Muli shani? (Bemba for “How are you?”). We said this phrase a lot to every passerby. They would get excited that I spoke Bemba and want more, but then I would have to disappoint them. Foreign language is not my forte. Jessica on the other hand, is amazing!

I knew from the moment Jessica heard that she was leaving, that I would need to visit. After almost two years of planning, I finally got to visit Jessica in her homeland =). You have already heard from Kelly about the layout of our trip and how she came to accompany me, so I will fill in a few spots and go in depth on a few experiences we had.

After 27 hours total travel just to get in the country, we finally arrived and I got to hug my long time friend! As you all know, seeing Jessica one or fewer times a year is not nearly enough. I miss her terribly so it was awesome to meet up with her again. We did not arrive in Lusaka until close to midnight so we headed straight to our beds. This was my first experience staying in a hostel and it was definitely not what I expected. Hmm, maybe I am not exactly sure what I expected… maybe a huge, dirty room with a lot of bunk beds and strangers. I didn’t realize that there were more options and great accommodations. Most of the nights we stayed in a hostel on this trip, we had a private 3-bed room. Definitely a great choice for travelers wanting to save money.

One thing you have to know about being in Zambia as a muzungu (white person) is that you pretty much always feel like you are on parade. You can become the center of attention quite easily as well as look like a dollar sign. We learned that unfortunately, many people see white people as money because of non-governmental organizations (NGO). NGO’s go in with the purpose of doing good, but end up being a giant handout of freebies and money. The free resources end up getting depleted quickly and then they want more. Many places in Africa have been targeted with this due to being third world countries. Because this has happened so many times to the people in Africa, many have just come to expect free things from muzungus. Especially in the rural areas.

Of course, we all know that malaria is a huge issue in Zambia. In the past, many families have been given huge quantities of mosquito nets, but not taught the importance of them or how to properly use one. They became fishing nets for a lot of them. In order to have an effective outreach in preventing malaria, it is really important for those who are bringing the mosquito nets to include teaching on it and even installation of it in the home. “Teach a man to fish” was a huge lesson I learned while on this trip.

We spent the first few days in Lusaka (the capital) and did most of our souvenir shopping at the Sunday market before we headed to Kazembe in Luapula province. Our plans in Kazembe were to stay at the orphanage and work with the local clinic to do community health teaching. Our focus was maternal and child health, but first we had to get there. Luckily, Jessica needed to head north to do some things anyway, so she decided to join us for a few days. This was definitely great, because not only did we get to spend more time with her, but she could also help us in the right direction. Buying a bus ticket at the bus station is a trip, let me tell you! The bus station is packed full of people and they all want to give you a taxi ride or sell you a ticket or sell you a watch or a phone case or a citenge or a banana or… (this list could go on forever). It would be quite an overwhelming experience if you didn’t know what you were doing, so thank God for Jessica.

The total bus trip to Kazembe was 15 hours long. The first 20 minutes were great. The three of us got seats on the top level at the front of the bus. We had a great view and leg room and air conditioning, but then they shut the air off. I think they just teased us long enough so we couldn’t get off the bus and catch another. It was quite uncomfortable with the sun beating down on us in the middle of the afternoon, especially for these Iowans who just left 30 degree weather. Once evening came, it cooled off and was more bearable, but still not comfortable to sit in a bus for that long. By the end of our journey though, we were missing that bus ride, because the next three later on in our trip were terrible (more on this later)!

We arrived in Kazembe at 6am Monday, April 1st. That day was spent touring and meeting people at the orphanage. The orphanage is laid out well. They hire nannies from the local village and also raise chickens, goats and ducks. Their goal is to be self-sustaining. At our visit they had 27 children in the orphanage including a three month old named Samuel. He had been brought in two weeks prior weighing in at less than six pounds. I fell in love with that kid instantly. He was a three month old stuck in a newborn’s body. He was gaining weight and showing his personality by the time we met him, but still needed to stay on a strict feeding schedule. To give his main caretaker a break, I offered to watch him all night. I fed him every three hours and I can see how being a mother would be exhausting. It was so completely worth it though to wake up to his smiling face the next morning. It was one of the best birthday presents I could have asked for!

Yes, yes, I got to celebrate my 28th birthday on April 3 in Africa. It was amazing. Kelly and Jessica offered to make me a birthday lunch and when I went in to go eat I got surprised with 27 little kids singing me “Happy Birthday!” They even managed to whip up a cake for me. It looked a little sad and melty after the candles burned down too quickly, but I can’t even describe how delicious it was. I don’t know what Jessica put in that cake, but it was heavenly.

Samuel wishing me a happy birthday!!

While in Kazembe, we gave numerous talks, some even as simple as proper handwashing. We talked with the nannies in the orphanage, a few different groups in two different villages, including a group of traditional midwives. Now there are many things I love about my job, but one of them is that we all have babies the same. For those of you who don’t know, Kelly and I work as labor and delivery nurses at a hospital in Des Moines that mostly serves the underprivileged and underserved. This includes families from all walks of life and all parts of the world. There are many cultural differences, but in the end we all have babies the same way and the bond between mother and child never ceases to amaze me. Where I am getting at here, is that our talk with the midwives was really neat. They haven’t had formal education, they have learned it all through the years actually doing the work. They were all older and have probably seen more deliveries than I have, yet they only know what they have seen and when there are problems, people get infections or die. They are very street smart, but lack some book knowledge. Our talk consisted of a lot of anatomy and just how things work in the female body, but we also wanted to discuss some things that result in death or injury. The leading cause of maternal death in Africa is post partum hemorrhage. Immediately after delivery, mothers are at a greater risk of bleeding. The more babies you have, the more you bleed because your uterus does not go back to normal as quickly. We taught them some things that can be done to help decrease bleeding. By the end, they asked a lot of great questions and seemed to enjoy having us there. We were teaching a man to fish, but in return they taught us many great skills. Back home, we have all these tools to help us in healthcare including: fetal heart monitors, ultrasounds and dopplers. In Kazembe, they have never heard of these things. They use their bare hands to feel the position and gestational age of the baby. They put their ear up to a wooden fetascope that is placed on the women’s abdomen to listen to heart tones. Kelly and I had the opportunity to work alongside these traditional midwives and learn some techniques that will make us better nurses.



