Things have changed since I last wrote; I am now teaching at a Catholic school in Kitwe, 12 hours North of Livingstone. Ivor, who is the country co-ordinator in Zambia for Love Volunteers and was showing me round and keeping me company in Livingstone, has had to go back home to Kitwe in Copperbelt, Zambia for his other job. Normally volunteers come out in groups or pairs and Ivor stays with them for the first and last week of their stay, he shows them around and leaves them to it. But because I am out here on my own and am female, he wasn't comfortable leaving me in Livingstone. It's not a dangerous place but people here think white people have a lot of money and on my own I would get overcharged for everything and would probably have ended up just going to work at the Orphanage and then back to the guest house and sitting in my room so I am glad that he is looking out for me. We decided it would be best if I went with him to where his family live in Kitwe for 10 days so he can work, then we'll head back to Livingstone together. Copperbelt is in the area of Zambia where they mine copper, all the towns and villages in that area have workers in the mines, mining copper is the biggest industry in Zambia. This is where Ivor works. I was sad to leave the Orphanage but there are children everywhere to help and I will be back at the end of next week to see them before I leave.

So on Sunday (after being very disappointed that I couldn't bungee jump, because it is closed due to the rope snapping on that Australian woman on New Year's Eve) we got the coach at 10pm to Lusaka, the capital of Zambia. The coach was roomy, (take note National Express!) although there was no air-con so it was very hot. I slept on and off uncomfortably throughout the night until we arrived in the capital at 5am. We were only in Lusaka for a few hours as Ivor needed to pick up some work from his Uni. Lusaka seems like a poor part of London, not like Livingstone at all. There were tall buildings everywhere and lots of traffic and people. It had a shopping centre, takeaways, shops, the usual, it was just a lot dirtier (if you can imagine that!). People stared at me more there than in Livingstone because it isn't a tourist destination so they see white people even less. I was very glad I chose to volunteer in Livingstone instead of Lusaka!

Then at 10.30am we got on another coach to take us up to the Copperbelt towns and all the way to Mitwe. This time I didn't sleep as much because the scenery was so different (I still slept a bit, 6 hours of doing nothing is pretty boring) we past tiny houses that were mud huts with straw roofs, just the way I imagined life would have been like in rural Africa.

We arrived in Kitwe at 4pm and then got a taxi to where Ivor's family live. It was a village outside the town of Kitwe and it was exactly how I imagined Africa would be when I decided to come out here! The house is brick built with a metal sheet roof, the floors are a mixture of stone and broken tiles, the doorways have curtains covering them and there is no running water (we'll get to that later). In the streets there are chickens running round and bare footed children collecting water in buckets as no-one has plumbing, the shops are a tiny hut on the corner with meshing in front of it and women sell fruit in the street. This is really how Africans live! Not ensuite bedrooms like the guest house.

Ivor's family are so lovely, his Mum is away at the farm for a few days working but I have met a lot of his siblings already. His younger sister and brother, Pamela and Preston, live in the house with their Mum and older sister Tranniska (definitely don't think I spelt that right). I will be teaching at the local Catholic School St Francis' where Tranniska also teaches and staying in their house. Ivor lives in a different village which is closer to his work. I sat in their living room last night with everyone just watching TV (no running water but cable TV!!) while Pamela and Preston went on Ivor's laptop and Tranniska was making dinner (nshima obviously) it was just like any other family back home, which was really comforting.

When Ivor told me that his house didn't have a shower I thought to myself that this is me experiencing real Africa and it's only for 10 days I'm going to be fine but for all my optimism the reality is very different. I did my best last night to wash myself, my teeth and my hair in a tiny room with no lock, using a big bucket of water by candle light. When I was all for embracing this experience, I obviously hadn't thought of the reality of squatting by a bucket rinsing shampoo out of your hair and putting your clothes back on so you can walk through the communal kitchen (they have rented out two rooms in their house to two other families, one family has 6 members living in just one room!) to the bedroom. Ivor's family have been very kind and given me a room to myself and the bed is actually very comfy. Last night I slept under the blanket for the first time since I've been in Zambia (it's not as hot as Livingstone here and apparantly rains a lot).Walking to the shop last night everyone was staring, children were following us shouting 'white girl white girl' and wanting to shake my hand, people were shouting 'hello' at me, I felt like a celebrity! If the people in Lusaka rarely see a white person most of these people, definitely the children, have never seen a white person. Even when I was in Ivor's family's house watching TV little heads were poking in the window to have a look at me. I felt like I was in a zoo, people literally just stare, not a subtle sneaky look like we would do at home at something novel - they just outright stare. I try not to take offence, they are just curious they aren't being rude, I only take offence when men ask to 'buy the white girl' off Ivor!

This morning I was woken by a cockral at 5.30am which crowed constantly for about an hour. I went to work in St Francis school with Tranniska, I taught in the class with her colleague Merci who I really got on well with, she's invited me round her house on Thursday after work and I am going to her Catholic Church with Tranniska on Sunday. The school was built by the Church for Orphans, they then expanded to take in other vulnerable children and now they are a community school. From 8am-10am we taught Grade 5 English and Maths, then from 10.30am-2pm we taught Grade 3 English and then Benga (they tried to teach me but I don't remember a word now!). They speak 75 different languages in Zambia, all depending on what part you live in. The main language is English which they teach at school but each tribe has a different language; in Livingstone they spoke Tonga, here they speak Benga.

One uncomfortable thing did happen today though which I am a bit upset about. The school manager Patrick called me out of one of my classes and brought me into his office, where he proceeded to welcome me and ask for my contact details in England, I gave him my email address and home address (which in hindsight I realise wasn't the best move) under the impression he wanted to let me know how things were getting on. He then told me all about how in Zambia if you want to go to Secondary school you have to pay and as these children come from difficult circumstances they can't afford to go. He went on to say how they wanted to expand the school onto another site and how the teachers couldn't afford further training. Basically he was asking me for money! Not necessarily from me but he wanted me to go back to England and collect money from "well-wishers" and send it to their Church for the school. He ended with "it is our duty as Christians to help one another". It was so uncomfortable, I really didn't know what to do.

I know I came out here to help but the other two places I've been helping at were so grateful I was even there teaching and helping the children, they didn't ask for a penny. It was me that wanted to collect clothes and send the children things when I get home, they didn't even mention money at all to me which made me want to help even more. I know it may be the language barrier and maybe I've taken what he's said the wrong way but I don't have money and I don't have the connections he obviously thinks I do at home to get people to send him money. I do want to help but I don't like that he asked me out right, ok so their class rooms would definitely not pass OFSTED in England but they have more than the Orphanage in Livingstone do, those children had to write in the coloured pencils I brought them because lead pencils are so expensive, those Orphans don't wear uniforms or even shoes in class where I taught them!

So I left it by promising him to take photos of the school tomorrow and talk to my priest when I get home and organise a Church appeal or something. But to be honest my priority is the Orphanage in Livingstone not that school. It is a shame because Merci and Tranniska are so lovely and the children seem great too but Patrick has now made me feel really uncomfortable being there. I told Merci when I went back to class and she was shocked, she told me to ignore him and not to send money, she said I would never know what it was getting spent on and that they had been talking about a new building for years, they had also talked about making that land a car park and a basketball court too so no-one knew what was actually happening. Ivor said the Catholic Church is a lot richer than any other religion out here.

That's all from me today, hope everyone at home is well. I am actually starting to miss you all now, it feels like more than a holiday now I've been gone two weeks. Love xxxx