I'm in Lusaka and feeling over-stimulated. It's funny that when we first flew into Lusaka I wasn't very impressed by the city itself and couldn't wait to get out to the more rural areas, but right now I am LOVING lusaka. :) Good food, toilets, hot showers...doesn't take much these days...Our entire intake of about 50 volunteers arrived here a few days ago for about a week of in-service training. Us Northerners lucked out with a pretty sweet ride from Mpika. We hitched from the police post (genious idea by Jeanna!) and got almost an entire bus transporting soap to ourselves! They did NOT want to take us at first but were easily persuaded by the lady with the gun who didn't smile much (gotta luv zambia!). I have actually lucked out lately with transport (and have probably just jinxed myself), because I caught a ride from my village turnoff with some canadian and british families who were on their way back from vacation up north. I started off around 6 a.m. from my hut and made it to the tarmac by around 9, where I saw a bunch of white people with about 5 cruisers. I left my bike at a shop, walked over to them and asked for a lift. They looked completely confused because I literally just popped right out of the bush. But they were very friendly (not always the case with white people driving in Zambia...you are much more likely to catch a lift from a Zambian). I was having flashbacks from childhood family road trips as I got into the backseat full of empty boxes of snacks, word puzzle games, and squabbling children. What I found most surprising was that the car actually smelled "good" and I was probably the stinkiest one there, and the kids weren't staring at me and calling me 'muzungu'! It made me miss home a lot. :(

So our intake pretty much all met up in Lusaka on Sunday, shopping and eating before heading to NRDC (where training was taking place). Everyone looked pretty much the same except tanner and a little more frazzled-looking, and as always the girls have mostly all gained a couple pounds and the guys are melting. It has been great to catch up with people and find out how village life is for everyone. Most everyone seems to be doing great, and people have definitely become happier and more relaxed since training.

A bunch of us are headed to malawi on saturday and I am so pumped! We are staying for about a week and it's starting to get pretty hot so a beach will be nice. I'm planning on getting certified in SCUBA with some other people, but the only thing holding me back is my 2 biggest fears of deep water and fish...but hey it's all about conquering fears, yeah? :) We'll see if I got through with it.

It's also been nice to talk to the Peace Corps medical doctors here. I am seeing a doctor in Lusaka for some stomach issues tomorrow morning so hopefully my troubles there can get cleared up. The PCMO also told me I need to move out of my hut because I have too many bees....but I'm hoping she's just being a little on the dramatic side. I don't think she realizes that it's been 4 months and my village still hasn't dug my rubbish pit....so them building me another house is most likely out of the question. Plus I love my hut and location. I think I'll just try to get the villagers to knock the hive down...maybe they can do beekeeping...haha now I'm thinking like a peace corps volunteer. :)

Speaking of village life, I just found out that my (former) cat was attacked by a hawk and died! 2 months ago after I gave my neighbors my jerk kitten they told me she had run into the bush...but turns out they didn't want to break my heart and tell me the truth...little do they know I am NOT a cat person.

Sorry this post has been kind of random and scattered...seems my life is kind of that way here in Zambia. Being at this training has given me more ideas for my village and I am excited to get back to the bush after Malawi. I've been thinking about helping my village form an HIV/AIDS support group, and I'd also love for them to form a women's group. I also want to teach some English, and a bigger, more long-term project I have in mind is the construction of a library....these are all still little just thoughts at this point but when I sat down to write an action plan for myself it made the next two years actually seem like not enough time. Time is crazy here though, because the weeks and months seem to fall off the calendar while the days can sometimes be agonizingly long.

I will try to write again when I pass through Lusaka after Malawi. All my love from Lusaka!

Katie