Happy in Zambia.

Mongu, Zambia.   I can’t believe I’ve been in Mongu now almost 9 months.  I have come to love this little town in the west.  Filled with sand and fish!  When you look out onto the plains it feels like you are at the end of the world.  The sunsets here are amazing.  Truly some of the most spectacular I’ve seen in my lifetime.  I love my work and the people here.  I feel really busy.  I teach yoga to a small group a couple times a week (and, yes, I'm still running in the morning!) and have a network of friends which keep me busy.  When I leave my office I’m tired - a good kind of tired.  I travel into the field for monitoring and evaluation site visits usually twice a month which is always an adventure (one that I love).  I have learned so much about logistics as it relates to health commodities in Zambia.  I really wish I had the opportunity to stay longer here as I just feel like I am getting settled and starting to contribute.  I am really happy.  But, change is always around the corner...and as we all know wherever you go, there you are.

     

What's in Sioma.

This weekend we did a quick overnight trip to a tiny little town about two hours south of Mongu called Sioma.  According to Lonely Planet, the only reason to go to Sioma is Ngonye Falls and I do have to agree with them although it's worth a visit as the falls are quite beautiful and it was a nice little break from Mongu.  In order to get to Sioma, you have to take a couple of taxis and cross the Zambezi River.  But I was pleasantly surprised at how organized this process was? It amazes me sometimes how transport can just work out as you are getting around Africa (I mean you still have to wait but things usually do come together).

Sioma really is quite beautiful and the falls are truly spectacular – imagine Victoria Falls except there are literally no tourists around (I mean there were barely any people in the entire town)?  There is also a game park nearby which we didn't go to but maybe next time?  Now that we know it’s really not that difficult to get to the area and I’ll be coming back in a couple of weeks for work to a neighboring district (Shangombo) and I’m told that I’ll get to see game as we drive to the health facilities.  Pretty spectacular.

I've put a couple of pictures up so make sure to visit my Photo Album!

Sending my love from Sioma.