Scribblings from ZAMBIA: the Zambianization of Elizabeth Bennett

EXCITING NEWS!!!

2008-05-05T04:15:00.002-04:00

Hi!

I know, you're stunned that I'm posting twice in the same day!

Things have changed, definitely for the better!

On Friday I had a meeting with the Migration Health Manager from the International Organization for Migration. They want me to come and work with them as their Counter Trafficking Program Assistant! I'm so excited about this work and just thrilled at the fact that I was in the right place at the right time to take the opportunity.

Things are not exactly set in stone yet. I have to meet some Peace Corps criteria, since the position is a Peace Corps Extension, which shouldn't be a problem. When everything is final, I'll be living in Kabulonga, WITH BLESSED!!! (FINALLY!!!) So we're still working out details. All you need to really know for now is that things are great!!! My parents have more details, so get in touch with them until I can update you further.

Hugs hugs hugs!!!

LIBs

THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS

2008-05-05T04:11:00.000-04:00

Muli shani bonse? “moo-lee sha-nee” = how are you?“bone-say” = everyone

I know I haven’t done this in way too long (I think that’s how all of my blog entries start, huh?), but I’m in Lusaka now and have my own computer, so I might as well get cracking on this business.

I’m in Lusaka for my Close of Service Conference this week. It is sheer madness that in less than sixteen weeks I’ll be done in the village and moving on to . . . well, that part is still up in the air – it’s the story of my life. I’m looking forward to an extension in Lusaka working with the National AIDS Council to support the coordination of all HIV & AIDS, STI, and TB efforts taking place in the province. However, it is possible that Peace Corps might not be offering me a Lusaka extension and they may send me to one of the other provincial capitols to do the same job. Should that happen, I may end my service with Peace Corps in August and exercise my right to a residence permit in Zambia by finding a job here for another one year while we wait for Blessed’s immigrant visa to the States. After all, I could stand to be making more than $8 a day. Either way, we should be coming home in the fall of 2009 as previously planned. We’re both looking forward to our arrival in the States in a big way, and wish it could happen sooner. I miss everyone so much, and B can’t wait to meet everyone.
My village life has been going pretty well, thanks to my efforts to ensure that I’ll be very busy up until – at least – mid-June. Lea and I have been making a collective effort to try to bring mobile counseling and testing services to our district for a week to test somewhere in the realm of 600 people for HIV. Our funding source changed their criteria just as we were submitting our proposal and we no longer qualify for their funding. So, we’ve been in limbo on that front for some time now. However, I think I may have found the answer to our dilemma last week. We should be finding out this week if another organization is going to help us. My house made it through the rainy season, and I am therefore going to remain in it until I leave in August. I should have taken a photo of the new one so you could all see its dilapidated state. I believe there is a tree growing up inside of it, but I can’t really get close enough to see because there is chest-high grass growing all around it. Needless to say, Peace Corps is not replacing my site with a new volunteer when I leave, which has made my work feel kind of pointless. I can’t wait for August.

The HIV testing sensitization campaign I am carrying out with the community counselors at my clinic should be keeping me busy up until my family comes for yet another vacation on the African continent. Yes, my parents, Annette, Tia and Tad are coming for a vacation in Zanzibar (an island off the coast of Tanzania). They’re (*nuts*) INCREDIBLE! I can’t believe they scheduled this vacation so that Blessed and I could be part of Bennett Family Vacation 2008. I have wanted to go to Zanzibar since the time I lived in Cape Town. Zanzibar is paradise – with the added bonus of enough history to keep Mark Bennett happy and sane! I’m really looking forward to slathering mass amounts of SPF 75 on myself while reading, walking, exploring, and having massages on the beach. After a few days of that I’m looking forward to venturing out on the rest of the island to tour the spice plantations, take the slave tour, eat fresh cashews and pineapples, have a pair of shoes made, eat tons of really fresh shellfish, go to some museums, and maybe go back to the beach.

As if Tanzania weren’t vacation enough, my parents, Annette, Blessed and I will return to Lusaka for a couple of days before taking off on a 4-day, 5-night canoe safari in the Lower Zambezi National Park. I’m really looking forward to visiting this part of Zambia, since I have not yet been. It is generally very hot there, but we’ll be visiting in the cold season – I’m no meteorologist or anything, but I’m sure that means it will be perfect! Yes, we will take ample photos for your enjoyment. Upon our return to Lusaka we’ll spend some time just enjoying each other’s company before they return to the States. It will be another great opportunity for son-in-law/parents-in-law bonding – as if they need it, they’re all nuts about each other already. I’m really excited for Blessed. Just last week he and his friend Vundukai were given funding for a youth empowerment/HIV prevention/mobile VCT project they have been planning for several months. I’m so proud of B. He is working so hard. They should be commencing the training of twenty peer educators sometime next month. This month is all about making letterhead, opening the bank account (which takes a ridiculously long time), and registering the organization; all this while he continues his coursework for his diploma in Education. He’s a pretty busy guy right now, which unfortunately means he won’t be spending much time with me in the village in the next sixteen weeks. That will be hard. I can’t wait to move to Lusaka, where we can finally share something more like a home than my mud hut in Kanyembo.

I’m really eager to hear about what is going on “that side.” I made Barack Obama cookies (dark, milk, and white chocolate) in honor of the Pennsylvania Primary, but I suppose it didn’t do the trick. Anyway, they were delicious and I’m thinking if the people of Pennsylvania had only tasted them . . .

PORCIA -- Blessed and I congratulate you SANA (very much) on Jordan’s healthy birth. We expect photos when they become available. I remember when Jessica and I came to visit you in the nursery at Lawrence Memorial Hospital, OMG I feel OLD!

I did have the pleasure of hearing Avery’s (my marvelous year and a half old niece) “diarrhea” song this week. Thank God for cellular phone technology! Other than that, I’m feeling a little bit out of touch. Maybe a trip to the movies would help, Blessed and I plan on seeing Vantage Point tonight. I’m pretty excited, even though I have no clue what it’s about.

Well, I miss you all so much and I send all my love and lots of hugs. Be well, keep me informed and updated about your lives (now I can’t say I haven’t done the same). TAG! YOU’RE IT!

Hugs n’ smooches,

LIBs

How you can make a difference in Zambia!

2008-02-18T09:47:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone!

I'm so sorry I haven't written in a long time. Even at this moment, I don't have the time to write much, or catch you up on all that's happened since my last entry. My deepest apologies.

I just wanted to update you all about my friend Lea's clinic project. It is now posted on the Peace Corps Partnership Projects website. Lea has directions on how to donate posted on her blog: http://leainzambia.blogspot.com

Information on the project can be found here on my blog in the post titled "Lea's Clinic Project" and can also be found by reading about the project on Lea's blog. Please consider making a donation. I understand that not everyone is in a position to donate, but you can do a lot just by informing others about this wonderful opportunity to help people in Zambia, a country that needs all the help it can get, a country that I have come to love greatly. This project will be nothing short of a complete success, but they cannot begin the work until all of the money has been raised.

Sorry again for the lack of posts lately. I promise an exciting update is coming soon!

Much love and thanks for considering making a donation!

Lea's Clinic Project

2007-10-19T16:00:00.000-04:00

I just want to let all of you know that Lea (my ama-twin, bridesmaid, neighbor, colleague, and extraordinary friend) is planning a major project to build and staff a new clinic in her enormous catchment area. The project was just approved as a Peace Corps Partnership Project and will soon be detailed under the link “Donate to Peace Corps Projects” on the right-hand toolbar of this page.

There is serious need for this clinic, the building for which was started some time back before Lea and I came to Nchelenge District. Lea’s catchment area spans 65km (40.4 miles) along Lake Mweru and another 30km (18.6 miles) away from the lake, and serves over 30,000 people with only two staff – one nurse and one Environmental Health Technician. There are villages in Lea’s area where people are expected to cycle or walk for 58km (36 miles) to get treatment at the existing clinic.

I hope you all find this inadequacy as appalling as I do and that you’ll be able to do whatever you can to support this project. They need to raise $27,100 to complete the infrastructure. The Luapula Provincial Health Office and Nchelenge District Health Management Team have committed to providing staff, supplies, and medications for this clinic once the infrastructure is complete. Your contributions will be tax-deductible and can be made in any amount with a credit card on-line through the Peace Corps Partnership website (click on the “Donate to Peace Corps Projects” link on the right toolbar).

Having spent a significant amount of time with Lea and her counterparts in her area, I can tell you that this project will be nothing short of a total success. Please offer whatever support you can offer and let your friends and family know about this opportunity to help people right here in my district of Zambia.

Updates

2007-10-19T15:55:00.001-04:00

Muli shani bonse mukwai? Ndemifuluka sana sana sana!! Ndesubila fyonse cisuuma sana ku America. Nkalamimona nombalinefye! (How are you everyone? I am missing you very very very much!! I hope everything is great in America. I will be seeing you just soon!)

Many apologies, this update is long overdue. The Internet has been out for a month or so in Mansa, and my recent trip to Lusaka went by fast fast, leaving me no time to adequately greet you all. I hope all is well with all of you. I'm missing everyone in America-Land, and very happy to report, for anyone who hasn't spoken to my mother in the last 72 hours, that I'M COMING HOME FOR CHRISTMAS!!! I'm so excited! It will be hard to leave Blessed here for our first married Christmas, but the visa restrictions are just too firm and unattainable at this juncture. He's been so incredibly supportive and I'm so thankful that he is willing to give me up for a chance to be together with family and friends this Christmas. In case you haven’t noticed or heard, I love him so much. I can’t wait for the opportunity for all of you to meet him too.

A bunch of things have happened since the last time I wrote. My community is building a new house for me in the village. As of one week ago, when I left for Mansa, it still had no hint of a roof. I would be absolutely shocked if I return to it on Saturday and nothing has been done, although such things have been known to happen before. The chieftainess has ordered the headmen that have not been helping on it to bring grass and poles for construction of the roof. However, for days after that mandate nothing happened. I have enough faith in the traditional leadership in my area (don’t ask me why, I have very little reason to feel this confidence) that they will get the roof on before the rain comes and melts the uncovered bricks back into the earth from which they came, that I purchased two pockets of cement to finish my floors (a sizable investment for me). Hopefully this will not be in vain.

I have big plans for my new house. It’s about the size of a postage stamp, so I pretty much had to start planning when it was still at foundation level. I’ll plastic the inside of the roof to make it leak-proof, and screw in hooks to hang our bikes from the beams (of course, both of these rely on the assumption that I will get a roof at all). Once the floors are finished, I’ll smear the walls with mud to smooth them out and then lyme to “paint” them bright white. It will be nice to have everything feel so new and maybe even a little bit clean, or cleaner. I’m not sure what will happen with the amenities. I may have to “ablute” at my current house (about 85 meters away) or at my neighbors’ house (now only 15 – 20 meters away), because you can’t sink a toilet in the rainy season, and my biggest priority at the moment is my roof. (Don’t forget, I used my neighbors’ latrine for the first 2 ½ months I was at my site – I wonder how long it will take for the community to provide me with privy this time around . . . ???) I’ll also be in need of a new bathing shelter – worry not, I built the current one together with my neighbor and have the know-how to do it again if absolutely necessary.

In other news, married life is great. Blessed and I have been fortunate to get over the who’s-gonna-do-what-housework syndrome, and we’re both feeling a lot better about life as a result. We’ll both be really psyched to live in America and not have to worry about who is going to light the charcoal in the braiser, who will draw the water, or who will break their back and wash the clothing by hand for 2-3 hours . . . so psyched . . . so, so psyched.

B and I have been doing a lot of HIV/AIDS meetings in my catchment area since he moved in after the wedding. We’ve now completed all of the meetings, which were held in 10 separate villages in our area, and we’ve managed to reach 400 new people that I’ve never worked with before – pretty exciting for me, and for PEPFAR. As a result of some of those meetings, I’ve found some new women’s groups with which to work – teaching them how to make compost manure to use instead of fertilizer, and how to make nutritious foods from soya beans. My extraordinary friend Lea came to help facilitate the soya demonstration, and as a result it was a complete success. I’ve finally been able to work with the Agriculture Extension Agents in my catchment area and they’ve been a great help with keeping people interested in compost and sustainable agricultural practices. It is one thing for an American – read OUTSIDER – to come and suggest you use garlic, tobacco, chili peppers, and soap as an insecticide, it is another thing altogether if the guy who normally sells you chemical fertilizer and insecticides to indorse it too!

