So everyone always asks me what " a typical day in the village" looks like. I always have a hard time answering the question because each day can be so different from the next. One day I can have a meeting with one of my zones which is 25 kilometers away through the tall grass, broken bridges and muddy slush. Another day I can sit in my hut all day, reading an entire book, listening to the BBC and doing cartwheels with my iwes. However I know that is difficult to explain my new Zambian life to everyone back in America. I thought I would take just one day last week and take you all through step by step. Now this is going to be detailed, so if you don't have time to read it now, you are at work, about to go to sleep, or just busy, I understand. No worries, this blog isn't going anywhere and you can always come back and finish reading later. So, here goes one example of a "typical" day in the village. I usually wake up around 6 to 630am, usually awakened by my rooster which lives outside of my hut and decides to crow, starting around 5:00 am. I lay in bed for about a half hour listening to the rooster constantly crowing, some kids playing and whatever morning madness is going on as most of my villagers have already been up for at least an hour at this point. This particular day I woke up and decided I wanted to go for a short run. I laced up my very muddy shoes ( rainy season=everything is muddy and moldy constantly, one gets used to this quite quickly) and decided to get my day going. I started off on my normal path, which goes over a river and up into the next village however today it had rained an incredible amount so the river had flooded the road and created a small lake on either side of the river. Therefore there were about 20 naked little boys swimming in the newly formed pond and yelling " Kels, Kels, Kels" ( its either Bupe or Kels at this point as Kelsey seems a little difficult for Zambians to pronounce). At this point I realize two things: first, in the U.S. this would be considered wildly inappropriate even though none of the boys were above the age of 6 and were just enjoying a nice morning swim, and secondly, I needed to turn around unless I was going to try and forge the river. So I decided to turn around and run back towards my house and along a different path that led to a different field. However this required me going past my house, where I had already greeted all of my neighbors (Mwashibukeni Mukwai, Good Morning in Bemba had been said at least 20 times at this point) but there weren't many other options. I went back towards my house, where all of my neighbors children started running after me which only made me run faster which therefore made me tired much quicker. Anyway, I got a good 30 minute run in ( a good amount considering all of the distractions) and went back to my hut where my iwes ( what they call children here) were awaiting my arrival. Yes I know right now you are thinking, wow a lot has gone on in the first activity of the day, but just wait it gets better. I returned home, where I know have to light my brazier so I can cook some breakfast and heat my bath water. My iwes are very good at helping me with this as they have been doing it everyday, three times a day since they were born. I on the other hand am still pretty horrible at it and must swing the brazier at least 50 times back and forth ( yes I count when I get bored) just to get some of the coals warm. Therefore, the iwes win. So I made my usual oatmeal for breakfast, took a nice bucket bath and swept the hut of termites and ants which continuously form greater piles every night. They really are quite interesting little things. Anyway, this day I had a meeting with one of my Neighborhood Health Committees to discuss an upcoming training which I am putting together for them as well as some ITN's (Insecticide Treated Nets, aka Mosquito Nets) which are coming through the district and will need help being distributed in March and April. So we walked to the meeting (usually we bike but this zone actually happened to be in my village) and sat under a tree to wait for the meeting to start. This usually takes about an hour (on a good day) from the time we get there, to organize everyone and get the meeting started. However this particular meeting happened to be very well organized so it only took about 30 minutes until it started. The meeting took about an hour and then we were done. However at every meeting it is also culturally necessary to feed your guests so even though this meeting took place in my village and my hut was only about 1 kilometer away, we still had to wait to be served lunch ( which is usually the highlight of my day considering I am not a huge fan of cooking lunch in the hot heat in the village.. yes even though it is rainy season the days have stayed VERY warm). While waiting for lunch one of my committee members took out his sling shot and started aiming into a tree. I didn't see anything so I didn't think much of it, when all of a sudden he shot and something fell from the tree. He went, picked it up and brought it back to show me. It was a baby bird. I almost started crying on the spot. It was dead. I was confused. I asked why he shot the little bird and my counterpart told me he was going to eat it. It was a "I am in a third world country" type of moment. It was only exasperated when a few minutes later my counterpart and I were led into the home to feast on a lunch of half a chicken (meat is only served on very special occasions), nshima, the traditional porridge type of food made out of maize ( my friends call it grits in a hardered form and without any butter or cheese) and a leafy green vegetable. This is the Zambian way. Even if they haven't eaten all day or might only have one meal in a day they will be sure to feed you their best chicken and make sure you eat until you can't breath any longer. After the meal was finished, my counterpart and I walked back to the clinic where he had to go back to looking after patients as he is a voluntary casual employee who although not formally trained gives out medicine when no one else is there to, while I finished up some notes from the meeting and headed home. Of course within 5 seconds of being home my iwes were there to greet me, wanting to fetch my water, sweep my yard and just stare at whatever I do of course all in reward for a "sweetie" which they don't know is actually a flinstone gummy, haha I am so tricky. We hung out, had an art hour where they got to draw whatever they like with the crayons I provide while I got to write in my journal, listen to Larry london on Border Crossings , Voice of America, and then turn in for the day. However not before being lucky enough to stand on my mound and talk to my parents for a few minutes to tell them about my day. After that, its about 6:30 which means a light dinner ( if you ever eat Nshima you won't want to eat for days) and an early bed time, usually crawling into bed by 7:30pm. Yes I know it sounds crazy but when it gets dark, my mouse (which I have named micky) comes out to scavange for food as do other insects, rodents, etc. Therefore I tuck myself into my mosquito net, read for a while, check the news of the day and turn in by 8:30 or 9 for a good 9 hours of sleep. These days the rain usually puts me to sleep, especially now that the leaks in my roof are fixed I can stay asleep without worrying that I will wake up to a flood in the morning. Then the day starts over again. This might sound like a horrifying day to some of you, or one that is unimaginable, however for me it was a great day. I got a lot of things accomplished, only if just meeting people in my NHC and learning what their needs are and what we will work on in the future. I got to hang out with my iwes, have some time to myself, and watch a rainstorm roll in. Life in Zambia is great. It is VERY different than my life in America but I love it all the same. So hopefully this gave you a little better of an idea of what at least ONE of my many days here looks like. So I know my blogs have been few and far between but now that I just got my computer sent, hopefully I can catch you all up a little more often! So I hope everyone is keeping warm in the last few months of winter, just know that lots of love and warmth is being sent from Zambia!
