Me giving a nutrition lesson

Milex kids at going away party

One of my Nutrition Clubs dancing at going away party

THANK YOU for your SUPPORT!!

Our new Milex classroom!!

Foundation for new classroom. PTA and community

built structure and molded ALL the bricks.

Mwabombeni Mukwai!! (You are working well!!-general greeting in Icibemba)

I am home....in Utah. I've been lucky enough to call several different places home, and I am sure I will continue to do so. I was able to do some traveling after I ended my service in Zambia and am now settling down in Kaysville...but only until September. Linsey and I are moving to Seattle in the fall and hope we can start saving some money for a change. It was difficult to leave my village in Zambia. I developed such an incredible love for my collegues and friends there, but It was time. My area threw me a wonderful going away party and each group I worked with prepared a traditional song and dance in my honor. I was given gifts, notes, and well wishes that made my heart swell. It was overwhelming to see everyone I had worked with during my 2 years in the same place. The nursery school kids were all there, each with a white dot on their foreheads to stick out. Actually...I had given Teacher Mirriam some hole reinforcers for her notebook paper and she didn't know what to do with them, so she put them on the kid's foreheads for the celebration. It was priceless. I guess I shoul've been more clear about their purpose :). Upon leaving my village and Zambia I am left with only gratitude. The opportunity to work in such a foreign and unique environment and really emerge in the Zambian culture is one I will never have again. It was difficult at times, but it was worth every minute.

I am keeping in touch with people from my village via mail and e-mail. I wanted to give you an update on the nursery school. AGAIN>>>IT WOULDn'T HAVE HAPPENED WITHOUT ALL YOUR SUPPORT!!! All those who sent materials, donations, and well wishes should feel really good in knowing you were a part of this incredible chance for early education in Mwamba. The school was able to build a new classroom to accommodate the 100 pupils who come each day. There are 4 employees...2 teachers, a custodian, and a mill worker. To sustain the school we applied to a new NGO started by a former Peace Corps Volunteer called COLOR ME IN to get funding for a community grinding machine. The traditional food (Nshima) is made from ground maize. People from my area have to walk or bike over 12 k with huge bags of maze to the nearest mill. Not only will the mill benefit the school but also the thousands of people who make the trek to town to grind maize. The mill was successfully purchased in March and it has started working. It has so far been successful and the school is thriving.

I hope to be able to visit Zambia again, but until then it will never leave my heart.

All my love
lisa

This is it. I leave Zambia in less than 24 hours but a part of me will remain. Mostly I will carry Zambia with me, the things I've seen, learned, and the people I've loved. The beauty of trial and triumph, of tears and laughter will forever rest in my soul. I was given remembrances from the groups and people I've worked with in the form of song, craft, words, and embrace. I left Mwamba to songs from the MILEX Nursery School kids as all their faces crowded into the doorway and their little hands waving their last goodbyes. The last drive down that red dirt road was tough. I will never live like I lived in Mwamba. The walk across my village to sounds of little voices greeting me, pumping water from the well, carrying my laundry on my head from the river, cycling to afternoon meetings, and falling asleep to the village drums. I am so thankful for this opportunity. I have been immeasurably changed by this place and these people. It is bitter sweet, agonizing bliss to leave and yet reunite with my world and family in the states. I can't wait to see everyone I left, but of course we never leave people and places because they remain inside. Again I want to thank everyone who came with me on this journey and will continue to accompany me. I am full of love and hope for what tomorrow will bring. I will leave with a poem one of my fellow volunteers and dearest friends wrote...

