Much has happened since last I wrote so I will just try to summarize and give some highlight stories. I also want to note that I am listening to a New England Patriots radio broadcast on the web while typing this. Even though it is the Pats I am ecstatic to hear some NFL talk radio!!
Since my last blog I have actually started to do some work! (amazing) Here are a few of the activities we have begun. There is a club of women who meet twice a week and sew. They work on patching clothes and making skirts for schoolgirls. The kids here have a dress code for school so there is a built in market for school clothes. Even if they do not sell them they can use them for their own children. Our chicken house is almost complete. Chickens are usually completely free range, which sounds great and does produce tasty chickens but is terrible for egg production. One of our villages is attempting to create a brooding house for chickens. This will allow separation of the roosters from the hens and provide some unfertilized eggs. The biggest obstacle is actually the nature of the free range chicken system. The free range chickens require absolutely no work to keep. This makes creating a chicken house a really hard sell. When you can get something for nothing is it difficult to start putting work into it and not see much improvement for quite sometime. However, the house is almost complete and the time to start selecting chickens is near. Beekeeping is already well established but we are starting to demonstrate improved hives which create better honey, higher yields and are easier on the forest. We have also started a village clean up program which has turned out to be extremely difficult. Try to imagine what home would be like without a garbage service or public dump and everyone was responsible for taking care of their own trash. That is the way it is hear and as a result you can find trash everywhere. We are trying to join forces with another organization to help tackle this huge problem.
The rainy season has recently begun. We now get rain everyday. We live in the wettest part of Zambia and December has the most rainfall. When it rains everything stops. People head for cover and any work or scheduled meetings simply stop. I hear the thunder in the distance right now. Usually, a strong sign that the rains are coming.
I spent my birthday in Livingstone. I saw Victoria Falls and holy shit that is a huge spectacle of nature. I hiked up around the top of the falls and waded in the river. The area is overrun with baboons. They are completely wild but being intelligent animals they have learned how to live with humans. While walking down to the base of the falls a large baboon tried to grab Kelly's bag. I immediately sprang into action to defend my wife. I raised my hand to hit the beast when I got a full view of his fangs and noticed that he was at least have as tall as me. Being the logical person that I am, I decided against physically assaulting the animal and resorted to yelling at it as if it was a child. The baboon let go of Kelly's bag and I thought the ordeal was over but as we walked away it reached out and grabbed my heel. For the record, yes I jumped away from the creature and was glad to see he was leaving.
The next day we went on the Zambezi rafting. This rafting put any rafting I have done at home to complete shame. There were 10 rapids during our half day trip. Four of these rapids were class five. Having your raft capsized in the middle of a class five rapid is a soul shaking experience. I loved it!! I would describe more but I think I will let any pictures Kelly puts up tell the story. If you are curious just look up whitewater rafting on the Zambezi and you can get a glimpse of the experience.
WARNING: The following is a somewhat personally damaging story but I believe it gives a good idea of the experience here. Also, depending on my writing skills, may be a bit graphic. Read at your own risk!
There is a phenomenon calling "Joining the Club" among the volunteers here. It is said everyone joins the club at some time during their service you just never know when it is your time. During one of our trips to the provincial house my friend (who shall remain unnamed) explained that he had just recently "joined the club" outside of his hut. I understood and was sympathetic while we journeyed to the house for a conference. A few days later we were getting on the crowded bus and returning to our own district. When we arrive in the BOMA it is too late to bike home so Kelly and I along with two of our friends(including the previously unnamed volunteer) shared a room at a lodge. Keep in mind that our BOMA is not on the national power grid therefore the electricity and water turn off at midnight. Around one in the morning I awoke with a rumbling and bubbling in my stomach. I was sleeping in nothing but my undies as it is very hot a muggy at night. I slipped on my pants and flip flops and proceeded out into the dark hallway of the lodge. About half way to the bathroom the dam broke. I literally shit myself in the hallway of a public lodge. I was now faced with my first decision of the evening. What to do next? I decided to proceed in the dark to the restroom and finish the job. Once I had completely unloaded it was now time to evaluate the situation. I was now sitting in the complete darkness on a full toilet and with my own feces down my left leg and into my pants. Remember, there is no water for flushing or cleaning myself. So there I sat in the darkness not sure what my next move would be. Between me and the room is about 40 feet of pitch black, public hallway and I have no light. I chose to remove my pants and return to my room, in the dark, wearing nothing but my flip flops. Fortunately, no one else was in the hallway but now I am standing naked in my completely dark broom, shit down my leg with my wife and two friends asleep in their beds. After some contemplation I ask my friend if he has a light I could use. Before he is able to respond I warn him, for his sake and that of the two female occupants, that I am completely naked. He carefully turns on the light and hands it to me. I now return down the hall with a rag, still naked mind you. I find the bucket up back up water and soak the rag. I do not have anything to scoop with so I take the rag into the public shower and proceed to clean myself as best as possible. After finishing I disposed of my soiled clothes and go down the public hall in my birthday suite once again. Fortunately, I had another set of clothes to wear in the morning. I had now officially "joined the club". This story and the fact that shitting yourself has a name here and is considered relatively normal should give you some idea of how different things are. Each day is an unknown and you never know when you will find yourself in situation which you have never given any thought as to what you would do if it happened!
