Hi all,
I'm sorry that I can't update more regularly (its hard to access the slow and bulky blogger out here) and I'm sorry but this isn't going to be a long post.
A lot has happen in the past three months. I went to Spain with LeeAnn and had a fantastic and wonderful week with her there. We went to Madrid for three nights and the southern Seviea for four. It was so good to see her and I'm already missing again. But life moves on and here I find myself back in Zambia.
Site has been quite nice. My village has been granted three new boreholes (clean water sites) in the past month! Its definitely a step up since, as it is right now, nearly 1600 people depend on one clean water source - and as you can imagine its very very crowded and over used. So much so that children (who commonly fetch the water) will collect water from polluted streams and ponds instead of waiting in the long lines. This is extremely dangerous. Many families do not have pit latrines and instead use the great outdoors as their toliet - resulting in human feces to be washed into the streams. These two conditions makes cholera and diarreaha an very very common threat. So you can see how the boreholes are a very very welcomed addition to our community.
I'm looking on a much lonelier service here in Zambia. Before I left for Spain, one of my very best friends, Aman, was sent home for medical reasons. And while it was disappointing, I tried to keep my head up, being grateful that I still had any friends at all here in the bush. Unfortunately, again, I recieved word that my other very close PCV friend Nick is also being sent home for medical reasons. I'm looking at returning to site in a sad light. Both were integral parts of my service and have helped me through the toughest of times and celebrated the best. I'm continuing to plug on - I know it'll get better, but here and now, its looking a little dismal and dark.
Sorry for the downer, but unfortunately life out here in the bush isn't all smiles and laughs. Hopefully next post I can be a bit more positive. Sending my love and best wishes to all!
--Ryan
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Friday, February 6, 2009
I know, I know - its been a while
February 6, 2009
Hey everyone!
So below is an entry I wrote a week ago. I wrote it on a friend’s computer and planned to upload it the same day but - as usual - things didn’t go as planned, formats were confused, and it all ended in epic failure. Read it, its all good stuff.
Again I’m in the Lundazi BOMA taking care of some work. I had to go to Chipata this week to - yet again - take care of my visa (it’s an unnerving, recurring situation I’d rather just not talk about), but I’m back and ready to head home. Nothing much has changed since the entry below - the big extended village run starts today I guess (with occasional trips into the BOMA). Tiger’s doing quite fine (getting kinda fat though) and even proved himself more valuable after he took care of my mouse problem for me! Other than that, I start working (big time working) on Monday with my counterpart and continue to look forward to my reunion trip to Spain with Lee.
Hope all is well at home - and PLEASE email/call/write/comment! I’m parched of all the happenings at home!
Loves,
Ryan
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
January 30,2009
January 30,2009
Hi all!
Six months. Six months ago I landed in Zambia. Of course it doesn’t feel like six months – but that was expected. I hate to attach some kind of overarching conclusion to the past half year, simply because I know I still have another year and half to figure this all out. Yet, I feel that I can say – with some semblance of conviction – that Lusuntha, Lundazi, and Zambia now appear not so much as a foreign land, but as a home (of sorts). Like I said, its too early to pick these ideas apart. They’re young and immature – still in the process of development. I’ll let you know when I know more.
So a lot has happen (relatively) since November. The rainy season arrived in December and even though it took a bit of adjusting to, Zambia has flourished into a temperate, lush, green paradise (of sorts). The temperature has cooled, the crops are rising, the fields are green, and the air is clean. I was a little worried about this season, to tell the truth. I pictured it as a 24 hour downpour that would only make life damp, muddy, and miserable, but as it turns out rains generally pound the ground for two or three hours a day and then its back sunny, happy Zambia again. True, it makes drying clothes a little difficult, but it also affords a couple hours of extra sleep in the morning. Because people are so hard at work in their fields during the rainy season, the villages are deserted from 7 am to 10 – leaving me peace, quiet, and an empty to-do list. It’s an extra treat when I wake up in the morning to pounding rains – I just roll over, pull my blanket tight, and sigh knowing I have absolutely no reason to get up. It made not sound all that glorious, but it’s actually one of my favourite recurring moments in the village.
