July 14, 2012

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Hello parents,

            Sorry we haven’t blogged in a while. Our last week here in Zambia has been filled with donations, goodbyes, and packing. Let us begin where we left off. When we returned from safari, we were greeted with a pleasant candle-lit dinner at the bar at Pioneer Camp. As a result of our twelve hour road trip, we were hungry and extremely tired, so after stuffing ourselves with steak, chicken, and spaghetti Bolognese, we immediately hit the sack. Luckily, on Tuesday morning, we were able to sleep in before a day of shopping. We headed out into Lusaka at around noon and traveled to Northmead market, our final market stop on the trip. Once there, we purchased our last round of African crafts and feasted on Nshima. Of course, being a group of hungry teenagers, our absence for a week warranted yet another trip to Shoprite (the local Zambian grocery store-think Costco, but downsized). At Shoprite, we stocked up on Cornflakes, vegetables, and goodies to bring home to our families. While we were shopping, Josie and Izzy went to Nando’s, a European chain which happens to be the favorite restaurant of Niall Horan (the Irish member of One Direction). This was a very special moment as Nando’s does not exist anywhere in the United States other than in Washington, D.C., and they had been dying to taste it. The food was excellent and exceeded their expectations.

            On Wednesday, we got to sleep in again!! What a nice surprise! We awoke from our slumbers at around 9 in preparation for a shoe drive at the Waterfall Clinic, a small local clinic located at the bottom of Palabana Road. We walked to the clinic and organized the shoes which we brought to Zambia based on size. Children from the surrounding area were already lined up outside the doors of the clinic by the time we arrived. When the shoe drive began, children entered the clinic one by one and each Seattle Academy student helped each of the children find a pair of shoes that fit and that suited them. We were able to give shoes to all of the school children, but we very unfortunately had to turn away many of the local children as we ran out of shoes quickly. When the shoe drive was over, we had to close the doors of the clinic and we distributed pens to the children who were not able to receive shoes. Before we left, they sang us a traditional song and we all sang the Zambia national anthem together. Finally, we said goodbye to the children and walked home for some relaxation followed by dinner. After dinner we had a discussion about our experiences at the clinic. The day was very emotional, especially for those of us who were in the clinic when the local children had to be turned away. We all felt good about helping these children, but the experience was definitely overwhelming.

            On Thursday, the early mornings returned. We got on the bus at our usual time of 8:00am and headed out to Birdland for our last day with the kids. At around 10:00 the assembly began with us singing the Zambian National Anthem. When the Birdland kids joined in the second time, a few of us broke down in tears. Then we sat back and watched an adorable song performed by the kindergarteners and impressive dance, news report, and debate performances done by some of the older kids. Then a group of us got up and sang That Lonesome Road, which the Birdland community seemed to thoroughly enjoy. Finally, during the last dance performance, the children came up to us and dragged us onto the dance floor (Olive even grabbed Jack for a dance!). We were reluctant at first, but we all joined in and ended up having a lot of fun.

            After the assembly ended we stayed back because the teachers apparently had something else to present us. They called us up one by one and presented us with chitengues, bracelets, paintings, jerseys, handmade crafts, and other lovely gifts, which was completely unexpected. We were so grateful and touched by their generosity and kindness. After that we went and grabbed the clothing we had donated and then handed it out to those considered the “vulnerable” children at Birdland. These children are typically children who are orphans or who have HIV. We each presented a child with a bundle of clothing and then chatted with them for awhile. For the rest of the day we played with the Birdland kids for the last time and then had to say goodbye. When we said goodbye to the younger kids they swarmed us and showered us with hugs and kisses. Leaving them was especially heartbreaking because they did not fully understand that we were not coming back. The ride back to Pioneer Camp was pretty quiet because we were all sad and exhausted from the emotional day. But there was no time to rest, as we had important guests to impress at dinner that night. Olive, her husband Phil, and their two children came to the cottage at Pioneer Camp for dinner, and we had a full course meal planned to thank them for welcoming us into the Birdland community. We spent the afternoon cooking tomato and mozzarella bruschetta, mulligatawny soup (a recipe that Josie brought from home), homemade pesto pasta with grilled chicken, salad with caramelized nuts and fruit, and peach/pear cobbler with vanilla ice cream for dessert. Gigi arranged beautiful center pieces made from flowers, candles, and African warthog figurines. The evening was a success, as Olive and her family left with full stomachs. Although we know that the meal wasn’t nearly enough to thank Olive for everything she has done for us on the trip, we all felt that we had managed to communicate our appreciation in our own way.

