Shopping! Shopping! Shopping!

Every Sunday the parking lot of one of the strip malls in town become an authentic African handicrafts market. For anyone traveling to Zambia in the future, this is the Arcades Sunday Market. It wouldn’t have been proper for me to take pictures of the market and it would have out-ed me as a sucker in future bargaining deals. So…let me do my best to paint a picture of the scene.

In the parking lot there are three straight rows of vendors who come early in the morning to set up their “shops.” I say shops loosely, as it really means just laying out what you have on a tarp or maybe just the ground. Some people have canopies to shield them from the sun. Others, mainly the jewelry vendors have card tables. But the vast majority are poorer artisans displaying carvings of wood and stone. Many of the women have hand made quilts. There is everything at this market. Items include: oil paintings, copper carving wall hangings, semi-precious stone jewelry, wooden and stone sculptures of animals, wooded salad bowls, drums, masks, clothing, and some people even have plants. It’s definitely a market geared toward visiting tourists or ex-pats with an expendable income.

Just FYI – Zambia’s biggest exports are copper and semi-precious stones. They have uncut stones that are really cheap. They also have several things made out of what’s called monkey fruit. It’s similar to an orange in shape and size, but I have no idea what it tastes like.

I took a taxi to the market to check it out. Michelle is going to meet me here later. Turns out she didn’t feel well after the Tuku concert either and then she went to the kitchen party. I guess, down time for her too. I took a stroll around the shops to get a feel for what is available. There are young guys asking me to take a look at there things and trying to get my attention. I repeat over and over: “No. No. I’m just looking.” Some reply with a wide smile: “That’s ok. Looking is free.” I love Zambians. They are so funny.

I spotted a necklace that’s made of what I think at the time is jade, but since have found out is malachite. It looks like a green strand of pearls and I immediately think of Crystal. While she’s one of my best friends, Crystal is a tried and true southern girl who loves wearing her pearls. I, being raised by Yankee parents and a bit of a tomboy, do not understand the pearl concept. This is an ongoing joke between the two of us and I said to her before I left that I was going to get her the African equivalent to pearls. Jackpot. I negotiated with the guy selling them, but I don’t think I got the best deal I could have. Realizing that I’m in no rush, I went to go have a cup of coffee to collect me thoughts and do some currency conversions so I know how much things cost.

Michelle met up with me and we continued the shopping endeavor. My negotiating skills were much better after I focused a little bit. I ended up with a framed oil painting for $26, a solid wood ebony coaster set for $11 and two batik canvases for $22 each. I also got a few other things that I can’t tell you about yet because they are gifts. All in all it was a fantastic shopping day. I look forward to going back in the next few weeks to check more items off of my list.

Nudge, Nudge, Nudge. Sorry I'm so behind!

Ok. I’m way behind again, so let me catch you up as to what’s been keeping me so busy….

I believe we left off after the Oliver Tuku concert on Friday, October 17. So Saturday, October 18…I was supposed to go to a Kitchen Party with Michelle. This is the equivalent of a wedding shower/bachelorette party in Zambia. It lasts most of the day and from what I’ve heard it’s a heck of a party. I really wanted to go to it to have a local cultural experience while I was here, but unfortunately the Tuku concert took a lot out of me and I didn’t feel very well on Saturday. I think traveling and getting adjusted to a new place finally caught up with me and so I just needed a day off from life. Plus, I think I might be allergic to all the trees blossoming here. They are pretty, but certainly make my nose run (sorry! over-share!) Anyway….thankfully, crappy African television decided to play nice on Saturday by showing “Shrek 3” and “Because I Said So” on Saturday morning. So yes, I spent Saturday morning in bed watching TV. : )

By 1 pm I decided to go down and hang out by the pool and read Three Cups of Tea. That lasted for about an hour because it was so hot! If I had to guess I’d say between 85-90 degrees. So the rest of the afternoon I did research on my upcoming trip to Livingstone (more to come) and other random things. I finally felt back up to snuff and the need for social interaction by the evening so I called my new friend Justin to go to dinner.

