An August Update

It’s been an eventful week around here.  I arrived back in Mpongwe Wednesday to lend support to all of the agents here that are involved with the prepaid vouchers.  I’ve been doing a little bit of re-training, lots of marketing, and talking to as many farmers as possible, to let them know about the vouchers.

My friend Cholwe holding the flyer I designed

Me: "smile!!!!!" Her: "But I don't like to smile for snaps!"

Everyone has been extremely receptive about the vouchers.  They love the idea of getting a discount on their maize seed if they purchase early.  So why is it Sunday, August 14 and we haven’t yet sold a voucher, after launching Thursday then?  Well the farmers have been selling their maize to the FRA but haven’t yet been paid.  This has been a large problem in the past, and is something they have to deal with year after year: waiting for payment.  This year though, is an election year, so they are hoping to be paid much sooner.  The government cannot pay out as late as they normally would because they want to be re-elected.  So, farmers are hoping to get paid this coming week.  Do you know what that means? Vouchers galore!

Rupiah Banda supporters parading through town

I have video too, so you can hear them sing! Unfortunately though, my internet is not good enough to upload it!

They love the vouchers!

Flyers and vouchers! Excited to sell!

The farmers love the vouchers because they are getting their maize seed at a reduced price.  The stockists love the vouchers because they are getting their commission spread out, rather than the bulk of it being in October and November.  MRI Seed loves the vouchers because it will make reconciliation time easier.

A group of farmers with the flyer and learning about the prepaid vouchers. They promise they will return once they have received their money from the FRA!

I’m only in Mpongwe until Wednesday of this week, and I’m really hoping that we sell our first voucher before then, because I would love to be there to witness it (and take photos!).  I’m going to go to the FRA shed where more farmers are selling their maize crop to talk to them and inform them of the voucher program.  I want to reach as many farmers as possible, because I really believe in the success of the prepaid vouchers.

The sun setting in Mpongwe

As far as life goes in Mpongwe, it’s pretty great.  I’ve been staying in a guesthouse which has been both nice and lonely.  It’s nice to have my own bathroom and shower, but after I arrive back in the evening I get a little lonely.  I’m used to being in Anna’s flat in Lusaka with a lot of people.  I love my own space though, so it’s pretty relaxing.  Except, yesterday I had A MOUSE come into my room!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Anyone who knows me even a little bit will know that I am ABSOLUTELY TERRIFIED of mice!! I’ve had a recurring nightmare about them for years now. Years!!!!!!!

This is how I keep the mouse yet... Towel on the outside, chitenge on the inside, followed by everything I can find that is slightly heavy in my room.

I have found a few tailors in Mpongwe, and they’ve been quite good (don’t tell my mom or dad, but I’ve had even more clothes made!).  One tailor I met even speaks French, so Saturday afternoon after all the shops closed and I was done work for the day I sat with him and we spoke to each other in French for a long while.  He is full of wisdom – and I must admit it’s pretty nice to be able to have a conversation with someone who isn’t hitting on me.

My French-speaking tailor and I

That brings me to my next topic: marriage proposals, lewd comments, and even more outrageous actions from men!  Two weeks ago was the National Agriculture Show in Lusaka.  In my last post you’ll see that I was looking forward to attending it.  Well, I didn’t.  Why?  Well, Stephanie, Spencer and I stepped off the minibus and immediately we were swarmed by men.  I stepped off last and a drunken man hugged me, and I had to push him off.  Then that same man grabbed Stephanie – Spencer witnessed this time and had to work to get the guy off.  Then he tried to take Spencer’s sunglasses off his face, and at the same time had his hands in Spencer’s pockets.  People were attempting to get in our bags and we were not feeling like it was very safe.  As Spencer had his arms stretched trying to keep this guy away, there was a man who came up to me, grabbed my chest, squeezed, and said “nice size!”   I was not only mortified and felt degraded, but I was extremely pissed off as well. Needless to say, we didn’t enter the show because we just did not feel safe.

As white women in Zambia, we always have men grabbing at our arms and hands and get ridiculous comments that depending on our moods either piss us off or make us laugh.  These comments (that are daily, I assure you) include, but are not limited to:

“Will you marry me?”

