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| Jk, this is not in Zambia, its at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle the day before I flew out to Lusaka. |
So, to start off with, I'm living/working in Lusaka, Zambia (the capital) through the end of August, as a State Department Intern in the Political/Economic Affairs office in the US Embassy. Its been quite a journey just applying for an internship position, interviewing, doing security clearance etc, just to get where I am now. for brevitys sake, lets just say that the security clearance was the worst part of it all and resulted in me finally getting cleared and buying my international plane ticket 4 days before I was to depart (which I do not recommend). im fortunate enough to have a fellowship to cover all my costs this summer, otherwise that plane ticket alone would have cost me over 2k.
Anyways, I knew that this summer would be drastically different from my last time out of the country, which happened to be when I served in nepal. I knew I'd be living life more or less as a diplomat, even though I'm just an intern. Honestly, I was pretty spot on. I'm put up in embassy housing here, which includes an entire 3 bed/2bath house with massive yard ringed with concertina wire, complete with a swimming pool (sadly empty). I have a 24/7 guard, and embassy motorpool picks me up each morning to go to work and returns me at the end of the day. Its pretty swank, not going to lie. However, most of these "luxuries" are honestly for safety. I'd feel pretty unsettled being alone in a big house in a neighborhood I didnt know without a guard at the front gate. Lusaka (from what I've seen of it thus far) is very spread out, and has more of a "neighborhood" feel than what I'm used to. Compared to Kathmandu, which is a clusterfuck to say the least (in every way possible) Lusaka is this idyllic lush green and quiet city. Roadways are paved and lined with manicured lawns and shrubs, there are streetlights, and pollution is negligible. Its a complete change from the chaos of kathmandu that I had gotten used to in my 2 years in Nepal.
Work-wise, I've only just finished my first week of work, so I am not quite on a project yet, but I'll be working on environmental/wildlife affairs out of the pol/econ section. Theres actually a wildlife officer in the embassy who ive been working closely with. Mostly my first week has consisted of massive amounts of reading, whether that be reports, news articles, or government written cables, trying to educate myself on the political situation in Nepal and how that subsequently affects their wildlife and environmental policies. My first day at work, I was privileged enough to attend an off site meeting with some of my coworkers and USAID environmental officers(united states agency for international development); the meeting was about 30 minutes away, so I was able to get a better glimpse of Lusaka than my usual route from home-embassy-home. At one point, we got stuck in a bit of traffic in a very crowded urban section of lusaka, where it was strictly zambians. We were driving through a market, past hundreds of little shops selling chitenges (zambian fabric you can make clothes with), produce, charcoal, oil, soap, etc. I saw all these little dilapidated shops selling air-time (mobile recharge cards) and fresh cooked bread etc, thinking to myself "rewind 2 years ago and you would have been in the thick of that, not thinking twice about buying food off the street and consuming it right then and there." instead, I was in an air conditioned vehicle with diplomatic plates dressed up in a pant suit. Part of me mourned the loss of my life that used to be right smack dab in the middle of that chaotic mess. Quite literally, and figuratively, I was very much on the other side of a previous life I had once known, but now seemed pretty foreign. Not that one life is better/worse than the other, but the differences are very noticeable.
I've definitely noticed my lack of cultural awareness here as well, mostly because i feel so removed from well, culture, here. That might sound weird to say, but its true. All my travel skills I utilized in Nepal, most of all my feelings of competency in fending for myself, are pretty rusty. Theyre there, but I have to constantly remind myself that. The embassy is straight up mini America inside, and as such, I havent really had to utilize my street smarts or bargaining skills, or even tested my ability to eat street food (lets hope the iron stomach I had after peace corps still exists). I've just realized that this experience is going to take a lot more effort on my part in terms of learning more about Zambia and making connections with Zambians. I found myself jealous of the PC Zambia volunteers, when, at the market, they greeted shopkeepers they were friends with, and it made me reminisce about all of the wonderful Nepalis myself and other PCVs interacted with on a regular basis in Pokhara and Kathmandu, people we had forged relationships with after 2 years in country.
Because I came here alone and basically have no friends, I've tried integrating myself into activities as much as possible. I got connected with Peace Corps Zambia (and i am writing this blog from their office, which has free wifi! Unlike Kathmandu, there are hardly any restaurants/cafes here that have internet. RIP free wifi) volunteers, so its been nice to get some insider information about the city from them. I also joined Lusaka Hash House Harriers, which dubs themselves "a drinking club with a running problem". I believe it was started by the British, but they have them all over the world. I THINK I blogged about the one I did in Kathmandu, but I could be mistaken. There are runners and walkers and a "hare" sets the trail with chalk. The trail has checkpoints and false trails, so you have to find the right one. its a bit of a maze sometimes. And then at the end of the run (between 6-10k), everyone congregates and has beer and socializes. Its been a good way to meet a lot of people, stay in shape (Lusaka's at 4600 feet, so running was very hard the first day), so I'm going to try and go every week. Additionally, an added bonus is that the runs are on the outskirts of Lusaka, in the "bush here, so I've been able to run through some pretty amazing scenery on some farms and whatnot. I've additionally gotten the privilege of attending my first "diplomat" party (as I call it) at the Finnish Ambassadors house. It was lots of fun but involved a little too much pickled herring followed by a large quantity of vodka, in my opinion.
Alright, time to wrap this post up. Hopefully the title of this blog makes sense now, and because of my love affair with Adele, I thought it quite fitting.
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| My yard |
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| Bedroom |
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| Street I live on in Lusaka |
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| Market souvenirs |
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| The Dutch market- once a month here - great food and gifts! |
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| Lusaka Hash House Harriers post run |
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| The hash run took place here yesterday, it was great to get out of the city. |
