Hot off the Press!

Its been a very exciting few days! I got a call a few weeks ago asking if I would be willing to bring a few of the most active girls in my GLOW club down to Lusaka (8hours away) for an event. I was only told that there were VERY important people coming from America and the event would showcase what we do as a GLOW club at school and what we do at our GLOW camps. At first I declined the offer (although I was very honored to be asked to do the event) since I was waiting to hear about the grant money I applied for to do an World AIDS Day(WAD) event. A week later, I still hadnt recived any word or money regarding the grant for WAD so I decided to see if the offer still stood. I was then told who was coming to Zambia...President George W. Bush and his family. I immediatly started getting in touch with the girls and their parents. The grade 7 and 9 girls had already finished their exams and were preparing to take their holiday. I picked four of the most active girls and my GLOW counterpart to come Lusaka with me. All the girls were excited, except one. 3 of the girls had just completed grade 9 while one had just completed grade 7. The grade 7 girl was nervous about her English. She's the only one in her family that knows any English and the only time she gets to practice her English outside of school is with me. She was afraid that people in Lusaka would laugh at her. She had also never left the village at all let alone gone to the capital. I assured her that things would be fine and she should speak in whatever language she is comfortable with. So we all travelled in the Lusaka as a big group. Along the way we stopped for shawarma and got two flat tires. Eventfull day indeed. The girls got some time to rest then it was all practice for the important visit that was going to take place. The girls also met up with 14 other GLOW girls from differnet schools and different provinces. There were 5 groups in total. We decided to do three activites: a girl empowerment song, a self-esteem activity, and a sugar daddy skit. The girls practiced so hard and it all paid off. They did an AMAZING job! The Bush family was so impressed with what the girl preformed for them today. My girl who was afraid of going to Lusaka even lead the girl empowerment song in her local language!!! I was so proud! We took lots of pictures and this is something the girls will remember for the rest of their lives. They had so much condfidence in themselves by the end of the week. This is why I love GLOW and my job. I feel like I get the opportunity to change people's. These girls experienced new things, met new people and had fun and I got to play a part in that. If feels good. The Today Show came to interview the girls and film the day. There should be a showing of the event on December 12th. Check us out if you can!

Exciting times in Zambia

Its been an exciting few weeks here in Zambia with work and everything else. I did my first condom demonstration in the village and it went really well. There were 2 more villages on the schedule but when people found out what I was doing they also wanted me to come to their village to do the demonstration. My PEPFAR counterpart (also my best friend in the village) did a GREAT job with our village talks. In addition to condom demonstrations, we talked about HIV transmission, the importance of getting tested and also gave out condoms as well. I was surprised they responded to me so well due to the fact that I am young and a female but they were open to asking me questions and willing to learn. I felt really good at the end and so did my counterpart. The village also kept saying how good of a teacher I was. Since I am busy teaching their kids this was the first community event I was able to do, it wont be the last.
Also I had an interest meeting with the women at the Catholic Church. The meeting was initially supposed to be just with the priest to see how he felt about me using the Church but it ended up being a interest meeting about starting a Woman's Literacy Group at the Church. It slowly ended up being a empowerment meeting and all the women are really excited about this group. I told them if they raised the money to buy note books for themselves, I would buy the pens. They told me to get pencils to start. There are women who finished grade 10 as well as women who just finished grade 1 so it will be a multi-level class but I have a local woman helping me. We start our 1st class October 4th. They keep reminding me about the class when I see them around the village.
Our GLOW Camp has been officially funded! It got funded really quickly due to all our friends and families donating (THANKS GUYS). We have already started the planning for the week and its going to be great. Also my neighbor is going to be a peer mentor at the Camp. She wrote a great essay about why she wanted to help the girls and how she was an example to them because she was single and completed school/grade 12 (which is a big deal in a village where early marriage and pregnancy is on the rise for some reason) and how she believed that girls should have rights. I helped her get her thoughts together but she wrote the essay herself. I was really proud of her. Now I am submitting a grant for a World AIDS Day event my PCV neighbor and I are doing. I will also be doing a teacher training the same week on HIV and how to care/support orphans and vulnerable children in our Zone. The guidance and Counseling teachers as well as the Anti-AIDS club matron/patrons from each of the seven schools in the zone are invited. On World AIDS Day, people will be getting tested for HIV, school groups will perform, a person living with HIV will speak as well as several other activities. We will also be holding a raffle to encourage people to get tested. The prizes will be....local items but mainly shirts, hats and bags. If anyone sees any hats, bags or shirts with things/scenes/advertisements from America on them and want to send them my way...I would greatly appreciate it. Also I have been getting a lot of support for the resource center I am working on. THANKS AGAIN! Things are really coming together.
Last but not least the most exciting thing by far, were the elections held last week. Zambia has a new president, Michael Sata. Sata is actually from Mpika district so everyone in Northern Province was really excited that 'one of their own' is now the President. The elections were relatively calm and people were excited for change in their country. I went to the school on polling day and except for lines outside the door, it was exactly the same as home. I walked around the village encouraging people to vote and explaining why I myself couldn't vote. They didn't think my being an American was a good enough excuse. 2days later around 2am, I heard screaming and cheering in the village and knew that Sata had won. I was very proud of Zambia. The former president stepped down gracefully and showed the world that there can be free and fair elections in Africa. Zambia remained the peaceful nation that everyone claims it to be. I constantly find reasons to fall in love with this place, and this is one of them for sure. I am excited about how things are going in my life as a volunteer and in general and Zambians are excited about the route their new government is going to take!

