Kit's Adventures in Zambia

Game Over

2008-07-29T04:13:00.000-07:00

On July 5th the clinic was officially opened by the Ministry of Health. I was starting to get a bit nervous about them never showing up but, I think they figured if they opened it they wouldn't have to deal with me loitering outside their office every week. They also brought a delivery bed and a full drug kit that treats 1000 people for 30 days and promised to bring one every month with kits to the other clinics.

The village gave me a huge goodbye celebration with 2 goats and 4 chickens and plenty of monkoyo (maize brew). Nearly the whole village was there. They picked me up on a chair and thanked me for the work done in the village and of course gave me Gods blessings and told me they would pray for me (yes this is a serious christian country). "Zambia" literally translates to "god" in the local language.

On July 25th I was picked up in my village by a peace corps land cruiser. Hard to think that my days of shooting birds with slingshots, digging fish ponds, chopping down trees and cycling ridiculous distances are over, but it sure appears that way. Leaving the village was more difficult to do than leaving the states. I have that feeling that the chances of me coming all the way back to Kangaya are slim, but the chances of me forgetting any of my memories and friends will be impossible. Its hard to even think about being back in the states and having a real job and thinking about... whats next... I guess I've got a month in a half in Mongolia to think about that.

Progress

2008-05-22T06:27:00.000-07:00

Things are taking a turn for the better. The clinic project is 100% complete. It was inspected two weeks ago by the Ministry of Health building inspector and after adding a couple additional support poles and wheel chair access it passed the inspection. I'm still not sure why it needs wheelchair access since I've never seen a wheelchair in Mwinilunga and maybe two in all of Zambia, but I guess its planning ahead. An opening has been arranged with the Ministry of Health and the District Commissioner, but we haven't agreed on a final date. Currently medicine is being shared from the main clinic 15 km down the road. The village presented me with a goat and a chicken to thank me for the work on the clinic. I wish I could share the goat and nshima with everybody who helped make the project possible!

Fish farming has also been going surprisingly well and seven ponds have been dug in two months. This past week I brought out over 2000 bream fingerlings to be stocked in the ponds.

Work Progress

2008-02-26T02:28:00.000-08:00

Much to my dismay my dam broke when I was gone over Christmas. The rains turned out to be too heavy and maybe I didn't stress the importance of a spillway enough. They said it woke the surrounding villages in the middle of the night when it broke. This has proven to be a major setback and nobody is excited about fixing the dam now because most people are busy in their fields with maize and beans.
The clinic is nearly completed... I spent last week painting the walls and the Ministry of Health came out to inspect the building and to discuss the use of the clinic and how medicine will get to the clinic. The District Commissioner is also planning on coming out for the opening as well as the head Chief Chibwika. I'm carrying the final load of equipment- benches, chairs, tables, shelves, cupboards, etc. in the next few days and the official opening should be sometime in April.
I have recently returned from a trip to Luapula province to visit friends and camp at a waterfall. It could have been better without the rain, but the falls were impressive and we swam even though we were freezing and sleeping on the dirt.
Next month I'm headed to Mozambique (Tofo) for Easter vacation to do some fishing... Cant wait!

Fish farming has started- sort of

2008-01-08T02:22:00.000-08:00

After two months of working side by side with my following of 14 year olds the dam which we had been working on was finished. I figured people would come and help during the process, but usually they simply stood around looking skeptical and laughing at the white man yielding a hoe and burning in the sun. Luckily, in part because of my Peace Corps boss in Lusaka and the district Dept. of Fisheries, I received some help to jumpstart fish farming. We transported 10 villagers in a Land Cruiser about 45km down the road so they could chat and see the ponds of a village that has benefitted greatly from aquaculture development. This exchange visit proved to be somewhat succesful and generated some enthusiasm in the eyes of my village. So in addition to my army of adolescent followers, I now have about 5 full grown men helping to improve the dam and increase its size. Not exactly the numbers I was hoping for, but all I need is a few people to lead by example (since it didn't work so great with me).

The day before leaving for Christmas vacation the work was completed. The morning I left the dam was nearly two meters tall in the middle and looking fairly strong (just a few stress fractures...). Who knows what the last month of rain has done or whether the dam has broken and washed away the village and my hut. I should find out in a couple days when I return.

Clinic work has also been going quite well and I've put in orders for bedframes, windows, and doors with a carpenter in Mwinilunga. Hopefully I'll be able to find some cement and paint as well. I'm looking into getting a VCT (voluntary counseling and testing) for the official opening- sometime in the next month or two. Yes, things work very slowly. Many thanks to everybody who has helped contribute to the clinic project. The difference it will make in the village will be invaluable. Happy New Year!

