I'm back in Canada, safe and sound :) Kind of stressed out with an upcoming interview but also very very excited to see everybody I have missed seeing the past 6 months!
Happy early Easter!
Looks like I need a ZoeinCanada blog now :)
... Thanks for reading xo
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Saturday, March 1, 2008
A peach coloured wedding...
Jen, Julianna and I went to a real live Zambian wedding last night!
Our friend Kabuswe (an UNZA student I work with) invited us (it was his cousin’s wedding) and a bunch of his other friends (who we also know from UNZA)… so many brackets, oh my!
Before the wedding we got dressed (& drank a little wine) at Jen’s house, enjoyed Jen’s random music assortment haha and tried to hail a cab in the rain (which ended up being an empty somewhat sketchy mini bus). Once at the wedding (we were quite late) there were many speeches (some in French because the groom was from France), comedy interludes (from the oh so witty MC), a lot of excellent food (surprsingly, no nshima) and dancing. It was a fun time, and everybody looked great (the bridal party wore peach coloured dresses). I’m trying to recall particularly ‘Zambian’ features of the wedding but can’t point out much in particular except that there were some pretty fun dance interludes (performed by Kabuswe’s little sisters) and after cutting the cake the bride and groom presented the top tiers of their cake to their parents in quite a ceremonial fashion.
All in all, an excellent night...
Photos @: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2198057&l=5c213&id=13613119
Our friend Kabuswe (an UNZA student I work with) invited us (it was his cousin’s wedding) and a bunch of his other friends (who we also know from UNZA)… so many brackets, oh my!
Before the wedding we got dressed (& drank a little wine) at Jen’s house, enjoyed Jen’s random music assortment haha and tried to hail a cab in the rain (which ended up being an empty somewhat sketchy mini bus). Once at the wedding (we were quite late) there were many speeches (some in French because the groom was from France), comedy interludes (from the oh so witty MC), a lot of excellent food (surprsingly, no nshima) and dancing. It was a fun time, and everybody looked great (the bridal party wore peach coloured dresses). I’m trying to recall particularly ‘Zambian’ features of the wedding but can’t point out much in particular except that there were some pretty fun dance interludes (performed by Kabuswe’s little sisters) and after cutting the cake the bride and groom presented the top tiers of their cake to their parents in quite a ceremonial fashion.
All in all, an excellent night...
Photos @: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2198057&l=5c213&id=13613119
Week II
Once showered, fed and relaxed (i.e. the day after we came off the mountain) we had a full day in Tanzania (because we had descended a day early). Most the morning was spent sorting out our rented equipment and swimming in the pool (so nice!), after which we met with our guide, cook, ‘waiter’ and porters to go for beers in town. This was Rob’s idea and ended up being a really good one as our tour staff seemed to really enjoy it and we got a taste of local Tanzanian life. We found out that our (very young looking) tour guides actually ranged in age from 17 to 40, ranged in faith (Christian and Muslim), and in the late afternoon we got to visit our guide Freddy’s home and family. His house was quite close to the downtown and was decorated with wedding pictures/momentos, stuffed animals (much to my delight) and pretty high tech (a huge television in the small living room). It was really nice spending the afternoon there talking to his wife, looking at their various photo albums and playing with our guide’s son and nephew.
Once we got back to our hotel my mom was just arriving from her various safaris (she had a great time!) and we all had dinner together in town. The next day we headed back to Zzzzambia!
For the next week I toured Rob around UNZA (my workplace), introduced him to some of my friends (we had a fun dinner night out), bought some curios at the Sunday market, took him to the hot and chaotic city market and even squeezed in a little viewing of the local soccer teams (they were an intense bunch!).
As you can see from the pictures we also managed to fit in a little trip to Livingstone… Because of the floods the roads were pretty bad between Lusaka (i.e. L-sack) and Livingstone (L-stone) and the bus took forever (plus it left late), so we were pretty tired when we arrived in town. However, we mustered up some energy to enjoy our swanky hotel, check out the falls, go for a swim and have a very romantic dinner (!). Very nice.
The next day we went on safari at the small national park nearby and saw a whole bunch of animals: zebras, giraffes, a hippo, impala (which Rob happily ate for dinner the day before! Shocking!) and the ever elusive white rhino. An excellent safari, followed by an excellent bus ride back to the L-sack. Actually, the bus ride wasn’t so bad because we had top notch Nigerian (?) videos playing much of the time. Of particular amusement were the cheesey endings (i.e. a man kneeling in the ocean, screaming/crying, waving his fists in anger because his girlfriend has died/disappeared – sort of hard to describe) and our favourite film entitled ‘Butterfly’ – a film about a man (formerly a bit of a ‘player’) who met a woman ONCE, decided he wanted to settle down and make this woman his wife and therefore spent the whole movie ‘pulling the moves/wooing/convincing her’ despite her clear and consistent rejection of him. ‘Stalker’ would have been a better title. It was pretty hilarious. Of course, in the end he won her over…
The rest of the visit was pretty low key. We drank a lot of local beer, watched Eastern Promises (excellent movie! 4 thumbs up!) and enjoyed the sunshine. And now Rob is back in chilly freezing Canada. Yuck!
Oh and for all of you who have asked when exactly I will return: It’ll be March 14th… but I’ll be pretty MIA until March 21st due to school stuff. I’m looking forward to being home!
Once we got back to our hotel my mom was just arriving from her various safaris (she had a great time!) and we all had dinner together in town. The next day we headed back to Zzzzambia!
For the next week I toured Rob around UNZA (my workplace), introduced him to some of my friends (we had a fun dinner night out), bought some curios at the Sunday market, took him to the hot and chaotic city market and even squeezed in a little viewing of the local soccer teams (they were an intense bunch!).
