tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22093922341969320732024-02-20T23:18:21.314-08:00Pat's Zambia AdventurePatrick Horleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00729916338822930352noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2209392234196932073.post-12115687458694855902009-03-17T17:43:00.000-07:002009-05-03T17:44:42.073-07:003/17/2009<span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style=""> </span>Since my last supersized email, not too much has happened.<span style=""> </span>I’m in town for my final TB bloodwork appointment.<span style=""> </span>That’s pretty exciting.<span style=""> </span>I scheduled the appointment to coincide with St. Patrick’s day and volunteered to let the nurse take me to O’Hagans, the irish pub popular with ex-pats such as myself. Should be fun!</span> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""><span style=""><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"> </span></span></p> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style=""> </span>It’s not like I haven’t been eating my fair share of fish and chips lately.<span style=""> </span>It’s Potato season and we’ve harvested 4 ponds this month with a 5<sup>th</sup> scheduled for next week.<span style=""> </span>The harvests all ended up being on Fridays which would have been great if this was a catholic area. It isn’t. It’s considerably worse than that.<span style=""> </span>Jehovah’s witnesses run this place.<span style=""> </span>I don’t think they have rules against eating meat on Fridays during Lent.<span style=""> </span>They have rules about everything else though.<span style=""> </span>A lot of them make no sense to me- thou shall not vote in an election (but you can complain about politics as much as you want), Thou shall not sing the national anthem, believing in witchcraft is ok, and though shall relentlessly annoy the white man who lives amongst you.<span style=""> </span>They’ll talk to me in Bemba. I know what they’re saying, or the gist of it really. “God this, Jehovah that. Here’s some magazines, will you throw them away for me?” I tell them in bemba that I don’t understand what they’re saying while looking through my dog’s hair for ticks hoping for a juicy one to pop with my fingernails right in front of them.<span style=""> </span>Sometimes they’ll start in English but I am quick to reply with a “No comprende.”</span></p> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"> </span></p> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style=""> </span>I guess I should announce the winner(s) of this most recent contest.<span style=""> </span>The best letters were sent by Evan & Jenny and co-winner Theresa.<span style=""> </span>That’s for the non-Becky category.<span style=""> </span>Guess who won the Becky only category…yep Ed McMahon.<span style=""> </span>I may have already won!<span style=""> </span>Evan and Jenny won because of Evan’s account of a camping trip and running into some rednecks.<span style=""> </span>(Don’t worry Evan, I won’t tell everyone about how they made you squeal like a pig) and wonderful pictures of these rednecks.<span style=""> </span>They also told me they’re engaged and offered me the choice of being a bridesmaid or a groomsman at the wedding. I’m opting for organist.<span style=""> </span>I hope jenny likes walking down the aisle to “Mary Had a Little Lamb” with a salsa tempo and the beat turned the whole way up.<span style=""> </span>Theresa wins for inviting me to her wedding and recounting the day’s events since I couldn’t be there.<span style=""> </span>So they win the title of Best Friends of Late ‘08/ early ’09! Everyone else who entered- thank you. Those who didn’t- I hate you.</span></p> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"> </span></p> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style=""> </span>I am down to my final five months as a Peace Corps volunteer. I think I’ve figured out my exit strategy.<span style=""> </span>I’m done in mid august and I plan on traveling til mid oct before returning to Zambia to help with training and/or hang out with friends before going home for thanksgiving where I will commence complaining about 1) how cold it is, 2) how gluttonous Americans are and 3) the commercialization of Christmas and our extreme levels of consumerism.<span style=""> </span>I’ll also be eating hotdogs by the handful smothered in canned chili and nacho cheese.</span></p> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""><span style=""><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"> </span></span></p> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style=""> </span>My proposed itinerary is to spend mid august til early sept making my way through Botswana and Namibia to Capetown.<span style=""> </span>Fly to Madagascar if they aren’t in a civil war by that point, then spend a few days in/around Nairobi and Serengeti, then make my way to Ethiopia and if I have time go to Djibouti.<span style=""> </span>I hear diving in the red sea is awesome.<span style=""> </span>I’m taking applications for Travel buddies so if anyone has some time in September, let me know.</span></p> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"> </span></p> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style=""> </span>I haven’t done any traveling lately except for a few days at Mutinondo about 160km north of serenje.<span style=""> </span>Rachel and I went up for 3 days of hiking, swimming, inner tubing and hiding from rain.<span style=""> </span>Good times were had.<span style=""> </span>Easter is coming up so we’re trying to figure out our plans.<span style=""> </span>Hopefully it involves fishing.</span></p> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"> </span></p> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">That’s all for now. </span></p>Patrick Horleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00729916338822930352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2209392234196932073.post-7048912550726278032009-02-04T17:44:00.000-08:002009-05-03T17:55:59.084-07:002/4/09<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">It's been a long, long time and a lot has happened since the last email. I don't even know where to start. I guess I should try to find some kind of chronological order with all the events that have happened.... I'll eventually do something else to get my name in the history textbooks that America's youth one day won't read. </span></p> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">In more exciting (I don't know if exciting is the word I'm looking for…maybe honest? Factual?) news, I<span style=""> </span>got a kitten.<span style=""> </span>His name is Lupato which is the Bemba word for "hatred." It's the closest I could find to a literal translation for loathing, but they're pretty synonymous. It goes well with my dog whose name translates to fear. Fear and Loathing in Kapeshi Village…<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Lupato is orange and I like to pull all his extra skin forward to make him look like a lion.<span style=""> </span>He likes to too and shows it by pretending to actually be a lion taking down its prey- me who he frequently confuses for an impala.<span style=""> </span>He's less of a cat, more of a cute fuzzy package for annoyance and hypodermic needles.<span style=""> </span>He still hasn't learned his place in the hierarchy (maybe he's confused because of me making him look like a lion?).<span style=""> </span>He's always on the table trying to eat the food that he thinks I've cooked for him or tries to eat Mwenso's food. I've given Mwenso full permission to bite off his head.</span></p> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">I started dating a health volunteer named Rachel. She lives in my province, about 150km away so I get to see her occasionally.<span style=""> </span>She's cool.</span></p> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Recently, the area's department of agriculture extension officer passed away unexpectedly.<span style=""> </span>Not the one I don't like, but his boss. The one I don't like is still alive and drunk.<span style=""> </span>Shortly after I left the village to begin my vacation, I received a text message that my best friend, George, and his wife had a baby girl.<span style=""> </span>They'd asked me to name it, so I suggested Theresa after a really good, dear friend of mine- Theresa Heinz Kerry. (That's not entirely true. It's Theresa Donohue and since I couldn't be there for her wedding, this is my form of a gift to her.<span style=""> </span>But the Theresa Heinz Kerry thing is a good segue because I've heard she's from Mozambique.)</span></p> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">I went to Mozambique on a pretty sweet 5 country vacation. It started with a trip to beautiful, exotic Serenje where we had a Christmas "gathering of close friends" and a gardening workshop. My travel buddy, Emily and I headed to Lusaka for my medical tests (liver's still ok…I think) and hitched out to Chipata in Eastern province for the night.<span style=""> </span>It's a nice enough place. Very big though. They had a supermarket and more than 3 choices for dinner. Worse yet- more than 2 streets. I was way out of my league and it only got worse from there (There's a mall in South Africa. A HUGE one).<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">The next day we hitched to Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi and stayed at the Peace Corps house there and marveled at the selection in the grocery store.<span style=""> </span>Mozzarella cheese that tastes like mozzarella?! I'd have been happy with anything that doesn't taste like feet. We headed out the next morning with the intention of hitching to Cape Maclear at the southern end of Lake Malawi.<span style=""> </span>We got a lift to the bus station from someone dropping off his friend and on the way, she convinced us to take the bus with her. It was cheap and easy and was the only ride we paid for until our trip into South Africa.<span style=""> </span>It wasn't a bad ride and the lady's 5 week old son made it more bearable.<span style=""> </span>We also saw something that restored my faith in humanity, just a bit.<span style=""> </span>A young boy needed to pee but was in the back of the bus sitting on the flood between my feet.<span style=""> </span>The driver slowed but then decided he wasn't worth stopping for so someone passed back a bottle for him to pee in.<span style=""> </span>A complete stranger held the bottle for him while he took care of the rest. I think you'd be hard pressed to find that kind of help on a bus in the states.<span style=""> </span>Unfortunately, as the bottle was dropped from the window, it splashed through an open window spraying the guy 2 seats to my left. But on the brighter side- it wasn't me.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">We got to the lake.<span style=""> </span>Beautiful.<span style=""> </span>Nice food, nice people, great weather.<span style=""> </span>Emily and I got scuba certified.<span style=""> </span>It was amazing.<span style=""> </span>For a hint of what we saw, check out the cichlid tanks at any pet store or at the aquarium.<span style=""> </span>Picture being completely surrounded by all those fish, toss in another twenty species of all sizes and colors and then multiply that by a thousand.<span style=""> </span>That's about 1% of how awesome it was.<span style=""> </span>We saw mating behaviors, moms protecting babies in their mouths (I've seen that a thousand times, but never while I was in the water. I hid behind a rock, she spit them out, I<span style=""> </span>came around the rock, she collected them, then I left her alone).<span style=""> </span>We saw 2 ½ ft long catfish in between rocks waiting for an unfortunate fish to wander by. We saw Cornish Jacks but I've always called them knifefish.<span style=""> </span>They sense their prey with an electrical field. Pretty awesome. <span style=""> </span>We also saw the coveted Obama chitenge.<span style=""> </span>That wasn't while diving, but on a young girl.<span style=""> </span>We each bought one<span style=""> </span>It has his face between 2 maps of Africa and says a phrase in Swahili. I'm assuming it says vote for Obama and not death to Obama.</span></p> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">We had a nice Christmas dinner with a few other PCVs from Zambia and were serenaded by the orphan choir.<span style=""> </span>The next day, a band of "children" came to sing at our campground.<span style=""> </span>The "children" were all about 15, 16 years old.<span style=""> </span>Their hits included "I love you Jesus" (I love you Jesus/I love you Jesus/I love you Jesus), We are the Children (We are the children/ We are the children of the children/ Let us play here) and my favorite, which is apparently a hit with every child in Zambia, "How are you?" (How are you? [I am fine!] X 4/ Muli Bwanji [Ndili bwino] X4) which showed their great diversity and song writing abilities.<span style=""> </span>In a Shakira or Jose Feliciano-like fashion, they sang in 2 languages. </span></p> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">We hitched away from the lake and got a ride the last 3 hours in a Hummer H3.<span style=""> </span>Normailly I would never ride in that.<span style=""> </span>But, well traffic was slow, it was hot and the roads demanded something of that caliber.<span style=""> </span>And he was going the same place we were.<span style=""> </span>Before we saw it, we heard it coming around the bend and we both honestly thought it was a semi.<span style=""> </span>We got another sweet ride in a Land Rover with a family who just finished a month long safari.<span style=""> </span>They were returning to Jo'burg and dropped us at our destination on the beach.<span style=""> </span>They were only going to take us 65km to a junction, because we were all squeezed in pretty tight, but they decided to take pity on us and rearranged and drove us another 300km or so.<span style=""> </span>And we watched a movie on their DVD player.<span style=""> </span>At the 65km turn, their GPS unit said "Turn right here…continue straight 1048km." There was a collective family groan.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">We got to the beatch, met up with some other PCV friends, cooked a great dinner of squid and prawn pasta and rang in the New Year with a subpar band and lots of South Africans in their late 20s, early 30's who displayed above average amounts of buttcrack.<span style=""> </span>You could see them adjusting their shorts to show just the proper amount.<span style=""> </span>By the way, these were all guys.<span style=""> </span>It would have been slightly, ever so slightly, better if they were girls.<span style=""> </span>Oh well, we got a good laugh.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">We headed south to Tofo where we met Astra and Lou.<span style=""> </span>Tofo is a beautiful place.