And here I am
Preparing my goodbyes
Preparing my hellos
Trying to remember what I didn’t know
What I couldn’t know
Until I knew
Until I met you
The you that’s now me
Deep inside
Penetrating my life
And now I understand
You were where I was always coming
But I was always leaving
The unintentional suicide
Of a child who couldn’t see
That child was me
I chose to believe
In what the world could be
It’s in the way the seasons change
A shedding of skin
To greet the new
To part with the old
One day it’s hot
The next day it’s cold
I found myself washed
In the baptismal rains
With their consistent inconsistencies
Giving steps to the lame
I knew it wouldn’t last
I knew I’d have to go
You’re not my world
But you’re in my soul
A dreamer from the beginning
A dreamer till the end
And here you are
A beautiful friend
But it’s time for me to go
It’s time for me to leave
It’s time for me to see
That it’s time for me to breathe
The inhale means nothing
If the exhale’s not there
You were my intake
But the letting go I can bear
So now I’m going home
To write letters I’ll probably never send
Whispering words into the wind
This is my goodbye
This is my hello
And I finally remember what I didn’t know
What I couldn’t know
Until I knew
Until I met you.

-Lyndsey MacMahan CAHP 07

Well hello there...

Time is funny. So much has happened in the last few months. The rains have come and gold has turned back to green. The bush has extended to the sky and the little dirt paths have been choked by the foliage. The critters have come out of hiding and the bush is alive with cultivation. Most of my villagers are in the fields from sun rise until the expected afternoon downpour. I am really enjoying life after a bit of a slump, and work is still moving. Unfortunately because of the world food crisis, prices of food have gone up so much so that we are unable to sustain the preschool with a chicken coop. DON'T FRET... we have transformed the coop into a beautiful classroom, and we are working on a new income generating project. We are trying to get a grinding machine, where everyone takes their maize to make flour for the staple food of Nshima. The closest one to Mwamba is 12k and people bike from many villages around us to reach the mill. There will be a lot of demand and it will not only benefit the school, but the surrounding communities. I am really excited about this new venture. We are trying to raise some more money for the extra costs and are going through an NGO that a former Peace Corps Volunteer and good friend of mine just started in the states and I, of course, will let you know how you can help.

I was fortunate enough to attend my second traditional pre-marriage ceremony in the village. I can't possibly describe the beauty and strangeness of this event. However, I will try to paint a simple picture. This ceremony is for women in the village who are about to be wed. It is a 2 day affair and the second day goes non-stop from 13:00-7:00 the next morning. It is exuberance, intensity, exhaustion, dancing, singing, drumming, passing and receiving of knowledge and ritual, all rolled into one. The ceremony I attended included 3 girls, all of whom were younger than me, who were to be married. They start in a remote location in the bush where a group of 'elders' who are maayos (mom's) in the community who act as the traditional teachers. They are accented with a white dot on their forehead and tirelessly facilitate the events. After events in the bush all return to a room totally cleared out except for drums and wall paintings. Through song, dance, drama, and wall paintings, teach the girls what it is to be a good Zambian wife. They teach about taking care of the household, drawing water, cleaning, cooking, birthing children, raising those children, and of course pleasing the husband...in every way imaginable. The climax of the ceremony is when the fiance's, and their parents, and the men's teachers, join the women and their leaders for the interpretation of the wall paintings. The most elderly of the women in the room will take a stick and facilitate the explanation of each picture painted on the wall. It is incredibly fascinating. The pictures range from the wedding day, the household jobs, cleansing of the body, to sexual positions. The explanation of all hundred pictures or so all come in song and dance form and take 2-3 hours to go through. This is just one small example of the endless hours of ritual. I ended up starting from about 18:00-7 the next morning and I was on cloud 9. After almost 2 years of living in Zambia, I was still completely in awe of what I was experiencing. I only wish I could've documented it so I could watch it over and over. The songs and beat of the drums transformed me to a magical place. The voices are so powerful and the energy infectious. Though many tribal traditions have been smothered by colonization and Christianity, ceremonies such as this one are still very much alive in rural areas. I just have to say that if you think a wedding shower is tiring, you have no idea what these poor girls go through. You can see the exhaustion seeping from them. By the end they have a hard time keeping their heads up. I am understanding, in very small bits, why the women here are so strong and unique. God Bless Zambia!!