Clinic Progress

2007-11-14T08:20:00.000-08:00

Clinic Update

2007-11-02T06:02:00.000-07:00

After a month long foray to Mongolia I have been in the village for a month working hard to get the outpost clinic completed before the rains arrive. The work has been going a bit slower than anticipated, but in Zambia that seems to be the case everywhere. The villagers have been working hard, however, and carrying bucket loads of sand from over a kilometer away to use for mortar and flooring. One of the bricklayers smashed his toe when a brick fell on it so we are a bit shorthanded as well (luckily there is no workers comp in Africa).
I was out last week helping cut planks by hand with a 10 ft saw that we then carried and hour back to the building site. The trusses are being constructed this weekend and hopefully by the time I return to the village after Thanksgiving the roof will be on. My next step is to begin negotiations with carpenters in other villages to make doors, shutter windows, tables, chairs and bedframes. It has been difficult getting things built because we lack a carpenter in the village. So the aforementioned items will be made 15km away and hopefully carried in on an oxcart.
Sorry for the delay in the update- and thanks for the continued support!

Zambian Independence Day

2007-10-28T04:43:00.000-07:00

Independence day was the 24th of the month and the school organized a huge celebration for the village to attend. I arrived at 9 am just in time to see some drama skits the schoolkids had made up. The next event was a drinking competition (which I competed in) where contestants drank a mysteriously colored liquid out of broken liquor bottles in front of several hundred people. I came in a close second and nearly vomited after slamming the litre of the dull yellow sugar water. The next activity was a nshima and goat eating competition which seemed a bit ironic in a malnourished country, but it was a huge hit. And years of malnourishment, a lack of food and large families make these people very accomplished speed eaters. A heaping bowl of nshima and goat was eaten under 2 minutes. And no, I did not compete.
The diesel generator was fired up and a dance competition took place in the blazing heat (100+ deg.) where 15 yr old kids were dancing to congolese rhumba. Although Zambia is a somewhat conservative country the dancing speaks otherwise. 14 yr old guys and girls grinding on each other, gyrating their hips in ways that are just a touch suggestive in front of hundreds of people. I guess not so different than middle school dances back in the states though. After the modern dance finished and a 12 year old kid was crowned the winner the traditional dancers took the field. Wrapped head to toe in maize sacks and masks they danced for well over a half hour as the crowd went crazy. Even the 65 year old chief went out and danced with them.
The PTA invited me to eat goat for lunch, which I reluctantly accepted. I ate what I determined to be kidney and intestines. Slurping down an intestine like a spaghetti noodle is not my idea of an Independence day lunch. But eating meat is a big deal so I obliged to eat the goat with a smile on my face. Whatever happened to hotdogs and hamburgers?
After lunch the drinking started and people were feeding me booze like it was my 21st birthday. Except that the booze was honey beer and maize beer (Kosolo and Monkoyo). Everybody was drinking beer, getting wasted in the blazing sun and listening to gospel music.... yes not everything makes sense here.
I was invited to play football and ran on the field barefoot and with a churning gut. I stumbled around until halftime when my feet were bloody from the thorns and my head was pounding from the sun. I went directly home for some rest and immediately broke out into hives from some type of allergic reaction. Probably some combination of everything I had ingested during the day. After two benadryl I passed out in my hammock by 7 pm. Meanwhile, others partied until the late hours. I guess I'm losing my edge...

