Okay, I’m off to Zambia tonight… 19 hours african bus ride… wish me luck. Hope I could cross the border succesfully and safely.

And guess what I did yesterday…. First time ever in my life….

I HITCHHIKED!

sorry if I sound very ignorant or inexperienced but it really was the first time I did anything like that.

Basically I took a local taxi to the rural outskirts of the capital, Since that place is so remote that no taxi will go there I asked for return ride and surprise! surprise! That taxi never came back. So I had to walk all way through some bush paths to get to a main road, make sure I know which direction I’m heading towards…

then wait.

I tried to look at the drivers of each car that passed by… trying to look for women drivers… but in 15 minutes all I saw were minivans or trucks with either one huge muscular black man or a group of sweaty black workers (sorry I try not to sound or be a racist but it really was quite scary)

Then there was a van with a Hispanic-looking man, there’s a hotel logo on the van so I suppose it will be safer??? I gave it a try and he let me in. So I paid full attention all the way back to the city, making sure it’s the same as the way I took when i left. And that guy was so funny. He was talking on his mobile (hmm… not very safe…) and asking me to help him write down some telephone numbers as he talk…

And yes. He was honest after-all. He went to the city, and said he’s going to pick up another guy and then drop me off somewhere near a hotel in the city center. I knew the city center’s within walking distance from there so I said I’d just get off right here.

that’s it! still alive!

2 more months to go…. Actually if I had to compare South America and Africa, wildlife-wise S-Am is not at all comparable to Africa which is the only continent containing my favorite animal ever – the cheetah!

But people or community-wise, I LOVE south america. Ecuador to be exact. The Latinos are so much more nice, friendly and polite. The Africans are in fact quite rude. Rude to tourists especially, even worse than those in Hong Kong. Hello, don’t you know we’re part of your income source? And I’ve mentioned about ppl in Ecuador staring at ppl of another race in the street. The africans do too and they would yell some afrikaans at us. Well it may be some nice greetings though I dunno. And I’ve met so so soooo many africans coming towards me asking me where I came from and then ask me for money. So thick-face-skin. They’ve got all sorts of different excuses I admire their imagination.

An example was that when I was sitting and reading in a park, a guy came towards me and asked me where I came from, then he said he’s from ‘Herreroland’ and that he has some mental disorder, so he has to come to the capital for soem injections. Therefore he’s got no money now to go back to his hometown. He kept repeating ‘I got mental disorder! I got illness in my brain! I got problem with my mind!’

Yes I understand english.

During the past 2 times when I was asked again where I came from I just went ‘Soy de Republica de Dominica’ (I am from dominican republic — totally random)

Then they would answer ‘do you speak english?’

‘No, solo hablo espanol. lo siento’

Then they’d just walk away.

wow, Spanish come to be useful in a non-spanish continent!

(Sorry, I know I sound a little bit mean but Too much really is too much)

I kind of miss Ecuador actually. Maybe becos it’s where I had my first placement and the first is usually – if not always – the best.

Latinas are sweeeeeeeeeeeet