That's Life in Africa

The last blog was about a pleasant surprise. This one will fill you in on some of the not-so-pleasant surprises we’ve had.
• The American medical team arrived here on Thursday, July 7. That was also the day that AT&T decided to pull out of Zambia with no advance notice. Many members of the team had purchased AT&T phone cards so that they could call back home and let their families know they had arrived safely. They had to hope that their loved ones read the ZMM blog, because no phone calls went through!
• The very next day on Friday, July 8, we were scheduled to head out for Kanyanga and set up for the first clinic. That day the only gas station in Kalomo shut down its pumps to switch brands. We had to find creative ways to fill up all 14 of our vehicles so we could leave on schedule! The station opened back up the following week.
• The majority of the medical team left Africa on Wednesday, July 20. That was a blessing, because on Friday, July 22, South African Airways went on strike. A few remaining team members had tickets to leave on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. They had to reroute through Europe on other carriers or wait in a Johannesburg hotel for the strike to be settled.
• And finally, it was announced on Sunday that the only refinery in Zambia is shutting down its diesel production facility for repairs and that there will be no diesel available for as long as a month! Keep in mind that most vehicles here run on diesel. We rushed into town to fill up the Land Rover and gas cans. By Monday there was no more diesel available in Kalomo or Livingstone.

These all happened in a little over two weeks. Won’t it be interesting to find out what’s next?