Yewo!

Upon request by my dear grandmother, a blog update. The last few weeks have been pretty uneventful as I readjusted to village life in my new hut. Right before dad came to visit I spent all one day moving my things from one house to another. A moment of irony occured when frustrated i thought, "Why do I have so much crap?! I have to simplify my life!" Then reality check thought: "I live in a hut in Africa the size of my room at home. How much simpler does life get?"

So the nesting process has begun anew, one year down and one to go. (Really I only have 10 months left in Zambia!) I have a separate unattached storage room that i call a kitchen although I don't cook inside it. The clutter in the main house is reduced and i have room to stretch out a bit more. Fingers crossed--no rats in the main house!! However, they are in the kitchen where the food is stored, naturally. Just okay with me as long as i dont hear them munchin on my precious chapstick, flip flops, shampoo bottle etc. The drawbacks? Newish roof=WAY MORE BUGS. I have bites all over my body. Not sure what to do about it except keep itching. Also, the house is a bit farther from my neighbors so I feel out of the loop. They can't keep tabs on me but I can't keep tabs on them. So more effort is required for village interaction. I'm still working on this.

Teachers are no longer on strike which is good. Yesterday we had a meeting to plan for the training I want to have for PTA chairpersons and Headteachers to help them collaborate better. Topics will hopefully include leadership skills, communication skills, conflict management, action plannning, community mobilization etc. I'm really excited about it but its a long way off and just in the initial planning stages. We're going to hopefully write a grant to get adequate funding.

Monday I'm leaving for South Africa to meet up with two good friends separately, Cortney and Deb. Yay! I'm super excited to see them both.

Thanks so much for the bday cards and recent packages I received. Miss everyone!
Love,
cj