Archive for February, 2009
Matt • 28th Feb 2009 • Africa, Fun
I got really sunburned.
V-Neck Burn
We had 2 bike races that we sponsored as a part of a Zambian TV show called “My Own Boss.” It’s the Zambian version of “The Apprentice.” The contestants had to put on charity bike races and we sponsored it. We’ll be on Zambian prime time TV in a month or so. I was outside for about 5 hours though and apparently we’re at an elevation of like 4 or 5 thousand feet. Who knew? I put sunscreen on my face and the back of my neck, but neglected my arms and chest… and hence the awesome picture above.
I relaxed the rest of the day away, watched a movie, and then at 8pm we went to a Lebanese restaurant that was not as good as other mediterranean food I’ve had in the States. Can’t win ‘em all, I suppose.
After dinner we piled in our Isuzu truck and went to a concert… Oliver Mtukudzi… it was honestly one of the best concerts I’ve ever been to. The musicians were all so talented and we danced and danced and Zambian/Zimbabwean dancing is so fun.
And now it’s Sunday for me (Saturday night for you, probably) and I’m talking to Heather on Skype which is so great… so great. I think we’re going for a motorcycle ride later today, which should be awesome… Updates and hopefully pictures to follow.
Sorry still about the picture thing… Rest assured that I’m taking them and that they will be posted and you will be notified.
Goodbye for now internet.
Zambian Nugget Of The Day: When dancing, the less movement of the body and the more fluid the movement the better. The best dancers know how to balance big movements with small movements. Give it a try, you won’t be sorry.
Matt • 27th Feb 2009 • Africa
I’m getting accustomed to life here, communication here, and the people here. Though I don’t feel like anyone here understands me or will ever understand me to the degree that my friends, girlfriend and family back at home understand me, I am learning more and more to be myself and to allow myself to be appreciated for who I am. Nobody here really understands my humor very well (even the Americans, with the exception of Jeff… I’m a little too dry and refined, I guess?)… But I can’t help it, this is just how my face looks!
In the last few days we’ve been quite busy…
We found two big patches of bamboo at our friend Rick’s house and have harvested much of it to be used making the bamboo bicycles. Also at Rick’s house, we had a great dinner where Vaughn and Dustin and I choreographed a dance to a Chris Brown song that we performed for Rick’s children, who in turn danced a couple songs for us.
The BBC came for a primary visit yesterday, which was awesome. After a couple days of talking on the phone with a British woman I had been calling “Joan,” I finally met “Jo” and her partner who are doing a story for the BBC, BBC Online, and BBC WorldNews Radio. We had a great time chatting and they will return on Monday and Tuesday with a crew to record video and audio to be used in a series they are doing on economic development and social business in Africa.
Vaughn and Dustin are headed back to the States on Sunday for a couple weeks… so we’ve been preparing to have them be away and to still be functioning and pushing forward. Construction out at the farm will continue to go great… Jeff and Daryl will still be here and they are more or less autonomous.
I will continue on my learning path by spending a full day with 9 different people… all of the actual positions with Zambikes. By doing this I’ll be able to see what each person hoes and how everyone relates to each other. It’s important for me to see all aspects of the company so I know what all needs to be in the operations manual. This is going to be a much bigger job than I thought, but honestly I don’t think it is going to take me 6 ½ months. There are, however, plenty of things to do around here so I won’t have trouble filling my time.
To all y’all who still wear fanny packs: I HAVE been taking pictures, but I need to settle in and figure out how to upload them with this slow Zambian “broadband.” Hopefully when we get internet at our own house/office it’ll be faster and I’ll be able to inundate you with non-stop words and pictures. Look out
Zambian Nugget Of The Day: The money here is super-inflated… 5,400 Kwacha is equal to one US Dollar. 1 million kwacha is not an uncommon number as you might imagine, and it equals roughly $200. The funny thing to me about this currency is that the highest denomination of paper Kwacha you can get is 50,000. So, when I cashed in $500 I received something like 2.7 million ZKw, all in 50,000 notes… A fat stack. I’ll leave you with some Zambian slang… when talking about 20,000 ZKw (about $4..00), you would refer to it as “twenty pin.” Stay up to date with this blog to learn more useless information about Zambia!
Matt • 27th Feb 2009 • Africa
I have begun my work. It feels like it’s been forever and that I’ve been a huge burden (my least favorite thing in the world), but I know that I have so much to offer once I get more and more settled. My official role with Zambikes was decided today, “Business Development” is what it will be called and I’m looking forward to putting together an Operations Manual that will help the company sustain itself and work better within itself. It will help the company to transform from being American run being Zambian run, as policies are put into place.
