Week 1- Cultural                                                                                                  

                                                                                       

It’s just over than a week now that we've been in Zambia and we’re gradually becoming accustomed to African life. The straw huts and numerous bugs which we have encountered are a bit of a shock to the system and we are frequently in a frenzy trying to figure out the best way of removing them from our rooms. My skin hasn't taken too well to the mosquitoes since on the second night of being here I managed to get twenty five bites on my legs- that will the first and last time I’ll forget to put on repellent!

On our first full day of being here, Patrick, our international host from the David Livingstone College took us on a tour of the town and gave us some guidance of where to go, what to see and places to avoid. The people in the town seem rather friendly and we are frequently greeted with ‘Hello mzungo!’ However, since we are white we do get hassled quite a bit especially from taxi drivers and people selling items on the street- we even had company on nearly our whole journey to the supermarket one day with one man trying to get us to buy his art.

Patrick took us on a tour of the teaching college on Monday and it was very interesting to see some similarities and differences between it and Stranmillis. Some things in common included similar classes such as professional studies as well as the library layout however their resources were rather limited. It was interesting to see how all the classrooms were very bare, packed to capacity and the students had to carry their tables and chairs from one class to another as there weren’t enough.

Patrick also took us to our schools which we’ll be teaching in for the next six weeks and we had a couple of observation days which allowed us to see how different the schools are here compared to back home. The schools really are basic with barely any resources and the teaching mainly involves the writing of notes on the blackboard for the children to copy into their books so at times it may be challenging however I am looking forward to the teaching experience.

On Tuesday night an African Cup of Nations match was being shown and we were eager to buy some Zambia football tops to participate in the buzz of all the locals in supporting their country. Unfortunately they didn't make it to the next round but I’m sure we’ll get wearing the tops again at some stage, especially since the locals got rather excited in seeing us kitted out.

We had our first of several trips to Victoria Falls and what an amazing sight we saw. It’s really hard to imagine what they are like until you’re actually standing on the bridge getting absolutely soaked from the spray of the waterfall. We even crossed the border into Zimbabwe where we met some enormous baboons along the way.

Overall, our first week in Zambia has been rather enjoyable (minus the bug situation) and we have experienced quite a bit of the African way of life so far and I am definitely looking forward to what’s in store over the next few months.