Patricia Capistrant Blog

Testing blog for round 2 in Zambia!

Good question, Patty.  Well, the diesel fuel delivery is 3 weeks late.  Consequently, we need to ration our supplies until the delivery arrives, and so the generator will be shut off in a couple of minutes, leaving me without power or internet.  I will download pics tomorrow night and post them.  Africa, huh?

    One week to go here in the Bush!  I have been constructing cross sections and looking at rocks from drill holes at a maniac pace, and I am STILL not sure if I will get everything finished!  My rock collection to be sent home has grown exponentially, and my 465 GB external hard drive is nearly half way full with data and pictures!  Additionally, drawing and coloring cross sections has resulted in an aching hand and stubby colored pencils.  In fact, my yellowed colored pencil is less than an inch long!  Yellow is apparently a popular color for nickel deposits.  I also lost my handy-dandy scratcher, which is an all-in-one geology tool!!  It is a pen-shaped item with a sharp, tungsten tip at one end, and a magnet at the other end.  I use the scratcher to gauge the hardness of minerals since this can be a very distinguishing feature in mineral identification.  Minerals like talc (the stuff they make baby powder out of) may look like other minerals; however, it is very soft, so I can deduce which mineral I am looking at based on that technique.  The magnet on the other end is very useful since some metallic minerals may look alike, but are differentiated based on their magnetic properties.  It was a full day or mourning at the loss of such an item; however, another geologist has lent me his until I leave.  With that crisis solved, I have been able to get back on track, and there is still hope for me to get my Master’s degree. 

    The most exciting thing happening lately has probably been my adoption by the two camp dogs.  Tano, a female, medium-sized, tan, African dog; and Hunter, a male, black and white Jack Russell Terrier, are left here whenever their owner goes on break.  For the first couple of days, Tano and Hunter waited anxiously by the camp gates to see if their owner was coming back.  They didn’t eat, they didn’t sleep, and they were generally forlorn.  A couple days had passed, and they were starting to warm up to people in the camp: especially those people whom they thought might have a warm bed to share with them at night.  I sleep in a twin-sized bed in a 7’X7’ tent, so the idea of two dogs sleeping with me was out of the question.  I did, however, decide one day that they needed some exercise since neither of the dogs had been out for a walk since their owner left, so I took them on a short run with me.  Afterward, much to my dismay, they started following me around EVERYWHERE!  They sleep outside of my tent, wake me up (and everyone else up, too) with barking at 5:30am, greet me with yelps and nips at my pantlegs, follow me to the showers, follow me to dinner, meet me when I get back from the rocks…EVERYWHERE!  Now everyone in camp can find me at any time…they know when I’m taking a shower, and in which stall; they know when I’m hanging out in my tent; they know when I am working in the office or in the core shed; and they even know when I’m using the lou!  Having my own personal entourage is not working out the way I thought it would. 

    Hunter, the Jack Russell, is a mean little dog, as well.  When his owner is here, I cannot pet him without him growling or even BITING me!  Sometimes he will lie at my feet and look up at me with innocent, puppy-dog eyes.  The debate rages through my head:  “I know this little jerk is gonna bite me if I pet him…but maybe he has had a change of heart.  Maybe he is remembering all of the food I have slipped him from the table…maybe he knows that I am a nice person…maybe he wants me to pet him.  Those eyes are telling me he wants me to pet him.”  But as soon as I put my hand down to pat him ever-so-gently on the head, YOW!!!, he bites me!  He is a mean dog and I hate him!  Since his owner’s departure; however, I am now allowed and encouraged to pet him.  He doesn’t growl at me anymore, and he even jumps up on me when we are reunited after our heart-breaking separation while I use the toilet!  Ridiculous!  This anecdote was for Bailey, the best dog in the world (and my ONLY dog, to be sure). 

