Bye-bye Africa.

Once again I apologize for the lack of blogging. I am in the Heathrow Airport trying desperately not to cry. It is all I have been doing for the past 12 hours. I had a home and a family in Africa for the past two months and I was not ready to say goodbye. People in Africa are always saying that once you've been there it gets in your blood, I am now a prime example of that. I know that I have written about events that have happened there, but I don't think I have told you about the little things that happen daily that will make me miss this place the most.

The fact that you are greeted by a smile, a wave, and always a "Hello, how are you?" by everyone you come in contact with. Whether it be a stranger or someone you see everyday.

The hand shake. It's hard to explain without seeing it, but it's like everyone in Livingston has a secret handshake with each other.

The Children. (This is the biggest for me.)


The way that some of them chant "Mazungu!" over and over again as we drive by.

• The fact that they can be covered in dirt, in tattered clothing, shoeless, but still be the happiest children I have ever seen.




• The way they sing. Especially their version of the ABC's. They sing the whole song, but it's as if the person who taught it to them told them to stop at the end. They took it as part of the song so they actually yell "STOP!".




• The way the answer "yes." to everything, whether it be a yes or no question. EX: Me: "What did you learn in school today?" Kid: "Yes."




• The way they are obsessed with John Cena. It is so random that out of all the athletes in the world, they only know him. They will constantly do his trademark, hand in front of the face, move.

The way strait grown men hold hands walking down the street. Homosexuality is illegal in Zambia, but these men are just really good friends and want to hold hands.


The way you see monkeys, elephants, and giraffes while driving down the street as often as you would see stray cats in the US. And side note to this- the way people have to roll up their windows and lock their doors, not because they are afraid of a person stealing their car, but because monkeys steal EVERYTHING inside it!


The village markets. The fact you can find anything from vegetables to flip flops to tires, and everyone is ready to bargain for a good price. I also love how the people there call me "Sista from anotha motha"

The sunsets on the Zambezi.

The volunteers. There were three in particular that became my family and I know I will keep in touch with them forever.

The way everyone says "TIA!" (This is Africa). It can be used in any situation. The water goes off. -TIA The bus is late. -TIA You smell like BO -TIA You see elephants walking next to your car on the street -TIA

My attitude here (Which I plan on keeping when I get back.) Before I left I will admit I was a little high maitnance (just a little). There was a time where I refused to eat in a B or C restaurant, and I wouldn't stay in motels because I thought they were dirty.Well, I can honestly say that I am pretty much over all that.


I will love Africa forever, and miss everything about it. But I know I will be back there again very soon.


So, now for pictures. I apologize for the lack of them, but now that I am in England it will be easier to post them.

My House:

My African Family:

The Crazy Freaking Animals:

Rapid 7 and my most favorite car in the world (owned by one of my favorite people in Africa):

My Kids:

Maramba Farm (where some of the volunteering takes place):

Maramba Village Market:

Victoria Falls:

The Zambezi at Sunset:

My New Obsession

Sense I have been here, I have done many cool things. But none compare to what I did two weeks ago, and continue doing every Saturday... white water rafting on the Zambezi. I am obsessed, so obsessed in fact that I have gone twice and am planning on going at least two more times before I leave. The river is a grade 5 river, which means that it is really intense. I've done the whole Colorado River thing, but it doesn't even compare. The rapids have names such as: The Devil's Toilet Bowl, The Man Eater, and (the scariest) Mother. I have had three near death experiences, and I still cannot stop.

This is one of those blogs that can only be described through pictures. This one is Mother. Keep your eyes on the converse.

The Real Africa

Again I apologize for the back blogging.

A week and a half ago, I had my first face to face encounter with someone with HIV, and it was a horrifying experience. I was on my first day of medical home based care, which I was already nervous about. The most medical training I've had is my mom's stories from the ICU. Another volunteer and I headed out along with two women as interpreters, and our trusty medical bag. We arrived at the girl's house (which was basically a shack) and there she was sitting on a tarp in the yard. When I saw her, I almost started crying. She was about 5'9" and 85 pounds, max. She was literally skin and bones, except for her feet. They were so swollen, it looked like she was wearing combat boots with toes.

