Greetings from Zambia!

A fine “howdy do” to you all from the village of Sikalongo in Southern Zambia! We finally made it to our final destination after a long three days of travel. It was excellent to arrive and settle in, shower, and sleep. Travel took us from Newark to London where we had an 11 hour layover in which we were able to explore London a bit. From London we flew into Johannesburg South Africa, then to Livingstone Zambia, then a drive to Choma which is the nearest town and finally a very bouncy ride to our village of Sikalongo. Over the weekend we got all settled in, began meeting people, attended church (which was excellent), and began to get the lay of the land. Dr Thomas (the professor with whom we came) has been coming for many years and as a result we have some excellent contacts here at the schools, the rural health clinic, and the church. We have met many many people and are doing our best to remember names, learn the greeting in the local language of Chitonga, and figure out the cultural norms. The learning curve has been incredible and I don’t think it is going to stop anytime soon!

We have had to make some adjustments to our schedules and to what our aims are going to be here. The teachers in the schools in our district have been on strike for the last two weeks as well as the healthcare workers at the major hospitals and larger clinics. Apparently they have not been paid for some time now and no one quite knows when the strike will let up. As a result, we cannot get into some hospitals and clinics that we wanted too. The local clinic in Sikalongo is still functioning so we are hoping to get involved there next week. The lack of teaching in the classrooms means that all of the headmasters or principles are desperately looking for teachers for both the primary or elementary school and the secondary or high school. Starting next week Ian and I will each be teaching a group of 50 something 10^th grade student’s biology. Ian and Artie and I will also be teaching English, Math and Science at the elementary school. So next Monday will be a great learning experience (prayers are appreciated)! Nothing like jumping in with two feet and learning on the job. It is looking like the summer will be a very busy one with helping in the clinic, the schools and various day and weekend trips around Zambia. Our time is going to go very fast!

One of the things I am most enjoying about being here is something that I have encountered before in Africa. It is the ability “to be” rather than “to do” all of the time. Here the days are so much longer. There are times at home I feel the inability to slow down and enjoy the day and to enjoy relationships with others. I am learning here to slow down, to take time to do things, to create relationships, to laugh at myself, and to be. It is wonderful. I am really looking forward to the next few days especially and the weeks to come. The people here are wonderful and I can’t wait to get more involved in the community.

I think that’s about it…until next time!