And village life is Good! I’ve put up some posters, bought some sheets for my bed, built a fence, established a routine – overall I think I’ve figured the living thing out. Work is another issue and while I’m working on that, village life has turned into a type of therapy for me. Especially now that the general landscape is so beautiful, I’m walking around the village almost on a high. Again, it’s best that I not pull it apart right now, better that I just appreciate the euphoria – ride the high. While I’ve become incredibly good friends with other volunteers – I always leave my site with a little apprehension/anxiety that is absent in the day to day. Nonetheless I have left my site quite a bit in the last two months.
For the holidays, a group of my really good friends and I went hitchhiking across Malawi and Mozambique. I’m not even going to explain the transport situation getting to the Mozambique coast, all I’m going to say is that it took 48 hours (of which we were moving for 40 hours) in the back of flatbed trucks and through scorching sun, drenching rains, and bouts of dehydration. I don’t want to come off as melodramatic, but: probably one of the worse experiences of my life. Aanyways, once we reached the Mozambique coast, we realized all that hell was worth it. White sandy beaches, clear warm tropical waters, and mounds of seafood and beer greeted us the minute we stepped out of a sardine can that nationals like to call a ‘mini bus’. I’d like to explain more of Ilha de Mocambique (The Isle of Mozambique), but we all agreed the place was so beautiful and strange, we could only covey it through pictures. So, if I can, I’ll try to post some picture – if not, I’ll send a memory card home in a few months. After the Isle, we travelled back across Mozambique into Malawi and spent New Years on the shores of Lake Malawi in a place called Cape MaClear. It’s kind of a tourist destination, so the place was packed with ex-pats, South Africans, and Peace Corps volunteers – making New Years Eve an concrete party. But it was also very relaxing. We went snorkelling among the fresh-water-tropical-fishes, ate much-awaited western foods, and lounged on the beaches with fruity concoctions colored blue and red. Needlesstosay, after two weeks of vacation, returning to my village was the most wonderful thing I’ve done in a long time (sorry again for the melodrama – but, again, its true). Unfortunately, we only had a week to decompress at home before we had to return to Lusaka for training.
I’m not going to say much for training. Consider this: 30 twenty-something-year-olds, who are all very good friends, emerge from rural isolation into a metropolitan city where they spend a week together, training during the day and catching up at night. It was a lot fun and I was very glad to see everyone again - but, again, I was very happy to return to the peaceful, relaxing village I now call home.
And back to now. Now I’m sitting in Lundazi, writing this entry, before I go back home for a month and a half. Again, I am thrilled to go back. I can’t wait to see tiger, garden, read, write, relax, and – most of all – really start working. It’s going to be a long haul, but at the end of that month and a half I’m flying to Spain and spending a week with LeeAnn!!!
That’s it. All in all, things are going very well. I’ve found my place, found some work, and found some really great friends. But while things are good here, I miss my friends and family more than ever. I think about you guys everyday and am so grateful for all the support you have lent me. I hope all is well at home and I would love to hear from you all. Call me (+260979121697), write me (P.O. Box 530376 Lundazi, Zambia, Africa), email me (ryaneugenekeating@gmail.com) , or even just leave a comment – I’m itching for some news. Thanks all!!!
that guy in Africa, what’s his name? oh yeah,
Ryan
So a lot has happen (relatively) since November. The rainy season arrived in December and even though it took a bit of adjusting to, Zambia has flourished into a temperate, lush, green paradise (of sorts). The temperature has cooled, the crops are rising, the fields are green, and the air is clean. I was a little worried about this season, to tell the truth. I pictured it as a 24 hour downpour that would only make life damp, muddy, and miserable, but as it turns out rains generally pound the ground for two or three hours a day and then its back sunny, happy Zambia again. True, it makes drying clothes a little difficult, but it also affords a couple hours of extra sleep in the morning. Because people are so hard at work in their fields during the rainy season, the villages are deserted from 7 am to 10 – leaving me peace, quiet, and an empty to-do list. It’s an extra treat when I wake up in the morning to pounding rains – I just roll over, pull my blanket tight, and sigh knowing I have absolutely no reason to get up. It made not sound all that glorious, but it’s actually one of my favourite recurring moments in the village.
