January 2011; Back to Changilo

Waiting for my foot to heal was not a high point in my service. Compared to life in the bush the office can be pretty boring. Not being able to travel only compounded my frustration and malaise started to set in by the second week of January. Thankfully, my program director sent me down to Lusaka as a trainer for part of the month. Rural Aquaculture Volunteers from the 2010 intake were reporting for In-Service Training and I was asked to come down and speak about the more business oriented aquaculture going on in my village. The break from Serenje was welcome but talking to folks about Changilo just made me want to get home as soon as possible.

During my visit to Lusaka, I met briefly with the medical team and they gave me the green light to go back to my post. I had opted out of putting my foot in a cast during rainy season due to my commitment to avoiding "jungle rot" and similar skin conditions. This caused a little apprehension among our medical staff who were worried that the injury would heal slower without protection. Understanding our respective concerns, we settled on my absolute promise not to walk on my foot for a month. I held up my end of the bargain and we all went home happy in the end. Back in Changilo I found that everything was going well in my absence. The rains had been generous to our crops and several fish farmers had successfully harvested, sold, and restocked fish. My animal friends were a little more protective than usual, holding a steady vigil on my porch, and I had to come up with several tricky ways of getting out to visit farmers without being followed by either Lt. Pickles or Winston. Most of these tricks involve rope.

Another great surprise was the multiplication of my poultry. I am not entirely sure where they all came from but I suspect that a few neighborhood chickens have gone AWOL and ended up staying in my coop. Several of the additions I recognize, they were chicks when I last saw them but they are of the right breed. Some are quite obviously faking it and come from breeds that I had not yet seen in my village. I have yet to find out who they actually belong to as my family insists that they are mine and I will most likely leave the situation unresolved. My brother, Garth, has recently gotten engaged to a wonderful girl back in the States and seeing as how the Lala tribe traditionally gives all kinds of livestock for bride price payment and wedding presents, I might as well keep the chickens around.