Blogs from Katete, Eastern Province, Zambia, Africa

This may be my last entry, as today is really my last day at work. Tomorrow, as I am having a "leaving party" for my last friday night, I am taking the day off to go into Katete to buy some provisions (& alcohol) for it & do some cooking in the afternoon. Monday & Tuesday are my last days here, and will probably be spent getting my house in order before I go. I am getting quite emotional with leaving, this place feels like home & I could easily have stayed for another 6 months. That said, I do find it difficult when people come & go all the time. I had thought that I had seen the last of the new arrivals, but as usual with the disorganised state of the management here, I ... read more

Well, this is my second attempt to write this blog this week. I have been so busy that I didn't get a chance until yesterday, when I was in such a foul mood that I decided it was probably not the best idea to inflict it on the rest of the world (it is not much better today, to be truthful, but at least not everything is irritating me as it was yesterday!). The acting president of the country (former vice-president, but now head after Mwanarasa's death) will be visiting this office tomorrow on his election campaign, so hopefully that will be more exciting & lift my spirits! I'm not entirely sure why I'm so grumpy at the moment (other than the usual reason women get each month). I think it is a combination of the ... read more

So another week has passed & my time here is rapidly dwindling. Only 6 left to go now. Not quite sure how I feel about it; on one hand it will be lovely to come home and see all the friends and family I've been missing over the last six months, as well as the usual creature comforts. But it also means the boring issues of job interviews and flat hunting. Still, I have not really been getting on too great. I started this blog two days ago, but had to abandon it halfway through as I had no energy to continue with it. I am fairly certain that I have had malaria. I had a blood test on Friday which was negative, but you need to have three before you can get an accurate diagnosis. ... read more

I have just moved offices this week, as I am now acting as secretary/ assistant to the hospital director & resident doctor. It is certainly very busy! (I'm writing this inbetween typing several letters that need to be sent today) I am now based in the centre of the hospital, right by the clinics, rather than out on the edge by the mortuary as I was previously. As I write I can hear children crying, and earlier I think at least one person just died as there was a good deal of wailing. I don't know if I mentioned it before, but the African way of mourning the dead sounds very eerie. As soon as someone passes, the relatives began a high pitched wail, almost like singing, but not as lovely! This will go on for ... read more

St Francis is certainly much quieter with the departure of the five Irish students ten days or so ago...no more occasions of people falling out of trees & giving themselves a black eye after drinking too much (that wasn't me) or trying to chase after elephants & nearly falling off a cliff after drinking too much (that was me). It's funny how the whole environment seems to change here with the arrival or absence of just a few people. The two Canadian midwives have now also left, along with one of the English doctors. We had a few farewell parties for them, full of 'craic' and booze generally (you can refer to my facebook page for the photos!). There are two english medical students who arrived last week, but they haven't made much impression on me ... read more