Sundays in Zambia - On My Way

This post originally appeared in November 2009. 

This is my new (hopefully) weekly feature talking about my time in Zambia. All the pictures are being scanned from my scrapbook pages - just in case you wonder about the odd shapes, or captions.

Although I don’t plan to necessarily go in chronological order, I decided that I would start near the beginning for this week’s post. My fellow journey-folk & I had 6 weeks of boot camp, er training, in Virginia in the summer of 1986, then were sent home to get ready to head to our respective countries. I was in awe of the folks headed to China & West Africa – those destinations seemed a lot scarier than mine. I was assigned to work in Harare, Zimbabwe – I wasn’t even going to be in the bush!

Zimbabwe denied my work permit – rightly saying that they didn’t see why a Zimbabwean couldn’t do the work of secretary-bookkeeper. I waited for four months before the Foreign Mission Board was able to find me a new assignment – Lusaka, Zambia. I found out in November – and after sending all of my paperwork to the Lusaka Baptist Mission twice (they obviously needed my services LOL), I set out on my grand adventure on a plane flying out of the Charlotte, North Carolina airport. Here is what I wrote in my journal that day:

Tuesday, January 13, 1987

I feel very alone now. God, are you there? Give me strength. Strength to face my impracticalities and do something about them. My carry-on bag will not fit – so I must check it in Atlanta. Why does that bother me so much? Because it makes me feel foolish and I don’t like feeling foolish.

Saying goodbye is so hard. I can see Mom & Dad standing at the window and that’s when I start to cry. I’m not supposed to cry – this is my adventure. A year and a half isn’t so very long. It’s time for me to grow up.

Sometimes I wonder if I set things in motion just because I know I won’t stop it – and I know it’s good for me. Is this really God’s will for my life? Can I really know the answer?

I ended up being able to carry my bag onto the plane in Atlanta – the stewardess was VERY helpful. And this was a good thing, because the airline lost my luggage. But that’s a story for another day…

Senior Moments...

Daddy & Amy mopped up at the Senior Games again this year.

First of all, they won a gold medal for their skit this year. As you can see, I get my lack of shame honestly.

Daddy didn't win anything in the singing competition this year. He didn't actually sing - he just whistled a tune that he's had in his head for years (that none of us recognized - actually, we thought he was kind of crazy). Then he asked the audience if any of them recognized it. And someone did! They said it was Milord. Who knew? [Note: Edith Piaf made it famous, but I'm linking to an English version sung by Cher - ha!]

Then they went on a field day extravaganza. Here's a picture of Daddy's medals.

He won four silver & three gold in spincasting, basketball shoot, shot put, football throw, table tennis, discus & standing long jump - check out this hang time :)

I didn't take a picture of Amy's medals, but she won gold in basketball shoot, softball throw, standing long jump, corn hole toss, shot put, football throw & discus. Whew!

I'm amazed at their ability to get out there & move their bodies. I plan to grow up to be like them - but I'd better get busy!

Wordless Wednesday

2012 Project 365 – Week Twenty

I’m sitting in our hotel in Hilton Head SC & I SHOULD be outside, but we did that already so we’re resting for a bit before we go out again. We just got down here Saturday evening, so you’ll have to wait until next week for beach pictures.

Sunday, May 13^th       

Our evening visitor. We haven’t seen her again so maybe she’s found another place to forage.

I’m working on a hat. I only had to tear it out & start over about four times.

Monday, May 14^th     

Our yarrow is starting to bloom.

Weekly squirrel.

Iridescent grackle.

Tuesday, May 15^th  

House finch.

Dove taking off – it’s an angel!

Went to dinner with a friend. I had the chicken noodle soup & banana bread. Anyone care to guess where we were eating?

               

Wednesday, May 16^th   

The State of the Bug – very annoyed because I just figured out that it was WEDNESDAY instead of THURSDAY. Sigh.

Mr. Cardinal giving us the cold shoulder.

Thursday, May 17^th   

Mrs. Cardinal comes in for a landing.

Wild strawberry blossom.