“Will you find me a white woman to marry?”

“Ahhh, I’ve always wanted to sleep with a white woman!”

“Will you be my girlfriend? I feel that a white woman would understand me and my needs better than the women here.”

“Take me to Canada with you! I want to be your husband.”  (To this one I always reply: “Only if you cook, clean, take care of the children, and do the laundry, because I don’t plan on taking on all those roles when I’m married!”)

They don’t even know me at all, but just because I am white they want to a) be my boyfriend, or b) be my husband.  They have this vision in their minds that all white people are fantastic, but in fact we aren’t, and sometimes we’re pretty shitty people.  They idealize white people.  I had girls playing with my hair one day, and one of them said “I wish I had your hair! I wish I had white girl’s hair, and then I would be pretty too.”  My heart broke.  They think they need to dress and look like us to be beautiful.  That’s definitely not the case.  Some of the most beautiful people I have seen in my life have been right here in Zambia.  I wish they would realize that they are beautiful, because they are.

Upon my return to Canada I’m looking forward to once again being anonymous and just blending in to the crowd.

Xo,
Raquel

Currently listening to: Fiery Crash – Andrew Bird

 

 

Ready to Launch

The past few weeks have been fairly eventful.  After leaving Monze I have spent most of my time in Lusaka, working from the main office with the other people on the project, getting the prepaid vouchers ready to launch and working on some marketing.  Moving the pilot from Southern province to Copperbelt and Central provinces means that we had to find new radio stations, change the flyers a little bit, and find new agents to work with on the project.  The towns that were chosen for the pilot include Serenje, Mkushi (where Stephanie is located) and Kapiri in Central province, and Mpongwe (where I will be relocating) in Copperbelt province.

The flyers I made

We were able to begin training agents this week, which was an exciting milestone for the project.  I traveled to Mpongwe by bus, hitchhiking, and mini bus, and soon found a beautiful (and relatively inexpensive) to stay then began my trainings.  I first trained a store where they have already worked with Mobile Transactions, so the concept was not completely unknown to them.  They were very eager to learn about the prepaid vouchers, and are very excited to begin selling and marketing.  They know that by farmers getting a discount on their seed that they will be willing to purchase early.  The first training was a success!

The vouchers and system manual for training

The next day I trained two more agents.  The first one went extremely well, and it almost felt like I did not even have to be there.  I could have just handed the young man who works at the store my system manual I created and he would have been just fine.  He was keen and enthusiastic to begin selling vouchers using a website from his mobile phone.  He loved the idea.  He and his boss were both looking forward to begin to sell.  Later that day I did my last training for Mpongwe, and it was somewhat frustrating, which was to be expected after having two trainings that went so well.  After I left that training, knowing that I would go back next week to provide him with a second training, I stopped back into the first store I trained at.  I was so happy to see one of the employees sitting at a table with his mobile phone and the instructions I provided him with, practicing and writing notes.  It made me incredibly happy to see, and made me feel like the pilot would be very successful because when people are ready and willing to learn, they will also be looking forward to marketing the product.  Success!

The town of Mpongwe

Last weekend all of the southern Africa AVC (agricultural value chains) team met in Lusaka for two days of team meetings.  We did some planning for upcoming APS (African Programs Staff) and ProFellows.  We had a lot of fun spending time with each other, and when leaving the house we took a ride through Lusaka in the back of a Canter (truck) with all of our baggage and mattresses.

Team AVC in the Canter!

Mathias, Spencer and I! Winners of the July AVC Olympics!

Larissa, Elliot and I on the way out to dinner!

In the Canter riding through Lusaka

The balloon race! Part of the AVC July Olympics!

This weekend is the national agriculture show in Lusaka, so I’m looking forward to checking that out today!

Xo,
Raquel

Currently listening to: Regina Spektor – Machine

 

What’s inspiring you today?

 

Art: My Dorothys

 

We put Dorothy first. But who is Dorothy?

