peacecorps – Reilly in Zambia

6 Months Down, 21 to Go

This weekend, I hit a milestone. I have been in Zambia for 6 months now! Living in a country and culture with a very different understanding of time, I almost didn’t realize how long I had been here. When the days are longest I’ve ever felt and the months feel short, these 6 months feel like the longest 3 years of my life!

While yes, reaching the 6-month mark did feel like a cause for celebration, even moreso it felt like a time for reflection. The amount that I have learned (about myself and about others), the amount that I have gone through so far (hello, salmonella and a long-distance break-up), the relationships I have formed (with other Peace Corps volunteers, with my host family, and with people from Zambia), the conversations I’ve had (good, bad, confusing, inspiring), and everything else that I’ve experienced so far really made me stop and think about what it is I’ve done here so far. Here’s a couple of my biggest lessons learned so far:

How to be my own best friend
Building a relationship with yourself is a lifelong journey, but I’d argue most people don’t get dropped into it with no choice as young as I am. Being just 22, I hardly know which way is up, let alone how I plan to let my values lead my life or how to speak kindly to myself. But being here, being by myself most of the time, being in such a different culture that it forces me to reflect on mine, has really caused me to dive deeply into building that relationship with me. I have to be my own best friend! Which is hard and scary and frustrating sometimes! But if I wasn’t, I would go absolutely insane. My mindset has shifted from spending time “by myself” to spending time “with myself.” I have personal jokes, I speak kindly to myself and affirm myself (even though that is so dang hard sometimes), and without constant electricity or distractions, I have found ways to pass the time and entertain myself, too. Being your own best friend is hard, and I know that it is a lifelong journey, but I feel that building the foundation for that now will set me up for a kinder, softer relationship with myself throughout the rest of my life.
I can do hard things, and I can continue to do hard things
The past 6 months have been so full of challenges (rewarding challenges, but challenges nonetheless!), cultural blunders and differences, learning curves, frustrations, joys, that my resiliency has been stretched, and then stretched again. Luckily, thats’s exactly what resiliency is: the ability to stretch and not snap. I’ve had bad food poisoning, I’ve gone through a breakup back home, I’ve had meetings that no one shows up to, I’ve been the loneliest/most fed up/craziest I’ve ever felt, I’ve seen the direct effects of climate change and drought in my community, and all kinds of other things. But I’m here! And I find things to be grateful for and smile about every single day! Because ultimately, this beautiful, surprising, hopeful, enterprising country unfolds more of itself to me each day. And bearing witness to that is my greatest joy these days. So when things are hard, I know that I can do it, because I already have.
This is the right place for me to be right now
Was Zambia the place I thought I’d be coming to when I applied for the Peace Corps? NO! Not at all! Crazily enough, I considered applying for this position but decided on another post because I thought the living conditions would be too tough for me. But here I am! And yes, the living conditions are definitely an adjustment from our cushy American ways, but I have largely adjusted to them. This is the right place for me to be right now, because of the people I have met, the culture I am growing to love, the things I am learning about myself and about the world, and the lessons I am meant to be learning. Who knows, maybe another country or post would be just as fitting, but I’m here and it fits and I have no conceivable idea would my life would look like right now if I didn’t walk down this exact path. And these days, I’m feeling pretty good about the path I’ve chosen to walk down, the path I choose to walk each day.
You only have to open your eyes a little bit wider to see the beauty in the ordinary
After 6 months in Zambia and 3 months in my village, I feel largely accustomed to my daily life, and if I’m not paying attention, it can feel pretty mundane. But if I choose to open up my eyes, I can see where the beauty pours into my life. My 21-year-old sister has gone back to finish secondary school after a 3-year break to raise her baby (who’s my best friend, by the way). My family’s eyes light up after a good day of rain because they feel hopeful for the harvest. I had a simple conversation in Citonga more easily than I did a week ago. I finally found the spot between my walls and my roof where the lizards come through. My puppy gets bigger each day. My family shows me little cues that tell me they accept me and feel comfortable with me. If I just go through my day without paying attention, I would never see the beauty and grace of these small things, but if I open up my eyes just a little bit wider, I suddenly see that my life has so many incredible things to reveal to me.

