"You Haven't Eaten Until You've Had NSHIMA!"

Well, quite a long time ago I remember typing that once I learned some things about Zambia I would post that information here 'soon'. Well, here is that post, sorry about not holding to my word where time is concerned:



Item 1:

The above picture is of the staple food called Nshima (Sheema). It is essentially a mush that is made by mixing dampened cornmeal with boiling water and stirring the mixture until a sticky consistency results as the water boils off. Once this is achieved, vegetables or meat chunks can be added to the top as a 'relish'. It is really quite good, bland, but not offensive to taste. When I make Nshima I must admit that I frequently break the 'eat with hands' rule and use a spoon instead as you can see from the picture of this morning's helping. In Zambia Nshima is considered an important element to every meal, and I've read that the locals will not admit to having eaten until they've had some Nshima. Hence, "You haven't eaten until you've had Nshima!"

Item 2:

Zambia is a very poor country. The monetary unit is the Zambian Kwacha, and as of late and for much of the past decades the inflation rate of that money has been very high. As it stands one U.S. Dollar is the equivalent of approximately 3,500 Kw (ZMK). Interestingly enough, to open a bank account in Zambia one must have a minimum of 1,000,000 Kw. Therefore everyone in Zambia with a bank account is a millionaire but not necessarily rich (1 million Kw = 285.71 USD). Being so poor, this country has not been developed in the ways other African countries have, and so the infrastructure to support tourism and commercialization of its many national parks has not happened. That is why Zambia is often called the "Real Africa". I am glad to be going to a somewhat pristine place, it must be beautiful. Additionally the Peace Corps Zambia experience is said to be the most similar of nearly all other programs to that of what was experienced by volunteers when the Peace Corps began service in the 1960's. I consider this a privilege to say the very least, I can't wait to see the monetarily poor, but rich in every other aspect Zambia for myself!

(Thanks to blahblahblog.wordpress.com)

Item 3:

Mail is very slow in Zambia. If you mail me a letter it will probably take between two weeks and a month to arrive. I will likely have a P.O. Box at a post office for most of my service, save the training period, and will only be able to check mail as often as I can by riding a mountain bike a potentially lengthy distance to the nearest town where my P.O. Box is located. Packages are okay to send they just might take a little longer to arrive, as a matter a fact letters and packages from people at home will likely be a welcome sight during my service so I encourage it! I will of course do what I can to send you some things in packages and write plenty of letters.

(Thanks to 'Outsideinnovation.blogspot.com)

Item 4: (Last Item for today but there are a zillion other things I want to put here)

I will be living in a mud-brick hut with a grass thatched roof. NO Electricity, NO running water, Pit latrine, out-door cooking, the works! I have heard that getting used to that life-style is easier than it sounds. I plan to keep an open mind and confront every situation as best I can. So, NO I'm not afraid of living in the Zambian bush. I will likely live some miles from the nearest town so I will be doing a lot of bicycle riding on dirt roads whose condition may be questionable. One really cool thing: I've heard most anything will grow in Zambia because of its favorable climate. I plan to plant a garden and see what comes of it. Additionally, I may just be able to make the area around my hut look nice by installing some aesthetically pleasing plants nearby!

Anyway, there's a volume and a half more that I could write but I'll hold off for now. I'll post some more stuff later (no time guarantees this time!). Have a great day!

Peace and God Bless!

Degree!!!

Hey there! Well, today was another exciting day! I've been waiting on my final grade to come in for my degree to be officially awarded. After a good long wait, my grade was submitted this morning! I immediately called the graduation office at UAF to inform them. The graduation coordinator, Emily Thielke answered the phone and I told her that the grade had been posted. Her response: "SWEET!" literally, that's what she said! I was already jumping for joy and then she said, "Okay, what's your student I.D." I gave it to her and then I heard her typing on a computer in the background... "Alright, I am awarding you your degree, I'll have it printed and mailed to you soon!" After I got off the phone with her, I signed on to my UAonline account which has a lot of information including an electronic version of my transcript, on the top of my transcript were the words: Degree Awarded - Bachelor of Science ... Degree Date: 8/20/2008. The reason that the degree date is 8/20 and not 10/8 is because I applied for summer graduation and that is the date printed on all summer graduation diplomas and transcripts. Technically, I completed the work for my degree on 9/16/08. Either way, I completed my Bachelor's degree before my 20th birthday! Wahoo!

In case you're wondering, I ended up with 150 credits. I completed this in three years which means an average of 50 credits per year, 25 credits per semester, or 17 credits per semester if summer is considered as an additional semester. I CLEPed out of 18 credits, credit by examed an introductory geology course, and completed around 20 credits per semester beginning with the Fall of 2006 - Spring of 2008.

Anyway, I'll write more about Peace Corps, Zambia, and everything else soon. God Bless you all out there. I give thanks to God for his grace, mercy, and bountiful blessings, and among those blessings are all of you! Peace be with you... until next time.

UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA FAIRBANKS

Zambia!

I received my invitation from the Peace Corps in the mail today! I have been invited to serve in Zambia as a Forestry Extension Agent!!! I am presently overwhelmed with the paper work and information that just plopped down into my lap, but as I learn more about my country of service and everything else I will be sure to post the details here.

