We stepped off the plane a bit after 6:15am in Lusaka, Zambia on September 16, 2013 to a blast of heat (even that early in the morning).
Hot season has again returned, and we're experiencing it again, one year later.
 |
| Potts family in the summer of 2013 (photo credit: Michael From) |
Here's some memories of the past year, in no particular order:
(I'll try to include links to previous blog posts where applicable: if you want to read more specifics about something listed below)
-Victoria Falls: 4 times! http://offeringupmylife.blogspot.ca/2014/04/victoria-falls-dry-season-vs-rainy.html
 |
| Victoria Falls in October (Zambia side) |
 |
| Victoria Falls in April, from the Zimbabwe side |
 |
| Victoria Falls in July from the Zambia side |
 |
| Victoria Falls in August (taken from the Zambia side looking towards Zimbabwe) |
-My kids have grown up so much… from being scared to walking on the grass here in shoes (it is coarse, tough grass) - to having grass fights. We bought them bikes and Kate learned to ride without training wheels (a hard thing to do with deep sand that the roads often have). She also lost her first tooth. Malachi has also grown from a toddler into a little boy, who started preschool (homeschool) this year.
 |
| grass fight in the backyard |
 |
| riding brand new bikes in Lusaka after we bought them |
 |
| First day of Grade 1 (homeschool) |
 |
| First day of preschool (homeschool) |
-Fruit: Guavas and Mangos! (So many guavas on our trees they would go bad before we could eat them or do anything with them). I think I'm better prepared for the next season! The guavas are coming and we've had at least one ripe one again. And bananas. I've never seen so many types. My favourite is "bush bananas" they are about 1/3 the size of the bananas you see in North America. I'm waiting to find all sizes and take a photo so you can see. My family keeps eating them for some reason! But here's a cool banana photo for you…. twins! One peel.
 |
| Twin banana - sharing a peel! |
-Dogs: the craziness of finding 2 "wild" dogs that live on our rental property. We named them Mango and Cookie. Then Cookie's 9 puppies. Now we're done to just one of the pups: Oreo. (She's 3 months old this week)
 |
| Our nine puppies shortly after they were born |
 |
| Oreo the dog |
-Cat: our awesome cat "Fanta" who we got as a tiny little kitten and even at a tiny (guessing 4 weeks old) we never heard or saw another rat or mouse around the house. There's never been any regrets about bringing her home. (Keeping her inside for 24 hours was not the best idea as Kate ended up being more allergic than me!)
 |
| Fanta the cat |
-4 Workshops:
1. Goals: what is each school actually wanting me to focus on (Turns out it was reading and early literacy for every single school)
2. Phonics: BINGO and alphabet Jive song http://offeringupmylife.blogspot.ca/2014/03/my-first-workshops.html
 |
| BINGO phonics |
3. Phonemic Awareness: Morning Message, Rhymes, Puppets, and more
 |
| Phonemic Awareness workshop: swat the sight word! |
4. A preschool teachers workshop
 |
| Testing out DIY art supplies on my preschoolers in preparation for doing my workshop |
-2 EdCamps. (Education Camps) The first (known) ones to happen in AFRICA were here in Choma!
The first one: http://offeringupmylife.blogspot.ca/2014_05_01_archive.html
 |
| EdCamp number 2: discussion on positive discipline |
 |
| EdCamp number : a young participant! |
-So many reports (Global Family and general MCC reports). I should be doing my One-Year MCC report but I'm doing a blog report first! :)
(Here's a link to the MCC site and you can read a report I wrote: http://mcc.org/learn/what/education/globalfamily/programs/brethren-christ-schools-zambia)
-Many Facetime Ladies Bible Studies with my group back in Abbotsford. (Almost every Weds. evening for me. They meet in the mornings luckily!)
-Rainy season! Thunder and Lightning!
-Trip to Nsobe Game Park just before Christmas with MCC
-A garden, complete with gardener, which produced cucumbers, then drowned during rainy season, then has been successful with broccoli, a couple peppers (more coming), too many cabbages to eat (we still have a bit in our fridge, and I used them for my last couple workshops!), we currently have a forest of tomatoes - getting a bucket like this almost every other day. Also onions and eggplants. Then there is the one small strawberry plant (1/4 of a strawberry never tasted so good when we got the berry! Only a quarter because we had to split it between the 4 of us!) This is the way I like to garden. Give out seeds, walk around it in the evenings, and then eat the produce! No weeding or watering in the hot sun required!
 |
| broccoli eaters |
 |
| cabbage |
 |
| tomato forest |
-Our house help, Memory, for which I am super thankful. She comes 2 days a week and does laundry, sweeps, cleans the bathroom (I haven't done that for almost a year! Whoo hooo!) But before you get too jealous - it's also hard having someone "watching" you all day long. Especially in the beginning!