hut sweet hut...and the village kids

Sunsets on the Savanna: All I want for Chirstmas...December

Camp GLOW Donation Site:

https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=611-071

All I want for Chirstmas...December

School is out and I am still running around the village like a mad woman. I went on a mini vacation to Eastern Province to visit friends (picture soon) before they finished their services. I got back to the village and had programs in the village scheduled but they got canceled due to 'lack of materials'. What materials? CONDOMS! I will be doing village talks on HIV, VCT (voluntary counseling and testing for HIV) as well as condom demonstrations. In conjunction with this I also want to do condom distribution in these villages. I searched everywhere for condoms. No one has them. I finally went to my provincial capital (where I have the luxury of typing this entry)and got more condoms than I can carry home. I'm excited to do these sensitization in the village. It will be interesting to see how people respond, especially to the condom demonstrations. Ive had more people recently asking me for and about condoms, especially the female condoms, so this is a great chance to educate my community. The topic is taboo in the sense that I am a women, HIV has a huge stigma and the people in my area are very traditional. They all think I'm crazy anyway essentially because I left America to live in a rural village in Zambia, but they do respect me and what I have to say. My PEPFAR counterpart/ best friend in the village will help me with translating and also discuss VCT. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it goes well! In addition to this little project I have 2 HUGE projects I'm still working on. Camp GLOW and books for the Resource Center.
Its time for Camp GLOW planning and fund raising again. This year the Camp will be held during the week of December 11-17 in my district of Mpika. GLOW stands for Girls Leading Our World. Camp GLOW is a week long girls empowerment camp where each volunteer brings two girls & a counterpart to learn life skills, increase their confidence, instill leadership and to begin developing girl groups at their perspective schools. There will be separate sessions for the counterparts and the girls and all the sessions for the girls are done in local language. Last year the sessions for the girls dealt with self-esteem, assertiveness, sexual violence, early marriage/pregnancy and establishing goals. All of the counterpart sessions were focused on how to facilitate these sessions in their school clubs. Along with the sessions there are a lot of games, songs and my personal favorite....CRAFTS! The Camp was very successful last year and has been one of my favorite projects so far. BUT all the money from the camp is donated. This is where you all come in. If you are interested in helping me, there is a link on the peace corps website where you are able to donate. All money that is donated for the camp will go through this website and we will receive it in one lump sum. If you want to send materials for the camp you can mail them to me. Last year Little Debbie donated snacks for our big party at the end of the week and several people donated art supplies for our crafts and balls/games for our activities. Please help us out. This camp is great for the girls. My girls are more confident since the camp and it really is something that is uplifting and empowering for everyone evolved! Here's the link to the donation page:

If the link doesn't work the project number to enter on the page is 611-071 and the volunteer name is SMITH.
Another BIG project I am doing is gathering books for our Resource Center. I have been trying for months to gather books locally and I have received a few but we need more. The Resource Center is still empty. This Center is in the middle of my zone that covers 5 government schools and 2 community schools. The center is open to everyone in the community so the books will be utilized by several people. I envision the resource center as a place to gather materials for the teachers developing lesson plans, for continuing professional development, possibly having a reading corner where teachers and parents can read to their pupils, where pupils can study and increase their reading interest. While the gathering of the books is "easy" in the sense that textbooks, resource books, fiction and non-fiction book and any other type of books are welcomed but the shipping of the books from America to Zambia will be costly. Maybe if any groups are wanting to do projects for Christmas/December or just want to take on any volunteering projects this would be something they are interested in. Everything is welcomed and helps in the stocking of this Center. Once the books start coming in, I will train teachers at the school where the center is located in how to catalog and store the books so they can even be checked out. If enough books get donated, there is even the opportunity to develop class libraries at the community schools which are several kilometers away from the cente

puppies and random village things

Puppies being born, friends coming to visit, meeting up with my favorite village kids and their parents. Things are going well on this end just busy with work. I am working at two schools and teaching grades 7,8,9 English. Hard to believe that I only have 9 months left in Zambia! Im not to happy about that. So much to get done and so little time. My next big projects will be a book drive (which everyone can help me by sending me books!) and writing a grant to get funding for a HIV/AIDs, Guidence and counselling workshop for te teachers in my Zone, and the planning of a World AIDS Day event. Ill keep everyone posted on these things because I will need help (and frequent pep talks) for sure. Love you all. Ill write soon I promise.

teaching and such (grade 8 comprehension lesson on HIV)

The pictures are mainly of my Grade 8 English Class at my main school Mpumba Basic. The lesson was a listening comprehension lesson covering HIV/AIDs. During the lesson we did a transmisson game to show how HIV is easily spread between partners, we did a KWL chart(know, want to know, learn) about what they already knew and wanted to know about HIV/AIDS, we read a composition about HIV and how it is transmited, I used class volunteers to show how the immune system is affected by HIV and we played a true/false game over the contents of the passage. This is how a typical lesson goes in my classes. Me running around, asking for volunteers, having them read to me and making each other laugh.

A spoonful of peanutbutter makes the Coartem go down

The Malaria finally got me! Coming to Zambia I had two expectations: 1) to live in a mud hut 2) to get malaria. It started out as the flu and I think my immune system just couldn't fight off two things at once and Malaria struck. Its weird to say but now I can relate to my village on a different level. Everyone in the village says they have a "bit" of malaria and at one point I thought I had a "bit" of the malaria myself but it was nothing compared to the main event. Now I can see how people die from it even though I was no where near that sick! It just takes a lot out of you and if you don't have the proper medical help and you don't catch it fast enough it can get bad really quickly. Puts things into perspective! Funny how a little mosquito can do so much damage!
A lot of things have been put into preservative lately. My village, my village life in particular has been hit with a series of unfortunate but eye opening events. My best friend at the school and my main co-teaching counterpart lost her husband last week suddenly. I talked to her the same morning about bringing her puppies to her and a few hours later she was a widow. While the husband was said to have died suddenly, I knew he was HIV positive. A few months ago(after a year of me being quiet and already knowing) my co-teacher FINALLY told me she was HIV positive and that she trusted me enough to tell me. It meant a lot to me for her to finally tell me. There is so much stigma around being positive that she isn't open with about her status to the teachers or the community. She told me that her husband recently found out he was positive but their 3 children were OK. She's very committed to taking her ARVs and living positively because of her 3 children, despite the fact that her viral load count is shockingly high.
The funeral was my first one here even though there seems to be one daily. Its sad to think that I wont see him anymore and its even sadder to see the fear in my teacher's eyes because now she's alone. I wish I could do something more for them but I can't. This is a reality that they face often and while I am not, they are very 'used'(use to it) as they say.
As volunteers want to be integrated into the community and live as much as we can like the locals .While its a noble idea, we're still so detached. The fact that I have a water filter to clean the water I drink sets me apart. The fact that while I had malaria I also have medical care readily available so I'm not nearly as sick as one could get makes me different. The fact that I have a bike and shoes to wear when traveling from one village to the next for projects makes me a rich person. At first I tried to explain that I wasn't rich but in reality I am. Not rich as in money but rich in things, simple things taken for granted that change lives drastically. Peace Corps has 3 main goals it tries to accomplish and 2 out of the 3 of those goals relate to cultural exchange. Its really hard to do development and skills transfer work (goal 1) when there are so many other dire needs. I cant do it all especially in 2 years and I am glad people realize that.We often times come into this thinking that in 2 years we're going to change the world and bring major change to our areas and its a hard pill to swallow when things don't go as planned. I don't want to build buildings (many PCVs do its just not my thing)or imply that the way of living is wrong and that is the common misconception with development and aid organizations. I want to give people skills, materials and confidence to change things on their own. I feel like to first step to doing that is by being connected with the village. After my malaria, the broken borehole, kids dying from diarrhea and my one of my best friends losing her husband, I feel like I get it. I feel like I know why I am here. Sure I cant change all these things in 2 yrs and 3 generations of PCVs may not be able to change things either but I do serve a purpose. I am here to listen. I am here as a link to connect people with local resources they don't know about. I am here to try. I love my village and the people in it and I am glad that(even through a series of unfortunate event) I understand more now. That also comes with being in the village for a year. My time is coming to an end, I have 8months left but there is so much I want to do. So much that needs to be done but all I can do is continue to build relationships and continue to try. That's enough and I'm finally OK with that because in a way it is changing the world. Their world.

