Just call me 'madam Laura'

I'm a full time teacher these days! And by full time, I mean all day every day with 100 pupils!

Zambia is currently carrying out a nationwide census, or as they call it, censar. It's great for thousands of people who completed 12th grade and don't have jobs, because they're earning a lot of money in a short amount of time. The facilitators, however, were chosen from the teachers. So now these particular teachers are earning double salary, and the students are left without a teacher. Also, the 9th grade students will be taking their primary school leaving exams in less than a month. As little sense as it makes, there's nothing to be done except helping the students. So, I've been teaching 3 classes of English every day, and giving exam practice to the grade 9s whenever their teachers are not around.

Teaching in Zambia is a fun challenge! I have found that 35-40% of the 8th graders cannot read, and only a handful can comprehend what they're reading. The biggest challenge though, is the range of ability. I'll give an assignment, and one will finish within 5 minutes and get full marks, while another will work for 45 minutes and not get a single answer correct, or even understand the directions. The second biggest challenge is the lack of resources: my school doesn't have enough of one book to give to each student, so they have to share 3 to one book, and I can never give them books to take home and read. I have a whole new respect for teachers, but also know that I don't necessary want to spend my life teaching. The kids are great though, they love having me as their teacher, and I'm enjoying the creativity that comes with few books or powerpoint or copy machines!

Life in the village is great! My family is fabulous, the kids are adorable, and the only way life could be better would be some rain, or temperatures lower than 98 every day! Every day I look forward to my cold bucket bath, which is a wonderful 20 minutes of feeling 'cold'. Also, my house is being extended. The Peace Corps wants to place another volunteer there after I leave, but my house is apparently too small for the new standards, so, soon I'll be living in a mansion mud hut! Photos of the progress to come.

One of my 8th grade students has been asking me for a pen pal in the states. Anyone reading this know of someone who'd be interested? She's in 8th grade, but probably reads and writes in English at the level of a 5th grader from the states. Please let me know if you or anyone you know would be interested.

I hope everyone is enjoying fall weather and leaves! Can't wait to see those of you in Colorado in 1.5 months, yangu, time flies!

Marathon and Malaria

Marathon!

I finished my first marathon in 4 hours and 10 minutes! The race was in Victoria Falls town, Zimbabwe, which is just across the border from Livingstone. The full marathon started at 6:30, with about 170 runners. Just a few less than races in the states...by a few thousand. The race began by running across the bridge between Zimbabwe and Zambia, over the mighty Zambezi river. Most of the race, however, was on the Zimbabwe side in the national park. Every 2 or 3 km was a man with an AK47 ready to shoot any animals chasing the runners. Throughout the race I saw many baboons, a warthog, and stampede of impala crossing the road in front of me.
When I saw the impala I was alone: no runners to be seen in front or behind me, and definitely no spectators. All I could think was that the only reason impala run like that are if they're being chased. Luckily, there was no lion to be found, and I continued on my merry way. The last 7 or so kilometers was spent running through the "slums" of Victoria Falls; this meant sand and dust, trucks spitting diesel as they passed, shoeless children chasing me, and of course no water stations. It also happens to be hot season right now, so at 9:30 in the morning it was pushing low 80s. BUT, I told myself no walking, no matter how slow my running was. Finally kilometer 42 came around, and I found myself running into a stadium with 5 of my friends screaming my name and the finish line just .2 km ahead. It was an incredible feeling crossing that finish line, I even managed to pass someone in the last .2 km! The race highlighted everything "African" that I've come to know: wild animals, friendly people, dust, poverty, heat, disorganization (running out of water, poorly planned course), etc. Like most things in my life here, I came out of it smiling, happy, exhausted, looking forward to a cold beer, and motivated to run more!

At the finish line with Taylor, a friend of a friend I ran about 30 km with. He's running a marathon on every continent!

And then there was...malaria.

My friends and I planned a big vacation to Namibia for the day after the race. We took a bus at 2am to the Zambia-Namibia border, and hitch hiked to Windhoek. The next morning we spent the day frolicking at the mall: yes, a real mall with escalators and shiny objects and air conditioning, quite a novelty after being in mall-less Zambia for 1.5 years.

