Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Home Again
Well, I'm home again. On my last day in Zambia, the staff held a going away party for me, where we shared some funny stories, and we ate chicken wings! It was pretty bittersweet. Being back home is pretty new & strange...and its taking some readjustment. Living in a house again with carpets, a microwave, a TOASTER OVEN, a bath tub, and other luxurious things is pretty awesome... and seeing my friends and family again was so great. Again - everything is just really weird for me though, and I'm sort of afraid I'll eventually get the feeling that I've never left. But I can never lose the life lessons, experiences & values I've gained, and I know for sure, that within a few years...I'll be out somewhere in the world again doing another period of service. So until next time!!
Friday, July 3, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
I'm done! Wait. What???
Well, this is my last post in Zambia. I can't believe my year of service is over. The thought of leaving Africa doesn't even seem real. Nor do I have words to express what I'm feeling. Even though I'm so excited to see my friends & family that I can hardly contain myself, at the same time, I never thought it would be this hard to leave! I feel like I'm at tug of war, and my arms are being pulled in opposite directions of eachother. The past 10 months have been a huge growth period for me, and when I look back on it, I can see how much I've changed, and what I've learned about others, Life, myself, my capacities, and my strengths & weaknesses. The memories I've made here will truly be cherished and kept close to my heart, because the truth is; I will miss Zambia terribly. Banani has become my home, and there are so many people I've grown to love and consider as family.
I will really miss my girls & the rest of the students here. I never had a little sister, or even a sister at all.... and after coming to Banani, I was suddenly blessed with over 200 of them! I love them that much.
Here's also a small taste of what I'm going to miss...
I will miss the youth I've served with along the way, the travels I've made to various places in Africa & the breathtaking scenery, the friendly culture, the music & singing & dancing, deepenings with Mr Taherzadeh, teaching at the Primary school, the goodnight hugs from the girls, the friendships I've made, laughing hysterically with the grade 10 girls during quiet time when I'm not supposed to, the kids attacking me every children's class with their very loving, yetsometimes violent hugs, the smell of burning smoke in the air, waking up to the singing of the birds, the monkeys breaking their fruit over my roof (actually I really won't miss that), having black tea 3x a day, listening to Mr. Mahoney's turkish jokes and Mr Moore's cheesy one-liners, being covered in red dust from my walks to and from the Primary during dry season, the starry sky at night (you can see the milkyway!), the sunsets, attempting to speak the local language(s), eating with my hands and I will really miss being a mother to these girls.
I learned a lot life lessons.... like having patience, relying on God during difficult times, having faith & trust in others, confidence.. and I've learned that the best thing you can do for others, is to just love them. There have been many experiences that I seriously thought I couldn't do: taking care of 100+ girls at night all by myself, jumping off the gorge in Livingstone, taking a 16 hour bus ride to Malawi, sleeping only God knows where, eating fried termites, 10 months of extremely loud girls, dealing with obnoxious behavior, living with the bare minimum...the list goes on. But I did it, and came out with nothing but strength, & wonderful memories.
This whole experience has seriously been an incredibly fun, insane, & happy 10 months. I'm sad to leave Zambia, and saying goodbye is so hard....but I did my part, and it's time for me to go back. Life goes on I guess.
Well I just want to say some Thank Yous.... a huge thanks to my wonderful parents for supporting my decision to go to Zambia, a big thanks to my supportive friends back at home, who were always there for me via phone call, text, or mail.... a big thanks to the Mrs Mukendi who was truly a mother to me, the Mahoneys for always opening their home for us (They once let ALL 6 of us have a huge sleepover in their living room!) and for Mr Taherzadeh for being such a fatherly figure to us...he was always showing us love, and making sure we were Ok, and caring for us in general...including driving an hour up here every week to hold deepenings for us, which was a huge highlight during my time here! Also, last but not last, a big thank you to the youth that I served with... Kat, Shaudi, Nora, Neda, Kakweji, Shiva, Anita.... I feel so honored to have been given the chance to serve with you -- my world-wide sisters! I love you guys! It was these people mentioned...that have made my year of service absolutely unforgettable.
So I guess my advice to anyone who is thinking of doing a period of service: Doooo it! Have with no expectations. Go with a positive attitude, patience, love, & always remember your purpose, and you will have such a blast! Seize the chance to serve, because the memories, experiences & friendships you will make, will be some of the happiest times of your life!
