Thanks be...

Where would I be without technologically advanced friends? I kept thinking- how come nobody leaves comments on my blog? Without even asking the question, I got the answer. I've since attempted to alter my comment settings so that any of you can leave me a comment without having to become some bizarr-o blogger yourself!

I hope that means I'll hear from more of you?! So, try again to leave a comment- & if I find one...I guess I fixed the problem? If there are no comments, I'll assume that I am truly unloved & you make up stories about reading my blog!

Technology- you win some & you lose some.

Let me get back to staring at the sky, willing the storm clouds to retreat so that I can run a training session for my boys!! Wish me luck (that's for you Luke)...or perhaps I should bank on my good karma for a sunny afternoon??

I saw a monkey on my walk to work this morning!

It's really random; it's kind of like seeing a deer or coyote in West Edmonton. Funnier still were the couple of Zambians marveling under the tree- I'm telling you, wild animals generally do not set up camp in the Capital city of African countries.

I had an equally as random dream- I dreamt I was skiing- snow skiing! I've definitely been missing the mountains...but I didn't think it was that bad. I could have understood water skiing, but the snow really threw me for a loop.

Confession: Last week/weekend I managed to watch The Gods Must be Crazy parts I & II...& all I can think about is if it rains again this weekend- I'm going to watch parts III & IV! (Did anyone know there were FOUR parts? I think I've only ever seen the first two). Brilliant.

This week I also decided I would indulge in grapes. You know, the red seedless ones. They're pretty expensive in Zed, but I thought- let me sate this craving. Time & time again I'm shocked at how much better the fruit is here than in Canada...I ate a big bunch & didn't have one bad one!

Does life get better than this? Or am I truly too easy to please?! And it's Friday again- sa-weet!!

Rained out!

All I wanted to do this weekend was swim...but the rains forbade me that luxury. It's been cool & overcast ALL weekend, but I must confess the rain proved to be the perfect excuse to stay indoors yesterday & enjoy tea, books, & movies!! So no complaining on this end!

There's a funny story I failed to report last week though. (Well, I think it's funny & several of you may disagree since the last entry I intentioned to be humorous inspired NO comments from anyone. Come on guys- I had grasshoppers jumping out of toilet paper rolls). Well, I'll post this one despite that truth.

I was taking the dreaded bus again the other morning. As the conductor (that's the name for the young guy on every bus who takes payments from the patrons, & announces all of the stops to allow everyone to move on & off the bus) leaned over to chat with me I was nearly knocked over by the smell of the local potent beer- Chibuku Shake Shake. (Shake shake is 'opaque' beer- made with maize meal & is severely fermented...the fumes are enough to set my head spinning)*grin*. I knew I was not going to be interested in ANYthing he was saying...but he said something to the driver in Nyanja that I didn't quite understand. He hops off the bus as we are stopped at a red light (or at the robots as Zambians say) & the driver is looking MAD, saying that the light is turning green right away. The driver starts accelerating & I turn round to find out what the conductor is doing. It turns out the Chibuku ran straight through him & he was taking a PEE in the DITCH of a very busy road.

The best bit- the driver took off, he did NOT pull over to wait for the inebriated conductor, but drove me safely to my destination! I was so chuffed!! No drunken conductor to irritate me, I would love to find that driver again just because he was so cool!!

Yup, my life is fairly exciting isn't it??!!!

Beautiful snippets

- Tuesday after work, just as the clouds were threatening a downpour, I donned my running gear & backpack & set off jogging to Breakthrough Sports Academy. I'm back at coaching & thrilled for the opportunities 2007 will bring. As I hit the pavement I was in absolute awe. The rain that had arrived (though thankfully not in torrents) was cooling the tarmac. There were gusts of fog swirling at my feet as I made my way to BSA. I wished so badly I had carried my camera, it was a stunning scene; the light playing on the rain between the green of the trees, and the visible heat rising out from the road. When I arrived at BSA, my hair wasn't even damp from the rain...it was an odd but breathtaking experience.

- I have had two candlelight dinners with my boyfriend this week. No, we are not hopeless romantics, but the power has been cut where I stay for over 12-hour periods. I'm livid...cold morning baths & legions of mosquitos buzzing through my mosquito netting all night. There buzzing is magnified because there is no electircal buzzing, but also because they are drawn to the only source of heat in the house- it's awful!

Now I'm just thrilled the sun is shining & I only work halfday fridays!!!!! Happy weekend- yours truly.

