I'm an RPCV!!! And I am in Zambia!

Hello from Zambia!

I am officially an RPCV (returned Peace Corps Vol)!! Woohooo! I like to say I have traded the "L" (in PCVL) for an "R"--a pretty fabulous trade if you ask me! It was hard to say goodbye to all of my Namibian friends and family (and the wonderful PC staff--they are all so wonderful), but I know it is time to leave and that I will come back and visit in the future.

I have started my COS (close of service) trip with the other PCVLs and our first stop was Livingstone, Zambia to see Vic Falls. It took us 3 days to get here, but all of that travel was worth it!

Zambia is a beautiful country (so green since rainy season just started) and is so friendly and laid back. We have loved our time here!

We spent a day at the Falls walking around the little park that surrounds it and relaxing at the top of the falls. The water is a little low this time of the year, so they were not quite as full as the last time I came (and I was on the Zim side that time) but they were still beautiful. Words can’t really describe how pretty Vic Falls is.

There are a lot of different activities you can do when you are here—bunji jumping, gorge swinging, white water rafting, walking with lions, riding elephants, and tons more. I am a baby and don’t think I could ever go bunji jumping or do the gorge swing (we saw people doing it when we were at the falls—terrifying!) but I was brave enough for white water rafting. Three of us decided to sign up for a full day of rafting (on some of the best/hardest rapids in the world!) and had SO much fun!
When we first got the rafting place, they started with all of these safety talks and demos and I was pretty terrified, but as soon as we met our guide and got on the Zambezi, I was fine. There were 6 of us in the boat along with our guide who was great. You start off on a class 5 rapid (one of the hardest), so that was a little scary, but we all made it through with no one in our boat falling off or capsizing . The guides tell you what to do the whole time—paddle forward, backward, move to one side, get down. Our favourite command was “get down”. Basically, it meant that we were going through a hard part of the rapid and we should all duck down while he finished steering the boat (or ducked himself). It was so funny to see the video of our trip (they have people in kayaks videotaping) because as soon as the guide yelled “get down” panic came over our faces and we jumped into the raft to hide! So funny!

There were no injuries in our group, even though we did flip the raft once (a little scary, but mostly fun) and I fell out another time. The best part of the day was towards the end when we were going through class one rapids and could just jump off the boat and swim through them. I think they should make a tour of just that! So relaxing!

Other than the rafting, we have just been relaxing, eating great food and enjoying Zambia. Tonight we take an overnight bus to a town north of Lusaka where we will take a two day train to Tanzania. We should arrive in Dar on the 23rd and will take a ferry on the 24th for Zanzibar! I can’t wait for Christmas and New Years on the beach!!

I hope you all have a great Christmas and a happy New Year! I miss you tons and can’t wait to be home in less than 2 months to see everyone!