Zam pics

A year in review

LONG Time! It’s been a while yet again since I’ve written. Since I’ve officially been in the village and in Zambia for a year, seems only right for me to do some sort of review of what has happened. But instead of spending countless hours at the computer Ill just review in a list… a top 10 of sorts.

Top 12 realizations of the year (in no particular order)

1) You can’t live in two places at once- In the beginning, I was really upset about being so disconnected from family and friends. I tried to live in America and Zambia at the same time in the sense that I tried to stay the person I was in American while living in Zambia. That didn’t work too well. As soon as I let my American life go - in the sense of accepting the fact that I’m no longer the person I was living the life I use to- I started to find my place here. I want to be a part of everyone’s life back home and I can, but I have to be HERE in order to make the most of the experience. I’m glad I learned that!

2) “Take chances, Make mistakes, get messy"- Ms. Frizzle from the Magic School Bus said it best I think! You only get one life, might as well live it up and take anything for granted. I have the rare opportunity to do some amazing things that people only dream of. Seeing one of the 7 wonders of the world, petting a lion, living in Africa, meeting the ambassador, taking showers under the stars, seeing the 2nd longest waterfall in Africa those types of things. I also live a life most would hate. Black mambas, flesh eating ants, unreliable public transport, leaky roofs and of course no electricity or indoor plumbing. But really what is life without risk. I get bored easily and I haven’t been bored yet here. This is literally a dream for me even with the occasional series of unfortunate events but that’s anywhere. So long story short....I wouldn’t trade this for anything!

3) Don’t forget to say thank you- Many times in the hustle and bustle of my former life, I rarely took the chance to stop and take in the world around me. Here, it’s completely different. This place reminds me to stop and be thankful for the little things. One morning around 6am I was awaken by my dog, chickens and the sounds of the village. I was angry that I was up at 6am and I walked out my house grumpy. I looked at the sun rising over my yard and I quickly said sorry (for being grumpy) and thank you because I was up early enough to experience the beauty of nature. We ask for a lot and forget to be grateful for the little things and what we have. I catch myself saying thank you more often now.

4) If you bring them sweeties, they will come- When I first went to the village, I took so much pride in doing all my own chores. I felt independent and it kept me busy. As my service continued and started getting busier, I realized that there were just some things I hated and really didn’t have time for. I hate fetching water! It’s not like its far or anything I just really don’t like doing it. About 5 months in, I realized that the kids in my village wanted candy and they would do ANYTHING to get said candy. So now I give them candy in exchange for jerry cans full of water!!! Its perfect and now since I’ve started my garden the kids come around everyday to get me water. Too bad they can’t write my lesson plans ;)

5) Always bring a book to a meeting- Meetings never start on time…ever. So instead of being annoyed or angry I just bring a book or something to do. I like to think I’m multi-tasking. There really is no exception to this rule.

