Well some more firsts have happened since I made my last post. One of them being that I killed my first scorpion. After I white washed my house, the new termite tracks (I dont really have a better word for it) became really visible and therefore pretty easy to destroy with some spray poison...however there was a large group behind the bookcase in my hut, and feasting on those termites was a scorpion. I was really taken aback by it, and it wasnt even a big guy. I'm a little nervous here because I thought I had the fear of creepy crawly things in the bag, however my Sunday morning enounter with that guy proved me wrong. And then theres always the snakes to think about. I'm really hoping those stay hidden in the fields until I am almost done with my service (just for bonus points I would like to have a big snake story to tell and command respect for when I venture back to the states, but not for awhile).
Last week the Country Director for Peace Corps. came out to see all the new sites in Eastern Province so it was pretty cool to show him around and then all the volunteers who could make it had a big family dinner with him in Chipata. After that my friend Sarah, who is my closest neighbor (not counting the Peace Corps. house) biked back to my site and then biked the 55k to her site at the beginning of the week. I also got to see some other PCVs who stay out by her. And their area is absolutely beautiful with these huge rock formations and mountains. It was definitely worth the trip and it was only like a 2 hr 30 min bike ride which in Zambia time is like 30 min.
In fact the 55k out to her site is way easier than the 30k ride from my site into Chipata. The last 10k leading up to the city are the absolute worst! But my hitching luck has been out lately so Ive been biking it more frequently, even though I always curse myself that last 10k. To give you an idea of how different the incline is, I'll just say that it takes me 1hr 30 min to bike into Chipata and 50 minutes to bike out. But it is nice to have my bike for running around Chipata once I get here, which is always what I feel like I am doing. I used to get so excited to come to town but now I kind of dread it because I know that its just going to be crazy busy.
In other news, my parrafin stove ran out of wicks these week so I had to start cooking with charcoal, which compared to parrafin takes FOREVER. And I am not a patient person, especially when I am hungry. To add insult to injury the charcoal I got is really slow burning and takes over 30 min to heat up. Peanut butter and jelly and I are getting to be quite good friends. Other than that I've been pretty busy meeting with different groups and people and trying to improve my language skills so I can communicate with even more people. I think that they are getting better slowly...
I ended up buying the netball and I am so glad that I did because we've been playing a lot in the village. We had a game this past Saturday and won, which is always great. One thing I find really interesting about the women and netball is that before the game they bathe, and rebraid their hair. Then they put on some of their newest and best clothes to play the game. And the other teams do the same. Whereas I show up in the dirtiest clothes I have because it doesnt make sense to me, when I am just going to get absolutely filthy running around and kicking up dirt (the court is loose dirt) for 2 hours. But its one of the few occasions that the women and girls actually have for dressing up and showing off so in that sense it does make sense to me, but its just another example of a cultural difference.
And now Ive got to cut this blog entry short because I have about a million things to do in town today. But hopefully I will update again soon. And thank-you to all the letters Ive gotten. They make me so happy! And the packages too! Ive been pretty good about responding to everyone so hopefully if you havent heard from me in awhile you will soon soon!
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Its Winter here...No I mean it, its really COLD
Ok to preface this post I would like to let everyone know that the apostrophe is not working on the keyboard that I am typing on so I am not being a lazy typer...ANYWAY:
So I hear that the East Coast is currently in the midst of a tropical heat wave. Thats awesome. I was so cold this morning that my toes were numb. Lets send some of that warm weather back to Zambia where it belongs. Actually the weather has been amazing lately so I really cant complain, its breezy during the day and cool enough to sleep with blankets at night, which is my FAVORITE sleeping weather. I realize that I havent posted in about a month but to be honest I think its because not that much has happened well and I havent really come to Chipata all that much.