Photo heavy

Due to the demand for photographs of ME & my adventures (& my friends of course) during the festive season, I realize that I haven't told any good stories lately. (Yes, I use the word 'good' loosely). And I LOVED my brother's recent blog about being awarded employee of the week- Congrats! (Enjoy it, some organizations don't even KNOW their employees)...

Forewarning: this is embarassing. Especially for a Canadian. From Edmonton no less!

I was walking down the hall in the office, pulling my sweater tighter around my stomach & readjusting my scarf. The rainy days had brought me a chill. My boss caught up to me and said "It's amazing you know, we're in sub-Saharan Africa this time of year & the temperature is only 24 degrees celsius)." I sort of chuckle and sit down at my desk.

HOLD UP! Back home 24 degrees is shorts & tank top weather...perhaps I HAVE been here too long. NB*(But when the cold season comes round, it IS actually cold, & I got Canadian family to back that up- Thank you Marty & Carly)!!!

Cute cousin...& Alvin getting the Braai started


Here are a few Christmas stragglers that I couldn't upload onto my last posting. I didn't take any photos on New Year's though we had a LOVELY pizza party! We enjoyed ringing in the New Year with good friends & yummy food...what better way? Happy 2007 to each of you! Now it's back to work...


HELLO EVERYBODY! (Just in case you forgot what I look like since it's been AGES since I've seen most of you who would bother to read this blog)!

Christmas 2006

I have to admit that I was quite nervous to attend Alvin's family gathering in Lusaka West- it was the first introduction to all of Alvin's family at one time. At least I had met most of his family in pieces before...

I quickly forgot any apprehension when I saw the familiar welcoming faces of Alvin's of cousins & siblings. Although these photos look nothing like celebrations back home I have to confess, often times, it felt like home. There was a big meal- everyone was put to work! The biggest difference was that the meat was braai'd (barbecued) & I didnt' get any oven-roasted turkey. (Turkeys were acutally banned this year in Zambia due to the threat of Avian Influenza). I was quick to forget the lack of turkey when the ladies put in the Dolly Parton/ Kenny Rogers Christmas cd. Yup, I grew up on that one mom...& I just had to giggle as the girls were singing all the words while we were peeling potatoes. How could I not feel at home?? Here are a few shots...a couple more to come soon.

Cousins...too cute!



Alvin & I on Christmas Eve. I LOVED Chisanga for wearing this "Oh Canada" shirt...though he said he hadn't even thought of it until I was so happy!!










The farm itself (before all the arrivals); the crew as we're just about ready to dig in!

Back Blog

Get it- back logged blogs? Forgive me, I have my father's sense of humour.*wicked smile* I'm hoping to update my blog today...so there MAY be a couple of posts today- if all goes well with computers*fingers crossed*

I had the most horrifying experience on the way to the bus station last Saturday (Dec 23rd). Since I had a 4-day weekend, but had agreed that we would spend Christmas Day with Alvin's family, we decided to sneak out of town for Saturday & return to Lusaka on Christmas Eve. There's a farm about 45km outside of Lusaka that we thought would prove a suitable 'holiday'. We donned our bags and walked to the bus station. Just as we were approaching the station, a RAT shimmied between my legs & over my left foot and bee-lined to the busy road. The rat seemed awfully confused, and was promptly hit by a truck. I was completely shocked, I have NEVER had a rat run ON me before, no less when I'm on the move?!?! In my confusion and horror, I looked down at my foot & found rat blood. Isn't that terrible? We concluded the rat was already injured and in a panic ran over me before meeting it's fate a couple of metres away.

I considered turning around and walking home, as I was convinced this must be a bad omen. I'm happy to admit that the farm was lovely (except for a strange 3-eared donkey). The farm was packed with families & proved to be just the breath of fresh air I needed. Here are a couple shots, just because I was excited about this little adventure! Next blog- Christmas.


A noisy peacock
That 3-eared donkey I mentioned
I LOVED these massive pigs amonst heaps of scrap metal!

Here are a couple more photos from the concert...a colleague had taken some photos & sent me these two. More soon!

20th December, French School Christmas Concert

It was my debut concert as a teacher...& I must confess I was STRESSED! I was really unsure how to coordinate two of my classes into a presentation for the school & families. My eldest class (under 11) chose to sing Jingle Bells & do a little play with it. The only reason I survived Jingle Bells is because it was the Boney M version!!!
My other class (aged 4-8) performed We Wish you a Merry Christmas with dancing..Kind of! The highlight was when they were allowed to throw confetti. Let's just say they forgot a few steps & became mesmerized by the glitter. It was fun- & that's all that matters.

