“Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes…how do you measure a year in a life?”
~ “Seasons of Love” from Rent

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In commemoration of my first year anniversary in Zambia (20th April in the country and 24th April in the town of Mazabuka), I unearthed this survey from ages ago and answered it again to help me look back to the significant people, places, events that have been part of my life for the past 12 months.

Here goes:

TEN Random Things About Me (in my present context as a resident of Mazabuka, Zambia)
1. The local name that my colleagues have given me is “Mutinta”—meaning a girl among boys.
2. I miss watching basketball games live!
3. My laptop has been my lifeline in Zambia. Seriously.
4. I prefer power cuts to water interruptions (both of which are day-to-day occurrences in Mazabuka)
5. I haven’t had a proper haircut in a year.
6. It bothers me that I cannot jog in peace in my neighbourhood. (Too many people passing comments, asking for the time, etc.)
7. I am now a reformed insomniac.:)
8. I have discovered that I’m actually a decent cook!
9. I still don’t wear skirts.
10. I still don’t like the color pink.:)

NINE Places I’ve Visited (My favorite ones so far)
1. Victoria Falls, Livingstone (Southern Province, Zambia)
2. South Luangwa National Park, Mfuwe (Eastern Province, Zambia)
3. Zanzibar (Tanzania)
4. Lake Kariba, Siavonga (Southern Province, Zambia)
5. Mongu/Barotseland (Western Province, Zambia) for the Kuomboka Festival
6. Dar-es-Salaam (Tanzania)…a lot better than Lusaka!
7. Kitwe (Nothern Province, Zambia)
8. The Kilwas (Tanzania)
9. Petauke District (Eastern Province)…the rainbow capital of Zambia (according to my friend S)!

EIGHT Things I Want To Do Before…I Leave Africa
1. Make sure that the Council is sustainable, resource-wise
2. Build capacity in the grassroots level
3. Visit Egypt
4. Travel to the Northwestern Province
5. Visit Kafue National Park
6. Create a Children’s Book with characters based on the people I’ve met in Mazabuka
7. Create a Zambian-English Dictionary
8. Attend more ceremonies and festivals in different provinces or regions

SEVEN Ways To Win My Heart
1. Be honest.
2. Treat me (and everyone else) as an equal.
3. Make me laugh.
4. Consult. Don’t dictate.
4. Know how to listen.
5. Show consistency.
6. Don’t invade my private space.
7. Don’t just talk. Act!

SIX Things I Believe In
(This hasn’t changed much over time…)

I believe that…
1. “My life is more than a vision. The sweetest part is acting after making a decision…” ~ Indigo Girls (Hammer and Nail)
2. The power of choice transcends one’s capabilities (ala-Harry Potter)
3. Behavior is a function of the interaction of a person’s situation (context) and how s/he perceives that situation (disposition)
I believe in…
4. The power of non-active violence
5. Being a person for others
6. Education as the ultimate development tool
7. A being that which nothing greater can be conceived

FIVE Things I’m Afraid Of
1. Being complacent
2. Being irrelevant
3. Not meeting my placement objectives
4. Losing my independence
5. The vicious dogs in our neighbourhood

FOUR Of My Favorite Items In My Bedroom
(There aren’t a lot of stuff in my bedroom, but…)
1. My bed
2. My mosquito net (which has kept me malaria-free for a year)
3. The plastic Globe that my housemate Inge gave me for my birthday (which constantly reminds me how far I am from home…hehe)
4. Postcards from friends all over the world

THREE Things I Do Everyday
1. Take a bath
2. Walk to work…and walk back home from work
3. Cook dinner

TWO Things I Am Trying Not To Do Right Now
1. Get involve in more projects/activities…I already have too much on my plate
2. Bloat my expenses

ONE Person I Want To See Right Now
(It is so hard to choose just one, but…)
1. Bess (my co-volunteer who is finishing her placement in Zambia…so I could properly say goodbye to her)

~pol 4/24/08

I was tagged by May8 ages ago, but being the delinquent blogger that I am, I’ve only just managed to “work” on the tasks she has passed on to me. It’s about time I posted something anyway, lest I break what has now become my one-entry-a-month habit.:)

So yeah, here goes my sort-of post for the eight month of 2007…

The Rules: “Each person links to the person who tagged them. Then each person posts the rules before their list. Then they list 8 things about themselves. At the end of the post, that person tags and links to 8 other people and then visits those people’s sites and comments and letting them know that they’ve been tagged, and to come read the post so they know what they have to do …”

1. I now actually cook my own meals—real meals and not just “for survival”. Who would’ve thought?:)
2. I am a reformed workaholic—whereas in RP, I would leave the office after dinner time or thereabouts, I now knock off from work just past 5pm…or 17:00 hours, as they say here. (Not that I have a choice. I’d have to either get out of or get locked in the office.) Bottomline: My life has become “normal” here in Zambia.:)
3. I now sleep before 10:30 pm. (Didn’t I say normal?:D)
4. I’ve been living off my suitcase for 4 months now. That’s ‘coz I still don’t have a chest of drawers for my clothes as of this writing. It’s supposed to be provided for by my employers but, so far, they haven’t finished processing the request. (Now, this is not normal.)
5. I dislike having to deal with bureaucracy and politics and what-have-yous. Tough luck that I’m working in local government now.
6. I’ve seen a total of four films since I arrived in this country – Crank, Oceans 13, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and The Simpsons. That means that I almost always end up going to the cinema whenever I’d visit Lusaka (the capital city). Not bad for someone who was prepared not to watch a single film within a span of two years.:)
7. I miss going to the UAAP games! And my “hoops-sickness” gets even more intense after a win like this one. (Go Ateneo, One Big Fight!)
8. Did I mention that I miss the UAAP?:D

There you go! I think I’d have to break the rules and only accomplish half of the tasks prescribed by this tag though. As much as I’d like to link up with eight other people and leave comments on each of their sites, my “internet situation” (as I’d like to call it) here in Mazabuka is not exactly conducive for those kinds of things.

Hence, this is where “my excuse for a monthly post” will end.:)

~pol, 8/30/07 (Thurs); 9:25pm