It's funny how used to being alone one can become here. Living in a mud hut by yourself forces your independence and subsequently sharpens your ability to entertain yourself and have full-out conversations with yourself in your head. I do have friends in my village and am lucky to be surrounded by a very warm and welcoming community. I also have established good working relationships with counterparts. But at the end of the day, it's just me cooking dinner over my brazier, reading by candlelight, saying goodnight to pets, and crawling into bed around 8 or 9pm. I wake up in the morning by myself, again light up my brasier for coffee and oats, and am perfectly content spending the day reading in my hammock if there is no work to do. What started out as a feeling of intense loneliness has evolved into a comfort with being alone, and I have learned so much about myself in that process. And feeling more comfortable with myself in my village had lead to feeling more comfortable around Zambians, as I feel I've gained a quiet confidence that took me a year to build.

I just got back from Lusaka early this morning. I had to go down to the big city to pick up my work permit that FINALLY arrived in the country almost a year after my arrival here. I took the night bus down on Wednesday and came back to Mpika on the night bus last night. There were a couple of volunteers there on other business, so it was nice to go out to dinner and catch up with them. For the most part, though, I did a little shopping, took advantage of free internet at the Peace Corps office, and hung out with myself. I went to see a movie ('Yes Man', pretty cute!) and enjoyed eating subway and ice cream. :) I wanted to get back up to Mpika by today, as I am planning on visiting the orphanage here with Jeana. The lady who runs it is Zambian but spent a lot of time in the UK. She returned wanting to give something back to her country and she sounds like a smart, educated Zambian woman. She is of course always looking for assistance with all the children, so I'm hoping to volunteer 1-2 saturdays per month.

I am also planning to watch the superbowl tomorrow (at about 3am) with some other pcvs at a guest house in Mpika. I just hope I can stay awake!

As far as new updates from the village (because we all know how exciting life can be out in the bush...;) ) North Luangwa national park sent some scouts to my area to hunt the crocodiles. Someone was recently attacked while crossing a bridge that's pretty close to my part of the river. Yikes! Apparently Crocodile Hunter should have done a show in my village...

I attended my first funeral in the village. My neighbor's 3-month old baby passed away the other night. Know one knows the cause of death but some seem to be attributing it to witchcraft...not uncommon in these parts. It was an all-night affair but they just came and got me in the morning to pay my respects. I laid awake in my hut almost all night listening to singing, chanting, wailing, and drumming. It was an experience like no other I've ever had to sit among my entire village surrounding a tiny coffin while women paced around wailing and screaming and religious leaders read from the bible. It was a beautiful morning in Zambia, one to be spent harvesting in the fields; the community would morn yet another premature death, then return to life as they know it. That wasn't the first child's death in my community since I've been here, and it won't be the last. Death is by no means taken lightly here, and a woman who loses her baby here mourns just as much as any other mother across the world faced with such a loss. The difference is that death becomes a harsh reality here much sooner. People are forced to deal with it much more often, yet power and intensity of their mourning is unwavering with each funeral. I can't begin to describe the energy that morning at my neighbor's hut, but will always remember the stinging, desperate pain in not only my neighbor's eyes, but on the faces of the community as they gathered to feel that pain alongside her.

I miss you all so much and hope all is well back in the states. I'm sending you lots of love from Zamland, and am trying to keep up with this blog more often. Take care!

Katie