The past week all of the volunteers have been in Mansa for a PEPFAR HIV/AIDS training for volunteers and their counterparts. Lea and I facilitated it together with Dr. Bowa, the Peace Corps PEPFAR Director from Lusaka. Everyone seemed to enjoy the training, which ended with on-site VCT on Thursday afternoon. My counterpart, Mr. Bupe, was great and we got to do a bunch of planning for potential upcoming projects. We had the chance to do some initial planning for a district-wide mobile VCT event to take place in May. It will hopefully include six days with testing in six different locations in Nchelenge District. More to come as this planning unfolds into something more substantial . . .

I’m pretty tired as a result of planning and facilitating and logistic-ating this workshop all week. I’m looking forward to going back to the village for a little bit of rest and relaxation. (We completed the HIV prevention meetings before Blessed and I left for Mansa last week, so I’ll go back to a clean slate – I forget what stress feels like sometimes).

Blessed will remain in Lusaka until Monday or Tuesday and then proceed to Luanshya to rehearse for Raven and Joshua’s wedding on Saturday the 27th. She caught the bouquet at our wedding (really . . . um . . . we didn’t plan it or anything) and they got engaged just a week or so later when she was leaving to go back to the States. Blessed and Lea are both on the “line up” and need to be there to rehearse so the rest of us can be thoroughly entertained, I mean, that’s their job as the bridal party, right? When in Zambia. . . A great many congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. Joshua Chitalo and their families.

So, my friends, I’m so excited to see you all in December/January when I come home to Vermont. I hope to get to see as many of you as possible. I’ll just be home for about two weeks and then I’ll have to come back to the “grindstone.” I’m trying to save the rest of my vacation days so Blessed and I can take a honeymoon in Zanzibar.

Much love and many hugs to you all,

LIBBY

A spinster no longer

2007-08-07T12:13:00.000-04:00

Hey People!

I realize it’s been a while since I’ve written. My deepest apologies, I’ve been a little bit busy. . .

I’M MARRIED!!! Yes, I found a keeper and promised to have and to hold him until death do us part. It’s pretty wonderful and exciting. You may now call me Mrs. Ngoma, if you so wish. Although I’m keeping Bennett at least until I return back on US soil. Exchanging my original documents through the postal service is not something I’m prepared to do at this time. The marriage certificate proudly states that I, Elizabeth Bennett, am no longer a “spinster” just as Blessed is no longer a “bachelor.” People in my village have been telling me all along that at age 24, I should really be married with two or three kids by now. At least by now a bit of the pressure is off.

Blessed and I are so happy and we owe everyone a tremendous thank you for all your support. We especially want to thank our families and our friends who made July 2nd such an amazing and wonderful, memorable day. WE LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!! For those who could not make it, we will find a way to celebrate the whole thing again in America-land when the time comes. “Yes please!!!” And Jessica, your presence was felt in the love and care with which you helped me prepare in spirit. Thank you so much.

I hope you’ll all get a chance to be visually stimulated by the few photos I’ve included here, as well as those posted by Lea and Katey King. I understand they, along with Kara and Mekkin, have posted several “snaps” from the wedding. Thank you all so much for taking so many wonderful photos! We have basket-loads of memories thanks to you all! I won’t thank the jerk of a photographer, who although he took several lovely prints, stole Beth’s camera. That was some bad karma in your direction Ba Mudala, really bad.

The photos I’m posting are from a long stretch of events since the last time I posted anything to this blog, beginning with several snaps of my Girls’ Camp in Kanyembo. It was a huge success, judging by the marked improvement in the pre- and post-test scores of the participants, and the 41 people who volunteered for HIV tests at the VCT Event that finished off the week. I was really pleased with the way everything went and am very thankful to the PARVEN Foundation for all of their hard work to make it all happen. Mwabombeni Mukwai!!!

Other photos in this new set are from the wonderful pseudo-honeymoon we shared with my family and friends. We had an amazing few weeks with an amazing group of people! Ten of us (Mom, Dad, Tia, Annette, Tad, Beth, Kara, Mekkin, Blessed, and myself) traveled to Livingstone the day after the wedding. After a messy breakdown in our tired minibus, (which actually could have been much messier – we broke down in the “ACID CONTAMINATED AREA” outside of Mazabuka) we arrived in Livingstone in the literal middle of the night. We spent the greater part of the following day at Victoria Falls and enjoyed being TOTALLY drenched by the spray, a cascade in its own right, after which we hiked down into the Boiling Pot to enjoy the sights of crazy people bungee jumping from the bridge. “No, thank you.” That night we had dinner at the NGOMA Zanga restaurant where the masses got to see Annette shake it like a Polaroid picture. The memories will live on and on. . .

Our return to Lusaka brought little rest as we forged on to Mfuwe in the Eastern Province for some excellent game viewing. Although we got a very late start and got lost a bit on the way, arriving at o’dark thirty (aka five o’clock in the AM), we truly enjoyed our accommodation and the many encounters with animals during our stay. We stayed at Flat Dogs Camp just outside the gates of South Luangwa National Park. “Outside the gates” doesn’t really describe the reality of the situation. The park has no fence or man-made boundary surrounding it, so the animals venture outside and into the contiguous areas. We had elephants at a 20-foot distance from our tents and I was even blessed with the opportunity to step in monkey poo. By the way, a big thanks to my loving mother for cleaning that business off my bare foot. Can you feel the love? The hippos made their hippo noises all night long, and my parents had early awakenings by the monkeys and elephants that came complimentary with their tree house. Yep, it was just as awesome as it sounds. On our game drives inside the park we saw giraffes, elephants, a leopard, lions, zebras, about a zillion kinds of antelope, hippos, warthogs, mongoose, hyenas, crocodiles, on and on and on. It was incredible. Definitely the best safari I’ve experienced. If you get a chance, go. And fly.

Upon return to Lusaka we saw off Tad, Beth, Annette and Tia. Our journey continued to my site. We drove the 8 hour trip to Mansa, where we stayed in a brand new guest house. Not sure how I ended up with something’s entire eyebrow in my breakfast sausage. I suppose that my stomach must be increasingly made-of-steel. Remarkably, by the time we arrived and settled in Kanyembo, everyone was sick except me and my dad. We managed a few fun experiences, including a short cruise on Lake Mweru and a full morning of chitenge shopping – resulting in a bit of chitenge wear returning to two of the most fashionable closets in Boston and Seattle respectively. We were greeted by several members of the Kanyembo community who were eager to meet Ba Maayo and Ba Taata, as well as Bana and Bashi Bwinga (The Mother and Father of the Wedding = Blessed and myself). We even got a chance to witness a bit of work being done on what will eventually (hopefully before the rainy season begins) be my, strike that, our new house. I like how married life means that everything that was once “mine” is now “ours.”

“Our Three Weeks of Glory,” as Blessed is calling it, was a really wonderful way for him to get to know his new American family and vice versa. I knew they would like each other, but never anticipated the bonds that would be made in those three weeks. They just seem to absolutely adore each other. Chawama SANA! We’ve settled back into the house in Kanyembo and the community is so happy to have us back. They’re all excited about having Blessed around and it is funny how much more a part of the community I feel now that we’re living there together as a married couple. The work we are planning to do together is getting me very excited and we’re about to get very busy. I am especially looking forward to the Home Based Care trainings we are about to do throughout the catchment area, as well as the Life Skills teacher training we have planned for the end of August.

We were really lucky to have the opportunity to go to the Mutomboko Ceremony at the very end of July. The traditional ceremony happens each year to celebrate the battle victories of the Lunda people in Luapula Province. (I’m told you can access more information on www.mutomboko.org) One aspect of the ceremony begins in my catchment area in Kanyembo, so we were able to see all of the events as they unfolded. My chieftainess plays a big role in the events and even got to dance the Mutomboko dance this year as the first woman ever to do so. She was awarded uproarious applause. Blessed attended the ceremony last year and knew all the important events to photograph, resulting in a very thorough pictorial representation of the entire weekend. We divided our time among friends from both Blessed’s experience and mine, pitching a tent with the Peace Corps crowd at a soon-to-open orphanage. I even got to meet my soon-to-be neighbor, Leo, who will be joining Lea and I in Nchelenge District by the end of this month. The orphanage promises to be really amazing and just so you all know, they are excepting volunteers from all over the world. I can get details for anyone who is interested.

Please enjoy all of OUR new photos. I wish I could share all of them with you, but they are slow to upload and the Internet in Mansa is too expensive to get everything to you all at once. I’m sure there will be a way to access all of the wedding photos compiled from all those who attended (for all I know with my limited Internet access, you’ve already seen all the photos and are thinking how behind I am), and when I know the details I’ll link it up to this business.

***for example, Tia's photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10252231@N08/

All of my love and thanks to everyone reading,

LIBBY

Hello America-land

2007-04-21T11:31:00.000-04:00

Muli shani bonse mukwai? (How are you all?)

I just posted new photos. Check them out.

I’m sitting here, not sure what to write about. So, I’ll write about the three main things on my mind lately. This will inevitably turn into one of my flow of consciousness musings. So, here it is, in no particular order (if they were to present themselves to me in order, I’d probably be a lot more able to deal with each and every nuance in a much more Virgo fashion), I present the stirrings of my brain:

Topic #1
MY HOUSE: My house is indeed going to fall down. Last time I wrote, I told you there was a crazy lot of termite damage in the roof beams. I returned to my site from that Easter hiatus to find all of the termite "stuff" (it’s better we just use "stuff" since I’m absolutely not sure what that is and it’s better not to think about what it might be) had fallen from the one seriously damaged beam to show just how damaged it is. I think they’re trying to build their version of the New York City Subway in my roof. At first I thought they were well fed little buggers, but then I started to think they’re not getting any protein, hence the non-stop carb-o loading off my roof and walls.

So, how to deal with this problem? Well, your guess is as good as mine at this point. Peace Corps has given my community an ultimatum saying they need to come up with a plan in writing for what they’ll do to improve upon my housing situation - either build a new house as originally promised or fix up the one I’m in, which will inevitably fall over the minute they try to do any substantial work on it - by April 30th. Well, in the last month since I delivered this ultimatum letter to my community no one has called a meeting, no one has said more than a few murmurings about doing anything. Doesn’t look like they care enough about keeping me to do anything. They get a hard-working, motivated Peace Corps Volunteer for two years (and really six years as the rotation works out) and the house is supposed to be their community contribution toward keeping that Volunteer sheltered in her time in that village. We make less than $8 a day to live at the same standard as the people with whom we are working, but I think I’m not even up to par with them on my digs.

The Peace Corps powers-that-be in Mansa - that would be Raven, and Maneesh who is due to replace her any day now - came to discuss this issue with my neighbor, who surprise surprise told them "That is no problem. The community, they are going to build Libby a new house right behind my house." I don’t know which "community" he is referring to, since no one has said a word about this to me or to each other. I know he wants to keep me there in Kanyembo, but he can’t do all the work himself. Anyway, I’m going back to site tomorrow to assess the response to Raven’s new ultimatum: "We’ve already begun looking for a new site for Libby, so you better have a lot of bricks made by 30th April if you want to keep her here." Well, that was Wednesday, and I just don’t think they’ll have very much done in less than two weeks. She’s pretty frustrated that even her many trips to my village have not been able to get my community motivated to help me out. She gave them similar ultimatums when they didn’t build me a latrine or bath shelter for the first 2-3 months I was there. Even that didn’t help, because ultimately it was members of my Anti-AIDS Club who built me the latrine, and my neighbor and I worked together to build the bath shelter - not exactly a community-wide effort.
Clearly, this issue is still up in the air, but it does seem like I’ll be moving. However, that process will take a while, and I’m not sure exactly to where I would be moving. I’ll keep you updated. Now, moving right along to:

Topic #2
MY CAMP: Those of you who are paying attention have probably been wondering all along, Why hasn’t she said anything about that big, exciting camp she was supposed to be holding right now as this is being posted to her blog???

