Africa Diary: First Night at Kachele

We arrived at Kachele Farm around mid-afternoon on a Sunday. Named after the large Kachele tree on the property, the beautiful agricultural plot serves as a base for Hands at Work staff and volunteers of the Zambia regional support team (RST) who serve villages in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, and Malawi.

George Snyman, founder of Hands, introduced us to Liz and Weston, who made us feel at home right away with a tour of the main farm house where we would be staying. Seeing that we were still a little hazy from jet lag, our gracious hosts let us retreat to our cosy room to unpack and get our bearings. We unpacked, caught up with Hands at Work’s 40 days of prayer – we were at Day 18 of the series then – and gave thanks for our safe arrival in Zambia. Abe then succumbed to a late afternoon nap as the day waned, with the standing fan blowing into his face. We had released the mosquito net hanging over our bed, so the thin fabric brushed against his face with each gust of wind, causing his nose to twitch as he slumbered. Intermittent thunder rumbled in the distance.

It started to drizzle when we were called out to dinner at Levi and Pragcidens’ house across the courtyard. The tasty aroma of Liz’s cooking welcomed us into the home. In the next two hours, we savored roast chicken, mashed sweet potatoes, and an assortment of local veggies while receiving an enriching crash course in all things Hands from George, Levi (lead of Zambia RST), and his wife Prags. What a privilege it was to sit down and break bread with this humble group of people who have committed their lives to caring for widows and orphans.  

We ran through the warm falling rain again and returned to our net-shrouded bed. The combination of mild claustrophobia and a sense of security from the blood-thirsty creatures made for a snug night’s rest in our new environment.

Africa Diary: Inbound

Two months ago, Abe and I traveled to Zambia and South Africa on a 10-day adventure that changed our lives. A combination of taking this long to process what we experienced and getting swept up in daily life when we regained our footing on U.S. soil explains this delayed account. Our story is now ready to unfold.

In March 2013, we had the privilege of spending time with the staff of Hands at Work, a Christ-centered organization of international and local volunteers committed to serving the most vulnerable in sub-Saharan Africa: the dying, the widows, and the orphans among the poorest of the poor.

Leaving Johannesburg, South Africa

Our inbound journey took us from San Francisco, to New York City, to Johannesburg, and ultimately to the first destination of our trip, Ndola in the Copperbelt province of northern Zambia. I can still vividly recall the stark change in scenery as we peered out our Airlink plane window on that third flight, going from waving good bye to the smooth runway and suburban neighborhoods of Joburg to, two hours later, saying hello to the pot-holed airstrip and tin roofed houses of Ndola.

Arriving in Ndola, Zambia

Landing in Ndola felt a little like going back in time as we descended the rickety stairs from the plane onto the tarmac and rode a bus 100 yards to the immigration office, a single storied building with unrushed and meandering lines. We waited patiently for an hour until our turn finally came, and we paid the $50 each to get visas into Zambia.

A half hour drive from the Ndola Airport brought us to Kachele Farm, a serene retreat located off several dirt roads from the main highway. This would be our home for the next 4 days. And we immediately felt welcomed.

Exploring SF: Sutro Heights at Land’s End

I felt an almost instant affinity to our San Francisco City Guides lead, Maureen, who bore an uncanny resemblance to my mother.  “It’s white Mum,” I thought to myself, bemused, as I set forth after her with five other strangers from the pair of stone lions that marked the Point Lobos & 48th Avenues meeting spot and the entrance to the former Sutro Heights Estate.  We loosely fell into a 2-row formation behind our guide that reminded me of the walking scene in my guy’s Reservoir Dogs poster.

This was my first tour with the non-profit group, and it certainly satisfied my expectations, no doubt enhanced by the clear and sunny sky on this winter’s day.  Each stop on our almost 2-hour jaunt revealed fascinating bits of history and new perspectives of this scenic coastal city that I now call home.  This particular outing gave me a glimpse into the life of Adolph Sutro, the adventurous Prussian millionaire who owned 1/12th of property in San Francisco in the late 1800s, served as the 24th mayor of the city, and is the namesake of several landmarks in the area – including Sutro Sam, the river otter who has taken up residence in the brackish ruins of Sutro Baths. 

Maureen wrapped up our informative expedition with a captivating view of the Golden Gate along the Land End’s trail.  I hear that City Guides offers over 60 tours around town.  Let's see,… where to next?    

