I haven’t mentioned my work with the schools as much as my work with the shelters but I do work with two community schools.  One is very close by and I have been spending more time there to help them with their finances and other organizational challenges.  This past week I finished a bit early and the son of the headmaster invited me to play to play “Draft”.  I had seen it before and it looked like checkers.  It is similar but definitely has a few twists that make it much different.  We played a game and he won and then I showed him how we play and I won.  He then wanted to play my way and I could tell he was a serious player and was intent on beating me, which he did.  It took a couple of games, but he did beat me.  Over the course of the game we attracted a crowd as they don’t see many ‘mazungu’s’ there and they especially don’t see them playing games like ‘draft’.  Cynthia took a few photos with my phone.

 

  No real news from Zambia, just a few misc items that may be of interest….

1.  The rains have begun… sort of.  The last two days it rained a little.  I am told that this is normally how they come, just a little at first and then pretty good rain.  I am looking forward to it as it is very dry and dusty, but I am not looking forward to effect the rain will have on the road we live on.  It was once a good road but they didn’t maintain it so it is now a dirt road with big chunks of remaining concrete everywhere.  I am afraid the rains will wash away more of the dirt and just leave large rocks and concrete.  Even with the truck, we have to drive very carefully until we reach the tarmac (that is what they call the paved roads). 

2.  Fuel problems continue.  There has been a problem for about 3 to 4 weeks now.  First it was petrol that was in short supply and then it moved to diesel.  Now, it just seems to switch randomly.  Some days there are long lines, others you can pull right up and fill up.  There is only one refinery in Zambia and it hasn’t been working so all of the fuel has been imported.  The government has been feeling the heat and has been trying to make it easy for fuel to be imported and it has gotten better.  However I just read that the refinery was a joint venture between the government and Total (a French oil company) and that Total has pulled out because the government hasn’t been keep up their end of the deal.  That isn’t a surprise and I don’t have high hopes for the government to run it well.

3.   Work continues.  We have been really busy with our partners these last couple of weeks.  Cynthia is now working as much as possible which is good, but also requires us to plan our days a bit better as we only have one vehicle and we need to take and pick-up the boys from school each day.  The girls shelter continues to make progress.  We had an event this past week in which a local bank donated a bunch of much needed items.  There is a still a lot more to be done, but it is nice to see some progress and not to worry that they don’t have enough money to feed the girls.  I have been working more with the financial records of one of the schools and I am seeing some progress there.  They want me to stop by each week and check their books to ensure they are correct.  I am glad because I feel that I am forcing my ideals on them so it is nice to hear that they want this also.  Once they are able to keep good records on paper, I will train them on how to do it on the computer which is much, much easier and allows them to generate financial reports with very little effort. 

4.  The boys…  I am very happy that the family has adjusted so easily.  There have been lots of changes for the boys, but they seem to adapt very quickly.  Jason has a good friend name Stephen who he met on the first day of school and they have been good friends ever since.  It doesn’t hurt that Stephen is into Lego’s also.  Stephen has a younger brother who is in Jared’s class and another younger brother who is Justin’s age.  We brought them all to our house after school on Friday and they all had a good time.  Our house is rather small so we force them to play most of the time outside.  I don’t know exactly what they do, but they seem to have fun.

5.   Holiday’s approaching – There are turkey’s in Zambia but you don’t find them in the stores.  I am debating whether we find one for our Thanksgiving dinner or try something new (Guinea foul?).  We are also trying to think ahead for Christmas for the boys.  We have a friend who is willing to bring several items over for us, so we will have some gifts for the kids.  You can actually buy Lego’s here but they are really, really expensive and I am too cheap.  There are few reasonable toys here, for example, a deck of Uno cards is over $30!  We are setting expectations low and the kids really don’t seem to mind.

If you have any suggestions for things I can cover, please let me know.