6) The secret ingredient is cheeky chili/ sweet chili sauce- I’m no chef but I do enjoy cooking. I like trying new things and making culinary creations. But I’ve noticed that literally everything I cook has either cheeky chili (hot sauces) or sweet chili sauce. Zambians love salt and I love spice. My teachers make fun of me because I like cheeky chili so much and use to carry a bottle in my purse.

7) Just because it looks or smells good, doesn’t mean it taste good- no explanation needed especially because this is in reference to what I make. I guess that’s why Zambians don’t smell their food….its deceiving.

8) Fat is a term of endearment- In the Zambian Culture, it’s a good thing to be called fat because it means you have enough food to eat and you are healthy. In American culture, it’s obviously a bit different. Even after a yr I cringe a little when I’m sitting in the village with the women and they can’t stop talking about how fat I am, especially after I’ve just come from Lusaka and Kasama where I’ve eaten my weight in cheese and they can tell. I’ve started telling people that it’s an insult in my country to tell someone they are fat. So now they say I’m just a “bit” fat.

9) “If soya pieces were in America, this is what America would taste like”- This is what one of my PCV friends said after we had Mexican night at my house and I used soya pieces. Soya is the new chicken! Soya pieces are basically tofu/soya bean chucks. You can cook them like chicken and add them to anything. I eat them at least 3 times a week. You can put them in pasta, curry, tortillas, or even eat them straight out of the bag (I haven’t gotten that desperate yet). To top it all off, they are a great source of protein! I’m bringing some back to the states.

10) After a long day, nothing hits the spot like a bucket bath- Bucket baths are so nice for some reason. I rather bucket bath then take a shower, especially when you can take a bath under the starts.

11) Hitch Hiking is an art…and a sport- People are so nice here and are willing to help you anyway they can, for me that normally means driving me somewhere. I’ve met a lot of interesting people getting a “lift” and it’s not as dangerous as it sounds. I get the seat with a seat belt 8 times out of 10 and the drivers are super nice. I even get free rides sometimes. Transport is the biggest problem in this country and since I live 10 hours away for Lusaka (Nations capital) and 6 hrs from my provincial house, I do what I can to get where I need to be. Especially when vacations are concerned.

12) Music is the universal language and dancing is how you communicate- I love dancing and I love that I am in a country where people express themselves with music and dance. My dancing abilities surpass my Bemba speaking abilities and at every function I go to (even school meetings sometimes) I’m required to dance. The women in my village even know my favorite Zampop song! Here you dance to tell stories also. During Camp GLOW, the girls did a dance showing how to say no when a sugar daddy approaches you. It’s also fun to dance to my American music with people in the village; they don’t know how to dance to Jay-z or Adele.

Top 10 highlights of the last year

10) 4hr hike to Kalombo Falls, the 2nd tallest waterfall in Africa
9) Gratitude Sunday (every Sunday)
8) KITCHEN PARTY!!!
7) Grade 9 Debates- it was the first time anything like it had happed at my school
6) Seeing Victoria Falls
5) Northern Province house days/ Camp GLOW
4) HENDRIX!!!!
3) TGM on teaching and learning aids
2) Village Birthday Party
1) Safari in Botswana/ Petting a LION


It’s been a great year in every aspect. There have been some ups and downs for sure and they have made me stronger to say the least. I’ve had some success in teacher training in the form of leading teacher group meetings. I’ve seen and improvement in the kids as they were able to hold debates in English. People say it (teaching pupils in the rural areas) can’t be done but it can. These kids were able to pick topics, develop arguments, counter arguments and express themselves verbally in what is probably their 3rd or 4th language. The teachers now know it can be done and want to implement these themselves. I’ve developed relationships with the women in my village and I’m seen as a daughter to them.

