Zambia, Day 1

Johannesburg to Livingstone, BYO Vodka

We managed to catch our flight, one of the three weekly ones we’d found from Johannesburg to Zambia, despite a number of last-minute delays. (“Should I have packed my passport?”, “Are we sure the hotel knows to pick us up at the airport?”, “Who has the malaria pills”, and my favorite, “Where’s the train station again?”) Given scarcity of flights the plane was surprisingly empty, although a group of Russian mothers and daughters did their best to make up for this lack by loudly calling back and forth to one another while hopping from seat to seat and row to row, particularly during landing. But at long last we landed in Zambia at the smallest airport I’ve ever seen!

Learning About Zambia & Jess Saves The Day

A sign for “Mr. Devine & Ms. Armstrong” greeted us at the airport and we had a surprisingly fascinating conversation with the driver as we headed toward the Thorntree River Lodge. Interesting facts:

·  Zambia consists of 10 provinces and 72 tribes

·  Each tribe speaks its own distinct language

·  Livingstone – the area near the Falls – is home to a broad assortment of tribes, and residents are subsequently even more multi-lingual than the general population

Cultural chats halted only when we stopped to watch a family of elephants that was paused in the road. It was amazing to sit a mere 5-6 yards from 15+ elephants – they had no interest in our van whatsoever. I suppose if I was the size of the large male elephants, I wouldn’t be concerned with vans either. After 20 minutes the elephants moved on and so did we.

This leads us to the most interesting fact of all, namely:

-The lodge never received confirmation of our online booking, and the first they heard of our reservation was the brief “Looking forward to seeing you at the airport in a few hours” email I’d sent just before leaving. [1]

Sunset on the Zambezi River

Because there’s no better way to see a new territory than by riverboat, we spent our first evening in Zambia cruising down the Zambezi river on the mighty Lady Livingstone. The beauty of the land is impossible to capture in words – at least, with my descriptive talents – so suffice-it to say it was breathtaking. [2]

Notable sights included hippos and watching a large male elephant swim across the river from Zimbabwae to Zambia. Who knew elephants could swim? Well, their one large stomach (distinct from other grazing animals which generally have four stomachs) contains quite a bit of air, which helps with floating. Floating isn’t sufficient when you’re – well – as heavy as an elephant, and when you’re crossing a river as swift and wide as the Zambezi, so it’s a good thing elephants also use their trunks as a snorkel. The elephant would submerge entirely then a foot of his trunk would emerge from the water for air before disappearing again. Apparently elephants are partial to their favorite crossing spots and return to them regularly. The hippos were also quite fun to watch. [3]

On Becoming A (Zambian) Woman (From the Male Perspective)

The highlight of my day was the return drive to our Lodge, when we learned quite a bit more about Zambian culture from yet another remarkably knowledgeable and friendly driver.

He explained that at age 12-13, Zambian girls go into female-only seclusion to learn about womanhood from other women. During this time the girls still go to school but avoid the company of males, including relatives. The girls are taught by women other than their own mothers – wisely, the culture recognizes who pre-teens are most (and least) likely to listen to. J

It appears tribal communities are quite strong in Zambia, and support the nurturing of healthy relationships through mediation and community involvement. Marriage is viewed as a life-long commitment and problems within a relationship are addressed and resolved as quickly as possible. It’s considered a serious offense to insult or quarrel publicly with one’s spouse – including in front of children. The entire community is leveraged in this development of healthy relationships. If a woman has an issue with her husband that she’s unable to resolve directly, she’s expected to take the problem to the tribal elders, who will then sit down with and mentor the husband. If a husband is unable to resolve a problem directly with his wife, he’s expected to reach out to another woman to intercede with the wife. I was struck by the natural resilience of these communities, and sad that our modern world tends to lean away from such communities toward a more isolated existence.  [4]

I think we could have continued our discussion for hours but sadly the drive was only about 20 minutes. We’ll see what else we’re able to learn in the coming days about this remarkable culture.

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Footnotes from TJ:

1.     I had actually told Jess that her last-minute email was “completely unnecessary” and “perhaps a bit excessive” since I received two separate confirmations from Thorntree, including confirmation of our arrival time and flight.  Jess has done a very good job of not lording it over me (so far…)

2.     Fortunately there are PICTURES!  Seriously, even these don’t capture the rolling, expansive beauty of the place.

3.     I know I’m ostensibly an adult, but every time we see hippos in Africa, I can’t help but remember being told many times that they’re only dangerous if you see them wiggling their ears and blowing bubbles.  (If you get this reference and admit to it, you are among my favorite people.)

4.     The blend between a passionate Christianity and traditional tribal structures was particularly interesting: the driver repeatedly explained these tribal structures by saying “this is a Christian country”.  Churches are more common here than anywhere I’ve been (outside of the South or Texas).  I don’t know the history well enough, but the locals point to the legacy of David Livingstone, the famous missionary and explorer who discovered Victoria Falls and for whom this town is named.  Interestingly, he is beloved in this country (and I understand Zimbabwe as well) for his legendary compassion as much as his fight against the slave trade well before it was banned by Great Britain.