Well friends, this is Zambia. The funding didn’t come in time and we had to postpone. By now, I’ve received the funding and now we have an issue of rescheduling. I think I might have a good case for pushing back the start of the next term by one week in order to use the school as our only hope of a venue for this thing. I’ll have to go to the District Education Board Secretary (DEBS) at the Ministry of Education on Monday to plead to Mr. Bweupe. I think I’ll be able to make a good case that my participants will be learning more in one week of this camp than they would learn in the first week of classes anyway. Kids just don’t show up in the first week for some reason, and it’s pretty well accepted.

If all goes well with the DEBS we can hold the camp, but that doesn’t address our other HUGE problem. Our Mobile VCT Unit has cancelled, saying that Nchelenge is just too far for them to travel. So now I’m faced with finding new VCT counselors and test kits and get them to the same place at the same time, which hopefully will not be a total mess.

Hopefully the next time I write to you all I will have photos and stories galore about how enormously successful the whole thing was. Cross your fingers for me.

Topic #3
MY WEDDING a.k.a. OH YEAH, I’M GETTING MARRIED TOO: Easter was a delicate mix of running around Lusaka trying to do errands while tripping over the many public holidays surrounding April 8th. In Zambia they get Good Friday, Easter Saturday, Easter, and of course Easter Monday. So, clearly this was not the best time to be making wedding plans, although my vacation schedule required I do the best I can with what I have (using available resources wisely and sustainably is a fundamental of Peace Corps). So, we took the opportunity to do what every other Zambian with a few extra kwacha does during this period: we traveled to see family.
Blessed and I went to visit his family on the Copperbelt. I got to meet his mom, Ruth (but I’m supposed to call her Ba Maayo). She is a total stitch, so funny, and totally adorable. Blessed looks exactly like his mother, especially in profile. They could be twins if it wasn’t for the 42-year difference.

I was so worried about meeting her, not only because Blessed kept telling me that she doesn’t speak much English, but also because everyone else was giving me advice about what to do when meeting one’s Bapongoshi (in-laws). For example, I was told that I MUST wear a citenge when meeting my mother-in-law. I MUST NOT eat anything she serves me, unless she gives me money first. I MUST NOT speak, unless spoken to. And the list goes on. Well, if there had been a test in Bapongoshi 101, I think I would have failed. I’m more or less shocked I didn’t fail the practical. Blessed was no help to me as that day approached. What should I wear? What should I say? I don’t want to unknowingly offend your mother Blessed, help me out!!! He kept telling me I was being silly and that his mom is "not so traditional" and I should just be myself and she’ll like me. I took his advice seriously knowing full well that I could blame any mishaps directly on him. Well, all worked out beautifully. We got along just fine on a mixture of English and Bemba. I adore her. I asked Blessed, "do you think she likes me?" He said, "I don’t think so. . . . I know she likes you."

I also got to meet my "nieces" who might very well be older than me, I’m not quite sure, they’re at least my age. They call Blessed "Uncle Bleh" which I think is hysterical and they were testing out "Aunt Libby" "Auntie Elizabeth" and a few others, none of which have quite the same ring as "Uncle Bleh."

Back in Lusaka I got to meet Blessed’s Auntie Rose, who hosted us for a lovely afternoon in her lovely home in Long Acres. She is adorable and she’ll be a huge help with wedding plans. Her niece Tabatha was there too. Tabatha, interestingly enough, was born in none other than Northampton, Massachusetts (this planet is way too small) and having lived her life half in Zambia and half in Syracuse, New York, just moved back to Lusaka six years ago. She teaches at the International School in Lusaka where both of her children also attend. It was so cool to get to talk to her about weddings, since she is the perfect person to help us mix our two cultures into one celebration everyone will appreciate.

So, our Easter was an amalgamation of meeting family and running around Lusaka to see if anything was open, which it was not. I’ll be going back at the end of the month to make some more arrangements and try to finish our invitations and get them to the printers. Hopefully the May 1st holiday will not get in the way of all running smoothly this time around.

Okay, I’m pretty sure all of you in the Western world don’t have time to read all this, and those friends of mine sprinkled about the rest of the globe are probably paying too much for your internet access and probably gave up long ago. Thanks so much for being so great and reading my every thought. Many hugs to all of you back there in America-land and whatever other countries from which you may be reading this. Technology is something I no longer take for granted. You know I read in the New Yorker last night that Google is scanning every book ever published to create an entirely on-line library, or at least database or something. I still think I’m so tech-y and cutting edge for having an iPod Shuffle and solar battery charger in the village. I’m gonna be way behind when I return to that crazy place I call home.

Right, okay. Gotta go. So much love,
LIBBY

P.S.
Daddy, I got the letter you sent and it made me cry. You’re so sweet and a wonderful writer. Thank you so much. I’m trying to get a birthday card out to you today. We’ll see when it gets there. Hugs.

Thank you SANA SANA

2007-03-25T02:47:00.000-04:00

Hello Everyone!

First, before I get into anything else, I just want to say THANK YOU SO MUCH for all the packages I got this month. Amazing. Aunt Eve and fam, I hadn’t really even realized how much I miss Trader Joes. Sydney, the little corn shaped candy thing was interesting. I am wearing the necklace now and can’t wait to use my chopsticks!!! Not to mention those other strawberry flavored things, they were great!!! Jess, that is enough seeds to make my garden amazing for next year. Unfortunately, we’ve had an incredible drought and my garden is more or less ruined (not even a single watermelon, beet, pea, or pepper – someone stole my okra – the maize has been “just a bit okay” and I’ve eaten a few cherry tomatoes). Anyway, I am way excited for next year. Tia, I’m so excited about the Burt’s Bees stuff and the book lights!!! Momma, the Christmas Chex mix made it here in outstanding form and was so tasty (and gone in two days – everyone was “enjoying”) and the beef jerky is totally exciting. So, thank you all tons!!! As I was opening them I was saying how it’s just like Christmas, then I realized they were probably sent at Christmas time and that was the intent. So, mission accomplished. Thanks a bundle.

Okay, moving on. It was determined on Wednesday that my house is definitely/probably going to fall over and Peace Corps is going to try to assist me with getting my community to either build me a new house (like they initially promised) or seriously fix up the one I’m in. I’ve had a crazy new bat infestation and the termites are devouring my roof and bricks. Pretty sure if I try to put in the windows I have planned, that the walls will just fall over. I’m not sure why, but Zambians always respond to this kind of thing with an “everything is going to be just fine” approach. One of my favorite/least favorite things about the “Zamblish” language is that they do not use the word “won’t.” Rather, they always use “can’t” where “won’t” would be a more appropriate word choice. Example:
“If you install the lock in this way, the children will be able to lock me inside my house!”
“No, no, no. They can’t.”
“But, they CAN.”
“No, they can’t.”
“But here, watch this. . . . See? They CAN.”
“Ah, no. They can’t.”
I’m sure they’re going to tell me that my house “can’t” fall down. I’ll try to persuade them with evidence that it really potentially CAN, and by the end of April I should have some more news on that front.

Right, so April. . . . I am planning a Girls’ Camp in my village. It is a girls empowerment and HIV prevention camp for one week April 15 – 21. I was approved for the 24million kwacha to carry out this project and I am pretty excited about my committee, who actually seem to want to work for the good of their community. A lot of volunteers do girls’ camps, boys’ camps, sports camps, etc. The beauty of this one is I’m working with PARVEN Foundation (an organization started by two Peace Corps Volunteers that works on income generating activities with commercial sex workers), based in Mansa. They’re sending the facilitators, which means the whole thing can happen in Bemba, and we can have break-away sessions every afternoon (with headmen, parents, teachers, and boys). The other thing of beauty is that we’re having a mobile VCT unit coming to test as many people as possible for HIV. So, I’m pretty excited and it’s going to be awesome!!! That’s pretty much the only work I’ll be able to do between now and then.

This week I was really busy. I’ve been in Mansa since last Friday. We held a Luapula-wide training for Peace Corps Counterparts working under the Ministry of Health. The counterparts facilitated sessions and presented project ideas to share across the province. It went really well. We ended yesterday with mobile VCT. I think 13 of our 25 participants were tested, and several had been tested before. So we were really pleased with the outcome. The training as a whole was pretty awesome. If only I could find a counterpart to work with in my village . . . well, that’s another story.

At the end of this LONG stint in Mansa, I am so ready to head back to my site tomorrow (bats and all). I’ve never spent this much time in Mansa before and it is pretty disorienting. We had a going away party for my friend Shannon. She is going back to the States on Tuesday. I can’t even imagine what that is like after such an intense experience living in Zambia for more than two years. It was a costume party, with costumes assigned by Shannon. Mine was an ‘80s work-out instructor. I rocked it. Photos to come.

I’m eating really tasty food (when I go back to the village, they will tell me that I look like I’ve been “enjoying” in Mansa – basically one of many ways Zambians have of telling you that you’re looking fat [it’s a compliment, but still slightly obnoxious]). We’ve been having family dinners at the house all week and they’ve been really amazing. Homemade ravioli, endless guacomole with homemade tortilla chips, you get the point. I’m sure I have gained back a few pounds this week. Time to go back to the village.

I am getting increasingly more and more excited about the upcoming visit (and oh yeah, wedding) in July. I’ve been thinking about it every chance I get and I’ve never been so psyched about anything in my whole life. Who knew that I’d be getting married, and that two of my best friends in the whole world would be coming all the way across the ocean to visit me in my mud hut in Africa??? This was not even on the radar when I left the States. Madness.

Many thanks to all those who’ve sent their congratulations. The news has traveled like wildfire through the Peace Corps Zambia grapevine. I’ve also heard from some people that they heard from their mom or friend in the States that I was getting married. Yes, friends it’s true. And clearly this means I’m a celebrity of sorts on the Internet. Woo-hoo!

So, I just wanted to prepare those of you who are coming for the big event (and those of you who just want to experience a little Peace Corps GOAL 3) with a little Bemba lesson. Study hard now, I want you all to wow the chitenges off Blessed’s family when you attend the big day. That’s right, we’re going to convince them you’re fluent. We should begin with greetings, arguably the very most important part of culture in Zambia:

MWASHIBUKENI MUKWAI (mwa-she-boo-kane-ey muh-qu-ai)
This is the morning greeting. It literally means “you have woken”
The response is:
EE MUKWAI (aaay muh-qu-ai) or ENDITA MUKWAI (en-dee-ta muh-qu-ai)
This just means “yes”
Then they might ask you:
MWASHIBUKA SHANI? (mwa-she-boo-ka sha-nee)
Litterally “how have you woken?”
You say:
BWINO (bwee-no), BWINO BWINO (bwee-no bwee-no), or TWACIBUKAFYE BWINO (twa-she-boo-ka-fee-ay bwee-no)
This means “good/fine,” “good good,” or, for the more adventurous, “we have woken just fine”
You can also return the question by adding:
NGA IMWE? (ing-ga eem-way)
It means “and you?” Wait for them to answer. They’ll either give you a “BWINO” or:
PANONO FYE (pah-no-no fee-ay)
It means “just a little” in literal translation, but if they say this they mean that they’ve woken sick or something is wrong. You rarely hear this one. If you do you should say:
CABIPA (cha-bee-pa) or CABIPA SANA (cha-bee-pa sah-nah)
To indicate that you’re sorry or very sorry (respectively).
If they, or you, say “BWINO” the appropriate response might be:
CAWAMA (chow-wa-ma) or CISUMA (chee-suu-ma)
Both of these mean, “it is beautiful” and are optional responses.

Here’s a much clearer dialogue:

Me: “Mwashibukeni Mukwai!” -- “You have woken!”
You: “Ee Mukwai.” -- “Yes.”
Me: “Mwashibuka shani?” -- “How was your waking?”
You: “Ah, bwino bwino fye! Nga imwe?” -- “Ah, just fine fine! And you?”
Me: “Twashibukafye bwino sana!” -- “We have woken just very fine!”