<span style=""> </span>The highlight of the stop there was snorkeling with the whalesharks.<span style=""> </span>Theses sharks are massive and can reach 45 ft long.<span style=""> </span>The longest that we saw was maybe half that, 2/3 max.<span style=""> </span>Still huge and beautiful.<span style=""> </span>The choppy seas and outboard motor exhaust resulted in about 70% of the passengers leaning over the side, experiencing breakfast for the second time.<span style=""> </span>Our next stop was in Maputo.<span style=""> </span>We arrived on my birthday and wandered looking for a place that I deemed worthy of my presence.<span style=""> </span>In our wanderings, we found a memorial to president Robert Mugabe. The plaza it was in (just like Zimbabwe!) had seen better days. (By the way, Zim just released the $100 trillion note.) We found a nice place to eat located beside a small amusement park that had also seen better days.<span style=""> </span>The Merry-Go-Round wasn't very merry, they had 3 other rides that were petrified in a snapshot of better times, but the bumper cars worked!<span style=""> </span>I picked out my target early and was relentless.<span style=""> </span>That whiplash is something fierce.<span style=""> </span>I don't know the kid's name, but let's jus say blue shirt kid will never walk right again.</span></p> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Until this point, we'd paid a total of $12 for transportation.<span style=""> </span>It's not safe to hitch in South Africa, so they say. So we took a bus.<span style=""> </span>The bus broke down 30 km into the ride.<span style=""> </span>The ticket cost twice what we'd paid for the previous 2 weeks of travel total.<span style=""> </span>We got on a<span style=""> </span>back up bus, crosses into SA, got our rental car and departed for Kruger National Park.<span style=""> </span>When I picture Africa pre-invasion, I picture Kruger.<span style=""> </span>Animals everywhere.<span style=""> </span>We saw more impala than I care to remember, many kinds of antelope, zebra, giraffe, elephants, hippos, birds of every color, a cheetah resting in the shade and rhinos (both black and white, we think).<span style=""> </span>My favorites were the lions.<span style=""> </span>It wasn't just the lions that were special, but the entire scene, what they were doing and what was happening around them.<span style=""> </span>The day before we arrived, some lions took down a giraffe as it crossed the paved road where it couldn't get any footing.<span style=""> </span>From the car, we saw 9 lions feasting, digesting, or waiting their turn to gnaw on the carcass. Their activity was dependent on their hierarchy rank.<span style=""> </span>The bigger ones having already eaten were resting, the smaller ones were waiting.<span style=""> </span>There, lying in the shade with the fattest belly of them all was Lupato.<span style=""> </span>Guess he really is high in the hierarchy…We went back in the morning and saw that the carcass had decreased in size but increased in vulture presence.<span style=""> </span>There was one lioness there, more for protection than for feeding.<span style=""> </span>Vultures and Maribou storks waited their turn.<span style=""> </span>Some vultures tore at entrails right beside the car.<span style=""> </span>One thing about Kruger- it's hot.<span style=""> </span>It was 7am and already probably around 90F.<span style=""> </span>We had no AC, only open windows and the stench of death. (We made Lou shower that night, so it was considerably better the next day).<span style=""> </span>After a while, a couple of hyenas showed up.<span style=""> </span>They are ridiculous, goofy animals, bounding around grinning stupidly.<span style=""> </span>They're very timid and ran away if the lion so much as looked at them of if the vultures took flight.<span style=""> </span>The hyenas reminded me of the hyperactive stinky kid at recess.<span style=""> </span>You were in 5<sup>th</sup> grade, he was in maybe 3<sup>rd</sup> and always wanted to play 4 square or dodge ball with the big kids.<span style=""> </span>"Hey! Hey guys! Can I play? No? Oh Ok That's fine. I'll play next round! Is that ok? Guys? Hey?" but he never got the hint.<span style=""> </span>That was you, wasn't it?</span></p> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Country number 5 was Swaziland.<span style=""> </span>We went on a nice hike amongst the friendlier of Africa's beasts.<span style=""> </span>We saw baby zebras, wildebeests, warthogs, and more antelope.<span style=""> </span>We spent a couple hours at the hot springs at the lodge and drank liters upon liters of water to replenish what we'd lost that week.</span></p> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">St. Lucia came next.<span style=""> </span>It's a beautiful beach town on the northern coast of SA.<span style=""> </span>Lots of places to eat and pretty things to see.<span style=""> </span>We drove to a park and explored the dunes.<span style=""> </span>Seeing zebras atop a dune overlooking the ocean is pretty awesome.</span></p> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">We headed down the coast to Durban and checked out the beach there.<span style=""> </span>Then to really put our systems (mine and Emily's) into a shock, we went to a mall.<span style=""> </span>A HUGE mall. SA is very cheap compared to Zambia.<span style=""> </span>Food prices were maybe 40% of what we pay.<span style=""> </span>For dinner, we ate at a restaurant that had a half price Tuesday special.<span style=""> </span>Emily and I split a bowl of seafood paella and a sushi platter. Delicious.<span style=""> </span>After dinner she and I boarded the bus to Jo'burg leaving Lou and Astra to finish their travels.<span style=""> </span>Early the next morning, we arrived in Jo'burg and hung out in a nice neighborhood then caught a movie before heading to the airport.<span style=""> </span>Up til now, the trip was smooth.<span style=""> </span>Too smooth.<span style=""> </span>Something had to go wrong. It was inevitable. There was no desk for the Zambian Airways check in.<span style=""> </span>We asked around. "Check at counter 72." At 72 they said "Check 1." At 1 they say "Check 36." "Check 72…already did? Check 7" "Did you go to 17?" Finally 17 tells us to go to a completely different area, an un-numbered window. "Not this window, the next one." The next window tells us "Zambian Airways is no more.<span style=""> </span>They went out of business. Go to the sales office."<span style=""> </span>Sales closet might have been more appropriate.<span style=""> </span>No one was there, no one answered the phones. Not even at the travel agency we bought the tickets from. With 6 hours left on my tourist visa, we bought tickets on South African Airways.<span style=""> </span>$200 later we board the plane home.</span></p> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">But I'm back now.<span style=""> </span>So that's good.<span style=""> </span>My dog was skinny and covered in ticks, kitten fat on lizards and grasshoppers, and my field choked with weeds.<span style=""> </span>Back to normalcy…ahhhh….</span></p> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Just a heads up, there's a 2 for 1 deal for tickets to Namibia in case you wanted to visit.<span style=""> </span>They celebrate October in the traditional way of their german forefathers- Oktoberfest.<span style=""> </span>Just a heads up.</span></p> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Ok now I'm done. I'm not proofreading this. So deal with it.<span style=""> </span>Hope you're good.</span></p>Patrick Horleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00729916338822930352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2209392234196932073.post-50916625495981698932008-11-13T17:46:00.000-08:002009-05-03T18:02:45.673-07:0011/13/08<div id="readMsgBodyContainer" class="ReadMsgBody BorderTop" onclick="return Control.invoke('ReadingPane', '_onBodyClick', event);"> <div class="ExternalClass" id="MsgContainer"> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">It's been a while since I wrote last.<span style=""> </span>I think it was just after the death of President Mwanawasa.<span style=""> </span>Zambian elections were held on 30 October. As Peace Corps volunteers, we're forbidden to express opinions on politics. I don't think we're forbidden to express opinion on our forbiddance to express opinions so I'll say I don't like it. One goal of PC is cultural exchange, for Zambians to see what Americans are like, and most Americans have opinions on politics.<span style=""> </span>Instead we just appear apathetic, which I am not. Anyway, Rupiah Banda won. Upon hearing the news, I was overtaken by a wave of extreme indifference!.........</span></p> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style=""> </span>Work is coming along nicely. My field is ready for rain and seeds. I'll be planting the same stuff as last year, just more of it.<span style=""> </span>It was considerably easier work this year because I'd maintained the land and weeded it. Well, half of it…the other half hadn't been maintained and had stumps, weeds and lava flows to deal with.</span></p> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style=""> </span>My farmers are doing well.<span style=""> </span>They're helping each other with surveying, measuring, even building their ponds which makes my job easier but now I'm getting overwhelmed with too many farmers.<span style=""> </span>I like it though, it keeps me busy.</span></p> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style=""> </span>My best farmer out here, George, harvested a couple weeks ago. He got about 10kg which isn't great, isn't horrible.<span style=""> </span>I bought 2kg from him but instead of money, he asked me to buy him baby clothes next time I went to town.<span style=""> </span>Well, I'm a smart man and three days later concluded that his wife is expecting.<span style=""> </span>So the last time I was in town, one of the other volunteers helped me pick out baby clothes.<span style=""> </span>But she thinks there's going to be a little half white baby in Kapeshi village. No idea how she came to that conclusion…ok, I do know how, but after knowing me for 16 months, no idea why she'd believe that.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style=""> </span>Mwenso is doing well.<span style=""> </span>He's a dad now too.<span style=""> </span>He disappeared one night around 6 and never returned.<span style=""> </span>I looked for him, called him, he didn't show. A man was selling bush meat and I started to worry, but a passerby said he was at Mr. Beselo's house.<span style=""> </span>Mr. Beselo has a female dog.<span style=""> </span>An ugly bitch with an underbite (I can say that, she's a female dog!).<span style=""> </span>I think Mwenso could do better but maybe she has a nice personality (which I don't think so because she always growls at me). So I went to get him and he was lying down right beside his little pup. Mom was maybe 12 feet away.<span style=""> </span>I called Mwenso and he came running but turned around about halfway because his pup started whimpering.<span style=""> </span>It was really cute.<span style=""> </span>Mwenso was torn between me and his new family.<span style=""> </span>I won because I feed him. Yet another deadbeat dad…Oh! He also does a new trick. I put food on his nose and he balances it until I say ok and he flicks is up and catches it.<span style=""> </span>A few days ago he held it for 45 seconds!</span></p> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style=""> </span>Emily Richardson came to visit me all the way from the states.<span style=""> </span>Well, she came to visit her sister Julia who is a volunteer in the next province north, but they came to visit me at my site which was great fun.</span></p> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style=""> </span>I went to Lusaka in late September for my medical checkup.<span style=""> </span>My liver's still there so that's cool.<span style=""> </span>After that I helped the newest batch of volunteers do their shopping for the next 2 years, but none of them took my advise and bought 2 years' worth of fresh veggies.<span style=""> </span>They'll be sorry…Since I was leaving 2 days later for a fishing trip it was decided I needed a mullet.<span style=""> </span>I'd been training for this moment for the past 7 months or so and I was ready.<span style=""> </span>It went well with my mustache I'd worked on and the cut-off jean shorts.<span style=""> </span>I met my fishing buddies for dinner and afterward we crashed a party with a Miami Vice theme. Three of the four of us had cutoff shorts though I don't think it was ever discussed, just a natural thing to do.<span style=""> </span>We looked ridiculous and put the party host to shame with our awesomeness.</span></p> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style=""> </span>The next morning we hitched south for our attack on the Zambezi.<span style=""> </span>The last few km of the trip a crazy drunk lady offered us a ride.<span style=""> </span>I ended up driving which was a good idea.<span style=""> </span>We set up camp, cooked a delicious dinner of steak in a mushroom and garlic cream sauce and baked potatoes.<span style=""> </span>We spent the next morning holding fishing poles beside the river. We decided it was better to take baby steps.<span style=""> </span>Once we got the appearance of fishermen down, we decided to start catching things.<span style=""> </span>That was the evening's plans.<span style=""> </span>So we caught some baitfish- 4 small catfish.<span style=""> </span>The plan for the next morning was to cast our lines with baitfish on the end. We understood the importance of crawling before walking.<span style=""> </span>You don't just show up on the 'Bezi and say "I'ma catch me some tigerfish!" But just after we decided to start catching them, one of my group got a call from the bosslady…Busted for being AWOL.<span style=""> </span>So we packed up, hitched back to Lusaka. He had his meeting while I had a pizza.<span style=""> </span>His punishment?<span style=""> </span>Not allowed to leave his district until forever…Foreverrr…FOORRRRREEEVVVVVEEEERRRR…</span></p> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style=""> </span>We had our yearly (sometimes) Lala tribal festival here in Lala land.<span style=""> </span>Being some of the laziest people ever (the name lala means to sleep) last year the festival never happened.<span style=""> </span>This year wasn't great. Just a lot of drunks trying to buy my white female friends from me to take as wives.<span style=""> </span>I have SO many goats now!</span></p> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style=""> </span>As always, I had to say goodbye to some friends since the last email.<span style=""> </span>At least 7 PCVs have left—either finished service, were medically separated or quit to go home and find out that the grass isn't really that much greener.