First three months in Zambia!

I have now been in Zambia for almost 3 months and in less than a week I will be swearing in and becoming an official Peace Corps volunteer! So much has happened since I have left I don’t even know where to begin, but I guess I should start at the beginning. I first want to apologize for all the spelling and grammar errors, but this is all being written very fast, because I only have a limited time on the internet.

 

My adventure begins at O’Hare airport, where I had to say three very hard goodbyes, but afterward I was on a plane to Washington D.C. At the airport I also met Lauren, who is also from the Chicago area, and we were able to sit next to each other on the plane, which helped getting excited for what is to come. Once, in D.C. we headed to staging the rest of the day. This is basically one long meeting about what to expect and meeting everyone in our intake, and was interesting except for the fact I was running on 2 hours of sleep. That night we all went out to dinner and I was able to meet up with my friend from Mizzou, Julia, who now lives in D.C.

 

The next day was a whirlwind as we all packed onto a bus to the airport. Soon we were on our way to Johannesburg! 17 hours later, after lots of movies and countless hours of sleep we were landing in South Africa.  Only a little while later we were on our 2 hours plane ride to Lusaka, Zambia!

 

We arrived at night so could not really see anything, except where we were staying, The Barn Motel. The next couple days were filled with meetings, lots of paperwork, and battling jetlag. But at the same time we were all running on pure excitement from finally being in Zambia!

 

The Sunday after arriving we all split into groups to go to first site visit.  I was in a group with Jordan and Sophie, and we went to Eastern province to stay with Heather and Merkle. First site visit is to show the trainees what it is really like to be a volunteer in a village, and I think our group was extremely lucky to go to Chipata district to visit Heather! She showed us around her community, introduced us to so many different people, and showed us some of the projects she was working on. At first I was so nervous…especially using the long drop toilet and taking a bucket bath for the first time! After the first day though my excitement level skyrocketed and I really knew I was in the right place!

 

After our return we headed back to the Barn Motel for a night, and then the next day moved to Chipembi where we have been living for the past couple months. Chipembi is about 90km from the Lusaka on a very bumpy dirt road, which is not good for someone who gets extremely carsick! That night we found out our languages, and I found out Bemba would my language for the next 2 years! We also headed to our host families! I was the first to be dropped in my cruiser, and from what I have been told I had the “child being dropped at college for the first time” look! My host family was very welcoming, and right away I learned learning the language will be crucial in communicating with people for the next two years. That night I also ate one of my first completely Zambian meals…nshima and rape (a green).

 

The next day pre-service training (PST) started and would be my life for the next two months. A typical day of a  Peace Corps trainee (PCT) consists of about four hours of language in the morning, eating lunch at your home stay, biking to the training center, having technical classes in the afternoon, biking home, taking your bucket bath, eating dinner with your host family, and in bed by 8:30-9. This schedule changes sometimes, but for the most part this was my daily life, with a trip to Lusaka every three weeks. Training is not the easiest thing in the world, you have your bad days and you have your good days. One of the things that I have had trouble with is how exhausted I am. My home stay is about an hour away on extremely rough roads, and biking in the middle of the day in extremely hot weather not only makes your very sweaty but very tired as well. Another thing I have been struggling with is being in a fish bowl 24/7. The Zambian people see everything you do, and sometimes it is hard to find some privacy.

 

Other than those problems, I have really enjoyed training! The trainers for language and technical are so knowledgeable and patient with us! I will definitely be calling them if I have any questions in my village. I have also met some amazing people in my intake. We spend so much time together, we have become one big family! It has also been extremely helpful to live with a Zambian family. At first we had some awkward moments, but now we are very close and I will be sad to say goodbye to them.

 

About a month ago came a huge moment in PST….site announcements! I found out I will be living in Central province, Mkushi district, and in Chankomo village! After this announcement we split into groups based on our provinces, and went on second site visit. My group, Trish, Lindsey and Steve, went to stay with Neal, Andrea and Bosco visited as well. This time we already had an idea of what it was like to be a volunteer in the village, so we focused more on projects they were working on and just relaxing. We spent about 4 days there, and then biked 7km down to the tarmac and hitched to Mkushi. I was really scared about my first hitching experience, but being in Central we are very lucky to be in the commercial farming block of Zambia, so we rode with a South African farmer. There wasn’t enough room in the cab for all six of us, so Steve and I rode in the back, which was exhilarating, even when it started raining! That night our group, plus the other Central group, and some volunteers stayed at the ATB lodge. That was nice to have a hot shower, and a great meal!

 

The next morning we all headed out to our specific villages! This was another moment where I felt I was being dropped off at college for the first time. This time I was the second to be dropped off, and my village of Chankomo is only 1km off the tarmac. It was great getting to see my house for the next two years, and the surrounding area. That night I walked around and met some of my neighbors, and ate dinner Malcolm and Lilly-May…who I think I will spending a lot of time with them. After dinner we watched a movie…yes they have electricity and running water! One of the families that night had me spend the night at their place because I have no furniture in my hut. The next couple days I spent meeting people around and exploring my surroundings. On that short visit I decided that I love my village so far and cannot wait to move there and start work!

 

The past couple weeks have been spent wrapping up training through language and technical tests. On the 25^th we will be having a culture day with our host families where we will be cooking them American food, and dancing. That night we will be moving back to Lusaka to prepare for swearing-in on the 27^th!

 

Overall, the last couple months in Zambia have been an experience that has changed me and taught me so much. I have learned to have patience because everyone here runs on African time, and sometimes you just have to relax and go with it. I cannot wait to take everything I knew from the US and what I have learned in PST and take it to my village! I promise to post more pictures and post of my blog once I have more access to internet.