Bemba is a language that incorporates a lot of respect for those who are older or, for whatever reason, deserve a lot of respect (that’s the whole point of the MUKWAI – it is additional respect, it can’t be translated into any English equivalent). So when you refer to someone with respect, you use the same form as for 2nd person plural. So, as I understand it, you answer on behalf of many other people so as not to assume that you are being afforded all this extra respect. So, rather than saying “I’ve woken just very fine,” you say “We’ve woken just very fine!” It’s an awesome language and I love it!!! I’m getting pretty good at understanding, but I honestly don’t give myself enough experience in speaking. I promise to work on it and wow you when you come.

Fear not my friends, there are more lessons to come. For now allow me to end this lengthy flow-of-consciousness entry by saying: I MISS YOU ALL SANA SANAFYE (just very very much). I hope that all is well with everyone “that side” (another Zam-ism). Thank you again for the letters and the packages. I’ve been so spoiled. You are all tooooooo good to me! Think good thoughts for me that my funding comes through in time for my Girls’ Camp in April (always a challenge), and that my house doesn’t fall down before another/better solution arises. I promise that all will be well by the time my visitors arrive at the end of June!!! (Oh, my gosh, that’s so soon, yet so far away at the same time.) I love you all and send you hugs (sana sana).

Much love,
LIBs

A few choice photos

2007-02-08T08:06:00.000-05:00

This is the beach where we stayed on Christmas Day, before moving into our posh upscale beach resort place the following day. I love my options.

This is from our minibus ride to Nsenga Bay on Lake Malawi on Christmas Day. We went through the most beautiful mountains and valleys.

Blessed and I went to Victoria Falls on New Year's Day. It was so beautiful.

This is my favorite photo I took on my vacation.

Sitting Around Time

2007-02-08T04:50:00.000-05:00

Muli shani bonse mukwai? (How are you all?)

First, I have to say thank you soooo much to all of those who have been sending me packages, letters, photos, emails, well-wishes, and to those of you who go out of your way to call me (and then put up with crappy reception, cutting out, and the 2-5 second delay that make those calls so magical). I love all of the warm support and love I get from home and without those elements of communication and generosity I don't know in what shape I would be.

Check out the new photos I posted yesterday on the flickr account. They're the others from my vacation that wouldn't load fast enough back in January (I spent 94,000 kwatcha at the Internet cafe that day and nearly fell over when I heard my total at the counter -- that's $23.50, but it is a ton of money when you consider my "living allowance" @ approximately $200 a month).

At present, I am in Lusaka on medical travel. I have had some issues with dizziness and low blood pressure lately and they wanted to evaluate me. In the meantime, during my travel to Lusaka I developed some "runny stomach" and was having feverish chills and body pains. My diagnosis . . . MALARIA!!!!???!!! The quick test said no and the Peace Corps doctor put me on an antibiotic I had blood work done on Tuesday and I am still waiting for the results. They'll supposedly be here in about 20 minutes, but I always have to factor in the reality that this is Zambia and nothing is ever back in 20 minutes. My first directive was to come back Tuesday afternoon, then Wednesday morning, then Wednesday afternoon, then this morning and now I am waiting for "12:30" I suspect that I'll still be waiting for some time to come.

In the meantime they've switched my malaria prophilaxis from Mefloquine (the one that is making my hair fall out and giving me a multitude of sleep "issues" inclusive of occasional insomnia and hallucinations [such as ants crawling all over my bed, bees burrowing into my walls and creating some crazy ooze dripping out, etc]) to Doxicycline. Surprisingly enough, I'm not excited about this switch. Hair grows back. Now I have a new handful of side effects to consider: potential yeast infections, extra sensitivity to the sun and sun rashes, and general concerns about being on an antibiotic for the next 18 months.

~~~

Okay, I've just returned from receiving my test results. I take back everything I said about the "20 minutes" thing. Turns out I had giardia, but as it also turns out there's a magic pill for that too. So I just popped the 3rd antibiotic treatment of the day. Yeast infection here I come! My understanding of giardia is that it's a bacterial parasite that lives in your intestines and flares up in the form of intense diarrhea for three or four days before hybernating dormant in your intestines again, until it becomes stressed again and your symptoms return. Really glad I just killed it with four magic little pills.

So my blood pressure thing appears to have manifest itself as a result of the Mefloquine. My full blood count shows that in fact I am eating a propper diet (even as I've lost 55 pounds since coming to Zambia in June) and my hemoglobin is just fine. My doctor says that my body just isn't yet accustomed to "the new Libby."

Well, now all of you know me a lot better. I guess even the strangers who occasionally read this business know me pretty well now. There are no secrets in Peace Corps. My appologies to any prospective Peace Corps Zambia trainees who may be reading this, it is not a good indicator of my overall happiness and general well-being in Zambia.

~~~

Okay, in other news. . .

Blessed and I are busy making plans for our July 2 wedding in Lusaka. People are rapidly finding out about this through the Peace Corps grapevine and I got a chance to sit with the Country Director yesterday to discuss issues of immigration and change of legal status, background checks, paperwork, Embassy, Consulate, Washington, 9/11, Patriot Act, what have you. As it turns out the process has just this past month become even more complex (and should I say limited?) As it also turns out, I'm not the only Peace Corps Volunteer in Zambia who will be marrying a Zambian National this year. So it's all very interesting for the Peace Corps office who gets to help us navigate this ever morphing, changing, expanding web of government beaurocracy.

Paperwork asside, we've booked the Lilayi Lodge for our wedding and we're really excited. They took us on a game drive while we finalized the menus and details. We saw a 7-day old girraffe with its mother, wildebeast, kudu (antelope), eland (the mother of all antelope; it can weigh up to 1-ton), a ton of little monkeys, impala (little antelope), bush pig and warthog. So, it was a lovely day and we accomplished a lot.

Oh, that brings me to the not-so-perfect aspect of my life at present (as if the giardia wasn't enough). Blessed was transferred back to Lusaka to live and work from here now. So we are now a 12-hour bus ride apart (on a good day, if the bus runs on schedule). I'm trying to look at it with a positive attitude: He can do all the errands we need to do for the wedding! And, I can't think of the rest of the reasons why it's positive. He's going to be coordinating some mobile VCT (Voluntary Counselling and Testing for HIV) programs, so he should be coming to Luapula for three weeks sometime soon (hopefully March). He's also planning to come see me for Valentine's Day next week, and I'll be here in Lusaka for Easter, and again for some public holidays in May. I'll inevitably need to come to deal with immigration stuff in Lusaka at some point. My plan is to keep myself really busy between work and home improvements in the village. I just hope that the people in my village don't feel like I am abandoning them for all of these trips to Lusaka. Or that they will think I'm even more bwana (it means "boss" and is what you call people who have money) than they already know. (They just raised all of the bus fares in the country due to inflation. It was already unaffordable for the average Luapula resident to go to Mansa (their provincial capitol), let alone Lusaka.)

I digress. Blessed doesn't live in the BOMA anymore, so now Lea and I have few options for how to make ourselves feel comfortable there (we schlepped a bike and huge backpack around all day on Friday and ate ground nuts, fritters and Coke as our wholesome lunch). It's hard not to have a base in Nchelenge anymore, since I do a lot of my work from there. Kashikishi is 3km away and I can leave my bike with friends at their restaurant, and I can stay with Blessed's good friend and co-worker and his wife (I did this last Friday . . . he has a 1 1/2 year old little girl named Mwamba. She's really cute and Friday she called me "Uncle Mommy" I assume because she couldn't remember "Auntie").

My work is going . . . okay. Can't seem to get people very motivated. Still haven't found myself a village counterpart (someone to capacity build on virtually everything I know so that they can be "me" after I leave), which is basically a cardinal rule of Peace Corps (sustainability is our thing). On average my meetings start about 60 minutes late, if people show up at all. This is why I find my work in schools and in the BOMA more. The school is awesome because they're a captive audience and they still have to attend even though it is raining (yep, people own umbrellas and gumboots, but won't go outside in the rain -- I get a lot more privacy now that it's rainy season -- they also think that you get malaria from the rain and they won't let me go out in the rain either).

I guess my work is good, slow, frusterating, fun, awesome, or okay, based on the day or even the time of day you ask me. There are days I am so "busy" (it's a relative term for sure) that I totally exhaust myself and there are others where I can sit around and read the whole day. I get up between 6 and 7, weed in the garden, go have breakfast with my neighbors and wash dishes, go back home to sweep out my house, go draw water at the lagoon, come back and it is 9:30 or 10. I still have the entire day ahead of me. This is great on days where I have meetings all afternoon because it cuts my sitting around time down to about 2-3 hours as opposed to the whole day. I like Wednesdays because my neighbor and I will cycle to the bigger market (24km round trip - it's worth it to get veggies, fish, bread and bananas) at 6am and get back at about 9. Then every Wednesday afternoon I have Anti-AIDS Club. So Wednesdays are pretty consistently busy.

Anyway, in my "sitting around time" I am doing a lot of reading. So, if you want to send me some books I would love that. I decided I'm going to keep a list of all the titles I read in service, just because (I do a lot of things "just because" lately). Also because if I tell you what I've read, you won't send me duplicates. So far, of the books I've read since coming here, I can remember these:

A Million Little Pieces
Life of Pi
The Secret Life of Bees
The Da Vinci Code (finally)
Beyond the Sky and the Earth

um. . . I'm drawing a serious blank on the others. Cabipa (sorry).

Right now I'm reading My Pet Virus. I would recommend all of these. Especially Beyond the Sky and the Earth. It's about a Canadian woman who goes to volunteer teaching English in Bhutan (in the Himalayas) for two years. If you read it, you'll get an even more detailed vision of what I'm going through in Zambia, since almost everything she experiences parallells my life here. She writes beautifully. I'll be reading this one again before returning it to the PC library in Mansa.

Okay. I think I'm done for today. I've been writing this thing all day in between meetings and test results, etc. I'm thinking none of you in the States have enough time in your day to read all that I've written herein (is that a word? My English is getting bad over here). Sadly, since I'm in Lusaka at the office I have the same adequate supply of "sitting around time" as in the village. However, with free Internet, I can diversify what I do with said time.

Hugs and smooches to you all. Ndemifuluka SANA SANA bonse (I am missing you all a lot a lot). Nalimitemwa bonse (I love you all).

Much love,
LIBBY

Vacation Is Over, Now Back to Work

2007-01-07T04:30:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year Everyone!!!

I’m at the tail end of my vacation and actually started back to work yesterday with Provincial Meetings in Mansa. I’ll go back to Nchelenge tomorrow and dive into what looks like a nice and busy January.

Vacation was incredible. Check out the photos by clicking on the Flickr thing to the right. Blessed and I went to Malawi for Christmas and to Livingstone, Zambia for New Year’s. We were in Malawi for 4 nights, two in Lilongwe (the capital city) and two in Nsenga Bay on Lake Malawi. We got to visit with some of Blessed’s family. His aunt lived in Cape Town for some time, so we got to talk a lot about South Africa a lot. She was really cool and we had a nice day at their house.

Lake Malawi is so gorgeous. We spent Christmas Day on a little island in the middle of the lake. It was so beautiful. The water is so clear. We went snorkeling and saw some beautiful tropical fish. We were the only people at our guest house that day, so we had a private lunch practically on the beach. It was awesome. The next day we shifted to a beautiful hotel, where we stayed one night in a chalet right on the beach. I felt so grown up that I could afford to stay in this place. We could walk out our door and be on the beach. You’ll see the photos. Gorgeous.

We ran into a friend of Blessed’s (we can’t even leave the country without this happening) on the beach. He and his wife gave us a ride all the way back to Chipata in Zambia. I wasn’t feeling well and ended up puking on the street in Chipata, so my memories of our one night there are few, but graphic. It’s a real cute place.

