halfway there, livin' on prayer :)

It's about 3:30 a.m. and I find myself still staring at the computer screen at the peace corps office in lusaka, still completely in awe of fast, free internet. I'm 'illegally' crashing here for the night not just to save a little money on lodging but to get through a looong list of things I need to accomplish on this computer in the 48 hours I'll be down in the big city.

I came down here from up north with my friend Joan to go to the Chinese Embassy and apply for our travel visas to China. We will be traveling over to that side of the world in a few weeks, visiting Liz, my roommate from college, who is working in Shanghai. Our trip is 2 weeks along, and the itinerary includes Shanghai, Beijing, and a few other places along the way. :) I am so excited to see what her life is like over there, and it is a part of the world where I have no idea what to expect. It promises to be another crazy adventure travel adventure! I've recently become convinced that Peace Corps is America's best kept secret with all of the traveling I have been able to do. And as far as the work I am doing in my village, I finally feel that I know where I fit into the whole 'system' of development work at the grassroots level, at least in my remote corner of Zambia. I've been working a lot with community groups, helping them with things such as group management, developing trainings, IGA formation (Income Generating Activities), action planning, proposal-writing, etc. I helped my clinical officer and 2 members of the anti-AIDS club/youth group facilitate a week-long Lifeskills training for the club. It was a TOT, or training of trainers, as we were teaching the youth (mostly 17-22 years of age) how to be effective peer educators in the community. We discussed relationship, communication, and leadership skills, as well as principles of behavior change and how to be effective role models to other youth in the community. There was a large HIV/AIDS education component as well. I think that as a whole the training went pretty well. I experienced a lot of frustration with the girls in the group who refused to participate and would only giggle when it came to talking about serious topics. One of the female teachers from the school in my community, Mrs. Chisanga, whom I really respect and admire as a community leader, joined us to facilitate a session on the importance of education in Zambia. She spoke about how students need to realize the opportunities that can open up to them if they can pass their grade 9 exams and go on to high school. I learned that only one student passed their grade 9 exam at the basic school in my community last term. ONE. The students aren't holding themselves accountable for their learning, yet they are also stuck in an education system that is failing them. Mrs. Chisanga said that she offers to work with kids outside of class and to help them study, but very few take her up on her offers. She finds herself especially frustrated with the girls in her grade 8 class, who refuse to participate or take anything seriously in front of the other boys in the class. Girls become pregnant at the age of 14 and drop out of school, while the boys who have helped to place them in that situation continue on with their schooling and thus have a chance to leave the village and further their studies. Mrs. Chisanga made a strong argument to the girls that taking their education seriously affords them options in life; opportunities unavailable to them in the village. If they want to become pregnant and continue to live on their family's compound for the rest of their life, that is ok, but at least have it be the life they consciously chose for themselves. Instead of looking up to Mrs. Chisanga as a strong, well-educated woman in the village, the girls seem to resent the fact that she pushes them to expect more from themselves. My hope is just that she continues to push, regardless of the resistance. Zambia could use a lot more women like her.

I recently finished reading the book, "The Invisible Cure" and believe that if you truly want to begin to understand the spread of HIV in Africa and what can possibly be done to combat it you must read this book. Its focus is on concurrent partnerships in Africa and how relationship patterns and networks in sub-saharan Africa create an ideal environment for the spread of the disease. It also speaks a lot to African-initiated groups and strategies, particularly in Uganda, that have been successful in significantly reducing HIV incidence. I thought the book was brilliant and highly recommend it. It's given me a lot of ideas with regards to working with HIV aids patients in the community, as I hope to aid in the creation of a support group as well as increase sensitisation throughout the community.

There has been a lot of drama in my village lately regarding the recent witch hunt and accompanying witch trials coordinated by a witch doctor brought all the way up from Mpika to rid the community of black magic. Following the funeral of my neighbor's child, whom was believed to have been 'bewitched' by a member of the community, my village headman defended someone who was accused of performing black magic. Shortly afterward, the accused person fled the village, apparently making my headman look guilty, and he was severely beaten at his home in the middle of the day. I saw him at the clinic and he looked horrible. He was sent to the hospital in Mpika to recover, but is an incredibly old man (in a country where the average life span is 34) and I'm not sure when he'll be able to return to the village. The police came to conduct an investigation, but I'm not sure of the results yet. I have talked to friends and people I work with in the village regarding my safety and chances of being accused, and they laugh it off and say that I'm ok. (knock on wood!) They talk about it as if it is no big deal, but clearly it is taken very seriously by many community members, and I hope the intensity of the situation fades with the rains.

I returned from the paradise that is Zanzibar about a month ago, and really enjoyed traveling by train to Tanzania! It was interesting to see the stark differences in the 'development' of the two countries. Tanzania seemed to be a lot more 'put together' than Zambia; it was noticably more organized not only in its economy but in the look and feel of its towns and cities. Zambia is a nation full of Christians, while Tanzania has a strong muslim influence. I loved hearing the call to prayer from the roof of our hostel on the island, and Zanzibar itself was an island rich with history and a mixture of influences. The music festival began at sundown each night, so we spent our days exploring stonetown, going on a spice tour, checking out the shops, and enjoying drinks on the picturesque, 'screensaver' beaches. Smoking sheesha is very popular there, and we enjoyed a variety of exotic flavors as we passed around the communal hookah. The last night of the festival, which featured east african music, was at Kendwa Rocks, along the north shore of the island. We relocated up there for a few nights, staying in a lovely hostel practically right on the beach. We attended the all-night festival finale on the water, and were able to arrange a sunset cruise on a dhow sail boat, as well as snorkeling. There were probably close to 60 Peace Corps volunteers from Zambia who attended the festival, and apparently over 200 Africa PC volunteers in all who travelled to the island for the week, and it was nice to meet people from other areas. There were around 30 of us traveling together on the train, which went through a game park along the journey so we were able to see giraffes, elephants, monkeys, impala, etc. from the windows of the train. Our train arrived too late into Dar for us to make the last ferry to the island, so about 15 of us managed to charter a flight on a small plane. We flew into Zanzibar just as the sun was setting, still in shock that we miraculously managed, as peace corps volunteers, to arrive in such style. The price was not much more than the ferry, and I think someone was looking out for us up in that African sky... :) But the universe quickly caught up with us on the train ride back to Zambia, when the engine seperated from the train cars, making us technically a runaway train until they were able to pull the emergency break on the cars, leading ultimately to our almost 10-hour delay getting back to Bembaland. Of course, I was taking a shower at the time and was hurled against the wall as the train screeched to a halt, splitting my chin open. Hmmm...it always seems like the closer in proximity I get to Zambia when returning from travel, the more things start to go wrong and the more delays there are. Such is life. :) This is how you make memories, right? ;) I've accumulated a variety of scars so far on this continent, each accompanied by a pretty ridiculous story...and I wouldn't trade them for the world. :)

It's now almost 5 a.m. in Lusaka and the sun is going to start rising soon...which means this girl needs to get some shut-eye before the long bus ride up north tonight. I hope you all are well, and I continue to miss you more than you know. Enjoy your spring breaks and hopefully the returning warm weather and sunshine! Much luv from the land of Zam!
.peace.
katie