Author Archives: Zags in Zambezi

My Friend, Geoffrey (Jo-free)

  Each day in Zambezi has fallen into some sort of routine. We wake up for breakfast, read the last blog post and comments, run around to prepare for our first class, teach, eat lunch, teach, eat dinner, reflect, and … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 15 Comments

Remembering our time in stories, not minutes

“What time is it? What time is it?” This is the question I constantly asked myself before coming to Zambezi. It is as if time is the commodity that our lives function by.    Something I have come to admire … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 14 Comments

Far Beyond the Yellow Walls

Poorly duct-taped poster paper of past classroom lessons nearly cover the soft yellows walls of the convent where we hold our Business and Leadership class. As each student walks in, ranging from as young as 14 to as old as … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 12 Comments

I Got it From My Mama

  “I am not the same, having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world” – Mary Anne Radmacher Prior to opening my journal, I had no idea what I was going to blog about. Our fifteen … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 11 Comments

Teaching: A learning experience

It is 9:00 a.m. in Zambezi and I sit outside the convent on a cement surface near the white Land Cruiser that will soon take us to our first official day of teaching English at Chilena Primary School. This cement … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 19 Comments

“But we are Different”

Emmanuel’s house rests on a large plot above the Zambezi River. The pink walls and deep red steps blend in with the hot Zambian sun that beats down on the back of our necks, even in the dead of winter.  … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 11 Comments

Privileging Struggle

Preparation for this trip was incredibly exciting. I am a nursing major and was assigned to the health team, so my spring semester was filled with anticipation for sharing my newly acquired health knowledge from the anatomy classes I took … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 14 Comments

Lumbanji finds a knife, and other tales from the front

I prefer not to think too much about an experience beforehand. Nevertheless, many romanticized thoughts snuck into my head as well as resided there as our class met to prepare for our moments in Zambia, every Monday in the spring … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 20 Comments

Tunasakwilila mwane, Mama Violet

“It is possible to speak with our heart directly. Most ancient cultures know this. We can actually converse with our heart as if it were a good friend. In modern life we have become so busy with our daily affairs … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 22 Comments

Expectations and Reality

Zambezi is more beautiful than I could have ever expected. I have already experienced so many things for the first time. I have never identified as a white person before. I have always seen myself as black or as mixed, … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 10 Comments