Natemwa ukuluka.

Today was very stressful. The service industry in Zambia has a lot of room to grow. Getting change, ordering breakfast, buying groceries, taking a bus is a long drawn out ordeal. You have to wait for everything.

Second sight visit was amazing. I had to do at least 2 hours of intense biking through the bush. The family Holly and I stayed with was incredible! Chabipa we had to leave! I saw my site and I either need to get used to having no privacy or get a new house built. I can get a sweet house for about $80 so that's probably what I am going to do. Zach's dog had puppies and I got to play with them for hours (2 days old when I got there). I am not sure if my house is a good place for the dog I wanted to take. There are lots of little kids around and I have no lawn. Maybe I should get a puppy so it will be used to kids. Maybe I will move my house to the woods so I'm not three feet from my neighbors, Zambians don't value personal space as much as we do. But central is beautiful, I'm sure with a little tweaking I will fall in love with my site. Two more weeks of training and I'm official.

I learned to eat and enjoy kapenta, hiked a mountain with a 24% grade (going down was the hard part), met wonderful people, played with puppies, got real comfortable with my bike (even though the handlebars, front tire and brakes fell off)and learned about some pretty sweet ways to escape the village. I have a sweet lodge and plenty of white farmers around in case I need to speak English, eat some dairy or take a hot shower. Life's little luxuries are more important than you think.

Everyday I feel stronger. Physically I'm stronger, nothing like biking up hill in the sand with a 30 pound pack to whip you back into shape. I am more patient thanks to dealing with stressful situations under duress almost on a daily basis. Everything in Zambia is done with backbreaking labor. Everything build, cooked or made is done the hardest way possbile. There is no takeout in the village. It's nice to feel challeneged all the time and the breaks are twice as nice.

There is going to be a walk for Anne that I can't contribute to in any way. Here is the info. I miss her so much. She would have loved it here.
http://www.outofthedarkness.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=communityWalks.team&teamID=1171

I miss everyone, but I am very happy.

All Kitwe-ed out

I've fallen into a routine. It makes life comfortable and managable. I'm in Kitwe on the Saturdays, spend a few days with my pond. Check for mail 14 times a day and eat inkoko all day long. Every once in a while I get a call and am delighted with life. Otherwise it's training all day. Some highlights:

-I ate impala. Thank you Doc for killing, skinning and cooking it.
-I got covered in leeches twice.
-I've been told I'm verrry fat (uh that's supposedly a compliment.) a few times.
-I had caterpiller.
-A farmer told us that his farm always almost never drys out.
-Disco night was a blast.
-Bamayo dances for me to the chagrin of her children.

We are going to a chimp sanctuary next week! It's free to get in but I hear the beer is expensive. Yes the beer at the chimp sanctuary. They also have a full grown domesticated hippo running around the compound. Not to mention a rehab for drinking and smoking chimps. I love Zambia!

I can't wait to get to site and be the person who decides what I do all day. I am just going to miss my PCV's like crazy.

To follow up on the last post, my family loved the food I made! Junior, the 12 year old boy I live with, said he could eat all my food forever. Bamayo has even started cooking a little differently too. On a reciprecal note, I love my bankashi Mambwe, I am taking her to my village when I get posted.

I think I am going to teach aerobics at my village. Yoga is thought to be satanic to I am going to stick to good old jumping around. I'm begining to realize that fish farming is definately not going to be the only thing I am going to be doing. I have to be a nutritionalist, a HIV/AIDS educator/ counselor, a farmer, a agroculturist and a million other things. In fact, I am looking forward to IST because I know that we are going to learn beekeeping there.

Life is interesting. Larry, who was one of the nicest people here had to go home. He is going by to the states to finish law school. We know it's the best for him but we are really going to miss him.

I miss you all. You know my email adress is leloyan [at] gmail.com right? Just checking.

Bemba wonderland

Well the last week has been filled with training and hanging out with the family. Bamayo (my mom in bemba) danced for me. I made amazing guacamole, and took my first test in Bemba. There has been a lot of biking and getting covered in clay mud. I am getting way more comfortable riding a mountain bike through the bush and life is nice. Tonight the training team is taking us all out the Disco Night at a disco in Kitwe and that should be great.

I really want to thank everyone for writing and being so supportive. Even though I do love it here I can't tell you how important it is to know that you all are thinking of me. Colin you are the best! It's lovely to be in the same hemisphere with you again! Stacie I miss you all and I promise I will send postcards as soon as I find a place that sells them. Zambia- not the touristiest place in the world- actually. Ryan thank you for being so supportive, I loved your lettter!

I am learning about the culinary differences between cultures based on substance living and those that can afford loftier culinary goals. Zambians never talk about what they like to eat, the most praise I've ever heard is about how much strenght a particular food gives you. They need it too. The physical labor the average Zambian does everyday would kill the average American. I went to dig a pond yesterday and couldn't help but feel like Levin in Anna Karinena when he works with the peasents for a day and thinks it's great. (I love the book Anton! Bamayo wants to read it when I am done.)

I'm thinking about learning Indonesian after I get a full hang of Bemba, btw. I probably should have done that when I was living with Indonesians, oh well.

I think I am going to get posted to a village in Central Province 100 k out of Lusaka. I am very excited about my site. It sounds really lovely. I love central province and it sounds like my site is a pretty big tomato growing village. They are already business minded and I can't imagine anything better than fish and tomatoes. Life is great. I want to hear more about what everyone is doing. Happy birthday Jenn and Erin!

Life is wonderful here and I can't wait for everyone to visit. Well I'm off to the market to get some ingredients for the Armenian dinner I am making Sunday night. I hope my family can go one meal without nshima.