The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

I was recently told by a dear mate, that my blog is too PC. Too PC??? What does that mean? Well apparently I'm too nice. She wants the scoop. Not sure what scoop there is to tell, we're all really enjoying it here. But I thought I'd please my mate and introduce you to The Good,  the Bad and the Ugly of living in Lusaka.

The Good

Before leaving Dar to come here, I met someone who asked me to quickly name 3 things I knew and loved about Lusaka. Well that was easy. Ethan and I had just gotten back to Dar after a month in Canada, and there were all kinds of power issues. So my three things were:

1) No power issues

2) No water issues

3) The roads are paved.

Well you'll need to scroll down to the Bad to learn a little more about the power issues. I have to say, we've yet to have any water issues (quickly need to go touch wood). And while I have come across some unpaved roads, it's really not a big deal.

Lusaka is great. In the 2 months that Ethan and I have been here, we've managed 2 weekend getaways. And we're planning a trip to Ndola later this month. 

Work is great. I love the school. It's a smaller one than the one in Dar. Everyone gets along. There's no one trying to show off. I love how the school really invests in their teachers. I'm being sent for PYP training later this month. We had a Maths trainer come from the US to train all us new teachers on the Maths program. I have literacy training. The school uses First Steps, and they train teachers instead of giving them a program and expecting the teachers to figure it out.

Every Friday at school, we have our very own farmer's market.

I find we're eating healthier here. I think the fact that I don't have to spend $10 on a red pepper helps.

I've made some great mates.

Kilimanjaro Cafe and Sugar Bush.

The Dutch Reform Market.

The Bad

While we haven't had many power issues, the power did go off last night around 2am. It's not as hot and muggy here as it is in Dar, so it wasn't too bad. However, when I woke at 6am, the power still hadn't returned, so I had to shower in the dark. The power did come back. but went off again around noon, and only came on now (6pm). 

Ethan's social life has taken a hit. I don't really know the parents' of his classmates, so he hasn't had many playdates. And while I love the school, I tend to be there until 4 o'clock most days, which means Ethan and I don't spend as much time together. I feel like I'm neglecting him. 

I miss the beach.

I miss my mates in Dar. And it's sad to say, we have not all kept in touch like we promised to.

I'm not use to the weather here. It's cold!!!!!!!

The Ugly
I'm putting this is both the bad and ugly, and it's my busy schedule. There are days I feel guilty that I'm not home as much as I use to. Also, a lot of my mates in Dar were moms of Ethan's mates. So if I met with them, Ethan came along and played with his mates. Here, I either leave Ethan behind, or take him, and he's the only child.

I have had a few bad days at school. I have a lovely, yet challenging class. There are days I wonder what am I doing.


So there's the scoop. Life in Lusaka is lovely. I'm not trying to be PC. There's just not a whole lot to complain about.