Gone Fishin, Zambian Style

Workshops, Fish Harvests and Celebrating Two Years

2008-05-26T11:35:00.000-07:00

Well once again time seems to be flying by. Sorry to those that like to read my “bush reports” since I haven’t been keeping up with my entries. Honestly I’ve been really busy with work and Peace Corps related activities. The month of April consisted of holding a 3 day HIV/AIDs training for 30 Headmen in the Chief Madzimawe Chiefdom. Kristina (my good PC neighbor) and I organized and facilitated the workshop and had New Start (NGO) come out and conduct Volunteer Counseling and Testing (VCT) for over 40 people in the community to get tested for HIV. In my opinion it was a successful workshop as we discussed at length how they as leaders of their communities can help prevent the spread of HIV. I hope it helps make a bit of a difference. I’m happy to say though that this was my last big workshop in PC. I love doing these workshops, but they require lots of planning and many headaches when things don’t go as planned. Then I went to Kapatamoyo and watched my farmer, Mr. Chulu harvest his first pond. I must say how proud I am. He’s the first farmer I’ve worked with from start to finish and it was great to see him succeed and harvest the first RAP standard pond in eastern province. He harvested 16.5 kg of fish from his 10x15meter pond. This is considered a great harvest. He sold the fish for 15,000 kwacha per kg. He was really happy as was I.

At the end of April, I attended my Close of Service (COS) conference. Basically its three days of PC putting us up at a really nice resort, Chaminuka and reviewing our service, discussing admin items to finish up our service and time for reflecting upon what we’ve done. It was an extremely emotional few days. The last night we held a candle ceremony and had a chance to thank other volunteers or members of staff that have helped us during our service. There wasn’t a dry eye in the place. It really hit me that my service was coming to an end and how big of deal this really was. It was a really great couple of days and fun to party with the people I care most about. Chaminuka is about 45 minutes out of Lusaka where we went to a “cheese” cave and drank limitless wine, went on game drives in the game park, took boat rides and drank really good beer, wine and spirits. Fun times. It was really great of PC to put us up in such a nice place.

We came back on May 2nd and I’ve basically been hanging in the village, visiting fish farmers and trying to enjoy these last few months. Its hard to believe its been almost two years since I left the states. In the next blog I want to reflect more on my service but for now I just wanted to catch everyone up on the past two months. Last Saturday I went to the harvest of another group of my farmers. They harvested 13kg, not too bad. Its been really fulfilling to see the “fruits of my labor.” Its also hitting me on how difficult its going to be to leave here. I’ve developed some really close relationships with people and my family here is like my own in the states. Its definitely bitter sweet and saying good-bye is going to be one of the hardest things I have to do.

Well I’ve had a lot of time to think about the next phase of my life. Plans are always changing, but for now I’ll be heading to Cape Town on August 15th with my best friend Cait and then heading to Cairo, Egypt on August 27th and arriving back in the states on September 19th. Then I think for the first month I’ll be hanging out and catching up with friends and family and be in Robin’s wedding….which I can’t wait!!!! Hope all is well with everyone at home. I miss you guys and can’t wait to see you again!!!

More Namibia Pics

2008-04-02T23:51:00.000-07:00

View of Swakopmund from the Pier at sunset

The "White Lady of Brandberg" rock painting that dates more than 2000 years old.

The Spitzkopffe. This place was unbelievable. The first photo is where we camped.

Sossusvlei. The red dunes of the Namib Desert. This place was so beautiful.

Interesting road signs and the most amazing rainbow I've ever seen. It touched the ground on both sides. I've never seen anything like it before. This was in Solitaire. It gets its name for a reason.

Dead Vlei. Theres a small area in Sossusvlei that is the most eerie place i've ever been. Everything is dead. Its in a valley between two big sand dunes.

The Need for SPEED!!!

2008-04-01T06:07:00.000-07:00

Me Sand Boarding in the Namib Desert. GO JULIE GO!!!!

GO Cait GO!!!

2008-03-30T07:43:00.000-07:00

That's the theme to this vacation. So i'm in Namibia right now with Cait, my very best friend who stays in Southern province. We are having the most fun. This vacation ranks as top 3 in my lifetime for sure. i know i say that after every vacation, but seriously this trip has been amazing. We've done a little of everything. We came to Swakopmund, namibia which is right on the coast of the alantic ocean and spent three days on the beach and eating amazing food. i burnt the back of my legs so bad..ooops! It was a much needed rest after is took us 49 hours to get to namibia from zambia. our bus broke down just inside the namibian border where we spent 9 hours at a shell gas station while they tried to fix the bus. Long story short the bus continued to break down and Cait and i had no other option but to bail ship. We decided to hitch. That was the best decision we ever made. We got two really great hitches and made it to our destination on time. After our relaxation time on the beach, we headed up to Damaraland. This is seriously an amazing place. Its extremely bush and isolated, but the beauty far outways the annoyance of transport on the rough sand/gravel roads. We saw a petrified forrest with trees over 260 million years old. We spent a day at the Brandberg mountain, where we hiked around and saw some ancient rock paintings that date more than 2000 years old. Then we spent the next day at the Spitzkopffe. Words and photos cannot describe the beauty of this place. It was an outdoorsmans paradise. We spent the day, climbing over boulders bigger than houses and climbed to this place called Bushman's Paradise. After an extremely steep climb up about 300 meters on pure rock, we were able to climb rock to rock exploring this amazing place. This is also where we camped. The sites are so isolated and we had a campsite that was completely surounded by the most amazing red rock formations that i've ever seen. It was the coolest camping i've ever done. We freaked ourselves out a bit by the fact that leopards roam these rocks at night. It was so amazing. We sat up on a set of rocks and watched the sun set while listening to music on our ipod. Then we headed to the very touristy Sossuvlei in the Namib desert. This is the most accessible of the famous red sand dunes in Namibia. It was gorgeous. It was my first time to hike sand dunes. i felt like i was in egypt. We decided to run down the side of one of them. i was scared, but so glad we did it. We've just been surrounded by so much beauty here. This country is unlike any place I've ever been. then today we decided to go sand boarding. If you're an adrenaline junky this is the thing to do. We were "sliding" down dunes at speeds up to 75km an hour. It was so scary, yet so much fun. It took hours to get all the sand out of my body. We went down about 5 times. Tonight we get to go to the beach house to watch our complimentary dvd. Can't wait. People here are great. However, Swakopmund is strange....it feels so much like germany. Everyone here speaks german, and everyone knows we are american even before we speak. Funny stuff. So tonights our last night and we'll be livin it up. This vacation has been so amazing. i can't wait to continue traveling. there's so many cool things to see in this world. Cait is great...we've been having so much fun and get along great. She's trying to convince me to move to colorado when i get home. She almost has me convinced. We'll see. i still have 4 months!!!! Ahhhhh!!! Well, when i get back this week, someone from the US Embassy is coming out to my site to see how volunteers are working with Zambian people. Its an honor that i was chosen, unfortunately I'll just be arriving back the night before. i'll be doing a fish transport with one of my farmers when they come. Then the following week i'll be doing more fish transports and the week after that, Kristina and I are conducting a three day HIV/AIDs workshop for Chief Madzimawe and 30 of his headman. Should be really great. Times wrapping up and i'm busier than ever. Life is great and i wouldn't want to be anywhere else right now. Oh and the title of this blog is a little inside joke on this vacation.... ;)

Work Work Work

2008-02-21T02:30:00.000-08:00

Another brief update. I’m finding it difficult to keep up with my blog these days. I’ve been in the village since I came back from America. I went to Lusaka for work and I’ve been super busy ever since. The last three weeks I’ve been teaching eight students at Chankhanga Basic school about HIV/AIDs and to train them to be Peer Educators. Its been quite a challenge but rewarding overall. By being a Peer Educator these students will lead sessions in their Anti-AIDs clubs and other activities at the school informing their fellow peers about the basics of HIV/AIDs along with information about transmission of the virus, prevention which includes abstinence, being faithful to one partner and using condoms. They are also learning about VCT and the impact HIV/AIDs has on development in Zambia. I’m basically teaching these eight students how to be good facilitators, communicators and leaders.

Also fish farming has started up again. The farmers are gearing up and have continued to dig their ponds. Right now I’m not sure how many fish ponds I have, but the number seems to be growing everyday. The Department of Fisheries told me last week, that I’ve gotten more ponds constructed then they all have put together. That made me feel great. I just completed another fish training this past week for 22 people. It went really well and the interest is overwhelming. Looks like the volunteer who replaces my site will be quite busy. Oh and I found out today that my old site at Kapatamoyo is also getting a male volunteer. They won’t be living where I was, but they will be working in that area since fish farming is taking off there. So I feel great that both sites that I’ve worked at are getting volunteers.

As of yesterday I can say that I’m truly Zambian. Kristina and I rode our bikes 20km to a carpenters house to pick up furniture Kristina was having made. She had three benches made and they were about 1.5meters in length. We tied them onto the backs of our little Trek bikes (seriously we looked ridiculous) and rode the 20km back to her village. The journey took longer than expected and I got super burnt. Everyone was staring and pointing…quite surprised that two muzungu’s could manage such a load. I almost took out a kid on the side of the road forgetting our wide my load was. Once we got going it wasn’t back…but stopping and starting was a bit of a problem. I only dropped the bike twice.

It’s that time of year again….another set of volunteers are coming into country. Kristina will be hosting 6 new volunteers at her site next week. I’ll be helping out and should be a really good time. We are having a big party the night of the 28th to celebrate Kristina’s birthday and the arrival of the new volunteers. We invited so many people….our Indian friends, Zambian friends and other volunteers.

So it seems like I have programs everyday and time is just flying. I’m trying to spend a lot of time in the village and being with my family and friends there. I really do enjoy it and I’m sad that my time is coming to an end. I have much to look forward to though. For Easter, Caitlin and I will be traveling to Namibia to check out the ocean and beautiful sand dunes. I really can’t wait….I’ve always wanted to go there. Well that about wraps things up for now. The rains are super intense and my tribe is having their annual ceremony this weekend.

Its been a while

2008-01-31T00:25:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone. I'm finally back online. I know its been months. So whats been happening? So many things. I finished an HIV/AIDs training in my area for five villages at the end of November. 65 people went for VCT (Volunteer Counseling and Testing). 11 people were positive, most of them female. Its so important for people to know their status, but it was a very difficult day for me to watch people that i've come to love find out that they have been infected with HIV. I never realized how much that would affect me. Then in early december i participated in a five day PEPFAR workshop to learm more about HIV/AIDs and training it to others. It was a great week and we really got to know our Zambian counterparts much better. Then for the holidays I headed home....yes I went back to America!! I apologize to those that didn't know I was coming home. It was a surprise for my mom and younger sister Lori and thats why I wasn't spreading the news. I was mostly in Columbus at my sisters house and spent a few days back in the Fort. Then i went to Chicago for the last four days and had an absolute blast!!! Thank you to everyone that made it out to see me while I was home. It was so wonderful to see everyone again. I miss you guys!

Well its good to be back and once again I'm getting into the groove of things here. I have so many programs going on so these last seven months are going to fly by. Can you believe that....only seven more months to go. Unbelievable. Where has the time gone.

So I'm currently in Lusaka planning a huge HIV/AIDs event for May/June. We are in the beginning stages of planning it and I'll give all the details once its approved. I wanted to end my service in a big way and I think this program is going to take the cake. I'm still working on fish farming, but since its the rainy season, all my farmers are busy working in their fields and gardens. So I've decided to continue my work on HIV/AIDs since its such a problem here. In just three weeks my tribe will be having their annual N'Chawala ceremony. You may remember the photos from last year. I think I'll be getting several visitors once again.

Also I want to start mentioning that I'm working on a project with my local secondary school to build two dormitories for the weekly boarders. These students have to stay at the school durning the week due to the long distances from their homes. This is a big project and its going to require funding from anyone interested in helping out. My dad is currently campaigning for me in the states. I'm looking to raise between 15,000 and 20,000 USD. I know its alot, but having a safe, comfortable place for these students to sleep would mean all the world to them. They are currently living in shacks not even fit for animals. Its absolutely horrible. If you are interested in helping out with this project, please contact me via email or post a comment on my blog and I'll get in touch with you. Around 160 students will be affected by this project and 100% of your money will go towards this project. Its about $170 per student to build these two dorms. However, anything you contribute would be greatly appreciated. I'll be posting a blog about the entire project in the near future.

So happy belated New Year to everyone. I hope things go well for everyone in 2008. Its going to be a big year for me. Hope everyone also enjoyed the holidays with your family and friends!!!

Words of Encouragement

2007-11-19T09:13:00.000-08:00

If we do not offer ourselves to the unknown, our senses will dull. Our world becomes small and we lose our sense of wonder. Our eyes will not lift to the horizon; our ears will not hear the sounds around us. We pass our days in routine that is both comfortable and limiting. We soon wake up to find we have lost our dreams in order to protect our days. Fear of the unknown and the lure of comfortable space will conspire to keep you from taking the chances you should take.

But if we take a chance, you will never regret the choice. To be sure, there will be moments of doubt when you stand alone on an empty road in the pouring rain, or when you are ill with fever in a rented bed. But as the pains of the moment will come; so will they ever fade away. In the end you will be so much richer, so much stronger, so much happier and so much the better person for having taken risk and hardship. There will be nothing to compare to the insight you have gained.

- Kent Nerburn

Livin Life in the Village

2007-11-17T08:13:00.000-08:00

The rains are upon us now. Its quite early this year compared to last year. They started in late November last year. I don’t mind too much since my house is water proof. I wouldn’t do last year over again….I’ll never forget the day that I walked round trip 10km in the pouring cold rain to come home and make some hot chocolate and sit in my chair when it began raining on my head in my house. That really sucked and was a low moment in my service. I love being a second year volunteer. Life is so much better. Work is flowing in and many friendships have been established. Its nice to be established here. The kids in my family are great and love them like me own. My sister Grace who just turned five is being sponsored by World Vision to go to school and we went to meet some of the sponsors about three Saturday's ago at Mtengulani. It was weird to talk with Americans again who are not Peace Corps. They were from Bethel Church in Washington state. They couldn’t believe it when they saw me walk in carrying my brother Teddy. It was a nice program. I was able to network with some of the people at World Vision and we just met this past Monday and looks like we will be collaborating on efforts such as fish farming in the future. I like partnering with NGO’s….makes my life easier when having workshops and trainings as far as getting food and supplies etc.

So the end of November I’ll be holding my first HIV/AIDs workshop in Fisheni village. I feel it’s the right time in my service to do this. It will be three days long and we are hoping to have about 35 people/couples attend. We are mostly going to be discussing prevention and treatment and the third day we are having VCT (Volunteer Counseling and Testing). I’ll even be getting tested myself so I can show them that I practice what I preach. I’m hoping to get more than 100 people tested. So that’s the next big project and I’m currently in Lusaka for IST (In-service Training). We spent the week mostly discussing our projects and talking about our COS (Close of Service) conference. I can’t believe I have less than 10 months to go. IST was good fun. Met a lot of new volunteers and had a great time out at Johnny's bar last night. Johnny's has a swimming pool that goes underneath the dance floor. Good times...wet, but good.