Friday, March 4, 2011
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Malawi My Love
Happy Belated New Years everyone!
I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and start to 2011. My holidays were spent slightly differently this year as they were my first holidays in Africa. I was lucky enough to spend Christmas day with some close friends at a home stay family here in Lusaka. We went swimming ( yes the weather is still very warm here, even with the rains), watched TV and made a delicious Christmas dinner for some other friends who were in Lusaka. The next day we were off to Chipata, the provincial capital of Eastern province. My friend Tiffany and I got a lovely hitch from some men who worked at Barclays and who bought us chicken on the way as a snack. Truly lovely people. I think that is why I love hitching so much, it can be a pain and sometimes it can take forever, but you always meet different people who have different stories. I really wish it was safer in the States so that I could just get rid of my car and hitch everywhere! I have started keeping a "hitching journal" where I tell about our hitch and the people we meet. I hope to look at it at the end of my service and have such good memories of all of my travels throughout Zambia and the surrounding countries. So we arrived in Chipata and met up with some fellow PCV's who were going with us to Malawi. Spent the night there and then we were off to Nkhata Bay! It took us another full day of taxis, mini buses and big buses to get there but once we did we knew it was worth it. We stayed at a lodge which was right on Lake Malawi which other PCV's had recommended to us and it was BEAUTIFUL! It was right on the water, we all had our own porches overlooking the lake, and the people, food and atmosphere was unmatched to any other vacation I have taken. While there we went on a boat tour where we got to go cliff jumping ( not really a cliff but more like big rocks), saw monkeys and eagles and played soccer with some locals on the beach. The rest of the week we really just laid on a platform in the middle of the clear blue water, went snorkeling, ventured into town to explore and ate good food. It was wonderful with amazing company of 12 other PCV's, truly a perfect ending to our Community Entry. So we ventured back into Zambia after another LONG day of hitching and getting back across the border, then stayed in Chipata for a few more days. Chipata is really a beautiful city with green mountains surrounding it. I was happy to get to explore another province for the first time since being in country. My goal is to get to all of them before I leave, they are each so unique and I think you have to see all of them to get the real feel of Zambia. So from there we hitched back to Lusaka, a hitch that should have taken 6 or 7 hours which took 9, ah the life of a PCV. So now I am back in Lusaka for training for two weeks. It has been wonderful eating good food, Thai, Chinese, Irish Pubs, Indian, really anything you could want! However now I am ready to get back to my village. It really has become my home and I miss my friends and family back in Kalaba. So I am here another week and then head back to beautiful Luapula. So I know this blog entry might not have been as profound or "cool" as my other stories from the village, but I thought it was important to know that as Peace Corps volunteers we work hard and play hard. So far 2011 has been an incredible year that I only hope will get better and as these past almost 6 months have been, I can't see it going anywhere but up.
Love and miss you all! Keep the letters, emails, and good thoughts coming. Oh and of course, GO STEELERS ( I will actually be able to watch the game tonight!!!)
All my love,
Kelsey/Bupe
I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and start to 2011. My holidays were spent slightly differently this year as they were my first holidays in Africa. I was lucky enough to spend Christmas day with some close friends at a home stay family here in Lusaka. We went swimming ( yes the weather is still very warm here, even with the rains), watched TV and made a delicious Christmas dinner for some other friends who were in Lusaka. The next day we were off to Chipata, the provincial capital of Eastern province. My friend Tiffany and I got a lovely hitch from some men who worked at Barclays and who bought us chicken on the way as a snack. Truly lovely people. I think that is why I love hitching so much, it can be a pain and sometimes it can take forever, but you always meet different people who have different stories. I really wish it was safer in the States so that I could just get rid of my car and hitch everywhere! I have started keeping a "hitching journal" where I tell about our hitch and the people we meet. I hope to look at it at the end of my service and have such good memories of all of my travels throughout Zambia and the surrounding countries. So we arrived in Chipata and met up with some fellow PCV's who were going with us to Malawi. Spent the night there and then we were off to Nkhata Bay! It took us another full day of taxis, mini buses and big buses to get there but once we did we knew it was worth it. We stayed at a lodge which was right on Lake Malawi which other PCV's had recommended to us and it was BEAUTIFUL! It was right on the water, we all had our own porches overlooking the lake, and the people, food and atmosphere was unmatched to any other vacation I have taken. While there we went on a boat tour where we got to go cliff jumping ( not really a cliff but more like big rocks), saw monkeys and eagles and played soccer with some locals on the beach. The rest of the week we really just laid on a platform in the middle of the clear blue water, went snorkeling, ventured into town to explore and ate good food. It was wonderful with amazing company of 12 other PCV's, truly a perfect ending to our Community Entry. So we ventured back into Zambia after another LONG day of hitching and getting back across the border, then stayed in Chipata for a few more days. Chipata is really a beautiful city with green mountains surrounding it. I was happy to get to explore another province for the first time since being in country. My goal is to get to all of them before I leave, they are each so unique and I think you have to see all of them to get the real feel of Zambia. So from there we hitched back to Lusaka, a hitch that should have taken 6 or 7 hours which took 9, ah the life of a PCV. So now I am back in Lusaka for training for two weeks. It has been wonderful eating good food, Thai, Chinese, Irish Pubs, Indian, really anything you could want! However now I am ready to get back to my village. It really has become my home and I miss my friends and family back in Kalaba. So I am here another week and then head back to beautiful Luapula. So I know this blog entry might not have been as profound or "cool" as my other stories from the village, but I thought it was important to know that as Peace Corps volunteers we work hard and play hard. So far 2011 has been an incredible year that I only hope will get better and as these past almost 6 months have been, I can't see it going anywhere but up.
Love and miss you all! Keep the letters, emails, and good thoughts coming. Oh and of course, GO STEELERS ( I will actually be able to watch the game tonight!!!)
