Youth Day at Kalimba Reptile Farm

Today we woke up early to go help out at Bethel. By the time we walked down there I think it was a little after 7:30am. We were the first helpers to arrive. We started using slashers to cut down the tall weeds and shrubs that had grown into a little field next to the building. It was a large area and Erika and I took turns slashing, while two other guys worked with us. We didn’t catch their names. We’ll have to find them out another time. My American hands weren’t used to wacking away at the weeds, so before too long I developed a blister on my palm, and the skin was peeled back. Ouch! So I took a break and did some lighter work with a hoe, and turned over some weeds and grass in unwanted areas. By that time a lot more people had arrived to help. Sadly, we couldn’t stay long because we had to get back to get ready for the reptile farm. Nothing like starting the day with a little physical labor though. It was fun.

We were getting showered and ready when all of a sudden Anne comes over to our guest house calling our names. She spotted some monkeys in the back yard behind our guest house. So we raced out there and sure enough, we spotted some 2 baby monkeys and the mom way up high in the gum trees. Anne said they stuck around most of the day. She’s thinking there’s not much food where they usually eat, so they come around here to eat off the guava trees. Later, Anne was back in that same area looking at her sweet potato fields when she saw a huge snake. She says it was a spitting cobra. Since no men were around, and it was just her and some kids, they left it alone. Yikes!

While Anne was looking at a cobra out in the wild, we were looking at some cobras behind glass enclosures. At 10am, we walked out of our courtyard to meet up with the Sargents and Birners. The Birners had picked up Mwiko, Zoya, and Ethel and the boys Akeeyo and Aaron met us by our guest house. The boys, Erika, and I rode with the Sargents, and the girls rode with the Birners. Kalimba Reptile Farm wasn’t too far away, but a good portion of the drive was on a dirt road, full of pot holes and rivets. It was a true African driving experience. At one point, Pastor Sargent didn’t see a speed bump in the rode, so we flew over it, and flew out of our seats. It was so funny, we couldn’t stop laughing. Nathan especially loved it!

We arrived at the farm at the perfect time. We were some of the first people there, so we got our tickets and found the perfect spot under a rondavel and a tree with lots of shade. The first thing we did was explore the snakes. We had a guide come around and explain what all the different kinds were, and what would happen to you if you were bitten by one. For the most part, you’d die a horrible death of suffocation, or poisonous venom eating away at your cells, or blood coming out of your ears and nose. Terrible! Good thing these snakes were all behind glass. There was a snake pit in the middle with boa constrictors and a few of us were feeling brave and wanted to hold one. So the guide got a ladder, climbed right in and tried to get the hugest one for us. When he got near, the thing started hissing very loudly. He was not happy. We didn’t want the guide to get hurt so we said he could get a smaller one. He brought it up out of the pit and kept a firm grip on its mouth with the four of us (Akeeyo, Mwiko, Erika and I) held on to its body. That was so fun! It was amazing to feel the strength of the muscles of its body. I almost wish I could have held it by myself.

After the snakes we walked around to all the crocodile pits. There some 2 year olds and some 3 year old crocs. The guide climbed in again and caught us a baby one. We couldn’t hold it, but we could touch it. It was cool hearing the little squeals the baby croc made. Now onto the big monsters. They got their own “habitat”, not just a cage. Pretty nice quarters. These things are just so humongous. We got some great pictures, but nothing can compare to being so close to the thing you could reach out and touch it (if you dared, and of course we did not). We also got to see two crocs mating, which I have never seen before, so that was interesting. There were also some beautiful birds: bright yellow weavers, storks, fish eagles and kingfishers.

After an interesting tour around the farm it was time for lunch. What did we eat for lunch?? A crocodile burger!! Seeing all those crocs made us hungry for one. Haha, not really. We just wanted to try one for the sake of it. I remember eating crocodile when I was little and it tasted like chicken. And the burger did as well: chicken with a little flare. It was very good. And to go along with the croc burger, I had chips (fries) which I seasoned with salt and vinegar. Very, very good!

After lunch we headed over to the pool. We had some fun games of Marco Polo and Keep Away (2 teams who tried to keep the ball away from the other team). We were in the water for a good couple hours. I got my first sunburn. It was loads of fun though! After we were tuckered out, I got out and relaxed in the shade for a while. Since Mrs. Sargent teaches tomorrow, and so do we, we decided to get going at around 3. It was such an enjoyable day, with such good company. I’m glad Erika and I didn’t go alone like we were originally planning to. We became good friends with Zoya, Mwiko, Ethel, Akeeyo, and Aaron, and I hope we can hang out with them again soon. Ethel invited us to sing in the choir at Good Shepherd, so I think Erika and I are going to try to go to choir practice this coming Saturday.

When we got home we relaxed for a bit; the sun really takes it out of you, and then we did some lesson planning and had supper. A pretty chill evening, but the day was so full of fun that we needed a little peace before our week starts again tomorrow.

Happy Youth day to everyone! (In Zambia you’re considered a youth up until age 35).