Just a quick update for now. I should have better access to internet in the next week.
Bwafwano is really cool. I started doing work right away on Thursday, typing reports for the nutritionist. Friday I helped with weighing of babies during the breastfeeding mothers clinic, as well as more typing. It also sounds like I will be creating a database for another part of the clinic, starting next week.
Friday afternoon the power went out, so I couldn't type anymore. Instead I went and played soccer with the boys who go to school at the clinic. They were playing barefoot, so I did as well. Bad plan. I got giant (quarter sized) blisters on the balls of my feet, two per foot. They're getting a bit better by now, but walking is still painful. I'm learning about Africa, but I seem to be doing it the hard way.
8 comments:
Hi Hal.
Thanks for the update! We miss you and are glad to know you are o.k. We have been hiking with Jade and are going out to rake leaves. I'm going to see Ben in S.F. next week.
AAAAAhahahahaha i bet you got schooled in soccer by the African boys. Have fun with that. (your favorite youngest broher)
Whoops, my message was infiltrated.
love from Dad
Hi Hal,
It sounds like you are very busy. I hope that your feet are healing quickly.
How good are the soccer players?
What is going on with your housing? Do you really eat mush for breakfast?
What is the food like in general? Will you be checking email too or should we all communicate via blog only?
Niger went up to Colchester to get spayed and it turned out that she had already had the operation but she had a needed hernia repair so she had surgery and all her shots anyway. Now she is recovering quickly and is refusing to stay inside for a week like the doctor ordered.
W, M, J, and I hiked up to Skylight pond yesterday amid the golden leaves of the beech trees and hiked out in the rain. We all stayed dry with our rain gear. Jade has the best rain suit of all.
Today is sunny and warm and I am stuck doing work on my paper. I hope to escape with M to take Jade for a walk. W has his second trumpet lesson today. The teacher is excellent and comes to our house.
Your grandparents are coming to dinner tonight. We will try to circulate your blog to all the aunts, uncles, and cousins.
Thanks for keeping us updated. We LOVE to hear news of you. We think of you all the time.
Hugs, L
You are better at unravelling your place in Africa than I am with a new cell phone. I can't even figure out how to spell words when text messaging. I plan to be tutored by Will tonight.
We briefly set foot in zambia when in Africa some years ago. The people were very warm, gracious, and attractive.
Now I hope I can figure out how to keep this on your blog.
Love, Grandmother
It's good to hear from you - as long as things are going well. I told Ann that I'm glad we didn't know too much day to day when she was in the Peace Corps. I guess that she had some tough times.
I'm surprised that your Mother didn't ask about hookworm which you get from going bare foot in endemic areas. It would be a good idea to ask about the risk.
Grandfather
The hard way seems to be the best way to learn about things because the lesson sticks with you longer. Where did the blisters come from? *imagines running around barefoot and is missing the blister piece - coming from the kid who only gets blisters from new shoes*
Glad you're having fun, I bet everything is an amazing learning experience.
*hugs*
Since there is no new news on your blog, you must be getting very busy. Your last entry indicated that you were getting plenty of involvement already.
I finally got our new phone activated and learned about spelling with the phone keys, thanks to your brother, Will. It is interesting how those of you who grew up with computers, etc. have no idea how elementary our educational needs are with all this advancing technology.
Thinking of you.
Love, Grandmother
Hi all - hopefully you guys who are waiting for Hal's next blog post will check the comments. Hal is having trouble accessing the blogspot webpage in Zambia, and for some reason I am unable to log-in to his name for him, so I'm going to copy the 2 blog posts he's sent me in this comment.
10/23/07 5:46 pm:
Yesterday I made the mistake of taking the slow bus into town (it takes a roundabout route), and missed the truck out to Bwafwano. On the way, we reached a very busy 4 way intersection. A woman made a right turn from the right turn lane (everyone drives on the opposite side of the road here) and immediately wanted to turn right onto a side street, but there were three rows of cars blocking her. She stopped and waited. Meanwhile, 5 other cars (from behind her in the right turn lane) entered the intersection, completely obstructing it. The lights changed, and no one could move. Everyone honked, nothing happened for at least a minute. Finally people started inching out into the intersection as the lights changed again. My bus wound up pulling around the last of the cars blocking the intersection right as the main traffic started coming toward us. More honks. All in all a very exciting way to start the day.
As I was leaving the clinic (which is located in the poor/squatters district of Lusaka, called Chazanga), a bunch of young school children were leaving their little school. A little boy waved to me, and said "How are you?" I waved back, and soon 10 or more had waved in turn and said "How are you?" They start learning english when they start school, and I think this must have been the first thing they had learned. Every day leaving Bwafwano, there are also a few children who will shout "mzungu," which means white person in Nyangi. I think many of the children have never seen a white person before.
10/25/07 6:51 pm:
Primary transportation in Lusaka is minibusses. Similar to city busses in the US, they have set routes and set payment amounts (which depend on how far you're going). That's about where the similarities end. There are no schedules. You show up at the bus station, and wait until a bus arrives. This usually takes about 30 seconds (at least at my stops). Typically the bus is already filled passed normal capacity (which is 15 people), unless you happen to get on at the end of the line. You cram into whatever spot you can squeeze into, and are grateful for the open windows.
As you approach each stop, the conductor (who collects your fare) will call out the name. If you indicate you want to get off, he'll rap on the ceiling, and the driver will pull over. Half the people on the bus will climb out so you can get out of the far back seat you were squished into. Should the bus not be completely filled, the driver will honk his horn as he goes along. If you're walking and would prefer to ride, you wave him down. He'll pull over and you'll climb in. Also, if you're at a stop and the bus isn't full enough, the conductor will go wandering afield, trying to entice people aboard. This sometimes takes ten minutes.
Finally, all the busses go through one of four main bus stations in downtown Lusaka. Not all routes leave from all stations, but only some of the stations have signs up to indicate where the busses are going (and a route map is completely out of the question). Fortunately, if you are white, everyone wants to help you. Even the conductors (who haven't had much school) will speak enough english that they can point you in the direction of the right bus, provided you know your destination.
The central stations all resemble slowly moving traffic jams, and dodging honking busses is the norm. There are also a large number of people who set up shop around the station, hawking everything from bananas to cell phone chargers. Only 20% of Lusaka's residents are employed, but I've only seen three beggars. This is one of the ways the rest make their money.
Hi Hal,
It's great to read your blog and the reactions of your family. I guess internet access must be spotty over there, apparantly all the internet connections for Africa lead through someones kitchen or something like that. I guess we can all send text messages as your grandparents are even texting nowadays. I hope to get hold of their new cell phone number so I can text with them too. I even found out that M will be visiting B in SF. This is a great way to keep up to date. Looking forward to hearing more news from you! M
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