And village life is Good! I’ve put up some posters, bought some sheets for my bed, built a fence, established a routine – overall I think I’ve figured the living thing out. Work is another issue and while I’m working on that, village life has turned into a type of therapy for me. Especially now that the general landscape is so beautiful, I’m walking around the village almost on a high. Again, it’s best that I not pull it apart right now, better that I just appreciate the euphoria – ride the high. While I’ve become incredibly good friends with other volunteers – I always leave my site with a little apprehension/anxiety that is absent in the day to day. Nonetheless I have left my site quite a bit in the last two months.
For the holidays, a group of my really good friends and I went hitchhiking across Malawi and Mozambique. I’m not even going to explain the transport situation getting to the Mozambique coast, all I’m going to say is that it took 48 hours (of which we were moving for 40 hours) in the back of flatbed trucks and through scorching sun, drenching rains, and bouts of dehydration. I don’t want to come off as melodramatic, but: probably one of the worse experiences of my life. Aanyways, once we reached the Mozambique coast, we realized all that hell was worth it. White sandy beaches, clear warm tropical waters, and mounds of seafood and beer greeted us the minute we stepped out of a sardine can that nationals like to call a ‘mini bus’. I’d like to explain more of Ilha de Mocambique (The Isle of Mozambique), but we all agreed the place was so beautiful and strange, we could only covey it through pictures. So, if I can, I’ll try to post some picture – if not, I’ll send a memory card home in a few months. After the Isle, we travelled back across Mozambique into Malawi and spent New Years on the shores of Lake Malawi in a place called Cape MaClear. It’s kind of a tourist destination, so the place was packed with ex-pats, South Africans, and Peace Corps volunteers – making New Years Eve an concrete party. But it was also very relaxing. We went snorkelling among the fresh-water-tropical-fishes, ate much-awaited western foods, and lounged on the beaches with fruity concoctions colored blue and red. Needlesstosay, after two weeks of vacation, returning to my village was the most wonderful thing I’ve done in a long time (sorry again for the melodrama – but, again, its true). Unfortunately, we only had a week to decompress at home before we had to return to Lusaka for training.
I’m not going to say much for training. Consider this: 30 twenty-something-year-olds, who are all very good friends, emerge from rural isolation into a metropolitan city where they spend a week together, training during the day and catching up at night. It was a lot fun and I was very glad to see everyone again - but, again, I was very happy to return to the peaceful, relaxing village I now call home.
And back to now. Now I’m sitting in Lundazi, writing this entry, before I go back home for a month and a half. Again, I am thrilled to go back. I can’t wait to see tiger, garden, read, write, relax, and – most of all – really start working. It’s going to be a long haul, but at the end of that month and a half I’m flying to Spain and spending a week with LeeAnn!!!
That’s it. All in all, things are going very well. I’ve found my place, found some work, and found some really great friends. But while things are good here, I miss my friends and family more than ever. I think about you guys everyday and am so grateful for all the support you have lent me. I hope all is well at home and I would love to hear from you all. Call me (+260979121697), write me (P.O. Box 530376 Lundazi, Zambia, Africa), email me (ryaneugenekeating@gmail.com) , or even just leave a comment – I’m itching for some news. Thanks all!!!
that guy in Africa, what’s his name? oh yeah,
Ryan
Sunday, November 23, 2008
NCAA Bowl Games
Sorry, but I forgot maybe the most important item on my wish list: College Football Bowl Games. My dad's sending me the UCLA/USC game, so that's off the list, but maybe if you guys (I'm looking at you tekes) can get together and tape em, and either send them to my parents or to me - you will have given me the best christmas gift I can ask for. Thanks all!
