Here just a few pictures from today's PE lesson with the 2nd grade. Today we were focusing on football drills and the importance of hygene!
Dienstag, 31. Januar 2012
Montag, 30. Januar 2012
Good Morning Coach Joe!
Today I had to get up at 5.45 since I was asked by the head of the Libala High School to be at the weekly assembly. While I was standing next to the teachers in front of circa 800 pupils, agroup of 8 graders sang the national anthem and read out the weekly prayer. I was presented as the new "coach" that will assist them to improve the skills and lead them to succesful times on and off the field. I was heartly welcomed by a loud "GOOD MORNING, COACH JOE!!!".
Today we had Physical Education at Burma Basic School, so I finished some paper work before getting to the site with Chenge and Levy. This time I brought my camera and so I was able to take some pictures. We had the 8 graders today so we went for some interesting active games accompanied by a lot of singing and dancing. I am on my way to learn the basic songs that make them stretch and move like the Coach wants them to...it is just not that easy to pronounce this language and my motor function leaves a lot to be desired. However, we had a lot of fun and introduced this week's topic to the kids. Most of the activties and games will be framed withing the topic of HIV/Aids.
Afterwards, we took some minutes to get some snacks and some refreshements on the market and we had a great time joking around, teaching me new expression like "Ey, Chicken....move!" which appears tp be helpful in the crowded busses! :) I dare, however, to make use of it since I haven't learned how to say "Sorry...I did not mean to insult you....My friends told me to say that!" Only then I might use it!
Today is Monday so that means that I am focusing on my studies and some research regarding my thesis-topic. I got in touch with some partner organization as well as journalists who I will meet up next week. I am doing really fine in this country and can't wait to get more and more involved in the activities as well as implement new projects! So far I am trying to get as many people as possible from back home to donate their old, washed-out or small sport jerseys so I can send them to this organization. The reason is simple....For most children, and I experience that every day when going to sport classes, the outfit is an essential and crucial precondition for getting active in sport activities. What we might take for granted is often one of the obstacles to benefit from the many advantages that sport brings with. If you have some jerseys or sport outfits in your closet that you do not need anymore, or you know somebody who might do so, just send me an email and I will set you on the list of potential donations. Further information will be provided!
Have a good start in the week! Regards from Zambia!
Today we had Physical Education at Burma Basic School, so I finished some paper work before getting to the site with Chenge and Levy. This time I brought my camera and so I was able to take some pictures. We had the 8 graders today so we went for some interesting active games accompanied by a lot of singing and dancing. I am on my way to learn the basic songs that make them stretch and move like the Coach wants them to...it is just not that easy to pronounce this language and my motor function leaves a lot to be desired. However, we had a lot of fun and introduced this week's topic to the kids. Most of the activties and games will be framed withing the topic of HIV/Aids.
Afterwards, we took some minutes to get some snacks and some refreshements on the market and we had a great time joking around, teaching me new expression like "Ey, Chicken....move!" which appears tp be helpful in the crowded busses! :) I dare, however, to make use of it since I haven't learned how to say "Sorry...I did not mean to insult you....My friends told me to say that!" Only then I might use it!
Today is Monday so that means that I am focusing on my studies and some research regarding my thesis-topic. I got in touch with some partner organization as well as journalists who I will meet up next week. I am doing really fine in this country and can't wait to get more and more involved in the activities as well as implement new projects! So far I am trying to get as many people as possible from back home to donate their old, washed-out or small sport jerseys so I can send them to this organization. The reason is simple....For most children, and I experience that every day when going to sport classes, the outfit is an essential and crucial precondition for getting active in sport activities. What we might take for granted is often one of the obstacles to benefit from the many advantages that sport brings with. If you have some jerseys or sport outfits in your closet that you do not need anymore, or you know somebody who might do so, just send me an email and I will set you on the list of potential donations. Further information will be provided!
Have a good start in the week! Regards from Zambia!
Mwauka Bwanji
Mwauka bwanji everybody.
I am sitting in the office on a Monday morning after an eventful and really exciting weekend. But let's start the highlights in order.
1) Since Friday we are 2 more in the SIA-family. Dominique and Marten from Holland joined the SIA-house and are staying for 6 months in Zambia! On Friday we more or less showed them around and went grocery shopping. After 5 days of pasta I felt like mixing it up a bit....so I bought some rice!