<span style=""> </span>I'm still considering extending my time here, but there are times I've decided that no way am I going to extend.<span style=""> </span>My grandfather died in October and I really would have liked to have been there with him and the family.<span style=""> </span>I've heard of several friends getting married, buying houses or starting real life, though I hate to say it, I'm a little jealous.<span style=""> </span>But I consider the problems with our economy, port job market and our ridiculous dependency on well…everything- convenience, oil, electricity and suddenly my hut is more of a home.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style=""> </span>I'm planning a nice little vacation to Lake Malawi for Christmas.<span style=""> </span>Then down to the coast of Mozambique (where I hear its very nice to spend a week or two, according to Mr. Bob Dylan) for New Year's and to meet Lou and Astra and we'll travel through Swaziland into South Africa.......</span></p> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style=""> </span>It's an interesting time to be in Africa.<span style=""> </span>Political changes in South Africa after their president resigned..... And then there's Kenya celebrating the US elections and of course we had our Zambian elections.</span></p> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style=""> </span>I'd have loved to be in Kenya for our elections.<span style=""> </span>They took a great deal of interest in the outcome, just as I and many other volunteers did. We had a big party in Mkushi to watch the updates.<span style=""> </span>Good times.</span></p> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style=""> </span>Well, I'm bored with this as you probably are too.<span style=""> </span>But in closing I'm going to list my ideas for post PC life that I'd like your input on. Should I 1) Build a raft and raft the Mississippi Huck Finn style? 2) join a band of Somali pirates? (They're having a decent year, unlike the Pittsburgh Pirates last season) 3) Wonder aimlessly around the world until I find something to keep my attention? 4) NGO work (maybe in Ethiopia if that guy ever responds to my email)? 5) Find a real job stateside? 6) Teach English in Asia? 7) Spend another year in Zambia?<span style=""> </span>Please say #2!</span></p> <div class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""><span style=""><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"> </span></span></div> <div class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""><span style=""><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Take care and please keep in touch. I'd love to hear what's going on at home</span></span></div> </div> </div>Patrick Horleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00729916338822930352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2209392234196932073.post-65576709022993671372008-08-26T17:48:00.000-07:002009-05-03T18:00:53.669-07:008/26/08<div id="readMsgBodyContainer" class="ReadMsgBody BorderTop" onclick="return Control.invoke('ReadingPane', '_onBodyClick', event);"> <div class="ExternalClass" id="MsgContainer"> <div dir="ltr"><div class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Wouldn't you vote for me? I would</span></span></div> <div class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""> </div> <div class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Hello again.<span style=""> </span>I hope that everyone is doing well.<span style=""> </span>I sure am. I've had an interesting couple of weeks since the last time I wrote.<span style=""> </span>I don't really remember when that was, or what I wrote about.<span style=""> </span>I think it was just after the 4<sup>th</sup> of July and I'd just returned from a long weekend of camping at Mutinondo Wilderness. Then went in to Lusaka to see some friends ring out (PC slang for their closing ceremonies).<span style=""> </span>After that, I went back to my site and did some stuff there.<span style=""> </span>I finished wiring my light which is pretty sweet. I don't use it much; I prefer candlelight but I just think it's cool to have.<span style=""> </span></span></span></div> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style=""> </span>It's hard for me to remember what I did without my journal in front of me.<span style=""> </span>Everything kinda runs together.<span style=""> </span>It's already August.<span style=""> </span>I just completed a year at site which I celebrated by not being at site.<span style=""> </span>At the end of July, we got our newest batch of trainees in.<span style=""> </span>It's an exciting time when we get newbies.<span style=""> </span>My group was the newbie group for a long long time then we got two more sets in the matter of a couple months it seems.<span style=""> </span>So now it's like I'm a junior in high school with the senior class graduating in April and my class in August.<span style=""> </span></span></span></p> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style=""> </span>I got to host 5 newbies for their first site visit or as some people refer to it as the demystification.<span style=""> </span>It's to show what Peace Corps is really like.<span style=""> </span>When they arrived I wanted to be seated in a throne with a big headdress on with a fire blazing in front of me and the local children kneeling with their hands on the ground in your typical praising position with another child fanning me with a banana leaf, maybe a pig head on a pike and some kind of sacrifice happening nearby, human or otherwise.<span style=""> </span>But I never got around to it. So the 5 newbies enjoyed themselves. We saw a few ponds, went on some hikes, stumbled upon what I'd bet 5 newbie lives on were 2 mambas mating and the next day a third one that was enjoying the single life.<span style=""> </span></span></span></p> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style=""> </span>After they left I did more stuff around site for about a week before I set off for Livingstone.<span style=""> </span>But ended up turning around and heading back to site after about 100km.<span style=""> </span>I hung out at site for 3 days and took off for Lusaka where I had to get bloodwork done to see what kind of damage these TB pills are doing to my liver.<span style=""> </span>I've been told my liever enzymes are doing well.<span style=""> </span>I've always prided myself on my enzymatic awesomeness.</span></span></p> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style=""> </span>I spent all of next week in Chongwe assisting with training the newbies. Monday and Tuesday was all about fish farming—making flipcharts, A-frame levels, staking ponds and such.<span style=""> </span>I really enjoyed it. Wednesday was their homestay day (ie a free day for me to spend watching movies and eating fried foods in Lusaka).<span style=""> </span>Thursday I held a session about the benefits/drawbacks of volunteers having their own gardens (free veggies!/ Hoein' ain't easy).<span style=""> </span>On Friday, I went back to Lusaka with the other trainers to get fingerlings for the training ponds. Saturday was slow to start with but picked up mid day when I got to go to the airport to pick up my friend Emily who came to visit her sister Julia who is a volunteer here in Zambia. We got a bite to eat and then it was back to Chongwe for the night.<span style=""> </span>I left on Sunday to attend the viewing of our late president, Levy Patrick Mwanawasa who passed away on Tuesday morning after more than a month of life support.<span style=""> </span>He had a stroke while in Egypt and never recovered.<span style=""> </span>When I got to the showgrounds, the only place large enough to support so many people, the lines were ridiculously long and I gave up.<span style=""> </span>People had been there for 1½ hours and didn't make any headway before turning around.<span style=""> </span>So I went to a friend's barbeque instead.<span style=""> </span>Not quite as culturally sensitive but it was enjoyable.</span></span></p> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style=""> </span>The death of the president has left many of us in a state of unknowing.<span style=""> </span>No one seems to know who the next president might be.<span style=""> </span>For the next three months the vice president will be acting president, but because he is appointed and not elected we will be having elections after 90 days....<span style=""> </span>It'll be an interesting time to be here in Zambia for sure.<span style=""> </span>I just hope everything stays as peaceful as it is.<span style=""> </span></span></span></p> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style=""> </span>Update on the best letter contest—Keighty is winning in the non-Becky division, with Kimmy in second place. And in the Becky division, Becky is winning.</span></span></p> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;" >That's all for now.<span style=""> </span>No crazy costume parties recently.</span></p> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"> </span></span></p> <p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"> </span></span></p></div> </div> </div>Patrick Horleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00729916338822930352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2209392234196932073.post-30006508754515327642008-07-11T17:51:00.000-07:002009-05-03T17:52:54.729-07:007/11/08<span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span> </span>Happy 4<sup>th</sup> of July!<span> </span>I hope your cookouts were delicious and fireworks were explosive.<span> </span>Or vice versa.</span> <p style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">I have lots of interesting things to write about, hopefully you'll find them as interesting as I do.<span> </span>It's nothing too exciting. That doesn't mean you should stop reading though)</span></p> <p style=""><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span> </span>At the beginning of June we had our provincial meetings/party.<span> </span>To kick off the meetings, we had an Iron-chef competition.<span> </span>The secret ingredients were soya pieces (meat protein replacement, much better than tofu), bananas, and avocados.<span> </span>My team won.<span> </span>We made an appetizer, two mains, and a desert.<span> </span>I don't want to use the word "best" to describe my orange chicken flavored soya pieces, but I really don't think there's another suitable word.<span> </span>After our meetings, we had our party and we always have themes for our parties.<span> </span>This one was Cowboys and Indians.<span> </span>We can get pretty creative with our costumes.<span> </span>Once again, for lack of a better word, mine was the best.<span> </span>I'm not going to go into details but I will say that my costume was homage to Brokeback Mountain.<span> </span>It included a strategically placed dummy.<span> </span>My boss found it funny, but it made for an awkward first introduction for the bosslady from another program.<span> </span>The next day it was off to Lusaka.<span> </span></span></p> <p style=""><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span> </span>We had our Mid term evaluations which is Peace Corps for Medical Exams, program meetings, and partying.<span> </span>Maybe a 20-20-60 breakdown, but it means that we're about halfway done.<span> </span>The meetings were to reflect/report on our accomplishments, what we plan for the next year, and for me to fall asleep in the middle of a meeting with the top people in Zambia's Department of Fisheries.<span> </span>Not my fault though.<span> </span>1) The meeting was boring and 2) I'd just gorged myself on a huge cheeseburger and fries.</span></p> <p style=""><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span> </span>The medical exams went all right, though I tested positive for exposure to tuberculosis.<span> </span>So that means that now I have to take pills everyday for 9 months and go to Lusaka every 4-5 weeks for bloodwork.<span> </span>And if I drink any alcohol, even a single drop as I'm told, my liver will explode.<span> </span>Hey, could be worse.<span> </span>Instead of having a social-life threatening disease, it could be life threatening.<span> </span>I could have Ebola Virus. I bet then you'd write.<span> </span>I know we're supposed to maintain "medical confidentiality" and telling 150+ friends and acquaintances isn't exactly confidentiality, but it's not like I'm admitting to you that I got crabs AND the clap from that hooker at Alpha Bar (…and she wasn't even that hot).</span></p> <p style=""><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span> </span>After Lusaka I went to site for a week and back to Serenje to arrange for transportation for a fish transfer to my farmers.<span> </span>Coincidentally, we were having our going away party for the 5 volunteers leaving soon.<span> </span>The theme for this one was gameshows (specifically 70's).<span> </span>We had a very competitive Family Feud with questions pertaining to life in Zambia. (Thirty Zambians were surveyed and asked which is the best alcohol that comes in a plastic sachet?<span> </span>And the survey says Double Punch. Hands down).<span> </span>My costume got a lot of laughs from lots of folks. Plaid trousers pulled up high, red polo shirt with a tie, combover, and mustache.<span> </span>When the game started, the tie was removed and the trousers came off (I had red shorts on underneath), my hair was put into a top-pony tail, a W on my chest and a No $ sign on my back.<span> </span>I was one-half of a double whammy with Kathy completing the duo.<span> </span>No whammy, no whammy, no whammy STOP!</span></p> <p style=""><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span> </span>I'd mentioned to one of my fellow volunteers that I wanted to put a lightswitch attached to nothing on my wall.<span> </span>Because I'll be hosting the new trainees, he bought me one to trick them with.<span> </span>I put it on my wall but then got the motivation/inspiration to wire a light in my hut.<span> </span>So I did.<span> </span>Now there's a usable lightswitch attached to a bicycle headlight and a battery pack.<span> </span>The wires are too short to be useful, but I just bought some new wires and I'll do it properly.<span> </span>Next, maybe running water.</span></p> <p style=""><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span> </span>The fish transfer went surprisingly smoothly. My farmers are doing well.<span> </span>Work has stalled for a few, never started for a couple, but the ones who are working are doing splendidly!</span></p> <p style=""><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span> </span>Because of the holiday this weekend, a friend and I decided to go camping.<span> </span>We went to a beautiful place called Mutinondo Wilderness.<span> </span>We went horseback riding, canoing, mountain biking (more for transportation to the campsite than for pleasure, but it was still fun), hiking, found some rock art (accidentally while lost), and read our books on some rocks in the middle of the river.