Back to Work - by Charlene

Our vacation time is over and it’s time to get back to work. We had a great time with Vince and Stacey and Stacey’s luggage finally arrived on the last flight into Lusaka before the one that was to take them home (Day 16!). At that point we were just really glad that it arrived at all and Danica was especially happy since her birthday present from Grandma and Grandpa was in there.

Before they left we spent a day at Chaminuka Lodge where we went on a safari drive and saw lions, a hyena, zebras, sables, giraffes, many impala and came eye to eye with an elephant who tried to confiscate my camera. We went horseback riding, had a fabulous buffet lunch and the kids got to go swimming in the first heated pool we have seen on this continent. We also got to tour a cheese factory and especially enjoyed the “cheese cave” where we got to sample their products and they made deep fried mozza sticks as well as a Swiss cheese fondue for us – yum, yum.

How close have YOU ever been to an elephant?

Ready to ride - Carter had to concentrate really hard on giving his "thumbs up".

Danica and Madi started off riding together but by the end Madi was on her own.

This week’s focus is delivering text books to community schools in Lusaka. These books arrived in the container that was sent from the U.S. a few months ago and the text books are in brand new condition. They were obtained for free since they were about to be shredded due to curriculum changes. Because Danica and Erin are on their school break they helped with the sorting of the thousands of books and within the next couple of days we will finish the distribution. We have a new volunteer arriving next month who will be spending some time with the teachers to instruct them on how to teach with textbooks since most of these schools have never had any school books before.Danica and Erin helping to sort the new school books

The students of Chimwemwe School helped to unload their boxes of new books.

Zambia, Day 14 ....still no luggage for Stacey - by Special Guest Correspondent Vince Boschman

It is hard to believe we are nearing the end of our time in Lusaka. The roads, street vendors and lack of other Muzungus (white people) that seemed so bizarre when we first arrived are now a part of our normal life.

One of the highlights was our road trip to Lake Kariba, Livingstone and our time spent at Victoria Falls. We spent 3 nights at Lake Kariba, where we took a sunset cruise, toured a crocodile farm and spent a morning fishing for Tiger fish.

Not a Tiger Fish, just a little Bream
The kids caught more fish than the Dads

Once we made it to Livingstone we enjoyed seeing the falls up close and getting drenched was breathtaking and only outmatched by the views from the air.

Vic Falls from a normal perspective

John and I took a Microlight flight over the falls and Erin and I took the zipline off a cliff and out to the middle of the gorge.

Vic Falls from a different perspective
highly recommended

Fearless Erin on the zip line over the gorge

We've also had the opportunity to do some non-touristy things like visit Chimwemwe, a local school in one of the compounds and see the excitement and energy kids have at the opportunity to learn. We also visited Chisomo a local drop in center for street kids where we met Aaron and discussed his vision for the facility and how he'd like to make a bigger impact in the lives of these kids. Coming from Canada it is a real eye opener to see how people live with so much less, both in terms of material wealth but also in terms of opportunity. In Lusaka, more than 70% of the population lives on less than a dollar a day....try that for a day or two.

Last night we headed over to the weekly hockey game at the Swedish embassy and today John and I spent the morning golfing on the finest course in Zambia, the Lusaka Golf Club. It was one of the most unique golf experiences I've had. It's not often you have the chance to step back in time and use clubs and balls from the early 70s. It was definitely an experience I will not soon forget.

We would highly recommend a trip out here to everyone. The accommodations are great, we have built in babysitters and our chef is spoiling us.

p.s. Stacey's luggage hasn't arrived and we just aren't talking about it.

Happy Canada Day!

There were no official Canada Day celebrations going on in Lusaka today (imagine!) so we had to plan our own. We went out for lunch to a nice garden centre/cafe and then went to Munda Wanga - a place with a beautiful botanical garden as well as an environmental education centre with lions, a tiger, an elephant, zebras and a few of the other "regular" African animals.
Here are our guests of honor: Vince, Stacey, Madison and Carter Boschman. They are still recovering from the jet lag but the kids seem to have enough energy to keep us on our toes.
What's for lunch? Chicken!
Yesterday we went to Kalimba reptile park and saw lots of snakes and crocodiles. Danica and Erin were quite keen to have a boa constrictor wrapped around their neck. Madison and Carter didn't want to give it a try but they did touch the snake.