photos

Okay, I forgot to say that photos are coming. I can't upload them per se, but I'll figure out a way. If someone wanted to send me a card reader that would be amazing. Check with my mom before you go out and blow your hard-earned money on yours truly. She's got the details.

SMOOCHES. I LIKE YOU ALL!!!

Back to the grind

Hello all.

Well, it is back to the grind this week. Site visit was amazing. Almost as amazing as the welcome we received coming back into the village Tuesday night. Lea and I had to take a minibus all the way from Kapiri and of course, it got pulled aside at the police post for being unfit to drive. That set us back in time and it was already dark when we arrived in Ndola (about half way to our destination). It was DARK when we walked back into Kakolo. Lea's house is closest to the tarmac and I stayed there for the night because I didn't want to wake my family (especially because I didn't have my keys). We started up her "driveway" (I like that I used that word, no one has a car in the village) and all of the kids came running and screaming and gave us all hugs and carried our bags up to the house. Her bamaayo made us a late night dinner (ubwali of course) and we fell into bed, excited to be back. I walked home in the morning and my bamaayo came running and threw her arms around me. We don't get to communicate as well as we would like to, but she is an awesome lady and I'm thrilled she's my "mom" here.

Later in the day, it took Lea and I two hours to walk/hitch to Mwekera to fetch our injingas. We were stopped by these three guys outside of the police college. They had a camera and wanted us to "take a picture." So we stopped and then realized that they didn't want us to take their picture, they wanted to take a picture with us in it. So in my best Zamblish I said, "Ah, but we do not have time. We must get our injingas before the sun goes down. We must be going." Lea turned to them and said, "but we can take your picture." Foiled. Two days later we find out that we are going to be doing a training at the police college in two weeks. Two of us (HAP trainees) in a room with 60 cops each. I am sure we will see them again, and maybe that will make it less wierd that they have photos of us. I dunno.

Yesterday morning I did a workshop with 8th graders at Kamfinsa Upper Basic School. It was awesome. They knew so much about HIV and they were amazing to work with. We did a game called "The Best Response" where they had to come up with their best response to a whole bunch of "lines" that someone might say to them to initiate sex. We had about 20 girls and only 4 boys in the class. They gave some really sassy answers. I was totally psyched. They knew so much more than the 9th graders we worked with in Lengwe (in Luapula). I really love facilitating. Especially in the schools. Probably because they are a captive audience.

Okay, so in other news. Half-day today. We had the afternoon off and I've come to Kitwe today so I can stay home tomorrow. My bamaayo is going to teach me to make amascones (yep, that's scones with an ama- in front of it - Mom, corruptable noun means it was corrupted from English) on the imbabula (brasier). Oh right, I digress. So I'm in Kitwe today and so is His Excellency, President Levy Mwanawasa. We watched his motorcade come through as we were riding the bus into Kitwe. Pretty impressive. The just announced this week that the presidential elections will be September 28th. Everyone was expecting them to be held in November, but I guess these things change. Again, as a Peace Corps Volunteer I am not allowed to attend political rallies. My bataata is the chairman of the MMD in Kakolo and he wanted me to come, but I cannot. Oh well. I sure would have liked to rub elbows with the big shots down in Freedom Park.

Kitwe is abuzz on Saturdays. This is the first time I've been here on any day other than Sunday. It is a much more happening place than I ever realized. We went to the market in search of a citenge (fabric that you either wear as a wrap skirt or use to make a variety of other clothing items) with the Pope on it. Bonanza. There are so many. Citenges come with all kinds of crazy business on them. My friend Liz's goal is to find one with dinosaurs on it. I personally like the cell phone ones and the ones with the coy fish and umbrellas (yes, on the same fabric).

Alright. I think that might just be all I can manage to type for today. Thank you all for the buckets of mail I got this week. It was awesome to come back from site visit and have a stock pile of mail. I am slowly able to write each of you back. I promise I will get to all of you, and I'll have a ton more time to write everyone when I get to site. Tad-guy, I don't know how this is possible, but I don't have your new address. I sent a birthday card to home, so go check out Vermont sometime in the next 7 to 21 days.

I love and miss you all. Thanks for reading.

Smooches,
LIBBY

transportation madness

Okay, I'm going to try to make this quick. The lights were just flickering and I'm not sure this will post at all.

