Dear all sorry I hVent written in so long. Things are fine here but a little boring. I went to the house for Christmas there were five other volunteers here so we had a nice chicken dinner and made/decorated cookies it was fun and relaxing. After four days I went back to my village with another volunteer who agreed to visit for the next few nights. Then we both went to atb lodge in mkushi to celebrate new year with a bunch of volunteers. The next day I returned to site alone and I have been there for the past 18days. It was teLly boring because it rains everyday and no one in my village wants to work or go to meeti gs or learn anything. Mostly I just sit at home and read I got through10 books in two weeks and I have read 100 since I came to Zambia 11 months ago. One rare sunny morning I walked the 7 km to the border and climbed a mountain along the trail. The view was beautiful I could see nothing but green trees grasses rivers for miles no sign of human life and then more mountains in the distance.. Plus it was cool that one side was Zambia and the other was drcongo. And I saw a wild rabbit the first mammal I've seen in that forest near my house despite the many times Ive gone there. The people say that even just ten years ago it was filled with rabbits antelope etc but now they have killed or scared off almost all. Anyway it was a really nice day. I'm chilling at the house In serenje now then going to visit the volunteer that came to my site last finallly I will return to site monday for more boredom and isolation. Luckily I got books brought to me from the house library sand some mailed fro
family back home I have 25 at site so it should last three weeks. Before i close I want to thank those of you who have sent packages again I had some delicious brownies and cheezits today you guys rock!

Return to no-man's land

My trip to Italy was fantastic despite the cold and the occasional rain. I would comment more, but seeing gas this is a blog about Zambia, I will leave out the details of my trip except to say that the return part of the trip was less than wonderful. My flight out of Pisa was cancelled due to a flat tire and they had to bring another plane from Milan to take us all to London, but by then I had waited all day in the small Pisa airport and missed the once a day flight to Joburg where I was supposed to connect to Lusaka. by the time I got to London I was tired and bored and slightly annoyed, but i was given a hotel room for the night with a late check-out because my flight wasn't until the next evening. Luckily, they were able to put me on a direct flight to Lusaka that left at the same time as the flight to Joburg but saved me about 7 hours from not having to go out of the way and transfer. I enjoyed the hotel, watched tv, slept well, ate well (meals were included) and walked around in the brisk London weather. All in all it wasn't so bad and because I got into Lusaka in the morning instead of the afternoon I was able to go straight back to Central Province instead of spending a night in Lusaka as I originally planned. So i actually wasn't set back in time and it was better to spend the night in a nice hotel in London than on a couch in the volunteer lounge at Peace Corps office. In fact there was a nearby bowling alley and since i had almost 24 hours in London I could have gone and done something fun except that I had no money aside from Zambian Kwacha which cannot be exchanged outside of southern Africa and i couldn't find an ATM to get money for a bus or anything. Also, I've decided (yet again) thats its not really fun to do things like bowling, eating out at a restaurant, touring a town etc, on your own, in fact it's rather lame. Regardless, I did eventually get home to Zambia. Since my return I have been hiding out in the village, there's not much to say about the past 2 weeks. I have been bored out of my mind, it rains a lot of the time and when its dry and sunny, the roads are so flooded that its difficult to travel anywhere. I have read a lot, Don Quixote, a Tale of Two Cities, Jane Eyre etc. and slept a lot. I think it's worse now because almost all the other volunteers are on Vacation as are the commercial farmers that live near me, so i don't even have anyone I can visit. Still, I'm not sure how I'll make it through the rainy season if this continues. For once people are actually working in their fields because they have to plant and weed and tend their crops. Considering no one came to meetings back when they practically had nothing else to do, I know no one will come during the rainy season, plus they all hate getting wet and try to avoid being outside when it is raining or could rain soon, which is most of the time. I still like my village, but I hate not having anything to do. The only possibility i have of work is with the schools that open in January, so I'll see how that goes, otherwise I have no idea what to do. For Christmas I'm going to the house, I don't know if anyone else will be there, but I am looking forward to making Christmas cookies and a cake and listening to my christmas music and hopefully finding a church to go to.

