Life Lessons, Stethoscopes and Red Hair

I want to touch on a major lesson that I have learned since arriving in Zambia and probably the most important one I will learn my entire time in Africa. I plan to pinpoint major lessons of my trip on my last post, however I feel this one fits well here too.

It came as I was leaving Cheapo’s house on Wednesday. We took a visit to Cheapo’s place where he, his wife, and two sons live. It is just right down the road from the monastery. We spoke with his family for a bit while he showed us his house, where they go to fetch drinking water and to clean their clothes. I took a second to go inside. The entire house was about the size of a small bedroom. There were two beds; one for his sons and one for him and his wife. The rest of the space was filled with normal supplies one would need to live. That’s it. The house was built out of mud, wood, and straw.

The point I am trying to make here is that I couldn’t and still can’t believe people live in this way. It’s so sad to see what we have and what they do not. I kept asking myself where these people get the motivation to keep moving forward and then it occurred to me. It’s not about the materials we have, but the loved ones we surround ourselves with. Okay…you probably heard that one a thousand times, however once you truly (and I mean TRULY) see for yourself, like I have, it blows your flipping mind. They may not have a nice house or running water, but they do have the most important piece. These people are happy because they have their families, neighbors, and loved ones.

This made me think back to my parent’s house. I’m not going to lie, I love it. But why do I love it? Is it nice? Yeah, sure. It’s really nice. Yet, why do I enjoy going home? It’s because of my family and friends. I enjoy watching the Twins game because my parents are watching it with me. I enjoy playing board games and cooking random recipes because my sisters are there to do them with. I enjoy playing catch and talking about everything under the sun because my brother is there. Now, don’t get me wrong. Do I like nice things? Come on, sweetheart, everyone does. That’s not the point.

I love riding the motorcycle I have at home. Love it. However, what makes it really great is when I ride with my friends, Dad, or another group of bikers. I enjoy going to the movies with my Mom. The movie is great, but the experience of seeing that movie with her is 1,000,000 times better than the movie itself. The talks we have afterwards or the funny things we compare it to are what make it great. What make the materials we have in life so great are the people we share them with.

So, the point is…what TRULY matters in life are the people, not the things. It’s true, psychological research shows that social connection is one of the most important components to happiness. So, go and hang out with your loved ones and not your car.

On to the next topic…

Our teaching starts right when we return home from Victoria Falls. I am excited to get to work and hope to help as many kids as possible. Now, I’ll admit, if I was at an occupation draft party being a teacher wouldn’t be my first overall draft pick (sorry, it’s football season back home and I’m missing it. It’s hard on a guy, okay.) However, it’s not for the reasons you think.

Teaching can be frustrating, yes, but it’s because I care. Have you ever had a teacher that didn’t work very hard to teach you the information? Did you feel like they didn’t care? Heck yeah you have and it’s probably because they didn’t. 

The Lord knows I’m no saint, but He also knows that I do care. It’s that urge to fill these kids with every bit of knowledge I possibly can which is frustrating. Teaching would be easy if you didn’t care. You would just throw the information up on the board and hope they pick up on it. However, when you do care you must work around the language barrier, stop the distractions from other kids, and explain every bit of the material because they don’t have the textbooks to study from. I’m totally up for doing that, but I’m not going to lie and say it isn’t frustrating at times.

I hope this explains my thoughts better.

Anyway…

Considering Chiara and Francesca leave after Victoria Falls they have decided to let me have one of their stethoscopes. Working in the clinic and not having one would be difficult and wouldn’t allow me the ability to check heart beats, blood pressure, the thorax and other things. It’s super nice of them to let me have one of theirs to use.

Furthermore, as I have been working in the clinic many people have been questioning the authenticity of my hair color. They just cannot wrap their heads around the fact that it is real. I explain to them that it grows naturally just like theirs does and they make a face as if I had just told them I was from Mars. It’s pretty funny. They do seem to like my hair, though. Violet, the lady who also works in the clinic, has a baby named Grace. When I hold her she immediately starts grabbing at my hair. It’s great.

So I have finished the third book of the series “A Game of Thrones”. I haven’t read this much since I cranked out the Harry Potter books. I enjoy reading and it’s nice to read something fun like this. I will be starting the fourth book on the bus ride to Victoria Falls.

Tomorrow morning we turn the sails towards Livingstone, Zambia. Victoria Falls should be a fun time before things get rolling here in Katibunga. The crew is officially set at 4. Br. Gabriel is unable to come, unfortunately. The monastery couldn’t fund his way since the ordination took so much of its funding. We are bummed, but there isn’t anything we can do. Zack and I have told Gabriel that we will meet up with him in Tanzania. He will be there to study philosophy which starts up in the middle of September.

Well, bon voyage. I hope everything is going well back in the states.

Thanks for reading!

A Letter from Africa and A Trip to Mpika

I recently received a letter from one of my best friends, Tim Solfest. He is currently serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in The Gambia which is located in West Africa along the Atlantic. I received word of the letter from my mother back home. Funny how I am receiving a letter from my friend in West Africa when I am just south (and a little east) of him in the same continent. Tim, if you are reading this I will write back soon! It just may be through email or Facebook considering mailing things here is quite difficult. Thanks for the letter!

So, the days since the ordination have been much quieter now that the visitors have come and gone. Sunday was filled with holy mass. The mass here usually runs two or two and a half hours long which is quite long for my taste, but with it being the first mass of the newly ordained priest it went even longer. Close to three and a half hours! Mass is supposed to be a celebration after all.

Considering Sunday is our relaxing day we mainly just hung around the monastery and village. We attended the football (soccer) game which Katibunga village competed against a nearby one. It was fun to watch, but the American in me still prefers to watch American football and baseball. You can take the boy out of America, but you can’t take America out of the boy.

