I've been back in Belgium for almost a month now. I will start by reflecting upon how the transition went between my life in Zambia and my life here. It was a very strange feeling being back here. The first week I was a mess. I was constantly comparing things and thinking about the friends I’ve made in Zambia. I was sort of heartbroken and didn’t feel like I fitted in in Belgium. I felt alienated with my friends and family here and was longing to be back there. After a while these feelings changed and I started to feel at ease again. It’s strange because now Hasselt feels more like home than it did before I left. I’ve noticed some major changes within myself. I really feel as if this experience abroad did wonders for me, as if I’m a changed human being. I’m more relaxed and don’t give myself a hard time like I used to. I’m more empathetic and basically more kind. I consider this as the best experience I’ve had in my life.
I just finished a Zambian novel, which I will explain later, and I couldn’t put a stop to my mind. As I was trying to fall asleep I couldn’t help but getting little flashbacks about my life in Kabwe. I decided to start writing my feelings down, although it’s almost 1 A.M., I felt like there couldn’t be a more perfect timing. It’s still a bit hard thinking about it but in a beautiful way. I was picturing myself coming home from Shitima on my bike, arriving in the lodge and chitchatting with the other residents. These memories made me smile but there is whiff of sorrow attached to them. A mellow sphere flew over me. You can almost call it melancholy but it’s not intense enough for that, there is too much joy in my memories. Now, more about the book. It was very hard to find a book written by a Zambian author in the public library in Hasselt. After some searching I found a book written by an American lawyer/ human rights activist who had a passion for the African continent. He went to Zambia to do some research so he could write this story. Although it is fiction, there are some problematic issues still happening in Zambia that he approaches in this novel. The book is about a mentally disabled child ( Down Syndrome) who gets raped in the streets of Lusaka, the capital of Zambia. An American lawyer who has been living in Lusaka for several years, gets personally involved in this case. In a later chapter of the book you find out that she has also been a victim of rape in her younger years. When the story unfolds you find out that the person responsible for the rape is the son of a very powerful business magnate and a Supreme Court Judge in Lusaka. Some of the issues addressed in the novel are the taboos against mentally disabled children in Zambia. It is interesting how the writer expresses this. He mentions that people often are ashamed of their offspring and that they are locked away. When I was doing my internship I also helped out in Caleb centre school for Autism. Although this is something different, reactions are quite similar with these topics. It’s not acknowledged and people don’t understand it. In many cases religion also has something to do with it. Another big issue was also the taboo against HIV. This obviously still lives in countries like Zambia, where almost 1/8 of the population suffers from the disease. The most frightening thing is that many people don’t address western medicines and go to witchdoctors. This is also what happens in the story. You find out that the rape happens because of superstitions about aids. Supposedly you can cure aids by sleeping with a virgin. This and some other personal reasons were the perpetrator’s motive. The scary thing is that I’ve also heard these stories during the time that I was there. Some people actually believe in that. Furthermore there is also the issue of corruption. In the book the perpetrator and his powerful family try to make sure that evidence is destroyed and witnesses are liquidated. An example is the DNA samples that magically disappear from the hospital. It’s also important to mention that , the fact that DNA was used, was ground-breaking. In these kind of cases this normally isn’t used and they had to ask permission for it. Permission was granted which wasn’t an ordinary thing. I couldn’t find a lot information about this subject but this is what the author mentions in his epilogue. He did his research there and is a lawyer himself. I really enjoyed reading the book, it took me back to my time there a bit. Different words like braai, shoprite, muzungu … popped up and this was strange after not hearing them for a month. I think I read it in 3 days and I thought it had some good plot twists. I just summarized the gist of the story but there were some other very interesting turns in the story. The ending, although a happy ending, was also unexpected. In the end the mother of the perpetrator, the Supreme Court Judge, chooses for a better juridical system instead of her son.
