Online but not so connected.. my first few days in Zambia
on Wendy Margolese (Zambia), 30/Nov/2010 08:41, 34 days ago
My first few days in Zambia,I met my new boss, and although he seems very nice he would barely make eye contact with me and the gentlemen the he brought with him named Rod is a volunteer from the UK didn’t seem to be too friendly but we sit right next to each other at the office I haven’t seen yet.So we met the other 2 volunteers in town to meet with the Nutritional council who oversees all of the nutrition groups. there are 50 nutrition groups in Zambia and still they have 48% of the entire population who are malnourished.. so it’s safe to assume they aren’t using their resources in the best way possible.. but that’s why we’re here!I finally met my roommate.. and if ever I can say I’m grateful ...she will be enough.. I’m so lucky she’s kind and friendly and very welcoming! There is a community of volunteers in Siavonga and all over Zambia. They are a close knit group.. 1 of the group Elisa( from Italy and super warm and welcoming) invited us for dinner.. Joi (my roommate) and the 2 the other volunteers who work at SNG group, Adam and Rod.. We got home from Lusaka last night at 7pm, the drive home was fantastic.. a ton of potholes the size of a full tire.. they could swallow my little echo up whole) Lots of lush greenery in contract to tons of small communities madeof huts and little shacks built out of wood and thatch. Most of the locals live in communities with no electricity and no running water, they use coal to cook with. The children are all running around happy and playing and parents are working hard , usually the women are responsible for farming.Our drive home was 2.5 hours, on our way we stopped for goats crossing the street, saw children driving ox driven carts, and best of all there were Zebra at the side of the road like we would see horses driving up north in Toronto. My house is really sweet, the kitchen is tiny and not well equipped but we have to make due, the bathroom is great, there is no hot water in Siavonga at all, but when it’s 40 degrees who needs hot water so far the showers have been really refreshing.SaturdayMy first full day in Siavonga, Joi took me to the market. The market is about a 6 minute walk from our place.. Everything in Siavonga is up on a hill so it’s exhausting walking in the heat but we have a pool to cool off in when we’re done. The market is sparse and doesn’t have a lot of selection.. I will be eating a lot of tomatoes and eggs and mangoes. We have 2 chickens right on our property who lay eggs.. so they are super fresh, but you canalso buy eggs at the local market. The market made on gravel patches.. not what I expected, the former volunteer who was living with Joi actually built there only road in the market. There is a small bank, post office, bakery (they only bake 4 things) and a very small grocery. You can walk the whole town in 2 minutes.. so we’ll see what lies ahead.Yesterday afternoon we had a few friends over, Sam and Venod who work for Mbaba orphanage came over, vinod from india and sam from Virginia, super nice guys who work with 60 girls in an orphanage. Elisa and Nicholas, adam and rod and joi and I it was a nice afternoon. We made lunch and swam. Time goes by very quickly during the day here. The days are packed with socializing.. which is really nice so you don’t feel so lonely.Last night we went to a guys house who is white and was born here in Zambia, he was such a great host, he owns a beautiful compound with at least an acre in garden and a huge home. He is a friend of another native Zambian who owns a lodge that the volunteers hang out at regularly. Really nice guys.. had a few drinks and then we went home. I slept all night until almost 9am. I did my first round of laundry.. just my underwear in a bucket with soap.. we actually have a house boy who gets 80,000 from joi and 1 each who does our laundry and (that’s about 20.00 mthly to come twice a week) so I’ll only have to do my underwear!JToday we are going to Sandy beach and the owner of a lodge has allowed us to use his kitchen to cook in, so we’re making pasta carbonera.. we’ll see how that goes should be a lot of fun though! Much love miss everyone xoxo