Even Me Easter: Conclusion

GAY OR ENGLISH?

...where I collided with the ZamNan. She had put the baby to bed and was talking about the strange white folk with the cook, Bezwick. I loved saying Bezwick because you cant say it without sounding English so I felt like I fit in more with the hippy crowd. These 2 people would quickly become my allies through the 3 days everyone else was too stoned to realize the random American girl eating all the food and drinking all the beer.
But actually it was a good thing I was mostly under the radar. Because when conversation really got goin I couldnt understand a damn word. One early morning Lifestyle was frying eggs and asked me to get the rolls ready. Ruth the Mormon (looking savvy with a bun and long jean skirt) came into the kitchen to make tea and they delved into an enthusiastic conversation concerning fried bread.
"But your frying the eggs, not the bread."
They looked at me like I just pimp slapped the Queen.
I mean I get the "egg roll" in Zambia but fried bread...
Then I think the bitter grunts were about Americans but I forgot my Pompous to Plain English dictionary so I left the kitchen.
By now I assume you are all wondering the nature of my relationship with Lifestyle.
As was I.
You see the entire trip I had kept a mental tally to decide if he was gay or just english.
The man made me tea. He owns a steel company and he did know how to change a tire. He was called upon to make snacks for the group - which included a dill sauce over fresh fish. Later, he would show off his cocktail specialties with warm brandy swirling around melted chocolate and topped with cool Amurealo. It wasnt so much the cooking that confused me.
There are plenty of manly men in my family that are great cooks.
It was the presentation. And the fact that he cooked in a wrap-around skirt. In only a wrap-around skirt.
He came up to me one night with the excitement of a boy finding ants for his ant farm and said, "I went out for a slash and they sky is excellent, a velvet blanket of stars showing the curvature of the Earth." What do you say in response to that?
The next morning was decision time. I left Zambia with one goal, to make it to the ocean. And I was close but I also had a free ride straight back if I chose to forgo Mozambique. To be honest, my decisions usually arent too difficult. Im very attune to my intuition, blame all those afternoons watching Oprah. So while I may pretend yo wrestle with a decision, Im always aware of what would be best for me.
So I gave up Mozambique.
I gave up the ocean.
For a free ride and more conversation.
We left with hugs and I realized I really liked these hippie pals. They had beautiful hearts and loved their lives.
Sometimes its easiest to find your smile by watching the Happy of others.
The ride back was as dreary as most returns from vacation. The closer you get to home, the closer your mind turns to business details. At least thats what Ive found to be the case for people who have businesses and think about details.
We were entering that tense mood where you know the end of the road trip isnt as near as you wish, the dark night is burning your unblinking dry eyes that are sore from staring at the bends of a paved road and your arms are heavy from gripping a steering wheel for hours. At some point we re-entered cell phone reception so I received numerous texts from all those friends I was supposed to have met up with.
ummm, whoops.
After assuring them I was alive I decided to call upon Carroll-Anne for some serious girl advice, that is, a sneaky way to decide once and for all: Gay or English?
She told me to ask about rugby.
While I was considering methods of diving into the rugby topic the monotony of the empty road was interrupted by a dog scurrying about. With no escape possible the little girl inside me squealed as we ran over him.
And in reaction to whatever sound I had just made, I started laughing. But Lifestyle was almost on the verge of tears.
So to cheer him up we started reminiscing the events of the week. The sunshine and swimming in the lake. Kimmo's fire dance. The time I tried to make tea and used salt instead of sugar. When I saw Stuck-on Dreds actually smile as he talked to local girls in the native dialect. Painting eggs and then smashing them together at A-Zor's request. Climbing the tallest hill at sunset and seeing across the lake to Mozambique. The mysterious one night appearance and multiple wardrobe changes of Dr. Fire...and soon we were back in Lusaka.
So it was an eventful vacation. One Im glad I took by myself. There is something magical in discovering new places and new people. Because once you do, you discover something new within you. And after the previous couple of months I needed something new...in me so that I could see the possibility of hope beginning again.
And oh yea, do you know the differences between English, South African and Aussie rugby?
Because I do.