Lonely hut

It occurred to me after a great visit with the Maryville College J-term crew, that I haven't updated many people about HENDRIX! Well, I am no longer the proud owner of that sassy puppy, the local vet is. After Hendrix gave birth to her 6 puppies she started getting VERY sick. She had worms I just couldn't get rid of. So the vet came by to check on her and basically told me that when I leave Zambia he would take her. That was a relief because I wanted to make sure she had a good home before I left or I wouldn't be able to let her go. She got better for a while. Then all the puppies left and she started acting different. The village told me that she just missed her babies (although by the sounds of her growls at them I'm sure she was happy for them to go). For two months she had company in the puppies while I was a way at school. She was lonely now. And that wasn't good for either one of us. I also started getting REALLY busy with work and Peace Corps activities and was never at home. That meant she didn't have me or the puppies to keep her company anymore. So I decided that instead of giving her way in April, it would be better to give her away in November before thanksgiving and our provincial meetings.

To say it was hard to give her away is an under statement. It was a three day process for many reasons 1) Hendrix is super smart and I swore knew what was happening. 2) The vet was not so smart and underestimated how feisty and stubborn my dog could be. 3) Motor bikes aren't very good at transporting a big, scared puppy. Day one- She jumped out of the box we put her in countless times. She tricked us into thinking she would stay but the vet got down the road and she jumped out and started running back to my hut. She bit her first person that day...ME! Day 2- We decided to take her in a car but no one could find fuel to take her to her new home. Day 3- Success! She rode in the back seat of the car and when we got to the vet, she was her normal barking self. The vet has her brother from the same litter, his name is Rainbow, so now she has someone to play with all day! I'm sure after she bossed Rainbow around for a while they became friends.
While I'm so happy that she's happy, my hut is lonelier then ever. I don't come home after a long day and have someone waiting for me. I don't have anyone to keep me company at night which is hands down the hardest, loudest, loneliest, longest part of any day. But I don't have to worry about her anymore which is nice. I am on my own time again and can do what I need and want without worrying what will happen to her while I am gone. I miss her a lot though. We said our last good bye in November because I'm afraid that if I visit her before I leave she would try to follow me. She was such a great (and sometimes stressful) addition to my service and I'm so glad I got to spend my first year and a half with her. She was a great dog for sure and everyone started comparing their love for me to by love for Hendirx. The village has learned how much Americans love their pets and now probably think we're even crazier after watching my interactions with Hendrix. The one good thing about giving the puppies away....three of them are in my village and I get to visit them or they visit me anytime they want!

one of Hendrix's puppies we named her skunky her new name is Tiger

90 days and counting....

I guess I should be happy that Ive finally made it to the 90 day mark but its really bittersweet. I officially have three months left in Zambia and three months to wrap up two years of work. My time in the village is starting to feel like one long drawn out goodbye. I have so many things that I want to complete but I feel like I have no time to do it. Never thought I would feel this way, but two years is really not a long time at all.
Ive finally got the literacy group started in my village and people are excited for the opportunity to learn. The resource center that I have been trying to stocks since I first arrived FINALLY has some books and there are more on the way, thanks to my Alma mater Maryville College. I feel at home in my hut, maybe too much so as I like to hide away on the weekends. I feel grounded in the village, like I'm suppose to be there.
I wanted to extend. I went back and forth in my mind about staying in Zambia. The program in Kenya I wanted to extend with is no longer an option so I thought about doing something special education related in Zambia. It didn't work out. I'm not ready to go back to Americaland. I have to start speaking proper American English and I'm not sure if I can. I'm scared of all the people, the noises, the cars, the lack of communication on transport, the pace of America and choices. I'm so nervous about choices. I am excited to see my family and friends, to be able to trust transportation, to stand in a line and know for sure that I am next, to eat sushi and to be in Chattanooga again. But it'll be extremely hard to leave this place. This has been my life for 2 years and its become so normal and Ive adapted to this way of life.
BUT on the bright side of things. I do have plans for this term. Instead of trying to extend to do special education work, Ill be working at Musakanya Basic in Mpika Boma in my last three months of service. The school has a Special Education Unit which is specifically for Deaf students up to grade seven. I went to the school and talked with the Headmaster and a few of the teachers. They welcomed me and were very excited that I was interested in working with them but upset that Ill be leaving in April. One of the teachers at the school is Deaf herself and was impressed that I could actually sign. She told me I was a much better signer than the other teachers and I needed to come to the school so she could have someone to talk with. Yup that was the highlight of the day for sure. Since I live 105k from the school it will be a "come when you can" type of situation. I'm happy that they are willing to work with me. This is something Ive wanted to do since my first year but I never felt I had the time.
Since I am not teaching at my school this term, I have more time to do other things. I decided that I didn't want to start something I couldn't finish with this new group of Grade 9s. Ive been able to work start to finish with two grade 9 classes and its something that I loved about teaching here. I got to see the kids grow. I don't want to start in term one and not be able to follow them all the way through their grade 9 year. Ill be there for tutoring, and I want to go in a few days a week and start a reading program with them but I cant be their English teacher. Kinda sad but its better this way. Ill get to work more on teacher training in the schools which is something I enjoy and something that needs to happen. Ill also have enough time to work at the preschool and with the teacher on curriculum development. The teacher is good with the kids, they just aren't learning as much as they could. I guess since this is their start to education its only fair that they start their route memory training now but if I can teach the teacher a new way to set up her classroom and help with new methods then maybe the kids can learn a bit more before they go to Grade 1. Ive seen a few of the preschool kids from last year at Mpumba and they look so cute and eager to learn. Its refreshing!
I guess for the next three months Ill take as many pictures as I can, sit with as many people as I can and eat all the Nshima my body can handle and try not to look at my neighbors like its the last time. I can do this....I can. Its like my first 3 months all over again. Living in two places at once and not knowing exactly where I want/need to be and not knowing how to focus on the here and now. That should really be the goal for the next three...focus on the present and enjoy it for what it is.