-Zambian food: Nshima (made of dried, ground maize - like corn flour but white), with "relishes" - in this photo is some sort of deer meat (Bambi as she told me. It was a teacher who gave me this meat after a workshop), and cooked cabbage.
 |
| Zambian food: nshima and relishes |
-Visits from family: My parents came back in April. (One of my favourite parts of my parents trip was going to the Zimbabwe side of Victoria Falls. It truly is a spectacular water fall and no wonder it's a wonder of the world!) My brother and his girlfriend, Emily, came in August - just a few weeks back. (A highlight from their time was our safari in Chobe National Park, Botswana). It's so great having our family come and support us while here and see what life is like in Zambia. Andrew's parents will be coming in November for a couple weeks too!
 |
| my parents at Victoria Falls in April (Zimbabwe side) |
 |
| My brother, Michael, and Emily at Victoria Falls in August (Zambia side) |
 |
| Chobe Safari |
 |
| Chobe Safari |
 |
| Chobe Safari |
-New Friends! I have two great Zambian friends, Annie and Amanda, both teachers. We've had lots of awesome chats about all sorts of things. Annie has travelled with me on to present many of my workshops and we're learning a lot from each other. I met both these ladies at my last "Goal" workshop - they were also presenting at the remote school and I ended up being the driver. It's been great. Our friendship started then and continued when I asked them to help me translate some education materials. I don't see them as often as I'd like since they are busy teaching!
 |
| Annie |
I've also found a lot of great missionary friends here. The main problem with missionary friends is that they come and go! You friends who have gone - you know who you are! But I'm enjoying them while they are here. Julie and Sara are Brethren In Christ missionaries who I see a fair amount of. I often go over to have coffee and "therapy sessions" where we all talk about anything and everything. Julie also babysat my kids, overnight, in Livingstone, while the rest of us went on the Chobe safari! I'm going to miss them both when their terms are up later this year! Though I just met the family that is going to take over their positions. I think we'll be friends too. Can't have too many right?! (The new family has a girl going into Grade 1 - so I think Kate will demand time with her!)
 |
| Julie (left) and Sara (right) |
Then there's the MCC team - especially around Choma: Jan and Kajungu and their kids (my kids LOVE their oldest, a boy who is 7). Jan has lived a long time in Africa, and Kajungu is originally from Tanzania - so I appreciate their wisdom on situations too! Todd is a one-year intern (we'll miss him when he leaves in December). He lives out in Macha, an hour away - so he comes into town for groceries and a retreat. He often stays with us and we stay up late playing Settlers of Catan (Cities and Knights). A new friend just came this week: a new 3 year MCC worker, Stacey. She lives about a 10 minute walk away and our friendship is just beginning. Plus our "fearless leaders" Ron and Miriam, who live in Lusaka and they are the Country Representatives (CRs) for MCC Zambia. Their older kids are great with my kids and they even babysit when we're in Lusaka! (Those trips are also highlights in the year!)
And then there's Dorothy - a really great friend. We became quick friends for a couple months and I was sad to lose her to furlough for 6 months. She's back now and we're walking together and she also is a great one for advice and therapy. She's married to a Zambian and they have a 2 year old. The great thing is after our 3 year term is done, I'll still see her - furlough takes them back to Western Canada!
Just in the last couple weeks we've met some new families and new missionaries. So we continue to make good friends here.
-Wonderbake! This goes along with friends as I usually don't go by myself! It's great to get a latte or a cappuccino there or even an ice cream cone (vanilla soft serve - the one in Choma has the best ones I've had so far in Zambia).
-Watching my first polo match!
 |
| polo |
-Cold Season! Who knew?! I luckily was somewhat warned and because I know how cold I am compared to everyone else - I brought my long underwear from Canada…. and wore it almost every evening for months! At least it warmed up (outside) during the day).
 |
| cold season: sitting in front of the space heater after a bath |
-Baking (after hot season ended!) I got really good at making my own coffee flavoured syrups. Made a lot of sugared peanuts after my dad showed me how he used to do them in Nigeria. Julie and I are working on a cook book to help other missionaries who come to Zambia - especially BIC and MCC. Our deadline has passed but we're still hoping to get it done! Also, just today I ate a caramel apple. Homemade caramel. This week I made brown butter pumpkin cupcakes with salted caramel frosting (thus the leftover caramel sauce for the apple!) Recipe here: http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/brown-butter-pumpkin-cupcakes-with-salted-caramel-frosting/
-Being able to see a (small) palm tree everyday. It's in our backyard! Plus all the flora around us. The purple jacaranda trees are blooming again. So pretty. I'm also still in love with the frangipani tree (plumeria I believe they are also known as).
There is so much… but I can't mention it all - so it's time to post what I do have written! :)
No comments:
Post a Comment