All my love,
Kelsey/Bupe
Thursday, December 23, 2010
It only took 5 months..
Muwabombeni Mukwai bonse ( How is everyone working/doing). I am currently sitting in an Internet cafe in Lusaka ( the capital) and feeling like I am in America. I took the first hot shower with pressure this morning, watched some TV, then went to go eat a BAGEL ( new bagel shop just opened) and now I am on a computer with good Internet connection as I watch people talk on their cell phones walk by. This is weird. I haven't seen so many white people, big buildings and nice cars since getting sworn in at the end of September. I have gotten used to watching my iwes sit on my porch and play with ants, greeting every person who bikes by my house, watching the clouds roll in before a big thunderstorm and having a social life which includes listening to BBC and Voice of America while eating dinner. So needless to say being in Lusaka is a bit of a shock. However it also exciting because it starts my first vacation in Zambia as well as the end of my Community Entry!! I am FINALLY a 100% pure bred REAL REAL REAL volunteer!!!!! It only took 5 months, two months of training, three months in my village, many meetings, greetings and teachings, but I made it! A lot of people have been asking me how my service would change now that I am a "real volunteer" however the work in my village really won't change that much. The only difference is now I am allowed my four days at the provincial house each month as well as the ability to take vacation and cultural days to explore more of Zambia and the countries surrounding it. So I will spend the next few days in Lusaka for Christmas and then start my long journey across the country to Eastern Province and then Malawi!! I am going with a group of volunteers from my intake and couldn't be more thrilled. We are spending seven days on Lake Malawi which should include getting my scuba diving license and relaxing in the warm sun on the edge of a beautiful Lake! We are planning to hitch all of the way there so I am sure it will be an adventure. We completed our first " long hitching experience" as we left Mansa to head to Lusaka ( it is 10 hours in a Land cruiser so we knew it was going to be a long day). Needless to say 14 hours, two 18 wheelers, a lot of stops and a block of cheese later we arrived in Lusaka! It was definitely an experience but I went with my friend Tiffany and as we kept saying on our journey, " Hitching is so fun because it gives you the best stories". We met some interesting people, saw some incredible scenery, had talks about everything from issues with aid in Africa to the new Usher song and paid with our last 5 hour hitch with a block of cheddar cheese. Like so many other things that I experience here, I just kept thinking "Only in Africa".
Anyway, back to my community entry. Not to much to update on since my Thanksgiving blog, however as I have come to the end of another chapter in my Peace Corps service I thought it would be only fitting to write a short list of some of the things I learned during community entry. This list is short and not all inclusive as I am paying for internet by the minute and a real list would take all day to write.
1. If you get sick in your village and tell one person, the whole community with undoubtedly know in less than 10 minutes. You are famous, never forget it.
2. If your counterpart asks you to name his child and you take days thinking of a name, don't be offended when they ditch the name and just name it after you. Be flattered, it is probably the only person in the world that will be named after you before you die.
3. Don't bike too close to Zambians, they usually have no breaks on their bikes and it can make for a dangerous situation.
4. Embrace the bug bites that you receive during rainy season. It is a mystery how you get bitten in certain places or what insect the bite is actually coming from, but unless it starts to blow up just enjoy that your legs look like you have the chicken pox.
5. Wall spiders are your friends. They eat some of the other bugs that are in your house and really never bother you unless you bother them.
6. If there is a rat in your roof, there is truly nothing you can do about it. You can name it, yell at it, try and scare it but it will just continue to scratch at your plastic and bother you all night. Instead just put in your ipod and pretend it isn't there.
7. If you give one iwe (child) a sweetie, no doubt he will bring 20 of his closest siblings and friends back to get some as well. So just give them Flinstone gummies and feel good that you might be adding a little nutrition to their diet.
8. If you leave your village, have friends come visit, make food for a neighbor or go to the bathroom too many times, everyone will know. You are famous, never forget it.
9. DISCLAIMER- sorry to mom, grandma, or anyone else who might be embarrassed by this comment. You will know every bowel movement, urination and grumble in your stomach and try to self diagnose yourself with every disease in the book. You probably just ate some bad caterpillars, drink an ORS ( Oral Rehydration Salt) and you will be better in the morning.
10. If you listen to BBC or VOA all day, they will repeat the same book club discussion, or interview at least 5 times. Just wait until it is 17:00 and border crossings comes on for a dose of a little American music.
11. Last and most importantly, Zambians are one of the most kind, thoughtful, giving people on the earth. Cherish every moment you have with them as well as the surroundings you are living in. The African bush is unlike anywhere else on earth. It is pure, natural beauty that is undeveloped and hard to come by these days.
So I know this post was a little quick but I will be back in Lusaka for an In Service Training after my trip to Malawi so I will be sure to update everyone then on how the vacation went! I hope everyone is enjoying their Christmas and New Year holiday and just know someone in Zambia is sending you lots of love!!
All my love,
Kelsey/Bupe
Anyway, back to my community entry. Not to much to update on since my Thanksgiving blog, however as I have come to the end of another chapter in my Peace Corps service I thought it would be only fitting to write a short list of some of the things I learned during community entry. This list is short and not all inclusive as I am paying for internet by the minute and a real list would take all day to write.
1. If you get sick in your village and tell one person, the whole community with undoubtedly know in less than 10 minutes. You are famous, never forget it.
2. If your counterpart asks you to name his child and you take days thinking of a name, don't be offended when they ditch the name and just name it after you. Be flattered, it is probably the only person in the world that will be named after you before you die.
3. Don't bike too close to Zambians, they usually have no breaks on their bikes and it can make for a dangerous situation.
4. Embrace the bug bites that you receive during rainy season. It is a mystery how you get bitten in certain places or what insect the bite is actually coming from, but unless it starts to blow up just enjoy that your legs look like you have the chicken pox.
5. Wall spiders are your friends. They eat some of the other bugs that are in your house and really never bother you unless you bother them.
6. If there is a rat in your roof, there is truly nothing you can do about it. You can name it, yell at it, try and scare it but it will just continue to scratch at your plastic and bother you all night. Instead just put in your ipod and pretend it isn't there.