More later!!!

INVITATION!!!

Hi there, well after months of waiting the day has finally come! I was invited to serve in the Peace Corps yesterday! On Monday a placement officer called but I wasn't home. She said to call her back and leave a message. By the time I knew this however, it was late in the afternoon so she wasn't in her office when I called. I called again Tuesday morning and she was still not there, so I left a message. My friend Daniel stayed over that night so I had to drive him back to Albuquerque and then teach my German session. It turns out that the placement officer called back about ten minutes after we left my house! This was getting frustrating. So when I returned home from teaching German at about 12:30 PM (MST) I called again and still got her answering machine. I left a message telling her the times I would be available over the next two days. About two hours later she called back! I finally talked to her. Our conversation was more like a second interview, she asked a lot of questions. She said I was being considered for an Agroforestry assignment in Sub-Saharan Africa in February 2009. After I hung up with her I was glad something had happened but wasn't prepared for what came next. I woke up Wednesday morning and turned on my computer... got online... expecting nothing... signed on to my e-mail... Inbox 1... probably nothing important...PEACE CORPS!!...the message reads: There has been an application status update to your Peace Corps Mytoolkit account, please login to view the changes. By this time my hands are shaking with excitement with prospect of finally being invited to serve. So, I go to the Peace Corps website, login, and well, on top of the page it no longer says 'nominee' it says, 'CONGRATULATIONS YOU HAVE BEEN INVITED TO SERVE AS A VOLUNTEER IN THE PEACE CORPS!!!'

Okay cool down...

Anyway, now all I have to do is wait for my Invitation Packet to come in the mail. When it comes I will know what country I will be serving in, the day I leave, and what exactly I will be doing! So keep your hats on the next few days and maybe this weekend or early next week there will be many more details to read.

Just so you know as much as I do, with a little research I found out that the African countries of service leaving in or near February are: South Africa - Jan 28, Madagascar, Zambia, and Rwanda. Only South Africa, Zambia, and Madagascar have Agroforestry programs, so I think it will be one of these countries. I won't know if this list is true or if I will be going to any of those listed until I receive the invitation packet...

On a side note, my GEOG 302 grade finally came in, an 'A' , as expected. Now all I'm waiting for is my Calculus grade to come in. Provided that grade is okay, I will also have my degree in the mail in the next few weeks! This next month or two should be exciting. Thanks for all of your love, support, and prayers.

God bless you all, and peace be with you!

What's New?

As in the previous post, which happened about a month ago, I wish I had more to report. Things have been rather slow and un-nerving the past month whether or not I have offered any indication of that. What little HAS happened: I finally finished my Statistics and Geography 302 correspondence courses and have received a grade for Stats, a "B", but not yet Geog in which I expect an "A". Calculus on the other-hand has been the enemy of progress. I have completed all but the last five questions on the last assignment and need to take another two exams of four total. The first two exams were not all too difficult, however it looks to me that exam three and the final exam will be more challenging. I am growing impatient and want to finish quickly, but I can not afford to do poorly on any exam. I want a good grade... and that's the bottom line. Anyway, I will be taking the third exam on Monday 9/15 and if I can help it, the final on the following day 9/16.

Otherwise, I went to Ruidoso to visit my friend Daniel's family back in the middle of August which was fun. But quite truly, I have otherwise been a recluse for the most part. I did, despite that, attend a family reunion on 8/24 for my Mom's side of the family (it was great!). The day before that I visited my Mom and her friend Cathy in Santa Fe for the Indian Market (Also fun!). Socialization otherwise has been restricted to my visits with my good friend Daniel when he and I are both free from obligations of any kind, and to times that people make the trip out of the way to come visit us up here in Placitas.

What else... I registered to take the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) today. I will be taking that exam on 10/25 at 8:30 am. If you're wondering what the GRE is, if you don't already know, it is a post under-graduate exam that is used to asses your eligibility to advance to the graduate level (i.e. Master's/Doctoral programs). I am not going to grad-school soon (after Peace Corps) but, it is a good idea to take the GRE soon after completing a four-year degree so that you can perform the best you possibly can on it.

Additionally... (if you haven't stopped reading already) I have instructed a small introductory German course for my Mom's company SCHOTT so that trainees going to Germany can have a little background in that language before heading over there for six-weeks. It looks like I will be instructing two more such courses... I can't wait! Teaching German has been fulfilling and the people I have had the pleasure to meet have been great in many ways and are most kind.

Last... (if you're still ticking) I also recently submitted an application to tutor for Catholic Charities in the areas of Science and ESL. This should also prove to be an enriching experience. I will know more details soon once I correspond further with their volunteer coordinator. I want to tutor because it is helpful to the people who receive instruction and to me as well. This extra experience can go on my final resume for Peace Corps; and I will have also had the opportunity to gain more experience teaching before being responsible for completing two years of such work.

I hope you survived reading this lengthy post. Rest assured however, that if you visit this page in the near future you may find out some more wacky information about my goings, comings, doings, and everything else! All of you out there be safe, God Bless you, and may you live happily in peace!

-Until Next Time! Tschuss!