2) On Saturday I went to "school games" at Libala High (School). Raul, my collegue at the organization, is the coach of the girls-basketball team at Libala High. The schoolgames turned oput to be a tournment between 5 schools in basketball and football. The football field was more or less an acre with two posts and a bumpy field of grass. It was, thus, eve more impressive how the palyers performed. What was even more impressive was the celebration when somebody scored a goal. Players started to dace, to do backflips and to jump through the air like...yeah like what?!
Another thing that amazed me was the warm-up sessions before the matches. The whole team is jogging in file, dancing, singing and throwing themselves on the ground. It is just catching and so much fun to look at....it is the joy in their face and the passion they have for the game and the music that creates this wonderful picture.
At the same time on the basketball-court (streetball) boys and girls were battling out the prestigefull glory of being the best school on the court. I was surprised by the physical intensity and the partly very spectacular games. Apart from that I met a lot of new people and had some interesting chats about the current performance of the Zambian football team. While Raoul was busy coaching the boys and girls of "his" school, I switched my chair frequently between the two fields, enjoying the games in the sun...oh did I mention that it was sunny again. I heard afterwards that we had 42°C that day! At night I most likely looked like a lobster who just jumped out of boiling water. It was a great day and I took some great pictures from the fields. Too bad that I couldnt join the others out for some drinks...the sun was giving me a hard time.
On Sunday the two dutch and the two norwegian and me went to the Sunday Market. I could have spent a lot of money since there were lots of amazing handmade stuff and potential souvenirs. I figured, however, that I will have to come back at a later stage. We spent the day walking around the market and taking pictures of our neighbourhood. My personal highlight were two sales women at the street who gave us two fresh Mangos for free when we bought some fruits. Not onyl were the Mangos really really good, but we are now officially their best friends for life. It seems to be quiet easy to get in touch wit the locals here which eases the whole transition process from "being used to your surrounding" to "being the white stranger". Even though one is more than aware of the fact that the colour of skin should not be a matter of concern, it is an interesting process one experiences when people continuesly tell you that you are "white".
The Sunday should not end without two additional highlights.
1) I had my first Zambian beers after I realized that I would never be able to keep my "promise" not to drink for the 10 weeks I am in Zambia. It is just not ME....watching soccer, chilling in the afternoon sun and NOT holding a cold beer in your hands while chatting with your African friends.
2) Zambia vs. Equatorial Guinea....Final match of the group stage..."Colour"-TV, CheeseBalls, and a screaming crowd in front of the screen when OUR captain Katongo scored the important 1:0 for Zambia which meant that we qualified for the quarter-final. Tonight we will know whether we are going to face Angola or the Ivory Coast. But everybody is pretty confident that we can beat any team this year. The spirit that this team brings on the field is accompanied by the touching background of Zambia's participation at the African Cup of Nations. In 1993, the whole Zambian national team died in a plane crash when they left Libreville, Gabon for a FIFA world cup qualificaiton match in Senegal. A resurrected team defied the odds, and displaying an offensive playing style, came second place after losing the final of the Cup 1994 against Nigeria. This year the "Chipolopolo" want the title more than ever since the final will be played in Libreville, Gabon!
I am sitting in the office on a Monday morning after an eventful and really exciting weekend. But let's start the highlights in order.
1) Since Friday we are 2 more in the SIA-family. Dominique and Marten from Holland joined the SIA-house and are staying for 6 months in Zambia! On Friday we more or less showed them around and went grocery shopping. After 5 days of pasta I felt like mixing it up a bit....so I bought some rice!
2) On Saturday I went to "school games" at Libala High (School). Raul, my collegue at the organization, is the coach of the girls-basketball team at Libala High. The schoolgames turned oput to be a tournment between 5 schools in basketball and football. The football field was more or less an acre with two posts and a bumpy field of grass. It was, thus, eve more impressive how the palyers performed. What was even more impressive was the celebration when somebody scored a goal. Players started to dace, to do backflips and to jump through the air like...yeah like what?!
Another thing that amazed me was the warm-up sessions before the matches. The whole team is jogging in file, dancing, singing and throwing themselves on the ground. It is just catching and so much fun to look at....it is the joy in their face and the passion they have for the game and the music that creates this wonderful picture.