7. If you give one iwe (child) a sweetie, no doubt he will bring 20 of his closest siblings and friends back to get some as well. So just give them Flinstone gummies and feel good that you might be adding a little nutrition to their diet.
8. If you leave your village, have friends come visit, make food for a neighbor or go to the bathroom too many times, everyone will know. You are famous, never forget it.
9. DISCLAIMER- sorry to mom, grandma, or anyone else who might be embarrassed by this comment. You will know every bowel movement, urination and grumble in your stomach and try to self diagnose yourself with every disease in the book. You probably just ate some bad caterpillars, drink an ORS ( Oral Rehydration Salt) and you will be better in the morning.
10. If you listen to BBC or VOA all day, they will repeat the same book club discussion, or interview at least 5 times. Just wait until it is 17:00 and border crossings comes on for a dose of a little American music.
11. Last and most importantly, Zambians are one of the most kind, thoughtful, giving people on the earth. Cherish every moment you have with them as well as the surroundings you are living in. The African bush is unlike anywhere else on earth. It is pure, natural beauty that is undeveloped and hard to come by these days.
So I know this post was a little quick but I will be back in Lusaka for an In Service Training after my trip to Malawi so I will be sure to update everyone then on how the vacation went! I hope everyone is enjoying their Christmas and New Year holiday and just know someone in Zambia is sending you lots of love!!
All my love,
Kelsey/Bupe
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Happy Thanksgiving from Zambia!
Happy turkey day everyone! I know it has been a while since my last update and I feel like so much has happened. So I will try my best to update you on my first two months in the village! I guess I will start from the beginning with the first week in Kalaba. Everyone always talks about the dreadful moment after you are dropped off and the cruiser leaves you for the last time, on your own, in the middle of the African bush. However for me it really wasn't so bad, my neighbors and housing committee were there putting finishing touches on my hut and I was given a welcome meal of ubwali ( traditional Zambian dish also known as nshima, basically mashed up maze) as well as chicken(which is the most expensive and respectful food you can give in the village). So the first day wasn't so scary and I was so exhausted from all of the shopping and prepping that I was happy for some peace and quiet. However the first week following that day was a bit of an adjustment. I had to finally learn how to start a brazier much less cook on one, how and where to fetch my water ( our well is broken so when I say I fetch my water I literally mean I am pulling a bucket on a string all the way up the well), as well as all of the other daily chores that come with being a villager! It was a long week and there were definitely times when I had to pinch myself to make sure this was really happening. I was actually living in a mud hut where wall spiders and lizards were my roomates, cooking on a contraption which required me to use charcoal and swing it back and forth like a mad woman just to cook a meal, and speak a tribal african language on a daily basis while living in a village 40 kilometres from any sort of paved road! Like I said, it was an adjustment. However now although it has only been a short two months I am smiling as I type this because all of those crazy things which I thought I would never get used to are the things I have come to love about my village and my life here in Zambia.
So onto the work side of things. Although during our first three months of community entry we aren't technically supposed to be doing "work", all of you who know me know that didn't last too long. After finishing my fourth book in the first three weeks I started getting pretty antsy to say the least. So my counterpart and I started coming up with a schedule of things we thought would be important for me to do while integrating into the community. How the health system is set up in Zambia is that it has to be extremely decentralised to reach all of the people in the rural villages that make up this country. So for example I am lucky that I live very close to my Rural Health Center (RHC). This health center or clinic as most people refer to it is in charge of 14 "zones" which surround it. These zones are basically villages which each have a Neighborhood Health Committee (NHC) who are responsible for the health education and if necessary certain medications and health support in their own villages. These NHC'S are extremely important considering that some of the zones are as far as 30 kilometres from the RHC. With most zambians having no form of transportation, only a lucky few have bicycles, most of these people will never make it to the clinic to deliver babies, get medication for their families or get any other sort if health care. So right now I have been biking to all of my zones and meeting with the NHC's to see what they have been doing. As I found out on my fourth zone visit although my NHC's were formed in the 1980's none of them have ever been trained since then so they have no idea what their actual roles are in the community. Sadly this is a common theme in the village where people have certain titles however are not sure of the responsibilities that go with those titles. So a lot of my job over the next year will be putting a workshop together to train my NHC's so that when the next volunteer comes he or she can start doing larger projects with them. Although this might seem like very basic work it is really the most sustainable thing I can do in my service because once the NHC's are trained they can begin teaching health education to their own communities. From what I have witnessed thus far a huge problem with health in Zambia is lack of education. So if they can teach their own communities how to take better care of their health it could be a massive step in the right direction! I know the abbreviations and the work I am doing can be a little confusing and this is just one of the bigger projects I am trying to accomplish. Smaller ones have included helping out at my clinic, putting together some pamphlets for my clinic with recipes and information for HIV positive mothers, and planning some small programs for World AIDS day which is December 1st! So it's not your typical nine to five job and when people ask me what I do on a day to day basis it's kind of hard to explain because it is constantly changing, but hopefully that gave you a little glimpse into what I am doing. Lots of biking, trying to speak Bemba, and just learning to live in the village is what takes up the majority of my time! All in all I am really loving my life in the village. Currently the rainy season has started and watching the rainstorms roll in every afternoon has started to become my new favorite thing to do! I know it might sound crazy but the sky here is so big and beautiful that you can watch the storms roll in for hours at a time. All in all I am really loving my village, the work I am doing and Zambia as a whole. It's crazy to think I have already been here four months and I only have one month left of my community entry! So thanks to everyone for all of the sweet letters, emails, packages, etc. They really do brighten my day every time I get one. I am missing everyone over thanksgiving and hope you are enjoying time with family and friends during the holiday season! There are so many things I am thankful for this Thanksgiving but instead of listing them all I will just give a short list of "firsts" that i am thankful for being able to experience in Zambia.