We sat down next to her and took out her chart (a notebook that is split into two columns: problem and action). The chart explained that she had TB, and that she had been having diarrhea. Under the action column it kept saying "told her to go to the clinic". I asked her if she had ever gone and she said no. When I asked her why, she told me she had no money, and was to weak to walk the 3 blocks. She also told me how hungry she was and that her mom gave her very little food, and would not give her a mosquito net. When I confronted the mom, she informed me that there was no money for food or mosquito nets. I gave the mom a bag of maize, which is basically like corn meal, but after that we didn't know what to do. So finally, I was like, "Fuck it, I am calling a cab and we will take her to the clinic ourselves". Obviously, she was never going to go and if the two of us went with her, she would probably get helped quicker.
The cab came, and it took both me and the other volunteer to get her up and into the car. The mom wanted to stay home, but we told her that she had to come or I would take the maize away. Now, I know that sounds harsh, but this woman did not seem concerned in the slightest that her daughter looked like she was going to die any minute. She didn't have any other children to take care of , and no one else was home. She just didn't want to go. Finally, she got into the cab and we left.

We arrived at the clinic and it was insanely crowded. Now when I use the word "clinic", I use it very loosely. There are no doctors, just nurses and a clinical advisor. There is dirt everywhere, cockroaches everywhere, and there was a faint smell of vomit. We found a nurse and told her we needed a clinical advisor. it took a few minutes, but we were finally aloud to see him. He ran a couple of tests on her and told us that not only did she have TB, but she was HIV Positive, and the swelling in her feet was a result of a malignant cancer. Basically, she was dying and that she had to go to the hospital so that they could make her more comfortable. I had to put my sun glasses on because I started crying.

They told us to put her into a bed until the ambulance arrived. Again, it took both me and the other volunteer to move her from the adviser's desk to the bed. When I pulled back the sheets to get her into the cot, I found a dirty scalpel blade lying right next to her feet. I seriously started gagging. I thought I was going to throw up right there next to the bed. We got rid of it, and got her situated in bed. We told the mother we were leaving, and to stay with her daughter. Se the told me that she did not want to wait anymore and that she was coming back with us. This is when I lost it. I started yelling at her, not caring if she could understand me or not. I told her that she was her mom and that she was responsible for her. That she couldn't just leave because she was tired and wanted to go home.

I finally got back to the house and had a severe melt down. Jamie and Gemma, my project managers comforted me, and told me that I did the right thing. Overall, it was a very tough day, but one where I think I made a difference. Not all days are like that though. Sometimes I go to the clinic and have a great time. I meet some really great people, and some adorable kids.

Check out this picture:

Zim Trip Part 2

Okay, so I know I am supposed to be blogging all the time, but it is hard to get enough time. For those of you who don't know, I have decided to stay another month. So the blogging will continue till November! Back to Zim Trip Part 2

That night we went to this restaurant called BOMA. It reminded me of an African version of Casa Bonita in Colorado. The moment we got there, they made us dress up in African fabric. I think pictures would be best to describe this place.




After we were seated they came around with a ceremonial drink, which tasted a like pee, but everyone had to drink it to be polite. They then had us go to a buffet of every type of meat you could think of. Being that I was in Africa, I decided that it was my job to try every single thing. I ate Ostrich, Crocodile, and Warthog. The Warthog was my favorite.



I then got to the Worm section of the buffet. As I said earlier, I tried everything. Here is a before and after shot.



When we finished eating, They gave all the guests drums to bang on and dance around with. The whole time I was doing it, I just kept thinking that the Salek family would dominate if they were here.

After dancing, my friends and I went to see the witch doctor in his little tent. He told our fortunes using bones. All the stuff he told me was a little far fetched, but he told it while his lazy eye was wondering around. It made everything sound much more believable.

So, overall it was a pretty amazing trip.

Zim Trip Part 1

I am finally able to blog! I got the morning off because I worked the night shift at the clinic last night. Right now, I am at this cool little restaurant outside of town, waiting for my zigzag special to be served and I am not leaving till I am caught up. Here is goes:

I returned Sunday from a weekend that will probably be the most memorable in my life. And finally, I am able to show you what I mean through pictures, rather than just explain it to you.

This last weekend we took a trip to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. There were 22 in our group and all of us stayed at a lodge in the center of town. We arrived on Friday night and went to a restaurant in this hotel. they had a huge menu, but only had 3 things in stock. Because of what's going on with the economy and the inflation in Zim. There is no food in the stores, hence no food at restaurants. Anyway, it was pretty relaxing. All of us played the game where you write names and places where they met, fold paper, and pass it around. I for some reason thought that our family invented this game, but when I told my friends about it, they informed me that this game has existed in England for quite sometime. I also was introduced to the game of Rugby, and was forced to watch the World Cup where England got their asses beat. People in our group were less than happy.