As you can see from the pictures we also managed to fit in a little trip to Livingstone… Because of the floods the roads were pretty bad between Lusaka (i.e. L-sack) and Livingstone (L-stone) and the bus took forever (plus it left late), so we were pretty tired when we arrived in town. However, we mustered up some energy to enjoy our swanky hotel, check out the falls, go for a swim and have a very romantic dinner (!). Very nice.
The next day we went on safari at the small national park nearby and saw a whole bunch of animals: zebras, giraffes, a hippo, impala (which Rob happily ate for dinner the day before! Shocking!) and the ever elusive white rhino. An excellent safari, followed by an excellent bus ride back to the L-sack. Actually, the bus ride wasn’t so bad because we had top notch Nigerian (?) videos playing much of the time. Of particular amusement were the cheesey endings (i.e. a man kneeling in the ocean, screaming/crying, waving his fists in anger because his girlfriend has died/disappeared – sort of hard to describe) and our favourite film entitled ‘Butterfly’ – a film about a man (formerly a bit of a ‘player’) who met a woman ONCE, decided he wanted to settle down and make this woman his wife and therefore spent the whole movie ‘pulling the moves/wooing/convincing her’ despite her clear and consistent rejection of him. ‘Stalker’ would have been a better title. It was pretty hilarious. Of course, in the end he won her over…
The rest of the visit was pretty low key. We drank a lot of local beer, watched Eastern Promises (excellent movie! 4 thumbs up!) and enjoyed the sunshine. And now Rob is back in chilly freezing Canada. Yuck!
Oh and for all of you who have asked when exactly I will return: It’ll be March 14th… but I’ll be pretty MIA until March 21st due to school stuff. I’m looking forward to being home!
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Zo Versus the Volcano
First things first: We made it all the way up! Sorry for ruining the suspense, but I’m pretty excited and shocked that we made it all the way… Oh, and for all of you who (rightly?) suspect that I’m too much of a pansy to make it all the way, we have about 300 photos to prove it! Ha!
Where to begin? I guess I’ll start at the very beginning…
About two weeks ago Robinson and I met up in Moshi (a small city in Tanzania, at the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro) and began our climb up the tallest mountain in Africa (the tallest free standing mountain in the world!), with Zara Tours. Our climb began on a Monday at Machame Gate and was a full day of climbing through the rainforest. The rainforest was really lush, there were waterfalls along the way and we stopped for a huge packed lunch half way up. I think the most surprising part of the day was realizing how many porters were joining us up the mountain (5 porters, 4 staff) and how much stuff they had to carry. Most of them were carrying about 25kg (on their head or on their back) and were constantly overtaking all us visitors. It was pretty crazy to see, and really put our ‘heavy’ backpacks into perspective. The first day was pretty manageable (not too steep), but some of the questions we were asked made me doubt whether we were actually ready for the climb. In particular: ‘So what other mountains have you climbed?’, to which we replied, ‘we’ve never climbed a mountain before’… or to avoid further scrutiny Rob would sometimes say ‘Mont Royal’ (which usually caused sufficient confusion) haha. Our first campsite was pretty nice, surrounded by short trees covered in long Spanish moss and constantly surrounded by fog/clouds. It reminded me of the movie Labyrinth (which quickly turned into a discussion of David Bowie’s current fate). When we arrived at the first campsite our tent was already pitched (yay!), tea and popcorn was waiting for us, and we were given a big bucket of hot water to wash ourselves (a system of bathing we grew to despise with time haha). Dinner was also pretty great, always beginning with an excellent cream soup, followed by some sort of meat, vegetables and fruit dessert. We ate very well the whole week. The first night’s sleep was pretty good too, our sleeping bags kept us warm and we got lots of sleep (minus the odd middle of the night bathroom trip that Robinson kindly/grumpily accompanied me on haha). Oh and when I say bathrooms, I mean dirty, poorly designed huts with holes in the ground. Niiiice. Clearly not designed for the lady climber ;) … the rest of the night was pretty uneventful except for the elephant shru that I heard outside of our tent snuffling around. I felt privledged to be so close to the elephant shru, as it was discovered only about a year ago due to its elusiveness. Robinson seemed bitter to have missed out on the little animal, and therefore remains suspicious of its existence (/my truthfulness).
The next day we were treated to a hot breakfast and sent climbing by 8:15. The climb was a lot steeper than the day before, with more big rocks to climb over and around, and we were climbing in the clouds much of the day. Although it was a bit more challenging the climb was pretty interesting because the vegetation started to thin out and trying to scramble over the rocks added a bit more excitement. For lunch we were again treated to a feast, but this time on a table, sitting out in the sun. It was great, except that half of Team Extreme (our very original team name) doesn’t like eggs, so I was required to eat double egg portions at every meal (in exchange for my porridge in the morning). As a result, I don’t really like eggs any more haha. After lunch we kept climbing (not much further) and reached our campsite at about 3pm. There’s not much to tell about this campsite, it was pretty bleak and forgettable, but a fine place to stay. The only bad thing was that it rained all night and our stuff got a little wet. But still, a good night’s sleep.