Us posing with the traditional midwives. They were cool ladies!

Working with the clinic in Kazembe was a neat experience. They are so overwhelmed with patients and there are just a few of them doing all of the work, but they are good at it. They have asked the government for assistance, but they are told that they are in the same boat as everyone else. They delivered over 1,300 babies in 2012 with only one educated nurse midwife and the rest were volunteer traditional midwives with no formal training. We met some lifelong friends at this clinic and I hope to be able to help them with their equipment and funding in the future.

I keep thinking of so much I can write about, but this is already getting long so I will try to speed it up and hit some of the major things.

On April 10th, we had to say goodbye to all of our new friends and the sweet kids in the orphanage to head back to Lusaka for a couple of days. We would be meeting up with Jessica again since she left a few days after our arrival at Kazembe. This bus ride was not quite as nice as the first. Our 15 hour bus ride was cramped, hot, and I was in the middle of Kelly and a few different people that got on and off and different stops along the way. There was little leg room because of the people sitting and laying on the floor in front of us. I can definitely see why bus accidents in Zambia are deadly.

We stayed in Lusaka until April 12, then took a bus seven hours to Livingstone (where we would be staying the rest of our trip). However, while we were waiting at the hostel for our taxi, we met a guy who claimed to know Dandy Crazy (a Zambian pop star). He said he would also be traveling to Livingstone that day for a concert that was taking place there that night. He even introduced Jessica to the Dandy Crazy’s backup dancers. He offered to get us in to the concert for free later that night. This whole thing was sort of unbelievable so we left wondering if he would actually call us.

The bus ride was again hot and completely uncomfortable, but at least we arrived safely despite the bull that got loose and ran right in front of our bus. By the time we made it to our hostel in Livingstone, we were wiped. The last thing any of us wanted to do was go anywhere, but how many times are you in Africa and get the opportunity to go to a Zampop concert? We couldn’t pass up the opportunity when he actually called us, but we certainly weren’t going to get dressed up for it. I seriously wore a t-shirt and sweatpants because I felt so lazy and Jessica vowed not to change out of her tank top and yoga capris.

Ok, so I am about to tell you all a story that will be very hard to believe and harder to believe yet because we have no pictures to prove any of it. Jessica warned us that Livingstone is full of pick-pocketers that thrive off the tourists, so to not bring anything along and that includes your phone/camera. So off we go, with this guy we met that knows Dandy Crazy and is going to be getting us into the concert for free. However, on the way, Jessica notices that he is not going the right way toward the event. She asks where we are going and he responds that we are going to pick up Dandy Crazy! We were in shock! This began as us getting in to a concert for free, but now we were picking up the star!

Before we knew it, we were sitting in the back of the van with Dandy Crazy and five of the most beautiful Zambian women all dressed up for the event. Now, just keep in mind… I am in my sweatpants and haven’t showered in two days. I was immediately regretting my laziness when I found myself as part of the entourage. We drove through this locked gate into this huge crowd all awaiting the arrival of Dandy Crazy. It was completely surreal. People looking in through the windows and trying to open the doors. Oh my goodness. Then we hear the announcement and the doors open and we are supposed to get out. Ummmm, I’m in my sweatpants! One by one, each of the beautiful Zambian women get out, then it’s our turn. The muzungus in all our glory and filth! We definitely got some looks! Then we were led to a VIP section where we spent the rest of the night enjoying our first, free Zampop event. Just another day in the life of Jessica. This kind of stuff happens to her all the time!

Since discussions began about me visiting Jessica in Zambia, we had decided that we were going to bungee jump at Victoria Falls. We had gone skydiving together back in the states a few years ago so we thought we could endure this together as well. It was the end of the rainy season so the water was at its highest. The day before our planned jump, we watched some other jumpers. I’m not sure if this freaked me out more or not. I had been experiencing quite a bit of anxiety just while thinking about the jump and actually looking at exactly what I would be doing was terrifying.

Finally, the day had arrived. On April 14, we made our way to the falls. Not only would we be bungee jumping, but also gorge swinging and zip lining. We started with the easiest one first. Kelly, Jess and I zip lined from Zambia to Zimbabwe, then trekked up to the bridge to prepare for our jumps; however, once we got there, Kelly would be taking over as photographer. She was brave enough to zip line but not dumb enough to jump off a bridge! The bungee jump was extremely scary from beginning to end. I think I hesitated right before I jumped because instead of jumping out three meters into a dive I bent my knees and kind of fell over the edge. Because of my poor jump, I ended up going under the bridge for longer than expected. This is why Kelly thought I was a goner when they pulled up the empty hoist from the jumper ahead of me at just the right time =). Hanging upside down under a rushing river was very distracting. Thrilling, but absolutely terrifying. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to jump off the bridge a second time after that, but I sure did!

The gorge swing was a much different experience. You jump off the bridge right side up and fall 111 meters into a full blown swinging motion. The fall is way more intense than the bungee, but once you were swinging, it was indescribable. Beauty I will never forget. That I would do again, the bungee- ehhhh, not so sure.



Ready? Set? Jump!



Don’t fall in!!