Dorothy is our boss. She is the one to whom we ultimately report to, and she is the one with whom we partner and work beside. There is one stakeholder who must always come first: the people in the developing communities with whom and for whom we work. The name ‘Dorothy’ personifies the “stakeholder who must always come first.”

Dorothy represents a development worker that EWB met in our work overseas. We came to see her as a representative of the people with whom and for whom we work. She represents the poor women and men who struggle every day within a cycle of poverty and vulnerability to make positive change for themselves, their families, their communities and the world.

EWB understands the heterogeneity of developing communities, and does not try to represent this reality in the person of ‘Dorothy’. Dorothy is instead a reminder to us of those caught in a cycle of poverty. When we have to make a tough decision or plan, both in Canada and in Africa, we try to step back for a moment, and ask ourselves “What would Dorothy think? If we could explain the challenges and tradeoffs of our potential action or inaction, what would she want us to do?”

We feel that everyone involved in human development, and everyone passionate about helping to build a better world will be faced with tough decisions and trade-offs in their personal and professional lives. Keeping someone like “Dorothy” in mind helps keep us focused on the impact of our decisions.

source: http://wiki.ewb.ca/en/EWB%27s_Values_and_Beliefs

Art by: Raquel Vigueras

My Dorothy has a bright future and is my inspiration.

Xo,
Raquel

 

What’s inspiring you today?

Development work takes time.  When things feel like they’re moving too slowly I will remember this.

I’m going to start posting graphics that I create when I’m feeling uninspired in work or life with quotes that I find inspiring.

Xo,
Raquel

 

An Appreciation

After reading my dear friend Elliot’s blog, and more specifically his blog post titled A Scolding, dealing with his complications from his tailor, I thought it would be fitting to do a counter post on the tailors I found in Monze who I will miss dearly already!

Elliot had to deal with really poor customer service from his tailor in Petauke.  I, on the other hand, have had quite the opposite experience with my tailors.  Before moving away from Monze I had three dresses and one skirt made.  When I had the first dress made I brought the chitenge fabric in on Tuesday at 3pm.  They told me to return Wednesday at 12pm to try it on.  Wednesday I fell sick with dysentery (yuck) and was unable to gain the energy to go back to the tailor to see my brand new, made-to-fit, perfect dress.  Instead I went Thursday, when I was still sick, but much less sick, and they expressed a lot of concern for my well-being since I did not return the day before.  They had me try the dress on, and we discussed where alterations needed to be made, and they told me to return Friday at 2pm.  Overnight I became even more ill, then had to travel unexpectedly to Lusaka Friday morning.  I didn’t return to Monze for two and a half weeks!  When I did finally return to Monze on a Wednesday I went straight to the tailor to pick up my dress and pay them… I even gave them an extra 5,000 kwacha (about $1) since they had to wait so long for my payment.  The dress was perfect-fit.  No further alterations had to be made.

The next morning, Thursday, I returned with three more chitenge patterns and a request for a long, maxi dress, a short Jackie O type dress, and a high-waisted A-line skirt.  No problem, they told me, and I was to return Monday at 4pm to try them on.  Two dresses and a skirt, and they would have it ready for me already on Monday! So fast!

Well, Friday afternoon I received notice that I would need to leave Monze that coming Sunday.  After the initial shock of having to move so unexpectedly from the town I was growing to love so much, my next thought was “Oh shit! But I’m supposed to pick up my dresses Monday!” so off to the tailor I went, with my friend in Monze, and I told them my situation.  It was not a problem.  They had not yet started on my dresses, but they told me to return Saturday at 2pm.  They were very accommodating.

I went back to see them at 11am Saturday, just to see how things were coming along.  They were already finished, and everything was ready for me to try on.  I spent the next two hours with them as they altered everything to my taste and to my fit.  I left Saturday at 1pm with three new items of clothing in my hand, only two days after bringing in my fabric and my desired designs.

Now THAT is great customer service in Zambia!  Fast, amazing quality, and genuine interest in me and my well-being; I could only hope that people in Canada would be just as kind, considerate and accommodating as these ladies were.

Xo,
Raquel

Currently listening to: Floorplan — Tegan and Sara

 

 

Big shock.