  Wondering what a typical day is like for me?  While today wasn’t quite typical, it does provide a bit of insight.  I should learn to lower my expectations for productivity…

Objective 1 – Fix Computer

  At 8:30am, I met the partner who lives very near to us (Issa) to give him a ride into his office to look at his computer (he received one of the newer ones from the recent shipment).  We stopped by our managers’ house so I could pick up a spare monitor as it sounded like Issa’s was bad and arrived at the office around 9:45.  I got to work on his computer but not too long after starting, the power was cut (not unusual but poorly timed).  Sometimes it is only out for a short time, so I waited.  By 11am, I decided I should try to check other items off the list and promised to return.

Objective 2 – Pick up Cynthia’s Drivers License

  I drove to the Zambian equivalent of the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to pick up Cynthia’s driver’s license.  As you recall, we have gone through quite a lot to get our licenses, but when we stopped to pick up the actual card they discovered that Cynthia’s was damaged and asked us to return two weeks later.  Today was three weeks later and after waiting for a bit (but really not long on Zambian standards) I was told that her card was still not ready and they asked me to return in three weeks. 

  Mission FAILED!

Objective 3 – Pick up Study Permits for Jason and Jared

  Next was immigration to pick up the study permits.  I arrived and found the boys names written in the book.  (This is the way in which you determine if your documents are ready.  There are several books in a lobby and each day they hand write the names of the people whose documents were processed so you have to find the right book and flip through it backwards to find your names.)  I was directed to desk 12 which had a very short line.  However upon arriving I was told that I can’t pick up the boys study permits, they must come in person.  I tried my best to be polite and ask if that was really necessary.  The boys are in the country on my work permit, the fact that a 7 and 10 year old need study permits is a bit outrageous if you ask me.  On the way out, I double checked with the lady who had been so helpful last time and she confirmed that they do in fact need to come with me. 

  Mission FAILED!

Objective 4 – Purchase some computer parts

  Since I was in the right part of the city and with the ongoing fuel shortage, I decided to head to my good (and cheap) computer store to get some parts.  I found the store closed which wasn’t a big surprise as I had been told by others that Fridays are hit and miss as they are Muslim and attend the mosque.

   Mission FAILED!

Objective 5 – Fill up the car with petrol

  There has been a fuel shortage for a couple of weeks now.  I waited 3 hours to get $20 worth of fuel earlier in the week.  (BTW – unleaded here is 5800 kwacha per liter which comes to $5 per gallon so I only got 4 gallons).  After leaving the computer store I noticed a car parked at a pump and pulled in to check if they had petrol.  (Many times people would simply park their cars at a station and wait for petrol to arrive and there wasn’t a line so I didn’t expect it).  When I asked they said they did indeed have petrol!  My previous failures would be forgotten if I could fill the tank.  There was an SUV at the pump and a car behind that and then me.  I was happy, no waiting in line and I was going to check an item off of my “To Do” list.  However the SUV must have had a huge container in the back of the truck and they were pumping for a long time.  (Many people try to purchase petrol in various containers and then resell to people unwilling to wait in line). When they did move on the next guy pulled up.  He didn’t get a liter in before it quit.  No more petrol. 

Mission FAILED!  But wait… the attendant told me to hurry to the station across the main road as they still had petrol.  (Apparently today petrol wasn’t terribly short and diesel was lacking).  I followed their guidance and was able to fill my tank AND the large container I had.  When I paid for the fuel the attendant asked me to buy him something to drink.  I was so happy I was willing but I only had 1100 kwacha (and some large bills that he wasn’t getting) so I gave him what I had which amounted to a quarter.  They typically don’t ask for anything and I typically wouldn’t have given him anything but I was able to check something off my list so there was reason for celebration. 

   Mission ACCOMPLISHED!

Return to Objective 1 and starting Objective 6

   I returned to Issa’s office to find that power had still not returned and shortly thereafter received a text from Cheryl (an MCC coworker who had travelled to Lusaka and was staying at our house for the weekend).  She was letting me know she was in the city and I was planning to pick her up.  I excused myself and met her at a grocery and picked up a few items for Cynthia.