Justin works for CDC Washington and is here for 4 months doing a rotation as the PEPFAR coordinator. So he’s herding the cats known as the Department of State, Department of Defense, USAID and CDC to get them to make one comprehensive AIDS program here. Pretty cool job and he’s doing well with it. Incidentally, he went to graduate school at UGA with my friend Valerie and lived with someone I went to Berry with. It’s a small, small world. (Hopefully “It’s A Small World” is now stuck in your head.) He’s also has the CDC car and graciously drives me around from time to time. So we went to dinner at an Indian Restaurant and I called it an early night. Not too exciting, but even in Africa you need some down time.

"Where We Come From Music Is Our Food"

“Where we come from music is our food.”

So Friday night I went to a concert with Michelle at the International School. We met up with some friends of hers for some pizza before we went. All in all there were about 12 of us, all mzungus working for various international aid organizations, but not all American. There were a few Swedish and Canadian folks in the mix. Some of them were CDC grantees working on submitting reports to me…ha! There was also a guy that worked for UNICEF. (I include this tidbit for my fellow Model UN nerds.)

We enjoyed some pizza beer and sat outside to enjoy the nice weather. It reminded me a lot of being graduate school. I was surrounded by folks all with the same interests and with pretty much an equal candor, which was nice. I got into a discussion with the UNICEF guy about the effectiveness of international aid programs and reporting requirements. It felt like I was defending my master’s thesis. Oh it’s so nice to use my brain!! And it was a great discussion especially considering the perspectives were of those that were seeing and living it. Thankfully, he agreed with most of what I said in my thesis, which makes me feel like that 90 page paper wasn’t for naught. Later someone asked me how I liked Zambia and I mentioned the lack of stress in working here. She said: “Welcome to life here! Why do you think we all stay?!” Nice. Go Africa.

We left for the concert at around 8. This artist is a favorite of Michelle’s so she was pretty excited to get there on time. Unfortunately the main act didn’t go on until about 10:30, so we stayed outside talking to other folks. I met a guy from the US who started a foundation to give peanut butter sandwiches and milk to those standing in line for health care. What a cool concept. He makes a good point that people stand in line for hours just to see someone with no food or water. These are people that don’t have much means for food as it is and probably walked a great distance just to get to the clinic. It’s nice that he saw a need a filled it. I’m inspired by his initiative.

So the concert finally started. We saw Oscar Tuku, a Zimbabwean musician that’s pretty famous around these parts. He’s credited with starting a new genre of music. Click HERE to learn more about him and download some free music. During the show he started talking to the crowd about the purpose of music in African culture and said (paraphrased): “Where we come from music is our food. We use it for all things to celebrate joy, to wipe away sorrow and to resolve conflict.” Awesome. Ever the music lover, I’ve always enjoyed how much music is infused into the life of African culture. And I really like the metaphor of music being just as important and sustaining as food. In a continent that chronically deals with hunger, famine and food security, think about how powerful that statement is.

It was a great show, but due to the hot weather during the Friday afternoon quest, I was beat before he even took the stage. I wish I had pictures of my own to share but I purposefully left most things in the car for safety. Which, as it turns out, was a good call since there were some pick-pocketers working the crowd during the show. The crowd was about half white aid workers and half locals. A source of amusement was some VERY drunk Peace Corps Volunteers. I’m sure my RPCV friends reading this don’t know what in the world I’m talking about. ;)

A tutorial on Comments

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And then there were three- Friday afternoon adventures

So behind guys sorry! I’ll do my best to get updated to enjoy the influx of new material…

Friday – Greatest thing about working overseas is that all United States Government (USG) employees take Friday afternoons off. The office is actually closed and locked by 12:30 so I had no choice. For the record, we do work 9 hour days every day just like I do at home, so don’t get uppity that it’s an abuse of your tax dollars.

