Map of Zambia



Budget

*Amount had to spend $5000
*Amount spent on travel $2568
*Amount spent on lodging $630
*Amount spent on food $53
*Amount spent on tourist attractions $52
*Amount spent on souvnirs and other items $71
*Total spent $3374
*Money left over $1626

Day 2

     I slept in this morning to get past the jet lag and rest up before my long week here. When I finally did get up i decided to go nearby to the unbelievable Victoria Falls. It is the highest waterfall in the world at 108m or 360 feet. On the bus trip there i got see some more of the forestry and some of the wildlife. When I arrived I paid the $10 entry fee and then the guide advised me on the best things to do. One of his suggestions was crossing the footbridge above the waterfall to the buttress called Knife's Peak. After observing from where I was for awhile then to get some better pictures I crossed the footbridge. I felt a little unsafe as the water rushed beneath me but once I crossed to the other side i realized it was worth it. The view was far better from this side and you really got a feel for how powerful and high this waterfall. When it started getting dark I decided it was better to return the safer side and prepare to leave. I visited the on-site restraunt to get a quick meal of thick nshima or a porridge like meal accompanied by dried fish for $6 before heading back to my hotel.

Day 7

     I had a short day today because I had to get on a flight at 7 PM. I flipped through my tourist book to try to find a fun quick thing to do to spend my last day in the lush South African country of Zambia. I also didn't want to travel to far from Lusaka beecause I needed to be able to get the airport easily and on time. With today being Sunday I decided I'd check out the famed Zambian Sunday Market. This is one of the things that people had been talking about aroung the city of Lusaka all week and since it was in the Arcades Shopping Center's plaza and I was staying in the local hotel I decided it would be a great idea. I went fairly early to the Sunday Market but it was already thriving with locals. Tourists didn't show up until around eleven o'clock but they just added to massive population that had gathered there already. There were various vendors selling all sorts of things. They had local pottery, paintings, small scale sculptures and statuettes, skins of the native animals such as crocodiles and some furs. They also had food stands with veggies and various types of meat but since I was heading home I had no interest in these things. I ended up buying a vase, a bowl, a small statue, some crocodile skins and a few pieces of the local jewelry made of things like elephant tusks and rhino horns. I spent my entire day here and about two hours before I needed to head for my flight I went to Rhapsody's once again to have an elegant African meal before going home. After all this I had spent around $85. I got on the bus to head to the airport and I watched out the windows as the city passed by. I reached the airport and as my plane climbed I waved a final goodbye to the lush green forests and parks of Zambia.



Day 6

     Today I started travelling back to toward Lusaka to be closer to the airport but I wanted to see more of the exotic animals that I hadn't seen in the national park. In my tourism book I noticed a place called Kalimba Reptile Park that was just a few miles northeast of Lusaka and only a short distance from the airport. I decided this would be a great way to see the exotic reptiles that are native to Africa. I paid an entry fee of $15 then continued to the exhibits. Some of the venomous ones like the black mamba and the puff adder were kept in enclosures behind glass walls to avoid children and even adults from being bitten. They had an on-site clinic just in case someone was bitten but I felt very safe throughout the venomous and even the less restrained non-venomous section. In the non-venomous section I saw a variety of the largest snakes anywhere in the world, like the boa constrictor, several pythons, and anacondas. I also saw several large crocodiles who were quite menacing. I then went to the braii grill and had a crocodile burger for $7. Then I back to Arcades shopping center to the hotel I had previously stayed in, Protea Hotel for $188, then went to bed to prepare for my short day then my very long flight.



Day 5

     I got up especially early this morning so I could make it to South Luangwa National Park in time to see as much as possible after the bus ride there. I caught the earliest bus I could and arrived at the park very early, I paid the $25 fee and immediately went to the two cheetahs they are housing here. The main exhibits here are the cheetahs and several lions but they support many other rare animal and plant types that you can't see in very many other places around Zambia. The cheetahs had just woken up when I arrived and were out stretching and bathing in the morning sun waiting on their breakfast. Next I went and saw the lions, most of which were still sleeping. There was a pretty amazing elephant exhibit that I spent a lot of time taking photos of. I spent he majority of my day wandering about the park seeing the variety of animals. As the sun started setting I went to the pool to cool off before going to the Braii grill to eat a satisfying dinner of imported American steak for $9. Finally I went to my the on site lodge, Mfuwe Lodge for $230.



Day 4

     After my heavy meal the the night before I needed to go to the gym in my new hotel at Arcades, called Protea Hotel for $188, and run for awhile before going to bed so I slept a little late this morning. After getting up around eleven o'clock I decided to head to the National Museum which was fairly close to my hotel. All I got to see on my short trip there was a few of the buildings in the shopping center and the city, I was already missing the forests I could see at my previous hotel. Upon my arrival I was charged a $2 fee and directed to the highlights of the museum, some Zambian contemporary paintings and sculptures. On the lower level of the museum I saw displays that some describe as a snapshot of Zambia's past and present. On the upper floor there were several exhibits of cultural, ethnographically and archaeological discoveries and displays. Finally I came back to easily the most interesting exhibit in the museum, the witchcraft display. In this display I saw things you would not see or hear about anywhere else in Zambia.