Ali and Sarah in Windhoek!

Mall time was followed by a fever and the shivers, and it all went downhill from there. Over the course of 4 hours I experienced symptom after symptom of malaria, along with an increasing fever. They say being here we all have a bit of malaria in our systems, but our immune system, along with malaria prophylaxis, fights it off. Accordingly, I treated my body pretty poorly after the race what with the booze cruise, no sleep, and hitch hiking for 20 hours. I spent the next 2 days between hostel beds and toilets, shivering cold one moment, and burning up the next. Vacation was over by this time, and the Peace Corps Namibia medical officer had taken over. Unfortunately, I had to say goodbye to my friends, as they rented a car and traveled out to the Atlantic coast. 3 days after arriving in Namibia, the Peace Corps flew me back to Zambia to recover in Lusaka. The best word for the situation is 'chabipa,' which is a fantastic Bemba word for, 'shit happens.'

Good news is I'm back and feeling better than ever! I traveled to Kasama yesterday, and am excited to spend a few uninterrupted months in the village...before traveling to CoLoRaDo in December!! I hope everyone is well and enjoying the beginning of fall!

Martel Madness in Zambia

What a great two weeks! I bid farewell to Mom and Dad early this morning as they departed Kasama for Lusaka after a short visit to my village and Kasama. It was absolutely wonderful to see my parents after 1 1/2 years away! Our adventures included visiting Victoria Falls, safari in South Luangwa National Park, more waterfalls near Kasama with my host family, and a small birthday celebration in the village complete with an enormous nshima feast. The photos are of our time in South Luangwa National Park near Mfuwe, Zambia.

Some highlights of the trip include:

• Dad killing a chicken in the village!
• Stumbling upon an adult male elephant on walking safari and being "stalked" and hiding under a bush about 10 feet from the elephant
• Wearing smelly panchos and walking on a bridge right next to Victoria Falls and getting soaked from the mist of the falls
• Mom and Dad not having luggage for the first 4 days of the trip...
• Taking my host family to Chishimba falls, they'd never seen the falls and probably never would've been able to
• Hanging out with a pride of 5 lionesses on a night safari drive
• Flying in a 6-seat plane over much of the country, and landing on Kasama's dirt runway as the only plane to land in Kasama that day
• Watching a wild dog feast away on a fresh impala kill
• Listening to hundreds of hippos "laughing" at all hours of the day from our tents
• Dad being given a microphone and told to give a speech at a going away party for one of my fellow volunteers who is finishing his service
• Mom's hat blowing off the cliff at Chishimba Falls, and my host family's attempt to retrieve it (unsuccessful, sadly)
• Eating an amazing Thanksgiving dinner for my birthday and my parents' last night in Zambia
• Sharing my quarter of a century birthday with my parents in Zambia!
  

The adventures continue! Now I'm heading back to the village only for a couple of weeks before traveling back to Livingstone to run the Victoria Falls marathon. Eventually I'll get some work done at site again...hopefully! I hope this finds everyone at home well!

Voluntary Counseling and Testing

On Friday July 9th my community held a commemoration for world VCT day. We invited all the local leaders, schools, and community members. The purpose of the event was to educate the villagers about truths and myths regarding HIV/AIDS and its spread, and to allow them to be tested for HIV. HIV is highly stigmatized in Zambia, especially in the rural areas. Most people don't make the effort to go to the clinic for testing, because they are afraid of how different their lives would become if they were found to be positive.

The video is my school's cultural club dancing according to Bemba tradition. Yes, I uploaded a video!! The Peace Corps house in Kasama now has internet! Now I have no excuses for lack of photos and updates.

The VCT day was an overall huge success. We tested over 150 people for HIV, and were entertained by 10 schools and cultural groups with dancing, poems, and dramas. It felt great to finish and not have a million people asking me for a million things (mostly money). This has been my most rewarding work thus far in my service, so I'm hoping to continue working in the area of HIV education.

As for now, work is on the back burner as I'm gearing up for Mom and Pop Martel's arrival in just about 1 week! They'll be here for my quarter-century birthday, and we're planning a small village bash with my two families.

