We originally planned to try a big "Boma Dinner" in Zimbabwe, but it didn't work out due to the early border closing. (The Boma Dinner would have had dancing and music and souvenirs to purchase! In addition to the food of course.) When we learned that the Boma Dinner wouldn't work out, we were all disappointed for different reasons. Kelly and I for the fact we wouldn't get to buy any more cool trinkets. And the most adventurous eater of us all, my beloved Benjamin, was crushed to miss out on the cuisine. As for Chris, I think he was game for whatever. Anyway, we did end up finding a small African restaurant in Zambia near our lodge. After some deliberation, we finally decided to give it a try. It was our last night after all, so we might as well.
We arrived at the restaurant very excited to chow down on some African specialties. (Although I will admit Kelly and I were hoping for some not-so-African-chicken.) As our waitress seated us in the outdoor area, I was surprised to note there was only one other group present besides ourselves. There was music...a guy played the drums. When I say "play," I mean he hit the drum in a steady rhythm. No variation whatsoever. The menu was on a chalkboard, guarded by a creepy wire statue of a "Jason" look-a-like guitar player. Scanning the menu, I allowed myself to hope. There was a seemingly normal sounding chicken dish. Ben selected something very African, I can hardly recall the type of meat! But I do remember it came with some corn mealie type side dish. Kelly asked if they had french fries. They didn't. Poor restaurant- big mistake on their part! And they were out of my chicken. Oh dear. I settled on a different, very African flavored chicken dish with some African sides. At least we were provided with bibs.
Our food arrived in good time. Ben dug right in. I stared at my plate. All I could think of was the saying "there are starving children in Africa, Amanda. Eat your food." I tried, honest, I tried. I just had trouble eating around the bone, tendons, and icky parts. I felt so spoiled and rude. Here I was, in Africa, eating an African dish and I could hardly even eat it. Even knowing that plenty of people would love to have that food. I helped Ben eat his mealie corn stuff. I think that was the best part. Oh Jesus, please forgive me for not scraping the meat off of the bones of my chicken....and thank You for always providing us with good food to eat.
As we finished our meal, a waiter came by and muttered something to Chris. Chris just said "yeah." Unfortunately, Chris didn't fully gather what the guy had asked. I did. Chris was soon delivered a second beverage. Oops for Chris. He made quick work of that drink so we could hightail it out of there. Kelly was on a mission to get some french fries before our lodge restaurant closed at 9pm...and he knew if he wanted a happy wife, he better chug that liquid fast!
No worries, Kelly got her fries. And she reports they were "delicious."
I spent that evening and the next morning securely wrapping all of our new found goodies from the trip. I wanted to include all of our items in our carry-ons so that we wouldn't lose or break anything. It was a tough job, but I managed. I am an expert packer after all.
Our final morning arrived with sunshine. That always seems to happen on a vacation. The final day is always the most beautiful. We convinced the guys to take one more craft market trip for some last minute souvenirs. Hey- we thought we deserved it after the African restaurant! I made some good deals and am quite happy with my purchases. I even managed to fit them into our carry-ons!
I must say, the airport we flew in and out of is possibly the tiniest airport I have ever visited! But that doesn't mean security is slacking. No sirree! We went through three check-points with our carry-ons, all clear. I was very relieved. Then, as we were preparing to climb the stairs onto the plane (we enter the plane outside) a lady in a yellow vest stopped us. She told us that we must check our bag. WHAT!?!? I told her we had the exact same luggage as when we flew there...and the same luggage we carried on when we flew to Cape Town and back. She said "they must not have seen you." I said, "yes they did. We already went through security." She continued to insist we must check our bag. Being on the verge of tears and not wanting to get kicked off the flight, I gave in. She checked our bag.
As we were walking onto the plane, I noticed three people with more bags than we had...and they carried them on no problem. Even the Gasper's defied the airline and carried on all of their bags. (They had also battled it out and apparently won. Guess it was "pick on Americans Day). I cried. I was so upset, so tired, so frustrated. I missed home and I had been so excited about our purchases. I didn't understand why they had to single us out for our one measly carry-on bag. And I noticed there was plenty of space in the overhead bins. My anger and frustration fueled my letter to the airline and I typed it up first thing upon our return home. (Well, second thing. First I took a long hot shower...)
So far I have just received a "sorry but it's the policy" phone call. Policy!? My behind.
1 comment:
Stupid airline. At least there is one thing you can count on...inconsistency. I was surprised they didn't chase me down when I defied them :)
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