top…eek!). We swam around and waved to tourists on the other side (in Zambia to our left, and Zimbabwe to our right). After swimming and waving for 20 mins, we continued on to "the island (Tongabezi)," where we enjoyed a warm cup of tea (Mum, I wish you were there). Located on the island is a plaque that marks David Livingston’s expedition (the view from that location is the best I’ve ever seen of the falls). At that moment, I thought of my great-great grandfather, Thomas Baines, a painter who travelled with Livingstone. It was a full-circle kind of feeling, knowing that I was standing in the exact same spot that my ancestor had. The whole experience was exhilarating, challenging, and extremely nerve-wrecking at times, but it was a unique adventure that I’ll never forget.

We arrived back at the hotel just in time to clean up for the hotel’s new years’ dinner/dance. We (people of all different ages, shapes and sizes, from all around the world) danced it up into the wee hours of the morning. At around 5:30am I called it quits and limped off to bed, while the remaining young’ins decided to go for a morning dip in the hotel pool. We sure did pay for it the next morning when we had to check out by 10:30am…for a moment I regretted my last few glasses of champaign…just a moment, though. Heck, new years comes only once a year! Besides, I had a killer waffle at breakfast which made everything better…good food always does the trick.

Pics (top to bottom, left to right):

Shaq, Granny, Bri-anne, Beverly, Allan, Kaylee, me

Victoria Falls (our adventure took place on that side, not the side I took this pic)

Freda, Dad and me near Livingstone Statue

Vic Falls (from the Zambian side)

me and cousin Delese x 2

New Years crew - brother Zayne in the striped shirt

Life in Lusaka

Haha...this is the second time the power has gone off in Lusaka's largest shopping mall, Manda Hill..this is my third attempt at posting a blog. Argh! I'm revelling in, but still getting used to living life at a slower pace. I was just going to jump right into this blog thing by describing my trip and some of my adventures so far, but maybe I'll ease into it more slowly. Rather, I'd like to share something I wrote in my journal while driving through the city the other day...a glimpse of how Africa moves me...

January 14, 2008

I’ve been in Lusaka, Zambia for about a month now and I’m enjoying every moment. There’s this uniquely African characteristic that leaves me bewitched every time. It’s indescribable. It’s just something I feel. There’s this resilience and joyousness, despite disease and poverty; throughout hardships, drought and floods; beyond pain and suffering. There’s this hypnotizing energy that leaves me questioning; that leaves me wanting more…more songs, more laughter, more hard work, more sunshine, more rain, more love, more life, more living

.…a sense of fearlessness when there’s so much to fear (or rather, a sense that there's nothing to fear in the first place). The resolve to survive; it’s so strong here.

Images of Lusaka:

If you look carefully, the woman with the yellow basket is carrying mangoes...I'll tell you more about those later.