All Sunday we were concerned for Francesca because we thought she had come down with a bad case of malaria. However, after taking a malaria test which turned out to be negative and giving her antibiotics she began to feel better. She is completely fine now. We aren’t sure what it was, but at least it wasn’t malaria.

On Monday Zack and I were finally able to travel into Mpika. We passed through Mpika when coming to Katibunga, but it was night by that point so we could not see anything. This time it was during the day. The city sits 45 km away from Katibunga and you must travel a very beat up dirt road to get there. It takes a little over an hour to do so. We traveled with 12 people in a car that seats 6 comfortably. It was a long drive to say the least. Once we arrived in Mpika we began by dropping off people at their designated places. Some went to houses and some went to the bus station. Once everyone was dropped off it was just Zack, Br. Augustin, Br. Simeon, and me. The reason Zack and I had to travel to Mpika in the first place was to check in at the immigration office to confirm that we are actually doing what we said we would be doing. Good news, we are not getting deported. We have been admitted for another 30 days. So every month on the 23^rd or 24^th we will have to head to Mpika to get readmitted. You may be wondering why we would even bother going every month considering they aren’t going to come hunt us down. Well, when it comes time to leave Zambia they will check to see if you have been keeping up with immigration and if you haven’t been things can get a little tricky. The last thing we want is that.

After checking with the immigration office we drove to the bus station in order to buy our tickets to Lusaka. We must travel to Lusaka and then to Livingstone because there is no direct bus route from Mpika to Livingstone. Our bus will be leaving at 8:00AM on Sunday, August 30th. We were unable to leave Saturday because Chiara and Francesca have something going on. In addition to buying the tickets we were able to stop at a bank and pull out cash. This was my first time pulling out money in Zambia because we haven’t had a chance to and didn’t need to before. I believe the exchange rate sits somewhere around 8.2 Kwacha to 1 USD. And I have friends wondering why I moved to Africa ha.

It is nice to actually have some money in my pocket. After withdrawing money we grabbed some lunch at a local restaurant. Guess what I got…chicken and rice! Ha or at least I would have, but they were out of rice. So I picked chicken and potatoes.

Once we finished eating we had to wait for both the brothers to get what they came for. Buying groceries for an entire monastery takes a very long time, especially when shopping in Africa. Everything is scattered around. We had to make many stops to pick up everything. It became a very long day for Zack and me. We left for Mpika around 9:00AM and were finally back on the road towards Katibunga by 8:30PM. We were excited to go to Mpika, but a trip once a month might be all that we are up for. Also, it makes you appreciate Katibunga a lot more. It’s much less crowded and most people know us here by now. I can’t say the same for Mpika. We were stared at constantly and many people were asking for money. It’s hard because it’s all because of our white skin. The stares and constant attention wears on you emotionally. The experience was tough, but it creates a good lesson that we can learn from.

For me, Tuesday was spent lesson planning and at the clinic. These are some of my favorite days. I enjoy reading up on biology; especially biopsychology which is what the nervous system and brain mainly is. It also allows me to relax and go at my own pace in the morning while offering me a few hours spent at the clinic in the afternoon. I am now able to plan my final lessons without the internet because Chiara and Francesca happened to have documents of medical books on their computer. They sent them over to me and they just happen to cover exactly what I need! God is good. Now I will be able to finish all of my lessons before the term starts. Also, I just received four very expensive medical school textbooks for free; one being the famous Gray’s Anatomy textbook.

Yesterday Francesca taught me how to stitch a wound. We practiced on a piece of paper by cutting a slit into it and threading the needle through it. Threading the needle is the easy part. The knots are a bit more difficult, but I am mastering them. I don’t think I will be putting in stitches while here, but if it was absolutely necessary I truly think I could make it happen. They taught me how to use a clamber (I think that is what it is called) as well as how to tie the knots by hand. Super cool stuff. I am putting my time into learning as much as possible even though I may never use the skills. My thought is that I might as well learn them still.

Today, Wednesday, I am currently typing this blog post while lesson planning for my biology class. Later today I will be heading to the clinic with Chiara and Francesca. Then Cheapo, a friend of Zack and I, invited all four of us to his house to get a good look at what one looks like. We know Cheapo through tutoring (he’s the 29 year old) and he also works on the construction crew that is building the new secondary school.

I am also attempting to send some emails this morning, but accessing Gmail is like jumping and touching the moon – it’s flipping impossible. I wouldn’t have guessed Gmail to be this way, but it is. I hope to get this email off to my grandfather in the next hour (Doc, if you receive an email from me count yourself lucky ha).

Well, things are still going well here. My sister Grace heads to the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University tomorrow to start her college career. Woop! Have fun, Grace! It’s the best!

Thanks for reading!

One Month: Ordination, Beans and A Look Towards September

With the ordination on Thursday there was a lot of preparation to be done. On Wednesday I went to witness the slaughtering of the pig and cows. It is a tough thing to watch, no doubt, but is necessary if you want to eat meat. Nowadays I get excited when I get to eat rice so meat is a beautiful thing. When we see rice or beans Zack and I turn to one another and yell “It’s bean day!!” or “Know what day it is? It’s a rice day!” ha you have to create a good time when all you have is rice or beans.

I won’t go into too much detail about the slaughtering but just touch on the basics. The cow seems to know what is about to happen because it isn’t very willing to go into the room. The farmers have to drag it in. They use an axe and very sharp knives to harvest the meat. The axe is used to kill the cow and the knives are used to skin and gather the meat. Just about everything the cow has to offer can be used. For example, they use the skin to make drums and both the meat and organs are eaten. I am almost positive they we had cow intestine for dinner last night. We don’t ask, we just eat, but I am almost positive that it was.