From Chipata we went back to Lusaka for a few days. I got to eat a salad with actual fresh cilantro on it. Believe me, that really does rank in the top ten of my vacation experiences. We went on a mission to find a venue for our wedding in July (yup, if you didn’t read the last entry, it’s true!!!) and we were very successful! We are pretty sure we’re going to have it at Lilayi Lodge in Lusaka ( www.lilayi.com ). We saw giraffes and antelope on our drive in. We’re pretty sure that’s the place!

From Lusaka we went to Livingstone. We stayed one night with one of Blessed’s best friends, Vundukai. He lives and works out on a farm compound for an organization called Sons of Thunder. They have a clinic and an orphanage for children with HIV out in the middle of nowhere (or that’s how it felt anyway). So we stayed there and he gave us a tour of the orphanage and the grounds on the farm. It was really cool. We proceeded to Livingstone the next day (New Year’s Eve) and checked into a really cute guest house/hotel place. We went to a club on the Zambezi River and had drinks and dinner while acrobats jumped around. We danced in the rain and called it a new year!

On New Year’s Day, Blessed and I went to Victoria Falls. It is amazing! (I know I use those words “amazing,” “phenomenal,” “gorgeous,” etc. a lot. I need a thesaurus.) I can’t believe people are saying there is MORE water in April! (It makes sense, because it is the very end of the rainy season, but it just doesn’t seem possible that there could be more water than is already falling!) We hiked down into the part they call the Boiling Pot where the white water rapids are and you can watch all the people bungee jumping (maybe another time) off the bridge that separates Zambia from Zimbabwe. Again, see photos. Anyway, our vacation was incredible. We had such an awesome time. Blessed is an excellent travel companion.

I’m excited to go back to the village too, because I have a lot of projects going on in January. I’m working on fixing up a community pre-school for orphans. They’re doing a really good job already (65 children come to school there every day), but the structure is totally insufficient and they need help getting a new structure and some pit latrines, desks, etc. I plan on working with them to start growing soya beans and ground nuts so the kids have some protein to eat every day. It should be cool. They have a lot of support from the community and the PTA (57 people came to the meeting I attended right before vacation). I’m pretty pumped about this. It’s not in my village, but in a village between Nchelenge and Kashikishi.

I’ll also be working on a series of HIV/AIDS workshops at a mining company in Nchelenge with my friend and colleague Lea. We’re doing 4 Fridays in a row and then we’ll follow up quarterly. We haven’t planned it yet, but we’re pretty sure it’s going to be a lot of fun. Miners in Zambia are a high risk population, so it should be pretty rewarding to work with them.

I do, however, have some projects in my village too. My Neighborhood Health Committees are actually going to get up and working in January. I’m optimistic that they might actually start doing village inspections and project identification this year. I have seven NHCs and none of them have even met since last January. They’re supposed to do village inspections every quarter to plan their interventions. Well, none of that has happened in a really long time. So, I’ll be really pleased if this gets going. I mean, when it gets going!

Of course, I’ll be going back to working with my Anti-AIDS Club at my school. I’ll miss all the kids who’ve left for high school. I’ll have to come up with a new bunch of favorites. I was finally getting to know most of their names when the school year ended in November.

2007 promises many wonderful things. I am especially excited about seeing my family, as well as Kara and Mekkin, in July!!! So exciting!!! I wish you all a happy and prosperous 2007.

Be well, I'll be in contact when I can. Thanks to all of those who have sent me packages and letters. I love you all, you're so sweet.

Okay,
much love,
LIBBY

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY 2007!!!

2006-12-28T10:15:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas!

Sorry these postings are becomming less and less frequent, as well as shorter and shorter. I never get to internet lately and when I do I panic the whole time about doing everything in the short amount of time I've allotted.

Anyway, enough apologies. How is everyone? Send me a comment, let me know how you're doing.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. I have just returned from Lake Malawi (look it up on Google Images, you won't be sorry). It is the most amazing and beautiful place I've laid eyes upon in a very long time. I went with Blessed. We had an incredible time. Photos to come when I get to Mansa next week. I don't have my card reader with so I can't post photos from here. Blessed and I are in Lusaka and we'll be leaving for Livingstone on Saturday. We're going to see
Victoria Falls, one of the seven natural wonders of the world, I'm so excited!

I have many reasons for excitement lately. For those of you who have not yet heard this through the grapevine of the Bennett family or Smith College networking, Blessed and I are getting married in July!!! We're so madly in love and he's headed to London for a year-long program in HIV/AIDS in Society in October. So we're tying the knot and moving back to the States together when I finish here and he finishes there. So, that's my biggest news. My family and a few friends are planning to come for the event and I'll be so thrilled to share our day with them all.

Okay, I know this is brief. Many apologies. I need to get going now. Errands in Lusaka take forever because we can't walk even one block without Blessed running into someone he knows.

I miss you all so much!!! I hope everyone will have a wonderful and safe New Years. My phone is always on. Give me a call. Get the number from my mom (even I wouldn't put my phone number on the Internet!)

Hugs and smooches to you all,
LIBBY

LUSAKA = Culture Shock

2006-11-14T13:54:00.000-05:00

Um. . . Lusaka has far too many cars. It is totally a little slice of America. I'm feeling extreme culture shock after having been in the village and Nchelenge for all this time. I just had a cheeseburger and a milkshake for dinner and I bought cous cous at the grocery store to be cooked in my mud hut. So that's fun. It's a good thing Blessed likes "Muzungu food" so much. Lea and I made him guacomole the other night and he was really excited (even me, it was real tasty). If only I had a mojito to go with it. . . (that's a shout out to you Meks).

So, Lusaka is fun. I'm pretty excited that I got to go shopping today and buy a pair of jeans that fit (one of my only missions in Lusaka). Manual labor is the way to drop a few pounds. My water is about 1km away down hill to the lagoon, that's the toughest part of my daily routine. The bamaayos are concerned that I'm not carrying 20 litres of water on my head yet. I think I'll start small with 10 and see what I can accomplish. Blessed took a video of me drawing water so you can see the process, but we haven't figured out yet how to get it off of his phone and onto the Internet yet.

Right, so I only have a few minutes mpaka this place closes for the night. So, this might be choppy. . .

stories. . .

Independence Day (October 24th) -- I gave a health talk on the importance of VCT (Voluntary Counselling and Testing for HIV) muciBemba in the morning and was promptly invited to play netball in the afternoon. I declined by saying I'd never even seen a netball game before, so I didn't know how to play. So they asked if I could play football. Why yes. I enjoy playing soccer, or rather I did in my early teens. Anyway. Nine years had passed since I last set foot on the soccer pitch. They asked what number I wanted to play. I thought they meant what jersey did I want to wear (which was confusing because I thought they didn't have jerseys). No, in the rest of the world they number the positions instead of calling them midfield, striker, stopper, etc. I was assigned to play 4 or 5 after telling them I prefer defense. I don't know what I was doing, I was just trying to mark my man -- #7 Bekham. I knew they were all wearing Man U jerseys on the other team. I didn't realize they were all wearing #7 Bekham. Except for the 3 guys who wore #11 Giggs. Sweet. I did a crappy job defending and even totally missed the ball the first time it came to me. All this for an audience much much much larger than ever came to see me play at Brattleboro Area Middle School. Sweet. So, that's just a little story.

I have to go. They're closing
love you all,
LIBBY

Bwangu Bwangu (fast fast)

2006-11-06T04:04:00.000-05:00

Hey everybody!

Sorry this is going to have to be short. I'm in Mansa just for the morning because I had to come in to FINALLY get my work permit and be all kinds of official. So, that's done and now I have two hours and a bunch of errands to do before I get back on the bus to Nchelenge.

Anyway, the most important thing to say is I'm doing REALLY well. I'm really happy here. That doesn't begin to express how much I miss you all at home though. I've been having some really sappy moments telling friends here how much I miss my friends and family at home.

My work is going well. Although, November is going to be a bit of a wash in terms of work. I'll be out of the village a ton this month and that's disappointing, but December looks bright with projects. I'll be in Lusaka next week for In-Service Training for my program. That should be good, I'm looking forward to cheap internet access and ice cream. Blessed is coming down for the weekend so I can meet all of his "Lusaka Lusaka" friends and some family. (Oh, by the way, I'm still seeing him. He's amazing and I'm so happy. Check for photos, if not on my site then definitely on Lea's blog. Many thanks to Brie for the introductions, BONSE MU NCHELENGE TULEMIFULUKA SANA SANA! How is being home?)

Okay, so I really want to check in. . . I don't get any news (except for the four copies of Newsweek I just found in my Mansa mailbox - along with Avery's birth announcement! So beautiful!) I did, however, hear that the Cardinals won the World Series (Sean, I imagine that you must have peed your pants???) And I am quite aware that there are elections tomorrow. Sorry United States, there's no way I could get an absentee ballot figured out from Kanyembo village. Please send me some updates about what's new in America. (And Kara, I would appreciate some pop-culture flash cards so I can catch up.)

Okay, I just updated some photos. More to come from Lusaka. I miss and love you all, and I promise to include more content from LSK where there is cheaper, faster Internet and more time to say what I need to say!

Hugs & Smooches,

LIBBY

Hey Hey Hey

2006-10-09T07:57:00.000-04:00

Hey everybody!!!

I'm an aunt!!! My sister Jessica delivered Avery Elizabeth on 21 September, making me an aunt at last. She's beautiful Jess. She is going to look just like you did as a baby! SO CUTE. Can we call her Peaches? I wish I could figure out how to get her photo up here. She's so cute!!!

So, it is really sad that I'm not there to be part of the whole new baby phenomenon, but I'm doing really well here in Zambia. I have come to a point where I can say that I love my job and my village. My house? Well, I'm still working on loving it. I have a serious rat problem and an even more serious termite problem. These things have just manifest themselves in the very recent past. I've armed myself with some rat poison to take back to site. I'm done with the whole not killing animals thing. It's over.

Right, so work. . . I'm working with the Anti-AIDS Club at one of my schools every Wednesday. I love working with them. They're lots of fun. They're about 40-50 students in grades 7, 8, & 9 (which in Zambia means they range in age from 12 - 17). We have a good time and they ask really good questions. I'm working with them on life skills, something they do not otherwise learn in Zambia. For instance, they don't know what I'm talking about when I say "self-esteem" or "self-respect" (which, of course translate as the same thing in Bemba).

I am also working with a bunch of farmers to do some composting work. They use a lot of fertilizer in Zambia and it is depleting their soil and screwing up they're crops. So it is better to make some compost from materials they have in the village to rejuvinate the soil and make their crops more nutritious. So on Friday I had a meeting on compost with my AIDS Support Group to teach them (all in Bemba, I am proud to say) how to make a successful compost pile. I'm pretty excited about it. I'll get to do some practicals in the garden with them this week.

In other news. I'm seeing someone. He's awesome. I'm really happy. His name is Blessed. He works in public health development with Society for Family Health (it's a USAID organization that does social marketing for condoms, mosquito nets, chlorine to make water safe for drinking, etc.) He lives in Nchelenge (32k away from me), but he is always showing up in the village to surprise me. I like him a lot.

So. I'm happy. I miss you all. Thank you all so much for mail and pakages. I got to Mansa yesterday to find 3 packages and a huge stack of mail that went to the training site in Kitwe and has finally made it here to Mansa. So many thanks to the Ritchies, and my mom and dad for sending EXCELLENT packages. I am so excited to have some dried fruit, new really soft sheets, and a bunch of new clothes!! (they're perfect!!)

I love you all. Be well and I promise to write more sometime soon. I uploaded a few more photos, but didn't have the time to do all of them. Lots of love,
LIBBY

In Limbo

2006-09-17T06:41:00.000-04:00

Hey Everybody,

Well. I was supposed to be on my way back to the village today, but I am in financial limbo. I haven't been paid, so I have to stay in Mansa until that happens.

I thought of some more random stuff I can tell you about my site.