    Two nights ago, we had an unfortunate accident.  A group of workers was installing a cell phone tower about 10 km up the road.  Afterward, they had a few beers before heading back to camp for dinner.  It was dark, no one was buckled up, and a majority of the crew was sitting in the back of the open-aired truck.  Doing well over the speed limit of 50 kph, the driver ran head on into a tree.  He was thrown through the windshield and all of the other workers were thrown from the truck, as well.  News of the accident reached our camp and 10 seconds later, our on-site nurse (Debbie) rushed to the site with our small, second-hand ambulance.  The driver, who was in critical condition, was placed into the back of the ambulance and rushed to the nearest hospital, 2 hours away.  The rest of the workers loaded into the back of a troop carrier and followed behind the ambulance.  That medical facility was able to treat all of the minor injuries experienced by the majority of the crew; however, the driver, who was bleeding internally in addition to having multiple broken bones, was only able to be stabilized before being passed on to another hospital a few more hours away.  We are still waiting to hear about his progress; although that latest news was that only a miracle would save him.  I would like to recognize the medical group here for doing everything that they could possibly do in an extremely tough situation, and we all hope that the driver of the vehicle recovers.  DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE!!  That story was for Catrina, who requested hearing about life-threatening experiences from Africa.

    I have included some pictures from my camp.  Everything here is constructed from scratch with as many local materials for building as possible.  The bricks are made in the local village from the clay that makes up the giant termite hills I posted a picture of.  The clay is mixed with water, molded, dried, and then stacked into arches.  After there are enough bricks, the gaps under the arches are packed with wood and burned in order to make them hard and resistant to weathering.  My company buys all of the bricks that we use from the local village, which is great for business!  Additionally, because so many new structures and roads are going in with the mine going into production stages soon, a lot of trees are being cut down.  Instead of letting these go to waste, we use them.  A picture attached below is of the lapa which is being re-thatched for rainy season.  All of the wood and grass is local.  In addition to structures, the wood is used for fences, stands for core trays, and even just for burning at the campfire.

    As I am getting ready to leave, I am trying to make my suitcase as light as possible by giving away clothes, old hiking boots, and even things like extra soap.  Hannah, a geo I work with, and I stopped at the local village after work so that I could trade some of my items for local things they were selling.  (For the record, after spending time here, I don’t think that hand outs are helpful.  People come to expect things to be given to them for nothing.  Especially from white people.  The things people lack here are education and skills.  If you ever decide to give to a charity that helps people in Africa, please give to an organization that encourages teaching people skills that they can use to make a living for themselves.)  I didn’t want to trade for much; maybe just a pineapple or a yard of local fabric.  I walked up to some women selling items at a stand, and it quickly became clear that they did not speak any English, so I started miming.  I grabbed invisible items from body like a shirt and shoes and set them on one woman’s stand, and then I grabbed invisible items off of her table and put them in my pocket.  She got the idea, and seemed almost keen on it; however, before she could answer, a man jumped in my face!  He said in broken English that these women needed money, not clothes.  Even if the women wanted to trade with me (because, in all reality, what were they going to buy with money?  Clothes, shoes, soap… things that I had), this man would not let me have an audience with them.  Instead, he asked me if I was a ‘miss’ or a ‘missus’.  Without even thinking, I responded that I was a ‘miss’.  Big mistake!  The rest of the time that I was looking around the market, he was right there…ASKING ME TO MARRY HIM!  Needless to say, I agreed…just kidding, mom!  I told him no, and Hannah and I hopped in the car without making a successful business transaction, and we headed back to camp.  I have arranged, instead, to give my items to the clinic, where Debbie will give them away at her discretion. 

    Well, I guess that’s about all.  I will try to get one more blog in before I head home.  I am having a great time here but am definitely ready to get home…to see Bailey. 

Patty

Well, my days in Africa are getting fewer and fewer, and every day I seem to find more and more things that I need to get done with my project before I leave.  I have collected so much data in rock descriptions and measurements that I am actually starting to dread the process of sifting through it all when I get back.  Once I get back home, though, I can’t look at these rocks again, so I’ve got to burn them into my memory as much as possible before I leave!!  I have also collected nearly 100 lbs of rock samples that I need to get back to Colorado School of Mines for analysis!  My company has graciously agreed to arrange and pay for their transport from Africa.  There are many stories among geologists that involve trying to get rocks through airport security; most end in a flustered scientist trying to explain the incredible importance of getting his 30 lbs (or more!) of rocks home, and the airport security misinterpreting the rocks to be weapons, drugs, or even blood diamonds. 

