Neither fish nor fowl nor good red herring

Being a volunteer in a small town is fun, as I don't fit into any particular group so have been meeting lots of different people. Apart from a few other VSO volunteers in town and across Zambia (who will no doubt all be down to visit the Falls at sometime soon) I don't immediately fit in with any one group.

This week I've met the ex-pat community, who are a lovely and very interesting. Everyone's been keen to help me to settle in, and one couple have even offered to donate some curtains to my ongoing efforts to make our huge house more homely and secure. I've also been invited to join an aerobics class which I think I'm going to try next week.

Most of the ex-pats I've met work in the tourism industry, and it's been a dramatic week for them. Apparently the torrential rains of last week are unusual here, and were more dramatic than I'd realised. A lot of people have lost their homes, and some serious damage has been done to some of the hotels and other buildings. Also this week the Zambian government have announced a massive increase in tax on the tourist industry, which has big implications both for my new friends' businesses and also on corporate sponsorship opportunities for my NGO.

Work is very different from the ex-pat lifestyle, and I'm really enjoying getting to know my new colleagues. My boss took me and another Livingstone newcomer down to Victoria Falls last weekend, and it's absolutely amazing by daylight. They're huge, and you get absolutely soaked walking to look at them! Totally amazing, and apparently they change a lot during the year so it will never get boring.

Everyone at CTYA is about my age, and I think it will be a fun social group once I'm settled in. This has been my first proper week at work, and I'm slowly working out what I'll be doing with the rest of my year. There's a lot to do, but it all seems fun. Yesterday we wrote a project-plan for VCT (voluntary counselling and testing for HIV) campaigns month in June. Today I'm starting to get my head round the idea of setting up a fundraising database from scratch...not entirely sure that my boss has understood my databasing skills, but I'll have a go. At least the sun is back, so it feels a bit like a holiday again!