Just an initial entry to get this blog started. I'll probably get it rolling tomorrow if I have access. I figure this will be much easier than mass-emailing all the time. [View Full Entry]

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I can't believe I've been here one month today (or tomorrow). The days have just flown; despite the odd trauma of being robbed twice, & the great inconvenience of losing my phone. Still, it's Friday afternoon, the sun is shining, and it's only another 10 days until I take off to Victoria Falls. I can't wait, not that there isn't a lot of work to get through before then. Two containers of stock have arrived that I need to go through & record next week, plus teaching the cooks here some new recipes (other than chicken stew & nsheema), measuring up [View Full Entry]

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Work- well, it's certainly not particularly onerous at this precise moment. This week's very quiet as most people are off on field trips, doing 'activities'. I'm sat here in a spacious office which have just moved into, playing music on my laptop and awaiting the return of an electricity supply. My job is to help the organisation sort out their documentation (mainly paper). There have been considerable changes of staff over the last year or so and the new recruits are finding it difficult to locate information prior to when they started. In addition, the overall numbers of staff have in [View Full Entry]

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The Zambian bank holiday was yesterday (yes, I know, odd to have a Thursday off & then have to go back to work), so after a very leisurely lie in (even with the power off so no coffee!) I went out to lunch in Katete with some of the med students & one of the doctors. Sadly, Fly, one of the cutest dogs in the hospital, decided to follow us as we walked up the main road to town- only to run under the wheels of a passing truck. It was pretty horrific, especially as her owners were devastated when we [View Full Entry]

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Off to Zambia - Vic Falls… A 3-day stop in Zambia to see Victoria Falls one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World. And that it was, beautiful, absolutely beautiful! I stayed at the Zambezi Sun that was right next to the park. The greatest reason for staying here is the wildlife that wanders the grounds and the fact that you can walk right into the park as often as you'd like. Right outside my window there were zebra and velvet monkeys EVERYWHERE. You wanted to reach out and touch them but of course you couldn’t. Also crossed over to [View Full Entry]

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Yes, please note the above...you do not know how lucky you are to have uninterrupted power 24 hours a day, let alone hot water when you want it! Still, it could be classed as fun to have a cold shower in the dark at 6am- if you're insane! But at least it is sunny every day, I'm getting a tan, & new things are happening every day. Yesterday I wore scrubs for the first time ever. That was fun, I really liked wearing the green cap, but I'm glad I don't have to do every day I go into work. The [View Full Entry]

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There are two Catholic Sisters' houses in Chipata, mine and another, bigger one, where 12 live. However, I understand that what with all the other Christian denominations there may be as many as 5 or 6 convents, so Chipata is alive with prayers and good thoughts. As Chipata is a bit of a hub, there are frequently Sisters crashing over en route from somewhere to somewhere else, and it is not uncommon for me to come home and greet two or three people, feeling very guilty that I can't remember their names (especially in the dark), only to find that I've [View Full Entry]

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I seem to be getting more & more acquainted with the creepy crawly variety of African species; beside the adventure with the cockroach in the last entry, I have now managed to accidently kill the lizard that lived on my windowsill (by trapping it under the door), trying to get rid of various spiders, and found a praying mantis on the wall. Weirdest of all, yesterday I found a frog on my kitchen floor-when I'm in a land locked country, miles from any water! NB, don't ever try to get a frog out of the house with a dustpan & brush; [View Full Entry]

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So we are now in Livingstone, so-called after David the Scottish guy. There's a statue of him and everything. We went to Victoria Falls yesterday which was amazing - it's one of the 7 natural wonders of the world, apparently (I'm so going to win pub quizzes and trivial pursuit when I get back). You get soaked when walking across a bridge so Ross and I donned our "emergency ponchos" which made us look like demented American tourists. We didn't get wet though, so it didn't matter. I don't think I can really describe the Falls here - when I finally [View Full Entry]

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The Zambezi and the glorious Victoria Falls are just breath-taking. The Falls themselves are the largest curtain of water in the world and words don't describe just how beautiful they are. The whole area is magical. Everything is so green and lush. Butterflies are in an abundance and it feels altogether other-wordly. Think Rivendell! Getting here was easy enough. We took the bus from Lusaka to Livingstone. I was very pleased we had organised bus tickets the day before. The bus station was heaving and we certainly would not have got a seat without our advance booking. Journey time was around [View Full Entry]

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