According to my mom its high time I updated, so here goes.

Basically, life is crazy. Yesterday (Monday) was my afternoon off, and I didn’t spend any of it ‘off’ at my house—I had to many other things to do.

This weekend was my first weekend off, and I spent Saturday afternoon waiting to and then getting my toe nail pulled off. I’ve had an ongoing infection and ingrown nail problem for the past two years, so I’m really hoping that this will set it all right again. I’m keeping a dressing on the toe during the day as the dust is really bad (and really germy!) right now, but I’m letting the toe breath at night. I’ve been very fortunate to have little to no pain through the whole thing. It’s a good thing really as I have far to much to do to spend lots of time with my foot up!

School is in full swing now, and I’m managing to stay one stroke ahead of the sharks. Classes are going well for the most part—there is a book report due this Friday that apparently makes me the meanest teacher ever—who on earth would be so cruel as to require them to read a book and write a report in two weeks? Shocking! Just wait till the next one... My students are delving into ancient Egypt, the mysteries of dividing with and by decimals are being plumbed, they have learned about Kennings, and auditions have been mostly held for the end of term program. We discussed the flute last week in music—this week its the clarinet (also known as the ‘squeakaphone’ by non-clarinet players). My class is doing a literature unit called “Friendship Road” this term, and most of the time the kids are in small groups reading novels, but once or twice a week we gather as a class to read the book “Simon” by Rosemary Sutcliff. I wasn’t sure how the kids would respond to it, but they are getting really hooked. They beg to read that instead of their books. I think some of it may be they don’t like reading aloud in their group and some of it may be they like hearing me read (that is of course the less probable/more flattering for me conclusion!), but I’m tickled that they are so into it. Its one of my all time favorite books, and I’m hoping to lure them into reading other Rosemary Sutcliff books through it.

In big news on the station, our library is put back together again! As we repaired it, we have been brainstorming about some improvements to make to it while we’re at it. The biggest change so far is we added a bulletin board by the door so we can post book reports, book lists, photocopies of book covers as recommendations, and have a “if you enjoyed this, you’ll probably enjoy this” section. I’ve been trying to come up with as many ideas as possible to hook my class on reading—the 7th and 8th grade girls go around with their noses in books all the time, but my kids would much rather play football (soccer) or do other things than read. Book reports are part of my grand strategy to make book worms of them all. We shall see! That’s also why I read at least a book aloud to my kids each term. There is something magic about listening to someone else read that I will never grow out of. That reminds me, I think we have a book worm cut out in the paper store. I’ll have to go look for that...

Well, I have math books that aren’t marking themselves no matter how hard I squint, so I had better end this off. I’m enjoying the cool evening—next month I want to have a few fires in my little fire place. The only downside that I have found for dry season so far is all the dust. However, its a small price to pay for the lovely weather!

Whew—its been a crazy few days! Staff meetings, getting my room ready, tying up loose ends, cleaning my house, and a grand shindig before school kicks off on Wednesday. The children start arriving today (Tuesday), so there are flurries of last minute preparations as we see to all those little things that keep a boarding school of 60 children running smoothly.

Last week I took a quick trip to Solwezi with Beth and her friend Crystal. The highlights of the trip were learning some new card games, staying in a fun hotel, and getting to visit Shop Rite (like a small, basic Wal-Mart). We flew back to the school (about an hours flight) and then had a few more days with Crystal before she left on Sunday. Saturday was the day of the get together at the Fergusons and the day Beth, Crystal and I went on a game drive through Nchila Game Park. We saw some Zebra, Puku, Wildabeast and lots of Sable. It was so much fun to see the beautiful animal, enjoy the setting sun and the wild beauty of this area. Nothing like being home in Africa!

I’m trying a new arrangement in my room that I think will work out well. It makes the room feel more open and it gives the kids a bit more room. I’m starting to get excited about getting back in the trenches once again! As much fun as vacation is, I missed ‘work.’

You can tell the drunk drivers in Zambia because

...they drive strait.

I've been kind of silent because Beth's friend Crystal is visiting us from Canada, and I've been sick for the last week. I think I'm starting to see the downhill slope and being totally recovered, but I opted out of the bike adventure today so as not to push it too far.

