From the source

Sometimes there are things that make you grow up a little more.

The short of it is that when I post this, it will be from Arizona. The reason I hurt my knee. 

The longer part.

 During my senior year of high school, screwing around after football practice, I knew that I hurt myself.  I felt a pop and I just knew something was wrong.  A few short weeks later, I was on the operating table.  The silver lining to what had happen is that nothing was injured too bad. Ever so often my knee would hurt or get sore from different things, change in the weather or greater work load.

I cannot say exactly how I hurt my knee this time. Before I departed to Peace Corps Zambia, current volunteer said, “anything that you bring will get beat up, Zambia is rough on stuff.”  I guess “you” can be added to the list of stuff that will get beat up. During training, I biked… significantly more than I ever have before in my life, I would play soccer with fellow trainees, and just walking. The best way I can say it is that Zambia is different, and those different stresses got to my knee.

Why home?  Because that is where my support network is at. I could have experience medical care in South Africa, but I cannot say that surgery in a foreign country is on my bucket list. With input from my family and friends in the states, I decided that home was the best place to tackle this twist.

What is next? One question that I keep getting is “will you come back?” Right now I cannot say. I want to deal with first things first. So I want to make sure that my knee is 100% then worry about the next step. It could be back to Peace Corps. It could be Zambia, or a different country. It could be something at home. I do not know. But it will be first things first.

Mayer's Class of '13

Mayer Class of 2013,

I Wish you the best in everything. I do want to express to you a few words of wisdom that I have learned, both from you while teaching and from my brief experience here in Zambia. This is not easy. This "life" thing it gets more challenging. No one is going to hand you a perfect opportunity. Nothing great ever comes easy, it takes work, work that I know each and everyone of you can do to find your definition of success. This is the "last" year you have to be a kid and make mistakes. Do learn from them but do not take advantage of those countless opportunities and the people who give you that chance. I can no longer be as great of an advocate.
Remember that there are your highs and your lows and the time in between. No one wants their lowest of days of times to go on forever. The same can be said about your highs. Learn to just be content.
This year like all years will fly by like I said a few short years ago. At times a grind, the next moment you will blink and a week will end. This year is the last year you will ever be together as The Graduating Class of Mayer High School 2013. Enjoy it. Make sure you are a part of it.
When differences arise as they always do, think, will it matter in a month? A year? 5 years? Is it worth a friendship?
Do not ever doubt what you have. Right now I do not have running water, electricity, Internet, even a toilet to sit on I crap in a hole. And the list could go on and on. Zambians call this home. I know that after my time here in Zambia, I will go home. Back to these conveniences , but what I care more about are not the things rather the people who I miss the most; Mom & Dad, Brothers, sister in-law, niece & nephew, my girl, and countless amazing friends. I know these relationships will have changed, that is okay. Relationships do change. Will it be hard yes, but so worth it.
When the I have the chance I will Skype in, until then remember;
Time is equal to everyone, everyone gets the same amount it is what you do with it that helps to define you. Value your time...
To understand the value of a year ask the individual who had to repeat a year in school
To understand the value of a month ask a mother who had their child a month premature
To understand the value of a week ask the editor to a weekly news paper
To understand the value of an hour ask the bride and groom before their wedding
To understand the value of 5 minutes ask the poor soul who missed their train
To understand the value of a second ask the person who avoided the accident
To understand the value of a millisecond ask the winner to the silver metal.

Home for 24 months

Site location.

I am very excited that I have found out where I will call home for my two years of service.

I will be in the Central Providence, a part of the Kapiri Mposhi district. My village or umushi (Icibemba) is Chibwe. The two bombas (larger towns or cities) that I am near are Kapiri and the Central Providence Capitol of Kabwe.

The site is about 2 hours north of Lusaka, and about 2.5 hours southwest of Serniji where the Peace Corps has a Providential house.

My site is first generation, no one has been there before. However, there will be a few other PCVs within 15-50k of me, I plan to work with them. I will be laying the ground work for the development that will come. My primary focus will be aquaculture in earthen ponds, the ponds will help to provide food security and economy development. As a side project I plan to work with a local school and help in whatever way possible.

In about 2 weeks I will have the chance to do second site visit and see my exact location. After I do this I will have a better understanding of location, and the project that I will work on.

About a month in...

How do you write about the first month of a life changing experience with hardly no time?
Highlights!
I have had some long travel days but I think the one getting to Zambia tales the cake 15 hour flight. Here are a few notes that I took about that day.
The song "She's like Texas" by Josh Abbot made for good travel music.

Travel day
I can't say if we started at 12pm
Or when we got on the bus this (July 18th) morning at 2:30 am.