  Mission 1 – FAILED, MISSION 6 ACCOMPLISHED!!

SUMMARY

  If you were counting, I was 2 for 6 or 1 out of 3.  In most everything but baseball and Zambia, that would be considered a poor performance but it is pretty typical here.  It wasn’t a bad day and we are happy to have Cheryl staying with us. 

  As you probably know, I work with a girls shelter and a drop-in center for street children.  Both of them provide a greatly needed service and I believe very much in what they are doing.  The girls shelter has been the biggest challenge primarily due to the fact that it is a relatively new organization and it has had financial challenges (read: no money).  I am happy to report that things are looking better.  There is a small organization from Australia that has committed to the shelter that they would pay the rent for the next 12 months (as well as the several months they were in arrears).  This is a real answer to prayer as they had been threatened with eviction several times.  In addition a local bank had provided them with a great deal of food and a group stepped up to help one of the girls go to school.  My organization provided the shelter with a computer and printer which has helped us get more accomplished.  It feels like things are starting to look brighter.  Lots of challenges, but we are seeing progress.

  Now for the one step back…. I got word that the drop-in center has been told that they must leave their new location by the end of the year.  We knew the place was for sale but the owner of the house had assured them that their rental agreement would be honored.  It doesn’t look like that will happen (let’s just say that there seems to be something shady going on).  Unfortunately the centre has been through this before as 3 previous landlords have evicted them due to other renters complaining about the presence of street children.  I fear it will be tough to find a new place and then lots of work to get the word out again to the children where they can come for help.  It would be ideal for them to have a place that they own for the sake of continuity.  Aaron has been through a lot with this organization and he keeps pressing on.

  Another family that lives here in Zambia with MCC is the Sanfillipo’s.  They made a video for the MCC SALT program (Serving And Learning Together) which highlighted Ashley who was here in Zambia with us.  I thought I would share the link as it provides some insight into her work here.

http://www.connectingpeoples.org/?p=498

   Recently MCC received a shipment from Canada that included 8 computers.  Four of them went to some of my local partners and the remaining were going to Sikalongo Basic School in the southern province.  (A basic school is a primary or elementary school).  It is about a 4.5 hour drive from Lusaka and is located between Choma and Lake Kariba, in other words, it is in the middle of no where.  There is a basic and secondary school at this location which are run by the Brethren in Christ church. 

 

  The roads were actually quite good, even when you got onto the dirt roads as a grater recently went through.  I understand that only happens once every few years and with rainy season coming, it won’t last.  When we arrived at the school the power was out so they welcomed us in the headmasters office and provided pop and scones.  The headmasters wife made the scones and they were really, really good.  After we visited for a while, the power came on and I started setting up the computers.  They said that no one there knew anything about computers but they could get help from the secondary school, however, it was clear that one man knew what he was doing much more than he let on.  I didn’t really have time to train them on how to use the computers and we are concerned about how much use they will get.  Apparently having a computer on your desk adds credibility and it isn’t uncommon for someone to have a non-working computer on their desk, just for show.  While this is my first trip to the southern province most of our work with the BIC churches is down there so I expect I will get back there and have the opportunity to check in on them.

  Since the road grater had been through, they recommended we take the “short-cut” to Choma where we spent the night.  Below are two photos I took on the road to give you an idea of what the road in the bush is like.  I then spent the night at the BIC Guest House in Choma and the next morning, I jumped on a bus to Lusaka while Kathy and Eric Fast (our managers and country directors) continued on to meet with other projects.  This was my first time on the bus and it wasn’t crowded or too hot, so it was pretty good.  The only exception is the horrible movie playing loudly.  It was from the US but had rudimentary “Simple English” subtitles, which was interesting.

  Here are a few recent photos that you may want to take a look at….

