Nine Monthaversary

Happy Saturday!

Friday marked nine months since I boarded a plane in New York City and flew to Zambia! It’s hard to believe that in just three months I will have already been in Zambia a year.  At the end of November, just one month from now, I will have one term of teaching English under my belt. It’s crazy. It’s also crazy knowing that life back at home is going on without me- friends move cities, graduate college or get new jobs. The little nephew who could barely crawl in January is now able to talk to you on the phone.  Time feels like it barely moves here but maybe that because it’s moving so fast.

The teaching routine is still the same: Teach mid-morning to early afternoon. Make lunch and then return to the school around 3pm for either adult literacy on Monday, Tuesday, or Thursday or meeting that are going on.  I love my adult literacy class.  They aren’t afraid to ask questions which I really like. This week, on Tuesday, I’m going to start teaching them about HIV prevention.  I’m a bit nervous about teaching men my father’s age about HIV prevention but I’m sure it will work out just fine.

My cat, Scout, is living up to her name. She goes out and hunts at night and generally stays out until morning when she meows at 5am for me to let her in. One night however, I heard her meow at my door.  When I let her in she dropped something large and grey at my feet.  A dead mouse. She then picks it up and plays with it for the next twenty minutes before eating it. All of it- including the bones- in front of me. At least I know she’s doing her job. Right?

Finally, October is hot season in Zambia. Which is just like summer in Texas- except without air-conditioning, ice and swimming pools. My Peace Corps friends and I have made two weekend trips to camp on the beach in Samfya just to try to get a bit of relief.  While at site though, my mud-brick hut absorbs the heat during the day, leaving the house relatively cool during the day. At night, however, it keeps in the heat.  So many nights I’ve woken up drenched in sweat.  There is a big river next to me. My students love to go swimming in it but I’ve never been brave enough to join them since there have been recent crocodile sightings in the river.  Instead, I think longingly of rainy season, which is supposed to start any day now.

That’s all for now! Have a Happy Halloween everyone!

 

Two Stories

Hey everyone! I'm back from a two month hiatus. Let me update you on whats been going on in my life-

August- I spent two weeks in Lusaka, the captial, at out inservice training. It was great (and kinda crazy) to be around all the amenities I'm used to having in America again. Afte our two weeks in Lusaka most of my intake went to Nkahta Bay, Malaw. Nkahta Bay is on Lake Malawi, one of the biggest fresh water lakes in the world. It was absolutely beautiful! I even learned how to scuba dive! No certification yet though.

September- School started up again. Term three runs from September to November. I'm teaching 6 and 8 grade English and I recently started up an adult literacy class. So far I think its going really well. I'm also still working with my Beekeepers trying to get that program up and running. I also got a black and white kitten to catch the mice in my hut. I've named it Scout but my neighbors call her Shupa, which means 'trouble' in bemba. and seriously, the cat is 'shupa.'

Now for two stories:

The first story takes place at the beginning of September. I was heading to Mansa for the weekend but was stopping in Samfya to meet with the Senior Officer of the Forestry Departement about the Beekeeping Club.  So my taxi left around 7:30, plenty of time reach Samfya in time for my meeting. However, about 10km from Samfya, the taxi runs out of gas. The driver tries to start the car about 5 times but no cigar. Luckily for us though we ran out of gas about 100m away from a police check point. So up comes the police officer on his motorbike. The driver and officer talk for a bit. The other passengers and I think that maybe the cop has some petrol with him or back at the checkpoint. Instead, our driver climbs up on the back of the motorbike and they ride off in the distance towards Samfya. So there we are sitting in the middle of nowhere, in the one place on the road there is no cell phone coverage. Cars are passing us offering us assistance but of course we can't do anything because the driver isn't there. And we can't leave because our possessions are locked in the trunk.  A minivan even drives by and gives us enough petrol to get to Samfya but of course we can't drive anywhere because...the driver has the keys. So two hours after we run out of gas, the taxi driver comes back- this time on the back of a bicycle and we continue on to Samfya. By this time I have of course missed my meeting but I was able to meet up with him in Mansa later that day so it all worked out. And don't worry during the entire ordeal I never felt scared or in danger, it was just more of a nuisance than anything.

The second story took place that Sunday on my return from Mansa. It/s well past dark by the time I get back to my hut. My neighbor, ba Mary must have been waiting to make sure I had gotten back okay so she came out to greet me. I open my door and there's no cat. I look in all over my house, still no cat. So I'm worried about my kitty that, at this point, I've only had one week. So I ask ba Mary if she's seen my cat. This takes a while since she speaks no English and my Bemba is still severely limited but we get there in the end. She says that she hasn't seen my cat  and goes back home. My 10 minutes later, though, there is a knock on my door. Ba Mary had asked her son, Martin, if he knew what had happened to my cat and as it turned out my other neighbor, ba Ennis had seen it, knew it was mine and was keeping it at her house for me! Ba Mary and I walk over there. Ennis says that I should come back in the morning when it's bright. Her little kids, though, ask to use my headlamp  and go into their house and find my kitty.  Both Ennis and Mary think its hilarous that I'm so worried about my cat and and talking to it like it's a "child."  Mary escorts me and kitty back to my house still laughing about how worried I was about my cat. So I look at ba Mary and tell her, "Ba Mary, I don't have a child so I have a cat." (One of the first things any Zambian asks me is how many children I have.) Mary thinks this is Hysterical and starts cracking up. As I walk into my hut I hear her crowing, telling Ba Ennis what I just said.

