Alendo Anabwela

My first visitors from America came to see Zambia…and me. Ruth and Beth (Harkness) came for almost 2 weeks and experienced all that Zambia has to offer. They arrived on a Monday and that night we ate a traditional meal. If you see or talk to Ruth ask her about the kapenta! We spent a couple days in Lusaka eating good food and shopping at strip malls. The time in Lusaka was more for my benefit because they can eat pizza and drink good wine whenever they want! I spent several days in Lusaka before they arrived so by Wednesday I had my fill of pizza and we headed to Livingstone.

We boarded a nice bus by Zambian standards and headed south. In true Zambia fashion the bus broke down an hour outside of Lusaka. We sat on the road and listened to my new iPod and 2 hours later our replacement bus (not nice and packed to the gills) came and we were on our way again. We spent our first full day in Livingstone jumping off cliffs and climbing down them. We zip lined across the gorge, jumped into it, repelled down it, and hiked out of it multiple times. I faced my fears with Ruth’s help, and we did a tandem gorge swing. (Pictures will soon be posted.) That night we slept like babies. The next day was spent viewing the falls, which means getting soaked. We also braved the market to buy gifts. Our reward at the end of the day was a sunset cruise on the Zambezi River followed by dinner. Saturday was another transport day but we had a really good dinner in Lusaka. Sunday was a bus ride to Chipata.

We headed to the village on Monday to begin the other part of the Zambian experience. I think Ruth and Beth really enjoyed the village and I know my village enjoyed them b/c everyone keeps asking me when they are coming back! We ate 2 traditional meals in the village and they enjoyed the food…not the kapenta but everything else! We visited ponds, the school, and a VCT (Voluntary Counseling and Testing) Day. I had 2 Peace Corps friends visit and Beth and Jafar built my stoop. On Thursday evening Julie and her dad, Les, came to my house so Les, Ruth, and Beth could travel to Lusaka together on Friday.

I realize this post is not detailed (are you surprised?) but I’m hoping the pictures fill in some of the blanks. I wish you could read Julie’s blog for more info but she wasn’t with us J Pepani. Having friends visit was a great experience for me. I feel like it validated my life in Zambia.

I had a few days to decompress and catch up on sleep and now it’s back to work. I’m finishing up a grant to send some farmers to school in Lusaka. I’m also meeting the Chipata District Farmers Association to help them with financial planning and fundraising. It looks like I’ll be working with them frequently and it will be an 8-5 type of job several times a month. I’ll be hosting some of the new RAP volunteers for a few days next month when they fly in so I’m preparing stuff for them to see and do. I would also like to do a few more home improvement projects before they get here.

Finally: Ruth and Beth…thank you again for coming. I enjoyed showing you my life and work in Zambia and it was great to just catch up and spend time together!