No safety nets

I've finally made some cocktail-drinking girlfriends over the last few weeks, and feeling much more like myself now that I have people to talk about boys and makeup! Sarah and Mwape are new to Livingstone too, recently graduated from university in Lusaka and working as pharmacists here. We're working through the various tourist attractions and this weekend went to the crocodile farm and then the Royal Livingstone hotel to look at an art exhibition and watch the sun go down over the Zambezi.

All very pleasant, but various things this week have got me thinking about how much more precarious life is for Zambians than at home. There were few fences at the croc farm, for example, and we couldn't help wonder how safe we were in such close proximity to these seemingly indestructible creatures (they live about 150 years and are apparently immune to all diseases), most of whom had been put into captivity because that been causing a problem killing people in the communities they'd been found. Wandering round the Royal Livingstone we came across the small herd of zebras and giraffes who live there. There's a keeper who follows them round, who happily left them be and took us off to look for the impala. Definitely no risk assessment done for that, as zebras in particular are known to be a bit aggressive when tourists try to pet them!

Planning isn't a big feature of life in Zambia, and my colleagues regularly say things like 'if I have money I'll call you tomorrow'. I can't imagine what it would be like to live not knowing one day to the next if they will be money for food, and have been trying to remind myself this week to be more patient with my colleagues when they're not at work as they haven't been paid and are trying to source money elsewhere. And as we work, I'm trying to find the line between sensible caution, and teaching the concept of thinking about potential risks to new activities, with enjoying living in a society that sometimes feel a lot more free and less cautious than the UK. Where crocodiles are concerned though, I think maybe I'd be comfortable with a little more caution...

FunComm

I'm more confused than ever about the idea of moving now, as last week was my first ordinary week and weekend in Livingstone for a while and life seems particularly nice. I know there have been a few posts about this experience starting to feel like normal life, but I think this is the beginning of me feeling like not every week has to be an adventure.

Having said that, it was quite exciting that for the first time in a while a lot of my colleagues were in the office, planning for a new project in schools starting next month. I've finally managed to get together a Fundraising Committee (affectionately known as FunComm) and to start work on the resource mobilisation strategy that I came here to write. We were also honored by a visit from VSO Zambia's Country Director, who spent a long time meeting with my colleagues and me and helped to see how we could improve the organisation, and then took the Livingstone volunteers out for a very nice dinner.

It was also lovely to have the first Livingstone weekend in a while, a girl-y sleepover at a friend's house was my first chance in a while to watch some movies. And any lifestyle where an ordinary Sunday stroll with friends takes you to the Zimbabwe border bridge and yet another impressive view of Victoria Falls can't be bad!

Football fever

It's going to be a bit strange now the world cup's over, it's been a big part of life in Africa for the last few weeks. There's been a lot of pride about how well the tournament seems to have been organised, and it felt like the whole continent was holding it's breath during the painful last few moments of the Ghana game. I won't miss the constant soundtrack of hooting plastic trumpets though!

I went to Choma this weekend, a small town about 2 and a half hours north of Livingstone. Appropriately I was visiting a Dutch friend, who invited me to a dinner party (I think the nicest meal I've eaten in Zambia, lots of home-grown vegetables that I haven't had in months - who'd have thought broccoli would be something you'd miss?!) to watch the final. Much fun even if it wasn't the result we wanted. I'm sure Cat will put some photos up, her blog's much more pictorial than mine - www.catelijnelissen.blogspot.com

Choma is a lovely town, we went for a Sunday walk and managed to catch some live footie - Choma vs. Mazabuka in a Southern Province league match. And on Monday I visited a youth association there to get ideas for work here. It was great to walk into an office on a Monday morning and find lots of people at their desks working! I've come back with a few ideas, and will be trying to work with my colleagues to put them in place this week, before making a decision about the job in Lusaka. Watch this space...

Decisions, decisions

Lots to think about this week. Following the preliminary review of my placement with VSO, they have been looking for other things for me to do when my colleagues are absent from work or able to get on with things without my help. A placement has come up in Lusaka with an organisation based at the Ministry for Community Development, helping the civil service to set up support for national volunteering across the country. I guess it would be the equivalent to working for Volunteering England.

The job sounds a lot more involved than my current placement, and hopefully would be a better use of the time I have left here. But there's a lot to think about as I'm not sure how I feel about moving to Zambia's bustling capital city. It's been a 4-day weekend here and I went to Lusaka to visit friends. It was lovely to see them, and also to be able to go to the cinema (Toy Story 3, it was excellent!), a couple of nice restaurants, and to go on a second-date with a new potential romantic distraction. But still not sure about how I'd feel about moving (my least favourite thing ever) and starting my life in Zambia all over again....all advice gratefully received!