<span> </span>Great weekend.<span> </span>I even found some lion tracks about a km from the site.</span></p> <p style=""><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span> </span>Every Peace Corps Volunteer has their primary project.<span> </span>Mine is fish farming.<span> </span>We are also expected to have our secondary projects.<span> </span>Good volunteers have their tertiary or quaternary projects.<span> </span>Mine have included the chicken vaccine and the library, but the most important side project was narrowing down my Grateful Dead playlist from something like 180 songs to my favorite 30.<span> </span>Literally I'd been working on this for months.<span> </span>I was also deleting duplicate songs from my MP3 player.<span> </span>Tragedy struck when I got to Right Said Fred "I'm Too Sexy."<span> </span>When deciding which version to delete (yep, I had 2 copies—I guess that's a tragedy in itself), there was an error which deleted ALL of my playlists and ALL of my pictures.<span> </span>And it won't let me add new music or make new playlists.<span> </span>Now, for the life of me, I can't find "Luckenbach, Texas" by The Highwaymen and I really wanna hear it).<span> </span>So if anyone has an old MP3 player loaded up with stuff you know I'd like (most anything) just sitting around collecting dust because you just got a new Ipod that holds 80 million songs (because 60 million just isn't enough), plays videos and a programmable laser light show, I'd be happy to find a loving home for ol' dusty.<span> </span>(Mine still works; I love it but like when a girlfriend gets an ugly haircut it's not quite what it used to be and I love it a little less.<span> </span>Just kidding, just kidding).</span></p> <p style=""><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span> </span>I'd like to announce that Kimmy is currently winning the best letter contest in the "Non-Becky Category." Runners up include Laura and Carly.<span> </span>Becky is winning uncontested in the "Becky Only" category, having written every week for more than a year.<span> </span>And the Zambian postal services were kind enough to deliver all but two!<span> </span>I don't think they were as generous in delivering all my packages.<span> </span>(I just got my birthday package from the USDA Lab.<span> </span>It and some CDs from Dr. C have been sitting in the post office since February.<span> </span>They complain about PCVs not picking up packages, but they don't give us our notices.)<span> </span>A few people said that they were going to send me something (and I believe them) but they've yet to show up.<span> </span>So if you've sent something and not yet gotten a response from me thanking you, let me know and I'll inquire at the Post Office.<span> </span>Some mail genuinely takes a long time because it gets sidetracked and distracted, forgetting it's on a mission and takes a holiday in Indonesia for a couple weeks.<span> </span>It's been known to happen. </span></p> <p style=""><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span> </span>So please write.<span> </span>I'd love to hear from you.<span> </span>Even emails.<span> </span>I'm getting a phone with internet from a departing volunteer so I'll be able to check email in my hut (!).<span> </span>But it's always nice to get letters, especially those that contain pictures.<span> </span>And only mailed letters will be considered for the "Best Letter Contest." (Entries must be postmarked by October 31<sup>st</sup> and the winner will be announced after January 1<sup>st</sup>…but that doesn't mean you should stop writing…ever.)</span></p> <p style=""><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"> </span></p> <div style=""><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Hope all is well at home.<span> </span>I miss you all.</span></div>Patrick Horleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00729916338822930352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2209392234196932073.post-64370588981168366682008-04-26T15:39:00.000-07:002008-10-06T16:08:29.231-07:00time to announce the winner (it ISN'T you)April 26, 2008~<br />It's been a while since my last email. I don't even know when that was. Sometime in February I'd imagine. I think the last one was just me saying nothing interesting has happened in the past month since returning from Zanzibar…in case I didn't send this supposed email, I'll recap. Nothing happened. Not until March. Most of the month of February was spent working diligently with my farmers aside from a week long trip to Mike's site in the Copperbelt. It was a beautiful place, a couple km from Lake Kashiba, a sunken lake with a bottom more than 300 meters deep- on the sides (or so I've heard). After returning from Mike's, I started my preparations for Amanda's visit which were mostly cleaning, weeding, and slashing the yard which is essentially cutting the grass with a slightly sharpened 9 iron. On the morning of March 6, I picked up my sister, Amanda, at the airport in Lusaka and we went to Eureka Campground where we took a bushwalk through the brambles and weeds as tall as we are. Amanda saw her first wildlife there (besides drunken amaguys)- giraffes. We saw many others later, but isn't that a great introduction to Africa? Then we searched for monkeys for about an hour before giving up. As we returned to the chalet, we saw about 900 monkeys hanging out at the carpark. Mostly smoking cigarettes, drinking beer and listening to Skynyrd blasting from a lifted pickup. Wait…nope, that was last time. This time they were jumping around from branch to branch. The next day was a nice easy day at the zoo. Amanda got to enjoy her first mini bus experience then her first hitch hike with a nice grandmother who was late for church, but still wanted to show us around her neighborhood. We spent the night at my friend's house and departed the next morning to go North to Chimfunshi where there's a sanctuary for chimps who were captured and smuggled to enter the pet trade. There's one who was rescued from a life of alcoholism and cigarette smoking (no Skynrd, hence the need to be rescued) as a form of entertainment. We got to play with the chimps for a couple hours. They ranged in age from a year and a half to more than a year and a half and in size from small to freakin' huge. I got peed on. They're amazing climbers and are ridiculously strong. Each one had its own personality. Dominic, the youngest, was hyperactive and is in training to be the next Chuck Norris continuously practicing his roundhouse kicks. Gus was too cool for school. Alice was the mature one with a grandmotherish side to her and would play with Dominic until she got tired then retire to a branch too high for him to climb to. After leaving the sanctuary, which is also home to Congo African Grey parrots also rescued from the pet trade, we headed to Kapisha to find the "hot springs." It was an adventure. We didn't know where they were, and apparently neither did the locals. "It's close, just there." We'd go just there, and no hot springs. The next local would point to where we came from and say "It's just there" and well…no it's not. We ended up at an open pit mine that reminded me of the American southwest. So we gave up and ate some porkchops. All in all, I'd call it a success. We headed back to Lusaka where my boss picked us (Amanda, the district Dep of Fisheries officer, and me) and drove us out to my site so that he could do his site visit. We met with some of my top farmers, checked out a pond, talked about what I'm doing here and they departed leaving Amanda and me at my house. We hung out there for a couple of days. I took her to my hill, to the school where the children were playing soccer and netball in honor of World Youth Day. While the boys played, the girls sang and danced their way around the field. It was good fun and I think a good portrayal of children's life in the village. Our time in the village ended too early. Amanda didn't want to leave and was just getting the hang of how we do things. I don't know if she didn't want to leave because she liked it or because she knew that leaving would entail biking 18 km. We took the easy long path instead of the hard short path, which I actually enjoyed and decided I might change my route. We got a ride from a few crazy birders from Holland, caught a bus, caught another bus, and arrived in Southern Province in the town of Choma where we stayed at the PC house. The next morning we checked out the Choma museum and hitched a ride to Livingstone in a big rig carrying 35 tons of copper to South Africa. Then we caught our first glimpse of the massive Victoria Falls. You can see the mist of the falls kilometers away from the actual falls. It's impressive. I'm sure you're bored by now…even me. We went to Chobe in Botswana where we did a river cruise followed by a game drive, saw millions of impala, some giraffes, some lions, antelope of many varieties, hippos and the only elephant we saw in the park was dead in the water and being devoured by crocs. We took a microlite flight over the falls. A microlite is essentially a motorcycle with wings. It's an open seat with a rear mounted motor and prop and now I know what I'm doing with my readjustment allowance. They can be bought for $6,000 or less (so I've heard). The flight was amazing, giving viewpoints only seen from the sky, including a few elephants. We saw the falls from every angle on the Zim and Zam side and even at night, which on a full moon you can see a rainbow. We also went on a walk with lion cubs. Cubs which weigh twice as much as me but they were just like huge housecats which they advise you not to think as you're petting them. I think my favorite part of the trip was the adrenaline activities. I got a package deal which included a flying fox (essentially a zipline where you're attached from the back and you run down a runway into nothingness and zip ¾ of the way across the gorge at a relatively slow speed), a zipline (hooked from the front and zipping downwards at 120-140km/h) and my favorite the gorge swing (a 70m free fall attached to some cables which transitions you into a smooth swing back and forth 40m above the rolling river). We also spent a lot of time in the markets. I made as many friends as I could and by the time we left, all the shopkeepers knew my name. It was fun. We definitely had our favorites and they got most of our business. I even directed others to their stalls. After Vic Falls, we went to Chongwe to visit my host family for Easter. We stayed at Erin's Lodge in essentially a storage closet with 2 beds, but it was close to the Mwansa family. On Sunday morning we met them for church which was held outside in the hot sun and was long long and in Nyanja. I understood maybe 5 words but it was still interesting. After church we went to the market, got a chicken, then mom cooked it up and it was delicious. We spent that night in Lusaka near the PC office so that I could do email stuff, but never got around to it. Instead, we hit up another 2 markets for last minute souvenirs. The second morning in Lusaka was Amanda's last morning in Zambia. We headed to the airport, she flew out to London then home, I guess…haven't heard yet. (Update: she's home). I spent the next 2 days in Lusaka seeing movies, bowling and eating. Now I'm at the Serenje house waiting until I can eat lunch and head back to my site. My new project is a library that I'm starting at Serenje Basic School and with the help of Mr. Calloway's Sudlersville Middle School class and a fundraising project of selling copper bracelets, should be able to fund the construction of bookshelves, tables and chairs. If you have books, send 'em! (Especially ones you think I'd like to read before I put them on the shelves) **Now the part you've all been waiting for:** The package contest has come to a close. I've decided to split the prizes. Dr. Connaughton's awesome package of junkfood, books, spices, baseball cards, games, etc won him the grandprize. Theresa's package of roughly the same, but not quite as good got her first runner up, and Becky's weekly letters warranted a prize too. I sent it all home with Amanda so she can ship them out for me. Much cheaper from Philly than from Serenje. So expect something sometime in the next however-long-it-takes-her-to-get-around-to-it. Thank you to all who participated. It was greatly appreciated by me (and my vulturesque volunteer friends). I'm trying to write each of you a letter, but sometimes, as with Angie and Ike, I've lost your address. It's not that I'm unappreciative or, well, even that busy…just lazy, forgetful, distracted…hey, what's that….<br />Also if you want to see some pictures or go back and re-read any thing to point out hypocrisies, go to <a href="http://patrickhorley.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://patrickhorley.blogspot.com/</a><br />pat<a href="http://patrickhorley.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"></a>Patrick Horleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00729916338822930352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2209392234196932073.post-29374058113591988662008-04-15T17:45:00.000-07:002008-04-15T18:44:46.049-07:00Pictures from MarchThis is Pat's sister updating his blog for him. Enjoy the pictures of Chimfunshi Chimp Sanctuary in Zambia, Pat's village, and our trip to Victoria Falls and the surrounding areas in Zimbabwe and Botswana.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD-T2c-yjlW2jkjhxiPWayEOixTYuJ3bAti0NE43SlC25N13eNVERBr3Y74aJVUzyZs2Z-wC8y7Sjq3dhn6fq2u3hdAFbW5Q_QzVEyZs0EbxO__pTb41XTdqAq-1MpuvlmHYwULZVNQILk/s1600-h/DSCN1065.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189638862519470658" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD-T2c-yjlW2jkjhxiPWayEOixTYuJ3bAti0NE43SlC25N13eNVERBr3Y74aJVUzyZs2Z-wC8y7Sjq3dhn6fq2u3hdAFbW5Q_QzVEyZs0EbxO__pTb41XTdqAq-1MpuvlmHYwULZVNQILk/s200/DSCN1065.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh20o40pIQUxiNMX0Ddc5z_GjT28ZF9sQ88JeLZdyK_zlFtrzxztWBTud8CkE8J_zHxbtHbnuT-DhOVKBgdSv53VQ4KZUwzs6bOzx0a_cP2csyYBKVi6KO2dbZGvN_ik1sIWETKMY81bsnU/s1600-h/DSCN1166.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189638866814437970" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh20o40pIQUxiNMX0Ddc5z_GjT28ZF9sQ88JeLZdyK_zlFtrzxztWBTud8CkE8J_zHxbtHbnuT-DhOVKBgdSv53VQ4KZUwzs6bOzx0a_cP2csyYBKVi6KO2dbZGvN_ik1sIWETKMY81bsnU/s200/DSCN1166.JPG" border="0" /></a><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189638871109405282" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSRkFcYuf_NdaS-s_e0Vi33ZT6jtgBjcfci4rjqPQxRJQz5niABkcl5jr2IfQXzq9bd99aDjRPv80QrgG3sUzg-84_KLXcffleGFvz3VyRO_yLv3-PZS036-9lLyRVQbl-tU3BgodKHETo/s200/DSCN1192.JPG" border="0" /><br />Chimfunshi<br /><div><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3APuzdJc67L3j69xIt06OhxTnCBJQTMAu1CRqqhcRGlXNoUr7Sh3iRLVv46dQI6O84PfkRZz1AjmqzdUz5RQ5ywP25m206-DneBHcpb13QlxloyjEGGAyfkRuOAmYMaeS8FLDWM6ve-AT/s1600-h/DSCN1293.