So I took advantage of my Friday afternoon to finally resolve the issue with my cell phone. I purchased and unlocked cell phone from ebay before I left. You may remember from earlier entries

From left to right: Home cell, bunk ebay cell, Zambia cell

that I purchased a local SIM card and therefore should have been merrily on my way. WRONG! Ebay unlocked phone doesn’t play nice with the African network, so alas I had to purchase one here any way. The good news is that the Ebay phone was only $30 and is returnable. But still this picture of the three cell phones that I currently have in my purse is FUNNY. I feel like one of those guys who opens his coat to show watches for sale. Moving on…


I decided after the cell phone shopping shenanigan to check out the aforementioned Irish pub in Zambia called O’Hagens. Being that most of the food here isn’t stellar my expectations were low. The good news is…this place is awesome. When you enter it’s like the Irish version of a TGI Fridays with crap all over the walls: lyrics of Danny Boy, Jokes about the Scottish, Irish Flags, etc. They’re playing American music and I’m excited. I opened the menu and discovered that they have a beer challenge that is far easier to surmount than Taco Mac. Jamie you would be on board with this. You just need to drink 20 beers different beers in 2 months and then you get your name on the wall. That’s it! There is something sort of appealing about having my name on the wall in an Irish Pub in Zambia. Ok, I do want to leave my mark on the world in other ways, but there is a decent amount of humor in the thought.

Looking at the menu of beers I see that they have Boddingtons! I haven’t had this since I tasted Charlie’s beer back in DC in January. Time for my own. It was as good as I remembered. Funny story though…. So I poured my beer into the glass and felt a thump of something inside the can. !!??! That’s not good. You never know what’s going to happen with African bottling plants. Although I think this is imported, the sound is a little disconcerting. So I peer into the can half afraid of a bug carcass or something else. Can’t see anything, so I read the can. Turns out that inside there is a pressurized thingy to release carbonation when the can is opened. I’m guessing this aids with freshness or something or other. There is a warning on the can to not try to remove it for fear of injury, so I’m pretty sure I know what that thump was now. Phew! Good to know, but had me nervous for a few seconds.

Lunch was a nice basket of chicken fingers and chips (remember that means French fries). It was soo good to have familiar food. As I was eating the owner, who is a legit Irish Expat came around to check on all the tables. Ah, that explains why the food was good. O’Hagens gets the thumbs up from this American. I need to go back here and try the fish and chips.

Ok, now what are you doing there?

The last post got a little long...Sorry, I get really excited with this stuff!

Anyway, at home I work to administer the CDC PEPFAR grants to Ethiopia, Ghana, Haiti, India, Nigeria, Sudan, Rwanda and Zimbabwe. I work with the country offices on making sure the funding goes to the correct people and with the grantees to ensure that they've turned in the right reports and spend money on the things that they are allowed.

In Zambia, I'm on a detail to the program office side of the house. I'm working with the Zambia office on producing a large planning report to the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator (OGAC). We work with the grantees to produce narratives explaining what they intend to accomplish in the following areas. Remember the 19 program areas of PEPFAR? CDC Zambia works in 16 of them and there is a report for each one. There is also a report from each grantee. Printed, this thing is about 800 pages.

They're also tapping into my grants experience working out any outstanding issues with our grantees and making strategies for the future. One of the failings of bureaucracy is that sometimes the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing. It's very much like that between out field offices and my office. So I'm helping out with that while I'm here. And now they have me on the objective review panel of some PEPFAR small grants. So in the next few days I get to read 32 applications and score them. That will certainly gives me something to do at night if I get too busy at work.

