Arrived Alive

Well, as you can see we have made it. It definitely feels like we have worked 5 nightshifts in a row. Good thing we have learned to sleep in awkward positions for copious amounts of time, it came in handy on the plane. All that said, we had a great flight and no problems with immigration/customs.

Wait there is a story here Lianne..we might have had to wait in line at immigration for an hour and a half! Only to find that the 6 month visa we had previously arranged in Canada, was not even valid. So they only granted us a one month visa for now. Good thing we waited soooo anxiously to get our visa from the Zambian High Commission in Ottawa.

Right, but TIA Jessica, TIA (THIS IS AFRICA). We did meet some nice people in the line that will be praying for us. *wink* We met Margaret and her husband….So nice, I enjoy them both immensely.

As soon as we saw Margaret it was big hugs all around. That is why I miss the African people. She also said to us ‘Welcome Home!’. Another moment that made me appreciate that I was back in Africa was…the group of people singing right outside the airport as soon as we stepped outside. Feels good to be home.

So we exchanged our money and now have Kwachas. We are staying at the nursing residences at UTH (the University Teaching Hospital) and it is great. Jess and I are sharing a bed and Cam has his own room. Immediately we dropped our stuff off and headed out to explore and get groceries. How experienced are we getting…..Let me tell you, we located the bakery, market, internet, candy store, bank, and eateries all before 1030 am!!

Right then this jet lag thing started to come into play. It was only 11:30am when we all started to get very very sleepy…so decided to put ourselves down for a nap. We did wake up at 3:30pm, but then for some reason decided to keep on sleeping until 5:30. The rest of the night we were all like zombies trying to keep ourselves awake…we only managed until 9pm. I was out like a light….. even slept through the Bob Marley playing until all hours of the night.

One thing we didn’t mention is the cold….It feels like Prince George over here. Yesterday I was walking around in 4 shirts, and you know me I wear flip flops in winter. Ok, I guess it isn’t that cold (high of 23 low of 7) but for some reason I didn’t believe an African winter would be cold…Luckily I have packed well. For instance, I was wearing long johns to bed last night accompanied by the British Airways socks that I got from the plane.

Ok Lianne I am not finished with the topic of ‘jet lag’. Why don’t you tell everyone how I caught you staring at me at 2 o’clock in the morning!!! Yes but the funny thing is..I was awake too..wide awake!! Wait so was our buddy Cam. So all three of us got up at that point and decided to be productive (I chose to journal) until about 4:30. Then it was back to bed…but didn’t really sleep. This jet lag thing is fun..real fun.

I think we bonded last night over it Jess. We made a song about being up at 4 am….BFF’s. I woke up went for a jog, and then decided that I need to do that more than once a month cause I was tired. But my rational was to be hot and sweaty in order to face the COLD shower. It worked, but I was still cold, and I got my first mosquito bite in there. This might mean you have to put up with a smelly Lianne, cause it was not a great experience.

So now it is Sunday morning here, and we are all about to head out on the town of Lusaka to do some exploring..and hopefully get some cell phones! We are planning to be in Lusaka for a few days, and then head down to Livingstone to see Victoria Falls.

You stay classy Canada…