The Beginning.

Welcome to Melinza! I have a feeling I am the only one that finds the play on my name amusing, but it was a satisfying ha! moment after spending far too much time deciding a blog name. Here we are approaching the eve of my departure to Zambia. It has been a long process from looking at internships/placements in the spring to having a date to circle on the calendar just a month ago. But, even as I’m packing for warm, humid weather and stocking my personal pharmacy, it still doesn’t quite feel real. “You must be excited,” friends say. Absolutely! I’m excited for the opportunity to fall in love with a new country, land, and peoples, but I can’t seem to conjure up the euphoric excited feeling typical of new adventures, new relationships, or for me finding a perfect pair of pants. Admittedly, I am cautious about having too many expectations, but more than that, I want to ease into Zambia without feeling that my mere presence there is something significant. I’m not off to Africa in some grand sense, but making the move for the opportunity to live and work in one Southern African city. Perhaps, I might find myself a part of something and that would be grand.

Some background info: I’m done with school (for now) and setting aside my biochemistry days to consider pursuing international development and public health as a career and future studies. In Lusaka, Zambia, I will be working with a local community schools non-governmental organisation to support their programmes, build the capacity of the organisation and teachers, and mainstream HIV/AIDS programmes. Over the course of two years, I hope to find my role in somewhere in those objectives.

To learn more about Zambia, I’ve put some handy links in the sidebar. BBC country profiles are good for general information. IRIN is an excellent news network for exploring news not often picked up by North American networks. And, for your perusal... the Zambian tourism and Lonely Planet website should you feel inclined to come and visit. I will eventually put up my mailing address - if you enjoy real mail, email me your address and I will write you. I hope this blog will not serve just as a place for me to ramble, but also a platform for a dialogue on development, poverty, globalisation, and really how we all have a part.

So here’s to the beginning...