48th birthday party

Apart from the studies (I write my first exam in exactly one week- yipe!) I managed to eke out a lovely weekend. Saturday we had an exciting morning at the courts. BSA U15 beat their opponents handily and the U18s went head-to-head with the top team in the league. We lost the game by 1 point but had such a good game that we all left the court with smiles…that’s quite unusual for a group of such competitive people.

Since I worked so hard in the sweltering temperatures Friday and Saturday afternoon, I felt like I earned Sunday off. Alvin & I sought out reprieve from the heat at a nearby pool- brilliant. I only left the water knowing that I was off to a colleague’s birthday celebration. One of my colleagues hosted a braai & we all enjoyed ourselves! Here are a few shots.

The lovely hosts, Alison & her daughter Nandi














The birthday girl!














The makeshift dance floor...I LOVE that Priscilla's got a bottle of wine in hand!














For now, it’s back to the books…
Oh, & I’m irritated- how come no one is commenting on my blog? I know my life’s not that exciting at the moment…but not one comment? I wore my new hat on Sunday & everyone thought I looked like Princess Di- THAT cracked me up*winning smile*.

Mutale's Kitchen Party

I was invited to Mutale’s bridal shower (called a kitchen party in Zambia) on Saturday. I was excited to see some traditional Lozi dress; I’ve never been to a Lozi function before & didn’t realize how distinct their dresses are. The woman on the right (leading in a covered soon-to-be-bride) is wearing the traditional “misisi” (white top. There’s another bright green misisi behind and to the left). Mutale is also wearing one- apparently any fabric can be used, as long as the shape remains the same, & a shawl is tied round the waist.















I thought Mutale looked so beautiful in her bright salmon-coloured "misisi".














As with all things Zambian there was a whole bunch of food & drink & tradition. After Mutale is “unveiled”, the groom-to-be offers up a small token of his love (a bouquet in this instance). He’s the one in the centre with specs.














The day would have been lovely had the “matron” not been evil. This woman had been hired to run the event & for some reason she thought it was hilarious that I (a mzungu) am an “in-law”. So she heckled me in Bemba (which I do not understand) until 150 women turned around and giggled at me. It was pretty awful, so I left before the dancing could begin…I certainly didn’t want to stay & have to shake my bootie on the dance floor surrounded by Zambian women who are BORN shaking their booties. Here she is, with the purple scarf wrapped round her waist. Other than her though, I really enjoyed my time with Al’s family.














Here’s Bwembya, Bwalya and Valerie.

My funeral hat

Just a goofy post to start the week. This is my new beautiful hat that I want to wear to at every appropriate occasion but since it's been deemed the "funeral hat"...I'm not sure if I can wear it to a garden party*hahaha*















There's a cutesy-poopsy bow thingy on the back...don't know if you can really make it out.

Beauty & Wonder

I had to laugh while reading my dear friend Holly’s blog the other day- she wrote about feeling generally low & had asked the universe to cheer her up. I couldn’t help but think the universe had sent a reminder my way as well. I have been so stressed this past week because it looked like I may not have been able to sit my first year of exams…then it has all worked out & I’ll be writing in 2 weeks which is also stressful- but good. I had a couple upsets at work & was feeling a bit down. Then I read Miss Holly’s blog & remembered that everyone has their days. If the universe thought I was still feeling low, it continued to pick me up by sending emails from friends I hadn’t heard from in a while (also going through some rough patches), & then I got a flower power snail mail card- Weee!
I suppose I just wanted to write to say thanks- the next couple of weeks will continue to be stressful; but my stress has been put into perspective. Life- with all its ups & downs is filled with such beauty & wonder; I’ve regained balance & am once again a thankful pup for all support I receive from family & friends.

Hmm, just re-read what I wrote, sounds pretty sappy, maybe I’m just happy it’s Friday?!*muhahahah*

Disclaimer

Apologies, I know the photo quality isn’t great- it appears that when my camera was in my hand bag the dial switched to something other than automatic…but I still wanted to put a couple shots up because it’s been ages since I have.