Two points that will help you understand the photos:

1.  Justin loves sweet corn and we don’t find it very often here. 

2.  The Nguni’s are our neighbors.

 

Photo Album

   We are nearing the end of dry season.  If I recall correctly, it hasn’t rained since late April so things are getting pretty dry.  Most of the trees have dropped their leaves and everything is looking quite brown.  However, the trees are now starting to sprout new leaves and many of them are also beginning to flower.  It is my understanding that the flowering will become more pronounced as it gets closer to the rains (which might be in the next week).  After such a long brown season it is very nice (but strange) to see fresh green leaves on the trees.  Near our house on campus there is a tree that looks like (and smells like) lilac.  It isn’t a lilac but it must be related. 

  This weekend we had MCC meetings which meant that all of the MCC people in Zambia came to Lusaka and we got to spend lots of time together.  There are three families here in Zambia, one with two boys and the other with two girls.  All of the kids are in the same age range (Justin is the youngest and Jason is the oldest).  We also have four new college graduates.  Two are with the SALT program, which is “Serving and Learning Together”, one is teaching 10th grade at an all girls school and the other is helping the Brethren in Christ churches with development programs.  The other two are part of another MCC program called IVEP (International Volunteer Exchange Program, I think).  One is from Seoul, South Korea (YoungMi) and the other is from Indonesia (Mario and the kids all call him “Super Mario”).  All four arrived fairly recently so they are just getting settled in.  It is a very good group.

    We had dinner together Friday evening and some fun games for all.  Saturday we had meetings all day and the evening together.  Sunday we had our own church service.  Cynthia and I were responsible for something for the kids and one of our advisory committee members (a Zambian) preached.  We sang songs in Zulu, Indonesian, Bemba and English.  After that we headed to “Adventure City” which is a small water park (two mid-size water slides and some small for the kids).  It was fun but it isn’t nearly as safe and organized as something in the US.  Dinner again and we got the exhausted boys home and in bed for a new week of school.  We also celebrated the birthday of a couple of MCC’ers.

   I was able to give my coworkers (those who wanted one) a Windows Mobile phone courtesy of my friends at Microsoft.  I have already given some to my partners.  I was especially happy to give one to Super Mario as he doesn’t have a computer of his own and this will allow him to keep in touch with family and friends much easier.  He is amazing.  He knows very little English and has travelled a long way and is working as an assistant chaplain with people who don’t speak English either.  So he is learning English and Tonga.  He always has a smile on his face.

  Our house has been overrun with mosquitoes as of late.  For a while, we had to retreat to under the mosquito netting each night starting around 7pm.  While we killed hundreds each night, it didn’t seem to be making a dent in the population.  However, we began sealing around our doors and windows more diligently and saw a steady decrease in the population.  Then late last week we received notice that the college was going to have all of the houses sprayed.  We were told to move everything to the middle of the room and get food items out of the house and then vacate the house for two hours while they sprayed.  This was on Thursday afternoon.  By evening Justin was complaining of being itchy but had no bites or rash that we could see.  Jared said his cheecks hurt.  The rest of us were fine.   However, Cynthia and I began to get itchy also and then our eyes started burning but by this time it was getting late at night and we didn’t have anywhere to go without disturbing someone, so we toughed it out.  The next morning we took the kids to school but soon received a call from Justin’s school asking us to pick him us as he was itching uncontrollably. We spent the rest of the day at the Fasts and aired out the house.  We then stayed in the MCC guest house Friday night and we have all been steadily getting better.  We don’t know how long it will take for our house to get livable again but worst of all, we haven’t noticed a significant decrease in the mosquitoes so we are wondering if this was all worth it.  Next time I think we will opt to skip the spraying.  Although it isn’t fun to discover there is a dead mosquito in the cup you have been drinking out of, we are all getting used to them and it no longer bothers us.  NOTE: While malaria is a problem in Zambia, it isn’t problem here in Lusaka (or at least where we live).  The mosquitoes that have overrun our place aren’t the kind that carry malaria, so they are more of nuisance than a danger.

