Category: (c)2008 Aaron E-J

Blog 2008 07 24

…went to bank & market

…packed everything up had lunch and took a taxi to the taxi rank, where there was a taxi to Chadiza which was great except it took about three or more hours before it left so I didn’t get home till dark

Blog 2008 07 23

…got up pa 345 (early) and took a taxi to the bus terminal

…bus ride took about 9.5 hours (700-1530) most of which I spent listening to some of the podcasts I had downloaded

…got to Chipata, took taxi to PCPH and I think the power was out so just hung around, although I might have done something else

Am in Lusaka today although will be on the road to Chipata early tomorrow. According to the dentist, the reason my gums have been hurting is because I have been brushing too hard. She prescribed a mouth wash that I am supposed to use after every meal until it get used up and said that I need to brush more… although apparently lighter. Hopefully her prognosis is correct. All this was yesterday. Today I met with Ba Donald, my APCD (Associate PC Director, the head of the life program), and we discussed getting a three wheeled vehicle. Then I tried for a final time to get internet on my phone, going first to one cell phone company (MTN), where it wasn’t successful and I guess they don’t even do email so it wouldn’t be that useful anyway. Then I went to another company (Celltel) where, low and behold – SUCCESS! So I will now be posting a lot more. Put 23 fairly large sized photos on my blog site (see below), couldn’t put them on http://www.otherrealm.org because the Wi–Fi at the Lusaka office needs some parts, but it was nice to have a fairly fast connection with unlimited band width, even if it was on a government computer that doesn’t let you do anything. A longer blog detailing the past two weeks still hopefully to come. Till then!

2008 07 20
Got up at 345 and got to the bus stop at 515. I was slightly worried when I got there because there was no one there, but I called a number that was on a flier at the stand and he said he would be coming shortly. The bus left at 600 and got there at about 1530 (9 ½ hours if you don’t want to do the math) then I got a taxi to Shopright, bought some good granola, powdered skim milk 1kg of peanut butter and maybe a few other things that can only be found here in the capital. I then walked, carrying my hiking backpack loaded down with everything I brought with me from Chipata plus everything I had just bought, the kilometer or so to Arcades, the other mall, because I remember the grocery store there had good bread. Well they were all out of whole grain just about everything, although I finally bought some whole wheat buns. Spar is basically Shopright except everything is more expensive. Got a taxi to Mogul, the guest house all the PCV’s who have business at the Zambian PC headquarters stay. Checked in, started to walk to the office but, as it was then dark, wasn’t certain where the headquarters was so I went back and met the other PCV’s who was staying there then decided to splurge on Chinese food because I basically hadn’t had any since I left Connecticut, however it wasn’t the best dish I’ve ever had. Got to bed later then I wanted so I probably won’t get quite as early as a start as I wanted.

2008 07 19
Well again the power was out in the morning so I couldn’t work on my laptop without draining the battery. I was also going to go to Shopright, however their generator was broken so they were closed and would not open until 1200. I think the power came back on before 1200 so I might have worked some on my laptop, then I went to Shop when the time was right, packed everything up to leave before dawn tomorrow and did something else which might have involved eating dinner and conversing with other PCV’s, although I’m not sure. I went to bed early

This is a quick blog saying what I will be doing the next few days, a more detailed one stating my resent adventures is to come. Sunday (tomorrow) I will take a bus to Lusaka because the lower gums on the left of my mouth have been hurting me. Although I would have rather not have this dental disaster it will hopefully mean I can get some things from stores that are only in Lusaka and meet with some PC admin people face to face to talk about what I’m doing and get some feed back. Might be back in Chadiza on Tuesday, might be there longer, might even be going to South Africa (I hope not). Anyway, a longer blog to come.

2009 07 18
The first thing we did after a hurried breakfast was to go to the visa office which thankfully was open and four out eight of us got our work permits so we won’t need to go and renew our visas every month. We weren’t sure why the permits for the other four, thankfully not including me, were not there but hopefully they will come soon. That done, we waited outside the visa office for a while to get picked up by the PCVL for out field trip to the farm research place where the former Dovu volunteer now works. We got a tour of the pig barn where there were some rather large hogs, then picked up someone to learn the art of potholing – what, did you think the awful roads in Zambia were simply the act of natural erosion? Just kidding, the potholes we dug are holes which, come rainy season, can be easy places to sow seeds. It also means that fertilizer can be more concentrated, less soil needs to be disturbed and therefore weed seeds have less chance of sprouting and in general less work needs to be done for those farmers who do not have cattle of their own. After that, we learned about why cassava is a good security crop (not as good as moringa in my opinion but probably planting both is the best option) and got a tour of the rest of the research going on before we went back to the PCPH. The next two things on our agenda were how to make beds by double digging, and how to eat lunch although I can’t remember the order of which came first (possibly because I think I ate eggs). The rest of the daytime hours were spent on the second resiliency session, and then we all pitched in for a family style dinner of Indian food (the only other prevalent cuisine other then nshima and relish). When I say pitched in I refer to washing dishes; it was actually somewhat enjoyable as there were others working on our task, it is just that the water was out so we needed to do it dish-pan style. The dinner was excellent and I ate large servings of everything.

2008 07 17
Today was our first day of LIFE training, mainly intended for those PCV’s who are not in the LIFE program, but also to share skills learned in the field for those who are. After an introduction from the previous volunteer based in Dovu, we had a guest speaker from a Conservation Farming organization and then a quick session on composting. After lunch in which I ran to the market to get produce, my intake walked to the visa office which apparently closes at 1230 on Thursdays (I wonder why not Fridays) so we will need to go first thing mawa. The rest of the afternoon was spent discussing “resiliency.” We talked about what our challenges were and then began to try to find solutions. Although I’m not one to go in for discussing feelings and whatnot, it was a well done session and I probably got something from it. I was going to compose some emails and blogs but the power went out (yet another ARG in the technology field).

2008 07 16
Well I got to the BOMA at around 700 hours and got the stuff I had left in my counterpart’s house pa Monday. I got a confirmation of sorts that the AG vehicle was going to Chipata and thus began the wait. Well, at first I was worried that I had heard wrong that it was going, but then a little after 800 hours people finally started showing up, all confirming that it was. But it wasn’t until around 10:00 hours that it, a flatbed truck, finally came. When I learned that my transport would be in the back of this vehicle I definitely wished I had spent the 30,000k and taken a mini-bus. It wasn’t that bad though, I sat on my backpack which cushioned most of the many bumps, and other passengers had equally “pleasant” rides lying on two mattresses. I only had a t-shirt on though and the wind and clouds made it a rather chilly experience. When I finally got to the PCPH it was just too late to call Lusaka about the specifics of when I needed to get there and had to wait until 1400. I guess I’m going there on Sunday and will meet with the dentist first thing Monday. I also talked to my APCD and the IT person to see whether there was anything I needed to do to use the Wi-Fi connection that was being set up just after I got posted three months ago. Well, I wasn’t thinking Zam-Time because they were still waiting for some switches or something to come. This means I might not be able to download the many hours of podcasts I was hoping… ARG! Then I went to the place there is Wi-Fi in Chipata but couldn’t login although I spent a long time trying to connect and was just about to give up when someone else was able to log in, having gotten another username and password. I did the same and checked e-mail but didn’t have time to do much else as I wanted to get to Shopright before it got dark. Hurried to the store but they were out of almost everything I wanted to get, it’s a good thing I am going to Lusaka where there will be a wider selection and whole grain bread! I got a ride back with a friend of the PCV I had replaced. I definitely wished he still worked in Chadiza because he seemed really nice.