I submitted my research proposal on Friday & rewarded myself by taking the rest of the weekend off the books- weeeee!

Here I am (after a long morning in the sun) sporting our new Youth Basketball League t-shirts. We’ve started a fundraiser & the shirts are awfully snappy- I think most of our stock will be sold quickly so that we can experiment with other colours!














Saturday night a few of the girls got together. Here are the usual suspects: a pregnant Laurane, a pregnant Kupela, and rather inebriated Kolo & Sarah (we’re so bad)!

(Aside: I don't actually have a triple chin- it's just the camera angle)*giggling*

Yesterday I attended Alvin’s cousins’ matabeto. I brought along my friend (the notorious) Kolo who had never attended a matabeto before. Much fun!! Unfortunately I don’t have a photo of me stirring a huge pot of nshima while shaking my booty, but if Alvin’s cousins send them on I’ll be sure to post one up here- I’m pretty certain I look ridiculous*grin*.

The photos I've taken are after all the food has been prepared, & the "bride-to-be's" family brings it over to the "groom-to-be's" house. There's much pomp, money throwing, drumming and ceremony to go with everything- so here we are waiting to make enough money to bring the food inside.

Here's family- Jackie (cousin), Bwembya (sister), Kolo & Cousin Valerie in the back.

And a shot of the whole crew!

Profound thoughts of the week

As has been the case recently, I’ve been itching to update my blog but frankly- don’t have much to say. I thought I would include a couple of thoughts that have been occupying my time.

1. I have the most painful pimple of my life. But it’s in the best place- it is “invisible”. It’s in that spot where the nostril attaches to the cheek, so it’s completely hidden. But bizarrely enough it has been throbbing like crazy; I’m beginning to think it might not be a pimple…
2. Every evening just after the sun goes down there is a huge raucous of dogs barking, shrieking and yelping. It sounds like it’s coming from my backyard except I know it isn’t. I’ve got to figure out where this pack of dogs is coming from, & what the heck they’re doing making so much noise every night; it’s driving me nuts.
3. Massive research proposal due on Monday…hoping to submit this Friday. Exams only 3.5 weeks away…

I reckon I’m pretty fortunate for these to be my most pressing issues…The girls are meant to be going swimming this weekend- if that’s the case I promise to liven up this dreary blog with some “fun in the sun” shots.
Cheerio.

September already...

Hard to believe another long weekend has passed & we’re already into September. I have a few stories (largely uninteresting) and no photos to add. Shameful isn’t it?

· I did not manage to find my “funeral hat” this weekend, though still attended the unveiling of Chola’s tombstone. Since I missed her burial it was nice to know where she was laid to rest & to remember her while being surrounded by her friends & family.

· I enjoyed some gin & juice on Saturday with a few friends as per one of my goals! Holla.

· I also have successfully applied to convert my Canadian drivers’ licence into a Zambian drivers licence. They have given me a temporary permit to drive & I should receive the official one in a months’ time- watch out Lusaka! (And this may sound like an easy exercise, but believe me- it wasn’t. Thank goodness Canadian Labour Day is not a holiday in Zambia and I was able to spend the day standing in line-ups in several different buildings- I actually felt like a cow in one of those runs that lead it back to the barn. And if you ever want to meet a grumpy person, I now know where to bring you in Lusaka- a particular cashier woman would have rather barked at me than say good afternoon. Disaster- but a successful disaster nonetheless)!

· I did not find time to go shopping at my favourite second hand clothes market, but I did get some school work done, so I suppose that’s worth something (especially since my big research proposal is due in two weeks) YIPE!

· I realized I have missed August’s indulgence. If only I’d found that funeral hat. Or a pair of shoes today. Sigh. Guess I’ll make up for it in September by having TWO indulgences... or maybe that’s more likely to happen after my exams in October.

