Mom in Zambia!

Dear Friends!

Sorry its been so long since my last post but I've been very busy and we've been having a lot of computer issues at our office in Chipata. Currently I may or may not have malaria, but don't worry I am really that sick because if it is we caught it early. Just one of the hazards of living in Africa, I guess.

My most exciting news is that in May my Mom came to visit! It was so great to see her after 22 months and to get to share this experience with her. We had a few transportation mishaps and even got stuck in the sand but other then that it was a wonderful two weeks. The first part of the visit we went down to Livingstone to see Vitoria Falls which was its peak so a lot of water. We did manage to stay pretty dry with double layer rain gear. We also went on sunset boat ride on the Zambezi and got to see a couple of elephants, crocs, and hippos. Mom also managed to spill her gin and tonic on me in her excitement to take pictures.

From there we headed to my village which I was the most worried about but went very well. My village was so excited to meet my mom and they fed her a lot. She was a good sport about the nshima and tried a bit of everything including the okra, which is about the consistency of snot, but she was a little sick of it by the end. I think she greeted almost everyone in my village and even attempted to use local language which they found hilarious. The last night the women and girls even came and did some tradition dancing for her. They also made me dance and all got to laugh because my hips just don't move that way.

After two full days in the village we headed up to South Luangwa National Park to go on safari. I was very excited to eat all the good food, sleep on a real mattress, and use their amazing shower. It was really the best shower I've had since coming to Zambia. I'm not even kidding. The game drives were a lot of fun, our guide had been working in the park since 1975! He was assisted by a guy who is in training to become a guide, it takes a few years and very prestigious position. We saw a lot but sadly no big cats. We did spend a lot of time tracking a couple of lions and got to see a herd of buffalo and a group of elephants all stand at attention and protect the young. Our first night as we were walking to our chalet and elephant came charging up the bush next to our chalet, it was pretty cool. The only downside is the road to Mfuwe is a bit of an adventure but we made it even with some slightly dubious directions from a random guy at a fork in the road.

But really the best part was just having someone from my Americaland life come here to see my Zambia life. I know it'll help a lot having her better understand exactly what the last two years were all about. Plus she got to meet all my friends here and bring me lots of america treats.

In the village my HIV/AIDS support group is busy harvesting their sunflower plot and are now working on a dry season gardening. We try to encourage small dry season gardens because they provide important fresh food off season both for consumption and sale when the prices are higher. I've been really happy with this group because both projects have been their ideas and they've had good follow through. I just hope it continues when I leave.

I'm continuing my mobile HIV testing with my amazing counterpart James. Its pretty cool because now people come up to his house and ask to get tested! I've very lucky to have him as a partner for this project.

We did have a bit of drama at my clinic when it was discovered that one of the staff was stealing drugs and selling them in the community. Its very sad because we have such a problem with drug availability anyway. Also that people in the community are using what little money they have to buy drugs they could get for free at the clinic. My clinic in-charge handed it very well and they did a full investigation and were able to fire the person who was stealing.

Besides my mom coming I also took a trip to Zanzibar and Malawi since my last post. As to not make this the longest post ever I'll just say that I had a great time on both trips. The ocean was beautiful and I really enjoyed Stone Town and all the seafood. We had a very relaxing time at Lake Malawi for Easter and mostly just swam and sat by the lake. Lake Malawi is beautiful but it made me miss the North Shore and Superior.

I'm coming into my last 4 months of service which is just crazy, the time sure has flown by. Next week I'm going to my close of service conference to talk about how to wrap up my time in the village. My replacement is probably busy getting ready to come to Zambia right now, its all a bit shocking. Two of good friends are leaving early and we just had a good-bye party for them which makes my leaving all the more real.

Well I guess thats all for now, hopefully I won't wait three months to post again!

Love,
Allie