You would think I would be used to opacity and sudden turns of events by now, after starting out on the WatSan team in Malawi in February, then finding out in April that I would be going to Zambia as part of the AVC team instead.  These changes happen and need to happen, and I’ve learned to accept, even expect, it.

Today I got a phone call and a big surprise came:  I need to move out of Southern province on Sunday, go to Lusaka where I will have a meeting on Monday, and then move to Central province sometime during the week.  On the one hand, I’m really excited to see more of Zambia… I have already seen most of Southern province, I’ve seen Lusaka, and I’ve (unfortunately, if you read my last post) bussed through Eastern province a few times.  On the other hand, I’m feeling uneasy about having to integrate into a new family.  You see, I’ve already lived with three families in Zambia, and although I’ve had great experiences with the second and third, I had a really unnerving, uncomfortable and all around bad experience with the first family I lived with.  Having to move in with a fourth family now makes me a little frightened…  I’m probably overreacting, but my first experience has really stuck with me and makes me nervous when I think about it.  But – I’m sure this next family will be great!

As it is right now, most people purchase their maize seed once it begins to rain, and 90% of sales occur during the months of October and November.  What the voucher program I’m working on is trying to do, is give farmers incentive to purchase their seed earlier, between the months of July and September.  This benefits the farmer by giving them a discount, it secures their inputs for the upcoming agricultural season, leads to better planning which in turn brings them better planting and better yields.  The retailers are benefited by having a longer selling period which gives them larger sales and larger commissions.  The seed company benefits from not having to deal with the logistical nightmares that reconciliation brings.

Well, seed arrived to the depot in Monze on Wednesday.  Now, selling vouchers to buy seed early no longer makes sense because the stockists/retailers will already have seed in stock.  So off I go to the Central province of Zambia!

It’s bittersweet.

I will get to see another part of Zambia, that I likely would not have had the chance to see otherwise.  But, I’ve started to develop some really good personal relationships with people here.  I’m comfortable with my host family and I look forward to spending time with them every evening.  I’ve made good friends.  Friends that I will likely come back to visit some day (hey dre (my sister…) wanna travel Africa with me once I’m done university?) because I’ve developed some good bonds with them.  It will be tough to say goodbye.  I already made a fool of myself and cried when I told some of them that I have to move away from Monze on Sunday…

I’m ready though for whatever is thrown my way though!  I’ve already had to deal with a certain level of opacity with my placement details from the beginning and it can only get transparent from here! 🙂  Here I come Central province!  Here I come Steph!  Sorry USask chapter, your chapter learning will be limited to just a small chunk of Zambia and basically one business this year… 😉

So although I am sad to leave Monze, I have now processed the information and I’m looking forward to pick up wherever I move.  I want this project to be a success, and it just does not make sense in Monze anymore.

I'm going to miss this baby like you wouldn't believe! The way she smiles whenever she sees me warms my heart so much.

Time to learn how to speak some Bemba!

Xo,
Raquel

Currently listening to: Don’t Let Us Bring You Down — Bend Sinister

 

 

Thoughts From a Bus Journey

It all started July 4, 2011 when Joanne and I walked from Kabwata Market to Kamwala Market to the InterCity Bus Terminus in Lusaka.  We went to the Mazhandu Family Bus Services ntemba to pick up a bus ticket so I could return to Monze the next day.  “Fully booked,” they told us, “call tomorrow at 6 hours to see if you can get on the 11:30 bus coming from Kitwe,” then  they handed me a ripped up paper with a phone number on it and we went on our way.

6am rolled around and I called the number they provided me with.  “There’s no confirmation on numbers yet, call back at 7 hours.”  I waited patiently in bed, listening to Joel Plaskett’s album Three on my iPod, waiting for 7 hours to roll around.  I call at 7:01. Busy. 7:03. Busy. 7:06. Busy. 7:09. Busy. 7:15. Busy. 7:18 – hallelujah! I get through!

“Is there any room on the 11:30 bus?” I ask politely.

“Sorry, no confirmation yet. Call back at 7 hours,” the man on the other end tells me.