At the same time on the basketball-court (streetball) boys and girls were battling out the prestigefull glory of being the best school on the court. I was surprised by the physical intensity and the partly very spectacular games. Apart from that I met a lot of new people and had some interesting chats about the current performance of the Zambian football team. While Raoul was busy coaching the boys and girls of "his" school, I switched my chair frequently between the two fields, enjoying the games in the sun...oh did I mention that it was sunny again. I heard afterwards that we had 42°C that day! At night I most likely looked like a lobster who just jumped out of boiling water. It was a great day and I took some great pictures from the fields. Too bad that I couldnt join the others out for some drinks...the sun was giving me a hard time.
On Sunday the two dutch and the two norwegian and me went to the Sunday Market. I could have spent a lot of money since there were lots of amazing handmade stuff and potential souvenirs. I figured, however, that I will have to come back at a later stage. We spent the day walking around the market and taking pictures of our neighbourhood. My personal highlight were two sales women at the street who gave us two fresh Mangos for free when we bought some fruits. Not onyl were the Mangos really really good, but we are now officially their best friends for life. It seems to be quiet easy to get in touch wit the locals here which eases the whole transition process from "being used to your surrounding" to "being the white stranger". Even though one is more than aware of the fact that the colour of skin should not be a matter of concern, it is an interesting process one experiences when people continuesly tell you that you are "white".
The Sunday should not end without two additional highlights.
1) I had my first Zambian beers after I realized that I would never be able to keep my "promise" not to drink for the 10 weeks I am in Zambia. It is just not ME....watching soccer, chilling in the afternoon sun and NOT holding a cold beer in your hands while chatting with your African friends.
2) Zambia vs. Equatorial Guinea....Final match of the group stage..."Colour"-TV, CheeseBalls, and a screaming crowd in front of the screen when OUR captain Katongo scored the important 1:0 for Zambia which meant that we qualified for the quarter-final. Tonight we will know whether we are going to face Angola or the Ivory Coast. But everybody is pretty confident that we can beat any team this year. The spirit that this team brings on the field is accompanied by the touching background of Zambia's participation at the African Cup of Nations. In 1993, the whole Zambian national team died in a plane crash when they left Libreville, Gabon for a FIFA world cup qualificaiton match in Senegal. A resurrected team defied the odds, and displaying an offensive playing style, came second place after losing the final of the Cup 1994 against Nigeria. This year the "Chipolopolo" want the title more than ever since the final will be played in Libreville, Gabon!
Donnerstag, 26. Januar 2012
You gotta love it...
After a few days of looking how things work out in Zambia, I am now updating you on the recent events.
Since I can imagine that it is not in everybody's interest to read long texts and jump from one paragraph to the next, I will provide you with the highlights of the week so far
1) 3 days of sunshine make me almost look like a local! Good work of the sunblocker and the moskito spray....Statisitcs so far: Moskitoes killed: 5 Moskito bites: 0.....winner after points: Johannes fran Lönneberga!
2) First days of working at the schools with super cute 6 and 8-years old children. Getting to know the difficulty to manage practice and sportive activties for 120 (!) children at once. Coach Joe together with his friends, jumping and singing in Njanja (one of the 78987552 zambian languages), doing exercises and races and telling the kids about important life skills such as trust, teamwork, honesty. I am wondering if anybody would notice if I just take all of them with me...did I already mention that they are SO cute! Writing the repots at office and studying became routine and makes time passing by quiet fast.
3) Zambia got a draw against Lybia and has good chances to qualify for the final stage of the African Cup of Nations. People are nuts when it comes to their team, the Chipolopolo (Copper Bullets) and I danced together with my Zambian roommates in front of a not so coulourful Coulour-TV when they scored. Everything is in movement...dancing, singing...I actually never saw a Zambian sleeping. I wonder if they do sleep at all?!
4) I start getting used to be the main attraction in busses, on the streets... I start to wonder whether it as at any time different back in Europe?!
5) Played marbles with two little children who were sitting on a road on the way to office. I lost :(
So far some updates of what I am doing and how I am doing! I will post some pictures this weekend. So stay tuned!
