I've been "home" in England for half a week now, enjoying some good food, although the weather as usual leaves a good deal to be desired...despite some sunshine, it has now gone back to form of grey skies and rain, which has left me longing for Zambian heat and sunshine! This will be my final entry, as I guess I am not travelling any longer (at least for now) & now have to find some paid work, fairly daunting seeing as most of the world's economy seems to have gone into meltdown in my absence! Still, I am certain that things [View Full Entry]

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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 [View Full Entry]

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I cannot believe that I only have 14 days left here-this time in two weeks I will be on a bus to Lusaka, probably devastated at the thought of leaving. It sounds like a cliche, but my time here has gone so fast, it feels like no time at all. And I suppose that, really, in the scheme of a lifetime, 6 months is hardly any time at all. I certainly would like to do more here, but I also feel that it is important to come home again & earn some money, even if it is only to be able [View Full Entry]

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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 [View Full Entry]

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The country is very subdued here right now, due to the President's death & funeral which takes place this week. Our latest expedition to the local bars in Katete on Saturday was strangely subdued, there were not too many people & even Drums was closed (although this was because it got closed down by the police)! Still, it didn't stop a crazy/alcoholic woman from trailing us and shouting repeatedly about hottentots. That's not a word I've heard much used in conversation before. I'm not even entirely sure what it means? I know that I should be trying to soak up the [View Full Entry]

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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 [View Full Entry]

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I have a few moments on my hands this morning, just before I have to go up to the pharmacy to pick up some ARVs (don't worry, they're not for me, they're for another patient, doxy is still the only medication I'm on) & thought I should update even if its still less than a week since the last one. The weather is hotting up here now, making everyone rather irritable- or so it seemed last night after the rather large row I nearly got into at dinner, but just managed to avoid by keeping my temper (those of you who [View Full Entry]

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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, [View Full Entry]

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As of tomorrow, anyway. I fly on the Thursday 9th October, which means I will be travelling to Lusaka on 8th, then I want the 6th & 7th to sort my things out in my house: make sure it is clean, throw away all rubbish, give away as much as I can to make my suitcase lighter...so I really only have eight weeks of work left. It seems a frighteningly short time, especially when I have also started to look at the Guardian website again to see what interesting jobs there are. It is going to be very strange to go [View Full Entry]

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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 [View Full Entry]

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