  We have been pretty busy as of late.  We leave the house around 6:45am to drop off the boys at school.  Jason and Jared’s school starts at 7:05 but Justin’s doesn’t begin until 8 but we are able to drop him off early.  If I am lucky, I can make it home around 7:20.  Not only is school new for the kids, it is new for us as well.  I find the mornings very hectic trying to get the kids ready but Cynthia is much better at it than I.  Justin has a school uniform and so I find myself searching for the right stuff.  They all have various schedules that require them to wear (or take) different clothing.  Since the school year has just begun and uniforms must be import, we are waiting for the boys “PE Kit” (gym uniforms) and Justin needs additional clothes when they arrive.  As I have said in the past, they sell all sorts of things on the street, but coffee isn’t one of them.  There aren’t any drive thru’s here and I really wish someone would start up a coffee shack along my route as I normally don’t have time to make coffee before taking them.  Cynthia and I take turns getting the kids to school and thankfully tomorrow is her turn.

  After getting breakfast and showered, we (or I) head out to our partners as we need to get our work in before having to pick up the boys at 1pm.  It is sometimes difficult to schedule times with the partners because none of them have transportation and are therefore reliant on the minibuses.  Cynthia is spending more time with the girls at the shelter and I have been spending more time with the drop-in shelter as of late.  However, MCC recently received a container from Canada and we spent much of last week picking up and delivering various items.  There was a lot of canned meat from MCC (which required our boss to make 7 trips to the health department to get proper approval for importing), old school desks and chairs (old on Canadian standards but very solidly built), school kits (binders, pencils, etc). blankets hand sewn by women in Canada, care kits for those living with HIV/AIDs, medicine and 8 computers for some of my partners and other partners of MCC in Zambia.  It is amazing how much they can fit in a container and all of the items will be put to very good use here.

   I have been busy getting the computers setup and reworking some older ones to see if I can get them to a useful state.  Viruses are a major problem here and since people don’t have computers of their own, they use USB flash drives which spread them.  I am trying to make the computers as protected as possible but I have also setup them up so that they can bring them back to a good working state but putting in a CD I supply.  Hopefully that will ensure that the computers going beyond my reach in Zambia will still be functioning six months from now.  After this, we will be working on putting together some basic computer training to help them make good use of the equipment.

   All in all, things are busy here, but good.  I still don’t accomplish near as much as I would like to each day, but I am learning how to reset my expectations.   

  We recently found out that children over the age of 7 require a student visa to attend school in Zambia.  Don’t ask me why as they are covered under my work visa.  One requirement for the visa is to have a chest x-ray.  Before we came to Zambia, each of us was tested for TB but we now need an x-ray.  Since school has already started and things like this take a while, we thought we should get right on it so we took the boys after picking them up for school directly to a local clinic that could do the x-rays. 

  As I have mentioned before the medical facilities here are generally quite poor on US standards and our experience with the x-rays felt like a step back in time.  I should also note that this wasn’t a government clinic, this was a private clinic in one of the wealthy areas of Lusaka.  Unfortunately, I didn’t come prepared to take pictures, but felt it was necessary to show the equipment so I had to use the camera on my phone.

NOTE: This doesn’t reflect on the quality of the physicians, just what they have to work with.  The doctor at this clinic also helps at the Coptic Hospital where Justin got his stitches and they are very professional and very well trained. 

   We were escorted to a small building behind the clinic (the clinic is located in what was once a house).  There was a fairly large room with the x-ray equipment and a darkroom for developing.  The boys were told to take off their shirts (and glasses for Jason) and put on the gown.  Now, if you look on the wall behind Jared in the photo, you see two vertical bars and this is where the film was placed.  The boys would then stand on the chair to get them up to the height of the film and she adjusted it to ensure they were centered.  There was a "target” projected by the machine that was pointed at their backs and then we all stepped out and she pushed the button.  She would then take the film immediately into the dark room and develop the image.  Once developed, she hung it on a line in the yard between the two buildings.  (The x-ray below is Jason’s). We now have taken care of and need to get a letter from the headmaster of their school tomorrow and we can get the paperwork to immigration. 

