We're all going on a summer holiday!

School is out, holiday time has officially begun, although with Easter and end of term tests (which take two weeks, during which there is no teaching) it seems like we've been on holiday for a while already. After a few fairly stressful weeks in placement it was great to be able to get out of placement, meet some of the other internations and swap stories over a few drinks.

We spent Easter at Lake Kariba, a 280km long lake on the Zambia-Zimbabwe border which was created when the river was dammed in the late 1950s. Its a beautiful place, surrounded by mountains and greenery, with the water stretching as far as you can see. I think the stresses of placement had really taken their toll, and we all spent most of the time comotose on the beach, with one eye open for crocs and hippos. The most strenuous of the weekend's activities was a canoe trip to the dam wall, which we spent mainly in histerics and whining are 'we there yet?'. Dry land, a beer and some good food was a much better option.



The most surreal part of the weekend was the transition from village life to what could have been anywhere in Europe. There were so many other white people it was overwhelming. Its funny to think that what has most suprised me in the past few weeks has been the massive superspar at the shopping mall, the bright lights and variety of foods from home was a massive culture shock. The fact that a small packet of Jordan's musli cost K60 000, almost 8 squid, brought me back to earth with a bump though.

Back in placement the holiday theme continued as one of the other internation vols, Ashleigh, came to stay for a week. We spent the week picnicing, climbing caves, swimming in a dodgy dam and exploring the local area with Mumbwa friends, which was a great way to end the term.

Now I have about 3 weeks off to travel, so the plan is to bus around Zambia and then maybe down to Zimbabwe, all on a bit of a shoestring. We've invested in a cheap tent for roughing it, and leave this afternoon for Mongu, the capital of Western Province and about an 8 hour bus ride away for a Lozi tribal festival. We've been told we can sleep on the bus when it arrives though, so I'm sure it will be an experience.

Sorry for the lack of photos, uploading is pretty slow out here, but some will come shortly!