Muzungu Joe
Since I can imagine that it is not in everybody's interest to read long texts and jump from one paragraph to the next, I will provide you with the highlights of the week so far
1) 3 days of sunshine make me almost look like a local! Good work of the sunblocker and the moskito spray....Statisitcs so far: Moskitoes killed: 5 Moskito bites: 0.....winner after points: Johannes fran Lönneberga!
2) First days of working at the schools with super cute 6 and 8-years old children. Getting to know the difficulty to manage practice and sportive activties for 120 (!) children at once. Coach Joe together with his friends, jumping and singing in Njanja (one of the 78987552 zambian languages), doing exercises and races and telling the kids about important life skills such as trust, teamwork, honesty. I am wondering if anybody would notice if I just take all of them with me...did I already mention that they are SO cute! Writing the repots at office and studying became routine and makes time passing by quiet fast.
3) Zambia got a draw against Lybia and has good chances to qualify for the final stage of the African Cup of Nations. People are nuts when it comes to their team, the Chipolopolo (Copper Bullets) and I danced together with my Zambian roommates in front of a not so coulourful Coulour-TV when they scored. Everything is in movement...dancing, singing...I actually never saw a Zambian sleeping. I wonder if they do sleep at all?!
4) I start getting used to be the main attraction in busses, on the streets... I start to wonder whether it as at any time different back in Europe?!
5) Played marbles with two little children who were sitting on a road on the way to office. I lost :(
So far some updates of what I am doing and how I am doing! I will post some pictures this weekend. So stay tuned!
Muzungu Joe
Dienstag, 24. Januar 2012
Sun,Sun,Sun
It took me 15 minutes to get first signs of a sunburn when I sat outside in the garden reading my book. The sun is shining all day long and it is really hard to imagine that just a few days ago I was walking through London freezing like hell.
The weekend was relaxed besides the fact that my luggage haven't arrived as expected. The more exciting I was when I called on Monday and was confirmed that my luggage has arrived. I could sleep much better that night, also due to the fact that the night before Zambia had won against Senegal in the ongoing African Cup. It was a outstanding result and thus was followed by hours of honking the horn and "tooting" the Vuvuzela. When Andy and me took the truck to the office we had to get all stroing boys in the neighbourhood to help push-starting it. It was a funny way of starting the day. On the way to the airport I realized again how beautiful this country is, marked by the extremes of really poor neighbourhoods and shopping malls and Range Rovers.
When I finally got my luggage, I felt how it took a load off my mind. I could take my Malaria-Pill, I finally could get changed, and start feeling like I have eventually arrived in Zambia. On the way back to the office, I got to know real Zambian music, learned about interesting spots in Lusaka, and realized that the streets are full of advertisement warning of and informing aboutn HIV/Aids. Interesting enough that most of the time they highlight that in a relationship it is women who might have other sex partners and thus a couple should get tested. I asked Andy about the dichotomy that Zambia has one of the highest HIV rates despite the seemingly awareness and spead of information. He told me that the awarness is not the problem, but it is the pressure within the communities that make people take the risks. That there is a great difference between changing someone's attitude and changing someone's behavior.
On my way home after hours of studying in the office, it took us 45 instead of 10 minutes since rush hour in Kabawata (the district I am staying in) is ridiculously chaotic. Cars switched from the streets to the fiels, busses used their privilege of picking up poeple to sneak through the traffic jam, and since there are no traffic lights at all, the biggest car always dominates the crossing.Too bad that I was sitting in a damaged compact car that was almost falling apart and also was running out of fuel. I made it home anyway and started to unpack, took a bath and made myself comfortable. A feeling I was longing for during the last 4 days.
I start working with the kids tomorrow, Tuesday, and I am very much looking forward to the first week of getting to know the sites, writing reports about the activities and enjoy the African sun....sun...sun!
The weekend was relaxed besides the fact that my luggage haven't arrived as expected. The more exciting I was when I called on Monday and was confirmed that my luggage has arrived. I could sleep much better that night, also due to the fact that the night before Zambia had won against Senegal in the ongoing African Cup. It was a outstanding result and thus was followed by hours of honking the horn and "tooting" the Vuvuzela. When Andy and me took the truck to the office we had to get all stroing boys in the neighbourhood to help push-starting it. It was a funny way of starting the day. On the way to the airport I realized again how beautiful this country is, marked by the extremes of really poor neighbourhoods and shopping malls and Range Rovers.
