Zimbabwe

So, we made the trip over to Zimbabwe. It went well. It was a long trip. About 9 hours from Lusaka to Harare. The bus wasn't in the best shape, and it took the hills really really slowly. But we got there so it's all good. When we arrived at the orphanage we went straight to our rooms in the dorms. That was quite the experience. There was a large room with a bunch of bunk beds in it, a large bathroom with a row of toilets but no doors on the stalls, and showers without curtains. I figured out really fast what times the girls were up and in the dorm and what times the dorm is empty.

The girls are really nice though. Very freindly. They are a lot more touchy too... Here in Zambia there isn't a lot of touching and hugging going on, just polite hand shakes and gestures. But in Zim they hug. That was nice.

While we were there the girls painted several rooms in the little boys dorm and the guys put up gables (? I think that's what they did...). We also got to transplant some tomoatoes and the trees. The orphanage had the church program Saturday. Lots of singing. Really good singing. They also did a skit on Job. It was really nice.

Learned how to play Dutch Blitz one night. We all sat down as a family (yeah, we've formed an SM family) one evening. It was fun, looking forward to playing that again.

Anywho... Zimbabwe is a lot more developed than Zambia. The buildings are like the buildings you would see in a city in America and things are a lot cleaner. Economically things are very unstable. The country has pretty much collapsed and inflation is insane. About 300 50,000,000,000 dollar notes equals approximately 50 cents. They've changed the currency a bit. They are using the U.S. dollar now. Its not so bad as the news makes it look. At least not all over. In the more rural areas things are still quite bad from what I hear, but Harare for example (which is a big city) is doing better now.

The last night that we were there they had a little farewell thing for Luke (he's a volunteer there, he actually was a student missionary here at Riverside a few years ago and he came back with us). It was sweet. Lots of singing, a skit, and many thank you's and tears.

The ride back was... interesting. We arrived at the bus station at 5:30 AM to make sure we were able to get tickets because these buses fill up fast. We were the first ones there. The bus didn't depart until about 8:30, although it was scheduled to leave at 8:00. Then, we had to pull over several times because it was having some mechanical issues. We finally pulled off at the scheduled pit stop and they informed us that another bus was coming from Harare to take us through. We all knew that by the time that bus got to us, picked us up, then got to the border, the border would be closed. So, we took turns standing out by the road trying to flag down a ride. Several people stopped, just going to the wrong places. We finally got someone going to the right plae just as our replacement bus showed up.

Then, once we got loaded in and on our way again, some men who had been drinking decided they had to pee... more precious time, then we got a bit overheated and had to pull off, then we got held up because a truck spilled tires all over the road... We began to get the idea that maybe weren't supposed to cross the border that night. We finally pulled up to the border at exactly 6:00 PM, which happens to be the exact time it closes. Apparently, no exceptions are made. So, we hiked back to a hotel that's near the border and spent the night there.

This morning at the border we found ourselves racing two other buses full of people. When we pulled in the people literally ran off the buses pushing, trying to get through customs first. It was funny. Everyone was pushing and shoving and stressing and our group was playing the name game. Hah. There are lots of baboons at the border. Some of them very big. While we were standing in the long line snaking its way out of the building and down the ramp, they provided us with some entertainment.

One of the baboons got a hold of someone's coke and had the bottle in its mouth and was running as fast as those legs and arms allow. Then it dropped the bottle and the bottle started to spray everywhere. It jumped back, then started lapping at the coke puddle on the ground and tried to pick it up again, dropped it, and it started to roll, still spraying. So the baboon followed after close when the spray was squirting away from him and jumping back whenever it pointed his direction. Finally, he just started following several feet behind and licking up the coke off of the black top. It was so comical! If we hadn't been at the border I would have taken pictures... but they aren't especially fond of cameras at the border.

Then, as we were filing out of the building after going through customs, we saw this baboon sitting on the cement wall we had to pass to get back to the bus. It was holding a huge chunk of bread and its cheaks were absolutely stuffwed with bread. There is no way that boy could have sqeezed any more bread in his mouth. We laughed and wondered who the genious was who gave him the bread. Then we got back to the bus and someone asked Luke if he had any apples or oranges. He said yes and asked if she would like some. She said no, but that the baboons had gotten into them. Sure enough, the basket that our bread, apples, and oranges had been in was sitting on the seat in the bus, next to an open window. So, our hairy little freind just reached in and helped himself. All but one of the apples had a huge bite taken out of it and nothing was left of the bread but the plastic bag it came in. Those crazy baboons.

The rest of the trip went over without a problem. So now we are back at Riverside. I guess we will be heading out to Mukuyu Friday to visit Hein and Melissa, provide some help/encouragement since they are having so many problems out where they are. Then Liz and I will either get dropped at the entrance to the long road to Lushomo Saturday on the way back, or come back to Riverside and wait for the Lushomo vehicle to make another trip into town.

Oh yeah, forgot to mention that I saw some elephants yesterday on the Zim side of the border gathering at some water. Very cool.

Speaking of cool, apparently we have snow at my house back home... 9 inches! Figures... I've been waiting for a good snow and it comes as soon as I leave. Oh well... I'm in Africa. So take that... hehe.