Zambian Independence Day!

 

Kamwamba! (Hello in Tonga)

              It’s Sophia! I get to tell you about what we did today for Zambia's Independence Day (October 24). As we were walking in the market last week, we got several questions about what we would be doing to celebrate Independence Day. Like our Independence Day, many people celebrate with barbeques. The Zambians were very excited to celebrate. We drove a little over an hour to Livingstone to participate in an Independence Day parade. When we arrived, we saw a lot of groups of people, each with matching outfits. Anyone can choose to be a part of the parade, so we saw primary and secondary school students, nursing students, presidential election campaigners, and others. At Ba Brenda’s request, we all lined up with the Livingstone nursing school students who welcomed us with open arms to walk alongside them in the parade. We marched to the parade grounds where each group was announced and broadcast of TV. We thought it was pretty cool that we were on Zambian TV. There was singing and dancing after the parade, but we had to leave to get to our river boat cruise on time.

We had a traditional Zambian meal for lunch on the boat as we cruised down the Zambezi River. We ate nshima, collard greens, tomato gravy, and a choice of meat. Several people tried guinea fowl and goat. Adi got the rib cage of the guinea fowl which included the heart!! She and Ella both tried it. We enjoyed mocktails and bathing in the sun on the lower deck of the boat. We saw a lot of African wildlife, including giraffes, hippos, zebras, and elephants. We made a quick stop at Shoprite and our favorite coffee shop in Livingstone before heading back to Zimba for dinner and a relaxing evening. We all enjoyed our day of celebration and relaxing after a busy week of night shift clinical and outreach clinics. We appreciate your continued prayers as we enjoy these last several weeks.