Merry Christmas to all! And to all Buenos noches!

Wait, that’s Spanish…not chiTumbuka! I’ve been teaching some of my friends here to speak Espanol. It has become a ritual at my hut. Almost every evening, my sister and a few young people that have completed grade 12 (and therefore can speak quite good English) hang out with me. We have leaned quite a lot from each other. I have taught them lots of card games, introduced them to many new genres of music and musicians, talked for great lengths about American culture, and cooked delicious new foods for them (pancakes blew their minds). They tell me all about Zambia from their own perspectives and experiences. It is good to hear this generation’s ideas and views. They are, after all, the ones who are going to make the change and the difference where it really matters.
I’m really surprised at the number of educated individuals that actually complete grade 12 (no easy feat here…there is no free education beyond grade 7 and the cost is ridiculously high, beyond the attainment of most families, especially when they have more than 4 children for whom to pay), yet have no where to go but back home to the village where the only opportunity is to pick up the shovel and hoe and follow in their parents’ struggling footsteps.

I mentioned my Agogo in the last blog. I crocheted her a green hat with a pink and purple flower on it. I don’t think she has taken it off since I gave it to her! She is really cute in it. As always, I will try to post photos…
My Agogo’s name is Idah, as is her granddaughter. Idah the granddaughter is my best friend and sister. She is amazing! If she did well on her grade 9 tests, she will be allowed to continue schooling through grade 12. Grades 10, 11, and 12 cost a family around $200-300 per year. Remember that statistic about Africa that says most families here live on less than $100 a year? Yeah…….

I experienced my first earthquake! There has been some shifting going on in the Great Rift Valley, more over in Malawi, but we are feeling the tremors here. I woke up to my bed shaking. I could simultaneously hear a chicken right outside my wall so my first thought was, “How in the world is that chicken shaking my bed?” Then, I realized how absurd that thought was and blamed the shaking on Mef (my malaria prophylaxis that has been known to cause hallucinations….I’ve only had crazy vivid dreams to date). Later that day, my father, Save Nyasulu (or Zulu for short) told me there was an earthquake and I didn't feel so crazy after all.

My Zambian sister, Idah, gave me a chicken! It is solid white; so naturally, I named it “Blanco Pollo.” While I was at it, I named Idah’s mama chicken “Loco Pollo” because it chases other chickens. The chief gave me a chicken as well! I named it “Comida” because when my sister, Marcey, comes to visit in February (there is not enough room here to express my excitement!!!) she will get to kill and help cook it! Yeah, I don’t think I told you about that yet, Marcey….surprise?

I have really been loving life in my village. I am much more comfortable and happy than I was even a month ago. My relationships with my family here and neighbors strengthen everyday. I’ve met with several fish farmers in the area and have begun advising them on how to improve their current ponds and get them ready to stock with fingerlings. In the upcoming months, I will be conducting management workshops and continue teaching proper feeding techniques. I also helped my father here to measure and dig a new pond!

Development work is difficult. I’m beginning to experience the downsides and flaws of organized (and not so organized) aid programs (Peace Corps included). There is not one simple answer to complex issues. There are many dynamics – cultural, economic, political, historical, religious, local, national, global, generational, etc. – coinciding and colliding. But I didn’t need to come all the way to Africa to figure that one out. I learned it time and time again in college. It is the same in every society and culture. It’s just that…well, I guess I’m just once again realizing how naïve I was before I came. This has been a most humbling and enlightening experience. And the best element is that I continue to discover new things about myself, this culture, American culture, and the natural wonders and cycles of which we are all a part.

Well, right now I’m in Chipata for the holidays (internet has been crap for a few days…). There are 9 of us that came in to celebrate Christmas together at the Provincial house in Chipata. We have been cooking and eating so many delicious dishes. It is so wonderful the people you meet in Peace Corps. I’m talking about the other volunteers. I wasn’t aware of this additional culture with which I would get to interact and become a part of. It is pretty fantastic indeed. There are lots of unique characters and personalities. And it has really broadened my network of friends across the U.S. And it has definitely broadened my repertoire of culinary interests. For breakfast Christmas morning we ate: drop biscuits with gravy made from bacon grease, bacon, scrambled eggs, fried eggs, fruit salad with fresh mangoes and cucumbers, and corn pudding. You have to make almost everything from scratch here and it really makes you realize the incredible-taste-bud-exploding experience that store-bought/pre-made/ready-made/just-add-water products cheat you out of. I’m not convinced anymore that the convenience is worth the sacrifice. For dinner last night, I made Mexican Lasagna. Many of you have tried my attempts at this dish. But we put 2 spins on it here. Aurora made pineapple-mango salsa from scratch for the topping. There are no lasagna noodles to be found in Zambia (maybe Lusaka, but we are 8 hours away), so Kevin made homemade ones! It was pretty fantastic. I successfully made egg nog from scratch. In fact, I have made it three times now and am getting better every time! Makes me think of you Grandma. Wish I could share them with you. I'll make you some when I come home. Oh, and I made banana bread one afternoon and deviled eggs with avocado.

Ok, it’s raining now. I think there is dancing going on in the kitchen, so I’m gonna let yall go for now. Hope you all had a wonderfully blessed Christmas. I miss you all terribly. It has been 6 months since I left Lubbock and last saw my kindred spirits and the land of my birth. It has been 5 months since I left my family and loved ones…longest separation in my life. Something I learned from reading Bless Me, Ultima: it is better to take your experiences (whether trial or tribulation) and turn them into strengths, not weaknesses, for the future.

Oh, one more thing. The clouds here are unreal. Unreal to you at least. Unreal to me at first. It feels like my memories of the first few months of being here are painted with exotic and unbelievable experiences. Recently though, life is becoming more real and personal. I’ve had some very real experiences recently involving violence and death. At the same time, the rains are bringing forth such an explosion of life and love. I enjoy the rhythm of life here. And I like being a part of the whole. I will always be an outsider to this culture, but it is the daily intertwining of my life with the individual lives around me and their spirits, needs, desires, hopes, fears, mysteries, and connections that reaffirms the reality of my experience here. Some days I feel very ordinary and content; like I’ve figured this all out, like I’ve been living this life for a long time. And then, I look up and see these clouds, beautiful and spread across the sky, painted with colors my eyes have never before seen. I watch them as they melt and grow and change and move on, dancing with the sky, and it reminds me of my own dance of growth, change, and impermanence.

Good-bye 2009.