Life Updatele

I figured that I should provide a life update since I have not written in a while. Our teacher training program is officially on a break for the month of December. The schools in Zambia run for three months on and then one month off; therefore, December is an off month. We decided not to run the training program in December just to give everyone a break. Therefore, this week I am just working in the office writing the curriculum for the remaining training sessions. When we start back in January, our sessions with the current schools will last for the next three months until the end of March. Then the teachers will exit out of our program. For those who read my monthly update, we are continuing to see progress in different teaching skills. We still have a lot of work to do, but progress is being made.

Next week, a couple who I knew at Wheaton, Jonny and Michelle Hoffner, are coming to visit for a couple of weeks. They are presently traveling for six months around the world and have decided to bestow their presence upon me for the holiday season. I am very excited about their arrival. After they arrive in Lusaka, we are going to go to Livingstone, in southern Zambia, to see Victoria Falls and to be tourist for a little while. Then, we will come back to Ndola to spend Christmas up here.

I personally can't believe that it is the holidays. It does not feel like it at all. It is 80-90 degrees everyday and there is nothing around to remind you that it is the Christmas season. One grocery store has tacky Christmas decorations up, but that is about it. I once hated all of the tacky decorations, but now I wish that I could see just one inflatable Santa on somebody's lawn. Maybe, I will have to buy one in Lusaka if I find anything. Speaking of Lusaka...6 days until I can get a Dr. Pepper there. Yippee!!!

For those who keep clamoring for pictures, I have provided a few. Two are just of the landscape of Zambia. You don't see these pictures in the beautiful urban environment in which I live, but when you get out to the bush, this is what you will find. Another picture is of me leading a training session. Another is of the trash pile found in Mapalo where everybody just dumps their trash. I have heard of people finding plastic bottles here, filling them with pump water, and then reselling the water as bottled water. Finally, there is a picture of boy who has made his own toy car out of wire. Many times you find the kids playing with toys such as these.