Water monitors, Puff adders and a bit of work

2007-08-10T02:49:00.000-07:00

THE WATER MONITOR
A hike down to the W. Lunga river two weeks ago proved to be very interesting after I convinced a friend to float down the river to cool off. While floating we spotted a 2 meter water monitor between some rocks on the shore. So we quickly pulled ourselves out to take a closer look. (Any wildlife we see is interesting because the lack thereof) I thought I would do my best steve irwin impression and sneak up behind it to grab its tail. So I grabbed its tail while it furiously tried to get away- fighting with all the strength I could find. It was then that I realized the lizard must have some nice steaks on it the way it was fighting me. I called for a knife and attempted to kill it for dinner. All I was able to come away with was about 18 in. of its tail. Lets call it hunting and releasing (slightly shorter).
PUFF ADDER
Late one night I was awoken by a rat eating away at a cardboard box under my bed. So according to my zero tolerance policy for rodents inside the house I groggily got up to see what I could do to find it. After a few minutes of searching it was whacked and killed by a crumpled bat of Newsweeks. I wandered outside to toss the rat over my bathing shelter wall and upon re-entering the house I heard a distinct hissing noise. Faced with either scaling my 8 foot shower wall in my underwear or jumping over the unidentified hissing object, I chose the later. I immediatedly grabbed my grass slasher and headlamp to see what I was up against. It turned out to be an angry 2 ft puff adder. With a few quick whacks I thought I had ended its life and went peacefully back to bed with the thought of preventing a snake from coming in the house. In the morning I went out to dispose of the carcasse, but much to my surprise the snake was gone. I started to frantic a bit as I tore my house apart- armed with a slasher in one hand and a headlamp in the other. After 15 minutes I found an even angrier puff adder, nearly chopped in half on the opposite side of my house. This time I made sure the job was finished.
WORK
Clinic update- I finally was able to get cement, iron sheets and the other supplies on a truck from Mwinilunga. There is a huge cement shortage currently in the country and I paid the equivalent of $25 for one 50kg sack, nearly double the price a year ago. Tough to get much development done when nobody can afford to build with anything but mud. The foundation has been dug and will be poured this week. Convincing the community that the project is a "community project"and therefore they will be providing all of the labor is a concept that is slowly being grasped. Thanks again for everybody's help on making this project a success!
Fish farming-I finally have some farmers digging a pond in the nearby village of Chibwika. In my village I tried the "If you build it, they will come theory" on a dam I have been working on for over a week now. It left me with a total of 9 blisters and a half finished dam. The only work that came was a group of 5 kids about 14 years old. But, better than nothing.

2007-07-09T03:42:00.000-07:00

Malawi vacation-
On a spur of the moment decision I was persuaded to go on a vacation to Lake Malawi. From Solwezi it took us over 36 hour of buses and horrible transport. The highlight being when the brakes on our mini bus went out just East of Lilongwe and we jumped ship only to catch a ride in the back of a truck with a coffin. Throwing our bags on top of what I assumed would be the dead man's head we were dropped an hour later to catch another ride with a naval officer of Malawi. I still don't understand the concept of a landlocked country having a navy, but he seemed like a nice guy.
The hassle factor in Malawi was amplified by 10. Everybody was out to get us. Even at a bar where they give the price of beer (Carlsberg is the only beer in the country) on the wall they will tell you it is twice that and then force you to pay because they know you will. They call it mzungu pricing. I call it racism.
The lake was nice and we got some serious sun and relaxation. We did some snorkeling, got shisto - a parasite from snails in the lake which enter your body and make you pee blood. No symptoms yet but they say it takes months or years... All in all a nice time- just sick of traveling with crying babies burping up breastmilk on my seat or people trying to pickpocket me.
Good to be home

Clinic Update

2007-06-29T03:27:00.000-07:00

Thank you everyone for the generous donations to the community clinic. Over 5000 bricks have been molded and fired by hand. Next week I will be purchasing cement, iron sheets and planks for the first load of supplies. Everybody is extremely motivated to work on the clinic and I have been woken twice now at 6 am (much to my dismay) to help carry bricks and cut firewood. Hopefully construction will be complete before the end of October when the rains begin.
Again, thanks so much for your involvement in this project and I will keep you posted!

Rusty Scissors + Circumcision= not good at all

2007-06-29T02:59:00.000-07:00

It has been 5 weeks not leaving the village and not seeing a white person or having a semi-intelligable conversation in English. Now I am in Solwezi drinking well deserved beer and trying to eat some protein (all I have in the village is beans or 3 in. fish boiled to a mush).

The day I left the village I was invited to the traditional Lunda circumcision ritual. I show up at 9 am in the village where it was taking place and was not too surprised to see the traditional master of ceremonies, also the cutter, to be well in to his second bottle of dituku (moonshine). I was glad to see that officials from the nearest clinic had come to monitor for HIV awareness. Although they were drinking as well, I figured all is normal here. The men set off in to the bush where we met the four kids about to get chopped. They were aged from about 12 to 17 years old.
Traditionally, the ceremony is done by an elder who would fire an arrow in the sky and cut up to 10 boys before the arrow hit the ground. Apparently some had felt this practice was somewhat archaic and switched the method to scissors (no arrows being fired) and even injections to lessen the pain.
The old man gave the kids injections straight in to their penises, which looked painful enough and then they sat around for nearly an hour discussing the best way to get a good, clean cut. I kept thinking that the local anesthesia would be wearing off any minute. The first kid was held down on the ground while the traditional cutter approached with what appeared to be a pair of scissors you might find on the desk of a 5th grade teacher, barely sharp enough to cut hair. One guy with forceps pulled as the other man attempted to cut. But between the two bottles of dituku pumping through his veins and what appeared to be the late symptoms of alzheimers, the man's hand was shaking uncontrollably. After 5 minutes of cutting and eventually sawing because of the dullness of the scissors, the boy laid on the ground with blood running down his legs and tears running down his cheeks. They wrapped some white tape around the bloody tip and called it a success. Only three more to go. And yes, they used the same gloves and scissors for all the boys. Not exactly HIV safe.
After witnessing the second boy getting cut and him looking into my eyes with a look of complete terror, I had to leave. Later in the day a man told me that this is why some feel they can beat their wives- they don't understand the suffering which they go through in circumcision.
I left an hour later for a cold beer in Mwinilunga.

