"Africa Lite"

3 August '09

I have been in Zambia less than a week and am adjusting quite well. People who travel a lot or know the "real" Africa tend to call Zambia "Africa lite"; meaning that it's an easy country to get around in, is politically stable, has little crime, and is not as frustrating to live in as other countries on this huge continent. So far, I would have to agree.

I arrived after a long flight from Frankfurt, Germany via a stopover in Johannesburg, South Africa. However, my luggage did not. This was especially annoying since I paid $703.00 for my extra bag. No, you did not misread the number nor did I make a mistake with the zeros---it was seven hundred and three dollars!! Thank you Lufthansa! 

I was met at the airport by the school's director, Chris Muller, and quickly whisked away to my new apartment. I will live on campus which is definitely not as bad as it may sound. The school is situated on 23 acres and the living quarters are separate from the classrooms. I live in one of the four townhouses and have a small patio area and share a large garden with my neighbors, a young teaching couple from Atlanta, GA. 

We have been kept very busy with several shopping excursions, dinners, city tours, and cocktail parties. Yesterday we spent the day at the Protea Safari Lodge. The lodge is known for its terrific brunch and beautiful accommodations. Our group walked along one of the numerous trails to the lion enclosure and watched as they were fed by a warden named Cosmos. He placed several dead chickens in the trees and the lions climbed to get at the food. Amazing! Cosmos told us that each lion (there were four) was fed 10 chickens per day.