When most people go on vacation, others assume that they just visit a different city or another state for a while. Rarely do people think about someone going out of the country.

Senior Linnea Searls went on vacation out of the United States this past summer. She traveled to Zambia, Africa.

Searls took three flights to get to Zambia. She went from Kansas City to Chicago, Chicago to Ethiopia and then Ethiopia to Lusaka, the capital of Zambia.

During her two-week stay there, Searls went on a safari, a river cruise, and went shopping and hiking. She also stayed in a resort in Livingston that was right by the national landmark Victoria Falls, one of the largest waterfalls in the world.

While going on the safari, Searls got to see a variety of different animals.

“We saw giraffes, hippos, antelope, some lions. Animals that you wouldn’t see here very much in America,” Searls said.  

Searls’ mom is a physical therapist and was invited to go down to Africa for a medical project. Her mom got to watch some doctors perform surgeries on people, and she toured hospitals looking for places to send students so they can stay and study or maybe even work in Africa.

Her mom worked mostly at a Catholic hospital, so it was all run by Zambian nuns that Searls got to meet and talk to.  

When her mom was out working, Searls and her dad would either watch soccer or take to the streets and walk around and talk to some of the locals there.

“Everyone is very friendly there [Africa],” Searls said.

 Being there for two weeks, Searls learned a lot of new things about that part of the world.

“One fun fact about Africa is that pedestrians don’t have the right-of-way,” Searls said. “So cars will run you over if you don’t pay attention.”

Searls enjoyed her trip and came back with more knowledge about Africa to tell her peers.