"Some people see a glass of water and consider it to be half full. Others see the same glass and consider it to be half empty. A Peace Corps Volunteer sees it and thinks, 'I could take a bath with that!'"
Love it.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
More Common Questions
Will you get sick in Zambia?
Yes. Almost surely. Probably diarrhea (the food is different.) I will boil and filter all my water, and probably eventually wean myself on to local water, but I will have to see what Peace Corps reccomends. I will also most likely get malaria, even though I will have a mosquito net and be on medication for it. It isn't a big deal unless it goes untreated, or you get the bad kind (cerebral malaria) which is much less common. Peace Corps ensures your health and safety and provides you with directions and malaria medications in case you should become sick in the village. Oh, and I hear a lot of female volunteers' hair falls out!! Joy!
Who else is going? How many people are in your group?
As far as I can tell...there will be about 50 people going in total, with half in the Rural Educational Development group with me, and half in the LIFE (Linking Income, Food, and Environment) group. I also think that there are other people who got to Zambia last year who will be doing their second year of service while we are doing our first, but I am not 100% sure of that. I am in touch with about 20 people who are going in my group through facebook, two of which are married couples. It should be fun to get to know everyone.
What is the political situation like in Zambia?
Well, keep in mind it is not Zimbabwe. The last President, Levy Mwanawasa died during his term from a stroke. The current President, Rupiah Banda, was Vice President under Mwanawasa and was elected to become President in the last election. President Banda is a career politician who has served as foreign minister and minister of mines. Things seem fairly good in Zambia and I do not worry about political upheaval. As a Peace Corps volunteer we are not allowed to participate in Zambian politics in any way.
Can I call you in Zambia?
Probably. I will attempt to buy a cell phone in Zambia and will post my phone number. Depending on the village I might be able to get a signal if I stand on a log or something. There is a rumor that calling through skype may only be 2 cents a minute, but I am not sure if that is true or will work (since it is through Internet the delay might be too harsh to carry a conversation). I will hopefully be able to receive texts. Keep in mind I will not have electricity in the village, so I will only charge my cell phone when I get to a bigger town, so I will probably not have my cell phone on at all times. Zambia is seven hours ahead of the US.
What should I send you?
LETTERS. I will be able to better answer this when I get there and see what I am craving, but I have heard the common strings from other volunteers are: magazines of any sort, soup, meal, or drink mixes where the only added ingredient is water, candy (gummy bears, chocolate, tic tacs, anything really,) LETTERS, pictures of life in America and you!, education information (lesson ideas, worksheets, puzzles), LETTERS, and stickers. I am sure I will think of more things, but mail takes about a month to get there (HINT HINT)
Yes. Almost surely. Probably diarrhea (the food is different.) I will boil and filter all my water, and probably eventually wean myself on to local water, but I will have to see what Peace Corps reccomends. I will also most likely get malaria, even though I will have a mosquito net and be on medication for it. It isn't a big deal unless it goes untreated, or you get the bad kind (cerebral malaria) which is much less common. Peace Corps ensures your health and safety and provides you with directions and malaria medications in case you should become sick in the village. Oh, and I hear a lot of female volunteers' hair falls out!! Joy!
Who else is going? How many people are in your group?
As far as I can tell...there will be about 50 people going in total, with half in the Rural Educational Development group with me, and half in the LIFE (Linking Income, Food, and Environment) group. I also think that there are other people who got to Zambia last year who will be doing their second year of service while we are doing our first, but I am not 100% sure of that. I am in touch with about 20 people who are going in my group through facebook, two of which are married couples. It should be fun to get to know everyone.
What is the political situation like in Zambia?
Well, keep in mind it is not Zimbabwe. The last President, Levy Mwanawasa died during his term from a stroke. The current President, Rupiah Banda, was Vice President under Mwanawasa and was elected to become President in the last election. President Banda is a career politician who has served as foreign minister and minister of mines. Things seem fairly good in Zambia and I do not worry about political upheaval. As a Peace Corps volunteer we are not allowed to participate in Zambian politics in any way.
Can I call you in Zambia?