This week I helped with training of the new volunteers and watched the volunteers 1 yr ahead of me leave. It’s been a mix of; look at where I was a year ago and look where ill be a year from now. I’ve learned a lot about a lot in the last year and hopeful I could help the new trainees learn something too. I also visited my host family from training this week. It was emotional in the sense that with some rough patches in my current village, I wish I could have this family near and it was comforting to know they still remember me and have room in their heart for me. It’s great that they still love me even though my Bemba has gotten worse. Someone from home told me in a letter that this is an amazing journey that most people only dream of. A journey of happy and sad times, of growth and learning and she was right. She also told me to enjoy my journey….and I’m doing just that. I’m excited for what the next year of service will bring. Hopefully it will bring another great Camp GLOW, a resource center full of books and computers, more condom demonstrations, more trips to beautiful places, more village shin-digs, less books in my personal library because I would have read them all, more Bemba and more growth, strength and happiness.

Accomplished!!!

When I last wrote, I was attending the PEPFAR workshop. It was amazing! I learned so much and our counterparts did to. We took people from our village that we intend to work with so we would both be trained in talking to our communities. We all left the workshop with new knowledge and experiencing new things. Several counterparts had never been tested for HIV so the option was given to everyone at the workshop. Majority of all of us got tested which is a step in the right direction. Also one counterpart had never seen a condom until the workshop...she has 10 children. Now she knows how to correctly put on a condom! My counterpart (Julie) and I have already started our work. She is talking to mothers at the under 5 clinic for babies and I have taught about 4 HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness lessons in my English class. The kids really think im crazy now but they are learning! They now know that you CAN NOT get HIV from mosquitoes and from kissing!
In addttion to wrokshops, I taught a TGM (techer group meeting) on Teaching/ Learning Aids for the teachers at Mpumba. I have yet to feel more accomplished in my service as a RED volunteer! They loved the presentation. The were active from start to finish, asked questions and even participated in making teaching learning aids.They did a GREAT job making teaching aids, I was so proud of them! I made a few T/L aids of my own to show them how they can use local resources. I made a computer form cardboard, place value chart with removable parts (cardboard), a solar system mobile from sticks, powedered milk lids and string, sentence cards and HIV transmission pictures. The teachers all said this was the best TGM they had ever done and that I was a very good teacher/presenter! The said that I should start leading all the TGMs. As a result, I am leading a TGM on learner centered teaching, the headteacher bought glue for the teachers to make materials and Ive already seen more T/L aids in the classroom!!!! YAYAYAYAYAYAYA. I love my job!
I also had my 1st birthday in africa! It was too fun. I basically had 3 parties, one in the village, on in the boma and one at my house. The one at my house was just a dinner with 2 other volunteers and the boma party was to celebrate my b-day as well as another volunteers and to celebrate our one year mark. But the village party was something else. We had it the Sunday before my b-day since I had to teach. I was given a chitenge suit to wear for the occassion (ironincally enough it had little crowns which was appropriate since my Bemba name Mwaba means princess). I bought a chicken and was just expecting me and a few other women to just have a good time cooking. I was wrong. Not only did we have chicken but we has all my Zam favorites: chicken, Nshima, chibwabwa(pumpkin leaves), beans, and ifishashi(ground peanuts & veg! It was a feast! The women kind of let me help. After we ate out amazing meal it was time to dance because no party is complete without dancing! But before I could dance, I was given a cake! Julie made me a cake!!! It was in the shape of a heart and had my name on it :) It was a great day. When the dancing started all the kids came to dance with me. They even sang my favorite ZamPop song so I could dance to it!!! The women even commented on how nice my hips are and how well I can move them. Yup I love my Job!!!
Thanks to everyone who wished me a happy birthday...I couldnt have asked for anything better!!!!

I wish that I knew what I know now....

So Ive almost been here a year and while I learn something new everyday(about my village, my job and especially myself) I feel like I have a handle on things....today. Its almost time for the new intake of LIFE(agriculture)and RED(education)to come and Ive been thinking a lot about what it was like preparing for this amazing yet unpredictable journey I am on. I know one thing I spent a lot of time doing was reading blogs from current volunteers to see what I could possibly expect. So in the event that this will probably happen to me, I want to be prepared. So these are list of things Im glad I brought, had mailed to me or wish I would have brought:

In the context of being a RED Volunteer:
- a blazer- Zambian teachers dress better then I ever will so it would've been nice to bring nicer clothes to teach in. Not just skirts or trousers I expect to never wear again but nice clothes.