First time: eating caterpillars (shockingly tasty), being given a live chicken as a gift, naming a baby ( my counterpart asked me to name his new baby girl- I named her Leia after my great aunt Leah and cousin Luke), hitching on the back of a truck with chickens,fish and my fellow Zambians, biking from my village to town- 40km on a dirt road (I have done it 3 times now), running through the bush with African children yelling muzungu muzungu ( White person), actually seeing the thanksgiving turkey be killed ( we did that today in the backyard) and finally being given a Bemba name- Bupe ( pronounced Bu- pay) meaning gift. It is now what everyone in my village calls me and it makes me smile everytime. So lots of love being sent from Zambia back to America! I miss and love everyone tons and again hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Look out for another update after Community Entry is over December 18! lots of love, Bupe
P.S. Pictures will be coming soon! I am so sorry I haven't posted them yet but it takes about 3 hours to download 10 pictures so I promise they are coming soon!
So onto the work side of things. Although during our first three months of community entry we aren't technically supposed to be doing "work", all of you who know me know that didn't last too long. After finishing my fourth book in the first three weeks I started getting pretty antsy to say the least. So my counterpart and I started coming up with a schedule of things we thought would be important for me to do while integrating into the community. How the health system is set up in Zambia is that it has to be extremely decentralised to reach all of the people in the rural villages that make up this country. So for example I am lucky that I live very close to my Rural Health Center (RHC). This health center or clinic as most people refer to it is in charge of 14 "zones" which surround it. These zones are basically villages which each have a Neighborhood Health Committee (NHC) who are responsible for the health education and if necessary certain medications and health support in their own villages. These NHC'S are extremely important considering that some of the zones are as far as 30 kilometres from the RHC. With most zambians having no form of transportation, only a lucky few have bicycles, most of these people will never make it to the clinic to deliver babies, get medication for their families or get any other sort if health care. So right now I have been biking to all of my zones and meeting with the NHC's to see what they have been doing. As I found out on my fourth zone visit although my NHC's were formed in the 1980's none of them have ever been trained since then so they have no idea what their actual roles are in the community. Sadly this is a common theme in the village where people have certain titles however are not sure of the responsibilities that go with those titles. So a lot of my job over the next year will be putting a workshop together to train my NHC's so that when the next volunteer comes he or she can start doing larger projects with them. Although this might seem like very basic work it is really the most sustainable thing I can do in my service because once the NHC's are trained they can begin teaching health education to their own communities. From what I have witnessed thus far a huge problem with health in Zambia is lack of education. So if they can teach their own communities how to take better care of their health it could be a massive step in the right direction! I know the abbreviations and the work I am doing can be a little confusing and this is just one of the bigger projects I am trying to accomplish. Smaller ones have included helping out at my clinic, putting together some pamphlets for my clinic with recipes and information for HIV positive mothers, and planning some small programs for World AIDS day which is December 1st! So it's not your typical nine to five job and when people ask me what I do on a day to day basis it's kind of hard to explain because it is constantly changing, but hopefully that gave you a little glimpse into what I am doing. Lots of biking, trying to speak Bemba, and just learning to live in the village is what takes up the majority of my time! All in all I am really loving my life in the village. Currently the rainy season has started and watching the rainstorms roll in every afternoon has started to become my new favorite thing to do! I know it might sound crazy but the sky here is so big and beautiful that you can watch the storms roll in for hours at a time. All in all I am really loving my village, the work I am doing and Zambia as a whole. It's crazy to think I have already been here four months and I only have one month left of my community entry! So thanks to everyone for all of the sweet letters, emails, packages, etc. They really do brighten my day every time I get one. I am missing everyone over thanksgiving and hope you are enjoying time with family and friends during the holiday season! There are so many things I am thankful for this Thanksgiving but instead of listing them all I will just give a short list of "firsts" that i am thankful for being able to experience in Zambia.
First time: eating caterpillars (shockingly tasty), being given a live chicken as a gift, naming a baby ( my counterpart asked me to name his new baby girl- I named her Leia after my great aunt Leah and cousin Luke), hitching on the back of a truck with chickens,fish and my fellow Zambians, biking from my village to town- 40km on a dirt road (I have done it 3 times now), running through the bush with African children yelling muzungu muzungu ( White person), actually seeing the thanksgiving turkey be killed ( we did that today in the backyard) and finally being given a Bemba name- Bupe ( pronounced Bu- pay) meaning gift. It is now what everyone in my village calls me and it makes me smile everytime. So lots of love being sent from Zambia back to America! I miss and love everyone tons and again hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Look out for another update after Community Entry is over December 18! lots of love, Bupe
P.S. Pictures will be coming soon! I am so sorry I haven't posted them yet but it takes about 3 hours to download 10 pictures so I promise they are coming soon!
Monday, September 27, 2010
Peace Corps Chapter 1 Capwa (finished in Bemba)
So we left our villages and moved to Lusaka for our big ceremony. Friday was the big day- SWEAR IN!! It almost felt like my college graduation. We all got dressed up, put on make up for the first time in Zambia (one of my male friends commented- "Kelsey you look so different today, I almost don't recognize you"- I took it as a compliment? ) and we were off to the Ambassador's house. His house was beautiful and as I told my parents looked like an American house in the middle of Zambia. There was real coffee, fried chicken, wonderful scones and I must say we all ate like we were going to move to an African village for two years- Oh wait, we are. So the ceremony was great, a few people made speeches in the local language, we took an oath to protect the U.S. , and we were officially sworn in as volunteers! I almost wish we had hats or something to throw in the air like graduation but instead we just clapped and took some great pictures next to the Peace Corps flag ( pictures to come soon). So the next day we hopped on a cruiser, drove 10 hours and finally landed in Luapula, my new home! So since being here we have been hanging out, enjoying some good movies for the first time since being in country, cooking on an actual stove and enjoying each others company. Today was a crazy day of shopping for EVERYTHING for our hut. From a bed frame and mattress, to pots, pans and nails we got as much as humanly possible as this will be the only time that a cruiser comes out to our site ( the rest of the time I will be carrying it on the back of my bike). So we are finally done, just with a few things left to get tomorrow before I move to my village for good!! I have mixed emotions as this will be the first time really living on my own and even more so living with people that don't speak my language but really I am also very excited. I am excited to learn more about myself, more about how I cope with living on my own, living with people so different than I am and living in and decorating/ renovating my very first home! As my mom said in her last letter to me "Your first house will always be a mud hut in Africa" which I think is very cool. So sadly that is all that is really new for now. Tomorrow I will officially start my "Community Entry" which means I am not allowed in the Provincial house until Thanksgiving and then after that until Christmas break. This is a time where I am supposed to not do so much "work" but really just get to know my village- get to know my neighbors, my counterparts and who i will work with and who I won't work with, and get settled in my hut and make it my home! So sadly I won't be able to update my blog until Thanksgiving time but I hope everyone is settling into Fall in the U.S. it is funny because we are coming into hot season here as October is supposed to be the "hottest month of all" ( i truly can't even imagine how it could get hotter than it is now but I guess I will find out!). So thank you to everyone who has e-mailed or facebooked me congratulating me on Swear in or just saying hello. I think about everyone often and although I might not be able to respond know that every e-mail or letter or postcard that I get means the world to me! They are little connections to home that make my day every time I get one so please keep them coming! So love to everyone back home, I think about you all often. Wish me good luck in the village and when I come back I am sure I will have many stories to tell! Love to everyone and miss you all very much!
