April 5, 2008

Mwapoleni bonse!

Hello again from Zambia! It's been a few weeks since I've been in contact with the majority of you, so I thought it was time to send out another update. My Pre-Service Training has gone by extremely fast -- I only have about 20 days left until my Swear-In Ceremony, where I become an official Peace Corps Volunteer, and move into my village where I'll be living for the next two years! There's been so many new developments and adventures since I last wrote that I have no idea where to begin...The majority of the weeks have stuck to our basic training schedule, with language classes in the mornings, technical training in the afternoons, and cultural training on Thursdays at our main training center. We've all seemed to have grown pretty accustomed to finding our ways around Chongwe, the town outside of Lusaka where we're living and learning during training, and the constant routine of it all has often produced a strange sense of normalcy in a place so different from anywhere I've ever called home before. In terms of daily life, it's almost difficult to think of what to write about -- not because it has been uneventful and not because it hasn't inspired any kind of reflection, but because the adjustments that once seemed so major have mostly become second nature and it's now more of a luxurious surprise than an expectation to have accommodations like electricity and running water to perform daily tasks. To say the least, it's been quite a surreal experience -- I find myself constantly balancing an intense sense of awe at my surroundings and an increasingly strong sense of familiarity with the people and places I have interacted with so far.

I'm happy to say that life with my host family has continued to be endlessly enjoyable, with each day bringing progress in my ability to communicate and connect with them. My Bemba is coming along, panono panono (bit by bit), and it's so exhilarating to just be able to have a 5 or 10 minute conversation without resorting to English. An official "Home Stay Day" was reserved for us to spend with our host families a few weeks back, which ended up being one of my favorite days here in Zambia so far. I spent the majority of the day following my host mother around, learning (through broken Bemba and many, many gesticulations) the art of sweeping out mud huts, cleaning pit latrines, bargaining at the chaotic local market, and preparing some typical Zambian dishes. I have to say that Zambian women are some of the strongest individuals I have ever encountered. I am in constant awe of their incredible ability to do pretty much all of the physical tasks around the house, and all with a baby strapped to their backs. Remnants of blisters and the beginning formations of calluses all over my hands are testimony to the difficulty of the work that the women here do every day for their entire lives, and I can only hope to leave here having developed a fraction of their strength and resiliency. When I'm not biking around from training session to training session, I spend a lot of time helping the family harvest their fields of groundnuts (peanuts), which is their main source of income. As a LIFE (Linking Income, Food and the Environment) volunteer, I'm learning all about conservation farming, agroforestry, composting, beekeeping, environmental education, etc. and it's been priceless having a Zambia farmer as a host father to get a first hand account of everything I'm learning about in my technical classes. I can safely say that I truly feel a part of the family at this point and will be very sad to leave them at the end of training. Getting to know them and feeling myself increasingly connected to them has definitely been one of the most enjoyable aspects of Peace Corps so far, and there are so many experiences -- learning with my host mom, discussing both African and American politics with my host dad, hearing all the children laughing in the mornings and singing in the nights -- that I will carry with me for the rest of my time here, if not for the rest of my life.

The past week has actually been spent away from our host families after we found out our site placements last week. Site placement is basically a culminating moment in training where we finally find out which village we will be placed in for our two years of service. Considering the fact that up until this point we had no idea where in the country our new homes would be, we were all incredibly excited to find out this information, to say the least. So, no I can finally say that I will be living in Luapula province, Samfya district, Maloba village! My site is actually the exact site I had my eye on and 3 of my closest friends I've made during training are also placed in Luapula as well, so I couldn't be more excited. After finding out our placements, we all packed up and prepared to head back out into the bush to briefly visit our villages and see where we'll be living. The drive out to the site was amazing, and I couldn't stop grinning from ear to ear as we made our way through the lush greenery and past the breathtaking lakes and rivers of Luapula. The main road out to my area runs right along Lake Chifunabuli, with Lake Bangweulu right beyond a small strip of land. Lake Bangweulu is the largest area of water in Zambia, with white sand beaches, beautiful blue waters, many fish, crocs, and hippos! When we arrived to the village, we pulled up to the mud hut, garden, and small compound that will be my new home and found almost the entire village gathered in the front yard! Greeting everyone and finally putting a tangible image to what I have only imagined in my head for months and months was a lot to process, and it was a moment that I am sure to never, ever forget.

I'm now in Mansa, the provincial capital of Luapula, meeting other volunteers in the area and setting up logistics like a bank account. Here's my new mailing address!

Sara Blackwell, PCV
Peace Corps/Zambia
P.O. Box 710150
Mansa, Luapula
Zambia

I continue to miss all of you very much and think of you often. Please don't hesitate to send e-mails (or letters!) my way. Although I don't get to a computer often, reading about what everyone is up to back home makes me endlessly happy. Hope you are all doing well!

Shalenipo! (Stay well!)
Love,
Sara