So, yes Mom, I told you I wouldn't have Internet access until Tuesday, but alas there was transportation madness. This morning my friend Lea and I got up to meet out transport from Kawambwa to Kitwe. We got to the bus and were loading our stuff and the amaguy (in Bemba you put ama- before corruptable nouns to make Bemba words, i.e. amaguys, amacookies, etc.) asked if we knew the route. We must have looked confused. But there are only like four roads in Zambia, how could we possibly go? Turns out the bus we had pre-booked was going to Kitwe via Dr. Congo (as Sean likes to call it - DRC to the rest of the world). I immediately demanded a refund. As Peace Corps volunteers we are not allowed to leave the country without letting the Country Director know, also DRC is a place to be avoided at the moment, by which I mean for the last several decades. (Yes, for those of you who are paying attention, I will be living very close to DRC. However, you would have to swim there from my site. Not to worry.) So. We took the bus to Mansa and are staying tonight in the Provincial Peace Corps Volunteer house, which is always a good time. Tomorrow morning we will head off to Kapiri and hitch from there back to Kitwe.

We had some wild transportation issues on our way from Mansa to Kawambwa last week on our way to Kim's site (where I stayed in the village for the last week - it was awesome, more on that later). We took a bus called "Peace Soldier" - on the front it says "Peace Soldier: Wrongfully Accused". My friend Shannon made up a Peace Soldier jingle: "Peace Soldier, you may be risking your life."

We were lucky that they came to the house to pick us up because we had 13 people and seven bikes to get up to Kawambwa. They had a trailer to carry all of our stuff. We pulled out of Mansa house and heard a thud. I thought we had a flat tire (which would only be natural after having had one in each direction on first site visit). I turned around . . . no trailer. It had fallen off not 200 meters from the house. It worked its way into a ditch. They had to get it out of the ditch and hitch it back up. It immediately fell off again 20 feet later. So they put some huge bags of salt on top of the trailer hitch. It did the trick. Then we got about three hours into our drive and stopped at a police checkpoint and I looked back. No salt bags had made it to that point. About 3k later we heard another thud. Again, my diagnosis was a flat tire. Nope, the trailer was fishtailing. I turned around to yell STOP! in the direction of the driver and when I turned back around there was no trailer. It took off into the village. I saw it as it came around the side of someone's icimbuusu (pit latrine). I am surprised it didn't take out any small children or goats. The impact screwed up at least four of the seven bikes. The gear sprokets were bent perpendicular to the chain. Shoot. Well, my bike was not in question it remains safely locked away in Mwekera where I will hopefully find it tomorrow night.

Right, so aside from our crazy adventures in Zambian public transportation, site visit was amazing!!! I love Luapula. Everyone is awesome. We stayed with Kim, an HIV/AIDS Volunteer who has been here for one year now. Her village was awesome. Lea and I facilitated sessions on three afternoons. We did a gender session with the grade nine at her school, an action planning session with her Health Center Committee, and a Mother-to-Child-Transmission / Gender and HIV session with her Traditional Birth Attendants and Community Health Workers. All three went pretty well. The gender session was my favorite. We had a lot of fun. We also went to meet Chief Kabilla, the sub-chief who is Kim's neighbor. This was a major to do. We had to bring him a financial contribution (because we didn't have a live chicken to spare) and kneel with both knees on the ground to greet him. It was majorly formal. We asked him a lot of questions and two hours later when we ran out of questions he informed us that he had cleared his entire day for our visit. So we took some photos and he invited us inside the palace, which is unheard of. No one goes into the palace. So, it was pretty awesome. Now I know what to do when I go to greet my chief.

We also went around Kawambwa to all of Kim's district officials to greet them and learn about what they do. Apparently her District AIDS Task Force people weren't there, because they were up in Nchelenge learning from my District AIDS Task Force, who are aparently amazing. So that's awesome. I'm really psyched to work with them. Also, Lea and I had a lesson in roof thatching, which we will present in Mwekera on Thursday. It's interesting stuff.

Anyway, we ate like queens the whole time. I made my faux-chicken nuggets twice. We made tortillas and had an attempt at Mexican food (the guacomole was amazing). Back to nshima tomorrow.

Oh yeah, we went to Ntumba Falls yesterday. AMAZING. So gorgeous. We saw three sets of waterfalls, each feeding into the next. And we swam in our clothes. Cold season is a joke - we dried off in like two hours.

Okay. Time to go. I love and miss you all. Thank you soooo much for the mail. I'll send my new address ASAP.

Lots of love and hugs and smooches.

LIBBY

Ciisuma SANA!!!

