Jen rounded a big corner overnight, and we could tell the cold was finally on its way out. She set out on foot (first time outside the apartment since we arrived on Wednesday!) to collect Tom at his guesthouse. It is an easy 5-minute walk between the apartment and the guesthouse. Tom seemed to have settled in well during his first night and was ready to begin the Zambian adventure.
After a simple breakfast, the three of us (Tom, Dave and Jen) went to find another guesthouse. Since the house purchase does not look promising, we realized we need quickly to make an alternative housing plan for our cohorts who arrive mid-week.
During the trip in April, we had met a friend of our contractor, Gaudencia, who runs a nearby guesthouse so we decided to start there. We drove up to the entrance of the guesthouse and made an almost immediate assessment that this would be out of our price range given the look of it. There is a beautiful garden out front with a swimming pool and tables and chairs. We decided it couldn't hurt to look around and inquire about prices. Eunice, the owner, smiled, immediately recognizing us. She showed us the simple, spacious rooms, and we were pleased to hear that the prices are actually cheaper than most other places in town. This is a good option, indeed.
The guesthouse grounds.
Back to the apartment to get something to eat and drop Jen off (we figured two small outings was enough for her first day out of bed), and then Dave and Tom were off to the airport to pick up Troy. Troy is the first of four of Tom's colleagues to arrive. They are all bright college students or recent grads with big hearts and a desire to put their skills to work in Africa. Troy is very interested in assisting to set up microfinance for would-be entrepreneurs in Kantolomba.
Dave dropped Troy and Tom off at their guesthouse to give Troy some time to settle in, then returned to the apartment to prepare for dinner guests. In the early evening, Tom and Troy walked over to join us for dinner. Dave outdid himself preparing a feast of macaroni and cheese, hotdogs (a coup to find veggie dogs at ShopRite), beans, cucumber slices and baked tomatoes. Our guests were duly impressed.
Troy (left) and Tom doing chores while waiting for dinner.
It was exciting to talk about days to come and all the possibilities that lie ahead. One of Tom's major ambitions is to get mosquito nets for households in Kantolomba. As we talked about microfinance, we realized that one possibility might be to just order the fabric for the nets and begin the local micro-business sewing them right away. We can see it is going to be great fun to have many sharp minds and a plethora of skills to call upon as we move forward this month.