This is a poem a dear friend gave to me before I left...I found myself looking at it a lot. Each month I saw this poem differently, and learned something new from it. Simplicity is sometimes the best way to go...
To teach is to learn;
To learn is to work;
To work is to serve;
To serve is to love;
To love is to sacrifice;
To sacrifice is to die;
To die is to live;
To live is to strive;
To strive is to rise above all earthly limitations
and enter the eternal realms.
-Bahiyyih Khanum (written for Martha Root, 1939)
.....
WHAT AN AMAZING YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!
I will really miss my girls & the rest of the students here. I never had a little sister, or even a sister at all.... and after coming to Banani, I was suddenly blessed with over 200 of them! I love them that much.
Here's also a small taste of what I'm going to miss...
I will miss the youth I've served with along the way, the travels I've made to various places in Africa & the breathtaking scenery, the friendly culture, the music & singing & dancing, deepenings with Mr Taherzadeh, teaching at the Primary school, the goodnight hugs from the girls, the friendships I've made, laughing hysterically with the grade 10 girls during quiet time when I'm not supposed to, the kids attacking me every children's class with their very loving, yetsometimes violent hugs, the smell of burning smoke in the air, waking up to the singing of the birds, the monkeys breaking their fruit over my roof (actually I really won't miss that), having black tea 3x a day, listening to Mr. Mahoney's turkish jokes and Mr Moore's cheesy one-liners, being covered in red dust from my walks to and from the Primary during dry season, the starry sky at night (you can see the milkyway!), the sunsets, attempting to speak the local language(s), eating with my hands and I will really miss being a mother to these girls.
I learned a lot life lessons.... like having patience, relying on God during difficult times, having faith & trust in others, confidence.. and I've learned that the best thing you can do for others, is to just love them. There have been many experiences that I seriously thought I couldn't do: taking care of 100+ girls at night all by myself, jumping off the gorge in Livingstone, taking a 16 hour bus ride to Malawi, sleeping only God knows where, eating fried termites, 10 months of extremely loud girls, dealing with obnoxious behavior, living with the bare minimum...the list goes on. But I did it, and came out with nothing but strength, & wonderful memories.
This whole experience has seriously been an incredibly fun, insane, & happy 10 months. I'm sad to leave Zambia, and saying goodbye is so hard....but I did my part, and it's time for me to go back. Life goes on I guess.
Well I just want to say some Thank Yous.... a huge thanks to my wonderful parents for supporting my decision to go to Zambia, a big thanks to my supportive friends back at home, who were always there for me via phone call, text, or mail.... a big thanks to the Mrs Mukendi who was truly a mother to me, the Mahoneys for always opening their home for us (They once let ALL 6 of us have a huge sleepover in their living room!) and for Mr Taherzadeh for being such a fatherly figure to us...he was always showing us love, and making sure we were Ok, and caring for us in general...including driving an hour up here every week to hold deepenings for us, which was a huge highlight during my time here! Also, last but not last, a big thank you to the youth that I served with... Kat, Shaudi, Nora, Neda, Kakweji, Shiva, Anita.... I feel so honored to have been given the chance to serve with you -- my world-wide sisters! I love you guys! It was these people mentioned...that have made my year of service absolutely unforgettable.
So I guess my advice to anyone who is thinking of doing a period of service: Doooo it! Have with no expectations. Go with a positive attitude, patience, love, & always remember your purpose, and you will have such a blast! Seize the chance to serve, because the memories, experiences & friendships you will make, will be some of the happiest times of your life!
This is a poem a dear friend gave to me before I left...I found myself looking at it a lot. Each month I saw this poem differently, and learned something new from it. Simplicity is sometimes the best way to go...
To teach is to learn;
To learn is to work;
To work is to serve;
To serve is to love;
To love is to sacrifice;
To sacrifice is to die;
To die is to live;
To live is to strive;
To strive is to rise above all earthly limitations
and enter the eternal realms.
-Bahiyyih Khanum (written for Martha Root, 1939)
.....
WHAT AN AMAZING YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Pictures!
view from the top of the mountain we hiked up at Ndubs...
At ruhi...
The whole grade 1 & 2 class
Virtue Crowns! (grade 1& 2s)
Soooo yeah I have a lot more that I wanted to post but no more time!!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Ndubaluba
Hey everyone! Sorry it's been a while.... we've had some pretty bad problems with the server for the past few weeks and so it's been hard to update. Seems like its getting worse over time...