I have started using the company’s handheld XRF.  An XRF is an “X-Ray fluorescence spectrometer” and is used to identify a range of elements in a rock.  Basically, the device emits X-rays into the rock being analyzed, which excites the atoms.  The energy emitted from these excited atoms is unique to each different element.  The device is able to separate out these different energies and categorize them into the different elements present.  Furthermore, the device displays a cute little chart for me that tells me how much of each element is in the rock being analyzed.  Now, knowing the elements doesn’t exactly TELL you what the rock is; a geologist must know his or her mineral chemical formulas in order to discern what minerals are composed of the elements on the chart, and moreover, what rocks are composed of that set of minerals.  Did any of that make sense…?  Well, if it didn’t, I’d like to simplify by saying that I get to use a really neat X-ray gun to figure out what my rocks are made of!  The only thing to be careful of when using the XRF gun is that it emits radiation, and so- just like a real gun- shooting it at yourself, an animal, or another person could result in serious damage (cancer or radiation poisoning). Also, I’m pretty sure that the XRF gun is the reason the Teenage Mutant Turtles are the way they are…    

Word about the work being available here is spreading throughout Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo like wildfire.  People are flooding local villages as they look for work.  Every morning more and more people are waiting outside of the gates to see if there are any jobs available.  If any buildings are going up or if there is a road that needs to be built, the company will hire casual laborers for a week or 2 until the job is finished.  That is what all of these people are hoping for, if not a more permanent job.  Most of the bosses here are torn about the situation because they would prefer to hire locals, that is people who were originally living in these villages before the influx; however, with a 70% unemployment rate throughout Zambia, it is understandable that people would travel far and wide just for a chance at a job!  Makes our problems in the states not look so bad…

Well I’ve been spending most of my nights hanging out with the ex-pats who live in camp.  I brought Monopoly Card Game with me, and it has turned out to be a big hit!  So much so that I plan to leave the game here and possibly send another one over when I get back so that more people can play!  If you haven’t picked up Monopoly Card Game from your local Wal-Mart, do so immediately!!  Since it is winter here, there is also always a large fire roaring in camp.  Some nights we sit around and talk.  The favorite conversation by far is making fun of different people’s accents.  There are people here from South Africa, Belgium, Australia, England, Zambia, and of with my addition, America.  We like to pick words like “bowl” or “scone” (Aussies and English pronounce it like ‘scOn’) or “filet” (everyone except Americans pronounce the ‘t’ on the end) or “tomato” and correct each other endlessly on the proper way to pronounce it.  It may not sound super interesting, but after a day of talking to rocks, it is a hoot!

I guess that’s about it for this blog post.  I will try to post a couple more times before I head home (in 3 weeks!!).  Thanks for reading, and please let me know if there is anything particular you’d like to know about. 

Patty

Just got back from a trip to Victoria Falls!  It was great to get away, and the falls were pretty spectacular.  I went with a kid that is working for the same company at a nearby camp and we met up with another student who is working in Botswana.  We saw the falls from both the Zambian side (Livingstone) and the Zimbabwe side (Victoria Falls).  Everyone has their own opinion about which side has the better view, and my personal opinion is that the Zambian side was better.  I mean, the falls look about the same from either side, but the people in Zambia are so much nicer!  Everyone is willing to help and talk…plus it was a lot cheaper for me since I have a visa that gave me residential prices for the park entrance, LOL!  The only thing that I didn’t like about the Zambian side is the baboons!  They wander free through the park looking for anything you want to give them.  I set my bag down to get my visa out, and a baboon ran over and tried to help me go through my bag!!  I had to snatch it up from him, but then he pulled at my leg like that was rude of me…anyway…I don’t like baboons.  Jerks!

In addition to going to the falls, the three of us (Andrew, Wes, and myself) went on a day safari at Mosi-o-Tunya Park.  We saw baboons, warthogs, impala, elephants, giraffes, zebra, hippos, and we were pretty lucky to see a mama rhino and it’s cute little baby!  See the pics below!