Definitely something I had to do while visiting Africa was go on safari! Jessica is no stranger to animals, so she was fun to have around and point things out. Our safari guide got a kick out of her knowledge! We saw so many wild animals and they were literally inches away from us. A very, very cool experience. And again, it’s just another day in the life of Jessica so, of course (while we were on lunch break) why wouldn’t a French couple randomly break out a tight rope and start juggling? Each of us got a chance to try our skills at tight roping. It was a lot of fun and not quite as easy as it looks.


One of our French friends killin’ it on the tightrope.

Ugh, have I written enough? Are you all awake? I know that I am super blessed to have made this trip to visit Jessica on her amazing journey, so I wanted to share as much as I could with those of you who won’t get this opportunity. Jessica is doing amazing things there and fits right in. I heard several Zambians refer to her as being a Zambian now. They are proud to have her in their country and community. I mentioned that I miss her like crazy, but she belongs in Africa! At least for now.

P.S. By the way, the last bus ride back to Lusaka to catch our plane was just as hot and sticky and uncomfortable as the rest! Even though this trip totaled 6 days of travel, 4 on bus and 2 on plane, this was totally worth it! Thanks for accommodating us and for showing us a great time, Jessica! You’re a great hostess.

-Michelle

Fun facts since I have last updated you all:

-I have been SO lucky to have a bunch of friends from back home visit me!
-I got to see a leopard on safari, which was a first for me. And it was AMAZING.
-I got electrocuted. And I don’t mean a minor shock. I mean I got ELECTROCUTED. It was pretty awful and for the next couple of weeks I kept making Michelle use her stethoscope to check my heart rhythm to make sure it wasn’t out of whack, lol.
-I checked another thing off my bucket list and bungee jumped!! And it was through and through the most terrifying thing I have ever done. Then I climbed back up the bridge and jumped off again to do the gorge swing! So. Awesome.
-I had my first allergic reaction, and it caused me to break out in the worst case of hives imaginable. After being bedridden for 2 days, I got a shot in the booty and washed all my clothes and they went away. Apparently I’m quite allergic to the laundry soap that was used on my clothes last.

In other news, I HAVE A NEW ASSIGNMENT!! I am now based in Copperbelt province, which is where all the big copper mines are in the country. I will be living in a small mining town about 15km outside of Kitwe, which is the 2nd biggest city in Zambia, after Lusaka. I just spent some time up there looking for a place to live and getting acquainted with everything. Finding a place was much more difficult than anticipated, but in one afternoon of desperation, (aka aimlessly walking the streets asking people if they know of any places available for rent) I found the perfect place. It is in a safe compound, in a safe part of town, with lots of space and a great landlord. I officially move in in a couple weeks! So crazy that I am going from living in a hut in the village to a 3 bedroom flat with electricity and running water! I started getting involved in some of the work I will be doing, and I think I am really going to like it. Plus, after only being in Kitwe for 24 hours, I met a great group of ex-pats who invited me out for a BBQ and fishing all weekend. Even though there aren’t many Peace Corps Volunteers on the Copperbelt (After I move here, there will be 3 in the entire province) I feel like I will have no shortage of friends and people to hang out with.

So I am sure you are all asking, “What exactly are you doing over there in the Copperbelt??” The answer is so ridiculous, sometimes I feel like I need to pinch myself to make sure I am not dreaming. Essentially, I will be managing a national park from the ground up. Yeah, I know. Unbelievable.

There is a place called Chembe Bird Sanctuary on the Copperbelt, which is recognized as a national park in Zambia. It is a small, beautiful piece of land which has never really been managed before. The Wildlife and Environmental Conservation Society of Zambia is in charge of the area, but due to lack of manpower and resources, they have been very limited in what they can do with it. As a result, poaching has become a severe problem, and Chembe is not fulfilling its potential. It could be turned into a beautiful place for Zambians to go on the weekends for camping, BBQing, and sustainable fishing. As it is, people are just going in and exploiting the resources there. Having a Peace Corps Volunteer work with Chembe is perfect because they need someone around full time to work towards reviving the park, and they don’t have to pay me a salary As they put it to me, “You are starting with a dead park. We need you to revive it.” This is going to be an amazing experience for me, and I am going to learn so much… I feel so lucky to have this opportunity fall into place! Where else would I be given an opportunity like this?? This is huge.

So, my Peace Corps contract ends October 18, 2013. I will be applying to extend that contract, either for 6 months or a year. Not sure how long I will be here yet, I won’t find out for sure until July. I just know that I need to dedicate some time to this project and do what I can to revive this park, as well as learn as much as possible from this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Africa is a tough place to leave.

Hello fellow friends and loves of Jessica. Jess asks all Zam visitors to submit a guest blog, so here goes nothing…
I actually met Jessica through Michelle. Michelle and I work together as RN’s in the Family Birthing Unit at Broadlawns in Des Moines. It had always been a dream of mine to do volunteer work abroad, my eyes were set on either India or Africa. During a slow shift at work, Michelle mentioned an upcoming trip she was planning to visit her friend in Zambia. She was wanting a travel buddy and had yet to find one. Her plan was to incorporate some service work into her trip because she has been on missions in the past and they are a passion of hers. It was a no brainer that we should take on this adventure together…the wheels were set into motion.


Over the next few months of planning via Facebook Chat and email, Jessica and I became friends. I felt as if I knew her well even before stepping off the plane in Lusaka. I’m sure this doesn’t surprise any of you at all. That’s just Jessica.


Michelle and I planned a 3.5 week stay in Zambia. Half of the time staying and volunteering at an orphanage in Kazembe and doing clinic work (a contact Jessica had made for us) , the other half would be spent experiencing Africa with our favorite AmZam <= part American, part Zambian, Jess.


