Chipolopolo

Sunny regards from Zambia. It is not getting colder here...that's for sure! My skin is pealing off my nose and I consider using sunblocker even at nights.....!
The last days were like a Rollercoaster-ride....Let me start with Wednesday and Thursday. Actually There is not so much to say since I spent most of the day (and night !) in the bathroom. I realized that an upset stomach is part of every journey I made and Zambia would not be an exception. I lost about 3 kilos which I had to gain back on Friday. After a few hours at the office in order to let everybody know that I am alive and that it is NOT Malaria, Marten, Domi, and me went to the mall in order to enjoy a good, american meal. We made it our tradition to meet up on Fridays and get something to eat that contains neither Pasta nor Pasta....Did I mention that I eat a lot of Pasta?!
However, we witnessed an interesting aspect that appeared to be present in many other places in town. The head of the restaurant was an old, american Lady who thought it would be appropriate to criticize and complain about out personal (!) waitress in front of us. This power game was a disturbing picture since it made the whole prejudices we were told come true. A friend of me told me a couple of days earlier that some people still think that authority replaces humanness".

On Saturday we decided to leave for some excursion in order to benefit from the sunny (yes it was sunny again) weather. We headed to Munda Wanga which is an Environmental Park that takes care of all the animals that are too weak to be sent into the wild. We were the only visitors and we enjoyed the 45 minute walk along the compounds with lions,antilopes, and many other animals. It was weird since it felt like a zoo but these animals actually live in this country and have been born here as well. We are though really looking forward to see them in real wilderness. Funny story: Independent from each other, we looked up information about the same camp in Kafue National Park and decided to go the for a long weekend in March!

We spent a couple of hours at Arcades (the big shopping mall) and waited for the kick-off of the quarterfinal between Sambia and Sudan. Lucky enough we were at the bar quiet early so we got seats with good view. The places was crowded and the next two hours should be an experience I will never forget. I have seen many matches in many different places, from Argentinian fanatics to Swedish exctase on the couch with Ralle, but this was just amaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazing. Ever single person was dancing, singing, shouting, cheering, screaming and everything that you can relate to movement and joy. It was very catching and soon enough we were joining the Zambians on the tables, cheering for the Chipolopolo and having local beers all together. Zambia won by 3 goals and on our way back we witnessed parades of cars, people dancing on driving (!) buses, dancing people on the roofs and not to be missed, the VUVUZELAS. I could still hear them when I got up the next morning.

Sunday was a lazy day...Highlights: Played soccer with the kids outside the gate. I was trying to keep up with the guys but they are quick...way too quick for me who is way out of shape.
I did laundry (hand wash only) and had to witness how our puppy (Sasha) ate up one of my socks that fell down from the rope.

Entering the third week, I feel good.....excited about many things to come and about this week's activities at school. I wish you all a good start in the week and post some pictures later today.

Mulenga Joe