Merry Christmas from Livingstone, Zambia

Merry Christmas to you from a hot and humid Livingstone, Zambia, home of Victoria Falls. The falls are spectacular, but somewhat lacking in water this time of year. We visited them a couple of days ago.

It is VERY hot and humid here. We are almost at the height of summer.  Apparently we are not at the hottest time, since it usually rains once a day.  Still, it's hot to me and I find it hard to do anything during the day. You just want to drink cold water, sit under a fan, and turn into a vegetable. The mornings are pleasant and cool, as are the evenings. I wake up around 4:30 am courtesy the serenading roosters across the street. 


Max and I have been staying with a Zambian family with 3 kids, the Matekes, for the last week. We will be here until December 28th and then will take the bus, plane and boat to a small resort on Lake Malawi - that is, if the fuel shortage in Malawi doesn't get worse and there is still petrol for the bus, plane and boat! If not, we'll have to change our plans, I guess. You have to be flexible on a trip like this.


The organization which led me to the Mateke family is called SERVAS. They try to promote peace by having people open their homes to people from other countries. I encourage you to become a host in your country, and a guest when you are travelling.  It's wonderful to be able to share a few days of "normality" with a family. 

For the last two nights, Max and I have been careening around Livingstone sitting in the back of a small pickup truck with 14 African members of the local Anglican church. We have been carolling at the homes of the members of the church. We have seen all sorts of corners of the city which tourists normally don't see: night markets, suburbs, inner city homes. The mangos are ripening, so Max has been in 7th heaven, picking a mango off of a tree at each of the homes where we sing. Sitting in the back of a pickup truck makes it easier to reach the fruit. The African carollers now call him "Mango Boy."

Max is a big hit as a "muzunga" white kid. He was swarmed by a bunch of African kids last night, wanting to touch his arms and hair. He had a small taste of what it must be like to be the Canadian pop star, Justin Bieber. Max and I have both decided that anonymity has its benefits.

As I type this, we are at the home of "Granny", the grandmother of the three kids with whom
we are staying. She has internet and very generously lets us all use it.  Max is building a lego mini-robot with Sipho, the 11 year old boy and Temba, the 13 year old boy. Alina, the 16 year old girl, is writing emails on a different computer. She will be flying to North Carolina next week to stay with an American family her family met a few years ago. It is a very big trip for her. I have been helping her choose gifts for the family. Clare, the mother, is busy running errands in town. 

On Saturday, December 24th we will spend the day decorating the fake Christmas tree at Granny's. We'll also spend some time at the Anglican church where there will be a lunch and church/baptism service. The Christmas Day meal will also be at Granny's. An aunt who is a farmer, will bring chickens. I will make potato salad and oatmeal cookies. There will be a lot of people here. It will be noisy and chaotic and fun. I wish you all could join us! 

Here in Zambia the life expectancy is only 35 years since so many people have AIDS. People don't live long enough to retire, and when they do, there is no pension for them so many of them go back to their little villages and try to farm enough food to survive on. There is a lot of
poverty here. Max told me yesterday that when he gets back to Canada, he will really appreciate the luxury he lives in. I think it is great that he is seeing, in a very real way, how poor so many people are, and how wealthy and priviledged he is in comparison. I am very proud of the way Max has "rolled with the punches", and we have had our share of punches.  He is a confidant boy on the edge of adolescence with one foot still firmly in boyhood.  I am grateful to have him with me on this trip.

We have been having lots of wonderful adventures in Namibia, Botswana and Zambia. We have seen so much wildlife! It's quite a sight to see an elephant family crossing the road in front of your car. You turn the engine off, wait patiently and respectfully until they finish crossing the street, before continuing on your way. 

Max and I have seen many animals crossing the road in front of us.  If anyone has the punch line to any of these jokes, please share:

"Why did the elephant/ostrich/baboon/mongoose/giraffe cross the road?"


Here's a seasonal joke for which there is an answer at the end of this entry:


"Why did Santa say "Oh, oh, oh"?"


Blessings on you and your loved ones.  May we all find inner and outer peace in the New Year.


Much love,
Elizabeth and Max