Probably. I will attempt to buy a cell phone in Zambia and will post my phone number. Depending on the village I might be able to get a signal if I stand on a log or something. There is a rumor that calling through skype may only be 2 cents a minute, but I am not sure if that is true or will work (since it is through Internet the delay might be too harsh to carry a conversation). I will hopefully be able to receive texts. Keep in mind I will not have electricity in the village, so I will only charge my cell phone when I get to a bigger town, so I will probably not have my cell phone on at all times. Zambia is seven hours ahead of the US.
What should I send you?
LETTERS. I will be able to better answer this when I get there and see what I am craving, but I have heard the common strings from other volunteers are: magazines of any sort, soup, meal, or drink mixes where the only added ingredient is water, candy (gummy bears, chocolate, tic tacs, anything really,) LETTERS, pictures of life in America and you!, education information (lesson ideas, worksheets, puzzles), LETTERS, and stickers. I am sure I will think of more things, but mail takes about a month to get there (HINT HINT)
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Questions I have gotten
Hey all, I have gotten a lot of questions about random things that is probably good for everyone to know:
1: How to send letters and packages to me in Zambia.
I have my address for the first two months on the right hand side of this blog and on my facebook, so if you want to send a letter, that is pretty straight forward. Take the letter to the post office (make sure you write AFRICA on it to make sure they know what pile to throw it on.) It should be 94 cents to send a regular size envelope. Also, be sure to write AIR MAIL or PAR AVION on the letter or package.
The easiest thing for packages is to send bubble envelopes! This means no full size packages unless it is absolutely necessary! I apparently have to pay tax for packages, so bigger ones mean I have to pay more, and it is more likely that things will be stolen from them. Write "includes bible" or bible verses on the packages and supposedly there is less chance that things will be stolen. The magic number is 4 pounds and I believe it is around $18 to send something that is 4 pounds or less. Any more than that and you will be paying almost twice that. Mail takes anywhere from 2 weeks to never to get there (hey, its Africa!) Expect three weeks to five weeks.
2. Are you just popped in a village all alone!?
Well...the first two months I will be located more or less in the capital of Zambia (Lusaka) with some site visits to see other volunteers' sites. During this time we will be trained in a local language, be given classes in our area (I am in Education,) and given cultural topics to help us living alone. Then at the end of the two months, they interview you and find out what you NEED from a village (will you go crazy if there isn't another American nearby? Are you unable to physically get to the water source closest to your hut?) The Peace Corps obviously doesn't want you to hate your location and to be miserable, so they do their best to place you somewhere you will like. But yes, in the end, you are usually in a village all alone. Every once in awhile they have a training in the capital where they teach you small lessons about HIV/AIDS or other topics and to give you updates about what you should be focusing on and doing in the village.
3. Will you be seeing lots of animals like lions and elephants?
Probably not. Hopefully not unless I am in a game park. I have heard a lot of people have bat and scorpion problems. No, the Lion King is not adequate preparation for Peace Corps.
4. What happens if you hate it or conditions get too bad (politically, food security, etc)
Peace Corps tells you outright that they are not the military. There is no "dishonorable discharge" or anything. You are allowed to leave at any time, and they are required to take care of your health and security. This means that if you get malaria badly or something they will send you to a hospital that has the facilities to take care of you. If there is political or any other type of trouble they will fly you home or to another country that is stable.
5. How often do you get to come home?
I get two vacation days per month of service, not counting the first two months of training. BUT I would have to pay for my flight home. I cannot leave the first five months of service or the last three months of service. I am allowed four days per quarter for in country travel (visiting other volunteers most likely). I will hopefully get to come home for a week after my first year of service, but it depends on a lot of factors.
6. What will you eat?
Mostly nshima (cornmeal porridge), cabbage, corn everything!, mangoes, guavas, bananas, avocados
1: How to send letters and packages to me in Zambia.
I have my address for the first two months on the right hand side of this blog and on my facebook, so if you want to send a letter, that is pretty straight forward. Take the letter to the post office (make sure you write AFRICA on it to make sure they know what pile to throw it on.) It should be 94 cents to send a regular size envelope. Also, be sure to write AIR MAIL or PAR AVION on the letter or package.
