So, I’ve been in Africa for two weeks (to the day today) and I haven’t managed to post on my beautiful new blog. Terribly antisocial behaviour I know... some people have even been asking after a blog update... admittedly a very small number of people. Anyhow, let the update begin!
I’ve had the good fortune to visit both Malawi and Zambia in the last two weeks. My first week was spent at Mabuya Camp (a hostel) in Lilongwe. The week was the ‘drop you in the deep end’ type of training that is a particular favourite of EWB. My co-trainee and I were sent out on various challenges that took us into the local markets and into the villages surrounding Lilongwe. I’ll try and write about some of the people that I met in later posts.
Then, it was off on a 13 hour odyssey to Lusaka, Zambia. I made the journey by myself, which added a small excitement factor... but everything went quite smoothly (or at least as smoothly as things go here). In Lusaka, I was met by Hans another EWB volunteer. I spent the week with him learning about what his organization (PROFIT) does. PROFIT’s project is very similar to the project that I will be working with and Hans does almost the same job that I will be doing. All in all I learned a lot and I met a lot of great people. Plus, Hans taught me how to ride a motorbike! I have video... so I might try to upload that at some later date when I have a better internet connection.Yesterday, Thulasy (another EWB volunteer) and I made the great trek back to Lilongwe. The day before, we bought tickets for the direct bus that was scheduled to leave at 9am. Eventually, the bus left just after noon. This meant that we were still driving through Zambia after dark. Lightening storms are far more frequent here, and they last for hours. Rural Zambia has no electricity. The lightening was fantastic. Night clouds, trees, and a gently rolling landscape appeared every few seconds and then fell back into blackness.
Today, I am collecting myself and resting at Mabuya in Lilongwe. Tomorrow I start work. Soon after that I will have to find myself a place to live... and then perhaps life will find some normalcy.