The slaughtering took place on Wednesday and that night we all welcomed the archbishop to the monastery with a nice dinner. As the archbishop was cutting the cake for dessert a big chant began. Zack and I were confused, but we went along with it. There is a famous rapper called Eminem who sings a song called “Lose Yourself” which was popular back in middle school. For some reason Zack and I thought the song went well with the chant and so we began rapping it to ourselves. It was absolutely hilarious. It was one of those moments where you had to be there for it so you probably don’t care. However, it made for a good time.

The ordination took place on Thursday and, as expected, was a very big deal. We even had to dress up. We donned our button-up shirts and jeans and even wore socks and shoes for the day. I think that was my first time putting socks on while being here. Sandals are amazing!

There were hundreds of people who turned out for the celebration. The mass and ordaining of the priest happened in the morning and took place outside the church because it was unable to fit everyone. The archbishop performed the ceremony and afterwards everyone lined the walls of the monastery waiting to get food. While we all ate there was a children choir that sang and other skits performed in Bemba. Br. Romanos performed two songs and one was the song “Fireflies” by Owl City. Owl City happens to be based out of Owatonna, Minnesota. He really wanted me to sing along with him so I decided to join him which was a lot of fun.

As the night went on we all ate and celebrated with music and dancing. The community piled into the refectory and danced until about midnight. The monastery went all out for this celebration because there was great food, pop, beer, and we even had dessert. It is rare to find dessert around here so that was nice to have. I have some pictures from the ordination that I plan to post to Facebook sometime in the next few weeks.

As for other things…

We are in the process of booking a hostel for our visit to Victoria Falls. It should be all set by the end of today. We will be leaving on Saturday, August 29^th.

Chiara, Francesca, Zack, and I all went to Isassi Falls again. Sundays are a nice day to do as you please because it is a day of relaxation. The four of us made the trek over to Isassi Falls (5km there and 5km back). This time we brought our swimming suits so we went into the falls and swam in the water. It was a lot of fun.

I hope to have the third book of the series “A Game of Thrones” finished before our trip to Victoria Falls so I am able to start the fourth one. It is nice to have time to read. In college you read things your professors assign, but now we are able to read things we enjoy which makes a huge difference.

We woke early this morning to see the sunrise. It was amazing. It is fun to sit back and enjoy these kinds of things. Sometimes it’s the small things in life.

I am still working in the clinic with Francesca and Chiara and plan to work there throughout the next four months while in Zambia. It has been nice to work there during August because it keeps me busy. Both Zack and I are very excited to begin teaching in September as well. Zack can’t wait because there isn’t much to do when you don’t have any work. It’s good to stay busy while in Africa. If you wanted to you could sit around all day every day, but that’s dangerous. Lying around all day can drive a man crazy in Africa. So a solid and long-lasting job will be welcomed!

Well, today marks one month being away from home. In all honesty, it has gone fairly quick. I believe once September rolls around things will pick up even more speed. All in all things have been going well. Thanks for the continued prayers!

 I better get to the clinic and then midday prayer. Thanks for reading!

Four Weeks Deep

Four weeks in to my new life here. Wow! It is interesting to be getting to the end of August and not having to prepare to go back to college. As a Resident Assistant at Saint John’s University I always had to go back two weeks early. I believe yesterday was the day the new RA’s arrived. It is easy to miss college; yet the joys of experiencing something new are always nice. I try to focus on making my present situation just as great as my past ones (and college was pretty dang great!)

Now that the ordination is tomorrow the monastery is buzzing with people. It is actually quite strange because the monastery is usually fairly quiet, but the change of pace is good for the monks here. You can find nuns knitting and sewing, monks preparing the food, and decorations being put up. The archbishop will be here soon, three Abbots have arrived (one from Hanga which is where I will be in January), and many monks from other monasteries.

The internet has been pretty terrible lately so my lesson planning has been put on hold until it gets better (hopefully it does). However, it gives me time to learn more about the dispensary and help Chiara and Francesca give medical aid to the villagers. Chiara and Francesca will be joining Zack and I on our trip to Victoria Falls, but leaving to head back to Italy afterwards. Therefore, I have told Violet, the dispensary worker, that I would help her each Saturday. I will be teaching during the week, working in the clinic on Saturdays, and then taking some time for myself on Sundays. Thinking about being alone in the dispensary and not having Chiara and Francesca to get advice from is a little frightening, but I will manage. I have been writing down everything so I can refer back to it in order to help as many patients as I possibly can when working on Saturdays throughout the next months.

In our free time, Zack and I have begun to play the monks in volleyball. We are trying to have a game three times a week, but it sometimes doesn’t work out. However, the Americans did bring home the victory in our last match! When school starts back up I think I will join the kids in playing soccer (football). It will be a fun way to bond with the kids I am teaching and I probably could improve my soccer skills some. It’s been awhile since I have played.

When we aren’t feeling too energetic Zack and I watch a show on his computer. The one we have been watching lately is called “Band of Brothers” and man is it good! If you enjoy learning about WW2 or action packed shows then I would recommend this one. It is one of the best shows I have seen. It follows the men of Easy Company through their experiences and time in the war.

Since September is approaching we have increased our tutoring in order to get a good understanding of what some kids around the village know. We have tutored a 21 and a 29 year old, both are not in school anymore, and are still working towards their certifications (what we would call a diploma). I, of course, am not telling you this to make fun of the people here but rather to inform you that the education level is not very high. It makes me sad to see. Through talking to people we have found out that only 4 people have degrees -the Headmaster, and three teachers.