Well ok a bit has happened but not too much that I want to write home about. I had a few firsts. My first REAL bout of homesickness for a few days, where I was just pretty miserable and wanted to be ANYWHERE but rural Zambia. My first episode of real sickness that made me stay in bed for a few days (dont worry it wasnt malaria just some good ole food poisoning, at least thats what I think it was). And my first big fall off my bike while going down a hill with too many things on my the back of it. Im gonna go ahead and say that I would be completely and totally fine if none of those experiences ever happened to me again but I am also 100% that they most definitely will. I just try to keep my negative thoughts, feelings, and emotions off of the internet- they go into letter form instead!
I also had my first feelings of torn allegiance during the US v. Ghana match. Of course I ultimately decided to roots for the US if only because I was the only one in the room, rooting for them (and lets face it I was born and raised in Massachusetts and those are the types of sporting situations I live for). But I was going to be really sad if Ghana got knocked out because the hopes of the continent rested on their shoulders...and they did end up getting knocked out the next round but still...
But as of right now life is good. Im in Chipata today, running around like crazy trying to do a bunch of errands and failing a few of them. I want new seat covers for the cushions on the benches in my hut, but I cant seem to find the right material. Yes, I can be picky in Zambia. Im also supposed to buy my village a new netball (which is the same as a soccer ball) but am hesitant about it because they are pretty expensive and by habit dont like just giving things away, although we havent played in about 2 weeks because our ball is completely destroyed and I really really miss it so I guess I am compromising my morals for my own personal fun and I feel like this may not be the last time I do that...
So all in all life is good, even though I still feel a bit lost as to what I am actually supposed to be doing, but everyone says that becomes more clear and focused with time, so I think thats just what Ive got to give it. I know that a bunch of people have sent letters and packages...or so they say but the Chipata post office is being a bit slow these days but I'm confident that they will come soon soon.
So I hear that the East Coast is currently in the midst of a tropical heat wave. Thats awesome. I was so cold this morning that my toes were numb. Lets send some of that warm weather back to Zambia where it belongs. Actually the weather has been amazing lately so I really cant complain, its breezy during the day and cool enough to sleep with blankets at night, which is my FAVORITE sleeping weather. I realize that I havent posted in about a month but to be honest I think its because not that much has happened well and I havent really come to Chipata all that much.
Well ok a bit has happened but not too much that I want to write home about. I had a few firsts. My first REAL bout of homesickness for a few days, where I was just pretty miserable and wanted to be ANYWHERE but rural Zambia. My first episode of real sickness that made me stay in bed for a few days (dont worry it wasnt malaria just some good ole food poisoning, at least thats what I think it was). And my first big fall off my bike while going down a hill with too many things on my the back of it. Im gonna go ahead and say that I would be completely and totally fine if none of those experiences ever happened to me again but I am also 100% that they most definitely will. I just try to keep my negative thoughts, feelings, and emotions off of the internet- they go into letter form instead!
I also had my first feelings of torn allegiance during the US v. Ghana match. Of course I ultimately decided to roots for the US if only because I was the only one in the room, rooting for them (and lets face it I was born and raised in Massachusetts and those are the types of sporting situations I live for). But I was going to be really sad if Ghana got knocked out because the hopes of the continent rested on their shoulders...and they did end up getting knocked out the next round but still...
But as of right now life is good. Im in Chipata today, running around like crazy trying to do a bunch of errands and failing a few of them. I want new seat covers for the cushions on the benches in my hut, but I cant seem to find the right material. Yes, I can be picky in Zambia. Im also supposed to buy my village a new netball (which is the same as a soccer ball) but am hesitant about it because they are pretty expensive and by habit dont like just giving things away, although we havent played in about 2 weeks because our ball is completely destroyed and I really really miss it so I guess I am compromising my morals for my own personal fun and I feel like this may not be the last time I do that...
So all in all life is good, even though I still feel a bit lost as to what I am actually supposed to be doing, but everyone says that becomes more clear and focused with time, so I think thats just what Ive got to give it. I know that a bunch of people have sent letters and packages...or so they say but the Chipata post office is being a bit slow these days but I'm confident that they will come soon soon.
Friday, June 11, 2010
The Sound of Settling...
