New Year's recap

Livingstone (Victoria Falls) was the place to be for New Year’s Eve. We stopped at a restaurant on the Zambezi River when we first arrived and it was full of white teenager that we assumed were tourists, specifically the Abercrombie and Finch dressed kind that were eager to get away from their parents. After completely putting them down for being the kind of travellers we would never be, we learned that the majority of them were the kids of white Zambian farmers. So technically, we were more the tourists.

The white Zambian community is tight social circle with the kids going to private schools, sports clubs, and Livingstone parties. The expat community is hard to avoid in Lusaka and little did we know, they too migrate to Livingstone for New Year’s Eve. It seems that development workers either strive to be part of the expat community or else try (and usually fail) to avoid expat functions. I would like to think I can contently be part of both. This will be the topic of a future post, but getting to know and being friends with local black Zambians will take time.

Some British volunteer organised a sunset cruise on the Zambezi River. I initially resisted joining them, but an open bar, sightings of hippos and crocodiles, was worthwhile. In short, when the boat docked, we spent the night dancing away to everything from Zambian pop to reggae to Euro techno. I was happy there was a nice mix of local people, travellers, and expats. The best compliment I’ve received to date was from a Livingstone woman who said, “you Lusaka dweller, you can dance and you will steal our men away.” Hah! Someone probably told her I stay in Lusaka and her judgement of my dancing I’m sure was clouded. Nonetheless, I’ll take the compliments.