Thanksgiving

I returned from Lusaka last Friday and spent the night in Serenje. Then on Saturday morning I woke up fairly early and after the morning shower ended I hitched out to Chalata and walked the 12km back to my village because I was still a little too sore to bike on the bumpy road. I was really excited to see my kitty, who was also super excited to see me. I only spent 38 hours there and most of the time I was lying down in bed with my kitty. I still wasn't strong enough to carry water or things so I couldn't stay long on my own. I left monday morning to go back to Serenje, walking 12km again, for our semi annual Provincial meetings. Everyone was there by Tuesday and we had our official meetings on Wednesday. In a way it sucks to have 26 volunteers staying together in the same small house, but it was nice to see everyone and catch up. On Thursday we just cooked and baked and finished by 7pm for our wonderful thanksgiving dinner. We had 2 turkeys (one frozen from Lusaka and another one live that had to be slaughtered and prepared,) green been casarole, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, corn bread, apple bread, banana bread, mac and cheese, pumpkin pie, apple pie and cheesecake. It was delicious and we had a lot left over. I left the next afternoon on the PC bus headed to lusaka, where I am staying with a different host family until I fly out tomorrow morning. It worked out well because there is a monthly market at the church near the pc office and it just happened to be today so I was able to go there and buy the rest of my Christmas presents. The prices were pretty high and because there were so many rich white people it was difficult to get good deals but it was still cheaper than shopping at the Joburg airport. Also, a lot of the people actually make their own things whereas the Sunday craft market is mostly imported things from Tanzania, the Congo, Zimbabwe, or South Africa. I can't think of anything else to say except that I am so excited about going to Italy in the morning!!!! (Although I do feel a little bad because except for the 38 hours I will have been out of my village for 6 weeks straight.)

counting down the days

Still in Lusaka although everyone that has been here has gone back and other people have come and even most of them have already gone back to their villages, but me, I am still here. Good news is that the chiropracter says that everything looks good, I have the strength back in my right arm which means that my collarbone is completely fine now. My nexk and back look good and even the muscle tension is getting better so really i'm just left with soreness around my sternum. Since the problems have been adequately addressed it is now just a matter of being patient and letting the rest heal on its own. It's still a little painful, but i am now only taking over the counter pain killers instead of the really strong ones and I'm able to do some stretches and work on getting my strength back. Overall I am feeling much better and I am looking forward to getting back to the village, although I will only be there for a few days before I leave for our semi anual Provincial meetings and then straight to Italy (yay!!!)

As much as I was looking forward to getting back to the village I am a little nervous and hesitant now. One reason is that I will not be there long enough to really do any work. I do need to drop of some papers and make sure that the 2 girls and mentor that were chosen to attend Camp GLOW (a camp for girls empowerment) have all the information they need so that they can get to the camp because I won't be around to help them with that. Another thing is that my host father has been calling Peace Corps to complain about me, he is mad that I have not been around. And he mentioned that when I was around I was not working in the village very often (He is right, lately I have given up on my village because they are to lazy to come to meetings or try new ag practices, and I have stared working more in nearby villages where people seem eager to learn and improve their lives.) My host father also said he was offended that I no longer eat with them (for the record I ate with them 3 times, the 3 times that they invited me, all in the first month I was at site, and I should say that one of those times I got food poisoning so I don't really care to eat with them again, but if they asked I would be polite and eat a little at least. Funny thing is they haven't invited me and it turns out even in Zambia it is not polite to show up and sit down for dinner if you were not invited or offered food. Personally, I think they want me to "eat" with them now because they sold all their maize for cash and now they have no food until their tomatoes can be sold for cash and they can buy maize back, at a higher price. Planning and budgeting is not big here they want the quick cash to get drunk immediately even if it cost more in the end. So now that they have no food, I bet they want me to show up for dinner and provide dinner for myself and their whole family, which I refuse. I hate to be unsympathetic, but I told them not to sell all their maize because then they wouldn't have food. So really it's their own fault if they are starving, and regardless, I don't get money to feed all of them in addition to myself and certainly not all the other families that would inevitably find out and start demanding food as well, even if they weren't starving.) Another issue he has is that I don't greet them enough or try to talk to them very much lately so he thinks I might be mad at him and his family (well you did eat my rabbit so I would have a pretty valid reason to be mad at you, but seeing as I'm no longer 5 years old I don't just start ignoring people if I am mad at them. In fact even after the rabbit thing I still greeted my family the same as always until I left and seeing as they don't have cell phones its not possible for me to greet them when I'm not there. It smells like a guilty concious to me. He did assure PC that he would look into the matter and find out who killed the rabbit which is what he told me almost a month ago!)Sorry for the rambling and tangents, but needless to say, I'm a little annoyed about this whole thing. And my host father has made it sound like the whole village is mad/disappointed in me and they don't really want me around anymore, even though they are mad that I am not around? I guess I will know more after I go back, but part of me is dreading going back and having to deal with this conflict and in another language at that. Anyway thats pretty much what has been going on with me. I have an 8:00 appointment tomorrow and then I should be able to leave and go back to Serenje, where all my stuff is. Then Sat morning I plan to make my way back to the village (even though I'm supposed to stay at the house and rest.)