Our first days in Lusaka were spent exchanging money, purchasing bus tickets, and dipping our toes in the culture. It was evident right away that Jessica loves Zambia. Her enthusiasm translated into a crash course in food, friends, Peace Corps and beyond; and FUN, we were eventually part of a Zambian pop stars entourage! 


As fate would have it, Jessica was not yet settled into her new Peace Corp post, so she was able to spend a few days with us in Kazembe at the orphanage before returning to Lusaka. I won't go into great detail about our time in Kazembe. What I will tell you is that it forever changed my life. The disparities in income and resources are indescribable, and yet, despite their challenges, Zambians are kind, happy, and welcoming. Twenty traditional midwives traveled from 16 different villages to talk with Michelle and I about maternal health. Not because they had to, or were being paid to, but because they WANTED to. They were gracious and receptive; this was a highlight of my experience.


Luapula province, which is where Jess had been posted, is BEAUTIFUL country. The clinical officer and nurse midwife from the clinic we worked with invited us to Braai (bbq) at some waterfalls before we left Kazembe. The falls are nearly untouched there. Parking spaces are marked with boulders, there are no guard rails, and visitors may swim in the falls at their own risk. AND WE DID! It was amazing!! They also hosted us to their church and had us to their home for a traditional Zambian meal. Friendships are valued in Zambia and we were blessed to form many.


After wrapping up our service, and bidding a tearful farewell to the babes at Kazembe Orphanage, we set off to see what the Southern Province had to offer. Livingstone is home to Victoria Falls, one of the 7 natural wonders of the world. No cliches, it is AWE INSPIRING. I was literally moved to tears by the power of it. Jess and Michelle had a different reaction to its power, they were inspired to jump 111 meters, not once but TWICE, off the bridge over the Zambezi. For a split second I thought I had lost my friend to the water, it was terrifying without the thrill! Check Michelle’s blog for details.


No trip to Africa is complete without a safari, so we skipped the border to Botswana for another experience of a lifetime. Chobe National Park Highlights: Waking up to lions roaring at 3am with nothing separating you but a tent, being arms length from an African elephant, tight rope walking with a couple from France (yes, you read that right), and of course, watching a dung beetle roll a dung ball.


At the end of our trip I found myself not wanting to leave. Africa has a way of seeping into you and making you a part of the landscape. I completely understand Jessica’s love of this wild yet peaceful place, you can feel that she is a part of it when you're around her. Jess recently posted a quote that wraps up my African experience… "If you only visit two continents in your lifetime, visit Africa – twice" -R. Elliot


Don't mind if I do, see you again in October 2013. <3

I promise to blog soon with plenty of exciting updates, but I wanted to take a quick time out and talk about an important issue here in Africa.

It seems that when people back home think about what issues people face in Africa, the big things that come to mind are HIV/AIDS, poverty, malnutrition, etc. People in America are aware of the existence of Malaria, but how much do you really know about it? Because Malaria doesn’t exist in the United States, there is a disconnect for us Americans when we talk about it. We don’t have to worry about it. We don’t have to worry that our children may die before the age of 5 because of malaria, or that our baby will be stillborn because we contracted malaria during pregnancy. Before I came to Zambia I didn’t know much about Malaria aside from the basics; it is caused by mosquitos, it makes you really sick, and I never want to have it.

Unfortunately Malaria can often be deadly, and due to the high occurrence of Malaria here in Africa, the number of deaths from it annually is staggering. The World Health Organization estimates that there were 1.2 million deaths from Malaria worldwide in 2010. Over 90% of those deaths were in Africa. Over 90%!! In Zambia alone last year, there were 4.2 million cases of Malaria, resulting in upwards of 8,000 deaths. Let me also mention that the population of Zambia sits at a little less than 13.5 million. For a country with a population that small to have such a high number of Malaria cases is terrifying.

The Zambia page on the UNICEF website (http://www.unicef.org/zambia/5109_8454.html) says that Malaria causes 35-50% of mortality in children under five years and 20% of maternal mortality. Of all the people who die of Malaria in Zambia, 50% or more are children under 5.

Malaria is both preventable and treatable. The problem lies in accessibility. Some people live massive distances from health clinics with no method of transportation, others can’t afford insecticide-treated mosquito nets to sleep under. In recent years, funding for combating Malaria has increased exponentially thanks to several organizations worldwide, and the results have been extremely positive. However, we still have a long way to go.

Peace Corps has created an initiative called Stomping out Malaria in Africa which uses strategic partnerships, targets training Volunteers and intelligent use of information technology to support the local malaria prevention efforts of over 3,000 Volunteers in sub-Saharan Africa. Malaria IS preventable, so let’s work together to STOMP IT OUT!!! I encourage you to think about what you can do to raise awareness about Malaria, and to help make our world 100% Malaria free.

For more information go to http://www.stompoutmalaria.org and follow Stomp activities at http://www.facebook.com/StompOutMalaria.

These kids should NOT have to worry about Malaria!