            On Friday we woke up at our usual time and headed to Birdland (not to see the kids, unfortunately) to meet up with Olive and go see the houses that we provided cement floors for. First, however, we presented the Birdland teachers with thank you cards and gifts of clothing, which they greatly appreciated. Then we hopped on a bus with Olive and Olipa to go to the houses. We were all so amazed to see the finished cement floors in the first two houses and the progress that had been made on the second two houses. It warmed us to see how grateful everyone was for our help. The cement floors will help prevent chest infections caused by dust, will be nicer to sleep on, and will not get damp or wash away in the rainy season, so they are clearly an improvement on the dirt floors that had been in the houses previously.

            After visiting the houses we received our handmade goodies from the tailor (which we are all so happy with), said goodbye to Birdland for the last time, and headed up to Munali. At Munali we were greeted with great enthusiasm from all of the students. We received hugs from practically everyone and then got to just hang out and chat with them for a few hours. Spending a solid chunk of time with our Munali friends was a great way to end our time with them and remember them. Once again, we eventually had to say sorry goodbyes and received may more hugs before heading back to Pioneer Camp. We had our last walk down Palabana Road, which was as beautiful as ever, and our last meal at Pioneer Camp, made by the superb cook team of Carly and Sam.

            Today (Saturday) was our last full day in Zambia,L but it was a very pleasant one. Jack, Sam, Reed, Tommy, and Gabe woke up at 6:00am to do a polar bear swim in the cold pool while the rest of us slept in a little later. Most of us packed when we woke up and then lay outside reading, tanning, chatting, or listening to music and soaking up the last bit of Zambian sun. In the middle of the day we did a writing exercise where we each wrote a letter to ourselves which Tommy will give to us some point in the next year at school. After writing the letters most of us went up to the pool and a few of us jumped in one last time. Jack also demonstrated some of his lifeguarding skills, using Leora as his test dummy.

            At around 5:30 we headed out to a Brai (barbeque) a few minutes away from Pioneer Camp. Paul (the owner of Pioneer Camp) drove us out to a field where we played keep away with a soccer ball until the sun went down and then had a dinner of Nshima with either vegetables, chicken, t-bone, or pork cooked by Paul on an open fire. We enjoyed eating our last delicious dinner under the stars huddled around the warm fire.

            Now, we are back at Pioneer Camp, blogging at the bar for the last time and enjoying the company of the dogs, Paul, and Alfred. Tomorrow, we will wake up slightly earlier, pack up our last few things, and eat an English breakfast at the bar before heading to the Lusaka airport and beginning our long journey back to Seattle. Our flight out to Ethiopia leaves tomorrow afternoon at 3:30 pm. We will arrive in Addis Ababa at around 10 pm, and we expect to go through immigration and then head to our hotel for a good night’s sleep. On Monday morning, we will wake up, walk around Addis Ababa, and have a nice lunch (hopefully with Reed’s family friend) before embarking on our long flight back to the United States. Of course, we won’t actually be home in Seattle until Tuesday night, but don’t forget to come pick up your kids at 9 pm at Seatac airport on Tuesday night (July 17^th)!!!! We are not looking forward to our long and sad flights, but we are very excited to see our families when we arrive. Can’t wait to see you there!!! Thanks for keeping up with us on the blog, and we will see you soon!

-Izzy and Josie            

Guess who's back????

Alice: Hello world! It’s us, a group of 11 teenagers and 4 adults, back from safari! Huzzah!!!!! We had such a good time! I’m running out of my allotted exclamation points because we’re so enthused and happy!!!!!

Grace: Okay no more exclamation points. You’re only allotted three more.  On another note, we really did have a lot of fun. Let’s get to it with some highlights:

Alice: We had such a good time that a blog post describing all of our fun would be never ending and not allow Grace and I to sleep tonight, so this is the highlight reel which will be followed by a surprise.

