Yesterday we arrived in Livingstone. I didn't see much out the plane windows, but what I did see was lots, and lots of trees. I began to wonder what I had gotten myself into. When we landed and got into the terminal I realized just how small of a place Livingstone really is (even with a population of well over 97000). Our little plane-full of people were the only ones in the terminal (there was only one terminal) and it was the size of our gym at school (a football field). I guess that's why everything went smoothly while getting my visa.
When we got out of the terminal one of my teachers (who is a member of the peace-core, and therefore here for a year), his wife and three other teachers from DALICE (David Livingstone College of Education) greeted us with open arms. I gave all of them (except for the teacher who is a man) go'kjinn, which is sort of like a "cheek hug". I'm a bit unsure if that was alright to do, but I'm so used to greeting people like that in Norway. Anyway, they drove us to Chanters, where we met Richard Chanter (the warden of the lodge) and two of the staff.
After that we were left pretty much to our own devices for the next 4 hours. We looked around the lodge, asked about the internet (which actually seems to be quite good here) and then headed out to the pool. The weather was pleasant (a little bit of wind and mostly cloudy). The pool can't be much longer than 12 meters, but I still tried to practice for my swimming test (I have to take it the wednesday I get back home). I lost my nose clip and couldn't find it again (the water was very cloudy), which irked (and still irks) the heck out of me...
My teacher, his wife and three kids came to take us to dinner after we had showered and gotten ready. I don't remember what the place was called, but it was at least next to the Zambezi river. I got to try crocodile snitzels! That just made me think: if a crocodile eats me, does that make him a cannibal? We also met a very cute kitty (I'm becoming such a crazy cat lady...) and a few monkeys (who liked throwing stuff at our table).
Our monkey friends (or enemies :P)?
Pretty kitty!
Crocodile snitzels with chips (fries), mustard sauce and salad w/vinagrete. Tasted like a mixture between fish and chicken. The texture was a bit tougher though.
Breakfast on the front step (day 2). The ants were on scene very quickly after they found out I was dropping so many crumbs. I looked down and suddenly the crumbs were moving. *Insert smiley*
Today we went with my teachers wife and got Zambian sim-cards. We also went to the
seamstresses and found out how much fabric we needed to buy. After we were finished there, we walked to a market (which seemed to be on the other side of town) in the sun. It didn't matter though because it was so nice to be in the sun after so many months of darkness at home. On our way we stopped to say 'hi' to the people at our school. I had no idea what rules applied when I greeted them, so I just stuck to the one I know best (our TKD handshake). Hopefully it wasn't too wierd... We were given a tour and said hello to quite a few teachers, as well as a few students.
Me in my school clothes
Me and my companion outside of Nanzanzu school.
I'm really beginning to wonder how the teaching is going to go. The classrooms are almost bare (which in and of it's-self isn't really a bad thing, but compared to home...) and I was shown the home economics room and told that they have a practicle class every week. I was prepared for all theory, no teaching students how to make food. I was told we teach them to make curry (which I'm used to making with ready-made curry paste) and some other type of food (didn't quite catch what it was....). So I guess I need to ask around and see if people (perhaps here at the lodge) can teach me a bit about what their curry-making traditions are, how they make it, and so forth.
The market we went to is right around the corner from Nanzanzu, so I'm guessing we'll go there quite a few more times before we leave. Anyway, when we got there my travel companion took a few pictures (of buildings and such). Suddenly a guy comes up to us and starts yelling at us about how we need to ask before we take pictures of people and how he thought we were very rude for doing so (bear in mind, we hadn't taken pics of people). People around started staring (as if they didn't do enough of that from before since we're white) and I have to admit I was very embarrassed because I had no idea what he was talking about. I felt myself breath out a sigh of relief when he finally turned and left.
The main reason we had walked to the market was because we wanted to buy fabric to make our dresses (not have to do it during the weekend). We were able to find fabric very quickly (thank goodness) and I was very happy to be able to duck into the stand (away from all the staring faces). I found a lot of fabrics I liked, but ended up buying 2 different kinds. I was looking at the one a few minutes ago and realized that the symbols on it are very much like a G-clef (which fit my personality and interests very well). Maybe our sub-consiences pick up on more than we're aware of?
We found a cab, which took us back to the lodge, after paying for the fabric. When we got there, we changed (I was soaked because of the humidity) and went out to wait for my teacher and the kids to come (we were going to eat dinner together at the lodge). For dinner I ordered chicken curry. I know, not the most exotic of things I could have ordered, but it sounded good. I'm glad I ordered it, because although the rice was bland the curry had lots of taste. It was different from the curry I'm used to because it had green bell peppers and mushrooms in it. I think the mushrooms made a big difference (I almost want to start using them in our curries at home). Nothing much happened after dinner, so I guess my tale of day one and two end here. I'll try to upload as many pics as possible, but my companion has only managed to upload 1 within a 2-hour periode, so no promises....
We found out that there's a lime tree in the garden at Chanters.
My new Zambian sim card.
I've had this song stuck in my head all day, so I thought I would give you the link to it in case you're interested: Love you for a thousand years
Glede meg til å fortsette å lese Britania :D
ReplyDeleteKos dæ!