Id love to come up with a catchy title for this but the truth is best. This week I did the hardest thing I’ve had to do since….well my choice to leave America in the first place. I said goodbye to my village, Mpumba. I am actually finished with my two years of service and will be getting replaced by another volunteer. It’s so strange how before I was thinking two years was too long, and now it’s not nearly enough. That village became my family and it was like saying goodbye to mom and dad all over again.
My replacement already came for a visit so the village is very anxious for her to come back but at the same time, I could tell it was hard for them to say goodbye. The days leading up to my farewell it didn’t seem real. I tried to take the long way home from school and soak up every inch of Mpumba I could. I tried to let people know I was leaving but it was like they didn’t believe me. Like they had the idea that I would stay forever. My teachers couldn’t wrap their head around the fact that I was leaving, I became their co-worker and friend and it was like I was being transferred to another school, one far far away. Julie was the worst. I have truly become her daughter and the whole village was worried about the both of us. How could I say goodbye to Julie, the one who almost single handedly got me to the place which made Mpumba so hard to say goodbye to.
When leaving a place, you think about your time there. The friends you’ve made, the places you’ve been. I looked back at my service and smile because I grew so much I can feel it and see it, and others can too. I cried because I was so happy, a happiness I’ve never felt before. I laugh because that’s the best way to get through tough times and one of the many lessons I learned here.
Of course, a farewell from Mpumba Village wouldn’t be complete without a series of “Zam moments”. My blog is full of them, things that would only happen to me here. They aren’t all “bad” moments just only in Zambia moments. The biggest Zam moment of my service happened 3 days before I left. Its something every volunteer dreads. I fell in my chimbusu (toilet). No I didn’t fall all the way but the floor did cave in under me and I have the cuts to prove it. I’m just glad I fell forward. There was a big crack in the cerement and it was obvious that the rest of the floor wanted to fall into. Typical Zam moment.
There were celebrations and parties leading up to my leaving. I decided that it would be my treat to throw a “Pizza Party” for the kids in my village. So I made pizza for 30 kids using my brazier. They loved it. After eating we danced, one of my favorite things. 2 years ago, I couldn’t stand those kids now their laughter will remain one of my favorite memories. Funny how the tables turn. My “Evil iwe” have been reformed and the day I left my village they all came to say goodbye and to help my load my things on to the cruiser, just as they helped me unload the cruiser 2years ago. I already miss them.
We also had a farewell party. It was suppose to be their gift to me but it ended up being my gift to them. The village and schools were invited but there was a strict guest list, the school didn’t have enough room. I invited people from all the schools in my zone and people in the village who mattered to me the most. The farewell party seemed so sudden since there was so much confusion about when I was actually leaving the village. Some people ended up not knowing that I was leaving the village the next day. The party consisted of me giving a thank you and trying not to cry, the village and schools saying speeches and me trying not to cry and eating lots of food while trying not to think of how that was my last meal in my village. Yea this country has made me very emotional.
The schools and villages said so many beautiful things. I feel like every pcv should hang in there until their farewell party. It hit me that despite all my frustrations in that village and with culture and people that I WAS loved by people and they DID appreciate the work that I did and it impacted them. People were bringing up work that I had forgotten about. They brought up things that I didn’t think were important but left a mark on them. The wife of the chief was also at the party and at one point she pulls me aside and tells me the village will miss me and that I can not be replaced and I worked well. I was so honored to have her say that and felt so relieved that my hard work did pay off. I did well with not being too emotional. My village knows how I can be, but my GLOW group decided they wanted to say something. The words they said will live with me forever. At one point in the girl’s speech everyone in the room was crying or fighting tears. Everyone knew what GLOW meant to me. Julie also spoke and from what little Bemba I could understand at that moment, I am her daughter whether I’m in Zambia or in America.
The universe introduces you to people for several reasons. To show you love, to make you realize who you are that kind of thing. I thank the Universe for Mpumba. They have showed me compassion; humor, pain, strength, gratitude and most importantly love. As much as I miss them already and as sad I am to leave them, I am so incredibly happy to have ever met these people who have taught me more about myself in 2 yrs then I ever knew in the first 23. Thank you can never be enough for what they’ve done for me. The motto for Peace Corps is “the hardest job you’ll ever love” It’s the truth. Ive been through so many emotions with this job but it’s the one that has changed me and fulfilled me the most. I’m grateful for the experience. This has been one big Zam moment Ill never forget!
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