Mwashibukeni bonse! (Good morning everyone!)
I am now officially a Peace Corps volunteer! After 9 weeks of Pre-Service Training, I've made the transition from trainee to volunteer after our Swearing-In Ceremony last Friday. I'm now in Mansa, the provincial capital of Luapula, getting ready for the culminating moment in the Peace Corps experience when I'm dropped off alone in my village to start my two years of service. The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of events and I can't even begin to describe my excitement about settling into my mud hut and getting to know my community. It feels like only yesterday that I stepped off the plane in Lusaka with absolutely no idea what life would be like the following day, let alone for the next 9 weeks, and it is truly baffling to look back and think about all I have learned and experienced between then and now.
Since my last e-mail, we wrapped up training with an intense schedule of language and technical evaluations, including a 45-minute language assessment where we individually sat down with an instructor and carried on a conversation in our local language to the best of our abilities. Needless to say, these were some stressful times, but I'm happy to say that everyone in my training group reached the required fluency level of intermediate low or higher. This means that no one will have to stay for more training, which sometimes happens when their language skills aren't quite what Peace Corps requires before dropping the volunteers in areas where English is scarce. I have to say that the last few weeks of training were quite difficult after we had all briefly visited our provinces and villages a few weeks back. Sitting in a classroom after seeing where I will be living and meeting some of the people in my village was not easy since I have been wanting nothing more than to begin getting to know the members of my community and to dive right into the work I have been trained to do for the past 9 weeks.
At the same time, I truly valued every last minute I had with my host family and fellow trainees -- people I have grown incredibly close to and who have given me such strength and joy for the last 2 months. In addition to each of you, I now have even more people to miss when I'm in the village! But, I'm fully aware of how lucky I am to have so many people in my life to miss in the first place. Thinking ahead to the next 2 years often results in an intense juxtaposition of emotions -- fear of the unknown mixed with excitement for unexpected experiences; sadness about the distance between me and all those I care about back home mixed with extreme happiness at the thought of how fortunate I am to have such support back in the States; being acutely aware of how different life is from all I have known for the past 22 years mixed with an increasing connection to my current surroundings...the list goes on and on. In short, being a Peace Corps volunteer involves a roller-coaster ride of emotions, but not a day goes by when I don't feel completely present and alive -- a feeling that is hard for me to describe, but that I am sure to now chase in all that I do for the rest of my life.
The past week has been bittersweet as we celebrated the end of training and bid our host families and each other goodbye before heading out into the bush. We hosted a "Cross-Cultural Day" last Wednesday for our host families, cooking some American dishes and performing some of the Zambian songs and dances we have learned so far. Both my bataata and bamaayo (father and mother in Bemba) came and I gave them each a tree I had planted at the beginning of training for them to add to their gardens. We were picked up from our home-stays and taken to Lusaka the following morning, which ended up being quite emotional for me. As I've mentioned in some of my other e-mails, I could not have asked for a warmer welcome to Zambia than that provided by my host family and I will very much miss seeing them every day.
Our Swearing-In Ceremony took place in Lusaka last Friday, with the U.S. ambassador to Zambia and some of ministers for the Zambian government attending. For the ceremony, a few trainees were selected to present a speech in the local language they have learned and I was lucky enough to be one of the trainees selected! Since this can sometimes be a bit boring for members of the audience who are learning or know languages other than the one being presented, I decided to write and present a poem in Bemba, which went over very well! All in all, it was an amazing day, one that I sincerely will never forget. We were all shipped out to our respective provinces the morning after the ceremony and I've been at the Peace Corps provincial house for Luapula province since then, gathering all that I need to furnish my mud hut, feed myself, and basically live the village life.
Tomorrow is the big move-in day! I will not be back in an area with a computer until June, so please don't be worried by my lack of communication over the next month or so. I will write again as soon as I can, and please continue to send updates on how you are doing and what's going on back home. It means the world to me to hear from all of you.
Shalenipo!
Sara
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