I must say the village is definitely starting to feel like home. My bed is definitely starting to feel like my bed, which is great because in America I LOVED my bed, so I take this as a concrete sign that I am beginning to really adapt to Zambia. This past week I had Provincials, which is where every province has a group meeting where you get to meet everyone in your province and address issues that are affecting you all. It was cool to finally meet everyone in Eastern and great to see some of the people from my intake again and compare stories and adjustment issues. But even though it was great to spend some time out of the village and meet some awesome new people I was ready to get back to my village after those four days and have some time to myself again. Its weird, because I thought the downtime would be a really big detriment to this experience and that I would go absolutely crazy with "nothing to do" but its actually the exact opposite- I love it. And there is ALWAYS something that I could do, like hoe my garden for instance or wash my sheets, or clean my bike.
Ive just started some serious work on my garden although the soil is crazy hard so its going to take a lot of work and a lot of love. My hands hurt pretty badly now from the blisters Ive given them over the past two days. I have blisters in places on my hands that I didnt even know got blistered and muscles in my hands that I didnt know got sore, are sore, but hopefully this will all lead to a beautiful and productive garden in my backyard (my village is pretty doubtful considering the soil quality but I am hoping to prove them wrong). Other than that Ive started to plan some meetings in my community as the harvest is beginning to wrap up and people are starting to have more time to spend on other activities. So Im excited to be doing a bit more with my community members and see what their ideas for our work together are, although Ive had a great time just hanging out and playing a lot of netball so far so I cant complain.
In other news its the first day of the World Cup, which is super exciting here. My hitch into town was coming from Lusaka and going to Malawi and they had South African decorations all over their car and were dressed from head to toe (literally hats to socks) in World Cup gear. I guess Lusaka is pretty loud with people blowing fan horns all over the streets. In Chipata, business as usual is taking place, but I'm sure that will change once the games actually start taking place, especially if its an African match. I'm hoping to be able to watch at least a few matches on TV but its hard considering, since I am in community entry, that I am not supposed to really leave my village so we'll see, maybe a tv hooked up to a car battery will make its way to the village....
Ive just started some serious work on my garden although the soil is crazy hard so its going to take a lot of work and a lot of love. My hands hurt pretty badly now from the blisters Ive given them over the past two days. I have blisters in places on my hands that I didnt even know got blistered and muscles in my hands that I didnt know got sore, are sore, but hopefully this will all lead to a beautiful and productive garden in my backyard (my village is pretty doubtful considering the soil quality but I am hoping to prove them wrong). Other than that Ive started to plan some meetings in my community as the harvest is beginning to wrap up and people are starting to have more time to spend on other activities. So Im excited to be doing a bit more with my community members and see what their ideas for our work together are, although Ive had a great time just hanging out and playing a lot of netball so far so I cant complain.
In other news its the first day of the World Cup, which is super exciting here. My hitch into town was coming from Lusaka and going to Malawi and they had South African decorations all over their car and were dressed from head to toe (literally hats to socks) in World Cup gear. I guess Lusaka is pretty loud with people blowing fan horns all over the streets. In Chipata, business as usual is taking place, but I'm sure that will change once the games actually start taking place, especially if its an African match. I'm hoping to be able to watch at least a few matches on TV but its hard considering, since I am in community entry, that I am not supposed to really leave my village so we'll see, maybe a tv hooked up to a car battery will make its way to the village....
Friday, May 14, 2010
An infected toe...OH NO!
