Livingston, Zambia- Big White Water and Rhinos up close

Victoria Falls

Swimming at the top of the falls (Devils Pool), you can only do this for three weeks of the year in November when the water is low enough, otherwise your ass is going over!

The supreme rafting crew: Aussies, Dutch, British and a Canadian

Check out the youtube link to the video I made of this epic rafting trip (make sure to watch the end to see a local Zambian man shake his booty ;) 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4VABlLbOFw&feature=youtu.be

One of the coolest wildlife experiences I have ever had

Victoria Falls in Zambia, a destination you really should go to if you want to love life even more for everyone who has an interest in adventure or nature. It has one of the biggest volumes of water in the world (more than Niagra Falls), all the big wildlife animals, the biggest and best white water rafting in the world (or one of the best), and you can walk with lions and wild rhinos! This place can be expensive, but price is what you pay, value is what you get. I spent just under a week here, on a break from teaching as my kids had exams all week, so I would have just been sitting around, so I made a deal with the principle/ one of two other volunteers that we would keep the school open a week later into Christmas holidays so we would have more time to "party" (learn, play soccer, dance, plays games, field trips, etc). I took a bus from Lusaka to Livingstone: pact, loud music, hot weather. truly Zambian :p I stayed at Jollyboys backpackers, owned by a Canadian from Vancouver Island, a well run and reasonably priced hostel, and super social, and the best part there was a pool!!!

Everyday I planned some type of adventure. Met some other travelers who I spent time checking stuff out with, here are some pictures:

At the top of the falls (Devils Pool)

Part of the hike to the top of the falls

Hired a taxi and a driver to take us into a village outside of Livingstone to see what life for locals living in the village is like (This is a house for goats)

Chicken house

Caterpillars, I love finding weird things to eat then getting others to eat them :p

Transporting Charcoal across the farm

A lady I spoke with said that on this bridge the river floods every year, and at least someone dies every year (They have to walk over the bridge even when water flows over the top. She also said a child had died here within the last month from a crocodile in the water. This made me think about what safety, and how relative it can be. Imagine the high school I went to wouldn't let us play floor hockey because the stick could be used as weapon........

Any time I see a big fire I got to check it out, because I love fire! This was burning garbage on the side of the road.

Mosi-oa-Tunya National park- We hired a taxi driver to take us around here- cost: $15 each for park entrance, and $20 each for cab driver service for 4 hours, a good deal ;)

Hanging out with the Bamboons.

Elephants twice the size of those in Thailand

RUUUUNNNNNN!!!!!

If you ask the guard at the park to go show you the rhinos, he will. Suggested donation about $20 USD, to do this on a guided tour it is over $100 USD.

In china they pay $50,000 per ounce of Rhino horn, and it is causing the population of Rhinos to be wiped out in Africa. These three Rhino's are constantly guarded by Ak47 carrying wild life officers

The girls got way closer then me- Anke (on the left) was the first European I have ever met who knew how to properly use an English pun: I sarcastically said when I saw a sign that said not to feed the wild life: I can't believe they even have this sign, here, like who would ever even think about feed the wild life (we feed the baboon's peanuts), and Anke says "yeah, you would have to be "nuts"" Mehehehe
Tessa and Anke are two student doctors from the Nethlands who were helping at a hospital in Malawi

Zebra butt

Giraffes run with the two legs on the same side moving in the same direction at the same time, causing them to be the klutz's of the wild!

Seen from the boat of our booze cruise

The Zambezi above the falls

The booze crusie crew, we were the kids of the ship, everyone else was 40+

Titanic Zambia style, with Hippos and Croc instead of cold water to fall into :p

The best bartender in Zambia

Big boy, 500 KG, has killed 15 people in one village, the scariest most evil look creature I have ever seen: Check out the link to this youtube video I posted of him: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biz9WM_8HPE&feature=youtu.be

You can feed these things- The best crocodile farm I have ever been to

This is true

I tried to organize a motor bike rental with a local. He drove me and two others to his "Friends" where we found this bike laying out in the open. My friend suspected this to be a stolen bike and a chop shop because: This is a very expensive bike, it was sitting out in the open (not normal unless people are afraid to of this place, because stuff unfortunately gets stolen a lot....) The people were not at the house. Then a van roles up with three big dudes, one looking like Lil Wayne. They ask us what we want for bikes. Then they said they can arrange the bikes tonight (how they were not there?....), and then we leave.... I turn my phone off the next day, don't want to do business with these guys in case the bikes are stolen, and then we ride them, the cops pull us over, etc.... Good little side adventure though, and got to see what Zambian gangsters look like :p 

There was a mango tree at the hostel where we could pick as we pleased, I would eat at least four a day :)

Livingstone is a world class destination, with lots to do. Make the trip and have one of the greatest adventures of your life!