pythons and puff adders

2007-05-19T03:13:00.001-07:00

Things have been fairly interesting in the village lately.
First I helped push a friend of mine 15km to a clinic, strapped to the back of a bike after he tried to kill himself by drinking battery acid. Apparently the stress of having two wives proved to be too much for him and decided to cut his losses. To his disappointment we were able to rush him (3 hrs) to the clinic where he was unconsciously vomiting for two days and then recovered.
I also experienced my first real sickness in the village which was about as awful as i expected it to be. And it came from a most unlikely place- America. I found a hidden cache of almond roca my mom had sent me in november and figuring that sugar, butter, almonds and chocolate can't go bad I finished the bag. The next day I was supposed to be helping a bricklayer with a new edition on my house, but instead laid in the grass vomiting and writhing in pain. I got chills and a headache and my neighbor decided to brew the village moonshine in my backyard. The stench nearly put me into another round of puking. Finally my neighbors were telling ME I was suffering. "dimu" - it is true
Last week I was awoken at 630 by a neighbor kid shouting, "mbuma, mbuma!!" Which at the time i mistook for a mole turned out to be a 8 foot python. All of the mothers in the village were dragging their kids over to show them and scare them senseless- and to ensure that every snake they see in the future they kill. (including this endangered rock python)
Work on the community clinic is coming along and nearly all of the 4000 bricks are molded. Next we move the bricks and stack them so they can be fired so they wont melt in the rain.

2007-04-17T08:43:00.000-07:00

Peace Corp House in Solwezi
Village youth at my house
The village supermarket
The chief and his family
Big fish while on vacation

Post Parent Recovery

2007-04-15T04:24:00.000-07:00

I left the folks yesterday morning- them to the airport and me back on a 10 hour bus to Solwezi. In all we drove 3000 km, gave them the celebrity tour of my village, survived swarming tsetse flies, caught massive catfish and ate plenty of good food. On arrival in the village the chief greeted my folks with a smoked / half-rotten duiker leg which we were to feast on for dinner. After boiling the leg for 2 hours with no improvement in the rank smell we were forced to seek an alternate option. They were also given a chicken which was a bit more palatable and we were able to make some good fajitas. We cycled down to the river 10km through tall grass to do some fishing only to find the river fully flooded. We ate a snack and cycled back through a downpour with dozens of kids chasing us the whole way. When the clay trail got wet it turned in to a very challenging cycle and I could just make out my parents heads disappear as they would slip out and wreck in the 10 ft. tall grass forest. I'm sure my villagers will be asking me why I took my parents out for a cycle in the rain and made them "suffer". --well for the experience of course

The safari lodge in Kafue park was very nice despite our initial fear of the tsetse flies and flooding downpour on our drive in. The water was a few feet deep in places and the tsetses were smarming by the hundreds. Both of the parents got out for a pee break and weren't able to sit still long enough to get anything accomplished (I knew better and remained inside the cab of the truck). Now back to Kanaya and improving my football skills and hopefully starting some fish farming.

St. Patty's day

2007-03-17T02:51:00.000-07:00

No the festivities have not yet begun, but soon enough I will be scouring the town looking for green food coloring to throw in the Chibuku we'll be enjoying later. If I haven't explained Chibuku yet, it is a maize drink in a carton 5% +/- 2% alcohol by volume. It actually is the closest thing to vomit I have ever tried to drink, but desperate times call for desperate measures.
Tomorrow I'm headed to the bakery to see if they can give me a baking lesson so I can actually use the ovens that are being made back in the village. The last one I made was destroyed by a goat so I may need to make them a bit stronger in the future. On other news my village has formed a committee to begin building a community outpost clinic. The catch- I have to find funding $1500 bucks for cement and iron sheets. I'm applying for a couple grants, but I'm not too hopeful, everybody wants money to be given to them. I don't want this project to fail because they have already decided on the name of the clinic. It will be called "KIT CLINIC" in my honor. So at least I've got that going for me.