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![]() This will probably be one of my last messages here on this blog because I’m almost leaving for Belgium. So little time so much to do .. The last couple of weeks the students were studying for their end of term tests. Most lessons were cancelled but some in the morning did take place. One of the English lessons was a short revision of the Conditionals and expressing a condition with a different word than if. First we revised the three types of condition again through an exercise. I gave them a situation where a father is having a talk with his son about school results. They had to tell me when a father would say the following things and why at that particular moment. Normally we also use this exercise to explain condition but something is different here though. I had to take in account that school starts in January not in September like in Belgium. I noticed that this part of the lesson went okay due to the fact that it was a revision. I thoroughly discussed all three conditions in a previous lesson so this was just a quick repetition of what they’ve already learned. Next I wanted to explain to them that besides ‘if’ there are different ways of expressing condition like ‘ even if’ ‘ unless’ and ‘but for’ but they do have a different meaning. I gave them examples and let them derive the different meaning from these examples. Class conversation I’m leaving for Belgium in a couple of weeks. Even If I left right now, I would still visit you guys.
Exactly, so this really expresses something similar like ‘if’ but just emphasises the action. What about the next sentence: ‘ Nothing will stop me from coming back unless something unexpected happens.’
If you had studied hard, you would have succeeded! 30 December Failed the exams Nothing can be done regret Refers to the past 3rd conditional If you studied hard, you would succeed! 1 September Not likely Unreal Refers to the future 2nd conditional If you study hard, you will succeed! 1 January hope refers to the present and the future 1st conditional I also tried out a social experiment for my literature class. Like I previously mentioned, we’re discussing the book Animal Farm. I was researching on the internet and I found an interesting activity to do in class, it goes like this: I conduct a social experiment by telling the students they have rebelled against my authority in the classroom (I can’t take credit for this idea; it’s in the teaching notes for the novel). I give them a list of five things they have to accomplish before they can start functioning as a literature class:
I noticed some interesting things while doing it. First of all, like I already expected, I saw that there were some pupils who took control and tried to become the leader. These pupils were also the ones that were the most critical throughout the lessons. There were also some pupils that didn’t really participate and just let everything happen. We can see similar behaviours occur in the book. Some characters take the lead while others just follow. Secondly, I noticed that despite of the fact I told them it was about functioning as a literature class they changed this background a bit. All of a sudden they were rebelling against white people instead of my authority as a literature teacher. Of course they didn’t mean it directly to me but I do think this was an interesting thing to view. The British colonization wasn’t that long ago and I think the things that happened back then still live in people’s mind. Lastly I think it was really enjoyable to see how united they became through a song. They also made a song like beasts of England which really talked about them being one big family. Besides teaching there were some other things to occupy us here in Zambia. Last weekend there was a big ceremony in Mongu ,in the Western province, that we visited. Kuomboka ceremony is a 300 years old ritual that normally happens every year. It has been four years since it happened now because the Lozi queen has died. The ceremony involves the Lozi king migrating from lower grounds to higher grounds due to heavy rains in the rainy season. We were so excited to go on this trip although it was just for the weekend and an eleven hour drive… The drive went very smooth and before we knew it, we arrived in Mongu. We still had to search for a place to set up or tents but this was done in no time. We camped in the garden of a fancy lodge. Because it was already late we didn’t feel like cooking so we went to a Lebanese place to get some dinner. After that, most of us were tired and went to bed. The next morning some of us got up at four thirty to make sure we could rent a boat to follow the Lozi king. Some others, including myself, weren’t able to get up that early and joined them two hours later. :p The boat trip was so peaceful, we sailed on the Zambezi river to the place where the Lozi king was getting on his boat. Along the way we saw some beautiful landscapes and blue skies, it was amazing. When we finally arrived there, a huge crowd was cheering on the Lozi king. It was so cool to see! After that we just went back to the lodge and washed up a bit because it was already late. We made some dinner and hung out with our group. The next day we travelled back to Kabwe really early in the morning. It was a good weekend and there is still one to come, there is a wedding coming up this Sunday! I’ll probably update my blog when I’m on my way back to Belgium so keep an eye on my page. Waauw, my return flight is really getting closer now. It’s so unreal that it’s almost time for me to go back to Belgium. I have mixed feelings about this, on the one hand I would really love the see my family and friends again but I can’t imagine leaving here. The new friends I’ve made, the bond you get with the pupils, the different way of life… This has truly been one of the best experiences in my life! I haven’t updated my blog in a while so I have a bunch of stuff to tell you guys. The moment I wrote my previous blog I was in Lusaka. I went there to catch up with some schoolwork because it is more quiet there. Although I really enjoy my time here in the lodge, it’s so hard to get everything done over here. It was very strange being in Lusaka, It was a bit like being back in Belgium. We went to a shopping mall and the stores there were so different than in Kabwe. Although I really enjoy Kabwe, you have a broader assortment of things in Lusaka. On Sunday there also was the final match of the African Cup in Lusaka and Zambia won!! Unfortunately we were busy with some schoolwork so we didn’t manage to go to the stadium but some other friends did. We travelled back to Kabwe on Monday because it was a long weekend. The next thing I knew, we were back in Kabwe and I was getting ready for another week of teaching at Shitima.