Photos fye

Cinco Ba Mayo-Celebration with 5 Ba Mayos from my friend Ric's village. Mexican food was made by the volunteers for lunch, and nshima for dinner made by the Mayo's. There were even pinatas!
This is the world map at my school. It was finished about 6 months ago, but I can't remember if I've put a photo of it up yet.
My newest neighbor, Ba Peter, with all my iwes (kids) in my insaka.
Rainy season! My sister, Kanyanta, although we mostly just call her K.

Ba Lola's adventures just keep getting better!

Cold season is in full swing, which means wind, clouds, chilly weather, and absolutely no rain. Pretty fantastic if you ask me! As the villagers finish harvesting their maize from this past rainy season, they begin burning the fields, which creates lots of smoke: combined with the wind, and you’ve got a raging bush fire! On my morning runs I’ll find myself holding my breath for a few seconds to avoid breathing in the full intense bush fires. Cold season only lasts for a couple of months, but is quite enjoyable, even if only to see Zambians wearing hats, jackets, blankets, and even the occasional snow suit.

With just under a year left in Zambia, I’m finding myself busy and happy! At school I teach computers to the teachers, English club and girls’ club with the students, and planning and facilitating teacher workshops. In the village we have begun planning a Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT) event to take place on July 9th for the community to learn about and get tested for HIV. It’s already been a lot of work, but hopefully will be beneficial for my community to begin to feel comfortable talking about HIV and provide support and care for those affected by it.

One of the children in my host family, Max (the one I named when he was born about 10 months ago!), is very sick in Kasama general hospital. I’ve been in Kasama for the week for our bi-annual Peace Corps meeting with staff from the headquarters in Lusaka, so I’ve been able to visit Max and his mother every day. Medical care in Kasama is poor, as one might imagine from a town 800 km from the capital city in a developing nation, so it’s been trying to see Max as he is suffering.

2 months until Mom and Dad Martel touch down in Zambia! I’m very excited to see them and get to show off my life in this incredible country. They’ll be here in Northern Province on my birthday, so my village is planning a party for them, complete with traditional dancing and drumming and an enormous nshima feast! Until then I’ll be busy training for the Victoria Falls marathon, my first marathon I plan to complete on August 29th in Livingstone.

That’s about all I’ve got to update! I know I’ve been gone for awhile now, but hopefully you haven’t forgotten about me and how much I love receiving letters and emails about how you’re doing! I hope everyone is enjoying summer time and all the extra daylight, good food, and good friends that come with it!

365 Days of Zambia

In celebration of a year in Zambia, I’ve decided to make a list of how my life has changed in the past year.

1. I answer the question “how are you?” at least 50 times a day.

2. My name is no longer Laura, more frequently I’m called Rolla, Nora, Lola, or musungu (white person).

3. I’ve taken a total of 5 hot showers with water pressure and adjustable temperature, and they were glorious.

4. I have a twin. Since my friend Ellyn and I are both blonde, wear glasses, and spend a lot of time together, naturally, we must be twins. We have convinced many Zambians of this. The word for twin in Bemba is mpundu.

5. I haven’t had a hair cut in a year and a couple weeks, and plan on going another year (no dreads though, I know what you’re thinking).

6. I dream of drinking a Starbucks Caramel Frappuccino again one day.

7. I like chocolate. I never used to eat chocolate anything.

8. I haven’t driven a car in a year, but am pretty good on a bike.

9. The food I eat brings a whole new meaning to “fresh,” as I regularly pick avocados or mangos from my trees and eat them, or watch the chicken I’ll be eating for dinner being killed 2 hours beforehand.

10. Using a real, flushing toilet is a novelty.

11. My bedtime is 7:30 or 8:00, 8:30 if it’s a wild night.

12. Hitch hiking is a phenomenon I wish were safe in America. There is something incredibly thrilling about riding in the back of a large pickup truck at 100 km/hr. I’ve hitched across the country and into other countries in canter trucks, SUVs, and semi’s, and met some very interesting people.

