Muli shani!!!

Hello all!

I deeply apologize for taking so long to update! Today marks 2 weeks
in country...already! As you've probably guessed, the peace corps
keeps us very busy, leaving not a lot of time for the internet and
keeping in touch. I'm having a fabulous time, and just cannot get over
how beautiful it is here, especially the sunsets! I'll try to get a
photo posted soon!

Now that we're 2 weeks in, we're a bit more settled in and working on
a semi regular schedule. The language i'm learning is bemba, meaning
that i'll be serving in the central or northern provinces. There are 4
different languages that trainees are learning from my group. We've
been living with our host families for a week now, and my family is
wonderful! I have 2 little sisters (one is just 4 months old), and 2
brothers. We have 2 cows, 18 goats, 4 dogs, and countless chickens.
There are also various other family members always around, but i
haven't quite figured out who belongs to who.

My village, kabeleka, is about 6 km from the training center, where we
meet most days for technical training. The training center is in
chongwe, about 45 km east of lusaka. I have a brand new shiny mountain
bike, which has become my best friend, and will be for 2 years! The
trek to the training center can actually be pretty tough, as it's on
all bush paths which are usually muddy, and there are definitely no
street signs! Finding the way certainly is a challenge on the bush
paths, lucky for me zambians are the most friendly people on earth,
and will go out of their way to help us out.

Nshima! Or ubwali in bemba. The staple food here in zambia, and the
ONLY thing they eat! It looks like mashed potatoes, but is stickier,
and tastes like nothing, with a hint of corn meal. Ok that's a
terrible way of describing it, but it's what i eat at least twice a
day! There's no nutritional value, except possibly in the relish you
eat with it. The relish usually includes some vegetable cooked in
saladi (oil) and salt. Occasionally they'll kill a chicken to eat with
dinner.

On the first night with my family we had chicken, and they gave me the
gizzard, showing that i am the welcome guest and they're happy to have
me. The gizzard is a rubbery part from the neck of the chicken, i
believe. Every thursday we get to eat more american type foods at the
training center, which was happily welcomed by all this afternoon!

It has been a wonderful adventure so far, and i'm absolutely loving
this country and all of the amazing people! Thanks for tuning in, i
can't wait to hear from you all, and hope all is great at home! I miss
and love you all!