Video

I've created a little video to summarize my trip in 7 minutes. To view it, follow this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0faCxXOMpWE

The "Little" Things

So along with a bunch of other items, I took some balloons, and also a "bell soccer ball". The balloons were a huge hit with the kids in the village. I'm pretty sure they had never seen anything like them before. And keep in mind they really don't have anything to play with. So blowing them up and handing them out was pretty fun. Even the adults got into it and were asking me for balloons for themselves. This all took place during a normal building day, but after lunch I decided to bring them out. It was pretty cool.

The "bell ball" is basically a typical soccer ball with a bell inside. One of the schools we were scheduled to visit in Lusaka had asked if someone could bring one of these. Apparently physical education and exercise is an area of concern for their blind students. This ball will give them the ability to participate in the soccer games. I was pretty excited to give it to them. Unfortunately the day we were scheduled to go I was really sick, so I asked Patty (one of our team members) if she would mind taking my camera and getting a photo. She said they were thrilled with the ball and the kids wanted to start using it right away. That was pretty cool to hear. As you can see they look pretty happy about it. Best $40 investment I've made...

New Friends

Thought I would post a few pictures of some new friends that were made.

Building

The really tough job is making mortar. First you have to take six wheel barrels of sand to the mixing spot, then you pour the bag of concrete in, and basically move a pile back and forth until all the sand and concrete is mixed. Then you can form a volcano type hole and start adding water until it gets to the right consistency. Not fun. Laying bricks on the other hand is a fun job. The little guy in my lap decided he wanted some safety glasses like mine, so me made a pair out of an old water bottle. You'd be surprised what's valuable to the people in the village. Old socks, old water bottles, juice boxes, anything really. We worked next to the homeowner, their family/friends, and the local contractor and his employees.

Sick, but not defeated.

I have a few minutes at this Internet Cafe in Lusaka, so I thought I'd write a brief update. You might be wondering why I'm in Lusaka. Unfortunately I had to leave the village a day and a half early as I am pretty sick. I visited a clinic yesterday and it seems I just have a virus that I need to let clear itself up. But more about that later... it didn't diminish my trip. The time I spent in Katete, the village outside of Lusaka was amazing. Our bus literally drove off the road and followed a dirt path/trail for two hours. The potholes made this more of an off-road adventure than a drive. The further into the bush we got, the more interesting we became to the locals. At one point the "road" was so narrow it was hard to tell if we were on a path at all. Our guide even had doubts for a while if we were still on the right track. But, finally we arrived. It was pitch black when we got there, but the women of the village all greeted us by singing and dancing and hugging each of us as we got off the bus. The surroundings were pretty much what you would expect from the African bush. Huts with straw roofs, and lots of dirt and open land. I'll post some photos when I have a chance so you can see. The next two weeks seemed like a year. The first friendships were made as soon as I busted out the football (soccer ball) and that became a regular activity after building during the day. We completed two homes and they look great. The owners are thrilled and one said it was a "dream come true". Unfortunately a couple days ago this impending sick feeling that has been lingering started to rear its head and I was getting pretty sick. Up until this point I hadn't missed a day of working on the houses. So imagine being really sick... now take away your apartment or house and replace it with a 300 sq ft house shared by 18 people. Then replace your bed with a mat on a cement floor by the front door which 17 people use every 1-5 seconds. Toss in 90 degree weather, random giant bugs, dust everywhere, oh, and a hole in the ground outside as your toilet. Not the best conditions for nursing an illness. Even though it sounds like I'm complaining, I'm not. This experience is going to be whatever it is going to be and I'm happy with whatever that is. One of our team members had to leave a couple days early to fly home (this was scheduled). So I decided it would be best to get on that ride (there are no vehicles where we were) and get back to Lusaka to see a doctor, and get some rest before the rest of the trip. The doctor first told me I had malaria. This scared me obviously, and I have to say that time at the clinic by myself, waiting for my test results, was not pleasant at all. But, thank god, I do not have malaria... just a virus that was probably having a hard time clearing up due to all the hard labor I was doing and my living conditions. Luckily I only missed only a half work day. I will miss the dedication of the homes today, but I'm not too disappointed about it. It doesn't take away from the experiences I had and the friendships I made. I'm content at the lodge by myself. The habitat people have been great about checking in on me and taking me to get lunch, etc. The solitude has been a good time for reflection as well.