I have a whole lot of children at my house whenever I am home. They like to stare at me. Capwa (Chop-wa - It means that's all, or it's finished). They also like to mimic everything I say in English or in Bemba. The unfortunate thing is that they don't listen to what I say. They don't go away when I ask them to and they only listen when threatened with violence. In fact a friend of my neighbors came with a shovel the other day and they all went running. I refuse to threaten violence, so they don't listen to me. My new tactic is to tell the headwoman when they're bothering me. (For instance, when they try to climb into my window to touch my bike.) They have to listen to her. My even newer tactic is to tell them that they're not allowed to sit and stare at me. If they want to play in my yard that is fine, but they can't sit and stare at me. So, it worked the other day. They played some games and danced a little and when they were sick of entertaining themselves they left. It was beautiful. I've now been away for a few days, I don't know how this will affect the "iwe" situation. "Iwe" means "you" in Bemba, without respect. So a lot of Peace Corps Volunteers call the children "iwes" when they're doing obnoxious things (like repeating everything I say and showing me no respect).

A lot of the children have never seen a white person before. I didn't think it was really possible, but indeed for some of the children in my village I am the first white person they've seen up close. I've made a few children terrified. They scream their heads off. I try to say "cilifye" (chill-ee-fee-ay - it means "it's alright"), but they keep screaming. I have to just walk away. Their mothers always think it is funny. I have also had kids try to touch me, as if to see if I am real. Others touch my arm and rub it to see if the white will come off. It's pretty interesting. I usually just do it back to them (which frequently freaks them out).

Well. I think that's good. The price of Internet has gone back up. Sadly.

I miss and love you all. Be well and check out my photos, a bunch are new even since yesterday.

Hugs & Smooches,

LIBBY

Panono Panono (Little by little)

2006-09-16T06:25:00.000-04:00

Hey hey hey.

So, we had our Provincial Meetings yesterday, followed by the Luapula Superheroes Party. Good times. Photos to come eventually. Unfortunately Elliott was in absensia. He missed the flying contest. I am adding more photos today to the Flickr account. So check them out. There are some sweet ones of my amazing neighbors and of my house. It is entirely possible that you'll hear from me again in the upcoming days. I still have not been paid (or rather, my living allowance is not showing up in my account) so I have no money to take back to the village. I'll have to stick around in Mansa until that gets sorted out.

Okay, so my site. I am really liking it. My area has close to no clue about sustainable development and it is going to be a major challenge to get them working on projects. However, my clinic officer is new and he is coming from an area where he did a lot of work with the Community Based Organizations at his clinic. So, together we can start some exciting things happening in Kanyembo. I am told there are two women's groups (I haven't yet met with them - one wants my help to build a bore hole because there is an insane water problem in Kanyembo) and an active breastfeeding group (to promote breastfeeding for proper nutrition for babies). I am also told that there is an HIV/AIDS support group. I'll find out more about that this week, but I haven't met them yet. So, at this point I am still just trying to network around my village and meet the people I am supposed to meet. Introduce my self everywhere I go, etc.

I do a lot of introductions when I go to the lagoon to draw my water everyday. The women are really surprised and confused as to why this muzungu is there drawing water. They all try to help me and they ask me lots of questions like why I'm not married and why I don't have children. I've been told several times that if I were Zambian I should have 4 or 5 children by now. However, when I tell people that I am 24 they all tell me how young I am. I guess I look older to them.

Yeah, so I have a beautiful lagoon right by my house. If I stand in just the right place at my house I can see the water. However, I walk down there everyday to get water and I do my laundry at the lagoon also. It is gorgeous and the sun sets over the water every night.

My neighbors are going to help me plant some vegetables in the many plots of dirt around my house. We are going to do it together, which is awesome because I eat all of my meals at their house, so it is good that we can grow some food together. We're going to plant soya!!!!, tomatoes, maize (corn), sunflowers, rape (a kind of cabbage), okra, onions, carrots, cucumbers, soya, soya, and more soya. Soya is an amazing food. It is magical because it is a complete protein all on it's own. You can make a million different things with it and it is super nutritious and delicious!! One of my major tasks in the village is to get the people to eat soya. They all grow it, because it is so easy to grow, the seeds multiply really well, and if you plant at the right time of the rainy season, you don't even have to weed it. So lots of people grow it, they just don't eat it -- they sell it. Particularly in a place with so much malnutrition, they need to be eating soya. The problem is Zambians like to do things the traditional way. They like to cook the same relish (all food in Zambia is called relish, unless it is nshima) their mothers and grandmothers cooked and they don't frequently try new things. So, I'm going to do my best to make soya part of the culture in Kanyembo at least. Nshima (the mealie meal staple) is a definite part of the culture. Whenever I meet women in my village they want to know if I know how to make nshima, if I know how to pound cassava (which is how they turn it into mealie meal), etc. Nshima is eaten at least twice a day by almost everyone in Zambia. It has no nutritional value (especially cassava nshima, sorghum and millet have slightly more nutritional value, but no one eats those).

Okay, more about me and my site. My house is inordinately large for a Peace Corps Volunteer. My friend Lea was visiting on my birthday and she was sitting in the sitting room and I was in the "kitchen" and we couldn't hear each other talking (which might not be weird for an American house, but my house is all open ceiling-ed with a thatch roof). I have only a bed and two chairs to furnish this large house. I called it my "kitchen", but I don't really cook and it has no running water or anything that makes it anything more like a kitchen than a bedroom. My site still has no toilet or bathing shelter, so I'm using my neighbors. My Provincial coordinator has come twice to tell my community that if they don't make me a toilet and bathing shelter that she will come and take me back to America. They sound like they don't want that to happen, but they still haven't done anything.

I'm really busy in my village, having at least one meeting each day. It is kind of crazy to schedule two things in the same day here. Nothing starts on time (I schedule most of my meetings for 14 hours -- 2pm -- but people usually show up around 15 or 15:30) and you can't have meetings in the morning because that is when everyone is out in the fields cultivating and working on their gardens.

I've learned there are certain things one must tote around everywhere in Zambia:
1) Water
2) Toilet Paper
3) Hand Sanitizer (although, I'm nearly over that one)
4) A Book (you get to do a lot of waiting)
5) A Headlamp (you never know how long you'll be waiting)

So, this is a long entry, but I'm trying to post as many photos as I can. So I am sorry for the random stream of consciousness.

I hope everyone is doing well. Thanks to all of those who called on my birthday. It was really sweet of you all. Duncan, sorry we got cut off. My mom tells me that you want to come visit!!!! Do it. We have a saying in Luapula: GET IN THERE. It should really be the next Peace Corps Worldwide slogan. (My other favorite Peace Corps slogan is: "I always knew the glass was half full, I just never knew I could bathe in that much water." so true.)

Okay, so that's what I can think of for now. Pretty sure this has cost a fortune. Awesome, since I have no money right now. Everyone think good thoughts for my sister Jessica who is about to have a baby "any time from now" -- I wish you well Jess. I love you. Please know that I'm thinking of you constantly and I really wish I was there.

Okay. Shalenipo Mukwai (stay well).

Hugs & Smooches,
LIBBY

Wow. It's been a while. . .

2006-09-13T12:31:00.000-04:00

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.

PHOTOS

2006-09-13T12:26:00.000-04:00

Hey all!

I've been trying to post some new pictures on the flickr account. Just click on the thing with the flashing photos and you should be able to get to my new ones.

Smooches.

I'm officially a PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER!!!

2006-08-16T11:21:00.000-04:00

Hey all,

I swore in on Monday and I am in Mansa now. The Swearing-In Ceremony was lots of fun. 52 of us took the oath that we would uphold the Constitution and we signed a two year contract of service. We ate the biggest meal I've ever seen. Photos to come soon (thanks Mom and Annette! - they're sending me a card reader so I can share my photos with you all!!!). It was catered by the schwarma place that we all like so much.

Sunday night I got to meet my friend Chad's parents. I had been so busy all through training that I had to squeeze in a meeting with them before I left Kitwe. They are the most phenominal people. I was so happy to meet them. It turns out that Chad's aunt lives in Nchelenge (my district in Luapula) and has a huge family. They said they would call and let them know that I am coming. I'm thrilled to hear it. Anyway, Chad, now I know why you're so sweet. Your parents are awesome. I intend to go back to Kitwe and visit sometime in the near futre.

Okay right. So today I may have had one of the top 3 most embarrassing moments of my life. I think I explained that on Sunday I became a millionaire because Peace Corps gave us our settling-in allowance to buy everything we need for our houses in the village. I just spent almost one million kwatcha (roughly 4000 = $1) at the grocery store. I bought stuff that I won't be able to get in the village and things like buckets, a broom, bowls, silverware, cutting board, etc. It was so embarrassing because no one in Zambia ever spends that kind of cash all in one go, and they certainly don't spend that kind of money at Shop-Rite (because resourceful people can get a lot of stuff in the markets). I was so embarrassed. The guy behind me in line was buying a bag of flour and a box of baking powder. I was so red in the face. Anyway, I hope to get over it soon. I am told it is typical to spend that much. Whatever.

So tomorrow I will go north to Nchelenge. Lea and I will shop for the rest of my buckets and pots and pans and charcoal and imbabola (brasier to cook on) and my village stuff there with our neighbor Richard (he's a fish farming volunteer). We will spend the night in town and the Land Cruiser will drop Lea off first thing the next morning and me in the afternoon. I'll be all alone, or perhaps surrounded by villagers - this is yet to be seen. I'll let you know. I envision that I will unpack my speakers and sweep out my dirt (soon to be cement) floors, lay out a reed mat and my matress, hang my mosquito net and start unpacking the rest of my stuff. I will start all of my community entry stuff within a couple of days (community resource maps, an Emergency Action Plan for if/when I get sick, seasonal calendars, etc.) and explan to everyone what I am doing here. Over and over and over again. I'm certain that everyone will stare at me for the first many weeks in the village. I am hoping that I will get boring within a couple of weeks, but I don't know how long that will take. I was hearing about my friend Eston's site where his neighbors had a "live fense" (a fense made out of bushes that are about the only thing goats won't eat) all around their house and it was pretty tall. However, they made sure to trim them shorter on the one side where they could see Eston's house. They were perfect for optimal muzungu viewing.

I have to come back to Mansa in just a few weeks because I need to get a visa extension and attend our Provincial Meetings. Shortly thereafter I will have to go to Lusaka for a work permit (I think, it is pretty vague right now). I hate to have to leave so soon. I want to spend as much time in the village as possible, because later on I am going to be called out of the village all of the time and this is my chance for people to know that I am there and I am serious about the work I am going to do with them. There really aren't any other organizations doing development work IN villages in Zambia. They will work in the village and leave to go back to the BOMA at the end of the day. Having a muzungu working and living amongst them in the village is a bizzare thing to get used to for many Zambians. I've heard stories about how villagers have decided that the PCV in their village was sent there as punishment or they are spies working for the government or something.

I've had a lot of time to think about the fact that I work for the US Government in a totally unique capacity. It is such an ideal situation really. I am allowed to express my political views as an individual because that is my right as an American citizen. I am able to work for an organization that is independent of the other American organizations (USAID, Department of State, US Embassy, etc.) in terms of being a non-political presence abroad. There are certainly areas where the Peace Corps works together with the other organizations - for instance Small Project Assistance grants (which I believe come out of USAID funding), the Charge d'Afairs at the US Embassy administered our Peace Corps Oath at the Swear-In on Monday.

Okay, I'm rambling. You're probably more interested in what I am actually doing here in Zambia. When I left I was telling people that my role was really vague. It is much more clear now. I work for the Zambian Ministry of Health as an HIV/AIDS Community Mobilizer. I will be working on a lot of capacity building with counterparts in my village to work toward stronger HIV prevention programs, nutrition for people living with HIV, care and support for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (children who have lost one or more parents). I will work with any groups in my community that want my help. I will probably train the Neighborhood Health Committees (if they want to work with me) to deal with major health concerns in the communities in my catchment area. I will work with the Health Center Committee at my clinic to capacity build and work on more effective interventions. I will do my best to form a Community AIDS Task Force to report to the District AIDS Task Force in Nchelenge. Etc, etc, etc. I would really like to start a memory box project for people living with HIV to create a box of memories for their children after they pass away. It would be modeled after a project I heard lots about in Cape Town. I hope that people are open to it. One out of six people in Zambia is infected with HIV, but you seldom find anyone who is open about their status. I hope to make this project happen by working with the home based care unit in my village.