Twalamonana ( see you later, more like talk to you later)
Kelsey
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
I'm famous... in Kalaba!
Muli Shani everyone! ( How are you in bemba). So I know it has been a while since my last blog post and although I would love to update everyone on every minute of my life here in Zambia, there is only so much time in a day and more importantly so much time until this computer probably freezes. So since I last wrote I have been in training learning as much Bemba as possible before I am posted at my site. The most exciting has been the last two weeks though where I have been on "Second site visit". So about two weeks ago I found out I would be going to Luapula Province for my service! I was so excited because after first site visit I really fell in love with the part of the country and it was my first choice by far. Last Sunday we all packed up and headed on our 10 hour cruiser ride to Mansa, which is the provincial capital of Luapula. Every province has a provincial house where peace corps volunteers can go to kind of "recharge" from the village. It is where our "Peace Corps Provincial House" is and where I will call my home away from the village over the next two years. It has a tv, shower, computer, library and anything else I could possibly want on my down time. So we spent the night at the provincial house and then headed to a PCV Brittany's site. I had met her on second site visit and she was great so I was excited to go to her village. I and three other trainees stayed with her for second site visit. It was incredible and we got to learn so much about her site and how she works there. We also got to spend a night at the waterfalls which was beautiful and such a nice break from our busy schedule in her village. Luapula is known as the province of waterfalls and I plan to visit many of them on my free time here!
Friday however was definitely the big day where everyone got dropped off at their own sites by themselves for the first time ever! Everyone was pretty nervous to see their house, meet their counterparts ( the Zambians in their village that would be our co-workers) ,neighbors and see the village they will be living in for two years. So my village is named Kalaba, it is 35k off the tarmac which means I basically have to bike 35k to get to the main road which I am oddly excited about and it is truly in the "African Bush". I am also what Peace Corps calls a "first generation" which means no other Peace Corps volunteer has lived in my village and I am most definitely the first white person that has lived in Kalaba, much less the first white person most of these people have ever seen. So I was to stay in Kalaba from Friday until Tuesday and wasn't exactly sure what I was going to do or who I was supposed to meet. Well was I in store for a surprise, the moment I got there my counterparts and everyone else it seemed in the village came to greet me and work on my house. It was a whirlwind of a few days which included very high highs and a few lows (which included me trying to climb up an ant hill beside my house to try and get cell phone service only to see the whole village staring at me like I was a crazy person). All in all Kalaba was great and I am excited to go back there in a few weeks and start working. They are a very active community but they have a lot of issues ( like having no clean water source, no nurse to staff the clinic) that I am excited to work on.
So many of you may be wondering what the title of my blog post is about. I wanted to give you all one little story from Kalaba so you could get a glimpse into my life. So Sunday is most people's day to rest and go to Church as most Zambians are very religious Christians. So I went to Church ( as I promised I would go to all of the Church's in Kalaba because as I explained to my counterparts Zambia doesn't have "the Church of the Jews"), and then my town was playing in a soccer game. I was very excited to go as my brother was an excellent goal keeper in High School and played soccer his whole life ( shout out to you B), and I truly enjoy watching soccer. So we get to the soccer game and this is when I realize I am famous. Everyone basically turns and stops what they are doing to stare at me ( Zambians arent afraid to stare for prolong periods of time). Then I sat down with my counterparts and was swarmed on both sides with children and adults alike who truly just wanted to sit near me. They stared a little more and then when I spoke my little Bemba I thought they were going to fall on the ground. Not only was I white but I spoke their language, how was this possible!? So the game was great although it did end in a tie (0-0) it was so much fun and I got a small bit of what Brad and Angelina feel ( without the cameras of course). It was a great time and I just had to laugh to myself and wish that all of you were here to watch my famous status in Kalaba.
So sorry this is shorter than some of you may hoped. I am exhausted from a physically and emotionally draining few weeks of speaking only Bemba and broken english, seeing what a true Zambian clinic looked like and how many problems it faces, and seeing my very own hut for the first time! So now I am back in Mansa and looking forward to making some mexican food and speaking english for a while. Tomorrow we go back to Lusaka where we will have a two day counterpart workshop with our counterparts from the village and then it is back to my homestay family in Chongwe who I truly do miss! So only two weeks of training left after that, I really can't believe how time has flown by but now I am just excited to get back to Kalaba and start my real work.
Love to everyone back home. For all of my fellow chosen people Happy New Year and have a easy fast if I can't update before Yom Kippur. Everyone else I send my love to you and thanks for all of the sweet e-mails and messages. I don't have barely any phone network in my village except for under a few trees so I will try and get back to all of your e-mails as soon as I can.