President Mwanawasa will be buried tomorrow (deemed a public holiday so I will have another day off work), and life should start returning to normal (Youth basketball league should re-commence this Saturday).
Signing off

National Mourning

Despite the country being in mourning, I had a nice weekend. It’s so quiet because all celebrations/ recreational activities have been banned (originally for seven days but they’ve since extended the mourning period for 21 days). I wonder if the mourning period will remain for the full three weeks? All national sporting federations had been told that no games will be held during the national mourning period- for me that means no basketball…crazy! I was giggling to myself because apparently the bars remained opened, but they were only permitted to play gospel music- could you imagine?! Quite funny in its own morbid way.

I actually travelled to the lovely (if exhibiting ghost town qualities) town of Kabwe about 1.5 hours drive north of Lusaka on Saturday. August 14th was the one year memorial of my departed friend & colleague Chola Chisupa. Alison- a star of a colleague- organized a barbeque at Chola’s parents’ place in Kabwe. Since I was in Canada during the funeral of Chola, I especially appreciated being able to contribute to this memorial. It was lovely to meet Chola’s parents (& see where Chola had inherited her beautiful smile), and to see her boys. There were no tears, the purpose was to celebrate Chola’s life and it was a wonderful day for me. I’m so thankful that I was able to be a part of the event. If Alison sends along any photos of the event I’ll be sure to post them up here.

Otherwise not much to report- the rest of the weekend was filled up with a bit of visiting & a bit of schoolwork. I also spent a lot of time “abroad” in my mind. My dear friend Ry tied the knot on Saturday- I was so thrilled that my folks & my brother were able to be at his big day in my stead. AND I got all the news on Seth & Marina as well since they sat at the same table- how lovely! Another girlfriend in Denmark also married her love on Saturday- so despite all the mourning my heart is singing!! (Except that it’s already Monday)*giggling*…

A sad day for Zambia

Well the news finally arrived from France- President Mwanawasa has died. Despite Zambia's challenges, a vast majority of Zambians will sincerely mourn over the death of President Mwanawasa. Such a situation has never occurred before in Zambia, so it will be interesting to see what processes will be followed to elect a new leader. I'm also curious to see how it will be followed internationally in light of the disastrous elections recently held in Zimbabwe. There have been several off-colour jokes about sending Tsvangirai to rule Zambia in the wake of Mwanawasa's death. He did win an election...and has since been encouraged to seek a power-sharing agreement with Mugabe. I don't understand why anyone supports this idea, it only emphasizes the fact that there do not need to be free & fair elections in Africa. But now I've gotten side-tracked. Getting back to Zambia, I feel that Zambia needs a strong leader to take up where Mwanawasa has left off...and perhaps to bring some stability to a region that has turned upsidedown recently.

And I want to add another random comment here that might give my mother a heart attack. I have to admit that I'm irritated by all of the "hating on China". Yes- me. Me who refuses to buy any clothing made in China (for fear that it's made in a sweatshop), and me who has always valued human rights above all else. But I recently had a discussion (with my Rhodes scholar friend) about racism in Zambia. I mentioned that I felt that Asians get the worst end of the stick- they literally get chased down the street by random people doing karate moves & imitating Chinese accents. It's embarrassing. So Kupela went on to tell me that one of her friends did a fascinating study comparing a state-owned mine in Zambia's copperbelt region, and a Chinese mine in the same area. It turns out, in this study, that the workers were actually better taken care of (better financial packages/ benefits) at the Chinese-owned mine, and that fewer accidents occurred on the Chinese mine as well. Definitely different results than what most people would assume...but has it simply become too easy to point fingers at the Chinese because we've done so for so long?
Just some thoughts as the heat is turning up in Zambia...
And I haven't been able to see much of the Beijing Olympics, but I am trying to follow the good stories!!

Blasted wall fence

My girls from back in the day started this "a day in the life" email chain. We re-connected by telling these random stories that we felt like sharing with the rest of the crew. I was inspired to share with them the following story (& their reactions were priceless so I built up the nerve to post it here)...I wanted to update my blog but didn't want to write about another weekend filled with schoolbooks*grin*. Here's the story...

