Week 12 – Personal

Our last week in Zambia has appeared from nowhere and we were not prepared for the stress of packing up the home we had built in Zambia and the goodbyes which followed.

The farewells began with our final visit to Victoria Falls, where once more we were soaked in the mighty spray of the Zambezi River. The beauty of the Falls has really captured my heart, it is a view I could happily take in for hours as the Mosi oa Tunya (which means ‘the smoke that thunders’) is a truly humbling sight.
Clarke (1925) sums up my feelings perfectly by stating that Victoria Falls is “a truly magnificent sight, and one which brings home the tremendous glory of the whole mighty work of Nature, and the comparative insignificance of humanity” (Woods and Woods, 2009, p. 31). The beauty of the Falls is the first of many reasons why I would return to Zambia, hopefully to witness the stark contrast when the water level is low.

Standing at the top of Victoria Falls

The view fromt the 'Boiling Point'

Our farwell dinner with our friend Golden

After our last visit to the Falls, there was no time to think and the goodbyes hit ‘thick and fast’. They began with the children at Lubasi home, moving onto our Jollysboys family, before saying farewell to our group of local friends who have made such an impact on us during our time in Zambia. This was an emotional process, which was dragged out by many of the people returning on the morning of our departure to say goodbye for the second time. I have never experienced anything like this warm African send off and having time to reflect has made me consider “how lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard” after such a short stay in Zambia(Sobieski and Meehan, N.D, cited in Alessandra, 2010, p.160). With this send off, I found my second reason for returning to Zambia – the people.

Our final goodbyes with some friends

 

Getting ready to leave our home

Saying our goodbyes to our Jollyboys family!

Before leaving home, I came across the words of Wiftcarft (N.D), who states that:

A hundred years from now, it will not matter what kind of car I drove, what kind of house I lived in , how much money I had in the bank... but the world may be a better place because I made a difference in the life of a child.

                                                                                             (Moskal and Keneman, 2011, vii).

During my time in Zambia, these words have returned to me on a number of occasions due to the sights I have seen both in a personal and professional setting. I believe that throughout my time here I was only able to scratch the surface of achieving the above and it was with this realisation that I decided I would definitely be returning to my second home here in Zambia, Africa. As I now feel very passionate about improving the education of children who are not as blessed as I was during my learning experience.

In recent years I have embraced the motto of a dear – Neil – who believed that ‘Life is an Adventure!’.  Throughout this international experience, I have had many personal, professional and cultural adventures, causing positive growth in myself – which I know will greatly aid me in my profession - and I can honestly say that “I am not the same having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world” (RRadmacher, N.D, cited in Mondloch, 2005, p. i).

References

Alessandra, F. (2010) The Six: A Story about Boys, Laughter, and a Lifelong Friendship, Indianapolis, Dog Ear Publishing.

Mondloch, K (2005) Flight of the Osprey : A journey of Renewa, Lincoln, iUniverse.

Moskal, M and Keneman, A (2011) Literacy Leadership to Suppor Reading Improvement: Intervention Programs and Balanced Instruction, New York, Guilford Publications.

Woods, M and Woods, M. (2009) Seven Nature Wonders of Africa, Minneapolis, Twenty-First Century Books.

Week 11 – Personal

As week eleven arrived, emotions began to run high as the concept of leaving Zambia loomed just around the corner and we began saying our goodbyes to local friends, long term visitors at Jollyboys and member of staff who were heading off on their travels.

After losing a number of familiar faces and with Amy and I having to move to multiple rooms after a mix up with our booking, Jollyboys started to feel less like home and the idea of being away from my family for so long became a reality. However, with the arrival of another friendly face in the form of Peter – Amy’s boyfriend - my sadness was soon forgotten as we began another series of once in a life time experiences.

Monday brought with it an experience I will never forget, as in the middle of Mosi oa Tunya National park I was lifted onto a huge elephant – a bull named Bop – and walked through the bush for an hour before feeding Bop and almost losing my hand in the process. While riding the elephant, I couldn’t help notice how gentle and soft their movements were which really made me forget how dangerous the animal I was sitting on could be. But thankfully our convoy of elephants brought us all back safely to the ground where we were able to interact with a 2 year old baby elephant before having to say our goodbyes. This was a difficult process for me, as elephants are my favourite animal and being so close to them was such an incredible experience.