Luckily enough I didn't have to coordinate the babies- that would have been disastrous! I thought I'd attach a few shots of the kids I teach, I am enjoying the challenge though I'm savouring my two week holiday*grin*.

Youth Basketball League Closing Tournament December 16th, 2006

My team (quite like the coach) HATE losing. Unfortunately, after a wonderful season- even winning the league with a record of 7 wins 3 losses- BSA was not on point for the tournament. We ended up losing both our games...but I LOVE some of these photos. Please join the train of emotion with these shots...

Pre-game excitement












Adrenaline action...Intensity...& defeat



I already miss these boys as we will be breaking up until 08 January, 2006. But I know we'll come back with a vengeance!!

MRS CLAUSE!! For our staff Christmas party Ba Miriam was the scariest Santa yet!!
BSA had an end-of-year awards night. Here are a few of the winners looking AWFULLY bored. I'm disappointed to report that most of my photos are blurry from these events. But here's a couple to keep you visually satisfied temporarily!!

More than you ever wanted to know about me

Of course I'm motivated to blog the most ridiculous stories. Right, let me lay out the setting. It appears that the rains have at last arrived in Lusaka. Which means we've had a couple of BRILLIANT storms, but the days still tend to be sunny & hot. With rains, come the onset of an incredible number of insects & arthropods. As you can imagine, my least favourite time of year...no matter how much therapy I tried at the Provinical Museum of Alberta (now ROYAL), I simply cannot handle bugs.

So today I arrived at the office (job #2), and had to visit the loo before attending to any pressing matters. I finish my business & reach for the toilet paper...with the roll come 3 massive grasshoppers. Okay okay okay, I'm not actually scared of grasshoppers, but I wasn't too sure what was jumping from the roll...so of course I jump. Yup, trousers around my ankles...toilet paper rolling along the floor. I giggle (I'm sure you can imagine)...let the buggers hop around & zing at me until they know they're safe. Then I clean myself up & carefully wash my hands before closing the door tightly behind me.

Ridiculous.

But at least no critters ended up in my pants!!!

A minor hitch...

Apologies, I can't believe it's been a whole week since my last posting. Last week was HECtic...life was basketball & work as we played in the National Championships on the weekend. (I know, I promised an update from the trip to Ndola regarding the quarter final match. The thing is, the trip was quite uneventful- & we clearly won. Seriously, the most exciting part of the whole trip was watching two blue-head lizards fighting to the death. Or...as I rather hoped, mating...I searched for a lizard corpse a bit later & didn't find one, so in my positivist state, I left believing that the lizard that may have been in its' death throes, was actually in a state of utter bliss after mating). Right, I told you it wasn't the most thrilling road trip.

Back to basketball, we played in the semi-final on Saturday & lost, but managed a convincing win on Sunday to take third place in the country. I had higher hopes for our team, but am quite happy coming away with third- no that's not true...I'm just relieved that I can start having a life again! My body is exhausted...so it's time for some r & r!

There's lots going on this week so I MUST put up some photos & let you know what's shaking! Random insight into my state of mind right now: I must be homesick because I'm listening to a cd my mother ALWAYS plays at Christmastime. That's right- nothing like a little Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers in the office!!!!!

Alive & Kicking

As at any tournament, I found enthusiastic athletes laughing, cheering, heckling, & playing. There were women & men of all ages- I've never seen so many adult Zambians participating in a co-ed sporting event.

"Alive & Kicking", that's the name of the tournament I found on Saturday. Friends from an NGO I used to work with(EduSport), invited me to the tournament to see a new program they've been running. Each athlete that participated in Saturdays games was HIV positive. There were 12 netball teams & 12 football teams...yes, many athletes- all from Lusaka. EduSport has been working in various communities to promote healthy living & to lead an intitiative to "fight stigma together". The tournament was a great experience for me. It was really inspiring to see so many individuals committed to pursuing their goals, dreams, & lives when the perception of HIV is so often "a death sentence".

I'm really proud of my friends that made this tournament happen. I've been assured of a netball lesson from one of the teams in the near future...too much fun!

I'm still digesting Saturday's experience on Monday, & I feel truly fortunate to be experiencing all that I am in Lusaka. I also apologize for leaving my camera in my bag during the tournament...as well as during my housewarming- SHAME!

I have the most amazing mother

So here's the deal. My Grandmother has been 'sick' for months now. She fell ill before having knee surgery, then she recovered & had the surgery, then she fell sick AFTer the surgery due to some cortisone shot she had for her arthritic shoulder. I get a phone call from my Pop Monday morning informing me that his great visit in Saskatoon has been overshadowed by a BRUTAL return. Yup, you guessed it, Gran's not only sick, but she's having surgery when he's talking to me.

