Get Outta Town - Because There's More to Life than JUST Work!

A lovely accommodation while hitching to Livingstone 

By Samantha Madden

This post is dedicated to those throughout Zambia and beyond that have brought a sense of cultural awareness to me. To those that picked me up from an intersection and gave me a lift, taken me in their village for a hot meal, and shared stories among stories (with many awkward laughs in between due to the language barriers!).  To the family in a town outside Siavonga that served me up my first plate of local nshima and enticed me to eat with my fingers, to the South African couple who let me ride in the back of their truck bed for over 250 km and wished for nothing in return, to all the babies and local children that let me run and play and act like a total kid again, to all my fellow travelers I met passing through and kept me awake on long bus rides, and mostly to this beautiful country and continent for confirming what I thought may be the truth- it’s hands down my most favorite continent I’ve visited yet. (And that’s saying a lot since I only have Antarctica left on the list!) 

Women on the way home from the market

Though we envision what our summer or internship may look like from afar, once your feet are on the ground, once you take that first breath of African air, or get in your first taxi, or have that first glimpse of children running through the streets playing with makeshift cars made out of trash, you know that what you envisioned and what you’re about to experience are two very different things.

Push-Toy made out of garbage

Look at that excitement!

Victoria Falls- Livingstone, Zambia

South Luangwa National Park

I’ll be honest. I don’t want to leave this place- at least not anytime soon. I’m mesmerized by this country and its people. I want and need to see more. I need to travel across more borders, have more thoughtful conversations with people that have come from other developed countries and settled in these stunning places, squish myself in more mini-buses between a mother, child, goat, back of rice, and sack of tomatoes, and mostly just feel alive and genuinely happy. It has now been 3 months since my last latte from Starbucks, my last pedicure, my last transaction with a credit card, my last trip to the mall, my last double chocolate chip muffin from my favorite bakery in AA and honestly… I don’t miss it!  Sure, there are nights when I miss my bed or my family or friends or would kill for a proper coffee but in reality the need for all those things seems so distant once you’re immersed in a culture like this and I’d like to hope and think and pray that I don’t forget this feeling when I get home. Oh, and last thing- Africa I will be back for you. I don’t know when or where or for how long, but I won’t forget you…ever! Thanks for the experience J Sorry for all the pictures, but I TRIED to pick out my favorites and it was just so hard!