Your Questions Answered--#2

For the first volume of questions and answers click here.

Countess Laurie had several questions. They made me stop and think. Way to go, Laurie!

1) What is your favorite time of year in Zambia?
I'd have to say April or May. This is because the rains are wrapping up, the days are getting cooler, and everything is green and gorgeous. Kinda like a combination of spring and fall. Fall is my favorite U.S season and this has the same kind of feel to it and yet things are green instead of turning brown. This is also before everyone starts burning their fields so the air is fresh.

2) Considering that you are kind of rustic sometimes out there, if you could bring one thing to Zambia, what would it be?
Deciding on just one thing is really, really hard. We moved over here with nearly everything we owned and made it all fit in 16 suitcases and 15 pieces of hand luggage. One of the few things that I brought with me was a 2 quart ice cream container with all the little handmade ornaments my kids had made to date. I threw a string or two of beads in there and miraculously they fit. I also had an envelope with Christmas cards we'd received over the years. This made us feel much more at home in Africa.

Another one thing would be a Kindle now that they've been invented. One small device with tons and tons of books? Absolute heaven! I don't yet own one but a girl can dream!

But, I would have to say that one of my most useful things is my headlamp. It has saved me over and over again. I not only use it during  power failures and long bus rides but also at night when Tom asks, "Are you gonna turn that light off??", I turn off the bedside lamp and burrow under the covers with my book and headlamp--exactly as if I'm ten years old.

I posed this question to my kids and Tom and without hesitation they all answered--A knife! 

Of course Tom also said that the one thing he would bring to Africa is money since that disappears here at an alarming rate. 

3) Not counting the Bible, what is your favorite book and why do you love it so?
Still trying to nail me down to just one thing, Laurie? I don't think it can be done! The first book that popped into my mind with this question was The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks. I read that book when we first moved to Africa (found it in a dusty bookstore) and I'd never read anything by Nicholas Sparks before. I absolutely fell in love with it (and him.....) and read it eight times in the next few years. Not owning a Kindle and being short on reading material may have had something to do with that. But, truly I loved the story and the devotion the married couple had to each other. The sequel The Wedding is equally amazing.

I can't leave well enough alone. A few other Top Ten (or Hundred) picks:
Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
The Shack by William P. Young


Just a side note: if you've ever seen the movie for any of the books listed above and didn't care for them--give the books a chance anyway. Thanks!

What I'm reading right now is The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson. It's mostly a memoir of being a small child in the fifties. Mom and Dad, I think you'd have so much fun reading this. I wasn't even a twinkle in my daddy's eye in this decade but I've had a silly grin on my face nearly the entire time. Check it out. *

Okay, I could go on all day. So I will stop.
Wait, just one more. If you could be any Disney princess, who would you pick and why?
Right away, my mind went to Belle from Beauty and the Beast. I'm not sure she is even counted as a princess but she married a prince so I say she counts. 
Now for my reasons: I guess one big reason is because she didn't wait around for a prince to come save her but took action and control of her own life. Reason number two, she left home and family to go to a strange place to save a life. And, lastly but best of all, she loved books. Remember that incredible library? Oh, my goodness! Even better than a Kindle!!!
  
This has been so much fun! I'll be back next week with another person's questions. Remember, you can jump in at any time by leaving your questions in the comments on this post or emailing me at amymorrowinafricaATgmailDOTcom. 
 


* A little note--I used Amazon to link with all those books but only because it was convenient. I am not an affiliate.