update

2007-02-26T01:54:00.000-08:00

I'll just give a bit of an update on my whereabouts and whatsupabouts.
It's the heart of the rainy season and, well, it's quite wet here. The roads are awful and the village kind of shuts down a bit- everybody works in their fields and many of them move out there for a majority of the time. I've been teaching some ladies how to bake bread- its going over fairly well, but getting flour out there is a bit tough (and it is the key ingredient). So lots of reading and talking with people about things they want to do later in the year. I am raising chickens and have one rooster that I'm training to be a prize fighter. He's still young, but he's got the killer instinct and is eating a diet of maize, lizards and chameleons for protein. Hopefully the villagers haven't eaten him while I'm gone. I cycled up to the border of the congo last week and broke my bike frame which resulted in me getting a horrific sunburn (yes the one day of sun) and walking 25 km back to a friend's house. So now I'm trying to find a bike to use until I can get my new one from Lusaka. I'm looking forward to seeing the folks coming over easter. Well I'm off to eat a hot dog (not what you would consider a real hot dog but its close enough). And as a 300 hundred pound South African told me recently "meat is meat and a man's got to eat" - not exactly sure what he was referring to... but anyway, all is well!

Tasty Rat!

Home Sweet Home

2007-01-26T16:05:00.000-08:00

Good biking road!

back to the boonies

2007-01-06T01:01:00.000-08:00

Wine tasting at 9 am. Quaffable but far from transcendent!

Just wrapped up a 3 week vacation in south africa (durban and cape town). Wine tours, cheap beer and the beach- that about sums it up. Oh and also a riot that we were part of in cape town on new years day.
We thought the beach at camps bay would be somewhat empty because of all the partying the night before but we were wrong. Thousands and thousands of people were bussed in from the townships on new years day to celebrate apartheid (before 94 they weren't allowed on the beach). As we sat above the street and the bay in a restaurant we watched all happen. Bottles being thrown and ambulances and police cars trying to push through the packed streets. After a few hours in the restaurant we decided to make a go at finding a cab and getting the hell out of there, but the manager of the place strongly discouraged us from leaving. After another drink (not me because of my struggles all day from the night before) we made a go at it. Not a good idea. Cabs weren't even coming in because of the bottles being hurled in the air. Police arrived in riot gear and with huge dogs. I managed to get pepper sprayed and had to run from the hounds. The police were making all of the blacks go to the far side of the street, while we were allowed to stay next to them and find a cab. Still blatent racism in South Africa, thats for sure- we made it home and then took a 26 hour train to joberg. Ready for some serious R&R in the village.

To the land of fast food and good beer

2006-12-16T04:01:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow I will be leaving for South Africa and returning sometime in early January or when the money runs out.
MONTH SUMMARY
-My house has been taken over by termites. I can hear them while I sleep, slowly chewing their way through wood and grass, leaving caked dirt and sand in their path. With no terminex man in 4000 miles I'm screwed. I've had books eaten in half and brooms turned into sand.
-Made a stove to make bread. A pretty big hit in the village when I busted it out at a "nutrition party".
-my neighbor told me I WILL BE farming. So I will have a half hectare of maize and beans.
-I ate goat balls (not so good)
-held a meeting on keeping a budget and record keeping. Not sure if its my specialty, but even some of the best coaches can't play the game.
-Hitchhiked with a jehovas witness and listened to him tell me I wouldnt be accepted into the kingdom of jehova. I said I could care less. He then ripped me off on the price of the ride. NEVER bad mouth jehova in zambia.
-Refused to hitch hike with the mufumbwe police because they were carrying a dead body in the back of the truck which I could smell from 30 feet away.

The Rains Down in Africa

2006-11-19T04:43:00.000-08:00

The rainy season has officially started which means by about 3 p.m. everyday a storm front rolls in and it pours down rain until morning. I've put some black plastic up on the inside of my grass roof to ensure I will remain with at least a minimal amount of comfort. My first cycle in the rain was last week when I left at 730 am to cycle the 60 km to the boma and then to catch a bus to Lusaka for In Service Training. Because of roadwork being done the cycle was horrendous. The machines couldn't compact the soil enough with the 8 inches of rain falling every night and it turned into a muddy, mucky pain in the ass. I ended up carrying my bike and bag for 5 km because the tires couldn't roll in the mud without locking up. So 7 hours later I arrived in the boma completely covered in a dull red colored mud. Although it was possibly the worst cycle yet in Zambia, I'm hoping it earned me some street cred with the villagers. A week of civilization in Lusaka has been nice but the copious amounts of good food and beer are tough on the health. But I'd take an upset stomach because I ate too much pizza anyday over puss filled lesions attacking my ankles and feet. Tomorrow off to Solwezi to feast on a turduckin. To the leyman that would be a chicken inside a duck inside a turkey.