Then I’ll be preparing for World AIDs Day on December 1st. We are going to be sensitizing people on protecting themselves and doing a short condom demonstration at the local night club in Chipata. We’ll be reaching hundreds of people and hitting our target market.

Finally I’ll be preparing for the Field Day in Kapatamoyo. So many things going on and I’m also going to start looking into a budget to build new dorms at the High School and I may be asking for donors to contribute to that project. More information on that in the next few weeks. Overall things are great here and I’m absolutely loving it.

Happy Independence Day

2007-11-17T08:01:00.000-08:00

October 24th marked another Independence day for Zambia. I celebrated at Madzimoyo Secondary school where I teach english. The day was filled with singing, dancing, poems and skits put on by the students. I even participated in the traditional Ngoma dance of my tribe, the Ngoni's. It was a great day and I was so happy to see the pride that Zambians have for their country. I'm thankful that I was able to participate in this special day.

Empowerment

2007-11-17T07:44:00.000-08:00

About a month ago Christi and I wrapped up our empowerment workshops at Madzimoyo Secondary School. The Girls Empowerment Workshop was held from October 10th – 13th and the Boys Empowerment Workshop was held from October 17th – 20th. It was a great experience getting to work with the girls and boys from the school. They are so talented and have many goals they want to achieve. We had guest speakers come in to inspire them and we had sessions on gender, assertiveness, leadership, communication, goals, role models, violence and aggression, sex implications, HIV/AIDs, condom demos, rape and sexual abuse and much more. We hit a lot of topics in a short time, but the kids did great and had a great time. They really loved some of our ice breakers and energizers. It was really fulfilling working with these boys and girls. Christi and I did not have any outside funding to we had to spend our own money which was completely worth it but a bit expensive on my very tight budget. At the end of the boys sessions we had them complete an evaluation of the workshop and one boy stated, “I want to thank you very much for this workshop, it has changed me.” Well that’s all that matters. I personally also learned a great deal in these workshops and I’ve formed relationships with these kids that are truly amazing. About two weeks after the workshop I received a "bush note" at my hut. It was from Patricia, one of the girls that attended the workshop. She thanked us for

putting on the workshop and said that it changed her and now she sees the importance of making goals and striving to accomplish them in her future. The thing is...I want to thank these students. They were very open-minded about all the topics we covered. They are the ones who are going to make a difference, we just wanted to help point them in the right direction.

If you build it, they will come

2007-11-17T07:06:00.000-08:00

Over the past two months I’ve seen some major changes taking place around my area and Kapatamoyo my old village. I went out to Kapatamoyo in early October to check on one of my farmers, Mr. Chulu. His fish pond is complete and he finally has fish. As I’m standing on the dike of his pond, I happen to look over my shoulder towards the hills and I can’t believe what I see. There was another fish pond. Mr. Chulu saw my surprise and started explaining how there was another 5 ponds in the area. I was ecstatic!!! How wonderful. I almost started crying. Getting any development in this area has nearly been impossible. The farmers have seen all the great things that have been happening to Mr. Chulu and his family and now they all want ponds for themselves. I’m so proud of Mr. Chulu. Honestly, it takes just one person and people will believe and follow their example. Its been one of the most proudest moments I’ve had here. I feel like I’m finally making a small change. I just keep doing my trainings and its starting to happen. I’ve been asked by my APCD at Peace Corps to hold a Field Day in Kapatamoyo in January to encourage more farmers in the surrounding areas.

Fish farming is also starting to take off in my area around Fisheni village. I have about 8 ponds that people have built since my trainings. Its funny, because in the beginning I felt like my trainings were pointless, but after some months I can already see things changing. Its so exciting to watch the development taking place. There’s always some minor set backs though….one of my ponds got all the fish stolen. Hopefully we can prevent this from happening in the future. On a brighter note, my school has completed their fish pond. Its happening….its finally happening, after 18 long months. Now I really understand why Peace Corps is 27 months long.

Here are some more photos of the ponds in progress in my area.

Good times with friends

2007-09-21T08:27:00.000-07:00

After my adventures in Livingstone I headed up to Choma to meet up with my two good friends Andrea and Caitlin. I spent two days with Dre and then went to Cait's village in Chifusa (about a 2hr cantor truck ride into the bush). It was so great. I haven't seen Cait in a long time. We had the most fun, making great coffee with Bailey's (she just went home to the states in July) and even had an encounter with a green momba snake (one deadly snake). We were walking to a school about 8km from her village when Cait stopped and I had no idea why...and laying across the path was this really long thin snake. Looked harmless if you asked me, however Cait's Zambian friend immediately told us to back away as he threw a huge rock at it. Then he asked the strangest thing..."are one of you pregnant? What? Thats a weird question." Apparently green momba's don't just stay still. In the culture here, they believe a snake like this only stops in the presense of a pregnant woman. We had a good laugh at that. Then we spent the rest of the week on gender activities with her school and stayed up till 1am last night playing gin rummy. Good times. Its funny because after visiting other volunteers and their sites, I always feel renewed and I'm reminded that I'm really fortunate to be here with these amazing people. Thanks girls for a wonderful time and allowing me to recover from the craziness of Livingstone. I'm staying with a family from the states tonight in Lusaka. It will be so nice to watch American movies and eat good food. Tomorrow its back to Chipata for another crazy week of work. We have provincial meetings the end of next week and I'm hoping to have another fish transport to my farmers in Kapatamoyo.

The Mighty Zambezi

2007-09-21T07:28:00.000-07:00

After mid-term medical exams we headed down to Livingstone for a little adventure. I wanted to check off "white water rafting" on my life time to do list and why not do it on one of the top 5 rivers for rafting in the world. I'd like to say one of the most dangerous rivers. I'll let the photos speak for themselves and you can be the judge. I have to admit, this was the second time in my entire life that I was truly scared that I was going to die. I got trapped under the boat in a class 4 rapid and could not get out. I remember thinking, "well this is it, I'm out of air...and then I finally popped out and was able to gasp some air before I was pounded under the water again to ride out the rest of the rapid. A really nice guy in my boat came to my rescue and I was truly grateful for that. They pulled me out of the water and I nose dived into the raft. I couldn't speak, I couldn't move. I felt like the life had been sucked out of me. Needless to say, I won't be going white water rafting anymore. We were put in at rapid 1 and this only happens during sept and october each year. I paid for a full day, but quit at the half way point after I almost lost my life. It wasn't worth it and my gut told me it was time to get out. Unfortunately I then had to climb out of the gorge on all fours on this homemade ladder of sticks. Part way up the 150 meter climb, I realized that my life was in danger once again. I made it with the help of my new Irish friend Donncha. We hung together for the rest of the day and even took transport out of Livingstone the next day. Thank god for the Irish. He made me see the humor in all that happened. Luckily, I'm okay, just a bit beat up. Many bruises and a bump on my head. Could have been worse. At this time of the year, the Zambezi is full of Class 4 and 5 rapids. There is one Class 6 rapid (called Commercial Suicide) which we had to get out and walk around. This definitely ranks as one of the most insane things I've ever done. I'll go skydiving any day.

So this is me being thrown out of the 1st rapid a class 4 rapid. However no one knew I fell out because everyone had to high side on the left to keep the boat from flipping. They finally fished me out. That was a rude awakening especially after swallowing my share of the tasty Zambezi water. This should have been a sign for what was to come.

In one of the Class 5 rapids we actually had to drop 7meters (small waterfall I'd say) and thats when everyone has to get in the down position like we are in this photo. We lost Katy on this one and you can see Christi looking back to where she fell out. I'm the one on the far right with my back facing forward.

Looks like we have nice form :) You can see my arm on the back left (blue shirt).

I wanted to upload more photos, but blogger is being funny right now. I'll add them later. I also want to wish my mom a very Happy Birthday today! Wish I could be there to celebrate with you!!!

Clean Bill of Health

2007-09-21T07:14:00.000-07:00

Last week I came to Lusaka for mid-term medical exams. We got our blood tested, teeth cleaned, urine analyzed along with our final Hep A and B shots and a multitude of other tests. I'm happy to say that I'm healthy. Everything came back just fine. I spent the week with my fellow RAPpers hanging out and going out for a night at Alpha Bar in Lusaka. It was so great to see everyone again. The last time we were all together was IST last November. After three days with the doctors, Christi's friend came from the states and we headed down to Livingstone for quite the adventure. Unfortunately my camera didn't make it. Its currently in London somewhere and hopefully it will be making its way to me soon. I miss taking photos :( Oh and I promise to all my friends and family at home that by the end of the year I hope to have all my photos uploaded to my Kodak gallery account for your viewing pleasure. Since it covers over a year of photos there will be about 20 albums to view. It may take another year for you to see all of them ;)

Work in the village

2007-09-10T05:01:00.000-07:00

Life continues to be really busy. I just finished 4 big fish farming trainings this past week training over 110 rural farmers on pond construction and pond management. Its been a hectic week but also very gratifying. My model farmer, Mr. Benson Chulu (photo below) finally completed his pond and we are set to bring him fish soon. I just did a training in my old village today and was able to see the pond. Its beautiful. I almost cried. I’m so proud of him because he’s put so much effort into building this pond. I know these things may seem so insignificant to you at home in the states, but this is a big deal and has potential to bring a lot of development here. As any struggling volunteer can admit, this is quite an accomplishment. Christi and I are also getting prepared to have two 4-day workshops on boys empowerment and girls empowerment in early October. We will be having the workshop for 20 girls and 20 boys and we will discuss issues such as gender equality, HIV/AIDs, sex, their future, goals, assertiveness, communication, leadership, careers and much much more. I’m really excited about this. I really enjoy working with the youth. Its only about a month away and it’s the first big workshop either of us has done, so I hope everything comes together.

I’m leaving tomorrow for Lusaka to attend my mid-term medical exams. I’ll be getting poked and prodded for three days to make sure that my health is top notch. Then its off to Livingstone to raft the Zambezi. The water is low since we are in the dry season and we get to start at the base of Victoria Falls and raft all 23 rapids. It will be an adventure. I haven’t gone white water rafting since I was 17 years old. Then I’ll be spending a few days with my girls, Dre and Caitlin in their villages in Southern province. Then its back to Chipata to catch up on lots of work and make the final preparations for the workshops. I basically have something going on every month now until I finish my service. Time is flying. Less than 11 months to go….

I also want to send a big congratulations to my girlfriends Robin and Naomi who both recently got engaged and ask me to be in their weddings next year when I get home!! I can't wait!

These photos are of my training and my farmers digging their first group pond.

The Annual Chichewa Festival with the Nyau Dancers

2007-09-10T04:51:00.000-07:00

Every year at the end of August, the Chewa’s celebrate their traditional tribal dances at the Kalombo ceremony. It’s a huge event. Thousands of people were there, including three heads of state, President Mwanawasa, the President of Malawi and the President of Mozambique. The dancing was really great. The Chewa’s are completely different than my tribe, the Ngoni’s. They have a very unique look and style of dancing. It was really great to get to see something like this. They thought we were press and we were ushered to the very middle of the stadium. Definitely had the VIP seats. The place was complete chaos and it was super hot. We only stayed for a few hours, which was as much as I could handle.

Turning 29 in my village

2007-09-10T04:47:00.000-07:00

Definitely ranks as one unique birthday and I will never forget it. It was a nice and quiet day. To celebrate Christi and Rachel came to my house . My Amai made my favorite Zambian meal; chicken, cabbage and nshima. Yummy. Christi spent the night and we ate and sang with my family. We took some “snaps” and I really enjoyed the evening with my Zambian family, some Zambian friends and Christi. I received three birthday cards from people in the village and one read “Happy Birthday Mom.” It made me laugh. They made me feel very loved and I was very grateful. Below is a pic of me and my family here.

National Agriculture Show

2007-09-10T04:36:00.001-07:00

I was in Lusaka from July 29th til August 7th working at the National Agriculture show with Department of Fisheries and representing Peace Corps with Christi. The show started on August 2ndt and lasted til the 6th. It was a great networking experience. We met with many government officials including President Mwanawasa and the President of Bostwana, the Minister of Agriculture, the Governor of Finance and a Permnant Secretary. We were really honored to represent Peace Corps with the Department of Fisheries at the show. It gave us a lot of insight into what people knew about Peace Corps. Unfortunately the vast majority of people had never heard of the Peace Corps. A few had heard of Peace Corps, but did not know what we were doing here and even a smaller amount actually knew about our programs. Most people were extremely interested in our projects and wanted to learn more. We handed out brochures about Peace Corps Zambia as an organization and the RAP program specifically. We showcased a map of Zambia that showed the locations of all RAP volunteers. To our surprise, we were able to connect several people to volunteers in various provinces. We even made some contacts in Eastern province.

After being there each day of the show, we realized how important we think it is for all programs in Peace Corps Zambia to participate with their respective ministries at the show. We met with everyone in the Department of Fisheries and representatives from each Province and made some great connections with them. Sadly, even people within the Department of Fisheries had never heard of Peace Corps. As volunteers we were extremely grateful to have the chance to meet such influential people and for us to discuss the Peace Corps with them.

Overall our greatest accomplishment was putting a face on our organization. People were fascinated with what we do and how we live. We provided farmers with information booklets on fish farming and integration that the Department of Fisheries could not provide. After speaking with many people in the Department, they were extremely grateful to have us be apart of their booth. We even won the best Government Stand award.

We think it is important to work closely with our ministries as it had proved helpful in getting RAP started in Eastern Province and by participating in the National Agriculture Show we are reinforcing the connections we want to maintain. It was a great networking event for us and we are much closer to our counterparts due to the show. RAP volunteers from all the provinces may get work just from this show. We encouraged the fisheries extension officers from all over Zambia to meet with the RAP volunteers in their provinces.

My first FISH transport

2007-08-07T05:16:00.000-07:00

In mid June I taught a one day fish farming training to my local farmers. In turn for coming to the training, Department of Fisheries would give them free fish for their fish ponds. So three weeks ago I headed out with DOF to give fish to my farmers. It was an interesting day. Most of the farmers took my advice at the training and fixed things on their ponds and several did absolutely nothing which was a bit frustrating. Surprisingly the women’s ponds were the best. We gave fish to five farmers for a total of about 1200 fingerlings. They were so happy and grateful. It was a fun day off-roading in DOF’s landcruiser and getting to see all of my farmers.

(unfortunately I'm not able to upload photos of this wonderful day due to my camera getting stolen this week at the National Agriculture Show in Lusaka...sorry)

Celebrating America’s Independence

2007-08-07T05:15:00.000-07:00

For the 4th of July, Christi, Kit, Jeremy, John and myself headed to Cape MacClear on Lake Malawi to celebrate America’s Independence day. I was so happy that Kit and Jeremy came with us because we haven’t seen them since last November at our in-service training. It had been a long time.