When I finally got my luggage, I felt how it took a load off my mind. I could take my Malaria-Pill, I finally could get changed, and start feeling like I have eventually arrived in Zambia. On the way back to the office, I got to know real Zambian music, learned about interesting spots in Lusaka, and realized that the streets are full of advertisement warning of and informing aboutn HIV/Aids. Interesting enough that most of the time they highlight that in a relationship it is women who might have other sex partners and thus a couple should get tested. I asked Andy about the dichotomy that Zambia has one of the highest HIV rates despite the seemingly awareness and spead of information. He told me that the awarness is not the problem, but it is the pressure within the communities that make people take the risks. That there is a great difference between changing someone's attitude and changing someone's behavior.
On my way home after hours of studying in the office, it took us 45 instead of 10 minutes since rush hour in Kabawata (the district I am staying in) is ridiculously chaotic. Cars switched from the streets to the fiels, busses used their privilege of picking up poeple to sneak through the traffic jam, and since there are no traffic lights at all, the biggest car always dominates the crossing.Too bad that I was sitting in a damaged compact car that was almost falling apart and also was running out of fuel. I made it home anyway and started to unpack, took a bath and made myself comfortable. A feeling I was longing for during the last 4 days.
I start working with the kids tomorrow, Tuesday, and I am very much looking forward to the first week of getting to know the sites, writing reports about the activities and enjoy the African sun....sun...sun!
Sonntag, 22. Januar 2012
My first days....
When we got into the bus, there is place for 6-7 people. But the average number of people in such a bus is 9-10. The driver is the one who decides where to go, when to go and how many people he wants to have in the bus. Since each of the passengers pays 3000 Kwacha (1$) for the trip, he is happy to take as many as possible with him. Then there is a co-worker who sits at the closest seat to the door at an opened window. He yells at the people walking on the street, informing them about where the bus is heading to and how many seats are available. Whenever there is somebody who signals that he wants to get on the bus as well, the driver stops. There are only a few fixed stations, otherwise you have to tell the driver when to get off, give him the money and make 5 people in front of you stand up so you can squeeze out. Since we are in the middle of the rainy season, the many sidetracks and little streets are flooded or marked by gigantic wholes. It became a bumpy ride and a real adventure trip I will have to get used to.
When we got to the office, I realized that we are in the heart of the communities outside of Lusaka. Andy told me that it is a huge advantage since we can reach people and especially kids more easily. When I entered the office, I finally got to meet Mwape, who was my contact person in Sweden from the first day on, and a lot of the stuff members. One of them, Martha, is from Norway and has been here for already 6 months. After 5 minutes I already forgot most of the names, since they are as difficult to pronounce as “Johannes” is for them. I will get a Zambian nickname very soon, I heard. After checking my mails, and posting my first reports on my blog, I had an introductory meeting with Mwape. I got information regarding safety and health, the work of the organization, and life in Zambia in general. Some interesting points included that whenever I invite somebody to do something, he expects me to pay for him as well. It was a good chat since I realized that they have a lot of experience working with the “muzungu”, the white men. We came to the conclusion that I would work 3 days at the organization and the site, and 2 days I would have for doing schoolwork and studying. Thus, I got together with Chenge and Levy who are in charge for 4 sites in the district closest to the organization and they introduced me to the projects and activities they were doing so far. I am looking forward to get introduces to the sites on Monday.
During my stay at the office we had some incredible rainfall and a few times I thought that we were going to swim home. One can barely imagine how much water is coming down on these already muddy streets. The rain also impacts the work at the sites, since the fields are under water, and children stay at home instead. This will be one part of my work, to establish alternative ways to get access to the kids and spread the message out of the organization during the rainy season. I am also looking forward to take pictures, write reports and evaluate working days so that one could improve on certain things.
The atmosphere in the organization is really relaxed. Mwape and everybody I talked to is laughing a lot, chatting, and whenever I ask them about how it is like to work at this organization, they refer to it as their “family”, since they are all close to each other and shared so much together. Like many NGOs, a big issue is the funding and the lack of resources. But that does not discourage the organization to engage in many amazing activities, events and cooperation with other organizations. I could tell from the first day, that they put their hearts in the work that they do.