My home in Kangaya

2006-10-20T08:04:00.000-07:00

Update and "the bat cave"

2006-10-20T03:41:00.000-07:00

Most of my energy in the past month has been focused on getting my house finished and preparing everything for the rains which supposedly come exactly on Zambian Independence day Oct. 24. My neighbor still needs to fix my roof because he thought a decoration was more important than keeping the rain off my head. In addition I've been having termite issues. They fall out of the grass in my roof, fall on to my insecticide treated mosquito net, die, and then using their last ounce of life, fit perfectly through the netting and fall dead on my bed. I'm not talking one or two either. I was sweeping the maggot-like corpses off of my bed by the hundreds. SO I'm thinking plastic sheeting may be a good idea before the rains come in full force. On other news- after a month of hanging out in my village trying to be a "good"volunteer I am in Solwezi trying to acquire my work permit as well as eating some good food / cold beer and taking antibiotics for my infected wounds. Not easy keeping things clean out here.

The Bat Cave...
Our original intention was to have a large group of volunteers visit the cave, complete with bike helmets, headlamps and full piece blue mining suits, but it turned out to be only three of us. The caving adventure began in Chibwika, a village 15km from my village Kangaya. We walked two hours in the bush with three Zambians who didn't wear shoes or bring water even though the three of us were dieing in the african heat.
The cave didn't look like much at first, just an opening in the bottom of a creek bottom. It reminded me lots of the caves on the smith river. The only difference I would say is that this cave was inhabited by thousands of bats. Our fearless guides cowered by the opening and said "they feared the bats" and would not enter. So while we walked over feet of bat guano and had bats hitting our faces our guides stayed near the entrance with pieces of bamboo which they swung blindly into the air killing bats by the dozens. I believe their final bat count was somewhere around 120 by the time we left. And yes they stuffed them in their pockets with huge grins and would have plenty of "relish" for dinner. We explored maybe 100 meters into the cave until the stench of ammonia and moist bat guano became too much. The bats were so thick in places that you couldn't hear anything except the flapping of wings and screeching of thousands of bats as they wizzed inches from your face. At first I huddled down like the bats were a bad dream, but after a while we decided if they hadn't bit us yet they weren't too interested, so no, fear was not a factor. On the walk back we saw a couple of owls and stopped along the way to harvest some honey out of a tree. The two hour walk back to the village turned out to be a little more than an hour because our guides conveniently remembered a shortcut. So we at fresh honey (although I think it was more pollen than honey based on my allergies) and walked our way back. Our guides tried to get money out of us for taking us to the caves, but like every other zambian that asks me for money. I simply say in Lunda "Nikweti mali wanyi" (i dont have money)

This weekend I was going to be watching zambia play angola in the qualifiers for the africa cup but it looks like I'll be watching the game in a bar instead. So yes my peace corps vacation is going quite well... I'm off to go eat a hot dog at a new restaurant in town. Yes a real American hotdog- it should be quite the treat.

Kit's Bushbaby

2006-09-27T08:32:00.000-07:00

Bushbaby in hand

Kit's Drinking Buddies

2006-09-21T15:16:00.000-07:00

Having a drink with friends

Kit's Home

2006-09-21T15:10:00.000-07:00

My new home!

Slowazi

2006-09-17T02:01:00.000-07:00

I have been sitting in Solwezi for 10 days because I have no money. For about 5 days now the bank says "ah there is no money for you today mr. fischer." Ok so I guess I'll just hang out in lovely solwezi. Tomorrow i will be going back to my site and getting back to the house building project and maybe a little fish farming. I have come to the realization, however, that a PC volunteer does a lot more American public relations than actual development work. I figure at this point if I can get at least a pond or two dug with fish by the time I leave it will be a "success." The concept of time is something foreign in Zambia and doing a project, even if you say "now, now" that means maybe in a week or a month. But, no worries, I am entering the heart of the tiger fishing season...

