Reunited

So we have been in Thailand for a few days and it has been great. It is really awesome to see my family. The country is beautiful and everything has exceeded expectations. We have just been doing a lot of relaxing and catching up with each other. I feel very blessed for having the opportunity to come here. I hope that everything is great in your part of the world, wherever you may be.

wewe, sihitaji . . .

So I am already off on another adventure. It seem strange that I should be leaving after having just returned from a trip to southern Africa but I am needing to see my family. Most of you that know me have understood what has happened in the last year to us and if you need more info please message me. Since I have been back I have learned a great deal including the fact that things don't happen the way they do at home. Even though we expected the semester to start at the beginning of Jan it still wasn't started due to the fact that only one quarter of the students arrived. TIA. Anyways love you all and pole (Swahili for: I come along side you in your suffering). I know when I get back things will pick up because the staff have been very supportive. All the best, Thank you for your support.

Christmas in South Central Africa

First of all I would just like to say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone out there, and to thank you for your patience and understanding in the matter of updates to this blog. Also thank you so much for those of you who have sent personal messages to me over the holidays, and if I haven't answered yet, don't worry, I am going to write you, it has just been a bit difficult without a good reliable connection throughout the trip. I have returned to Iringa just yesterday from my travels, which were mainly in Zambia, but also with a brief crossing into Zimbabwe, and then back home through Malawi. It was truly an amazing experience and I do not think I can capture in words everything that I saw and did but I will try and touch on the some of the more interesting highlights.

So I set out with the intention of going to Livingstone, Zambia, which is the main town adjacent to Victoria Falls, which is by some measures the largest waterfall in the world. The falls is on the Zambezi river, which creates the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe.

I got on the bus from Iringa, and true to the saying "This Is Africa" (TIA), there was no seat available for me, so I ended up sitting in the front of the bus with the driver and his crew. This might sounds like fun but there aren't any proper seats, so there were 5 of us crammed into the front compartment, lying/sitting/standing in any available space on hard plastic and metal. Not very comfortable. When we got to the border after about 10 hours, we were informed that the border was closed and we would have to wait for the bus to cross, not until the next morning but until the following evening! So I had a full 24 hours to kill in a border town that consists of about 1 restaurant and a thousand people trying to rip you off with bad exchange rates and cheap goods. Luckily I met some Tanzanians and we went out for dinner and killed some time. After a long night and day we finally crossed the border, but the immigration officer was giving me a hard time and saying that I should have got my Visa in Dar es Salaam, which isn't true. I think he wanted money because he kept saying "It's a loooonng way if I send you back you know" which I politely agreed with and waited until he finally gave up and gave me the visa as he had for countless other travellers as evidenced by the registry book.

After another 20 hours or so on buses I arrived in Livingstone and checked into "Jollyboys Backpackers", which is the most popular place for young people to stay in the area. The place has a great atmosphere, with people coming from all over the world, and almost by necessity for those travelling in Africa, nearly all are extremely friendly and easygoing people. The hostel lends itself to meeting people, as there are dorms which can fit anywhere between 4 to 16 people, and the common pool/restaurant/bar area is very attractive and lively. I would highly recommend staying here if your ever in central Africa. The price can't be beat either, at a mere 6$ a night for the big dorm, and your 7th night free, I payed less to stay 2 weeks then you would for one night in a decent hotel in Canada. Livingstone itself is great - there are countless activities both for the adrenaline junkie and the mellow soul, and you would never get bored there. I spent quite a long time compared to most travellers but still feel like I could go back and do more. Aside from the acitivites I spent a lot of time relaxing, reading books, chatting with people, and exploring the town. It was a very refreshing trip and I am glad that I had the time to reflect on my time in Tanzania and look to the future of my work here as well.

The first night I was there I met some Danish girls who were excitedly looking at pictures from their day at the falls. Once I saw these photos I knew I had to go to this place "Livingstone Island", where you can hang out right at the edge of the falls and even get lowered out to look down the gorge with water rushing past you. Along with one of the Danish girls and two Aussie guys I met we set out the following day with 2 guides and made the walk along the top of the falls out to the pool. I will let the pictures do the talking on this one:

So as you can see it was pretty amazing. The next big adventure was bungee jumping 111 meters off the bridge over the gorge, which is something I always have wanted to do but when I faced the reality that it was coming in a couple of days I was very scared. Surprisingly, however, when I got to the location, I was quite calm and content to do it. We did a package where you get the zip line, bungee jump and gorge swing. The zip line is pretty easy and really just gives you a great view as you fly across the gorge. The bungee was the scariest because you can't see that your connected to anything and the feeling of free falling towards the water for 4 seconds is one I will never forget. The gorge swing is like the bungee but you are facing upright and just jump off and free fall for a few seconds until the rope catches you and you swing out. I would definitely recommend trying this sort of thing at least once in your life as it is really amazing to feel the adrenaline and reaction to such a situation that your body produces, it feels quite surreal:

For Christmas we were able to visit a local orphanage and give the kids presents. We all ate lunch together, sung Christmas carols and danced some jigs. It was really nice to hang out with the kids because it reminded me of the kids from Huruma center and to see them so happy and enjoying Christmas was very nice. They are so grateful for everything they receive, very refreshing after we see kids in the West complain if they don't get a particular present.

I also got to go river rafting on the Zambezi, which was another great experience and highly recommended to anyone who gets the chance:

Next I met up with Mel and Miriam from EI Malawi on the 28th, and we went on a walking safari in the national park, which was really neat because there are no predators in the park and therefore the animals are not scared of humans, so you can basically walk right up to them. The highlight was getting about 15-20 feet away from the only White Rhino in central Africa:

So as you can see I had a great time and have only touched on a couple of the things that stood out, because if I were to write it all it would take many pages and I know people only have so much patience with these things. The best part was that I really met and connected with people that I know will be friends for life, and have been invited to their home countries and vice versa. New years was great, spent with friends from all over the world, and we left on the 1st, travelling back through Malawi. It took me 6 days, 11 buses and 8 cab rides to get home, but I finally made it and got to see some of Malawi and meet up with some friends too, so that was nice. Now I am refreshed and ready to get teaching in the coming weeks. I hope that you all had a great Christmas season with your families, and even though mine was unconventional and didn't feel much like Christmas, I am glad for the experience and I think it will make next year with my family and friends twice as good.