So I am currently ALMOST two weeks into my stay at sight. Monday will be my two week anniversary, although honestly I feel like I've been living in the village A LOT longer than that...but it has gone by really quickly. I've made some new friends- namely the RAT that enjoys coming to visit my hut every night at about 11. I dont have any food in there, so I'm pretty sure he just comes around to hang out with me, which would be totally fine if I wasnt ABSOLUTELY TERRIFIED OF RATS. Although the fear is slowly leaving me, and its being replaced with extreme annoyance- apparently this is something that all volunteers go through soo I'm just getting broken in for my service right. Thank-you Peace Corps. for making me face all of my greatest and worst fears- in the course of one week. From living by myself for the first time, to getting my phone stolen (happened last Friday right after I posted my blog), to visitors by rats, to an infected, pussing toe- I've had a pretty eventful week but I guess the main take home message of all of it is that I survived all of it. Although I'm not gonna lie I did get a bit stressed out there for a bit. Especially when my toe started oozing and waking my up in the middle of the night for some drainage (dont worry I am on antibiotics now and everything is chabwino -Nyanja for fine)
I have done some cool stuff in the past week though so I cant say it was all bad, because really, rarely is anything all bad. I visited one of the local schools and saw their garden nursery and beehives. I went to track down a rural health clinic- ended up finding it, although the person I was looking for that worked there has since left his position and no one at the clinic spoke English or Nyanja so that made communication interesting. Even though I didnt find the clinic I did find some really really cool baobob trees (google them) so that was a highlight of the day. I also went out to the fields with the farmers in my village to harvest some groundnuts (peanuts). My village is super dead till about 3:00pm everyday because everyone is out in the fields picking their crops (for the year!) so that makes it a little weird in terms of trying to get to know the community and holding meetings for projects but hopefully next month people will be around more. I have already been approached to help with a local community preschool (up to age 7) that is meeting under a tree, and to help with business skills for a carpentry project. I'm planning on visiting another local clinic next week to see how it runs and operates and again trying to get acclimated to my community and doing some exploring.
Right after I post this blog I'm planning to ride out of Chipata for the first time on my bike. Its only about a 35k ride but I havent really attempted any long rides since Ive been back in Zambia so we will see how it goes...I'm not sure when the next time I'll be able to post will be but until then...
I have done some cool stuff in the past week though so I cant say it was all bad, because really, rarely is anything all bad. I visited one of the local schools and saw their garden nursery and beehives. I went to track down a rural health clinic- ended up finding it, although the person I was looking for that worked there has since left his position and no one at the clinic spoke English or Nyanja so that made communication interesting. Even though I didnt find the clinic I did find some really really cool baobob trees (google them) so that was a highlight of the day. I also went out to the fields with the farmers in my village to harvest some groundnuts (peanuts). My village is super dead till about 3:00pm everyday because everyone is out in the fields picking their crops (for the year!) so that makes it a little weird in terms of trying to get to know the community and holding meetings for projects but hopefully next month people will be around more. I have already been approached to help with a local community preschool (up to age 7) that is meeting under a tree, and to help with business skills for a carpentry project. I'm planning on visiting another local clinic next week to see how it runs and operates and again trying to get acclimated to my community and doing some exploring.
Right after I post this blog I'm planning to ride out of Chipata for the first time on my bike. Its only about a 35k ride but I havent really attempted any long rides since Ive been back in Zambia so we will see how it goes...I'm not sure when the next time I'll be able to post will be but until then...
Friday, May 7, 2010
Omg I live in a mud hut
Ok so I have officially moved into my own mud hut. I moved in on Monday and have successfully lived in the village for four whole days. I know to some of you that may seem like absolutely nothing. However, I'm pretty excited about it. Every day counts when you are taking it one day at a time. Overall I feel really really overwhelmed but generally good about the whole situation.
I feel llike I've got so much to do and everything takes so much time (sometimes unexpectedly). Like yesterday, I had aimed to go for a quick exploratory bike ride around my village just like 20k or something to get a feel for the place, when I got two flat tires in the matter for 25 minutes. No, I didnt have my repair kit with me. Yes, I was at the very farthest point that my ride would take me from my village. So three hours later I arrived back at my village with a broken bike, and ready to completely fix my bike, despite the fact that I have never changed or patched a bike tire before. Ok so Peace Corps. does give three bike maintenance sessions during our training but due to my social nature and general inability to focus when I'm with a large group (especially my PST group!) I may or may not have goofed off during allll three...whoops. Oh and rats attacked my food the night before (at least they were in my separate hut where I DONT sleep). So my general disposition was a bit off its usual sunny self... oh and the medicine I'm on for malaria prevention is causing third degree burns on my nose and hands (yes, even with sunscreen, and even with hats and gloves). So before I could do anything I had to take a bit of time to cool off (my hands mostly), and take a deep breathe...but the moral of the story is that I fixed it- on my own and that just when I was getting super frustruated the ambuya (grandmother) who lives behind my house brought me a bowl of bananas and groundnuts-just because and once again I had renewed faith in the world.
