Week 4 - Photos

Week Three

Hello All,

I have been in Cape Town for 6 days. I have been able to have a good mix of rest (swimming, reading and sleeping) as well as catching up with friends. It has been great being able to get some rest in as the last few weeks have been hectic. The weather here has been absolutely amazing. A dry warm heat is a refreshing change from the humid, sticky heat I had in Tanzania and Lusaka.

My highlight of last week was my friend Caragh and I went for a picnic on top of Table Mountain. We arrived there around 7pm in the evening. The view was incredible. From two of the sides of the mountain you could see a layer of cloud below you. It was quite something. We then had dinner, watched the sun set into the sea and then saw all the night lights around Cape Town come on.

I am looking forward to the rest of the week as I am catching up with a few other friends I haven't seen yet, but I am also sad that my time in Africa is coming to a close. Towards the end of the week I will try and give another update with some more photos.

For those of you in Melbourne I arrive back home on Sunday and I look forward to catching up with you soon.

Take Care,
Lisa

Some more photos

Week Two

Wow....what a week it has been. I have loved being back in Lusaka Zambia after 7 years. So many things have changed. There are more cars on the road (I am told that Zambia now imports Japanese cars which are cheaper and more affordable), some roads have gotten better, and others have gotten worse, many new buildings have popped up, there is now a cinema and there are more muzungus around (muzungus = white foreigners – apparently many are white Zimbabwean’s that have settled in Zambia due to the problems in Zim). Other changes that have occurred are friends that have gotten married and had a few kids. This has made me feel really old.

All of my time here has been spent catching up with friends, and being Aunty Lisa to many kids. It has been great that after 7 years I have been able to catch up on where I left off. Some people I had lost contact with so I have been able to re-establish contact with them again.

It has been great eating the food that I have missed here. I also got to try something new yesterday, chicken gizzards. My friend laughed at me when I said I didn’t think I would like chicken gizzards and that I hadn’t eaten them before. For Zambian’s it is like saying I don’t like chocolate. My friend’s husband said that if I didn’t eat them I wouldn’t get any ice-cream for dessert, so I gave it a go. It wasn’t too bad, but I wouldn’t be craving it again anytime soon. It was worth eating them just to have the ice-cream though.
Tomorrow (Tuesday), I leave for Cape Town in South Africa. I am sad to leave Lusaka but every time I have left here I have felt that I will be back, and this time feels no different.

Week One

Well here is the long awaited update. Sorry it has taken so long.

My trip over here was a long one - 28 hours. I flew over with Emirates and I was very impressed with the airline. Not only did they have cameras at the front and bottom of the plane in which the views could be seen on our TV screens, but they also had fairy lights in the ceiling so at night time it looked like you were sleeping under the stars. I also couldn't believe the shoes that the air hostesses were wearing - flat sensible shoes. This made the podiatrist in me very happy :-)

My first day in Tanzania was not so good. I spent the night throwing up, but thankfully it passed fairly quickly. The next few days I still felt weak and drained and still a little nauseous but it was better than vomiting.

My time at the clinic was amazing. I found it really hard on the first day as I was still recovering from being sick. I was in a hot room with very little airflow and the smell that came from some of these ulcers wasn't very pleasant. The clinic is doing such an incredible job in the prevention and treatment of the complications of diabetes. I have come away from my time here being so grateful for all the resources I have available to me, but at the same time so inspired by these people that they can so so much with so very little.

This morning I was planning to have my first sleep in, but it wasn't meant to be. I was awoken at 6am this morning to drums and trumpets playing and people cheering and singing. There is apparently some political celebration going on, so no sleep in for me. But I guess this is no different to be woken up at 5:20am every other morning as there is a mosque opposite the hotel that likes to announce it's time to come for prayers.

It has been great to be back in Africa again, although I don't miss being the centre of attention. When I go for a walk down the street, most people yell out "Jambo Muzungo" (Hello foreigner), "Where are you from?" or "Marry me and take me back to America". I have been doing my best to learn Swahili. The hotel staff have all taken it upon themselves to be my Swahili tutors and they always end up in fits of giggles at me trying.

Early tomorrow morning I leave Tanzania to make my way to Lusaka in Zambia. I can't wait to get there. The last time I was there was over 7 years ago and I am looking forward to catching up with everyone. I am also wondering how much the country has changed since I was last there.

Anyway I had better get going. I hope you are all well.
Take care,
Lisa

Another delay in an update

Sorry I have not updated my blog. Life has been so very busy here. I finish at the clinic on Friday, so I will give an update on Saturday. Hope you can all hang in there.
Take Care.

I have arrived

I have finally arrived in Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania. It took over 28 hours to get here.

Last night was my first night here. I threw up during the night. I am feeling a lot better today and I managed to keep down some toast for breakfast.

Tanzania is very similar to Zambia so I am feeling right at home.

I will write a longer post very soon.

Hope you are all well.