13. Children and adults love to pet my skin or stroke my hair. I guess to make sure it’s real?

14. Conversations with fellow PCV’s usually involve food we miss from America. Like bagels, salads from the Cheesecake Factory, hummus, breadsticks from Olive Garden, cheeseburgers, turkey sandwiches on wheat bread, etc.

15. After about a week and a half in the village by myself, I begin talking to myself, dancing alone in my hut, and chasing the children around my yard (they love it).

16. My thighs are very, very white. Amatantas are a private part here, and I really don’t know if I’ll ever be able to wear short shorts without feeling naked.

17. It no longer makes me cringe to eat Zambian food, which is soaked in cooking oil and salt. In fact, I eat nshima with my family every day. Still wondering why all the girls gain weight here?

18. I have an incredibly high tolerance for uncomfortable situations. Standing on a bus for 8 hours in the middle aisle while my ankles swell up? Sure! Sleep in a truck all night because it broke down? Hey, at least it’s not the side of the road!

19. Hand washing and the African sun has left most of my clothing faded and covered in patches. Good thing there’s no fashion police here.

20. I make children cry all the time.

After a year’s worth of packages sent from home (thanks everyone who has sent one!), I have a short list of my favorite things to receive, you know, for future reference:
o Tea!!!
o Photos- Then I can hang them in my hut and see you every day J
o Music
o Letters- I want to know how you’re doing, yes, you!
o Granola bars
o Clothes (see 19)

A little bit of this n a little bit of that

I wanted to title this post, Happy New Year, but then I looked at the date and realized that we’re already an entire month into the New Year. Perhaps my New Years resolution from February on should be to update my blog more than once every 3 months!

I guess I’ll try to catch you up on my life since December 22. I spent the holidays touring Malawi, which was really nice to lounge on the beach and eat delicious food. It was a welcome break to life in the village, but it definitely wasn’t the Colorado Christmas I am used to. Christmas was spent on the north end of Lake Malawi with a huge group of volunteers. The highlight of the trip was the “kayak” race on boats made of hollowed out tree trunks. For New Years a smaller group of us headed to another beach on the south end of Lake Malawi. Here, we played with the guest house’s pet monkey and admired the sun sets on the beach.

I spent most of January enjoying my time back in the village. Peter (pronounced Pitah), the baby on my compound, started walking, and loves walking to my house to hang out. His older brother, Lombe, started grade 1 at my school, and we’ve been walking to school together in the mornings. My garden has squash, cucumbers, sunflowers, onions, and tomatoes growing, and will likely be ready for eating next time I’m at site. And finally, I’ve deemed my house “finished,” in that I’m no longer living out of my suitcase, and it’s furnished and decorated to where it feels “homey.”

The Rural Education Project (RED) underwent a review in December. They looked at what was, and wasn’t working about our project, and made the necessary changes in order to ensure volunteer happiness and satisfaction. Basically, now we’ll actually be in the classroom teaching. I’m very excited about this, and have made plans to begin teaching science to the grade 9s! The greatest challenge I’m anticipating is the language barrier. Even though the children are supposed to be learning in English beginning in grade 2, most teachers teach in both English and Bemba, knowing that the pupils won’t actually understand a topic until it’s translated into Bemba. I also have a different accent than what the pupils are used to, but hopefully my students will get used to it, and actually learn English as well as science! We’ve also started a conversational English club at 2 schools, which will be fun activities to get the kids speaking in English.

This past weekend I attended a Project Advisory Committee (PAC) for the Education project, where we worked out the logistics of the new project. We have 27 new Education volunteers flying in on February 18! I’ll be hosting 4 of them on their first site visit, which will be their first impressions of life in Zambia and the village.

Unfortunately, I’m headed back to Lusaka today after just coming from there a few days ago. I’m going to see the doctor, as I’ve been suffering from a WAD (weird African disease) for about a week now…but I’ll spare you the details. I am really looking forward to getting back to the village to see my family, and starting some work at school!

I hope everyone at home is enjoying the New Year and not too sick of winter yet! If you’re ever feeling too cold, there’s always an African adventure waiting for you in Zambia…balmy temperature and a smiling host. What more could you ask for in a vacation?








J