Updates from Zambia.... Again not really brief :-S

Now lets see, What’s been going on…

I think I left you before Christmas and 2016 didn’t I?
I was not looking forward to the holidays as some of you knew. I was afraid it was going to be lonely and to be completely   truthful is it was often. Luckily there were also fun times. I don’t want to remisce on the occasions that I felt very far away, very insecure, very stupid for having left all of you behind, lets focus in this blog on the positive things that have happened.

My first flatmate (Liz) was beyond awesome but that you already knew. Shortly after she left for her Xmas break I found out I was going to be able to rent a room in a heavenly shared flat. (Initially they had promised it to someone else but that didn’t work out so I got to step in).

The colleague I am replacing has been beyond nice to me. She and her husband actually helped me move into my new place the day before Xmas. I found out about 30 min before I moved that I was going to have a temporary flatmate (called Sid) and that he had organized a holiday party in the house that very evening because he didn’t know I planned to move in.

I came into the house filled with people (about 50 I’d say), with a caterer and a rather professional soundsystem. It was lovely to unpack all my summer clothes, it has been very very hot and I have lovely build in cupboards. After that I wondered downstairs (Sid had checked up on my (very considerately) several times) and got to meet some of his many friends, he is quite a character but very thoughtful. One of the girls had actually lived in Belgium for quite a while. I hardly slept (music continued quite late) and the next day at work felt like a decade. I was alone in the office very often during those weeks (everybody took leave) and it has been hard to have a desk job, I am used to being physically active, especially after lunch I have a hard time sometimes and also my body sometimes aches and it is a struggle to find a comfortable position. But anyways.

On Christmas eve I was invited to Veerle’s house, I made vegan chocolate cake with avocado chocolate frosting (I’m loving the avocado’s here). She had invited a lovely mixture of people, some from work, others friends. They made it such a cosy evening, we even had funny little xmas elve hats. I am so grateful for her kindness.
Xmas day I sunbathed by the pool and read. Sid woke up late and we had a fun chat which ended in us playing Machiavelli and getting Ethiopian food. It was quite a nice day really, the cherry on the cake was a cheesy ;-) skype call in the evening (love you guys).

Briefly after (although when I felt lonely it didn’t feel like briefly at all) I met up with the girl of the party and her peace corps friend or a dinner. In Spanish tradition I made tortilla de patata. They are super nice and we arranged to meet for games.

Veerle (again my guardian angel here) got me on the invitation list for a quite big Dutch new year’s eve party in the middle of nowhere (aka outskirts of Lusaka) they were very very friendly people but I still missed home a bit that evening. It was good to meet some people on Skype the next day and to have some sweet emails o start the year with. The first week of the year was extremely busy (as was the end of the year) at the office. We were organizing a major workshop and the ministry letters went wrong and then there were finance issues due to the end of the year etc. The first  workshop that week was tiring but pleasant. I quite enjoyed facilitating some sessions on mentorship even though I felt a bit insecure. In the evenings I got to bond a bit with my colleague Hanne who works at the other VVOB office. I find it a pity she is that far away, especially with Veerle leaving it would be great to have her nearer. I hope to learn much from her, and to one day be as good at what we do as she is.
the second workshop which was on the lecturer’s guide and I was meant to support some of the participants who stayed on with adding to their subject lecturer’s guide. It involved a different sort of coaching or assisting and I have not really found my way in that type of capacity building yet. It was especially confronting because many participants were not very motivated to do the work, especially the last day. Many would openly do other things (facebook, the newspaper, disappear) instead of contributing to their group and that while these participants are paid an additional per diam (on top of their normal wages) to be there to do their planning which they ought to be doing anyways… sigh. Many challenges still lie ahead.

I insisted returning to Lusaka that Friday after the workshops because I was meeting up with the peace corps girl (Eleanor), the girl that lived in Belgium (Dai) and some of Dai’s friends, we went to a nice outside bar with live music and traditional dance. Highlight of the evening was when Eleanor (who has been stationed in a village for most of her peacecorps assignment) brought the house down with her traditional dancing skills. It was really pretty amazing, my hips will never learn how to move like that!
She reminds me of the lovely peace corps/VSO people I have met in Addis.

That Sunday we also got together for games including my by then ex-roomie Liz, it was a lovely afternoon (you’ve all seen the pic on Facebook). I also met my new “housie” Julia that weekend when she came home from her Xmas holiday.
It has also been nice to play games with some individuals from time to time, like Eleanor on her own and Peter (the friend from Ghent that Nele introduced me to) and also once with Peter and his wife, the ones that took me to the 80s party that I told you about last time, so slowly but gradually I am building a life here.