Ciisuma sana means everything is awesome here (it also means a bunch of other stuff too - Bemba is wacky).

Okay so the big exciting news of the week is I found out my site for the rest of service and right now I am on second site visit in Luapula!!! Yes, this means I will be living in Luapula Province for the next two years!!! For those of you keeping track, this IS the same province as Elliott, although he is very far from me. However, we will see each other a lot at the PCVL house in Mansa.

Right so my site is going to be so amazing!!! It is in the most tropical area of Zambia. I will be able to see Lake Mweru from my house. Nchelenge is my BOMA (British Overseas Management Area - it is like saying municipality or town) and I am 32k from there. My friend Lea is on the other side of Nchelenge and we are about 60k apart, but we can meet on the white sandy beach (I guess Lake Mweru looks like the ocean) which is about an hour and a half bike ride from each of us. My site is right on the tarmac and great for public transport. I could not be happier!!! I may even have cell service. However, there is no internet place in Nchelenge, so you may never hear from me except via cell phones.

I have a new address for packages only:

LIBBY BENNETT, PCV
PO Box 710150
Mansa, Zambia
Africa

Lots of love and hugs to you all. (I am currently writing from the most expensive Internet place in Zambia - which doesn't make it faster.) I have to go meet a bus to Kawambwa for my second site visit with Kim.

Thank you soooo much to everyone who has sent me mail and packages!!! I'm thrilled about getting mail and will write to you so much more when I get posted. I've been really busy during training. Oh yeah, CALL ME. My phone is always on!

Hugs, Smooches, and general LOVE!!!

LIBs

You can call me! (Al)

Hello All,

How is everyone? Well, my biggest news of the week is I bought a cell phone and it works. So far. My mom and dad have the number and you can get it from them and call me. I highly recommend using a pre-paid international calling card (the Costco one is good) because it is otherwise extremely expensive. Mom, have you received the phone bill from that one time you called without? Someone talked to their mom for an hour and the phone bill was $600. I hope that does not happen to you!

In other news: One week from now I will know where I will be posted for the next two years. I am still crossing my fingers for Luapula, not just because Elliott lives there, but because I like everything about it and the sites sound awesome. Apparently the two HAP (my project - HIV AIDS Project) sites are really close to each other and they're both close to a big lake with white sandy beaches!!! Not like I can swim while I am here -- we just had our session on shistosomiasis (google it) on Thursday: NSHILEFWAYA! (I DO NOT WANT!) Right, so in one week I will know whether I am going to Luapula, Central, or Northern Province for the next two years and I will share that info with you. However, I might not get to email for a while, probably not on Sunday, because I leave on Sunday to go on second site visit to the province where I will be posted. We will be gone for 10 days, but we will be in towns for a bunch of that visit and I'm sure I will be able to connect. Otherwise, call me!!!

Training is going super well. I really like it and I am making great friends. On Tuesday (July 4th) we had Cultural Day - July 4th is also a public holiday in Zambia. I think it is Farmer's Day. We all stayed home with our host families in the morning and I learned to cook kapenta (small dried fish) and soya pieces. They said I was a natural. In the afternoon all of the bamaayos came with us to Mwekera and prepared a TON of traditional dishes. I ate a caterpillar. I didn't like it. I won't do it again, but I did live through it. We watched while they killed 8 chickens all at once. Now I know how if I ever decide that I want the experience. Again, I have forgotten my camera to let you in on the visual experience. Anyway, the food was awesome, and interesting, and plentiful all at once. Ciisuma sana sana sana (it was very very very okay, or exciting, or tasty, or good). Ifyakulya nafiwama sana (The food is very good). I make sure to tell my bamaayo that the food is very good everytime I am served any kind of vegetable. Note: send vitamins.

Last night we went to a disco in Kitwe, called Exodus. I think it is a kind of bizarre name for a nightclub, but it was most excellent. Not too different from some of the joints I frequented in Cape Town. However, I did get to practice my Bemba with a couple of cocktails in me. Anyway, a good time was had by all. They drove us back to the training center and we all camped out in a small tent city on the grounds. I got three hours of sleep and we got up this morning to come to Kitwe. I promptly bought some cheese (I don't get any in the village) and some chocolate and bananas.

I really like Sundays because they are our only day off in the week. Last week after posting to the blog I went and got schwarma (it's a lot like a gyro . . . really tasty) for lunch and ate it at this place called Linda's, where there is a swimming pool and a bar, and not a whole lot else. There is no water in the pool at present, but we spent the afternoon drinking Congolese beer from big bottles poolside. It was heaven. We may very well go there again this afternoon!

