September 30, 2005
Tonga Winter
So right now we're in the midst of what I can only describe as something close to "Indian Summer." It is about 62 degrees here today: cloudy, no sun, cool breeze, Africans running around in blankets and winter jackets. Three days ago it was so hot that I was telling people I was slowly melting and that by the end of the hot season there would be nothing left of me but my pata patas (flip flops). Regardless of what it will bring, I am just happy to have the break. My shade still isn't up and my house is a hot box of concrete and metal. My landlord promises this weekend. We can only hope. Oh, and Jenny says that there should be some pictures posted this weekend as well. Yay!
Posted by ringo at 10:18 AM
September 17, 2005
Friday Night Fever
Well, last night was the official opening of 1st Avenue Draft Center. Yes, that's right, Choma now has its very own origional draft center. Of course what it really is is a fancy nightclub (actually really psh by Zam standards and even a bit posh by U.S. standards) with no beer on tap at all. I don't have the faintest clue what the draft center part means. Regardless, it is nice. I got an official invitation through Vena because her uncle is the owner and we didn't have to pay the 10,000 kwacha (about $2.50) cover. It sits right in line with the other two nightclubs in town, but I doubt that it will attract the unseemly street vendor variety that the others do. Oh, and here's a random picture of me at Victoria Falls in July.
Posted by ringo at 3:04 PM | Comments (3)
September 14, 2005
Busy Little Bee
Well, I've been scooting around Southern Province like a rolling armadillo. I'm reading _Lonesome Dove_ right now, so forgive me. I also won at Scrabble the other day, something that has never happened to me, against three other very verbal PCVs. AND I won at pool twice last night. Score. I'm getting good at some things anyway, including travelling around and doing more work with my program. Joyce asked if I know what I'm doing more now. YES! It isn't that it was made that clear to me, just that I decided to do what I thought might be good and go from there. Aside from those things, my newest home-improvement project is to build myself some flower beds and get some plants to plant in my concrete nightmare of a compound. We'll see how that goes. Any suggestions for something that I can plant in a big pot that will grow like madness and be a creeping vine that will go up walls and such? And sending me the seeds for such a thing might be nice :) Anyway, I'm off to Kalomo (the next town to the south of Choma) to do some observing and learn some stuff about mentor training!
Posted by ringo at 12:23 PM | Comments (1)
September 6, 2005
New Email Address
The woes of the urban Zambia volunteer! Yahoo! doesn't seem to work here as well as it always has for me in the U.S. I decided to get a temporary email address that will work better here. I'm sure that I'll go back to old faithful when I get back, but until then, I'll ask y'all to email me at:
ringo_in_zambia@myway.com
I'll still be checking my Yahoo! account on a regular basis. Thanks and be well.
Posted by ringo at 3:03 PM | Comments (3)
September 3, 2005
Get with the Program
Hey! Well, besides the fact that Peace Corps gave me a flu shot, which in turn gave me the flu, I'm doing a-o-k. I've been busy with PC work... something I needed to happen. This weekend I've been working with my counterparts to do a mentor's training. There've been some rough spots, but all in all I feel good about it. For the rest of the month, I have some major site visits that I will be doing. I'll get to go see all my PC friends in the villages here in Southern. In October my friend Mary is coming to visit and that should be super fun! So I just wanted to let y'all know that my mood is improving and that LTM is starting to work for me... or I am starting to work for it, rather.
Peace. Be well.
Oh! And I think that some of you (you know who you are) have forgotten that snail mail exists:
Annie Ringo Vine
PO Box 630109
Choma
Zambia
Posted by ringo at 5:39 PM | Comments (1)
September 1, 2005
Hard Times
It seems like all the things that y'all are going through at home... the tough stuff... is so far beyond my reach. That doesn't mean that I'm not praying for you all and loving you from afar. Please know that I am with you, no matter if you're touched by a massive hurricane (Nady & Trav), unemployment, sickness, or just plain depression, etc. Africa isn't that far away. We all have these shitty times in life. My brother here, Derek (the son to my Bamaiyo Ba Given), sent me a text message last night that couldn't have come at a better time. He didn't know that I needed it, but it meant a lot. Plus it rhymes, that's always a bonus:
as day turns into night,
keep your worries out of sight,
no matter how tough the world may seem,
you still deserve the sweetest dreams.
It may seem simple, but it made me realize that we have friends all over the world (even within Zambia) that care for us with whatever words they can find. Know that I am here, in a better place than I have been in some weeks, and that I think of you all too too often. Letters will come soon, but I've been so movious (a Zamlish term) lately that I haven't had time to write.
Posted by ringo at 5:34 PM | Comments (1)