Well thats it for now. Tune in next time. I wish you all the best of holiday seasons!!
lisa

Muli Shani. I have a few moments to send some love to everyone. Things in Zambia are still churning. Cold season is officially over and it isn't holding on a bit. The days have become quite toasty and I can't imagine just a few weeks ago, I was actually wearing long sleeves :). The land has become golden and my villagers have been gathering their dried maze to sell in town. Because we are using the village agricultural storage shed for classes, the preschool has been closed for 2 weeks to accommodate everyone's maize. We are hoping that the money earned from the coop will allow us to construct our own structure so we can avoid these closures in the future. The coop construction is going really well. The district agriculture officer has been supporting the project and the PTA has been working extremely hard. All 7,000 bricks have been cemented together and the roof is in progress. In other news, the official period of mourning for President Mwanawasa has ended, but people are still shaken by the loss. There will be an election around the 30th of October and a new leader will take over. I am interested to see what the elections will bring for Zambia. I am also thinking of everyone at home as elections there come close. I'll try to write again soon. Sending my love and thoughts..... Lisa

Hello! I am in Lusaka to help facilitate a training for the new volunteers. It was good to be involved and try to share some of my insight, but I am very ready to head back to the village. I just sent Lins back to the states last week and am officially in withdrawl. We had the best time. I am excited to continue work, wrap some of my projects up, and prepare for my replacement to come. I still have a year to go, so there's no rush, but it is good to think about things early. I am seriously thinking about extending in my village for an extra 6 months, meaning I will be home around Sep of 2009. It is not for sure yet, but I have a lot of work left to do, and I really love Mwamba. We were able to get a good chunk of the money we needed for the preschool and have started construction. This is very exciting, but we lost money on the exchange rate and were a few thousand short of our budget so my sweet mom is still collecting donations...wink wink :). It really feels good to see all of our work and planning come to fruition. The school is such an amazing place and it's nice to reward the communities hard work. I can never stop thanking everyone who has supported the project.
A few days ago, President L.P. Mwanawasa passed away and Zambia is in mourning. It is the first President that Zambia has ever lost, as the first 2 are still alive. Things here have been somber, but Zambians pride themselves on their peaceful unity, so no problems are expected. For 3 months the Chief Justice will lead the country until Elections take place. It will be interesting to see an election in another country as one is going on at home as well. It is strange that at the end of my service both pictures of the Presidents displayed at the Peace Corps office will be different from when I arrived. I welcome the change and hope it will serve both countries. Stay well.....

until next time....lisa

Sister Travel

HELLO!! Linsey and I are about done with our wonderful adventure. We started with a jaunt to Victoria Falls and then headed to my village. The falls were stunning and of course the village was wonderful. When we biked up to the school by my house there were hundreds of people waiting. The nursery kids were singing and the other village kids were dressed up in white paint and home made grass skirts to welcome her. It was overwhelming. Everyone was so excited to meet her. She loved the village, though I kept her busy with meetings and bike rides. We are headed off to Lake Malawi tomorrow for some relaxation and snorkling. It is really special for her to see my world, and to finally understand some of the things I've spoken about. I only wish we had more time. It is a gift to have her here. Hope all is well in your worlds!! I'll write more soon. Thank You again for your support, love, letters, packages, and donations. I always feel loved.

Mango Class

Milex Kids Dancing at Agriculture Show

Nursery Dancing

Teaching a Nutrition Lesson

Linsey Is Here!!!

