My family

When I arrived on monday, I had no idea where I would be staying but I assumed that I would stay in a hostel or a lodge until I could find a family with whom I could live. I hadn't even bothered to ask about it because I had very much assumed the no worries -attitude. However, on monday they actually immediately organized with a family that I could stay there. Someone called there around eleven, and at 2 pm, I was already in my new bed taking a much needed nap. Sometimes things do happen quickly here!

The mother of the family has worked earlier at KYP and her sister works there at the moment. Besides her and her husband, there are five children ranging in age from two to fifteen. I am not the first volunteer to stay there, also Marianne (her blog in Finnish) stayed there some years ago. I consider myself very lucky with the family, as they are very nice and they have really taken me as a new member of the family.

We live in Kamwala South, a compound in Lusaka, maybe around five kilometers away from the city center. The area is rather new, so there are still unfinished houses, and not much green. After one week in Lusaka, I am not much of judge on anything, but I think the area is still reasonably nice.

The biggest culture shock so far was perhaps getting to know the children. They are unbelievably well-behaving! They do their part of household chores without complaining, and they also voluntarily offer to help me. Try to imagine this: I came home after work and I had walked on a rather muddy road. The 10-year-old boy saw my shoes after I had stepped in, and taken them off, and said: "Let me clean those for you.". After that, he actually took my shoes, and cleaned them, and then brought them to me. That's just one example but I could give you dozens of them.

There are some things that seem to be universal with the kids: they love ice cream and they find my computer extremely interesting. Unfortunately, the choice of games on my computer is rather limited, and there are no car games.

The children address me as Auntie Anu, as they are supposed to show respect towards older people. I am truly an old person here, even if I don't necessarily look old to others: the mother of the family is actually younger than me (from this, people smarter than me can probably quite soon figure out that only the youngest of the children is actually biologically hers).

Practical stuff

My Finnish mobile number doesn't work here, but I have a Zambian number now. You can reach me from +260 9790 78821. It seems that I won't be able to use internet very often (at least not before I learn my way around the city better and find an internet cafe in a practical location), so let me know if something major happens in Finland / world. Also, don't expect me to update this blog very often, or reply to emails very fast (Yes, finally I have an excuse!). Emails are very welcome despite that though! :)

London, Heathrow

After months of waiting, it is finally true: I'm now at the Heathrow airport waiting for my flight to Lusaka. I thought I'd be terrified at this point but I'm only happy that the long wait is over and relieved that in the end I got everything organized.

I will be working as a volunteer in Lusaka for six months. My workplace will be KYP (Kanyama Youth Programme), which provides vocational training to underprivileged youths in the community. I don't know yet exactly what I will do there but at least giving computer classes will be a big part of my work. The whole thing is organized through Kepa's (Service Center for Development Cooperation) volunteering program etvo. Etvo volunteers work in organizations where some Kepa member organization has development cooperation project. In my case, the Finnish partner is SYL (National Union of University students in Finland). There is about 25 of us this year going to Africa, Asia or Latin America.

Past few months, I have tried to prepare for this and to learn about Zambia but I still have a feeling that I have no idea what to expect from my stay in Lusaka. I have never been anywhere in Africa, and also my experiences from developing countries elsewhere are rather thin. In this blog, I will try to share thoughts and experiences - both positive and negative - from work and my everyday life in Lusaka.

To-do list

• Get vaccinated - Done
• Book flights - Done
• Buy a travel insurance - Done
• Apply for a visa - Done
• Pack - Done
• Fetch the passport from the post office - Done
• Print e-tickets - Forgotten
• Start a blog - Done
• Come up with something meaningful to write in the blog - Failed
• Lower the bar, just start writing - Done