Lambia in Zambia

I can hear you saying, really Jessica (justgirl), is THAT the best you can come up with?  One week back in Kanyangala and that is all that you could come up with after having one whole week to think about it?

Okay, I admit it is a tad bit lame.  Oh well.  It is late 23:35 and I am used to sleeping at 21:00 (11:35pm and 9pm<respectively> for those of you who are not attuned to the use of the 24 hour clock).

But ahh, the time is gone! Alah!

Hakuna time. (no time)

I have just made the trip from Kanyangala to Zambia for the last time (at least for this year I am sure). I feel really good. Really really good.

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Food here in Zambia has been delicious!  Especially since I live near the Zambezi river and a small river called the Masanja (just a 5 minute walk from my house).  Nshima (white maize staple food) and vegetable relishes (cooked vegetable dishes) have been especially delicious because all of the things I am eating are freshly grown in Mevis’s garden.

Who is Mevis you ask?

Mevis is my most amazing Zambian friend and colleague.  She is 23 years old and the vice secretary of Chishomoka Beekeeping (meaning she helps put records in order for purchasing, loans and cash flow).  Other than being a secretary she is also the mother of two lovely young children, 2 brothers, 3 sisters and a strange affinity to toilet jokes.

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You must be wondering.

You must be wondering, “Why is Jessica spending four months in Zambia if all she’s doing is trying to look busy by taking pictures and writing things down?!?”.  Hopefully, I will be able to answer this question… now!

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It’s been quite a long while since my last post.  This is largely due to the fact that internet accessibility levels in my village are nonexistent(unless you have a wireless modem…I don’t have one).     I have to say that having no internet connection is a nice relief because answering emails can become a chore so it’s nice to be free of my online connection for a while.

Over the past month I have been all over the place.  I spent about a week in Lusaka doing some work at the Forest Fruits (FFZ) office.  I was working on some preparations for our beekeepers training session in Chiyumu, a village near Monze and for our training sessions and my longer term work in Chiawa.

Down to Chiyumu.

At the beginning of June I headed down to Monze for about three days with part of the FFZ family: Evans, an experienced beekeeper trainer, Mariko: beekeeper extraordinaire and Patrick: our driver with an infectious laugh. 

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QUICK UPDATE

The first half hour in Lilongwe was spent with sixteen people, many large backpacks, and a lot of BO crammed into a mini bus.  All the Junior Fellows (JFs), Trevor (the man who made the plans for all 37 JFs), Anna-Marie (African Program Staff working in Agriculture) and two Malawians were heading over to the Golden Peacock Rest House where we would  be staying for the next three days.

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STICK IT.

Something we are trying to do in EWB is make change that sticks.  Change that lasts and doesn’t slip and slide to create an impact that is less than ideal.  I’m hoping that my four months of foundation learning and one week of pre-departure training will help me do this.  So far, I think that one of the biggeset things that I have taken away from this is – holy cowpoke, I know so little.  Read the rest of this entry »

Hello!

I want to start off by saying thank you for visiting my blog!

WEIRD

In a way, I feel strange writing this because broadcasting my thoughts via the inter-web, to an unlimited audience, is something that is new to me.  Another mind boggling details is that usually, when you write an email it is to a specific group… but this group of readers may not be so specific, except for the fact that they have met me.  Leaving me thinking: who is my audience? and what do they want me to write about – my work, my friends, favorite foods or what the weather was like on that particular day? Read the rest of this entry »