The trip didn’t start off on a good note due to transport. Poor John (the tallest of all of us) had to ride in the front of our car with another Zambian man on his lap while the four of us squeezed into the back to the border of Zambia/Malawi. No problem though. But once we got to Lilongwe our luck ran out once again. We had a verbal altercation with our mini-bus driver who claims we never paid even though we did and then we hit a goat and killed it which made the brakes go out in the bus. So we were hanging out on the side of the road when they told us they were heading back to Lilongwe. Well that didn’t work for us and we just paid a lot of money to go about an hour down the road. Of course they wouldn’t give our money back, so we decided to let it go and it was time to hitch. Along came this truck, perfect, right? Oh, no. Christi starts talking to the driver while we are all staring into the back of the truck. Right in front of us in the bed of the truck was a coffin holding a man that just died. We didn’t have a choice, even though I was against it everyone hopped in. The worst part was that the truck was so small we had to practically sit on the coffin. I know, it was so wrong. About 30km down the road we got dropped off at our turn-off. We were glad that was over. Then along came this car and I flagged him down. It was an officer of the Malawi military. We spoke in Nyanja and I explained we were stranded so he told us to hop in. Once again we squished 4 people in the back of a really small car. Two and a half hours later we arrived in Monkey Bay. The road that got us there went through the mountains with hairpin turns…no way our mini-bus would have survived that. So we found the last truck going to Cape MacClear for the day and they wanted to rip us off royally. We decided to wait it out and it worked in our favor. They finally brought the price down and we headed to our destination in the back of a cantor truck. At 17:30 we walked out to the beach at Fat Monkey’s (where we were staying) just in time to watch a beautiful sunset. Wow, what a first day.

The next day was super cold and not sunny at all. We sat on the beach and drank tasty beverages in our fleece jackets and long trousers. We met these girls from Belgium and joined them for dinner at some locals house where they made us fish/chicken with rice, potatoes and a fried banana for dinner. It was a bit strange yet cool to be sitting in some strange shack on the beach while 10 Malawians watched us eat by the fire.

The third day the weather warmed up a bit and we went snorkeling out on a beautiful island. I finally got in the water at the end of the day because it was so cold/windy. The fish were beautiful. Our boat was taking on water, however we enjoyed a tasty lunch of rice and fish/goat meat.

Our last day on the lake was super nice. It was hot and sunny all day. We mostly sat on the beach and drank while the guys messed around in the water on the lodges canoe. We tried to sing as many “proud to be an American” type songs while drinking and wandering what our friends and family were doing back home.

Our transport back to Zambia was horrible again but what can you do. I had a great time catching up with Kit and Jeremy and getting to know John. They’re great guys! I miss them already. So besides catching up with old friends, rumor has it that when you visit Lake Malawi you catch more than what you bargain for. The southern end of the lake apparently is infested with large amounts of Shisto/Bilharzia. Guess I’ll find out if I caught the shisto when I return home next year!

Keeping Busy

2007-06-30T01:45:00.000-07:00

So I just got back early this week from helping Christi host first site visit with the new RAP volunteers that just landed in Zambia. We hosted 4 guys to will be heading to Northern or Luapula provinces when they complete training. It was a fun-filled 3 days. I think they were a bit overwhelmed the first night. Considering they were only in country for two days before heading to the village they did quite well in my opinion. It was fun sharing pc horror stories and my medical stories. I had to scare them just a bit ;) We visited two of Christi’s best farmers, Mr. Sakala and Mr. Zimba. Here is a photo of their farms and ponds. We ate some fabulous Zambian food, which the boys liked quite a bit. They did better than me on my first site visit…I hardly ate due to anxiety and being overwhelmed. To the right is the long road to Christi's village.

The last night was the best. Jeff and Rich “Fuzzy” came out with the landcruiser and we all went to watch “N’yau” dancing. This is the Chewa tribes traditional dance. Its quite different from my tribe, the Ngoni’s,but very cool to watch. They even came back to Christi’s house and gave us a VIP show which is unheard of. I think there’s never been that many muzungu’s in chiwoko ever and they wanted to celebrate. Then we continued the dancing at Christi’s house where we all enjoyed great music and tasty beverages. It was a successful evening, however I felt sorry for Dale when he woke up covered in ants. Oh well, its Peace Corps.

Right before “first site” visit I held a fish farming training at Madzimoyo (about 5km) from my village. I had 25 people attend, 19 men and 6 women. It was an all day event where I taught pond construction in the morning and pond management in the afternoon. I was very pleased with the training and happy to see that everyone seems very eager to start fish farming. I did the training in collaboration with another NGO and the entire training was done in Nyanja. I’m sure I sounded funny, but I think the farmers appreciated me using the local language. The construction of several ponds have begun and some of them are almost finished. I’m very excited about this.

I’ve also started working with Madzimoyo High School with fish farming and some gender workshops. Christi and I will be organizing a Boy’s Empowerment and Girl’s Empowerment weekend at Madzimoyo at the end of September and beginning of October. The workshops will be 4 days long and the goal is to empower these kids and teach them the importance of their education and allowing them to see that they can achieve their goals in life. I’m very excited about these two workshops and I’ve found that I’m extremely interested in this area of work. Gender issues are such a problem here and by starting with the youth we hope to sensitize them and maybe they will grow up with the belief that men and women should be treated equally. That’s a long way off for Zambia, but hopefully one day things will change.

In February, Christi and I will be organizing “Youth Career Week” which is exciting and involves all the volunteers in our province bringing two kids to Chipata for one week learning about career options and HIV/AIDs related awareness. Then in May we hope to host the first “Women in Business” weekend where women from our villages come together and share their business stories and learn more business skills.

I’m also teaching grade 11 english and math once a week and love being around the kids. They have very unique outlooks on the world and I love sharing stories and ideas with them. Its truly rewarding. Christi and I have also started a foundation called the Browen Foundation. The project deals with deforestation and recycling paper to preserve Zambia. We currently have a group of board members and are currently looking for a facility where we can set up shop. Its an exciting and unexpected project and I think it has the potential to have quite an impact. More details to come once things start happening.

So as you can see I’ve been super busy. The one year mark hits and everything just falls into place. Its amazing really, but I’m really happy here and finally feel like I’m doing something. I’ve met some amazing Zambians that I really enjoy working with and I’ve made some really good friends in the village. This experience is turning out to be more than I hoped for.

I’m in town right now writing a proposal for a grant to send two of my farmers to Lusaka for some agriculture training in September and October and I’m also filling out my PC quarterly report for the RAP project. All of our reports are sent to Washington to keep track of the programs successes. Next week I’m heading to Cape McClear (on Lake Malawi) for some R&R. I’ll be on the beach next week soaking up some rays and snorkeling around the islands down there. Its funny, because I have no money, but somehow I’ll be able to do this trip on less than $200. I love Africa ;)

I hope everyone has a very Happy 4th of July!!!!

“The first year is always the hardest.”

2007-06-09T01:19:00.000-07:00

People tend to say this about a lot of life changing commitments like college, marriage and even Peace Corps. And I’d have to say they’re probably right.

Time continues to amaze me. It keeps going by faster and faster. This past year has been filled with many ups and downs, twists and turns. To get a complete picture its best to start at the beginning, one year ago.

Its seems like yesterday that I was saying good-bye to all my friends and family getting ready to travel clear across the world in hope that I could make a difference and change and change my life for the better. I had no idea what to expect. I had one of those gut feelings that even though my rational mind said I was crazy upon boarding that plane, I was making the right decision. They always say hind-sight is 20/20 and I’m thankful everyday for listening to my gut and to have the courage to come to Africa even though many people didn’t think I could do it.

I guess I was a bit surprised by some of the people that thought I couldn’t do this. Upon further contemplation of this, I realize those people really don’t know me. Which is okay. I can see how people would think that a city-dwelling advertising chick like me might have a rough time in rural Africa. In actuality those people have only gotten a glimpse of one part of me. It works both ways though, because some people here have a hard time seeing me in my life back in Chicago. I’m still the same woman, my different strengths/weaknesses come out in different situations. Many people saw this as a way for me to runaway from my problems. But I have to laugh at this, because the problems I face here are much harder and run deeper with the conditions I live under, with people dying of HIV everyday and trying to bring development here when some people don’t want to change. So as you see, I wasn’t running away from anything/anyone. I would have just moved to the west coast ;) As my ex-boyfriend always told me, I have a lot of wonderlust and I really just want to see and experience the world. This past year has only enhanced that feeling in me.

Looking back a year ago before I left…
- I loved living in Chicago
- Wasn’t satisfied with my job
- Didn’t feel like a was making a difference
- Felt like something was missing from my life
- I wasn’t well informed about 3rd world issues such as poverty, hunger, HIV/AIDs etc.
- Took the American way of living for granted
- Never thought for two seconds about how great it is to have electricity, hot running water, a blowdryer, chocolate brownies, ice cream, turkey club sandwiches….you get my point
- Loved playing volleyball
- Could not speak another language
- Learned self-defense
- Hated public speaking
- Extrovert/Introvert
- Loved to shop – never underestimate the power of retain therapy
- Was a clean freak
- Lived paycheck to paycheck
- Felt like I was just going through the motions

One year later this is what I feel like now…

- Can’t imagine being anywhere else at this point
- Find great joy in working/living/teaching here….especially with the youth
- Still question whether I’m making a difference, but I know I’ve personally affected the lives of a few people here
- My job has “no boundaries.” I love making my own schedule.
- Finally realized that I do want to marry someday and have children, I especially want to adopt
- I’ve been tested here emotionally and physically and I’ve surprised myself at how strong I am sometimes. I’ve been through a lot here concerning my safety, health and relationships…and I’m still here. There’s no challenge I won’t take on now.
- I’m intimately informed about poverty, hunger, HIV/AIDs. I live around it everyday. Unfortunately I have to detach myself when faced with some of these issues. It’s for my own survival here. Some things are really hard to face and watch.
- I’ve realized how fortunate I am. I definitely took my life in Chicago for granted sometimes. I’ll admit I miss some of those things. Hopefully I won’t take them for granted anymore. I miss the comfort of my bed, the smell of fabric softner on my sheets, the cleanliness of restaurants, all the “options” we have as Americans and I miss going to the coffee shop and bookstores whenever I want. One things for sure, I never thought that I would fantasize about food so much. Its become an obsession. I dream about it and think about it a lot especially in the village.
- I can finally say that I speak another language…and its been one of the harder things for me. Communication is so important. I feel like I sound like a Dr. Seuss book all the time…see spot run. However as time goes on, its getting better.
- I love meeting new people. Hitch-hiking has really given me the confidence in myself and I usually meet really great/interesting people. Meeting strangers and public speaking are daily activities for me here.
- My celebrity status is both flattering and flat out annoying. Sometimes I try so hard to fit in and be a member of my community, but they will always see me as the white girl who’s educated and has a lot of money L
- Music has become so important to me now. I couldn’t do this without my music.
- I miss playing volleyball but love to watch the girls play net ball
- More extroverted
- I’m still organized and try to keep as clean a mud hut as possible ;)
- Feel refreshed after a nice bucket bath
- Still have no money
- I’ve become more accepting of others. I love my family here as if they were my own. I take pride in my friendships, they mean the world to me.
- I’m more compassionate. I’ve learned to be less critical. My tolerance level has more than doubled along with my patience.
- Simplifying my life was the best thing I could have ever done
- Reading has become a sort of job. I love it and have been so fortunate to have gotten to read some really great books here.
- I hate getting sick here. Its horrible. Getting sick has been some of my lowest moments in my service.
- Having my kids tell me they love me every night before I go to bed has been some of my best moments in PC. They say it in English too!
- Learning about a different culture has been so fascinating. Understanding it has been a great challenge. Gender/Racial issues go back hundreds of years here.
- Seeing the importance of family and made to feel like I belong here with them has been so amazing. More than I ever expected.
- Getting fish farming started here has been like pulling teeth. However I’m not quitting and its going to happen.
- Being alone is good for the soul. Loneliness is a state of mind. I’ve come to cherish my alone time.
- I’m more in touch with who I am and where I’m going in this life. I’m comfortable being me here.
- I’m more willing to step outside of my comfort zones.
- I’ve learned to face my inner demons.
- I try not to worry about the small stuff anymore
- I finally feel like I’m truly living.
- I’ve learned that race, gender, sexuality and religious beliefs make us all unique, however at the end of the day we are all human beings trying to co-exist in this world. We aren’t all that different, we all have feelings, wanting to love and be loved.
- And I’m happy here…most days ;)
- This list could continue on and on…

So in my mind I’ve come a long way. However I couldn’t be here right now without the support of my family and friends at home. Thanks for listening when I need you.

Don’t get me wrong, this past years been a rollercoaster. There’s been a few moments when I’ve just wanted to come home. However I force myself to give it 48hrs and so far its worked out.

My kids here keep me going. They are the most precious kids I’ve known, second of course to my real nephews Sajan and Shrey. They make me smile when I’m mad and laugh when I’m sad.

Overall Peace Corps is quite different than I imagined, yet a lot like I thought it would be. Doesn’t make sense I know, but I guess you just have to be here. I think this first year will probably have been the most challenging and who knows what next year will bring. The physical challenges have been the easiest to overcome. It’s the emotional challenges that I have to continue to battle be it work related, PC related, friendship related, health related etc. I hope things continue to work out here, because I think its going to be really hard to leave this place.

So where do I see myself going after this? I still have plenty of time to figure it out and it keeps changing, but I like living among different cultures. So next stop, Asia! I want to teach English in China or South Korea. Eventually I’ll find myself on the west coast preferable in Portland, OR.

One final thought. I’ve realized over the years that if you have a dream, follow it, don’t give up no matter what, and it will happen. You can make it happen. I did. Since I was nineteen years old I dreamt of joining the Peace Corps and coming to Africa. One decade later, I’m here.

Quality Father/Daughter Time

2007-06-09T00:44:00.000-07:00

So as you’ve already seen, my father came to Zambia on Saturday May 12th. He was my first visitor from the states and I was so excited to see him. I was a bit nervous because I didn’t know what to expect, and I’ve never spent that much time with my father before.

He arrived at the airport in good shape. We hugged while tears filled both of our eyes. It’s a strange thing really…seeing someone you love for the first time in almost a year. It was a good feeling. I was a bit upset that his bags didn’t arrive, but its Africa and hey, what are you going to do? Dad was a great sport though, considering he only packed one set of clothes in his carry-on. We finally got the bags five days later, luckily the only thing missing was a soccer ball.

The first night we spent in Lusaka. Our accommodations were less than ideal. No running water, 50,000 kwacha deposit on towels we couldn’t use and dad got a bad case of the bed bugs…literally. Luckily they never itched. I decided to get dad’s feet wet the first day by going to the downtown market. Boy was that a treat. I was a bit scared as we were being brought into the back areas of the market. The only reason we were there was to buy jersey’s for the girl’s netball team in my village. My grandma, Marietta was kind enough to sponsor these girls, so we needed to pick them up. I think that was a bit of an eye opener for my dad. We had a nice dinner later with Christi and Matt at La Gondola.

