Cultural immersion 100%

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Aka Andrea on a bike 2.0!

Me on a bike sounds as ridiculous as the kid's book "duck on a bike" jajaja but I gave a bike a 2nd try and I'm glad I did it (but my seating parts are very very sore!)

I started the day with an amazing bike ride in Livingstone. Oliver, my tour guide, was so knowledgeable and nice that it made the ride enjoyable!!

Comparing to my last bike tour in katutura it feels as if that one was a breeze! This time I rode a bike on terrible streets, lots of holes, very bumpy and at times uncomfortable. The big difference was that this time I was not scared of being on a bicycle, once Oliver picked me up I was so up for it! I rode like a pro ;-)

After riding for 5 mins oliver explained some things to me: first thing was that I was going to hear the word "muzungu" a lot... It means "white" and that's how people call tourists. He also taught me how to say hello "bwanji" (more like 'blanji") thank you "zicomo" and fine "buino."

We passed very very poor neighborhoods, houses made of mud and sticks. It reminded me a little of home. It is amazing how back home I don't even realize the poverty that many people live in and I have to come half way around the world and say "Yeap... This kind of houses and poverty are also part of my culture and there is something that needs to be done!"

Leaving the sadness of poverty and the sense of helplessness on the side, I really enjoyed the ride through the townships. It was really funny to hear all the kids go "MUZUNGU, MUZUngu, muzungu" and echo a couple of meters down the street. All the kids would come out of their backyards and say muzungu and wave!

Since it was Sunday I got to see a lot of people dressed up going to church and heard people singing at church, it was a really nice experience. Going through neighborhoods I saw people dancing and singing in their backyard, kids playing with tires, objects made out (what we would call) garbage or anything that they could get their hands on. Oliver explained the differences between neighorhoods and how people live and how they make money to feed their families. The poverty and living conditions was heart breaking!!

Here is Oliver showing me how they use the "blue bush" as a natural toothbrush and toothpaste! I've noticed that Africans are very resourceful!!

Here I am on a short stop along the Zambezi river!

While riding there we found a lot of elephant droppings and Oliver shared different things they did with the turd... Silly me thinking we were very clever coming up with with the "elephant turd game"... So apparently elephant dump (as Oliver called it) is used as mosquito repellent: they put a dropping in the room, light it on fire and the smoke will repel the insects. Also, it is used as medicine, they mix it with different roots and create remedies... Who knew?!?! They also use it to cook as a form of fire and to heat themselves up at night!!!

After riding along the Zambezi Oliver took me to his village to show me the school that his brother founded and how the bike tour company started. All profits from the tours go directly to the school that currently has around 145 kids from age 3 to 8 and they are hoping to expand a little more. It was amazing to hear him talk about his village and the needs that those kids have. As part of the program they provide kids with meals every day and ensure that every kid is properly fed since many times their parents do not have the resources to provide food.

Here is the road to his village... Bumpy bumpy!!!

Our last stop was their local market... The Dambwa market! this really reminded me of home!!! Flies everywhere, stinky and food that looks like you should not be eating them!

I really enjoyed the local market and looking at all the different things they sell there, Oliver explained the different types of food and how the market is separated. It was quite an experience!

In the afternoon I went to volunteer at an orphanage in the Maramba village. The orphanage has 45 children from age 2 to 18. I was supposed to read books or play soccer but instead I ended up dancing to the beat of some buckets all afternoon!

It was funny that the experience at the orphanage was quite similar to my volunteer in katutura, one of the boys grabbed my hands and would not let me go. First he took me over to the swings and then when more people came he grabbed me and took me to the other side of the field... I thought it was very interesting that both times a boy has kind of taken ownership of me. Once the dancing started we were all in a circle dancing and we separated.

I couldn't help but wonder about the trauma these kids have been through and the hurt about being abandoned. In the orphanage they are well taken care of and in a way loved but it does not compare to having a family and having that secure attachment with somebody. The orphanage has a lack of funding and are struggling to keep all the kids, they even had to go down from 60 to 45 kids because they don't have enough resources. A local hotel has donated a beautiful irrigation system so the kids can have a garden; this season they are growing tomatoes, cucumber and some other vegetables that they sell back to the hotel.

During my time there two girls really caught my attention because they were very very angry at everybody, one in particular was very aggressive towards others, would not smile and did not seem welcoming at all. I smiled at her a couple of times and maybe once or twice she smiled back. While dancing they barely participated and if somebody picked them they would make an even angrier face. I couldn't help but think about how useful it would be to have some counseling for all these kids :-(

The afternoon of dancing was a delight to say the least, all kids where singing and having a great time. Helen, a friend from the hostel, and I had a blast dancing to the beat of the buckets and repeating whatever the kids were saying! The kids' dancing was funny and phenomenal at the same time. I know this will be yet another experience that I will cherish forever.

At night I planned an evening out at the waterfront and invited Helen, one of my roommates and a guy from the hostel. Once at waterfront I saw Karine and Morten (from my tour) and invited them to join us. We got to see a little bit of the sunset (not a good sunset since it was very cloudy) and I couldn't help but wonder about the sadness I felt the previous day and how much better I was feeling then. I went from being all by myself to being surrounded by 5 very nice people that in some way I had attracted, I was the one who made the connection and decided to talk to them, opened myself up and allowed myself to move away from sadness and loneliness...

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Andrea

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