Mwende Bwino ( travel safe)
Kelsey
Friday however was definitely the big day where everyone got dropped off at their own sites by themselves for the first time ever! Everyone was pretty nervous to see their house, meet their counterparts ( the Zambians in their village that would be our co-workers) ,neighbors and see the village they will be living in for two years. So my village is named Kalaba, it is 35k off the tarmac which means I basically have to bike 35k to get to the main road which I am oddly excited about and it is truly in the "African Bush". I am also what Peace Corps calls a "first generation" which means no other Peace Corps volunteer has lived in my village and I am most definitely the first white person that has lived in Kalaba, much less the first white person most of these people have ever seen. So I was to stay in Kalaba from Friday until Tuesday and wasn't exactly sure what I was going to do or who I was supposed to meet. Well was I in store for a surprise, the moment I got there my counterparts and everyone else it seemed in the village came to greet me and work on my house. It was a whirlwind of a few days which included very high highs and a few lows (which included me trying to climb up an ant hill beside my house to try and get cell phone service only to see the whole village staring at me like I was a crazy person). All in all Kalaba was great and I am excited to go back there in a few weeks and start working. They are a very active community but they have a lot of issues ( like having no clean water source, no nurse to staff the clinic) that I am excited to work on.
So many of you may be wondering what the title of my blog post is about. I wanted to give you all one little story from Kalaba so you could get a glimpse into my life. So Sunday is most people's day to rest and go to Church as most Zambians are very religious Christians. So I went to Church ( as I promised I would go to all of the Church's in Kalaba because as I explained to my counterparts Zambia doesn't have "the Church of the Jews"), and then my town was playing in a soccer game. I was very excited to go as my brother was an excellent goal keeper in High School and played soccer his whole life ( shout out to you B), and I truly enjoy watching soccer. So we get to the soccer game and this is when I realize I am famous. Everyone basically turns and stops what they are doing to stare at me ( Zambians arent afraid to stare for prolong periods of time). Then I sat down with my counterparts and was swarmed on both sides with children and adults alike who truly just wanted to sit near me. They stared a little more and then when I spoke my little Bemba I thought they were going to fall on the ground. Not only was I white but I spoke their language, how was this possible!? So the game was great although it did end in a tie (0-0) it was so much fun and I got a small bit of what Brad and Angelina feel ( without the cameras of course). It was a great time and I just had to laugh to myself and wish that all of you were here to watch my famous status in Kalaba.
So sorry this is shorter than some of you may hoped. I am exhausted from a physically and emotionally draining few weeks of speaking only Bemba and broken english, seeing what a true Zambian clinic looked like and how many problems it faces, and seeing my very own hut for the first time! So now I am back in Mansa and looking forward to making some mexican food and speaking english for a while. Tomorrow we go back to Lusaka where we will have a two day counterpart workshop with our counterparts from the village and then it is back to my homestay family in Chongwe who I truly do miss! So only two weeks of training left after that, I really can't believe how time has flown by but now I am just excited to get back to Kalaba and start my real work.
Love to everyone back home. For all of my fellow chosen people Happy New Year and have a easy fast if I can't update before Yom Kippur. Everyone else I send my love to you and thanks for all of the sweet e-mails and messages. I don't have barely any phone network in my village except for under a few trees so I will try and get back to all of your e-mails as soon as I can.
Mwende Bwino ( travel safe)
Kelsey
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Mwapoleni Mukwai!
Mwapoleni Mukwai- very excited to have my first Bemba title for my blog! Mwapoleni Mukwai is the greeting in Bemba for when you first meet someone or haven't seen someone in a long time. Since I have been gone for almost a month now I thought it was an appropriate title. So first and foremost I want to thank everyone who has written or e-mailed me over the last few weeks. For those of you who don't know I do have an internet phone here and can receive e-mails on my phone just about everyday. Sadly I can not respond to as many or as long as I would like as they haven't quite gotten the "crackberry" in Zambia and I still have a normal phone with a normal keypad, thus writing is quite a challenge. However do know that for those of you that send me an e-mail I will at least write back with a little thank you!
So now that the logistics are out of the way back to the important stuff! So I have been in Zambia for about three weeks now and I am loving every minute of it. There is so much to catch everyone up on but I will start with where I left off on my first site visit. So to summarize it was wonderful! I stayed with a CHIP volunteer that was just hitting her one year mark and she was great. Shockingly enough she was from Atlanta and went to UNCW for college so we hit it off from the start. After our long journey we arrived in her village and her and her two other PCV friends went on to host a wonderful three days together. We cooked pasta, tacos and rice and soya, we asked her and her friends about a million questions about their service and just tried to soak up every minute. The next day she took us to her NHC (Neighborhood Health Committee) where they were painting a new building they had just gotten as well as putting up posters and planning for a VCT event ( Voluntary Counseling and Testing- aka HIV/AIDS testing) that was coming to her village soon. They were all so sweet to us and all of the bamaayos ( mothers) cooked us a typical Zambian feast, it was about enough food to feed an army even though there were only four of us girls. So I wish I could give you more of a minute by minute of my time but basically the next day we went to this Lake near where the PCV lived and relaxed and asked more and more questions. Oh and I had my first official hitching experience- we hitched on the back of a truck filled with rocks, no wonder the ride was free it was not the most comfortable I've had!
So now back to today. So I have been living with my host family for two weeks now and love love them! So my family is composed of my baamayo (mom) my dad, three brothers and a sister. I am the 7th PCV they have hosted so I think they are basically pros by now. I live in a small small round mud hut. I have a mattress on the floor ( of course with my mosquito net covering me) as well as two small tables and my water filter. There is not much room for anything else but at the end of a long day of training it is my favorite place to come back to. I live in the middle of my families compound which includes their house ( small mud house with a tin roof) and a few other small huts for cooking, bathing, and the other boys to sleep. They speak a little English so it that has made adjusting a bit easier but they are insistent on me learning Bemba so they talk to me and study with me almost every night. As for my "typical day" it is a little hard to describe because in Peace Corps nothing is "typical" or "uniform" and everything is scheduled to change! However to generalize Monday through Friday I wake up around 7 am and I am at language training in my village by 8. My language class is just me and one other girl so the one on one attention is wonderful. Also it is in the village which makes it easier when we need to practice our Bemba, we just walk right out the door! So language is from about 8-12 and then I walk home to have lunch with my family ( probably Shima, a protein and a vegetable, probably doused in oil and salt- Zambians LOVE oil and salt). By 2:00 pm or 14:00 hours I am at the training center for our technical training. Our technical training is anything from HIV/AIDS education, Malaria training, guest speakers or cultural programs. Then by 5:00 we are usually done, just in enough time to bike home before it gets dark, take a bucket bath ( which I have learned to love very quickly), sit around the Brazier and watch my bamaayo cook dinner, eat and I am in my hut by 8:00 pm asleep by 9 or 10. So that is my day in a nutshell. On Saturdays we have half days and Sundays we have free. Last Sunday I went to my first Zambian funeral with my bamaayo. It was one of the most interesting and overwhelming experiences I have had yet but I am so glad I went. The people here are so honest and open about their emotions that they just wail and wail and nobody tries to stop them. It was almost a freeing experience in some sense and I think it is something that you don't see in the West very often.