Furthermore, when reviewing problems with students we find errors in the questions that are being asked in their workbooks (if they are lucky enough to have a workbook). For example, I once was working on a question with a student that was asking about the pupil of the eye. We were discussing sense organs. The question went something like “The pupil’s pupil is dilating. What causes the dilation of the pupil?” Who words a question like this? They barely know what the pupil of the eye is and the question uses two versions of the word. One version is referring to a student and the other to the eye.

I will make sure to write my questions in a way that allows the students to understand what I am asking.

As for news from the homeland (Saint John’s Abbey) my supervisor Br. Paul has emailed us about the possibility of Fr. Nick visiting in December. I think it would be nice to have him visit and think he will be. Fr. Nick volunteered in Hanga, Tanzania when he was a part of the BVC a few years back. He will arrive here a few days before Christmas, celebrate the holidays with us, and then help in our travels from Zambia to Tanzania. Things have yet to be set in stone but I think it will be soon.

Well, Saint John’s and Saint Ben’s students are getting prepared for another great school year and some are even preparing to study abroad. Exciting times! If you are one of them – Good luck and have fun!

I usually try to add some photos to make the blog a little more entertaining, but with the internet so slow lately it takes too long. I will try again with later posts. Thanks for reading!

Why Volunteer?

Why volunteer? Why would someone give up their nice, comfortable life in the United States to go live in the middle of Africa? Of course the simple answer would be that Africa needs our help and that we must think globally rather than just locally (which is all very true), but I think the best answer is a story I once heard. I feel it makes for the perfect answer.

The story goes...There once was a boss who decided to take a year leave from his job. He wanted to go out and travel and enjoy his time before coming back to work. However, he wanted the office to stay clean while he was away so before he left he wrote down a few instructions for his employees and told the manager that they should know them by heart. The instructions went...

1. Sweep the floors
2. Take out the trash
3. Organize the files and paperwork
4. Dust around the office

...and so on and so forth. The employees told him they would take care of it all. So a year goes by and the man returns to his job. He walks in and finds that the office is a huge mess. He couldn't see the floors because of the amount of trash overflowing from the bins, the paperwork was unorganized and scattered, and there was dust covering all the tables and blinds. He quickly went to the manager and asked what had happened and why he hadn't followed his instructions. The manager replied "Sir, but we did," The boss was shocked and replied "Well, do you see the place. It's a mess," and the manager replied "Yes, but I have the rest of the employees in the office studying your instructions right now. Just like we have been for the past year."

Now, as you can tell, the boss obviously wanted them to follow/act out the instructions; not just simply learn them. I feel the same goes for us. God has given us the instructions and now we must follow them. For an example, let's look at the commandment "Love thy neighbor." Well, that seems simple enough. We all have read it and can understand what it means. Great! However, is that enough? Is that what God wants? Did the boss want his manager and employees to actually clean the office or to just learn how to do so. It is one thing to understand the instruction to love thy neighbor and it is a whole other thing to actually love thy neighbor.

I like this story because it does answer the question.

Why volunteer? Well, rather than just reading His instruction over and over I am acting on them.

I hope that helps explain my thought process a little better.

Anyways, back to what's going on here in Zambia...

This past week has been great and this next should be even better because the monastery is planning for an ordination. A deacon will be ordained a priest on Thursday the 20th. I never knew these things were such a big deal, but I guess they are because the monastery is planning to host around 300 people for the feast. The volunteers (Zack, myself and the two Italians) will be helping with catering. There will be monks from other monasteries, priests, and family members. Zack and I have been told to help slaughter a cow, pig, and around 200 chickens in order to feed everyone. That will be interesting. We are excited for the big party, though.

We have also asked Prior Inzota if Br. Gabriel can accompany us on our trip to Victoria Falls. He was totally fine with it and didn't seem to care at all. So, it looks like Br. Gabriel will be going with! I can't wait to see one of the seven natural wonders of the world.

Zack and I are getting excited to teach. It will be nice getting to work every day while helping educate the villagers on biology and physics. I have just the nervous system lessons to plan now!

As for some interesting things about life in Africa...

Everyone here seems amazed that I am from America. They see Zack with his blonde hair and instantly think he is American, but then they see my red hair and are confused. Ha it's actually funny. They think I am from Europe or something. They don't even know what to say when I ask where they think I am from.

I have been drinking plenty of tea while in Zambia. One thing they do that I have come to enjoy is putting milk in with the tea. It is very good. Maybe Americans do this as well, but I never did.

It's rare for us to get our hands on some beer but, being that we are two 22 year olds, we have managed to find some. The beer bottles here are reused. Once you drink them you bring them back to the shop. Kind of nasty but Zack and I make sure to wipe them down before drinking out of them. I am sure they are cleaned after each use, but you never can be to sure.

Well, that's it for now. We are slowly entering into the hot season so things are starting to warm up! It will be above 100 degrees on some days in October and November. It's better than -50 degree wind chills, though!

I am trying to post every Wednesday and Saturday, but it may come down to just one day a week. So bare with me as I try to figure out when to post. Thanks for reading!

Putting My Time To Good Use

I am one that enjoys being busy so sitting around and not putting my time to good use can be difficult. That is why I am so glad that I have found good work to do. With the next school semester starting on Monday, September 7th I have been starting to plan out my lessons. There will be 38 lessons in all. It's quite a lot (at least I think so) but I enjoy planning them because I learn and refresh my biology knowledge when doing so. I have planned my lessons on homeostasis and will be working on the health/disease and nervous system sections this next week. I tend to plan a few lessons each day in the morning hours.

Helping test for malaria.

After lunch, I head to the medical clinic with Chiara and Francesca to see members of the village. Even though we are no doctors we are able to help the villagers and give Violet, the women in charge of the clinic, a lot of helpful advice. We work at the clinic until dinner. After dinner we all get together and hangout.