I love, love, love working here. My co-workers are so nice, have a great attitude and are really dedicated to what they are doing. They are also really hospitable. Many have offered to take me places around town and help me adjust to life here. It's amazing how a healthy working environment can make a difference. Plus I get to work on things that I'm interested in and let me apply the things I learned in school. Thankfully, I have 4 more weeks to enjoy work life here. :)

A brief background of PEPFAR

By request, here's some more information about what exactly I'm doing for work in Zambia. I’ll give you a warning that I can’t talk in too many specifics due to the fact this is a public blog. A lot of the work I do deals with sensitive information, however if you have a question, please ask. I’ll go into greater detail if I can.

Let’s give some background: The bulk of the funding and programming for CDC’s international work is geared toward The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). PEPFAR started a little more than five years ago as a coordinated international effort between the Department of State (DOS), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Department of Defense (DOD). CDC is part of HHS. While we get most of the money given to HHS there are a few lines of PEPFAR funding that go through the National Institute of Health (NIH) and Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), which are also part of HHS. Peace Corps volunteers in many countries are also PEPFAR funded. (Confused with all the acronyms yet?)

PEPFAR originally started with 14 focus countries, but quickly spread to work in over 100 nations world wide. CDC did not have a large international presence before PEPFAR, so the offices in the field are fairly new. In contrast, USAID has been on the ground working in some of these countries for 50 years.

There are 19 different program areas in PEPFAR which include things like prevention, patient care, treatment, counseling, testing, prevention of mother to child transmission, and TB/HIV co-infection programs. In the international community, AIDS, TB and malaria are often fought using the same programs as so many people have more than one of these diseases at a time. AIDS is not what generally kills a person, but rather another infectious disease caught because the body's immune system is suppressed. Although transmitted in different ways, both tuberculosis and malaria have a high prevalency in most of the countries that we work. So programs reach a greater population by educating, testing and treating patients for multiple problems.

One of the main focuses of PEPFAR is to increase the local capacity for health care. Understand that in most of these countries there are very few hospitals and even fewer clinics from which to obtain health care. People wait for hours in line just to be seen by someone and those are the people that can afford the cost. Although the cost maybe only $1, in a place where most people live in extreme poverty, this could be a week's worth of wages. So now there is a choice: Do you buy food for your family or seek medical care? Moreover, a person might have to walk 5k to even get to the clinic itself. Imagine walking a 5k when you don't feel good, let alone when you have something as bad a TB or malaria. Thankfully, PEPFAR and many other international programs are addressing these issues to make health care more accessible and affordable.

Through mainly grants, we teach local organizations and the ministry of health a lot of basic skills like how to screen blood samples for HIV and how to handle samples and needles safely. We train more people to become health care professionals, we provide access to essential medicines and Anti-Retro Viral (ARV) therapy. (This is the cocktail of drugs that has keeps the infection to HIV level and drastically prolongs life.) There are also a lot of programs that educate what HIV is and how it is transmitted and to get rid of the stigma of getting tested. This includes dispelling myths like: "having sex with a virgin gets rid of HIV," or "If my partner doesn't have HIV, neither do I." The point is not only to provide increased services, but to create a health care system within the country so that it can be self-sustaining. We don't intend to stay here forever. The best thing that we can hope for is that we work ourselves out of a job, that these countries can handle health problems on their own and that some of these epidemics are no longer a problem.

Obviously, I could write a masters thesis on the problem of AIDS in Africa and how we are addressing it, so please accept this watered down version. If you're interested more in Zambia and how it's doing with health and development, I invite you to read the World Bank profile on Zambia. If you have question, let me know. I'm happy to translate jargon. :)

Dinner with Michelle!!

Monday Night - I've probably mentioned it, but I have some great friends from DU that now live in Zambia: Nick and Michelle.

They've been here for just over a year. Michelle does reproductive health work for a US non-prof. Unfortunately (for me not for him) Nick will be in Malawi while I'm here doing a food security consultancy for an international organization. Monday night Michelle picked me up to have dinner back at her flat. How nice! We had home made stir fry and sat out on her patio drinking wine and catching up. It was so great to see her and enjoy the beatiful weather. We'll have more adventures while I'm here so expect her name to pop up again.

