Cirque du Soleil in 7 parts

Just returned from 2nd site visit and it was awesome! 8 of us went to Central Prov. and stayed with Zach who was a great host. Central Prov is beautiful and I'm so glad I got to see it. Zach works hard and has some great farmers. We stayed at homestays and our family was really nice and made Julie and I feel at home. We got a lot of exercise (finally) between the 4o minute bike ride to and from Zach's place and the mountain we climbed and the pond visits! I never thought Central would be hilly but it is and it makes biking very challenging.

We went to a cultural day at the local school and saw some traditional dances and drank some traditional drinks....not too bad. We also attended a village party one night where I tried wild boar!

The other highlight of site visit was getting back to Mwekera. We were responsible for our own transport back and it was much easier than we anticipated. We hiked over a mountain and walked for 5 minutes when a minibus came by! The minibus wasn't packed when we got on but within a half hour we were hauling about 15 people, 4 giant backpacks, a suitcase, and a chicken. We made it safely to Kapiri and got lunch at our favorite gas station and as we were taking our last bite a big bus pulled up and they drove us to Kitwe. Assuming we make it back to Mwekera this afternoon in one piece it will be a successful trip!

We have two weeks of training left and then it's off to Eastern Prov! I will miss everyone but I'm ready to get out and start working. I've heard good things about my site and I can't wait to see it. I'm going to Eastern with 3 really great people and I'm glad I don't have to leave them. Julie and I figured we haven't been more than 20 feet apart in the last 2 weeks. I don't know if I'll be able to sleep tonight w/out her right next to me.

Tomorrow is back to reality....I've taken 3 hot showers in the last 3 days and it's amazing what a a shower can do for morale! It's also back to nsima, lepu (rape), and kayera (beans) but it makes me appreciate pasta, garlic bread, and Don Pedro when I can get it!

Ah yes, Julie and I feel we left our Serenje homestay with much to talk about for years to come. After a two hour walk to their home on the first night we decided it made more sense to bathe together. So try to imagine a mud hut w/out a door and a reed mat barely covering the doorway. Now add a few logs strategically balanced on some other logs and rocks. And finally add a psychotic chicken and her babies in the corner. That was our bathing situation every night of site visit because it was too much fun the first night to stop. Cirque du Soleil has nothing on us!