Our next encounter was with the Lions and cheetahs, which was the most surreal experience of my life, as I found myself petting and walking with these big cats. The day began with the lion interaction, which involved a casual stroll through the bush with two fully grown lions, holding their tails. It was a magical experience; however I was very aware that the animals were in control as when they wanted to move everyone followed and the only methods of controlling them were the guides voices and the small sticks which we were all given to distract the lions. Next we move onto the cheetahs, which purred like house cats as we stroked them, before we took off on a quick walk around the bush with the cheetahs leading the way. Upon returning to the cheetahs’ area, we were given the opportunity to watch the fastest land animal run as it chased prey (on a motorised loop) before catching and tearing it to shreds. As we were about to hop on the bus back to Jollyboys, we decided to ‘chance our arm’ and ask if there were any lion cubs, our luck was in and we had the most incredible time playing with two month old lion cubs as if they were puppies.

I can now say I have been bitten by a lion!!

To top off the week, Jenna and I spent a morning flying through the spray of the Falls and over the surrounding area in a small micro light plane. The views were like nothing I have ever seen and the natural beauty of the African plains were truly breath taking. The short time I spent in the plane looking at the views which surrounded me, really pushed me to consider my time in Zambia and what an amazing life changing experience it has been and how grateful I am for being given this opportunity as “I never knew of a morning in Africa when I woke that I was not happy!” (Hemingway, N.D, cited by Tyler, 2001, p. 107).

Reference

Tyler, L. (2001) Student companion to Ernest Hemingway, Westport, Greenwood Press.

Week 10 – Cultural

Having now spent ten weeks in Zambia, I am finding it difficult to decipher aspects of the Zambian culture from my own, as I have been totally immersed in the local way of life for such a long period of time.

It has been with the arrival of Sam – Jade’s boyfriend – and being able to hear our strong native accent, witness some of my local customs and watch the confusion and shock on his face in certain situation that I have had the opportunity to reflect upon a range of Zambia customs that I was unaware I had developed. To begin, I have adopted a number of Zambian phrases, such as “How has been your day?” ­ - a common questions asked when you meet someone – and “You are most welcome”, alongside a series of noises which represent words in the local Chitonga language. Furthermore, I have received odd looks from Sam and the locals as a bend my knees and clap my hands twice when saying thank you, a Tonga tradition. On top of this, I have become accustom the relaxed African way of life and will now not think twice about waiting an hour to find transport or having plans change at the last minute. With the customs I have developed and many more that I will be unaware of until I reach home, the locals have adopted me as a true Zambian girl, even providing me with a Tonga name – Motinta - which I now  find myself answering too. This week we were able to take advantage of being Zambian using our Study Permits to visit The Falls at a resident’s rate, to witness a Lunar rainbow.

There are a number of Zambian traditions and experiences which I am unsure I will ever grow accustom too and will always be amazed by, such as the local animals and the local people’s resourcefulness and skills.

Having lived in Northern Ireland all my life, the only wild animals I have had the pleasure of encountering are rabbits, foxes and owls. However, it is highly common in Zambia to causally run into a herd of elephants crossing the main road, have dinner in a five star hotel with monkeys dropping in for a visit and getting up close a personal with Zebras whist relaxing at a local hotel. For me, this is incredible and something I love to see, however, many of the locals disagree as they feel the danger and damage they cause outweighs their beauty. I had never considered the animals in this way before, as I was so caught up in how extraordinary they were, but having seen the destruction they cause to people’s lives I now have a empathy with the locals. 

 

 

Over the past ten weeks, I have come to realise that the people of Zambia are highly creative, resourceful and skilful in many ways. For example, there is no need of fancy billboards when advertisements can be painted on walls with incredible detail and the fact that nothing is ever broken beyond repair, it can always be mended or recycled. The above are qualities which I hope I can bring back to Northern Ireland, as “when you learn something... from a culture, you accept it as a gift, and it is your lifelong commitment to preserve it and build on it” (Yo-Yo Ma, N.D) and I wish to pass this concept onto my future pupils.

I truly believe that my experience of Zambian culture has provided me with a sound understanding of the African way of life and has really allowed me to develop the GTCNI’s eight competence (GTCNI, 2010)

References

General Teaching Council for Northern Ireland (2010) Teaching: The Reflective Profession, GTCNI, Belfast.

Yo-Yo Ma, C (N.D) Diversity Quotes, available at http://www.culturecoach.biz/Quotes/diversityquotes.html (accessed on 07/04/13).