Saturday, November 22, 2008
On the Road Again
Hey all,
Lusaka has been amazing. The first day here I had another appointment with my doctor and then I met up with some other PCVs and went to the swankiest bar in country - I felt like I was in LA. I woke up the next morning and went to a pick game of ultimate frisbee with a group of brits and americans. After we got indian food and saw the new Bond movie. I've met a lot of PCVs, expats, US employees, aid workers, and they're all really awesome people.
Oh yeah, the address I gave a few months back is wrong. The correct address is:
PO Box 530376
Lundazi, Zambia
Africa
All the mail that's been sent to me has actually been going to another PCV - so no worries, if you have been sending stuff to the old address, I will get it. Along this subject, I've got a wishlist - I know its a little presumptious to assume you all want to send me packages, but if by chance you do and you're out of ideas, here's somethings that have been on my mind:
-Stick Deodorant (NO where to be found in Zambia - seems they only like roll and spray-ons)
-Skittles, Starbursts, Red Vines, and gum
-Goldfish (the cheese crackers)
-Canned cheeze wiz (there's a total lack to cheese in Zambia)
-Honey roasted peanuts
-Pictures
-And anything else you'd think would be good thousands of miles away from home in the middle of nowhere! THANKS!!!!!
Lusaka has been amazing. The first day here I had another appointment with my doctor and then I met up with some other PCVs and went to the swankiest bar in country - I felt like I was in LA. I woke up the next morning and went to a pick game of ultimate frisbee with a group of brits and americans. After we got indian food and saw the new Bond movie. I've met a lot of PCVs, expats, US employees, aid workers, and they're all really awesome people.
Oh yeah, the address I gave a few months back is wrong. The correct address is:
PO Box 530376
Lundazi, Zambia
Africa
All the mail that's been sent to me has actually been going to another PCV - so no worries, if you have been sending stuff to the old address, I will get it. Along this subject, I've got a wishlist - I know its a little presumptious to assume you all want to send me packages, but if by chance you do and you're out of ideas, here's somethings that have been on my mind:
-Stick Deodorant (NO where to be found in Zambia - seems they only like roll and spray-ons)
-Any new music
-Any new DVDs
-Gameboy games (I know, I know, but it gets boring out in the bush)
-Magazines (Newsweek, New Scientist, Esquire, Maxim, etc)
-Pancake mix & syurp
-Kraft Macaroni and Cheeze
-Parmesan Cheese-Skittles, Starbursts, Red Vines, and gum
-Goldfish (the cheese crackers)
-Canned cheeze wiz (there's a total lack to cheese in Zambia)
-Honey roasted peanuts
-Pictures
-And anything else you'd think would be good thousands of miles away from home in the middle of nowhere! THANKS!!!!!
Anyways, I'm hitchin back to Chipata tomorrow for a week of admin stuff and thanksgiving celebrations. I hope all is well back home, and I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!
--Ryan
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Lusaka!!
Hey all,
So I arrived in Lusaka yesterday around 2 after a notsogrueling 9 hour bus ride. Well, it was relatively grueling, but I just zoned out to music and stared out into the African bush. Being out at site for two months made the bush seem a little bland, but driving through it at 100+ km/hour - it starts to vary and soon I'm reminded just how beautiful this place really is. Its the beginning of the rainy season too, so the country is bathed in green and everything has a refresing tropical feel. Anyways, we (I wasn't alone on this trip, one of my friends from my intake and from my province had to make the trip too) pulled into Lusaka and made our way straight to the medical offices. I gave the blood, recieved two vials for 'other' samples, answered a few questions, and was sent on my way. The doc said she wanted me in Lusaka till Monday and longer if something comes up (which I highly doubt anything will), but nonetheless its going to be a nice vacation from site. There's a movie theatre here (with the new Bond movie playing!), awesome food, and some friends - so I'll have enough to keep me throughly entertained till Monday. Peace Corps set me up in a really nice hotel room with my own satellite TV, shower, and even a little garden - I haven't stayed in anything this nice since Washington DC! Anyways, I'm sure I'll make another post before I leave. Thanks for all the updates, they really help!