When I go coach at BSA I have to jump over a wall fence to get into the schoolyard (because they lock it immediately after the kids have knocked off). There are perfect little holes in the concrete so I can step up (just call me Spidey). And yes, you can imagine all the little Zambian kids going back to their shanty compounds hysterically laughing at this big “mzungu” jumping over a wall fence. Comedy indeed- though nobody who knows me bats an eyelash anymore.

Well, the other day I had an unfortunate meeting with the wall which could have ended up much worse than it did. My beautiful engagement ring is apparently a little too big for my finger- so somehow it got caught on a protruding piece of concrete just as I was jumping down. My finger really hurt as I was hitting the ground & I dared a glace at my ring hoping all would still be in place & that there’d be no blood. To my horror, one of the small diamonds had popped out & I had no idea what to do. (We haven’t formally announced the engagement to our basketball friends because it would be too annoying to deal with people everyday for the next six months, so I’m in even more of a predicament because I don’t want to draw attention to it). So I move away from the wall & continue greeting everyone as if all is well. I end up caving & asking Alinafe (who will definitely be at my wedding but who we haven’t yet told we’re getting married) to send some of the little boys to search for the diamond because I couldn’t imagine going home & telling Alvin that I lost a diamond. Alinafe very tongue in cheek said “Oh, is it so important”- but trotted off to send the little ones in the hopeless search for a tiny diamond in a sea of dust.

So my ring looks kind of funny (missing a diamond & all bent to hell), but Alvin took it well. Apparently it won't take much to have a diamond re-fitted & the band straightened out (well, at least a few people have said that to make me feel better)*grin*. And at least I didn’t break my finger…

EFMF

Just want to wish everyone back home a brilliant weekend at the Folk Fest! Hard to believe it's been a year since sitting on Gallagher hill & enjoying Nalgene bottles filled with gin & juice, the beer gardens, visiting with family & friends, wafts of patchouli & ganja, & of course all of the music!!

Who knows- maybe I'll catch up with you next year. This year I'll be thinking of you while writing papers for my practices in human resource management course*hahah*

Much love! And I hope it stays beautiful & sunny in E-town for those less acclimatized to the Great White North:-)

India in between basketball & schoolbooks

It's hard to believe that another long weekend has zipped by.

Friday evening I went to support a colleague’s fundraiser- an Indian fashion show. Really I wanted to see Palak dressed in a full sari, because she never dresses traditionally at work. As luck would have it I missed her on the catwalk & only found her & her Shivam after they’d changed. Shame. It was fun anyway.
















I had blackmailed a couple of friends to join (actually we’d gone to Diwali & Ali loved it- so it was pretty easy to convince him), & we enjoyed a couple of beers (ok ok, pitchers of beer) after the show.














Much fun!!















Yesterday evening we bid farewell to our lovely friend In’utu who will travel to the UK, Italy, & Switzerland to attain her Masters degree. I think she found an amazing opportunity…& she’ll only be gone for a year!! We went to a lovely Indian restaurant (my first time there actually), & sent her off in style.
















In between the evenings out there was plenty of basketball & books. There’s a fair bit of school pressure with looming deadlines & exams coming up in October…after this weekend I’m feeling fairly on top of things though- so no other exciting stories to report*grin*.

One for Holly

Christmas in July. Imagine that. Yesterday I received a package from Hol that was sent from Canada in November. I have no idea where it sat for all of those months, but I’m thrilled to be blogging over a cup of Tazo green ginger*YUM*. Funnier still, no rats ravished the package, but the beautiful white chocolate bar had passed its expiry date. So we polished off the one she had recently sent from Ireland*giggling*















Thanks Hol, you are a star!!!

It also turns out the a birthday package my parents had sent has been sitting in a post office since MARCH, but the fools at the post office didn’t send us the correct slip, so it never reached us until yesterday. And now they want us to pay K270,000 (approximately CAD $80) for a storage fee. Have you ever heard of anything more ridiculous? They want to charge us for their own incompetency. Alvin’s up & down between post offices trying to talk some sense into the putzes- I hope we get the package today- wouldn’t that be a lovely way to start the long weekend?!

