Saturday, July 31, 2010

Still alive!

Mwapoleni mukwai! I have now received my cell phone and can use the internet and text and call again. Woo! I am updating this with my phone so bear with me. We had our first day of training yesterday. It was marked by lots of meetings and orientation material. We have had lots of shots so far and driven all over the country. Very exciting! I have recently moved into a host family home for the next nine weeks while in training. They seem very kind and generous. They are teaching me the language bemba, which is a main language here. My days start off early with a sponge bath followed by a bike ride to school along beautiful african scenery. I then have four hours of language class, lunch, and them four hours of technical training. Much of my evenings are taken up by studying by candle light. The people are some of the most honest and genuine people i have ever met. Thanks for reading and i hope to give a better update when i get on a comp next. Oh and meg i have been reading your letters and just opened number three...i will save the others for a rainy day! Oh and face book is down here for awhile so sorry if i dont respond! Love ya all!

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Lusaka Low-Down

Hello folks!

Just to let everyone know, I have arrived in Lusaka, Zambia and am safely here! I cannot be on for long because I am at an internet cafe, just fyi. Our flight here was very hectic. Our group missed the connecting flight from South Africa to Lusaka so we had to stay an extra night at a hotel in SA. After another full day at the airport we finally arrived in Lusaka around 17:00 PM. Yes, they use military time.

We are all staying at US government hostile in Lusaka for a few night before heading out on a site visit to rural Zambia for three nights. Then we meet our host families that we will be staying with for the next three months, which is around the Lusaka area in a smaller village.

There are 58 of us total from the States. A good group and one I am excited to get to know better. Everyone seems very excited about what we are doing and it makes the passing time fun!

I will try and update again soon, thanks!

Brooks

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Post One. (Real Original)

July 18th, two days from departure to Zambia. Tick..tick..tick.

Confession number one- I am very new to the blogging world, so bare with me as I stumble through this process for the first few times.

I am starting this blog as a chance to stay as connected with people back on Yankee Doodle soil as much as possible. It will be used as a means to update folks to my happenings and probably a way for me to stay sane as well! I am still uncertain how much internet access I will have in Africa, so updates might be few and far between and return responses might be limited.

Please comment! The more comments, the more motivation I will have to update my blog!

For those of you who do not know, I am heading to Zambia, Africa to work as a Community Health Extensionist. I will be leaving friends and family for 27 months to help rural Zambians become empowered with skills and knowledge to improve their general health. I will be helping to promote AIDS/HIV awareness, nutrition, maleria prevention, maternity health, and youth development. It will be from a grassroots level (I will be lecturing at local schools and health clinics) to a national level (I will also be working with non-profits, the government and national organizations to develop a health infrastructure).

Thanks in advance for any feedback or comments!

Brooks