Mwapoleni Mukwai Bonse!! (Greetings Everyone)..It is about that time for my bi-annual update. Today is an especially happy day because Linsey just came in last night on her 36 hour journey from the states. It is surreal to have her here and I am thrilled for our month together. I could not stop smiling when I started the 12 hour countdown to our reunion….ok lets be serious, the count down really started when she booked her ticket :). It is nice to have some vacation time, but I am always eager to continue work. I have been in Zambia for 17 months and am still in love with this place. I recently had a short period in my service where I wasn’t as confident in my role here. I wasn’t sure I was effective, or putting my energy into the right places. I was frustrated by some road blocks, was spinning my wheels, and felt a bit lost. This just goes with the job. One day biking from Mwamba to Kasama, I stopped for a moment and realized that beauty was all around me. I have such a deep rooted love for this country and culture and still muse at the small intimate moments that I wish I could share but only I experience. A child’s chalky bare feet moving though the dirt, the poised stance of a woman with a 20 liter bucket of water on her head and baby on her back, the men who attend my meetings in suit pants and tropicals (flip-flops) and their eager eyes as we try to work through their agenda, a red flour peeking out from the brown and green African bush, the laugh of the children as we dance by my house. The list is endless. At that moment, I knew that as long as I was still finding beauty amongst my frustrations, I was ok. Every day is a gift here and I will continue to cherish my time.
I want to thank everyone who has been so incredibly supportive of the Nursery School. I am again awed by the generosity and that surrounds me. Because the rainy season is approaching, we are forced to take the money we have raised up to now to get things started. This means cutting our budget significantly, but we will make things happen and are just thankful for the 7,200 we raised. My sweet mom will still be collecting donations, of course, so if there are any still floating out there don’t hesitate. The community is still motivated and excited to start building. They have molded about 3,000 bricks and are still working hard crushing stones and gathering sand for mixing cement. After the bricks are molded, the executive committee of the school will do a 24 hour burning to strengthen them. It should be an interesting process. We have been working with a District Agriculture Officer to make sure the coop will be successful. Proper chicken rearing involves a lot more than I thought. I always just saw chickens running around a little thatched mud hut and thought “how hard could it be.” But turns out, to run a legitimate business, there are a lot of hidden components. It has been fascinating for me to be more involved in these areas and further explore farming and agriculture. It is life here in Zambia. Other than the building aspect, the children are still eager to learn and coming to school in herds. We are all so thankful for this opportunity and also to the hard working teachers, who have yet to be paid and have put their hearts and souls into the education of these kids. I will try to post more pictures in an album if time allows.
For now I will be soaking up Linsey and enjoying our precious time together. Thank you for following my journey……Shalenipo Mukwai (stay well)

Lisa

Muli Shani!! (How are you?)

I just wanted to give you a quick update on everything. I am in Lusaka saying goodbye to my best friend here who has ended his service and is headed back to the states. There are so many incredible volunteers that cycle through each others lives, I guess I'm getting good at hello's and goodbyes. Things in the village are going really well. I am kept VERY busy with the preschool, nutrition clubs, the clinic, and my health committees. I want to sincerely thank everyone who has been involved in the school, whether it's donations, supplies, or support, I appreciate EVERYTHING!! We are currently clearing the land where we will build the chicken coop. Sr. Chief Mwamba, a high up Bemba chief for whom my village is named after, has given us his approval and allotted us a beautiful plot of land by the market. The village is also gathering stones and sand for cement, and starting to mold bricks out of mud found in a near by village. I am constantly awed by the work people do here to achieve things that are so commonplace in the states. The bricks will be made by putting mud into molders, then dried in the sun and burned with charcoal. We even had to make the molders out of planks of wood that were carried on the back of bicycles the 25 k from Kasama. The wood was so heavy, I could barely push the bike, let alone cycle it down the bumpy bush path to the village. Stones are found in the bush, crushed into small bits with mallets and carried to the location where the cement will be mixed. It is also harvest season and all my villagers are working in their fields and making the treacherous journey to sell their crops in Kasama. Life is bustling here in Zambia!! I am so so grateful to be able to experience this life, and see something change and develop that will impact so many lives. I wish you all could see the things I see and experience the beauty and struggle here. I am trying my best to keep you in the loop. Until next time.....loveeeeeeeee lisa

Milex Kids during outdoor activity

Boy from "Mango" class practiucing numbers
Mango Class
Latrine Break :)

