Seventh Natural Wonder of the World

Thursday to Monday was a wonderful and taxing stretch of life. Thursday night began with dinner at a Chinese "Hot Pot" restaurant, compliments of my new friend, Eric Chen of KT hubs. The entire office was invited and it was a jolly time. Venerable folks like Mr. Ngoma, Mr. Kennedy, Mwela and Emmanuel made the trip Jack and I were not about to miss the opportunity to cut loose with the Zambians I have gotten to know best. There was a bit of  apprehension about the Chinese restaurant, as Zambians usually stick to their own cuisine (and they also really dislike Chinese folks). However, after wondering aloud whether they would be forced to eat dog and making other inappropriate jests at the expense of Chinese cuisine and culture, they devoured the fare. Things got a little tipsy for most, and the toasting began. Zambians love repetition. Surprisingly, given this fact, the toasts were quite entertaining. I even got up there to represent the interns, thanking the Days and the staff for their hospitality.

After dinner, Kennedy our best friend here in Zambia and truly an awesome fellow, took us to a truly Zambian club. We were the only mizungos (whites) there, and we got eyeballed as such. But people, as they have been our entire time here, were overwhelmingly friendly and after awhile we settled in and had quite a time. We set up a little dance group around Kennedy's brother, Ted... Weird Huh? Then we trekked home the catch the bus.

Friday morning began unpleasantly, as it began at 5 am. The bus left at 6 and we had to get our tickets before then. Should have gotten up earlier, because when we got there the "business class" bus was booked. This bus was 5 seats to an row. Luckily my doctor, may he remain anonymous, was nice enough to give me some sleeping pills just for occasions like this. Another poor decision. It became a poor decision when I woke up 2 hours after consumption during a rest stop looking like the living dead, walking around like a zombie scaring zambians. But after then stop I thankfully fell back asleep. 

We arrive in Livingstone, home to Victoria Falls. Vic Falls is one of the "7 natural wonders of the world"....  no one can tell us what the other 6 are. Someone brought up Niagara falls, but that gots vetoed. "You cant have two waterfalls on the list!" Valid point. We are staying in the Backpackers Lodge, Fawlty Towers. The Fawlty Towers is both a hostel and an old british sitcom, though I wasn't aware of that latter factiod. It was a hole in the wall, but it was nice... pool, bar, camping out back, fun loving clientele from appearances. We set off at once for the Falls, and arrived at about 345 pm. After our 8 hr bus ride, the day began to feel long... until we glimpsed the falls. Absolutely amazing. Just impossible to put it in words... at least if one is coming off an 8 hr bus ride back to Lusaka as I am now... TBC tomorrow (the weekend includes some big dangerous surprises so stay tuned!