| X M.Y P.E.R.S.O.N.A.L J.O.U.R.N.E.Y . |
| Updates |
| Hello family and friends, I am putting together a long letter that I will send to my friend Tasia, so that she can add it to the website. It will have plenty of details about life here in ?Zambia. So, for now, I hope you appreciate my little list. I will credit Oprah for this idea. One time Oprah discussed always ending her journal entries with three things she is thankful for. Well, I have taken that idea and add my own little twist: Three Things That I Have Learned In Zambia: 1. Marshmallows are excellent packing material when sending packages to Zambia. Hint hint! No seriously, my friend sent me a package with marshmallows in it and I loved it. They kept the chocolate chip cookies from breaking AND were great for introducing S'mores to my host family. I would tell you some of the other great packing tricks I have learned from Suzy, but I am still trying to convince her and her mom to write a book with all their great travel tips. 2. Putting ash on the outside of your pots before you cook works to keep it from getting completely burned. This was a life saver because at the time I was just cooking and then spending WAY TOO MUCH time cleaning my pots afterwards. Even using the technique of using dirt and water together to scrub the pots clean, it still took forever. I was seriously contemplating only cooking one meal a day and having it stretch out all day when someone told me this trick. For all of you who love camping and to my Girl Scout Troop leaders who are probably extremely disappointed that I didn't remember this, I apologize. It's been a long time since I cooked by firewood. Anyway, this technique makes life so much easier and you will be happy to know that I continue to cook three meals a day. :) People, if you thought the other two were good, then you will be totally surprised with this next one... 3. BOOM, a detergent paste from Zambia that we use for washing dishes, is the best thing EVER created! It turns out that if you put Boom on the outside of your wet pot and let it dry it works even better than ash. I am telling you that this discovery changed my life. I've learned a lot of new and exciting things in my life, but this is one of the greatest! Three Things I Am Grateful For: 1. Ox carts: One night I was walking home a bit late and yelling at myself, I couldn't believe how quickly it had gotten so dark. Then I hear these loud, male voices coming down the path. I was contemplating jumping in the bushes, when I heard, "Teacher!" It was the boys that work on my family's farm. They were coming home from town in an ox cart. I wound up getting a ride home in an ox cart. It was an amazing experience. I sat there looking up at the stars and listening to one of the boys, who has an amazing voice, singing hymns in Tonga. It was magical! 2. My health: Last week, the daughter of the family I stay with passed away. She was only 25. I learned that her mom has 13 children. Of her 13 children, six have passed away including this girls's twin brother. In talking to some of the other women in the community, I learned that many of these women have lost multiple children. Every day I am here I am thankful for my health and for that of my family and friends. I love you all and hope that you continue to care of yourselves. 3. New friends: Friendship comes in all forms and from all kinds of people. Some of my best friends have been the children in my community. One little girl, Trinah, will just run up to me with her arms spread out wide and leap into my arms and give me a hug or kiss on the cheek. In Zambia, people are extremely friendly and welcoming, but they don't give hugs. Generally, you greet with a traditional hand shake. I have missed hugs and love that Trinah feels free with me to just come up and give me a hug. Another girl, Malindi, helped me clean my yard. Who knew that you needed to sweep and weed your dirt yard?! I didn't so I had three weeks of digging and sweeping to do. So, she and I were out in the yard with the traditional brooms and hoes digging out all the weeds in my yard and sweeping. It was exhausting work but completely satisfying! I hope you have enjoyed my list and find that you have as many new things that you are learning as things to be thankful for. Miss you tons! Please stay in touch! Peace and love, Jalle The views in this site are personal and do not reflect those of the U.S. Government or the Peace Corps. Copyright Geocities.com/JalleGebisa. All Rights Reserved. |
 |