View of the Golden Gate from Land's End Trail.  
(Source: Squeaks Photography)

The Good Patient

Two weeks ago…  Five hours after they closed him up, he was on his feet, still emerging from an anesthetic haze but determined to follow doctor’s orders to walk for 10 minutes every hour to avoid blood clots.  The nurses beamed at him with encouraging smiles as he took laps around the ward, with me and an IV cart (souped up with morphine dispenser) in tow, high-stepping in his khaki hospital socks with no-skid treads.  A physician’s assistant leaped aside as we approached, exclaiming with a laugh, “you have right of way 'cos you have wheels!"

We started recognizing the cacophony of beeps from each room that we walked past: a sequence of two ascending tones, a low note, then the same first two tones indicated that someone's IV drip was running low.  A three monotone alarm meant that a patient's oxygen level had dropped below 90%.

“Ice me!” he commanded whenever he felt parched, recalling the doctor’s cautionary words about dehydration during the recovery process.  “My OCD is kicking in…” he confessed, then started barking instructions for me to align the side table with the cabinet and to disentangle the mess of cords next to his bed.  I bustled about obediently, feeding him ice chips and rearranging furniture as I was told -- grateful that he was well on his way to recovery.

As we made our way to the elevator after the 30-hour hospital stay, we caught the eye of his fellow patients in their rooms, most smiling and giving him the “thumbs up” as we departed.  He had left a positive impression on them!

Today...  My darling overachiever is recovering well, having transitioned from an all-liquid diet to soft foods in the last couple of days with cautious optimism and keeping his “eye on the prize”: Possible remission from diabetes,... and a date with a bulgolgi hash brown sandwich from Art’s Café! 

Easy Listening (and the Timeless Sherlock Holmes)

Don't know what happened, but my voracious appetite for reading as a teenager has waned dramatically over the past two decades.  Maybe staring at a computer screen for work has made my eyes too tired to read "for fun" during off hours; or perhaps it's just plain laziness.  Regardless of the excuse, I've shifted my "reading" time to audiobooks in recent years and am finding this alternative quite riveting.

It all started when my guy gave me the Harry Potter audio series, read -- or I should say, performed -- by the amazing Jim Dale.  "Amazing" because Mr. Dale created and animated the voices of every character in the books so convincingly that, when I finally watched the movies, I used his voice on the recordings as a metric for the various actors' performances.  Since Harry Potter, I've mainly sought out books that are also available as recordings.

A recent random search for audiobook apps for my phone introduced me to Librivox, an online collection of books in the public domain (i.e., no longer under copyright).  The books are read by volunteers, some livelier than others, and all are available for free.

I jumped at the chance to catch up on "classics," including the original series that I'm currently enjoying, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, which inspired over a dozen TV shows and a movie franchise.  Thanks to TBOL3, Kara Shallenberg, and Robin Cotter -- readers of the first three Holmes-Watson adventures that I've consumed so far -- for filling my head with images of clever criminal antics, the tantalizing Irene Adler, and the gritty London scene of the 1890s.  A wonderful companion to the contemporary BBC series, Sherlock, that has captivated our household recently.

I wonder where this acoustic adventure will take me next...

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Photo credit: Google images

Grateful...in Torment

"Click" on the red phone button
The Skype dashboard dims
Terminating our video chat
Thankful for this technology
That brings worlds closer
That brings me closer
To her, my beloved aunt

Remnants of the stroke
Still evident on her slack
But still kind and beautiful face
With closed eyes
I conjure up images
From memorable moments
Shared over a lifetime

She's a different person now
But always loving, caring
Sometimes staring off
Does she remember
How she picked me up
And dusted off  my scraped knees
Held my hand in comforting silence

365-Day Challenge: A Photo Per Day

In September of last year, I committed to a 30-Day Challenge: A Photo Per Day project, inspired by a TED talk by Matt Cutts on "Try[ing] Something New for 30 Days."  Looking back, it was quite a fun exercise to diligently post one snapshot on my Facebook page each day, even on those days when not much happened and I had to think creatively or scrounge up something random -- like the time I featured my often overlooked desk lamp with the beaded periwinkle lamp shade, which I appreciated a bit more afterwards.


