Things I will miss about Zimbabwe

On the verge of overstaying our tourist visas, we have been in the small town of Vic Falls, Zimbabwe for nearly one month, a place that we were going to quickly pass through in a day or two has captured us and now where we were once visitors camping at a lodge, we feel like locals, staying in a township, where we moved in last week with a family of nearly twenty. This little town and the people in it have given me a lot to miss but here are some things I will especially look back on and smile:

- waking up every morning to the sound of baboons, monkeys, birds, and other wild animals, the sound of the women in our home sweeping, washing, singing, the sound of the kids stirring in their sleep or playing, the sound of tea being poured for us and wood being gathered for a fire outside to cook, and the sound of Farai coming into our room whispering, wake up, wake up.
- falling asleep either in our tent at our rest camp, in the room that was made for us in Farai's family's home, on our friend Pace's couch or floor - covered in blankets, outside, behind Farai's house when the nights are too hot, with a mosquito net hanging from a tree and a blanket on the ground, with Farai in the middle - holding the mosquito net down with his feet or tucking us in, and then waking us up when the sun comes up to move us into the house where we can catch a few more hours of sleep.
- going to the supermarket/butchery/or side of the road to get chicken, fish, beef, avocados, tomatoes, and onions for our nightly barbeque and then seeing all of the men taking such care in cooking and preparing plates for Makayne and I filled with the best pieces of meat and the most food while these three plus men all share from one plate
- walking from the township neighborhood where we moved, into town where we originally stayed, the walk is about 35 minutes and usually Farai is in the middle with our Ipod while Makayne and I are on each side, all three of us with an ear bud in our ears, listening to the new African music that we have come to love, walking step for step, singing the whole way into town together
- eating Sadsa and greens, the traditional staple food, at Smiles restaurant, every single day for lunch. For $2 you get a heaping huge plate full (and I am sure that he gives us extra) of the warm corn flour and water based mixture, greens, a tomato/onion sauce, and chicken. The food is something I crave everyday and if I don't eat Sadsa, I feel like something is not right! The warm mashed potato consistency like food is eaten with your hands, rolled into a ball, and used as a spoon for your other food.
- eating with my hands!
- the music and natural way of dancing, everyone is always dancing, young and old, dancing is such an ingrained part of culture, and the people here dance amazingly - you can't help but be happy watching them and then are so grateful when they are patient enough to dance with you even though we are not so good!
- taking a nap by the pool of the rest camp lodge we used to stay in, taking a shower there to get ready for the day or night, getting water there, charging our phones, ipods, cameras there, and keeping half our clothes on the line there - while the whole time we are welcomed there, even though we are no longer sleeping there
- spending every night at Invuvu bar - maybe just for a soda and dinner, maybe for for a Zambezi, Castle, or Lion beer - but always for the music and conversation with friends.
- The people: our band of brothers that watch over us, keep us fed, buy us a drink or fill up our water bottles, keep us clean by carrying water for us to shower in the morning, keep us laughing, keep us well rested, keep us healthy, keep us happy...
---First and foremost, my dear friend, Farai. The dreadlocked free spirit who we met on day one, the one that took us to the falls, took us swimming in the river, and eventually took us to live with his family - his brothers and sisters, cousins and nieces, nephews and uncles. Farai is special and I will miss him a lot, if it weren't for us meeting him, we wouldn't have met any of the people below, as everyone is friends with this man and because of him, we have stayed in this town rather than passing through.
---Shorty - the street kid who gave us each one braided dreadlock and told us he is our brother, the world's absolute best dancer, the way he moves with the music to every song with every style of dance is completely amazing
---Mazino - our friend who is always laughing, his name means teeth and he is always showing them with his smile, his laugh is something I will really miss, he always cheers us up, and is the best story teller ever! He loves to dance and sing and is a true enjoyer of life. He also is really great at pulling your leg and is full of jokes. Mazino has a lot of sayings that I hope to take home with me!
---Perseverance (Pacey) - aww Pacey is like the big brother that spoils you, he wants us to drink good beer, eat more food, and no matter what - always be having fun! We have spent a few nights at his house for dinner or a floor to crash on and he is someone really special
---Allen - this older guy is like your favorite uncle, full of life experiences, kind enough to share many of them with me. Allen knows 17 languages and the scientific names for every plant and animal
---Knowledge - often the responsible one since he doesn't drink, he is always kind enough to find a car to borrow to drive us around at night and give us lifts home, he is a true soccer fan, christian, and knows everything there is to know about Vic Falls, especially since his name is knowledge and he works at the visitor info center in town - where we usually go and sit when we are bored and help give advice to tourists!
---Bornwell - he helps to run a nonprofit school and is always running about here and there but always makes time to greet us, dance with us, and make us smile
---Manchester - even though our names support opposite soccer teams, Manchester is nothing but a kind force with dance moves and a smile that would make anyone a little weak at the knees
---Frank (Captain) - Farai's older brother who made it big at age 17 as a model in Australia, a record producer and rapper in the UK, and a rafting guide throughout the world, living a wild life as a youngster, he is a born again christian who takes us to church, cares for over 16 kids (some his and some extended family), and makes sure we eat, eat, and eat while staying at his family's home. Frank made a room for us where he and some of the kids usually sleep in his home, meanwhile, he and the kids are sleeping on the floor and in the kitchen.
---Zaks and Brighton - the younger brothers of Farai, they are 19 and 20 and these two boys are often responsible for babysitting and cooking for about seven kids, ranging from two years old to ten. Watching them care for these kids and cook for us is really endearing and it's even more precious when they walk with us on the street and act protective and worried about us tripping on a rock or someone annoying us
---There are so many others, from Snake and Pilani our rafting guides to Tuffy and Dallas the Rastafarian artists who greet us with "One love and Peace" to the bartenders and wait staff at the bar and at our lodge who put our purses behind their counter when we want to dance or charge our electronics or let us change the music to our regular taxi drivers to the brothers, sisters, uncles, cousins, etc of Farai's family, to the people at church.

I know I am missing a lot of people, but these are some of the faces that I see every single day that pop into my head, these are the faces I will miss most. Sometimes when other tourists come and see us barbequing, eating, and laughing with all of these men, you can tell that they think these guys are annoying us or trying to take advantage of us or maybe have bad intentions but with these group of friends, I have never felt more comfortable or safe. It does happen that sometimes someone will come up to my sister and I and be annoying or say that they want to come to America and marry us or ask for money or will want to pull us away and dance - the second that happens, they immediately regret it because our "brothers" make it clear that that is not respectful. The thing to also remember here is that tourism is the number one industry in this town, and that it is a very small town. As it was explained to us our first week here: That means that if everyone sees my sister and hanging out with this group of locals, and then if something happened to my sister and I, even if this group was not with us at the time and not to blame, they would be brought in by the police because they are seen as responsible for us and in care of us and they want to make sure that tourists enjoy their time here and come back. So all in all, we are totally welcomed into this town, have never felt more at home, are so well cared for, and will miss it here dearly.