I'm now in the British Airways lounge at London Heathrow after two flights that took me from Livingstone to Johannesburg and now to London. I've just got one more flight before I'm home to San Francisco, and I'm looking forward to resting up after a busy few weeks!
Normally I manage to sleep through all my flights, but I was awake for the first half of my trip from Johannesburg to London, so I managed to watch the four available episodes of the second season on Downton Abbey, which brought a nice dose of British scandal and drama to my flight. :)
As I was waiting to use the restroom on the flight, an adorable old British woman started up a conversation with me that started with an observation about the person who was using the restroom at the time: "Whizzing sure seems to take a long time when you're waiting!" Haha...it was quite the shocking moment for me, and the absurdity of it keeps making me think that I must have misheard her. Nonetheless, it was a priceless moment and exactly the kind of surprising humor that lightens up a 12-hour flight!
So I'm resting up for a few hours before I take my final flight, and I'm looking forward to seeing what characters I meet on this one. Thanks again for following our journey, and we're excited to share more about our work and travel in the coming months!
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Fish Eyes and Other Animals
We've had a truly lovely two days in Livingstone. Yesterday, after a magical trip to see Victoria Falls, one of the seven natural wonders of the world, we arrived back at the hotel for a calm dinner at the hotel.
Scott ordered the bream, and as is common here, he was brought the entire fish from head to tail. I shared how many Chinese families serve fish the same way and how when I was a child my sister and I used to fight over the fish eyeballs. This naturally led to me being dared to eat Scott's fish eyeballs as Jamie and Scott squirmed. :)
We rested a bit, and with an early morning we were off to Botswana for a day-long safari. No matter how often I come on these safaris, I am always in awe of everything we see. We were a mere few feet away from crocodiles, elephants, giraffes, babboons, hippos, meerkats and warthogs (not to mention a few giant dung beetles fighting over a piece of dung!). It was a beautiful day, and we relished our final dinner before we all go our separate ways today.
I will be headed home after nearly three weeks since I left. Jamie has an exciting two-week safari planned that will take her from Zambia through Botswana and Namibia into South Africa (how exciting!). Scott will return to Lusaka to work with Hope on the continued strategy and reporting of the farm. And Mama Agatha will return to the kids at Hope House, who have no doubt missed her over the last few days.
I will try to blog again through my journey home, but in the meantime, I'll say thank you for following the blog! It's been fun sharing the joyful, sad and ridiculous stories from the past three weeks!
Scott ordered the bream, and as is common here, he was brought the entire fish from head to tail. I shared how many Chinese families serve fish the same way and how when I was a child my sister and I used to fight over the fish eyeballs. This naturally led to me being dared to eat Scott's fish eyeballs as Jamie and Scott squirmed. :)
We rested a bit, and with an early morning we were off to Botswana for a day-long safari. No matter how often I come on these safaris, I am always in awe of everything we see. We were a mere few feet away from crocodiles, elephants, giraffes, babboons, hippos, meerkats and warthogs (not to mention a few giant dung beetles fighting over a piece of dung!). It was a beautiful day, and we relished our final dinner before we all go our separate ways today.
I will be headed home after nearly three weeks since I left. Jamie has an exciting two-week safari planned that will take her from Zambia through Botswana and Namibia into South Africa (how exciting!). Scott will return to Lusaka to work with Hope on the continued strategy and reporting of the farm. And Mama Agatha will return to the kids at Hope House, who have no doubt missed her over the last few days.
I will try to blog again through my journey home, but in the meantime, I'll say thank you for following the blog! It's been fun sharing the joyful, sad and ridiculous stories from the past three weeks!
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Two Fun Stories
It’s been an action packed few days, and we’re now in Livingstone after a short trip to Lusaka to see the farm. I’m excited to share two of the best stories from the past couple days!
