Bats and a Bird

Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays. It conjures up memories of fallen leaves, chilled crisp air, family catching up around a table, a delicious home-cooked meal, and nursing food comas around a smoldering fire.

How do you celebrate Thanksgiving in Africa? You search, borrow and improvise. Turns out, it’s a pretty exportable holiday.

Our families may be far away, but good friends make their own sort of family. My roommates and I did our best to create an authentic setting. We pulled together all the table and table-like objects in our home (including the washing machine) and covered them in fabric. We set proper place settings and lit candles and even projected a fireplace on the wall. The weather did its part to recreate home, gifting us with a damp, chilly day.

My roommates and I found a turkey and the makings for stuffing. This was my first turkey, so I was fairly concerned throughout the whole process. But, with help from my roommate, it came out golden brown and delicious.

Our guests brought everything together with their outstanding cooking. The scrumptious spread included:

-          The Turkey

-          Roasted Rosemary Chicken

-          Cheesy Bread

-          Corn Casserole

-          Green Beans

-          Mashed Potatoes

-          Gravy

-          Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallows and Candied Pecans

-          and of course, Apple Pie

(Sitting down to dinner)

The next morning, we roused ourselves early (not without a struggle) to head north to Kasanka National Park. Every year tons (hundreds of thousands? millions?) of fruit bats migrate from all over South-central Africa to this particular park. My friend explained the attraction well: “Bats are like hair; if you see one you might be like ‘ew’ but if you see a whole bunch, you think ‘wow, that’s pretty beautiful.’”

We offroaded to our campsite, pitched our tents, and then set out to catch the bats taking off at sunset. I’m not sure anything could have prepared us for what we saw; it is such an extraordinary event. It started suddenly; someone spotted a few bats overhead, and they quickly grew in number. We rushed from a parking lot to an open field to get a better view. We could see a bat cloud swirling and growing in size amongst the trees in front of us. It grew and grew and eventually headed our way, spreading across the sky as far as the eye could see. It was hard to capture the scale of it on camera, but the setting sun behind the clouds did make for a nice backdrop.

The next morning, we awoke early to see them returning to their trees at sunrise. On the way, some of us rode in the bed of the pickup. The bumpy half hour ride was made completely worth it by our surroundings. To watch the light grow imperceptibly; to see the trees and animals materialize out of the heavy mist, to catch sight of the first bats flying overhead through the tree canopy, following the car; it was all incredible. Watching the sun rise over misty fields from the hide built into a tree high off the ground was wonderful as well.

The most beautiful moment of this very beautiful weekend, in my opinion, came on our drive back to camp after the sun had set. After fording a river, we came out into an open field. Switching the car off, we could see thousands of fireflies all around us. As we sat in the darkness, more and more of them materialized. The stars pushed their way through the clouds and, on the horizon, thunderheads crackled with lightening. It was one of those moments that will stick with me for a very long time.

"Still"

Elusive song: found. Happy Thanksgiving!

Stormy Weather

It starts quietly, first invading your dreams, taking you to waterfalls or sailing in high winds or that childhood memory of standing outside during a hurricane. Eventually, the drumming of the rain against the roof grows in intensity, slowly pulling you up through the haze into consciousness. By the time you piece together where you are (in bed- still dark out- too early for work) the noise has reached an astonishing level and continues to grow. The drumming and crashing is amplified in the breezeway outside and resounds through the windows, filling the room. And this is just the rain.

If thunderstorms at home are the sound of God bowling, then in Zambia, He must be on that level of Wii bowling where you knock down a hundred pins at once.

The first crash comes unexpectedly, with no warning rumbles in the distance. It is violently loud, exploding over the sound of the rain and shocking me fully awake. I remember thunder at home as a crash followed by echoing rumbles, or a brief tear into the fabric of the sky; here, each is a massive concussive blast that continues unabated for long stretches, sometimes five seconds or more.

I listen for a while, unconsciously pulling the covers over my body despite the heat. I’m not seeing any lightening, so there’s no warning before each crash. I count the seconds between them, for no particular reason. I wonder how it compares to a full aerial and naval bombardment. Probably pretty close.

Each time I start to drift back asleep; rumble..CRACK BOOM - and I am catapulted awake again.

I stuff my head between two pillows, hoping to muffle the sound. Now the lightening appears. Bursts of white light find their way through the curtains and strobe across the walls. Closing my eyes offers little relief.

Eventually, the rains subside. The smell of earth kicked up by their force is heavy in the air. It’s suddenly much cooler, as if someone had opened the door in a stuffy room. It should be easier to sleep, but the celestial salvo continues for some time. Slowly, the sound of the storm shifts into the distance, and I doze off again, visions of morning mud puddles dancing through my head.  

Lusaka News Flash

Let’s take a look at our top stories:

Weather Forecast: It’s hot. Really hot. I would estimate that I expend two thirds of my daily energy focusing on not melting. The remaining third is split between eating, breathing and typing. All our hopes are pinned on the imminent rains, but they seem to have taken a detour on their way to Zambia.

Sports Highlights: The Frisbee tournament, hosted jointly by R&G Events and ZamUltimate, was a huge success. Upwards of 60 people turned out for a day full of incredible displays of athleticism and perseverance. The level of competition was high and many of the games ended in nail-biting overtime. My team, Dark Blue, clawed our way into the semi-finals but our fairy-tale run was cut short, in part by the surgical throwing precision of a fellow Tufts Alum on the White Team. In the end, the Orange Team carried the day after emphatically steamrolling the competition.

(Favorite photo of the day: such raw emotion)

(Tournament participants)

Traffic Update: It’s still slow going on the streets of Lusaka these days, at least for this particular motorist. My loyal Toyota Surf, so scrappy and tough when I first arrived, has been KO’d for about a month now. It’s been necessary to adopt a “wait and see” attitude when it comes to finishing the repairs, and that can certainly get frustrating. Some resolution to this affair would bring as much relief as the rains.

Business News: Lacking a car has created some difficulties in accomplishing all the daily activities I was undertaking before. However, it has created an opportunity to focus on some of my other goals and responsibilities at work. Our Grade 12’s are nearing the end of their secondary school careers (one school has already finished their exams), and their gap year is now right around the corner. Finalizing the program for this next year has become an immediate necessity. It can be a little overwhelming trying to arrange plans for ten people over the course of  a year, but I’m really happy with what we’ve come up with so far. I think our students are going to be both active and challenged, giving back to their communities while at the same time preparing for their futures.

Coming up next: The Bat Migration, Thanksgiving in Africa and the KF Mentor Luncheon and Fun Day