Wow. It's been a while. . .

Okay, where to begin. Posting. I’ve been living at my site for three weeks now. As I anticipated, this is the most difficult part of Peace Corps service. All things considered, I have many things to be thankful for (and I mean that in a good way): • My site is right on the tarmac (paved road). I have a decent bike ride into town, and I can actually go there and back in one day (it is 34km – about the distance from Brattleboro to Greenfield, MA). I’ve done this ride twice and both times it was bearable. • My BOMA is beautiful. The lake is so gorgeous and I’ve never eaten this much fish in my life. We even have a couple of night clubs (which is fun, but would be more fun if I were a guy – Zambian women don’t really go to bars). • My Peace Corps neighbors are lots of fun. We’ve become a little family and we’re all pretty silly, so that’s good. • My actual/physical neighbors are amazing and they’ve been taking such good care of me. I still don’t have a pit latrine or a bathing shelter at my house, so I’ve been using theirs, not to mention I am taking all of my meals with them. If I don’t show up for a meal they come and get me. It is so wonderful to have them and totally serendipitous that they are people I would be friends with anyway. Ba Gilbert is 26 years old and works for the court in Kanyembo. His wife Ba Florence is 22. They have three children, all girls. Mwape is 5, Mary is 3, and Ida is 6 months old. Mwape has been away for her school holidays with her grandmother in Mansa, so I’ve barely gotten to know her at all. (School is different here, they go to school for three months and then have a month off, then back to school for three months, etc.) Mary, however, is the cutest and most adorable child in my village, if not in all of Luapula (and there are some pretty cute kids here). She is a little entertainer and she can do no wrong by me (which is a stretch for me, because I’m not really a kid person – as you all know). Okay, now because I've been uploading photos, I've taken forever and I'll come back tomorrow to fill you in on the rest of the details. And, to give you some more visual stimulation. Much love everyone. Sorry this is short. PEACE.