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189640198254299810" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3APuzdJc67L3j69xIt06OhxTnCBJQTMAu1CRqqhcRGlXNoUr7Sh3iRLVv46dQI6O84PfkRZz1AjmqzdUz5RQ5ywP25m206-DneBHcpb13QlxloyjEGGAyfkRuOAmYMaeS8FLDWM6ve-AT/s200/DSCN1293.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrpQzax-8U-EupCUuM04N3mQ-f-ELt_dj3ozd-K75xtLUB8qmjJJrEOUyoaW-aBv4q6zQC_At0L1o6rxQOeILwhkSETEaDiOeXuAsO5OqdSI_kI-Pdl-UBu6tSWv-w2Tzz_JKVycPiLlZX/s1600-h/DSCN1341.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189640202549267122" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrpQzax-8U-EupCUuM04N3mQ-f-ELt_dj3ozd-K75xtLUB8qmjJJrEOUyoaW-aBv4q6zQC_At0L1o6rxQOeILwhkSETEaDiOeXuAsO5OqdSI_kI-Pdl-UBu6tSWv-w2Tzz_JKVycPiLlZX/s200/DSCN1341.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCIfKW2YYSiP3OwSqXMVGFQ2jIzR8ByCMcCyWsd_DP_LfRj9T71eLqwE4nseo9Ns3YXCqhSjMiSAy15wW1Tv2oLeypxzsHuQaHs-f3OeuY0DK8hobKBNFvuOavJdSKWpEnqgPF4GS5_6Qo/s1600-h/DSCN1322.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189640193959332498" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCIfKW2YYSiP3OwSqXMVGFQ2jIzR8ByCMcCyWsd_DP_LfRj9T71eLqwE4nseo9Ns3YXCqhSjMiSAy15wW1Tv2oLeypxzsHuQaHs-f3OeuY0DK8hobKBNFvuOavJdSKWpEnqgPF4GS5_6Qo/s200/DSCN1322.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh29RnFHXOcCsSpf7VpTmmoz51Ul3Of-iHOcm0nEOLhGl7bWxFt8lV9Jjmg2BOWA1ypiMpflDyec-q6tiDxPmoItD95p9g0H6LsPkU_9S7seu4TYMn5V-5xVERcLVKwEEv_lPAvtIVQaiVQ/s1600-h/DSCN1346.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189640211139201730" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 149px" height="374" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh29RnFHXOcCsSpf7VpTmmoz51Ul3Of-iHOcm0nEOLhGl7bWxFt8lV9Jjmg2BOWA1ypiMpflDyec-q6tiDxPmoItD95p9g0H6LsPkU_9S7seu4TYMn5V-5xVERcLVKwEEv_lPAvtIVQaiVQ/s200/DSCN1346.JPG" width="200" border="0" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiic8omRyz7a4D58H_DMtxdQgMXzq7j9I3y-matymuxd_bEVQpbxooulExibp6jd7zqTgtiATQQuxtBMB_9HL3QpcjZRFYPoupQcEcWT2ovqXELWc5QTfrACCtJSvee1xcZixpbXptGcYfo/s1600-h/DSCN1282.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189638883994307202" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiic8omRyz7a4D58H_DMtxdQgMXzq7j9I3y-matymuxd_bEVQpbxooulExibp6jd7zqTgtiATQQuxtBMB_9HL3QpcjZRFYPoupQcEcWT2ovqXELWc5QTfrACCtJSvee1xcZixpbXptGcYfo/s200/DSCN1282.JPG" border="0" /></a> Bathing Shelter, Insaka (gazebo), Waking with George (a farmer and friend), Family, Cheering section at the school soccer game</div><br /><br /><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189640215434169042" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQsAiH198fxtU3gDwZWm6dTPMfBds5qds9rAiHM1kOaEBtsyApEBoHeQML_G4_xd-VcD3vhsOflzET64IJSvP2tWwu0vetv3RzD7nq-W-lDqqHumhwrdl2hmbTX2ZIdXBP6Brbq7JNBV5C/s200/DSCN1417.JPG" border="0" /> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7NFOgSrmwAS1E9HieiSpQkoPXiWNdNirgcv7fEhj12YoWj6LX2czqad81aXp-W2MONF1a6GOeZ1PwZZ8jJvaXsF9HEdx48HqmTAYUiLt3kfNkx4su1LXrc4iGucC9MPgxZEBaOoiN-hbM/s1600-h/DSCN1447.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189645438114400994" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7NFOgSrmwAS1E9HieiSpQkoPXiWNdNirgcv7fEhj12YoWj6LX2czqad81aXp-W2MONF1a6GOeZ1PwZZ8jJvaXsF9HEdx48HqmTAYUiLt3kfNkx4su1LXrc4iGucC9MPgxZEBaOoiN-hbM/s200/DSCN1447.JPG" border="0" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWZYlSFV4jxHhvx3_hZfNPMWIlId4F3nK9SPTsbMcbZ2OYGtGIwZ-io9NX7C1uaWW-0oz3N3s1QUU6AvMFKhyQYSY2AZhUpBBeZAPApfgE5i3WgDp3VDTobqOj1WfGlxgeBzamAZ7u4lgt/s1600-h/DSCN1508.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189645446704335618" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWZYlSFV4jxHhvx3_hZfNPMWIlId4F3nK9SPTsbMcbZ2OYGtGIwZ-io9NX7C1uaWW-0oz3N3s1QUU6AvMFKhyQYSY2AZhUpBBeZAPApfgE5i3WgDp3VDTobqOj1WfGlxgeBzamAZ7u4lgt/s200/DSCN1508.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwgJAF72avJ8ipp_GShi-nUkHeA1SfoORNoG5qQfNeuNGMjReuEGBQnqqAmTjXn2oQOP9FjLmhEk5ab1lM07liI-vmWvyAKVRO1I2tUOKkxT8Co0ysUtNc5abNWWYeamWQVDMsRUot5rlC/s1600-h/DSCN1464.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189645442409368306" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwgJAF72avJ8ipp_GShi-nUkHeA1SfoORNoG5qQfNeuNGMjReuEGBQnqqAmTjXn2oQOP9FjLmhEk5ab1lM07liI-vmWvyAKVRO1I2tUOKkxT8Co0ysUtNc5abNWWYeamWQVDMsRUot5rlC/s200/DSCN1464.JPG" border="0" /></a> Impala, Hippo, Giraffe, Chobe National Park, Botswana<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp9jdyVyUKiqplMndLxr0zJq_jyDWs_mvBy49H5U0GY5iFvlyu0DysKzjX3OAQ1SCo4CRDUdB7pAHcLmAxzqgiNHgewUDNyc0B8NsCtKgForkkxOjqnzKvnyegjAFljYOds20xyw1CkxqP/s1600-h/DSCN1628.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189645450999302930" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp9jdyVyUKiqplMndLxr0zJq_jyDWs_mvBy49H5U0GY5iFvlyu0DysKzjX3OAQ1SCo4CRDUdB7pAHcLmAxzqgiNHgewUDNyc0B8NsCtKgForkkxOjqnzKvnyegjAFljYOds20xyw1CkxqP/s200/DSCN1628.JPG" border="0" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2nxEgOrDH1PFl8ZV9v933UFPTVAbeZuMe7_KZyO32fKUTs3-UNmbmusrV4IDezn5RR9DjRF-c2uRTb_oSX06QmJNm6e-W36xN8Q2tgmxpLgr3sGUQheC6vhCT-MMndNhemfvz7DQarfMn/s1600-h/DSCN1675.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189645459589237538" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2nxEgOrDH1PFl8ZV9v933UFPTVAbeZuMe7_KZyO32fKUTs3-UNmbmusrV4IDezn5RR9DjRF-c2uRTb_oSX06QmJNm6e-W36xN8Q2tgmxpLgr3sGUQheC6vhCT-MMndNhemfvz7DQarfMn/s200/DSCN1675.JPG" border="0" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi64if55f0VXJsU4M2JczTF7c6XRPMKpgvAk_ayHb0SeAzhnxvCfVDni-E_cAtlG0ZfiPq5qwPHYJNpw_z-22QxO1JgKV0uflPV_V95CcbULRtpPuXQINLAtCctrQU_DcjgTkaGj_EByyoA/s1600-h/DSCN1743.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189648496131115858" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi64if55f0VXJsU4M2JczTF7c6XRPMKpgvAk_ayHb0SeAzhnxvCfVDni-E_cAtlG0ZfiPq5qwPHYJNpw_z-22QxO1JgKV0uflPV_V95CcbULRtpPuXQINLAtCctrQU_DcjgTkaGj_EByyoA/s200/DSCN1743.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />Watching the Falls with the locals<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqdiytf_mT2TZge7DX_nzW09OGTpVlTlwGw5wvZQkR_RPhAmhZ19L6xw4FIcq1b_GjVJ3V4AU6kAC00b8nnAxvgzD0IyIpckqchKdioT5JLn6jHvN_t96VnZFtjtmCZIwljxEEhBHInfwn/s1600-h/DSCN1873.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189650690859404162" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqdiytf_mT2TZge7DX_nzW09OGTpVlTlwGw5wvZQkR_RPhAmhZ19L6xw4FIcq1b_GjVJ3V4AU6kAC00b8nnAxvgzD0IyIpckqchKdioT5JLn6jHvN_t96VnZFtjtmCZIwljxEEhBHInfwn/s200/DSCN1873.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGtUZumrfnjk-UJfTnnsasg0x7Q0xShx_KPtsx8mvSYtRcrVRM-7JjjDuEpg7f6YZCsDyG1SOR5nwTI-9Dn5shISBLTsMPpq1E8gIre3my7Q0yXyx94un1DqMuFQybeqbvGVTIkhSgqBpu/s1600-h/DSCN1871.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189650699449338786" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGtUZumrfnjk-UJfTnnsasg0x7Q0xShx_KPtsx8mvSYtRcrVRM-7JjjDuEpg7f6YZCsDyG1SOR5nwTI-9Dn5shISBLTsMPpq1E8gIre3my7Q0yXyx94un1DqMuFQybeqbvGVTIkhSgqBpu/s200/DSCN1871.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiStE1nLe6eIhiY6KzJtHLXTIscX9FrffVpycEGHk29HJJTr7Mj7VFyX0fDxYZuUsFmQHlQ0WRo5mQlxMFEibNmoOWFS2YxFJQFzsNE0tiAcCEjTFp75-o1GdIag8ESiixO-ugt4enkCHT/s1600-h/DSCN1898.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189650695154371474" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiStE1nLe6eIhiY6KzJtHLXTIscX9FrffVpycEGHk29HJJTr7Mj7VFyX0fDxYZuUsFmQHlQ0WRo5mQlxMFEibNmoOWFS2YxFJQFzsNE0tiAcCEjTFp75-o1GdIag8ESiixO-ugt4enkCHT/s200/DSCN1898.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div>Zipline, Flying Fox, Gorge Swing with Danielle<br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFyW0T4IifdtjIC8YQNoWODfJjQglm0qRtu2RXBBALx66VmbKjzyx2p0RyU1XdIyIYmiaBlPmvwsqp8YdJclGr_DlgyXlDNELfaKQDI8iayGEg2pX2EvcXHHzzcVNXUcgs-zqQW4fEr8fR/s1600-h/DSCN1714.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189648487541181234" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFyW0T4IifdtjIC8YQNoWODfJjQglm0qRtu2RXBBALx66VmbKjzyx2p0RyU1XdIyIYmiaBlPmvwsqp8YdJclGr_DlgyXlDNELfaKQDI8iayGEg2pX2EvcXHHzzcVNXUcgs-zqQW4fEr8fR/s200/DSCN1714.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJvUY1TkhQtG1sO09i-chx-5NdiXX1kA5P44iqRTSglmylpteItf9h-kNCBPhZ7nrOtyICovp9ZMe4SJp284TueK_6rVQU1U2H8NrhUmEqHduS3TjCWHLeprThkmvGxKmQGUyRgONMhvOM/s1600-h/IMG_0010.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189650708039273410" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJvUY1TkhQtG1sO09i-chx-5NdiXX1kA5P44iqRTSglmylpteItf9h-kNCBPhZ7nrOtyICovp9ZMe4SJp284TueK_6rVQU1U2H8NrhUmEqHduS3TjCWHLeprThkmvGxKmQGUyRgONMhvOM/s200/IMG_0010.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2SIR2EyxPtR5ZOFnPioPGzW6DwfIhRSoe1SKUKw-Qexf8rKYhYoR7EipagfI9WSMMKcP03LMYy8shBtXQGUtdmicBORy9KpnsaY2XKP2azbOmT9jw1aWtXR6dzgAld5u2awjXVTP9PHP3/s1600-h/DSCN1735.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189648491836148546" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2SIR2EyxPtR5ZOFnPioPGzW6DwfIhRSoe1SKUKw-Qexf8rKYhYoR7EipagfI9WSMMKcP03LMYy8shBtXQGUtdmicBORy9KpnsaY2XKP2azbOmT9jw1aWtXR6dzgAld5u2awjXVTP9PHP3/s200/DSCN1735.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5hkaWTks1MNagxSDfuaZxoLwDULTs-pNSGszlnS9baOfejoV8WdDtvzaY6ycfKfPwXCwRTHVdfqGBiQYj412jO7Hz6mHZ_B9KFU1lxXfQbNl5TdOpQS6qfvOqAkpYd9GUElIcm1KxNJpG/s1600-h/DSCN1770.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189648500426083170" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5hkaWTks1MNagxSDfuaZxoLwDULTs-pNSGszlnS9baOfejoV8WdDtvzaY6ycfKfPwXCwRTHVdfqGBiQYj412jO7Hz6mHZ_B9KFU1lxXfQbNl5TdOpQS6qfvOqAkpYd9GUElIcm1KxNJpG/s200/DSCN1770.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR_WkBCWMh5uNsSst1qJt7Que0s-C__r8VAYFudfcvL7UT4RVOSKCCd0WhWNQIVFlZI4xOykkHFsuqEq43F_0OtjvWUTHQFpTVLlbBxU1KcXE8dDCisTQmriQR-NXcciD3Dtq-tDg-s6Qu/s1600-h/DSCN1841.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189648504721050482" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR_WkBCWMh5uNsSst1qJt7Que0s-C__r8VAYFudfcvL7UT4RVOSKCCd0WhWNQIVFlZI4xOykkHFsuqEq43F_0OtjvWUTHQFpTVLlbBxU1KcXE8dDCisTQmriQR-NXcciD3Dtq-tDg-s6Qu/s200/DSCN1841.JPG" border="0" /></a></div></div>Patrick Horleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00729916338822930352noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2209392234196932073.post-65023263211847254052008-02-02T17:33:00.000-08:002008-04-15T17:35:26.318-07:00no witty subject titlehello all<br /><br />Not a whole lot has happened since the last email. I returned to site for only a few days before leaving again for PEPFAR training. Not sure what it stands for, but it was a week full of AIDS education. Go on, ask me anything. I should probably know the answer. Not saying I will, saying I should. While at this training, we stayed in the Peace Corps house in Serenje, and two volunteers got sick from the mold and dust and just genuine lack of cleanliness that associates itself with the typical Peace Corps volunteer kind. One volunteer, Scott, was sent home because of an allergic reaction. But hopefully he'll return.<br /><br />As I returned to site and got out of the bed of the truck I was hitching in, I dropped my pack down to the ground (as gentle as could be) then I jumped down but before I could move, the pack was run over by the truck crushing my camera. So no pics for a while. My sister is (hopefully) bringing one for me. Everything else was covered in veggie oil. I salvaged most, but a bag of Combos sadly was a casualty. Other things were broken too, but hopefully insurance will cover it.<br /><br />Back at site, I weeded and weeded and weeded. And slashed the grass in my yard. But not enough to make the snakes feel uncomfortable enough to leave. I almost stepped on a green mamba a couple days ago, but I did a triple reverse back handspring and landed 15m away in the open field. (actually it was more of a shriek, jump and a run, but all the same). I started to build a dove coop. I'm getting some doves with plans of training them to carry messages for me to my farmers. Instead of bringing development, I'm taking a step back. Screw cell phones. They're unreliable and cost money. And, unlike a phone, if they don't work, you can eat them. My stove is almost done but I want to add a spit for rotisserie because I think my plan is destined to fail (hmmm strikingly similar to a cell phone).<br /><br />So here I am at the PC house. I came in to help my friend Kathy fix her bike and to take pills for my infected wounds that just won't heal (and I think I have worms now too! YAY). But mostly because my buddy Rod said I had some packages at the post office. Today I picked up 7 (!) packages from: Becky (It finally arrived! Along with 4 letters), Walter & Keighty, The Bownes, Ms. Hain, Mom & Dad, Eric Ferree, and Dr. Connaughton who is currently winning the package competition by a few lengths, but I'm not closing the polls yet. Last week, I got packages from Theresa (2!), mom & dad, Amanda, my Grandparents, Ike & Angie, and my USDA coworkers. You guys really know what I like. I got a few cans of Old Bay (which go splendidly with my few cans of crab meat!), baseball cards, car magazines, candy (I've eaten more candy these past few weeks than I have in my entire "adult" life), a knife because Walter knows I like to stab and cut things and people, but I most enjoy reading about how you guys are doing so let me know. Don't leave that stuff out.<br /><br />The other day, I was going through my goodies thinking how much I love my friends. And I got the song "Big yellow taxi" in my head. It's not that I didn't know what I had til I was gone, because I always appreciated you guys, but I don't think I knew how good of friends you were when I was still around. I don't think I took enough advantage of the time that we had together. I'd kill for another wing night or bowling night or even just to punch Walter in the face, because, well, we all know he deserves it.<br /><br />My sister, Amanda, comes to visit in March. I'm excited for that. I spent a couple vacations touring around with my big sister, twice on her turf, once on neutral, now I get to be the tour guide, so I'm trying to put together the best itinerary that she can afford, for herself and for me.<br /><br />That's all, nothing exciting this month. My next travel plans include going to Mike's site in Copperbelt. He lives on a lake where he goes spear fishing, cliff jumping, all kinds of things moms don't want to hear about. But it's ok, mom, because we're going to use needle drugs before we do any of it, so we won't even feel the pain.<br /><br />Thanks guys, for being awesome…sincerely. I mean it. Well, some of you…you know who you are.<br /><br />PatPatrick Horleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00729916338822930352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2209392234196932073.post-37901838639653813682008-01-06T17:32:00.000-08:002008-04-15T17:33:39.140-07:00Happy Holidays from AfricaHappy Belated holidays everyone! I just returned to Zambia after my hottest Christmas to date and one of my hottest New Year's on Zanzibar Island just off the Tanzanian Coast. But first, let me rewind a little bit.<br /><br />In my last email, I'd just finished my bout with dysentery and had returned from In-Service Training. Both equally as enjoyable. In the period between that and now, I've done quite a bit, so hopefully I can recall all of it, and hopefully you won't be too bored by it.