Hello friends and family of Jessica!  Jessica requested that all people who visit her write a guest entry on her Mudhut blog.  I returned from Zambia on February 14 so that makes me a little late in getting this posted, but better late than never so here goes:

My trip to Zambia was 2.5 weeks long and it was definitely a whirlwind vacation where we travelled from the northern-most point in Zambia to the southern-most point.  I flew in to Lusaka on January 26, and despite a slight hiccup in coordinating my pick-up time from the airport, my trip to visit Jessica hit the ground running.  Now, Jessica was technically in limbo at this time with her site placement so we were just a couple of nomads traveling around Zambia together.  Our first night we spent in Lusaka at a hostel and I was lucky enough to meet a ton of Peace Corps volunteers right away.  Most of the Peace Corps volunteers are generally what you would stereotypically expect:  open-minded, free spirited, incredibly welcoming, and a ton of fun.  I was immediately accepted as one of the group simply because I was a friend of Jessica’s, and I could happily sit all day listening to Jessica exchange crazy Zambia stories with her fellow colleagues.  There was definitely a learning curve to keep up with the various acronyms and slang used literally constantly.  For those of you going to visit her, here’s a quick crash course:  RAP  (aka rappers: Jessica’s placement working with fish farming), CHIP  (aka chippers: the health care volunteers), RED (aka reds: the education volunteers), LIFE (aka lifers:  the agriculture/environmental development volunteers), COS (close of service- or when people get to go home), and PCVL (the person that lives at the province houses and looks after the house and volunteers).  This is just a very small taste of the acronyms used.  There’s also tons of Zam-slang.  They basically just put Zam on the front of anything and it indicates that it’s not the typical version of the word that we’re used to.  Some examples include; Zam-bag, Zam-pop, Zam-text, etc.  But aside from the initial struggle to understand all the Peace Corps slang, it’s incredible to hear about what these people go through and see on a daily basis.  Being trapped in a hut by an 8 foot mamba snake, carrying a bike for miles (or kilometers) on a hot African day because of a flat tire, hitchhiking in the back of a truck full of farm animals, and spending several days in the hospital with crazy African illnesses were all unsurprising occurrences in these people’s lives.  I am not joking when I say that there are endless stories of things many of us cannot imagine living through that have become quite normal for Peace Corps volunteers. 

The next portion of our trip took us up north to Mbala and Mpulungu in northern Zambia to meet up with more Peace Corps volunteers, do some site seeing, and relax by a big beautiful lake, Lake Tanganyika (Lake Tang).  We started this trip hitchhiking.   Hitchhiking is something that has become quite commonplace and boring for Jessica, but being from America where hitchhiking is no longer safe and having never experienced it before, I was sooooooooooo excited to hitchhike for the first time!  I will admit that spending several hours on the side of the road waving your arm like a hula dancer at every car that passes can get a little boring (no, you don’t stick out your thumb when you Zam-hitch), but in general it was pretty exciting.  There was also a learning curve when it came to hitching in Zambia.  Rule number 1: you only hitch the good cars like BMW’s, Land Rovers, Cruisers, etc. while avoiding the slow and uncomfortable rides like semi’s, open-bed trucks, and packed cars.  After all, 2 white chicks hitching on the side of the road in rural Africa still need to maintain some standards!!  Rule number 2: know the sign language.  If someone twirls their finger in a circle it means “they are just staying within” (or just saying around town), if someone shakes their hand back and forth palm up it means there is nothing they can do for you, if they flash their lights it means they see you but probably aren’t going to stop to pick you up.  Rule number 3: don’t get disappointed when white drivers and women drivers NEVER pick you up.  Rule number 4: if a person is not going to charge you any money to ride in their car you are required to carry on a conversation with them and provide entertainment to them.  Needless to say, Jessica was an excellent hitcher.  Whenever we got a car to pull over she’d quickly run up to the car and start speaking to them in excellent Bemba and they would immediately start laughing and be delighted that a random white girl in rural Zambia knows a local language.  Now don’t let her fool you with modesty, her Bemba is actually pretty incredible and she is able to carry on decently long conversations with people and understand quite a bit.  This entertainment at her language skills certainly made people more likely to give us free hitches.

We spent a good deal of time up in Northern Province.  We had some fun-filled nights in Mbala where we watched the exciting Zambian football match against Burkina Faso in the African cup.  Unfortunately they tied, which meant they were eliminated from the tournament, but it was great to see how EVERYONE dressed up and cheered on Chipolopolo (the Zambian football team).  Before the match people would be walking down the streets yelling, “CHIPOLOPOLOOOOOO,” and after the match there were literally people crying with disappointment.  We also visited Jessica’s Peace Corps friend Mikaela’s village and spent the night in her hut.  Then we traveled up to Lake Tang in Mpulungu and enjoyed several beautiful and relaxing days by the water.

We didn’t exactly have a set-in-stone plan for our travels, but one thing that I was certain I wanted to do was go to her village.  It was pretty important to me to see the place that she had spent the bulk of her time thus far and had caused her to fall in love with Zambia.  It was important particularly since she was going to be removed from her placement and I was probably going to be the only person from home that would be able to see it.  Despite being a “safety and security” risk, Peace Corps agreed to let us go there and stay the night as long as we hired a local villager to sleep outside the hut as a guard.  We packed up our overnight bags and some food (and a cheap bottle of wine) and hired a taxi to take us from Mansa to her village.  As we drove down the road to her ka-small-hut, children along the way recognized her and word quickly spread that BaJessica was back.  No those were not typos: they put Ba on the front of people’s names and they put ka (which means small in Bemba) on the front of anything that is small but they also still use small in the descriptor…  I don’t totally understand it, but that’s just a Zam-thing.  I am not exaggerating when I say that as we approached her hut literally 30 children came running along the dirt paths to greet her and began playing games for hours in her front yard.  She was basically the Pied Piper of small adorable poor African village kids.  If there was any question in anyone’s mind as to whether or not it was a good idea for Jessica to join the Peace Corps let me now expel any doubts:  Jessica was MADE to do this!  I have never seen her more in her element.  These villagers absolutely love her and the kids know that Jessica’s yard is a fun and safe place to play without fear of getting yelled at and kicked out.  The kids were fighting over who would do her dishes and go to fetch her water.  It nearly brought tears to my eyes watching her communicate with her village children who spoke little-to-no English, but they had found ways to completely understand each other.  It was absolutely clear that they all adore Jessica!  We danced, played soccer (those kids are incredible), jumped rope (which was nothing like our version of jump rope), and played rounders (a somewhat altered version of kickball).  