There’s many other things I have learned in the past 6 months, about myself, about Zambia, about other people, about the world, but you’re going to have to be content with this for now! Next month, I’ll be 1/4 done with my service here (YIKES!), and I’m not totally sure how that happened, but I’m here and I’m doing the best I can do each day, and sometimes that isn’t much, but I’m still trying. Here’s to 6 months of challenges and figuring things out, and here’s to 21 more months of the same.

Just a Bunch of Photos

Here’s literally just a bunch of photos for you to peruse!

Myself and my fellow Tonga CHEPpers at our Swearing-In Ceremony

After swearing in, our new provincial leader took us to Victoria Falls! Both of those rock faces should be gushing water, but Zambia is in a bad drought.

The cruiser that took all my things to my new site!

My family is hard at work in the fields these days. This field is just to the left of my house!

One of my proudest dishes so far: soya and veg masala with homemade garlic and herb flatbreads!

Recently spent Thanksgiving in the provincial capital for a province wide meeting!! The food was so good, but we all got food poisoning afterwards

Photos of the inside to come after plastering and painting!

One Thing per Day

Hi everybody! Yes, I know, it’s been forever since I posted but it’s my blog and I’ll post when I want to!

I have lots to catch you up on, so I’ll just give you the headlines: since I last posted, I visited (and fell in love with) my new site, finished my vigorous Pre-Service Training, left Chongwe, swore in as an official Peace Corps Zambia volunteer and gave a speech in my local language while I was at it, and moved to my amazing village!

I arrived in Demu, Southern Province in mid-November, and until February, my role here is to learn from the community, meet lots of new people, and learn how to live on my own in the rural setting. This 3-month period is referred to as Community Entry. Having CE before beginning any programs is amazing because it allows me to understand the needs, wants, and readiness of my community, and approach programming with wisdom, hard-working counterparts, and a willingness from the community.

Community Entry is a highly non-structured time. While there are certain things I am meant to do, such as conducting participatory learning analyses, meet my local traditional leadership, and build a relationship with my clinic staff, I am left to get to know Demu as I see fit. Each day is wildly different from the previous, but I am still finding ways to build routine, such as drinking a cup of coffee and reading in the morning and eating dinner with my incredible host family most nights. On any given day, I might: walk to the clinic to chat with my clinic staff or make a poster, work in the fields with my family, walk around and get slightly lost and ask a new friend for help (Two of the first phrases I learned in Tonga were “please help me” and “where do I live?”), attend community meetings and the meetings of NGOs in the area, visit different churches, and more!

During PST, the visiting Volunteers of the Week all told us to aim to do One Thing per day during CE. “Pshh, One Thing per day?! Come on, that sounds like NOTHING” I thought to myself. That advice is REAL. Going out to to one thing per day feels like a real accomplishment. And by One Thing, I can mean just helping my bamaama cook dinner. Sometimes I don’t even do my One Thing. And I get hard on myself. But I have to remember that even though I didn’t do my One Thing, I still cooked over coals that day, or had a great conversation with a family member, or did my laundry by hand, or just did what I could, and give myself some grace. Community Entry, though it looks a lot like me sitting around and not doing much, is challenging. Every day, I stumble through citonga, remembering (or often forgetting) people’s names, cultural faux pas, differences in understanding (of time, of my charades to get the point across, of a word I’ve definitely leaned but can’t remember), and over bush paths. Even if I haven’t done my One Thing, I go to bed dog-tired at the end of the day.

And my host family is there for me through it all. Without them, I would simply not be functioning here. They help me start my brazier every single time (often, there’s already hot one by my door in the mornings!), fetch my water for me (they do not allow me to do it!!), feed me the yummiest food, provide me with guidance and good company, and support me however I need it. My biggest ally here is my Bamaama. Not only is she incredibly compassionate, and making cook, and an inspiring matriarch to the family, but she is also deeply involved in the local health efforts AND speaks English fluently. I lean on her for everything. She invites me to meetings, takes me to the places I should know and introduces me to the people I should meet, and is just incredibly understanding and has a great sense of humor about all of my integration challenges! My Bataata is the headman, which opens many doors for me. His voice holds weight—what he says, goes, what he plans, happens. He is so kind and always makes sure to greet me in the morning, even if it means coming home from the fields to do it. I have many younger sisters and brothers that work so hard in school and at home. My sisters are the ones that keep me functioning here. I feel simply so grateful to have this incredible host family on my side and just outside my door. I couldn’t do this without them!

The biggest lessons I have learned so far in CE are to extend myself some grace, try to do that One Thing per day, always cover my food, a greeting goes a long way, and that going to bed early is a beautiful thing.

