Livingstone

This past week I traveled to Livingstone with Erna, a teacher from the Hope school. Erna and her husband, a pastor, are moving to Livingstone and, so they graciously took me with them. Erna was a great travel companion, for 8 hours, as we drove to her new home. She knew so much about the plants and the land and would frequently point out to me the trees and plants and me the names.

In Livingstone, I was able to go to Victoria Falls, though, I was told repeatedly that I would not enjoy them as much as if I were seeing them in June or July as this is now the dry season. The amazing thing about the Falls is that they are shared by both Zambia and Zimbabwe - though in Zimbabwe the falls are going strong and you can see the mist from the Zambian side.

I hiked the gorge to thte Boiling Pot (467 meters down and then back up) in order to sit on the rocks and put my feet in the water. This was great fun, but it was a little intimidating as it was all rocks and straight down and then straight back up - thanks for taking me rock climbing Chantelle - this really helped :)

I also was able to climb a tree - there is this huge tree with a ladder and platform built into it and I climbed it and could see all across the land and the falls, too.

My favorite moment was learning a melody on a xylophone-type instrument and playing with an indigenous man - it was a highlight to say the least.

At night, I took a sunset cruise on the African Queen and saw hippos, crocs, and herds of elephants - this was a very pleasant and relaxing time spent on the Zambezi River.

I am back at the Village and am embarking on my final week here. I must admit that I enter this last week with mixed emotions - an excitement to return home and to see family and friends and share my experiences in person, but also a sadness that I will leave all the people that I have come to love.