It's Christmas.

So I was prepared to be bitter and sad as I wrote about Christmas today. But I’m not. I feel lucky. I am experiencing new places, meeting new people and doing amazing work. Even though I don’t get to be with my family in the comforts of a traditional American Christmas, I am waking up in Africa. The rain is pouring down, I am drinking tea and I will get to spend the day here in Mongu with new friends as we pull together to create a day celebrating where we are. And I feel quite lucky to be here.

I hope that wherever you are, you enjoy this day. Merry Christmas! 

The amazing Patrick and Carl - my own Christmas miracles.





Our feast.  The squash at the top were for my benefit.





I had some trouble setting the automatic timer.



But we finally got a group photo before sitting down to eat.

Can Talk.

Suppose you were given a random topic to talk about for 3 minutes in front of a group?  What would you say?   It doesn't sound that difficult until you are standing in front of the room trying to make something up.   Talk about your first love.  Explain a recipe.  Talk about the most boring meeting you have ever attended.  The idea is to use your creativity to make it interesting and engaging.  So I just finished a workshop where we had to successfully complete this exercise which was done as a way to get people comfortable talking in front of groups.  The training was done both to teach us about the essential medicines and medical supplies logistics system used here in Zambia and then we also learned how to teach others about this logistics system (a training of trainers).  Eventually, I will get the opportunity to teach health center, hospital and other ministry of health staff how to use the logistics systems that are essential in the process of ensuring that drugs are available for use here in Zambia.  So during the training we were being molded into trainers.  The training was actually quite good.  Long.  But good.  We stayed in a hotel which was in a town called Kitwe which is in the Northwestern part of Zambia (the Copperbelt) for a couple of weeks.  This is where they have all of the mines.  They mine mostly copper but also other minerals.  We passed one of the largest open pit mines during some of our travels there in the region (I will try to post pictures later).  The town itself wasn't much but it was quite big and more developed in comparison to Mongu (I’m learning most areas are more developed than Mongu in general).  So, I took advantage of shopping in the big grocery store, going to the market to buy material, enjoying some decent food, and hanging out with my fellow JSI friends.  One of the staff who was with me in Mongu mentioned that I didn’t have my “Mongu face on.”  When I questioned him as to what this meant he just said that I looked more lively and happy during the training...being out of Mongu.  I guess having a social life and friends around will do that?  Hmm…I have got to find some social networks in Mongu.  This is not going to be an easy task.  

Senanga.

I survived my first trip in the field.  Barely.  Okay, so it wasn’t quite that dramatic but it certainly was an adventure.  I wasn’t sure what to expect going into the week but, well, I don't even know if there are words.  On our first day after we met with staff from the District Health Office we set out to visit our first health center (and in case you are wondering the difference between a health center and a health post is simply the level of services offered).  After disembarking from the tar road maybe 20 or 30km from the town of Senanga on what didn’t even look like a path in the sand we started making our way to the health center.  I commented that I would have never been able to find this center again if my life depended on it (as we were bouncing through the bush on an incredibly sandy path – imagine driving along the ocean on beach type sand...except sandier).  There was a moment of silence and then everyone started laughing.  “This isn’t remote!"  was the comment from my peers. “We are barely in the bush.”  Little did I know how right they were…

The next several days were spent being thrown around in a Land Cruiser (thank goodness we were in a vehicle with 4 wheel drive) as we visited these rural health centers and posts.  One day we traveled over 10 hours and we only made it to 2 centers.  And, yet, when we would get to these centers there would be people lined up waiting to receive medical services or get their HIV drugs (most having walked for hours or sometimes days).  It was truly a humbling experience.  These centers provide a lifeline for the Zambians who live in these rural communities.  I am still contemplating what it would mean to live such a remote existence.  I don’t know that I can even begin to imagine even after having a very, very limited view into what life is like through my Peace Corps service in South Africa.  It doesn’t even compare to what I've seen so far.

I have a few pictures which I've put up if you'd like to take a look although they don't really do it justice.  The one of the man holding a lizard like creature is my favorite.  We just ran into him in the middle of the bush - he was herding some cows and had killed this creature and was planning on making a meal of it - yummy.

https://plus.google.com/photos/108740867339265842929/albums/5813573151092235217

(I'm having some trouble with my pictures link to the right...hopefully the link above will work!)

Speaking of meals, I hope everyone is enjoying a Thanksgiving meal surrounded by friends and family today.  While I am not officially celebrating I am thinking of you all (and I must admit I wish I was eating some tofurkey and pie).  Alas, I will have to settle for nshima and veggies.  

Happy Thanksgiving! 

New Job.

It’s really just like any other new job.  For the most part, I am feeling a bit lost and unsure of myself but terribly overeager.  I want to make a good impression but am not really sure how to impress anyone yet other than to show up on time (on my trusty bike wearing my fabulously trendy bike helmet which causes me to stand out even more than I already do as the only white person in town because no one wears a helmet but the kids seem to like me in any form really so I suppose it doesn’t matter), read countless reports and documents, ask many annoying questions and help out in any small way I can.  But, I can’t tell you how good it feels to just be working again!  I’m in an office with other people who are all quite good at what they do?!  How can I not love my job and feel very lucky even if I am mostly just trying to figure out the difference between a health post and a health center.  

Anyway, I’ll be leaving Mongu this weekend to participate in my first M&E (monitoring and evaluation) trip with my fellow PPHLO (this is my newly appointed title which stands for Provincial Public Health Logistics Officer).  We are going to be visiting Senanga District which is to the South of Mongu.  There are 7 Districts in Mongu (soon to be 8) and I am learning that some of them are quite remote and challenging to travel to (we have to use a pontoon boat to cross over into some of the more remote areas!) but I believe Senanga isn’t too far removed – we’ll see.  We will be visiting the District Health Office and then throughout the week we will be going to rural health centers (and health posts, I presume) to check the supply of HIV drugs and other health commodities at each center.  I am looking forward to learning more about my new role as well as getting to see additional parts of the Western Province.

