So close to giraffes

Well, we had another interesting Zimbabwean weekend. The highlight had to be coming within metres of giraffes and zebras! Saturday afternoon we walked to Mukavisi Park. We paid extra to get a "safari walking tour" and it was worth the money! I was so excited to be within metres of my two favourite animals. Being in the wild did feel very "African," I must admit. Unfortunately, we didn't have our camera... sorry - no pictures.

Friday night we went for Chinese food with some friends. The food was delicious, and the company was great too (although it made me miss my Chinese friends in Toronto). There are actually a lot of Chinese people in Harare. One result of the "look East policy," I suppose.

Yesterday we spent most of the day at a retirement service for a Salvation Army Divisional Commander. The service started at 11:00am, but we were VIPs from THQ (territorial headquarters), so we skipped the first part of the service and got escorted into a separate building for lunch. The sadza filled me up for the rest of the day! John was covering the event for the "Salvationist," so felt a bit unsure about missing some of the actual event, but when in Rome... (especially when food is involved!) We entered the service around 12:00 and it finished around 5:00pm. The first few hours were very lively. I just love dancing in church here. People stare at me, but then again, people constantly stare at us no matter what we're doing, so I figure my bad dancing skills are not necessarily a reason for concern. So, yeah, the first few hours were great - lots of music, hoshoes, and timbrels/tambourines (which, I must admit, I enjoy more here than in Canada!) But by the last couple of hours, when the focus was mainly on gifts and monetary offerings (of course, each section of the division had to make its own presentation - men's fellowship, youth, band, family members, etc.), I was a wee bit bored (it was also very hot in the jam-packed service, and although having someone translate the whole time is immensely helpful, it's also tiring). I almost laughed (better option than crying) when the meeting continued on for another 30 minutes after the benediction. Of course, all of the special guests have to be thanked for just being in attendance. It's all very formal.

Gift-giving is huge here. There was a table set up at the front of the retirement service for the money counters. All large financial donations are counted, tabulated and announced in the service. It was the same thing at the wedding. Giving in secret does not seem too popular! Actually, when we got home, a couple of girls came over for a visit. One of them (a teenager) told me she had a gift for me, and gave me $100,000. I must admit that I had no idea what to do (beyond, obviously, showing her that I was really grateful for such a nice gift). What would you do if someone gave you $100,000? :) Adjusting to culture is full of adventure and fun, but can sometimes be stressful too.