2008-11-19 – Wednesday
-Had a laidback day reading physics
-Was going to go to Zingalume basic school to see whether the chongolowa club (a national environmental education club) was meeting but I could see rain just about where the school is
2008-11-20
-got some things at the market and tried probably with no success to help someone setup an email account on his phone
-Began reinstalling windows, first tried to repair the OS but to no success so I had to wipe the entire drive and completely reinstall it, it was still in the process of reinstalling when I needed to go to the meeting
-had another computer lab meeting and we agreed to set up one computer at the District Teaches Resource Center (DRC)
2008-11-21
-tried to install word but MS installer was not installed, so I spent a long time trying various things
2008-11-22
-read physics
-packed a little
2008-11-23
-packed a little more
-read a little more physics
-were supposed to be having a meeting to finish the goat milk stand but I guess everyone was at a funeral
2008-11-24
-spent the day trying to reinstall word but the power kept going out so I read PDF’s on electronics and neuroscience I had put on my phone until I needed to leave
2008-11-25
-today was supposed to be the big day I began my move to the Farmers Training Center so I spent the morning packing and making sure everything that couldn’t go on the first trip there would not get wet by the leak in my roof
-at about 1300-1400 my APCD and the eastern GSO finally came and that is when I got the news that I would not be moving.
-apparently they felt that there were more reasons for me to stay then to move. Why they couldn’t have just had a phone conversation a month ago and I could have gotten this message then I have no idea but I am just going to put this ordeal behind me and move on. The biggest annoyance is that I should have started my rainy season garden a month ago.
-road back with them to Chipata and got there at about 1700
-went to the market and Shopright and got fruit, vegetables (about 40 tomatoes because I was going to make tomato sauce) and some other things although I didn’t get quite everything
2008-11-26
-First went to the bank and got a debit card so I can get money when the bank is closed, then went to the Zain (used to be Celltel until they were bought out) and got another SIM card because the one I had wasn’t working. I guess the person who can do that wasn’t around so I will need to go back tomorrow
-went to the internet place but the person working there had to go out so I couldn’t use their power source but needed to sit outside and use the internet there. The speed was going slower then dial-up so I went back to the house and had lunch
-when I went back to the internet place it was back open and I was able to use an Ethernet connection which was the fastest I’ve had since I’ve been here. I spent most of the time looking into ham radio as a means of connecting to the internet. Basically what I found is that ham internet is the same thing as Wi-Fi only instead of being limited to around a watt of power it can transmit at say 100 watts. The only issue is finding out what Zambia’s regulations are regarding radio transmission.
2008-11-27
-went to the “down shops” in search of a bunch of things
-went to an electronics store to see whether they could make a generator that would function at the proper rpm. They said I should get a “dynamo” charger and they would modify it although I wasn’t sure about that, I said I would look for one.
-got back and finished cooking some sauce I had made, then watched movies until the big feast began. I ate enough to last a week, the food was good although I missed my aunts cooking back in the states and the one thing a great deal of my extended family can back really well (with the exception of me) is pie. The pie here was pretty good, and someone had made three ice-cream cakes although they used a lot of artificial flavor and color.
-I then sat in on some high stakes poker until it was time for a phone call from my extended family. The VOIP connection wasn’t working however which was really frustrating
2008-11-28
-In the morning we had our provincial meeting, then I tried to use the internet, but the power was out so I went to the Zamtel Chipata office (they’re the land line telephone provider) and inquired about dial-up costs as that is the way we will connect up to our computer lab until we can find funding for a broadband connection.
-the power was still out so I went to the market again in search of the generator and a few other things. I got almost everything I needed save for a generator specifically designed for a cycle. I think I will have to get a vehicle generator, then change the rpm by using a big wheel connected to the small axel of the generator if I still want to pursue this project.
2008-11-29
-went to the market and got some more bananas and mangos
-sat outside the internet place and used the Wi-Fi access till the power ran out on my battery. I did some research into cell phone call back that would let me dial a pre-assigned number, then that number would call me back and let me enter the number I was trying to call. Since Zain and MTN don’t charge for incoming calls the call would be free. I haven’t found quite what I’m looking for but I hope I can before I need to go back so that I can call anyone for basically free. I also did some research into how to grow pyrethrum from seed for extraction and data to back up a letter I want to right to the appropriate ministry in Chadiza about why the rampant burning of trash and brush going on in the BOMA is bad for peoples health, bad for the environment and why there are better ways to improve soil.
-when my battery got drained, I went back to the house and ate lunch and then worked on PC paperwork for the rest of the night.