One of the English lessons I taught was expressing reason. I started this lesson by asking the pupils some questions. The first question was ‘ Why do you come to school?’. They gave me different answers like: ‘ I come to school because I want to educate myself.’ And ‘ I come to school because then you can find a better job .’ Next, I asked them what they are expressing with these sentences. They answered that they were giving me the reason why they do certain things. I asked them what the reasons in these sentences were and which word indicates this reason. They told me, in these sentences,’ because’ expresses the reason. Next, I explained to them that there are also some other ways to express reason. You can also use since/as/seeing (that)/ now ( that). It is important to emphasise that you can’t use ’now that’ in the past though. Next, I also asked them when we have to add a comma. The rule is the same as in a conditional clause, a subject they already covered. When the reason comes first and the main clause comes second, you have to add a comma. If it’s the other way around, you can’t add a comma. As an exercise I asked them to think about what they want to become when they grow up. They have to give me a profession and then give three reasons why that’s the job of their choice, while using since, because, seeing that … After this they had to prepare some other exercises from the book. Something that I find very difficult to cope with, while preparing my lessons, are the actual books. I think the topics are explained quite strange and not really elaborate. It’s so different from the lessons I normally prepare in Belgium. Internet is a major help though. I also discovered, through the pupil I am guiding individually, that the pupils in grade 11 are currently studying the book ‘ Animal farm’ in their literature class. I decided to help them out with this book because I also read it and due to the fact that I’m a history teacher, I can give them more information about the main theme of this book: The Russian Revolution. I discussed this with mr. Aelbrecht, my history teacher in Belgium, and he agreed with this. The lessons I gave so far were quite nice! When I first came into the class they told me that they watched the movie last week. Some students have read the book as well. The first thing I asked them is to give a summary of the movie. We discussed this together in class and then we started discussing the different characters. Through this I also explained what happened during the Russian Revolution. The pupils didn’t cover this in their history classes yet and it is quite a challenging subject. The book really helps simplifying these complicated events in history. We first started out with Mr. Jones. I asked the pupils to give some characteristics and to explain the way he behaved towards the animals. They told me that he was a drunk that didn’t care for the animals. They were underfed and really unsatisfied about their current situation. This was also the case during the reign of the last Tsar in Russia, Nicolas II. The economy of Russia was very poor and a lot of people in Russia suffered from malnutrition. The proletariat was discontent with the way he led the country and also the First World War. Mr Jones represented Tsar Nicolas II in the book. We did the same for some other major characters like Old Major, Napoleon, Snowball, Boxer, Mr Fredericks … I really made sure that I did this in a chronological order. This is necessary so that the pupils can understand the different events that occurred during the Russian Revolution. One thing I really liked about these lessons is that the pupils were very critical and asked a lot of questions. This is such a good thing when you’re studying literature. This also really improves their oral skills. To finish this blog I would like to tell you something about my weekend, this was quite emotional. Yesterday, we said goodbye to some friends, 2 British boys. They raised some money in Great-Britain and decided to say goodbye to everyone, especially the children at Shitima, in a proper way. They did this by organising a braai. They invited us to join and we also helped them with the preparations. The meal consisted of a self-made hamburger, chicken, sweet potatoes and last but not least some Nshima. People here really like Nshima :D We had so much fun! We all fooled around and I also danced with some students. This was so funny, they even taught me how to twerk :D The way girls dance over here… wauw. I really felt like a muzungu ( Bemba for white person). I also started to realise that in a few weeks, I’m also leaving. I can’t explain what went through my mind at that moment. Both happiness and a deep sorrow came upon me. It’s really heart-breaking to think about the different relationships you