She also has a new kitten! Seems a neighbor cat had kittens and Nick and Michelle decided to adopt one. They named him Mapopwe (ma pope way) which is the local language (Tonga) word for corn. I probably misspelled that, but you get the point.

Incidentally, the neighbors kept another one of the kittens and she came over to play with 'Popwe. Her owners named her Christine. Anyone else think it's funny that the Westerners chose a local name and the locals chose a Western name? Here's the two of the playing on the grill and in the charcoal sack.

While it's not replacement, it's nice to have a fix of kitty love. Work starts tomorrow. Michelle gave me the heads up where the office is. Shortest commute ever!

Zambia has a strip mall?

Monday - Even in Zambia Columbus Day means I don't have to work. So I took advantage of the extra day off by doing some more exploring. However, this time it was more deliberate and with the help of my guidebook. First thing though, was discovering that this HUGE buffet breakfast is included with my hotel stay. Pictures to come soon, but this is amazing and makes it much easier to stay within budget. I decided that I was going to make this a shopping day and that I was going to take a cab. :)

First Stop: Manda Hill


My guidebook said that Manda Hill was one of the biggest shopping areas in the city. What was is it really...? A strip mall! Very strange to see, but nice to know that it's available. Globalization at it's best. Denver peeps: Gotta be honest on first approach this place looked strikingly similar to the strip mall that contains Casa Bonita. Much better part of town though and no Family Dollar.



Manda Hill contained many things including two book stores, a blockbuster, a bakery and a few other stores. My mission here was the ShopRite. I figured since I have a mini fridge in the room, I could do some grocery shopping. I was expecting just a few more things to be available than the BP, but when I walked in I realized that ShopRite=Zambian SuperTarget. Awesome! I can buy everything from oranges to a blender.



A few key indicators to remind you that you are still in Africa...#1 an entire wall of Corn Flakes.



But you can still buy the local brand "Maize Flakes"



I haven't seen any advertisement for food on TV, but if Jungle Oats had a commercial I think they should have "Jungle Boogie" as the background music. Either that or "Eye of the Tiger" I had these on Tuesday morning at the breakfast buffet and they are really good with honey and raisins.



Oh yeah. This is proof that there is a legit Subway at Manda Hill as well. I didn't go in to see if there were weird Zambian equivalents to the usual sandwiches, but the normal Subway smell wafted out of the door. Weird.




Last but not least, proof that there is an Irish Pub everywhere. See Ed, I told you. Again, weird. Probably the best place to get fish and chips though. I might have to check it out. I wonder if they have Guinness.

Anyway, I left Shoprite with about $35 of groceries that should avoid me having to eat $30 dinner each night at the hotel. My favorite finds were: cheese! (Imported from France or Ireland means it's pasteurized and therefore, I can eat it. Huzzah!) and Ramen. I have a tea kettle in my room that can boil water and coffee cups. Do you need anything else? Really. Yeah, yeah I have per diem each day, but I see no need in blowing it all on overpriced hotel food, when really all I want is a cup of soup. While we're on the subject of food, I ordered a Caprese Sandwich for lunch at an Expat Cafe. Should have known better. Their version of "pesto" was seriously chopped cloves of raw garlic and onions made into a paste with olive oil. Oh well, I tried.

I also walked a few blocks to a handicrafts store called the Ababa House. Most things were overpriced, but they were pretty high quality. I spent the rest of the afternoon reading and hanging out by the pool.

Mzungu!

So here’s another tidbit from my Sunday walk…As I’m walking along the road, I walked past a group of teenage guys. I got about three steps past them and hear: “Mzungu!” I think, “Oh crap. They do that here too?”

Mzungu (pronounced mmm zoon goo) literally means “White person!” We got cat called like this all…the…time when we were in Kenya, but I haven’t been called it since. At first it’s kinda funny, but then it starts to get on your nerves. I mean, can you imagine walking down the street in the states, pointing at someone and saying “Black guy!” Yeah, you’d probably get your butt kicked. Of course, matters of race are far more sensitive in the US because of our history and that’s not what they mean here. It’s not at all intended to be offensive. You’re more a source of curiosity, potential money or both. Still it gets a little annoying that people keep pointing out the obvious.

