Recent Highlights From Zam

I feel like there is so much to blog about today!! For both of our conveniences, I think I will just bullet-point some major events in recent life:


• World Cup has begun! So far we have been able to watch both US games and a few other games in between. Just last night we watched the US vs. Slovenia game at one of the teacher homes on a small black and white TV where most of the game was followed through the commentator due to a blurry picture. Nevertheless, still an exciting game and a great atmosphere. Soccer really is part of life here and we have been enjoying every moment of it.

• Last week, both Joey and I had a visit from our PC supervisors. Joey’s PC supervisor stayed for a few hours and enjoyed a cup of tea and some groundnuts with us. Joy’s supervisor met us in Mkushi for an official visit at the District Ministry of Education followed by a sleepover at our site. Both visits were successful and provided us with some helpful tips to continue our work. Joey’s supervisor even commented on how he felt “right at home” when he arrived.

• At school, both Joey and I have been working on organizing a library. Because the school is grant aided, there is support from both the Zambian government as well as the Seventh Day Adventist church headquartered in the near by city Ndola. Last month the SDA Pastors came for a board meeting and wanted a library at the school. It sounded like a perfect opportunity for us to start a project and be more involved at school. One month later, the library is complete with a rule chart, labels, inventory, and colorful posters and maps on the wall. I am pleased with the outcome and tomorrow will mark the official opening day where I will hold orientation for the community and school. Of course, it will be a work in progress and will need constant attention to remain successful.

• Joey has also been doing great with his agricultural project. On Monday, he attended a meeting where the community was deciding on 10 farmers to be selected for Conservation Farming demonstration plots.

• Our house continues to improve every day. Just this week, after a visit from our supervisors, we were able to transport a bookshelf (used as a dresser to store clothes) a desk, and a chair to our site. We can’t believe how much easier it is to stay organized by having a few pieces of wood furniture around. There is also a funny side story that goes along with our furniture. After convincing a carpenter in town that he could make a small desk in 24 hours, we realized that we would probably need a chair for the desk. Well, getting the desk completed was a task in itself, so we decided the chair would have to wait. On our way home from town, we stopped to pick up our bikes from a small store on the side of the road where we had stored them. When we pulled over, I noticed a man sitting on a small wood chair watching the cars go by. After being here for almost 4 months, we are learning to be thirfty! I asked the man if I could buy the chair and he just laughed. However, I didn’t give up and showed him the desk sitting on top of the car and said his chair would be perfect for it. He still laughed. Then, I offered him 20,000 kwacha ($4 USD), a great price for a used chair. He agreed and soon I had all of the local Zambians watch me load up his chair on top of the cruiser and take off. Now, I am sitting in that chair very happy!

• It is winter season now, and the days are cold and windy. Joey and I can hardly believe it! Every morning and every evening we layer up and put on our winter hats. When the sun comes out later in the day, we are comfortable in a t-shirt and pants. The cold months will continue until August, and then September and October will be very warm until the rains come in November and last until April.

• We are very happy here and remain in good health. The diet is a change for us, but we are coping fine. We recently arranged with our host family to cook us a traditional dinner at night so we only have to spend 2 hours cooking a day instead of 3-4. Currently, groundnuts, sweet potatoes, and cabbages are in season. Bananas are just starting in come into season and they are very cheap. A bunch of bananas cost around 500 kwacha ($0.10). We have also been rationing out chocolate and coffee from America as a nice treat. We are so grateful for the packages that we have been receiving.



I think that is all for now. Both of us were preparing for a lot of down time, but as it turns out, we stay very busy and cherish the hour or two we can find to enjoy a nice book when we have it. We think about America often, but our experience here has been remarkable so far.



Happy Father’s Day!