   I have started picking up the occasional newspaper here in Lusaka.  You can buy them without leaving the car and many stoplights (which, incidentally, they call robots here) for 3,000 kwacha(currently 4800 kwacha to the US dollar).  I have only ever looked at ‘The Post’ as it is the only independent newspaper of the three available.  I thought it might be interesting to share some of the things you would typically find in a Zambian newspaper, so here are some photos I took out of Monday’s paper.

  Since this is the independent newspaper and the editor was recently arrested, it is very common for the headline to be against the current government.  Rupiah Banda is the president and Chiluba is an ex-president who was just acquitted of stealing money while in office (many believe him to have been guilty).  Sata is the main opposition candidate.

 

Then there are other articles of local interest.  This one talks about a parliamentarian whose constituency is complaining of the cost to use a government supplied hearse.  He states that his community is too poor to pay the 300,000 (~$60) to use the vehicle and that the government should lower the cost to 10,000 ($2).  I am continually amazed at how many funerals there are here so I am sure this is an issue.

 

 

 

This was just a photo included in the paper, no story, just the following caption…

“A girl of Chawama compound  in Lusaka being dragged back home after she spent a night out.  The young mother has allegedly been patronising bars, leaving her three-month old baby with her parents.”

I don’t know what to say about this one. 

 

 

This article was covering the opening of a new bank in a rural village.  Apparently the teachers had a four day walk (each way) to retrieve their monthly salaries

 

Classifieds (now it gets interesting)

  There are houses, land, and cars for sale as in every other newspaper, but there are some things wouldn’t expect to find…

  This one caught my eye because it required the driver be “God fearing”.  There are many ads that have restrictions that would not be allowed in the US.  For example, must be under 35.  In fact, the questions they ask at a typical job interview are completely out of bounds in the US.  Age, marital status, number of children, religion, etc.

 

These ads are very common and they all say about the same thing.  It always involves a “Doctor” (there must not be any obligation to be an actual doctor, “African remedies” and a long list of things they can solve for you and most have nothing to do medical problems.  You must read through the entire list.  I chose this one because they will not only recover your stolen items but also “paralyze the thief”. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately, these types of notices are common also.  I don’t question that “with God all things are possible” but I don’t like about everything else.  Tele-evangelist are VERY, VERY popular here and many are from the US, unfortunately.  They are on TV here very often  and many have a large following.  Zambian’s think that these “evangelists” are popular in the US and can’t believe that we haven’t heard of them.  After all, they are on TV here so they must be popular in the US, right?

 

 

As I mentioned, this is the independent newspaper and the letters to the editor reflect this.

   As I mentioned, we went on vacation at Kafue National Park last week.  It took a while to get photos uploaded and to write up a summary, but Cynthia has recently posted the recap.  If you are interested in finding out more, see http://cynthiamoeller.spaces.live.com/.

  I will write a bit more later.

  Tomorrow morning we leave for Kafue National Park and Hippo Lodge.  We are all excited (except Jason who would prefer to not leave the house).  The drive will be interesting, we will only be travelling 160 miles but it will take up 4 to 5 hours because much of the trip isn’t on “normal” roads.  Here are a couple of excerpts from the driving directions we were given…

Follow this good graded gravel road for about 33 km, to where the Lubungu road forks to the left (GPS: 14°45.674'S, 26°54.417'E). Take the left fork and proceed westwards on the
narrower but still good gravel road for about 31 km to Kabulushi Gate (GPS:
14°40.731'S, 26°39.330'E) where you enter Kafue National Park – there are usually no
game scouts here.

From Kabulushi Gate drive for about 20 km and then go left at the next fork (GPS:
14°37.890'S, 26°29.658'E, look out for the Hippo sign) onto a well-used bush track.