The next day was less steep than the one before but the altitude started to become noticeable. Landscape-wise it was sort of rolling hills covered in slate-like rock. No plants or animals at all. At lunch time we had to decide whether to take the long, higher altitude trek to the campsite (past Lava Rock) or take the more direct, low route. Although I was feeling a bit nauseous (I pretty much felt nauseous on and off for the rest of the trip), we decided to take the longer route because it was better for acclimatization and we wanted to see the Rock. I actually felt better after lunch and the hike up was really enjoyable. The Lava Rock is just a huge black Rock (I was relatively unimpressed, but I think Rob was amused ha), but the walk down from it was gorgeous (my favourite stretch). We passed through a lava gateway (two lava walls) and climbed down a steep valley towards the campsite. The whole way down it snowed/hailed and rained, the vegetation started to reappear and there were a few streams/waterfalls at the bottom. The plants were great to see after so much rock, but looked pretty random (i.e. “plant, why would you choose to grow in this most inhospitable spot?!”). Our favourites were the random Kili trees (medium-tall, gangley, palm/cactus-like plants found only on Mt. Kili), though I took pictures of most of the flowers we saw (much to Rob’s delight). Haha. The campsite was absolutely beautiful. It overlooked the city and had the snowy mountain as a backdrop. We had an excellent time at that campsite, but really could feel the change in altitude as we were out of breath whenever we moved around.
The next morning we had a big breakfast – good preparation for our very long day ahead. The first task was to scale Barranco wall – a very steep, tall, lava rock wall situated beside our campground. It took about two hours to scale it (mainly because we had to do it single-file very slowly), but it was a lot of fun to do because it was real rock climbing (minus the harness). Once we got to the top we had a few more hills and valleys to hike through, another steep climb, and finally lunch. Along the way we saw caves and got a drink of water from the last little stream (at the base camp there isn’t any water). Lunch was at a campsite that some people stay at to acclimatize (they take 7 days versus 6) and was a very rushed meal as we were running a little late. The rest of the hike was really really cloudy, rainy/snowy and bleak. Again, there were only grey rocks, and no sign of life – much like I imagine the moon must be. Tired, wet and cold we finally reached base camp at about 6pm. I won’t get into all the dreary details, but the next few hours were pretty unenjoyable as we were exhausted, our tent had been pitched in a mini ice lake and all of our clothes were wet. I was pretty snappy and Robinson was pretty unimpressed. Happy Valentine’s day, eh? Haha. Anyways, things were a little better around supper time (we had a very romantic candlelight meal!) and our guides came into the tent to prep us for the final climb. They clearly had been drinking (actually pretty customary for guides during the last stretch) and had many humorous comments pertaining to Valentine’s Day, the final climb and how good they thought Rob’s and my relationship was (awk-ward), haha, yeah but pretty funny. After that they sent us to bed for three hours to rest.
For those three hours (8-11pm) Rob coughed, I rolled around (too cold to sleep) and neither of us actually rested. We were woken up at 11, told to get dressed, have some tea and biscuits and then we were off. With our headlights on, and bundled in our warmest gear we began the very very very slow walk up the rest of the mountain. It was (of course) pitch black, and the terrain was pretty steep and flat (i.e. just gravel, few rocks). Not to get into unnecessary detail but we were both feeling pretty uesless. Rob had an upset stomach and headache and I felt really nauseous the whole way up. As a result we had to stop a fair bit, and I required coaxing much of the way up. Because Rob wouldn’t play 20 questions with me (we were both too dazed to talk properly), I had to amuse myself looking at snow patches and deciding what animals they most looked like. There were many geese and giraffes en route…
Finally, at 6:30am the sun began to rise and we arrived at Stella Peak (the second tallest peak). At this peak I told Rob something along the lines of “I feel like dieing, I’m not going any further, please go to the top without me”…. However, him nor the guides seemed to convinced of my ill state and made me keep walking. In the end I’m glad we all kept going because the sunshine made us both feel a lot better. After about an hour of hiking (fortunately at much less of an incline) we were at Uhuru! It was gorgeous up there! We were above the clouds, so close to the sun and surrounded by snow and glaciers. Really beautiful, and well worth the trek. Unfortunately though, in my oxygen deprived state I forgot that the peak was on the edge of a crater and didn’t even see the crater. Rob claims to have seen the huge crater (despite his lack of photographic proof), but I somehow missed it :(
As the sun kept rising we began to descend. We basically ran and slid down the side of the mountain (the gravel was no longer frozen and became all sandy). It was a lot of fun though the fatigue started to kick in near the end and our toes hurt from descent. Aside from the expected difficulties Rob actually began to suffer from serious altitude sickness. His heachache was much worse, he was dehydrated and lost all energy (he staggered down the mountain and appeared intoxicated) and finally he actually collapsed on the trail. Altitude sickness can be life threatening if you don’t descent quickly (your brain swells), so I was really really worried about him. Fortunately though, we got water from other hikers who were walking by and the porters brought water up from the base camp. At camp Rob slept a bit, drank a lot, took altitude medication and we decided we’d descend all the way to the base on that day (normally you go part way, sleep the night, and finish the next day).
The rest of the day was spent descending the mountain through a shorter route than we took on the way up. Fortunately, we went quickly and Rob felt much better by mid-day. However, the trails down were pretty miserable (we were basically walking through a rocky river the whole way down), it rained the whole time and I seriously hurt my toes (even now they’re all infected and I’ll probably lose two toe nails, grosssss). So walk walk walk, lots of rain, few stops, moon scape-mossy forest-rain forest…. And finally we were at the bottom (it took about 8 hours). Unfortunately we were both too useless to take pictures on the way down. Luckily, we were picked up by the tour company at the very base (at about 7pm) and whisked off to the hotel where we showered (the best part of the day!), ate well, drank a little ‘Tusker’ (Kenyan beer) and went right to bed.
So that was Kili. It was great!
Despite my minor complaints, I’m really glad we did it and couldn’t have asked for a better partner. I think we both had a lot of fun and will never forget the adventure and unbelievable landscapes of those five days : )
... More 'off the mountain' details to come...