<br /><br />I got my field all ho-ed and planted. I haven't seen it in about 2 weeks but I'm sure that my weed plantation is booming. I've planted: spring onions, white onions, green peppers, chili peppers, garlic (hey, anyone want to make out??), cucumbers, carrots, green beans, sunflower, peanuts, pigeon peas and a row of moringa trees. Before I left, most had sprouted so hopefully everything will be ok when I return to site tomorrow. After a half day in the field, I like to spend some time relaxing in my awesome new hammock with a mosquito net (Thanks mom!)<br /><br />My fuel efficient stove is almost complete. Hopefully by the next installment, I'll be able to give you a review, preferably a positive one. My hut now has a table! I'm movin' on up! Mwenso has been killing rats like it's his job, only thing is they're mostly in the field and I want the ones in my house dead. I bought a bicycle for my counterpart, George. He's paying my back a little at a time, panono panono. He's making some mad cash on the chicken vaccine IGA (income generating activity) and everyone is happy about the results. So he should have me paid off in no time. If not, I'll have to break his thumbs. <br /><br />Perhaps the most exciting news, other than Zanzibar, was about 3 weeks ago. I had just biked out to the road where I hitch rides into town and saw that the police officers at the road block were teasing a bird. At first I didn't notice what kind of bird it was; I'd just figured it was a chicken. Then I got closer and saw that it was a falcon. I asked them why they had it and apparently it had been hit by a truck not too long before I got there. So I told them that I was taking it. They said no, they were going to eat it. I repeated myself and went to the little market, got a box came back and took it. Suddenly I was a falconer, a weeklong dream come true. Literally. The week before I had a dream about being a falconer and then I thought "hey that'd be kinda cool." So I took it to the PC house in Serenje where I fed him meat scraps and chicken necks, but he didn't want that. He wanted other food. So I bought a slingshot at the market and my buddy Mike and I tried to shoot small birds to feed him. I realize that it's kind of hypocritical to kill many birds to keep one alive, but hey, it's the food chain (and fun!), but we didn't kill any. We did however successfully shoot a bunch of beer cans. So I took the falcon (named Fistcraft during a rousing game of Scrabble) back home and let him guard my kitchen for me. I like to think he ate some rats, but in reality I'm sure he just sat there, occasionally knocking my pots and pans over and crapping all over my floor. The first day, he tried to get out but I found him grounded about 200 meters from the kitchen, so I picked him up and brought him back. The next day, I had to go to Mkushi to get the vaccine (and to watch Monday night football at ATB Lodge at 2:30 in the morning). When I returned, he was gone. Nobody could tell me where he went or how he got out. Well, maybe they did but my Bemba just isn't bwino enough I guess. All for the better because then I left for Zanzibar.<br /><br />Look at a map, right now. Find Central Province Zambia, then find Dar Es Salaam. Then think about a train ride from Kapiri Mposhi to Dar. How long do you think? Maybe 16 hours? 24? Can't possibly be more than 30, right? 48 hours after getting on the train, I got off the train. The ride was fun though. Very enjoyable. We had an impressive Peace Corps group of about 18. We had 2 first class cars together for 8 of us, the rest scattered amongst second class, so my car was the hangout place because everyone wanted to avoid the cholera, plague, and leprosy that is found amongst the second and third class denizens. (Ok, maybe not really, but 1 st class is substantially roomier and only about $4 more expensive). The rest of the car I was in was made up of a bunch of white people from around the world- Austrians, British, Germans, and all over the natural range of Crackerus honkeyii. When I asked the Austrians where they were from, they answered "Austria." I responded with "Ahhh….Austria, put another shrimp on the barbie!" They didn't think it was as funny as I or my friends did. We passed through a game park and got to see giraffes, zebras, water buffalo, warthogs, someone saw elephants and someone else claims to have seen a rhino but "it might have been a bush pig." Huge size difference. Hey guys, is this a honeybee or an eagle??<br /><br />So we arrived in Dar, and got hassled at the train station. The man wouldn't accept our half price student rate tickets because he'd never heard of "Washington College" or "Idaho State University" or "Pepperdine." So it was up to my sweet talking to get us out without paying a fortune. I showed him my student ID, Peace Corps ID, and Andrew Jackson's ID. After a discussion of what Peace Corps does, he returned all 3 IDs. It's probably the first time ever that a bribe has been returned. We stayed at a nice hotel for about $12, ate a nice dinner and the next morning caught a ferry to Zanzibar. We got there around 10 then got a van to a resort. Absolutely beautiful. Right on the beach, nice restaurants, good swimming, good people, everything was GREAT! We snorkeled on Christmas Day, then feasted at night on squid, octopus, some kind of fish, veggie curry, rice, and all kinds of goodness. <br /><br />The day after Christmas, I met a man from Ethiopia who is starting a Non Governmental Organization NGO with a focus on preserving the environment. He wants to get people using sailboats on Lake Tana instead of motorboats and he wants to promote fish farming. I told him that in a year and a half when I finish in Zambia that I'd like to work with him. He got pretty excited about the idea, so hopefully Christmas 2009 I'll be in Addis Ababa. Or maybe in the oceanfront house that I told our fishing captain that I'd buy from his neighbor. But since we got shut out fishing, I don't know how I feel about that house anymore. Other activities in Zanzibar included: Spice tour where we learned about the spice trade, snorkeling with dolphins and sea turtles, watching monkeys monkeying around in Jozani forest, museums, art galleries, and rockin' in the New Year with DJ Yusuf. Though my favorite activities were harassing shopkeepers or eating. Tim and I liked to mess with the shopkeepers and the guys selling stuff on the streets, asking ridiculous questions or making ridiculous offers and several times almost killing each other with Masaai warrior clubs or knives. It's made much more fun by their inability to understand English. They enjoyed it though for the most part. Not as much as we did though. As for eating, oh man….every night in Stonetown they have a seafood fest. Crabclaws, lobster, shrimp, shark meat, tuna, blue marlin, red snapper, barracuda, all kinds of delicious foods to exceed my daily recommended mercury intake. I ate myself stupid for about $7. And for anyone who has eaten with me, you know what a great deal that is. I also met an absolutely gorgeous Finnish girl who I hung out with until late. As we split a banana and chocolate pancake, I met a man who I thought was going to kill me simply for being American. He's lived a rough life; most of it on the street. In 2002, he witnessed his father being murdered and mother and sister being raped and beaten by American soldiers. He said he wouldn't feel bad about getting revenge on an American for what had been done. But after talking with him for about 45 minutes, he admitted that American people are not all represented by our government or our armed forces. He understands that we're not all bad people. I know that I'm a government employee and that I'm supposed to be defending the US government's name and whatnot, but I think that this cultural exchange is much more valuable, especially considering Bush's low low approval ratings. And it could have gotten both of us hurt. <br /><br />The next day my group of 4, plus this beautiful Finnish girl, wandered around Dar Es Salaam. We ate delicious food and ice cream. I angered the owner of a Swiss watch store by asking if he had any stolen or fake Rolexes. He said something in whatever language he spoke (not English, not Swahili) then glared at me as if he was going to kill me. So then I thought it'd be funny if I went out to the street and bought a fake Rolex, took it back to him and asked him to remove some links or change the battery. Not more than 3 minutes after I said that, a man approached me with a Longines watch. I said "nope I'm only interested in Rolex." Then he reached into his other pocket and produced a wonderfully fake Rolex which I promptly bought for $4. But when I went back to the store, his death stare was even deadlier, so I opted to stroll past and buy a pizza instead. Great decision.<br /><br />Next morning it was back to the train station. 40 some hours later, here I am in Serenje. I met a very pretty Zambian girl living in Lusaka studying to be a travel agent, so I hung out with her for most of the train ride. We exchanged phone numbers and next time I get into Lusaka (maybe as early as August!) I've got a dinner date!<br /><br />Tomorrow it's back to site…5 packages heavier! I don't know who they're from yet, but I know I have 5 packages awaiting me. I also got 9 letters/cards in the past 3 weeks. One from home, Theresa, Carly, The Mitchell's, Maria (a PCV here in Zambia), and 4 from Becky. I'm saving them for my hut, but thank you very much! <br /><br />Take care everyone. Hope it's not too cold (nor too warm what with global warming and all). So until next time, keep on rockin' in the free world!Patrick Horleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00729916338822930352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2209392234196932073.post-11535363510785541972007-12-08T17:26:00.000-08:002008-04-15T17:31:57.930-07:00good thing this isn't the oregon trail...Oh, and for all you entrepreneurs in the list, a great idea for a night club/bar is to make half the dance floor into a swimming pool. No liabilities there. None at all. And an interesting experience regarding a taxi ride. As soon as we got to our destination and I got out of the cab, a man jumped in through the driver's window and started hitting the driver. Thinking it was a potential car jacking, I got in the middle and pushed the attackee out of the way. The cabbie threw the car in reverse and sped off down the road. The other guy ran after for a bit and then I learned that he was actually a cop and the cabbie was an armed robber. Oops.... oh well, free ride!<br /><br />After IST, some friends and I headed to Kasanka National Park to view the massive bat migration. I've heard it's the largest mammal migration (either in the world or Africa, not sure which…not sure that's even true, anyway). It was a headache-poor transport, high park fees, expensive armed guide hiring (you aren't allowed to go away from your tent site or chalet without a guide). But in the end it was an awesome experience. We hiked out to see the bats roosting during the day and watched them fly overhead at night. I saw a similar site in Australia but this time was appreciated much more. One evening after a heavy rain, 2 friends and I walked, unguided, to the river where we heard we might be able to see crocs and hippos. I saw a path leading through some tall grasses and thought to myself "Hey, now this could be fun." The path ended at the water's edge and maybe 5 meters in front of me was a hippo. It was awesome (and dangerously close). There might have been more because there were splashes and bubbles coming from even closer and a V going through the water, which may or may not have been a croc. The next day, we hired a guide to take us on a hike. Should have been a 4 hour hike. Ended up being about 8. He took ill and had to rest. He was dehydrated and had really high blood pressure (I heard 188 over 80 or something like that after he was checked out by the parks doctor)…and we were lost. I got to carry his rifle, and Drew carried his walkie talkie. We radioed for help and a long time later it came and we got a ride back to our chalet site. If I'd remembered to bring my camera, I would have attached pictures of me carrying the rifle and looking all tough, but you'll have to take my word for it.<br /><br />Then there was Thanksgiving at the house which was GREAT. Everyone finally got along and we had turkey, potatoes, stuffing, cranberries, AND the world's BEST sautéed mushrooms ever (provided by yours truly). Aside from no football, it was a great day.<br /><br />So finally after what seemed like a year away from site, I returned to a puppy who is getting larger and larger and my beloved tree which is now 80cm high. My floor had been eaten away by a rat in the corner, but otherwise it was fine. I set up a basketball hoop and now my focus has moved from fish farming to drills and creating the best basketball team Kapeshi has ever seen. Other projects include a fuel efficient stove which is in the works and my field-also in the works. I was out hoeing every morning this week and my back and hands hate me. But soon I should have garlic, onions, sunflower and I want to pick up some other seeds for cucumber, tomatoes, watermelon…all stuff I should have got yesterday because today is Saturday. Oh, and I'm also teaching some of the children English. Just a little bit at a time. Their first lesson was the lyrics to the Kenny Rogers song "The Gambler." They don't know what the words mean, but that doesn't really matter. Just as long as they can quote it by memory for every white person they see, I'll be pleased.<br /><br />Rainy season is upon us. It came several weeks late (usually by mid November it's in full swing). I've been trapped inside a few times and caught in a couple storms but there's something relaxing about it. And a lot of frustrations, clothes that don't dry, for one. But the mushrooms are great and nothing better than sleeping during a thunderstorm.<br /><br />I've planned for the next round of chicken vaccines to be administered on Tuesday (once again conveniently when someone will be staying in Mkushi and, what a stroke of luck! will be able to hopefully catch the Vikings-Bears game. Hopefully they'll both lose putting the Packers farther ahead. There are 4 Lions fans at the PC house, 1 Vikings fan, and me, the Packers fan. Also, we have too many Patriots fans. I'm sick of New England teams and their winningness. Celtics are having a great season, Sox won, Pats are undefeated… I hear Bonds is getting indicted for perjury and I think that's AWESOME! I hope they take his "record" from him and keep him away from the Hall of Fame. Any other important news from the home front?<br /><br />I leave for Zanzibar in 2 weeks. I'm stoked for Christmas and New Years on the beach. Though a 48 hr train ride to and from won't be quite as fun, though I'll be sharing a car with some friends. I'm pretty stoked. So much history on the island-spice and slave trading. I'm hoping to pick some up. Spices, that is…though this hoeing is taking its toll on my back…. Juuuuust kidding.