Ken Makala

So I'm in Lusaka now staying at a friends house for the night, before I go off on my Victoria Falls adventure in Livingston. Tonight was fun, at first I got off the bus and met up with my friend and another friend whom I haven't seen since December I think which was nice. We went to her dorm to pick up another and then the four of us hit the bustling night time Lusaka scene, and saught out a fine restaurant to satisfy our deathly hunger. Me I hadn't eaten since this morning and that was only three small peaces of french toast. We drove about and finally stopped at a nice little joint just outside town. A bar/restaurant called Polo, the atmosphere was cool outside with the dimly lit parking lot and blue lights in the reception. We went in and took a load off, and was met by some loud and bumping tunes coming from a nearby closed door. Closer inspection told us it was in fact a bar/club in the restaurant with a dance floor, a DJ, florescent lighting and everything. Duly noted, we went back to our table and order a round of BBQ chicken wings (In Kabwe BBQ sauce doesn't exist, so what a treat this was going to be =) And a treat it was, the sauce was sweet and the chicken well grilled. After our first round of wings, during which I managed to charm the waitress instantly and then almost just as fast uncharm her for reasons that are beyond me, we decided to go dancing while we waited for our second round. The dance floor itself was booming with dance beats and we jaemed it up for a good 15 - 20 minutes, during which we heal toed, dutty wined, willy bounced and breakdanced, and then Darren, my very hungry very white host, after making frequent visits to our table to check if the food was ready and proving himself awkward and uncomfortable on a dance floor, returned to feast. He was followed by us shortly after a few "one more songs" was said. Though hungry we were after dancing so eating was the last thing our bodies wanted and so moments later we had our food packed us and we left. Dropping the girls home Darren and I stopped at 24 hour gas station (which they have is Lusaka) and bought chocolate, soda, a fresh bread (which smelt like fresh deat after it came out of the oven) and anything else you think we would need in preparation for the 7 hour bus road to Livingston tomorrow. We headed home and make sincere efforts to max and relax. In about 5 minutes now, we will be going to a friends house in Mulungushi to attend the Ascension of Baha'u'llah ceremony, and then off to bed with us, only to wake up 3 hours later. More updates will follow. With love, Jens.

A day in Lusaka with Bwalya

Karen's condition has not improved much since she's been back. At first she couldn't eat due to soars in the mouth, which is bad because after malaria you're generally very thin, but those went away and she's been making up for lost time like you wouldn't believe. So it seemed like she was getting better but in fact her ability to move has been becoming increasingly more difficult, she seems to feel soarness and sharp shooting pains around the joints making it very difficult to sit down and stand up, reach for things, lift things or do pretty much anything. Even the most simple tasks like bringing the cell phone up to the ear or bringing the fork up to the mouth is like hard exercise for her, so most mornings after her "breakfast workout" she lays down which isn't nearly as relaxing as it should be, because due to her inability to move really at the joints, she's pretty much forced to lay always in one position: on her back with her arms resting on her belly. A good nights sleep, as you can imagine, is outside the realm of possibility for her.
She's been the doctor many times and received several different types of treatment but ultimately nothing is truly effective because the doctors are unable to diagnose her. So, acting on their recommendation, her and Garth hopped on a plane to South Africa yesterday, to Johanesberg, to go to one of he big hospitals they have, and I just now received a text message saying they're on their way to the hospital now. In the meantime it's me and boys again, and our friend Roxanne who graciously agreed to stay with us, hopefully, just until the weekend when the parents return. Hopefully.
Certainly they'll be able to run thorough tests and diagnose her quickly so that she can start receiving treatment right away, but I assure you she's in good hands, those of both her caring devoted capable husband, and the very capable resident staff of the hospital in Jberg. So to sum up, keep her in your prayers, keep all of us in your prayers. Baha'u'llah has a plan and certainly we'll all be a little stronger once this is all over. Thank you!

As for me, well I went with them yesterday to Lusaka where the airport is. I was just hitching a ride really, my business was with the immigration office and the idea was that I would come in with them, they would drop at the ZIO and go to the airport. There I could do my business and then hop on a bus for the ride home. Of course I have never been on a Zambian bus alone before, and it is by no means an experience for the inexperienced. So we asked one of the tutors/friends, Bwalya, to come along and hang with me until bus time came, then he would escort me back to Kabwe. And thus began "My day in Lusaka with Bwalya". Bwalya is a super sweet and very charming type fellow. IDK if you ever used to watch The Reading Rainbow when you were a kid.. well he looks alot like the reading rainbow guy (I don't know his real name but he had a part on Star Trek Next Generation, of which me and my father were avid fans, so I know his only as Jordy Laforge). He used to have a psa group back in the day but the attendence was so poor and the group became so small that they decided to merge his group with another. The students however said that they only wanted Bwalya as thier tutor, and no one else, and so theg group dissolved. "Your just too darn popular for your own good Jordy, I mean Bwayla" I said to him over lunch as we discussed things. I treated him to a very expensive 70,000 kwacha meal at La Mimosa in the Arcades shopping center in downtown Lusaka. He had the sausages and chips (typical Zambian meal) and I had the crepes. "Try my crepes" I told him, and though at first he was reluctant, after some convincing he did try my crepes, and his horizons were broadened. "Next time" he said "When I find myself in Lusaka I'll come here and just say 'Crepes!'". He said it so funny and had to ask him to say it again, "Crepes!" He said as I choked on my own crepes with laughter.
After lunch I suggested we see a movie as the only movie thearter in the entire country was scarcely 20 feet from La Mimosa. We went to see the times, but then he told me it seemed such a waste to sit in a dark room for two hours instead of being out and about, he said he wanted to show me Lusaka, and I agreed. So we walked up the way until we reached the other large shopping center called Mandahill. There we visited a book store and purchased a book called Think and Grow Rich by Napolean Hill. The title speaks for itself but Bwalya seemed to like it because he'd read it before and in addition to the financial advice he said it also gave "hope to the hopeless". So we bought it together and later I was to learn that the father of one of Bwayla's old friends had passed away some time ago and left to him that book. He shared the book with Bwayla and hopeless though they were, together read it and recieved hope from it. But one day the book was lost and so now Bwayla and I went to his friend to show him the new book fully restored.
This of course happened over a distance of no less than 10 km which we walked te entire length. So finally we made it to the bus at around 4, totally exhausted form the walking and heat, and drove the long bus ride home. Just before arriving in Kabwe I handed Bwayla some cab fair and he made a joke about meeting his friends for drinks later that night. This caused the passenger seted next to Bwalya who was in front of me, to launch off on him and proceed to tell him all about the fear of sin that should be bestowed in him and how Jesus was the pathway towards righteousness and what not. As she attempted to save him I couldn't help feel as though this was one of those many bus teaching opportunities that Baha'is get now and then, but was reluctant to say anything because for one, she didn't seem to take breaths or leave any sort of pauses for retort, and two because we had arrived in Kabwe and the bus was emptying as she spoke. My impression was that she was a very lovely old lady who was making sincere efforts to help a fellow Zambian, weather he needed it or not, and couldn't help wishing that the discussion had started earlier in the journey.
Bwalya and I partd ways after many thanks were given, and plans for holding a chess tournament in the near future were made. I then got some Hungry Lion (the Zambian equivalent to KFC, but not nearly as good) and went home. And thus ended my "Day in Lusaka with Bwalya".