Photos @: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2196187&l=0d859&id=13613119
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2196303&l=cd5b4&id=13613119
Where to begin? I guess I’ll start at the very beginning…
About two weeks ago Robinson and I met up in Moshi (a small city in Tanzania, at the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro) and began our climb up the tallest mountain in Africa (the tallest free standing mountain in the world!), with Zara Tours. Our climb began on a Monday at Machame Gate and was a full day of climbing through the rainforest. The rainforest was really lush, there were waterfalls along the way and we stopped for a huge packed lunch half way up. I think the most surprising part of the day was realizing how many porters were joining us up the mountain (5 porters, 4 staff) and how much stuff they had to carry. Most of them were carrying about 25kg (on their head or on their back) and were constantly overtaking all us visitors. It was pretty crazy to see, and really put our ‘heavy’ backpacks into perspective. The first day was pretty manageable (not too steep), but some of the questions we were asked made me doubt whether we were actually ready for the climb. In particular: ‘So what other mountains have you climbed?’, to which we replied, ‘we’ve never climbed a mountain before’… or to avoid further scrutiny Rob would sometimes say ‘Mont Royal’ (which usually caused sufficient confusion) haha. Our first campsite was pretty nice, surrounded by short trees covered in long Spanish moss and constantly surrounded by fog/clouds. It reminded me of the movie Labyrinth (which quickly turned into a discussion of David Bowie’s current fate). When we arrived at the first campsite our tent was already pitched (yay!), tea and popcorn was waiting for us, and we were given a big bucket of hot water to wash ourselves (a system of bathing we grew to despise with time haha). Dinner was also pretty great, always beginning with an excellent cream soup, followed by some sort of meat, vegetables and fruit dessert. We ate very well the whole week. The first night’s sleep was pretty good too, our sleeping bags kept us warm and we got lots of sleep (minus the odd middle of the night bathroom trip that Robinson kindly/grumpily accompanied me on haha). Oh and when I say bathrooms, I mean dirty, poorly designed huts with holes in the ground. Niiiice. Clearly not designed for the lady climber ;) … the rest of the night was pretty uneventful except for the elephant shru that I heard outside of our tent snuffling around. I felt privledged to be so close to the elephant shru, as it was discovered only about a year ago due to its elusiveness. Robinson seemed bitter to have missed out on the little animal, and therefore remains suspicious of its existence (/my truthfulness).
The next day we were treated to a hot breakfast and sent climbing by 8:15. The climb was a lot steeper than the day before, with more big rocks to climb over and around, and we were climbing in the clouds much of the day. Although it was a bit more challenging the climb was pretty interesting because the vegetation started to thin out and trying to scramble over the rocks added a bit more excitement. For lunch we were again treated to a feast, but this time on a table, sitting out in the sun. It was great, except that half of Team Extreme (our very original team name) doesn’t like eggs, so I was required to eat double egg portions at every meal (in exchange for my porridge in the morning). As a result, I don’t really like eggs any more haha. After lunch we kept climbing (not much further) and reached our campsite at about 3pm. There’s not much to tell about this campsite, it was pretty bleak and forgettable, but a fine place to stay. The only bad thing was that it rained all night and our stuff got a little wet. But still, a good night’s sleep.
The next day was less steep than the one before but the altitude started to become noticeable. Landscape-wise it was sort of rolling hills covered in slate-like rock. No plants or animals at all. At lunch time we had to decide whether to take the long, higher altitude trek to the campsite (past Lava Rock) or take the more direct, low route. Although I was feeling a bit nauseous (I pretty much felt nauseous on and off for the rest of the trip), we decided to take the longer route because it was better for acclimatization and we wanted to see the Rock. I actually felt better after lunch and the hike up was really enjoyable. The Lava Rock is just a huge black Rock (I was relatively unimpressed, but I think Rob was amused ha), but the walk down from it was gorgeous (my favourite stretch). We passed through a lava gateway (two lava walls) and climbed down a steep valley towards the campsite. The whole way down it snowed/hailed and rained, the vegetation started to reappear and there were a few streams/waterfalls at the bottom. The plants were great to see after so much rock, but looked pretty random (i.e. “plant, why would you choose to grow in this most inhospitable spot?!”). Our favourites were the random Kili trees (medium-tall, gangley, palm/cactus-like plants found only on Mt. Kili), though I took pictures of most of the flowers we saw (much to Rob’s delight). Haha. The campsite was absolutely beautiful. It overlooked the city and had the snowy mountain as a backdrop. We had an excellent time at that campsite, but really could feel the change in altitude as we were out of breath whenever we moved around.
The next morning we had a big breakfast – good preparation for our very long day ahead. The first task was to scale Barranco wall – a very steep, tall, lava rock wall situated beside our campground. It took about two hours to scale it (mainly because we had to do it single-file very slowly), but it was a lot of fun to do because it was real rock climbing (minus the harness). Once we got to the top we had a few more hills and valleys to hike through, another steep climb, and finally lunch. Along the way we saw caves and got a drink of water from the last little stream (at the base camp there isn’t any water). Lunch was at a campsite that some people stay at to acclimatize (they take 7 days versus 6) and was a very rushed meal as we were running a little late. The rest of the hike was really really cloudy, rainy/snowy and bleak. Again, there were only grey rocks, and no sign of life – much like I imagine the moon must be. Tired, wet and cold we finally reached base camp at about 6pm. I won’t get into all the dreary details, but the next few hours were pretty unenjoyable as we were exhausted, our tent had been pitched in a mini ice lake and all of our clothes were wet. I was pretty snappy and Robinson was pretty unimpressed. Happy Valentine’s day, eh? Haha. Anyways, things were a little better around supper time (we had a very romantic candlelight meal!) and our guides came into the tent to prep us for the final climb. They clearly had been drinking (actually pretty customary for guides during the last stretch) and had many humorous comments pertaining to Valentine’s Day, the final climb and how good they thought Rob’s and my relationship was (awk-ward), haha, yeah but pretty funny. After that they sent us to bed for three hours to rest.
