March 16, 2008

Muli shani bonse! Hello from Zambia!

It's been about 3 weeks since I arrived in this beautiful country, and I'm healthy, happy, and loving every minute of my Peace Corps experience so far! Apologizes for not getting in touch sooner, but finding electricity, let alone a computer with Internet access, is a rare occurrence where I'm now living. Sorry also for the unavoidably impersonal mass e-mail, but I wanted to make sure to send at least a quick hello to each of you for the time being until I have access to my e-mail again (and there's really no telling when that will be!).

So, where to begin? All 52 of my fellow Peace Corps/Zambia trainees and I arrived safely in Lusaka (Zambia's capital) on the evening of February 23 after almost 24 total hours of travel, and it's really been non-stop from then until now...These last few weeks have been jam-packed with orientation into the Peace Corps program, medical/security briefings, and training sessions in language, technical skills, and Zambian culture. I have to say that I've been completely blown away at how well organized and comprehensive our Peace Corps training has been so far and feel more and more secure in my decision to serve as a volunteer every day. Zambia has the largest group of Peace Corps volunteers out of all of the countries in Africa, so it's been incredibly exhilarating to meet so many new people and learn about the amazing work that's going on here. Without getting into too much detail in order to avoid an encyclopedia-length e-mail, here's a briefing of what life's been like for the past 3 weeks:

After only 3 days of orientation sessions in a hostel outside of the city of Lusaka, we were split into groups of 4 and, in true Peace Corps fashion, whisked out into what's commonly referred to as "the bush" to stay with currently serving volunteers and get a true sense of what the next 2 years of our lives will be like. My group loaded up in a Land Cruiser for a bumpy 6-hour ride to the Eastern province of Zambia to stay with a volunteer named Tim who's been here since last June. Like Tim, the 4 of us are LIFE (Linking Income, Food and the Environment) volunteers, so it was exciting to see first-hand what our program is all about. Going from life in America to sleeping in a tent and functioning with no electricity or running water on a daily basis within a matter of 4 days was quite an experience, but I appreciate the Peace Corps quickly exposing us to what we're in for and allowing the volunteers themselves to initiate us into the Peace Corps program. After almost 5 days watching and learning about life as a volunteer -- including fetching water from the local water source, cooking over a brazier, bathing with only a bucket of cold water and bare hands, interacting with fellow villagers, and basically going about daily life in the village -- we re-emerged from the bush and headed back to Lusaka for placement with a host family for the 9 weeks of Pre-Service Training (PST).

Being separated from any fellow trainees for the first time was a big moment as we were each dropped off with our few bags, a bike, and absolutely no training in the language spoken by our Zambian families. The 73 local languages in Zambia are more or less grouped into 7 official languages, and each of us chose which language we want to learn on our second day in Zambia based on where in the country we want to work and with whom we'd like to be in close vicinity. After briefings on each of Zambia's diverse provinces and consulting with some of my fellow trainees that have quickly become close friends, I signed up to learn Bemba, Zambia's most widely-used language that is spoken in the central and northern areas of the country. Based on this, and the fact that I'm a LIFE volunteer, I will be living and working in either Luapula province or Central province for the next two years after PST. Both of these areas are distinguished by lush forests, high rainfall, beautiful waterfalls, lakes, and rivers, and many many mangoes, so I'm incredibly excited, to say the least.

Each of us has been placed with a family that speaks our respective languages so that we'll have the opportunity to learn all that we can before being placed in a village at the end of training. I can't even begin to express how incredible my host family experience has been so far. My host father and mother are some of the most generous and kind-hearted people I have ever met, and I'm having the time of my life getting to know all 14 children that live on their compound! My bataata ('father' in Bemba) likes to call himself the chief of his "small village," consisting of about 10 small mud huts, one of which is set up with a mattress, small desk, and lantern for my use during training. Since moving in, we've settled into our training schedule and time has truly flown by. Each morning, I wake up around 5:30 am for a morning run with the breath-taking African sunrise as my companion, take a bucket bath, eat a quick breakfast, head down the dirt road to a local school for about 4 hours of language training and 4 hours of LIFE technical training sessions, come home for dinner, study, and get into bed by about 11:00 pm. It's been a rather intense schedule, but I'm learning so, so much each and every day.

I wish I had more time to communicate with all of you back home, but just know that I carry you in my heart each day that I am here. Being here has reminded me at every moment just how lucky I am, especially when it comes to all of the love and support I have back home. I'll write again as soon as I'm able, but communication has proven to be quick difficult so far. Please don't hesitate to write me at:

Sara Blackwell/PST
Peace Corps
P.O. Box 50707
Lusaka, Zambia

Please write "Air Mail" and "Par Avion" on envelopes. Getting letters or packages from home will be more exciting for me than you'll ever know...
I hope you are healthy and happy. I miss you all dearly.
Love,
Sara