Hello hello! So much has happened since my last post, but I am still in Zambia and I am enjoying every moment. Pre-Service Training (PST) ended on November 13th, and I have now officially sworn in as a Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV). PST flew by in a whirlwind of long days and lots of learning.
At the end of September, the health (CHEP) trainees went to Central Province for their bootcamp, while the education (RED) trainees went to Southern Province for our bootcamp. Bootcamp was an incredible experience, as this was the first time we were able to have any teaching experience in the classroom. We were also able to see some of the current volunteers’ schools, learn about their experiences as teachers, see them teach, and even see their houses at their sites.
Upon returning from bootcamp, we only had a week back with our host families before we took off again. This time, we were given our site assignments.
The Thursday after returning from bootcamp, we all gathered in the conference room of our training center and nervously, one by one, learned where we would be living for the next two years. I got assigned to Northern Province with Cailyn, Hayes, David, and Fisch from my cohort. It is a mountainous, relatively lush region of the country that is a 12+ hour drive from Lusaka, and near the border with Tanzania. The very next day after site assignments, the five of us boarded a bus at 3 am and made our way to Kasama, the provincial capital of Northern Province.
Peace Corps Zambia is pretty unique in that each province gets its own Provincial Resource Center – also known as the provincial house or PRC. Because volunteers get placed so far away from each other, and so far away from the capital, Peace Corps allows volunteers to stay at their provincial houses for up to 4 days each month. These houses provide a way for volunteers to find community in each other when times are not always the easiest living culturally isolated in their respective villages.
During site visit, we had a few nights on either end at our provincial house. I was able to spend time with David, Fisch, Cailyn, and Hayes from my own cohort, and meet some of the other currently serving volunteers in my province. We explored our provincial capital, Kasama, and began to learn some of its ins and outs. We also had three nights in our villages, meeting as many people as possible and sleeping on mats in our empty new houses. It was overwhelming and exhilarating, and it built the anticipation for training to be over more than ever.
Before I knew it, November arrived and so did swear in. We wrapped up training, did our teaching practicum and language tests, (unfortunately) watched the election, said goodbye to our host families, and swore in as PCVs on November 13th. It was a lively day filled with joy, dancing, and celebration. I was so excited to at long last be done with training, to soon move into my own house, and to be in the village I had visited a month previously. The day after swear in, everyone started off toward their provinces. The five of us going to Northern Province were able to split our journey into two days, and that Friday we arrived back at the provincial house in Kasama. We were greeted with so much warmth from the other volunteers there, and it was lovely to finally feel like one of them.
We spent around a week at the provincial house before moving into our houses in our villages. We were able to rest, get to know more of the other volunteers in our province, and purchase all the things we would need for our houses. That Sunday, all the volunteers who had gathered in Kasama to greet the new people joining their provincial community took us to nearby Chishimba Falls where we swam, had a picnic, and enjoyed the natural beauty of this province.
I moved into my house in the village I’ll be living in for the next two years on Wednesday, November 20th. Aside from my bedframe, my furniture was not quite ready so I spent the next few days setting up as best as I could. I also walked around my village a lot, chatting with as many people as possible. I helped one family grind some peanuts and kasava, I had a dance party with another, I spent time with my Peace Corps assigned resource family and played with their puppies, I learned to cook on a brazier, I befriended many of the children in the village, I ate many mangoes from the mango trees next to my house, and slowly but surely started to get used to my new life.
I was only in the village for one week before I came back to the provincial house to celebrate Thanksgiving. The fact that those of us who just freshly swore in were given Thanksgiving to celebrate at the provincial house was actually quite surprising, and I am grateful that Peace Corps allowed us to have this time. Since we swore in mid November, my CHEP/RED cohort is now in Community Entry (CE) until mid February. This means that we are not generally allowed to spend a night outside of our villages until CE ends. The focus of this time is to build community relationships, and fully integrate with our host culture and village. But, due to our vaccine schedule, Peace Corps medical staff needed to administer the second dose of one of our vaccines right around Thanksgiving, so they decided to just allow us to spend that time at the provincial house to make vaccine administration possible.
Thanksgiving was wonderful. Nathan, a volunteer nearing the end of his service, found someone who was willing to sell us a Turkey! The only downside? That we had to kill it ourselves. So, the two boys from Georgia, Nathan and Hayes, killed, cleaned, and defeathered an entire Turkey for us to eat at dinner. The rest of us worked together to make mashed potatoes, mac n cheese, roasted veggies, stuffing, salad, and some bread rolls, and we had a delicious Thanksgiving meal.
I am feeling very grateful to the village that has welcomed me into their community for the next two years, to my new friends here in Zambia, to my family and friends back home who I miss very much and who are supporting me on this adventure of a lifetime, and to so much more. Tomorrow I will return to my new village with the rest of my furniture, and continue making connections and learning from those around me. I can’t wait to see what this next chapter brings.
