arrival #2

Mike and I have arrived in Zambia.  After about six hours (for me - four for him) of sitting and waiting and walking around looking for Mike (me for him), we found each other in Heathrow in time to head out to our gate. An uneventful flight followed, and I got to sit next to a friendly Malaysian ex-pat living in Lusaka about her life and insights into Zambia and its cultures around sleeping about six hours to make up for my one to two hours of sleep the night before.

After arriving in Lusaka and changing money, we caught a taxi to the bus station in Lusaka to head to Choma.  The next available bus was air-conditioned and beautiful, and the road was also in good condition.  After a month in India, I was astounded to be in a taxi and a bus with no honking and maintenance of one's own lane on the road!  Mike and I met a friendly other makua (spelling? - white person) on the bus who turned out to be a Mennonite from Lancaster County living in Choma for about ten months with the SALT program through MCC. We'll see if we can manage to connect with Bryce again for a trip to Victoria Falls or a game of Dutch Blitz at some point if he visits the other SALTer in Macha.

Bryce helped Mike and I run errands in Choma and then connect with a van to Macha.  The van's readying for departure was a cultural experience in itself, and I decided I was going to learn a lot about patience and waiting while here.  First we waited in the van for something unknown.  Then we waited for the engine to turn on, which it did after lifting the front seats and pumping something in the engine.  Then we sat with the engine running for a while longer.  Then we pulled out and drove to the gas station, where we waited.  Then we drove to a local shop and the driver got out and did something unknown, and we waited.  Then we pulled back into the original spot, loaded three more adults plus a baby in, and finally departed.  The initial 45 minutes were paved and smooth, but the final hour and fifteen minutes on unpaved, pothole- and stones-ridden dirt roads, gave me renewed sympathy for my dad's experience going on the six-hour drive from Lusaka to Macha 23 years ago with a broken leg.

We are now settling into the very nice MIAM dorms.  I have a room to myself with three other unoccupied bunks, and Mike (as the only guy right now) does, too.  There are three other female students here, too, two of whom share a room and one on her own.  They've been very friendly as we settle into the details of life here (when to eat, where to eat, how to use the internet, when to show up tomorrow morning, etc.).  I'm excited and looking forward to some exciting stories in the near future whenever the internet is working.  :)