The next morning we headed to Livingstone on a six hour bus ride that went quite smoothly. We stayed at the Zambezi Waterfront in the “adventure village.” Meaning that we spent two nights in a permanent walk-in tent. It was not bad. It got really cold the first night, but it was nice (in my standards at least). We headed for the booze cruise right away and spent a nice evening floating on the beautiful Zambezi gazing at elephants and giraffes on the side banks. The Jack and cokes were free flowing and we enjoyed great conversations with some PC volunteers from Namibia. The sunset was breath-taking. The intenseness of the colors always blow me away. The next day we decided to get up early and have breakfast on the waterfront while monkeys were swinging from the nearby trees. After some deliberation we decided that we would go on a 15min. helicopter ride above the falls. One of the better decisions that we made, in my opinion. It was amazing. What a way to view the falls. We literally saw the falls from every angle. In the air, from afar, right up next to them (getting drenched) and on top of them. It was great. Many great laughs since we were beyond soaked. The only hiccup here was all the haggling we received from the vendors trying to sell us souvenirs.

Then it was back to Lusaka for a day visiting Peace Corps headquarters where dad got to meet my boss and other people that I work with. I was dreading the 8 hr bus ride to Chipata because with dad being 6ft. 5inches he didn’t fit very well into the small seats on the bus. However, Jimmy Jack, a driver with PC told me he was bringing someone up to Chipata and that we could catch a ride. That was so wonderful. For the first 3 hrs we rode in a nice SUV and then was picked up by the PC landcruiser at the Luangwa bridge on the border of Zambia and Mozambique. It was a long trip and I think dad was ready to get out of the cramped cruiser, so around 19:30 we arrived at the PC house in Chipata. After getting dad a room at a local guest house I started going through all the luggage to see what everyone had sent. It was like Christmas. My mom and sister sent me a ton of things and people also donated things for my village and area schools. I loved it.

The next morning we headed to Kapatamoyo (my old village). Dad really wanted to see where I started my service and meet the people I still work with there. We were greeted with open arms. I do miss some of those people, but I’m happy I made the decision that I did. My family there is great and we ate lunch with them. I was really proud of my dad, eating nshima right away. He describes it as hard mashed potatoes, but I’d disagree. He seemed to like it very much and I know my family appreciated him for trying the local food. We met several of my friends and farmers. We even visited one of my fish ponds that’s in the process of being dug. I’m really excited. It’s the first fish pond in Eastern province to be dug with a PC volunteer. Hopefully it will be done in the next couple of weeks. Its really hard work, but I have faith in my farmers. It was a whirlwind day and probably a bit overwhelming for dad.

Friday morning dad met me at the PC house in Chipata where our Bi-annual Provincial meeting was taking place. Luckily he got to meet all the volunteers in Eastern province….there’s about 30 of us. Everyone was so nice to him and talking with him…made me feel really great. Dad was cracking his usual jokes and everyone loved him. It made me feel great that all my friends here were so nice and welcoming. The meeting lasted 4hrs but I think he enjoyed every minute. I was elected onto the GADZ committee. GADZ stands for “Gender and Development in Zambia.” It’s a committee I’ve wanted to be on for a long time because I feel very strongly about the gender issues people face here. Being on this committee means that I’ll be responsible for reporting all the GADZ activities volunteers do here and I’ll be responsible for holding a “Youth Career Week” and a boys/girls empowerment weekend workshop, along with having meetings in Lusaka. I’m extremely excited about this new opportunity. So in the afternoon we met up with my sister and mother from my current village and went shopping for food and our party over the weekend. It was a bit overwhelming with all our stuff. However, once we arrived in Fisheni, everyone was so excited to meet my dad. I think he was a bit surprised by how nice and warm they were towards us.

We woke up early on Saturday morning because I had arranged for the Ngoma dancers to come and perform for us at 10am. The Ngoma dancers are the Ngoni warrior dancers (my tribe). Since we operate on Zam time here, it started three and a half hours late. Typical. I wasn’t very happy though. In the end, the dancing and singing were great and we enjoyed every minute of it. We presented the girls net ball team with their new ball and jerseys….they were ecstatic, screaming, singing and jumping around. It was a huge deal for them and I’m truly thankful that my grandmother donated these. It meant a lot to me. I love these girls and they deserved it. I told them they could have them on one condition, that I get to play on the team ;) The whole day was captured on video tape and dad even tried some of the dances. That was quite a site. Good times!

Sunday morning my Ambuya made us porridge and we went and saw Chief Madzimawe. I hadn’t met him before and it was quite an honor for my dad to get to meet him. Outsiders are usually never invited to meet a Chief at his home. We had some transport issues but it all worked out. Then we headed back to Fisheni and I decided to show him around the rest of the village. We got back to my house later in the day and my sister had gotten a bag of charcoal for me while we were out. Usually she just puts it in my house, but she left it outside for some reason. Good thing. I happened to turn around looking towards my house as flames were shooting out of the bag. I ran over there and dumped the charcoal on the ground. The flames were within 6 inches of my grass roof. My whole house was within seconds of going up in flames. Wow, I was lucky. Only my plant was burned. So that was interesting. I was almost on a flight home with my dad. Then later in the afternoon, my family started cooking our big dinner. As celebration for my dad being here and appreciation for my family being so great, I decided to invite everyone over to my house for a huge dinner. There was 18 adults and about 12 children. We had a great time, eating all the traditional Zambian food. I had a porch made on my house and it fit all of us perfectly. I’d have to say it was one of my happier moments in Zambia, watching my father interact with my family here. It was a touching evening. I almost broke down thanking everyone for being here, including my father and how thankful I am for everyone and everything that they do for me. I was really proud of my father for adapting so well to the village and never complaining once. He even drew water from my bore hole by himself and helped sweep my mud porch, all while my Ambuya kept yelling, “Gender, gender.” Men don’t do the sweeping here.

Monday morning we made a quick stop at Madzimoyo High school to drop off some notepads, pencils, and erasers that were donated from the states. The Headmaster, Mr. Jere showed us around. Madzimoyo is a boarding school, and some of the dorms are so awful. Its hard to describe, but no one should be living under those conditions. I’m going to get more information and see if I can find funding to help build new dorm rooms for the boys and girls. After that we headed back to town to repack and head to Mfuwe to South Luangwa National Park. Its only 80km from Chipata but the ride is on some of the worst roads in the world…and I’m not joking. We decided to hire a cab because of the horror stories I heard with people taking minibuses. It was one long, bumpy, three hour ride.

Upon arriving at Flatdogs Camp in South Luangwa we were once again back in luxury. Flatdogs is a beautiful place. We had an entire Chalet to ourselves. The camp is right on the river where there are hundreds of hippos just hanging out. We were lucky enough to watch a “parade” of elephants cross the river to head for the villages at 16 to feed. It was quite peaceful. However I’ve never stayed at a place where you need an escort to go from the main restaurant/bar to your room at night. Its because the animals roam free and they don’t want anyone to get eaten….no joke. When we were there, a lion, some leopards and many hippos were roaming the grounds of our camp. It was great. We ended up going on a morning drive, a night drive and a walking safari. Each activity was four hours long. We saw everything. Each drive had its unique qualities, but we saw the most animals on our morning drive at 6am. We were parked about 8 ft from two male lions just hanging out and staring at us. It was incredible. Our walking safari which was so unique because you are walking amongst the animals included our scout, Jackson and our guide, River, with a 457 caliber rifle (I think I have that right). Apparently it’s the highest caliber of rifle. Each bullet was about 4inches long. I’d never seen bullets like that before. Unfortunately Jackson said he’s had to kill many animals over the years for coming after the group. Luckily he didn’t need to use it on our walk. It was so crazy though because around every turn you really needed to keep your eyes peeled, especially for buffalo, as they are the most dangerous and aggressive towards people walking in the bush. We had a fabulous time going on the game drives, drinking cocktails in the afternoon and watching the sun set over the Luangwa river each night. Many good conversations and bonding time. However, dad’s nickname is now batman, because each night a bat was in our room and he ended up killing 3 of them. We never did figure out how they were getting in.

So after three fun-filled days in South Luangwa we took the grueling cab ride back to Chipata where we packed everything up and attempted to hitch to Christi’s village in Chiwoko (about 60km from Chipata). The spot where we hitch is close to a taxi station, so instead of the taxi’s staying up on the hill, they all came down to us. Apparently they saw dollar signs with dad standing by my side. Its always an interesting conversation. We had so many cabbies try to take us even though their vehicles where filled to capacity. It was quite funny. Finally we ended up taking a shared ride. Christi met us at her turn-off and we began walking the 4km to her house. Luckily we got a lift half way to her place by the Zambian military in the back of their huge truck. Unlucky for us they were hauling fish. Fish guts were spilling all over the place. Needless to say we didn’t smell to good. Then as we continued the rest of the hike another cantor came and picked us up. We hopped in the back and got a lift right to her house. I have to say, considering the rides, my dad was a great sport. I think he really like it. But hey, that’s how we travel in Peace Corps. We spent the night at Christi’s house with her two friends from the states. Luckily my dad and her friends, Ruth and Beth were leaving Lusaka on the same day. So the next morning we put them on a bus to Lusaka and said some quick good-byes.

It was a whirlwind two weeks. I think my dad got a taste of everything, from the luxury of Livingstone and South Luangwa to the hardships of village life. I think the highlight for him was meeting all the people I live with and seeing what I do here. I think he’s confident that I’m really happy and safe here. Besides this cough I’ve had for six weeks, I’m doing great. I had a really great time with my dad and something I’ll always cherish. I’m glad he came to see what PC is all about and to have a better understanding of why I want to be here and what I’m doing. I think this trip has allowed my father to understand me better and to see who I really am.

So dad, I want to thank you for coming here to visit me and spending a lot of time, effort and money to make this trip happen. I truly appreciate everything you brought me, spent on me and gave to me on this trip. Thank you and everyone else for bringing things for my villagers. It means a great deal to me. I hope you had a great time…I sure did. I love you dad.

Flying High

2007-05-16T01:18:00.000-07:00

So my father's here and we had an amazing time in Victoria Falls. It sure is one of the seven natural wonders of the world.

The photo on the left was taken directly above the falls from our helicopter. Below is me and my dad having a great time on our short ride (15 min.) It was a once in a lifetime ride though.

Yesterday we finally got my dad's bags from the airport. Only took five days but they both arrived with all the contents. I was a bit worried. Today we are heading up to Chipata to see my village. We got lucky and are getting a ride from PC in the landcruiser. Public transport is horrible. Funny thing, we were walking in all parts of the airport last night that you would never be able to do in the states. I guess security is not that big of an issue here. I had my swiss army knife in my bag and they saw it and still let me through...oh well. So we'll be spending the next 5 days in the village and then heading up to South Luangwa park for a safari before my dad goes back to the states. We went on the booze cruise on the Zambezi and have been having a great time catching up!

The Invasion

2007-05-14T02:09:00.000-07:00

This will be a short post. Things have been super crazy the past couple of weeks. Work is really picking up, I've started working with 6 new fish farmers. Some of them have ponds, some are in the process of constructing them. I have another really big project coming up, more details to follow once things get off the ground. I'm also in the beginning stages of getting a dam built for my village and a new clinic. I'll be sending out more information in the next couple of weeks.

So a funny thing happened about two weeks ago. Rachel and Christi came to my site and spent the night. We were hanging out in my house and I went to get Rachel some headache medicine out of my medical kit. I picked up the kit and found about a hundred ants sitting under it. I quickly sprayed them and went on my way. Later in the night I was getting cold and decided to get a long sleeved shirt. I have my clothes hanging on a wood bar in my room. With my headlamp on, I saw a small ant crawling on my shirt. Next thing I know, I'm pulling apart my clothes and watching thousands of ants crawling all over my clothes. I screamed. (this is not an exaggeration either) Never have I seen anything like that. I started going through my trousers that were hung up and ants were crawling out of my pockets and every little nook and cranny. I was furious. It was late and I was tired, the last thing I needed was to have thousands of ants all over my things in my house. I felt so violated. We took everything outside and shook them off. They even started climbing all over me. I yelled for my Amai and she came over and basically laughed. She said, "Ah, Julie, this is village life." Right, I'm thinking. I was not a happy camper, however she offered to wash everything the next day. I have no idea why that happened, and I hope it doesn't happen again. It was really disturbing.

So as some of you know, my father came here about two days ago. Its been great to see him again. I'll be updating again after our adventures. We are currently in Livingstone where we just took a helicopter ride over the falls. It was amazing. Viewing the falls from above was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Later this afternoon we'll experience it first hand while we walk around it getting drenched. Its so great to have my dad here. We went on the booze cruise last night where we enjoyed many whiskey and cokes :) Good times so far and its been great to catch up with him.

I'll be writing again soon, thanks to all those that are staying in touch. Sorry if I don't get back to you right away. Not much time/money for the internet. But I think of all you often. Staying in touch means the world to me. Thanks!!! Miss you!

The View from Above

2007-04-14T01:28:00.000-07:00

For my easter holiday this year I wanted to do something that I've never done before. I wanted to climb Mt. Mulanje. For those of you that do not know, its the tallest mountain in southern africa. I thought it would be a great way to get away for a bit and spend some time enjoying mother nature. I was originally going to go by myself but in decided to ask Christi to join me. That was a good decision and it was so nice to share the experience with someone else.

So we left Chipata early one morning and made it to Blantyre in one day. Several minibus rides later and several funny transport stories, we arrived at Doogles (a backpackers lodge) in Blantyre. Blantyre is absolutely beautiful. Its surrounded by three small mountains and sort of feels like you are in Europe. There are a lot of ex-pats and white people there which makes it seem so different from other african towns in my opinion. I have to say on the drive down there, even though I had to stand for lack of seating, the views were breathtaking. Malawi is gorgeous!

Upon arriving at Doogles we decided to stay in the dorms since we needed to save some $$. We walked into our room and to our surprise one of the beds had about 20 pairs of high heels under it. Strange. After a bit we realized our roomate was not a backpacker, but "entertainment" for the men at Doogles. Interesting. Since we were only staying two nights we decided we'd stay. I asked her how long she is staying and said she'd been there for over 2 months. Okay. Moving on.

We spent the next day in Blantyre checking out the sites. We went to this beautiful church, St. Michaels that was built in 1876 all by hand without modern tools. It was incredible. Then we went to PAMET (The Paper Making Education Trust). This place was amazing. They make handmade paper from recycled paper, banana leaves, animal dung, baobob bark and much more. Being a designer myself I could have spent the entire day there. It was very inspiring because the project was set up to teach people how to recycle and to help the school children get notebooks since so many schools lack the resources. They made incredible things out of the various papers and I think I bought one of every item. Later in the afternoon, Christi and I decided our trip wouldn't be complete without a visit to the Carlsburg brewery where we received a free tour and sampling at the end. I should say multiple samplings. We were the only girls in the tour. Good times. It was a great day in Blantyre. So we headed to bed and geared up for the big climb.

