With only three months left in Zambia, I feel like time is
whizzing by. Since Stevie started crawling 2 months ago, our pace of life seems
to match: always on the move!! As I mentioned last post, we said goodbye to our first apartment and moved in a big, grand
safari house 30 minutes out of town. The new house, called “Zebra Run” because
there are 4 zebras that roam the property (how cool is that?) was home until the
end of August while the home owners were back visiting family in the states. We
had a lovely time watching the zebra and impala visit the yard and enjoyed the
quiet bush setting.
We also had a visit from Oma and Opa during our stay at
“Zebra Run”. It was a perfect place for us all to relax, visit and play. We also had an amazing trip to Kafue National Park together for 2 beautiful nights. We
stayed at Mukambi Lodge which happens to be located right on the banks of Kafue River. I can say how
beautiful it was here, but I can’t describe the rush of excitement overlooking
the wide, flowing river everytime you walk out your chatlet door. We all took
turns watching Stevie while the others went on safari drives admiring several
elephants, impalas, bushbucks, hippos, crocodiles, lots of beautiful bird
species, and even 4 baby lion cubs. Going into the parks here is always a
reminder of how majestic the land is.
And before we said goodbye to our safari home in Lusaka, we decided to
celebrate Stephen’s first birthday in true Zambian-American style! We decorated the
house with local chitange banners and balloons and invited all of Stephen’s little
friends over for a BBQ and birthday cupcakes. The whole afternoon filled our
hearts with joy as we watched the little man play with his friends, crawl in
the grass, open new toys and eat a WHOLE cupcake and a bowl of ice-cream. (He
clearly takes after his mom with the sweet tooth!).
On August 31st, we needed to be out of the safari
house and after weeks of searching (seems to be my part-time job here), I managed to find a big furnished
apartment located in a nice lodge just 10 minutes from the major shopping
malls. We joke about it because in our rent agreement a full English breakfast
is included each morning! Stephen has had lots of cheesy scrambled eggs and baked beans for breakfast. So, we packed up our car (amazing how much stuff we
had accumulated…) and moved into Palm Wood Lodge. As I have mentioned, most of
Lusaka loses power 8-10 hours a day. The lodge has a generator and we never
lose power! That is a huge bonus. However, after two weeks of lodge living, we realized this
was not a long term solution. We missed our privacy and having a place to play
without being a “guest.”
Again, after more house hunting though local websites,
it occurred to me (after my dear husband had mentioned it weeks earlier) to
look up places on the major realtor websites. Well….I felt like I had hit the
jackpot! There were several places that got me all excited because they might
just work! Just this morning we viewed a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom cottage that is
perfect. Seriously, perfect. Well, it might be a little (kinda a lot) over our
original budget, but it is the place we have been looking for! We are working
on the lease now, but I am thrilled about it. It is located 4 minutes from
Joey’s office, 100 meters from one of my best friends here, and it is on the
same grid as the President so we don’t lose power. Wow. It also has a beautiful
pool and kiddie pool (Stephen recently decided he loves the water!), a lush
garden and a pond with fish. It is a splurge, but I am so excited about it! We
move in on the 19th of September and will stay until the 23rd of December when we fly home.
Three months to go. Phew. Joey has 5 weeks out in the field
coming up in October and we have a visit from Tom and Laura Ann coming up in
just over a week. Like I said, the Goebs are on the move!
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| Daddy and Stevie looking over the Kafue River |
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| Oma and Opa at the safari house |
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| Goeb family admiring the river before our boat cruise |
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| Birthday boy at his party! |
