After completing 3 months of training in Lusaka, and being sworn in as official Peace Corps Volunteers, we prepared to head to our sites. We packed 6 people into the cruiser to head down south, a bit, uh tired, from celebrating the night before.
Not only were we saying goodbye to our good friends moving to other provinces, but we would be entering the period of “Community Entry,” meaning for the next 3 months, we would be limited to staying in our villages and not taking any extended or overnight travel. This means we would not even see fellow volunteers in our province, unless you shared a boma (definition below), for the next 90 days.
CE was very daunting at first, some volunteers warned that it would be the hardest part of service; facing culture shock all over again, building language skills, dealing with isolation and loneliness, and adjusting to living rurally.
I moved to my site in the village of Zyangale, on June 10th. It doesn’t really exist on a map. I’m in the area of the Nabuyani dam, in the area of Nazilongo, under the Siatchitema Chiefdom of Kalomo District, in the Southern Province of Zambia.
There are 15 (?) districts in the Southern Province, and I am in the largest one, in the largest chiefdom. The Southern Province is home to 80% of the agricultural and food production in the country. Kalomo district produces the most maize, Zimba has cattle and goats, Monze has sugarcane, just to name a few… (I don’t have a source to cite, just the word around town).
I live along the Lusaka-Livingstone Highway, halfway between Choma (50 miles away) and Kalomo (40 miles away). Towns such as these are called bomas, a leftover abbreviation for British Overseas Management Areas (also referred to as British Overseas Military Adminstration). Choma is the provincial capital for Southern Province, but many moons ago, Kalomo was once the capital. I go to these town once a week for meetings with local government officials, wifi access, catching up with volunteers, and for stocking up on dry goods.
To get to the boma, I first have to get to the highway, which is 4km down a sandy rutted out road. I either walk (45 minutes) or bike (10 minutes). From here I can hop in a taxi and negotiate for a shared ride for 40 kwacha, roughly $1.75 and arrive at the grocery store in 30 minutes. On cooler days, or when I want to push myself, I will bike to town. This takes about 4 hours to complete the 50 mile trip. I don’t end up saving money taking this alternative, because I will let myself have a “sweet treat” for finishing the ride.
Life As Lydski 