For those three hours (8-11pm) Rob coughed, I rolled around (too cold to sleep) and neither of us actually rested. We were woken up at 11, told to get dressed, have some tea and biscuits and then we were off. With our headlights on, and bundled in our warmest gear we began the very very very slow walk up the rest of the mountain. It was (of course) pitch black, and the terrain was pretty steep and flat (i.e. just gravel, few rocks). Not to get into unnecessary detail but we were both feeling pretty uesless. Rob had an upset stomach and headache and I felt really nauseous the whole way up. As a result we had to stop a fair bit, and I required coaxing much of the way up. Because Rob wouldn’t play 20 questions with me (we were both too dazed to talk properly), I had to amuse myself looking at snow patches and deciding what animals they most looked like. There were many geese and giraffes en route…
Finally, at 6:30am the sun began to rise and we arrived at Stella Peak (the second tallest peak). At this peak I told Rob something along the lines of “I feel like dieing, I’m not going any further, please go to the top without me”…. However, him nor the guides seemed to convinced of my ill state and made me keep walking. In the end I’m glad we all kept going because the sunshine made us both feel a lot better. After about an hour of hiking (fortunately at much less of an incline) we were at Uhuru! It was gorgeous up there! We were above the clouds, so close to the sun and surrounded by snow and glaciers. Really beautiful, and well worth the trek. Unfortunately though, in my oxygen deprived state I forgot that the peak was on the edge of a crater and didn’t even see the crater. Rob claims to have seen the huge crater (despite his lack of photographic proof), but I somehow missed it :(
As the sun kept rising we began to descend. We basically ran and slid down the side of the mountain (the gravel was no longer frozen and became all sandy). It was a lot of fun though the fatigue started to kick in near the end and our toes hurt from descent. Aside from the expected difficulties Rob actually began to suffer from serious altitude sickness. His heachache was much worse, he was dehydrated and lost all energy (he staggered down the mountain and appeared intoxicated) and finally he actually collapsed on the trail. Altitude sickness can be life threatening if you don’t descent quickly (your brain swells), so I was really really worried about him. Fortunately though, we got water from other hikers who were walking by and the porters brought water up from the base camp. At camp Rob slept a bit, drank a lot, took altitude medication and we decided we’d descend all the way to the base on that day (normally you go part way, sleep the night, and finish the next day).
The rest of the day was spent descending the mountain through a shorter route than we took on the way up. Fortunately, we went quickly and Rob felt much better by mid-day. However, the trails down were pretty miserable (we were basically walking through a rocky river the whole way down), it rained the whole time and I seriously hurt my toes (even now they’re all infected and I’ll probably lose two toe nails, grosssss). So walk walk walk, lots of rain, few stops, moon scape-mossy forest-rain forest…. And finally we were at the bottom (it took about 8 hours). Unfortunately we were both too useless to take pictures on the way down. Luckily, we were picked up by the tour company at the very base (at about 7pm) and whisked off to the hotel where we showered (the best part of the day!), ate well, drank a little ‘Tusker’ (Kenyan beer) and went right to bed.
So that was Kili. It was great!
Despite my minor complaints, I’m really glad we did it and couldn’t have asked for a better partner. I think we both had a lot of fun and will never forget the adventure and unbelievable landscapes of those five days : )
... More 'off the mountain' details to come...
Photos @: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2196187&l=0d859&id=13613119
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2196303&l=cd5b4&id=13613119
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
looking back...
(Other than the people at home I really love and miss…) I’m pretty sad to be leaving Zambia so soon. As I was walking home at sunset today, dodging the rocks and mud on one of my field short cuts I thought ‘this is a pretty sweet deal’. Every now and then, when left to my own thoughts and devices, I really appreciate how excellent my life here really is.
I’m really enjoying the work I’m doing these days (the gender project), my coworkers make me laugh a lot, I’ve made some friends here I think I will keep in good touch with for years to come and who have been such fun companions during lunch breaks and on the weekends, the weather here is almost always great (sunny, sometimes rainy), I get to swim and run around a fair bit and I am learning so much, often in the most unexpected of places. All this to say that I’m very happy these days and getting all sketchy at the thought of leaving.
Don’t get me wrong though, I am certainly very much looking forward to being at home, seeing everybody I have been so far away from and of course chowing down on some sushi/lattes/bagels!
p.s. Robinson will be here in 3 days! ahhh! :)
I’m really enjoying the work I’m doing these days (the gender project), my coworkers make me laugh a lot, I’ve made some friends here I think I will keep in good touch with for years to come and who have been such fun companions during lunch breaks and on the weekends, the weather here is almost always great (sunny, sometimes rainy), I get to swim and run around a fair bit and I am learning so much, often in the most unexpected of places. All this to say that I’m very happy these days and getting all sketchy at the thought of leaving.
Don’t get me wrong though, I am certainly very much looking forward to being at home, seeing everybody I have been so far away from and of course chowing down on some sushi/lattes/bagels!
p.s. Robinson will be here in 3 days! ahhh! :)
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
more love
So, unlike my last grim little entry, I think this one will be a bit more upbeat. I woke up today smiling, avoided the bitterberry juice (ha), and couldn’t help but notice all the lovely things about living here. So here they are.
Things I love about Zambia…
- The rains. I’ve always loved the rain, but it’s particularly nice here because it lasts so long and puts you right to sleep at night.
- Talking to people while I walk to work. All sorts of people.
- How young men here wear sweater vests, even in the boiling heat.
- The clouds and sky line.
- The sincerely happy smiles you get when you attempt to speak nyanja.
- How walking on muddy paths requires many of the same skills required of walking on ice.
- How women carry things on their heads. All sorts of big, awkward, heavy things, and they always look so elegant.