- It turns out you can buy absolutely anything from your car while waiting in traffic in Lusaka. At first, while waiting in the interminable traffic, I was surprised to find young men selling car seat covers, walking from car to car showing off their wares. Then I was amazed when one young man walked by holding a pair of shorts, apparently for sale to the kind of driver who doesn’t mind not trying clothes on before purchase. But that did not compare to the utter shock I experienced when one gentleman walked by holding a PUPPY for sale! I suppose one man’s street is another man’s mall. :)
- We took some of the Hope staff, including farm manager Mr. Tembo, to dinner on Friday. After being picked up from our hotel, we drove through Lusaka to pick up board chairman Roy Kaonga. As we stepped into the car, we noticed an odd smell, but we ignored it as best we could. I noticed Mama Agatha turn around in her chair to look in the trunk, and suddenly she said, “Oh! There are chickens!” Sure enough, we turn around and see ten of Hope’s chickens silently waiting in the back to be delivered to Roy, who purchased them earlier in the day. Good to know: Hope offers delivery service!
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Goodbyes in Ndola
Today was a bittersweet day as we said goodbye to the staff and students at Hope Ministries in Ndola. Tomorrow morning we'll drive to Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, to see the poultry farm that Spark helped to launch in May 2011 and that has already started to help fund Hope Ministries' child programs.
I'm particularly excited about visiting the farm after having visited the building that Hope used to rent as a school building before Spark helped to build the Shelby Goldstein Schoolhouse. When we came upon the school yesterday, we saw that there was another school in session.
Two teachers were juggling seven grades with a total of 130 students in two classrooms. When founded only a year ago, the school had received its funding from a wealthy Zambian donor. The donor pulled the support just a few months into the project, and how the school is struggling to survive.
I had heard of this school from Hope earlier, and seeing it for myself immediately made me think of just how important the farm will be to Hope's long-term strength, empowerment and success. I'm looking forward to sharing with our investors our vision for how local businesses can sustain social impact for children around the world.
Wish us luck and good weather for our five-hour drive! :)
I'm particularly excited about visiting the farm after having visited the building that Hope used to rent as a school building before Spark helped to build the Shelby Goldstein Schoolhouse. When we came upon the school yesterday, we saw that there was another school in session.
Two teachers were juggling seven grades with a total of 130 students in two classrooms. When founded only a year ago, the school had received its funding from a wealthy Zambian donor. The donor pulled the support just a few months into the project, and how the school is struggling to survive.
I had heard of this school from Hope earlier, and seeing it for myself immediately made me think of just how important the farm will be to Hope's long-term strength, empowerment and success. I'm looking forward to sharing with our investors our vision for how local businesses can sustain social impact for children around the world.
Wish us luck and good weather for our five-hour drive! :)
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Surprises Are the Best Part.
After a rather structured morning that took us around Ndola to see and learn about the effects of colonialism, slavery and HIV/AIDS, Jamie, one of our trip participants, and I were certainly feeling a bit weighed down.
I find that it's precisely in these moments when Zambia finds a way to show us its beauty and joy.
We had lunch with the kids at the school, waiting in line the way they do every day in the hot sun for the free meal at Hope, which for many of them is the only hot, nutritious meal they get each day.
Afterwards, Jamie's sponsored child, Jane, spontaneously suggested that we go for a walk through the neighborhood. Little did we know that she wanted to take us to her house so that we could meet her family. Despite our not having given any notice of our arrival, we were welcomed into the modest cement home, which houses seven people in two bedrooms.
Jane's parents were incredibly gracious and conversed with us happily while the rest of the group of 20 or so schoolkids who had followed us horsed around. Shortly, after warm smiles and a bit of conversation, we said our goodbyes and walked back to the school.
To me, it's these moments of unexpected meetings and hospitality that make me love Zambia and relish my time here. It's been a beautiful day in every way, and I'm excited for our next two days in Ndola!
I find that it's precisely in these moments when Zambia finds a way to show us its beauty and joy.
We had lunch with the kids at the school, waiting in line the way they do every day in the hot sun for the free meal at Hope, which for many of them is the only hot, nutritious meal they get each day.
