I ♥ ZAMBIA

Hey all!

I write to you from Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, having spent two weeks so far in this beautiful and welcoming country.

I’ve here administering surveys to loan officers at microfinance organisations for Durham University’s research. But first, let me tell you the story of how I traveled to Zambia.

Coming off the heels of my time with OWU in Tanzania’s students, I hung around in Dar Es Salaam for a couple of days. I’ve been salivating ever since hearing about the TAZARA (Tanzania-Zambia Railways) train running from Dar to Zambia. 50 hour train ride, spanning over 1,000 miles of scenery – what an adventure!

Here’s the station.

The reporting time for the train was 12:30pm for a 1:00pm departure. At 1:30pm, a loudspeaker announced that the train would depart at 6pm. In the meantime, I snatched some photos of the cars.

At 6pm, after a long wait, another announcement pushed back departure to 8pm. Finally at almost 10pm, we departed from Dar under full moonlight.  I purchased a first-class ticket, which was only $9 more expensive than coach. The difference? A compartment with four beds instead of six beds.

The train had a dining car.

And even a bar!

The ride was bumpy at times. I scored some good airtime on a few occasions when the train was moving very fast.

The TAZARA railway connecting Tanzania and Zambia was built by China in the 1970s.

The ride’s scenery was breathtaking, especially in the Southern Highlands area of Tanzania, rising to an elevation of 8,200 feet. Here is one of the railway’s 23 tunnels.

And one of 300 bridges.

After passing through the Highlands, the Uporoto mountain range takes over near Mbeya.

Kenya and Tanzania have been in the middle of a very dry season. I had read that Zambia would be in the rainy season. Minutes after passing into Zambia, it started to rain. And then this beautiful double rainbow appeared!

I changed money at the border. I instantaneously turned into a half-millionaire…here’s 500,000 Zambian Kwacha (roughly $100).

The train’s scheduled arrival in Kapiri Mposhi (3-hour drive north of Lusaka) was 1pm Sunday afternoon. Actual arrival? 9am MONDAY. Yep, 20 hours late. Had to cancel survey appointments for Monday morning. Advice: don’t travel on the train if you’re on any kind of schedule. Still, to me it was well worth it for the ride.

After spending 4 days and 3 nights on a train, I took a pic to document the exhaustion.

Lusaka is a busy city, although more laid back than Nairobi. This is the main street downtown – Cairo Road.

Zambia’s tallest building, the Findeco House.

It has been an exciting time to be in Zambia. Two weeks ago, Zambia’s national football team, the Chipolopolo Boys, won the African Cup of Nations. Everyone is happy, smiling, and some are still partying, adorned in scarves and blowing vuvuzelas. The Monday that I arrived, the team had arrived back from Gabon where the game was played against Ivory Coast and they held a celebration at the city showgrounds. I took a bus down that way wanting to take part, and by the time I got there everyone was leaving. Here’s the best picture I took of the huge hordes of people walking in the middle of the street through busy intersections.

I hopped on a bus back to my guest house, and on the bus I met some guys who invited me out for a drink. They were all students at the University of Zambia. I had a fun time discussing the African Cup victory and other things with them. Many see the win as an act of God, that the win acts as remembrance and dedication to the Zambia national team that died in an airplane crash in 1993. I’ve always been one to laugh at anyone who thinks God cares about sports, but this is particularly remarkable. In the disaster, the team crashed en route to an African Cup final in Gabon, where this year’s final was held. Zambia’s 2012 squad was not talented this year and won four games in a row against teams ranked much higher than them. Zambia beat Ivory Coast in the final 8-7 on penalty shots after a 0-0 tie.

Last week, I received a text message from Airtel, my cell phone provider here, that “doors open for the Esther vs. Monalisa fight at 3pm.” I asked some guy sitting next to me on a matatu (‘minibus’ in Zambia) what it was all about. A women’s boxing match! I went to the fight at Mulungushi Conference Center.

Before the main event took place, these two heavyweights battled. The other day, I was in a taxi and the driver recognized this very same heavyweight champion driving the car next to us. I rolled down the window and congratulated him!

Time for the main event. Let’s get ready to rumble! The Zambian Esther Phiri (green shorts) pitted against Zimbabwe’s Monalisa.

Esther KO’d Monalisa in seven rounds. It was a quick fight. Zambia has been spoiled as of late when it comes to sporting successes!

While I usually prefer eating local food to get a feeling for the culture, in Zambia I’ve given into temptation forced on me by two American fast food giants – KFC and Subway. In Kenya, there are no Subways and I’ve avoided eating at the two KFCs there, due to this website. But I’ve eaten at each place here in Lusaka multiple times.

