Fall Break

To sum up my fall break:

5:30 Friday morning (16 Oct) we left our guesthouse in the North and drove until 1:30 pm (with a stop for picnic lunch) to Osire Refuge Camp. We toured the camp, talked to some teachers, and then those of us who were going to Zambia got dropped off in the town of Otjiwarongo to wait for our bus. Six hours later (10 pm) we got on the bus, and 18 hours later we were in Livingstone, Zambia. We checked into our hostel, which was the nicest and most fun hostel any of us had ever seen, and relaxed, then checked out the Zambian nightlife. Livingstone’s nightlife consisted of a single club – the hottest, most barfight-filled club I have ever seen. The music was good, though, and it was definitely very different than the places to which I go in Windhoek, so I was glad I went.

Sunday we went to Victoria Falls on the Zambian side. It’s dry season, which means the Zambian side has a significantly lower water volume than usual, but that also meant that we could hike out along the edge of the waterfall and literally look down onto the hugest waterfall in the world right below your feet. We had to run away from an attacking baboon, which was slightly less cool, if not any more terrifying.

Monday, I went to Zimbabwe. On the way I had to walk over the bridge between Zambia and Zimbabwe, where all of the area’s bungee jumping is done. I happened to walk by just as a friend of mine was about to jump, so I stopped to watch her. I had also seen some other friends from across the falls the day before. They all swore it was great, but just watching them was enough to convince me I will NEVER do it. From my vantage point I could see what the jumpers could not – how close they were when they swung back up to hitting the underside of the bridge. From there, I continued into Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwe side of the falls was INCREDIBLE – universally acknowledged as a better view than the Zambian side. The water was falling so hard that I was getting rained on from across the gorge, and as I got closer to the falls the landscape switched from typical dry season trees to actual rainforest – the mist from the falls is enough to maintain a rainforest year round. After spending a few hours walking around the falls, I went into town, ate some good food, and did some touristy window shopping.

Tuesday and Wednesday morning were dedicated to eating good food and enjoying Livingstone. The town is definitely most hectic and vibrant than Windhoek and is more of what I had expected an African town to be like. Windhoek is very colonial and European, while Livingstone is not. It was fun to explore, and I got some good presents at the craft market, but I definitely think Windhoek is a more relaxing city in which to live every day. Got on the bus at noon on Wednesday, and got back to Windhoek at 8 am Thursday morning.

Classes start again on Monday, but the rest of the week is all about relaxing, making lesson plans, catching up on school work, and going to fun places in Windhoek. Last night I went to a Cameroonian restaurant (delicious) and to karaoke at an Afrikaner pub (strange and hilarious). Today I’m going to the art museum and another art exhibition. Going to enjoy my last few days of freedom before I have to finish the semester.