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.
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.
posted by Laura in Zed @ 4:00 PM
1 Comments:
At 10:43 AM,
Anonymous said…
bloody brilliant laura,i'm glad i can hear about you this way.-neil
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