I'm back!!!

Thank you for all the concerned messages over the past few months when my blip has been missing!  As many of you know I left Malawi last year and, after some time in Ireland, in May this year I moved to Lusaka!  Its been a process of settling in, moving house, moving country......but at last now I feel settled!!

I found a house to rent in Lusaka which is very different to the Africa I am used to - Malawi is much more laid back and more backward than Lusaka!  However, I am getting used to living behind a wall fence with an electric fence on top!!  The house is in a nice area though and I have been having furniture made as cheaply as possible and making curtains and chair covers, and at last I feel as if I have a home!

I am starting work this week which is exciting - I am doing similar work to what I did in Malawi, working with a church and helping them to understand the importance of early childhood development, and then assisting them to set up ECD centres where there is a need for one!  I have seen many private nursery schools here which look very nice and also cost a lot, but I will be working with people in compounds who maybe don't have much money at their disposal and can't afford to send their kids to private schools!

Its a challenge but I am ready for it!  The bigger challenge at present is a vehicle!  I secured a vehicle in June and payment was sent electronically from UK and somehow it has been lost in the system - its up in cyberspace somewhere!  People from UK and people here in Zambia are trying to trace it....its so frustrating!  Today I heard that the bank in Zambia are saying it was sent to the bank in Zimbabwe......I am praying that they find it soon because transport would be great!  I suppose the upside of not having a vehicle is that I have been getting to know the city both by using local taxis and local minibuses....

Getting reliable internet was also a challenge but now I think I am set. We have load shedding here daily so I usually have no electricity in the evenings, and no water either!! 

 I don't have as nice a garden as I had in Mzuzu, but am thankful for a mango and a papaya tree at least, and a few flowers!  This one was taken over the fence in my neighbours garden!

So...am back on blip, hope to blip everyday but will see if I can keep it up! I hope to have some good photos of Zambian life which of course cannot be compared with my life in Malawi!