At home I started to make some pasta, which was way too salty in the end but I had to eat something anyway. I also figured that there are apparently 13481 ways of cooking pasta, since I was told that I am doing it all wrong. It was a long day, and I am looking forward to get my luggage soon so I can start living an ordinary life here in the community outside of Lusaka. After a chat with my family back home on the phone, I slowly got to feel the fatigue that this weather and the many new encounters cause. The weekend ahead of me, I will have to time to read through some articles regarding sport and development, finish my book, watch a movie, sit in the sun, and get some rest and take some pictures.
Freitag, 20. Januar 2012
Where is my luggage? First days in Zambia!
Where is my backpack?
After a long flight to Lusaka I am standing at the airport, exhausted by the heat and the journey, looking for my luggage. It is not there! It was the first time that such thing happened to me. I was lucky enough that a steward from BA helped me with the arrangements and that George (one of the officials at the NGO), who was meant to pick me up from the airport, was patient enough. When I finally was outside of the terminal, I was still shivering and totally overwhelmed by everything that just happened during the last 30 minutes. A new continent, new culture, no sleep for days, first encounters with people I will work with and ...NO luggage!
George did not seem very surprised and took it quiet easy whereas I was already thinking in terms of having lost all my stuff that is in the backpack. I am hoping to get it with the next flight from London to Lusaka, which arrives Saturday morning.
George and a friend took me to the house of the organization. On the way I could get the first impressions of how Zambia is like. It rains...a lot! The streets are in very bad conditions, people walk along the roads and carry with them whatever they have to transport; vegetables, bags, children....everything. In general, it is hard to describe the misery and/or living condition in which most of the Zambians live. It is both shocking and impressive since it contains the impact and power of poverty as well as a certain calm in the faces of the people. Everybody seems so relaxed, so joyful, and so calm. The ride takes about 30 minutes and during that time it started and stopped to rain 4 times. The rain leaves its impacts on the roads and on the fields. "you picked the best time of the year to come...everything is so green", a woman told me in the airplane. And she was right....The contrast of the "red loamy" roads and the green bushes and trees are what you always heard and imagined when talking about Africa. The bad condition of the roads and big puddles are the other side of the coin.
We arrive at the house and I meet Andy. He is somewhat project manager at SIA (Sport in Action) and a really nice guy. He and his girl stay at the house as well as a friend of his. Right now there are also two Norwegian girls staying for a month who work with another project of a partner organization. I am tired...I can barely stand on my feet. The heat is getting on me and my frustration about the backpack still bothers me. The house itself is really sophisticated, with a shared bathroom, my own big room, a kitchen, a living room with big screen and stereo and a patio. A typical feature of Zambia appears to be the high walls that separate the properties from each other. Even though Zambia is argued to be very friendly and peaceful, it seems that people did their best to make it as hard as possible for anybody to become a criminal.
I take a nap which turned out to last over 2 hours...Andy did not go into office and told me that we would do some shopping (since I needed some basic stuff for the days I am without luggage). Andy, Vivian (his girl) and 2 drivers took me to a mall. The ride was funny since everybody is so keen and has such a great sense of humor. They took care of me from the very first moment and I felt the positive energy that people have immediately. At the mall I got 2.000.000 Kwacha (400$) and I got 40 bills which hardly fit into my wallet. Andy laughed at me and told me that I would get used to the big numbers and the amount of bills. In the mall I had to laugh because the supermarket I was about to enter was "Superspar", one of the most common German supermarkets in Germany. I had to travel thousands of miles in order to buy my African bread and the Knorr-Soups in a suburb of Lusaka. The bill of 200.000 Kwacha was not as chocking when I translated it into dollars (5000 Kwacha = 1 dollar). I also bought a Sim card (for a dollar) so that I am available on a Zambian phone number. During the shopping I realized that people were looking at me and were probably wondering what I was doing in their neighborhood. Some were friendly and greeted me right away; others gave me rather telling looks.