We also did the daredevil white water rafting on the Zambezi River one day.  Oh my goodness, it was super scary!  We went through 20 class 3, 4, and 5 rapids, and I was honestly sure that I might die.  Rapid 16 and 17 was called ‘The Terminator’ and all I remember was huge walls of waves coming at me.  I was holding the rope attached to raft for my dear life with the raft guide yelling, “ROW FORWARD!  FORWARD!  FORWARD!”  Screw you, raft guide!  I’m gonna keep holding this rope until we get into safer waters!  And to make matters worse, whenever the water WAS calm, there were crocodiles sun-bathing on the shores!  Well, shit!  I hope that I don’t fall out!!!  Needless to say, I’ll be coming back one limb short…just kidding!  But rafting was definitely the high point of the trip, and if any of you all ever go to Vic Falls, make sure you stay on the Zambian side and go white water rafting!

For other sorts of life-threatening fun, you could go bungee jumping off of the Victoria Falls Bridge.  The Zambian Traveller magazine reads,

“David Livingstone, Scottish explorer, medical doctor, philanthropist and missionary, named the falls after Victoria, the then Queen of England.  At the time David Livinstone viewed the falls on Nov 17, 1855 on the Batoka Gorge, through which the Zambezi River flows, had not yet been bridged.  This giant river flows slightly over 100 meters below the 200 m long Victoria Falls Bridge.  It is from that bridge that some of the longest bungee jumps in the world take place… Victoria Falls Bridge, jointly owned by the national railways of Zambia and Zimbabwe, was designed by Sir Ralph Freeman… the metallic pieces of the bridge were made in England and some would not fit when it was being assembled because they expanded under the African heat.  Coolness of night allowed contraction of the metals and finally they were fitted on the bridge on the night of March 31 and the early morning hours of April 1, 1905.  It has been reported in journals that AFricans were pessimistic about the structure, which they said would crash into the gorge once it was erected.  They must have been surprised to see a locomotive engine pass over it…”

I am happy to be back at camp because I have a ton of work to get done before I head back to the states!  Lots of core logging to do and cross sections to construct! 

I hope that you enjoy the pics below…most are from Vic Falls, and some are random.  Let me know whatcha think!

Patty

Well, I was an illegal alien for about 23 days here in Zambia.  When I got off of the plane, I went through customs, paid $50 for a 30 day visa, and went on my way.  It turns out that the customs officer only gave me a generous 7 days for my $50, but I didn’t bother checking my passport.  Stupid American!  Anyway, when I went to re-up my visa after the initial 30 days, it became terrifyingly clear that I didn’t have a visa to renew!  My company called immigration to see what the fee would be for my overdue visa, and it turned out it was roughly $100 USD per day that it was ovedue!  Since I couldn’t afford that, and since I knew that I wouldn’t get much thesis work done in jail, I decided to try another strategy:  I baked a from scratch, two-layer, chocolate on chocolate cake with the help of the kitchen staff at the camp, and I put on the saddest face that I could.  From there, I was chaperoned with a company driver 2 hours to over dirt roads, through villages, and finally to Solwesi, where we arrived at the converted jail building of Zambian Immigration Services.  Inside everyone’s “office” was a little room with a jail cell door instead of a wooden one, and windows the size of a piece of paper.  I walked inside to a meet a large African woman wearing a leather jacket.  I cupped my hands on top of one another and bowed down, as is the sign of respect around here.  As I bowed, I had to say, “thank you government, thank you.”  When I finished bowing, I sat down, and just then the woman’s assistant came rushing in with a pot full of hot tea to refill the woman’s nearly finished cup.  It was clear at this point that she was not someone to mess with.  I explained my situation, and quickly gave her the cake.  After a little while of thinking and deliberating (and eating a bite or two), she finally knocked down the price to 2 million kwatcha (that is, $400 USD) with that price also covering the remainder of my stay in country.  I paid, let her stamp my visa, and left as fast as I could before she changed her mind (or ran out of cake!)!  Whew!  This place might be rough if you don’t have the right ingredients!  I won’t know what to do if someday I face a person who isn’t persuaded by food. 

                In other news, my school advisor is on his way out to the bush!  He’ll be here tomorrow to discuss the work that I have finished so far.  I hope that it is enough!!  I’ve licked so many rocks since I got here that I can only eat soft foods and soup because there is so much grit in my teeth!  I can’t say too much about the geology that is going on out here, but if you would like a demonstration of how this place formed, just grab a tube of toothpaste, take off the cap, and squeeze!  That’s about as much sense as I (or any of the other geologists for that matter) can make of it.  I am sure that as the summer goes on, though, the picture will begin to make a little more sense.  In the meantime, I hope my advisor brought some toothpaste!