This post is getting a little long, but I promise to try a bit harder to post more often; I know I have many loved ones who want to know how I am doing, and I thank you all for that! I will post pictures of my new place once I have the walls plastered and painted, so hopefully in about one month. Tulobonana lino-lino (see you soon)!

I feel like I can see the whole sky out here!

Hot Season Made Me Do It

Hi everybody! I know it’s been a long time since I’ve posted, but hey, it’s my blog and I’ll post when I want!

Most of you now are enjoying the autumn (my favorite season), and that means cute sweaters, yummy pastries, and pretty leaves. Over here, however, we’ve been slogging through hot season. Hot season means preemptively starting your day with oral rehydration salts, too-warm early morning bike rides to the training center, getting irritated by the smallest things, sleeping on top of my bed instead of in it, and taking cool baths instead of warm ones, while being outside one hundred. Percent. Of. The. Time.

I don’t mean to complain, but man, it’s HOT. So hot, in fact, that I was a little impulsive last weekend. I was suffering through the heat, and I convinced (begged) my friends to cut my hair. Niether of them had ever cut hair before, so after convincing them that they could do it, we chopped off about 5 inches of hair in the hopes of helping me stay cooler in this heat. We all learned as we went, and defintely learned what (not) to do next time a PCV wants their hair cut! It turned out pretty well, and most importantly, it can still go into a pony tail! (I’ll attatch a picture at the bottom of this post)

In addition to giving in to hot season impulses (like cutting my hair, running to the market across the street at lunch for an ice cold Coca Cola, and laying on top of my bed in clothes that would be immodest here instead of being social with my host family) I’ve also been working on my Tonga skills, getting (marginally) better on my bike, and starting to think about what kinds of programs I might be able to do at my permanent site. Last week, we had round-robin interviews where we met with our Director of Programming and Training, our Program Manager, and our Program Trainer to discuss how training is going, any challenges, our host families, and any preferences or concerns regarding site placement we may have. Next week, we all find out exactly where we’ll be placed. For someone like me, who’s learning a langauge that’s largely only spoken in one province, it’s not nearly as nerve-wracking as it is for someone who’s language is spoken throughout the country and doesn’t know which province they’re headed to yet.

Nevertheless, it’s exciting and nerve-wracking and every emotion in between.
It brings up so many question marks for me…Will they like me? Will they even want me? How close will I be to my friends? Will I get along with my host family? How will I set effective and appropriate boundaries? When can I get started? Can I go already?!

Also next week, we depart for two-week site visits, wherein we’ll stay with a current PCV already living in our province, do a workshop with a member of our host family, and then go to our actual site to check it out!! (I’ll provide a more detailed description when I come home and share my experience with you!) Our lovely site host has shared the menu with us, and let me just say, I’m so excited for some amazing American food after almost 6 weeks of mostly nsima and chicken (amongst a few other things)

Last week, we gave our first health talks in training! I got to give a health talk on why it’s important to take your child to the clinic early if they’re sick, as well as gave a nutritious cooking demo, to 17 moms at a local Under-5 Growth Monitoring Clinic. I also got to give one at a local secondary girl’s school about peer pressure and how to avoid it. These young women really opened up to us, got VERY into their skits, and showed us so much wisdom. Giving these talks has made me SO excited to get to site and start doing some health education!
I don’t have to much else to share with you at the moment, but here’s a few pictures to enjoy:

My new haircut! (Ignore the toothpaste on my collar)

Us and some of the girls we did our peer pressure talk with

Me and my friends Valerie and Kiran, sitting under the mango trees and out of the heat at our friend Monica’s house. Photo taken by her host brother! My feet are, unfortunately, almost always this dirty.

My Life in 140 Pounds or Less

Lesson learned: Do NOT try to start packing the week before you move 10,000 miles away.

I did it! I’m all packed and ready to go, with no time at all to spare. Tomorrow is the big day: I head to Philadelphia in the morning, where I will have my orientation with the rest of my cohort before flying off to Zambia.

Let me tell you, packing for the Peace Corps is no small feat. First the gear was shopped for. My dad and I pored through reviews and blogs, consulted experts at stores, and compiled ever-changing lists of the things we thought I’d need. After I (finally) got my legal clearance, we went into a manic state wherein we purchased everything. Clothes came together in a much less organized manner, buying a few things here and a few things there.

