Adventurous Venture

JOURNEY IN AN UNKNOWN CULTURE

As I stepped out of my bus in the new land I had come to, I felt a very strange wind that was reassuring me that I would be alright in this country.

Leaving my country of birth was not an easy decision. I had decided I wanted to do something new, something away from home. So I packed my bags and was ready for travel. Travel has always been a part of my life.
Growing up in the hot climate of Botswana, where little or no rain was common and a norm, I was very perplexed at how frequently it rained in this country I wanted to explore; Zambia. I had always wished to go to a place where I could feel the snow or play in the
rain. At least in this country I had the experience of beautiful rain. Sometimes it rained for a whole week, I was told.

I had visited a place called Ndola which is in the Copperbelt province. They had a copper mine and I was standing on it, wow! I had never experienced such. The copper was a dull coloured rock that could be turned into anything. The natives of this area had been making decorations, ornaments and sometimes furniture. It was amazing what this dull coloured rock could be turned into. I had the opportunity to touch this rock and create something. They asked me to make anything I wanted. I was very honoured to be given such a chance. I decided to make earrings as I have a great love for earrings.

Learning how to speak to Zambians was another mission. Many people may think that as Africans it is easy to understand each other as we are Africans. I bit my tongue many times trying to learn their language. There are many languages in that country and I think I chose to learn the simplest; Bemba. It was not a tongue twisting language and so I learnt it quickly.
I was also intrigued by their food. At home in Botswana, any kind of meat except exotic animals is our relish, but in Zambia some tribes do enjoy eating crododile meat. This was a very tough one for me as there were times where I would visit other homes and was offered food to eat. They would cook all meat in the same way and one would think it's chicken. There was a time when I visited a certain family and they had cooked a delicious meal as the scent of the food could be smelt at the door way of their home. I gladly accepted the invitation to partake of the meal. The food ws indeed delicious and I couldn't help but ask what kind of meat this was. I was very shocked to discover as they told me it was crocodile meat! I kindly thanked them later and left the house running. How could they have tried to kill me? I asked my self. I spent the next day in bed due to vomitting the whole night.

Being in this country I took advantage of seeing the famous Victoria falls. As I got there the place was a wonder. It had lots of people both native and foriegn like me. I watched the thundering falls while eating something. The next moment was extremely confusing to me. I watched the falls through my binnoculars not being able to see behind me. I was startled when I felt something grab my hand. I staggered almost falling and turned to see a monkey finishing my food. I was the centre of attraction and everyone roared into laughter. I couldn't help but smile at the whole scene played back in my mind.

The whole journey brought a new realisation to me. We have a very beautiful world, we just havent gone out there to see it. So I got this excitment at the thought of exploring the world. I cannot wait to see, experience and even write about this lovely world God put on earth for us.