<br /><br />Well I hope you're doing well. But only because you made it to the end. Congratulations!Patrick Horleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00729916338822930352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2209392234196932073.post-36318715701379642342007-11-01T17:20:00.000-07:002008-04-15T17:26:50.407-07:00another oneHello all<br /><br />I’m still doing well. Got into town yesterday for Halloween. We have a couple meetings so I’ll be in Serenje for a couple of days. I don’t want to spend a long time on here so I’ll just give you the highlights from the past couple weeks:<br /><br />Got a package from my sister containing Old Bay. Best gift EVER. It’s great to add to potatoes or rice or just eating straight up. Other great food news: the honey is ready and it’s incredible! I also ate my first fried caterpillar the other day. Much better than you’d expect.<br /><br />Mostly, I’ve just been visiting farmers, having meetings, tons of fun. But on the 23rd I went into Mkushi to get a shot for my pup and ended up 130km into the bush with a few friends who happened to be in town so we went to a place called Wonder Gorge. It was wonderful and gorgeous, but the 10 hrs in a car wasn’t great. We took a 4x4 mitsubishi pajero jr. It’s like a Montero, but the size of a Miata. The next day was Independence day so I watched the “parade.” Pretty much the kids marched from the school to the soccer field, some kids randomly blasted bugles or banged drums. All good fun.<br /><br />So I came up with a great income generating activity. One of the farmers is going to buy (with my money) a bottle of chicken vaccine for 30,000 kwacha ($7.50). The bottle treats 1000 chickens and he is going to charge 50k per chicken that people want vaccinated. 20,000K profit to him, hopefully, and everyone will have healthier chickens. They’re all really excited about that.<br /><br />I’m also excited about making fuel efficient stoves. We’re going to make a practice one in my kitchen (which now has a door!) and then invite the women’s group to Ba Mayo’s kitchen to see how it’s made. But first, they need to organize the women’s club.<br /><br />Rats ate my solar shower. I’m bummed about that, but get slightly happier with each rat I kill. I’m up to 8. My goal is 75.<br /><br />I now have cell service at my site (260 97 829 0243 in case you were wondering). That’s the exciting news in Kapeshi village.<br /><br />My new favorite activity is going to the hill with the little kids and throwing rocks. No matter where you are, how old you are, all males like to go to high places and throw rocks. It’s true. Any scientific study will prove that.<br /><br />So last time, I proposed a contest to see who would send me the best package. Now, I realize that this is no way to judge friendships, and there’s stuff in life more important than snacks (like gushers, fruit by the foot, trail mixes with wasabi peas, combos, or Swedish fish) or even magazines (such as car and driver, Maxim, road and track, beckett baseball card price guides preferably with articles about how Bond’s “record” impacts the price of baseball cards, notably a 1972 Topps Hank Aaron card in very good to near mint condition). And that no self respecting person would stoop so low as to guilt trip the generous people that he cares about so much into sending him a package in the mail to make hard times a little more bearable, enticing them with a gift package of their own worth a nominal value (which I’ve decided to increase from 25 to 50grand). Yes, good friends are there for your going away parties and gatherings-even when you have 4 and they live many hours away. Good friends are always thinking of you or at least on every Sunday when they sit down to write you a letter letting you know you’re missed and that they’re proud of you. That’s what Becky does, but Becky-good friends also send Snickers. There ARE starving people in Africa who would appreciate those leftovers on your plate, SLOP for you Echo Hillians, so box that up and ship it out C/O Patrick Horley/PCV Peace Corps PO Box 850010, Serenje Zambia<br />That’s all for now.Patrick Horleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00729916338822930352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2209392234196932073.post-52542115707933146492007-10-12T17:11:00.000-07:002008-04-15T17:15:48.339-07:00Still not dead...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDHr-sct0l6xt8RNCYqMjw_6vwOfx3Z2hCEIzu89Cojp5ECTUcWSm3OXE4_8tLkyhYgKaZMi_pp7zXykk9n1rxrdTMq2erEkMcZ-xMmZo8FeGftY6rh5fEVZ83WkYE5B9wJ00tZ7kjD0mp/s1600-h/Zambia_10-12-07_056%5B1%5D.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189629520965601794" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDHr-sct0l6xt8RNCYqMjw_6vwOfx3Z2hCEIzu89Cojp5ECTUcWSm3OXE4_8tLkyhYgKaZMi_pp7zXykk9n1rxrdTMq2erEkMcZ-xMmZo8FeGftY6rh5fEVZ83WkYE5B9wJ00tZ7kjD0mp/s200/Zambia_10-12-07_056%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><br />Hooray! We finally have internet in Serenje! That's the most exciting news since last time. I'll try to recount what has happened since my last email. But before I do that, I want to give you my new postal address since I have neglected to do that. It is:<br /></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Patrick Horley/PCV<br />Peace Corps<br />PO Box 850010<br />Serenje, Zambia<br /><br />I finally got a package from my parents, and one from my sister (and one from Sammy! Awwww). All the other volunteers get stuff from my friends and when they see that I don't, they all say "Wow, Pat, your friends really suck, except for Sam. Here, have some of my Doritos." I try to defend you guys, I honestly do, but it is no use. That's why I have come up with this little plan to show just how awesome you guys are. I am proposing a friendly little contest. The person/people who send(s) me the best package will win a prize worth well over 25grand. I can afford it; I pull in over a million a month. True, it's in Kwacha, but hey, I'll take what I can get. So anyway, I challenge you. Come up with the best care package that you can. You all know me, you all know what I like. The villagers like to see pictures, so if you have any, please send them. Though if they show your thighs, I'll keep that in my own personal stash. Thighs are no-nos here, which I found out after an embarrassing moment with my 8(?) year old host brother in Chongwe and a picture of Carly and I at the beach. Oops. Deadline for Postmark is Dec. 31, but earlier ones get bonus points. And if you really don't know me, I like food, baseball, football, cars, food, motorcycles, and lots of other things. The villagers love American magazines too. And Walter, if I know you like I think I do, thanks, but porn is illegal here in Zambia. So send your best and if you win you will be massively rewarded, that is if you like dried fish, fried caterpillars and chunky beer made from corn.<br /><br />So since last time, let's see… I got a puppy! It's the cutest dog this side of the Atlantic and if I remember, I'll try to put in pictures. IF I remember, I'm bad about that. His name is Mwenso, which is Bemba for "Scared, shy, timid" because he, well he's scared of everything. The family has taken to him, mostly. Some of the little kids hit him or throw rocks. I've been teaching them not to do that (and teaching him to attack when they do). It'll be hard to give him up in 2 years, but my 14-year-old brother is really good with him and will be a good father. I also got a dartboard. I set it up in my hut and play a couple games a day, but my darts really suck. The back half is plastic and the part that holds the flight in place has broken so they always fall out. It's still fun though and the villagers love it when I bring it outside and hang it to the tree. My hut is too small to entertain guests.<br /><br />Let's see… oh yes, I'd hurt my foot last time I was in town. I wasn't looking where I was walking because I was talking to my friend Kathy and fell into a ditch about oooohhhh 2 meters deep straight down. So I had to get it Xrayed, 2 docs in Mkushi said it was a hairline fracture, so PC had me go to their doctor in Lusaka and he said it was ligament damage. Whatever it is, I don't like it. We had our big Provincial meeting 2 weeks ago. It was mostly a party in Mkushi (next big town over) followed the next day by a 2 hour meeting followed by a party and a trip the next day to the gorgeous Kundalila waterfall. Good times were had by all. We roasted a pig in the ground and it was fantastic.<br /><br />I had a few meetings with my farmers. One in Kapeshi (3km away), one in Ndabala (13 km away) and one in Mpande (umm maybe 6 or 7 km). I have a list of about 60 farmers who want ponds. But they want them right away. It'll be a while. I'm glad to see that they're so into this, but it means I have my work cut out for me. I want to teach the farmers and then have them teach each other. I want to get the ball rolling<br /><br />So really, not a whole lot has happened. I've seen a few animals—mostly lizards and some birds. A few of what looked to be parrots flew past my hut the other day. Today on my ride in, the guy I was hitching with swerved to avoid 3 chameleons—in a big rig carrying Petrol. I'm glad that he missed them, but these trucks aren't known for their handling. Usually people try to hit them. Maybe he was trying, but was just a bad driver.<br /><br />Yesterday, I gave my buddy George a pair of shoes. I'd lost my sneakers and bought a cheap pair at the market. But then I found my sneakers and wasn't wearing these, so I gave them to him. He said it was the happiest day of his life. I said "George, you have a wife and 2 daughters, what about your wedding or the birth of your children??" He said "Nah…" I've never seen someone so happy to get shoes before. It made me happy. He's done a lot to help me so it was only fair. I don't want to start giving stuff away because then people will hound me, and I'm not in the business of giving anything away (except knowledge, because knowledge is power!). Though when I leave, I want to give away a lot of my stuff and I'm very excited about that. I often sit and wonder "hmmm…who would like this pan? Who deserves a nice skillet?"<br /><br />I'm sure I'm leaving out a lot of details, but oh well…my gournal is back at the hut and I write my daily activities in there.<br /><br />Ohhh…Kathy just reminded me of a story to tell you guys:<br />So I was sitting there eating my dinner by candlelight and saw a cobra coming down over the top of my partition wall. It was eyeing me, just waiting to strike. Swaying left, right, up, down in its fluid serpentine way. I jumped up and backed up to the door and opened it so it was between me and the deadly snake. I threw on my sunglasses so that it wouldn't spit in my eyes and surveyed the situation. I considered calling my family, but why introduce them to the dangers? There was a brick, but that was in easy striking distance of the beast. The dartboard caught my attention, but I knew that the darts would just anger it. I noticed my kitchen knife in front of me and reached down to get it, without taking my eyes off the snake. Then I realized that the snake was very thin and lacked eyes and a mouth and, well everything that makes a snake a snake. Turns out, it was the torn handle of a plastic bag and it's motions were caused by heat rising off my charcoal burner. I'd never been so scared before in my entire life. I still killed it though.<br /><br />So seriously, if anyone wants to travel with me, or visit, let me know. Dubai, Madagascar, Egypt, India, SE Asia, South America. I want to come back to the states even more penniless than when I left. Help me spend my money!<br /><br />Take care all<br />Patrick </div>Patrick Horleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00729916338822930352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2209392234196932073.post-87816612248480072152007-09-12T17:02:00.000-07:002008-04-15T18:08:12.807-07:00Hello from the Mother Land<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGQ7UCj9BbIrLFalRrs6PIPC1LSItgy9snkuI6BpkeUX-QclkRVVum90h0LZ6LdWHcpEFvRRaelTY-0QA8bYrWC3v0P1uMhBs9x5fowg26ZeTgDB8qiXXEeTSiKRw7VgsljFLUFg7x0ZM8/s1600-h/Zambia_10-12-07_052%5B1%5D.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189628146576067058" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGQ7UCj9BbIrLFalRrs6PIPC1LSItgy9snkuI6BpkeUX-QclkRVVum90h0LZ6LdWHcpEFvRRaelTY-0QA8bYrWC3v0P1uMhBs9x5fowg26ZeTgDB8qiXXEeTSiKRw7VgsljFLUFg7x0ZM8/s320/Zambia_10-12-07_052%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlr0UJIxE5hB1KSe14PS2Fopk73vMa53ugMBbksC4aghXZDSFEm5aVO5c97-5DjWiRxNM1I1vgHXhdnbxPMPbeuGryxdKG50ni7qXVdRftX1CS6MVg2t56TAUQ8xjHfUGKIhNwzaouy0Pi/s1600-h/Pat1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189627979072342498" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlr0UJIxE5hB1KSe14PS2Fopk73vMa53ugMBbksC4aghXZDSFEm5aVO5c97-5DjWiRxNM1I1vgHXhdnbxPMPbeuGryxdKG50ni7qXVdRftX1CS6MVg2t56TAUQ8xjHfUGKIhNwzaouy0Pi/s320/Pat1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div>Hello from the mother land. I am now officially a Peace Corps Volunteer, no longer just a lowly trainee. I have been at site since 21 August. It’s a gorgeous little place set back in the hills of Central Zambia, but before I tell you about the site, let me tell you how I got there. Grab a cushion and some coffee, it’s a long one:<br /><br />We trained in Chongwe for 2 months, learning about fish farming and the language. For me, that language was Bemba. They speak Lala mostly where I’m living, but they’re very close. We had a test in both and everyone passed so we got to swear in as volunteers. I might have told you about my host family in the previous emails, but I’m not sure. Anyway, there was mom and dad (who was rarely there) and 6 kids (I think, maybe 7 including the nephew who was always there). I got along really well with one son, Isaac who just turned 19 years old and really wants to attend college in the states for Journalism or Agriculture. If you know of any organizations that help poor African students attend school in the states, or happen to have an extra hundred grand lying around, let me know because he would love to go. I haven’t really had time to look (well, that’s a lie. I have plenty of time, just not enough internet), but we wrote a couple letters, so let’s hope for the best. I ate alright there, mostly bread and peanut butter for breakfast, nshima (mashed potato consistency but made from corn meal) and something else like beans for lunch and dinner rotated between chicken, beef, pork, dried fish (my least favorite), soya pieces (my favorite- like tofu, but good!) or on a rare occasion if I was really good, I got fresh fish. Staying with this family really made me appreciate other families that have acted as hosts to me, so if you’re reading this, I’d like to give a thank you to the Mitchells, Boutwells, Christous, O’Loughlins, Lycetts, and any other families that have fed me or given me a place to stay. Oh, thank you to the Horley family too. I guess you’ve done your share over the past 23 years. It really made me appreciate how much work goes into hosting someone else. My host mom, on my last night there, said that I didn’t have to go, that they loved me and that I could stay as long as I wanted to and they wouldn’t even want the 30,000 Kwacha (about $7.50) per day payment that Peace Corps provides them to feed us. She was drunk.