So I know this is an extremely long post but I feel like everyday I learn something new and experience something completely out of the norm. So for now all I can say is that I am truly loving Zambia, the people are the most accommodating and hospitable people I have ever met. They treat me like their daughter even if we have just met on the street and they would offer me dinner even if they didn't have enough to feed their own family. Their country is beautiful and everyday all I have to do is look at the Zambian sky and know I am doing the right thing. Whether it is in the morning as the sun is coming up and the sky seems to go on forever , my bike ride home as the sun is setting and the most beautiful colors can be seen, or at night before bed as I brush my teeth under the most stars I have ever witnessed in my life, the Zambian sky is incredible. So I guess that is it for now! I don't know how often I will get internet or how much I will be able to update the blog but I promise anytime I get near a computer, a blog will be posted!
So I love and miss everyone very much and if I don't get to post in the next few weeks Happy Birthday to all those back home and know that I will be thinking about you on your special days!
All my love, Ba Cas ( what my host family calls me, "Ba" is a term of respect and Cas is their version of Kelsey since they can't pronounce my name).
So now that the logistics are out of the way back to the important stuff! So I have been in Zambia for about three weeks now and I am loving every minute of it. There is so much to catch everyone up on but I will start with where I left off on my first site visit. So to summarize it was wonderful! I stayed with a CHIP volunteer that was just hitting her one year mark and she was great. Shockingly enough she was from Atlanta and went to UNCW for college so we hit it off from the start. After our long journey we arrived in her village and her and her two other PCV friends went on to host a wonderful three days together. We cooked pasta, tacos and rice and soya, we asked her and her friends about a million questions about their service and just tried to soak up every minute. The next day she took us to her NHC (Neighborhood Health Committee) where they were painting a new building they had just gotten as well as putting up posters and planning for a VCT event ( Voluntary Counseling and Testing- aka HIV/AIDS testing) that was coming to her village soon. They were all so sweet to us and all of the bamaayos ( mothers) cooked us a typical Zambian feast, it was about enough food to feed an army even though there were only four of us girls. So I wish I could give you more of a minute by minute of my time but basically the next day we went to this Lake near where the PCV lived and relaxed and asked more and more questions. Oh and I had my first official hitching experience- we hitched on the back of a truck filled with rocks, no wonder the ride was free it was not the most comfortable I've had!
So now back to today. So I have been living with my host family for two weeks now and love love them! So my family is composed of my baamayo (mom) my dad, three brothers and a sister. I am the 7th PCV they have hosted so I think they are basically pros by now. I live in a small small round mud hut. I have a mattress on the floor ( of course with my mosquito net covering me) as well as two small tables and my water filter. There is not much room for anything else but at the end of a long day of training it is my favorite place to come back to. I live in the middle of my families compound which includes their house ( small mud house with a tin roof) and a few other small huts for cooking, bathing, and the other boys to sleep. They speak a little English so it that has made adjusting a bit easier but they are insistent on me learning Bemba so they talk to me and study with me almost every night. As for my "typical day" it is a little hard to describe because in Peace Corps nothing is "typical" or "uniform" and everything is scheduled to change! However to generalize Monday through Friday I wake up around 7 am and I am at language training in my village by 8. My language class is just me and one other girl so the one on one attention is wonderful. Also it is in the village which makes it easier when we need to practice our Bemba, we just walk right out the door! So language is from about 8-12 and then I walk home to have lunch with my family ( probably Shima, a protein and a vegetable, probably doused in oil and salt- Zambians LOVE oil and salt). By 2:00 pm or 14:00 hours I am at the training center for our technical training. Our technical training is anything from HIV/AIDS education, Malaria training, guest speakers or cultural programs. Then by 5:00 we are usually done, just in enough time to bike home before it gets dark, take a bucket bath ( which I have learned to love very quickly), sit around the Brazier and watch my bamaayo cook dinner, eat and I am in my hut by 8:00 pm asleep by 9 or 10. So that is my day in a nutshell. On Saturdays we have half days and Sundays we have free. Last Sunday I went to my first Zambian funeral with my bamaayo. It was one of the most interesting and overwhelming experiences I have had yet but I am so glad I went. The people here are so honest and open about their emotions that they just wail and wail and nobody tries to stop them. It was almost a freeing experience in some sense and I think it is something that you don't see in the West very often.
So I know this is an extremely long post but I feel like everyday I learn something new and experience something completely out of the norm. So for now all I can say is that I am truly loving Zambia, the people are the most accommodating and hospitable people I have ever met. They treat me like their daughter even if we have just met on the street and they would offer me dinner even if they didn't have enough to feed their own family. Their country is beautiful and everyday all I have to do is look at the Zambian sky and know I am doing the right thing. Whether it is in the morning as the sun is coming up and the sky seems to go on forever , my bike ride home as the sun is setting and the most beautiful colors can be seen, or at night before bed as I brush my teeth under the most stars I have ever witnessed in my life, the Zambian sky is incredible. So I guess that is it for now! I don't know how often I will get internet or how much I will be able to update the blog but I promise anytime I get near a computer, a blog will be posted!
So I love and miss everyone very much and if I don't get to post in the next few weeks Happy Birthday to all those back home and know that I will be thinking about you on your special days!
All my love, Ba Cas ( what my host family calls me, "Ba" is a term of respect and Cas is their version of Kelsey since they can't pronounce my name).
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