Hello everyone. I have great news...my proposal for the expansion of a pre-school in my village is FINALLY up on the peace corps website. When I first came to Mwamba, I was invited to observe a class that Mirriam Mwamba, a local teacher's wife, had started the year before. When I walked into her tiny decorated classroom and saw how she interacted with the 7 eager kids there, I knew this was something special. Several months later the Mwamba's approached me and asked for my help to expand the school to accommodate more of the villages orphan and vulnerable children. The community was excited and supportive and our Peace Corps Partnership Proposal blossomed. Now there are over 110 students ages 3-7 who attend Milex (Mirriam + Alex) Nursery School every day. They are buzzing with knowledge and their voices can be heard throughout the village. We need help with basic supplies, classroom renovations, and construction of a chicken coop to sustain the school. Any donations would be MUCH APPRECIATED...you can help by giving online at https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.donors.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=611-034 or go to www.peacecorps.gov under Peace Corps Partnerships, find Zambia and L. Sekulich. Any donations are tax deductible and we can't get any of the money until we reach our goal. I have attached a copy of the entire proposal here if you want to find out more. Feel free to e-mail or post any questions. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!! And a special thank you to those wonderful souls who have already donated!!!

Im in Lusaka for my mid-term medical exams, which means that this is officially my mid-service mark. Hard to believe. I'm glad to report that I'm healthy and very luckily haven't suffered the various medical ailments I've seen in other volunteers. Strong Like Bull! This year has flown by and I have been kept very busy. The next few months will also be nuts as I work to raise money for my Peace Corps Partnership proposal expanding a preschool in my village, which I will write more about soon and be sure to bug y'all for donations :). Things in the village are good. The rains are tapering and the maize stocks are popping up. Mangos have finished but now the fresh maize is everywhere, which i LOVE. The village is lush, green, and soggy and my farmers are working hard in their fields. The season has brought all sorts of new critters including a few new snake sightings, and an ant infestation, which has come and gone several times. Luckily, my roof was patched so leakage is minimal and my beautiful yellow flower fence is in full bloom around my compound. I had a successful fish farming workshop and soya cooking demonstration in the last month and have another next week. It is hard to find good sources of affordable protein in rural areas and soya beans are great for that, but people aren't comfortable with how to cook with them and it is not a common village crop. A bunch of my nutrition clubs are starting to grow them this season, which I am really excited about. The groups LOVE cooking demos because they get to eat a lot of fun and new foods and also watch me struggle over the brazier. It's also a great opportunity to teach basic nutrition and empower the clubs to be more comfortable with giving nutrition advice. There is a lot of malnutrition in the village and people are really lacking accessibility and information. The clubs are always so grateful to have workshops, I usually leave with a barrage of gifts, banana bunches, sweet potatoes, maize, mushrooms ect. I am continually awed by the generosity and appreciation the villagers show. I want to end this post by thanking everyone for the wonderful birthday wishes and incredible packages. I am so LOVED and feel INCREDIBLY lucky to have such support! THANK YOU!!!!! nalimutemwa (i loveeeee you) lisa

