a quick update on living life Zambian style

Hi everyone!!!! Muli shani??? (That's how are you in Bemba!) This is the first opportunity I have had to update my blog since arriving in Zambia and I am thrilled to finally have a chance to share with you a few stories. My wonderful mom has been doing an excellent job of updating you on news she has gotten through our phone conversations and I don't want to bore you with repetitions of what she has already written, so I think I'll go about writing this in a sort of unconventional way. I keep a gratitude journal here in which I write three things I am thankful for every night before I go to sleep, which has been an excellent way of keeping my morale up when the going gets tough and I thought I would share some excerpts of things I have written in there. Let me assure you that there are many things about life here that can get tough. NOt only am I training from 8-5 Monday through Saturday (and let me assure you that PC was not lying when they called it "intensive"), but me and my fellow PC trainees have a lot of other things to keep in mind, a few examples being that getting malaria at some point during service is common, we have been properly trained on how to deal with severe diarreah in the bush because we are guaranteed to get it (I can't wait to manage that one in a "pit latrine"), I have seen poverty so bad here that I feel guilty for relying on my cell phone, digital camera and I-POD every day, it is estimated that 1 in 6 people in Zambia are living with HIV/AIDS and on top of everything I live with mice, frogs and last night as I was writing what I wanted to say for this blog a snake slithered its way on into my hut and gave me what I can only describe as quite a surprise.

Anyway, the hard parts of service can really be overwhelming if I allow them to be, which is why it has been so incredibly important for me to take a few steps back and reflect on all of the beautiful, positive moments I have had here so far (because there are so many). The honest truth is that I am so happy to be here. I embrace the fact that I am challenged on a daily basis and i know that I am becoming a better person because of it. So, without further delay, here are a few moments I am thankful to have experienced here in Zambia:

- Spending time with my Aunt Linda in Washington D.C. (okay, I know this isn't Zambia but I had to include it). I had staging in D.C. where I was given a brief introduction to Peace Corps and when I wasn't "in class" my Aunt Linda took incredible care of me! She brought me out to last minute shopping trips, filled my stomach with delicious American meals, told me incredible stories and made sure my hotel room was stocked with snacks and a bottle of wine. Thanks Aunt Linda!!! You are awesome!

- Getting to know my fellow Peace Corps trainees and other PC staff. So many people i Have met here are fantastic and we've all been great at supporting one another. It is funny how diverse we all are in our backgrounds and personalities, but it sure has made things interesting and I"m happy to know I'll have these people around me for the next two years.

- Meeting village children on my first site visit to Eastern Province. In Eastern Province they speak Nyanja and when we first got to Meg's site I was frustrated that I couldn't communicate with any of the locals. Then one of the afternoons while everyone else was inside the hut and I had some downting, I decided to read a magazine on the porch outside. Before I knew it, I had close to twenty children in my lap whispering phrases in Nyanja and pointing at all of the colorful pictures in the magazine. At that point a friend of Meg's who spoke Nyanja and English came out of the hut and organized fun games with him, me and all the village children which consisted of holding hands in a circle, jumping around and singing songs. I didn't understand a single word but I hadn't laughed that hard at something so simple in a really long time.

-Riding in an ox-cart on our first site vist, enjoying every moment of the ride, then being scared to death when the cart broke from the weight of too many people. We found ourselves stuck in the middle of the bush with no torches (headlamps) and the Zambian sun setting. The oxen started getting a little freaked out too, but needless to say, we made it back to Meg's hut safe and sound.

-Watching little girls move their hips in crazy ways at a cultural dance we went to on first site visit. I am so jelous they can do that.

-Getting to know my host family, who are great. I feel like I am in elementary shool again because my host mom, ba Vainess, makes sure I am awake very morning at 6 am, warms up bath water for me, brings me my breakfast, sends me off to school with snacks in my backpack, then wants to hear all about what I have learned every day when I get home from school. My eleven-year-old host sister, Lucy is cute and we spend evenings together playing card games. I taught her the game spit and we play every night after dinner.

- Cooking caterpillars in tech class and eating them (they seem to be a delicacy here) then coming home a few nights ago with the language skills to tell my ba mayo (host mother) all about it. I told her I liked cooking the caterpillars but not eating them and she looked at me, smiled and asked "you don't like Kapenta either, do you?" Kapenta is a fish I can only describe as being similar to minnows and you eat the entire thing with the eyes staring back at you and all. While I was willing to try them once, I was so happy to know that my host mother had realized that I did not want to try kapenta again.

-That I have been brave enough to handle the frogs, mice (and now snakes) that seem to think that my hut is also theirs. Enough said there.

- Beautiful singing I hear all the time everywhere. Zambians love to sing a capella in excellent harmony any opportunity they get. My host sister, Lucy, sings every morning as she does her chore, which is washing dishes. On first site visit we went to an HIV/AIDS support group and as we were arriving, the entire group welcomed us warmly with a beautiful songs and clapping. I went to a non-denominational church last Sunday with my host family and the singing I heard there would be worth paying for, absolutely amazing. All the singing here has rubbed off on me and I too have started a morning song while I take my bucket baths in the morning, which by the way, being naked and pouring a bucket of water over your head while the African sun is rising is incredible.

- Watching the gorgeous African sky in general. I have seen nothing like it before. Whether it is evening and all the stars are out, during the day and a thunderstorm is rolling in, or the sun is setting as I am walking home from training, it never fails to be breathtaking.

- My host sister's friend and our neighbor, ba Judy, who has struck a soft spot with me. She is just so innocent and sweet.

- All of the little kids who come sprinting up to me on my walks to and from school. They give me giant hugs, clasp my hands and walk with me for a few meters. It always makes me smile.

- Just how friendly Zambians are in general. I am greeted by everyone, literally everyone I walk past in the village with a friendly "muli shani?" I refuse to believe that the reason for this is just because I'm a muzungu.

- Realizing that the job I am assigned to here (Community Health Development) is a perfect fit for me and that I think I will have a lot to offer. The program I am involved with is trying to decentralize health care and health awareness, bringing more of it to the rural areas of Zambia. My job is to capacity- build community based organizations to help them take chare of the areas of their health they can control themselves. I am also responsible for bringing communication from more urban areas to the community where I will be based. Once I find out my permanent site, there will be a lot more specifications on other jobs I can do there, including working with other NGO's. I am really excited.


Anyway, I hope that that this gives you a little bit more information on life here in Zambia. I apologize for the horrible writing (punctuation, run-on sentences and all) - I am in a huge hurry here at this internet cafe and am buzzed off of a few drinks (its been a while since we have all been let loose and our first free time to do whatever we want in Lusaka!) I promise to go into much more detail in my next few posts- Zambain culture is really interesting! I'm not sure when I will be able to access the internet again, but will update as soon as I can. In the meantime, please please please keep in touch. Snail mail is the best way, but I will take anything and if you can't bust out the stationary, please send me an e-mail and update me on what is going on in all your lives. I have yet to recieve any mail, but hope that letters are on their way! I should also add that right now I have an "internet phone" (not anywhere close to what you might be envisioning) and I can't access gmail on it, but sometimes can go on facebook so all you facebookers send me messages from time to time. I promise that as soon as all the craziness of training settles down I will be writing tons of letters as well. I love you I love you I love you. Until next time.

P.S. If anyone wants to include anything in the letters they send me, I would LOVE to get:
hand sanitizer (as much as possible), American candy (especially chocolate), photographs and the latest, most interesting news clippings on how Barack Obama and the Rockies are doing right now.