I have also been learning a lot from helping out at the clinic. I have learned how to check blood pressure, the thorax, the pulse and the different sounds the heart makes, blood sugar, when to use antibiotics, and how to check a patient for malaria. I thoroughly enjoy learning medical techniques. On Monday I was able to test a small boy for malaria. He came in with symptoms that pointed to malaria, but after taking a sample of his blood and combining it with a malaria antigen I found out that it was not malaria. A major problem with working at a clinic in a village is that there isn't much we can do to help people. One of the ways they treat a snake bite is by placing a certain rock on the wound and having it draw out the venom (If that is confusing to you then you know how I feel. I am not quite sure how it works/if it works either). Furthermore, they do not have many kinds of medication or knowledge on how to administer or help the people. When someone comes in with a serious problem (broken bone, possible disease, etc.) we have to refer them to the hospital that is 45 km away and even that may not have what they need to get better. It is a super sad thing to witness and have to tell people.

A negative malaria test.

We do have antibiotics in storage (amoxicillin and penicillin as well as ibuprofen, cough syrup, and anti-malaria drugs) but some of our patients have viruses rather than infections do to bacteria. Therefore, the medications do nothing. This is a major problem that we are trying to fix right now. The women who runs the clinic gives out antibiotics like they are candy. This has many drawbacks. Three of them are:

1. Antibiotics are supposed to only be used for infections that are caused by bacteria. A virus will not be affected by antibiotics.

2. If used too frequently, the bacteria can build up resistance to the drugs and render them useless when they are really needed.

3. They need to be prescribed for at least a week to be effective. Many times the clinic manager only prescribes them for three days.

Teaching when to use certain medications, the symptoms of certain illnesses, as well as some medical techniques (checking the heart beat with a stethoscope, checking blood pressure, etc.) are some things the women and I focus on doing. Of course, the best part is when we are able to help a patient, but the other stuff is great as well because we know each day the clinic is getting a little better.

On August 10^th there was a meteor shower that we went and watched. The Italians told me that it is a tradition in Italy to watch for shooting stars on the 10^th of August. It was a beautiful night and because we hiked up the hill behind the monastery we were able to see the stars and Milky Way very well. We spent some time looking for the North Star before realizing our stupidity. Being that we are in the southern hemisphere we do not see the same part of the sky that we would in Minnesota. Nonetheless, it was nice to take time to admire something we all take for granted far too often.

As for some other things...

The book in the clinic.

I have figured out that pandora, spotify, and sometimes even youtube do not work in Zambia. It is becoming a struggle to listen to music, but thank God I had the brains to put music on my itunes before going abroad.

Zack and I seem to be getting use to the three simple meals a day. We find ourselves getting fairly hungry right before meal, but it isn't anything too terrible. I am sure we are starting to lose weight, though. Zack brought a pair of pants that he said were tight fitting before coming to Africa and when he put them on yesterday they seemed to be a bit loose. I am beginning to take a multivitamin to counter the lack of nutrition. 

The monks enjoy asking for help with computers. They do not have many and the one's they do have are fairly old, but I try my best to help anyways. Sometimes I am able to fix the issue and other times it is just too difficult.

Miraculously, my skin has not burnt yet. I am sure you all were wondering what an extremely white redheaded kid was doing in a country directly below the equator, but I have been good so far (knock on wood). Wearing a hat with a neck flap, sunglasses, sometimes a bandanna, and sunscreen definitely help when in Africa.

When studying abroad in South Africa I became familiar with Africa time. I can safely say it is in Zambia as well. For example, dinner is set to be at 6:45pm, however some nights it is as early as 6:15pm and as late at 7:00pm. The timing of things fluctuates regularly.

As for sleep, I receive plenty. I have never been so rested in all my life. I actually find myself waking around 5:45am fully rested. I usually read until it is time for breakfast. The two things that affect my sleep here are the cold nights and the loud dogs that love to bark. The weather here seems to mimic the desert a little. In the desert, there are cold nights and very hot days. The sun makes all the difference. I am sure it will be hot all around when summertime comes, but for now the nights actually can get fairly chilly and the days very warm. Good thing Zack and I took the blanket they gave us on the plane. KLM is coming in clutch.

Many women in Zambia place their infants on their backs. You can see many women carrying their children every day. Secondly, breastfeeding is very common here. When speaking with a patient in the clinic she took her child off her back and began breastfeeding while I was talking with her. I do not find this rude or weird, just interesting. It is something I have not seen much of back in the states.

Zack, Chiara, Francesca and I were able to find ourselves some sugar cane to enjoy. Sugar cane looks like a big branch from a tree, but once you break it into small chunks it becomes a nice snack. It takes just like candy, obviously, and you just suck on it to draw out the juices/sugar. Then you spit out the rest. It is very good.

Well, that's all for now. We are still trying to plan our trip to Victoria Falls. Prior Inzota has been away from the monastery for about a week. He is at a meeting in Tanzania. We want to ask him if it would be alright if a monk were to accompany us on our trip. So once that is all cleared we should be able to set some dates. I am thinking it will be the first week in September. It will be right before school starts up and will give me ample time to complete my lesson planning for the semester.

All is well here in Zambia. I hope the same is for you back home. Thanks for reading!

Cool picture of Br. Paul teaching kids.

Isassi Falls and New Friends

Time is starting to move a bit faster now that I have been here two weeks. Zack and I are slowly getting better with everyone’s name around the monastery. It’s funny because there are three priests here and two of them are Fr. Francis so the same names help. Furthermore, all the monks know us by now so when we pass by the greetings consist of more high fives, shouts of “HEY, Joseph!,” and others.

Br. Gabriel 

On Thursday the two Italian women who will be helping out in the medical dispensary for the next month finally arrived. Their names are Chiara and Francesca. It is nice to have other volunteers around so we can talk and bounce ideas off of them. They are from Milan, Italy and speak both English and Italian. It’s also quite nice to be able to communicate with someone who speaks fairly good English. That’s tough to come by around here.

