Whitney And The Chief

On Saturday, or Friday, or whenever it was (news here in Zambia is slow in traveling) my favorite singer was taken from all of us on Earth... Whitney.  For those of you that don't know, I am a huge Whitney Houston fan.  I love all her hits, such as How Will I Know and I Wanna Dance With Somebody.  I'm bummed to say the least, but the thing that worries me the most is that I feel somehow responsible.  In 2009, when I went to Kenya Michael Jackson died.  I come to Zambia one week ago and Whitney dies.  I plan on traveling to a lot of other countries while I'm here and I'm worried to find out what other celebs may meet their demise.

I Miss Her More Than Words Can Describe

I just finished my site visit in Chipata, Zambia, and I really enjoyed it.  We took some tours of projects like what I'll be working on (forestry and agricultural) with a volunteer that is serving there, and I liked what I saw.  There is some really interesting work being done by the community, as well as the volunteer.  It made me really excited to get started on the training and then having a site of my own.

While on site visit and had a couple of firsts... fetching my own water, killing a chicken by slitting its throat with a knife that severely needed a good sharpening, washing my clothes by hand (I've done this before, but this time I was trying to get out blood from the chicken, not just dirt).  It was interesting to get out of my comfort zone and really live the way the rest of the world does - no lights, water, or packaged meat. 

However, the most interesting thing that happened is that three separate villagers referred to me as "chief."  Both because of my continually growing beard and my sizable mid-section.  If only I wasn't a pale-faced mzungu (a white person) I could become a proper chief.  It is this type of experience that really reaffirms that I truly am back in Africa.  Well that and the cows and goats that are wondering all over the place.

A Few Days In Zambia

Let me describe to you what Zambia has been like so far... muggy, muggy, a spinkle of rain, a dash of sun, and muggy again.  As soon as I got off the plane in Zambia I started to sweat.  The temperature here in Lusaka is about 85 or so for the last few days, but the humidity is what has been the toughest.  This may seem hard to understand how someone could say that it's tough when most of the people I know back in the Midwest weill be struggling with at least another month and half of cold winter, but it's all I can really talk about. 

So far we've just been sitting in a bunch of Peace Corps meetings and being told what is expected of us, what we expect of them, and so on and so forth.  I haven't had the opportunity to see much of the country except for a brief trip to the Peace Corps's country headquarters on the outskirts of Zambia, which included meeting the entire staff and the Country Director - Tom Kennedy.  Even that was very brief, but it will all change tomorrow when we head out on our first site visits.  This means that we go stay with a current volunteer to gain some sort of idea what the projects are like, living conditions, and overall feel of being a Peace Corps Volunteer.  It should be really exciting. 

On being back in Africa I really couldn't be happier.  Out of the 35 of us that made the trip from Washington DC to Zambia a few days ago only two other people have ever been to Africa in the past, so it has been a lot of fun for me to see their reactions and excitement about coming here.  It brought back a lot of great memories of mine from when I first went to South Africa in 2008.  In fact, as soon as I stepped off the plane I smelled the diesels fumes, felt the mugginess, and I instantly remembered why I like this place so much.  An odd set of conditions to enjoy, but for whatever reason I do. 

Zambia itself is quite a bit different from both Kenya and South Africa, but it is similar in some ways to Uganda.  The tiny bit of countryside that I have seen is really green and lush like Uganda.  It is the rainy season right now (the reason for the mugginess) but I think that overall I'm really going to like being here, like I have enjoyed the other countries before. 

And in case any of you were wondering about Alan / Aaron... now all of the other Peace Corps Trainees call Aaron by the name I gave him, Alan.  He has fully embrassed it and I'm pretty sure that a couple of people don't even know what his real name is. 

Leaving The Mitten

Yesterday I left my favorite mitten of all, Michigan.  Leaving my home state proved to be more difficult than I thought.  I tried to keep a stiff upper lip and tried not to think about how long I would be gone or what I would miss while away or any of a number of other concerns that come with going abroad.  But it was difficult. 27 months is a long way to be away from your home.  That's over 800 days or just shy of 20,000 hours of being gone.  That's a long time time for sure.

One thing I'll really miss about Michigan are the early summer months.  Nearly perfect weather.

With that being said I'm still very excited about this new adventure - it's my personal version of the space program or something.  Where everything I see and do will be completely new and, hopefully, exciting... or at least interesting.


Last night when I got to my hotel here in Washington D.C. I was informed by the woman working the front desk that the Peace Corps had put another future volunteer in my room for these two nights.  I had my first new roommate and she told me his name was Alan.  So I went up to the room, dropped my bags off and he wasn't there.  No worries though, because I went out to eat with my good friend Jeff.


When I came home I walked in and there was Alan sitting in his bed, reading.  I said hi, introduced myself and we talked for a while.  I kept calling him Alan because that's what the women at the front desk said his name was, or so I thought.  After about 8 - 10 minutes Alan informed me that his name was not actually Alan and he didn't know why I was calling him this.  His name was Aaron and he would really appreciate it if I got his name correct (he didn't say this last part, but I'm sure he wished it).  I felt like an idiot.


What a great way to start off my Peace Corps endeavor.  Today is the first day of registration and a bunch of other busy work here in D.C.  Worst of all, today is when I meet all the rest of my group's volunteers.  Usually I would be excited about this, but after the whole Alan incident I'm just not sure I can trust myself to get their names right.

Kim, Khloe, Kourtney, and Me

This blog will probably be the last time that I am ever directly linked with Kim, Khloe, and Kourtney Kardashian unless some Act of God places the the four of us on a desolate island, and if that happens I can only imagine the outcome. 

So maybe this blog is a bit far-reaching for me then, since the focus is on these three Armenian-American pits of public interest and myself.  Aside from the fact that Kourtney is the best, and most likely to make something of her life (no DUIs, lost videos of love making, etc.), these three little ladies are making something of an interest of mine.  That isn't saying much... 


Since I came back to Michigan a couple of days before Christmas I have spent nearly the entire time eating and watching as much TV as humanly possible (minus 10 days when I was busy seeing friends in Washington DC and New York.  Even then all I did was eat).  Everything from the Kardashians to Maury to Teen Mom can be found on my viewing menu.  It's terrible and I'm not proud of it, but these are the little examples of Americana that I will miss a lot while I'm in Zambia.  Most people when they go abroad really miss certain foods - pizza, burgers, milkshakes and so on, but for me it will be these mindless shows that engross the viewer.  Sure I'll miss baseball, college football, and March Madness, but those are seasonal.  These bits of viewing delight are year-round commodities.  


I shouldn't be too distraught though... when I was in Kenya I heard about the death of Michael Jackson within a few short hours of his passing.  My dear friend Wambua, who I will blog about in length soon, passed the news on to me and the two of us were miles and miles from the nearest TV.  So, with that being said, maybe I shouldn't be too upset that I'll be missing out on pop culture.  It may just find me.  After all, the Wrath of the Kardashians is far reaching, the Maury Empire is all encompassing, and Teen Moms are all around.  

An Average Day Feeding My Addiction / Keeping Up With The Kardashians In The Basement