I guess there's not a whole lot else to report right now. A sort of uneventful week I guess. I can say that biking is getting so much easier and I have cut my time to Mwekera to just under an hour. I actually look forward to Thursdays, both for the fun of seeing everyone all together and for the bike ride.

Like biking, my Bemba is also improving. I find myself conversing with my bamaayo a lot more often (she doesn't speak English, so that is a good sign that I am getting better). I am entirely aware that I have only 5 more weeks of language instruction, and I should be working my bum off to get really good while I have the help. I am sure that I will pick up a ton in the village when I am posted, but I am nowhere near being able to facilitate sessions in Bemba.

On Tuesday I am giving a nutrition workshop to fifth graders at a local school. I am pretty excited about it. At least I know a lot of food words in Bemba! When I go on site visit I will get to conduct some more sessions, probably at the clinic, probably on HIV prevention, to brush up on my facilitation skills and try to do some presenting in Bemba. The rest of this week will be spent digging in the dirt to learn as much as I can about gardening. I am so excited!!!

Alright everybody. I think I need to go now. I miss you all like crazy. Keep the letters coming and I will post my new address as soon as I know it.

Love and hugs to all,

LIBBY

Any time from now . . .

meanHey, Hey, Hey,

Hi everybody! Thank you all for the emails and comments you've posted. I miss you all like WOAH.

So, I've had a pretty busy two weeks since I last informed everyone of my goings-on. Any time from now I will learn how to put some pictures up on this thing and give you all the visual experience. Everything will happen "any time from now" in Zambia. Time is elastic. The word for tomorrow is the same as the word for yesterday, Zambians live for today and the future is a really abstract concept for a lot of people in the village. When will we get that phone working? Any time from now. When will I get a lock for my injinga? Any time from now. You get the picture.

Okay, so I guess I should begin by saying my Bemba is picking up speed. I had my first language oral simulation exam on Friday and I got to tell the examiners all about uulupwa lwandi bekala ku America (my family live in America). Of course, I had to lie about your professions, because disc jockey, hair dresser, and social worker are all corruptable in Bemba. So Dad, you got to be a shing'anga (doctor), Jess you were a namutekenya (driver), and Tad you were a kafundisha (teacher). Anyway, I'm pretty sure that I passed with flying colors, and that is a very good thing. Oh yeah, I think that Tia was a nashi (nurse) too, because I didn't want to use kalaliki (office worker) twice. I showed them all my skills.

Last week I did not come into town to write to you all because I went to church with my phenominal bankashi (sister) Ruthie. Church was soooo long. 3 hours. The sermon was an hour and I totally zoned out because it was mostly in Bemba and I didn't understand. They made me stand up and introduce myself at the end and I gave it the old college try. My Bemblish is excellent as it turns out.

My biking is getting better. It is seriously uphill both ways to get to the training center in Mwekera. 15 clicks = about 9 miles and it takes an hour to get there. Each time is a little faster than the last. My first trip took forever because I had never had to ride in sand before. It is brutal. I don't know how the Zambians do it. We get American mountain bikes that can handle it if you know what you're doing, but Zambians have simple one-speed bikes loaded six feet high with sacks of ifyumbu (sweet potatoes).

Anyway, I've named by bike Cruiser, because on our maiden voyage to Mwekera two weeks ago, we hit a Peace Corps Land Cruiser driven, luckily, by the Peace Corps Medical Officer. Mom, do not be alarmed, you've talked to me twice since then, I'm obviously fine. It was a sandy patch that also happened to be the narrowest part of the road and a blind spot for cars coming around a corner. I tried to fall into the bush, but my bike pushed me the other way right into the side of the moving Land Crusier. I'm totally fine. I bruised my ankle and a bit of my sternum, but I've healed just fine, thanks to my trusty arnica gel.

