After crocodile pizza and pasta, we headed to Victoria Falls - one of the seven natural wonders of the world! I've been there multiple times, but it was cool to see the rest of the team experience it for the first time. If it's not on your bucket list, it should be. It's a beautiful site! Most of the team crossed a bridge to another part of the falls, where they ended up soaked even after wearing rain ponchos. While they walked over the bridge, Jacob and I went with our guide to view the big bridge that goes between Zambia and Zimbabwe. Maybe 3 seconds after we spotted the bridge, we saw someone bunjee off of it. Ethan, Jacob and I were planning to jump after seeing the falls, but I almost backed out in that moment. I had been anticipating it and feeling nervous all day. The boys eventually talked me into it whenever it was time to pay and sign the forms, and I'm so glad they did.
No words can fully describe the feelings you go through as you're getting strapped up and then penguin walk to the edge of the platform. And then there's the jump. It was one of the scariest, coolest things I've ever done! Ethan was pumped the whole time and showed no signs of nerves, unlike me! We were 3 of the last 4 jumps of the day, so thankfully we made it in time! If you're wanting to hear more about our experiences, I'm sure we'd all be happy to tell you more specifically what happened and the rush that comes after the jump!
We had some time to souvenir shop before going to dinner at the Zambezi Cafe, named after the river that makes up Victoria Falls. Some of us tried some not so typical food - goat curry, jaloff rice, crocodile schnitzel, and crocodile bites. It was dark by the time we got to the restaurant, but we still ate outside under the stars. Our table was lit by a candle and we had a small fire next to us to keep our feet warm. It's a really nice environment! We stopped for some gelato on our way back to the lodge where we were staying, and then we all enjoyed a nice hot shower before going to bed. A hot shower doesn't seem like a luxury back in the States, but it is after you've been taking bucket baths for almost 2 weeks!
On Friday morning, we woke up really early for a game drive. Our guide sat in the front of the vehicle with his AK-47, which made for an interesting experience. That's certainly not something we're exposed to back home very often. It did make us feel safe around some of the animals, though. Lions don't live in the park we went to, and we weren't able to see the elephants (they were likely hiding deep into the bush). However, we did see giraffes, zebras, wildabeast, cape buffalo, baboons, impalas, and a white rhino with her baby! Our guide told us there are only 13 rhinos in the park, including 6 babies! He told us we were lucky that we got to see 2 of them. It was a surreal experience; at one point we were about 10 feet from them after they crossed the road in front of us. On our way out of the park, we almost hit a giraffe that was hiding behind a tree next to the road. And then it proceeded to slowly walk in the road ahead of our vehicle. So we just followed it until it got off and started eating some leaves. Once again, we were about 10 feet from it when it stopped and "posed" for us, as our guide said. I was bummed about not seeing the elephants, but I think it was still a good, quick experience a few hours before we headed to the airport.
Traveling home hasn't been the greatest experience, from nausea to sore backs and knees after sitting for so many hours. We've all been trying to decide when to sleep and when to stay awake so that we can hopefully adjust to the time change better. Zambia is 7 hours ahead of central time, so this next week might be a little rough in class. We're all looking forward to being home again, where we can finally shower and sleep in our own beds!
- Kailyn
Note: Please pray for the team's rest, recovery, and cultural re-entry. May the Lord multiply their service in Zambia.
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