I am now a Lunda by tribe

2006-09-08T01:47:00.000-07:00

this may be the longest period I've ever gone without checking email, hearing any world news or eating ice cream in my life. I was posted to my village, Kangaya (about 60 k south of Mwinilunga) on Aug. 18 and have been 'settling in' ever since. Basically lots of reading, meeting people, serving as lead architect and foreman for my house, fishing and putting on a couple 'programs' as they call them here. The first was an introduction to fish farming and what peace corps is all about, in front of maybe 150 people. The next program was a child health lecture- since I am such an authority on the subject... But telling people to feed their children more than once a day and wash them is pretty basic. I've been cooking my own food, eating rice, bushmeat (duiker and bushbaby). Eating the village food is a little challenging but we have lots of great fruit in the village; papaya, mango, guava, banana, avacado, lemon. I had a pet bushbaby by the way. But after I got sick for two days and neglected feeding it the kids ate it. I also had quite an interesting fishing trip.
WEST LUNGU TIGER FISHING
About an hour cycle from my village is the west lungu river, one of the two rivers that make up the main Zambezi. In the dry season (now) the tiger fishing is quite good. So along with two 'escorts' we cycled down to the river to try my luck at the tiger fish. Four zambians stared while I rigged up my rod - they kept calling it 'a very powerful machine.' I was using hard tackle because there was no way to cast a fly road with the overgrowth and my unwillingness to get near the unknown croc waters left me throwing monster rapalas and spinning lures. After only 10 minutes I hooked into my first tiger fish and it put up quite a fight- I dragged it into shore and the villagers wouldn't get near it. After I saw the teeth I understood why it is named so. The teeth look like those on a barracuda. The fish weighed something like 4-5 kg but the villagers said my line wouldn't be strong enough for the 15 kg tiger fish that are common. Needless to say I'm quite happy with my location and awesome fishing. The day ended with the three of us outcycling a bush fire that a drunk had lit while we were down by the river. It just so happened that 15 mph winds picked up as we were walking out of the gorge. Everything else is well here and no malaria yet (even though 2 people in my province got it and another treated for a spider bite).

Enjoying a waterfall

2006-08-07T13:30:00.000-07:00

Kit

Site visit #2

2006-08-05T04:51:00.000-07:00

I returned on Sun. from a two week visit to near where I will be posted. Highlights include
-drinking Kosolo the honey beer from NW province that is excellent. It comes complete with floating bee larvae for a garnish- Delicious!
-Attempting to kill a guinea fowl with my slingshot with the whole village watching and then being showed up by a 10 year old boy who shot the bird in the head while running at 10 M away.
-Going to a Christian Training Center (don't worry I haven't turned) where I was treated like a king; given fresh meat and vegetables and the center had a waterfall with a jungle-like gorge and swimming hole.
-transport back to Kitwe was also interesting. The first bus from Mwinilunga to Solwezi I was seated between a massive congolese rebel and a fellow PCV rockin out to death metal at 730 am. And because the bus was packed so tight the roof cracked and began to cave in more with every bump we hit along the way. The next bus from Solwezi to Kitwe was even worse- just after narrowly escaping a head on collision with a semi the wheel of the bus falls off. Just watching the scenery pass and the next thing I see is the wheel rolling past the bus and off the road. nice...
-Not quite the same idea of safety in this country or prevention but it makes it that much more exciting. --but definitely doesn't help stop the aids problem.

We are cooking an impala for dinner tonight and then a long evening of beer cricket. A sport which I hope to introduce to Montana upon my return. Ok I'm off to get hassled in molested in the kitwe market now!

2006-07-17T11:42:00.000-07:00

FRIENDS

zambian 4th

2006-07-08T06:31:00.001-07:00

Needless to say, it didn't include hotdogs or hamburgers or fireworks or really anything American accept maybe a sack race and even that may have originated somewhere else. Instead, we ate a variety of the local "cuisine" including caterpillar, impala and fried fish, chicken and green stuff. I was able to take part in the slaughtering of a chicken which I can say was a first. Pretty savage- step on their wings and feet and cut the head off with a dull kitchen knife and hold them so they don't run around with their heads off. But red, white and blue was completely absent from the scene- (minus the chicken blood all over my feet). The night ended with plenty of libations and a bon fire at the local club / bar. I also tried chibuku for the first time the other night. It is essentially fermented nshima with the consistency of a thick shake (it is also known as SHake SHake). IT could positively be the worst alcoholic drink I have ever tasted. But after the first few cut-off plastic bottles full of the drink the sour-puke-like flavor disipates.
Tomorrow- game two of peace corps trainees vs. zambian staff in soccer. If its anything like last game we can expect a solid ass kicking. Oh and can somebody turn the heat up over here? I thought I was in Africa. When I can see my breath taking my morning bucket bath I begin to question Africa as a "hot" continent.