                Last night for dinner, the cook made hamburgers and “chips”.  I have never had a better tasting hamburger in my life!  But it might just be because I was so hungry for something besides enshima and mystery meat.  The fries were cold and soggy with oil…but they were the best tasting fries that I have ever had, as well!  America had better watch out when I get back!  Double Stuf oreos, marshmallows, hamburgers, and some serious Mexican food is going to get obliterated!!  Anyway, after dinner, someone had the movie The Blind Side on his hard drive, so a bunch of us sat around and watched it.  It was quite amusing to watch an American movie about US football with a bunch of ex-patriots from everywhere EXCEPT America! Haha!  No one knew the rules to football, so the movie didn’t make much sense in that aspect.  Also, everyone here dogs US football because they wear a bunch of pads and stuff.  I don’t watch too much football myself, so I did a poor job of sticking up for one of America’s favorite pastimes.  I did mention that I like eating Doritos and veggie trays while watching a game, though.  Could you tell that I am hungry?!

                Well that is all for now!  I am going to make some last minute touches to some maps I drew up for my advisor’s visit!  I’m probably going to take a few days off and head for Victoria Falls in the next couple of weeks, so I’ll definitely post some pictures of that after I get back!  Thanks for reading!!!

Today I saw a black mamba in the middle of the road!!  Luckily I was in the safety of a vehicle, but man-oh-man…now I’m not so sure that I want to go for a run tonight (treadmills in the Bush might save some lives)!  Apparently you’ve got only an hour or so to get some anti-venom before you keel over.  A geologist today noted about the incident, “if you get bit by a black mamba, you should go find a shady tree and sit under it…it won’t improve your chances of surviving, but it will keep you from frying in the sun so that they can identify your body.”  Haha, thanks for the advice!

I’ve attached a picture of the giant termite mounds that are all over the place here.  I learned about them last night, and it seems that mounds this big (which are darn common!) are thousands of years old and just re-colonized by different generations of termites and they just add on to the mound so that over time they get bigger and bigger.  The top of the mound is tube shaped; it is called the chimney.  What happens is that the bugs collect leaves and plants and crap and store it in these little rooms inside their mound, then they built this chimney so that it concentrates the sun’s rays and makes the little rooms all humid.  Mold and fungus grow on the leaves and break them down into nutrients (gunk) that the termites can digest.  WOW!!!  Nature is complex and cool!!  If any of that stuff isn’t correct, then the geologist who told me is full of crap and should stick to rocks instead of living stuff!

Core logging is going well.  I haven’t found ANY gold in this nickel deposit, though!  It’s a little tedious sometimes, so when I get bored I just lick a couple rocks and feel better.  The geology is so complex that when I finish logging one drill hole and start logging another one, I learn more and then realize that I logged the last hole wrong!  Haha, it’s a two steps forward-one step back deal, but I am pretty sure that that is just how this goes.  I’m also getting ready for my advisor to come out at the end of the month and look at what I’ve got so far.  It’s pretty nerve-wracking, but I’m pretty excited, too.

One of our geos had a birthday last week, so we had a party on Saturday night to celebrate.  The folks who run the logistics for the camps were able to get a whole sheep, and after filling it with wine, olive oil, garlic, and rosemary, they cooked it up on a spiket (however it’s spelled)!  It was very tastey.  The theme was Mediterranean, so people dressed up in whatever sort of outfit they could come by.  One guy just didn’t shave for a week, wore a white singlet and found some fake hair to hang out of his shirt; and all of the drillers showed up wearing togas (but quickly took them off when they realized no one else had gone to such extremes as to sacrifice their bed sheets for a costume)!  I made a Caesar crown with leaves and wire.  They’ve decided that since they have a couple of Americans in the camp now, they ought to throw a Fourth of July-American-themed party in a couple of weeks…I’m pretty sure they’ll just find any excuse to party in the bush, but I’m going to go with it.

Well!  If anyone needs anything from Africa, better let me know while I’m here…it’ll save you the trip.

Work “Utes”

Spider in the core shed

Core logging area

Local village

Lunch!