Holiday Tour de Zambia

This year I had a crazy Holiday Season! After a highly successfully Camp GLOW (thanks everyone who donated and supported)I started my Tour de Zambia. My goal is to travel to all the provinces in Zambia before I leave. So this Christmas, instead of travelling abroad I decided to see more of Zambia. So on Christmas Eve, I made my way to Luapula Province. Home of more Bemba people, a beach, great fish and the best dancers in Zambia. The trek to Luapula was long as with any trek in Zambia. The only transport leaving was a semi truck. The driver was very nice and basically told me I had no other options and of course he was right. So 7 hours later, I reached the capital of Luapula just fine! There I was greeted by some of my FAVORITE volunteers. It was so nice to spend Christmas with friends. We did a "dirty Santa" gift exchange, channeled our inner three-year old by using way too much face paint and had a fantastic meal, all of which cooked with out any electricity. It just confirmed the fact that Christmas isn't about fancy gifts and material luxury, it's about spending time with the people you love and being grateful for the things you have even if it isn't much. I also got the chance to hangout with some Zambians on the dance floor on Christmas night. New experience indeed. The next day,a small group of us went to Samfya and visited Lake Bwangweulu. It was a beautiful sandy lake front where we just enjoyed looking out into the water. We jumped in for a bit but the fear of shisto kept us a bay. We had a picnic there and even got fishing lessons from local kids. We also were warned about the crocs that like to hangout in the water but there were no Croc sightings that day. All in all, a great trip to Lupapula and Id love to visit again.
Then it was time for the 2nd part of my "tour de Zam" which was a 17 hour trek to Eastern Province. Ive been to Eastern many times but this trip was for one reason only. ZEBRAS! I had gone on safari before and never got the chance to see the "rock stars" of the Savannah. So we went to South Luangwa National Park which is one of the biggest and best game parks in Zambia. We were greeted by elephants as soon as we arrived and had monkeys playing on our porch. We only could afford to stay one night but it was New Years Eve and what better way to bring in the new year than with the sound of elephants trumpeting and monkeys playing. We went on a game drive on New Years Eve which was nice. We even got stuck in a huge mud puddle and got the chance to walk around the park a bit. It was beautiful. We attempted to stay up until 12 but since my friend and I are so use to village time, we fell asleep at our normal time of 9pm. The next morning we went on a game drive and the first thing we saw were Zebras! There were so many. That day we saw: mating Lions, giraffe, warthogs, buffalo, elephants, lots of monkeys, impala and hippos. We also saw a beautiful Baobab tree, Ive grown to love these trees since being here. It was a nice vacation spent in Zambia. And to top it all off we had our Close of Service Conference immediately after. So after seeing my favorite animals, I got to see a group of my favorite people!