We headed to Likhubula (about 80km south of Blantyre) where we would spend the night before we went on the mountain. We took a small minibus to Chitikali where we would have to find our own transport another 12k to Likhubula. On the way down to Chitikali I got to talking with this guy George sitting next to me. Long story short I found out he was a guide for Mt. Mulanje and we decided to ask him to be our guide. He seemed really nice and knowledgeable about everything dealing with the mountain. Once we got to Chitikali George put us in the back of a full pick-up truck. However they managed to add another 5 people after we got on. When the truck first took off, Christi and I about fell out. We were standing in the bed of the truck against the cab. I felt like I was in a rodeo with the truck as our bucking bronco. The air was so fresh and the tea plantations were amazing all the while Mt. Mulanje staring us in the face off to our right. Its an understatement to say that I was a bit intimidated by how big it was. I thought to myself, "Julie, what have you gotten yourself into." If Christi wasn't there I might have freaked out. So we arrived at dark at a missionary where we spent the night. In the morning we met up with the Forrestry department to get our permits and receipts for staying in the huts on the mountain. After some frustrating conversations George, our guide and Diston, our porter brought us back to pick up our things and to head up the mountain. I had so many butterflies in my stomach yet I was so excited to be doing this. It was my first mountain!

We decided to take the Chapaluka path up to the Chambe hut for the first night. I knew it was going to be tough and I was correct. However we did really well. The views helped remind us why we were there. George said we were "above average" hikers and we only stopped twice the first day to have some snacks. A little over 4 hrs after we took off we arrived at Chambe hut. The hike was a continuous incline with many steep areas that were straight up. We walked through so many types of vegetation is was unbelievable. We walked through rain forrest which we called, "the enchanted forrest" (I swear fairy's were flying around) the jungle where monkeys were swinging tarzan style from vine to vine, we walked through valleys, over waterfalls, rivers and a burnt forrest which was like being in a bizarre dream. It was all so surreal and it was only the first day. The view from Chambe hut was of Chambe peak. Christi and I decided that we were okay viewing the peak from the porch on the hut. Since it was easter weekend, Chambe hut was quite crowded the first night. We met two friends, Marcus and Jos who were staying at Doogles with us. They are from London and we had a great time chatting with them and sharing our experiences. I was quite pleased with our first day. I slept like a baby.

The next morning we had to get an early start to make it to Thuchilla hut about six hours away. We started the morning with "the breakfast of champions" jungle oats and coffee. Then we were on our way. Today unlike the first day now felt like we were in Ireland or Scotland. Unbelievable. About an hour into the hike I had George take a photo of me and then we decended down into this valley. As we were walking I slipped, fell and rolled my ankle. I heard a pop and grabbed my ankle. I don't remember much, but my first thought was, "oh god, I just broke my ankle." We were above 2000 meters, what were we going to do. After some time I decided I didn't break it and had no other choice but to carry on. I was furious, how could I have done that. So we hobbled on to the nearest hut another two hours away. It sucked, but I still enjoyed the breath-taking views. We finally arrived at Chisepo hut where I was able to find an ankle brace. I was so relieved. After checking out my ankle with Christi and our guides we decided it was best we set up camp there for the night. It was super swollen and black and blue. We bathed in a pool near a waterfall. I think the freezing water helped my ankle. That night we constantly had a fire burning due to the rain and freezing cold. I had all my clothes on, hat, gloves, in my twenty degree rated sleeping bag and it was still cold. However I almost got lost going to the latrine. I couldn't see anything and momentarily panicked when I couldn't find it or the house. I can see how people get turned around on mountains. I started popping pain medication like it was candy to get me through the rest of the trip.

The next morning (Easter sunday) we woke up and took our time. We decided to head to Thuchilla hut (about three hours away) and then decend from there on Monday morning. It was the least steep route off the mountain and thats what I needed. So I was extremely dissappointed for not transversing the entire mountain, but what could I do, I was hurt. So the walk this day was filled with fog...couldn't see anything but whiteness. I have to say it was really cool. We felt like we were on the set of Lord of the Rings. However at one point a bridge was out and we had to climb over and under these huge boulders. Had my foot been okay this would have been an amazing playground, I just wanted to complete the maze of rocks without killing myself. We made it. Finally we arrived at Thuchilla hut and we had it all to ourselves. The hut is over 100 years old and very colonial looking. I felt like we had just stepped into another time zone. As the sun was setting the clouds began to separate and for a few moments had an amazing view. I was still nursing my ankle, but didn't really care at the moment because of all the beauty I'd seen that day and all the beauty that surrounded me at the moment.

Monday morning we woke early because we wanted to make it all the way back to Blantyre and with my ankle, we didn't know how long it would take. So when they said it was the least steep route, I'd hate to see the steep route. There were moments I was sliding on my butt down a granite rock with nothing on either side. Some moments I had to concentrate so hard on my foot placements so I woudn't step off the 6in ledge into nothingness. It was intense. By far the craziest hiking I've ever done. We got down in four hours and I almost started crying, not because my ankle was killing me, but because we made it. I climbed my first mountain and I was really proud of it. I'd never seen so many beautiful things in my life and I've never climbed over so many boulders, tree limbs, down valleys and up and down such steep terrain in my life. It was quite the rush. George and Diston were so great. They helped me so much getting through some of the rough spots. We shared many stories and had many laughs.

Christi and I decided celebrate upon arriving back in Blantyre with some Jack and cokes and a 5 star dinner. I had grilled calamari....couldn't believe it. We ate ourselves sick and fell asleep as soon as we finished dinner. We couldn't really walk the next day and my ankly was super sore, but we hobbled onto our transport and headed for Lilongwe where we stayed at the Peace Corps transit house. We met some great Malawian volunteers and watched really bad horror movies all night with them. We had horrible transport back to Chipata and were extremely relieved to have arrived back at the PC house.

Overall it was an amazing trip with a few bumps along the way. The views from above on Mulanje were some of the most beautiful views I've ever seen. It was a physically and mentally tough journey and one I'll never forget. I know one things for sure, I fell in love with Mt. Mulanje and I plan on going back to finish the part of the mountain we didnt get to hike...however I think I'll do it in the dry season where things aren't so slippery.

Msekera Farmers Field Day

2007-04-14T01:09:00.000-07:00

Well the field day was an overall success in my opinion. It was on March 29th and over 600 area farmers attended. The field day was held at Msekera research center where they test different ways to grow crops using chemical fertilizers and natural fertilizers like tophrosia and manure etc. Their studies range from beans to peppers to maize to groundnuts. Its quite intensive and interesting. The field day showed all the farmers these various techniques starting from planting their crops to storing them. Me and a fellow pcv helped with the sessions on fish farming. However it all had to be done in Nyanja and needless to say we had to get help from our counterpart Mulenga. The sessions for cut a bit short and its difficult to explain fish farming in less than 15 min. However I think the farmers enjoyed it very much, especially with our exhibit of the different types of fish. There was much eating, singing and dancing afterward with a few speeches from several Zambian officials.

Apart from the field day I also was asked to paint signs for the research center. Here's one of the signs I painted - all by hand of course. This is graphic design at its finest in Zambia ;)

Tinayenda ku town

2007-04-02T03:30:00.000-07:00

Yes, we walked to town. About a week and a half ago, my sister, Joyce (she's 19) decided to get up early and walk to Chipata. Its only 25k, but hey its full of rolling hills. We had an amazing journey. I was so thankful because we really got to know eachother and it was interesting to hear the opinions of a 19 year old woman in Zambia. It was a beautiful walk however got a bit hot at the end. It only took us 4hrs which I thought was decent considering all the hills. She was so happy because most people in Fisheni haven't done that before. They either bike or take transport. Its funny because now when anyone sees me leaving my house they always ask if I'm walking (or footing like they like to say) to town. No one really understood why we wanted to do that. They even offered me money, but I told them that wasn't the problem. Oh well, it was fun and I got to learn a lot about Joyce and her dreams for the future. She wants to be a nurse. It was some of the best 4 hrs I've spent in Zambia.

Walking in rural Zambia also allows you to meet some interesting people. Like for example the random group of uniformed children marching on the side of the road. We had one woman running to catch up with us because she wanted to beat us to town. She wasn't even planning on walking to town until she saw us. I think she eventually caught transport.

Once we were in Chipata I bought us lunch and we drank ice cold cokes. What a great day!

My favorite time of day

2007-03-16T02:31:00.000-07:00

The sunsets this past week have been breath-taking. These are views from my house. I've never seen sky like this before. My family laughs at me when I get my camera out each night. They don't really understand why I find it so fasinating.

When it rains it pours

2007-03-16T01:50:00.000-07:00

I'm no longer talking about the rainy season as it seems that the rains have finally dissappeared. However this past Wednesday i awoke to what i thought would be a nice restful day visiting the area schools and clinic. Well I was in for a surprise.

I rolled out of bed at my usual hour around 7am and started my brazier to make coffee and jungle oats. I look forward to this everyday because its usually the time I'm alone and no one is bothering. I'm able to read a good book and just relax before the craziness of village life begins. However on this day my sister Madise ran to my house saying that Grace (my 4 yr old sister) was sick. I asked what was wrong and she said she's shaking and her eyes are rolled back in her head. What? Without even thinking I ran over to their house, without realizing I never put my bowl of jungle oats down and was still holding it as I ran into the house. Grace was on the floor with one of the Amai's holding her head with a spoon in her mouth keeping her from biting her tongue. She was having a really bad seizure. I started asking Fanny, Grace's mom some questions. Apparently the "fits" as they call them started at 5am in the morning and it was now 7:30am. That wasn't good. And apparently Grace has had this happen before about two other times. I don't have any sort of medical background and I really didn't know what to do, but all the women were looking at me to save this little girl. I sort of freaked for a moment and knew I needed to hold it together for the sake of Fanny. So I ran to my house and checked in the PC Medical book....nothing on seizures. Right. So since I don't have cell phone service, I had to run to the tarmak and to my dismay still couldn't get service. I was definitely starting to get extremely irritated by now. This was my little sister that I play with everyday and there was no way I was going to let anything happen to her. So I decided I was taking her to the hospital.

By the time I got back to the house she had stopped the seizures, however she was completely unresponsive. I told Fanny we needed to go to the hospital and she said because they live in the village that they needed to go to the clinic first. Fine, however I really wanted her to see a doctor and the clinics only have nurses. So I decided we'd take a cab the 5k to the clinic. Grace is about 30 to 40lbs and Fanny is a fairly small and petite woman, so I offered to carry Grace on my back till we got a ride. Well, a ride never came, so we just started walking. We ended up walking the entire 5k in about 80 degree heat. Let me say it was quite the walk. I was exhausted and drenched in sweat by the time we arrived, but Fanny was quite thankful for not having to carry Grace.

To my surprise there were about 20 people waiting and no nurse. Great! I sent a message to the PC doctor and asked what I should do. At this point Grace was just moaning and awake. We gave her some water and she threw up on three people. Oops! Two hours later we were able to see the nurse. Of course, the diagnosis....Malaria! Okay, I'm no doctor, but the girl didn't have malaria. She may be epileptic, but I know she didn't have malaria. I was furious. She gave her some medicine and sent us home. I felt really bad for her. That's the way medical care works here. I think we would have gotten more help at the hospital, but thats not the procedure for people that live in the village.

My doctor ended up calling me back and gave me some good advice, however I was told in the future I should not be getting involved with these situations. Are you kidding me? This is my family! I'm not going to sit by and watch people die here. I couldn't live with myself for doing absolutely nothing.

So we were able to take a cab back to the village and I showed Fanny how to sponge bath Grace to get her fever to go down and then I went home and just sat and stared out my door. About two hours later I hear Madise my other sister yelling outside. I went out there and asked her what all the commotion was about. She explained that this woman came to her and accused her of buying a stolen chicken and how her grandmother told the woman that she did it. This woman was apparently really to call the police to have Madise put in the Madzimoyo jail over night. Okay. So I explained that she should calm down and that I didn't think she was going to jail over a chicken. She didn't buy a stolen chicken and we could prove that. End of story.

It was after dark and I was preparing for bed when I got a knock at the door. It was my brother Phillimon. I invited him in and he sat and looked at me and said, "Ah, Julie...I just lost my job." What do you mean you lost your job? "Ah, I got fired." What? Okay. Phillimon seemed like it was no big deal but I knew deep down he was freaking out. This was his families only source of income and its the season where no one has money to begin with. We started chatting about things he could do to make money. I also encouraged him to start farming again. Apparently he used to be a good farmer, but stopped several years ago because of some problems. He explained that he didn't have money for seed, so I told him that if he does some work for me that he could make enough money to buy seed to start farming again. He seemed very encouraged by this and really its his only option at this point. For now, his brothers will help him out, but in a few weeks he's going to need money.

After he left I was completely drained. It had been an extremely long and taxing day. I just sat in my dark house in the chair for a while trying to come to terms with all the crazy things that happened. I was truly scared that I was going to lose Grace and thank god she's going to be okay. She's been playing the last couple of days but seems really unsteady when she's walking around. Her mouth droops a bit too now. I don't know, it was a really rough day. But hey, I knew everyone was counting on me and thats what kept me going.

So I'm back in town today to say goodbye to some of my fellow pcv's. We have about 13 new people here now. Its an understatement to say that the house is a bit overcrowded. Tonight is the big party so I will be releasing a bit of stress from the week. Next week I'll be painting my signs for the field day and teaching my farmers about sustainable farming techniques. So I'm back in action and healed from last weeks infection and the work continues to pour in.

I'm heading to southern Malawi for Easter with Christi. We are going to be hiking Mt. Mulanje. Its the tallest mountain in southern Africa. It will be great to wake up on a beautiful mountain Easter sunday. Not sure I'm quite ready physically for the climb, but I have faith. We will be moving pangono, pangono. (slowly, slowly). I can't wait!

Releasing Some Pressure

2007-03-06T02:12:00.000-08:00

Things have been going great in the village. I'm working on a big "Farmer's Field Day" with a fellow pcv that will take place at the end of the month. We will have a demonstration pond for about 500 rural farmers and teaching them a bit about fish farming. I've also taken on a side project of painting signs for the Department of Agriculture at Msekera. I thought I should put to use some of my talents and I'm happy that my services will save them a lot of money. However I have 12 signs to paint and 1 banner all before the end of March. And these are not small signs, about 3 meters by 1 meter. So lots to do in the next couple of weeks and I'll be biking there about 30km each day. I'm always thankful for the extra excercise.

However I find myself in Lusaka today after finding a rather large lump under my arm. Nothing to worry about, but they wanted me to come and get it checked out. It keeps getting bigger and more painful as the days go on so I thought it was time to see the doctor. Well I wasn't prepared to have an outpatient surgery of sorts, but I did. Lets just say without any anestetic, the small incision was quite painful. It hurts to type this blog entry right now. So I just had an abcess that my body couldn't fight and it needed to be drained. Imagine, me getting an infection.....unheard of ;) So I'm feeling much better now and I'm on some antibiotics for the next ten days. I'm hoping to get back to Chipata asap because I have a ton of work to do. I miss my village and my family. But for now I'm going to eat some great food, upload all my photos from the past two months and take in a good movie. I want to see Blood Diamond....heard its fantastic. Well thats it for now. I'll let everyone know how the big field day goes. Wish me luck!