<br /><br />I’ve had a lot of time to just sit and think about random things and I generally think of people back home. What have I missed? How are all my friends? I learned of Jaron’s death about a month after it happened when I checked my email. It really made me realize how far away I am. Jaron and I became friends late; second semester of senior year and news of his death really upset me. I’m so disconnected from news at home. Our family dog, Kia, died a few weeks after I arrived. I found out about 2 weeks later. It took about 2 weeks for me to find out that Bonds “broke” the record. What else has happened? Any more deaths? Any more births? Thanks to a facebook picture, I see that Kristin had her baby. Any marriages, divorces, break-ups, couple formations? How’s the USDA Lab? How’s Echo Hill? I even have time to think about people that I haven’t thought about for years. Like people that worked at River and Trails with me. How are the Devines? There’s only one that I talk to, but mostly that’s to say “Lisa, how’s Oscar? Is he still peeing on the floor?” (For those that don’t know, Oscar is Lisa’s 10 year old son and he is not yet potty trained. And boy is he ugly.) I want to know these things. It’s not so much that communication is slow, but that my sources back home aren’t telling me things. Becky has done an excellent job of writing me a letter once a week and I appreciate it immensely, but there’s only so much she can cover. I welcome her motivation and support. It’s rough out there in the village. I’m a constant rollercoaster of emotion but I’m always elated when I get her letter and uplifted to read her support. She always says stuff like “keep saving the world.” It’s not true. It’s such a small impact and she’s far from accurate. Maybe I’ll get some farmers a few extra hard earned kwacha or prevent a few people from further depleting the already depleted wild fish stock. I’ll warn them of AIDS but many already know maybe as much as me yet still engage in risky behavior. So no, it isn’t saving the world, but I still like to read that. Thanks Becky.<br /><br />So the day before swear in, they put us up at an awesome place called Eureka Campsite. They had hostel like dorms, chalets and campsites. We stayed in the dorm. A quick walk took us to an area where the wild animals roamed. We saw a few giraffes, a ton of monkeys, water buffalo and impala. As I was taking a picture of a mom and baby giraffe, my buddy Joe said “hey look at the zebra.” I turned to find us surrounded by maybe 30 zebras. It was awesome. We were at their watering hole and they were thirsty. If anyone comes to visit me, we will stay at Eureka for at least one night because it is awesome. They have a nice little bar area where you can meet drunken white Zimbabwe men and teach them such endearing terms as “Douchebag” which they proceeded to call each other for the rest of the night. I don’t know why that word came up, but they loved it. Within the first 10 minutes of conversation, they said they were members of the Zimbabwe version of the KKK and said “I hope you’re ok with that.” I think that’s probably when I introduced them to the word “Douchebag.” I might have said “No, that’s not really cool. In fact, I think you’re all douchebags…you do know you live in Africa, right?” But for whatever reason, I talked to them the rest of the night. They were in town for some international rally car race and I noticed their Mitsubishi Evo VIII as we entered and immediately fell in love with it.<br /><br />So the next day was swear-in and I looked AWESOME! It might be the most important day of my life, so far. Please see the attached picture, if I remember to attach it. The shirt was a gift from my friend Joe. He’s about twice my size and they tailored it for someone with the neck about half the size of my own, so it wasn’t going to fit him. (Speaking of Joe-Liz Lycett or Meg Chapman, do you know any of the following names: Joe Guglielmetti, Maureen Oscadal, or Zach Fonner. They all come from the Hanover NH area and none of them know your names, but I figured it was worth a mention here). The pants were given to me by someone who received them from someone who bought them at a second hand store here in Zambia. The coat was tailored for me by a Chongwe tailor from a pattern I picked out. The other Serenje district Aquaculture volunteer got a matching one. And the bandana has sentimental value. My sister wore it while volunteering in Mexico. I got so many compliments.<br /><br />We had two people early terminated before swearing in. We started with 16 people that were supposed to show up in Philly, but had 13 actually come. Now we’re down to 11. Two left to be with their significant others. I can sympathize; it’s hard, but I love it here. I hope that they’re doing well at home and that they feel they made the right decision. I just found out that a third from my group has left for home. The one married man amongst us. I don’t blame him at all. He’s 29 years old and has been married for 7 years. His wife wanted to do PC but it just didn’t work out for her to go at this time and it did for him, so he came out here. That’s rough.<br /><br />The day after swear-in, we went to our respective provincial capitals. Mine is Serenje in Central province. We stayed at the house for a couple days, did all of our shopping for the next 2 years and the next day headed out to site. My site is awesome. My hut is small, but large enough for me and all my stuff and a huge population of ants. And rats. And maybe snakes in my roof (I found a small piece of snakeskin). My hut is about 2.5 X 4 meters, I think the standard size for PC volunteers is 4X5, but I have an enclosed outdoor kitchen that we’re going to put a door on and I’ll move my foodstuff and bike out there to free up some space. I have a big double bed that takes up an entire room (my hut is divided into two). I’m glad that I have a double because I keep a lot of stuff on it-MP3 player, books, journal, flashlight and brick for rat hunting and because the foam has already compacted enough that there is about a 4 inch elevation difference between me and the space right beside me. It’s an 8 inch thick mattress. So I’m going to reposition myself every night to compensate. I have mango trees, papayas, a chili bush, avocado trees (that aren’t producing yet) and my very own rooster! He’s sick though, which is why I think he’s not laying any eggs yet, but that’s okay. I should have plenty of eggs soon enough. I’m new at this farming business, but I planted an egg about a week ago and it should sprout any day now. We medicated the rooster with what my host father called “African Medicine.” It’s a mix of water, crushed Chili peppers, salt, mango, papaya, some kind of root, and battery acid. It sounded delicious except for the mango part.<br /><br />My host family consists of Ba Taata (dad) Ba Maayo (mom) and 9 kids ranging from about 6 to 30 and some grandkids. Whoa. That’s a lot. There’s one who has taken a particular fondness of me. His name is Junior and he now waves at me a lot. So I wave at him, then he waves at me. We’ll do this for about a half an hour. Yesterday, he said “Chapwa” which roughly means “Ok, I get it, enough, let’s finish this craziness. I have chickens to go chase.” I love watching the kids chase chickens. Or the pig. Yesterday, one of the kids chased the pig and it ran into a chicken. I love Zambia.<br /><br />It’s not nearly as bad as the welcome book made it out to be. I’m about 13 km by bush path to the road, and I can hitch a ride and be in town in about an hour. Cell phone reception is about a 4 km ride from my hut. My primary mode of transportation is walking or biking. We have Trek mountain bikes that are the envy of all the villagers. Water is a short walk downhill from my hut, but is a treacherous long horrible uphill walk back. Well, it is when laden with 70 lbs of water. Sometimes, my family fetches water for me, but I don’t like that. I’m capable of doing it myself. My sister, Anna, is currently suffering from Smallpox, yet she still takes my cans to fill them when I’m not looking. Today, I made a run for it and when they’re backs were turned and successfully filled my jugs from a small hole in the ground. It’s no half hour walk like the literature suggested it might be. The literature did not imply that I’d have rats jumping through my window, eating my potatoes, and possibly peeing on my face while I’m sleeping. Two nights ago, I awoke to a liquid splashing on my face and hand. The story of a volunteer who had a cobra land on her mosquito net and spit in her eyes ran through my head in an instant. I wiped off my face on my sheet and looked for the cobra, but didn’t find anything. Maybe it was the bat, I don’t know. But I made a few rat traps. One is a noose with a razor blade attached and positioned inside a toilet paper roll with potatoes on either side. I think it has almost worked a couple times, but I haven’t worked out all the kinks. The other is a brick on top of a rock supported by a twig stuck in a potato. He’s supposed to eat the potato and get squashed. But the best is an actual rat trap. Pat 2, Rats 0.<br /><br />I have a chameleon tree! Actually it’s a mango tree, but I like to put chameleons in it. I had a big one (maybe a foot tip to tip), a few small ones (6 in) and a tiny one (4 in). If I’m feeling lonely or frustrated, I go play with the Chameleons and watch as my family stares in amusement/horror. They’re all scared of them. The kids put out their hands and say “Mpeela” (give me) but when I offer it to them they run. I had a stick in one hand, a chameleon in the other and held both behind my back. I broke the stick to match the size of the chameleon and when the kid said “Mpeela” I threw the stick to him. They all ran away and that was the end of the game. We also had a mamba on the premises. He didn’t last too long though. My brother speared him and I helped finish the job by clubbing him. I hated doing it, but there’s no good place to put a deadly snake. My host family once consisted of 10 children. A snakebite brought the number down to 9. My father had 10 siblings but now has 4. All the rest have died. He’s 55. The average life expectancy in Zambia is just under 40. He’s an old man.<br /><br />I have 2 coworkers, George (about 28), and Jordan, about 60 maybe. George has 2 daughters. One of them had malaria last week but is better. She’s scared of me. I’m the only white person she’s ever seen. Jordan has 9 children and a few grandchildren. I went to the wedding of one of his sons about 2 weeks ago. It was interesting; a lot of singing and random yelling, but similar to a wedding here. He commented to me “I’m the father of 9 children and I can’t even afford to feed myself.” Yeah, maybe that’s because you’re the father of 9 children. The problem is that they see their worth as a human being as how many children they can father. Jordan drinks a lot too, which frustrates me. He’ll speak slurred broken English to me, ask me if I understand. If I don’t, I say no so then he tries it in slurred Bemba. Then I answer “Oh yes, of course. Why didn’t you say so in the first place?” That usually suffices.<br /><br />So, this email is quite long, but if you got to the bottom of it then this message is for you: If you’d like to visit me, please do so! There are so many amazing things to see: Victoria Falls and the untouristed Kundalila Falls not too far down the road from me, Zambezi and South Luangwa National Parks for game watching, or you can just come hang out at the village with me. I have an amazing view over an amazing valley. Right now, it’s their “fall” and the colors of leaves are changing and it’s dry. It’s starting to get hot now, but it’s still really nice. The rains come in December and last until April or so and it’ll be green and lush. Every season is supposed to be spectacular in its own right and I’m sure it is. I still want to travel when I’m done with my service, so if you want to help me spend my re-adjustment allowance traveling from Capetown to Cairo to Morocco to Spain and home, by all means. At this point I’m considering applying to be the PCVL—Peace Corps Volunteer Leader, but that pulls me out of the village and into the town of Serenje. This would happen next November or the following April, I think. I am also considering being a trainer. This would be from April until August. I don’t know which I’d prefer to do, but right now I’m considering PCVL and then seeing if I can travel and then come back just to do training. I think one of the trainers did that. We’ll see, but if you want to come, that may affect your plans. But still come. I’d love to have visitors! Dr. Sherman, the soils here need studied. USDA people—we need to check these fish for diseases and maybe start studying O. macrochir instead of niloticus. Dr. C, the acousticness of these fish is amazing. Dr. Wendy, can you believe that I can’t find a good map of Zambia? I think you guys can take sabbatical and come visit. As for my friends, some of you don’t have jobs so you have nothing to do others that do have jobs now have money and vacation days to use. No excuses.<br /><br />Ok, I think that’s all for now. Check out the pictures.<br /><br />Take care</div><div> </div><div>"the ideas expressed are not those of Peace Corps, but of a peace corps volunteer...one who, if you know me, you know lies. Or one who, if you don't know me, is the best break dancer in the world...ever."</div><div> </div></div>Patrick Horleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00729916338822930352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2209392234196932073.post-48379318543856128502007-06-14T18:03:00.000-07:002007-06-14T18:09:53.994-07:00My Peace Corps Adventure Begins!Tomorrow, June 15th, I leave the comforts of what I am used to and set out on the adventure of a lifetime-27 months in Zambia with Peace Corps. It kicks off with some shots in the morning (to prevent fun diseases), then bus to JFK and then a 15 hr flight to Jo'burg, South Africa. We spent the night then take a 2 hour flight to Lusaka... <br /><br />I move into a mud hut in a couple weeks and I'm very excited. The only thing that upsets me is lack of communication back home. I'll miss my family, my dog, and my girl Carly among some other things. It's going to take me a while until I'm comfortable, but I'm still looking forward to this whole experience. <br /><br />Alright, I don't really know much yet, so i don't have a lot to say. More will come later and hopefully it'll be more interesting.Patrick Horleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00729916338822930352noreply@blogger.com1