Grace: We met our friends/safari guides/adventure leaders, Adri and Hendrik at Pioneer Camp to lead us on our adventure. I cannot simply mention Adri and Hendrik, they were the best “guides” ever but they were more than just “guides”, they were our friends and a crucial part of the trip. We drove allllllllllll day and reached the McBride’s Camp at 11 pm.

Alice: We were at the McBride’s for three nights. One night of which was spent at the McBride’s Fly Camp which is a two hours long boat ride away. The McBride’s Camp was so cool, but the actual McBrides are so interesting. If you get the chance, please look up husband and wife, Chris and Charlotte McBride. They’ve lived such amazing lives so far.  Chris took a liking to Tommy and only referred to him as Sir Thomas. He also immensely enjoyed Sam’s clothing. In fact, he brought Sam to Charlotte and said, “Charlotte, I need something like this,” as he pointed at Sam’s clothing.

Grace: Some of the things we did at McBride’s: early morning game walks, long boat rides where we saw elephants and hippos, hearing lions at night from our tents, night game drives, loooooooong walks back from the Fly Camp, and a slideshow of Chris’ work.

Alice: One of my highlights includes seeing a mom leopard and her baby on one of the night drives.

Grace: On the other night game drive we got to see a sevet. Which is a cat like animal with spots similar to a leopard.

Alice: On the 3^rd, we left McBride’s. My journal entry for that day is rather short as we spent the whole day driving. We arrived at the Itezi-Tezi dam where we would be camping for the night. We arrived at 8:30 and ate the best meal of safari yet, that included grilled chicken, and delicious mashed potatoes.

Grace: Aaaaand don’t forget the fake soy chicken, which was bomb. The next morning, we woke up and saw some hyrexes around camp. Hyrexes resemble giant hamsters. They’re totally weird. We left Itezi-Tezi and began the most adventurous car ride yet. We drove through Kafue National Park and all the cars were subject to a tsi-tsi fly invasion.  When we stopped for lunch, one of the safari cars was covered in tsi-tsi fly bugs, as a sign of our victory.

Alice: The bigger car was a very different story. We kept all the windows closed so that no flies could have the opportunity to get in. The car was a sauna. Everyone was dripping in sweat. It reminded me of a hot yoga class.

Grace: We stopped for lunch at Nanzhila campsite where we discovered that our trailer was broken. We decided to forego driving for the day, stay at Nanzhila for the night, and fix the trailer.  

Alice: We woke up the next morning and began our drive to the Waterfront Campsite, which is really close to Victoria Falls. We drove all day and reached the Waterfront at night. After setting up camp, we all decided that we needed a change of pace, so we all jumped into the freezing cold pool. It was awesome!

Grace: The time at the Waterfront was our first time since the start of safari, out of the bush. It was strange to be back in ‘society’.  We all felt like we were staying at some Pirates of the Caribbean hotel in Disneyworld.  The next morning we woke up to a show of vervit monkeys creating havoc. Alice loooved it. Jokes.

Alice: Hecka yeah I luhhhed it. We hopped into the safari trucks, renamed Mock Charge and Threat Stare, and headed towards the Zambia Botswana border crossing.

Grace: From the border crossing you could see Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Namibia.

Alice: Typical us, we missed the first ferry which the trucks were on and had to catch the next one. The ferry was unlike any ferry in Seattle. It was small, flat, and could only contain about 4 cars.

Grace: Once we arrived in Botswana we went straight to our boat tour through Chobe National Park. Our guide, Lets, lead us to crocodiles, birds, hippos, and elephants. We even saw an elephant cross the river in the sunset. It was beautiful and all of us have PLENTY of wonderful pictures.

Alice: While on safari, we’ve discovered that our whole group has an affinity for taking ‘selfies’. Selfies are when you hold the camera out in front of your face to catch you and your surroundings in one photograph. The name selfies comes from the fact that you’re taking a picture of yourself.  There were MANY selfies taken with the animals in the water. They’re quite comical.

Grace: After the boat three hour boat ride, we went to our campsite at Senyati Hills Safari Campsite. We arrived just after sunset and we set up camp in the dark. After another delicious meal we headed off to bed to the sounds of a kill. Apparently a pride of lions had caught something where then a group of hyenas wanted to mooch. This caused a huuuge uproar which then upset the elephants and monkeys and practically everything else in the immediate area.