Since my last blog I have actually started to do some work! (amazing) Here are a few of the activities we have begun. There is a club of women who meet twice a week and sew. They work on patching clothes and making skirts for schoolgirls. The kids here have a dress code for school so there is a built in market for school clothes. Even if they do not sell them they can use them for their own children. Our chicken house is almost complete. Chickens are usually completely free range, which sounds great and does produce tasty chickens but is terrible for egg production. One of our villages is attempting to create a brooding house for chickens. This will allow separation of the roosters from the hens and provide some unfertilized eggs. The biggest obstacle is actually the nature of the free range chicken system. The free range chickens require absolutely no work to keep. This makes creating a chicken house a really hard sell. When you can get something for nothing is it difficult to start putting work into it and not see much improvement for quite sometime. However, the house is almost complete and the time to start selecting chickens is near. Beekeeping is already well established but we are starting to demonstrate improved hives which create better honey, higher yields and are easier on the forest. We have also started a village clean up program which has turned out to be extremely difficult. Try to imagine what home would be like without a garbage service or public dump and everyone was responsible for taking care of their own trash. That is the way it is hear and as a result you can find trash everywhere. We are trying to join forces with another organization to help tackle this huge problem.
The rainy season has recently begun. We now get rain everyday. We live in the wettest part of Zambia and December has the most rainfall. When it rains everything stops. People head for cover and any work or scheduled meetings simply stop. I hear the thunder in the distance right now. Usually, a strong sign that the rains are coming.
I spent my birthday in Livingstone. I saw Victoria Falls and holy shit that is a huge spectacle of nature. I hiked up around the top of the falls and waded in the river. The area is overrun with baboons. They are completely wild but being intelligent animals they have learned how to live with humans. While walking down to the base of the falls a large baboon tried to grab Kelly's bag. I immediately sprang into action to defend my wife. I raised my hand to hit the beast when I got a full view of his fangs and noticed that he was at least have as tall as me. Being the logical person that I am, I decided against physically assaulting the animal and resorted to yelling at it as if it was a child. The baboon let go of Kelly's bag and I thought the ordeal was over but as we walked away it reached out and grabbed my heel. For the record, yes I jumped away from the creature and was glad to see he was leaving.
The next day we went on the Zambezi rafting. This rafting put any rafting I have done at home to complete shame. There were 10 rapids during our half day trip. Four of these rapids were class five. Having your raft capsized in the middle of a class five rapid is a soul shaking experience. I loved it!! I would describe more but I think I will let any pictures Kelly puts up tell the story. If you are curious just look up whitewater rafting on the Zambezi and you can get a glimpse of the experience.
WARNING: The following is a somewhat personally damaging story but I believe it gives a good idea of the experience here. Also, depending on my writing skills, may be a bit graphic. Read at your own risk!
There is a phenomenon calling "Joining the Club" among the volunteers here. It is said everyone joins the club at some time during their service you just never know when it is your time. During one of our trips to the provincial house my friend (who shall remain unnamed) explained that he had just recently "joined the club" outside of his hut. I understood and was sympathetic while we journeyed to the house for a conference. A few days later we were getting on the crowded bus and returning to our own district. When we arrive in the BOMA it is too late to bike home so Kelly and I along with two of our friends(including the previously unnamed volunteer) shared a room at a lodge. Keep in mind that our BOMA is not on the national power grid therefore the electricity and water turn off at midnight. Around one in the morning I awoke with a rumbling and bubbling in my stomach. I was sleeping in nothing but my undies as it is very hot a muggy at night. I slipped on my pants and flip flops and proceeded out into the dark hallway of the lodge. About half way to the bathroom the dam broke. I literally shit myself in the hallway of a public lodge. I was now faced with my first decision of the evening. What to do next? I decided to proceed in the dark to the restroom and finish the job. Once I had completely unloaded it was now time to evaluate the situation. I was now sitting in the complete darkness on a full toilet and with my own feces down my left leg and into my pants. Remember, there is no water for flushing or cleaning myself. So there I sat in the darkness not sure what my next move would be. Between me and the room is about 40 feet of pitch black, public hallway and I have no light. I chose to remove my pants and return to my room, in the dark, wearing nothing but my flip flops. Fortunately, no one else was in the hallway but now I am standing naked in my completely dark broom, shit down my leg with my wife and two friends asleep in their beds. After some contemplation I ask my friend if he has a light I could use. Before he is able to respond I warn him, for his sake and that of the two female occupants, that I am completely naked. He carefully turns on the light and hands it to me. I now return down the hall with a rag, still naked mind you. I find the bucket up back up water and soak the rag. I do not have anything to scoop with so I take the rag into the public shower and proceed to clean myself as best as possible. After finishing I disposed of my soiled clothes and go down the public hall in my birthday suite once again. Fortunately, I had another set of clothes to wear in the morning. I had now officially "joined the club". This story and the fact that shitting yourself has a name here and is considered relatively normal should give you some idea of how different things are. Each day is an unknown and you never know when you will find yourself in situation which you have never given any thought as to what you would do if it happened!