I suppose I have to admit that the postal system is becoming a bit reliable, but terribly unpredictable & riddled with incompetence*grin*.

The YBL is moving up

I know it looks a bit silly, but I’m so chuffed that the youth league has managed to buy these new benches for our teams!! We had received some money though Norway & we continue to put it towards good use.

BSA also hosted a “Sunday special” fundraiser yesterday (We play 5-on-5 basketball & request that each team contributes at least ZMK7,500). Our basketball court needs to be patched (again) & if we raise enough money we’ll likely re-paint the court lines. Some of my lovely friends back home check in & see if we do our own fundraising ventures or if we always ask for handouts. I guess I’m pretty proud of the young kids for coming up with the idea. So far so good- I think we almost have enough raised in the two weeks we’ve been playing “Sunday special”. One more week to go (and yesterday we doubled the amount we hoped to make, so things are going swimmingly). I also had a blast playing with the kids, I had recruited a couple other girls to join in –it’s been a while since the boys have seen me on the court, I know they enjoyed it too!

Yes, small victories still make me happy!

2nd monthly indulgence

I love it- treated myself to a haircut (well done I reckon) & a manicure (disaster- I think the last time someone painted my nails it was Clara for Grade 12 graduation. Funnily enough, Clara did a better job…so I’ve already removed the attempted French manicure & will stick to nails au naturel)! But it sure was fun to spoil myself anyway. Al & I had a great dinner date after- we hit a new Chinese restaurant!

Here's me with the new doo. I'm also trying to show off this beautiful bag I had made. Claire & Em & I all bought the same gorgeous material during a shopping adventure & I had to boast about what I did with mine*grin*
















Then on Saturday I invited the girls round for a wee get together. It was really nice- I hadn’t met Vicky’s baby, so there was lots of catching up! And I will admit that the baby totally took over, so there aren’t too many photos (& all of them include the baby)*hahah*

Vicky & her beautiful daughter

Spider babe!!

Here's a shot where we were all shocked because this little girl cried until she got her mouth around mum's beer bottle- TOO FUNNY

Here's one of me & the babe that shows off my disastrous manicure*giggle*

Pouting

Well I had received some emails, read some blogs & felt like I was missing out. People were telling me of weekends jam-packed with adventure & what did I have to report? I didn’t visit the misty hills of Chipata, or the breath-taking plains of Mongu. But I spent some time reflecting yesterday & realized my tales are just not nearly as exciting. My major achievement over the weekend: I submitted my first massive assignment to the University of London. I have been labouring away at this research proposal for months (with lots of support from others- thanks for being on 24-hour SMS alert Sarah T & getting me through the stats, & Christine thanks for the wealth of information & comments to improve my ‘draft draft’). I feel great having submitted it & now await comments from my professors before submitting the whole shebang in September.

I have my “monthly indulgence” planned or Thursday- haircut & a manicure- Weeee! Nothing like celebrating our achievements, right?

I took Saturday off the books to enjoy the courts which (let me boast here) has apparently been paying off. Our Youth Basketball League coordinator released the stats upon completion of our “first round” of games. BSA tops the charts in all divisions (except the girls division because well- we don’t have a girls’ team). We’re ranked first in the U18 league (though we’re one game in hand of the only team that’s beaten us…so it’s really more like 2nd place), tied for first in the U15 league- which is a serious feat because Magic had NEVER lost a league game until this year, and there’s a massive 4-way tie for first in the U12 league. I’m really happy that the U12 league is reflecting the ups & downs of kids learning a new sport- almost all the teams are collecting both wins & losses (& that league is too much fun). I had promised some folks photos of the little ones during our recent tournament. I was sticking true to my word on the Saturday of the tourney; but I handed over the camera on Sunday for someone else to take photos & they inadvertently erased the photos of the “babies”. I’m so bummed…but there are certainly more games to come. (Neither the U18s nor the U12s fared well in the mid-season tournament but our U15s won the day- & like I mentioned before, it’s really a big deal to oust Magic from their throne- I’m so proud of of the boys their coaches)!!!