Let me tell you, the Subway tastes just like it does back home. I’ve gotten my specialty each time I’ve eaten there – Tuna with Sweet Onion sauce. Try it, you won’t be disappointed. Also in this picture is a hat I purchased to take part in Chipolopolo Boy celebrations.

Although Subway tastes the same whether you’re in Lusaka or Columbus, there are many differences in what the chain represents. Eating at Subway is a status symbol here, something only the rich can do. There is also some differing customer behavior I’ve picked up on – most people ask for all toppings and all sauces. Yes, all sauces. That includes Mayonnaise, Chipotle, Sweet Onion, Honey Mustard, and Ranch. All together. Mmmmm. Food is thought of differently here – asking for all toppings/sauces seems to be a reflection of wanting to get maximum value for the purchase, which is a relatively expensive lunch.

It’s been a joy meeting with so many different microfinance organisations. I enjoy chatting with the loan officers and most are very open to tea and conversation after they’ve completed their questionnaires. Zambians are so welcoming, and in such a genuine way. On one of my appointment days, torrential downpours nearly ruined the schedule, but some Good Samaritans taxied me around for free. I’m adding Zambia to my list of possible countries for working in the future!

On the work report now – I’ve traveled a lot for survey appointments. I’ve covered nearly 3,000 miles on the road since arrival. Compared to Kenya and Uganda, Zambia has a miniscule amount of microfinance organisations. So, I’ve had to travel all around the country to get the necessary sample size. I’ve been up to the Copperbelt, a province up north where copper, cobalt, zinc, manganese, and others are mined. This area of Zambia is busy with industrial activity and is the most populated region in the country.

I also made a trip to Southern Province. In Monze, a village on the way to Victoria Falls, I had my first ‘Wow, this kind of looks like Ohio!’ moment in Africa. The region’s #1 crop is maize, just like Ohio, and the area is flat. Home sweet home? Between this and Subway, Zambia could be a home away from home.

My favorite town to visit was Siavonga. A small town, it’s situated on Lake Kariba, the southern border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. When I arrived here, the manager of my guest house drove me into town to give me a tour and also invited me to eat with him. We shared freshly caught fish and I even gulped down some lake water (cholera, eh?).

A dam serves as the border crossing from Zambia to Zimbabwe.

The dam, built 50 years ago on the Zambezi River, created Lake Kariba. In the dry season, you can see the tops of trees poking up from the bottom.

Here’s me on the dam bridge, in no-mans land. You’re looking at the Zambezi River, dividing Zambia (left) and Zimbabwe (right).

Too bad I didn’t get a Dam Tour. (National Lampoon, anyone?)

During one of my matatu rides, something happened that I’ve never seen before. A passenger loaded a live goat into the trunk and stuffed it underneath the backseat. It surprisingly didn’t make a sound the whole trip!

A new favorite method of transport I’ve found is hitchhiking. Don’t be alarmed, I’ve only been doing it with families or shared taxis. For the same fare as a bus, you can enjoy leg room and a window! Not bad. I enjoy the conversations in these vehicles as well – someone willing to take a stranger in their car is usually chatty and personable. I’ve had plenty of conversations about George Bush, religion, globalization, and even one about how Zambian villagers burn grassland to eat rats that are killed in the fire and if I eat one I should make sure it has a white belly because the other ones are unfit for human consumption. Food for thought.

Today, my friend Amelia, an American volunteer in Nairobi, arrived in Lusaka. Tomorrow, we see Victoria Falls! Then, we begin our trip to South Africa, through Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Botswana. When all’s said and done, I’ll have traveled overland from Nairobi to Cape Town. Looking forward to the adventure! Back to work in mid-March.

Stay tuned!

OWU in Tanzania, Safari-ing, & a Birthday on Mt Kilimanjaro

Welcome to a birthday edition of my blog.

A day after my last post, OWU prof and friend Mary Howard and the 2012 OWU in Tanzania group visited me in Nairobi. The students are a mix of current sophomores and juniors studying abroad in Tanzania for spring semester. I showed them around town and took them into a slum – Kawangware – to give them an idea of what Maono does. We sat in on two group meetings to learn about the concepts of microfinance, table banking, and the struggles and challenges that Nairobi’s poor face. Here’s a picture of us all after a visit with the Maono group “Glad Ways.”

Scott hung out with us as well and he shared his experience with the students – cultural, historical, etc.  Free from work, we all spent the weekend together – driving to the Rift Valley, sharing meals, watching traditional dance shows, and even attending a church service Sunday morning. Here’s a pic of us at a Rift viewpoint halfway between Nairobi and Naivasha. Warning – Facebook picture quality!