They are both volunteering through the Students Without Borders program. They say it is similar to the Doctors Without Borders program. That would make sense because they are both medical school students as well. So I hope to help them out and learn a little bit about how to take blood pressure and whatnot while they are around.

It is fun talking with them because we are able to learn so much about their culture and way of life. It helps to correct stereotypes and miscommunicated ideas that movies and the news usually convey. For example, they thought everyone in America walked around with a gun in their hand or purse. Of course there are the few that actually do, but I was able to kill this insane stereotype about American culture by stating that most people don’t have weapons on them and that we are able to walk into a supermarket without seeing guns.

They had heard of the Charleston church massacre and our national debates about universal healthcare, however. We were able to explain the healthcare issue and relate it to how most things revolve around the issue of money (like college tuition and others). Something I learned about that I thought may not be a big deal anymore is the mafia. The Italian mafia is apparently alive and well.

Like most governments, there is corruption due to the wealthy handling most of the power (Funny how that happens in America too. Donald Trump may not have any wits, but something he does have is money… unfortunately. No wonder he is leading the GOP polls right now.) Considering the head members of the mafia are wealthy they are able to hold power in the government. Another example of their power is when some mafia members will stand outside so when you park your car you must pay them a fee. If you don’t pay them they tell you something just might happen to your car. Hmmm…I wonder what that means. So, as you can see, the mafia is still at play in the world.

Anyways…

The Issasi Falls Crew

On Friday, the two women joined Zack, Br. Gabriel and me on an excursion to Isassi Falls. The falls are about 5 kilometers away from the monastery and the path winds through small villages, hills, and the Zambian countryside. Along the way, a man by the name of Benjamin escorted us to our destination. He was a very nice villager that wanted to come with us and we are glad he did because his company was fun to have.

It was a perfect day to see the falls because it was around 80 degrees (26 degrees Celsius) and sunny. It is currently dry season so the water levels were low compared to what they usually are, but very fun to see nonetheless. I wonder how they would look after rainy season! The bugs were out and about when we were by the falls. If we haven’t been bit by a mosquito yet I am sure we have by now. Let the anti-malaria drugs commence.

We were able to wade into the water while enjoying some Malti at the same time. Malti is a soft drink Br. Gabriel brought with us that is a mixture of malt and sugar (I think). It was actually very good. The Zambian diet does not consist of much sugar so the soft drink was a sweet sensation for my taste buds.

Issasi Falls

On our hike back to the monastery Br. Gabriel helped teach us some more Bemba. I enjoy learning Bemba even though it is a slow process for me. I now know how to say “My name is Joseph” (Ishna Enandi Neya Joseph) and “Good Afternoon” (Mwawombenye). The spellings of the Bemba words are most likely very wrong; yet it helps me to spell them in my own way so I can learn them quicker. The Italians are working hard to learn some Bemba too. I think this makes the process even more fun when others are trying to learn it as well. We spend a lot of time repeating words we just learned. When Zack and I return from any outing we always look at our feet and think they have become really tan. Then we rinse them and notice that it was just the dust and dirt! It is easy to get dirty just by walking around the village.

I have been keeping up with midday prayer and am finding it enjoyable. You may wonder what prayer consists of so let me break it down for you. Benedictine monks pray the psalms three times a day. They pray once in the morning, at midday, and in the evening. There are three kinds of psalms: Orientation, Disorientation, and Reorientation.

Orientation is your typical thankful prayer. These are the prayers you most likely say a lot. Disorientation is a prayer that expresses anger and sadness. Just as you sometimes are thankful, you are also sad and angry. The disorientation prayers help monks express their feelings and let anger out. The third kind, reorientation, are the prayers that you say when you are finding God again and coming back out of disorientation. Once the emotions and feelings have gone, reorientation is away to come back to orientation and be thankful for what you have.

So that’s a quick summary of Benedictine monastic prayer.

As for some other things - I have completed the book called “The Screwtape Letters.” The book is a bit confusing; however I enjoyed its message. It is written by C.S. Lewis whom is a very good author. The book revolves around a spirit from Hell named Screwtape who is writing letters to his nephew Wormwood. Wormwood is a tempter from Hell sent to tempt and pull a human from God and the Christian way of life. (So far you probably think this is a super weird book, huh. Stick with me, though.) Screwtape is the one advising Wormwood on how to do so. I won’t ruin the book for anyone who wants to read it, but the story is one about overcoming temptation while conveying a few helpful examples and messages along the way; ones that everyone can relate to. If you are a Christian I would recommend this book and if you are not a Christian…I would recommend this book.

So you may be wondering about the animals here in Zambia. There are quite a few, obviously, but considering the monastery and village people take up most of Katibunga I feel as if the animals keep to themselves. In South Africa there are monkeys everywhere. I have also seen monkeys here, but it’s rarer. Still, somethings that are very common around Katibunga are houseflies. They aren’t too bad, but you can definitely find plenty in the refectory around lunch and dinner time. I have become use to seeing and dealing with them, though.

Well, it’s about time to get on with my day. Thanks for reading!

The Motions of Life in Africa

You know the feeling you get when you enter your house. That 'at-ease' feeling. Well, Zambia and the room I have in the monastery here is now becoming very comfortable. Of course, nothing replaces the one in Minnesota, but it's a nice feeling to have nonetheless. The monastic grounds, the people, the school, the dogs that bark late at night, and the weather here are all apart of my home now. It's a neat thing to experience.

An exercise on sense organs
for biology. I use this to help
tutor.