The Chimwale Ceremony of the Ngoni Tribe

2007-03-01T01:33:00.000-08:00

Last week was the annual Ngoni festival called Chimwale. The Ngoni's, which is the tribe that I belong to gather every year to celebrate their culture and traditions. The day was filled with dancing, singing and eating. Several volunteers came to stay with me since I was just a stone's throw away from where the festivities took place. The photos are of the Ngoni warriors holding Nkoli's and their traditional dress of many types of animal skins.

The ceremony lasted for two days. On the second day the Paramount Chief Mpezeni kills a bull and drinks from its blood. I didn't attend this part of the ceremony since there is an unbelievable amount of people and things can get out of hand. I was extremely pleased just to watch all the dancing.

We met some amazing people at the ceremony including a Swedish man passing through while cycling the last 20 months from Norway to Cape Town. He spent the night in my village and had the most amazing stories photos from his travels across Turkey, Egypt, the Sudan and just everywhere he has gone. He has about 5 more months to go before he reaches Cape Town. Talk about an adventure, but I felt so lucky to meet such an interesting person. He hopes to write a book about his journey.

While we were at the ceremony, we started chatting with the Ngoni warriors and I decided to buy a spear from one of them. Its a genuine Ngoni spear and I love it. Its been the talk of my village ever since I brought it home. They keep saying, "Ah, Juliette, you are a true Ngoni now." Yes, yes I am.

We also saw the cutest warrior at the ceremony. The little boy pictured below. And to our astonishment, this kid sure does know how to dance. He was quite shy, but so cute.

It was quite an amazing experience because these ceremonies are not for tourist at all. They are only for their tribes to celebrate their culture. It was definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity to be able to see something like this. As always we got plenty of attention, however since I lived nearby they were very happy that we came. Didn't hurt that I was willing to try their traditional dances with an Nkoli. Its difficult and I'm sure I looked like a fool. But hey, only in Africa, right? They just laughed and laughed.

My New Village

2007-03-01T01:13:00.000-08:00

So I've been in my new village for about two weeks now and I just want to say how happy I am there. It is very different from my old village. Fisheni is home to about 200 households and over 1000 people. My headman is great and I've already had my community entry meeting and I've begun work with my fish farmers. They are very motivated here and I'm excited about all the potential this area may have. The only downside is that water is an issue in this community which could cause us some problems with the fish ponds. I'll cross that bridge when I need to.

The view above is walking towards my house. The village is right on the tarmak which is great. It only takes me about an hour to get to town as apposed to the three hour journey before and I'm actually 25km from Chipata. My family is wonderful. They've helped me so much in the past two weeks from building my drying rack to clearing my yard and fixing my latrine. My Ambuya makes me Mteteke (porridge with ground nuts) almost every day. She's a great cook. My families dog just had puppies so I'm hoping to adopt one. Its about time I have a puppy.

To the left is my house and my kids dancing around. I love this house. Its big, the roof doesn't leak and I don't have any mice!!!!

I've already met one of the three women's groups in the area and I'm going to be working with them soon. I'm also heading to the school, Chinghala next week to introduce myself and see if I can start teaching English there once a week. Many things planned. I'm starting over, but its definitely for the better. However I just ran into an old farmer of mine from Kapatamoyo as I was walking to the Internet Cafe today and I'm planning on going there the end of March to continue teaching about fish farming. He said many people are upset that I had to leave but its okay since I'll be able to continue some work there.

So thats whats going on in a nutshell. March 16th we'll be saying good-bye to five wonderful pcv's in my province. I'm sad to see them go home, but after two years of service they've all done a fabulous job here and I wish them all the best.

Livingstone Trip

2007-03-01T00:57:00.000-08:00

Victoria Falls

Sunset Cruise on the Zambezi River

Taking a Leap of Faith

2007-02-14T04:18:00.000-08:00

Is exactly what I did this past weekend. I spent the day in Livingstone after meeting a volunteer friend from Tanzania in Lusaka. We decided to conquer our fears and go gorge jumping, abseiling, rapp jumping and zip lining across the gorge near Victoria Falls. It was amazing and quite frightening. We spent the entire day risking our lives for many thrills I'll never forget. I have to say that the gorge swing was one of the more scarier things I've done. I think its more terrifying than skydiving. Basically you stand on the edge of the cliff in a harness attached to a long rope on the other end of the gorge. You hold the rope close to you chest, arms tucked in and take one long step off the edge of the cliff. Once you take that leap of faith you free fall for 3.5 seconds for about 54 meters until the rope catches and you swing back and forth across the gorge. It was fantastic. I have the best photos of David and I and I'll be posting them shortly. Since that wasn't enough action for David he decided to jump off the Victoria Falls bridge bungee jumping style. I had enough for one day so I just watched.

We also went and walked around the falls. This was a great time to see Victoria Falls, the water was so intense that just viewing them we got soaked. Not just soaked in a fine mist, I'm talking about a pounding rain storm. It was unbelievable. It was so beautiful. Definitely one of the seven wonders of the world.

Well I'm back in action in Chipata and will be moving villages this Friday. So in a sense I'll be taking another leap of faith....hoping my community will welcome me with open arms. Many changes taking place here but I feel very fortunate to be able to do all these things even though its so hard to say good-bye to many of my friends in my old village. I'm hoping to spend the first week getting to know people and checking out my new area and then dive right in to my work.

Its been great to have David come visit and experience a bit of Zambia. Its always fun to show people what its like to live here. It was a good break to get a way for a bit and we also spent some time with my friend Caitlyn. Fun times had by all.

Well please continue to stay in touch with me, I love to hear about whats going on at home and in Chicago. Take care.

Changes

2007-01-30T01:28:00.000-08:00

Certain things in life just don't work out sometimes. In my case I'll be making some significant changes by moving villages. As some of you may know, I've had some problems over the last five months with a stalker. After much consideration and conversations with Peace Corps, I've decided its best for me to move. My safety and security are my top priority and I was starting to feel that my safety was being compromised. I've been in limbo the last two weeks living in town at the PCVL house and trying to finlize this decision and making moving arrangements all the while working with DoF to come up with the best possible solution. I feel bad for leaving my family and friends in the village, but this was an issue that we could not resolve. So in the next couple of weeks, I'll be starting a new life in another village about 25k from Chipata. I'll still be working as a fish farmer extension agent, however I'll be working in a new catchment area. Development is difficult and I'm sad that Kapatamoyo won't have a chance with PC. Its too bad that one person can ruin so much for an entire area. However in the end its for the better for me and my service here in Zambia.

I feel I've started some good things the past five months in Kapatamoyo, so I can only hope that those projects will continue. I'll be working there from time to time, but will mostly be focusing on my new area. I've also met some new groups in town that I'll be working with. My transport will be much easier and I'll still have the option to cycle into town. Getting back on my bike will be a good thing. However I'm going to miss climbing over the mountain into Chipata. That hike was so beautiful.

Well I'm almost 8 months in and its definitely been a roller coaster. Time has gone so fast and I'm super excited about my father coming to visit in May. I can't wait to show him what I do. I really think he'll enjoy his time here. So if anyone else wants to come visit and experience rural Africa, please feel free. Its a once in a lifetime opportunity!!!

Even though I've been here for a while, I'm still amazed by things I see on a daily basis. For example, how hard these people work. I was coming from Chadiza about 80k south of Chipata and watching these men cycle to Chipata with 2 pigs on the back of their bicycles. Amazing...and they do this in one day, just to sell their pig for money. I see this all the time. They work so hard just to survive. On top of all that, its the rainy season. I'm not talking about a few showers here and there...i'm talking about a full down pour for hours if not days. I hate the rainy season. Nothing dries, cuts won't heal and it just puts you in a sour mood. Staying clean and mud free is out of the question, but you get used to it. Thats all you can do.

I'm trying to keep my head up and just keep smiling. Sometimes waiting for transport for 8 hrs and then having to spend the night in an unfamiliar place isn't always the worst thing even though it feels like it at the time. Thats exactly what happened to me yesterday, but it all worked out in the end and now I can just laugh about. Got to have a good sense of humor in the Peace Corps!!!

Hopefully this change will be a good thing and I'll keep everyone informed on how things are going in my new area! Tizoanana!

New Year, New Look

2007-01-08T09:03:00.000-08:00

Our new looks in 2007. We're the hottest chic rock band in Zambia.

This look was so last year!! Taken on New Years Eve in Arusha, Tanzania.

The Circle of Life

2007-01-07T07:44:00.000-08:00

So I just got back to Lusaka after the most fabulous vacation ever. After watching the sunrise on Mount Kilimanjaro while sipping Cappucino's in Moshi, the Parvin gals (Christi, Caitlin, Beth and myself) headed on to Arusha. Arusha lies against Mount Meru, another beautiful mountain (really volcano). Arusha is a happening town. And like I said, we never made any reservations or pre-planned anything. Upon arriving at the bus station after 2 hrs of Caitlin and I entertaining the entire bus with our lovely singing voices, instinct told us to drop in at the nice Arusha Hotel. From there we were met by Joshua who owns a safari company. We told him we wanted to see all of Africa's wild animals and he gave us an itinerary. Two days and one night on Safari to Manyara National Park and the Ngorongoro Crater. Couldn't have worked out better. We were givin the VIP treatment and he even dropped us off at the Masaai Camp where we spent the night. The next day our personal landcruiser picked us up and then it was 2hrs till we met with the first viewing of African wildlife...the monkeys. There were hundreds. Amazing. Long story short we saw the entire "cirle of life" on our two day safari. We've counted over 25 african animals. This isn't like viewing them in the zoo. They were right next to us and our landcrusier. The lions were maybe ten feet away. The zebras and giraffes were maybe 5 ft away at times. Words can't even begin to describe. We saw the hienna's hunting while the wildebeast sat about 200 yards away. The Ngorongoro Crater is something that all people should see. It was a volcano twice the size of Mount Kilimanjaro that collapsed over 2000 years ago. They literally drove us into the crater where all the animals have made their home. One of the most beautiful places on earth. The area is also inhabited by the Masaai tribe of Tanzania. They are a nomad tribe and quite beautiful in there bright red and purple drapings with amazing beaded jewelry worn all over. It was right out of National Geographic. The top of our Landcrusier lifted up so we were able to have an interesting perspective on everything we saw. I didn't want it to end. On our way out of the Crater we watched 4 lion cubs play with eachother for about 30 minutes while their mothers carefully watched us from afar. Its also started raining which is not good for getting out of the Crater on the steep muddy road. We had a bit of a problem....lost our 4 wheel drive on a very steep part, started sliding towards the edge of the cliff....not good, but in the end we made it out in one piece.

Then for New Years it was back to Masaai Camp for a night of Mexican food and hip hop music! We danced all night long. Its a New Years I'll never forget. Met some of the coolest people....other American volunteers and people from all over the world. We spent the next day on a bus from Arusha to Dar. Good thing since we only got about three hours of sleep. Sadly our trip was coming to an end. We spent our last day in Dar wading in the Indian Ocean while eating the best tasting ice cream. Upon good judgement we took the train back from Dar to Lusaka...however had a bit of a mishap. Seems that Tanzanian immigration skipped our train car and didn't stamp our passports. Well no big deal, but Zambian immigration wanted us to get off the train in Kasama and head back to Tanzania. Well that wasn't going to happen since we spent all of our money. So that's why I'm back in Lusaka once more after our Provincial meetings this past weekend. Tomorrow I head to the Tanzanian Embassy begging for a stamp in my visa so I won't be illegal no more. Wish me luck!

But all in all I must thank Christi, Caitlin and Beth for being the best traveling companions I've ever had. I've never laughed so much or had so much fun doing silly things. We all got along so well and we all are dancin fools. I LOVE it! Thank you girls....you're the best!!!!

Here's to the New Year

2006-12-26T21:49:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone back in the states. Even though it was rough being away from my family for the first time during the holidays, I'm having a blast celebrating the holidays in Tanzania. We left Zambia on Friday December 22nd and took the Tazara Railway all the way to Dar Es Salaam which lies on the coast of Tanzania. The train took 49 hours, but we kept ourselves busy playing games, sleeping, eating, running around the train etc. It was quite the trip. Tanzania is absolutely beautiful. The mountains are gorgeous. So we spent Christmas Eve and Day in Dar. Christmas Eve we ate at an amazing Indian/Chinese Restaurant and had the most fabulous dessert and champange at a really nice hotel. Christmas day we went to the ocean. We shopped, I actually had a turkey club sandwich for the first time here (my favorite) and drank by the ocean. It was so perfect. Then for dinner we ate a 5 star meal at the Hotel Africa....steak, mashed potatoes, rum cake...we were in heaven. We left Dar early yesterday for Moshi. It took us about 8 hrs on the crappiest bus I've ever been on. Public transport will test your patience like nothing else. So we arrived in Moshi around 14:00 exhausted and hungry. We found a cute cafe and met some Peace Corps Tanzania girls. We are staying in the Kilimanjaro Backpackers Hostel...super cute and actually nice. But this morning takes the cake. At about 6:30 we head the hotel next door to the roof top. The view was amazing. There, right in front of us was Kilimanjaro. I've wanted to be here since I was in high school. Finally a perfectly clear view of an absolutely amazing mountain. It was breath taking. The really red sun was just rising and words can't describe the feeling you get looking up at this massive mountain. Amazing. I'm still in awe of it. So we ate breakfast and I'm currently at this really cute coffee shop (they actually have muffins and bagels here...which is unheard of). Tomorrow we head to Arusha and then on to the Ngorogoro crater. The plan is to spend New Years in Arusha hopefully getting to meet some Maasai (warrior tribe in Tanzania). Then its back to Dar...taking a dip in the Indian Ocean and then back on the train for about two days. This vacation is exactly what we all needed.

I hope everyone at home is having a great holiday. Take care and you'll hear from me again sometime in January! Happy New Year! Oh and I'm going to try and post pictures from the last three months early in January. Tizaonana! Mwende Bwino.

A Typical Day in the Village

2006-12-12T00:48:00.000-08:00

So many of you are probably wondering..."what's it really like to live in the bush, in rural Zambia." Well let me tell you what its like for me on a typical day. This will change of course, but the last three months went something like this:

6:00 I'm awoken by Amai Phiri "Odi? Ah Juliet, are you still sleeping?" (she's shouting through my window) Yes Amai Phiri I'm still sleeping. "Mauka Bwanji!" Nauka bwino zikomo. Amai Phiri, nagona. "Are you okay, are you sick?" No Amai Phiri, I'm fine. Americans like to sleep late and its only zero six. "Chabwino, I will see you." Okay Amai Phiri, zikomo. (then I roll over and fall back to sleep)

7:00 My alarm goes off and I untuck my mosquito net that has kept me safe from all the critters in the night. I open my door and am greeted by all people passing by. I begin to sweep, because it gets extremely dirty from my thatched grass roof. After thats complete I begin to prepare breakfast which always consist of Jungle Oats (like Quaker Oats) with powdered milk and sugar and of course coffee (which I can't live without). I usually take this quiet time to relax and read a Newsweek or the current book I'm reading. Also I decide how much water I'll need for the day and go to the bore hole and fetch about 40 liters of water. I can only really carry about 20 liters at a time so I have to make multiple trips but the children usually help me out by carrying it on their heads ;)

9:00 I decide its time to venture out and check whats going on in the village. Usually I go to my neighbors. Also if I have a meeting with a farmer or women's group then I'll prepare for that. Sometimes I'll go to the school, but lately I've been chasing down the people that need to finish things on my house. This will take up the rest of the morning.

