So, this is Christmas... in Zambia!

It is Christmas Eve here in Lusaka, Zambia, although it doesn’t quite feel like it. This morning, we slid on our flip-flops and took a walk, on a dirt path, along a congested, 2-lane tarmac road and under blue skies, hot Zambian sun and white, fluffy clouds. We passed a big grocery store called Melissa’s, where a quartet of Zambians were playing brass instruments in front of a decorated plastic Christmas tree, and a few blocks later a young man wished us a seemingly out-of-place “Merry Christmas." These have been our only reminders of the holiday. Everything else about Zambia is becoming more familiar, but still foreign enough to seem very distant from the United States, our lives there and the holiday frenzy I’m following on Facebook And, right now, I take it as a blessing; it keeps the homesickness in check.

Shaun and I are in Lusaka, the capital city, for Christmas- partly for vacation and partly for medical reasons, which I’ll get to. We’ve been planning for months to celebrate New Year’s (and the end of our Community Entry) with a number of other PCVs by spending a week at Nkhata Bay on Lake Malawi. To get there from our village in Mwense District, Luapula, it’s a 3-day journey, so we’ve broken it up into several mini-trips: Chibondo village – Mansa – Lusaka – Chipata – Nkhata Bay (Lake Malawi).

The day before Community Entry ended (17 December 2010), we hitched with our friend and neighboring PCV, T., to our other PCV friend’s (S’s) site 50km away in the village of Chibondo. It’s only 50km, but it took his 4 different hitches to get there: the first on the back of a big truck hauling 50kg bags of maize seed, until it stopped 8km down the road in Kashiba to unload; the second in a nice cruiser with the District Commissioner, until he dropped us off in Mulundu where he was attending a funeral; the third on a mini-bus which charged us each 10,000 kwacha ($2 USD) to take us to the junction to S’s village (from the junction, her village is 12km on a dirt road); the fourth in a nice a ZPCT cruiser, after we’d already walked about 5km in the heat of the day. The ZPCT cruiser was a savior, as the day became unseasonably hot and we were beginning to feel dehydrated. We spent the rest of the day lounging on S’s cool cement floor, hydrating and enjoying the company of fellow PCVs- with the exception of T., whom the heat got the best of and made quite sick- poor gal!

The next morning, we got from S’s place back out to the main road where, as luck would have it, a bus to Mansa came moments after our arriving. For 10,000 kwacha, we rode comfortably down to Mansa, the provincial capital of Luapula Province. We spent the week at the Peace Corps Provincial House in Mansa with our fellow PCVs- some veterans and many fellow newbies fresh from Community Entry. We used the time to reconnect, adjust from village-living to town-living, update our blogs and online picture galleries and just enjoy the modern amenities like TV, electricity, running water, warm showers and a kitchen.

While in Mansa, infection set in on the weeks-old sore on Shaun’s foot from a stray brazier ember, as well as in a new blister between his toes. Foot infections are no joke in the village because it’s impossible to keep your feet clean- especially when you’re working with fish farmers and harvesting ponds. We did hot saltwater soaks and used our steri-scrub, but saw no improvement. So, at the recommendation of our superb PCVL, Shaun called the Peace Corps Medical Officer (PCMO) for advisement. The PCMO had Shaun start antibiotics and get on the next day’s bus to Lusaka for a medical examination. As luck would have it, we were already planning to go to Lusaka the next day: a stop en route to Lake Malawi and a nice place to be for the Christmas holiday. Now, since Shaun was directed by the PCMO to go to Lusaka for examination, his bus ticket to Lusaka will be reimbursed and we can stay (gratis) at the bunkhouse on the Peace Corps compound, which saves us quite a bit of kwacha. I love it when things work out like that- we must have good karma or something!

Yesterday, Shaun saw the PCMO who checked out his feet, which seem to be healing now that he’s on antibiotics. We’re staying at the PC bunkhouse for the holiday, which is quite enjoyable because we have the company of a couple other volunteers here also convalescing. We get hot showers and electricity, free internet, and we get to indulge in the amenities of city-life, like cafes, pizza, the movie theatre and martinis (well, that last one I get to indulge in while Shaun has Coke because he can’t 'drink' on antibiotics).

Yesterday, we spent the day with our friends and travel companions S. and Sy. (fellow PCVs fresh from Community Entry and en route to Lake Malawi) and we four went hog-wild- hahaha! We started the day at Blue Moon Café, where we indulged in bagel sandwiches, iced coffee, cappuccinos and Oreo milkshakes- all of it overwhelming our taste buds with that “tastes just like at home” sensation, an supreme surprise! Then, we decided to go see a movie at Arcades (one of 2 shopping malls in Lusaka). Shaun and I got tickets for “Unstoppable” and S. and Sy. got tickets for “Harry Potter”. We had some time to kill before the movies started, so we roamed around Arcades until we saw a poster at Rhapsody Restaurant for martinis. Our eyes lit up and we ladies all had the same thought- let’s get a martini! So, we did and they were fabulous! I can still taste my chocolate martini. After that, we floated over to the movie theatre and were thoroughly entertained and transported back to the U.S. for a couple hours.

And then, it was time to call our spree quits before we'd spent all our money (Lusaka’s quite expensive when you’re living on $250 USD a month). So, we went our separate ways: S. and Sy. went to Chongwe to visit another PCV friend, and Shaun and I went back to the PC bunkhouse. There, we hung out spinning yarns and eating pizza with our new friend, a fellow PCV also in Lusaka for medical reasons. I love interacting with other PCVs because we gain so much from being able to share our different ideas, perspectives and stories.

Today, Christmas Eve, we walked back to Blue Moon Café with our new friend and indulged once again in cappuccinos, bagels and milkshakes. Then we came back to the PC Compound and lounged, did online research and read. Even with the gray rain clouds moving in this afternoon, it still doesn’t feel like Christmas Eve. Nonetheless, we’re going to celebrate tonight with another group of PCVs also in town for the holiday.

I’d better sign off here- I’ve got a cocktail party to get ready for! Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!