So one of the things I really like about my village is that its super sports oriented. Almost everyday at then end of the day the men father for soccer practice (they're really really good) and the women play netball (think water polo meets basketball- no dribbling). Ive been playing netball the last couple of days and I really like it I feel like its one of the things I can do to bond with my community knowing very little of the language.
Hmm other than playing netball I've been trying to get my daily schedule down, and get a routine started. I sleep an incredible amount here. Its wonderful. I go to bed around 8 and sleep till 6- the best part is that I am no longer a slave to an alarm clock! I'll probably start waking up earlier once I get going with projects but until then sleep sleep it is.
I've hung up some pictures on my walls to remind me of home and they make me so happy whenever I see them. So...SEND ME MORE PICTURES of everything thats going on while I'm gone. I'd seriously seriously love it. And letters these first three months of community entry (when I'm not techincally working but just getting to know my community) are supposed to be pretty difficult so any letters between now and then will be extremely appreciated
Right now I'm in Chipata, I was supposed to go to a meeting today but surprise surprise it got postponed till next week...surprise surprise.
I feel llike I've got so much to do and everything takes so much time (sometimes unexpectedly). Like yesterday, I had aimed to go for a quick exploratory bike ride around my village just like 20k or something to get a feel for the place, when I got two flat tires in the matter for 25 minutes. No, I didnt have my repair kit with me. Yes, I was at the very farthest point that my ride would take me from my village. So three hours later I arrived back at my village with a broken bike, and ready to completely fix my bike, despite the fact that I have never changed or patched a bike tire before. Ok so Peace Corps. does give three bike maintenance sessions during our training but due to my social nature and general inability to focus when I'm with a large group (especially my PST group!) I may or may not have goofed off during allll three...whoops. Oh and rats attacked my food the night before (at least they were in my separate hut where I DONT sleep). So my general disposition was a bit off its usual sunny self... oh and the medicine I'm on for malaria prevention is causing third degree burns on my nose and hands (yes, even with sunscreen, and even with hats and gloves). So before I could do anything I had to take a bit of time to cool off (my hands mostly), and take a deep breathe...but the moral of the story is that I fixed it- on my own and that just when I was getting super frustruated the ambuya (grandmother) who lives behind my house brought me a bowl of bananas and groundnuts-just because and once again I had renewed faith in the world.
So one of the things I really like about my village is that its super sports oriented. Almost everyday at then end of the day the men father for soccer practice (they're really really good) and the women play netball (think water polo meets basketball- no dribbling). Ive been playing netball the last couple of days and I really like it I feel like its one of the things I can do to bond with my community knowing very little of the language.
Hmm other than playing netball I've been trying to get my daily schedule down, and get a routine started. I sleep an incredible amount here. Its wonderful. I go to bed around 8 and sleep till 6- the best part is that I am no longer a slave to an alarm clock! I'll probably start waking up earlier once I get going with projects but until then sleep sleep it is.
