Last Day in Ndola

Where I have been staying

Last day in Ndola was quite peaceful.  Went to church with moffat and then came back to the flat to pack up and have a relaxing afternoon.  Laston, who I have been working with pretty much everyday, came by for one last good bye.  Yesterday, he gave me three of his authentic african t-shirts which was quite an honor and treat to have.  I am surely going to miss him and the team at Northrise.  I already know that I will  come back again visit, hopefully before the completion of the Northrise campus that should be finished in about 5-8 years (pending donations).  Tomorrow,  President moffat and I are off to Lusaka for a day to tour the city and then grabbing an afternoon flight to Livingston where we are staying at the Zambezi Sun Hotel  next to Victoria Falls ( one of the seven natural wonders of the world).

-Skeeter

The traveler sees what he sees.  The tourist sees what he has come to see.  ~G.K. Chesterton

banana sales

After an enduring two weeks of banana harvesting, I went out with the sales team, joseph and gift, early Saturday morning to hit up the local markets outside the city to sell as many banana crates as possible.  Our first stop was in a really rural township with chickens running in the streets and dirt roads with big potholes (not really good for the truck).  When we took the corner to arrive at the local selling spot, women dashed to our truck to pick out the best crates.  Everyone buys the bananas by the crates, which is about 30 kgs and 60,000 kuacha (around 12 bucks).  It was quite comical to see all the people inspecting each crate to try to get the best one.  Essentially each banana is bought at 500 kuacha and sold for a 1000, which is a difference of like 50 cents.  my biggest regret so far in Ndola was not bringing my camera on the sales trip... we cruised to a lot of cool markets and back roads filled with really funny kids and friendly people.  What I have enjoyed so much about this place is how safe it is.  Last night I walked back from the quick safe (where I grabbed dinner) and felt safe the entire time.

Friday was my last day on the farm and I finally got a chance to take photos with the farmers I have been hanging out with.

The banana farmers

monday, I am off to Lusaka (state capital of Zambia) for a day and then fly to Livingston for three days.

-alex

You don't want your credibility banana to turn brown, but you do want to speak out about what you believe in. -Bradley Whitford 

News update

fishing for dinner

Sorry for the delay... this week once again has been pretty busy harvesting bananas on the farm. No big spider spotting in awhile, but have encountered frogs, chameleons, huge wasps, lots of tiny spiders all in the banana branches.  Still researching and figuring out better farming techniques for the farm.  This is their second year in production with the 4 acre plot they have so far... the biggest hardship for banana farming is not allowing the bananas to bruise throughout the harvesting/packaging process.  Bananas are pretty much the most sensitive fruit there is... even one dent to them in the early stages will cause them to bruise.  I cant believe that the bananas in california/us (which mostly come if not all from south america and take about two weeks of distribution) are perfectly yellow.

Last weekend consisted of going fishing at a couple ponds outside the city with a worker from Northrise and his buddy.  We actually caught some fish, but they were not big to be proud of or to even eat, but it was an enjoyable excursion.  After fishing, we cruised to the Ndola boating club and saw New Zealand beat South Africa in the Absa Currie Rugby Cup qualifier.   


just booked my flight down to Livingston next week to check out Victoria Falls and going on a one day safari at chobe national park with President moffat.  maybe get a bungee jump adventure off the victoria falls bridge!













miss you all!


-Alex


 I travel a lot; I hate having my life disrupted by routine.  ~Caskie Stinnett

Banana Harvesting

Bob pointing out the banana spider

So this week so far has been pretty routine.  Waking up early in the morning and driving out to the Northrise farm to harvest bananas for about 3-4 hours, and then coming back to the Northrise Caravelle house to eat lunch.  So far it has been great everyday.  It has just been farmer Bob and a couple of the local workers, who I have been having a lot of fun with.  We both ask a lot of questions to each other... mostly them asking me about California, the ocean (which they have never seen), and how much everything is in Kuacha (the Zambian currency.) They are teaching me the local Bimba language, which I am getting pretty good at.  The farm is out of the city where it is more quit and breezy.  The harvesting has been different this week because the air has been dryer because it is there winter time, which is causing the bananas to ripen on the tree.  Instead of the regular harvesting routine (which is cutting down the bananas and packing them in the crates right in the fields), we have to walk around the fields looking for the ripened banana trees and taking them back to the farm house to quickly cut them up, dip them in ripening solution, and throw them in the refrigerated container.

No spotting of any black mambas yet, but we found a large tarantula looking spider hiding in one of the banana branches.  Bob and I were taking some photos of it and eventually killed it.  He didnt know what it was, so I researched it and found that it was a Brazillian traveling banana spider, which I guess is pretty gnarly. 