I also had the opportunity to meet a 16 year old boy in her village named Few Days (because at birth he was only expected to live a “few days”).  This boy had taken Jessica’s presence in his village as a learning opportunity to improve his English.  Apparently when she first arrived in her village he had somewhat limited English skills.  Jessica said he had come over almost every day when he was not away at school and he would ask question after question to improve his English as much as possible.  She told me that they had once had a very long talk about the meaning of the phrase “how have you been?” because he had never understood what that meant.  I noticed that when he came up to her hut while we were there he immediately asked, “BaJessica, how have you been?”  I talked with him for quite some time and his English was incredible!  Jessica told me that he would not have been able to carry on that conversation just over a year ago.  It was great to see that she’s made a real impact on this boy’s education, and he was definitely putting it into practice.  Yes, Jessica was assigned to her village to teach fish farming and I heard many of her fellow Peace Corps “rappers” express their frustrations at the slow progress of developing that industry, but it was clear to me that she is doing much more than just building some ponds with fish.  She’s teaching and sharing cultural exchange 24 hours a day with these people! 

Our time in the village was full of excitement for me!  Though it had become pretty run-of-the-mill for Jessica, I was thrilled at the novelty of cooking over coals, showering out of a bucket, and even peeing in a hole in the ground!  It’s all just a part of her village life and it’s incredible what has become normal for her.  Nothing in the village is easy or fast.  You realize how much we rely on technology in our daily lives, and clean definitely becomes a relative term when you are surrounded by bugs and orange dirt at all times! 

Unfortunately, there was a bit of a black cloud on our visit to her village.  When we arrived, we noticed that one of her windows had been broken into and that some things from her hut had been stolen.  This meant that safety and security was even more of a problem and we certainly couldn’t spend the night because of the risk it could potentially pose to both of us.  It was heart-wrenching to watch her tell her villagers that neither she, nor any other Peace Corps volunteer, would be coming back to the village and see her pack up the majority of her remaining belongings from her hut to take back to Mansa.  You could visibly see that her village head man was upset and didn’t fully understand why she couldn’t continue to live there.  I had become completely attached and in love with all her adorable village kids after spending only 5-6 hours there so I could only imagine the attachment she felt after knowing them for over a year.  It was sad to think that she may never see many of these children again, and it’s unfortunate that the selfish acts of a few people in her village will now make it so no one there will be able to benefit from the work of the Peace Corps.   

Despite the sad moments in her village, we had to pack up and finish the rest of our fun-filled travel in Zambia.  We decided to take a bus back down to Lusaka to ensure that we arrived at a decent time because Jessica needed to finish up studying for her GRE and take the test on that Saturday.  I’m certain that she rocked it, and immediately after she finished her test we hopped on a bus to Livingstone!  It was a perfect way to wrap up the trip.  We spent time with some more very fun and very welcoming Peace Corps volunteers.  Plus there was beautiful site seeing- I’d highly highly recommend seeing Victoria Falls during rainy season!  I’ve never seen anything quite like it; absolutely massive and beautiful.  We also did a cheetah walk where we literally pet and walked cheetahs (check out Jessica’s Facebook for some sweet pictures!).  Certainly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. 

Jessica was a perfect tour guide and it was truly a gift to see what her life is like in Zambia.  I don’t think I’ve ever had more fun, laughed so hard, or seen such amazing things in my life.  I hope many more of you get a chance to visit her! 

Take care, and send her some Velveeta cheese!

Abby Richards

Hitchhiking on a rainy day!!

Lake Tanganyika!

SOAKED to the bone at Victoria Falls from all the spray!

….No caption needed.

It has been a long time since my last post, but only because there isn’t much to report. Same old same old, just playing the waiting game.

The good news is, I had a meeting with an organization last week which went well. With any luck, I should be moving and settling into a new assignment within the next couple of weeks. I’ll keep mum on the details until everything is official, but I think this could be a really great opportunity!

Lucky for me, Abby’s visit happened while I have been in limbo! We had a great time traveling ALL over Zambia, and shared a lot of laughs and memories. Now that my partner in crime is back in the states, I will be heading up to the training site this week to start training the brand new group of newbies that flew in almost 2 weeks ago. It will give me something to do until the details with my new assignment fall into place.

I found Cain a new home with some awesome missionaries who live about 15k from my village, and they told me that she gave birth to 5 kittens earlier this month. I miss her terribly, but I know that this is a way better situation for her.

That’s about all there is to report…

Stay tuned for a special blog post coming soon

In my meeting, I expressed my desire to return to my village. I am so attached to my home and the people that I interact with every day, the idea of leaving so suddenly is unwelcome. The staff I talked with understood, and we agreed that I could go back to the village as long as we hired a guard to watch over my house during the night. Satisfied with this outcome, I boarded a plane the next day for a vacation to Europe!!

I met my friend Abby in Paris for a 2 week trip to Paris, Rome, Venice, Barcelona, and Madrid. We had an AMAZING time!! We arrived in Paris in the morning of Dec. 16, and took off immediately to see the sites. We had a great day wandering through Paris, going to the top of the eiffel tower at sunset, eating delicious food and drinking plenty of wine. Abby got a crepe from a street vendor (an obvious must in Paris) and we walked through the streets that were all decorated for the holidays with thousands of lights and Christmas trees. We went to bed at a reasonable hour, because the next day we had to catch a flight to ROME!!

