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 23rd 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!
4th of
July
July 2 and 3 were Zambian
Holidays, which meant that we PCVs had a 5-day weekend! The Sunday of July 4th,
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!
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