“But sir, it’s past 7 hours,” I say.

“Then call back in ten minutes,” he says then hangs up.  One thing I’ve noticed in Zambia is that nobody says goodbye on the phone – they just hang up.  It’s not impolite.  It’s not rude.  It’s just the way it is.

I call back at 7:30 and ask the same question, and the mans tells me there are seats.  He asks me my name.

“Raquel,” I tell him.

“Huh?” he asks.

“Raquel,” I repeat.

“Sorry?”

“Raaaah-kelllll,” I say once more, more slowly.

“What?” he asks one more time.

I give up, and say “Rachel.”

“Ohhhhhh! Ray-chel-eeeeeee! Sorry miss, we’re fully booked,” he tells me – contradicting his earlier statement from only 45 seconds prior.

Oh great. I knew it was going to be a long day.  You see, bus trips here are always slightly exhausting.  I haven’t had major problems going to and from Southern province – unless you count a broken down bus and waiting on the side of the road for 75 minutes until a second bus comes along as a major problem.  I don’t.  I have, on the other hand, had issues traveling to and from Eastern province.  My first experience on a bus in Zambia I was sitting across the aisle (and the aisles are very narrow, keep in mind) from a woman who spent the last 4 hours of the trip vomiting into a plastic bag.  Then, on the way to Malawi Joanne and I were sitting across the aisle from each other, and a woman who brought 19 bags on to the bus with her (no lies) kept stuffing them between Joanne and I, even though they definitely did not fit.  The bags took up 1/3 of my seat.  She also put things in the overhead compartments that did not fit.  It was raining luggage throughout our 7 hour trip.  Bags were falling on our heads, laps, shoulders.  It was the most frustrating and annoying and angering and painful time I’ve had so far in Zambia, but I would burst out laughing every time something new would happen because that is all I could do to cope.

Bracing myself for another bad bus journey I decided to pack up my bags and just head to the bus depot to see what I could find.  I left the flat in Kabwata Market and went to the ntemba where taxis normally wait.  ZERO.  I waited ten minutes, when finally a nice man came along and asked if I needed a cab.  I said yes, and he took me to his car.  I soon realized he was not a cab driver.  “Uh-oh,” I thought to myself, “am I in danger?”  I didn’t know.  We got to talking and he asked if I was a Peace Corps volunteer, and I told him no and told him about my placement with EWB.  We kept making small talk and before I knew it I was safe and sound at the bus depot.  He talks to a few people until he finds me a bus that is heading toward Monze.  We exchange phone numbers, because people in Zambia are very thoughtful and like to make sure you arrive at your destination well.  A few minutes later I received an SMS from him to travel well, but in Tonga, “Mwende kabotu.”

The bus wasn’t leaving for another 3.5 hours so I found a place to sit, which happened to be next to a woman wearing a vintage Montreal Canadiens wind breaker.  Awesome.  I thought about asking her if I could buy it from her, but I resisted.

I made it safely on to the bus and I was one of the first ones to board.  As the bus filled an evangelist pastor came on the bus and gave a little (slightly scary) sermon for about 10 minutes.  I decided this was a good time to turn on my iPod – I put my “bus journey” playlist on.  Our Hell by Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton was the first song to play through my headphones.  Fitting – because hell is exactly where the evangelist man is telling me I’m going.  I hear people repeating amen, hallelujah, God is good, followed by a lot of clapping through my headphones.  The evangelist man then goes from seat to seat asking for donations – in return he will bless you for the trip.  He was very offended when I kindly declined his offer to bless me for only a small amount of money.  I figured that so many other people on the bus took up his offer, that if there was an accident, their blessing would rub off on me and keep me safe.

This wasn't the bus I took, but I really wish it was. Note the man sleeping on the roof.