12:30 I'm usually feeling hungry so I'll grab my usual lunch which consist of several spoonfuls of peanut butter (I have no bread in my area) and 2-3 mangoes. They are so delicious! Sometimes I'll sweep again depending on how windy it is.

13:30 I'll prepare for any afternoon meetings and the journey if I need to bike. If I don't have anything scheduled I'll go and chat with my friends or play with the children and explore Kapatamoyo.

16:00 Help the guys fix things around my house like the kitchen and fence. I'll play with all the little children. I love teaching them American games like Hide and go seek etc.

16:30 I usually decide its time to bathe. However some days it just doesn't happen. Depending on the weather I may use cold water straight from the bore hole or I'll heat it on my brazier. This is a pain however so I usually just use the cold water like all the villagers.

17:00 I'll start preparing dinner which will consist of one of two things. Soya pieces with rice, tomatos and onions, or scrambled eggs with tomato and onions. I love my options here. Sometimes if I'm feeling a bit crazy I'll even make pancakes. Yum!

18:30 Light some candles and prepare for the night. Sometimes I'll sweep again if needed. What I mean by preparing for the night is, I'll visit the latrine one last time then I'll lock myself in the hut and apply plastic bags under my door and on the side to keep any critters out like mice or snakes. However I still have mice, because they can climb the walls :( I'll relax a bit and maybe read some more or write in my journal.

19:30 My guards arrive. I'll chat with them a bit and then return to the house and "prepare the door" again. They are only guarding my house till end of December...then I'm on my own again :( This is usually my favorite time of the day. I begin my "Jerrycan workout." I'll take my 10 liter jugs and do a complete weightlifting workout. It works quite great because I can adjust the weight by adding or pouring out water. I turn my American music on (which the guards love) and go to work. I'll even sing and dance if I'm in the mood.

20:30 Its time to go to bed. I grab what I need for the night, my alarm clock, IPOD, book, nalgene, tissues and my headlamp. Then I meticulously tuck in the mosquito net making sure nothing is left undone. I'll read about 30 pages in my book and then listen to my IPOD till I fall asleep. This is also the time I contemplate life and how its so strange. Lots of time to think.

23:00 I always wake up, rollover and fall back to sleep.

1:00 I always wake up at this time as well.

4:30 My guards shout my name and tell me they are "knocking off" for the night. I say thanks and roll over and fall back to sleep.

6:00 I'll start all over again.

Well it sounds pretty routine, but each day brings new adventures and challenges. Something exciting is always happening in the village. I love spending time with the women and children, dancing, pounding maize to make millie meal for nshima or pounding ground nuts to make peanut butter. There's plenty of things to do. I also enjoy hiking the mountains that surround my village.

Giving Thanks

2006-12-02T01:28:00.001-08:00

Its a week after Thanksgiving and I have much to be thankful for. Two weeks ago we had our IST (in-service training) in Lusaka. We finally got to see all of our PC friends that we haven't seen since August. It was an amazing week. We had training sessions all day long and then had plenty of time to catch up at night. I've never danced so much in my life. Good times had by all.

We learned about a program called SPA (Small Project Assistance program). We can apply for small grants through the PC to help fund workshops and trainings for our community and farmers etc. I hoping to send some of my farmers to a week long workshop on fish farming next year. Its a great program. Also there is a partnership program where you can donate money to a specific project of mine. If you're interested, please let me know and I can explain it in more detail.

After IST we headed back to Chipata for Thanksgiving. It was fantastic. Eastern province has some people that can cook. We had Turducken...turkey, duck and chicken all wrapped together. Yum! Along with that we had all the usual fixens....sweet potatoes, stuffing, pumpkin pie etc. We all went around the table and said what we were thankful for. I have to say I was sad to spend Thanksgiving away from my family, however I'm truly thankful for the people here in Peace Corps. The last few weeks have been a turning point in my service. I've solidified several friendships that I know will last a lifetime. The girls of Eastern province are my rocks. I love them and cherish the times we get to spend together. Its helps making the days in the village go by quickly. They keep me sane! Its amazing...never could I have imagined meeting such wonderful people here.

After Thanksgiving, it was back to the village. Going through another time warp. Chipata to Lusaka to the village...they couldn't be more different. It really messes with your head sometimes. So I was really happy to see my family in the village again. I was excited to come back to a kitchen that was almost complete and a fence in the working. It was also a very informative week. I spent a great deal of time talking with the Amai's. They love teaching me about Zambian culture. As most of you know, I've had a lot of crazy things happening in my village. I finally got the history of my area and everything is starting to make sense now. Kapatamoyo means "to hate life" and they are very much into witchcraft and juju. Many women use "love potions" to try and keep their husbands from cheating. Which is a big problem here. On Thursday I met with a group here in Chipata to try and get them to come to my village and teach them about women's rights etc. There are a few individual cases that I'm dealing with now. I feel very strongly about women's rights so I'm hoping I can help them in some way. I won't be doing it myself, but hopefully I'll be pointing them in the right direction.

Then I was back to town. Yesterday was World AIDs Day for those that didn't know. We helped with a bike race and a basketball tournament. At the tournament, Sarah, Christi, Rachel and I held an HIV/AIDs session for the kids. It was crazy because it dealt with popping balloons and anwering questions about HIV. Fun times had by all. It felt great to be apart of such a big day. There was a marching band and dances. Rachel and I got to hold the finish line at the bike race. We were the only muzungu's in the stadium of several hundred Zambians.

Tomorrow its back to the village to get some work done and get some rest. December 5th marks my 6th month anniversary in Zambia. Time sure does fly. Hope all is well at home and I hope to update again right before leaving for Christmas vacation in Tanzania. Christmas Eve will be spent sitting on a white sand beach on the Indian ocean sipping some of Africa's finest wine. Can'
t get much better than that. I love Peace Corps and couldn't be more thankful for this experience!

Top 10 Things I've Learned in Zambia....and then some

2006-11-30T02:43:00.000-08:00

10. Being Fat is a good thing (and I'm working on that ;)
9. Its okay to be dirty - bathing is optional
8. Never show anything above your knees. Ever. However going topless is okay
7. Living in a mud hut will give you new appreciation for nature and all god's creatures
6. Living with few material items is very freeing...however having a cell phone is priceless
5. Having a simple conversation in Nyanja can cause enough frustration to ruin your entire day.
4.When you absolutely believe you can't do something or can't handle it, you can. Really there's no other option
3. Going to the Peace Corp Provincial House magically transports you back to America.
2. Time doesn't matter. No one keeps it here.
1. Our relationships in life will be the most important things we have. Our relationships with family, friends, lovers, co-workers and even strangers young and old. Nothing matters more than that, so take care of them...cherish them, even if they last for a moment.

And some more fun facts:

- Not having a mirror increases your self-esteem. No one cares what you look like here.
- When someone says no, they probably mean yes.
- Hitchhiking is a great way to network.
- Never believe people actually understand what you are saying. Avoid yes and no questions.
- Being constantly watched and stared at is normal.
- Candles are a necessity - no longer just for setting the mood.
- Being poor isn't the problem, being uneducated is.
- Zambians can drink all white people under the table.
- Everyone knows how to dance - everyone.
- Everyone wants to go to America.
- Meflaquin makes you stupid. (Our anti-malaria prophalaxis)
- Having male visitors in your house will have everyone talking
- PC is an emotional rollercoaster 24/7
- You are considered rude if you don't greet everyone.

And the most important thing I've learned...
NEVER go anywhere without water and a roll of toilet paper. They are essential to your survival in Africa.

Where there is no Doctor

2006-10-26T01:50:00.000-07:00

So I've just got back from Lusaka. I unexpectedly had to go last Friday because I developed a strange rash and abscess on my head causeing swollem lymph nodes. I have to hand it to PC though, they don't take any chances. I called them from my village and said they wanted me to head to Lusaka right away. Well this was on Thursday afternoon at 1pm. I had to hurry and pack up and talk with people in my village about meetings I would need to cancel. They were very concerned. Most of them have never been to Lusaka. Its about an 8 hr drive or so it should have been. I walked an hour to my turn-off in over 100 degree heat and just made it to the PC house before dark. I was exhausted.

I swear, since I went to the Ziwanda ceremony, I've had nothing but bad luck! So I get to the bus station at 5:30am on Friday. All is well until around 1pm, just a couple hours outside of Lusaka when we're driving in the mountains and going fairly fast around a corner and down a hill.....when there's a stopped semi-truck in the middle of the road and an on-coming vehicle. So, our bus (which is one of the large tour buses)... vears off the road and then theres a loud pop and lots of air gushing out. The scary part is....theres a drop-off about 15ft from the road and I'm in a top-heavy tour bus....one of the very large buses. So they get us off the bus....its only over 100 degrees outside and say they finally fix it. We get back on and when they start the bus it just makes a really awful sound. Then someone says its the brakes. Apparently the brake pipe burst so the brakes were locked-up. Well this wasn't a good sign. Especially being in the mountains. I feared that I was the only person with water and everyone started getting restless. I began sms with Jeff our PCVL. Then a Zambian man stated that all we needed to do was find a large rock to break apart the brakes. Well thats great and all, but how were the brakes going to work again. I knew I needed to get out of there. My only option was hitch-hiking. Unlike the states, its fairly safe here. I was chatting with some business men from Lusaka when a truck came along. We ran into the road to make him stop. When we asked for a ride he refused saying he was still working. But I started giving him a really pitiful look and almost started crying saying I just needed to get to Lusaka. Finally he agreed. We hopped in and were off. In the truck we had 2 Tongans, 1 Bemba and a Muzungu. However we had to make 5 business stops along the way. We went to three schools and even met with some Celtel business men about cellular service in the area. They thought I was apart of this group. It was quite funny. So long story short 12hrs after I left Chipata I arrived in Lusaka. It was quite the day.

I met with the PCMO on Saturday morning and got some good medication and was told that I'd be just fine. So I stayed in Lusaka till Tuesday and then came back to Chipata in a fairly uneventful trip....8 hrs this time. Unexpectedly Zach from Central showed up at my door Sunday night. It was a pleasant surprise. I hung out with him and Andrew on Monday all day which was a blast. Those guys are hilarious. So they made my stay just a bit better.

Well I'm about to head back to the village today. I feel like I've been gone forever since I had a workshop the week before last. Next week we have a Youth Career week workshop and then a week after that I'm heading back to Lusaka for In-service training. I'm hoping to go to Tanzania for the holidays with Christi. We want to head up to Arusha and Moshi where Kilimanjaro is. I won't be climbing it this year, but maybe after my service. Its on my life-time to do list. Then I think we are going to head to the Serengeti and see some wild animals. Should be a good time. However we're going to keep a flexible schedule and see what happens.

Please continue to stay in touch with me. Its been great to hear from so many people and recieve some great packages. THANK YOU!!!! Keep in touch!

Peace Corps: P is for Patience - C is for Challenging

2006-10-10T02:29:00.000-07:00

So I'm back in civilization for at least a few days. We are having a counterpart meeting in Chipata this week, meeting with our Department of Fisheries counterparts to discuss our programs and how we are going to accomplish our projects. Its good to see my PCV friends again. Its so strange, but when you reach the Peace Corps house it feels so good to see other white people who speak your own language. Its like this mini America stuck in the middle of Africa!

Don't get me wrong, I love village life, but its really challenging. I'm still having problems with getting my roof completed, a kitchen made, a fence to keep out the man who comes and stalks me every other night at 3am etc. Thats a long story. I believe he means no harm, but its getting old. Being white and a woman in my village is tough sometimes. The men are convinced that I should be marrying them. However I've made some really good friends. This past week was a little bit of an eye opener though...I never realized that poligomy was such a problem in my area. Its definitely a tribal thing. I feel bad for the women, because they have no say in it whatsoever. Since almost all the women rely on there husbands for financial support they can't leave them because they have 5 to 10 children to take care of. It makes me really sad and upset sometimes.

I also attended one of the craziest ceremonies I've ever seen this past week. Its called Ziwanda - where these people, apparently "possessed" by evil spirts dance and sing and do very bizarre things. Its a little graphic for this blog. If you want to know details I'll email them to you. However I was really skeptical before watching the ceremony and I was really freaked out afterwards. My family didn't want me to attend for fear of the evil spirits overtaking my body. I assured them that those spirits were afraid of white people.

I've already started many projects. I've helped a women's group harvest two fish ponds, I've started a youth girls group to help give them empowerment and self confidence and teaching them the importance of staying in school and getting their education. Its going to be a neat group. Next week I'm meeting someone to start a boys youth group as well. I've also been evaluating several potential fish farmers and I'll be starting a women's group with the Chief's wife at some point. So even though I have a lot of time at night to be alone and think too much about life, I'm fairly busy and active during the day. I even have started getting up early every morning to run to the river in back.....its only about 4k but its a start, right?

The day to day things are getting easier, however cooking is still a challenge....but I've mastered making pancakes and "jungle oats" about twenty different ways. With limited food and resources you can get quite creative with your cooking. Its fun and passes the time.

So i found out i'm about 7k from a lodge that has a swimming pool and I met up with Jeff, Christi and Eric for a swim on Sunday. It was great. That morning I was standing at a ceremony watching people possessed with spirits and two hours later I'm swimming at a pool and eating really good food. Peace Corps is so strange like that. Christi came back to the village with me and spent the night which was really nice. I think everyone in the village was really confused seeing another white person. But we got free transport into town yesterday with a man that was bringing his maize to town to sell. It took about 1.5 hrs to walk to the tarmak in the sweltering heat (over 100 degrees) and then we sat on the side of the road until someone came by. Thats how we travel in PC....its fairly safe and you just hope for the best. I've ridden my bike to town but its fairly taxing and I had too much stuff to bring this time.

Overall this experience continues to be challenging, humbling, frustrating and mostly just really cool! I have inservice training in Lusake in November just before Thanksgiving, so I will get to see all my friends from all over Zambia. I'm really excited about that. Well I'm heading back to the PC house to watch a few movies, make some delicious food and just relax for the rest of the day. Rough, I know. Its funny how my friends at home are just about to get up and go to their jobs. Hmmmm....I don't miss that one bit. Africa's not so bad after all. I do miss everyone at home though.

Life in a Mud Hut

2006-09-14T00:50:00.000-07:00

So this is Africa....my first thoughts after being dropped off at my site. As I'm standing there the Induna (second in command to the headman of my village) informed me that two girls would be spending the first four nights in my hut with me for security. I was a little alarmed. "Did I really need security. So the first night went fairly well, with many lost in translation moments. The two young girls and I had a conversation about whether the brazier (thing I cook on) should be left outside or inside. Never did understand what they were saying. Lots of gesturing going on. The next morning I woke up to lots of commotion. I walked out of my hut and saw about 10 dogs running towards my yard along with about 20 men and boys running after them and screaming and throwing rocks trying to stone one of the dogs to death. I was told one of the dogs was rabbid. GREAT! Nice way to start off the morning.