-Index cards- Sure you can make your own index cards from paper and I have but index cards have been great for teaching/learning aids, remembering pupils names and making flash cards.

-Craft materials- You can buy colored paper here and some arts supplies but having my arts and crafts things have been nice because you can incorporate them into lessons and Ive also have a few pupils meet me on the weekends to color/draw which has been fun.

-Children books: These are good for the younger grades and to test English literacy for the older grades. Also when the kids are yelling at you and playing in your yard its great to sit them down and read to them. A lot of PCVs have kitchen libraries where they loan out books to the kids.

-Scissors- all the zam scissor break

As a PCV:
-extra headphones- headphones break and things are expensive in country

-batteries- expensive in country

-tevas/watershoes- I wish I would have brought them it would've made a few vacations more fun

-FITTED SHEETS!- just trust me! One set is nice. You are given a pair of sheets and a blanket when you get here but fitted sheets just make life a little easier

-Crystal light/flavored water packets- water can get boring

-Tea- Yogi tea hasn't hit Zambia yet

- Sweat pants- sure we work 24/7 (technically) but you can never have too many sweat pants in rainy and cold season when you cant go anywhere or when its too cold and you don't want to go anywhere

-bras- sorry but don't just bring sports bras....bad idea and don't just bring one...even worse idea

-home decor- pictures, posters, anything to make your hut feel homey.

-Tennis Shoes- good for running and vacations

-"Town" clothes- so yea we live in the village but we aren't there all the time. You travel all over the country and don't want to look like a bush rat all the time.You can keep your nicer/vacation clothes at the provincial house.

-Jacket/coat- cold season and rainy season can get pretty chilly. I have a raincoat and a light fleece jacket and that's fine.

-Whatever makes you feel comfortable!!!!- I brought my stuffed animals (yea I said it) because two years is a long time and some days you just need something from home.

-IPOD/MP3 player- duh! Music is a must and CD get scratched really easily

-Laptop- ok so I didn't bring one and I kinda wish I did. So if you bring one bring a converter/ voltage changer to charge it. We have reporting we do every quarter and a laptop would make it easier but you can do fine without it. A lot of volunteers have small laptops they've brought and they can update blogs, shrink pictures and watch movies in their hut. It really is a convenience thing but think about it.

-Solar Charger- its just a good idea.


Things I freaked out about:
-Phone!!! getting a phone is literally the 2nd thing you do in country! Bring money to buy a nice phone(with internet)and you'll get your sim card and everything here. Communication by phone is easier than I thought!

-Post- The post office is a crazy. It takes 2 weeks for letters and about a month for packages. Bring stationary :) I spend a good bit of my free time writing letters home. This form of communication can be frustration hence getting a phone with internet. Ive not have a huge problem with the post while Ive been here.

-light- you can buy a solar lamp in Lusaka when you are getting posted and you can buy candles in bulk...no problem there

-length of skirts- so they say don't wear anything above the knee, which I think is a good rule of thumb. As for shirts, showing arms is not a big deal.

-Water- A water filter is provided and you can buy chlorine in country

-Food/Spices: Ive have gotten just about all my species in Zambia and I cook all my meals so I use spices often. The only spice I haven't found...seasoning salt. Some things are harder to find but you can get anything in Lusaka even crushed red pepper :) Parmesan cheese is nice to bring or get sent even if its in little packets from fast food restaurant. You can get dairy in this country in town not really in the village but powdered milk isn't so bad. You can make some pretty fancy things in the village with local ingredients you just have to look or stock up in Lusaka. Ive always asked people to send me M&Ms, junk food or things where you just add water. If you are a tea or coffee drinker...bring that!!! I have people mail me tea in every package. There's good tea in Lusaka and some bomas but I hear if you are an avid coffee drinker to bring that. You can buy a french press in Lusaka.


I think this is it for now! No matter how you pack you will always have someone offering to send you something which is great because there will always be something you forget! Feel free to email me or ask me questions here. Happy Packing!!!!