If Wazungu (plural) aren't an every day occurrence, you'll get called out more. The kids especially do this and often try to get you to wave or something else silly. On my walk a different group of boys about 10 or so tried to get me to buy a rock from them. I laughed and told them no. These are things you just have to roll with. I'd much rather have semi-annoying mzungu experiences than stick to the beaten path of where all the tourists are. I'm a scrappy aid worker. Don't mess.

**Note: I'm sticking with the Kiswahili spelling because that's my first experience. The wikipedia link above gives more information about the origins of the word in various African tribal languages.

Exploring a new land

SUNDAY – I woke up with a start. “Oh God, please don’t let it be 3:00 pm” Thankfully I discover that it was only 9:00 am. My hotel room does not have an alarm clock, which is going to be a challenge. I quickly got dressed just enough to go down to the lobby to get a key made. When I got here last night the machine was down, so if I left my room I was locked out. I decided on the way down in the elevator that I REALLY needed that cup of coffee now if I was going to keep moving today. I’m starting to make a to do list…

Mission 1 – Get key. Machine is up, accomplished in a matter of seconds. Good.
Mission 2 – Get coffee. (See story below)
Mission 3 – Get SIM Card (See second story below)

Right on. I’m on a roll. I saunter across the lobby to the hotel “coffee shop” and walk up to the counter to order. I’m in a Starbucks routine, so I’m hoping that I can get my coffee to “take away” and keep moving. Silly American…did you forget you’re in Africa? The very nice lady stifles a giggle when I order and tells me to take a seat. She comes over a few minutes later with a full french press coffee pot and all the fixings. I forget that Africans take great pleasure in the simple things of life like having a cup of coffee or tea. They don’t have a paper cup attached to their hand all day as the flit from errand to errand. No, no. They enjoy the moment. So I take a deep breath, submit to the fact this is going to take half an hour and people watch.

Mission 2 accomplished. Now it’s time to get a SIM card. I head to the hotel gift shop and inquire. The conversation goes something like this:
Shopkeeper: it’s 15,000 ZMK ($3.91)
Me: Cool. Can I charge it to my hotel bill?
Shopkeeper: No.
Me: Crap! (I don’t have local currency yet)

So I got back to the front desk to find out where the ATM is. They don’t have one in the hotel (guh?!) So now…I’m going to have to take a shower and get dressed for real. I add to my list: Mission 4 – Get Cash.

Showered and dressed, I hit the road in the direction everyone else seemed to be going while I was people watching today. It’s a really pretty day about 75 degrees and sunny. Awesome. And a walk feels good too. In few blocks there is a BP (as in the gas station you’re familiar with) with a drive up ATM. Mission 4 accomplished. In this little complex there are a few convenience store type places and the Zambian equivalent to a fast food restaurant. It’s about lunch time so I stop in for some “chips” and a Sprite (Note: In most of Africa “chips” are french fries and “crisps” are what we call chips. Oh and you can’t find tortilla chips. La Parilla we have a date when I return.)

Full of energy and curiosity, I decide to see where else this road goes. Other than the walls of compounds there isn’t much to see. I do, of course, find the UN Mission that has UNICEF, UNFPA and the WFP. I swear they equip you with a homing device when you do Model UN. There’s a couple of churches and people walking about. About an hour later when I find another gas station I decide this road is going no where and it might be time to head home. I stopped into the BP on the way back to the hotel and purchase a SIM card for 5,000 ZMK ($1.30…yeah bargain shopping). I got back to the hotel with Mission 3 accomplished, a sunburn and blisters BETWEEN MY TOES on both feet. A small price to pay for a mini-adventure.