  I have a phone with GPS, so at least we will know by the coordinates that we are on the right track.  About the only thing that could go wrong is a breakdown.  A good portion of the drive is through the National Park so we would just have to wait for someone to come along.  I am bringing lots of water, just in case.  I don’t mean to be paranoid but I am taking precautions just to be sure.

   We expect to see lots of different types of antelope, elephants, crocs, hippos, lions, wild dogs, water buffalo, etc.  From what I have read, there is about everything there except rhinos and giraffes.  It is the best place in Zambia to see wild dogs, cheetah, and leopards.

   We will return Thursday night and hope to post photos as soon as possible.

   Zambia has been in the news lately and even made CNN (http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/08/05/zambia.porn.trial/index.html?iref=hpmostpop).  Unfortunately it is for a bad reason.  The president doesn’t seem to be doing a very good job and there have been lots of strikes by various groups in protest of some of the bone-headed decisions he has made.  In Lusaka, there are three newspapers, of which, two are owned by the government.  The independent newspaper’s editor has a long standing feud with the president that has come to the fore front in this news.  When the nurses were on strike a woman in labor was turned away from a couple of clinics and wound up at the largest hospital in the country, the University Teaching Hospital (UTH).  This is the same hospital I mentioned earlier and by American standards this is a really bad hospital.  The woman was turned away and ended up giving birth on the sidewalk of the hospital.  The editor of the independent newspaper got photos of the event.  She didn’t publish them, but mailed them to several senior officials and influential people to highlight the need to resolve the strike.  The president has taken this opportunity to charge the editor with distributing pornography and the trial has begun.  It is a joke and yet another bad decision by the president.  I am gathering that there are few people who approve of the president.  While Zambia isn’t terribly tribal they do tend to support their own.  However in my discussions with Zambians, he has little support.  It seems that even the animals don’t think much of him as he was recently urinated on by a monkey while making a speech bashing his opponents (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8117649.stm).   

  Early this morning I went to the girls shelter to try to finish a funding proposal with the director and then picked up some medication for MCC’s work with AIDS.  This afternoon we made an another attempt to get legal in terms of our drivers licenses.  We spent a lot of time standing in line while the boys sat patiently (for the most part) on the floor.  We were able to renew Cynthia’s Provisional License and I got my Provisional License.  However, that is basically the equivalent of a permit in the US.  The next step is a driving test but we have a letter from our organization stating we have been driving for 20 years in the US and requesting that we can skip this test.  In order to get the exemption, we needed to go to yet another location.  We went there today, but no one was in so we will have to try again…  I think we are close.  After getting this exemption and paying some more fees, we should have it. 

   Our saga continues…  Cynthia had a piece of paper which we believed was a temporary licenses until we could pick up the actual license.  This paper expired today so we went to the Zambian equivalent of the BMV to pick up her license.  Before that, I went to a clinic this morning and got the physical that they demanded I have even though they didn’t require it of Cynthia.  So equipped with everything we needed and with the kids in tow, we went to the BMV.  Cynthia went to the “information desk” to find out where she was to go (there are all sorts of different lines and it isn’t clear which one does what).  She was told that she picks up her license at another location.  Meanwhile, I got in my own line.  This time, no questions were asked about the health form they previously demanded but they wanted a copy of my US drivers license.  Last time they wanted a copy of my passport, which I had.  So I had to go next door to get a copy of my drivers license made.  The line was short so I got right back in to the see the gentleman who had asked for the copy.  He quickly gave me the form I need which they had previously refused to give without the physical.  (He didn’t ask for it and so even though I had it, I kept hold of it to see if anyone would ask…. they never did).  I was directed to line 9.  Then to door 3.  Door three was to get my photo taken and my signature and my thumbprint.  Done.  Next was the cashier but since it was getting late in the day and the line wasn’t moving, we opted to go and get Cynthia’s license before it expired (they don’t like it when you let things expire).  After a drive through downtown traffic which was very heavy, we arrived at the main location.  From there we were directed to the “container” in the back.  It isn’t uncommon, especially for government offices, to be in actual shipping containers.  They cut doors and windows into them and just set them where ever there is space.  At the container, the lady explained that Cynthia didn’t have a temporary license, she had a provisional license.  We needed to go back to the place we came from.  So we did, only to find that it had closed for the day.  So after spending the entire afternoon, we didn’t accomplish our goal but did make a bit of progress.

