On the 3rd of July I moved in with Adelina, a researcher working on a neuro-AIDS project also at University Teaching Hospital. Up until this point, I had been staying at Althea’s place while she was away in Zimbabwe. This after Julia and I were first placed with some nuns who tried to extort unreasonable sums of money from us for a rather unpleasant living situation. Shira fortunately connected me with Adelina, and from that point on, I have been a happy resident of Roan Road.
A long holiday weekend was upon us, so Adelina and I decided to pack up and head for Siavonga, a town along Lake Kariba. Our friend Naser joined us the next day. The lake was created in 1958 when the course of the Zambezi River was altered with the construction of the Kariba Dam. Many people were forced to leave their homes for higher ground, and the communities that they formed around the resulting body of water became local tourist destinations. Supposedly there are hippos and crocodiles in these waters, but sadly they did not see fit to visit with us that particular weekend, even when we went out on a boat ride to try to find them. Alas. The sunset we saw over the lake from the boat was spectacular anyway, with wide open skies and perfectly placed clouds lit up from beneath.
On the drive back, we gawked at Baobab trees and stopped at several roadside stands to buy baskets and other items made from a type of ubiquitous stiff grass. Naser owns a candy factory, and at every stop we would look back to see him handing out sweets to the delight of kids and adults alike. He became very popular that day along the road to Siavonga.
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