At 2:45 – 15 minutes after the schedule departure time – the bus begins to leave the depot.  We had to stop for fuel first, so everyone waited for 15 minutes on the hot, sweaty bus.  As we leave the filling station Left & Leaving by The Weakerthans started to play through my headphone.  Again – fitting – seeing as we were now leaving.  What should have been a 2.5 to 3 hour trip to Monze took 4 hours.  For a big chunk of the trip we were moving at what felt like a glacial pace. That. Slow.  And slightly dangerous.  I was definitely fearing for my life during a few passes that the bus driver did.  At one point I was listening to The National by Hannah Georgas and she sang to me “But maybe I’ll see you at The National, maybe we’ll sing that song that we like the most,” and I thought to myself: shit! I don’t know if I’ll ever see anyone again!

I was sitting next to a woman who took up 1/4 of my seat as well as all of her own.  I wasn’t sitting on my full seat, so I had to have my left leg in the aisle for the whole trip, putting a lot of pressure down on it anytime we came around a curve so I would not fall out of my seat and into the aisle.  I was getting frustrated (and crampy) about this and was about to get a little bit angry, but then suddenly Let It Be by The Beatles started playing, so I decided to do just that.  Let it be.  I just sat part in my chair, part in the aisle, listening to The Beatles, Iron & Wine, Joel Plaskett Emergency, Germany Germany, Angus & Julia Stone, The Black Keys, Bend Sinister, Andrew Bird, Tegan and Sara, Bright Eyes, Colleen Brown, The Dudes, Dan Mangan, The Deep Dark Woods, Ella Fitzgerald, Hey Rosetta!, Jimi Hendrix, and other favourites while looking out the front window of the bus.  The whole time a mixture of gospel music and Enrique Iglesias’ hits throughout the years was playing loudly through the bus speakers, creating interesting remixes with my own music.

My trusty iPod, Bella, who kept me sane during the trip.

Finally, I made it all in one (frustrated) piece to Monze.  I took a taxi to a friend’s house where I waited until someone was able to pick me up and take me back to the village.  The drive to the village was nice – I was really happy to get back.  Once we arrived at my host family’s house I was greeted by 7 teenaged girls and kids who were so happy to see me back.  They quickly opened the door of the truck for me and hugged me for 45 seconds saying “I MISSED YOU, I MISSED YOU!”  It was a nice feeling!

They brought my bags to the room we shared then took my hands and brought me out the cooking hut where I watched them prepare the nshima for supper.  I actually really enjoyed eating the nshima last night, after a 3 week hiatus from it.  For relish we had tomatoes and hard boiled eggs.  I ate way more than I normally do, and enjoyed every bite!

After supper we went into the house, and 11 men from the church were there and they began a prayer circle and sang a few songs.  It lasted about 2 hours and it was hard to stay awake because: a) I didn’t understand any of it, or know any of the songs (come on… where’s the Lady Gaga?), b) I was exhausted and dehydrated after that long bus trip, and c) I had a belly full of nshima, which anyone who has eaten it will tell you, drains all the energy you once had from your body.  Once the prayer circle was done I put on my pajamas, tucked my mosquito net under my mattress, put my earplugs into my ears, put my eye mask on, and went to sleep.  I slept well too – I was only awoken twice from the crying baby!

So – that’s the journey I had yesterday.  The bus trip wasn’t nearly as eventful as the bus trips to Eastern province.  I’ll be sure to document my next trip to Eastern in writing.  Thanks for reading my very random post!  Congratulations if you made it all the way to the end. 😉

Xo,
Raquel

Currently listening to: I Get A Kick Out Of You – Ella Fitzgerald

 

List: Ten things I’m living without

I haven’t been living in the village for over two weeks now, and I must admit, I’m really missing it.  For now I’m in Lusaka, living at a flat with other volunteers, until things at work get sorted out so I know what I should be doing for the next few weeks.  The flat in Lusaka is kind of luxurious – not including the infestation of cockroaches here.  We have running water – although no hot water or shower, so we still have to bucket bath.  We have a hot plate stovetop type thing – but no refrigerator or oven.  It’s pretty comfortable living here.  It’s making me think back to how I was living at the village, and after reading Fraser’s blog (I stole his idea), here are a list of ten things I never thought I could live without, but apparently can… that’s not to say that I don’t miss these things though!

