It's wild how people are now finding out that they have been invited to serve in Peace Corps Zambia RAP 2019. I feel like we just arrived! One year ago, I was full of questions. I sought advise from current volunteers from the Peace Corps Zambia Facebook group as well as our intake's group. I … Continue reading Peace Corps Zambia: FAQ for Prospective Volunteers
When Adam and I applied to serve in the Peace Corps last year (our application timeline), we originally selected to be Environmental Education volunteers in Panama. Since we were in Australia, we couldn't take the Spanish language test to meet the requirement, so we said to place us anywhere. Two weeks later, we open the … Continue reading Peace Corps Zambia: Rural Aquaculture Promotion (RAP)
I would normally list "cooking" as a hobby of mine, but during the first few weeks of community entry, it was a burden just to whip up some kind of nourishment. Initially, it took me up to two hours to get the brazier going plus another two hours to cook, eat, and clean. So, eating … Continue reading Peace Corps Zambia: Cooking in the Village
After swearing in as official volunteers, we moved into the village and started Community Entry, a two to three-month period dedicated to integrating into the community. During this period, leaving our site is prohibited other than going to the nearest town for food (about a 30km bike ride for us) and required Peace Corps business. … Continue reading First Month in the Village: Community Entry
During pre-service training, we learned about some important customs in Zambia such as funerals, marriage, headmen/chiefs, etc, to prepare us for life here. With 72 tribes living harmoniously in one nation, the customs vary wildly - not only between tribes, but within villages. So my limited experience attending two funerals in Northern Province cannot be … Continue reading A Bemba Funeral in Zambia
Eleven weeks of non-stop sessions, learning, practicals, tests, integration, travel... pre-service training is over! On the last day, the trainees and trainers put together a final celebration to conclude the three months of hard work (and sometimes not so hard work). We each were allowed to invite two members of our host family, so Adam … Continue reading Peace Corps Zambia: Culture Day & the Last Day of Training
Peace Corps volunteers are required to speak the local language of the community and conduct work in that language. Some posts have a language requirement, such as Spanish or French, but Zambia did not. Even though English is the official language of Zambia, over 70 local languages are spoken throughout the country. The 200-something Peace … Continue reading Learning a Zambian Local Language: Bemba
