After 11 weeks of long days of walking or biking 6 to 15 km, listening or speaking Tonga, sitting through lectures on HIV/AIDS, Malaria, Safety and Security, or Peace Corps policies, and learning all there is to know about Aquaculture and Fish Farming, I am now officially a Peace Corps Volunteer.
On Friday, October 5, 2012, at the home of the U.S. Ambassador of Zambia in Lusaka, 63 Fish and Chip trainees swore in to start their two-year service in Peace Corps Zambia. We are now all beginning our journey as aquaculture and health volunteers.
After a quick trip to Manda Hill Mall to purchase certain items for our sites that are only found in Lusaka, we returned last night to the hotel for one final night all together before we took off to different provinces and villages. Early this morning at 6 AM the cruisers arrived to load all of our gear and luggage and head out on the road for long or short rides across Zambia.
With one cruiser, one trailer and one SUV, nine Tongas loaded up and we all headed south for the quick 5-hour drive to Choma in Southern Province. After a quick stop for samosas, foccocia bread and cold drinks in Mazabuka at Bethlehem Bakery, we were welcomed in Choma by other volunteers and enjoyed a restful day at the Provincial House.
This week will be filled with SHOPPING! We all much purchase our water tubs and buckets, braziers, pots, pans, utensils, food, and anything else we may need in our villages the next 2 years.
It is hard to believe I have been in country now for almost three months. At any given time it can feel like I have been here for a over a year or that I just arrived two weeks ago. Such a whirlwind of daily activities and events; exciting ones as well as not so happening ones!
I am excited to get to my village at the end of this week and settle into my thatched-roof brick hut. Even with the anticipation, however, there is the sadness that comes with saying goodbye to amazing friends whom you've shared every day with for two and a half months. A lot of changes will happen in such a short period of time.
The next three months will be a time for me and other volunteers to focus on integrating into our communities and really accessing the development situation. At the same time that I will be organizing my place and making my hut a home, I will be out chatting with community members, learning the area, and start planning for the next two years of service.
I am officially a Peace Corps Volunteer now. What adventures will I encounter? What will I learn? What will be some challenges? What will be some successes? Taking one day at a time, I am stepping forward to start this journey.