1. Running water.  Showering easily is something I took for granted in Canada.  Here, I have to crouch down in front of a bucket of water (that my host family warms nicely for me!) and figure out a way to wash my long hair, and wash my body, with water that is always some sort of milky brown colour.  Bucket baths are growing on me.
2. Electricity. I never used to have to think twice about plugging in my computer or cell phone when it was low on charge, but here it’s something that you have to plan ahead for.  It’s kind of nice having no electricity though – what do you do when it gets to be pitch black at 8pm and you’ve just finished eating supper? Sleep of course! No electricity also means no stove, which means cooking over a fire. I’ve been trying it out, and it’s really not so bad!
3. A toilet.  Every home, every building, every school in Canada seems to have one of those nice little bowls you sit on to go to the bathroom.  Finding a nice, clean toilet here is rare (but definitely not impossible!), instead we squat over a hole in the ground.  Each hole in each latrine varies – some are pretty luxurious.
4. Good food.  Now, I know that good food is very subjective from person to person, and some people are big fans of the Zambian staple food of nshima – but I miss my own cooking, and especially my mom’s cooking.  Maize flour boiled until it’s very very thick, pasty, and flavourless, and then eating it with relishes that can be anything from chicken gizzards, to lamb gizzards, to rape, to pumpkin leaves, to minnows, to dried fish, to groundnuts, to beans – all way over-salted.  It gets easier and easier to eat with every meal though.  And it’s growing on me… So it’s true, my friends! I can live without good food or variety in my diet!
5. Fast internet. I miss it, but am doing just fine without it.
6. Privacy. Ok, ok, I miss this too.  Not having my own space is kind of a pain, but it’s only for one summer, right? I can deal with that. Anytime I try to do anything work related at home in the village, it becomes impossible because I’m a spectacle.  Take out a book to read? The kids sit next to me and try to read my book out loud, word for word, even though they don’t understand it. Take out my computer to work? They crowd around me saying “show snap, show snap,” meaning they want me to show them some photos. Take out a notebook to write some notes to myself? They watch everything I write. My backpack full of stuff has become a museum to them, and I can catch them going through my things because it is all so new to them. Sleeping in a room by myself is something I miss too. I currently share a room with three teenaged girls and a baby – the baby cries all. night. long.
7. My car. Lots of people in Canada don’t have cars, but I’ve had my own car since I was 16.  It’s possible to live without a car in Canada, but since I have never really had to, I miss my car and I miss never having to rely on anybody else to get where I need to go.
8. Television.  Some of the other volunteers here have laptop batteries that last longer than 40 minutes. I do not. I kind of miss watching movies and television shows from my computer when I can’t sleep (because – with a crying baby, that happens a lot).
9. Sleep.  I’ve always been a light sleeper – so sharing a room with so many people makes sleep nearly impossible for me. I average 3-6 hours per night.  When I go to bed at 8pm and get up at 6am I should be getting 10 hours of sleep! Oh well… I guess it just goes to show that I can live without sleep!
10. An insect-free house where I don’t get eaten alive by bugs.  There are these bugs that get into the house, they usually attack maize but have now decided to attack me, every night.  They hurt really badly when they sting, and they have two long stingers coming out of their bums.  I sleep with my mosquito net every night, and I tuck it really well under my mattress, but they somehow sneak in and eat me alive. Every night.

A very blurry photo of the type of insect that has left my body completely covered in itchy bug bites.

So there you have it! Ten things I’m living without, and (sort of) doing just fine with it!  There are definitely some amenities that I miss from Canada, but I’m happy with myself for being able to live without these things, like all the other EWB volunteers! Can’t wait to get back to Monze and to the village! 🙂

Xo,
Raquel

Currently listening to: Communist Man – Rah Rah

 

Strong women.

The following are a collection of photos of women, both young and old, I have met along my journeys in Zambia. I have found that the woman and her children are the hardest-working people in the household, never taking a rest.  The women of Zambia are strong, courageous, and often under-thanked.  This blog post is for them.

You should have seen her smile when she saw her photo from my camera afterward.

I hope you enjoyed the photos.

Xo,
Raquel

Currently listening to: Tangled Up In Blue – Bob Dylan