developed with everyone here and the fact that in a few weeks, you probably won’t see them again for a very long time. Then the time came for the British boys to actually say their goodbyes, this was also very emotional for them. They told us the hardest part was saying their goodbyes to the kids. They were so sure they weren’t going to cry before but alas .. they had to blink away a tear. After the braai we also stopped at a party thrown by some other friends, who were also leaving. We danced and enjoyed each other’s company so much. It was a strange but beautiful evening that I will really cherish forever. Last week, we finally headed for Livingstone! We left on Thursday night at about 1 o’clock. We rented a van for 8 people and then we were off! The drive was quite comfortable, I slept the whole way through. They took some funny pictures of me sleeping with my mouth open and twitching in my sleep, beautiful pics. :) We arrived at 10 AM on Friday. We we’re all in a bad mood because the rain was really pouring down. Fortunately the sky cleared up and our moods turned. A visit to the Victoria Falls was the first thing on our list. The view was stunning, you can’t describe the feeling you get when you’re standing there. At the edge of a cliff, completely soaked and walking your way through these amazing landscapes. Magnificent. We also descended to the boiling pot, where we met a local guy. We went into some shallow waters where there was a small waterfall and we bathed under it, that was so cool! We stayed near the Falls for a couple of hours and then we went back to Fawlty Towers, our lodge. Next we ( FINALLY) had a hot shower. It’s such a good feeling, after having cold water for a month, to take a hot shower. In the evening we had dinner in a place called Zambezi Café, very nice food there.
The next day we wanted to go rafting for half a day but unfortunately we were too late so we couldn’t go. Instead we went on a horseback riding safari. This was a bit disappointing. We saw some animals like giraffes, zebras and impalas but it was quite boring actually. We only walked with the horses and my horse couldn’t stop eating so it went very slow. Now, looking back it was quite funny but at the time I was a bit annoyed. That evening we went back to the Zambezi Café because it was such a nice place. On Sunday we got up very early to cross the border to Botswana to visit the Chobe National Park. The first part of the safari we went on a boat and chilled a little. We saw hippos, crocodiles, eagles and buffalos there. We had a quick but nice lunch and then we headed for the safari with a vehicle. This was so amazing. The best part was that we saw a lion in action. It was hunting some wild boars but it was actually interrupted by another, impatient lion. We heard we were very lucky to see a lion, because of the rainy season. We also saw a herd of elephants and the animals I mentioned earlier. That evening we visited an Indian place for dinner. I really liked it but let’s just say one of my friends didn’t have a pleasant night.. :D On Monday we left early in the morning for our next destination, the Lower Zambezi. The drive was quite exhausting. There was an opportunity to take a shortcut and unfortunately we took it. That wasn’t the best idea because the road got very bumpy and we were forced to turn around. We lost a lot of time due to that. The change of scenery was cool though, Livingstone is very touristic but on our way to the Lower Zambezi the environment changed. This actually was what I expected from Zambia in general, small villages, baobabs and an overall rural and less developed place. Perhaps this was a part of my single story of Zambia. In reality it is so different in Kabwe, the place I’m staying. We finally arrived at 10 PM so it was a lot later than we originally planned. We all had a quick shower and started a braai again. The Kiambi lodge, where we were staying, was charming. We all felt like we were in an actual resort but only paid a small amount of money for a cottage. We went to bed early and woke up at about five o’clock because we wanted to go on a fishing boat and see the sunrise. A pity we missed it. We went on the boat though and Lara, a Belgian friend, actually caught a tiger fish. This was our last activity and the time had come to go back to Kabwe. We had some difficulties going back because, due to the heavy rains there, the main road was flooded. We went back to the lodge and they arranged a different road for us, we could pass through a Zambeef farm. Again a very bumpy ride but there was no other option this time. We really where in the middle of nowhere. We almost ran out of petrol but luckily we arrived in a village just in time. The rest of the drive went okay but we arrived later than expected back in Kabwe.
