Category: Zambia
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Empowerment – learning to love yourself
Mwapoleni mukwai bonse! Mwacibuka shani? Ishina lyandi nine David Kapya, ndi kaipeela mu peace corps. Ndi kafundisha Pafya ubumi uusuma, imilile iisuma, na ukucingilila abalwele. Ndafwilisha abantu mu Mishi pa ubuyantanshi. Whew that’s a mouth full isn’t it? That’s my basic one breath introduction speech. It’s how I start every meeting. We’re always in an…
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God – the big bad questions
You know there are several questions Zambians ask when they meet you in the bush. This is going to sound bad, but I’m serious. The first is, “Who are you?” (meaning what’s your name, where do you stay, and what do you do); “Muzungu!” You’re a foreigner! Muzungu literally translates as wanderer/foreigner. It’s also become…
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Communication
What is communication? What does it mean? Is communication talking? Acting? Exploring? Is communication a way to categorize, standardize and understand our world? Or is it a process of expression, one that can be measured, understood and predicted. Is communication so uniform that it provides commonality between all peoples, races and places? Perhaps communication is…
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Speeches, dances, and celebrations
Friday morning dawned bright and warm, the sun sparkling across the zambian grass, the breeze brushing through the leaves. A promise of the excitement and contentment to be offered by the day’s activities. We dressed up, everyone in their finery and boarded up by province to head over to the Ambassador’s residence. We arrived outside…
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Our last week in Training.
Well, I guess its about time I got my blog on huh? A ton of updates coming this week. Especially regarding the fact that I am now, officially and Peace Corps Volunteer! Let me Bold that, I am now, Officially, a Peace Corps Volunteer!!!! haha. Training is completed. Our eleven weeks of intensive language, technical…
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September 19, 2011
Zambians can be pretty ridiculously funny. My bamaayo is wickedly strong. We’re talkin’ some serious guns … When I get a chance to post photos I’ll make sure there are some glamour shots for her. The men and women in the village are rock hard. Hard lives, hard work, fantastic physique. Thin hips, long frames…
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September 9, 2011 Update
Today marks the second day of our “standfast”. It’s the night before elections and people across Zambia are excited. I’m forbidden from commenting on the elections, so without political connotations, I can say that Zambians get very excited and active when it comes to politics. In such a social and communal society tensions can spike,…
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Catching up – General Updates – Wk 4-6
General update 1 wk 4. Alright guys, so I’ve had a couple questions about diet. Food security is a major issue and although food types are similar, food is seasonal and differs on availability based on location. Also nutrition education is highly limited. So here’s a general breakdown of what I’ve been eating. Staple food…
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Chisunka and Second Site Visit
Wow. Where to begin. I talked a little about Second site visit and my host in my last post – Gen. Update September, but I wanted to give you some more details about the village and the area. I love it! It’s gorgeous now and it’s dry season when everything is burnt and dying… I…
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Exploring – Gen. Update September
Hey all! I know it’s been a few weeks since I’ve had a chance to write and I apologize for the delay. Internet access and availability is pretty rough and unfortunately cell service can be pretty frustrating. I’ve been asking my brother to post on my behalf through text messages posted to facebook, so I’m…