I'M IN ZAMBIA!!

Where to start? Well, we’re here. And all alive. That’s what you all want to know, right? So let me rewind.

            We left Thursday from school and flew from Indy to Atlanta. Let me just side note for a sec to tell you that I made my first cultural mistake…before I even left our country. Indy airport bathrooms can be tricky and confusing, some might say. No need to make this a long story but I wound up in the men’s restrooms just about running into 3 guys standing at the urinals. In my defense, the signs were marked really poorly. Ah well…I think before the 3 months is over, I will make bigger mistakes.

            Then our plane took off from Atlanta around 8pm….and 15 hours later…we made it to Johannesburg, South Africa. We got to stay at a really nice hotel for our overnight layover and had a killer continental breakfast before our 11am flight to Livingston. After we arrived at about 12:30pm, we were very warmly welcomed by one of the staff members from World Hope out of D.C. as well as a staff of WHIZ (that’s World Hope International’s compound here in Zambia). We stopped for a bit in Livingston to buy bottled water. [Tap water causes bacterial stomach problems = very bad idea.]

            From there crammed 22 people and about 40 suitcases into a big (but hardly big enough) bus and had a 3 hour ride to our compound. About half of the time we were on dirt roads so had we been going on I-69, we probably would have made it in 2 hours. But it wasn’t bad and I managed to survive without carsickness…yes!! Once we arrived, we were served our first traditional Zambian meal, which was chicken, vegetables, salad and Nshima, their food staple. And we ate with our hands. Yep, scrubbed ‘em down and used them as utensils. It was fun. :) Then we got to move into our rooms. I stay in what they call the SUPER DORM! It really is super, and like a dorm. It is 10 of us staying in a room with 10 bunk beds. We each have an entire bunk set and all sleep on the top bunks because of our mosquito nets. I’ll attach pictures at some point.

            This morning we split into 3 groups and went to different churches. The church I went to was Choma Central. It was about 3 ½ hours long and unlike any other service I have experienced. They start with bible study from 9-10, then have the most amazing worship service at 10am. They also do offering and other short devotions during this time and then the pastor starts the message at 11am. For us, it lasted until about 12:45. Then after church, everyone greets everyone. This is a really great idea but was a bit overwhelming for us today just because we were all trying to get the hang of the way they greet and shake hands and make eye contact. All of that is different here and we were trying to be friendly while making sure we showed respect to everyone.

            So that about catches you up to my current state of being. We are all having a great time so far and the people have all been so wonderful! I will give you more details on them later as I learn more about them. We are getting a tour of the town tomorrow and then probably starting classes on Tuesday, which has been something that has been so far from my mind until...today, pretty much. But school work or not, I would rather be here than anywhere else right now and will gladly be share more of my experiences with you all...whether you like it or not. ;)