Village life: week 1

Greetings from Petauke, Zambia!
On Wednesday, I got posted in my village permanently and so far so good. It was slightly emotional, as it usually is for most volunteers. There are so many anxieties, hopes, fears, joys and anticipation that it was a little tough to keep it together as Jeremy (our PCVL for the province) and my friend Eric hugged me goodbye and drove away in the cruiser. But my family nearby came and chatted with me and helped me get settled in a bit for the night. They got me some charcoal so I could start a fire, etc. With all my crap inside in boxes and bags, my hut seems pretty small. I don't have any furniture yet, though it is in the process of being built. I went with a couple villagers the other day to visit the carpenter and make sure things are on track. I feel really disorganized living out of boxes and bags and I don't have any work space to cook, or do dishes, or write a letter so I'm a little frustrated but this is all part of village life. For the most part, my villagers and especially my housing committee seem very motivated and enthusiastic about helping me out and making sure that I have what I need.

The first several days I just hung out around my hut, trying to organize and get adjusted before diving in to community entry. The first three months of service in the village is called Community Entry and we are encouraged by PC to be in the village, making friends and figuring out the basics of living as much as possible. We're technically not to supposed to leave our district except for specific circumstances( i.e. on May 22nd we have to go to the Provincial capital to get our Visas renewed). However, yesterday I biked into the Boma (30 K and somewhat painful) because I neglected to buy any veggies or fruits before being posted. You can only do so much with pasta and sauce packets. Cooking-wise I have been both uninspired and unsuccessful. The headman of my village brought me a bunch of pumpkin, groundnuts(peanuts) and some other type of gourd one day. I attempted to cook the pumpkin but it ended up really over-cooked. I also tried to make some rice to go with it and I added too much water. Apparently I don't even know how to cook rice. Another night I tried to make soup from a packet and add some spices to it, but it wasn't very good. I dumped most of it out. I get by on PBJ, tuna, oatmeal--easy stuff. I've never been an elaborate cooker and it doesn't seem like life in Zambia is going to change that.

My biggest fear in the village so far has been keeping mice and rats away from my hut and my food. I have to keep all of my food tightly packed into plastic bins and buckets. Its common for mice to live in the thatched grass roofs, so I have to make peace with this and try and protect my food. As long as rats stay away, I think I'll be okay.

I have been doing a lot of reading the last few days, so hopefully my time here will give me the chance to do a lot of reading I've been wanting to do. I also have a great book on yoga that I've started reading (Thanks Dr. Logan!) and I plan on using free time to practice yoga. Other than that I'm open to suggestions for new hobbies. Haha. The Community entry period is more about getting acquainted with your village and less about diving into the work-aspect of Peace Corps. By successfully integrating yourself in the first three months, theoretically the next two years will be much more successful because you have a better grasp on the needs of the community.

My nearest PC neighbor is Diana and she is 5k away from me. She has been awesome so far and I feel really lucky that I have a neighbor. The day I got posted she dropped by and brought me some Chocolate(!), EasyMac (!) packs and Crystal light packs(!). Crystal light packs are like trading cards here. PCVs trade the ones they are sent with others, its kind of funny. Diana also biked into the Boma with me yesterday to show me the shortcuts. It took us just over 2 hrs, which is pretty good time for my first time biking it. We stayed the night in Petauke and I'm not really looking foward to biking back this afternoon, as it will be intensely hot. Its supposed to be a much easier ride on the way back though, mostly downhill. My bum is still sore though. Yikes.

Today is my brother, Dan's birthday--so HAPPY BIRTHDAY BROTHER!
Thanks for all the messages when I was sick, I'm much better now, though sick in Zambia is something I am going to try very hard to avoid.
Miss you all!
Love,
Caitlin