- How, despite very difficult lives, people don’t really complain at all.
- How people say ‘sorry sorry’ when you do something foolish, like fall in the mud. And they actually do seem concerned/sympathetic.
- That I have so far managed to avoid eating caterpillars.
- How dark and richly brown peoples’ skin is. It’s very unusual (for me) and beautiful.
- That (Zambian) MacBrian is as much of a hypochondriac about malaria as I am.
- The tall grass. It’s so tall! It adds a sort of mystery to all short cut paths.
- The traditional, brightly coloured, often animal-patterned chatengeh (sp?) material.
- How much people love and take care of their families.
- That my office mate Chiluba is such a girl. She wears frilly, lacey tops and gets genuinely grossed out by bugs all the time :)
- The uniquely Zambian (British?) English: Knocking off (leaving work), give you a push (walk you part way), drink-y, lunch-y, talk-y (nyanja-English).
- How almost all vendors quote me a gazillion times too much all the time. E-way.
- How moms carry their babies tied to their back.
- How easily I can integrate ‘dolla dolla bill’ and ‘come under my umbrella, ella ella eh’ into conversation.
- How happy people are to help – if you’re lost, covered in mud, or just want to know where to buy shoes.
- How the hardest decision of my day is often whether to take the short cut through the muddy, grassy (somewhat unsafe) field, or take the super long and twisting less dirty road to work.
- How interested people are in snow (i.e. how it tastes).
- The snails. The snails here are huge and have really nice shells.
- How upset (for me) my coworkers get when I come to work covered in mud (on the ‘short cut days’)
- Nshima (the local corn meal staple dish). It’s so bland, but also kind of comforting.
- That I get hugs from my coworkers fairly regularly.
- The puppies they sell at the crossroad by Manda Hill. So cute, but also so sad.
- The dangerous but oh-so exciting and affordable mini-buses.
… I think that’s all for now!
Things I love about Zambia…
- The rains. I’ve always loved the rain, but it’s particularly nice here because it lasts so long and puts you right to sleep at night.
- Talking to people while I walk to work. All sorts of people.
- How young men here wear sweater vests, even in the boiling heat.
- The clouds and sky line.
- The sincerely happy smiles you get when you attempt to speak nyanja.
- How walking on muddy paths requires many of the same skills required of walking on ice.
- How women carry things on their heads. All sorts of big, awkward, heavy things, and they always look so elegant.
- How, despite very difficult lives, people don’t really complain at all.
- How people say ‘sorry sorry’ when you do something foolish, like fall in the mud. And they actually do seem concerned/sympathetic.
- That I have so far managed to avoid eating caterpillars.
- How dark and richly brown peoples’ skin is. It’s very unusual (for me) and beautiful.
- That (Zambian) MacBrian is as much of a hypochondriac about malaria as I am.
- The tall grass. It’s so tall! It adds a sort of mystery to all short cut paths.
- The traditional, brightly coloured, often animal-patterned chatengeh (sp?) material.
- How much people love and take care of their families.
- That my office mate Chiluba is such a girl. She wears frilly, lacey tops and gets genuinely grossed out by bugs all the time :)
- The uniquely Zambian (British?) English: Knocking off (leaving work), give you a push (walk you part way), drink-y, lunch-y, talk-y (nyanja-English).
- How almost all vendors quote me a gazillion times too much all the time. E-way.
- How moms carry their babies tied to their back.
- How easily I can integrate ‘dolla dolla bill’ and ‘come under my umbrella, ella ella eh’ into conversation.
- How happy people are to help – if you’re lost, covered in mud, or just want to know where to buy shoes.
- How the hardest decision of my day is often whether to take the short cut through the muddy, grassy (somewhat unsafe) field, or take the super long and twisting less dirty road to work.
- How interested people are in snow (i.e. how it tastes).
- The snails. The snails here are huge and have really nice shells.
- How upset (for me) my coworkers get when I come to work covered in mud (on the ‘short cut days’)
- Nshima (the local corn meal staple dish). It’s so bland, but also kind of comforting.
- That I get hugs from my coworkers fairly regularly.
- The puppies they sell at the crossroad by Manda Hill. So cute, but also so sad.
- The dangerous but oh-so exciting and affordable mini-buses.
… I think that’s all for now!
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
that loving feeling
As interns over here begin leaving for snowier pastures, I’m starting to think how quickly this whole experience has gone by. I can’t believe it, and feel rather sad when I realize how soon it will all be over. I must admit, I’m not sad to go because I ‘love Zambia’ as some foreigners will attest. I’m sad because I have met some really great people (both foreign and local), love some of the projects I have been part of and find the culture to be quite beautiful. But, I’ve been thinking, why don’t I love Zambia?
I think I don’t love Zambia because, despite my relatively easy lifestyle here, it’s a relatively hostile place to live and showcases some of the worst human conditions I have ever seen. As a foreigner, I still feel very much on guard much of the time (because of general health/safety concerns and relentless mazungu comments). The city itself is a very business-focused, practical (vs. beautiful) place, with few recreational areas (i.e. green space, water). As a person, it’s heartbreaking to so often see the child labour, subtle sex work and desperate living conditions of many of the people here. I know this is just how the world is, and it is important to experience and acknowledge, but at the end of the day, it’s sometimes hard to see so up close.
Another major reason for my ‘lacking love’ is because I haven’t made the lasting, intimate connections with people here I had hoped to make. I think this has a lot to do with the difference in cultures, religion and politics between me and many of the Zambians I have met. On the surface this doesn’t seem like a big deal, but really, these differences permeate all facets of life (i.e. weekend activities, priorities, views on social issues, etc.)… However, despite my very rational explanation for not connecting with all Zambians, I must admit I feel pretty guilty for not having made more of an effort to get to know people.