On Wednesday I drove us over to Kalenge, and let me tell you, it was a white knuckle experience! The road right below Ikelnge is the worst part, and I was worried about a) getting stuck, b) tearing the bottom of the truck out or c) tipping the truck over. Going downhill isn't that bad--you just keep it in low gear, ride the brake, and let the truck carefully go down straddling the deep channels and not going into the bush on either side. I felt like a drunk driver because I was weaving all over the road, but there was no other way down. Going up hills is scary because you can't see the gaping holes as well from that angle, so you have to make lightning decisions about which is the best way to go.

I must admite I was praying pretty hard and had a death grip on the steering wheel. It is so easy to hit a bump, get a little air time and loose your wheels. We arrived safely at Kalenge after about an hours drive, and then we had a picnic lunch before visiting Alice T. briefly to find out how to get a hold of a tailor we had heard about. After dropping off some cloth to be made into bags for Beth and Crystal, we headed to the Kalenge market. They get most of their stuff from Congo, so we were hoping to find a better chetengi selection. There weren't that many shops open, but we were able to find plenty of chetengi for our various purposes, and then we went ahead and turned home as we didn't want to be trying to get back in the dark or in low light. I was more worried about getting back as there were more uphills to deal with, but once again the Lord's hand was with us and we made it back safely and in one piece.

Yesterday we stayed around the station except when we got a call from the Ronalds that there was mail, could we go pick it up. Of course! So we piled in the truck again, and bumped our way into Ikelenge. I had four packages and several letters, Beth had two packages and some letters, and there was a whole bunch of stuff for the missionaries in the Congo that we recieve mail for. Good thing too since they came down yesterday to pick up their mail and go shopping!

Today two more of our staff memebers are arriving back, so we're going to have a big dinner down at Margie's. I'm excited to see them back, but that means the school term is about to kick off again! I feel more ready than last term about some things, but others I still feel like there is so much to do. I guess I should go look in my classroom today--it was supposed to be cleaned and the floor waxed. Its been such a good break, but I'm kind of looking forward to getting some structur back!

Owie!

Well, I had one of those “Welcome to Africa” moments last night. I had been watching a Gaither Vocal Band DVD with the Ronald’s in the main sitting room. I was knitting until I got such a big tangle that I decided I couldn’t deal with it in the low light. When the video was over and I was picking up my backpack when there was a sudden sharp pain on my left thumb. I was wondering what bug could have got me (I was thinking, “There was a wasp in here?”) or if perhaps it might be something bigger, so I looked down. Sure enough, there was a scorpion about the size of the one I killed in my house a few weeks ago. Mrs. Ronald put some ice on it and gave me some suggestions of things to take that would help with the pain. If you’ve ever wondered how it feels to be stung by a scorpion, let me tell you, DON’T DO IT. I don’t think I got its whole load, or because it was smaller it didn’t have as much venom, but to quote Beth, OWIE! I would have to say that in the scale of bits I’ve gotten, its worse than a wasp sting, but not as bad as a fuzzy caterpillar! Luckily when I came home there was still some ice in my defrosting fridge, so I was able to put that on until the ibuprofen kicked in.

Speaking of the fridge—URGH! Because the power goes out frequently out here, most of the fridges have serious ice problems. Ours was getting to the point where we had only about half of the top shelf for our use because of the ice. Well, yesterday I took all the had-to-be-refrigerateables down to another house, unplugged the fridge, and waited. I unplugged it at about 1:30, and when I got home with my scorpion sting at 9:30ish, there was still quite a bit of ice in the fridge. I chipped it out, and left the fridge to air out overnight. I wanted to get it up and running again before Beth arrived back home with her friend Crystal.

Today I’ve been cleaning house, doing laundry, and trying to be ready for Beth and Crystal’s arrival. My thumb feels much better today—its rather tingly and if I bump it it hurts, but not its not near as bad as it was last night. The moral of the story? Stay away from scorpions! I’m hoping the fridge will be cold enough to put stuff back in it soon. Thinking of which, I need to go get some more milk. In this tea drinking household, it disappears quite quickly!

Pictures!

First--proof that I was within 30 or so feet of President Banda-



Furthermore, pictoral evidence that Pete F. DOES own something other than khakis. To bad you can't see the long pants...



A very cute baby who was in front of me-



Just one of the many heavily laden trees arround me--one got knocked totally down there were so many people in/on it!