Day 1

     As we cruised into Clarksburg Airport I could barely contain my excitement for my trip to the South African country of Zambia. It's a long and expensive trip with a round trip ticket costing around twenty-five hundred dollars and the trip lasting nearly twenty-five hours but visiting an exotic country such as Zambia will be worth the expense.
     After the exhausting flight I exchanged my US dollars for Zambian Kwacha which is to about 4715 Kwacha per dollar then rested shortly at the airport while waiting for the bus to take me to my hotel, Fawlty Towers. Throughout the long drive to my hotel near Victoria Falls I observed many of the lush forests and beautiful sights around Lusaka. When I arrived at Fawlty Towers I checked in to my room for twelve US Dollars or 56,580 Kwacha. The rooms were quite lavish and the hotel had a beautiful enclosed garden with a free-form pool to relax in before preparing for my week in Zambia.

Day 3

     I got up early this morning anticipating an exciting day in Lusaka's shopping centers. My first target was Rhapsody's, a restraunt in the Arcade's shopping center on Great East Rd. It's a very popular restraunt famous for it's Zambian cuisine though it is very expensive. It is mainly visited by NGOs or Nongovernment Organisation and tourists due to its high prices but occasionally you will see locals dining here. The restraunt doesn't open until around noon so I spent some time shopping around in the mall before I went.
     First I went to Blockbuster movies and picked up a movie to occupy my time after my dinner at Rhapsody's. Next I visited Planet Books and browsed for a tourist's guide to the country and some books about Zambia in general. I ended up with a couple of books to help me on this trip. Finally I quickly went to Barclay's Bank to get some extra cash just in case I ran out at Rhapsody's.
     Around 8 o'clock I headed into Rhapsody's and had an elegant dinner of a smoked salmon, avocado and zucchini ciabatta and finished up with a "Death by Chocolate" cake, a chocalate covered in drizzled chocolate and served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream which totalled up to 77,000 Kwacha including the books and movie rental.



Zambian salad recipe

Ingredients

• 1 green bell pepper
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• 2 tomatoes
• 1 onion
• 1 cucumber
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon ground sumac or za'atar (optional)

Preparation

1. Remove the pith and seeds from the peppers and dice them along with the tomatoes, onion, and cucumber. Toss together in a wooden or ceramic bowl.

2. In a separate small bowl, stir together the salt, pepper, lemon juice, and garlic. Slowly whisk in the olive oil. Pour over the vegetables, mix, sprinkle with sumac or za'atar, and serve.

•Sumac powder, the ground berry of a Turkish evergreen tree, is available at www.ethnicgrocer.com. This Arabic ingredient, which was adopted into Israeli cooking, has a sour, fruity flavor.
•Za'atar, a spice mix made from wild oregano, sesame seeds, salt, and ground sumac, is ubiquitous in Middle Eastern cooking, often sprinkled on pita bread that's been drizzled with olive oil. Za'atar is available at www.penzeys.com.

Biography of Publius

Publius Servilius Casca Longus more commonly known as just Publius was the Tribune of the People during the assassination of Gaius Julius Caesar better known as Julius Caeser. Publius and his brother Gaius Servilius Casca or Casca were part of the conspiracy to assassinate Julius Caesar. Casca was even the first to strike Caesar after Tillius Cimber distracted him by grabbing his toga. Publius had a lesser part in the assassination compared to Casca but he was later used by Marcus Junius Brutus to tell the people that no one, aside from Julius Caesar, would be harmed. Publius joined Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus and died in 42 B.C, presumably by committing suicide after their defeat at the Battle of Philippi.

Caesar's Assassination

     We started plotting months ago. We never never met openly. Occasionally we met at someones house but mostly we met in small groups and relayed messages privately. My name is Publius Servilius Casca Longus and I am part of a plot to assassinate Gaius Julius Caesar alongside Marcus Junius Brutus and my brother Gaius Servillius Casca. We are the liberators of Rome. There are more than 60 people, both senators and peasants, in our conspiracy.We are led by Gaius Cassius, Decimus and Marcus Junius Brutus.      I fear that Julius Caesar may turn my beloved Rome into a dictatorship over which he will rule. He already possesses all the power of our military. While this isn't necessarily bad because he is a brilliant strategist and an excellent inspiration to the troops as well as a great warrior, but I feel he has too much power. He has also added new senators to tilt the scales of most votes in his favor.
     After several months of meeting in small groups we met one last time all together to compare ideas. We felt the time to strike was coming and we needed to act before Caesar could gain more power. We debated whether to attack him in the Field of Mars during the elections and shove him off the bridge while others waited below to kill him. Then we thought about ambushing him at the Sacred Way his way to the theatre. Then when a meeting was called for the senators on the Ides of March(15th of March) in the Hall of Pompey we knew this was the opportune time to make our move.

     Today is the Ides of March, 44 B.C. and we will be joining together for a senatorial meeting in the Hall of Pompey. Rumor has it that Caesar has been warned of this plot many times and he has taken it into consideration. He was considering staying away because of these warnings and because of ill health. Decimus Brutus, one he believes is a close friend, managed to convince him to join on this tragic day. He sat in his place and we gathered around him as if giving support to a petition he had been handed. Tillius Cimber moved as though to whisper a secret and as Caesar made a motion to wait until later Tillius grabbed his tunic and as Caesar cried "Why, this is violence!" my brother Gaius Servillius Casca stabbed him below the throat and Caesar immediately reacted by smashing his stylus into my brother's arm who cried out and fell away. Then the attack commenced in full. As Caesar saw Marcus Brutus coming toward him he mumbled "Kai su, teknon?"(you too, my child? in Greek) and pulled his toga over his head to hide his eyes from the shame before collapsing out of his chair. Later we were told that the only strike of the twenty-three wounds had been fatal. I had not actually stabbed Caesar in the scuffle but i had seen much. I now served a very important purpose assigned by Brutus. I was instructed to tell the people of Rome that no one, aside from Julius Caesar, would be harmed.