Special projects

So last weekend I celebrated my 35^th birthday.  We actually celebrated on my real birthday

 I planned a pool party for 2o to 25 people, unfortunately the weather didn’t cooperate so it ended up to be a Braai (BBQ)  with no pool activity at all, but fun none the less. It was nice to have everyone together for a nice afternoon, after the Braai we went to Eagles Rest (on of the lodges a little bit further from us) it was a nice night.

I was shocked at how much vodka I consumed, and although I was not hung over.. I had a rough time getting anything done.. It was a very lazy day on Sunday. Sunday afternoon we went to Sandy Beach to watch the sunset..Every time I go there I realize how beautiful and peaceful it is.. it reminds me of an all inclusive.. beach, sand, sun and palm trees. What’s not to like. (except maybe the mosquitos)

This week brings interesting work.. there are 3 volunteers from an NGO called SPICE in  Wales here to do an analysis on a time banking project.. basically this group helps an NGO to start a  time banking project. They help you to set up the project, to run it, to fund it and to make certain that it’s sustainable long term. They have over 40 of these projects currently running so they are experts at knowing the right questions to ask to uncover all of the information needed to start a project like this.

All these projects are currency based and the idea is that you develop a local currency to encourage a community to reach a common goal. So as an example if you were looking for teachers.. you would provide them with 1 hour of “currency” in exchange for 1 hour of their teaching time. They could then exchange their 1 hour of currency for an hour of needed service, it could be babysitting or wood cutting etc.

They have never done a project like this in Africa, most of these projects are running very successfully in North America. They have a few of these projects  running in South America and they have decided that SNG could potentially be the first African partner.  We have our initial meeting today to discuss what would be our unit of measurement because I don’t think anyone is convinced that time would work here in Africa.. but we’ll see what happens..

Tonga lessons

Yesterday I had my first official tonga lesson.. I have made friends with a local kid who is going to teach me tonga. He’s 22 and works full time at our local liquor store. The plan is to have lessons twice a week and to practice in between and hopefully I’ll be able to pick it up.  I have decided I want to learn the language to better communicate but it’s also killing me that they are taking about me and I can’t understand what they’re saying! All I hear is Musungu (white person) and that’s all I understand.

One of the huge benefits of being here is there is no stress at all.. The only thing I need to worry about is what I’m going to eat and what I’m going to do to entertain myself.. the entertainment part is very limited. ..and it’s becoming clearer to me why so many Zambians drink..  There is 1 night club here in Siavonga and honestly I really enjoy going to it because it’s the only place where you can dance.. but it’s full of drunk and disorderly people so I can only go if 1 of my local friends is available to escort us otherwise it can get messy and unsafe.

Life is relatively easy here as long as you have some money, there is someone to do your laundry, clean your property, cook  your meals if you like.. all for a cheap price, physical labour is very inexpensive because it’s so easily available.

 Without money you need to worry about where to get your water, electric and figure out how you are going to pay your bills.. the local who is teaching me tonga makes 300,.000 kwacha per month that’s about  $70.00 monthly and half of that goes to rent ... which leaves 150,000 Kwacha to live on. Most locals live in millimeal (this is maize that they eat daily) it costs 50,000 kwacha for a months supply. That leaves 100,000 for all other expenses.. $25.00 for the rest of the month. I HAVE NO IDEA HOW THEY DO IT

The biggest misconception about Africa is that everything is so cheap.. it’s NOT. It’s very expensive to live here. Most things are imported and as such have a high price tag. A bag of pasta is $3.00 it’s not .99 like back at home. It’s something I’m still trying to wrap my head around.  So the question is how do people survive and manage to keep a roof over their head.. They take advances on their pay,  a lot of stores extend people credit, they borrow, they sell services of stuff on the side to make extra money..

It’s interesting because although they are poor they are also proud.. my tonga teacher and I had lunch yesterday.. he knows I work with VSO and that I make quite a bit of money but he insisted on buying me lunch.. (he makes 300,000 monthly and lunch was 15,000 for the two of us.. ) He helps take care of his younger brother and helps his parents out. It’s actually humbling that he’s 22 and his priority it to make sure that everyone is taken care of. At 22 all I was concerned about was what I was doing that night and where we were going to go for cocktails..  Although there is a deep sense of commitment to family and community, they aren’t working together to get out, to do better...

Since I’ve been getting tutored the community has been asking this young man.. where he found me... because they want their own white man to befriend. The hope is that a white man will befriend you and give you stuff.. they don’t want to learn from you they want to sponge off you and be bought.. this is the concept that I have the most difficulty with, young cheeky boys asking you to buy them a softdrink because you’re white.. I always look at them and say you need to buy me a soft drink I’m a visitor you need to treat me well so I can go home and tell everyone they need to come and visit Zambia.. oh no no no you can buy me a soft drink.. we play the same game every time. 

Africa is a strange and beautiful place... more soon xoxox If anyone has any questions they want answered fire away..

No one does it better than my husband

Over the last several weeks when I reflect on what this experience has brought to me so far.. I keep going back to the fact that if it weren't for my amazing husband I could not have easily been here. It's been tough on him, I think it's always more difficult for the person staying behind. 
He never complains or makes me feel guilty for being selfish enough to leave him for 6 months.. and although he doesn't realize it he has given me the most beautiful gift..to follow my heart and to live out a dream, to make a choice to be selfish because it was just that important.
So I just want to say it publicly like I do privately I have the best husband in the world.
This experience is enriching me in so many ways.. and teaching me things I never thought I would learn and I owe it all to my husband.. thanks Puppy for letting me go. My heart is always with you no matter how far away I am physically.