I've hung up some pictures on my walls to remind me of home and they make me so happy whenever I see them. So...SEND ME MORE PICTURES of everything thats going on while I'm gone. I'd seriously seriously love it. And letters these first three months of community entry (when I'm not techincally working but just getting to know my community) are supposed to be pretty difficult so any letters between now and then will be extremely appreciated
Right now I'm in Chipata, I was supposed to go to a meeting today but surprise surprise it got postponed till next week...surprise surprise.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
I'm NOW an offical Peace Corps. Volunteer
Ok, to say that this past week was one of the craziest of my life would be an understatement. I got back to Lusaka, Monday night after a pretty uneventful and very sleep filled couple of plane rides. I slept in the Peace Corps. bunk house that night and then back to the training center, where I have been staying for the past two months where I got to reunite with my fellow trainees. It was absolutely incredible to see everyone again. I missed them so much. I've been apart of some pretty incredible groups of people in my life (college, study abroad, etc) but this one may just be the best. They are some of the most supportive, funniest, nicest, and all around amazing people that I have ever met. I went back to my homestay family that night and it was good to see them again. I had felt so bad that I left without saying goodbye the last time because I was on site visit. They were very relieved that I was bac even though I was only going to be staying with them for two more nights. On Wednesday we had a cultural day for our homestay families where they came to our training center to eat a variety of American foods that we prepared for them and to listen to speeches in the local language by the fellow trainees. It was a pretty big production and I am really glad I came back in time to be a part of it.
Thursday morning we moved all of our things out of our homestay families homes and to another hostel type place in Lusaka province in order to get ready for swear in. We had meetings all day Thursday at Peace Corps Headquarters and got ready for our official swear-in ceremony on Friday. We got to go to the ambassadors residence for it that was pretty sweet. Everyone had local clothes made and looked very Zambian and clean. 46 of our original 49 swore in as official volunteers. After our swear-in ceremony collected our Peace Corps. moving in allowance and headed out to Lusaka to do some shopping for our sites, although I didnt really do any shopping because I'm headed back to the training center for a week to make up the language lessons I missed (but I am still an official volunteer!). We then got to actually go out in Lusaka which was really fun and definitely needed before we said goodbye the next morning. I think we got home around 3 am and everyone had to be up at 5:30 in order to load their cruisers and to head out to their respective provinces. It was really sad to say goodbye to everyone. I think everyone else was ready to get to their site and start their real Peace Corps. experience, but I was bummed because I just got back and had to say goodbye again. Such is life in Peace Corps. though. Now we wont see each other for three months, until our in-service training conference. But hopefully it will be fine I'm sure it will be. Now I've got a pretty low-key week of make-up stuff before I head back to Eastern province to move-in to my site!
Thursday morning we moved all of our things out of our homestay families homes and to another hostel type place in Lusaka province in order to get ready for swear in. We had meetings all day Thursday at Peace Corps Headquarters and got ready for our official swear-in ceremony on Friday. We got to go to the ambassadors residence for it that was pretty sweet. Everyone had local clothes made and looked very Zambian and clean. 46 of our original 49 swore in as official volunteers. After our swear-in ceremony collected our Peace Corps. moving in allowance and headed out to Lusaka to do some shopping for our sites, although I didnt really do any shopping because I'm headed back to the training center for a week to make up the language lessons I missed (but I am still an official volunteer!). We then got to actually go out in Lusaka which was really fun and definitely needed before we said goodbye the next morning. I think we got home around 3 am and everyone had to be up at 5:30 in order to load their cruisers and to head out to their respective provinces. It was really sad to say goodbye to everyone. I think everyone else was ready to get to their site and start their real Peace Corps. experience, but I was bummed because I just got back and had to say goodbye again. Such is life in Peace Corps. though. Now we wont see each other for three months, until our in-service training conference. But hopefully it will be fine I'm sure it will be. Now I've got a pretty low-key week of make-up stuff before I head back to Eastern province to move-in to my site!
Friday, April 16, 2010
Americaland
So as most of the people who read this know, I have been home in America for the past week and a half. My stepfather passed away after a long battle with cancer a week ago today and I came home for my two weeks bereavement leave. Its been a pretty difficult experience but its been really great to be surrounded by my family and friends again. I didn't realize how much I missed everyone and everything before I came back. But I am headed back to Zambia on Sunday and to be honest I can't wait to return as amazing as it has been to spend this time with my family and friends again I really do miss Zambia and especially the other volunteers in my intake, I keep seeing their updates on facebook and it makes me realize how much I really want to be apart of that.