   I have to mention something about our boys… They have become trash collectors here in Zambia.  Not in the good sense or picking it up and putting it where it belongs but in the “dumpster diving” sense.  On the campus, they get chased away from various places on campus where trash is dumped.  They are looking for things they can play with. Things that can be turned into weapons or sold at their “shop”.  The kids have come up with a great form of money in their pretend economy.  Everyone here in Zambia uses prepaid cellular, so they purchase minutes in quantities of 2,000, 5,000, 10,000, 20,000, and 50,000 in the form of cards which you scratch off the back and enter that number in your phone to “refuel”.  These cards are then discarded on the ground.  Unfortunately trash is a real problem in Lusaka and it is everywhere and everyone just dumps their trash.  But as they say… “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”  Our boys pick up the discarded cards and use them as currency.  It is a bit embarrassing to have our kids picking up trash  but I normally allow it.  Cynthia isn’t too thrilled but she let them today and the kids picked up dozens each.  (Oh, they love bottle caps also which are equally plentiful, and have invented a game to play with them that is somewhat like checkers).

   This was a long weekend here in Zambia as today is a national holiday “Farmer’s Day”.  We aren’t quite sure what that means, but we do enjoy all of the holidays we have here.  We spent the majority of the weekend at the house doing little.  Today we visited our Country Reps (Eric and Kathy Fast) which is always enjoyable.  Kathy is an amazing cook and today she made donuts!  While she seems too young to be a grandmother, she definitely has the grandmotherly tendency to spoil our kids.  I told them that they were each allowed 2 donuts (they had chocolate chip cookies after lunch about an hour before) but Kathy thought I was too mean and “rewarded” them with extras for doing some small job.  Cynthia made a great dinner and is now roasting “ground nuts” on the stove.  It is much cheaper to buy them and roast them yourself and they are great freshly roasted. 

   I did do a bit of work this weekend on a proposal for Thalumi (the girls shelter) as it needs to be completed ASAP but it was nice to work at a leisurely pace.  This week will be busy as a shipment has arrived from the US with a few computers that I need to work on and to wrap up as much as possible before we leave for our short vacation to Kafue.  Work is challenging but slow progress is being made. 

  Last week I was in Cape Town for a training with an organization called CDRA.  I arrived on Saturday, the 18th.  On Sunday morning while at breakfast at the guest house I met a women from Sweden who was also attending the class which started on Monday.  Both of us wanted to hike Table Mountain, so we got a taxi and started out.  It was a beautiful day (remember it is winter here and Cape Town gets pretty cold for Africa).  The hike up was pretty steep and my legs got sore from using muscles that haven’t been used in a long, long time.  I didn’t get tired, but I had to stop and rest fairly often.  About half way up the woman asked if I minded if she just met me at the top.  She was in good shape and was getting a bit impatient waiting for me.  The trail was to take 2.5 hours and she did it in 1.5 and I did it in 2.  There were great views of the city from the top and after coffee, we hiked back down (much, much easier).  At the bottom we met a man and his boy who were climbing.  His four year old son made it up and down in not much more time than it took me!

   The rest of the week was busy with the class.  On Friday, my neighbor (Wynand Retief) here in Zambia picked me up from the training and took me for a tour of the city.  While he now lives in Zambia, he is from Cape Town and still has a house here where his two sons live.  He had to be in Cape Town for a conference the following week, so I was able to spend the weekend with him.  It has got to be one of the most scenic cities in the world.  Unfortunately, there is a lot of crime so you do have to watch out.  I hope to bring the family at some point over the next couple of years.

Here are some photos… http://picasaweb.google.com/jonathanjaymoeller/TourWithWynand