Getting to Zambia - February 24, 25

                Our adventure began at the Waukesha bus stop.  After tearful good-byes to Gretchen, Regan, Reesa, and Melanie, Rachel and I met and boarded the bus to Chicago.  When we got there, we were told we could get on the earlier flight, so we hardly waited at all.  Our flight to London went well.  I slept for maybe just a few minutes here or there, and we landed just after midnight our time, so that was a little rough.  On the plane, I got up to stand and stretch, and I ended up chatting with a Greek Orthodox priest for a while.  He was an interesting guy to talk to, although he made a few comments that were hard to understand in his broken English.  He either complimented my figure or said something along the lines of I’m too fat.  For my sake, I’m going with the nicer one. 

                I thoroughly enjoyed hearing all the English accents.  Everyone sounds so much nicer and more polite.  Rachel and I considered leaving the airport to try to see London since we were there for an entire day, but the whole process of leaving the airport and dealing with customs and then trying to figure out where to go and how to get there seemed like too much of a hassle.  We settled for a nice nap on the cold concrete floor.  So the entire day/night I was going on maybe two hours of sleep.  For those of you who know what I’m like when I don’t sleep, you probably are feeling really sorry for Rachel right now.  But, I found a Starbucks and was feeling quite chipper.  I thought I was doing well and not acting at all jet-lagged, until I walked into the men’s bathroom.  I was so out of it I didn’t notice the fact that there were different pieces of furniture there, like urinals, or that there was a male janitor.  Ahh….feel free to make fun of me for that one.

                Our twelve hours in the London airport really weren’t bad.  The terminal was super fancy with stores like Prada and Gucci, and the restaurants were all very nice and served fresh, healthy food.  I walked around a lot and even started reading on my Kindle while walking up and down an empty part of the terminal…my family will appreciate that.  Our flight to Lusaka was pretty empty, and as soon as we took off, everyone bolted to get an empty row to themselves.  I ended up with two seats to myself, which is definitely not enough room for me to comfortably sleep on, but I managed to catch a few hours here and there.  This ten hour flight was pretty smooth.  It was quiet, had good movies and good food, and the sleep I did manage to get helped a lot.  We landed in Lusaka around 6:45 Saturday morning.  It’s very green and beautiful.  I keep seeing surprising plants, like roses and palm trees.  Parts of the city remind me of Seattle, with brick walls and vines, and other places remind me of Florida.  The people wear a mixture of American and African clothes.  Women often wear chitenges (sounds like sha-tane-gays…I think) – which are cloths with colorful designs that they wrap around their shorts or pants – and a regular shirt on top.  For every “normal,” American thing I see, I’ve seen something else that’s different, like women carrying crops on their head or breast-feeding on the street.  The people are very friendly and welcoming. 

                Rachel’s uncle, who is a professor at the seminary, picked us up from the airport.  Driving in the left hand side of the road is extremely strange.  When we got to the seminary campus, we met Dee and Dave Matthiak and Anne, our housekeeper/cook.  All three are very friendly and welcoming.  After Rachel and I showered, Dee took us to town to get groceries, cell phones, and Internet minutes.  We went to Dutch Reform, which is like a flea-market that happens every last Saturday of the month.  I bought some wooden coasters that have designs carved into them, a picture made out of butterfly wings (sounds weird, but it is very pretty), and some little carved bowls.  I could have bought way more stuff.  Bartering does not come naturally to me, so having Dee and Rachel there helped me a lot.  I’d give in way too quickly to a bad price. 

                The rest of the afternoon we spent playing kickball with the kids and enjoying their company.  They speak very little English, but it’s funny seeing how kids are all the same.  They play with each other and make fun of each other the same way kids at home do. 

                For dinner, we went to Rachel’s uncle and aunt’s house who have lived in Africa for forty years or so.  They had lots of interesting stories to share and some excellent food to give us too J.

                The jet lag is catching up to me.  It’s about 8:30 PM my time and haven’t really slept more than a few hours since Thursday. I am starting to mix up words and say things that don’t make sense.  There’s so much more for me to share but I don’t know if I can write out too many more coherent sentences.  The important thing is we’re here safe and are enjoying everything so far!  I feel incredibly blessed, excited, and happy!