Woodpecker!

We saw this in Walmart – for those Nutella fanatics among you :)

Friday, May 18^th     

Starling in the bath – love all the splashy water!

Wild strawberry.

The Tax Time Pig and his/her cohorts. Made me smile when I saw them.

Saturday, May 19^th      

We left the house at 6:30 this morning to head to Hilton Head. Twelve hours later we were totally whipped – not used to such long car trips! Here’s the view from our little balcony. It’s already been the source of some fun pictures – you’ll see them next week.

Flowers below the balcony.

I thought this sign was really funny – but there actually IS an alligator in there!

Go to Sara’s blog here to see the blogs of all the other Project 365 participants. Have a great week!

Most of our photos are taken with a 12 megapixel Nikon D5000 DSLR, using a 55-200mm zoom lens. This is the camera that Dr. M takes with him most days. He also takes pictures with our old reliable 7 megapixel Canon Powershot A710.  The Bug uses our new Nikon Coolpix S6200 most of the time. If you’re interested in which camera was used for a particular shot, just ask! 

Sunday's in Zambia - The Beginning

Two and a half years ago I started a regular Sunday feature regarding my adventures in Zambia. I decided that I would resurrect the series this year. There are 15 segments. Who knows, I might even add something new this year. If you'd like to read ahead, just click on the "Zambia" label on my sidebar.

I went to Zambia as part of the Journeyman program of the Southern Baptist Church. It was a program designed to use recent college graduates to fill temporary support positions in the foreign mission field. I was the secretary-bookkeeper for the Baptist Mission of Zambia from January 1987 until July 1988. Later I’ll provide more detailed info about what I did & experienced while I was there, but first I want to talk about who I was.

Based on what I remember (or don’t) from that time I have to conclude that I was a shallow, unobservant silly girl. I was pretty good at my actual job, but I didn’t have a lot of life experience and I didn’t know how to be really present in the experiences I was having. I was a flibbertigibbet & wasn’t as mindful as I could have been. I had discovered boys while I was in college (late bloomer here!) & I wasn’t done with them yet. I was 22 going on 16. Get the picture?

Over 10 years after I returned from Zambia I created a scrapbook (actually two rather large volumes) trying to recreate my experience there. The following is a poem I wrote when I completed the albums. I decided to use it in my first “Zambia Post” as my disclaimer.

Who was that girl?
Superficial…
Boy crazy…
with an occasional
flash of insight.
I hardly remember
her
or what she did
that long ago
time in Africa.

These are the
images she brought
home with her.
These are her stories –
remembered as in a dream
edited by time
reconstructed to suit myself.

This is her book
and mine too

Whoever we are!

Dana Wallace Rhyne
May 17, 1999

It's Magic!*

I have stared at the trees across the way for so long that my eyes think it’s a “magic eye” picture & they’re trying to figure out where the whale is. Nothing even remotely interesting has entered my brain, but I have to post something – right?

So here’s an email I sent to Dr. M:

I just got back from a banner lunch break:

• I got what I hope are good pictures of the Tax Time Pig & his goosey cohorts dressed as bumblebees.
• I found three packages of my favorite dental floss** at the Walgreens (yes, I bought all three).
• I celebrated by getting some new hair doodads (on sale) instead of getting ice cream.

There you go, just another exciting day in the life of the Bug.

P.S. Starting this Sunday I’m republishing my Sundays in Zambia posts from a couple of years ago.

*It's not really magic.

**The price for that floss in the link I posted is insane! More than double what I paid. I know it's my favorite & all, but I'm pretty sure I'd just make do if I couldn't find the floss for a reasonable price.

Monday Miscellany

It’s the return of Monday Miscellany! Please note, that all previous Mondays were just as miscellaneous as if they had also been written about.


First of all, I wanted to answer the question about the volunteer tomato plant (I keep forgetting to answer it in the comments of Saturday’s post). We did have tomatoes growing in that bed last year, so this must be from one that fell off the vine. I can’t wait to see how it does!