Pampered,
Ryan
So I arrived in Lusaka yesterday around 2 after a notsogrueling 9 hour bus ride. Well, it was relatively grueling, but I just zoned out to music and stared out into the African bush. Being out at site for two months made the bush seem a little bland, but driving through it at 100+ km/hour - it starts to vary and soon I'm reminded just how beautiful this place really is. Its the beginning of the rainy season too, so the country is bathed in green and everything has a refresing tropical feel. Anyways, we (I wasn't alone on this trip, one of my friends from my intake and from my province had to make the trip too) pulled into Lusaka and made our way straight to the medical offices. I gave the blood, recieved two vials for 'other' samples, answered a few questions, and was sent on my way. The doc said she wanted me in Lusaka till Monday and longer if something comes up (which I highly doubt anything will), but nonetheless its going to be a nice vacation from site. There's a movie theatre here (with the new Bond movie playing!), awesome food, and some friends - so I'll have enough to keep me throughly entertained till Monday. Peace Corps set me up in a really nice hotel room with my own satellite TV, shower, and even a little garden - I haven't stayed in anything this nice since Washington DC! Anyways, I'm sure I'll make another post before I leave. Thanks for all the updates, they really help!
Pampered,
Ryan
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
The Sick Days
So, yet again, I find myself at the Peace Corps provincial house nearly 200 km from site and home. Why? I’m “sick” – for the third week running. Tomorrow, I’ll find my way to a 5 am bus, end up in the capital, and eventually give a few milliliters of blood to PC medical. Three weeks ago, I thought it was only something I ate, untreated water maybe. And, through a regimen of Advil, Pepto-Bismol, and lying spread eagle on the floor of my cool mud-brick hut, I treated it as such and felt better. One week later, I wake again with the same feeling, but despite the Advil and cold mud flood, my temperature reached 103.8 F by noon. By five I could walk for only a couple minutes, just long enough to satisfy the sadistic tendencies of a hell-spawned spell of diarrhea. By six I called the medical officer. From the black stool and high temperature, she most gentle used the words “on the brink of organ failure” to describe my situation. Of course she made this diagnosis nearly six hundred kilometers away and I’m sure that it made have not been as exact as it could have been, but, nonetheless, did she really have to say “organ failure”? She then followed that up with “I’m am REALLY worried about your life right now, Ryan” which now seems a little dramatic, but at the time it literally scared the shit out of me. Malaria. She suspected the culprit to be malaria. So, I took the Quinine-related malaria medication and the next morning I could stand without falling.
Everything started to level off: the temperature went down, the dizziness wore off, the chills subsided, and (best of all) my poo returned to a healthy brown. She didn’t explain it at the time, but the black stool meant internal bleeding – thus the “organ failure” bit. Anyways, my coordinator drove to my site, picked me up and we went to the provincial house. I was there for four days and by the last day, when my buddies dropped in, I was strong and healthy enough to have a few beers. The rest of the week was fine. I ate, I ran, I gardened –everything I could do before. Then, on Saturday, I couldn’t get out of bed till noon. And so by yesterday, I ended up here. Don’t get me wrong – I’m really OK. Just weak, sore and a little irritated – gastro intestinally. The medical officer just wants to rule a thing or two out, but considering that I’m perfectly OK right now, I’m sure I’ll be back very soon.
I have a eight hour bus to catch in seven hours, so I'm sure I'll think of more to say when I'm travelling. I'll post again in a day or two.