I'll try to post some photos of the village this weekend. Until you see them, you won't really be able to begin to understand what its like. Mom, don't worry about me... I'll be fine!

In with the sun...

So I guess I won't have any Internet access until May 30th, so I thought I'd post something quick, even though I don't have a whole lot to say. Flew out of London last night and had a 10 hour (ugh) flight to Lusaka. It wasn't too bad though, as I was able to sleep a lot on the flight this time. I met a pretty cool guy on the plane who is a geologist working in Zambia. He gave me tons of cool information about the area. The sun was rising just as we rolled into Lusaka, which was a perfect beginning to the trip. It was pretty cool... I've never seen a sunrise like that before.

Our hotel/hostel arrangments here in Lusaka were changed last minute so they took us to a different place. We didn't find out until later from two Canadians who are part of our group and arrived a couple days ago, that apparently some prostitutes were arguing with some men about not paying and it got a little rowdy.

The place we are staying at now is pretty nice. There are a lot of mosquitos (thank god for the malaria pills and nets over the beds) and dead grasshoppers on the ground, but all-in-all its not bad. They made us breakfast which was pretty good actually. All of the people in our group seem to be really nice. I think I've met about 15 out of the 18 so far... the others are arriving later today. We are all still a little out of it due to being so tired but are currently at the "Arcades" which is a public market type area. Going to lunch soon. Tomorrow we are going to a local church, then a market to do some trading, then heading out to Katete, the village we are building in. Katete is about an hour outside of Lusaka. I guess its pretty basic conditions for the next couple weeks. Showering, toilets, etc. will be a luxury I'm sure to appreciate soon. I hear it will mostly be vegetarian food but we may have a chance to butcher a pig or cow for the celebration after the houses are complete. Oh yeah, we are building two houses now... one in Katete, and one in Palabana.

Pretty excited to be here. Hopefully I'll have some cool things to share on or after the 30th when I have Internet again.

Nice little friday...

I Found an Internet Cafe here and thought I'd post something while I have the opportunity. I've only been away two days and it already seems like a week. London is a pretty cool city, and I couldn't ask for nicer or more hospitable hosts than Abby and Toby. Abby met me at the London Bridge station after I landed yesterday. Unfortunately it took me about three hours to get there, but luckily we both arrived around the same time. Abby and Toby had taken the day off work, so they were able to show me around the city--which was great. I hope I wasn't too much of a dud considering I slept for about 45 minutes on my 8 hour flight, and it was 8am Chicago time when we started touring around. We had lunch in Borough Market, grabbed ice cream, and walked up and down the river seeing the typical sites. For dinner we went to Wagamama (apparently coming to the States..?) and grabbed a pint after. By nightfall (about 2pm CST) I was having a hard time completing sentences. I would say it was just seconds after the air mattress was blown up I was out like a light for nine hours. Took the train in with Abby and Toby this morning, and Abby is keeping my massive backpack (which she named Big Betty) at her office for the day while I explore around. I spent the morning at the Tate Modern which was great. First I took a nap on one of their sofas, then I toured the free galleries. Was cool to see a Mark Rothko in person. Picking up Big Betty later this afternoon and heading to the airport for my 7pm flight. Tonight I meet 5-6 people from my Habitat trip--including Lynn, the trip leader as we are on the same flight to Lusaka. Hope I sleep more on this 10 hour flight than I did coming here to London. My phone was working here in London, however I forgot the power plug conversions. Not sure what Zambia will be like, so hopefully my camera batteries make it through the trip. I can just see my battery dying just as a lion jumps on our hood or something.