Well that's all for now! Hope everyone back home is doing g

Chapwa Community Entry!

Happy July Everyone!  I’m back in Mansa for the Weekend.  This Friday marked the end of our Community Entry period (Chapwa in the title of this post means ‘the end’ in Bemba).  The first three months of Peace Corps service are a time to be learning about our community so therefore we are not supposed to leave our site or district except for special circumstances.  Now, however it is all over!  And let me tell you the time has flown by so much faster than I thought it would- I can’t believe I’ll have been living in Zambia for 6 months already!

Things that have happened in the month since I last wrote…

My Birthday

My birthday was a week after the  provincial meeting (Happy 23^rd birthday to me!).  I was back in my village so for the most part it was very quiet.  However, Tembo, one of my close teacher friends brought homemade ‘birthday’ fritters to my house before school started.  After school, I went to hang out at the female teachers’ compound.  Somehow, they found out that it was my birthday.  The moment they discovered it was my birthday, they started dancing and singing in a circle around me.  The nearby neighbors heard and the women there ran to join in the dancing and singing.  Then one of the teachers grabbed my hand and brought me into the dance.  It was quite a way to celebrate my first birthday living here in Africa!

P.S. Shoutout to my amazing sister Marnie and family for the Birthday Care package I received today.  Especially to my Nephews, Will and Petey for the birthday card they made me. Thanks guys! You rock!

4^th of July

               July 2 and 3 were Zambian Holidays, which meant that we PCVs had a 5-day weekend! The Sunday of July 4^th, I met a bunch of other PCVs at the Beach in my BOMA (Town), Samfya.  Samfya lies along Lake Bangweulu, one of the Great Lakes of Africa. The beach we camped at was small (especially for how many of us were camping there!) but had white sand. Beautiful. The path down to the beach was quite a steep hike but wound through a wooded area that hugged the lake. Every-so-often there would be spectacular views of the lake stretching on forever.

Sunday night happened to be the Euro Football Cup Final. Spain vs. Italy. A few of the boys in the group and I went to a nearby waterfront lodge to watch the game.  I Had to support my boys in red (Viva la Furia Roja)! There were mostly Zambians watching the game (they were just as excited as I was that Spain won) but there were also three Europeans working for DAPP, a European NGO focusing on helping children in developing nations.  Every 6 months a new group of 3 volunteers rotates into Samfya. The volunteers this rotation come from the Czech Republic, Hungary and Bulgaria. They sat and watched the game with us. It was great to sit and talk with them about their experience so far. It’s much different from ours!

On the 4th we had a bonfire, a dance party (thanks to somebody’s iPod and speakers) and even firecrackers that someone had brought so there were even “fireworks.” Happy Birthday America.

My Work

           And of course, I’m also working.  This past week and next week, the grade 8 English teacher I co-teach with is proctoring the grade 9 mock-exams. So I’ve been teaching solo. It was nerve wracking at first¸ standing alone in front of 40+ 13-year-olds. However, I’ve been enjoying it. I’m looking forward to continuing teaching them on my own next week and preparing them for their end-of-term exams in two weeks.

I’ve been continuing to help my village’s fledgling beekeeping group get off the ground. Friday, I accompanied two group members to Samfya’s Department of Forestry office to introduce them to the senior officer there. The Department of Forestry (DoF) can provide training, advice, and even materials to them-- things that, I, as an education volunteer, can’t provide. Plans have even been made for the DoF officer to come to Chinsanka to meet the group and see where they plan to put the hives. So things are starting to get moving with this project!

So that’s my life for now! Next month (August) I’ll be heading to Lusaka with the rest of my intake for In-Service Training. We’ll be there for two weeks and then bunches of us are heading to Malawi for a weeklong vacation. Can’t wait! J

Love and miss everyone back home!

Officially Offical

Hellooooo my dear readers!
I beg your pardon for not updating sooner. It comes with the territory of only having internet once a month. But I promise that I will try to update as much as possible when I can.
On April 13th, my intake and I got sworn in as Peace Corps Volunteers. After whirlwind shopping in Lusaka we were all shipped out to our proviences the following day. The 6 of us who were sent to Luapula Provience spent a few days in Mansa doing additional shoping in the market and then were taken district by district to our sites.  That means in just two days I will have been at my site for 2 MONTHS! It seems absolutly crazy that time has passed by so fast. In only one month I will have completed Community Entry, where you are not allowed to leave your district except for immigration or Proviencial Meetings.
So that is what I'm doing in Mansa. In about an hour we will be heading down to a hotel where all the PCVS in Luapula and staff from Lusaka will be meeting to dicuss Peace Corps like things.