Reflections

Time is flying by and my life is ever changing. It is time for reflection as I sit in Kasama on my second of three birthdays in Zambia. A year ago I was bright eyed and in a constant state of awe and confusion as I tried to take in all of the wonder and challenges of this new place. I didn't know what life in my village would be as I attended my bemba classes and sat through tech. training. I wondered how I was ever going to bring change to a community that was so foreign to me. I am still bright eyed and awed, but now my goals are becoming reality. As I become more familiar with my role and learn to weave through the complexities of development I only hope time will allow me to bring my plans to fruition. Mwamba has become my home away from home, and though I am often pulled out of the village for work and various adventures, and am often still flustered by the cultural differences here, I am always relieved to return to my little mud hut and the people and children waiting for me. I have learned to take what is offered around me and work with the skills and ambition that lies in my surrounding communities and to mesh that with my knowledge and my connections with home to enrich the lives around me. Though I am constantly striving for sustainability and change, I never fail to realize that the people around me have impacted me more than I can ever hope to impact them. I am truly living this life and it is beautiful to me. I am awakened by farmers planting their maize fields and children making their walk to school, tattered black uniforms and bare feet. I am kissed by the pouring rain and tickled by wall spiders. I always have dirty feet and finger nails, I feel the cool force of the sweeping river current. I stare at the rolling hills around me as I bike down the narrow red dirt roads that weave through the bright green bush. I am filled with the excitement of a health training and the sparkle in the villagers eyes as they answer my quiz questions or facilitate a lesson for the first time. My heart flutters as the children of Milex preschool sing in class and recite the lessons learned that day. With each joy the reality of the poverty of village life is still present. The sober touch of AIDS, malaria, and malnutrition is felt all around me. People live on. They work, love, laugh, sing and cry. The suffering and joy is life in the village. The support and love from home and the people around me keeps me strong and on my 25th birthday this experience, place, and the people in my life are the greatest present of all. Ever thankful... lisa

ps mom got 2 packages, havent opened yet but thanks...and lins SO GOOD to finally talk to you loooooove you!!!

The Greater Salt Lake

Aka: The Dead Sea. We bussed an hour and a half outside of Jerusalem to the Dead Sea which is surrounded by the cliffs of Israel and Jordan. We hiked in the rocky beige cliffs and gazed upon the endless desert. Despite the chill in the air, I made it into the blue water and it was WILD. I floated effortlessly and my body burned from the salt. The dead sea is the saltiest body of water on earth, not to mention the lowest point. The rocks along the shore had a hard crystal build up of salt and nothing can survive there. It is 30% salt where as the ocean is a mere 3. My skin was smooth and soft from the water and my eyes burnt from the air around the surface. The sensation of weightlessness was unlike anything I've experienced, I couldn't have drown if I tried. It was a nice afternoon.
The last couple of days, I have spent exploring Jerusalem and learning more about Judaism and what it means to be Jewish in Israel. My friend Lyndsey and I went to Haifa, the second largest city in Israel, for "the holiday of holidays" where Christmas, Hanukkah, and Ramadan is celebrated. We went with "seeds of peace" a really great organization that brings Israeli, Palestinian, Jordanian, Egyptian, and American kids together for peace and conflict resolution. It was incredible to see the kids reunite for the first time since they were in the program together. The Israelis and Palestinians are often kept apart by boarder patrol and the giant wall that is being built around Israel, and the kids were ecstatic to reunite. We wandered around the city, saw the majestic Baha'i Gardens, listened to live Opera, and ate some great street food. The food here is heaven, falafal, hummus, yummy fruit, and great chocolate! It was a great day.
I attended my first Shabbat service and dinner afterward. The service was a liberal hippy gathering with beautiful singing and spirit filled people. The dinner afterward was at an Orthodox house and was right after a wedding, so there was incredible food, prayer, singing, and dancing in a circle around the table. YES, that really happens, and its fabulous! I felt so honored to be included at the table, and everyone was so welcoming. I am learning so much and experiencing an entire culture and place I am so unfamiliar with. Tomorrow we will see the Dome of the rock and the Holacaust museum. HAPPY NEW Year! LOVEEEEEEE me.

