Almost a decade in Africa.

I have spent almost a decade in Africa.  I left the states in January of 2010 and I'm feeling quite sentimental about this for some reason (just wait ‘til I actually hit the 10-year mark).  That’s a long time.  When I got on that plane in 2010, I never thought that it would lead to this…that I would make a life for myself so far away from my family and friends.  There are things that I have definitely missed (and I’ve probably written about these on here at some point) but I also can’t imagine being  anywhere else right now.  I decided to stay in Lusaka for the holidays and enjoyed some quiet time with a few friends and this is just what I needed.  I’m ready to start the new year…and lookout 2020.  You never know what’s around the 10-year corner. 

London. Paris. Washington DC. And Back to Zambia.

It’s September!  How did that happen?  I haven’t posted here since June.  I just came back from an amazing weekend of teaching some yoga and figured it was time to get back on the blogging.  It’s always difficult to go back in time though and figure out what I should tell y’all on here (because I know you have been anxiously awaiting my next post).  But I’ll pick out a few of the good bits to share.

At the beginning of July, I went to London and Paris.  Not so bad?  I met a friend from the states there and we made the most of our 5 day holiday.  We shopped, ate lots of good food, and did an incredible amount of walking (to shop and eat).  I hadn’t seen her in a couple of years and it was mostly lovely to just hang out!  I did manage to get stuck on the train back from Paris to London for many long hours (where they only fed us Twix bars for some odd reason), and then missed my flight back to Lusaka.  I eventually got back but it was a real process. Sometimes I have to remind myself how much I love traveling.  Sigh.    

In August, I went back to the states for a wedding!  My friend from Peace Corps was getting married so I decided it was necessary to make the trek back.  While seeing her so incredibly happy was worth it, I can’t say that I love making that journey across the ocean more than once in a year (again, the reminder to myself that I love traveling).  But, I did get to see some amazing friends (including my mom!), spend time in a city I’ve never been to before (can you believe this American had never been to Washington DC before?) and drink an incredible amount of chai tea.     

Since then I’ve been back in Zambia.  It’s getting very hot.  Although I shouldn’t complain.  I now have a lovely air conditioner in my bedroom and the power cuts are minimal.  This last weekend I also got to to lead a lovely group at a yoga retreat at one of the most amazing lodges on the Lower Zambezi.  I’d have to say life is pretty good. 

Saying goodbye.

I visited home in March and got to see my almost 92-year-old Grandmother.  While her body seemed to be failing her, that mind of hers was quite sharp.  She loved hearing about my life and I know, more than anything, she would have loved to come visit.  I wish I could have made that happen somehow and, now, I regret not making more of an effort to send her videos and pictures of the things I was seeing so that she could experience them as well.  I honestly think that’s why she loved this silly little blog of mine (as I’ve mentioned she was one of my few followers) because it gave her a chance to see what my life was like…I will miss sharing a little bit of my world with you here, Grandmother.  I love you.  

Kuomboka Revisited.

When I lived in Mongu in 2013 I had the opportunity to attend my first Kuomboka ceremony.  Kuomboka is a traditional ceremony held in Western Province where the Lozi people move from the plains (which become flooded during the rainy season) to higher areas.  It's steeped in tradition and pretty amazing so I decided it was time for a return visit.  Since I wasn’t living in Mongu this time the logistics of getting to Western Province for the weekend proved more challenging.  Turns out Western Province is kinda far?  Well, me and 9 of my closest friends piled into 3 cars and left town on Friday afternoon in what would turn out to be another great African adventure.  In the first hour, one of the cars broke down and we had to push it to a nearby church and we then piled into the remaining 2 cars.  Delayed by a few hours, we proceeded to drive on some of the worst roads I’ve seen in a long time (I’m talking gigantic potholes which swallowed your entire car).  After almost 9 hours we made it to Mongu around midnight on Friday evening.  Don’t worry because we were still excited to wake up early to participate in the boat ride so that we could see the Nalikwanda depart on its journey across the floodplains.  It took some negotiating to find a boat to take all 10 of us and we still ended up with some random local kids (and apparently a “famous” rapper) on our small boat (which seemed to also have a slow leak and was just probably generally very unsafe) but we did manage to find the Nalikwanda which was pretty spectacular.  

