The Joys of Transport

So it's been forever since I've been able to actually sit down on a computer and type out a thoughtful blog entry so sorry to anyone reading this back home...and hopefully there are readers out there :-) Hope all is well and you are able to enjoy summer fun activities!

Things are pretty good in Zambia. I hit my Zamaversary (Zambian Anniversary-new phrase that I just recently heard and love it!) on July 23rd and so the Mpika crew got together with the European volunteers and had a celebratory weekend. We had our favorite restaurant, Cims, make us pizzas and they were surprisingly, very yummy! We then went over to Melodies, a lodge across from Cims and toasted to some red wine and Mary Ellen (the other volunteer in my intake) created a game for us to play about the top ten things we've learned while being here in Zambia. Andreas-a German volunteer working at the diocese, Chris-my nearest PCV neighbor who arrived in February, Mary Ellen and I composed this following list:

10. Three wheelbarrows of sand, six wheelbarrows of crushed stone, and one bag of cement=hand mixed cement.
9. hitchhiking is a pain most times, but sometimes it opens doors of friendship.
8. There are no tigers in Africa.
7. Despite what your bamayo says, you CAN'T pick up burning coals.
6. Greetings are a must.
5. Soya is the new chicken.
4. Caterpillars aren's just a bug, but are, in fact, good eats.
3. How to sleep three adults in one bed.
2. An empty canter (pick up truck) looks like an amazing hitch but, guaranteed, by the end of the journey you will be squished and buried under bags and people.
1. Always pack toilet paper.

So there you have it. One year of Zambia in a nutshell, haha. Well not quite...but my previous blog did sum up my feelings so I'll move on from our fun filled anniversary weekend to the joys of transport...

For Fourth of July, Angela, Kate, Meera and I decided to venture over to Malawi to celebrate our independence day on Lake Malawi. We figured that since we all live in the Northern part of Zambia that we would take the less traveled, but 'easier' northern route to Malawi. Well, big mistake on our part. Our holiday was one disaster after another. Angela met me in Mpika, we took the night bus to Nakonde-the border town of Tanzania/Zambia and got there in the very early morning. Kate and Meera left Mbala Friday morning and so Ang and I had to wait about four hours in the shady town of Nakonde. During our wait, we tried to figure out how best to get to Malawi and everyone suggested that we take a bus direct to Lilongwe. So when Kate and Meera got to us, we headed out to the bus station. Turns out the only transport going to Malawi is a canter truck-an open bed pick up truck. Since we had no alternative, and we needed to get to our destination, we agreed to go on the canter. Kate and Meera sat inside while Angela and I were crammed in the back of a very packed, overcrowded bed of the truck. We originally were fine in our seats, but in traditional Zambian fashion, we started the journey and about fifteen minutes in, we started picking up more passengers. This was the most frustrating part because there was absolutely no space and the driver just kept doing whatever he could for more money! And the worst part was we were on a dirt bush path...so if we broke down, nothing else would pass that could give us a lift out. So Angela and I did some serious praying as we were being more and more squished in the canter. Finally, three hours later we arrived at the border post and we were both livid with the driver. Kate and Meera had no idea what was going on in the back, but realized when they got out that we had a horrible trip down. But this was just the start...the driver apologized profusely, put us in the front seat and was really hospitable-we got to Chitipa, border town in Malawi in the evening so there was no way to proceed on to Nkhata Bay, which was on the other side of Malawi so the driver found us a guest house to stay in and offered us to eat with his family. We declined as we were all exhausted from a long day's journey. That night, we ate at the restaurant that was recommended by our driver, but got harrassed by a creepy waiter who told us he could get us a ride to Nkhata Bay if Meera would be his 'friend'...creepy so we left as quickly as possible. Right away, we started missing our Zambian home....
The next morning, we got up super early to try to hitch to Nkhata Bay. There was a beautiful Save the Children vehicle right outside our guest house and I thought, yes, this is God's way of helping us out so we all got excited that Save could take us. Well not quite. The guy who was in the vehicle was not very friendly and told us it was company policy to not pick up hitchhikers, and that if my dad did work for Save, he would know that too. Ugh. Well too bad for us. So we stood on the corner hitching down rides and finally, an empty canter truck stoppped and promised that he was going right away, would not stop to fill up truck and we would arrive in good time. So we, just wanting to be there already, jumped in. Ang and I took the front seat and the ride started out sooo well. But of course, luck was not on our side that day. About half hour into the trip, the canter pulls off to pick up a huge load of sweet potatoes. The villagers were still loading the potatoes into the bags so we ended up waiting for a very very long time. A car was passing so Meera hitched it down from the back of the truck and I tried to jump out to talk to the driver about getting a lift...but our driver noticed and jumped in the canter and started to move, so I assumed yes, we are going. Well our driver was just doing it as a ploy to get us to stay in the truck...we waited a bit longer than finally started to move, only to be taken over by another canter truck which angered the driver so much that we entered into a racing game. Ang and I started to be a little scared but calmed down when we came up to a police checkpoint. But this is where the craziness starts. Our canter pulls up right next to the side of the canter in front of us, and when the police lets the other canter go, ours starts to move even as the police are motioning for us to stop. We didn't stop and as the police was closing the barrier on us, the truck hits the police man!!!! WHAT! Who does that, right??? We were shocked and decided right away, we had to get off this transport because our driver was clearly a mad man!! So I get out to inform Kate and Meera about what was happening, and they tell me to flag down a vehicle while they gather our stuff. During all of this, the police were so mad that they took the keys of our canter truck so we could not go anywhere anyways. We flagged down a packed National Aids Council bus who agreed to take us, thankfully! We walked through the checkpoint as the bus went through, and just as we were waiting for the bus to clear the door so we could get in, the driver from the canter comes over and starts yelling and pushing us around! We were stunned. He was so irate it was scary. Even the AIDs council people had to come to our defense...we finally paid a quarter of the fare and got on the bus. At this point, we were all ready to head back to Zambia...but we proceeded on. The people on the bus were so friendly, and told us that we have to be prepared to always pay in Malawi for transport-a clear difference from Zambia. But they gave us the lift for free, got us to the nearest town where they told us how to catch the bus going to Nkhata Bay. We got on the bus right away, but about half hour out of town, it broke down so we all got out, Kate tried to hitch but no one was going our way...and finally, they sent another bus for us. We managed to get some good seats, and our journey was finally going ok. We arrived at Nkhata Bay just as the sun was setting and we all got a well deserved coctail to toast to our barely-safe arrive. Yes-transport is truly miserable some days. So we enjoyed our four days R&R before deciding to take a bus back to Lilongwe then enter Zambia through Eastern province which is the recommended way of travel. It was a piece of cake to get back, and once were in Zambia, we were so happy. It's always nice to get back home. So our Malawi trip was overshadowed by our horrible transport experience, so when we got back, I took my four days in Kasama to rest up..it was wonderful to just do nothing but sleep in, watch movies and relax.

Village life is going well and I'll write all about it in the next blog, which will be up soon, maybe even tomorrow!

Hope all is well back home...thanks to all those who have written and sent me things, it is always appreciated!! Please continue to write, comment or CALL me!!

Miss you!