Back to Lusaka

Tuesday, we headed back to Namwianga after an hour or two at the Livingstone official craft market. It is so overwhelming for me to go into markets like that. Everyone is pressuring you to look at their items and telling you all kinds of tails about who they are, what they need, who made the craft, etc. Of course, most of it is not true and you must always realize that the price is way, way above what they expect to get. Unfortunately, it is very unpleasant for me. I often stick it out if I am looking for something in particular, but most of the time, I am unwilling to put up with all of that. That afternoon, we had to go back to the Immigration Office to deal with the problem I mentioned earlier. It was taken care of with the help of Mr. Perri. I will give all the details once I am safely out of Zambia.

Last night, while we were frantically packing, the power went off again. It is very hard to pack by candlelight. David came down to have supper with us and spend some time with Ian. I am so happy that he and Ian became friends so quickly after our arrival. He made this a very special trip for Ian.

After a final breakfast on the Hamby veranda, we packed most of the luggage on Khaki Jackie and loaded in the Eric's Place bus. Beckie found the largest bug I have ever seen so Ian had to have a photo of it, of course. Loaded, we said our goodbyes and headed off to Lusaka. My plan to meet with Ellie and Kel during our drive to Lusaka did not work out as we had planned so I will need to brainstorm with them some other time about some ideas for next year. I hadn't planned to come back until 2012 but Beckie becoming Dean of the College of Communication has caused the need to rethink plans.

Our final night in Zambia, we are in the Portea Lusaka watching the 2010 World Cup match between Ghana and Germany. We have really enjoyed being in Africa during much of the World Cup. We caught games whenever we could. We saw the draw between the USA and England at a Hamby neighbor's house. Other games we watched at the Haven, or at Eric's Place or at the Portea Livingstone. The USA has done well and we will watch them compete in the finals after we get home. Everyone here was surprised when they won their game this afternoon.