So there are no photos of wild weekend adventures, but I am feeling great about where I am, & I reckon that counts for something.

Oh, & it’s cold & miserable again…so much for me thinking the cold season was over. I really missed my toque during my morning run- I think I’ll ask the folks to bring me earmuffs when they come visit me next.

I’m rambling- signing off- cheers to a brilliant Tuesday.

Why can’t every weekend be a long weekend?

I have had such a lovely 4 day-weekend, I’d love to share the highlights.

Friday: my co-worker Monica’s wedding! Weeeee, I enjoyed myself with my lovely colleagues & my date:-)

Here are the newly weds newly wed.





















Here's the wedding line-up as they dance into the reception- amazing outfits!




















And Al in all his finery!

























Saturday: no wedding hang-over for me; I had to hit the road for my 10 km Olympic Day fun run. And fun it was- did I ever suffer! I’m used to running 10km before the sun comes up*hahah*, this run started late and it was h-o-t. But I managed & have such a gem of a running partner (known as Ba Roomie or Coach)- here we are!

Here are my Youth League colleagues who actually took the photos; Chenge & Willy (yes, Chenge is wearing a skirt & no, I have no idea why)...

And the grand finale:-)

The rest of the weekend was spent cleaning, washing, doing school work & somehow finding time for plenty of visiting.
(I guess I don’t do a very good job of explaining how school works for me, I’d like to say that’s because I’m still figuring it out myself! But I have this massive assignment for the two introductory courses I’ve taken- the draft is due 15th July so I’ve been trying to get all my thoughts in order, figure out the science methodology/ sampling information, and limit it to 3,000 words). Let’s just say it’s a work in progress & I’m so happy that I’m allowed to submit a draft before the whole project!!!

So again, can I have 4 day weekends from now on? I’m feeling productive AND relaxed- how often can we say that??

Zambian burials

I never blogged about the recent death in Alvin’s family; last week was the first time I’d been to a burial since my teammate & friend Chilufya died over a year ago. Uncle Frank was never a well man since I’d known him. But he was always kind and welcoming; I will certainly miss his warmth at family gatherings.

Please see my recent observations:

- I had forgotten that once the casket is lowered down, it is covered with cement to deter anyone thieving bodies or jewellery
- Leopard’s Hill Cemetery is the dustiest place I’ve ever visited. I don’t actually know if women wear headscarves because it’s a tradition, or if they wear them only because of the dust. (This was an exceptionally windy day as well)
- I’ve decided to invest in a ‘funeral hat’; even if it’s cool and windy, the sun is always bearing down on this pale skin. I reckon a broad black hat would suit the sad occasions.
- The day we buried Uncle Frank, we were alongside four other groups of mourners. It was intense- can you picture it? Five graves dug in a row, several tents to shield the chief mourners from the elements, & a group of people doing everything from catching up on gossip to wailing to praying to singing. It was rather shocking to feel involved in our neighbours’ burial as our own. The saddest part was immediately after the group to our left vacated, another funeral procession was on its way to fill in the place and bury yet another loved one. We were left with no other option but to chuckle: “Is this what it has come to in Zambia”? Shame. Alvin thought the parking lot was busier than the busiest street in town, kind of hard to believe...

RIP Uncle Frank

Canada Day from Lusaka

Well the Canadian High Commission was able to host a barbeque for this year’s July 1st celebrations. We always invite Canadians living or working in Zambia and our staff, so this is how Canada Day in Zambia looked this year.














I think I got the best job of all- I got to greet everybody & slap on Canadian tattoos!














Honestly, I can’t remember the last time I picked up a hockey stick- but I had a blast playing a little ball hockey yesterday. After a little post-scoring euphoria I realized that I’d scored on a maybe, 10 year old girl- I quickly handed off my stick to another little one who was waiting to play. Perhaps a bit too competitive for the “adults vs. kids” game?!

Happy Canada Day!

From Zambia
Hope to have photos from today's events eventually...