Who knew that this was Tower Bridge, not London Bridge? Not me...

Itinerary

This is my rough itinerary. Other than my stops in London, it was created by Habitat, so I don't know how much will change but it gives you an idea of where I'll be and when.

May 13 (Wednesday): Depart for London
May 15 (Friday): Depart for Lusaka, Zambia

H4H Build
May 16 (Saturday): Arrive in Lusaka; Greeted at airport by HFH Zambia staff; Transport to hotel; Dinner and overnight in Lusaka. Visit Local Schools.
May 17 (Sunday): Travel to host project site with HFH Zambia staff; Welcome and orientation with local staff member; Welcome dinner.
May 18–22 (Monday–Friday, Work days): Work from 8 a.m.–4 p.m., with lunch on site; Free time after work to clean up; Dinner; Time for team activities.
May 23 (Saturday): Visit market, orphanage, etc.; Possible half day work on build site if desired; Cultural experience in the community.
May 24 (Sunday): Visit local church; Other cultural activities.
May 25–27 (Monday–Wednesday, Work days): Work from 8 a.m.–4 p.m. with lunch on site; Possible visit to local school for half day if appropriate; Farewell celebration on Wednesday.

R&R
May 28 (Thursday): Travel to Lusaka; Free time; Dinner and overnight in Lusaka.
May 29 (Friday): Spend time at Lusaka schools
May 30 (Saturday): Bus ride to Livingstone (9 hours)
May 31 (Sunday): Livingstone - Victoria Falls. Activity Day
June 1-3 (Monday): Leave for Botswana (Safari)
June 4 (Thursday): Back to Livingstone (Victoria Falls, Activities)
June 5 (Friday): Depart for Lusaka

June 6 (Saturday): Depart for London
June 7 (Sunday): Depart for Chicago

About Zambia

(from habitat.org)

Zambia is a southeastern African nation with five distinct topographical regions: the central highlands; the western plains, swamps and semi-arid deserts; the Rift Valley of the Zambezi Lowlands; the Muchinga Uplands; and the swamps and lakes of the northeast. The country shares boundaries with eight countries: Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania.The climate of Zambia is characterized as tropical with some variations in the higher altitudes. The rainy season stretches from October to April.Zambia’s population is estimated at 11.5 million (2007). The dominant ethnic group is African (98.7 percent), with 1.1 percent European. English is the official language, with major vernaculars used such as Bemba, Kaonda, Lozi, Lunda, Luvale, Nyanja, Tonga and about 70 other indigenous languages.Lusaka is the capital and largest city of Zambia. It is located in the southern part of the country’s central plateau. Lusaka is considered one of the fastest-growing (in terms of population) cities in Africa. It is a commercial center as well as the center of government, and includes the four main highways of Zambia.

Habitat for Humanity Zambia opened its doors in 1984, when it started building houses for fishing families on Kabuyu Island. From these small beginnings, HFHZ built more than 1,700 houses and has expanded into six of the country’s nine provinces. HFH Zambia has also as facilitated multiple development initiatives, especially in the Chanyanya community. The newest of the program’s affiliates is in the urban area of Tiyende Pamodzi, Lusaka.HFHZ builds in both rural and urban areas. The average house size is 35 square meters (approximately 300 square feet). To support the use of regionally appropriate materials and technology, most of the program’s rural houses are built using burnt bricks and corrugated iron roofing sheets.The houses are simple but high-quality, with separate sleeping, cooking and living areas. The design is such that homeowners have the option of extending the house in the future.

Thank You

Thank you to my friends and family who made donations to Habitat for Humanity that went toward my portion of the trip cost. It is greatly appreciated.

Chuck and Ginger Schiller
Andie and Ed O'Dell
Shawn and Becky Schiller
Randy Safranek
Rick and Michelle Mishleau
Shannon Murray
Laura Bruchert
Pat Ryan
Cindy and Bob Stalsberg
Teeny Adamany
Teresa and Dick Reis
Becky Rizner
Cathy Della
Melissa Bolton