Alice: After practically no sleep due to the noise, we woke up the next morning and headed to Chobe National Park. While we boated through Chobe the day before, we got into the car and drove through the park. We saw lions, elephants, impalas, kudu, guinea fowl, giraffes, water buck, and warthogs. We drove all day and saw all sorts of amazing things.

Grace: We spent another night at Senyati Safari Camp and the next day headed back into Zambia to visit Victoria Falls. The falls were incredible and we were all soaked by the end of our time there. The falls are so massive and powerful that it was raining upwards from all of the pressure.

Alice: After touring the falls we went to the adjacent market where we tried our best to haggle with the locals. After being removed for so long from human interaction we were all sadly taken advantage of and were ripped off.

Grace: We spent one last night at the Waterfront and then drove back to Pioneer camp.

Alice: And now for the main event! The 1^st Annual Safari Awards!!!!! And now, in no particular order….

Safari Awards:

Gabe: MVP

Gabe is a superstar. He’s always on his game and knows exactly what to do and how to do it. Gabe’s the one who will always be there when you need a lil joke or some nice words to make you happy.  The safari would not have been the same without him. Gabe, you’ve done so much work for us to be here, we appreciate every bit of it. You’re the best!!

Jack: BEST SAFARI SELFIES

As mentioned earlier, selfies have become a trend among everyone here, but Jackson Gode’s selfie skills have surpassed everyone’s skills. We watch in awe as Jack takes selfies with fellow trip members, in front of Victoria Falls, with friends from Birdland, and with dangerous animals in the bush. Our favorite Jack selfie moment from the trip occurred when he was practically hanging out of the boat to get a selfie with a crocodile. As a professional selfie photographer, he was totally safe (I promise Mrs. Gode!).

Alice:  BEST NEW FEAR

Alice Flood is absolutely terrified of the monkeys. Exposure therapy hasn’t been going as smoothly as we had hoped seeing as she was nearly reduced to tears at Victoria Falls when the baboons would not move off the path. Fortunately she had a big group of muzungos (white people in chnyanga) to help her out, and we are sure that she will be able to conquer her fear.

Gigi: BEST WATERPROOF SKILLS

We all were told that there was no way that we’d be able to stay dry at Victoria Falls, but Gigi and her super raincoat proved everyone wrong. The top half of Gigi’s body was completely dry by the end of our walk through the falls. It was rather impressive.

Reed: BEST EAGLE EYES

We all were trying our best to spot animals on safari, but no one could surpass Reed who was the first to find all of the elephants, hippos, crocodiles, and more on the trip. Seriously though, a safari isn’t a safari without some hawk eyes.

Carly: BEST NEW BUSINESS

Everyone who is anyone knows that Carly is the best in the business when it comes to jewelry, but Chris McBride was recently exposed to her talent. Although he called her “Chadwick” until he learned it was Barwick, he really took a liking to Carly and her talent. Chris was super enthused with the prospect of Carly’s jewelry business and as a token of gratitude for his support, Carly made a bracelet for Chris’ wife, Charlotte.

Sam: BEST MODEL SKILLZ
Samuel Edward Sparer Zieve is destined to walk the runways in Paris, Milan, and London. With his special trademark, his cheekbones, there is no ad campaign that can refuse him. Calvin Klein called Pioneer Camp and asked for Sam’s resume. Being the caring boy that he is, Sam refused the modeling contract so that he could hang out with the pupils at Birdland. Whatta boy!

Josie: BEST TRAILBLAZER

Josie Parks is a true athletic superstar. She even went on a few runs before 6 o’clock on safari, but the most epic Josie moment occurred when she beat EVERYONE up the path from the basin of Victoria Falls. The path up is incredible steep and strenuous for even the most fit muzungos. But Josie dominated and unfortunately had to wait for 15 minutes at the top for the rest of us to finally catch up.

Sonja: BEST ‘PRECAUTIONARY’ STORIES

We arrive at a campsite late at night. We’re all sitting around the campfire as Gabe lays out the ground rules for the campsite, but before we’re allowed to leave, Sonja states, “I don’t mean to scare you, but….”The following phrase depicts the fact that either a cobra was spotted in the campsite years ago, or last year a crocodile roamed camp at night, or something else of the same nature. She has good intentions and we now know that her ‘precautionary’ tales are never to be missed.