We were beyond excited to visit Rome, and when we landed we checked into our hostel and immediately set off for some lunch (and more wine) and afterwards found our way to the Trevi fountain. Ok, I’ll admit it. I had no idea what the Trevi fountain was. Abby was pretty appalled that I had no idea what it was, but when I saw it I realized I had seen it a few times in movies and pictures before. Apparently it is one of the most famous fountains in the world… my bad. Tradition holds that if you throw a coin in the fountain, you are ensured a trip back to Rome. As Abby and I both tossed our coins in the fountain, I was also told that a second and third coin would mean you would marry a Roman. I went ahead and threw a few extra coins in there, just to cover all my bases

The next day we spent the day at the Vatican, which was incredible! We learned a TON of history, and it was all incredibly fascinating. We got to see the Sistine Chapel, and learned about the hidden meanings of Michelangelo’s paintings on the ceiling and back wall. It was surreal to learn all of this history and then go in and SEE the real thing ourselves! I didn’t realize that is Sistine Chapel was also where the next Pope gets chosen from- when a Pope dies the Catholic big wigs lock themselves in there until a new Pope is chosen. We also went into St. Peter’s Basilica, which was amazing. Nothing about the Vatican disappoints, everything is absolutely stunning. 

The next day, it was time to check something off my life’s bucket list: the Colosseum. I have wanted to see this piece of history since I was a kid, and actually standing there next to it was such a crazy feeling! It’s true, I was close to shedding a tear or two, but I pulled it together.  The United States is such a young country, our history is so fresh. Standing next to this building that was built from 72-80A.D… absolutely incredible. We just don’t have that kind of history back home!

The way ancient Rome and modern Rome are melded together absolutely blows my mind. You can be on a busy street with lots of traffic, and look to your left and see these ruins from thousands of years ago standing next to a local coffee shop or bank. Everything is mixed together, I have never experienced anything like it before. Driving by a 2,000 year old building laced with an incredible history on your way to work? No big deal. We also took a tour of the Roman Forum, which was basically the heart of ancient Rome, and the very spot that Rome was founded. Absolutely beautiful.

Needless to say, Abby and I loved Rome. We could have easily spent another week there, but we had plenty more to do and see on our trip, so we jumped a train for a quick stop in Venice!

Venice is so unique, and we spent our day literally getting lost in the maze of streets and canals that make up the city. There are no cars or motorcycles, the only kind of motor we saw the entire time we were there was attached to a boat. Venice also has some of the best shops we saw during our trip! We couldn’t resist plenty of window shopping, and every little shop was different from the last. For dinner, we ate at a picturesque little restaurant along the main canal where Abby got her seafood fix, and I had some delicious pasta… (and wine, of course).

Next stop was Barcelona, where we were saying goodbye to hostels and trying out couchsurfing for the first time. Couchsurfing is a website that connects travelers to locals who are willing to open up their homes to people passing through. We decided to give it a try, and found a host in Barcelona to stay with for a couple days. We got lucky for our first couchsurfing experience, and stayed with a great guy who took us out with all of his friends to truly experience Spanish culture. We ate tapas, met tons of really great people, and stayed out til the wee hours of the morning. We ended up getting invited to our host’s family Christmas, so we had a very memorable Christmas as “foster children” of this big, Spanish family. Barcelona was definitely the most difficult city to leave, and we made some great friendships while we were there… but Madrid was calling us!

We also couchsurfed in Madrid, and stayed with some other international guys who were living in Madrid. One from Peru, Brazil, and UK. Our stay in Madrid was shorter, but Madrid is a beautiful city and we explored all the must-see’s as well as checked out a great art museum filled with Picassos. Spain. Was. Amazing.

That brings us back to Paris. We had one more day in Paris before Abby flew to Uganda for a month, and I flew back to Zambia. We were feeling thoroughly lazy on this last day, and didn’t do much of anything… which is exactly how we wanted it. Our trip to Europe was amazing, and I am so glad I let her talk me into going. Definitely worth it

When I got back to Zambia, it was back to reality for me. I rang in the new year with some friends, and then got a call to head into the Peace Corps office to meet with some staff members again. When I got there, I was told that they had ended up deciding that I should not return to my site after all. It was determined that it was just too much of a risk since this crazy man was still on the loose since the police let him go. Disappointed, I headed back to Mansa to get things in order. To be honest, there was still a part of me thinking that we should have given this one more chance. If anything happened or this guy bothered me again, then at that point I should be pulled out permanently. However, yesterday I went with Peace Corps to my site to talk to my counterpart and community about things, and we were told that the man has come by my house several times. He has also been acting aggressive towards my counterpart, using foul language and chewing him out whenever he sees him because he blames him for me not being around. This indicated to me that this behavior would not stop, and that it really is not safe for me to be in my community anymore. As sad as I am, I am glad that I was at least given this bit of closure. Now I feel better about not going back, because I can see that it just wouldn’t be safe as long as this man is around. 

So, Peace Corps is now looking into alternative assignments for me. I don’t anticipate that anything will happen for several weeks unfortunately, so to avoid sitting around the office all day, I will be helping to train the new fisheries volunteers for a week in Lusaka. Also, Abby is coming to Zambia at the end of this month, so that will be a welcome distraction. We won’t have my village to hang out in as originally planned, but we are going to spend some time in a friend’s village and see some beautiful parts of Zambia in the process. Hopefully by my next blog, I will be able to report where I will be heading for the remaining 9 months of my service. Cross your fingers it is somewhere awesome

P.S.- Abby has literally all of the pictures we took in Europe, so when she gets to Zambia I will get them from her and, assuming I can get fast enough internet, post some. 

