Ryan Greenberg

Last August I was at an internation service orientation for two weeks. There we met people on their way to a mind-boggling number of different countries: Bosnia, Madagascar, Peru, The Gambia, Guatemala, Senegal, Nicaragua, and others. I met one couple, Ted and Mona, who are working with Catholic Relief Services in Zambia, Africa. I have been following their adventures on their blog, which recently featured a handful of anecdotes about life there. They range from the comical situations resulting from the lack of birth certificates to getting compliments about how fat they are. Here’s an excerpt:

Standing in the bank teller line the other day the power popped on and off about three times before Ted reached the woman at the teller window. He was requesting a withdrawal and the teller mentioned that the bank was experiencing some power problems. She was unable to access our account on computer so, very politely, she asks, “Do you have funds in your account?” “Uh, yes, there should be,” replied Ted. “Thank you,” she says while handing him the kwacha (money).

For the complete set of anecdotes, continue reading Ted and Mona’s blog.