Christmas in Africa! 2010

So one of the best things about my new job is ….TRAVEL! I finally got the chance to see some more of Zambia and a bit of Botswana. So a group of 5 of us spent 2weeks in Livingstone, Zambia, home of Victoria Falls. It was an amazing trip. It had not so great begins though. I was stuck in Lusaka for a few days by stuck I just mean spent more time there then I planned and got stopped at the Botswana boarder. I was just searched but I was the only one in my group who was searched….ill let you guess why! (Sorry I don’t look Zambia just because I am black!) But that was nothing major and I went on about my day. Strange how that happens to me here, I would’ve never imaged being singled out for my “race” here but that’s another story for another day!
So we started out trip at Chobe National Park. Highly recommend it. I’ve never seen so many elephants and so many different types of animals. W stayed for 2days and 1 night in the park. The first day we did a boat game drive and saw the most amazing birds, hippos, and elephants. We even got to see elephants swimming, that was probably my favorite thing. I learned that hippos can only stay in the water for about 5 mins so every so often you would look in the water and see noses sticking out. We were on the water for a few hours then had an amazing lunch and went back into the park but in a jeep this time. That’s when we saw the lioness. She apparently had just given birth and was alone. The cubs were hiding in a bush (we never saw them). After seeing more elephants and the occasional warthog, we went to our camps site. Tents with beds were set up for us and we had a great meal. It was Christmas Eve so we volunteers came up with our own version of the 12 days of Christmas. It was fun. We even meet some RPCV (returned Peace Corps volunteers) from Namibia which was great! They are still involved with Peace Corps and still living in Africa! So Christmas Day we did our final game drive and it PORED! We got soaked but it was ok because we say more lions, giraffes, every species of antelope /impala, a leopard, and crocodiles. We went back to Livingstone, Zambia and had MEXICAN for Christmas Dinner! That’s a tradition I can live by!
So while in Livingstone, we saw so many things and met tons of new people. We met volunteers from other countries, ran into more volunteers in Zambia, more Americans and great great staff at the hostel. We stayed at Jollyboys Backpackers…NICE and a good price too. They helped us set all our activities for the week. So I went to Victoria Falls twice, went to a local concert, pampered myself, ate lots of Mexican and other good food, spent to much at the market, went to the Livingstone Museum went on a Sunset/Booze Cruise and the best ever…..walked with lions! LITERALLY!
Victoria Falls was of course amazing. It’s beautiful. The water is tricky. The first time I went the water was low for some reason the 2nd time I went I got rained on from the mist of the falls  There’s really not to much I can say about the falls expect for words and pictures don’t do the place justice! It was also nice to go to the Livingstone Museum and learn more about Livingstone, the Tonga people and Victoria Falls. We did the Sunset Cruise for New Year’s Eve and it was a nice way to bring in the New Year and to end our trip. But the highlight of my vacation…LIONS.
So I got to walk with and pet lions. Yep I petted a lion! The lions (Rwanda, Rama and Raja(?)) were 17months old. They were huge. They were very playful and Rwanda was a big baby when is two sisters were beating him up….well they were playing. The program I did the walk with is trying to re-introduce lions into the wild with a 4 phase program. The lions I was with were just on phase 1 still. They are learning how to hut on their own and fend for themselves. It was fun and educational! On this trip I saw 4 of the big five (Rhino, leopard, lion, elephant, and buffalo). We didn’t see any rhino because they are extinct in the area we were in. It’s amazing how beautiful these animals are in their natural habitat. It also amazing how much beauty there is around us and we forget or were to busy to notice it! This was a great Holiday! Wonder what Ill do next year!


A PCV's Christmas Carol:
*When created this as a group on Christmas Eve, its all in good fun*
So the 12 days of Christmas are a little something like this:
1st day- A bot-fly in a bush tree
2nd day- two guinea foul
3rd day- three village chickens
4th day- four stupid goats
5th day- five PCVs
6th day- six juicy mangoes
7th day- seven canceled meetings
8th day- eight Obama packets*
9th day- nine creepy hitches*
10th day- ten lumps of nshima*
11th day- eleven chewing rats
12th day- twelve iwes yelling*

* Obama packets are little sachets of alcohol with President Obama's face on them...its the "winning spirit", hitches are the lifts we get when hitch hiking, NISHMA is the Zambian staple food and no meal is complete without it, "iwe" literally means "you" but its also what the kids are called*