Hm, so there. What a sad little entry. I’m not actually very sad, I’m just thinking about where I’m at. Fortunately for me, I still have a couple more months.
Overall, I am very happy here, sad to leave and have grown to feel quite at home.
Definitely not looking forward to the snow ;)
I think I don’t love Zambia because, despite my relatively easy lifestyle here, it’s a relatively hostile place to live and showcases some of the worst human conditions I have ever seen. As a foreigner, I still feel very much on guard much of the time (because of general health/safety concerns and relentless mazungu comments). The city itself is a very business-focused, practical (vs. beautiful) place, with few recreational areas (i.e. green space, water). As a person, it’s heartbreaking to so often see the child labour, subtle sex work and desperate living conditions of many of the people here. I know this is just how the world is, and it is important to experience and acknowledge, but at the end of the day, it’s sometimes hard to see so up close.
Another major reason for my ‘lacking love’ is because I haven’t made the lasting, intimate connections with people here I had hoped to make. I think this has a lot to do with the difference in cultures, religion and politics between me and many of the Zambians I have met. On the surface this doesn’t seem like a big deal, but really, these differences permeate all facets of life (i.e. weekend activities, priorities, views on social issues, etc.)… However, despite my very rational explanation for not connecting with all Zambians, I must admit I feel pretty guilty for not having made more of an effort to get to know people.
Hm, so there. What a sad little entry. I’m not actually very sad, I’m just thinking about where I’m at. Fortunately for me, I still have a couple more months.
Overall, I am very happy here, sad to leave and have grown to feel quite at home.
Definitely not looking forward to the snow ;)
Monday, January 14, 2008
L-stone & Botswana
What a h o l i d a y ! Although most of you probably think my entire time in Zambia is a holiday, sometimes life here actually gets a little monotonous and tiring, so the chance to leave the city and relax was most welcome! We had a great time :) Though I am tempted to just report on animal sightings and factoids I’ll try to restrain myself and provide a more balanced account…
The first few nights of the break were spent in Livingstone at the Zambezi Sun Hotel (a very nice hotel right beside the Victoria Falls) and were pretty lazy. One of the days we spent trying to sign up for an elephant safari (to no avail) and visited the falls again (it’s truly breathtaking now that there is more water!), while the rest of our time was spent swimming in the pool, eating, watching movies and reading. Perfect.
The next part of the trip we were off to Botswana. By car and boat, we made it there in about three hours and stayed in Kasane (a small town right in Chobe Park). As we were drinking coffee at the hotel bar the first day I spotted an elephant in the marshy fields in the distance. Very exciting to see. On our second day my mom went on an early morning safari and saw many lions (I was asleep). Fortunately, I don’t care too much for lions (maybe it’s their giraffe eating qualities?), so I wasn’t so disappointed, and her pictures are pretty great.
In the afternoon we went on a river safari and saw many hippos. It was nice to see them out of the water (they were only out to eat because it was cloudy and they didn’t have to worry about sunburns), they are such huge, slow, peaceful animals. Half way through the safari we saw a little elephant grazing close to the water. It just stood there and ate, flapping its ears a little bit while we took its picture. What a sweet elephant. The rest of the safari was spent viewing pukus, impala, birds… but the elephant was by far the best part.
The next day we went on a morning safari in Chobe Park and saw our first giraffes! As soon as they saw us they tried to hide behind some short trees, but they were far too tall to gain any proper shielding. From behind their tree hiding spots they continued to eat, bend down for water and move around a little bit (in a further attempt to hide). They were so sweet to watch, I could have stayed there all day. However, to add to the excitement of giraffes we saw an elephant on the way back to town. It was also fairly small and was waving its ears (a sign of hostility) and eating leaves. We found out that the elephant shakes the leaves it eats before eating them (we saw the shaking) to shake off the sand from the leaves, so as to avoid damaging its sensitive molars. Maybe I should follow suit.
When we got back to Livingstone we were upgraded to the Royal Livingstone Hotel (I had asked how much it would be to upgrade because we weren’t so happy with the first hotel and because my request contained a bit of a complaint the woman sneakily upgraded us free of charge, yay). The first day was spent lounging around the hotel which is right on the Zambezi river (above the falls). I swam around the pool, read a bit, met a woman who recognized me from Lusaka and spent the afternoon drinking tea and watching people. How civilized haha. Meanwhile, my mom was at our room on the back porch reading her book and drinking coffee when (as she candidly reported) she felt a wet, furry little arm brush past her face (she screamed) and grab the biscotti she was about to eat. It was a monkey! The monkey then proceeded to drop the (rather hard) cookie into her coffee, wait for a moment, and then fish it out and run off. What a clever monkey. The monkeys are actually rather well known for their mischievousness and the hotel has a whole slew of young Zambian men hired for the sole purpose of watching and chasing the monkeys away from the guests.
The next day we went on a great safari at Mosi-a-tunya National Park just outside Livingstone. I think it was by far the best safari yet (and so close to home!). It was raining and we were the only people on the tour so we were able to stop and look at animals for as long as we wanted and told our guide at the beginning that we had no interest in birds, if he wouldn’t mind skipping over them (something I feel a little bit guilty for saying since I’m pretty sure that the guides kind of love the birds because they are really the only challenging animals to spot and distinguish on their millionth safari tour). Anyways, it was a great safari. We saw lots and lots of giraffes – even a mom and her baby. Did you know that the giraffe gestational period is 15 months?! Isn’t that crazy? Also, giraffes are the only animals that are born with their horns already full grown at birth (though fortunately quite soft until after birth). We also saw three beautiful zebras – two adults and a baby. They were really gorgeous and startling to see in the wild. We found out that the mom zebra stays alone with her baby for the first few months of life so that the baby grows to recognize the mom’s stripes. Only after the baby has the mom’s pattern memorized will the two join the herd of other zebras.