Kapata Moyo is actually an area....containing 79 villages. I was a little taken aback by this. Its a huge area. My village is Kazembe which happens to be in the dead center of everything....not to mention that they built my hut right in the middle of everything. I'm constantly feeling like a Disneyland character on display. I have about 50 people stop by everyday...they greet me...sit down and just stare. This goes on for about twenty uncomfortable minutes while they are checking out everything that I brought with me. I felt silly having so much stuff when they have so little.

Living in a rural village I expected to get a lot of attention...but not as much as I have had. People are traveling some distance to come meet the Mizingu (white person). And they all want to touch me...like i'm an alien....some have never seen a white person and some children just run and scream when they see me coming. However everyone loves that I can speak a little of their lanuage. They are constantly laughing at me though. I know my Chinynja is very broken and it will take some time to learn. However my family or families that take care of me are great. My "mom" actually speaks great english which has made the transition a little smoother. She's also tutoring me.

The second day at site I was invited to a "coming of age" celebration...when two girls started their first menstrual cycles. Its a big deal and several days of celebrations take place...including a full night of drumming and dancing. It was really cool. I was invited to a wedding the next day. By the first Tuesday I was invited to meet the Chief of Kapata Moyo. This was really exciting. When you greet the Chief you have to get down on your knees and clap and say "yojira" which means "god" I think. Its a respect thing. Also i was not to look directly at him when speaking. He said that he was very happy that I was here and now that I met him, I was free to go about the village. I thought, was I not free earlier...that would explain why I got twenty questions everytime I walked out of my hut. On our way to visit the Chief in his village it sounded as though a truck was driving up the road....I turned back and realized that about 30 cattle were charging right towards us in full stampede. I froze and started screaming as they blew past. Well that was close I thought....only in Africa. Walking through the forrest and over the rivers and up the mountain I really felt like I was on the set of "Lord of the Rings" in a strange land with strange people speaking a strange language. It was very surreal.

The following thursday night was probably one of the scarier moments in my life. Its windy season and a storm blew in with about 60 - 80 mph winds. I'm not kidding I thought I was going to be buried alive in my hut. I was being pelted with so much dirt that I decided to set up my tent in my hut....I even contiplated wearing my bike helmet at one point. It was so bad and didn't let up for the next 8 hrs. My roof has to be redone, but needless to say I made it through okay....however I've never prayed so much in my life...and being alone made it all the worse.

So cooking, trying to keep inches of dirt off my things and trying to bathe take up most of my day. Living to just survive is hard work....I've got to hand it to these people...they work so hard...its unbelievable. I've had to ask for some assistance....drawing water is a whole challenge in of itself. But after two weeks I'm starting to settle in.

There's been many football and netball tournaments where about 400 people show up. The fields are right behind my house...so of course they all want to see me. I made the mistake of talking to my parents on my cell phone outside...I had about 20 children wrapped around me for the entire hour conversation. It was a little overwhelming. I've only had about 15 marriage proposals. They don't understand why I'm not married. However when asked my age, a boy looked at his friend and said, "oh, shes too old any." Right! So I'm constantly explaining that I'm here for work only...not to get married. I feel like making a tshirt so I can stop explaining myself.

Its really great, I've met several potential counterparts that I'll be working with. I've met with the Headmaster at the local school and they want six fish ponds ASAP...so I know i'll be busy, but we are to take the first three months to settle in and integrate in the community and strengthen our language skills, however everyone is so eager to start now.

I'm currently in Chipata for our first Provincial meetings. Its been great to see all my fellow volunteer friends again. Its hard being the white person for miles....and I don't have a close PCV's. My site is kind of out of the way. However I decided to climb the mountain that takes you into Chipata. Boy, that was hard...super steep and taxing. Once you get on top though you can see into Malawi and my entire area on oneside and beautiful Chipata on the otherside. Its breathtaking. If I hike that once a week I should be in great shape.

So each day brings something new...I'm reading a lot of books to occupy my time in the late hours of the evening....definitely gets lonely at night. I'm still trying to live minute to minute. One minutes things are great and I've met some wonderful people, and the next minute I accidentally set a fire and almost burn down my families home. Yes....this is the Peace Corp. Always expecting the unexpected. This experiece will definitely be the hardest thing I'll ever do.

I've received my Nyanja name....Chiko....short for Chikonda meaning LOVE. How sweet is that. Well back to the house I go. Hopefully it won't take me two months to post again.

Its official, I'm a volunteer

2006-09-14T00:41:00.000-07:00

So its been a little while since I've posted. Life has been very hectic. So several long stories short I was sworn in as a volunteer on Monday August 14th. It was really neat. Several people gave speeches in the various languages and we had to swear in and make our committment of two years of service. Our Country director gave a wonderful and touching speech.

I passed my LPI (language profiency interview) at the Intermediate Mid range...which means I can hold a very simple conversation in Chinyanja. Bantu languages are cool. The week prior to posting was a little insane. Everyone was at the PCVL house for about a week. Definitely felt like being back in college again. However Eastern province is great. Its so beautiful here and the area is surrounded by mountains or large hills.

So I got posted to my site, Kapata Moyo on Friday August 25th. That was definitely a turning point in my life. Everything has changed. Training was so easy compared to the last couple of weeks. I fought back tears as the Peace Corps truck rolled out of my site leaving me and my belongings outside my mudhut while about 50 strangers stood staring at me and speaking in a language I did not understand. Posting to be continued in the next entry above.

ahhhh yes...Back from the Bush

2006-07-30T03:16:00.000-07:00

So...Christi, Rachel, Dave and I just got back from our second site visit. Can I say I've had the best two weeks ever! Central province is so cool and so beautiful. Zach (current PCV) ROCKS! He whipped us into shape by having us mountain bike 24/7. We climbed a small mountain...with 360 degree views of Central province. I got a little scared, but with the help of my fellow PCT's, I mustered up the courage to complete the climb. We each paired up and stayed with host families. Christi and I stayed together with a family that lived in the middle of no where! We had to bike 40 minutes each way. We mastered Circ De Soleil...bathing...long story. Zach had so many cool things planned for us. Many visits with farmers, staking ponds and even dancing with the school children. Oh and I got singled out to dance with the MC in front of everyone. It was a little awkward but fun since Zambian dancing is quite different from our type of dancing in America. Lets say its a bit more provocative. Then last Saturday night Zach's family held a village party...complete with Rooster, Wild Boar and lots of tea wine. It was fantastic...and again more dancing. We spent many nights around a bonfire and we all got along surprisingly well. Well the food situation got bit hairy at times, but we made it through. It was great because it really confirmed the fact that I want to be here and that I love it here.

Last Sunday we didn't have much to do, so Rachel, Jen and I decided to walk to the boma (Serenje). Zach warned us that is was far, but hey...how far could it really be. Well long story short it took 3.5 hrs to get there in the sweltering heat....we ate like we've never had food before and then caught a super sketchy ride (from Congolese men) back to the turn-off and enjoyed another three hour walk. Needless to say we got back in the dark...limping from blisters on our feet, Rachel bleeding and Jen vomiting. Ahhhh yes...good times. It was quite the way to spend a relaxing Sunday. Then we headed back to the PCVL house for another great night with the current PCV's in Central and a little cricket. These guys know how to cook! Friday night was spent at this super cute lodge in Mikushi...where I got my first HOT shower in two months. I can't even beging to tell you how amazing it was....oh and the steak dinner with real mashed potatoes...pure heaven. Its all about the small pleasures here in Zambia.

Transport back was super easy....we hiked over the mountain...was on the road for about 5 minutes when a minibus picked us up and drove us to Kapiri...where we had lunch and happened to catch the big bus to Kitwe. Couldn't have been easier. Tomorrow its back to the grind with two more weeks of training. I'm looking forward to seeing my host family...I miss them.

Trying to Ration the Passion

2006-07-15T04:44:00.000-07:00

but its so hard with the few luxuries we do get. I buy a chocolate bar in Kitwe and its gone before we get back to Mwekera. Trying to ration the passion with the Kwacha is not easy either. We are getting 8,500 kwach a day (about $2 USD).

Today's "transport" into Kitwe was quite an adventure. Christi, myself, Uncle Kit and Jerms were scared for our lives and laughing all at the same time. The Zambus was all over the place and honking non-stop at who knows what. Anyone that wants a ride at anytime will get picked up no matter what...even if you about flip the minibus while pulling off the side of the road.

So I got my site assignment for the next two years. I'll be going to Kapata Moyo, about 10k from Chipata in Eastern Province. I'm so stoked. I get to hike a 1000 meter "hill" to get into my provincal capital and to the PCVL house.

We have a great group going to Eastern. Tomorrow the Nyanja's head to Central Province to Serenje for our second site visit for the next two weeks with four of our bemba friends. Then its back to the ranch for the final two weeks of training. Time fly's when you don't ever have to worry about keeping track of it. We've only been in country for about five weeks and I feel like I've known some of my fellow PCT's forever. We just took our second language exam. I don't think I did quite as well as the first time, buy hey, I'm learning....I think. Nyanja is actually a really cool language despite what some of Bemba's might say.

We continue to learn a lot about Zambian culture which is so different from our own in America. I find living in another culture so fascinating. My brothers and sisters in my homestay are so cute and great. I really do adore them. Its hard to believe that I'll be done with training in about one months time. Scary! I'll be posting some photos once we get placed at site. I'm trying to ration the passion with my internet time. See you in three weeks! Wish me luck getting back by transport, hitch-hiking or all the above in two weeks!

Makin my Crib

2006-07-08T06:28:00.000-07:00

So its the Saturday after the 4th of July. We had a great time celebrating Merica's independence in Zambia. It was filled with a Cultural day of eating catepillars (which taste like you'd think) and impala which was absolutely fantastic...some vball action along with a huge bonfire at the Miombo club. Training is going good, I've gotten sick a few times, but hey, thats part of the experience. Last Saturday night we all went to the Disco which was just like being back in Chicago at a club. Good times, lots of dancing, singing, etc. Sunday a bunch of us spent the day at Mwekera falls. Its a really beautiful place about a 45 minute walk through the woods from the training center. I walked back with one of my fellow Nyanja friends, Dave....it was so amazing...the sun was setting over the trees, so peaceful and nice. This week was fun with the 4th and Thursday's are "lets learn about all the horrible diseases we can catch while in Zambia" day. This week's topics included Rabies and Schisto! Fun stuff. I'm fairly certain I'll be catching something while here in my two years. Friday we finally got to jump in our ponds and build our "Cribs". Compost cribs that is. Luckily my pond is not infested with leaches like some of my fellow trainees. However I got to slog around in some chicken shit, goat shit, cow shit etc that help create a "bloom" in my pond. It smelled great and so did I when it was over. Tonights back to Mwekera for some weekend fun. Things are going good and we get our site assignments next week. Then we'll be sent out into the bush for two weeks on another site visit. I'll be visiting Zach in Central province. Oh another random comment: my rat situation in my bedroom has been taken care of...the rat and I had a little chat and I won. He won't be coming back anytime soon. I can't wait to go to Eastern province but I don't want to say good-bye to some of my fellow trainees....we are having quite the blast...especially Christi, myself and Uncle Kit. Nothing really else to report...I should have one more post before we head out into the bush once again. Take care and I miss you all at home and in Chi-town.

Doing it for Merica

2006-07-01T05:28:00.000-07:00

Happy early 4th of July! Okay, sorry I haven't had a chance update this since I've left. Wow, it will be one month this Tueday...crazy, time flies. Well I need to start by saying that Zambia rocks. PC is going really well. We had some great adventures traveling to Africa. The flight was ridiculously long. We had some good food and drink though. We lost two people enroute to Zambia, one in JFK, New York and one in Jo-burg. Long story, but they made it and everyone is together again. Once we arrived in Lusaka, Zambia we spent two nights in Eureka campground where wildlife roamed all around. Zebras, giraffes, water buffalo. It was really cool. I also took my last real shower there...it was a sad moment. Not really. From Eureka they sent us straight out into the bush for four days. That was quite a trip. We stayed with John (current PCV) in Northwestern province. He showed us a great time, we even got to try the goat they killed for our first Zambian meal. We also got to help harvest our first fish pond...by jumping in the mud and grabbing the fish with our hands. Haven't tried that one before. Then they moved us to our training site in Mwekera just outside of Kitwe in the Copperbelt Province. So I'll be apart of the Nyanja tribe. I'll be stationed in Eastern Province close to Chipata. My language is coming along nicely, I think. Muli Bwanji to all my friends in Chi-town and Ohio! Tech training is cool. We got to dig our first pond yesterday. It was a really muddy time, but fun. Overall I love it here. Zambia is beautiful and the people are really great. My host family is great. I even have a 23 year old sister. There are nine of us in my home. We have a Nyanja dance party almost every night. I also feel like a celebrity here, last night on my way home, I had about 8 kids following me screaming, Ba Julie, Muli Bwanji!!! I have no idea how they all know me. They are so cute. Oh and back to the bathing situation...I'm lovin my splash baths by candle light in the latrine every night. Sounds crazy, but its quite normal now...I wouldn't have said that a month ago. Well I just finished my third week of training. In two weeks we go on our second site visit out in the bush for two weeks. I'm finally adjusting to the 24hr clock, kilometers, and kwacha (Zambia currency). Tonight we're heading to the disco in Kitwe with all our trainers, Club Exodus II...it should be a great time. Well thanks to everyone for all their emails, write letters, please! Hopefully I'll be updating this again shortly. Tidzianana!

Saying Good-bye

2006-06-02T17:49:00.000-07:00

Well its my last weekend in the states. I'm getting really excited. Leaving Chicago and saying good-bye to everyone that I love there was really hard. I miss them so much. I had a great farewell party...it was a lot of fun! I have to thank Jill, Eric and Kristina again for letting me couch hop at their places for three weeks. I love you guys, you're the best! I also want to thank Robin for driving 8 hrs to bring me home...you are so sweet!

Being in the Fort for the last two weeks has been a good transition. Its been great hanging out with my family and seeing my relatives and friends from high school. I actually had a local paper hear about me leaving and they came and interviewed me on Wednesday. Too bad I'll be gone before I see the story in the paper.

These next two days are going to harder than I imagined. I've never had to say a real good-bye to my family before. I'm having the craziest dreams at night and not sleeping too well. And then there's the packing thing...its not going so well yet. I'm very torn on what to bring and what not to bring. I'm sure my bags will be too big and over the weight limit. Oh well. Tomorrow everything has to get done...because I'm leaving early Sunday to head to Columbus for my nephew Shrey's baptism. Then I leave early Monday morning out of Columbus to Philadephia for staging. Wish me luck!!

Almost Time

2006-05-11T10:25:00.000-07:00

Its the day before my going away party and I'm super excited yet a little sad to have to say good-bye to all my friends here in Chicago. Next Wednesday is my last day at work and then its home to Ohio for about 2 weeks until I fly off to Africa. CRAZY!!! I can't believe its happening so fast. Seems just like yesterday that I started the application process for the Peace Corps. I'm really excited about meeting everyone in Philly and getting this next phase of my life started.