Gonzaga University Psychology Program in Africa

I am so glad to be able to post again so that I can begin to share some of the details of our adventures with you all. As you know, I am back home. It was truly a whirlwind experience for me .. I will start at the beginning and write more later.

We arrived at Chimfunshi on Thursday evening, June 14, in the dark, after a very long journey (two overnight plane trips for most of us, followed by an 8-hour bus ride!). The bus took us through a section of Lusaka near the University, where we saw a neighborhood clearly inhabited by the privileged — larger homes hidden behind walls and gates. Once we were traveling out of Lusaka, I was moved to tears by a group of three boys (who seemed to fit the description of the “street children” whom we read about). They came up to the windows of the bus while we were at an intersection. Their faces were both sad and hopeful. Outside of Lusaka, we passed rows of houses (if they can be called that), clearly inhabited by the impoverished — tiny mud and straw huts. What was most striking to me were the number of people walking along the road — women with children on their backs (and often times with big loads on their heads), children (small children) walking, men carrying loads or riding bikes with big loads. We passed many road-side markets.

Chimfunshi, itself, is located about 1.5 hr. from Chingola (where we go to shop), near a village called Muchinchi. The longest part of the trip between Chingola and Chimfunshi happens when one turns off the tarmac –  18K of dirt road (with many potholes) — quite an experience when riding in the back of the cantor (more on that later). So, we arrived at the education center (where we were staying) just after dark, but with a campfire and hot meal ready for us. After dinner, Kristin and I hiked out to the danbo (flood plane) with one of Mark’s experienced students leading the way. We tried the satellite phone (it did not work) but were able to get through on the student’s cell phone (quite amazing when you think about it). We took a moment to enjoy the stars, which were incredible.

We woke up (most of us grateful for a horizontal night’s sleep) eager for the walk up to “the project” — the chimp enclosures. The first group of chimps were very rowdy — one even threw stuff at the group — a good reminder about chimp safety and etiquette that Mark taught us. We spent the morning getting oriented to the project site and saw many wonderful chimps (I especially liked watching the moms and babies!). Once back at camp, most of us went out to the danbo where we were joined by many children from the compund nearest the education center. Brittni brought soccer balls and jump-ropes, which were a hugh hit. We spent a couple of hours playing with the kids.

Tomorrow I will share more but that gives you a sense of the first 24 hours! I hope to post pictures tomorrow as well.

Sorry for all the troubles and frustrations during the past week of system upgrades. There is a more detailed explanation of what happened at the edublogs blog itself. Now that we’re back online, we’ll be backtracking to provide you with some of the news that you’ve missed as well as updating the blog as we get information back from the folks still in Zambia.

I am now on my way home (glad to be returning to my family but was sad to leave — there are still many great things in store!). The students have really bonded with one another — it is a great group! They are in good hands with Prof. Mark Bodamer and his wife, Amber. On-site, are also five students for whom this is a second or even third trip, including our Chelsey — the students have been generous and helpful. Everyone has settled in nicely and are eager for more adventures to come, especially the bush walks with the baby chimpanzees and the upcoming visits from the local village school children. Other than a few minor colds/allergies, everyone is healthy. Today the whole group will go to the nearby village of Muchinchi to join the women at the Fubanzi Women’s Center for a greeting, a meal, and singing and dancing! I will put up a longer post (with pictures!) once I am home. Posting from Zambia proved impossible, but I have asked Chelsey to email me with updates that I can post from home. The students send their love!

I just got a call from Molly, and she had a message from the girls: “Happy Father’s Day to all our fathers. We love and miss you all very much.” They also send their love to all of their families and friends, and want everyone to know they’re having a wonderful and exciting experience. The girls have received some e-mails from home, and they are very excited to get them, so keep them coming.

Mornings are spent watching the chimpanzees — there are lots of moms and babies. Afternoons are spent playing with the local children, the girls find that very rewarding. This morning four girls went on “dawn patrol” and watched sunrise at the chimp enclosure. Three girls are currently getting braids from the local women.

The satellite phone is not working, but they do have a cell phone for outgoing emergencies. If you need to contact your child in an emergency you can call Chimfunshi directly; the number is on the resources page.

They’re going into town on Tuesday, so they hope to e-mail then.

After nearly two days of travelling, the students have reached Chimfunshi. All I got from Molly before the satellite phone cut out was “We’re in Africa. Please call Wanda so she can email the parents.” So everyone is okay, but I’m sure they’re exhausted.

We’ve made it this far in our journey. All are accounted for and most are now exploring the Heathrow airport. I am enjoying a cup of tea while I figure out a somewhat complicated Internet system! The flight was not too bad — the food was pretty good and the movie selection was great. Most everyone managed to get a bit of sleep. We leave at 7:15 pm to arrive in Zambia at 6:15 a.m. (9:15 pm your time). We will let you know once we are on-site at Chimfunshi (sometime Thursday morning for you). This promises to be a great adventure and we are glad to be on our way.

“Mwapoleni” means “welcome” in the Zambian Copperbelt dialect of the Bemba language. Our students will be learning this and many more words and phrases as they interact with the people of Zambia. Please feel welcome to leave your comments about the program, the site, the adventure our students are having, or your own experiences of Africa, travel, and expanding your understanding. When leaving comments, you do not need to use your full name if you do not wish to. A valid email address is required, however, to help prevent comment spammers from cluttering up our space.

Posting to the blog while the students are in Africa will be a group endeavor in that all the students who wish to participate will add their thoughts to common posts that will be uploaded whenever someone is able to ride the truck into the nearest town to get to an Internet cafe and post to the site. Hopefully, they will post often and let all of us in on their many wonderful experiences, but please understand if they are unable to communicate as much as we (or even they) would like.

Also, edublogs will be updating its servers this weekend (the 16th and 17th) so there may be some downtime.

Dr. Kretchmar and all the students (except for those intrepid ones already in London) have safely met up in Seattle and begun their 35+ hour odyssey. According to the real-time flight tracker, their flight is 33,000 feet up, approaching the Hudson Bay, and cruising at 694 mph. They’ve got about 6 hours and 20 minutes left to Heathrow. When last spoken with, the group was in good spirits: eating and playing cards while they awaited their flight.

If you want to see where we’re going to be staying, you can look at either Google Maps or Google Earth (just open the resultant .kml file in Google Earth). Check the Itinerary for information about our lodging.

• Chimfunshi: Google Maps — Google Earth
• Livingstone: Google Maps — Google Earth
• Victoria Falls — Google Maps — Google Earth
  • Incredibly detailed, so zoom in for a closer look!
  • Includes numerous photos of the falls and surrounding area
• Lusaka: Google Maps — Google Earth

I’ve been trying out different themes. Chelsey and I found one we liked, but it had an unremoveable picture of a dog catching a frisbee at the beach — not the most Africa-esque image. The short story is that the site might appear a little topsy-turvy until we get it ironed out.