Well the visa fiasco, for the pain its been, turns out to have a silver lining. Dr Johnson did some more research and deciphering of immigration policies. While he did get a few different answers, it seems as though if I leave the country for a few days and return with a letter from the hospital welcoming me I should be able to qualify for the required 30 day business visa. The other step, which Dr Johnson is working on, is getting a letter from the ministry of health agreeing to me being here. When I first heard that I had to leave Zambia I was a little unsure as to what I could economically and safely do on my own for a few days. Still unsure of the complete plan I headed to livingstone, zambia (site of Victoria Falls, right on the Zimbabwe border and close to Botswana). I wasn't dying to go to Zimbabwe given the Cholera situation and potentially unstable political environment so figured I would end up in Botswana.
I arrived in Livingstone last night and checked into a great Hostel called Jolly Boys with a pool, lots of young people and several good areas to relax. I woke this morning only to bump into one of my friends from Portland at breakfast! I had known Jen, a med student I worked with at OHSU, was in Africa somewhere but no further details. It turns out she and her husband are doing medical work in Lusaka for the year. They had planned a weeklong trip leaving tomorrow for the dunes of Namibia and kindly invited me along with them. Today we wnt to go see Victoria Falls which was amazing.
So...next stop Namibia! Keep your fingers crossed that immigration is feeling friendly on my return so I can get the business visa and resume working in Choma. There are 2 national holidays this week so we'll se how muchthe ministry of health gets done. Have a good week
Melissa
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