I'm in Africa!!!!!

After just over three months in Lusaka I got the opportunity to escape and go on holiday with my Mum to South Africa. One cold Thursday morning I got up at 4am to go to the airport two hours before my flight as directed by the airline. On arrival I find that Lusaka airport is closed. .... two cigarettes and a mild panic later that there was more than one airport in Lusaka and that I was at the wrong one a few more passengers started to arrive. An hour later a man strolls through and in explanation for the delay simply announces ‘It is Africa Day’. After half an hour queuing I get to the front desk and hand over my paperwork only to be asked for my Yellow Fever certificate. Hmmmm until this point there had been no mention of the little yellow book sat on my bookcase at home. The man assures me South Africa will not let me enter the country without it. After some failed negotiations with the South African Airways desk and on the brink of giving up hope I spy a first aid room. If I have learnt anything in Zambia it is that a crying musungo and an offer of cash gets you what you want. A few tears, a small bribe and I am being checked into the flight with an official letter stating I am not going to infect South Africa with Yellow Fever.

Having now made Africa my home it was so amazing to see it through someone else’s eyes with Mum by my side. We went on a fabulous safari where mum hollered ‘I am in Africa’ at any given opportunity. We went on a number of morning and evening game drives and were lucky enough to see the Big Five, in fact every animal you should see on a safari except a honey badger! Highlights of the safari were:

1.       Mum’s face when we all got off the truck in the middle of the bush for a drink in the dark- ‘you really want us to get off the truck, how will I know if a lion is coming to get me’.

2.       Seeing a leopard for the first time.

3.       Rounding a corner and seeing a mother rhino and her young who were not happy to see us. The mother rhino stamped her foot and looked ready to stampede when our driver carefully reversed us out of view. Not long after this we stopped for a much needed and very nice glass of wine. Mum shared her understanding of the maternal instincts of the mother rhino’s protection. Before reboarding the truck I needed to use the bathroom which er was the ground in front of the truck. I ask Mum to join me and her hesitant response made me question this mother instinct but she did accompany me dutifully. Pants down by ankles a noise comes out of the bush and Mum runs off and leaves me before I can even pull my pants back up. Our guide was highly amused as it was just a bird.

4.       Driving through the bush, over the bush, over trees just to get a closer look at the animals.

5.       Mum pulling me further into the truck in fear an elephant would pull me off with his trunk.

All in all a fabulous trip was had. It was great to see Mum and to see South Africa through her eyes.  I was worried that I would not feel so content returning to Lusaka after such luxury and time with Mum but on arrival back in the city, met by some friends, the smell of burning rubbish at the side of the road and the dirt on my feet within seconds, I felt like I was back where I belong.

It was great to see the babies at the Orphanage again on my return. Some of the littler ones are really enjoying growth spurts at the moments. The kids are also starting to recognise me which is nice. Some call me aunty others Mama and one calls me Papa- not so happy about this one!

With some of the funds raised from the UK I went to Soweto Market with some staff from Fountain of Hope to purchase food supplies for the street children residing there. The market there is a real experience. One of the big businesses is selling second hand clothes. These are the left over clothes not used by charity shops in the UK. Stall holders will buy a large bundle of clothes for just over 130 pounds and sell them on their stalls, you can get everything from dresses to underwear and toys. We bypass the clothes and head to the vegetable section and bought a ton of fresh veggies, beans, soya and a horrendous amount of dried fish. We had so much to carry we had to hire a wheelbarrow man to push it all back to the car for us. These supplies will last two to three weeks and fountain and give the boys a good varied diet even if they have to eat stinky dried fish. The experience of Soweto is like something out of a cartoon, people everywhere, the smell in the air of dried fish for miles, everyone trying to persuade you that their produce is better than their neighbours. They measure out your purchases in any receptacle they can find. I was mildly concerned our beans were measured out in an old paint pot but apparently this is the norm. If you are lucky and bargain well they throw in a few extra handfuls on top of your pots worth.

My little neighbour, 3 year old Jedidiah or should I say Mr. Jedidiah as he has requested being called has announced that  I am his second best friend in the whole world and not only that but he is the only person as school with a musungo friend. He has been most concerned about the little holes on my legs which are mosquito bites and says I have to stop letting them eat me. I have started a vegetable patch in my garden and now have aubergine, onions, tomatoes, beans, cabbages and lettuces growing. Mr Jedidiah and I water the plants together every day when I get back from work and we have a chat with them to encourage them to grow.

I shall leave you with some news from the Zambian Times today,  a man has been arrested for trying to sell 4 relatives at the market in Kitwe. When police arrested him he claimed he had no choice as they were trying to kill him.