Saturday, July 24, 2010

I made it... finally!

Hi everyone. I can now say I am officially writing you from Zambia! So the journey so far has been that, quite a journey. We had our pre-orientation in Atlanta where everyone met, we got our yellow fever shots and then got to the airport Wednesday night. Unfortunately our flight left an hour late from Atlanta and then was delayed a bit more in the air, giving us approximately 20 minutes to get 60 people, half of which didn't have boarding passes (stupid delta) onto our connection to Lusaka, obviously that didn't happen. So we spent a few hours in the Johannesburg airport trying to talk to everyone from Peace Corps in D.C. to Peace Corps in Zambia to the U.S. Embassy in South Africa to try and figure out our little pickle. Around midnight Zambia time (we arrived around 615pm) we finally got the message to get a hotel and fly out the next morning. In the Peace Corps spirit, that didn't happen quite as planned either. Half of our group that was supposed to fly out at a 10 am flight was bumped to a 7 pm flight and the other half got on the plane.. we thought the peace corps gods were testing us at this point, but still remained in high spirits! So we spent another day in the Johannesburg airport, needless to say if you ever are there I can tell you where all of the good napping places can be found! But we enjoyed our last few "western meals" and got on the plane and arrived in Lusaka last night around 9pm to a welcoming peace corps staff! It was so nice to finally be in Zambia and breath in Zambian air. We got into our government hostel, had a few Zambian beers and fell into our beds under our mosquito nets (which are quite whimsical if I do say so!)

So today was finally the beginning of training! We had a few intro sessions about medicine (started my malaria meds today, bring on the crazy dreams!) and then broke into our two groups- Community Health and Rural Aquaculture ( I am health but my program is called Community Health Improvement Project (CHIP) so they call us Fish and CHIPS, get it? ) So we had an overview with two wonderful women from CHIP about what we will be doing and our first site visit which starts Monday! So I found out two really exciting things. First, I will be learning BEMBA as my language! It is the most spoken language in Zambia and means I will either be placed in the Northern, Central or Luapula province, I am beyond excited to start learning. Secondly I learned that for my site visit I get to go to Luapula! Two other girls and I from Health along with 4 people from Fish will hop in our land cruisers on Monday morning ( at 6 am!) and head 8 hours north to Luapula ( the fish people have to go 15 hours so we got lucky!) Everyone has said how beautiful Luapula is and refer to it as the "Water province" because it is known for all of its beautiful waterfalls and rivers. It is in the north western part of Zambia, bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo ( but no worries mom we are completely safe!)We get in Monday night and stay until Thursday morning when we head back to Lusaka. I am so so excited to finally get to the African Bush and see how another CHIP volunteer lives, and she speaks Bemba so I can get a jump start on my language! So right now we all just went grocery shopping for our site visits ( smores and pasta two of my favorites on the list) and now we have some free time in the local "mall" to walk around. Tomorrow is another day of shots and measurements for our bikes, another thing I am extremely looking forward to, not the shots but the bike riding!

So I know this is an extremely long first post but I just feel like there is so much to catch everyone up on! So much happens in a day here and it is all so exciting and amazing. I also forget to say I had my first meal of nshima ( corn maize) with some greens ( look kind of like collard greens) and a few wonderful zambian bananas ( they are much sweeter than the ones in the U.S.). So I am considering going back to being a vegetarian while I'm here as Zambians eat mostly red meat ( kidneys as one of the common meals) if meat at all and I think it might make things a bit simpler. So we will see, it is only day 1 really and so much has already happened!

I should get my phone soon and it is supposed to have internet so feel free to send me some e-mails with updates on everyone!

Ok love to everyone and I hope you enjoyed my first real post! Sorry again about any misspelled words or crazy sentences, Zambian internet isn't quite as fast as in the U.S.!

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Africa, here I come..

So the day has finally come, I am in Atlanta, GA and about to head to my "pre-orientation departure" which will take place here over the next day and a half. I will head there at noon today, have a few lectures on "what to expect" (even though I have read every book and blog that has ever been written about what to expect), and then tomorrow it's vaccinations and off to the airport! My emotions right now are rushing through me a thousand miles a minute. I am anxious, nervous, excited, and so much more. I have been talking and thinking about this day for over a year now and can't believe it is finally here. I just wanted to take a quick minute to thank everyone who has had coffee, dinner, drinks or just a phone call with me over the past few weeks. You have all been so supportive and I can't tell you how comforting it has been. I know we will all grow and change throughout the next two years and I wish everyone nothing but the best. Once I get to Zambia I will probably have limited internet access during training but will try to update my blog as soon as I can.

Thank you all again for everything, especially to my family who has been my backbone throughout this entire process.

Lots of love to everyone.

Kelsey

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Here goes nothing..

Hi everyone and welcome to my first ever blog! Although I haven't been one of the keenest or most knowledgeable about the blog world, I thought it was only fitting to have one while I am gone. As most of you know, I am leaving on July 20, 2010 for my Peace Corps Service in Zambia, Africa. I will be serving as a "Community Health Development Extensionist" which involves educating rural Zambians about HIV/AIDS. I am so excited for this journey to begin as it has been a long time coming.
I began applying to the Peace Corps in April 2009. After many medical reviews, shots, tests, appointments, legal clearances etc., I was finally medically cleared on June 9, 2010. On June 10, 2010 I got the call I had been waiting on for over a year. I was officially offered an "invitation to serve" in Zambia. Since then it has been a whirlwind of researching Zambia, reading blogs, watching youtube videos and talking to everyone who has ever been to Zambia or knows anything about Zambia (thanks to mom!). So now I am two weeks out and finally back home in Greensboro, North Carolina. I will be spending time with my family and getting ready for this incredible journey ahead of me.
Although there is still a lot of unknown details about my Peace Corps service (what village I will be living in, what language I will be speaking, how close I will be to the surrounding volunteers, etc.) I will find out all of these details after my first 9 weeks of training in country. However this is what I do know so far:
1. I will be living in a mud hut with a thatched roof and no electricity or running water. Yes, I know you all think I am crazy but I am really looking forward to living a life completely opposite of the one I have always known.
2. I will be living with a host family during my first nine weeks of training. During training my days will be filled with Language training (there are six languages throughout the country which you get to choose once you get there), health education and cultural education.
3. My main mode of transportation will be an off-road bike which Peace Corps provides for me. I could be as far as 40-60km to the nearest village or town so I am thinking I will be a fantastic biker by the end of my service!
4. I will be getting a cell phone once in Zambia with texting abilities being the cheapest way of communication. However I probably will only have Internet services once every few weeks (also not completely known until I get there). So the best way to contact me is by writing me the old fashion way! My address during training is posted on the side of my blog and I will update it with a local one once I get to my village.

I think that is all of the details for now. So I hope everyone enjoys the blog and are able to get a little sneak peak into my new Zambian life!
Love to everyone who has been with me on this rollercoaster of a journey. There will be good blogs and sad blogs I am sure, so hang in there with me and enjoy the ride!