We did make it back without our small boat tipping over or filling up with water so we celebrated by spending the afternoon eating some local cuisine at my favorite local hangout before setting out to see the Nalikwanda “dock” in what can only be described at organized chaos.  People hanging in trees, stampeding to catch a glimpse of the king, and a few random people falling into the water.  But we pulled it off and, man, did I really enjoy having a cold beer at the end of the day while watching the sun go down...I have to say that Mongu has some of the most amazing sunsets I've ever seen.

And luckily we only had to drive a short 9 hours home the next day. 

Oh, Zimbabwe.

Over the Easter holiday, we decided to take a quick trip to Zimbabwe.  We didn’t do much planning but thought we could get away with just winging it…I mean we have lived in Africa for a while, haven’t we?  Can't you just show up to another African country and figure things out?  

Well, turns out this is not always the best idea.  Things like visas and money and, well, generally figuring out the basics.  For example, we arrived to find all the ATMs were no longer working so we quickly had to run around and rent a tiny (green as you can see from the pictures) car so we wouldn’t have to deal with cash (since we had none) to get around.  I was nominated to drive since most rental cars in Africa are manual.  With my trusty navigator by my side (and only killing the car a couple of times since I was a bit out of practice with my manual driving) we made our way to our hotel which, despite getting rave reviews, turned out to be, well, not so amazing.  

In the end (after downing a few gin and tonics), we decided trips that aren't perfect are oftentimes the most memorable.  How can you forget falls in the mud, cancelled flights, running over rocks, mildew smelling rooms, and pangolins?  It's always an adventure in Africa which is why we love it!       

Expat Living.

My youngest nephew reminded me that I have seen him exactly 3 times since he has been born.  He is now 7 years old.  I am one of the worst aunties ever.  But what made it even more terrible is that he was so amazing and sweet and loved me like I had never been gone during my most recent visit.  He even started plotting my return to America.  Asking his mom (my sister) why I didn’t live there and insisting they come to help me pack my things up in Africa so that I could move into the house next door in 2019.  Yes, I had a little bit of guilt.

This is what I miss about living in America.  I can’t say that I miss the intensity.  I got off the plane and immediately was yelled at for being in the wrong queue (after being told that I was in the right queue by a different person).   It’s hard to be back and not have an intense reaction (both good and bad) to everything.  Sometimes I would just exist in this state of shock and not be able to make a decision.  Or I had the opposite reaction and bought everything in sight.  I mean I really needed one thousand hair ties, right? 

I was home for 2 weeks and went to Colorado, Arizona, Louisiana and New York (2 times).  Since I've been back in Lusaka, people have been asking if I feel “rested.”  No, not really.  I feel sad that I didn’t get to see some friends and like I should have spent more time…with everyone.  Life as an expat is not always perfect but it does come with some pretty amazing benefits.  I will just have to remind myself of all the reasons why I love living here when I’m not as depressed and tired and don't miss my friends and family so much.  

I did post some pictures over there so take a look.  Love to everyone and miss you all!  

Loving Lower Zam.

Let me list the things that I love about weekends in Lower Zam:

• It’s not too far from Lusaka 
• Eating lots of yummy food
• Being near the water (swimming pools and river cruises)
• Hanging out with friends
• No cell phone reception
• Hippos and elephants and crocs oh my
• Drinking (responsibly of course) and not having to drive anywhere
• Not worrying about what I look like and wearing yoga clothes all weekend

We celebrated a friend’s birthday this past weekend and it was really…great. 😊