So what you might ask is my daily life like in my village? How am I doing living without electricty, running water, or internet?
Well, in answer to the last question, just fine. Its amazing what you can adapt to.
My days typically begin around 5:30 or 6 when I get up. I make my bed and sweep my three room hut. Afterwards, I make a fire. If I'm planning on taking a bath (bucket and a cup) in the morning that day I'll making one using charcoal and fire-starter. If I'm planning at teaching at the school that day I'll make one using methalated spirits in an old tuna can so I can boil some water.
I eat my breakfast on my front stoop where I take in the sunrise (my door faces east) and listen to the BBC Worldservice. My little shortwave radio is my connection to the world outside my village. If you know me well, you know how important keeping up with world events is for me. Though, I couldn't tell you what's happening in Zambia, because for some reason ZNBC, the national station, doesn't get picked up on my radio.
During Community Entry, Peace Corps wants us to learn as much as possible about our school and community. They dont want us teaching full time until the next term which starts in September. So If its Monday- Wednesday you'll find me at the school teaching either 6 grade or 8 grade English. Thursday-Sunday I'll do some chores and then go out and do work in the community. This mostly consists of walking around my neighborhood and chatting with people. Really this means that I'm talking in really broken Bemba (I'm working on learning it but its defintily tricky) and making hand gestures. I'm sure it looks like some ridiculous charades game. Right now is brick making season. So there is a ton for me to see and help with. I also attend meetings. Including one group who wants to start beekeeping. Sarah, the beekeeper? You'll just have to stay tuned.
I've made some really great friends with the female teachers. So most of the time I find myself eating lunch or dinner with one of them. After dinner, I do some reading but I'm always almost in my bed with my mosquito net tucked in by 8pm.
Anyway. I must go get ready for the meeting. Tukamona mukwai.

Third Times a Charm!

So finally, a month and a half after my arrival in Zambia, I am updating my blog. My last two attempts to upload my blog entries were comedy of errors- a constant struggle between Zambian internet connection, myself and the fact that we only go into Lusaka every two or three weeks.

The past six weeks have been intense. We have class Monday- Friday from 8 to 5 and Saturday mornings until 12. We are learning language (I’m learning Bemba) in groups of 3 or biking to a local school working towards TEFL certification. It definitely keeps me very busy. Without electricity, my sleep schedule is waaaayyy different than my sleep schedule in America. Every day I am up by 6:30 and in bed by 8:30. I haven’t kept a schedule like that since elementary school. Also, I have been biking a TON! On the days we bike to the local school I easily average somewhere around 10 km. Biking was definitely something I was nervous about coming to Peace Corps Zambia but now I am definitely biking with the best of them. :)


Right now, I am at a pretty swanky internet café at the Manda Hills Shopping Mall in Lusaka. Tomorrow, we are all getting into land cruisers and going to heading to our Sites, where we will be living and working for the next two years! This time around we are going on something called site visit. We will only be staying at our new site for a week to get the “lay of the land” so to speak. That is we will be checking out our huts and seeing what repairs, if any, need to be made; seeing the school and meeting the teachers we will be teaching with; most importantly we will also be meeting the villagers and neighbors that will become our community and family for the next two years. After that, we will be staying with a current Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) in the area for a couple of days before returning to Chongwe to complete our last month of training.

I will be living in (drumroll)….

Chinsanka Village, Luapula Province! The village is 50k away from the districts biggest city, Samfya and then another 40 or so km away from the Provincial capital, Mansa. My Head teacher assures me that both are very easy to reach in a couple of hours by motor-transport. Samfya city also lies along a huge lake whose beach is supposed to be beautiful. I will keep you all updated on that!

It’s hard to believe that after months of waiting in America and now a further month and a half of waiting here in Zambia, I will finally be seeing my future Zambian home in less 48 hrs. I know very little about it except that it is one kilometer or so from the school I will be teaching at and my water source (a borehole/handpump) and is complete with 3 rooms and a porch. I am also living very close to the village headman so my head teacher assures me that I will be very safe.

Well that’s it for now! Tomorrow we are off to our various sites. The six of us bound for Luapula Province are in for a 8-10hr drive. Wish us luck!

Tukamonana! (We will be seeing each other)

Philly by Monday, Zambia by Thursday

I can't believe it's almost here.

In almost exactly 24 hours.I will be boarding a plane for Philadelphia, the city of Brotherly Love, to join the Peace Corps/Zambia! There I will be spending a little over 24hrs in pre-service Staging with 35 other soon-to-be Peace Corps trainees before catching a flight out of JFK on Wednesday bound for Johannesburg, South Africa. After what I'm sure will be a lovely 14-15 hour flight half way across the world, we will then all board a flight finally bound for Lusaka, the capital of Zambia.

Getting to this point of departure has been a year long process. I filled out and sent in my application during my winter break of 2010-2011; Interviewed the week before Spring Break; was nominated for service the week before my college graduation in May and after much prolonged waiting was invited to join the week following Thanksgiving.

And so, after a year of waiting and fine-tuning my patience skills, I am finally just hours away from departing what I'm sure will be a great life-changing adventure. I honestly have no idea what life has in store for me in these next two years, but I hope you readers, my friends and family, will come along with me for the ride. :)