Story number three: I had food poisoning this week. Gnarly details upon request. It was from a boerwors sausage that my bamaayo prepared (I thought nothing of it, it is the same sort of sausage I ate in Cape Town). I knew it was from that because the whole thing started with some really awful heartburn in the middle of the night, but I didn't want to get out of my sleeping bag and mosquito net to get the Pepto from my med kit. I woke up at 5am and I knew I was about to have some awful "runny tummy" as they call it in SA. As I said, details upon request. Anyway they've tried to serve the same sausage to me twice since then, and I have barely been able to look at it. In general, I have absolutely no control over my diet during homestay. I don't get veggies on any kind of regular basis. My bamaayo was giving me an amacungwa (orange) every morning for a few days, but that has become a distant memory. It turns out they grow rape (a cabbage that is prevalent here) in a garden that I just discovered yesterday. I don't know what they do with it. They also have an eggplant plant growing there, but I've yet to see eggplant on the dinner itabulo. Just the other day I was sitting outside working on my Bemba and a guy came up on his injinga and stopped in our yard. He handed my bamaayo two large sacks. I asked her if it was amataba (maize). She said no, they were ifyumbu (sweet potatoes). I haven't seen those yet either. I told her that I like umusalu (veggies) (not to be confused with umusula - a**hole - pardon my Bemblish). Perhaps any time from now I may get to eat some.

Oh, I also went to a Zambian funeral in my village this week. It was acutally really cool. Funerals last for about three days in the village. Family comes from all over the place and everyone in the village attends at least one of the evenings. There were probably 250 people in the yard at the home of the deceased, huddled around about 18 campfires. Six church choirs came and took turns singing and dancing. It was very pleasant and everyone seems to enjoy each other's company. They stay out all night (my friend Paul and I peaced out early at 22h00 (10pm for those of you on the twelve hour clock) and come back home at 5h00 (5am). The choirs sing all night. I could hear the whole thing from my bed.

Two nights ago my friend Katy's bamaayo showed up while I was eating dinner (I think it was scrambled eggs, that's what I usually have for dinner). She said that Ruthie and I had to come to her house to learn to dance. Ruthie said she did not want to go, but she also said that Ba Agnes is a good kafundisha. I decided that if Ruthie did not want to go, that maybe I didn't either, but she said it would be rude to refuse the invitation. We both went. Katy and Ginny, my fellow PCTs and neighbors in Kakolo were already there. I came in and they had me sit down on the couch. They put the table in front of the door and we were truly a captive audience. It was a private lesson, no males allowed. Four young ladies of about our age from the village were there to teach us to dance. They said it is very important for girls and boys to know how to dance in Zambia. The whole thing was totally sexual and made me sortof uncomfortable at times. It was interesting, and I was amazed. I should just say that I do not have the stomach muscles required to dance like a Zambian woman. There were hand gestures that we did not understand, and when we asked what it meant or why they did it they all replied that they would tell us tomorrow. I read it to mean the same as "We'll tell you when you're older."

So, the Fourth of July is coming up. I am sad to be missing the fireworks and symphony at Grafton. I hope all will enjoy. July 3rd and 4th are public holidays in Zambia too. Farmer's Day, and I don't know what the other one is. So on Tuesday I get to stay home with my bamaayo and learn how to keep house and what not. Then in the afternoon we are having a Cultural Day at Mwekera. Doc, one of our trainers is out hunting an impala to roast as I type this. It should be exciting. I guess there will be dancing and all kinds of stuff. Rumor has it we will get to try caterpillars and termites (as in we will get to eat them). Hopefully my stomach will be back up to par for the experience.

Well, I miss you all. Chad, thanks for the remedial Bemba help. Sean, I'm teaching people our handshake, it's a hit. Tad-guy, everybody loves your iPod, it is amazing what the shuffle will pick up on that puppy. Jenny, I've been doing my part to advertise GP and the knocks all over Zambia, you guys are huge over here. Kara and Meks, I'm learning all kinds of new sayings to bring back to you. Jess, it's apparently not cool here to ask a pregnant woman when she is due or to mention that she is pregnant, so pretend that I never asked, but I hear all is well. Mom and Dad, my bamaayo and bataata send their greetings and well-wishes, as do I. Tia, I am living that article you gave me, I'm a real fashion plate here. I just put on as many layers as I can in the morning and as I take each layer off I realize how ridiculous my outfit is, oh well. Aileen, I hope that the Peace Corps application process is going well, hang in there it's a long road. I'm told that Peace Corps Zambia has the lowest rate of drop-outs and the highest extension rate in the world. Come join us. Hey, if anybody has photos from home and or photos from my going-away party I would love to see them or receive them in the mail. That would be so awesome. And, if you're sending a package, I would love some dried fruit and nuts. I am on my way to Shop-Rite now to get some chocolate, the first I will have tasted in about a month. I'm pretty psyched.

Okay, this is costing me a fortune. Gotta go. Oh yeah, I might be getting a cell phone this week. I'll send the info your way.

Love you all to pieces and miss you like crazy. Love, LIBs