It all will fall, fall right into place

Well, here we go. In less than 2 months, I’ll be officially pulled from the village. However, the time could be shorter, but no one is sure because the national elections have yet to be announced.

Otherwise, things are good. I’m heading to the village tomorrow! This is going to be a difficult time as I tell my loved ones here good-bye. Goodbyes to my family here are getting harder and harder. It made me really sad when my sister, Heather and I left the village. I guess I’ve been thinking more and more about what happens when I leave. Each goodbye is closer and closer to the last goodbye. At least it will only be the last goodbye of my service for I am determined to keep in touch.

However, I am VERY excited to come home though and see all my loved ones on the eastern side of the Atlantic.

So how about some quick updates from 2011:

Between my brother’s visit and my younger sister’s visit I had some interesting experiences. I think I mentioned in an earlier blog that I broke my foot at the end of January. I was put in a cast for 3 weeks, then had 2 weeks to strengthen the foot to the point of not needing a crutch for support, and then was sent back to the village.

So right after breaking the foot, I was stuck in Lusaka for the first few weeks. That was good and bad. Bad because I couldn’t walk. Good because I got to “explore” and get to know Lusaka better. I think a lot of volunteers end up disliking Lusaka because it is a big dirty city that’s too expensive for our volunteer budget. I found it to be a very interesting side of Zambian culture. I made lots of wonderful friends, who were nice enough to get me out and keep me from going completely stir-crazy.

So then the village was nice and slow as always. I succeeded in transporting 300+ fish to my best farmer's pond! We’ve got another new batch of volunteers in Lundazi…including a new neighbor for me! Her name is Colleen and she’s a Georgia peach like Cherie. So now I’m surrounded on both sides. J I’ve been a terrible neighbor though because I’ve been cashing in on my last vacation days and haven’t been around lately. And with those vacation days I went to Zanzibar…twice.

The first time was over the Easter holidays. I went with my good friends Cherie and Julie. It was a riot of a good time. Sorry for not detailing it in this blog post, but I'm kinda tired.

The second time I went with my sister Heather when she visited. I should begin the story with her arrival in Lusaka. I had a guy stand at the entrance through which the passengers first walk into as they enter the terminal and hold a sign that read “Rabid Bird” (her nickname…well, it’s actually Birdy, but you know…). My good friend Steve, had helped me pick her from the airport and we immediately headed down to the lower Zambezi river, a ways past Victoria Falls and Lake Kariba. We hung out a bit on the river, checked out the ginormous dam at Lake Kariba, saw some incredible baobab trees, and then headed back to Lusaka for some fun at a local Afrikaaner bar.

Next, we visited my village and had some enjoyable memories there, including playing on cotton bales, rambling around the bush, and briefly (surprisingly) meeting my chief. Here's Bird with one of my moms and some village kids.

Then, we went back to Lusaka, along with my fellow volunteer and Lundazite, Dan. We played with some juvenile lions. One of them playfully jumped on Bird’s back and was quite powerful about it, but Bird stood her ground.

Finally, we were on our way to Tanzania. All along in Zambia, we had been fortunate in having fast, reliable, and easy rides all around. So of course on our way to the catch the train that would take us out of Zambia, our car broke down 20 km from the train station! What?! Luckily we hitched a ride and made it with a bit of time to spare. Once at the train station we met up with my friend Nick and embarked on a very colorful journey through the Zambian countryside, crossing the border to Tanzania, witnessing some breathtaking mountainous expanses, and ending up in Dar Es Salaam. The train ride was rickety and got pretty darn cold at night, but was a fun way to travel nonetheless.

So after the train we took a ferry to Zanzibar! We stayed in some bungalows on the eastern side of the island. The sand there is unlike any sand I’ve ever seen or felt. The consistency is of flour and it becomes blinding white in the midday sun. We were located on the edge of a village right beside a fish market. So everyday we got to watch the fishermen sail out in their dhow boats and then come in with the tide, tie up, and sell their fish right on the beach. The seafood we ate there was absolutely incredible. Everything just exploded with flavor!

One day, Nick and I went SCUBA diving and Bird went snorkeling. It was a lot of fun and there were lots of colorful fish. I personally think the Caribbean has greater diversity in coral, invertebrate, and plant life. However, I saw greater diversity and size in the fish species at Zanzibar. I also got to see a dolphin! The three of us went snorkeling together another day and were taken to some random sand bars that only appear during low tide. I will never forget the pure white of the sand. It was as if the hourglass of time had broken and spilled its contents into warm turquoise and blue waters.

It was sad to see my sister leave, but I’m so grateful she was able to come in the first place. Each of my siblings got to see different things, including myself at different stages of this crazy experience. Birdy, I appreciate your sacrifice, your humor, your patience and your resilience in handling rough situations here. You had it pretty easy in regards to travel though. J

I think often of that night we stood together, small as the specks of sand oozing between our toes and looked up at the stars, equally as small, silently filling the darkness, filling our thoughts, pushing their energy, pulling ours. And we talked and laughed and pondered and chased tiny crabs that zipped into the salty waves and watched the fullness of the moon appear, watched as it consumed numerous stars in it’s path and revealed the cracks in the lapping waves over which we jumped, our minds filled with nothing of ourselves and ourselves filled with nothing but our hearts as our feet melted into the sand, that was melting into the water, melting into the stars.