Overall, things are progressing nicely for Zack and I. We put a lot of time into tutoring a student named Isaac in physics and biology. He is a 21 year old who is taking exams to try and get into college. He has them this week so hopefully he has learned enough from us. The material is fun to teach and the stuff I am not very good at, like physics, is slowly becoming much better. That's the beauty of teaching. It's one of the best ways to study. 

So, when Zack teaches physics I am able to pick up on things I didn't back in high school. Of course, I am capable of doing math, using and manipulating formulas, and finding the answer, but it's what you use each formula for that is good for me to review. For Zack, he is learning a lot of biology from my teachings. It's fun to discuss the endocrine system, anatomy of the body, blood flow, the brain, sense organs and other facts and topics. It is so much fun to teach and learn because we (Zack and I) aren't pressured with tests and exams now. It makes the learning so much more relaxed and enjoyable. 

There's so many chicks in Zambia.

Not only has tutoring Isaac been helpful for him, but it's a good warm up for us as well. It helps with understanding the pace that we will have to teach at in one month. It will be a slow teaching process, but worth it. Our plan now is to help out one another in class. He will teach the physics and both of us will assist the students in doing the problems. Then, for my class, I will teach biology and both of us will help the students. Also, it will be nice to have each other in the class because I know some kids will be troublesome and need to be reminded to pay attention.

For the next month I am going to assist in the farming of the fields and harvesting of vegetables. We are also trying to plan our trip to Victoria Falls. Today, two Italian women will be coming and helping out in the clinic for a month. We may invite them to come along.

When we were reminded that they were coming we thought it may be wise to actually clean up for once. After two weeks, a stench kind of builds up. Therefore, the beards are trimmed, showers have been taken, and our hair has been combed. Hey, we are two 22 year old dudes after all. Give us a break. :) The monks find it pretty funny too. 

In my free time I have been reading and going for long walks. It's wonderful to take long walks and meet others. Also, it's very good for mental and physical health. In fact, Gandhi and Einstein are known for taking very long walks.

My contraption for the net.

I have just started the third book of the Game of Throne series. If you are into fantasy, political strategy, knights and kings, and fairly long books then I would recommend them. Yes, nerdy, I know. However, we all have things we like and, let's be honest, there are worse things to be into. Plus, it is a good way to spend free time. 

In addition to reading, Zack brought some TV shows and movies along on his computer. It is nice to watch when heading to bed. We are in the middle of the show 'True Detective'. It's super good. However, sometimes the power goes out (yes, even with their own electricity source the power still fails a few times a day) while watching it and so we just call it a day and head to bed.

In other news, the mosquito nets aren't too bad, but they sometimes hang low so it's hard to sit up in bed. However, thankfully, my mom sent me with a
sewing kit. I took the needle and thread a piece of string through the net and tied it around the bedpost and finished by taping the crap out of it. I was fairly proud of my ingenuity ha. But, for real, it is very nice to have the net up farther.  I probably will have to take it down when I leave, but I'll worry about that later on down the road.

This morning my clothes were washed by hand. There are two ladies that are hired to clean clothes. I don't like having them wash my clothes because I feel bad, but this is Africa and that's just how some things are. I hope to wash my clothes later on. I better start looking for a bucket.

Well, the bell for midday prayer is sounding and I better be off. I enjoy going to midday prayer because it breaks up the day nicely and it sort of bonds me with the monastic community. It's sort of like "hey, I want to show some respect to you and also learn about your way of life so I'll participate too." I believe they enjoy having me join in on prayer. 

Thanks for reading!

One Week in Zambia

The first full week in Zambia has been great. Zack and I arrived late last Saturday after our long journey from the United States. Ever since then we have been getting acquainted with the monastery, village, and people of Katibunga.

Every day we wake around 6:45am to make it to 7:30am breakfast. We don’t really need time to get ready considering hygiene isn’t a main concern in the middle of Africa, but it’s nice to get up and read and discuss our crazy dreams (the malaria medication we take has a side-effect of giving you vivid dreams and it’s not lying) prior to eating and starting our day. Also, when you go to bed around 8:00pm every night you are ready to get up by 6:45am. By the time we wake the monks are already at Morning Prayer considering it begins at 5:30am.

From breakfast, Zack and I are able to do as we like which, for the past week, has been exploring the local surroundings. We have found that it is good to take strolls through the streets so we are seen and become familiar faces. The first couple of days were tough because most people weren’t aware of who we were or why we were there, however now that we have picked up on the basic Bemba greetings (Mshani – How are you, and Mwashebukenye – Good morning) and have been out and about quite a bit we are receiving a warmer welcome. Most kids wave and smile big smiles when we pass by which is wonderful to see. I also believe that speaking Bemba helps because it shows that we respect their culture and way of life.

Now that we have mastered the most basic words such as: How are you, good morning, thank you, you’re welcome, and bye we are eager to use them. When we wake we think of it as our “go-time” because we know that we can rattle off some Bemba words and impress the locals (even though they probably aren’t too impressed we still think were special ha). So once noon rolls around we resort to a lot of Mshani because Mwashebukenye won’t do anymore.

The refectory

From noon, we meet the brothers for midday prayer at 12:40pm and then walk to the refectory for lunch at 13:00 (1:00pm). At each meal a few brothers wait on the others by serving the main dish, making sure everyone has what they need, and by taking the empty plates away to be cleaned. The dishes are all cleaned by hand and then reset for the next meal.

After lunch, Zack and I find some time to read and exercise. We usually make our way up the hill that sits behind the monastery with our books. We enjoy the hike up and we are able to read in peace up on top. There is a cross that sits atop the hill which is beautiful and creates a nice place to think and read. I brought a number of books with me to Africa and I will be finishing the first today. It is called “A Clash of Kings” which is the second book in the Game of Thrones series. I had read the first and always wanted to read the rest. This year will give me the time to do so.