Over the past couple of weeks we've been visiting the villages of Niyrenda for devotionals, and we've recently started a women's group. I really love going into the villages... its a really nice experience, and fun to learn about the peoples' lifestyles. Even though the kids don't own a lot of toys, they are really creative and they make their own and are just as happy... I saw dolls...heavy, heavy dolls made out of clay with grass hair, and rock eyes... and I saw this other kid before with a homemade kite that he made from a ripped plastic bag and some string & sticks... and even this other women ripped up a plastic bag into strips and was knitting a bag out of it.
It really bothers me that some people who go to Africa bring loads of food & money to villages, in trying to help the people and "save" them from their poverty and problems, because it's just a temporary fix that will cripple them more in the future. I learned that if you really want to help the people, you must teach them to fend for themselves.... teach them to start their own businesses and make their own money so that they can take care of themselves. I've heard so many stories of this exact situation, and sometimes its hard to find out what exactly you can do to really help. Even when we started this women's group, the first question was that a lady asked was if we could lend them some money, and we made it very clear that we were not here to do that. The women's group that we started will be with Mrs Mahoney in charge, where she will go to these villages every week and for instance, sew with them. After the women learn how to sew, they can start sewing things like bags, or even school uniforms, go on the street to sell them, make money, and then buy more fabric to make more things...and eventually it turns into their own business, where they can make their own money to support their families and send their children to school and be successful. It's really hard sometimes... the school fees for children here in Zambia are so expensive, and unaffordable, so its hard to think that such capable & smart children can't get a proper education. It's so hard to see.
So a few days ago I left for an "African Expedition" called Ndubaluba! It's pronounced "En-Dooba-looba" and its about a 3 hour bus ride from Banani. The Ndubaluba place itself is settled in the bush, and the girls had little chalets that they stayed in, with lots of bunks fit inside. I went along with the PE teacher, Mrs Tembo, and we stayed inside of a house, which was pretty much the same as a typical Banani house. Well, the girls were the ones who did the proper expedition - they walked for 24km total!!! And Mrs Tembo and I just walked and met them at the checkpoints. At this one checkpoint, we trudged through the forest, with no trail or anything, just a compass, and we hiked up this MASSIVE hill!! At some points, it got to 90 degrees, and we had to climb up rocks and we were just grabbing anything to keep from falling, grass, branches, fungi... and we were soooo tired afterwards, but it was such a beautiful view once we got to the top...and the girls were really happy to see us. One night we even set up tents in the bush and we camped out and cooked our own food over a fire... no toilets... no shower... the BUSH. I must say I was so thankful to get back to Banani and have water to bathe in! The water at Ndubs was brown...and smelled like rust, so it had to be purified...and it still tasted bad, but I guess it wasn't as bad as Banani water. Banani tap water is pretty gross! On the last night we even roasted marshmellows!!!! Soooo nice!!!
Even though Ndubs was fun... it was really nice to get back to Banani, and bathe in hot water! The shower has been broken for the past week or so, so I've had to bathe out of a bucket & wash my hair in the sink... which is new, but seriously - the tap water is hot, and I couldn't be happier. Truly a gift from God.
Well, we have 3 days left until midterm break, where I think I'm going to Soheyla's place in Lusaka and staying there for a week... finishing up some last minute gift shopping, and relaxing... and packing! Ah. My least favorite word! Well, I have 2 weeks left in Zambia and I have no words to describe how I feel about leaving. I'm trying not to think about it.
Over the past couple of weeks we've been visiting the villages of Niyrenda for devotionals, and we've recently started a women's group. I really love going into the villages... its a really nice experience, and fun to learn about the peoples' lifestyles. Even though the kids don't own a lot of toys, they are really creative and they make their own and are just as happy... I saw dolls...heavy, heavy dolls made out of clay with grass hair, and rock eyes... and I saw this other kid before with a homemade kite that he made from a ripped plastic bag and some string & sticks... and even this other women ripped up a plastic bag into strips and was knitting a bag out of it.