From Jo'burg to Lusaka

I arrive in Johannesburg a little bleary eyed, but happy to see a familiar place. I had an 8-hour layover here on my last trip, so I’ve explored it rather well. I really, really want a cup of coffee, but it’s 5:00 pm here. Drinking coffee now means loosing the war against jetlag. I make a quick stop in the bathroom to change clothes, wash my face, and to brush my teeth and hair. Much better. I only have about an hour and a half until my connecting flight boards, so I need keep moving.

Even though the Jo’burg airport is very clean, modern, and offers duty free shopping on par with Paris or Amsterdam, it’s very clear to me that I’ve arrived in Africa. The first thing that hits me is the smell. Those of you that have been here know what I’m talking about. I don’t really know how to describe it other than a strange mixture of dirt, body odor and just plain different. You don’t smell it everywhere, but when you do it’s unmistakable. It’s nice to be back. I browse past a few of the shops in pursuit of a large bottle of water and my gate. In doing so I find a guidebook to Zambia. Eureka! I couldn’t find one of these in the states. I pass on picking up a sandwich for the road. I know I’ll regret this decision later.

The flight is short comparatively (2 hours) and uneventful. I arrive in the Lusaka airport and get through customs without a problem. Thankfully both of my bags came through. I met up with my Embassy driver and another embassy staffer that had been visiting Cape Town for the week. As we drive to the hotel, I begin to take in Lusaka. Though it’s dark there is still much to see. They drive on the other side of road here. I suppose that makes sense since Zambia once was a British protectorate (Northern Rhodesia). Still, every time I see a car coming towards us on the other side of the road I cringe. I’ll get used to it though.

The hotel is very nice. My room has a king-sized bed, flat screen TV, mini-fridge and yes Mom, there is a shower. Mom’s still familiar with Kenya when I had to take bucket baths for a month. I’m more than happy to be done with that.

After getting to my room, I decide to go down to the hotel bar for some people watching. I try one of the local brews and enjoy the live music. There’s something far more poignant about a group of Africans singing “Revolution” by Tracy Chapman. Not knowing Zambia’s political history that well, I’m sure their song selection is mainly to please the Western guests. But still…the point isn’t lost on me. Ah...it's finally 11 pm and my beer glass is empty. Time for bed!

In transit

Today I left for Zambia. I remember many times in my youth being in the Atlanta airport thinking: “One of these times…I’m going to be standing here with a big back pack on my way to Europe or somewhere else cool.” Now here I am, on my way to Africa for the third time. I’m truly blessed.

I arrived to the plane just in time to make the final boarding call…oops! But at least I made it. I had the opportunity to give up my seat on the overbooked flight for $600, but by taking the new flight, I wouldn’t have arrived in Zambia until late Sunday night. That would have equated to about 2.5 days of travel and thus, too big of a hassle for $600. I did sit in between two really nice folks that graciously let me out when I needed to walk around on our 20-hour journey.

During this flight I realized that I think I’m making the turn from “traveler” to “seasoned traveler.” For instance, the flight makes a fueling stop in Dakar, Senegal. Through passengers are not allowed to de-plane. Instead we have a 2 hour "sit time" where guards come through to ensure that every bag has an owner and check under all of the seat cushions. Someone inquired about the stop and without thinking I answered their question. We had a short conversation and then he asked: “Have you flown this route before…?” “Yes,” I answered and we discussed the other times I traveled to Africa. It was then that I finally had the revelation: “You’re traveling to Africa…BY YOURSELF! HOLY CRAP!” Guess it’s too late to be nervous.

I watched Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Sex and the City on the plane, neither of which I’d seen before. Forgetting Sarah Marshall was eh. Sex and the City was good. If given the chance on the return flight, I’ll watch it again. The rest of the time I spent reading my book or learning new positions to sleep that didn't bother my travel partners or make my arms fall asleep. We should get to the Johannesburg Airport soon. I sincerely am looking forward to wearing different clothes and brushing my teeth.