Wow it has been way too long since I last posted! Life in Zambia is as “regular” as it has ever been, although that’s definitely not to say I haven’t been enjoying my fair share of adventures. Since our trip to Lusaka, I’ve been spending most of my time at site, with a few exceptions for birthdays, a workshop, and the arrival of our “newbies” from the newest intake (in Peace Corps lingo, they’re the “freshmen,” so now I’m a “sophomore”).
The most recent news involves the PC Emergency Action Plan, which is what they use when they need to inform us of imminent danger. Don’t worry, please. Zambia is one of the most peaceful countries on the continent of Africa; this is more a testament to how cautious the Peace Corps is. Zambia is holding their bi elections right now to vote for positions such as MP, or Member of Parliament. Apparently Zambians are fed up with corruption by the ruling party, MMD (Movement for a Multiparty Democracy), and are ready for “change,” so the new party they want to see in office is PF (Patriotic Front). Kasama has been littered with political propaganda over the last few months, including spray paint saying, “vote PF” on every free space of wall/door/kiosk/tarmac/etc.
All the volunteers in Northern Province have been in Kasama this past week for our permaculture workshop, to which we brought counterparts from our respective villages. The election for Kasama district MP took place on Thursday, during our workshop. On Wednesday afternoon, we heard about some pre-election violence that took place in Kasama. The PC promptly put us all on “standfast,” meaning we were not to leave the compound of the PC house, until Saturday morning. The concern was that if the MMD party stole the election, then all hell would break loose in Kasama. Lucky for us, PF won by 6,000 votes. Unfortunately, we were all stuck going stir crazy at the house for a couple days, while Kasama was going about its normal business. Better safe than sorry I suppose!
Life in the village is great! I absolutely love my family, and everyone in my village. My friend Ellyn came to visit last weekend and help me put plastic in my roof so there are no leaks during the rains. It was a nice visit, my family bought and cooked a chicken to welcome her, and we made a cake on my brazier. Unfortunately, my host sister, Cleopatra or Kabebe, is pretty sick with severe asthma. There's not much they can do for her at the clinic, except give her injections while she's having an attack. She had 2 attacks within one week when it began to rain, luckily it hasn't rained since then. I'm pretty worried for her during rainy season, which should begin in less than a month. Please keep her in your thoughts, as she's my closest friend in the village, and don't even want to imagine my life here without her!
Work has been coming along slowly but surely. I've been working with the pupils at my school to draw a map of the world as a mural on the side of the school. Also, I've been attending workshops for teachers throughout my district, and even participated in World Teacher's Day...by dancing in front of 200 teachers. Needless to say, they got a kick out of that.
Well this post is too long already, so I'll just touch on a couple other things I've done in the past couple of months since I wrote. I went to some hot springs with other volunteers, and saw the Shiwa (Africa) House, built before Zambia's independence. You should look it up if you're interested, the man who came was apparently pretty crazy, but built this incredible mansion in the middle of the African bush.
I also attended a workshop in the community for community leaders about the traditions involved with marriages in Zambia. It's called Bana Chimbusa, and teaches the young couples special dances and about the importance of marriage through the use of different clay dolls. I participated by soaking my feet in mud, wading through a river, painting our faces, and tons of dancing to drums. Although I'll most likely never teach the young couples these traditions, it was interesting to learn the traditions, and the ba mayos really enjoyed watching me participate.
I hope everyone at home is doing well and enjoying the fall!
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