Hello everyone! I'm guest blogging for Nia about the incredible experience I had while visiting Zambia. Although I've been back to the States for 2 months, I was literally speechless and couldn't quite come up with the appropriate words to describe my experience until now. From Jan. 27-Feb. 11, I traveled to South Africa and Zambia to celebrate my birthday but most importantly to visit my sister. As the eldest of 3, I've always been the "protector" so I was nervous about Nia being so far away from home for the first time. Well if you want to grow up quickly, join the Peace Corps!!
In my eagerness I accidentally booked us into Livingstone instead of Lusaka so we had to take a bus to Mazabuka to meet Nia. The bus ride was very nice and even rivaled American bus companies MegaBus and Greyhound (although it doesn't take much to do that!). Upon our arrival in Mazabuka, Nia strolled up to meet us looking so strong and beautiful, I almost cried! Six months in the bush and she looked so regal!
After a taxi ride we entered Nia's village and were greeted by her host family. Her BaMama even did a little dance for us! The village was really nice and of course I gravitated to the beautiful children hanging around.
They even helped me collect water from the borehole and loved looking at their pictures in my camera preview. I was overwhelmed by the joy illuminating from their little faces!! Needless to say I had a great time playing with them, blowing bubbles and dancing to Outkast!
The next day we went to visit Nia's clinic and were able to volunteer and assist with the "Babies and Children Under 5" day. We weighed babies and kids and helped Nia and the staff with their daily activities. It was great! After we worked, we went to Nia's bosses home and her family prepared us a delicious meal of shima, chicken and pumpkin leaves.
Nia loves playing with her bosses children and had a growling match with her oldest son! He was a "lion" that week! Needless to say, Nia loves the babies!! We all had a great time in the village and then took a very interesting time catching a bus back to Livingstone. Let's just say that trying to catch a bus back on Saturday morning was considerably more challenging than I ever would have imagined.
Back in Livingstone, I was able to check a major item off my bucket list as we went rafting on the Zambezi river! This is truly an incredibly exhilarating experience and I recommend it for anyone who loves a great adrenaline rush!Check out Nia's face, she's terrified!!
After rafting we stopped by Victoria Falls (one of the 7 natural wonders of the world) for a few quick photo ops.
All in all it was a wonderful experience and I would do it again and again. Nia is adjusting very well and I'm looking forward to visiting her at least one more time before her volunteer experience is over. If you can make the trip, go visit Nia! Zambia is a stunningly beautiful country and I am eager to get back there and explore the Northern province. Right before we left, I had the opportunity to ride an elephant on a brief safari and poise for some pics on the Zambezi!!
~Cheers