Chima has been made for the workers and I this week, which is similiar to corn meal.  You have a plate of that and then a plate of sauce, vegetables, and some sort of meat such as fish heads or chicken.  I actually got laughed at for eating the chima with a fork.....  supposedly its custom to eat the chima with your hands by rolling it up with your fingers and dipping it the sauce (a mans dream come true).




This weekend should entail cruising out the one of the lakes a little ways away to fish and hopefully another round of golf.

chopping bananas with my machete

I hope everyone is doing well and miss you all.

-Alex

“Too often. . .I would hear men boast of the miles covered that day, rarely of what they had seen.” – Louis L’Amour

A relaxing weekend

caddy william and I 

After such a busy week, this weekend has been very relaxing and the weather couldntbe any better.  Saturday comprised of President moffat once again taking me to the Vanilla Bread restaurant for cappuccinos and lunch.  Kevin, who runs an NGO for an elementary school, picked me up from the restaurant and we cruised over to the Ndola Golf Course.  Golfing was a wonderful experience and the first non-work fun event I have done on the trip.  Kevin just walked while I played because he is too tall for any of the rentals.  Fortunately moffat was given old Ben Hogans as a gift from a person back in the states (Pasadena actual).  Because there are mostly European standards out here... I had to have a caddy as a walked nine holes.  The course was in okay shape, but it was quite challenging because there were historic ant hills all around the course which were unforgiving.  

Today (Sunday) was quite a relaxing day.  moffat and I went to Baptist Church for the morning service.  Church here involves a lot more signing and praying which makes it quite more spiritual and worthwhile.  After church, moffat took me back to his house (which is so beautiful) where we had a amazing brunch cooked by his wife Doreen and then we lounged out by his garden under the wonderful sun and his new kittens.  It has been an interesting experience living on my own in the guest flat this past weekend, but I am quite proud of myself to not be spooked out being alone at the school.  I hope I can keep it up!


TIA


Alex

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."
Deuteronomy 31:6

media team week

This week has been very busy and full of wonderful experiences.  The media team of Northrise came out to Ndola and stayed at the Northrise guest flat with Adam Sallee and I, which turned out to be a great time.  The media team consisted of Dave Cheatham, Danny Ortega, Paige Fullmer, Sabra Gertsch, Tony Elliot, and justin Clark.  Their main purpose was to visit and interview Northrise alumni who have made a strong impact the local community.  There was also some Northrise students who followed the team around to learn about photography.



On monday, we visited an alumni named joyce who runs Arising Life ministry in mushili, Ndola who helps educate children who have been abandoned by their parents and/or have not been able to get a proper education.  The looks to improve their facility by hopefully getting electricity in the near furture.  Recently, Seeds of Life put in a water pump to get the kids and the rest of the community fresh water.

Student at the mapalo glory academy

On Tuesday, the media team and I went to the mapalo glory academy to visit an alumni named Emil Mukaka.  Visiting the school was my favorite day of the week.  We visited the various classrooms in which the young students sang us songs and showed us their writing talents.  We then met with the two cooks who explained to us that the lunch provided at that school is usually the only meal the kids get each day.  Lunch that day was chuma (similar to dryer corn meal which is a common favorite of the locals) and carpenda fish (pretty much sardines) The school is located outside the city in a village where there is no running water.  Principal mukaka wanted to start the school in order to educate local kids in order for them to have a brighter future.   The highlight of the day was playing soccer with some of the younger boy students.  After visiting the school, the media team and I went to the quicksave for lunch, which has been the go to place to grub.  

student at the mapalo glory academy

child patient waiting for medical treatment

WEDNESDAY-  The morning trip was to the Arthur Davison Childrens Hospital, which was a sobering experience.  President moffat of Northrise presented medical supplies donated by some generous donors from usa to the executive director of the hospital, Dr Sam Phiri, who allowed us to get a quick tour of the hospital.  The hospital, like every building in Ndola, has not been expanded or renovated since the English left in 60s.  The hospital beds, machines, accessories, etc. have not changed since for more than fifty years.  One floor was composed of children to designated rooms depending on the type of sickness they had, for example, malaria and tubercleosis.  There were two sections on one of the floors of the hospital, the High Cost section where it costs $30 dollars a day to stay and the low cost which speaks for itself.  The difference in cleanliness and provided ammenities was ridiculous between the sections.  AND there was one kid in the high cost section and about 40-50 children in the low cost ward.  After interviewing doctors and the nurses, the assistant director showed us the ART building which was detached from the main hospital.  The media team and I walked into the building and it seemed like an ER room because there were so many people waiting in the room.  We then were explained that the room was full of people who have AIDs and that they were waiting for treatment... talk about an eye opener.