TPFC to save zambia

2006-07-01T05:35:00.000-07:00

Three simple items: Toilet paper, forks and condoms would be a sure-fire way to help curb several of Zambia's problems, namely the health of its citizens. There is a direct relationship to not using toilet paper and eating with your hands that I dare not explain. In addition, at my homestay we wash our hands with water before dinner and then after dinner for dessert we are given a bar of soap to disinfect the food we have already put in our mouths. Some things do remain baffling but, that is what I intend to explore in my 2 years. And do I need to mention the ABCs? Abstinence, being faithful, and the correct and consistent use of condoms. HIV and AIDS education has been a bigger part of our training than I initially thought it would be. To other matters.

Life has been well in CB4 and I have been settling in nicely to the routine of "School" everyday. Oh that is minus my close encounter with a rat in my mosquito netting.
So there I was, settled in for a good sleep, thinking I had tucked every corner of my mosquito netting under my mattress to form an unpenetrable barrier against insects and small mammals- until a critical breach in my security led to a rat falling off the inside of my netting and landing square on my face. The zambian lager of the miombo club had put me into a deep sleep but not deep enough to ignore the talons on my cheek. *Kit and Rat enter the octogan of mosquito netting. A brief fight ensues, me swinging my book Ordinary Wolves at a not so ordinay rat. The rat had remembered its initial entry point (where I believe it actually used its claws to untuck my netting) and escaped unharmed.*

So if not a rat it is always something else that makes the day or night exciting. Definetely a new experience every day in Zambia- not enough spare time to be bored or homesick (yet that is).

My room with friend

June 17

2006-06-24T13:11:00.000-07:00

kolenu mwani a tata,
That means hello how are you in lunda.

We have 4 hours of language every day which means by the end of nine weeks I will be a virtual pro, however, right now I am not a pro and my conversations with my mama right now are not much more than "this is very good" - chiwahi nankashi or thank you - nasakilili but I am starting to get it a little better. It doesn't help that she doesn't speak a lick of english so there are some long - long silences between talking.. there is lots of staring and pointing. My room is an 8X10 prison cell with two inch slits for windows and a foam bed. Above my bed it reads "god knows your life" which is interesting to see when I'm trying to sleep. I have cockroaches and mice around so that makes things quite interesting to say the least. I had a rat literally scare the shit out of me when I was squatting in the latrine yesterday morning. The food leaves something to be desired, nshima with potatoes and rape and usually a mystery meat of sorts. There is no electricity so it is lights out for me at 8 pm. I hitched into kitwe this afternoon which was quite the adventure (20 km away) since they have us isolated at our training boot camp there are no phones or internet.

I have also been thinking about getting a cell phone here. I could buy one for 85 bucks and send text messages to people for basically free... 12 cents or something. Calls are a bit more expensive but all incoming calls are free and in the NW province there is very good service everywhere so Iwas going to consider doing it.

I am learning lots about fish farming and got my bike today. Not exactly top end but it will get me from point a to point z. There are some fun volunteers and I am having a pretty good time. It would be nice if I had a little more time for just relaxing though. I get up at 6 and its non stop action until 8 p.m. We have decided they are keeping us busy so we dont realize we are missing home. I've had time to drink a couple beers and found out where to go fishing today.

Damn those Heat. I don't have time to check out the scores or know anything about the outside world. Oh and if you send packages make sure they say Jesus cares or something churchy on them so they don't get messed with. I guess thats the trick.

June 24

2006-06-24T12:48:00.000-07:00

So its Sat. afternoon here in Kitwe. I took the minibus in from Mwekera with some others to eat some good food and check our mail and I'm going to buy a cell phone.

Everything is going well over here, we are very busy every day doing technical training and language training and then I go home and attempt to talk with my Lunda family. It turns out I live in the ghetto of the fisheries compound so I am truly getting prepared for zambian life on my own (except I hope to be eating a little better on my own). I went fishing the other day and caught a couple largemouth breem which were very good eating and provided some much needed protein to my diet. One person already got malaria and another got an intestinal parasite but I have avoided everything so far. Thank god.

Kit's Address

2006-04-06T23:37:00.000-07:00

Beginning August 15, 2006

Kit Fischer
Peace Corps
PO Box 160073
Northwest Province
Mwinilunga, Zambia

To Mail Large Packages:

PCV Kit Fischer
PO Box 110264
Solwezi
Zambia

Email: khfischer@gmail.com