It really bothers me that some people who go to Africa bring loads of food & money to villages, in trying to help the people and "save" them from their poverty and problems, because it's just a temporary fix that will cripple them more in the future. I learned that if you really want to help the people, you must teach them to fend for themselves.... teach them to start their own businesses and make their own money so that they can take care of themselves. I've heard so many stories of this exact situation, and sometimes its hard to find out what exactly you can do to really help. Even when we started this women's group, the first question was that a lady asked was if we could lend them some money, and we made it very clear that we were not here to do that. The women's group that we started will be with Mrs Mahoney in charge, where she will go to these villages every week and for instance, sew with them. After the women learn how to sew, they can start sewing things like bags, or even school uniforms, go on the street to sell them, make money, and then buy more fabric to make more things...and eventually it turns into their own business, where they can make their own money to support their families and send their children to school and be successful. It's really hard sometimes... the school fees for children here in Zambia are so expensive, and unaffordable, so its hard to think that such capable & smart children can't get a proper education. It's so hard to see.
So a few days ago I left for an "African Expedition" called Ndubaluba! It's pronounced "En-Dooba-looba" and its about a 3 hour bus ride from Banani. The Ndubaluba place itself is settled in the bush, and the girls had little chalets that they stayed in, with lots of bunks fit inside. I went along with the PE teacher, Mrs Tembo, and we stayed inside of a house, which was pretty much the same as a typical Banani house. Well, the girls were the ones who did the proper expedition - they walked for 24km total!!! And Mrs Tembo and I just walked and met them at the checkpoints. At this one checkpoint, we trudged through the forest, with no trail or anything, just a compass, and we hiked up this MASSIVE hill!! At some points, it got to 90 degrees, and we had to climb up rocks and we were just grabbing anything to keep from falling, grass, branches, fungi... and we were soooo tired afterwards, but it was such a beautiful view once we got to the top...and the girls were really happy to see us. One night we even set up tents in the bush and we camped out and cooked our own food over a fire... no toilets... no shower... the BUSH. I must say I was so thankful to get back to Banani and have water to bathe in! The water at Ndubs was brown...and smelled like rust, so it had to be purified...and it still tasted bad, but I guess it wasn't as bad as Banani water. Banani tap water is pretty gross! On the last night we even roasted marshmellows!!!! Soooo nice!!!
Even though Ndubs was fun... it was really nice to get back to Banani, and bathe in hot water! The shower has been broken for the past week or so, so I've had to bathe out of a bucket & wash my hair in the sink... which is new, but seriously - the tap water is hot, and I couldn't be happier. Truly a gift from God.
Well, we have 3 days left until midterm break, where I think I'm going to Soheyla's place in Lusaka and staying there for a week... finishing up some last minute gift shopping, and relaxing... and packing! Ah. My least favorite word! Well, I have 2 weeks left in Zambia and I have no words to describe how I feel about leaving. I'm trying not to think about it.
Monday, May 25, 2009
First IPG Launch for Chibombo cluster!
So this past weekend has been a party! There are a whole bunch of youth visiting from various parts of southern Africa for a jr. youth animator training (Ruhi book 5). They are from places like Lesotho, Swaziland, South Africa, Namibia and Malawi. On Friday night, it was the declaration of the Bab celebration and there was an incredible turnout! We sang, and everyone got up and danced and it was just so much fun! It's such an amazing atmosphere when a whole group is singing loudly, harmonizing, dancing, clapping, stomping, doing various dance steps, with drumming.... they are definitely highlights of my year of service by far... and it's the best mood lifter I know!
On Saturday morning, we had the very first IPG (Intensive Programme of Growth - teaching the Baha'i Faith) launch for our cluster!! So exciting! The National Spiritual Assembly was there, along with 12 different chiefs (or headmen) from the neighboring villages nearby. These headmen got a huge kick out of Neda and I, and they took a lot of pictures of us. There were about 25 jr. youth from the village, Ngala that did some skits/traditional dancing, and the youth that were visiting from S. Africa all got up, and burst into song, with the rest of us joining in a second later... singing, clapping, dancing, drumming, ... it's such a spiritual high! There was a brief introduction to the Baha'i Faith by Mr. Chungu Malitonga, who is a regional councellor, followed by many other peformances by the jr. youth from Ngala; more poems, songs, and dancing. Also, our childrens class performed 5 songs! 'O Lord My God', 'Love for Baha'u'llah', 'Ye are Even', 'King of Kings' and 'He is God'! They are a great group of performers! After the launching of the IPG, we all went outside to take group pictures with the village chiefs, and then had a delicious Zambian dish for lunch! A lump of Nsima, chicken/sauce, and boiled cabbage. After long goodbyes, and more pictures, we headed back to the secondary school.
On Sunday was devotions at the institute, we again, got up, danced and sang. I will really miss these youth who are up for a brief visit, then heading back to their countries on Thursday.