This morning I listened to one of my favorite Starting Line songs "counting down the days til California comes." Although, this whole time I have been counting down the days until I could go back to my village, I'm suddenly not so excited about that (I am still super excited to see my kitty and I hope she doesn't get too lonely and run away because that would make me really sad) and I am definitely dreading provincials when all of us volunteers will be stuck together in the relatively small house. Instead I am now counting down the days until Italy (yay again!) 10 days until I am on my way!!! (For those of you that haven't heard, I am meeting my momma in Italy in just 10 days after not seeing her for almost 10 months!)

PS I apologize for all the ! because it usually annoys me when I read stuff with a lot of !

Yesterday I read "Eats, Shoots and Leaves" which has prompted me to apologize for the gramatical and punctuation errors that I'm sure abound in my previous blogs. And unforunately I cannot even promise that future blogs will be any better, they will probably be the same. I seriously apologize because gramatical mistakes do annoy me and I find myself counting the mistakes in every book I read; however, with limited internet time I type as fast as possible and don't even re-read anything I write. Anyway, I highly reccommend the book, it was vey entertaining and I found myself having to supress laughs a few time (my sternum hurts pretty bad when I laugh, sneeze, or cough.) The punctuation discusion reminded me of a sign that I recently saw in Zambia. We were on our way to Eastern Province from Lusaka and just before the road curved there was a sign beside the road. It was a white triangle-shaped sign similar to a yield sign in America. The border was a burgandy color and in the middle of the sign was an exclamation point, also in burgandy. When I saw it, all sorts of crazy things ran through my mind. I was filled with suspense and even some anxiety as to what the sign was supposed to be saying. Was it warning that something dangerous was right around the bend or was it saying there was something really cool and exciting just around the corner. Those two possible meanings alone are very different and then I was worried that maybe the sign was telling us to do something, but how would we be able to follow its instructions if we had no idea what the sign meant? To add to this, we were driving really slowly to it took a long time for us to round the bend and see what was on the other side. As it turns out they were repairing a section of the road (which in itself invokes the surprise and excitment of the exclamation point because it's so rare in this country) so the road was detoured around it and I assume that was the reason for the exclamation point sign, but overall it still perplexes me a bit.
Other interesting signs that I have seen:
*Germstone Restaurant (yes germstones)
*Layer Hens for sale cheep cheep cheep-which I found rather clever until I figured out it was probably just a typo
*Please flash the toilet when your finished-your not you're and yes some of us volunteers comply and flash the toilet on our way out
*Similarly another public toilet says "no monkey style please" still not really sure what that means???
*God Only Knows Take Away-I don't feel comfortable eating something if only God knows what t is
*Time will Tell Transport-I really don't want to wait until time tells me what will happen with he transport, if it will break down, crash, just decide to stop for 3 hours etc.
*Finally: as we were driving through South Luangwa National Park we came to a sign asking us to slow down because we were at a wildlife crossing. Yes that one particular spot was an authorized wildlife park despite the fact that we were in a national park with wildlife everywhere and they don't know where the one crossing is or don't care because they cross wherever and whenever they wish.

This is just a small selection of interesting signs that I can remember, but I have seen o so many in this country.