 I also had a rather funny afternoon with Eleanor trying to shorten my bike chain (we mucked up big time) which ended in a hilarious night of playing “cards against humanity” with some friends of Liz. One of these friends then took my bike home and fixed it for me and it has been more reliable since.

However I haven’t been using it as much as a colleague lives near my “new” home and I can ride with her in the morning. Transport is a real issue here which is why I decided to get my license and I have bought a car!! (an automatic RAV4). On January 24 Michael (Veerle’s husband) dared to give me my first driving lessons ever!! It was quite ok, I went forwards and backwards and did some circles on the parking lot of the church in my street. I should write the noisy church because their live gospel wakes me up every Sunday (not in a good way if I may add).

The evening before was their going away party, it was a lovely night in their stunning garden. I will miss them terribly. The party was great though, so many nice people. I chatted the whole night with various EU people that were native French speakers but whom also spoke Spanish. The plan to start a conversation table here in Lusaka was met with enthusiasm and we have our first session this Wednesday!! I can’t wait!

Last week I went to Livingstone to finally begin to experience what early childhood education (ECE) is like in Zambia. Phew there is still plenty to be done.  I was introduced to several teachers whom I will be coaching. It was lovely to meet the kids and I couldn’t help myself to play with them during their recess. Some teachers approach these little darlings so academically, sometimes I am even bored listening to them let alone these young learners. They also seem to spend ages waiting…
I saw one very passionate teacher and I could recognize the proud look in her eyes that I used to get when someone visited my ISG class. I look very much forward to working with her, she seemed very eager and had these students engaged with their learning in an awfully tiny classroom (2.5m by 7) even if her activities were teacher-centered the whole morning. Sadly enough while filing her with my laptop one of the staff was not careful and made my laptop (my personal one as the work one was not yet available for me) fall from about a 1.5m high. Cross your fingers the damage will be fixable or that at least I can get my data off of it… It broke my heart a lttle.

One of the evenings me and Maimuna (the other female colleague that joined for the visit) went to the Vic Falls. I was in awe.
Nature is really very impressive at times. Just before closing we also bumped into some monkeys there, even with a baby one. We ended this lovely evening with one of the most scrumptious Indian meals I have had in my life. OMG it was beyond tasty.

As we were about to leave it began to rain, if in the UK they say it rains cats and dogs then here it rains lions and elephants. When it rains it poors doesn’t even come close to what that rain was like. I told the taxi driver we were in no hurry and that safety was our priority. The roads were flooded badly.

The next evening we had dinner with some ministry officials at a restaurant overlooking the Zambezi river (before the falls), it was an amazing sight to see the sun fall out of the sky (it is also fast here like in Addis and NOT like in Belgium where it can go very slowly, you literally see it going down, impressive).

On Friday evening we got back. My car was parked for me on the parking lot and Veerle had left all sorts of goodies and leftovers for me in the trunk. It was Sinterklaas all over again. Later that night one of the French girls from Veerle’s party invited me to a 90s party at her house. Again I was chatting away the whole evening this group of friends is going to be great for my French and my Spanish!!

On Saturday the painter whom made the painting I used as a Christmas card and who turned out to be a distant friend of my sweet ex- Ghent-roomie Tjorven took me to me some of his friends at a very local bar. It was fun seeing this other side of Lusaka. I actually messaged him on Facebook to say I knew Tjorven and that I was interested in art and if he wanted to give me some culture tips and/or hang out. He’s fun to talk to but not very reliable when it comes down to appointments.
Sunday the 2^nd housie moved in and now we’re complete It will be Julia, Wesley and I. I just prepared vol au vent for them and we may make the appointment to eat together regularly on Mondays. That could be fun.

I worked from home today but had severe internet issues (it drains internet like crazy and I do not understand how) with the work laptop. Let’s hope my own laptop is fixable and that these issues with the work laptop disappear quickly. Internet is very pricy here, I have spent 30 euro on 4 GB and blew it all in less than 36 hours I didn’t even stream anything, just emailed with this expensive amount of airtime… I hope it gets fixed soon so I can skype again.

And oh yes, I’ll be home from 5/03 to 28/03 keep a hole for me in your planning. On 11/03 I’d like to have a drink in some bar in Ghent with anyone who feels like joining me that evening. More details will follow but for now just save the date please!