I am currently writing from an internet cafe in the capital of Zambia and do not have much time so I will try to fit everything in.
Everything has been incredible! I am having so much fun. During staging in Philadelphia, I sat in a conference room with 35 other volunteer trainees where we went over everything. The trainers laid out what is expected of us, the history of the program (which made me incredibly proud to be a part of the legacy of John F Kennedy and the original mission of the Peace Corps which started 50 years ago) and we all had some really candid talks about our anxieties, fears, ambitions and overall what we expect from the next 27 months.
We all had a great night out in the city, singing karaoke and getting in some last minute Yuengling (vitamin Y of course) before we bussed up to JFK at 2am. I was actually 1 of 4 group leaders, the head counter and the one to find where we were going once we got to the airport. Our flight did not depart until 10:40 so it was an interesting time to sit around and wait. The flight was over 15 hours from JFK to Johannasburg and another 2 hours from there to Lusaka. I slept almost the entire way to South Africa, which was well needed as I hadn't slept in almost a week. And it's safe to say I have the biggest bag of all the intakes. Thanks Mom and Dad for that monster duffle :) I'm sure my back pain will go away soon!
We arrived in Zambia mid-day and I was immediately taken by how beautiful and green and fresh everything is. Everyone made it through all of the airports with nothing lost, nobody had a single problem. We were picked up by the volunteer leaders (PCVLs) so of course we immediately bombarded them with questions. It is really nice to know how many people extend their service. The current volunteers are all very happy, friendly and more than willing to share their experiences.
It still hasn't hit me that we are in Africa and that this is a 3rd world country. Honestly, what I have seen is like paradise here. Zambians are incredibly friendly and they are always smiling and laughing. The hotel they have us staying at is incredible, I wish I could upload some photos. The meals have been delicious, they have soya options for vegetarians and everything. And the intake group honestly is already a family. Everybody here has such a big heart, we're really looking out for each other and can't wait for what is to come. We went to PC headquarters yesterday to meet the country director, etc and had a ringing in ceremony. The majority of the time so far has mostly been medical stuff, what to look out for and going over our jobs. We had a pannel of current volunteers in today to talk about diversity in volunteers and how each of them deals with questions from their host village.
Tomorrow will be our first site visit. I am going with 3 others to Eastern province, we are staying with a volunteer who arrived this time last year. We'll be there until Wednesday, doing everything a trained volunteer does and staying either in the volunteer's mud hut or in our own tents. It's time for pit latrines! When we get back, each of us will find out what language we will learn and from there they will place us in our provinces. Apparently there is no bad province but they are all quite different. Victoria Falls is in the Southern, which would be nice but Eastern is the biggest. I hope I'm not too far from Lusaka so it isn't hard for friends/family to come and go.. You guys are visiting right?
I just finished up a delicious meal of Indian food and we are all about to catch the bus back to the hotel. I look forward to a good night's sleep and a long bus ride through Zambia bright and early. Thanks everybody for making my last few months in the States wonderful! I wish I could have made it a few more places but I am so happy to be here and can't wait to begin some actual work!