We saw our new nocturnal visitor again last night. She’s awfully cute in an “I’m-not-going-anywhere-near-her kind of way.” We’ve named her Skunky, and we hope she’s just chunky & not “with kit.” (Yes, I did go to the google to find out what you call a baby skunk).

I started a new crochet project over the weekend. Oh my head! I must have unraveled the thing about five times (I lost count). I think I might be on the right track now, but we’ll see how it looks when I’m done. It’s supposed to be a hat. Supposed to be.

I had a revelation about myself yesterday. Although I hate to get out of bed in the mornings, once I’m up, I’m wide awake & ready for action. Drives Dr. M crazy (he’s of the don’t talk to me until I’ve had a pot of coffee ilk). I’ve often wondered why I’m so chatty at home. I’m supposed to be an introvert for heaven’s sake. Yesterday I realized that I’m talking to myself – Dr. M is just there to keep me from looking crazy. When he reads this he’s going to think that everything is clear now. I don’t think he’ll be any less annoyed though.

I’ve at long last reached the conclusion that my hair is not straight. I’ve said it was straight for years, but it’s time for it to come out of the closet. It’s not wavy either. It’s really just bendy (and yes, that analogy is making me uncomfortable too, so forget I mentioned any closet). What I want to know is, where are the hair products for bendy hair? They probably already exist and I just don’t know about them. I already use this and it’s amazing (thanks Nurse Rudee), but my hair still looks straggly by the end of the day. Perhaps some shellac is in order…

OK, that’s enough miscellany for now. Have a great day!

2012 Project 365 – Week Nineteen

I don’t want to say that this week has the most pictures ever (mostly because I’m too lazy to go back & count), but I think that this might be the most pictures ever. I hope you like flowers & squirrels!

Sunday, May 6^th

The State of the Bug – new shades. I lost the screw out of my other (perfectly good) pair & after trying to rob a screw from another pair & use it on the good pair – well, let’s just say that everything ended up in the trash. So here are my new $10 sunglasses.

That evening I was walking around outside on the phone with my dad & noticed this dude at our back fence. I didn’t trust my eyes, but Dr. M took a picture & yes, it really is a skunk!

Last of the Super Moon.

Monday, May 7^th     

All those maple seeds everywhere have started sprouting. The ones in the yard are getting mowed, but this one is in the front flower bed (we also have one in the geranium pot that’s a couple of years old).

Squirrel gymnastics. I give him a 10!

Tuesday, May 8^th   

Dr. M has been so good to get pictures of the roadside wildflowers. All the really pretty places that I see are on stretches of road where it would be a bad idea to try to take a picture.

               

Wednesday, May 9^th   

The Tax Time Pig. And his (her?) cohorts).

Some house finches came to visit.

We had a huge double rainbow this evening! Here’s a few pictures pieced together.

And here’s my stylized version from PicMonkey.

Thursday, May 10^th     

I had lunch with my former coworker S. It’s always fun to get together with her for a little while.

Dr. M took some more gorgeous flower pics.

Friday, May 11^th     

The sheep farm I drive by. They were too busy eating to pay any attention to me – so you get sheep butts. Heh.

Thirsty squirrel.

Goldfinch!

Saturday, May 12^th      

Dr. M took me to a local cemetery (where he got the peony picture from Thursday). Such a lovely place.

Cemetery squirrel!

We have a volunteer tomato plant in one of our raised beds! I saw it the other day & told Dr. M that maybe I’m crazy, but I think there’s a tomato growing out there! And he said, you are crazy, but that is definitely a tomato!

Happy Mother’s Day to all you mothers out there!

Go to Sara’s blog here to see the blogs of all the other Project 365 participants. Have a great week!

Most of our photos are taken with a 12 megapixel Nikon D5000 DSLR, using a 55-200mm zoom lens. This is the camera that Dr. M takes with him most days. He also takes pictures with our old reliable 7 megapixel Canon Powershot A710.  The Bug uses our new Nikon Coolpix S6200 most of the time. If you’re interested in which camera was used for a particular shot, just ask!