home again, and a 1 year anniversary

Went to France, got the chicken pox, got over the chicken pox while in quarantine at home, and now back at work with things settling right back to the way they were, minus summer consultants: crazy German manager Philipp and then Rebecca. Am starting to feel vaguely like an empty nester. It was freezing (between 50 and 60 degrees) in Lusaka when I got back, which meant lots of scarves and tea-drinking, but as of the last week I think the Zambian climate decided it's going to start getting warmer-to-broiling.

Also, as of last Thursday, it was my 1 year anniversary in Zambia! Weird to think have been here a year. Maybe this means it's time for some new year's resolutions?

1. Travel more in Africa. Ridic - in the last year, have gone to France but have yet to see anything outside of Zambia other than Jo-burg. On the to do list: Malawi to visit Mikey, Namibia because heard it is awesome, possible half-marathon in Cape Town (must get in shape), climbing Kili in January (MUST get in shape), Zanzibar, and maybe Moz? Am going to be extremely broke.
2. Learn Nyanja. Fact that still only know "How are you?" "Good!" and "Good night" in Nyanja extremely pathetic.
3. Figure out how to move hips/ass like African women. After nights out at Chez Ntemba and Alpha Bar, sadly still have not figured out how to move hips independently of rest of body - a key move for dancing to basically any form of music. Although Mainza, Zambian friend of a friend, once told me "I wanted to tell you - you dance really well -" (pause - and insert mental "YES!" and fist pump) "...for a Chinese person." (slightly deflated) Hilarious and kind of messed up on multiple levels.
   
4. Do not wreck car. PALI (Named "Pop and lock it" for her bootylicious ability to respond to my driving and moving the seats) has been great. My manual driving = pretty ok and getting better, although thank god Lusaka doesn't have any hills.
5. Be better at keeping in touch with people. Especially with people leaving Zambia like it's their job, realizing need to step it up in the reliability department in emailing if don't want to lose contact with best old friends and sweet new ones.
   
6. Update blog more regularly. Clearly. Am still not quite over fact that find it vaguely embarrassing to have a blog.
   

That's it so far. Am trying to post photos on facebook for 2008 Zambia, but also should def check out this sweet video of a friend, Matty G, breaking it down onstage at a concert with Petersen for "Nilabeko" and helping redeem white people while the 15 expats there were killing us with their awkward white-people dancing and general cluelessness. It's in 2 parts - part II is the real gold.

Other quasi-eventful life updates include: getting a flat tire on Friday; locking self out of house yesterday and then having my gardener chop down a 15-foot tall bamboo-like tree, tie a rusty hanger to the end with a rubber band, jimmy open window, and hook my keys (sitting 10 feet away on counter inside house) out; having same gardener yell "I love you like a cup of tea!" at me afterwards; and cooking obscene amounts of food for the last 2 weeks because have been living alone with Rebecca gone back the US (sigh) and Megumi on holidays for the month (another sigh) yet can only still cook in quantities for 3 people. Experimentation with new foods in cooking having mixed results.

And to balance out all the writing, here's are some photos from camping in Lower Zambezi and going to Livingstone for work:

Hippo pod along Zambezi giving us the eye

faux REI-ad of Andrew, Josh-canada, Megumi, Scott, and Rebecca

Vic Falls in June - TOTALLY a natural wonder of the world. And just for comparison: below, a photo of Vic Falls last October (dry season, obvs, when I thought it was maybe all a little "eh").