Termite hill!

Hey all!  I am just getting a chance to get some internet access out here in the bush.  I am sitting in the lapa, which is a large, open hut with thatched roofing; it’s the only place to get internet access out here, haha!  Zambia is great!!

I have been doing mostly core logging, where I look at rocks that have been drilled out from as deep as 600 meters!  We are trying to outline an ore body that could hopefully be worth enough to turn into a mine.  As rocks go, these are pretty interesting (mostly because they are so screwed up!).  I am very excited to be a part of this project!  The name of my camp is Enterprise, and the company I am working for is First Quantum.  They have quite a few projects throughout Africa (in case anyone wants to look them up). 

The camp is composed of geologists, surveyors, builders, logistics people, and technicians.  All of the technicians are local Africans from the nearby villages.  They receive training in whatever task they have been hired to do, and then they are given a bright orange jumpsuit along with proper PPE (personal protection equipment).  Every morning I drive from the main camp (where I eat dinner and sleep) to the camp where I am doing my thesis research.  On the drive we pass through a village, which has exploded in size since First Quantum started doing exploration.  Every morning the local villagers show up in front of the camp gates waiting to be hired.  They are hired as technicians, cooks, cleaners, gate keepers, sign makers, etc.  Sometimes they are hired for a day and sometimes for 6 month stints (depending on the job and the availability of work). 

The village that they live in Wayingwa (I think) is very meager.  It is spread out along the road with small brick and stick huts with thatched roofing or sometimes corregated metal roofing.  I am surprised at their utility of materials from the land: they build fences and shelters and stands for selling goods all out of branches and vines and things.  First Quantum has done a lot to improve the road that runs through the town, and they all use the road to walk to different villages or to walk to the mines for work.  Also buses and trucks with supplies show up every couple of days.  The women all wear the most decorative fabrics and sometimes they are carrying huge bushels or buckets on their heads (so cliché, but so darn impressive!)!  There are also always goats, chickens, and children in or on the side of the road.  The kids all shout “Mizungo! Mizungo!”, which means white person.  Some of the smaller villages in the area had never seen a white person prior to 6 months ago, when First Quantum started exploration in the area.  The funny thing is that they are all wearing western clothes of some sort, so all that stuff must get sent over and get circulated pretty well if even these remote villages get access to them.  One farm owner was wearing a jacket from the Alaskan Fishing Co.!

Alex, a geologist for the Enterprise prospect that I work at, invited me to go with him to look at where they are building drill pads.  It was about an hour drive through the forest on a pretty rugged road to a bridge crossing (super sketchy bridge btw).  Before we crossed the bridge, we had to stop and wait for another group from the camp.  As we waited, I could see 2 little kids sneaking up on our truck.  I waved to them in the rearview mirror and then they came running up to the truck window.  There was nothing to say between us since they didn’t speak English and I don’t speak any African languages!  They just stared at us and smiled.  Alex said it was because they had not seen very many white people…I supposed that is probably true.  As we were waiting there, more and more kids came up to the truck and waved or said “Hi”, which is the only English word that they knew.  When the other truck finally showed up, there were at least 6 kids at the truck window.  I waved goodbye, they all waved back and we drove across the bridge and went on our way.

Well, it is the end of the day and we are soon headed back to the main camp, Sentinel, where they are having a bry (BBQ).  I am not sure how to spell bry.  It should be fun and a good opportunity to relax after my first week in Africa!  More to come!

-Patty

Well, it took 28 hours Of traveling, but Andrew and I finally made it to Ndola, Zambia! It’s pretty unbelievable to be here. I haven’t really done much except shower and hang out (trying not to fall asleep too soon so that I don’t screw up the jet-lag thing). First Quantum, the company I am working for, has put us up in their guest house. This place is more luxurious than any hotel I’ve ever been to! There are cooks and attendants and I can get a latte whenever I want (fo free!)! Tomorrow I’m headed to camp, which is about an hour plane ride west of here. The dirt and drill rigs should bring me back to reality! More to come…

Hey Everyone, I’m about to leave on an exciting trip to a little place called Zambia!  Where the beer flows like wine and the women flock to you like the geese of Capistrano!  Hope you all stay tuned throughout the summer, here we go!

-Patty