Northern Province

Hello Everyone!
I have just been on my first overnight bus in Zambia and luckily I survived :-)! I found out two weeks ago that I was going to be posted in Northern Province in Mpika District and so last week we all went out to our sites so that we could see what we would be getting into and returned together on the night bus from Kasama-the provincial capital of Northern to Lusaka. The bus trip took about 13 hours so I am quite far away from the capital but I like it that way! I am so excited and happy about my site...I am living not far from the BOMA of Mpika which is what they call the town so it is perfect location. I also have quite a few NGOs working in the area, including Irish Aid, USAID, World Vision etc that the volunteer before me worked with so I am excited to see what I can possibly do to help. My village is great and the people are so welcoming! I arrived at my actual site on Wednesday and the villages had a huge dance and welcome celebration for me at the rural health center where I will be working. It was overwhelming but beautiful and I really feel like they want me there. I am a 2nd generation volunteer but the volunteer before me left after a year of service so they were really disappointed in that and asked if I would stay three years to make up for it! Haha...I told them I would give it my best for two years and that is all I can promise! My hut is pretty nice...unfortunately I wasn't able to take any pictures but it is pretty big! I have two rooms, one sitting room and then a really large bedroom. I also have a small kitchen outside, a beautiful insaka (gazebo) that is on top of a hill in my backyard with an amazing view of the valley and then a bathing shelter and chimbusu-toilet. I have quite a bit of land and the volunteer before me did some farming so I might try my hand at gardening :-) My house needs quite a bit of work and I plan on cementing and painting the house so as soon as it is cozy I will post pictures! We stayed at our actual sites for two nights alone to get the feel of what it would be like. This was my favorite part of training and it is so hard to be back here in Lusaka! I just can't wait to be out in the bush and trying my hand at this work! My village headman is a very nice man, although the previous volunteer did say that he drinks quite a bit-which is not surprising as most men here in Zambia drink a lot! I also met my counterpart Gilbert-he is the secretary for the Health Community Center so he showed me around my health clinic and is a good guy from what I can tell. He speaks pretty great English so he helps when I can't understand the Bemba. Oh my Bemba is improving, slowly but surely and I was able to make a formal introduction to the villagers and clinic staff entirely in Bemba and they understood so yay for that! Northern Province is really gorgeous with lots of rolling hills and trees...it reminds me a lot of Pietermaritzburg but a more dry version. It is also pretty cold, actually it is the coldest district in Zambia so my winters aren't going to be fun! Luckily winter is ending and the dry hot season is approaching.
From my training group, nine of us are going to Northern. Five of us are in the health program and four are in the Rural Aquaculture program. I am so excited that my good friend from training will be in Northern province because I think after we get posted, it will be hard to see people from other provinces since we are so far away! But Kate is in Northern and we have the same provincial house-a house that Peace Corps provides for volunteers to escape to if they need a break from village life. We are allowed four nights per month at the house, which is in Kasama. It is a nice big house but it reminds me a lot of a sorority house. I met most of the current serving volunteers and they are really great but because I guess the hardship of service, they like to drink a lot when they get together. The house is surprisingly well organzied and will be a nice escape! And there is a full kitchen so we can cook delicious food like we eat in America!
Life in Zambia is great overall but there are little things that get really frustrating. The guys are very annoying and really persistent in trying to get you to talk to them or give them money. I went with a current serving volunteer from Mpika to Kasama and she showed me how to hitch, and the entire two hours that we waited for a ride, we were approached by drunk amaguys who wanted us to take their minibuses. It is so annoying! Hitching is quite popular in Zambia and is actually a much better, sometimes safer way of getting around Zambia then the public transit. Often the drivers of minibuses or buses are drunk so going anywhere with them could be bad. We ended up getting a hitch with a USAID pick-up truck who were heading up to Kasama to build a borehole. It was a nice ride and a pleasant conversation! It was kind of scary the first time but with time, it will be a piece of cake!
Sorry this is so jumbled...I am running out of time at this internet cafe so I must close for now but I promise to update again really soon!
I hope you all are well and please please write me!

Oh I have a new mailing address, please use it:
Sarita Fritzler, PCV
P.O. Box 450100
Mpika, Zambia
AFRICA

Miss you all!