The next stop was the hospital....in that case I was only passively involved since Vivian was having an appointment or was about to get some medicine. This was the first and probably the best example of time management in Zambia. From "we will be back in 10 minutes" to "10 more minutes", me and the two drivers waited almost 2 hours in the car at the parking lot of the private hospital. I started to chat with the drivers who were real locals and, thus, spoke mostly in the traditional language. They taught me how to say "nice to meet you" and I got a round of applause when I welcomed Andy and Vivian back in the car with "Tschaoama po onana" (something like that)
We stopped twice to get some more food. People buy their food either directly in the store in the malls or they stop at one of the many little wagons at the street to buy some "fresh" vegetables, fruits, spices etc. It is a chaotic picture of people on their way to where every they are going to, and people living right next to the streets, and a traffic that is anything but clear.
The time with the four made me forget about the trouble I had in the morning and I realized that if you drink enough water, your body thanks you for that. It is 5.00 pm now and I am already tired. I have some sleep to catch up. We watched Rambo 4 and I have the feeling that it wont be the last movie they are watching tonight. I am going to make some pasta later, install the mosquito net, and tomorrow I will get to the office the first time in order to meet everybody and to get first "instructions" of how my stay is going to look like.
After a long flight to Lusaka I am standing at the airport, exhausted by the heat and the journey, looking for my luggage. It is not there! It was the first time that such thing happened to me. I was lucky enough that a steward from BA helped me with the arrangements and that George (one of the officials at the NGO), who was meant to pick me up from the airport, was patient enough. When I finally was outside of the terminal, I was still shivering and totally overwhelmed by everything that just happened during the last 30 minutes. A new continent, new culture, no sleep for days, first encounters with people I will work with and ...NO luggage!
George did not seem very surprised and took it quiet easy whereas I was already thinking in terms of having lost all my stuff that is in the backpack. I am hoping to get it with the next flight from London to Lusaka, which arrives Saturday morning.
George and a friend took me to the house of the organization. On the way I could get the first impressions of how Zambia is like. It rains...a lot! The streets are in very bad conditions, people walk along the roads and carry with them whatever they have to transport; vegetables, bags, children....everything. In general, it is hard to describe the misery and/or living condition in which most of the Zambians live. It is both shocking and impressive since it contains the impact and power of poverty as well as a certain calm in the faces of the people. Everybody seems so relaxed, so joyful, and so calm. The ride takes about 30 minutes and during that time it started and stopped to rain 4 times. The rain leaves its impacts on the roads and on the fields. "you picked the best time of the year to come...everything is so green", a woman told me in the airplane. And she was right....The contrast of the "red loamy" roads and the green bushes and trees are what you always heard and imagined when talking about Africa. The bad condition of the roads and big puddles are the other side of the coin.
We arrive at the house and I meet Andy. He is somewhat project manager at SIA (Sport in Action) and a really nice guy. He and his girl stay at the house as well as a friend of his. Right now there are also two Norwegian girls staying for a month who work with another project of a partner organization. I am tired...I can barely stand on my feet. The heat is getting on me and my frustration about the backpack still bothers me. The house itself is really sophisticated, with a shared bathroom, my own big room, a kitchen, a living room with big screen and stereo and a patio. A typical feature of Zambia appears to be the high walls that separate the properties from each other. Even though Zambia is argued to be very friendly and peaceful, it seems that people did their best to make it as hard as possible for anybody to become a criminal.
I take a nap which turned out to last over 2 hours...Andy did not go into office and told me that we would do some shopping (since I needed some basic stuff for the days I am without luggage). Andy, Vivian (his girl) and 2 drivers took me to a mall. The ride was funny since everybody is so keen and has such a great sense of humor. They took care of me from the very first moment and I felt the positive energy that people have immediately. At the mall I got 2.000.000 Kwacha (400$) and I got 40 bills which hardly fit into my wallet. Andy laughed at me and told me that I would get used to the big numbers and the amount of bills. In the mall I had to laugh because the supermarket I was about to enter was "Superspar", one of the most common German supermarkets in Germany. I had to travel thousands of miles in order to buy my African bread and the Knorr-Soups in a suburb of Lusaka. The bill of 200.000 Kwacha was not as chocking when I translated it into dollars (5000 Kwacha = 1 dollar). I also bought a Sim card (for a dollar) so that I am available on a Zambian phone number. During the shopping I realized that people were looking at me and were probably wondering what I was doing in their neighborhood. Some were friendly and greeted me right away; others gave me rather telling looks.