Yesterday, I was similarly inspired by this post on the BBC homepage, "Can filming one second of every day change your life?" about a guy named Cesar Kuriyama who recorded a 1-second glimpse of his life each day in 2012.  I was especially struck by his parting line in the clip, "Trying to make the best movie possible is making me live the best life possible," which so wonderfully articulated the feeling that I had during my own 30-Day Challenge.  At the time, I noticed that I seemed to live each day a little more deliberately, knowing that at some point, I was going to capture a representative snapshot from it.  

Kuriyama has decided to continue his video project way beyond a year.  As for me, I'm going to try it for 2013, with a combination of video and photos, and see where it takes me.  Eager to see what the year-end compilation might look like...!

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Note about the photo: The first entry in my 30-Day Challenge, with the caption, "Hand-carved giraffes from Kenya.  New additions to our chopstick collection from Camille, who just returned from Nairobi."

5 Movies for Year 2012-13 Changeover

Thanks to the holidays, we had time to catch more movies in the past 2 weeks than most of last year.  (We mainly watch TV series on Hulu.)  All turned out to be well worth the $0 (Netflix) to $7.50 (theater matinee) that we spent on them.  Here's a quick review:

The Hobbit: Thank you, Peter Jackson, for filling the void that welled up in me at the conclusion of Return of the King.  Martin Freeman's portrayal as Bilbo bumped him further up my list of favorite actors (after having already been elevated by his amiable character in Sherlock Holmes).  Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield was dreamy and Andy Serkis in his reprise as wide-eyed Smeagol was adorable when he wasn't Gollum.  

Les Miserables: I've been hooked since first seeing the musical at the I.U. Auditorium in high school, and after two more captivating live performances -- on Broadway then in L.A. for the 25th Anniversary -- I was admittedly dubious about a film production.  My apprehension was quickly overtaken by excitement, though, a few seconds into the opening scene.  Despite Russell Crowe seeming breathless (literally) most of the time, Anne Hathaway as Fontine and Samantha Barks as Eponine made the movie version a keeper.

Lincoln: What can I say, Daniel Day-Lewis is an Oscar contender once again.  Lots of talking in the 2 1/2 hours, but the heady dialogue kept me riveted throughout.  Ken Burn's Civil War series -- you're next.

Premium Rush: We're on a roll with awesome 3-named actors!  Joseph Gordon-Levitt -- who also shined in a smaller role in Lincoln -- kept up with the exciting pace of this adrenaline-rush flick.  Kept us at the edge of our seats.  Hats off to the bike messengers of the world, and watch out when you open that car door.

Bernie: This random "new release" pick on Netflix turned out to be an unexpected gem.  Jack Black shines in this true story about a beloved mortician's unusual friendship with a millionairess.  Carthage, Texas, I might have to swing by sometime.

With the holidays over, we're now back to features on Hulu and Apple TV...and Downton Abbey, which resumes tomorrow (yay!).  Then what next...?

Tiny Habits

Happy New Year!  Chances are, quite a few of you have jumped on the annual bandwagon of making New Year's resolutions.  And chances are, your list looks very much like ones from previous years.  Am I right?

According to an interesting study by author Rory Vaden about New Year's resolutions, about half of Americans made resolutions in 2012.  Unfortunately, about half of those people fell off the wagon sometime during the year.  Boo...  *sheepish face*

But for those of us with serious good intentions, there's hope:  I was encouraged by a recent NPR interview with New York Times investigative journalist Charles Duhigg, where he talked about the practice of adopting specific, tiny habits into our lifestyle (like "start with a 15-minute walk each day") as being more effective than going for a more dramatic or abstract change (like "lose 50 pounds" or "eat healthier").  The idea is to incorporate the new habit slowly so that it naturally becomes part of our daily routine.  It could start with less than 5 minutes a day, with gradual increases toward the ultimate goal.  Less daunting and more attainable that way.  Oh, and don't forget to give yourself a "tiny reward" for each accomplishment, which helps your brain remember the pattern.  (Read an excerpt from Duhigg's book, The Power of Habit.)   

Okay, so preliminary possibilities for my 2013 "tiny habits" list: devote at least 15 minutes a day to devotional time, exercise, writing, reading, and news; and be on time for every appointment.  (A Kit Kat comes immediately to mind as a potential "tiny reward", but I need to put more thought into that.)  My next challenge: To be careful about not introducing too many "tiny habits" into my life.

All the best with your resolutions -- or tiny habits -- for 2013!

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Photo credit: Google image