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and walk on the section of highway that was under repair. It was nearly 8 p.m. when I saw
a house with the lights on and found myself walking up to the property and yelling hello.
Mr. Kingston Choongo came to the door and I asked him if I could put up my tent
on his property. Instead, he welcomed me into his home and offered me a corn on the cob
with salt which I gladly accepted. He was working on his ZNC Bank accounts when I ar-
rived so after seeing that I was comfortable, he returned to his work at the table. I sat with
his wife and children and watched “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and a special on the
chimpanzee orphanage in northern Zambia (where I went with Keith Koppart). Before go-
ing to bed, I wrote in my journal mentioning how happy I was for meeting such a kind
family. As soon as I rolled out my air mattress and sleeping bag, I fell asleep.
I woke up at the crack of dawn for my window was facing east. I lay there until
the house started to stir. Kingston woke up early to catch his ride to the bank. Together, we
had a fabulous breakfast of shima, pork and yoghurt. I followed Kingston out of the house
and thanked him for his kindness. When he left, I gave his wife 500 kwacha and everyone
a Canadian pin. As I walked my bike off the property, I reminisced on how less than 12
hours ago I sauntered up to this home as a complete stranger and was so warmly received.
Icouldn'thelpbutwonderhowmanypeoplebackhomewouldwelcome atraveler likeme
especially so late at night without calling 911.
Ionlyhadonehilltocontendwithandbefore8:15a.m.,IarrivedinLusaka.Ifound
the Canadian High Commission quickly and left my bicycle behind the front entrance un-
der the watchful eye of the guards. I walked into the main building and met the first sec-
retary, Piers. We chatted for the longest time on Africa, the tour and about himself. The
first thing I asked was if he could let the previous Canadian embassies know that I arrived
safely in Zambia.
ThehighcommissionarrangedformetostaywithPiersforatleastaweek.Sohav-
ing my accommodation taken care of, I asked for directions to the South African Embassy
and walked there to obtain my entry visa. They told me to return after the weekend to pick
it up. I walked back to the high commission to retrieve the bike and cycled to Piers' home.
Iwaswelcomed at the gate byhiscookBobbyandshownthe guest room.Bobbymade me
a sandwich and I sat in the living room reading the newspaper and a Calvin and Hobbes
comic collection. When Piers returned, he told me that he had arranged interviews with the
Times of Zambia, The Daily Mail, TV 2 and UNICEF.
Thenextdaystartedwithappointmentstomeetthepress.IcycledfirsttotheTimes
of Zambia where I was photographed and interviewed and then cycled to The Daily Mail
for the second interview. My third interview took me across the city to ZNBC-TV where
I was warmly welcomed. I was given an in-depth interview and was told that it would be
airedontheirCurrentAffairsprogramonthefollowingMonday.Inalltheseinterviewsmy
message was simple: I encouraged ordinary citizens to just get involved.
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