After the safari we went into Livingstone to look at crafts. I ended up buying this fertility mask from Congo that I’ve been thinking of getting for months (it’s really unique and beautiful) and my mom and I got some colourful wood prints made by a Zambian artist. It was a good little shopping trip. The rest of our stay in Livingstone was spent reading, eating good food, enjoying the lovely hotel piano bar and relaxing... an excellent break.
Now, back to work! Fortunately, work is quite busy (we got that CIDA gender grant I applied for!) and I have a new Toronto colleague at UNZA (Jen), she’s very nice and should be fun to have around. Meanwhile, my mom (a.k.a. Mummi, as the Zambians call her) has started working at a community school and quite enjoys it. That’s all for now… next adventure: Kilimanjaro (for Rob & me), Serengeti (for mom)… 26 days!
View photos @:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2183652&l=bb475&id=13613119
The first few nights of the break were spent in Livingstone at the Zambezi Sun Hotel (a very nice hotel right beside the Victoria Falls) and were pretty lazy. One of the days we spent trying to sign up for an elephant safari (to no avail) and visited the falls again (it’s truly breathtaking now that there is more water!), while the rest of our time was spent swimming in the pool, eating, watching movies and reading. Perfect.
The next part of the trip we were off to Botswana. By car and boat, we made it there in about three hours and stayed in Kasane (a small town right in Chobe Park). As we were drinking coffee at the hotel bar the first day I spotted an elephant in the marshy fields in the distance. Very exciting to see. On our second day my mom went on an early morning safari and saw many lions (I was asleep). Fortunately, I don’t care too much for lions (maybe it’s their giraffe eating qualities?), so I wasn’t so disappointed, and her pictures are pretty great.
In the afternoon we went on a river safari and saw many hippos. It was nice to see them out of the water (they were only out to eat because it was cloudy and they didn’t have to worry about sunburns), they are such huge, slow, peaceful animals. Half way through the safari we saw a little elephant grazing close to the water. It just stood there and ate, flapping its ears a little bit while we took its picture. What a sweet elephant. The rest of the safari was spent viewing pukus, impala, birds… but the elephant was by far the best part.
The next day we went on a morning safari in Chobe Park and saw our first giraffes! As soon as they saw us they tried to hide behind some short trees, but they were far too tall to gain any proper shielding. From behind their tree hiding spots they continued to eat, bend down for water and move around a little bit (in a further attempt to hide). They were so sweet to watch, I could have stayed there all day. However, to add to the excitement of giraffes we saw an elephant on the way back to town. It was also fairly small and was waving its ears (a sign of hostility) and eating leaves. We found out that the elephant shakes the leaves it eats before eating them (we saw the shaking) to shake off the sand from the leaves, so as to avoid damaging its sensitive molars. Maybe I should follow suit.
When we got back to Livingstone we were upgraded to the Royal Livingstone Hotel (I had asked how much it would be to upgrade because we weren’t so happy with the first hotel and because my request contained a bit of a complaint the woman sneakily upgraded us free of charge, yay). The first day was spent lounging around the hotel which is right on the Zambezi river (above the falls). I swam around the pool, read a bit, met a woman who recognized me from Lusaka and spent the afternoon drinking tea and watching people. How civilized haha. Meanwhile, my mom was at our room on the back porch reading her book and drinking coffee when (as she candidly reported) she felt a wet, furry little arm brush past her face (she screamed) and grab the biscotti she was about to eat. It was a monkey! The monkey then proceeded to drop the (rather hard) cookie into her coffee, wait for a moment, and then fish it out and run off. What a clever monkey. The monkeys are actually rather well known for their mischievousness and the hotel has a whole slew of young Zambian men hired for the sole purpose of watching and chasing the monkeys away from the guests.
The next day we went on a great safari at Mosi-a-tunya National Park just outside Livingstone. I think it was by far the best safari yet (and so close to home!). It was raining and we were the only people on the tour so we were able to stop and look at animals for as long as we wanted and told our guide at the beginning that we had no interest in birds, if he wouldn’t mind skipping over them (something I feel a little bit guilty for saying since I’m pretty sure that the guides kind of love the birds because they are really the only challenging animals to spot and distinguish on their millionth safari tour). Anyways, it was a great safari. We saw lots and lots of giraffes – even a mom and her baby. Did you know that the giraffe gestational period is 15 months?! Isn’t that crazy? Also, giraffes are the only animals that are born with their horns already full grown at birth (though fortunately quite soft until after birth). We also saw three beautiful zebras – two adults and a baby. They were really gorgeous and startling to see in the wild. We found out that the mom zebra stays alone with her baby for the first few months of life so that the baby grows to recognize the mom’s stripes. Only after the baby has the mom’s pattern memorized will the two join the herd of other zebras.
After the safari we went into Livingstone to look at crafts. I ended up buying this fertility mask from Congo that I’ve been thinking of getting for months (it’s really unique and beautiful) and my mom and I got some colourful wood prints made by a Zambian artist. It was a good little shopping trip. The rest of our stay in Livingstone was spent reading, eating good food, enjoying the lovely hotel piano bar and relaxing... an excellent break.
Now, back to work! Fortunately, work is quite busy (we got that CIDA gender grant I applied for!) and I have a new Toronto colleague at UNZA (Jen), she’s very nice and should be fun to have around. Meanwhile, my mom (a.k.a. Mummi, as the Zambians call her) has started working at a community school and quite enjoys it. That’s all for now… next adventure: Kilimanjaro (for Rob & me), Serengeti (for mom)… 26 days!
View photos @:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2183652&l=bb475&id=13613119
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