The easiest thing for packages is to send bubble envelopes! This means no full size packages unless it is absolutely necessary! I apparently have to pay tax for packages, so bigger ones mean I have to pay more, and it is more likely that things will be stolen from them. Write "includes bible" or bible verses on the packages and supposedly there is less chance that things will be stolen. The magic number is 4 pounds and I believe it is around $18 to send something that is 4 pounds or less. Any more than that and you will be paying almost twice that. Mail takes anywhere from 2 weeks to never to get there (hey, its Africa!) Expect three weeks to five weeks.
2. Are you just popped in a village all alone!?
Well...the first two months I will be located more or less in the capital of Zambia (Lusaka) with some site visits to see other volunteers' sites. During this time we will be trained in a local language, be given classes in our area (I am in Education,) and given cultural topics to help us living alone. Then at the end of the two months, they interview you and find out what you NEED from a village (will you go crazy if there isn't another American nearby? Are you unable to physically get to the water source closest to your hut?) The Peace Corps obviously doesn't want you to hate your location and to be miserable, so they do their best to place you somewhere you will like. But yes, in the end, you are usually in a village all alone. Every once in awhile they have a training in the capital where they teach you small lessons about HIV/AIDS or other topics and to give you updates about what you should be focusing on and doing in the village.
3. Will you be seeing lots of animals like lions and elephants?
Probably not. Hopefully not unless I am in a game park. I have heard a lot of people have bat and scorpion problems. No, the Lion King is not adequate preparation for Peace Corps.
4. What happens if you hate it or conditions get too bad (politically, food security, etc)
Peace Corps tells you outright that they are not the military. There is no "dishonorable discharge" or anything. You are allowed to leave at any time, and they are required to take care of your health and security. This means that if you get malaria badly or something they will send you to a hospital that has the facilities to take care of you. If there is political or any other type of trouble they will fly you home or to another country that is stable.
5. How often do you get to come home?
I get two vacation days per month of service, not counting the first two months of training. BUT I would have to pay for my flight home. I cannot leave the first five months of service or the last three months of service. I am allowed four days per quarter for in country travel (visiting other volunteers most likely). I will hopefully get to come home for a week after my first year of service, but it depends on a lot of factors.
6. What will you eat?
Mostly nshima (cornmeal porridge), cabbage, corn everything!, mangoes, guavas, bananas, avocados
7. Can I visit you!?
YES! Please do! Depending on my school schedule I will let you know what the best time to visit is. You cannot visit until June (after my first three months in my village.) It seems like the cheapest time to come is May (November is also, but that is the beginning of rainy season) with tickets hovering around $1,600. You DO need a visa to come, a single entry only costs $50, multi-entry (if you want to hit other countries in the area) is $80. The visa claims that there are no required innoculations to get into Zambia, but you might want to check out malaria pills, typhoid pills, and yellow fever just to be safe.
8. What is the weather like there?
The dry/cool season is mid-April to August.
The hot season is September to mid-November
The wet season is mid-November to mid-April
Temperatures are generally in the high 70s to low 80s. In the hot season it can get up to 100, in cold season it can dip down to the 40s at night.
9. Do you get paid?
Yes, I get paid to live at the level of the community (about $1 a day). I get a move-in allowance to buy non-perishable food, containers to bathe in, furniture, seeds, and all that good, start up stuff. If I am able to complete my service term then I get a $6,000 paycheck so I can pay rent on an apartment, buy a cheap car, or whatever else I need to do to set myself up back in the US.
One Month!
I got my staging info the other day, which means ONE MONTH LEFT! Whooo! I also get to leave out of Washington DC, so I will hopefully get to meet up with some of my friends from American U before I am finally shipped out on Feb. 18th.
Things I am excited to bring with me:
My cups from Lindsay and my mom
Recipes
Gardening tips
Posters and maps for classrooms and my hut
Stickers for kids
Ipod nano
Kindle, with so many books I am itching to read!
I only have an 80 pound limit and I believe 113 inches of luggage space, so packing will be tight!
Things I am excited to bring with me:
My cups from Lindsay and my mom
Recipes
Gardening tips
Posters and maps for classrooms and my hut
Stickers for kids
Ipod nano
Kindle, with so many books I am itching to read!
I only have an 80 pound limit and I believe 113 inches of luggage space, so packing will be tight!
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