I was looking through pictures from our Zambia trip and realized I never shared about our trip to Kasempa. 6 month later the trip is still fresh in my memory because it was just so special to me.
Sylvester's mother, Alice, was from the Kaonde tribe. This is the language that he grew up speaking first. Sly still has a lot of family that lives in "the village" near Kasempa. He has two uncles (his mother's brothers) and their families are all there as well as a sister, cousins, nieces, and nephews. Sly had never been to Kasempa. It was a very long trip and his mother couldn't take all of her children on the few occasions she was able to travel back. He moved to the US when he was just 14 so he was really excited to be able to go meet everyone, and see where his mother came from.
Sylvester's mother, Alice, was from the Kaonde tribe. This is the language that he grew up speaking first. Sly still has a lot of family that lives in "the village" near Kasempa. He has two uncles (his mother's brothers) and their families are all there as well as a sister, cousins, nieces, and nephews. Sly had never been to Kasempa. It was a very long trip and his mother couldn't take all of her children on the few occasions she was able to travel back. He moved to the US when he was just 14 so he was really excited to be able to go meet everyone, and see where his mother came from.
Our trip started with what was described to me as a 10 hour bus ride. Let it be known that it was NOT a 10 hour bus ride. There were 6 of us traveling together, Sly, myself, our kids, Sly's brother Frank, and his nephew Benson. Frank was our guide and Benson was our driver and we were lucky to have them both. We got on a big bus at the crack of dawn one morning. It was huge like a greyhound but with more seats and less room... oh, and no bathroom. They said the bus would stop at a few stops along the way and we would be able to get off then, and only then. This made me a bit nervous with our 5 1/2 and 2 1/2 year olds traveling with us. Sorry kids, just hold it. The first stop was a few hours in and we were told that we had 8 minutes before the bus left again. We jumped out, ran to the bathroom which of course didn't flush, had no TP, and cost money to use. Sly ran into the store to try to grab some food. The kids were hungry and it has already been a long morning for them. I got the kids back on the bus and it started to take off with out Sly. He came running and waving and the bus luckily let him jump on. OK, they mean 8 minutes, noted.
The first stop was a few hours in and we were told that we had 8 minutes before the bus left again. We jumped out, ran to the bathroom which of course didn't flush, had no TP, and cost money to use. Sly ran into the store to try to grab some food. The kids were hungry and it has already been a long morning for them. I got the kids back on the bus and it started to take off with out Sly. He came running and waving and the bus luckily let him jump on. OK, they mean 8 minutes, noted. The bus ride wasn't terrible, but it was a bit terrifying. The main road was partially paved, partially not. It was very narrow, and the bus was traveling VERY fast. I appreciated the rush but when another giant bus came towards us at that very same speed on the very same narrow seemingly one lane road it totally freaked me out. Every single time. If someone had been holding a hand out the window, they would have lost it. The road would be so bumpy at times that you would nearly hit your head on the ceiling. The kids were happy and were able to nap on the bus so it wasn't so bad. After about 8 hours I asked Frank if we were close to our destination. Remember, "10 hour bus ride"? He just smiled, laughed at me and said "uh, not quite". Understatment. The bus we on was pretty fancy as it had television screens and they were showing one of the Zambian local favorite TV shows. If you are Zambian, and you are reading this, I'm sorry, but I HATE this show. I think it's called Mwinamushi. They were playing this show with the volume so loud that I couldn't hear my kids asking me questions in the seat next to me.
So after being on this big bus for maybe 18 hours or so, we arrived in Solweizi. Frank says we need to switch busses. While I find a pay restroom to take the kids to, Frank negotiates a price for us and our luggage to get on another bus. This bus is smaller. Think like a 15 passenger van but with 30 passengers in it. There was a small trailer for luggage but only the big bags. Everything else had to be piled on our laps. We paid for 5 seats and for our luggage but had both kids on our laps as we could barely fit the adults across the bench seat. We were packed in so tight that one of my legs went numb but there wasn't any space for me to move my leg so there wasn't anything that I could do about it. Frank said that it was a few hours to Kasempa, and it might have been if the bus hadn't stopped 26 times to let one person off at a time. Of course that person's luggage was on the bottom of the luggage cart so it took forever with each passenger that got off, or that got on and took their place. The kids were hungry, we were all tired, and we just wanted to get out of that bus. 6 hours later we finally arrived at a very dark bus station of sorts. Apparently we were right on schedule as there were a bunch of taxis lined up hoping someone needed a ride somewhere. Benson snagged us a taxi and we all piled in one more time for the final leg of the trip. In Zambia, there are no carseats for children. You are lucky if you can even find a car with a seatbelt. Often seatbelts are cut out so that they can fit more people in the back seat comfortably. It's totally normal for there to be several people in the front and adults and kids alike piled on top of each other in the back. If the doors close, and the weight doesn't bottom out the car, then it's fair game. As we drive, there are no street lights, it's so dark I can't see what's around us at all. We are headed to a relatives house but I can't catch exactly who the relatives are. My Nyanja is only good enough to understand parts of conversation and often they forget to translate for me. I was to tired to ask and was just relieved to get out of the car. We were met by hugs, smiles, and dinner on the table. I've never been so thankful for family and nshima before. They led us down a very dark dirt road to a house where we would sleep for the night. The kids passed out right away and we were asleep soon after.
to be continued...
to be continued...