These are the 7 Districts in the Western Province (they will soon be dividing Sesheke District into two separate Districts).

And, dare I say, congratulations America!  Welcome back, Obama.  

Welcome to Mongu.

I have arrived in Mongu. And I have also left again. Well, I’m just back in Lusaka for some more training. Which means I spent all of 4 days in my new home but it was good to be able to see where I’ll be living for the next year. Luckily, I was taken there (and back) by a driver from my new organization so I didn’t have to ride the bus (although I’m told the buses are actually pretty decent). It was about a 7 hour drive to/from Lusaka and, yes, we drove through Kafue National Park. I did get to see some amazingly beautiful elephants (like right by the car!) and also impala, kudu, warthogs, monkeys, baboons, and some other deer-like animals (I don't know what they were).  No lions or giraffes or leopards but maybe next time. We also stopped at the Kafue River to get a couple of pictures and we were accosted by a guard telling us to move our car out of the road (I think he was just drunk although to his credit we were parked in the middle of the road). Upon arrival in Mongu, I got to see my house but didn’t get to stay in it the first night. Apparently, the water pump was broken (yes! I have running water!) so I stayed at the lovely Dolphin Inn. It was very quaint in a strange sort of way (and colorful) and I also got to meet the two other Americans who live in Mongu. They are both working for an agriculture project and have been around for a few months. At least I know two people? The next day I moved into my house and, man, do I have a ton of space. It’s a 3 bedroom house with 2 bathrooms (no showers just bathtubs so it’s essentially like taking a bucket bath as you work to pour running water over you...although no hot water but I am quite content because it's extremely hot all of the time anyway). And in the rest of my house there is so much empty space it’s kind of silly. I’m just using the one bedroom and they other rooms will remain empty since I do not have the funds nor the need to get items to furnish them. So, I’m doing lots of handstands and cartwheels to fill my time.

The Mongu terrain is a bit challenging. It is a quite sandy as I was warned. Which makes transport difficult. I will have to get myself to/from work everyday which is about 5km. I do have a bike but we’ll see how that goes in the sand. And, all of this sand makes the water a nice brown color so I’m busy filtering water and it still has a lovely rust color and somewhat sandy taste. But, all in all, Mongu seems good. Still lots to learn.  

I didn't have much time to explore the beautiful flood plains, see the king's palace or check out all of the hot spots in town (aka, the many tuck shops and bars).  But you can check out the photos of my house and those amazing elephants.  And, my new address is posted!!  Start writing letters and sending lots of books (I am in need of good books) and Halloween treats!

Sending my love from Mongu.

Zamfantastic.

I made it to Zambia! Actually, I have been here two weeks already. But I have yet to get out and see much of the country because I have been immersed in training, training, and more training in the large capital city of Lusaka (which is really kind of just a big city)? But, it’s fine…because I love my new job! I feel incredibly lucky to have this amazing opportunity and I am also happy to be back in Africa. I’ll tell you all about what I will be doing soon enough but for now, here is a picture of the other two American volunteers that I have been training with (Jonathan and Margaret) in the JSI office in Lusaka. We will be in Lusaka for about another week before we leave for our respective posts in the provincial offices (we won’t be near each other at all but hopefully we’ll have opportunities to see each other during trainings in Lusaka, etc).

So, I have learned that I will be going to the Western Province to the town of Mongu. These are some of the things people have been telling me about Mongu:

• It’s really hot.

• When it’s not really hot, it floods. Like roads close and people get cut off from service.

• There’s a lot of sand…not just a little sand. lots of sand. One person gave me a visual of sand spilling over the top of your shoes when you walk (hopefully this was an exaggeration).

• You can get great fish in Mongu because it sits near the Zambezi River. Too bad I don’t eat fish.

• It is the major rice growing region of Zambia. Everyone tells me the “best” rice comes from Mongu. Oh, and they also grow cashews.

• I will be learning/speaking Lozi (which is somewhat similar to the Bantu language I learned in South Africa, thank goodness).

• There is a really cool African ceremony called the Kuomboka Ceremony which takes place in March/April and I’ve been told thousands of people come to the area to see the Lozi King journey from his dry-season palace to his wet-season palace via a huge wooden canoe. Sounds pretty amazing?

• I get to travel through (literally through – there are no fences or gates or anything) a game park to get to Mongu. People see lions, elephants, kudu right by or even on the road…and you don’t have to pay to do a game drive. That’s pretty amazing?! And sort of dangerous…

But, this is all informaiton that I'm just picking up from others. I will tell you about my new home when I get there. I’m looking forward to actually seeing what Mongu has to offer. I just like saying Mongu.

I don’t have an address yet but when I do, please send me letters…and packages too.  Maybe I'll send you some rice. 

On the road again.

It's strange to be preparing yet again to leave. Strangely, I have those same feelings I had almost 3 years ago when I left for South Africa. I am anxious, thrilled, worried, ecstatic, sad…I thought I would be more prepared having gone through this before but it’s still sort of overwhelming. I feel like I haven’t packed the right things or said goodbye to everyone or followed up on some outstanding issue. So, on the eve of my departure, I thought I would do something very important. Post some pictures on my blog (check out the link on over there to the right).


Can’t wait to meet you Zambia…prepared or not.


Self-portrait of me while gathering items from storage out of parent's garage in Colorado.