Rewind back just a bit... July 17th
7pm conclusion of staging training
9:30pm finish 'Merica dinner last 1 at five guys burgers
11:17 pm two brews with new friends
Midnight calls home and packing
July 18th
1:20 am debate if a power nap is worth it... Shower
2:00 am in hotel lobby ready to bus to JFK
5:36 am hurry up and wait to check in.
8:24am a breakfast of champions crapy pizza and chocolate milk, time to get felt up by tsa... Solar powered water bottles
11:00 am seated in the plane
14 hour 45 min flight....
3 different movies, a few cat naps and dinner and breakfast later we will look to be on the ground in about 38 min

The first few nights we the new intake of Peace Corps Trainees, PCTs were at the Barn Hotel. We had Sessions about heath, introductions, and safety. Shots and anti Malaria medication were some of the highlights.
Maybe we PCTs had a little down time with live music and local beers.

All of the PCTs then when out to a first sight visit. We did this to experience site with a current volunteer what and an example of where we could be for service. 3 days and 2 nights of living in the bush, Cooking on braziers, hauling water, 40 k to the nearest paved road, a hole in the ground, phone service at atop "cell phone mountain."
This was a great experience.

I am now in my home stay, with my host family the Mwansa's. I am in the Kakubo village near Chongwe. I have plenty of things to learn. The technical aspect of building fish ponds with limited resources. The Bemba language. An plenty of culture.
More later when the time arises, I hope you enjoyed

Playlist

A few songs for the road

Leavin on a Jet Plane ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpb0XB-gT_U )
Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life) ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnQ8N1KacJc )
Home ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbSOLBMUvIE )
Calling you ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNyGK7ymW0k )
Colder Weather ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oouFE51HcqM )
Time ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFLysouG86I )
Hey Driver ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aE_dANEDAfI )
We Are Young ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sv6dMFF_yts )
Call me Maybe Share it Maybe ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qTIGg3I5y8 )

not one...

I have no idea why on earth this happened but I am glad that it did happen. Do I fully understand it? No. Will I ever fully understand it? Maybe. It was worth it. 

"If I could do it again I'd do it the same, not one regret I wouldn't change a thing."

 ~CS

No tears, no regrets, I enjoyed it.

Success and Goodbyes

“Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.” - Dr. Seuss

Right now I am defining success as “I am choosing exactly what I want to do.”

Over this past week or so, I have had to say some goodbyes.  I did not ball my eyes out.  There may have a time or two that I had something caught in my eye.  I am absolutely amazed and feel utterly blessed to have so many friends and my family show great support.

I said farewell to my FFA family at State Leadership Conference in Tucson.  My students got another FFA opportunity and experience. Fellow agricultural education teachers expressed excitement and well wishes.

Magic the Gathering. This trading card game has been my hobby for the past 8 years.  The people who play this game are unique. From my time in Tucson while I attended the University of Arizona, I gained a group of gamers. There is also a wonderful group up here in the tri-cities area. Both helped me to be a better player of the game and even more so some great friendships. Some of these friends help me to test my liver, and others invited me in to their homes. I cannot think of a more dynamic group of people. The game but more the people I played it with I will miss.

I have said my byes at school as classes ended however there are a few those remain. Tomorrow I have a meeting with, the superintendent, principle, incoming teacher, and a few others. Professionally I could not have had better help, and I could not be happier with who is filling the roll as the next Ag Ed teacher at Mayer. I am excited to pass on some information, to help Mayer to continue to build upon success not only for the FFA chapter but for all students a part of the program and school.

Church. To say that I have been the best Church going person of the past few years would not be truthful. I do believe that everyone who had their home Church knows that it is easier to go there at home then it is go elsewhere. The send off and excitement in which, that community gave to me, tells me that I am blessed. Thank you.

Most of these goodbyes have not been very heavy on me. The goodbyes during this next week, my last week in the states, they get harder. 

My brothers

A new friendship

My Niece and Nephew

My mentors

And my Parents

Two years is not very long, however it is. I will miss you. I know just like the opportunity that was Up with People provided a great new extended family, Peace Corps service will do the same. 

Success. I have mentioned the idea to a few of my friends, that the best thing about my niece and nephew… is that they are my niece and nephew. I love them. They are the best. But in my life right now I would not want my own. That same thought can be used here. Yes, I will miss my friends and family. But this, to go to Peace Corps Zambia is my choice! And I love it! On any given day I am not always able to give an exact reason of why.  Heck some days or depending on who I talk with the reason will change.  But that is exactly it, there are many reasons why I want to go and I choose to go.  My definition of success is not monies, or things, but it is my ability to choose what I want to do. 

Thanks , peace, and enjoy