First, thanks so much for all of your supportive emails and for your many generous donations to Camp GLOW. It meant so much to me that so many of yall had such positive feedback for me! If you know of anyone else who might be interested in supporting our efforts please direct them to our sponsorship page on the Peace Corps website. We are still in need of quite a bit of donations.
Zambia has truly changed overnight. While two months ago it was hot, humid, and the land was a brilliant green, it is now cold, dry, and…. Burning. All of the farmers are currently burning their fields in order to clear the land for next year’s harvest (an agriculture practice that PCVs and development agencies try to discourage due to its extremely harmful impact on the land). While I no longer have to tote around a raincoat everywhere I go or wipe mold off all of my clothes, dry season means freezing nights, freezing bucket baths, and the return of deep, treacherous sand to bike through.
It also means that an intense war has broken out in my hut. It is woman vs. ant, ladies and gentleman. And the odds are not in my favor.
Once cold season strikes the ants in my village take refuge in the houses. Within a few days time, the ants moved into my house, covering the floors, climbing into my food bins, and slipping through my mosquito net to swarm me while I am sleeping in my bed. I spend several hours a day waging a pointless battle. On the bright side, I’ve got plenty of roommates now?
When I’m not strategizing my next insect oriented blow, I’ve been incredibly busy with work, especially my malaria behavior change projects, and I have also spent a lot of time traveling Zambia. As most of you know, my mom and dad visited Zambia in May. We went to Livingstone, Chipata (my provincial capital), my village, and South Luangwa National Park. We saw Victoria Falls at one of its strongest points; we were soaked just standing on the bridge overlooking the falls. In the National Park we saw leopards, hippos, lions, giraffe, buffalo, impala, and dozens upon dozens of different kinds of species of animal I don’t usually get to see at home. And in my village, my friends and neighbors threw a big party in honor of my parents and my parents were even escorted to meet the Chief at her Palace. It was amazing to have the home I miss so much come to me here. And it was even more special to be able to share my new life with the people I love most.
It was difficult when mom and dad left but it will only be a few more weeks until the next contingent of the Rubin family arrives… Aviva and Dylan will be arriving in Zambia on 7 July! We’ll be traveling around Zambia a bit and they will be spending quite a bit of time in my village, helping out in the clinic and getting their fill of nsima (our maize traditional dish…a toned down version of grits). Then we’ll take the train up to Tanzania and travel around Zanzibar. I can’t wait for them to be here!
Shortly after my parents left I got sick with malaria. It was a terrible experience and I spent most of my time lying on the couch of the Peace Corps House in Chipata with a fever. I feel a lot better but I’m still exhausted – as in I go to bed at 6:30 instead of 8:00 these days (not too much to brag about). A hyena killed a cow in my village just after I returned from my sick leave so for the first time since moving into the village I’ve had plenty of red meat and iron which helped with my recovery. We’ve been feasting on beef all week.
I’ll be coming in to Chipata again in 2 weeks to celebrate a friend’s wedding and then my own birthday. I don’t think we’ll be able to scrounge up any 4th of July fireworks but we’ll make our best barbecue attempt. There is even talk of trying to get our hands on a kiddy pool…pool party?
Stay well over there in AmericaLand. Lots of love!
- Arianna, The Ant Slayer
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