Jerusalem

It has been a glorious 3 days in Israel and I am in a constant state of wonderment. The girls and I went to Bethlehem, which seemed only appropriate for the Christmas celebrations. It was a short bus ride from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, but we had to get off the bus and go through the check point to get into the city. The check point is in the middle of a giant wall that stretches the borders of Israel and is intended to keep Palestinians out. Only those who live within the walls or have proper identification can get through. It was sobering to see the division so concretely. The massive wall was covered with messages like, “free Palestine,” “We are not terrorists,” “Bring Peace to Israel..” ect. It was very powerful to realize how for granted I take the freedom of movement. I can’t imagine what it is like to be kept from somewhere because of my origin or religion. Our United States Passports allowed us to enter Bethlehem and we walked down the windy streets to Manger Square for the Christmas Eve celebrations. The square was bustling with people and there was a stage set up in front of the church the evening of the 24th. There were choirs and performances all night leading up to midnight mass. We opted not to try to fight the crowds and to attend a service in the morning. The President of Palestine was the special guest so there were a lot of people wanting to attend. We ate falafel and drank sweet tea while listening to the music. I quietly observed all that was going on around me. In the morning we went to the Church of the Nativity, saw the place that Jesus was born, and attended mass there in Arabic.
This was/is only the beginning. Today we visited the Wailing Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (crucifixion/burial place of Jesus). The wall was lined with people praying and putting notes in the cracks of the white Jerusalem stone. People walked backwards from the wall so their backs weren’t turned to it. We were there as the light was radiating off the golden Dome of the Rock and Jerusalem shined.
Jerusalem is breathtaking. I had no idea how beautiful it would be. It is built on a series of hills that is a whirlwind of new and old. It is incredible to be in a city that is so significant to Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. There is so much intensity and stimulation packed into this little city. I haven’t felt unsafe at all, though I can sometimes feel tension in the air. It helps to be with Hannah and her wonderful friends here. I love the food; we have had falafel, pita, and hummus everyday, a vegetarians dream! Not to mention the delicious pastries. I could get use to this. For now, I’m just trying to keep my feet on the ground and not be totally swept away by this experience. Ahhh more soon….i hope Christmas was wonderful for you too! Love lisa

Holy Cow...I mean LAND!!

We made it to Israel!! I'm in Tel Aviv after nearly 24 hours of travel and a 6 hour stop in Ethiopia. It was crazy coming into the Israeli airport. After being up all night, totally starstruck, braids flying every which way with my array of mismatched attire and the fact that i'm usually a mess in life anyways i was therefore seen as an instant threat and politely interrogated several times. The airport officials here don't mess around...but i could bring my water and shampoo not to mention my tweezers...these guys are armatures, don't they know the havoc i could've caused with these dangerous items? The people of Israel are beautiful. Dark features and shining eyes. It is so strange to be in such a pronounced Jewish culture. Such a mesh of Orthodox, Reform, Zionists and so many more I can't grasp. It is surreal. I'm in Israel! Tomorrow we will be going to Jerusalem and then to Bethlehem for Christmas. A trip to the Dead Sea is in the plan as well. I am deliriously wide eyed and with wonder. This place is so rich with culture, history, tragedy and triumph. I just talked to a French woman very active in Doctors without Borders in a coffee shop...yes real COFFEE...brewed, not stirred....who just got back from Gaza and had incredible stories. She said one night they were in the clinic and there was an air raid and they heard firing and bombs all around them and they turned on the news and were watching the activity all around them from inside the building. So crazy. I'm learning from Hannah all about the rich history of this place and the Israeli/Palestinian conflict ahh its so interesting and heart breaking.

Anyways i'm pretty much in shock here. a few reflections. One: the glory of water fountains. I was thirsty and just simply bent over and got a drink...a COLD drink of sweet water. It's so good...once it hits your lips. Dogs...there are actual breeds here. Not just starving mutts twitching with fleas and worms. I loveeee the dogs, and on leashes as PETS...what? I'm not in Zambia any more toto. Things here are so accessible. I can buy gum...in several locations. The cars are small and fuel efficient and there is tarmac EVERYWHERE...endless tarmac...and little green walk guys and and and one kid per adult IF THAT. I do miss my iwes (village kids). ok i've only been here a few hours and listen to me. I can't express how i feel to be here...it's all just too much. I'll get some sleep and compose myself and send some more coherent reflections later

i love you alllllll

yay

NHC training

The road that leads into Mwamba

Some of my NHC members and me rethatching my roof

My kids and I in front of my hut

Dancing at a festival in the village

It's mushroom season