Exiled to Lusaka

On Monday I was sent down to Lusaka for medical. My sternum is still really sore from the car accident and there was concern that I may have gotten a hairline fracture or something. I was able to see the doctor monday afternoon as soon as I arrived (a doctor at a private clinic that PC uses) but he said my lungs were clear and I didn't have any broken ribs so I should just rest and if it's not better in a few days come back for a chest xray. Meaning I had to stay and rest in Lusaka, and if I haven't mentioned this before, Lusaka is lame and I don't particularly enjoy being here, especially alone. It turns out 2 people were at the PC bunk house in Lusaka for medical and 2 new volunteers that were evacuated from Guinea and sent here so its not completely empty here but still not too exciting. PC has a bed and breakfast program for volunteers where American families that live here open their homes to volunteers so that we can have a free place to stay when we are here for personal reasons. We are only allowed to stay at the bunk house, located at the office, if we are here on official, medical or program days. So last week when we were on our way back from the game park we arranged to stay with a family on the B&B list for the night and head back to central in the morning. Well the family we were assigned to is wonderful and so hospitible and they said we were more than welcome to stay with them anytime or for as long as necessary. So I called them when I got in town and asked if I could stay with them in a real house with a nice bed and a kitchen plus they cook dinner and they always have delicious cookies. They kindly said yes so at least I've been able to stay with them instead of being at the office. As much as I don't like Lusaka it's not so bad just hanging out at their house and resting. I've read 3.5 books in the last 3.5 days and i've slept in took a few naps and enjoyed sitting on the swing by their garden. Also, another girl from my intake came in yesterday and stayed with them for the night so it was nice to see here and hear how things are going for her. I told them I thought I would leave tomorrow but now it looks like i'm staying to hopefully they are not sick of me yet otherwise I'll have to move to the bunk house. Regardles of my enjoying their hospitality and the chance to rest and relax I still miss my village and I really want to go back soon, plus I miss the ability to bike, runa and exercise, not to mention I'm a little over the pain itself. I went back to the doctor this morning and they did a chest xray since the pain is still the same. On Monday I did get stronger pain meds whihc help and the pain is much more bearable now, but as soon as they wear off its just as bad as before. The chest x ray looks fine, no visible fractures which is good news. Then he sent me to a chiropracter/physical therapist right away hoping that I could at least get some exercises to do and head back to Serenje at least. However, the chiropracter says that my right colarbone is a little out of place which puts stress on my sternum plus my neck and back were a little messed up. He realigned my spine today and said I have to come back tomorrow for another adjustment and maybe even next week although I'm still hoping to go home by Saturday plus a cruiser is going then so I wouldn't even have to hitch. It all depends on tomorrows appointment. But seeing as I'm in Lusakaland and have access to free not quite as slow internet I can update again sometime again so stay tuned.

imbasela

In Zambia there is something called imbasela which in bemba means free and it usually refers to a gift. For example: if you go to the market and ask how much a pyramid of 5 tomatoes cost, they will say 1000 kwacha and then you say ok I will buy one (that is if you don't want to bargain with them, generally i bargain to get the best deal and because it leads to friendly conversation but now that i've been here so long I know a few women at the market that I don't have to bargain with because they always give me a good price to start off with). After agreeing to buy the tomatoes and handing the woman one pin (1000 kwacha) she begins to put 5 tomatoes in a bag then picks up another tomato shows it to you, says imbasela and puts it in with the others. It's really a fabulous system, I'd say it's the one thing Zambia really has going for it. I mean sure some marketing schemes in america have tried similar approaches, such as creating a package of 4 razors with an additional one in a separate package attached to the first one. I guess it's supposed to make you feel like you're getting something extra for free. Or some shampoo bottles advertise that you now get 33% more in the bottle as if this were all free when really you pay more for it because it's now a bigger bottle. The strategy doesn't seem to work so well in America maybe just because everything is pre packaged. Whereas here you really feel like you are someone special and they are giving you something extra for free just because you are such a good customer and giving them such good business. Of course they factor the imbasela into their prices and because it's so common I've learned to expect it and sometimes I buy less because I know i will get a few extra imbasela items. And if they don't offer an imbasela it's perfectly acceptable to ask for one and even to request a particular item such as a lolipop for the imbasela (this works out well for me because they have delicious lolipops here that i used to buy occasionally but now i just wait til I go to Chalata for bread, powdered milk and other essential items then I request a lolipop as my "gift"). Honestly I walk away feeling wonderful after getting an extra gift whether its a lolipop or just another tomato.

I think I had my best imbasela experience last week as I was traveling from Serenje to Lusaka. About 100km south of Serenje is Kapiri Boma which has a petrol station with a fast food place. They sell all kinds of things, but they have a delicious schwerma. Our driver asked us to go in and buy him a coke and he gave us 30000 k saying we could get ourselves one also. (Zambians are so friendly and not only do they often give us free rides around the country but many times they will buy us drinks or even lunch on the way). We decided that he had been so friendly and was already giving us a free ride so we bought him a coke with our own money as a gift and we also ordered 2 cokes and 2 schwermas for ourselves. I paid the chasier, took the cokes and waited in a separate line for the food. Somehow they must have been confused that we ordered 3 drinks and only 2 schwermas and they packaged up an extra schwerma. We took the food to go for lunch when we reached Lusaka so we didn't even notice until later. Of course this was not an intentional imbasela but still it was pretty exciting to get an extra one.