I am feeling better here than I have been the last couple of days, thanks largely to the fact that I have some work to do.
I’m listening to my iPod on shuffle right now and Beirut just came on. Life is great here in Zambia.
Matt • 23rd Feb 2009 • Uncategorized
I got my phone today… it’s just a small old phone that I’m borrowing for now until I can get an iPhone from the States. Let me know if you know anyone that has one of the first generation iPhones… I’ll pay for their new 3G if they’ll give me their old one…. what a deal!
I can also send and receive phone calls from the States… let me know if you want the info for that. Or… EMAIL ME!!!!!! Things are a bit lonely here, even though I am making friends left and right.
I finally got to the internet cafe tonight, which is why there are 4 new blog posts all at once. Hopefully this won’t be the norm.
Matt • 23rd Feb 2009 • Uncategorized
Here I am, back in Lusaka for the work week. Where was I? Stop asking me questions, I’ll get to that! What I’ve realized about life here is that the guys that I’m with work hard and they “relax” hard as well. This definitely isn’t the way I operate and I’m going to have to find the way I fit into this lifestyle because they are going to be my close friends until September.
And so, this weekend we drive North on “Great North Road” up to a town called Mulungushi, which is apparently a town that exists because there is a huge lake there. My friends here actually bought a plot of lakeside property and we were there to continue work on the house that they are building there. When picturing it, don’t picture an American lakehouse… picture a one and a half room (no doors, but the kitchen is sectioned off) building made from stones, river sand, and cement. We hung the heavy wooden doors with the help of Chabinga (he’s the soccer coach of the local team and so his nickname is ‘Coacha’), put the glass windows into the metal frames with the help of Divilence (‘MacD’ for short. He’s I think the most outgoing Zambian I’ve met yet. He’s always trying to play jokes on me, and he made a benchpress out of metal car wheels and a metal bar he got.)
We also trimmed some trees to get a better view of the lake, cleaned up a bunch of the plastering on the outside and inside of the walls, took out all the wood framing that was initially meant to hold the cement ceiling, and painted the metal window coverings with Red Oxide… and in our down time we wakeboarded and went cliff jumping. Crazy weekend.
Matt • 20th Feb 2009 • Uncategorized
All of my luggage is now put away and that is helping me feel more settled. Last night I was able to use Vaughn’s iPhone to send a few emails to Heather, and I am really really bummed that I won’t be able to be on the internet as much as I had thought (see ya later video chat), but hopefully we can figure out a way to communicate that will be the perfect fit for what is happening in our lives now.
Also last night, we had our Thursday night men’s bible study. Vaughn and Dustin (the two guys behind Acirfa and Zambikes) were there plus Daryl (the man with the main bike knowledge) and Jeff (who is doing the construction of the buildings out on our farm), and two Zambian men. One is named Wakunda and the other I can not for the life of me remember. People’s names here are pretty hard to remember and it takes all of my concentration to catch someone’s name the first time they say it and then to remember it.
Matt • 19th Feb 2009 • Uncategorized
I arrived in Lusaka, Zambia today. Amidst all the preparations and whatever it is mentally and emotionally that one does when moving to a far off land, I did not fully understand what I was doing. As the plane descended into my new home there was an incredible sunrise… a truly beautiful place that has, I am learning, truly beautiful people.
It’s a strange thing to realize that all of the “first” things one does on the first day of being in a new place will soon become the routine, the norm, and the groove that is to be cherished as the work of one’s life in that place. For me here, the streets are new, the names are very new, my companions are relatively new, and my cherished work that I know not yet of will be new every morning.
The good thing is that God’s mercies are new every morning (that’s somewhere in the bible, right?). I hope that this trip and the mystery that I’m headed into will remind me of this truth and that it will become a deep part of me. I might be able to do this on my own but why would I? I am deciding to rely on the mysterious power and mercy that has made me who I am today. I need more of that power and more of that mercy.
Matt • 7th Feb 2009 • Life Lessons
So I’m currently unwinding from my little going away party… Thanks very much to everyone who was able to come!
The thing that I keep realizing is that I’m not alone. This is repeatedly proving to be a profound piece of my life right now, and I want to learn this more and more. Being connected to others is truly what is important in life and I hate that my decision to move to Zambia is disconnecting me from these people who love me so deeply.
Mainly, I suppose, this is a realization regarding Heather… She gives me so much and I’m so unappreciative. I have a lot to learn and I’m so lucky to be dating a woman who respects me, loves me, and supports me the ways that she does, even in the midst of an awful situation. Thank you, Heather.