Time flies here in Kabwe! I can’t believe I’ve been here for a whole month already. Let me start with the celebration of my birthday. This really was an unforgettable, amazing experience! At first I was a little bummed because this was the first birthday that I wasn’t surrounded by my family and best friends but the people here in Kabwe made me feel so loved! We had a braai on Saturday evening and then we went out. My actual birthday was on Monday but due to the fact that I had school on Tuesday and I couldn’t celebrate it then, I decided to throw a small get-together on Saturday. This was a perfect night, we all laughed and had so much fun! People surprised me with sweet birthday cards, cake, presents … On my actual birthday some fellow housemates threw water on me because this is a Zambian tradition when someone’s having a birthday. They fooled me by saying there was something wrong with my bike and when I went outside to check it out, I was taken off guard and I ended up soaked! One of the best birthdays ever! One of the English lessons I taught last week was a reading comprehension. The pupils had to read a passage from the adventure novel ‘ the Kon-Tiki expedition’. First of all, I let them read the introduction out loud so I could test their reading skills. They were very eager to read. Secondly, we discussed the introduction. The Kon-Tiki expedition is based on a true story written by Thor Heyerdahl. The introduction tells us that the writer was one of the members of the expedition. He and five other men travelled from Peru to Polynesia on a wooden raft, to prove that this was how original inhabitants travelled from Peru to Polynesia thousands of years ago. Next, the pupils had to answer questions about a passage in the book so we discussed these first to see if every question was clear. After this, the pupils started reading and they could answer the questions. I’m going to do this differently next time because I noticed the pupils had difficulties with reading in depth. When I corrected the answers, I saw that some questions were too challenging for them and that they answered them too literally. I will let them read the text silently but answer the questions together and make sure that they really understand what they are reading. I can help them and guide them by asking questions. This was the first paragraph from the text. ‘ When we walked about the deck, there were big sharks lying in the way, beating their tails on the deck and trying to bite. We soon had nine lying round us, and were so tired that we stopped fishing.’ The first question was: How did the sharks get on the deck? Almost everybody responded with ‘ big sharks were lying In the way, beating their tails on the deck and trying to bite. The actual answer was supposed to be ‘ they were fished out of the water by the men’. I also taught the first conditional and I think this lesson went very well. I started out asking them which country they want to visit sometime and what they will do if they get there. My example was ‘If I go to Peru, I will visit Machu Picchu.’ I explained that Machu Picchu was an ancient Inca temple found in Peru. Next they had to think of examples. The pupils really enjoyed this. From their examples I derived the theory. I explained that when you use the first conditional you talk about something ( If this happens), it will be followed by something that is very likely to happen. You use the simple present tense in the conditional clause and the future simple when you talk about the result that is most likely to happen afterwards. Next they had to make sentences themselves. I also made a few local dishes with some of the other teachers, this was so fun! We made sausage rolls and samosas. I struggled a little with the dough but all together they turned out great. My fellow housemate, Lara, a Belgian girl who also works at Shitima, joined us. We told the teachers that we're going to learn them how to cook a traditional Belgian meal. We still have to think of a meal though. I have three more lessons to teach before I will go on my first trip here in Zambia, we’re finally going to Livingstone! I’m really counting down the days, I’m super excited. I will go there with 4 other Belgian girls, 2 British boys and a Czechian guy. We organised everything together and will be gone for about 5 days. We will visit ( OBVIOUSLY) the tremendous Victoria Falls, a national park in Botswana, and another national park that is found next to the Lower Zambezi. I really can’t wait! We’re going to do a lot of stuff, but I really look forward to the rafting, that’s going to be so cool! On Wednesday, 8 March, there is also a national holiday, Women’s Day! This is the first day after our trip, I’m glad I will be able to experience this as well! I got a Shitenge from school and the tailor made it into a dress. I’m going to wear this on Women’s Day and march in a parade! I will update you guys after all these major events! Cheeeers I’ve been in Kabwe for approximately three weeks now. I’m still really enjoying my stay although it has been very exhausting. The days are long but also very fulfilling. I have classes from Monday to Friday and sometimes I have to get up at 6.00 AM, I don’t mind though. I’m starting to get to know the children in my classes and that’s been great so far. I repeat their