The next morning we woke up early, and headed for the Lion Encounter. I knew that we would be hanging out with lions, but really had no idea what to expect. Our guide, JB, introduced himself and explained what the lion encounter was all about. He had us all sign a paper that basically said that we won't sue there company if we get attacked. I was a little hesitant at first, but still cocky about the whole thing so I signed. They then handed us skinny 3 feet long sticks, and told us that if the lion starts to bite or claw, we are supposed to point the stick at them and say, "NO!"......Um....really? That is when the cockiness melted away, and pure fear took it's place. 1. They acted like this clawing and biting was an everyday occurrence, and 2. If a 200 lb, full grown lion comes up to attack me, I am supposed to point a dinky twig at him and say, NO?! I was pretty much freaking out at that point. It wasn't until I actually saw then that I became petrified with fear. They were not enclosed in a cage, they were roaming free on a reserve where they were fed by volunteers, but also were able to hunt baboons (which we are descendants of, by the way. Do you see the correlation?). So, I couldn't help but think that maybe this was not going to end well for me. All the volunteers were making fun of me the whole time because every time one of them would even approach a lion, I would yell, "Don't step on their tail!' or "Watch out for the tail!" We finally found the lions, Loco and Londo, lounging underneath some trees. They were huge! JB started asking who wanted to pet these lions, and so I stood in the corner behind a volunteer and did not raise my hand. Eventually, I got up the nerve to touch them. As approaching them, JB informed me that they are actually mild mannered when they are not looking you in the eye. Mine looked me in the eye. The minute they started to, the four guides started banging there sticks together to get him to look away. As if it wasn't scary enough, now I every time the lion turned it's head, I started to hear loud banging from every side of me. As the encounter went on, I got a little cocky. I even got yelled at for misplacing my stick. I let one of the cubs licked my hand. And at the end of the encounter, I tried to just walk up and pet the cub (not the smartest idea), and he tried to pounce on me. So, that was the end of my lion encounter. Oh! and by they way, the man who owns the lion encounter has one arm. Can you guess why?

Here is what you are waiting for:

This is my first time seeing him.

My first time touching him, if you can't tell, I am very scared.

As you can see, I am getting closer. the cockiness is setting in.

Yes, I am walking him.

The Next stop on my lovely trip was the Elephant Back Safari. Now this was definitely cool, but not as cool as the lion encounter. Really, how many time do people go on Safaris, let alone elephant back safaris. We didn't see any animals, but it was fun. My favorite part was getting on and off. Anyway, I will let the pictures speak for themselves:

This will have to be it for right now. My battery is about to die. But, there will be more tomorrow. The restaurant we went to was amazing, and also very blog worthy.

A Typical Day in Africa

I have had some requests for a typical day for me here in Zambia including specific details. So, here it goes:

6:55 -I wake up. I get up out of my double bed, along with two of the other volunteers. One is really laid back and cool, and the other really sucks. She is pompous and condescending. Anyway, I go down stairs and eat breakfast, which usually consists of cereal and whole milk (I have gotten used to it.). I sit and talk with my cute new gay friend, Steven. We usually talk about how really really miss cleanliness, and Whole Foods. Then, I go get dressed.

7:30- The van comes and picks us up and takes us to the various schools. Mine is the furthest, so I chat with the driver, Joseph and the various other people that tag along. This could be anyone from the driver's friends, to the coordinator, to other volunteers. There are no paved roads, so the trip is extremely bumpy. It also consists of a lot of waving because the people aren't used to seeing a bunch of white people on a bus. They stare and wave a lot, so we wave back.

7:45-11:20- I teach 5th grade at the Mwandi Community School. My teacher's name is Zack, and he is very welcoming. It's just hard to watch him teach in a way that is so different from how I did, I teach English and Literacy, and I am trying to spice it up a bit because the way they he was doing it was really boring. I asked if it would be alright if I added some stuff I learned, and he was totally fine with it. I love all the kids even though they are really shy. I still think it will be a while till they warm up to me. The classroom itself is not like any classroom I have ever taught in. It's the size of my bedroom and has stuff piled in the back. There are no posters or work on the walls, which I hope to change soon. Another thing that was tough to get used to was the fact that Zack hits the kids as a punishment. If they misbehave, he will take a wooded board eraser, make them stick out there hands, and hits them really hard. We were told not to do or say anything f this happens because it's part of there culture. Also, they do a lot of singing, talking, reading about AIDS and abstinance. It was a little uncomfortable at first, but it makes sense considering it's one of the leading killers in Zambia. One of the reading passages had a picture of a prostitute and a coffin, and I just kept thinking to myself that this would never pass at Rainbow Valley.

11:30-2:15- This is my lunch/break time. I usually come home, where our cook, Ivy, has set out stuff for tuna sandwiches. I am kind of getting sick of tuna sandwiches, but I eat them because she is the sweetest lady ever, and I don't want to hurt her feelings. After lunch, I go upstairs and put on my bathing suit, along with massive amount of jungle strength bug spray (no more bug bites). I lay out at the pool till it's time to go to the next project, or I go into town and blog from my favorite fly infested, wireless Internet cafe.

