Indulgences, adrenaline and doctor visits

I have to admit that I have been pretty sceptical of tourism. To me, going somewhere to see a few sights and eat a nice meal seems to miss the meat of the location. I really enjoy spending time getting to know people and understanding the way they live. Some tourist activities aim at this desire but often seem all too artificial. However, being in Zambia has made me realize the importance of a strong tourism industry... if done right. Zambia's economy is largely dependent on the mines so the ownership of the big mines and fluctuations in the price of copper have had massive impact on the country's economy. The government has recently recognized the danger in this situation and is making efforts to diversify and two sectors that are getting a lot of focus are agriculture and tourism. Looking at the recent trip I took to Livingstone with the other Zambian JFs, I spent more money in a couple of days there than I do in a month in Kabwe. Assuming that all the money spent by tourists in places like this actually goes to the development of the country (which it doesn't...), it is a great way of supporting growth in developing countries. So for me, making meaningful connections with people is still a priority but it can't be for everyone and ideally this is still beneficial to the country. Alright enough about that, on to fun stories about the trip!

(Team Zambia enjoying an amazing breakfast at the Sun Hotel)

Despite the trip being mainly to have fun and catch up with the other JFs, we couldn't ignore the opportunity of having all the IDE folk in one place at the same time so first order of priority was a catch up on what has been going on for the past month in everyone's field offices and what we will be doing for the next few weeks. We also got to go and visit the Livingstone IDE field office and meet some of the staff there.

Then it was on to non-work stuff!!

(Rafting!)

Livingstone's claim to fame is the Victoria Falls on the Zambezi River which divides Zambia from Zimbabwe. In this area, the Zambezi is known for really good white water rafting (and the later into the dry season you go, the crazier it is as the water level gets lower and lower). So on Friday morning we took the treacherous trek down to the river with a bunch of other crazy mzungus and got in a raft with two Irish travellers who had been working in Tanzania and our guide Steve and headed off down the river. It was pretty crazy, we went through lots of rapids with inviting names like "Terminator 1" or "The Three Ugly Sisters," and between levels 2 and 4 (a 6 is the highest that you can have before it is considered a waterfall). For our boat, it was "The Mother" that did us in, one second we were paddling, the next I was in the water being swept downstream ahead of the raft. Thankfully we had been given a safety briefing on what to do in these situations and within not too long we were all safety back in our raft and paddling downstream. After an intense day in the raft we went for much calmer boat ride with plenty of food, drinks and hippos!

(Hippos!)

Of course we couldn't go to Livingstone without visiting Victoria falls themselves so we made our way there on Saturday morning. The falls were absolutely amazing! There is definitely a reason why they are on the list of wonders of the world! As we walked along the path in front of the falls it felt like it was raining because of the mist coming up off of the falls, the noise was unbelievably loud and if you looked in the right direction you could see one or more rainbows. It was unfortunate that we weren't there during a full moon, that is when you can see a moonbow which is apparently quite the sight! The area around the falls is also home to lots of wildlife, including zebras, giraffes and a lot of extremely brave baboons (we saw one open the screen door to a few hotel rooms and go right in).

(The falls)

(Giraffes)

(Zebra)

(A baboon having an afternoon snack)

After doing the white water rafting, most of the group felt like they had a pretty good dose of adrenaline, but Mike K and I disagreed and were still in search of more. So we signed up for a bungee jump, gorge swing and zip line combo. I don't think I've ever been more petrified in my life, but it was wicked, especially the gorge swing featuring a terrifying 5 second free-fall followed by a more sane swing high up above the Zambezi. Unfortunately the bungee jump messed up my foot so we didn't get to the zip line but it was still more than worth it!

(Bungee!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

So there were a surprising number of medical issues being dealt with while in Livingstone. Melissa had been attacked by bed bugs just before coming, and there were various injuries induced by our own activities ranging from hangovers to muscle/tendon related issues. I seem to have strained some tendon in my foot and so I'm trying to take it easy so that I can minimize the amount of time I have to spend hobbling around on a crutch in Kabwe.

All in all it was a pretty awesome, adventure-filled trip! So now I'm wondering, if you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go and why? What would be your primary goal in going there? If you were to aim to develop connections with people and understand how they live, how long would that take?