Back to work on Monday, I arranged for the students to have a tourist day at the Elephant Orphanage, Giraffe Centre, Kazuri Factory, and the Karen Blixen Museum. They enjoyed kissing giraffes just as much as I did! The group is learning fast and are fun to be around. It was fun acting as tour guide during their stay and made me realize how much I’ve learned here and also some things I don’t have answers to.

Mary invited me along with the group as they headed back to Tanzania. Their semester of schooling starts in mid-February in Dar es Salaam. Until then, they are playing tourist and acclimating themselves to East African life. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect – I needed to leave Kenya by January 31^st to renew my visa. Since my main gig in Nairobi is volunteer work, vacation time is pretty much at my discretion. Also, a lot of my work can be done offsite since it is computer work.

So, I hopped on a bus with Mary and the students and now I’m in Tanzania. For the first week here, we stayed with two ex-Black Panthers at UAACC (United African Alliance Community Center). Pursued by gun charges in the US, Pete O’Neal fled to Algeria in 1970 and wound up in Tanzania. Along with his wife, Charlotte, they run a center which is a hybrid orphanage, school, recording studio, and community meeting place. Off the beaten path, many of the surrounding residents utilize the center. Read more about Pete’s story in a recent article appearing in the Los Angeles Times.

Pete and Charlotte were a true delight and are truly changing the community for the better. Staying at the center, we learned a tribal dance with Swahili lyrics and performed it at a little get-together one night. We got to listen to Charlotte play beautiful music on a traditional guitar-like instrument, met many interesting people visiting and teaching at the center, and played soccer and basketball with the kids.

OWU has a presence in Tanzania. Not far from UAACC, the School of St. Jude stands, built from an investment from 11th OWU President Elden and wife Betty Smith, the namesake of Smith Hall at Ohio Wesleyan.

Arusha town is settled on the southern foothills of Mt Meru, a mountain less than 5,000 feet shorter than Kilimanjaro. Here’s a pic of Meru, with clouds that make it look like it’s erupting.

Tanzania (and Kenya) are in a dry, dry season. The long rains don’t come until April. Mary brings a wealth of experience with her – she lived in Tanzania for five years in the 1970s. She remarks often that she has never seen the area so dry. In the entire month of January, I experienced only one rainy day. Global warming, deforestation, etc. seem to have reared their ugly heads.

The students are a diverse group of backgrounds and personalities and I’ve enjoyed getting to know them over the past 2-3 weeks. Hanging with American college students felt good after living mostly in a different culture for 6 months. They are picking up on culture and Swahili quickly. And I can’t say enough about Mary – author of Hunger and Shame and a cultural anthropologist, she has a deep understanding of historical and cultural forces that influence life in East Africa.

I finally went on a safari! UAACC organized some for our group. We spent time in three national parks in Tanzania – Tarangire, Lake Manyaga, and Ngorongoro. The three parks contained three very different ecosystems and environments. Tarangire primarily attracts birders. Unfortunately, my pics of the varied and colorful birds didn’t turn out too great. Tarangire also has a huge number of elephants.

Later, we saw more – a mother with its children –

Tarangire is packed full of massive baobob trees –

First wild giraffe spotting – they look equal parts majestic and goofy.

Slightly less majestic and slightly more goofy? That would be the ostrich.

Our next park was Lake Manyara. The lake is situated smack dab on the Great Rift Valley. The park was more lush and green than Tarangire.

Here’s a picture of the lake with flamingos and giraffes in the foreground.

Flamingoes like to hang out in the lake water due to high sulfur content, like other lakes on the Rift.

We also saw many gazelles, impalas, and baboons. Here’s a baboon carrying a youngling. Can you spot the baby?

At Ngorongoro, we visited Ngorongoro Crater, which is translated to – wait for it – “Crater Crater.”

Down in the crater, we saw a bunch of wildlife. Thousands of animals covered the area due to the nutritious grass and water in the crater.  Huge herds of buffalo, zebra and wildebeest could be seen for miles and miles. The wildebeest pictured here are part of the Maasai Mara – Serengeti migration. Ngorongoro borders the Serengeti and parts of it are in the same ecosystem.

Here’s some zebras with a baby –

At this point, we had come close to checking off my bucket list item of seeing the ‘Big Five’ – safari animals that historically were prized for hunting. So far, we had seen three – buffalo, elephant, and the elusive leopard (usually the hardest to find). On the last day, we saw lions! We first saw some napping and then saw other ones walking right by our Land Cruiser.

This lioness came really close!

Soon after, we saw napping lions wake up and stalk zebras in the distance. Quite a stare down!

Next, we drove to the west end of the park to see the Olduvai Gorge. On the drive, we entered the Serengeti ecosystem – seemingly never-ending plains.

Olduvai Gorge is a 30-mile long ravine in the Rift Valley. The site is where Louis and Mary Leakey discovered hominid fossils and also where their son, Jonathon, discovered the first Homo habilis specimen.