I would love to go on and on about this and tell you more, but I am currently spending a small fortune on this internet place. I will be having a whole ton of free time in the upcoming weeks (and perhaps years) and I'll be able to write letters to all of you.

I love you all so much. Think good thoughts for me as I am about to start the most challenging part of my time in Zambia. Don't worry, I'm going to the lake for my birthday. I'll meet Lea and maybe even Richard on the beach and have a nice birthday.

SMOOCHES!!!

Training = CAPWA

2006-08-12T11:18:00.000-04:00

Yes. Training is over! On to the good stuff. Capwa means finished, over, done, etc. in Bemba.

My language interview went well. I didn't think it went as well as my mock interview last week, but I scored the same Intermediate-Mid proficiency. So that's pretty awesome.

I moved out of my home-stay this morning. It was kind of sad, kind of awkward, kind of a blessing. I am so excited to have control over my meals, have my time completely to myself, and all that fun stuff. Ask me again in a month when I'm feeling all isolated and sad.

Right, about that. I'll be able to post again this week from Mansa, but after I get posted on Friday it could/will be a while until you hear from me. I supposedly have some cell service in the village, but I won't know for sure until I get there. There is supposedly no Internet in my BOMA Nchelenge/Kashikishi, but I will use it in Mansa and whenever else it is available.

Okay so on Monday I will officially swear-in as an official Peace Corps Volunteer (11am Zam-time, so you can be there mentally/in your sleep). It is a big deal and I'm pretty excited for it. There will be special guests from the different Zambian Ministries (Health and Agriculture, I think - details will come eventually), and from the US Embassy, etc. We met our new Peace Corps Country Director today. I liked her. She seems cool. She's a two time PCV and has just come to us from her position as PC CD in Guatemala.

So Monday I swear-in, Tuesday I will take public transport with all of my other fun Luapula people up to Mansa. We'll spend two nights at the Mansa house, shop for all of our settling in possessions (matress, dishes, charcoal, you name it), and on Friday Raven, my PCVL will drop me at my site in Kanyembo and I'm on my own from there. I'll have the first three months to get acquainted with my village and do a bunch of community entry assignments:

Hello, my name is Libby. I am from America. I am here to do some sustainable development to help reduce the HIV infection rate in Nchelenge district and specifically here in Kanyembo.

Okay. Gotta go. I' m fortunate enough to have a ride today and they're ready to go. So, read Lea's blog. She and I are inseperable and we're sort of the same person. So, if she hasn't already written all the same stuff you can get more details from her.

Oh yeah, I'm meeting Chad's parents tomorrow! Really excited!!!

Lots of love. Much more from Mansa in a few days.

Smooches,
LIBBY

2006-08-05T06:07:00.000-04:00

Hey everybody!

Another Saturday afternoon off. Another trip to Kitwe. Another tasty schwarma and a cold soda. (I know, I don't even drink it in the States, here it is way tastier. They use real cane sugar or something.)

I can't wait for training to be over so I can get to my site! We're definitely wrapping up our training. We had a mock LOPI (Language Oral Proficiency Interview) yesterday and I did better than expected. We need to get at least an intermediate low to pass and swear in as volunteers on August 14. I scored an intermediate mid and I was pretty psyched to have at least passed. It was hysterical because my language trainer, Ba Evans, asked me all of these questions that I can't even answer in English: Why aren't you married? Why don't you want to have children? Do you like George Bush? and why? What is culture? (which Sean Robb can tell you I don't know the answer to that one in English). It was actually a fun test and not as terrifying as I expected it to be. We have the real test on Wednesday. So you can cross your fingers and think good thoughts for me bonse (everyone).

So tonight we're going back to Mwekera (the training center) for Cultural Night. I think we're supposed to make up some kind of culutral presentation to share with the group, but I also think it is just an excuse to have a volleyball tournament and an impala roast (relax, it's an antelope, not a car).

Yesterday I learned to make eighteen different things from soya beans. They're a magical food. Zambians grow them and sell them, but they don't really cook them. So we learned a bunch of ways to take advantage of their deliciousness and nutritiousness. We made soya burgers, soya snacks, soya coffee, soy milk, and a porridge made with soya flour (all of which we pounded ourselves). It was tasty and I learned a lot. I'll definitely be growing some soya on Old McLibby's farm. (I got the blueprints for my chicken coop . . . I'm not kidding.)

Right so. I'm going to be on Zambian television. Our swearing in ceremony is televised and Ba Evans has decided that all of his trainees should be in a skit. So, we'll be performing a skit muciBemba (in Bemba) on ZNBC. I'd like to thank the academy in advance. I'm terrible at acting and I hate roleplays, but I'll give it my best effort and hopefully not mess up in front of the entire country. I think I got the easy role anyway.

I'm pretty pumped about being here. Still excited by everything around me. I came to Zambia thinking I was going to tough it out and if I hated it I knew I could leave. I never expected I would love it. I love it. If my life in the village is half as much fun as I am having in training I'll be totally thrilled. At least once a day I have this total feeling of serindipity. If only there were tasty sushi (which, by the way means farting muciBemba) and Thai food here, I'd be psyched. My friend Lea and I like to play the lets-go-get-some-Thai-food-from-that-place-on-the-corner game. I won't miss nshima when I get to site. I'll be so psyched to cook for myself and to have an herb garden.

Okay everyone. I miss you all tons. Tad, was that email you sent me for real? Are you really quitting your job to travel for three months? You know you can't visit me until at least mid-October. (Sorry to put your business on the street like that.) I like you.

I like you all. I hope everyone is well. Stay out of Phoenix, that's the only American news I've heard from here. Well, that and that Manchester United is playing in Chicago.

Jessica, I'm practicing how to say "my sister is pregant and will be having a baby on September 8th" in Bemba for my test on Wednesday. Without my notes in front of me I think it something like: Bankashi bandi bali mfumo na bakalakwata umwana pa September cinekonsekonse.

Smooches everyone. I like you.
Love,
LIBBY

photos

2006-07-29T10:46:00.001-04:00

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

2006-07-29T09:59:00.000-04:00

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

2006-07-24T13:31:00.000-04:00

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!!!

2006-07-17T05:36:00.000-04:00

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)

2006-07-09T04:13:00.000-04:00

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 . . .

2006-07-02T05:38:00.000-04:00

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

I am a pasty Muzungu!

2006-06-18T04:02:00.000-04:00

Hello All,

I just sent a long email to supplement this posting and if you didn't get it, contact my mom and she'll send it along.

So, yes. I am a pasty muzungu (a white person) and that means everyone in the village is intrigued by everything I do. Some of the kids in my village just like to watch me. Last night one iwe (ee-way - means child, it is also a way of addressing someone without the added respect of saying imwe) was instructing me to drink from my nalgene bottle so he could watch. I guess I'm crazy weird here or something. At least the kids in my host village have a decent respect for my personal space.

I went on site visit to Luapula province last week. (I saw Elliott Hoel!!! He is doing great, loves his village and project. He was in at the provincial house in Mansa because he had symptoms of malaria, but he tested negative for the malaria parasite.) I digress. The kids there were really into getting up in your space and trying to touch you without you noticing. I sat on the stoop and washed dishes in a bucket and the kids crept closer and closer until one was practically in the bucket.

Site visit in Luapula was amazing. We stayed with a HAP volunteer named Lauren. She has a really nice house (it took her a year to get it that nice, but it gave me some great ideas for work on my own house) and a garden. She is doing amazingly well in here community. She took us to the clinic to meet her counterparts and to the basic school to give a presentation on positive living and HIV prevention, she has made enormous progress in only a year. We danced with the bamaayos (mothers) and iwes in her neighborhood (they dance on the full moon because it is like extended daylight). And the bamaayos nextdoor taught us to pound toute (cassava) into mealie meal for making ubwale nshima. They also taught us to wash our clothes using our wrists as washboards (my wrist got sore and I couldn't write for a few hours). Lauren showed us how to make a lot of different foods over the imbobala (brasier, charcoal stove). We made granola, banana bread, faux chicken nuggets (they were so tasty), and like a million other things.

I am hoping to be posted to Luapula after training because the two HIV/AIDS Project sites there sound so cool. They are both right by a big lake with white sandy beaches, they'll be near another HAP neighbor and right on the tarmac (paved road). However, I will be happy here no matter where they place me.

For now I am staying with my host family in Kakolo village outside of Kitwe. I have language and technical training six days a week and will only be able to email on Sundays. I think I may have promised my family that I would join them for church next Sunday, so don't be startled if I do not write next week. My family is wonderful. They have a bunch of kids, not all their own, but some they just look after. Luckily for me most of them have Western names that are easy for me to remember. Ruthie the eldest daughter is helping me to practice my Bemba, and it is going very well. Their last Peace Corps trainee was the top Bemba speaker in his class and gave the Bemba speech at the Swearing In Ceremony (it gets televised on ZNBC) - so they are determined that I too will be at the top of my Bemba class!

This morning I was thinking that it is possible I might get scurvy. The only vegetable I have eaten since moving in with my family is cabbage and that was two days ago. Yesterday they packed me a "lunch" to take to the training center. Luckily this was the only time they would have to pack me a lunch, they sent me with about 4 cups of white rice and two hard boiled eggs. I ate the eggs, thankful for the protein and bummed a banana off another volunteer. We're in Kitwe today, so I'll buy some apples or something I can keep in my room so as not to offend them. The staples are easy to come by here and you find yourself eating a lot of starch. Zambian's eat ubwale (like the "pap" we ate in South Africa) with EVERYTHING. They do not understand why we don't eat it in America (or Amelika as they say in Bemba - there is no R in the Bemba alphabet and they use Ls in the place of Rs. In fact, my family first called me Ba Ribbya, until I sorted it out for them - I think Libby reminds them of Libya, the country . . . so be it. When in Lome . . . ).

So, I am taking Mefloquine, the malaria prophilaxis that makes you have vivid dreams. At the same time I am reading that book "A Million Little Pieces" about the guy in drug rehab. Also at the same time my host family told me I WOULD be going to church with them on Sunday. The night before last I dreamed that I was in drug rehab, and they made me go to church and I ran away from church. That's about the extent of that side effect.

Okay, this is starting to cost me a lot of Kwatcha. K3,500 is a dollar. So I'm sure if I live frugally I can be a millionaire. Sweet.

I hope this has been a sufficient update. I miss you all so much. Hugs and smooches to everybody.

Shalenipo! (stay well!)

Love,
LIBBY

I'm an American ambassador now!!! And it's a good thing!!!

2006-06-10T11:21:00.002-04:00

I should start this post (which I am frantically writing because 55 of my fellow trainees are also waiting to use this computer) by saying MOM: if you read this before tonight, talk to Jess - there is a PCV with a cell phone who is going to text you a number and a time to call me tonight (it will be in Zambian time - 6 hours ahead).

Okay, so we flew into Lusaka yesterday (via an evening at a swanky Johannesburg hotel). I had some of the best luck ever because I sat on the flight next to a Zambian named Paul who happens to do Monitoring and Evaluation for the Zambian National AIDS Council. So, he hooked me up with some contact numbers and gave me some great ideas. So that was serindipidous (I'm not going to pretend I know how to spell that right now).

We are staying at this place called Eureka Campground on the outskirts of Lusaka. They have giraffes and zebras that wander free, haven't seen them yet, but there are tons, and I'll see them tonight.

I have now had 6 vacinations in the last few days. So, I'm now vaccinated against yellow fever, measles, mumps, rhubella, polio, rabies, meningitis, and to top it all off -- a typhoid shot in my bum. I'm also taking mefloquine (the malaria prophylaxis that gives you crazy dreams) and doxycycline to build up my resistance to malaria parasites. We got this crazy medical kit today. I think, given the proper training, I should be able to do open heart surgery with all the stuff they've given us.

I've also come to realize that the Peace Corps is going to take amazing care of us while we're here, and probably forever. So, that's a great feeling. We met the second-in-command guy (Andy) from the U.S. Embassy in Lusaka this morning and he was really inspirational. He should have given his speech at the end of the day, cuz now I'm feeling really drained and could use a pep-talk.