Life in Lusaka as a volunteer with vulberable children

Its been 20 days since I have been in Lusaka now. I am getting used to volunteering in the compound (slum) at KAFWA (school for orphans and vulnerable children). It has been a real and learning experience during the hours that I am volunteering:

6:30am Thomas and John pick me up at my house and we walk to the soccer field picking up fritters on the way

7am-9am soccer at the local soccer field, my favorite part of the day

9am-930am walk as a group from the soccer field to the school

930am-1:30 teaching: English songs, hang man, chalk board games, reading to the kids, preaching, the other teachers teach math as well. Also I sometimes help cook or walk into the compound to get carious things: fruit, charcoal, clothes for the kids etc (I raised some money to give as donations to the children).

1:30-3pm: Eating food, cleaning the school, playing a few games with the kids hanging out.

Spaghetti Photo bombs are the best

Esnut's birthday lunch

School ends between 2-5 depending on the day, it varies a lot.

A picture I gave Thomas 6 years ago is now being drawn by master artist Daniel

At Kafwa we like to party

In the evenings I do different things, I am still trying to get into a routine. Sometimes I meet and hang out with people. The custom it seems in Zambia is if you invite a Zambian to hang out you are often expected to pay for them which I can understand due to a large portion of the population having very little income (but not all), but it makes it hard to hang out with locals all the time as it gets expensive, but I am trying to go meet them more in the compound where things are cheaper.

Lucky's first time eating Pizza, showing him the finer things in life :)

School shoes for Francis (you need them to attend public school

One thing that I will take as a reference for the rest of my life is that the kids that I work with prefer living in the compound compared to a richer area. They say in the compound everyone sticks together, people are nice and there is always entertainment and fun happening, where as in the rich areas, there are gated walls, people are very quite, and life is boring. I would have to agree with the kids on this, I much prefer hanging out in the compound with the kids than being home at night either at the mall or locked in my house because it is dangerous to walk the street as I may get mugged (although I am starting to go more out at night and just being careful), and people are constantly watching TV. I am spending my nights reading, writing a book, blogging, editing videos, coming up with lessons for the next day, doing push ups, etc. Sometimes I meet people in town.

Where there are some offices at the compound, this old car was taken apart for scrap a day later

Being here many people tell me that I am a very kind and amazing person for doing this. I want to make it clear that I am doing this for selfish reasons as my favorite thing in life is to bring joy to others, and coming to Zambia and volunteering in the compound and helping the kids with giving them basic necessities and entertaining them is an easy way for me to get my thrills. Unfortunately I won't be living here permanently being able to work with these kids (there are people who do this and they are real hero's), and the longer I am here the more I realize that I really do want to become a world class counselor back in Canada where I can help empower people to help themselves (and for selfish reasons as well). The reason being is working with the kids everyday I wake up at 5:30am very excited for the day, and I want to have this feeling which I do more and more as I learn about the world everyday of my life. I heard a good quote and I want to make “my Monday's more enthralling than most people's Christmas's”. I don't mean that I want to have a better life than anyone, I hope every single person in the world (and especially you reading my blog ;)) has an amazing and empowering life (which you will if you are reading this as you obviously you are curious and are constantly learning about life like me) even more so than me. Unfortunately I see so many people who walk around with sad looks on their face, living for two days of the week, and are not passionate about what they are doing and end up using their own special talents in the wrong places. We can help these people (like you and me) by leading by example with constant learning and taking actions towards our own dreams and visions.

My friends pool at his house in Lusaka (rented by a bunch of people), shows the difference in standards of living, notice how it is walled in with barb wire and there is a guard. This is an unfortunate reality of life in Lusaka

Walking on my way to school

The compound I teach at is right beside the city's sanitation plant (stuff that goes down the toilet)

Filling up on Canola oil (not gasoline), talk about environmentally friendly

Life in Zambia is very social and happy. I can see that it can be much more difficult though if you want to move up in society here and create a positive impact on a world wide basis.The infrastructure just isn't here. For example there is no public library, and books are very expensive, and a lot are just unavailable. Internet is often not available, or slow, making it hard to even watch a Youtube video. These types of challenges make it very hard to get access to world wide information like we have now in most parts of the Western World. Another thing is that there is not much in the way of social services: Where I live there are at least 30 teenage boys who sleep on the street, stay warm and alive by sniffing chemicals, and survive by doing odd jobs and unfortunately stealing. Talking to these boys, many ran away from home for different reasons but with a theme of abuse. Society here doesn't except much of them and calls them thieves, which they end up becoming, and the cycle gets worst. Then it creates problems for everyone for example not walking alone after dark late due to the chance of getting mugged, having security guards monitor your house, putting up big walls and bars on your home with barbed wire, etc.... Please remember where ever you live that when you see someone who is down and out, treat them with respect like you would other people, as they are a person to who is going through a difficult time, as you or someone you know may be in that same situation one day or now (Lets hope not, but just want to make a point) and how would you want to be treated?

Young boys sleeping outside during the day

I hope you enjoyed the photos, if you enjoyed this blog post, please share it around, and leave comments and feedback so I can work to serve you better (although I will always stay honest in this blog and speak from my heart as that is what I want when I read others blogs)