Good Morning folks,
It really is a beautiful morning here. A bright golden orb floating above the ethereal horizon, the mists of that magic hour burning off as the blue skies swallow up a brilliant pure light. I stepped out of the hostel into the light and it felt like my whole body came alive. My eyes, skin, every hair alive and reaching for the warmth and love of the sun.
Its time for me to catch up to date, I’m still a bit behind, and I apologize for that. Without further ado, I’ll get into it. After posting of the new RAP/LIFE group, I headed back to my village passing through a neighbors site, and enjoying a quiet dinner and relaxing evening.
It was great, after all the stress and emotional hardship of posting the new volunteers and struggling with the ending of my own service there was nothing better than to get back into a community, work on the land a little, and enjoy the simplicity and joy of living in Zambia. My Peace Corps service is special and amazing because of moments like these. After the bike ride down into his community, we took the afternoon and biked down into the bush, visited his garden, gathered some fresh organic vegetables, soaked our feet at a small natural waterfall, and then headed back up to his community. We played with some of the local children, throwing Frisbee and dancing. We headed out early the next morning and biked the 50KM to my village.
I can’t stress enough how nice it was to be home. To be in my own community, to see my own neighbors and play with some of my neighbors. We made some delicious food, packed up the gear we would need, I took a little while to discuss some last minute things with my community, wrapped up a couple of items and got ready to head over on what I expect to be my last trip up to some of my favorite Waterfalls.
We biked another 25km to my nearest neighbors site and then caught transport up north. We reached the waterfalls the next day, and after a quick set up we hiked up to the falls themselves, swam, enjoyed the natural beauty of the bush, and the grace of the land, and then returned to the camp site. I unpacked my hammock, enjoyed the cool breeze rolling off the water, carved a spoon out of a chunk of wood, and made a quick lunch and a sweet campfire dinner. Listening to relaxing tunes, living in the moment, and soaking up every moment, sense, and sound of Ntumbatuschi was perfect. I started feeling truly refreshed and a weight was lifted off my heart as I made peace with the end of my service.
After a quick weekend I was back on my way, riding along with the current, traveling now in a sense of serenity and emotional comfort. I passed back through my site, grabbed everything I would need for my time in Lusaka as a Tech Trainer, and then headed in to the Provincial house for our Provincial meetings. It was a quiet Provs for sure, but it was also a golden time when all of the new and old volunteers come together for an administrative update, and to report in to their respective district and provincial offices. We made our visits, voiced our concerns, and embraced the time we had left together. After the meetings I woke up at 5AM, grabbed my gear, boarded transport and headed off to Lusaka. Away from home and my village for another long stretch. I’ll write a bit more about that later.
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