I spend my days under African skies....

Hola! We are in Lusaka today to do some grocery shopping before we go on our second site visit, which is where we get to go stay at our actual site for a few days with another volunteer thats already in the area. The highlight of this week was definitely finding out where our permanent sites and new homes will be. I will be in the Mawanda area of Petuake district in the Eastern Province of Zambia. My village is called Chitindi village and from what I've heard it sounds great. There is another volunteer in the same village who will be 5k from me. This is very rare for PCVs to be placed in the same village, so I'm pretty psyched that I will have someone so close. Apparently, this area really wanted an Education volunteer so hopefully they will be enthusiastic about working with me. There is a government school and clinic 5k away and there is a community school within 1k of me, so I am really excited. My water will come from a borehole(water pump) that is also less than a kil from my house so i feel lucky. This is one of the safest sources of drinking water, although I will probably still boil it then filter it. My site is about 35k from the nearest boma (town) which is Petauke. When I need to get there I will either hitch or I can bike it. Hitching is a really common form of transport for volunteers and its apparently very safe. It saves us from having to spend kwacha on transport. Two other education volunteers in my intake, Eric and Ryan, will also be in my district, as well as one LIFE volunteer (agro-forestry program), so that's pretty cool.

Everything is still going great and I'm not homesick yet. I would say one of the things I'm most grateful I brought is a pack of earplugs and the thing I miss most is a hair-dryer. Other than that I'm adjusting really well. Language is kind of tough because we are just learning so much in a short period. We had a second language exam on Friday and I think I did okay. We are having a big party tonight--an American-style BBQ, complete with roasted goat, sports, and music.

I'm really loving the family I'm with and I admire each of them so much. Life, especially for women in Zambia, is pretty hard. Even the children seem so much more involved in their own care and the care of others, its amazing. My grandma wrote me an email asking if I help take care of the children and the answer is NO! THEY help take care of me, the "muzungo," who can't cook for herself, or do her own laundry. I'm talking, an 11 year old, basically did half my laundry this week, as I looked on and attempted to be helpful. She then instructed me on washing dishes and fetching water. It was humbling. 6-year-old kids tote babies on their back as they help around the house. They do all this, with smiling happy faces and a peaceful nature. All the kids (about 10) on my compound are great.

I'm so upset because I accidentally deleted all the pics I have taken when I was trying to change the settings!! So no pics today, but hopefully when I come back from my site next week I'll be able to post some of where I'll be living for the next TWO YEARS! Ugh, it makes me sick to think about but Dad mentioned they may be recover-able, so we'll see.

If you read this blog, leave me a comment and ask any questions you have or just give me a shout so I know you still remember who I am. Sometimes when I sit down at a computer I have trouble thinking about what details people might want to know.
Zambia is awesome, Peace Corps is awesome. Sometimes I don't believe I'm actually here and that I'm perfectly content living in a developing country. I hope this honeymoon period never ends...haha. I have to go buy food now, so I can eat over the next while I'm camping at my site. Stay in touch! Miss you guys!!
Love,
Cait