Hendrik: BEST CALM

Hendrik is the most laid back person in the world. Once Leora put her chair on top of his bare foot (by accident) and sat down, his response being “Ow. That is my foot” while continuing to cook. We all thought that nothing could break his calm but one night around the campfire a honey badger tried to break into our food supply and Hendrik sprinted across the campfire screaming “Honey badger, honey badger!!” we all had a good laugh.

Adri: BEST FOOD. DUH.

Not much to say about Adri’s food besides that it was amazing. We had more food each meal on safari than we have ever had at Pioneer camp! Everything from spaghetti, to amazing salads, to post roasts, to custard with fresh fruit. We miss Adri and her cooking now that we’re back at Pioneer Camp and I’m sure we’ll continue to miss her at home too.

Grace:  BEST DIRTIEST FEET

Day three of safari. We haven’t showered since we left Pioneer. Everyone is walking around talking about how dirty we are, but all chatter stops once Grace shows off her feet. Grace’s feet are awesome. Dust coated her feet in cool patterns. We all have pictures of intricate designs on her epidermis. Unfortunately now that we’re back at Pioneer Camp, her feet are clean L

Tommy: BEST DANCE SKILLS

Thomas Adams, Tadams, Thomas (TOE-MAH),  Taaaaaahhhh Meeeeeee, Tommy, is a great guy. He also happens to be super coordinated and loves to break out the dance moves whenever he can. My favorite move of his is the head bob/upper body spasm, while the arms sway at awkward angles. Imagine someone trying to get a kink in their neck and you have the Tadams Dance.

Leora: HEALTHIEST EATER

Leora eats, as she likes to put it: everything. Leora eats, as we like to put it: anything green, organic, and sugarless. From the start of the trip we all knew she would have plenty of snacks to munch on considering most thought her snack bag was her clothing bag! Without our girl Leora, we all would have been without cranberries in our oatmeal, almonds in our muesli, and much MUCH more.

Izzy: BEST NEWEST HUNGER GAMES FAN

As we left for safari, Izzy pulled out a new book, but not just any book. On safari, Izzy ventured into the world of the Hunger Games. If you haven’t heard of the Hunger Games, you’ve been living under a rock as everyone on this trip loves the Hunger Games. And now, Izzy has joined the majority of us as a huuuuge fan.  Izzy loved it so much that she was pacing herself, making the book last longer.  The debate about Peeta vs. Gale vs. One Direction is soon to ensue…

Emma: BEST BRITISH ACCENT

Grace and I have come to realize that you don’t really know Emma Paige Yuh Coleman until you’ve heard her English accent. Over this safari we’ve all caught a glimpse of the real Emma. The Emma that engages in spit wars with Jack, mini brawls with Alice, native Zambian dances, and a tumultuous relationship with her Uglydoll, Brad. Besides all of these things, Emma’s English accent is our favorite as it tends to come out during long safari drives as Emma begins to lose her mind. It’s great.

Mercy: BEST BIRDWATCHER

Mercy likes birds. No. False. Mercy LOVES birds. Whenever we’re driving and there’s a bird on the side of the road, we have to pull over and get some pictures of it. Sure there’s a huge elephant on the left, but THERE’S A FLOCK OF BEAUTIFUL SPARROWS ON THE RIGHT. HURRY ADRI! PULL OVER!!!!!!!!

Brad: BEST HIDE AND SEEK SUPERSTAR

As mentioned earlier, Brad is Emma’s stuffed animal, but since the beginning of the trip we’ve all fell in love with him. We’re all so in love with him that we’ve created a game where we hide Brad all over the place.  Emma loves to find Brad in the bathroom at McBrides, taking selfies with Jack in Chobe, hiding in the fridge, and hanging on the clothesline. Unfortunately, Emma and Brad decided to end things together as Brad was, “too clingy.” We considered throwing Brad into Victoria Falls and burning him on the 4^th of July to say goodbye, but we forgot him. We’ll let you know if we give him an epic goodbye…

We’re so sorry this post is so late. As you can imagine it took awhile to write about ten amazing days in one post. 

Thank you, and Goodnight!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Much love,

Alice and Grace