Today was Africa Freedom Day, where we celebrated the liberation of Africa from colonization...and the various countries. The girls performed some traditional Zambian dancing, some songs, poems and some skits that showed Britain's control over various countries including Zambia & the liberation that followed... apartheid in South Africa...etc...
Nora left Zambia last Tuesday to go back home to Germany. I'll admit, it's been pretty hard adjusting to Banani life without her, and I miss her terribly. We were so close! So much laughing, having fun, joy, happiness, going through difficulties, crying at some points, ranting to each other about latest problems that have happened in the dorms, having our days off together, sleepovers, rooming together in April, seeing that first snake, traveling to different countries & interesting places, exploring the unknown, encountering the monkeys, laughing over goofy pictures, and LOADS of inside jokes.... what's more sisterly than that? Nora joon, you are truly missed!
On Saturday morning, we had the very first IPG (Intensive Programme of Growth - teaching the Baha'i Faith) launch for our cluster!! So exciting! The National Spiritual Assembly was there, along with 12 different chiefs (or headmen) from the neighboring villages nearby. These headmen got a huge kick out of Neda and I, and they took a lot of pictures of us. There were about 25 jr. youth from the village, Ngala that did some skits/traditional dancing, and the youth that were visiting from S. Africa all got up, and burst into song, with the rest of us joining in a second later... singing, clapping, dancing, drumming, ... it's such a spiritual high! There was a brief introduction to the Baha'i Faith by Mr. Chungu Malitonga, who is a regional councellor, followed by many other peformances by the jr. youth from Ngala; more poems, songs, and dancing. Also, our childrens class performed 5 songs! 'O Lord My God', 'Love for Baha'u'llah', 'Ye are Even', 'King of Kings' and 'He is God'! They are a great group of performers! After the launching of the IPG, we all went outside to take group pictures with the village chiefs, and then had a delicious Zambian dish for lunch! A lump of Nsima, chicken/sauce, and boiled cabbage. After long goodbyes, and more pictures, we headed back to the secondary school.
On Sunday was devotions at the institute, we again, got up, danced and sang. I will really miss these youth who are up for a brief visit, then heading back to their countries on Thursday.
Today was Africa Freedom Day, where we celebrated the liberation of Africa from colonization...and the various countries. The girls performed some traditional Zambian dancing, some songs, poems and some skits that showed Britain's control over various countries including Zambia & the liberation that followed... apartheid in South Africa...etc...
Nora left Zambia last Tuesday to go back home to Germany. I'll admit, it's been pretty hard adjusting to Banani life without her, and I miss her terribly. We were so close! So much laughing, having fun, joy, happiness, going through difficulties, crying at some points, ranting to each other about latest problems that have happened in the dorms, having our days off together, sleepovers, rooming together in April, seeing that first snake, traveling to different countries & interesting places, exploring the unknown, encountering the monkeys, laughing over goofy pictures, and LOADS of inside jokes.... what's more sisterly than that? Nora joon, you are truly missed!
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Frogs in the Toilet, and the Super-hero Spider
Ok so this term isn't as bad as I thought. Internet Prep that we used to supervise, and Internet sessions on the weekends have been completely canceled due to some of the girls abusing the privilege by doing various naughty things....like finding out a teacher's password and logging on to their accounts to go on illegal websites like Facebook or Myspace... which is fine with me, because it gives me more free time to do my own things.
I've been having so much fun teaching Art and Music with the primary kids...for the older kids I'm doing an introduction to different genres of music like classical, jazz, blues, rock, hiphop, pop, R&B, rap, alternative, ...and much more. Each lesson I go through each genre in depth, and they learn a little about what it is, and how they can tell the difference. I'm bringing in my laptop & speakers and they are really enjoying listening to different kinds of music.... these kids are just so absorbed in their Hannah Montana/High School Music/Jonas Brothers stuff, that they have never heard of people like Beethoven, Bach, or Ella Fitzgerald, Michael Jackson (ok, they know Michael Jackson...well, most of them I think), Nat King Cole....
They are responding really well, and it looks like they are having fun listening and learning about different types of music. For the younger kids, I just picked up where Shaudi left off... I think my favorite class is the grade 1&2s, even though they are crazy, they are the best & most enthusiastic singers! The other day we marched around the classroom belting out Teaching Peace at the top of our lungs! The kids are so much fun to be around. For art once, I had the grades 4-7 class listen to different songs and then draw how they feel in patterns and colors.... they had a lot of fun doing that too.