2:15-4:30- These projects very. Some days you may do HIV Education in the rural communities, or farming, or home based care (which is basically where you go and visit patients who are HIV positive or who have TB, and just talk to them to see how they are), or adult literacy, or building. I did building today and it was dirty, but extremely fun. We are building places for the toilets at this mud hut school. I used a wheel barrow, and mixed cement, and laid blocks. It got annoying using the spreader, so I started using my hands. It wasn't till about 45 minutes later, that I found out it was quick drying, and it wasn't a good idea to use my hands. They are a little dry now, but it was totally worth it. We finished early so we got to play with the school kids. I learned a new game called Sililo and got my ass kicked.

4:30-7:00- We eat dinner and talk. Dinner usually consists of some sort sausage or beef (it's kind of gross, but again, I eat it to be nice). Occasionally, we will even play boggle!

7:00-till bed- This is when we go to a bar for a drink or two. Rhapsody's is often picked, but lately I really like going to The Rite Pub. Every time we go I get a Mosi (which is beer), and a waffle with ice cream. YUM.

So there it is my day, in a nut shell. I also wanted to share with all of you that they recently offered me a job to stay here as a coordinator. They want me to stay until January. But I think 5 months is a little long, even though I love it here. I said I would consider a month, but I have to check with my job at home, and see if my wonderful ex-roommates are willing to take Sammy just a bit longer. I am just wondering what my readers feel about this.


One more thing...Update on my camera: I nixed the Rastafarian idea. But this adorable teacher at one of the schools named, Norbert, has a friend who will fix it. So we will see. Maybe there will be pics posted soon!

First Full Day of Volunteering

(This was written last Friday. Also, I apologize for the misspelled words. This one is much better.)

So I had my first full day of volunteering yesterday. And I have to say it was an enlightening experience. In the morning I went to my school, which is called Mwandi Community School. The kids in the class were so sweet and eager to learn. It was hard not to feel sorry for them. There clothes looked like they hadn't been washed in months, and more than half didn't even have shoes. All the kids in my class are orphans who have lost their parents to AIDS. They are living with relatives in the community. This community is unlike any community I have ever seen. It's more like a compound. It basically is a 500 yard radius filled with tiny shacks made out of mud, sticks and fabric. My teacher took me on a tour of this place, and it was like a slap in the face. I have never seen anything like it in my life. It was dirty and there was trash strewn around everywhere. There were chicken roaming around, and starving dogs looking for food. I went around to talk to the locals, and the most surprising part of all of this, is that the people are happy. They are so welcoming, and are really cheerful and nice. At one point, my teacher took me to "the bar" of the community. It is basically a large mud hut. The people inside were drinking there local beer, which looks like mud water. They kept wanting me to try some, but it was just too much for me. Another funny thing, is that you don't realize that some of these kids have never seen a white person before. I was talking to this mom who had a one year-old and a two year-old. When these babies saw me, they ran screaming like I was the boogie monster. It made me a little sad, but if I had never seen a white person before, I would be scared too. In Zambia when the kids see a white person, they call them a Mazungu. Another volunteer and I have started a game kind of like punch buggy. When a Zambian calls you a Mazungu, the other person gets to punch you in the arm. I will probably bruise from that.

In the afternoon I had sports coaching I was a little bit more at ease about it now that I had already gone. I ended up teaching the girls cheers back from from my Blue Vally Tiger days. But instead of coaching we ended up watching a soccer game between our kids and kids from another school. It was actually really exciting. People were cheering, and doing flips every time our kids scored. I took lots of pictures, but to the kids disappointment they couldn't see what the picture looked like in the screen. They are so used to a white person with a digital camera, that they were pissed when they saw mine was disposable. During the game, I had my first experience with a public African toilet. When I told the kids I had to pee, they just laughed. I finally found one and I made Steve and Matthew (two other volunteers) come with me. Some nice girls that lived in the church let me use theirs. It was very disgusting, but I am very proud of myself for getting through it. Afterwards, I had a nice chat with the girls and I let them have my hand sanitizer. They had never heard of it before, and couldn't believe that something cleaned your hands without soap and water. We started to walk to the bus when I saw three kids begging for a box of cookies from a stand on the side of the road. I bought them each something, and you would have thought I had just given them a thousand dollars.

I feel very strange here. It's great being able to help people and do these amazing activities, but at the same time it hard to feel good when you are working with kids who don't even have shoes. And then twenty minutes later you are booking 100 dollar safaris.