Here is a picture of the gorge – the dark red colored formation is a monolith.

Funny that Olduvai Gorge, a site that lead to further development of the theory of evolution, is situated in Africa – now the world’s stronghold for Christians and creationists who deny evolution.

At the mini-museum inside, we saw the bike that a Japanese man used in his 9-year trek from Cape Town to Cape Horn. Makes me feel lazy!

Back to the safari -

In literally the last hour of our safari, we spotted the last of the Big Five – the black rhino! Our tour guide and driver Julius has an amazing eye for spotting animals and he never disappointed us up until the very end. It was very far in the distance, so no picture. Nevertheless – Big Five, complete.

A few days after safari, we headed to Moshi, a town on the foothills of the Africa’s tallest mountain, Kilimanjaro.

We’re staying at a place called the Honey Badger Inn. Honey badgers are pretty fierce animals – they have been known to kill unsuspecting lions, tigers, and bears, as this sign and OWU student Kym indicated.

Thankfully, there are none in the compound. But they do have a pool.

The day after we arrived, Andrew, a PCV (Peace Corps volunteer) with Trees for the Future, took us for a day of packing soil for planting. The organization provides seed and training for reforestation projects, as the Kilimanjaro area has lost much of its greenery in recent years. That night, the students and I went out with Andrew and other PCVs. They provided us with perspective on life in Tanzania and we shared a local Serengeti brew or two. Rhyme unintended.

On Monday, I celebrated my 23rd birthday! We climbed up to the first base of Mt Kilimanjaro at roughly 10,000 feet. Climbing to one of the peaks runs about $1,000, so we decided on the cheaper option. I think I’ll join a short list of people who have climbed the Roof of Africa on their birthday!

Standing tall at 19,341 feet and about 50 miles wide, here it is. The snow-capped peak (although not nearly as snowy as it used to be) is Uhuru Peak, aka Kibo Peak.

Here’s part of the group at the gate entrance on the day of the climb.

The climb wasn’t too bad – we took it ‘pole pole’ as they say in Swahili. When we reached our destination, we had lunch and Mary and the students sung Happy Birthday! I was presented with two gifts as well – a pint of Kanyagi (cheap Tanzanian gin) and a sign containing lyrics to the addicting Kenya foreigner-welcoming song – Jambo Bwana.

We walked a bit further to get a beautiful view near Maundi Crater. The land in the distance is Kenya and the body of water is Lake Chala. Mt Kilimanjaro is right on the border, but the whole mountain is in Tanzania.

The breezy air was borderline cold and felt great after several hours of hiking.

At our destination, we held a little ceremony to remember those we have lost. We gathered stones to represent individuals who have passed on. For me, it was a good time to remember my mother. I like to hope that she’s somewhere up in the sky looking down, smiling at me.

I’ve now parted ways with Mary and the students. I’m now in an internet cafe in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania’s old capital and largest city. Later in the week, I catch a train to Zambia. In Zambia, I will conduct Scott & Durham University’s microfinance research, the same administrating that I did in Uganda in December. The train is a two-day deal, but sounds better than the alternative – 57 hours of bus rides. Plus, I’ll have a bed.

My time in Tanzania has been a good break from work, and I’ve enjoyed learning about a different country. Down here, Swahili is the language of choice. I’m realizing I’ve been spoiled by Nairobi and all the fluent English that is spoken there. Since Tanzania’s first President, Nyerere, chose to teach Swahili in schools after independence instead of Kenyatta’s preference to teach English, the average Tanzanian doesn’t know much English. While this makes the people seem a bit distant, good for them to hold on to their language. I’m learning more Swahili by the day. On a run the other day, I greeted an elderly woman with “Mambo” – just like I would in Nairobi – problem is, I wasn’t in Nairobi, I was in Tanzania. The woman raised her voice and said “Mambo? Mambo!!? Look at me, I’m old. For me, you say ‘Shikamoo.’ Duly noted.

I’m excited to start my 23rd (or 24th, technically) year of my life in East Africa. The Patriots losing the Super Bowl and my birthday celebration atop Mt Kilimanjaro made for a great day. One of the OWU students even had my favorite James Bond movie on her computer and we watched it. ‘Do you expect me to talk? No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die!’

Now for a couple of links for those who made it to the end.

Maono’s new website is up and running, check it out here.

I’m happy I’m out of Kenya for the time being – the Schilling has strengthened and the conversion to the dollar would make life their more expensive than usual – hopefully it will depreciate by the time I return.

Thousands of Kenyans are suing the UK for brutal abuses to anti-colonialists during the 1950s.

Next post will be from my 5th African country to visit – Zambia. Until then!