5 April 2006

Well, this is my first website posting as an OFFICIAL Peace Corps Volunteer!  We were sworn in on 31 March by the US Ambassador to Zambia.  It was so much fun to see everyone all dressed up in traditional African chitenge dresses & suits (I guess anything is a nice change from dirty trousers, flip flops, & ponytails!)  It was a great day -it's a wonderful feeling to finally be through with training & to be considered an actual volunteer.  The following morning after swear-in (at 5am), all of the new PCVs who have sites in Northern Province piled into a Land Cruiser with everything we own & made the 10-hour drive to Kasama.  That is where I am now, awaiting that defining PC moment when I will be dropped off at my site in the middle of the African bush.  Wish me luck -tomorrow is the big day!

Now for some short scenes from my life over the past couple weeks:

Zambian Sex Ed

About 2 weeks ago PC hosted a special training session on gender/sex-related issues.  The men were separated from the women, and we (the women) were able to ask our female Zambian instructors anything we wanted to know about the topic of sex in Zambia.  The major topics discusses were: dry sex, herbal supplements, labia stretching (it's extremely common, believe it or not), anal/oral sex, homosexuality (fyi: it's illegal), beads (nothing dirty, these are worn around a woman's waist), partner shaving, hot meeting spots for teens, virginity & marriage, the concept of dating (which doesn't really exist here), porn, masturbation, & women's rituals (things they do immediately following sex)... since this is a public site visited by many of my friends, relatives, & colleagues (oh, and mothers of other PCVs), I will not post any details about the discussion.  But, if you are really interested send me a letter & let me know what you'd like me to elaborate on.  It's all very interesting... but thank goodness I grew up in the good 'ole USA!

A Bat Did What?!

This is an excerpt from my journal on 28 March:

Yesterday evening I was served cabbage & a huge fish (yes, tail & all) for supper.  At this point in time I can no longer stomach eating fish (correction -except packaged tuna), so I bypassed that 1/2 of the meal & ate the entire bowl of cabbage that she gave me.  Then around midnight I awoke with the WORST stomach cramps & an emergency trip to the icimbusu (toilet).  I was also really gassy & my burps tasted/smelled like rotten eggs... it was disgusting!  So about 3 or 4 more times during the night I had to pull myself out of bed for mad dashes to the icimbusu.  The rest of the time I basically tossed & turned in bed, wrestling with my stomach cramps & waves of nausea... Then around 2 or 3 am, I was laying on my back trying to fall asleep when I felt a sprinkle on my face -it felt like a light mist that covered my entire face.  I immediately grabbed my headlamp, pointed it at the ceiling, & saw a bat perched directly above me in the rafters... "Oh my God, a bat just pissed on my face!!!"  -yes, I said it out loud!  After rubbing my face for about 20 seconds & thanking God that I didn't have my mouth open at the time, I pulled my wool blanket over my head & went to sleep... yuck.

Oops... I Pooped My Pants?

A continuation of that same journal entry:

...So the next morning I got up feeling exhausted & still burping rotten eggs.  I was beginning to fear that I had giardia (-but it wasn't because I'm better now & another trainee apparently had a similar experience when he ate too much village cabbage).  Anyway, so this morning I explained to my bamaayo (mother) that I was feeling sick & before I left for training she said something to me that I interpreted as "Ba Ellen you are sick.  Take off your trousers."  Of course, I was like "what?!"  So I explained to her that I didn't understand & again, it seemed that she was trying to get me to take off my trousers so that she could maybe wash them... My 1st thought was, "oh my God, I must have pooped my pants!"  So as soon as she walked away, I ran into my bedroom & dropped my pants -no poop!  In fact, there was no poop, no blood, no dirt, no stains, no ANYTHING!  So I'm thinking, "well, maybe my Bemba isn't as good as I thought it was... I wonder what she was trying to tell me."  I pull up my trousers & walk outside where my bataata (father) greets me, then says something like "So Ba Ellen, you are sick?  You need to take off your trousers & put a different pair on."  I clarified with him in English that I was being instructed to change out of my perfectly clean clothes so that bamaayo could wash them...

I have no idea what the issue with my trousers was OR what (if anything) they thought it had to do with my being sick, but when I got home this evening I had a freshly washed pair of trousers waiting for me -Today was a very WEIRD day!

My Bemba Debut

At one point in the swear-in ceremony on 31 March I gave a speech in Bemba -which, by the way, was the most nerve-racking experience of my entire life!  The ceremony began about 3 hours late because we were waiting for our keynote speaker to arrive (apparently he double-booked speaking engagements that day)... so although I had some extra time to rehearse, I seriously thought I was going to pee in my pants when I was asked to approach the podium (my eyes even started to water like I was going to cry.. I was a mess).  There were several reporters/news crews there, so I had 2 microphones & a voice recorder about 3 inches from my chin the entire time.. yeah, that really helped calm me down...

At one point in my presentation the audience had a reaction that I wasn't expecting -I'm not sure if they were laughing or whispering to their neighbors or what -but I got the impression that I must have made a big mistake & I was positive that they were all laughing at what a fool of myself I was making.... So, as soon as swear-in was over I ran to my language instructor & asked him what I said wrong.  He said that it wasn't that I said something wrong, but that I had said something in such a way that everyone was very impressed -if they were laughing, it was because they were "singing my praises" & I should take it as a compliment!  Wow, I wish I would have known that while I was up there speaking because I felt like a total idiot the whole time I was talking... it was painful!

After the ceremony -just as I had swiped my mind clean of all things Bemba & sworn that I wouldn't speak another word of it until I had a stiff drink in my hand -a TV reporter apprached me & another new volunteer to conduct an interview for the local news station!  Oh my gosh, just as I thought I was in the clear I had to suffer through a 20 minute interview about what I'll be doing in my village & how my experience in Zambia differes from my original perceptions of the country -and all in Bemba!  Needless to say, if any of you have the opportunity to tune into ZNBC, I'm the girl who stares blankly into the camera & says something like "I like Zambia.  Zambia is very different from the US.  The food & clothing & culture is different.  The people are nice.  I want to learn Bemba & work with schools..."  I have a feeling that a lot of people are going to assume I'm a 3rd grade dropout instead of someone holding a MA degree.  This is the 1st time I've been really excited abou the fact that I don't have a TV to watch

Last but not least, I want to send a big THANK YOU out to everyone who has supported me during this 1st phase of my PC journey!!! Training was an intense & memorable experience, but the real challenge is just about to begin... please continue to keep my village (Mwelwa) & all of Zambia in your prayers.  Thanks for everything!

I forgot my memory card today, but I will post more photos the next time I get on the internet!!!

Shalenipo,

Erin