Tomorrow I leave on my first site visit until Thursday. I'm going with two other girls to a site in Luapula province (an 8 - 10 hour drive). I'll start learning Bemba while I am there and that will hopefully get me a site placement in either Copperbelt, Central, or Luapula province.

Anyway, that's my news thus far. I'm having a wonderful time despite being busy every minute and being really tired. Everyone is amazing here. It is great and I'm so psyched to start training in about a week.

So much love to you all. Send me mail!!! Hugs and Smooches,

LIBBY

I'm an American ambassador now!!! And it's a good thing!!!

2006-06-10T11:21:00.001-04:00

Sacrifices

2006-05-27T21:04:00.000-04:00

So, today I indulged in a a pedicure. Only my second in the twenty-three plus years that I've been alive. Then, my family took me out for some lovely cuisine at one of our favorite restaurants. I've decided that it is definitely worth me eating as well as possible in the next eight days before I leave for staging in Philadelphia. After all, there are a lot of things that I will be living without for the next two years, and I'm pretty sure that this indulgence is not selfish.

I had a tremendously thought provoking conversation with my sister, Tia, and my mom the other day. We were sipping iced tea and discussing the fact that I wanted to use her new panini grille to make goat cheese sandwiches before I leave. She said to me:

"Lib, it's like you're going to jail."

I said, "Explain."

"Just think of all the things you're giving up to do this thing. You can't take showers, you'll have no electricity, you can't have cheese or ice cream . . . "

I reminded her that in jail they have electricity and they take showers, as far as I know anyway. It will be a bummer to live without the electricity necessary to keep cheese and ice cream cold. (I laughed at the guy who sold me my CamelBak hydration system - he was explaining that the mouth is wide so you can put lots of ice cubes in it - I hope that wasn't rude.)

My sister continued: "You'll have no heat when it is cold and no fans or A.C. when it is hot. You're giving up everything!"

My mother chimed into the conversation: "Except what she wants to do with her life."

I was so appreciative of my mothers perspective. After all, she was the hardest to convince that Peace Corps service was right for me. She's come a LONG way since late December. She knows that this is important to me and now she's really supportive. My parents are even discussing coming for a visit - a big deal for my parents, whose only trip outside of North America was to visit me in Cape Town, South Africa.

For all of the sacrifices that I am making (particularly the sacrifice of being away from my family so long) I expect to be generously rewarded with a million amazing experiences. The way I see it, I can spend the next several days unselfishly rewarding myself with pedicures and goat cheese paninis.

25 days and counting

2006-05-10T10:00:00.000-04:00

So, I work at a food Co-Op and I get to see everybody I know in my town, about twice a week. Everyone asks me: "When are you leaving?" and I usually know exactly how many days until June 5th. Today, the answer is 25. THAT IS INSANE!!! I can't believe it! I know this because I occasionally check on my future fellow PCV Marcus' blog http://rozbitsky.blogspot.com/, where he has a counter that counts down by the second until our staging event in Philadelphia. It is most helpful in keeping me (the world's best procrastinator) on track.

However, it could be responsible for my tossing and turning each night when I crawl into bed. I usually get comfortable and then pick up one of the eight books I am currently reading (all of which have some connection to either Zambia or the Peace Corps) and read until I drop the book on my face. Well, then I have to reach over to turn off the light and something about that motion wakes me up again, at least enough for my brain to cycle out of control about the fact that I am moving to Zambia in less than a month (much less in fact). I have to tell myself not to think about Zambia if I am going to get any sleep at all. What else is there to think about? Well, perhaps the things I am unfortunately going to miss this summer:

My sister is pregnant and due to deliver what we think is a girl on September 8th. I am bummed to be missing the occasion, but perhaps it will make my mother less concerned about me, and more distracted by the excitement of her first grandchild!
My rockstar friends - Grace Potter and the Nocturnals (check them out: http://gracepotter.com/) - are playing a bazillion music festivals I would love to be attending this summer. The only upside I can think of for that business is that by the time I return I can start saying "I knew them when. . . " Right now is just a little too soon to be impressive, although they are becoming HUGE, so you should all be going to see them whenever possible! Plug, plug, plug.
Two of my "little" cousins are graduating from high school in June and going off to college. I am so proud! What a bummer to miss their respective big days.
The project for which I have been sitting on a steering committee for the last several months is finally going to take off. The Straight Up and Safe program of the AIDS Project of Southern Vermont will start training outreach workers in June and they'll be hosting a bunch of open houses to launch the many projects that have been designed since the funding came through. I'll be sad to miss it, but they promise to update me often.
I'm not even sure whether my family is planning our semi-annual vacation on Martha's Vineyard, but if they go, I'll miss it, and that will be a bummer.

Even with all of the potential occasions to miss and the inevitable sacrifices that come with Peace Corps service, I am so excited to get out there and do this really meaningful work. It will be wonderful and I can't wait. I'm just a little nervous about getting malaria and the prospect of fire ants by the thousands invading my mud-brick hut (I'm not kidding) in the middle of the night. . . and I'm worried about getting to sleep for the next 25 nights??? That alone should be a comforting thought, no fire ants will awaken me if I can finally get to sleep.

My weekend was RAD

2006-04-19T16:27:00.000-04:00

So, I'm pretty sure that all of my fellow Peace Corps Trainees are real jealous that I got to meet Chris, Katy, and Brette on Monday. They're all real sweet and it is a relief to know that these Internet friends of mine are actually real people and not weirdo stalkers! I'm real bummed that I didn't get a photo to document the event. I can't wait to meet up with them all again in Philadelphia in about 7 weeks, and I am especially excited to meet everyone else as well, since the first three all seem so rad. (um, I'm doing my best to bring back that word, please join me.)

I spent the weekend in Boston with my two best friends from Smith. We had a rockin' time. They are the greatest and I will miss them sooooo much when I'm away in The Big Zed. Against my better judgement, I went out Monday and screamed my head off on the marathon route. I wasn't going to let a little cold ruin my weekend! I had things to do and people to see and other people to meet! There was cheering to be done and vodka and grapefruit juice to be consumed! Nothing would keep me from the brand new H&M on Newbury (except the marathon route which was between the T stop and the shopping mecca). All day Tuesday I felt like the living dead. Come to find out I was plagued by the flu, and I am still recovering from my 101 temperature. I sincerely hope I did not infect my new Peace Corps friends (they'll be making me carry their water for months!).

The Boston Marathon was so much fun. I have so much admiration for those actually exerting the energy that makes the whole thing happen. I watched from the sidelines with friends, aquaintences and total strangers as we bonded over a barbeque and some cheap beer. I very much appreciated the commentary of my new friend Katy Weinberg: "On one hand, watching a marathon makes me want to take up running. On the other hand, it makes me want a snack."

Recent History

2006-03-29T18:25:00.000-05:00

Well, 67 days and counting. I might as well do some sort of formal introduction, since my fellow PCVs-to-be have all linked their blogs up to mine. I might as well get on with this business and give total strangers an intimate view of my life. As far as I can tell, that's what this whole Internet thing seems to be about.

I've told you about my pathetic knowledge of Zambia, and now I can tell you about me.

Here I am sitting on the side of Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa. I lived there for one year during my junior year of college while I studied at the University of Cape Town. Life in my mud-brick house in rural Zambia will be very different than the super-metropolitan life I have previously lived in Africa. I loved Cape Town so much I want to go back for grad school.

Right, so me. I'm 23 years old and I live in Brattleboro, Vermont, where I grew up. I graduated from Smith College (a very liberal, yet traditional women's college in Northampton, MA) in May of 2005, where I majored in anthropology and minored in studio art. I think Peace Corps service is the perfect progression in my life right now. I want to go into public health and do HIV/AIDS related development work. I started doing HIV/AIDS prevention work when I was in high school, and after a year of study and an incredible internship in South Africa I realized that I definitely wanted to make the issue my life's work.

Here is a little photo documentary of my recent past. I have recently:

Graduated from college:

The furry guy is our History of Rock N' Roll professor, none other than Steve Waksman himself.
Yep, I spent my money wisely @ Smith.

Seen infinite Elvis impersonators in Memphis, TN.

This photo was taken by a drunk homeless man on a little tiny bike, no joke.

Gone back to South Africa.

I found VT in SA.

This is me and my friend Chad (he is Zambian - I can't wait for him to come visit me!)

We went whale watching in Hermanus, but didn't see a single whale.
All was not lost, I got a hefty sunburn.

This is the Youth Centre where I interned in Langa (one of Cape Town's many townships).
My internship was with South Africa's largest HIV prevention campaign, loveLife.
They have sixteen of these Y-Centres throughout the country.

I got to see old friends and meet some crazy new ones!

Gone to Seattle to see my best friends from school. We're having reunion number three in Boston in a couple of weeks!

We're BFF with the Fremont troll.

I went with the one on the left for the White Trash party (no contest).

The trip was mad fun, right up until the last minute at the airport.

Everything I have done since then has not necessarily been documented in images. I need to get on that business.

ZAMBIA

2006-02-20T23:40:00.000-05:00

So, this is ZAMBIA. It will be my home away from home until August of 2008. It is the one that looks kinda like a curled up E.T. in a way. I leave on June 5th, 2006 to start training as an HIV/AIDS Project Volunteer. I expect it will be the most challenging and exciting experience of my life thus far.

Things I knew about Zambia prior to any Peace Corps supplied information:

Little to no industry after the fall in the price of copper back in . . . (oops, I don't remember when, details). However, now the price of copper has gone way up. In fact, this guy told me the other day that it now costs the U.S. Government more than a penny to make a penny. I think the rise in the price of copper has something to do with a boom in construction in China these days. I digress.
My friend Chad is from the Kitwe area (in Copperbelt Province). He speaks Bemba. Chad says there is "nothing to do" and his parents have sent him and his siblings elsewhere for school and opportunity. He hasn't been back to see them in several years. However, he has promised to come visit me! So they will be seeing each other sometime soon!
Zambia has a border on Victoria Falls (one of the seven natural wonders of the world) and amazing river rafting on the Zambezi. It also borders DR Congo, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, and Angola. In other words, it is landlocked.
Other than that, not a whole lot (not that that was a whole lot).

Things I know about Zambia now that it is about to be my home (this list should grow exponentially from now until forever):

Many Zambians refer to their country as "Zed" (according to my Zambian friend Chad).
The life expectancy in Zambia is 37 years young - or 39, or 35 depending on the source. Either way, very young. This is not a war-torn country, these numbers are due to the AIDS pandemic.
There is a 15% - 16% prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Zambia (that means about one out of every 6 people is infected).
By 2010, one out of every three children in Zambia will be orphaned by AIDS.
Zambia is slightly larger than the state of Texas and it has some very diverse terrain.
The majority of Zambians are hard-core Christians.
The main mode of transportation in Zambia is hitchiking, frequently on a truck transporting livestock. (I will be riding a bike [maybe 40 miles] - to get to the livestock trucks.) I can't wait to see my parents riding with the goats and chickens!
English is the official language in Zambia, but there are 8 major vernaculars, and over 70 other indigenous languages. I am hoping I will learn Bemba, so I can talk to Chad (his English is better than mine).
Zambia has in the last year qualified for debt cancellation, as it has been listed among the 17 poorest countries in the world. So they can now use the money they were paying to The African Development Fund and the World Bank for their own development projects. Yay!
Caterpillars and termites are delicacies in Zambia, eaten on special occasions (rare special occasions only, I hope).
The staple food in Zambia is nsima (pronounced "in-shee-ma"). It is a lot like the "pap" I consumed in South Africa: basically like rubbery mashed potato.
The flag looks like this:

sort of by accident

2006-01-30T23:37:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone,

I think I just set this up by accident. All I wanted to do was post a comment on my friend Elliott's blog: wordfromzambia.blogspot.com and here I am with a blog of my own.

I knew I would have one eventually (for I too am going into Peace Corps Service in rural Zambia!) but, I guess these things have a way of sneeking up on you (i.e. it was mad easy!)

Well,
hugs and smooches,
LIBBY