The next stop was the hospital....in that case I was only passively involved since Vivian was having an appointment or was about to get some medicine. This was the first and probably the best example of time management in Zambia. From "we will be back in 10 minutes" to "10 more minutes", me and the two drivers waited almost 2 hours in the car at the parking lot of the private hospital. I started to chat with the drivers who were real locals and, thus, spoke mostly in the traditional language. They taught me how to say "nice to meet you" and I got a round of applause when I welcomed Andy and Vivian back in the car with "Tschaoama po onana" (something like that)
We stopped twice to get some more food. People buy their food either directly in the store in the malls or they stop at one of the many little wagons at the street to buy some "fresh" vegetables, fruits, spices etc. It is a chaotic picture of people on their way to where every they are going to, and people living right next to the streets, and a traffic that is anything but clear.
The time with the four made me forget about the trouble I had in the morning and I realized that if you drink enough water, your body thanks you for that. It is 5.00 pm now and I am already tired. I have some sleep to catch up. We watched Rambo 4 and I have the feeling that it wont be the last movie they are watching tonight. I am going to make some pasta later, install the mosquito net, and tomorrow I will get to the office the first time in order to meet everybody and to get first "instructions" of how my stay is going to look like.
London
It was surprisingly sunny when I landed at Luton Airport in London. It took my 25 minutes to get through the pass control which reminded me of my journeys to the USA. I met Steph at St Pancras in Northern London and after 6 months of not seeing each other, we had lots to talk about during the upcoming next 2 days. Even though it was not my first time in London, the beautiful old buildings, the red buses as well as the fancy taxis caught my eye immediately. I like the mix between the hasty and rush atmoshopere and the calm that can be found in so many places of the city. After leaving my stuff at her place, a nice 3 rooms flat, we went to have lunch in a place called “the Blue Legume”, one of the first lovely local places that Steph showed me during my stay. I had Halloumi-Spicy Sausage Panini and an English Tea and I was on a good way of working off the list of things that I wanted to make during my stay. Eating something very British was finally accomplished when having Fish&Chips the same night. We spent the day walking across the city, crossing several bridges, taking pictures of Shakespeare's Globe, Tower Bridge, St,Paul’s Cathedral and took some drinks with friends of Steph in a Bar that she refered to as her After-Work bar. A lot of suits, young couples but no toursits met and caught up on the latest news, gossip and adventures. The day of sightseeing was indeed British, but should entail another very British ingredient; Notting Hill with Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts. We slept into the next day and went for brunch in a place called Breakfast Club. Typical English breakfast, a fridge that is a secret door to a nightclub, sunshine on the back and lovely company made the start for a great day to come. We walked along the Themse in order to get the cruiser to Greenwhich. Still sunny, we arrived at Greenwhich, a place I haven't been to yet and which is famous for the Planetarium and the Mediarian Line. That's where GMT (Greenwhich Mean Time) comes from. The afternoon turned out lovely. Wandering through Greenwhich, we climbed the hill where the Planetarium is situated. A beautiful view and an amazing sunset over London made this little excursion very memorable. We went home to pick up Pam, Steph's roommate, in order to get some drinks. I ordered a pint and accomplished the list successfully.
Now it is time to get to Lusaka - Zambia! See you soon, Europe...I am out of here!
Now it is time to get to Lusaka - Zambia! See you soon, Europe...I am out of here!
Sonntag, 15. Januar 2012
Ready to go!
All my bags are packed, I am ready to go. After 4 weeks of Christmas break in Berlin, I will leave for London tomorrow morning to start my journey to Lusaka. Before heading to Lusaka on Wednesday, I will spend 2 days in London, catching up with a friend.
My plan is to see something very British, to eat something very Brtish and to do something very British. Since I have been to London before, I am looking forward to some relaxing hours at Piccadilly Circus and Camden Town!
Bye bye Berlin! See you next summer!
My plan is to see something very British, to eat something very Brtish and to do something very British. Since I have been to London before, I am looking forward to some relaxing hours at Piccadilly Circus and Camden Town!
Bye bye Berlin! See you next summer!
Abonnieren
Posts (Atom)