Elections and Libraries

Hey my 2 or 3 dedicated readers!

Long-time-no-see, it’s been busy in Zambia. We just had our elections Tuesday. It came down between the 2 major parties MMD and PF, MMD has been the ruling party in Zambia for most of the country’s history the opposition PF leader “King Cobra” Michael Sata, has actually run 4 times against the party. Looks like 4^th time’s a charm! Zambia has a new president, and thankfully the transition has been pretty peaceful. During the election time there was some violence randomly throughout the nation, but not bad for an African nation election. We were ordered to stay in the villages to stay safe.

As for the village, life is pretty normal. I’m currently teaching 2 exam classes so I’m trying to catch my students up and help them study before hand. I’m really excited about 2 new projects. My counter-part and I started an HIV support group in the village, which is something our community really needs. And our second project is a library/study room, we are taking all the unused books in the school (many are hidden in boxes for years so they don’t get stolen or broken) and making a room for students to come and read for an hour a day. I know this doesn’t sound like a big deal but in Zambia there is no reading culture. Most students cant read, let alone have the chance to use books. Its really early in the process, hopefully Tuesday we can do our first study period. I’ll let you know how it goes.

That’s all I have for now, feel free to look at some news about the elections below.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/24/world/africa/zambia-new-president/

http://www.africanews.com/site/Opposition_leader_Sata_wins_Zambian_elections/list_messages/39849

http://mg.co.za/article/2011-08-26-zambian-elections-poverty-prosperity-and-potholes

Now What?

So now what? I find myself asking this question all the time. Before coming to Peace Corps I always had a goal… to go to Peace Corps (from the age of 13 on). Now that I’m here I see the pit fall just pursuing one thing and not thinking about “after”. I still have a year and a half to make a decision. I’m leaning toward grad school especially the international education programs, and anthropology. But I am also thinking about extending, not necessarily in Zambia, Peace Corps response is really appealing to me. The nice thing about Peace Corps is that it puts you foot in the door of international work. I really enjoy teaching in a cross cultural environment, and seeing the difference between American education and Zambian education. Honestly I wouldn’t mind just getting my TESL/TEFL certification and traveling around teaching. If I even decide to just stay in America, I could happily go back to teaching pre-school, maybe do photography again or you know become a BMX biker. Its fun to think about the possibilities but that’s at least a year away, for now I’m just gonna enjoy the village.