Here are some pictures from last weekend at Kalenge
First, the new Orchard Garden Get-a-Way



Just for you Daddy--one of the beautiful doors on the units. Sorry, Photobucked turned it on its side...



A CHLORINATED POOL. Will wonders never cease... Apparently it has a heater too!



A few random pictures from other times. First, in case any of you wondered, here is what P.O. Box 20, Ikelenge looks like.



And lastly, here is my class hard at work on one of the last days of school this term. I just noticed that one of the 5th graders has her hand up. This is a very true to life pictures of my class!

With a rattledy bang like a thousand tin cans...

So started a book about an old school bus that I remember from my childhood, and so we went down the road today into Ikelenge to see the President. We took 32 folding chairs in with us for the President's entourage, and they made talking (and almost thinking!) impossible. We dropped off the chairs, found a spot in the shade, and started to wait. Origionally President Banda was supposed to arrive at 11, so we got there about 10:20ish. Well, as 11 rolled by, and then 12, we treked back the the car to get off our feet and rest a bit. About 1:00 the first helicopter flew over with a load of important people, and then maybe 1:30ish another helicopter flew in. Beth and I stood in the huge crowd in the sweltering heat and considered if this was realy worth it. Finally at about 2:30, President Banda made his apprerance. He spoke in English which was then loosly translated into Lunda. The main points of his rather long speach were
a) The roads would need to be fixed because this is an international road (into Angola) and
b) because Ikelenge has now been officially named a boma (which basically means it will get more government money, a bigger police staion, military presence, better healthcare, and 'many of the things you are asking for will come as a matter of course.')
c) He (President Banda) values the people of NWP, and says that there is great wealth under our feet. We are the new copper belt! (????)
d) He is very sensitive to the fact that becames of the votes of NWP, he gained office.

In other words, a lot of cheap talk which may or may not have results. The biggest thing is getting the road fixed. Apparently, there is also talk of a railway between Angola and Zambia going down into the Copper Belt as well as a pineapple factory in Ikelenge. The next few decades should be very interesting!

We finally arrived home about 3:30--about 5 hours of our lives were spent on the president. I'm glad I got to finally see him, but waiting in the crowd was not a lot of fun. I was amazed at how little security there was, and how close the people could get. Only in Africa... The President's lack of punctuality is also an "only in Africa" thing. It kind of explains a lot about what goes on (or lack thereof) here!

Well, I think I'm going to go and finish up the skirt I'm making as well as wipping up some matching head scarves. Oh, speaking of chetengi, I saw more President Banta ones than I've ever seen before! They must have come over yesterday with the helicopter load of people who 'secured' the area. I was also surprised to see quite a few Obama shirts and even an Obama chetengi. Interesting...

Driving is an adventure over here...

Yesterday I went into Ikelenge to check the mail (there was some!), buy a chetengi for a skirt I want to make, and then headed over to a a ladies bible study. They cut the grass on the side of the road which makes it harder to see the edges, but I managed to jounce through the holes and arrive in one piece. You can't take you eyes off the road for a second! 'This kind of driving wakes a gal up...'

I enjoyed the bible study at Joyce's a lot. We sang some songs, prayed, and then dove into 2 Timothy chapter 1. I was caught rather off guard when I found that I was expected to be the 'speaker' but hopefully some of my poor jumbled thoughts made it through! Joyce translated for me, so I was able to follow along with what they were saying as well as hearing my words in Lunda. It was good to get off the station, see other people, and hear Lunda. I hope to keep going during the break and when I'm able during the term as well.

I went around another way on the way back, and to my relief I made it back safely. I had an interesting conversation with Mr. Ronald on my return about what to do if I hit anything or anyone, and then headed back to the house. I went over to Vickies and made more food for her dog (I'm looking after Barney, Miss Hoyte's old dog for her) and then a late supper with Beth. All in all, a lovely day.

Beth and I are going to be working on our office/guest room today. Beth's friend Crystal is coming from Canada next week to visit for two weeks, so we have some work to do! Hopefully the big lizard and flatie that hang out there will vacate...

I also plan to work on that skirt and making a bag to lug my church stuff around with. My other bag is getting rather dirty and besides, it would be fun to have a chetengi bag.

Yesterday was really hot, but the mornings and evenings are starting to cool off. Hurry up dry season!