Afterwards, Jamie's sponsored child, Jane, spontaneously suggested that we go for a walk through the neighborhood. Little did we know that she wanted to take us to her house so that we could meet her family. Despite our not having given any notice of our arrival, we were welcomed into the modest cement home, which houses seven people in two bedrooms.
Jane's parents were incredibly gracious and conversed with us happily while the rest of the group of 20 or so schoolkids who had followed us horsed around. Shortly, after warm smiles and a bit of conversation, we said our goodbyes and walked back to the school.
To me, it's these moments of unexpected meetings and hospitality that make me love Zambia and relish my time here. It's been a beautiful day in every way, and I'm excited for our next two days in Ndola!
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Best Quote So Far
Margaret, who used to be the manager of a major bank, is the deputy director of Hope Ministries. She is also a tall and wonderfully hilarious woman who has consistently had the best one-liners on every single trip I've taken here.
Half the time I feel like she doesn't even intend to be funny, but somehow, in talking about everything from Zambians' extraordinary skills at throwing rocks to the much more mundane topics of daily conversation, she never fails to say things that I will never forget.
Today, it happened while we were driving. It's the rainy season here in Zambia, which means most days there's at least one huge 20-minute downpour that soaks absolutely everything. This includes the dirt roads that we spend most of our time driving on. The rain plus the lack of upkeep on the roads means there are about a zillion potholes in every short stretch of road.
Drivers here usually meander across boths sides of the street on such roads, avoiding potholes and seriously testing the shocks on their cars. We faced a few doozies today, and Margaret casually mentioned that in Zambia you absolutely have to drive weaving from side to side like this. Then, she deadpanned, "Here, if you drive straight, it means you're drunk!"
Somehow after four trips and a cumulative three months in this country, I am still tickled and shocked by lessons like this. Alas, great lesson. Noted for the future. :)
Half the time I feel like she doesn't even intend to be funny, but somehow, in talking about everything from Zambians' extraordinary skills at throwing rocks to the much more mundane topics of daily conversation, she never fails to say things that I will never forget.
Today, it happened while we were driving. It's the rainy season here in Zambia, which means most days there's at least one huge 20-minute downpour that soaks absolutely everything. This includes the dirt roads that we spend most of our time driving on. The rain plus the lack of upkeep on the roads means there are about a zillion potholes in every short stretch of road.
Drivers here usually meander across boths sides of the street on such roads, avoiding potholes and seriously testing the shocks on their cars. We faced a few doozies today, and Margaret casually mentioned that in Zambia you absolutely have to drive weaving from side to side like this. Then, she deadpanned, "Here, if you drive straight, it means you're drunk!"
Somehow after four trips and a cumulative three months in this country, I am still tickled and shocked by lessons like this. Alas, great lesson. Noted for the future. :)
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Rowdy Kids, Bright Futures
Although in Zambia education is supposedly free from Grades 1-9, costs for school fees, uniforms, books and supplies add up to the point that many students cannot afford to complete even this level of basic education.
To ensure that Hope's Grade 7 graduates (who have performed above the national average two years in a row!) are able to continue their education, Hope gives scholarships to its graduates to continue their education at local government schools. I was lucky enough to sit with these students this afternoon.
It was a rowdy scene (naturally, given that we had about thirty teenagers in a room on a Saturday afternoon), but truly inspiring. The students were invested in their education, asking questions about what kind of support they might get and what support they should work to find on their own.
I'm excited to see how these students continue to represent Hope, Spark and our successes for years to come!
To ensure that Hope's Grade 7 graduates (who have performed above the national average two years in a row!) are able to continue their education, Hope gives scholarships to its graduates to continue their education at local government schools. I was lucky enough to sit with these students this afternoon.
It was a rowdy scene (naturally, given that we had about thirty teenagers in a room on a Saturday afternoon), but truly inspiring. The students were invested in their education, asking questions about what kind of support they might get and what support they should work to find on their own.
I'm excited to see how these students continue to represent Hope, Spark and our successes for years to come!
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