names daily because this isn’t an easy task over here, so many difficult names! The lessons are going fine in general. I have taught many different topics in my English class. Some lessons are focused on oral skills others on grammar or reading comprehension. One of the things I noticed is that I should really watch out that I don’t talk too fast. People here have a totally different accent so sometimes It’s hard for us to understand each other . I have noticed that my English is improving due to my daily practice. Something I have also noticed is that the English books are not very elaborate. This is especially the case for grammar lessons. My last English lesson, the pupils had to learn the comparative and the superlative. I tried to use one of my own books to derive the theory from. I started this lesson by comparing Zambia with Belgium. Pupils were really interested in this, they were discussing different topics like heat, safety, health, … Next I used this information to actually let them understand the theory. Lastly they could practice this topic by doing exercises. My history lessons are also going great so far! The topics I’m teaching now are quite similar to the ones in Belgium. I have to explain the evolutionary theory, different sources of history, different branches of history… It’s really nice that I can work with a PowerPoint over here although I need to make sure I’m prepared to teach the lesson either way. One of the things I tried out is comparing the evolutionary theory with evolving Pokémon. I think the pupils, all 12-13 years old, really enjoyed this. In a few weeks I’m starting with the Bantu migrations so this is also an adventure for me because I know really little about this subject. In my spare time I did many other things: I visited a church, a school for children with autism, another school were one of my housemates is volunteering, founded an own club for my VOS-project, .. The church was a really nice but intense experience. It was cool to really immerse in the Zambian culture. There was a lot of singing ,preaching and abundant hand gestures. I also had to introduce myself and the locals sang a song to welcome me in their church, very moving. The school for children with autism, Caleb Centre, was also very interesting. The woman who founded the school is really close to this project due to personal reasons. She has a child with autism herself and it was quite a struggle for her figuring out his exact condition. She told us how she handled this situation. Doctors sent her back and forth a lot and didn’t want to acknowledge he had autism. She did some research herself and figured it out, that’s when she actually started the school, I think it’s a really nice initiative. I’m actually thinking about developing something within this school for my bachelor thesis. I’m also super excited because I have an upcoming birthday next week and I’m going to have a little get-together this Saturday. We’re going to have a braai ( South-African word for BBQ) and then have a small party. I really look forward to it! It’s going to be the first time I actually go to a party here. I’m really curious about it because I heard a lot about it. Okay, that’s about it for today I’ll update my blog very soon ;) I have been in Kabwe for over a week now. Everything is still going very good. J I’m really starting to feel at home in the lodge. There are some people actually living there for a longer period and also some people passing through for a couple of days. It’s really interesting that way because you get to meet a lot of different people. It’s also really cool that I’m actually starting to learn to become more independent. I can really say now I was a little spoiled at home. Here I have to do my own cooking, my laundry, my groceries … Although I was not used to it, I am enjoying it. I cook together with another German boy in the house so that’s cool as well. We shop for groceries together and cook every other day. The cooking is a two-hours process though. Most of the time we’re eating at 9-10 pm. Generally I’m really relaxed over here. I’m feeling a lot less pressure, I haven’t bitten my nails since I arrived here :D It would be so cool if I could actually get rid of this bad habit. I also started teaching this week. My English mentor, mr. Mandona, gave me some clear instructions for my upcoming English lessons. I actually really enjoyed his lesson, it was very clear and structured. My first lesson was focused on oral skills . Everything went okay except a minor difficulty. I didn’t have any scans of the book so the pupils had to write some things down them self. Fortunately, the lesson was focused on oral communication so there wasn’t much writing needed. The students in my class are just sweethearts! They are so polite and hard-working, it’s really refreshing to see how motivated pupils are over here. The next lesson the pupils arrived 15 minutes late because they had to clean the dining area. I guess I’ll have to get used to that, things happening much slower over here. I had some minor frustrations because of some appointments I had this week and I had to wait a couple of hours before the people actually showed up. I was warned for this in Belgium so I knew I could be expecting this. It didn’t bother me that much because I could just work on some