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Published: June 11th 2009
Today's my last day in Ndola for about a week or so, which means the last day with pretty decent internet. This afternoon Sandy and I are headed to Garneton for a little visit.
The past few days have been kind of a whirlwind. Our second day here (possibly the last day I wrote) I went with the guys, as well as Ishmael (sp?) who's from Austria and Lydia, from Zambia to the Ndola market. The place was huge and had everything from small trinkets, to vegetables, to tons and tons of fish. I've heard some remarks about the bad smell the fish have, but honestly, it was welcome to some of the other scents I was picking up - including mold from stagnant water, raw sewage, and urine. Par for the course, I guess. Oh, I forgot to mention that I took my first trip on public transport to get there. It was a pretty cheap ride, but that's what you get in exchange for stops every other meter and being just a wee bit squished. We also took a taxi on the way back, with four of us in the back seat. Yeah, that personal bubble was out
the window. What was fun was the fact that the guy was not a real taxi driver (neither were any of the other guys trying to get our business) and when he saw a police checkpoint, he veered off to a side road and avoided any and all police. Evidently, he's supposed to be in a blue car and wearing a blue shirt. But he only charged us K20,000 (about $4) for the trip so I can't complain.
After we got back, Sandy took us (me and the guys) to St. Joe's Mission. The place is frickin' huge, but so nice. In the complex, they have a retreat center, friary, church, hospital, and school for the deaf. They are well known for their fish ponds, and they have about four or five - I'll have to check the camera later. It's one of the places we're taking the group, and I think it will be a nice break from the more urban areas.
That night, around 11 or so, I got a knock on my door from Sandy asking if I was willing to take a little road trip. She has been in contact with a man, Larry,
Unusual Pets
There are two antelope-type creatures basically living in their backyard like we would keep dogs.who works in water sanitation and whatnot, and has been waiting on him to get up here to speak with one of the priests in the area. Well, evidently he and his assistant, Alex (both from California), broke down just inside of Zambia after leaving Malawi, where they have been staying. They had to get their car in the shop and then find a bus up here. I think a two day trip ended up being about three days, and much more crowded than they anticipated. But, luckily, they made it in once piece and were able to meet with Fr. Elias. That was yesterday, and it was really quite amazing just how much he knew and how much Fr. Elias and members of his parish council had planned for his arrival. I'm hoping something really comes through between the two groups. Then, last night, they decided to head back to their car this morning. I don't think they were looking forward to the bus ride, but you could tell they wanted to get back.
And that pretty much gets us back to today. I will add pictures to this entry later, so just be on the lookout some
time this weekend. Hope all is going well! Love and miss you all!!
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