So, my village finally finished building my house in the village and I have officially moved in. My set up is pretty cool and I am honestly happy. I stay in a two room mud brick hut with a grass roof. I continue to pee, poop, and bath outside although those structures are not yet completed, so when I go to use the bathroom, any Zambian passing by gets to see all of my American goodies. Of course my house came with rats that live in my roof and come down at night and make a ton of annoying noises which keep me up and paranoid like crazy of them attacking me through my mosquito net like they did Adam in the Dominican Republic. I am getting a kitten, but it is still too young to leave it's mother, so for the time being I just deal with it and clean up tons of rat poop the next morning. I also live with termites, which really isn't too surprising considering the fact that my village built my house right in between two large termite mounds. I spray so much Doom in my house on a daily basis, I'm surprised I have become addicted to that stuff. It is still painfully hot in this country that I have decided not to light my brassier cause the thought of creating an open fire with this heat kills me. So, I've just been eating tuna out of the can and drinking warm Kool-Aid ever night. Now if that's not poor white trash out here in the bush, then I don't know what is. (Thank you family and Beverly who sent me tons of tuna. I appreciate it.) Mikuwa is the term for foreigner, so everywhere I go in the community, people stare, point, and scream, "Mikuwa, Mikuwa, Mikuwa". I kindly stare, point, and scream back, "Zambian, Zambian, Zambia".
I LOVE working in my rural health clinic and the opportunities I have there will only strengthen my nursing career. The entire staff is super nice and well educated, and plus there is electricity and running water, so I put tons of stuff in their refrigerator to stay nice and cold. I really don't think that I am supposed to be doing that, but I really don't care. It's hot here!!!
Halloween in the bush was a lot of fun, and thanks to Beverly who sent me tons of chocolate, me and my volunteer buddies had a blast camping outside my hut and pigging out on some good American candy. It's little things like camp outs and pig outs with other volunteers that make life out here not so hard. I remember the first Sunday I spent in the village was honestly an extreme low and down for me, as I found myself for the first time really missing all aspects of home. I remember talking to one of my volunteer buddies about it, and while on the verge of tears with the thought of every memory home has to offer, I held on to what my good friend Nicole had written to me in a going away good luck card she gave me back in July. "Remember Why Nia." Remember Why you chose to do this and hold onto that memory, and most importantly stay happy. You know, I find it very interesting that when we feel that we are at our lowest lows and down in spirit, that God has a way of redirecting our attention to what is really important. Remember Why Nia! Nicole wrote that to keep me focused and motivated, and in a moment of weakness and loneliness, I read it just at the right time.
Things have been much better since, and I am extremely thankful for people God has created and put specifically in my life. Continuing to take things one day at time and remembering why I am here makes all the difference. Thank you all once again for all the love and support while I'm out here in the bush. As always, I promise to keep you all updated on my stories.
Peace & Love,
Baby Cheers!!!