It's all very complex being so far from home when my dearest Gran is sick...but it's even worse knowing that my Mom is pulling these ridiculously long days taking care of my Gran & carting her to & from the hospital. I keep wishing I could be there to help out, & to spend time with my Gran.

But here's where the amazing part comes in- my Mom sends me an email that had me in stitches! Her life is 100% caregiver right now...& she sends me a message about her adventures while my Pop was out of town. I guess a couple of the old cronies pick my mom up to go for a drinks Saturday night. My dear mother manages to lock herself out of the house...as her lovely friends wait to make sure she's in the house, she realizes she's going to have to crawl through the small laundry room window to enter the house through the basement. Mr. Haley, bless his heart, is holding my mother's hand as she clambers through the window, over the washing machine, & into the comfort of her home. How this man didn't pee himself from laughing is besides me. I'm killing myself laughing as I imagine my "damn near" 60-year old mother squeezing through a basement window...

What a great Mom eh???

Not too much to say today...so I thought I'd add a couple photos.
The guys applying sunscreen- or, as my one friend calls it "Mzungu vaseline", & I can see why here.

Also, when I'm not on the court or in the pool, I can most often be found with Alvin.

Thanks for all the comments & emails- you guys ROCK!! More soon, I may be off to Ndola for basketball quarter finals this Saturday- you'll hear the result next week!

A bit of a random post...

Yesterday I woke up & actually thought- “I would like to feel cold”. Yes, I know- shocking to those of you who know me well. But it has been unbearably hot for me of late. It’s funny, because the October heat should be over by now…& the rains should be here. The problem is that the last couple of days the clouds have set in, & it looks cold & ready to rain at any moment, but the heavens have refused to open & the close heat is killing this Alberta girl. Give me back the dry heat*giggling*. It rained for about 15 minutes last week at my training session; it was awful because it made the heat worse. The cool lasted only a few minutes, & in the post-drizzle of rain, the heat seemed to be pulled up from the ground. It’s absolutely stifling, & I literally feel it crawling up from my ankles to surround me.

Sounds rough eh, when most of you are putting on winter parkas*grin*- it’s not so bad!!

The other thing that continues to make me smile is that though the air is humid, the earth is parched. I was chuckling recently because of the heat I’ve constantly got a thin layer of shine over my body…then I ALWAYS have some lipscreen on my lips. Any tiny breeze sends the abundant dust in swirls around me & I find myself a shade darker from the dust. I lick my lips from the thirst that prevails this time of year, & find a mouthful of gritty dust. It’s BRUTAL, but somehow I love it!!

Another weekend - another funeral. I think I’ll take the opportunity to explain what Zambian funerals look like, as I’ve been to 4 in the past few months. Brutal, eh?

The funeral process if very unlike what I grew up with in Canada. Here, when somebody dies, a regular house is opened for mourning. (Sometimes it is the house in which that person lived; sometimes it is a different house- one that can host more people). When you visit a ‘funeral’ you will find a whole bunch of men outside, chatting, drinking, smoking or simply sitting. Inside the house all of the women are sitting or laying on mattresses or carpets. I think the house stays open for about 3 days. People come & go to pass their condolences onto the “chief mourners” while family & those who have traveled will remain at the funeral house for the duration. Then there’s the burial. This is like what we call funerals at home- a church service followed by the actual burying of the body. It’s all a bit overwhelming because the mourning is so open. We never wail back home (only on very tragic occasions), but here, every morning the women wake up & start wailing, as if to remind everyone why they have come together. I feel fortunate to never have to stay overnight, with the heat, the bugs, & the lack of pillows*light-hearted laugh*. No, it’s really awful…& I think that is probably because there seem to be so many funerals in this country.

I don’t really know how to wrap this up…I have a hard time expressing that I am really happy here amongst all of the pain of which I write. I think I’ll just leave it here before I start off on another tangent

I just had the best pear of my life. It looked like a regular Bartlett pear from a good ol' Canadian grocery store...but only it was exquisite. Just enough juice running down my chin*sigh*...and mango season is JUST about here.
:)

THE NEW PAD!

Slowly settling in but feeling TOO much relief to be out of the old place. It's like a new start after living in the Pink Palace for one full year. I've lent my camera to a friend, but I promise great photos to show just what I've moved into. It's actually a great place despite the 70's mint green marble lino in the kitchen (UUUuuggghhhhh).

Bring on the housewarming...it's time to celebrate!