In addition to reading and exercising, Zack and I have met a few people who work at the secondary school. No one is telling us what needs to be done or what needs help so it is up to us to find out where help is needed most. It has come to our knowledge that the school is where they need the most help. There are hundreds of kids here and only a few teachers. Therefore, we spoke with the head master and the only two science teachers in Katibunga and found that they would like us to teach biology and physics. I will be teaching 11^th grade biology starting in September and going into December while Zack will be teaching 10^th grade physics. The month of August is a break month that allows the children to stay at home and help their family’s work and harvest food from the farms.

 

Now, if you know me, you are probably thinking “Why in the heck is Joseph teaching biology?” You’re right, I did not get a biology degree, but in central Africa these things do not necessarily matter as much as they do in the United States. They told me they would like me to teach the nervous system, health and disease, and homeostasis. All three of these topics I am well informed on due to my psychology degree and common knowledge. Also, there are only three main topics to be covered because it takes much longer to teach and learn material here. I will have to speak in very slow basic English for the students to understand. That is why I will only be covering three topics in three months.

Zack and I are excited to have found a job and to get to work. In the meantime (August) Zack and I plan to help with the medical clinic and tutor students so they are ready to go when September rolls around. We also hope to visit Victoria Falls with the free time we have in August because we here it is a must-see in Zambia. We are obviously not sure what kind of work we will be doing in Tanzania, but we plan to switch things up when we get there.

As the day progresses, dinner comes into the picture around 18:45 (6:45pm). The monks come from evening prayer and meet us for dinner. Dinner is a fun time because we are able to speak about our days and laugh at the things we come across. The monks are great conversationalists and are fun to talk with.

After dinner the time is usually 19:45 (7:45pm) and the sun has gone down. The village is quiet and the monks pack off to their rooms and head to bed. Zack and I retreat to our room and prepare our mosquito nets for the night and either read or watch a show on his computer to help us fall asleep. We are getting plenty of sleep because now that we have become use to their way of life here it is normal for us to be sound asleep by 20:45-21:00 (8:45-9:00pm).

So that’s the typical day thus far, but once school starts up our free time will be filled with class time.

 

A quick note on some other matters:

Hygiene: So hygiene isn’t a major concern here in Zambia. Of course we (at least Zack and I) wash our hands and what not, but I am speaking more about showers and bathing. Most people don’t have access to running water and the one’s that do (the monks) don’t wash every day. In fact, you get so dusty and messy every day it’s almost pointless. So, therefore, Zack and I have also resorted to showering twice a week. I shower on Sunday and rinse off on Thursday. Yeah…yeah…gross. Okay, but in our defense, us Americans actually clean way too often. In fact, it’s very healthy for you to allow the natural oils in your hair to remain. Shampoo washes them out. Also, we save the water the monastery has for when we truly need it so cleaning once or twice a week fits with the lifestyle here. Additionally, there are no water heaters in Katibunga so they use the sun to heat the water. However, the best time to shower is at night so it’s usually cold water. It’s one quick rinse. Turn the shower off so Joseph doesn’t get hypothermia. Lather. And then another quick rinse.

Safari: A visiting monk from Germany stayed here for two days and while he was here he wanted to go to a game park. Father Richard was his name and he was a very nice man. We quickly befriended him and so he invited us to go with. There is a game park about 35 kilometers away from Katibunga so that is where we went. The brush was thick so it was difficult to see many animals from where we were so I would say the safaris in South Africa were much more fun, but it was a great time nonetheless. We saw zebra, elephants, impala, and antelope. Father Richard left yesterday for another monastery, but before leaving he invited Zack and I to visit his monastery in Germany sometime. So, who knows, we might be stopping in Germany on the way home next year.

Tutoring: Zack and I helped a student named Isaac with his biology homework the other day. It involved topics like ball-in-socket joints, hinge joints, reproduction, meiosis, genetics, and DNA. It was fun and you could tell he was very happy to have us help him. Considering we are teachers now, we will be called Mr. Zack and Mr. Joseph. We don’t really care if they use Mr., but that’s what the other teachers want us to be called. A lot of people call me Usefu (pronounced: oosefoo) because that is my name in Bemba. I like it.

The weather is perfect.

Bugs: Yes, there are bugs here, but because it is winter I think there are less of them. They do have massive spiders about the size of my palm and some the size of my hand, but we have become use to seeing them around. They tend to stay near the ceiling anyways. Also, Zack and I joke that the bugs are scared of our room because we inspect and exterminate every living thing that makes the unfortunate decision to enter. There are also snakes (cobras, black mambas, and just about every other kind), but they are more common in the summer time so we will be keeping our eyes peeled for them.

Church: There are two masses, one with the monks and one with the villagers and last Sunday Zack and I went to the one with the villagers. It was done in Bemba, but I was still able to follow along fairly well because, well, it’s mass and the Catholic Church only does mass one way. However, the homily was close to two hours long – no joke. I guess there isn’t too much going on, on Sundays and mass is supposed to be a celebration so I believe that is why Sunday mass is so long here. The most interesting and fascinating part of the service was the bringing up of the gifts. Each woman lined up with a pot of food or other offering on their head and paraded in. They then gave the offering over to the priest. It was very cool to see and definitely not like anything you’d see in America. At the end, Father Francis introduced us to the congregation. Most of them came up and shook our hands and welcomed us. That was nice to see.

Weather: For all the things Zambia lacks in it makes up with weather. It is literally perfect out every day. Sunny, blue skies and 78 degrees with a light breeze is the typical forecast here. Every time we step outside we sarcastically say “Hmmm…weird, it’s nice out!” J

Well, that’s all for now. I will try to post twice a week if I can. Thanks for reading!