So right before I left Zambia I was on my second site visit, meaning that I got to actually see the site where I am going to be living for the next two years. I am a third generation volunteer which means that I am the third volunteer to be living at my site. There both are positives and negatives to this. I do get a pretty much furnished hut because the other volunteers have left behind a lot of their furniture and other essentials that they don't want to bring with them back to America however, my village is also going to have a preconceived notion of what a volunteer is like who I am before I get there. For example one of the the volunteers before me didnt allow children in her yard so therefore none of the kids in the village will come near my house which is something that I'm defintitely going try to undo while I am at my site, I'm thinking coloring books and some crayons and bubbles might help undo that one. As for my actually dwelling space I've got two separate huts. One has two rooms, a bedroom (aka a room that just fits my double bed) and a small sitting/misc. room. My other hut is small cooking space. I really like the set-up for my site because I had quite the traumatic experience with rats when I was studying abroad in Uganda so I like the idea of having all my food (and the critters that might be enticed by that food) in one place and sleeping in a completely separate dwelling.
I also got to spend a few days with the volunteer that I am replacing and that was pretty great. It was nice to have the perspective of someone who has been in the village for awhile and to see some of the projects that he has done during his service and some of the schools that he has worked with. I also got to see the Provincial House for Eastern Province which is like the headquarters for Peace Corps in my province where volunteers can spend a few nights each month to hang out with each other and have some of the finer things in life like electricity and indoor plumbing. Second site visit as a whole got me really excited to move to my village and start my service although I'm not sure how my move-in/site placement date with be affected by my time at home but thats not something that I am really going to worry about right now- at least not until Monday when I am back in Lusaka.
Oh and just a quick note I was looking at some old posts and saw some gross spelling mistakes and I just wanted to clarify that most of the time when I am updating my blog I am doing via my cellphone which has an old school small keyboard and I use text prediction so any weird spelling things/words can be attributed to that. I just had to clarify that to make sure that my grammatical integrity remains intact.
So right before I left Zambia I was on my second site visit, meaning that I got to actually see the site where I am going to be living for the next two years. I am a third generation volunteer which means that I am the third volunteer to be living at my site. There both are positives and negatives to this. I do get a pretty much furnished hut because the other volunteers have left behind a lot of their furniture and other essentials that they don't want to bring with them back to America however, my village is also going to have a preconceived notion of what a volunteer is like who I am before I get there. For example one of the the volunteers before me didnt allow children in her yard so therefore none of the kids in the village will come near my house which is something that I'm defintitely going try to undo while I am at my site, I'm thinking coloring books and some crayons and bubbles might help undo that one. As for my actually dwelling space I've got two separate huts. One has two rooms, a bedroom (aka a room that just fits my double bed) and a small sitting/misc. room. My other hut is small cooking space. I really like the set-up for my site because I had quite the traumatic experience with rats when I was studying abroad in Uganda so I like the idea of having all my food (and the critters that might be enticed by that food) in one place and sleeping in a completely separate dwelling.
I also got to spend a few days with the volunteer that I am replacing and that was pretty great. It was nice to have the perspective of someone who has been in the village for awhile and to see some of the projects that he has done during his service and some of the schools that he has worked with. I also got to see the Provincial House for Eastern Province which is like the headquarters for Peace Corps in my province where volunteers can spend a few nights each month to hang out with each other and have some of the finer things in life like electricity and indoor plumbing. Second site visit as a whole got me really excited to move to my village and start my service although I'm not sure how my move-in/site placement date with be affected by my time at home but thats not something that I am really going to worry about right now- at least not until Monday when I am back in Lusaka.
Oh and just a quick note I was looking at some old posts and saw some gross spelling mistakes and I just wanted to clarify that most of the time when I am updating my blog I am doing via my cellphone which has an old school small keyboard and I use text prediction so any weird spelling things/words can be attributed to that. I just had to clarify that to make sure that my grammatical integrity remains intact.
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