lesson plans and play with the children. All the children are so sweet here, wow! They are curious about me and want to touch me all the time. Although I’m aware me being a rich western girl also has something to do with it, I really enjoy talking and playing with them. I brought some pencils and sweets to give to the children, it’s really amazing how grateful they are! It’s really quite different with children in Belgium. I grew up in an environment where a lot of things were handed to me without any problems. A lot of children in Belgium are overprivileged and just don’t understand what they have. That’s so different here. Although I’m really enjoying it, some sceneries are quite shocking. I visited one of the poorest compounds in the South of Africa, Makulu. It started to rain and it was really astonishing to see how quickly the place flooded. My main thought was, I’m here for like three months and I’m just seeing it as an outsider but you can’t really imagine how it would be actually living your life in one of these slums. I also visited a 13 year old girl in the hospital with malaria. This was also so touching to see how people get health care over here. The rest of the week I already have some things on my schedule. I was going to accompany mister Zulu to church, there is the regular shopping and laundry that I have to do on Saturday and one of the locals here has a birthday on Sunday so I think we’re going to celebrate it a little. I’ll keep you guys posted ;) The time has finally come for my departure! Bye Belgium, hello Zambia! I really looked forward to leaving but it was very hard to say goodbye to my friends. They came to my house and surprised me with a banner. It was really emotional, so If any of you guys are reading this, big love for all of you!!! <3 Then the time came for me to leave for Düsseldorf. My father, his girlfriend and my sister came with me to the airport. We ate something in a restaurant there and then I had to check in. Everything went very smoothly. Once I passed the gate, I was by myself. In the beginning I was a bit scared because this was the first time I had flown without any company. It was a very comfortable flight though, I flew with Emirates. I flew to Dubai first and then I had to get on another plain to Lusaka. Everything was very easy to find. I arrived in Lusaka but then I had some minor problems. There were some problems with my visa, there weren’t any shops open where I could by a local telephone card and my taxi driver didn’t show up. I didn’t panic though and just took everything one step at a time. I searched for a taxi driver and bargained a little bit for a good price. I paid 300 Kwacha ( approximately 30 euros) to get to my lodge. My first impressions of Lusaka were really positive! Because of the rainy season there is a lot of vegetation and everything looks very beautiful. The people were also very friendly. I arrived in the lodge at about 4 pm. I checked into my room, refreshed myself and had a short nap because I had a headache and was really exhausted. Then I got up, ate something and I met 2 girls. We had a few beers by the pool and talked all evening. It was really fun meeting other travellers! Then It was time to go to bed. The next day I woke up at about 10 am and I talked to some other visitors. I was talking to the receptionist and explained to him that I was from Belgium. Another visitor overheard and he started talking Dutch to me. It was really fun because I found out they had been staying in the same lodge in Kabwe that I was going to stay. Unfortunately it was their last day in Zambia so they had to leave the same night. They introduced me to some other people who were going to Kabwe that night so I could get a ride from them. I arrived in the Ghana Motion Backpackers lodge at about 22 pm. I had a shower and went straight to bed. The next morning I got up at about 7 am. This is really going to be an adjustment because I’m not used to it :). Normally I get up a little later .. or a lot :D. Chileshe, the woman who is currently in charge of the lodge, was really kind and offered me a cup of coffee. That was so nice because I didn’t have anything yet and I really need my cup of coffee in the morning. Next she went into town with me. This was the first time I really visited Kabwe centre. There were a lot of little shops. One of the things I found very hard was that people drive on the other side of the road over here so it was hard for me to cross the street. I had to do everything backwards. I bought a local telephone card and some groceries in town. When I came back Memory ( A woman who’s also staying at Ghana Motion) prepared a meal for us. It was a real experience because it was the first time I ate some local food. It was good but it is different than Belgian food. The fun part was that we could eat with our hands. In the afternoon Memory and Mr. Zulu taught me some Bemba. This is one of the languages besides English over here. It was really fun, I’ve already learnt several words, I still really have to practice though. Tomorrow I’m meeting Mr. Izek Jere, my contact person from Shitima School. I look forward to getting to know him and visiting the school! I have heard a lot of good things about him from the people who are staying here.
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