Lunch was at Vanilla Bread, which is a great lunch spot owned by an Italian (which means the food is really bomb).  In the afternoon, we cruised to the Northrise farm to interview Farmer Bob who harvests the bananas and takes care of the chickens (I will be working with him next week on the farm)


Thursday---- consisted of interviewing Northrise students about how the university has given them a great education and an opportunity to succeed in life.


Today (Friday), the media team sadly left to Cape Town.  I have had a great time this week and I will miss them dearly, but I am glad to have made to long lasting relationships.
check out the media teams blog which further explain in detail out week.
http://zambition.info/



A great thanks to Adam Sallee for picking me up from the airport and helping me transition into the Northrise community.


I hope all is well.


-plumbskeet out

Arising Life Orphanage

monday was a great start to the week and one of the first busier days so far in Ndola.  The Northrise media team flew out from Arizona/California to shoot videos for Northrise for the week.  Their focus for is to interview, video, and shoot photos of the orphanages and schools that have been started by Northrise graduates.  We went to the Arising Life orphanage in the afternoon where the kids sang for us and showed us their artwork.  The official language of Zambia is English, which has made communication with the locals quite convenient.  The visit at the orphanage had quite the impact on me because most of these kids have either been abused, abandoned, and/or have lost their parents to HIV.  The children were very shy in the beginning, but became very photogenic and friendly after I started playing with them.  I made one friend name Dan who was seven years old who did not leave my side until the team went back to Northrise.

put your hands up in the air!!

It has been difficult loading photos for the blog, but it has been easy to upload them on my facebook if you want to check it out.  I will try to keep up with the updates, but this week will be quite busy.

TIA (This Is Africa!!)

Alex





“A nation's culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people.” - Ghandi

Weekend update

Northrise Farm

Its been a quiet weekend so far in Ndola... been chillin mostly at the downtown Northrise building and eating around the city.  Yesterday I toured the farmland where they harvest bananas and where the future campus of Northrise will be.  To sum up the property... a lot of ancient ant hills.  I saw the brand new Kuhula House Business building, which was quite impressive.  I met with farmer Bob at the banana farm and learned everything one needs to know about bananas.  Next week I will be working with him to finish harvesting the bananas so we can sell them to the local markets.   I have always wanted to harvest my favorite fruit in the entire world and I hope to can some significant knowledge about banana farming in case I want to pursue my dream of owning a banana plantation down in Costa Rica.  I finally learned why it has been so smoky in the local area... impoverished Africans from the east actually light fires in order to catch the field mice and eat them because of supposed healing powers from the meat.  The local Zambians are frustrated with these immigrants because of the unlawful burning of the land.  hope all is well back in the states!

To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries. Aldous Huxley 

Save travels in Ndola

Finally arrived into Ndola, Zambia.  It took two days to get out here because I had to stay overnight in johannesburg.  You can really see a lot of development and significant changes in joburg from the world cup.  Adam Sallee, who helps with the marketing of Northrise from Houston, is out here and was kind enough to pick me up from the airport.  Ndola so far is a wonderful place and everyone here is so kind and polite.  The only minor problem here is that it is quite smoky right now because they are burning the fields in order to get ready for the farming.  I had dinner with the Dean of Academics named Chialo at his house and had a wonderful time talking about politics and the local culture.  Tomorrow I am touring the city and the Northrise farm where they harvest bananas and raise chickens.  Hope all is well and I will be able to talk much more about the local area tomorrow.


 “All travel has its advantages. If the passenger visits better countries, he may learn to improve his own. And if fortune carries him to worse, he may learn to enjoy it.” – Samuel Johnson

Prelude to the my travels

The night before another "trip of a lifetime."  I am kind of disappointed this is the first time I have done a blog for my travels, but I am looking forward to sharing my experiences.  The next month I will be in Ndola, Africa working/volunteering for President Moffat at Northrise University.  So far, my volunteer work will consist of working on the farm at the university, tutoring business students, and helping out at the local orphanage.  The last week will consist of Moffat and I exploring the city of Livingston and going to a small safari in the African "bush".  

Volunteering in Africa is going to be an amazing and life changing experience.  After finishing my Africa adventure, my itinerary continues on to Europe where I will be backpacking with Patrick Driscoll, Andrew Likens, and so far, Bubba Botsford.  Our "graduation" trip is still in the making, but adventures include renting a car in Italy for a week, exploring the island of Ibiza, visiting friends in Madrid and Paris, and then off to Prague and Amsterdam before capping it off at Oktoberfest.  Its going to be much harder to communicate then because of the consistent traveling, but I hope through this blog that I am able to keep in touch with friends and family!

"The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page."  ~St. Augustine