*Wow! 2 weeks in and the bush is already starting to feel like home! Haha. Sort of. I've begun to "get used" (as they say in Zambian English: Zamlish) to many of the aspects of life here with relative ease. Adjusting to life without certain amenities, such as electricity and running water, wasn't nearly as hard as one would imagine, but when it comes to mingling with the "laid back country folk"- life is pretty awkward-that is the best way to put it. Lucky for me though, I've mastered the phrase "nachitiyi wanyi", which means "i don't understand" in Lunda! Whenever I pull that one out, I'm sure to get at least big grins, if not laughs! One of the best things about this Lunda culture: if there is a situation that is in ANY way awkward, everyone just laughs and laughs - hardly ever any long faces.
*As for my community, I'm very excited because they seem very motivated to start working, not just with me, but on community health problems as a whole. They really seem to have it together and are more organized that I expected! Now my job is to figure out where I fit in. By this I mean seeing where the community wants/needs my help and deciding the best way to transfer my knowledge-so not to create any dependency. Really just motivating and training will probably be my focus!
*I got to take my first bush adventure too this last week. My neighbor and I decided to visit our friend up north of us for her birthday and rode our bikes up an 80km (50miles for you american folk) bush path! Might not sound like much, but coming from the girl who hasn't ridden her bike more than a mile probably in 15 years, this was a feat! The locals told us we shouldn't take the path cuz it was overgrown and there were too many "mountains". But we decided we needed the adventure of it and that the Zam's didn't really know what mountains were, but let me tell you: they were mountains and they INDEED knew what they were talking about, haha!Good Times! But to make it better, we had to ride BACK 80km, then it was another 40km to my house. SO in the time span of a week, I rode my bike 240km, which is roughly 150miles! Hard work but quite relaxing!
*Anyways, more updates later!
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2 comments:
look at you miss cyclist! We are going to see you next to lance armstrong racing next season huh? :) Miss you Tam!
<3 Stephanie
Dear Gussie girl, INDEED they must know what they are talking about...your adventuresome spirit is sometimes a bit more than what this mom can handle, but, you have shown me you can persevere through many things, so I have confidence you will roll with the many punches you find yourself in. Thanks for staying safe.
I love you and will continue to keep you lifted in prayer... MOM :)
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