After I landed back in Lusaka, I traveled back up to Luapula and headed back to my village. I was warmly greeted by my community, and spent a lovely 5 days getting settled back in and catching up with people in my village. On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, I had to go back into Mansa to attend the bi-annual provincial meetings. When I returned to my village that Friday, I found that my outdoor dish drying rack (made of local materials) had been smashed, and my mud brick oven in my outdoor cooking shelter had been damaged. When I asked what had happened, no one really gave me a straight answer. I just shrugged it off and figured some kids were horsing around and broke some stuff.

The next day, my counterpart came and I showed him the damage to my things. He said he wasn’t sure what happened, but that he would go find out. Later that evening, he came back with some bad news.

Just as a quick back story, there has been a somewhat mentally unstable man in the village next to mine who has been causing some issues with me since May or June. I have gone to the village headman about him, and other steps had been taken, but recently things have escalated.

Apparently, the damage that was done to my drying rack and oven was done by this man. He also had apparently tried to break into my house but was seen by one of my neighbors and chased away.

My counterpart told me this, and then said that this man is now declaring that he will come and burn down my house while I am sleeping. Since my roof is made of grass, that is all too easy to do. Not only that, but this man has a history of burning down houses – he has done it twice before. My counterpart recognized that I was in potentially serious danger, and advised that I needed to leave immediately.

So, I called Peace Corps and within 45 mins a cruiser arrived to take me away. I was heartbroken and bawling as I haphazardly threw anything valuable into my bags. I grabbed my kitty and anything that I REALLY didn’t want to be burned, and left.

For the past 10 days or so, I have just been in limbo. We arrested the man, but due to the incredibly broken Zambian justice system, he was released a few days later. There is talk of possibly going back to my site with a guard, or else getting pulled out permanently. I really have no idea what will happen at this point. I have a meeting later this month to determine what the future holds for me here.

Luckily, I have been able to keep busy and keep my mind off of what is happening. I recently went with some friends to the only private game park in Zambia, Kasanka. Every year, the biggest mammal migration in the world (BATS!) essentially headquarters there. When we went, there were an estimated 10 million bats, and at dawn and dusk each day you could see them just filling the sky. It was such an amazing experience! In addition to bats, we got to see elephants, hippos, crocs, tons of antelope, and some really amazing birds. It was a blast! Afterwards, a friend of mine from another province came up to visit Luapula for a few days which was awesome.

My super amazing friend Abby managed to talk me into spending Christmas in Europe this year. I’ll meet her over there for 2 weeks and see Italy, Spain, and Paris. Then she is heading to Uganda for a month long medical school rotation, and then will come over to Zambia to visit me for about 3 weeks. I am really looking forward to spending some time with her, and the timing really couldn’t be better since I can’t even go back to my village right now. It will give me something to do rather than just sit around the Mansa Peace Corps office like a bum.

I hope everyone is having a lovely holiday season back home. Even with all this drama and uncertainty, I am still happy here in Zambia and keeping optimistic. And if you are just dying *wink wink* to send me a package, here are some fresh package ideas

-Hummus
-Applesauce
-Pudding
-Pecans/Almonds
-Mac and Cheese (obviously.)

And anything else already on the list to the right —> or whatever else you think would be great to have over in Africa!

I’ll leave you with my favorite photo from the bat migration… the photo doesn’t do the actual experience justice, but I still love this picture!

Miss and love you all.

After Mid-terms, I only had about 4 days until I flew out to America, so instead of traveling all the way back up to Mansa just to turn around and come back, a couple friends and I went to Livingstone for the weekend. I had never been, and I think I was one of the last people in my intake to make it there! Livingstone is the big tourist draw to Zambia, the location of Victoria Falls. We had a great time hanging out with other international travelers! A friend of mine went bungee jumping off the bridge near Victoria Falls which straddles Zambia and Zimbabwe. It is the 3rd tallest bungee in the world, and I WILL do it before I leave! It was really fun to watch him jump though, talk about terrifying! We also went to view the falls, but since it was the height of dry season, they were almost totally dry. It was really strange to see, but still so impressive. I will be back several more times in my service during rainy season, so I will get to see the falls throughout the seasons.

After Livingstone we headed back to Lusaka, from where my friends went back to their provinces and I hopped a plane to America! I had a great visit! I was able to see tons of family and friends, including my 2 nephews Andrew and Jaxon who were born during my time in Zambia. I spent time with great people, ate great food, and drank great beer. It was so fun to go back home!

After entirely too many days of traveling, and the worst hitching luck ever, I am finally back in Mansa. I plan on heading back to my village early tomorrow morning. Unfortunately I have provincial meetings next week starting Tuesday, so I won’t be back for long before I have to leave again. I can’t wait to sleep in my own hut again though!

Yep. Sure is.

In July I went to the Mutomboko festival, which is one of the bigger traditional festivals in Zambia, which happens right here in Luapula province. It honors Chief Kazembe and the ancestors of the Lunda people who crossed the Luapula river from Congo to settle in this area. It was pretty much just sheer insanity. There were thousands of people there, and terrible crowd control, which made it all the more fun. At one point I was right in the middle of this massive crowd of people running to catch a glimpse of the chief, and it is really a miracle I didn’t get trampled. It was cool to experience a traditional African festival, with costumes, dancing, drumming, body paint, etc. No, I don’t have pictures, but I will try to get some and post them. Eventually. I think by now you should all know how bad I am at posting photos. Sorry, Mom.

However, to cheer you up a bit, here are a few of my favorite pictures from Malawi! Better late than never, right?

Nevermind. I just spent an hour trying to upload 5 pictures, which ended in a massive fail. When I am back in the states for my visit I will try to post some. Decent internet will be mind blowing. By the way, I’ll be back in Iowa in 5 1/2 weeks… not that I’m counting or anything