When the girls came back, I realized that I really missed having them around... my grade 6,7&8 girls are so sweet and loving and it was nice for the dorms to not be so eerily quiet.
We've had some major creepy crawly problems these days...the newest problem is the "Frog in the Toilet" issue where there are literally like 5 frogs in each toilet...and when we try and flush them down, they just jump up. It's grooosss. The other day at the Mahoney's I saw probably the biggest wall spider I have ever seen in my entire existence. It was hairy, and as big as the stretch of my hand. And my hands are big. It was like a super-hero spider, because Mr Mahoney chased it around with a broom trying to kill it, and it took about 5 tries until it died... they are really fast. Other than the frog issue though, the amount of bugs have died down, because the seasons are changing. The weather is moving to "Winter" where it gets like 50 degrees outside in the morning, with fog and everything. It doesn't seem like much, but when you're used being really hot everyday and then suddenly it's 50 degrees...it's COLD. There's no insulation, no heat, so you can't really escape from it. These days I've been sleeping in sweats, socks, sweatshirt and I'm still cold! I think I'm going to die when I arrive in Seattle - July or not.
Last Sunday we went to Lusaka to go shopping at the Sunday Market, and we bought so many souvenirs and gifts.... they took up one whole suitcase! Ahh.
Well, this is the second to last whole month of my year of service, and I would really like to dedicate my service for the month of May to my parents. I could write a book on all of the things they have done in the past to help & support me out of love, and I am so thankful for the way they have raised me, and how much they have contributed... it really makes a difference of who I am today. This is the least I could give back.
I'll try & upload pix soon... internet here is really terrible.
I've been having so much fun teaching Art and Music with the primary kids...for the older kids I'm doing an introduction to different genres of music like classical, jazz, blues, rock, hiphop, pop, R&B, rap, alternative, ...and much more. Each lesson I go through each genre in depth, and they learn a little about what it is, and how they can tell the difference. I'm bringing in my laptop & speakers and they are really enjoying listening to different kinds of music.... these kids are just so absorbed in their Hannah Montana/High School Music/Jonas Brothers stuff, that they have never heard of people like Beethoven, Bach, or Ella Fitzgerald, Michael Jackson (ok, they know Michael Jackson...well, most of them I think), Nat King Cole....
They are responding really well, and it looks like they are having fun listening and learning about different types of music. For the younger kids, I just picked up where Shaudi left off... I think my favorite class is the grade 1&2s, even though they are crazy, they are the best & most enthusiastic singers! The other day we marched around the classroom belting out Teaching Peace at the top of our lungs! The kids are so much fun to be around. For art once, I had the grades 4-7 class listen to different songs and then draw how they feel in patterns and colors.... they had a lot of fun doing that too.
When the girls came back, I realized that I really missed having them around... my grade 6,7&8 girls are so sweet and loving and it was nice for the dorms to not be so eerily quiet.
We've had some major creepy crawly problems these days...the newest problem is the "Frog in the Toilet" issue where there are literally like 5 frogs in each toilet...and when we try and flush them down, they just jump up. It's grooosss. The other day at the Mahoney's I saw probably the biggest wall spider I have ever seen in my entire existence. It was hairy, and as big as the stretch of my hand. And my hands are big. It was like a super-hero spider, because Mr Mahoney chased it around with a broom trying to kill it, and it took about 5 tries until it died... they are really fast. Other than the frog issue though, the amount of bugs have died down, because the seasons are changing. The weather is moving to "Winter" where it gets like 50 degrees outside in the morning, with fog and everything. It doesn't seem like much, but when you're used being really hot everyday and then suddenly it's 50 degrees...it's COLD. There's no insulation, no heat, so you can't really escape from it. These days I've been sleeping in sweats, socks, sweatshirt and I'm still cold! I think I'm going to die when I arrive in Seattle - July or not.
Last Sunday we went to Lusaka to go shopping at the Sunday Market, and we bought so many souvenirs and gifts.... they took up one whole suitcase! Ahh.
Well, this is the second to last whole month of my year of service, and I would really like to dedicate my service for the month of May to my parents. I could write a book on all of the things they have done in the past to help & support me out of love, and I am so thankful for the way they have raised me, and how much they have contributed... it really makes a difference of who I am today. This is the least I could give back.
I'll try & upload pix soon... internet here is really terrible.
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