I read in Jeremy Gould's Left Behind: Rural Zambia in the Third Republic that dry season is the period of scarcity. It sure is the case with ground nuts. I've been craving them, but haven't found any sellers on the streets. And, although this is the time green masukus are harvested, they all seem to have been sold out. Apparently, others enjoy them as much as I do, as succulent and sweet as they are.
I’m spending another Saturday morning and
afternoon at SPAR, where I am tending to my private life, preparing for life
after CUSO-VSO. I came back just yesterday from Lilongwe, where I bought tiny and
hopefully meaningful presents for the children I know back home.
I’ve been neglectful of my blog to date due to my
busy schedule. At least, I can say that the month has been a productive one for
me. I finally finished the sectoral local plan for the Magazine squatter
compound; it covers the many needs of the unplanned settlement and would serve
as a model for legalizing and upgrading the other five unplanned settlements in
Chipata District. The monitoring of the local area plan for the same compound has
also taken up a lot of my time. In Chipata, if one wants to get something done,
every request and every plan has to be written on paper, otherwise they are
forgotten. More importantly, without the formal written request, it is
difficult to be open about proposals and intentions to the public and even more
difficult for relevant personnel to keep track of the numerous projects
occurring around the district.
Likewise, October was a busy month for Chipata
Municipal Council. Even though the federal elections are over, Chipata District
had to conduct local elections, which took place during the first week of
October and then the Council body had to orient the new Councilors to the
responsibilities of their job. I attended the second half of the orientation,
which was held in the second week, but couldn’t handle the heat in the
conference room at Chipata Motel. It was truly stultifying; I could hardly
breathe in there. Needless to say, I left early.
The overture of the orientation session was very
British in conduct and appearance. The Town Clerk wore a whig, which was very
commemorative of Zambia’s colonial link with England. I had never attended a
British-style political event, so I found it to be very interesting.
November is turning out to be as frantically busy
as October, as we in the district and the government all wind our way down to
the end of the year and prepare for the Christmas holidays. During this month, I
made the decision to complete the first draft of the integrated development
plan for Chipata District on 31 December, 2011, so I have been taking pertinent
images of the district to help readers of the IDP visualize the urban problems
and the reasons for including the inserted elements as being integral and
central to improving the appearance of Chipata District and its simultaneous
elements.
In addition to writing the rather large IDP
document, I added mapping to my list of to do’s this month. The features and
housing settlements are not included in any of the boundary maps of the
squatter compounds. Because it’s necessary to demonstrate that these areas have
indeed become residential areas and to further illustrate the value of upgrading
the Compound in terms of the health and sanitation conditions, and the overall appearance for
future funders, mapping features and boundaries are important. So, over the
last three days, I have been at Magazine recording GPS coordinates. Enoc, my
colleague, very kindly explained to me how to use the device. Luckily, the
visuals on the device are better now and more readable compared to before.
I must say,
though, the heat has almost deterred me from heading out to the compound. Every
day since the start of this GPS project I had to fight the urge to stay in the
office and not brave the scorching sun. Every day after the day’s mapping session,
I go home to my motel room to finish the day’s work because the temperature in my
room is cooler than that in the office in the middle of the afternoon. However,
my room is also where I can be shut away from the buzz of activity in the old civic
center building. Working in the quiet solitude of my room, I am certain to meet
my year targets and can advance the planning pilot into the next volunteer year
without any distractions.
At the motel, after unlocking the door, I stumble
into the foyer, eager to escape the reach of the sun’s rays and lay spread
eagle on my bed, feeling like a beached whale. Fortunately, I don’t look like a
beached whale, as the high temperatures occlude me from consuming huge
mouthfuls of the comfort food, nshima. I suppose you could say that the heat is
a blessing to my waist line.
As I’ve mentioned my dramatic reactions to the heat
several times in this blog, you might have already guessed that we have entered
the driest season in Zambia. Even with the occasional –very occasional during
the dry season – rainy day, the heat is hard to put up with. I take cool baths
now; the soothing cold water is welcomed by the heat rashes on my skin. On the hottest days, I want to scream out, "I'm dying here!!!!". But, then the rains come,which bring cooler temperatures, and make me long for the Indian
summers of New England. But, with rainy season being just around the corner, I
won’t be craving for long.
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