Thankful for US healthcare coverage,
Ryan
Everything started to level off: the temperature went down, the dizziness wore off, the chills subsided, and (best of all) my poo returned to a healthy brown. She didn’t explain it at the time, but the black stool meant internal bleeding – thus the “organ failure” bit. Anyways, my coordinator drove to my site, picked me up and we went to the provincial house. I was there for four days and by the last day, when my buddies dropped in, I was strong and healthy enough to have a few beers. The rest of the week was fine. I ate, I ran, I gardened –everything I could do before. Then, on Saturday, I couldn’t get out of bed till noon. And so by yesterday, I ended up here. Don’t get me wrong – I’m really OK. Just weak, sore and a little irritated – gastro intestinally. The medical officer just wants to rule a thing or two out, but considering that I’m perfectly OK right now, I’m sure I’ll be back very soon.
I have a eight hour bus to catch in seven hours, so I'm sure I'll think of more to say when I'm travelling. I'll post again in a day or two.
Thankful for US healthcare coverage,
Ryan
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Cookin Runnin Doggin and soon Cattin
Hey dudes, gals, and family,
I'm back in the BOMA. We have to see immgration in the provincial capital tomorrow, so I get some time away from the village. Nothing much has changed though. I now have furniture (a bed, coffee table, couple of chairs) which is nice, but the best thing I have right now is my little ipod speakers (THANKS MOM!). The village must hate me, cause I am constantly playing music - morning to evening. But honestly, if they hate my music, so be it- it really really brightens up my day. A few things have been working like that.
Cooking. For sure cooking. Cause I have so much time on my hands breakfast and dinners are huge affairs. Just the other day I made bqq baked beans - it took 6-7 hours to make, but damn if they weren't good beans. I'm also using soya pieces - they're essentially strips of chicken-esque strips made from soy. They work like sponges soaking up what ever spice/sauce/etc I throw in.
On top of cooking and music, I've been running - a lot. I guess the massive amount of carbohydrates has something to do with, but either way I'm addicted again. Then there's the mountain biking. Its not that great, but there are some nice hills to barrel down and every once in a while I can find some entertaining single track.
Oh, then there's Tig. He's doing well, but a puppy just about to hit puberty (despite what the seller told me - he, in fact, is not fixed). I've got a pretty bad mouse problem, the villagers tell me the only solution is a cat. So I'm gonna try to pick one up either today or tomorrow.
So, I'm gonna go find a cat now. Keep the comments coming - its good to hear from y'all. Oh yeah! I got my US phone unlocked so in a matter of days I'll have the internet on my phone! I'll write somethin later.
Loves,
Ryan
I'm back in the BOMA. We have to see immgration in the provincial capital tomorrow, so I get some time away from the village. Nothing much has changed though. I now have furniture (a bed, coffee table, couple of chairs) which is nice, but the best thing I have right now is my little ipod speakers (THANKS MOM!). The village must hate me, cause I am constantly playing music - morning to evening. But honestly, if they hate my music, so be it- it really really brightens up my day. A few things have been working like that.
Cooking. For sure cooking. Cause I have so much time on my hands breakfast and dinners are huge affairs. Just the other day I made bqq baked beans - it took 6-7 hours to make, but damn if they weren't good beans. I'm also using soya pieces - they're essentially strips of chicken-esque strips made from soy. They work like sponges soaking up what ever spice/sauce/etc I throw in.
On top of cooking and music, I've been running - a lot. I guess the massive amount of carbohydrates has something to do with, but either way I'm addicted again. Then there's the mountain biking. Its not that great, but there are some nice hills to barrel down and every once in a while I can find some entertaining single track.
Oh, then there's Tig. He's doing well, but a puppy just about to hit puberty (despite what the seller told me - he, in fact, is not fixed). I've got a pretty bad mouse problem, the villagers tell me the only solution is a cat. So I'm gonna try to pick one up either today or tomorrow.
So, I'm gonna go find a cat now. Keep the comments coming - its good to hear from y'all. Oh yeah! I got my US phone unlocked so in a matter of days I'll have the internet on my phone! I'll write somethin later.
Loves,
Ryan
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)