Hello everyone,

I am sorry it has taken me so long to post updates; good internet access has been pretty non-existent thus far. I guess I will start with day one, which seems like years ago.

We arrived in Lusaka to a warm welcome from Peace Corps Zambia staff and were taken to our first weeks lodging; comfortable dorm rooms at an agricultural college outside of Lusaka. After three days of seemingly endless meetings and introductions we had the chance to visit a current Peace Corps Volunteer’s site to get a glimpse of what our lives might be like for the next two years. I was sent, with three others, to visit a Volunteer named Nat whose site is roughly 10km south of Katete in Eastern Province. Getting dropped off in the village was a very surreal and somewhat shocking experience; we were immediately surrounded by 30-40 people who were equally as shocked to see us, but as introductions and attempted greetings in Nyanja ensued we were all comforted by how welcoming and friendly Nat’s neighbors were. The next three days were spent visiting fields and gardens with some of Nat’s counterparts, planting tree nurseries, and cooking delicious food. The highlight of the trip was climbing a large hill outside of the village; from the top we were able to see into Mozambique, the border being only 15km south of Nat’s hut.

After first site visit training officially started and we were taken to our home stay families in Chongwe (45km east of Lusaka), which is near the Peace Corps training facilities. My home stay experience has been, and continues to be, absolutely amazing. I have my own small hut next to my family’s house and am basically pampered; every morning Bamaayo has warm water waiting for my bath (taken outdoors in a grass-surrounded enclosure by splashing water onto myself out of a bucket), and cooks all of my meals. The main staple here in Zambia is Nshima, which is made by slowly stirring powdered maize meal into a pot of boiling water. The final product has the consistency of thick mashed potatoes and tastes fairly bland. One Volunteer aptly described Nshima as an edible spoon, as you eat it with your hands and use it as a vessel to scoop up whatever relish you might be eating alongside it. Some popular relishes include beans, chicken, pumpkin leaves, cabbage, soya pieces, okra, fish, sausage, etc. I find the local food absolutely delicious, and have been slowly increasing my Nshima intake (2 lumps for now, a good Zambian will eat at least 4), much to the pleasure of Bamaayo.

So I believe we are now in week 8 of training and it has gone by relatively fast. They keep us very busy, a typical day goes something like this: Language training from 8:00-noon (I am learning Bemba), lunch at home from 12:30-14:00, technical training from 14:00-17:00, and a cold beer at Aaron’s Den to finish. Language training has been fast and furious but quite enjoyable, as there are only three others in my class and we have an amazing teacher named Ba Mercy. Language class is held under a tree in Ba Mercy’s front yard, where guavas and avocados can be found growing in abundance. Technical training has been informative as well, but as a result of the wide breadth of the LIFE (Linking Income Food and the Environment) project, it sort of feels like we are learning a lot about many different things but very little about any specific thing. However, it is a great program to be a part of as once we are posted we will have the ability to work in a wide range of venues and on vastly different projects. I think it is safe to say my focus will be on promoting more sustainable methods of agriculture, specifically reducing people’s reliance on fertilizers. We have been learning a lot about various species of nitrogen-fixing trees as well, which my village seems very excited to experiment with.

Site announcements were made 2 weeks ago and I will be living in a Village called Chikupili (I was actually able to find it on google maps), it is roughly 70km south of Mkushi in Central Province. Shortly after site announcements we went on second site visit, where we were taken to our respective villages and given the chance to check things out. I am extremely excited about my site and community. Mine is definitely one of the more remote sites; the only vehicle that ever comes into my compound is the Peace Corps land cruiser. I won’t go into much detail about my site, as I was only there for two nights and will undoubtedly have more in-depth things to report once I am posted and have had a bit more time to explore. I will just say that the area is absolutely beautiful; large forests, small streams, and two large ‘mountains’ to climb nearby.

I suppose that covers most of the important details of what’s been happening so far. I feel extremely fortunate every day I am here; the people are friendlier than I could have imagined, the weather and landscapes are beautiful, and I am very excited about the work that I will be doing. I am going to attempt to upload a bunch of photos after I post this, so hopefully you can all see some images of the aforementioned places and events. I hope you are all healthy, happy, and enjoying the beginning of spring.

Neal