In my last post, I mentioned my party but I didn’t mention the absolute gift of having so many friends and family in town for about a week to visit and fill up my heart before I go. We spent the week soaking in the best of Sonoma county….which meant that I wasn’t focused on packing up my life.

With everyone on the next leg of their trip or back home by Thursday, I finally had the time to dig in and really get started. As all my new goodies arrived, we tossed them into the back room until it was time to get them into suitcases. Yesterday, I went to Safeway and picked up some spices and snacks that will help me (a very picky eater) get accustomed to a new cuisine and have a taste of home with me.

I’ll be honest with you all, I had a couple of meltdowns in the past 3 days. From having to run out to Costco for a bigger suitcase because mine was smaller than I anticipated (Thanks/Sorry, Mom and Dad!), to having the same suitcase be 15 pounds over the limit and having to re-arrange and pare down, to just feeling totally overwhelmed knowing that I should have been done with this a week ago. The tears are gone now, and what I have left is a sight to behold: my life in 140 pounds or less.

I have a huge suitcase that holds my clothes, shoes, and some gear. Into a large blue duffel bag I have my hiking pack filled to the brim with gear, my bike panniers, and a few loose ends. My carry-ons are a day pack and roll-on suitcase with essential clothes and gear to hold me over until I’m a bit more stationary in about a week.

Should I have finished packing a week ago and not 16 hours before moving? Yes. Would it have prevented meltdowns and tears and exhaustion? Yes. Are my parents absolute angels for not getting frustrated with me about this procrastination and instead very loving and helpful? Yes. Was it really cool when I was writing out my luggage tags and got to write: “Reilly Briggs, US Peace Corps”? YES! Am I tired? YES! Am I done packing? YES! Am I excited beyond belief?! I think you know where I’m headed with that one.

Sent off in Style

Tacos, popsicles, and all of my favorite people

Last weekend, some of the most important and influential people in my life came together to celebrate two of the biggest accomplishments of my life: college graduation and joining the Peace Corps. This group included extended family, close friends, friends from out of the country, mentors, managers from work, and even the royal family (If you know, you know). Having this group of people together in my backyard was so special to me.

We had lots of Korean-style tacos, wine, gourmet popsicles, more wine, and tons of laughter (ok, and some tears too) filling the backyard throughout the evening, and my heart is overflowing with gratitude. To be able to see the support around me, to feel the love, and to know that all of these people are in my corner meant the world to me before moving across the world.

Rather than talk about it, I think I’ll just share some photos from the evening and let the pictures speak for themselves. Notice how I’m laughing in most of them? Enjoy!

The Beehive 5 (Yes, as a family we DO have a team name)
Me’n’my guy, Alex 🙂
Even our dear family friends from England came for the party!
Me and my aunt Jeannie
The Gearing twins (plus one)
Me Alex, and his amazing parents Laura and Denny
The Gearings!
Me, my mama, and the Aunties
See? Told you there was a lot of wine at this shindig.
Almost the whole Briggs family! (Grandma and Grandpa were on vacation.)
Claire!!!!! One of my only friends from high school.

Two Week Jitters

“What if (insert horrible disaster) happens?” My answer: “I DON’T KNOW YET!”

With just two and a half weeks left to departure and packing well underway, I can’t help but feel the jitters that are synonymous with new adventures. These jitters, similar to butterflies in your stomach (but a bit more gut-wrenching), come with any new experience for which I am equal parts thrilled and terrified. With just two and a half weeks left to departure, what was originally a dream is now a dream coming true, the concept is reality, and there’s no stopping this train.

Much of this comes from the unknown, and from the questions that people ask that I just don’t have answers for yet: “What part of the country will you be living in?” “How close will you be to a hospital?” “What if (insert horrible disaster) happens?” My answer (as politely as possible): “I DON’T KNOW YET!”

Daily, the “what ifs” swirl around my head: What if I’m not prepared? What if I can’t do it? What if I fail? What if I get hurt? What if I forget to pack the solar panel? What if I make a cultural faux pas? What if? What if? What if?

I’m lucky to have many people in my life who tell me, “Reilly, what if NOTHING? You are spiraling and being dramatic and you will be just fine.”

Surely, I can’t be the only PCV who’s ever been completely terrified to go. Looking at it objectively, it seems a little bonkers to sweep your life into a suitcase and backpack, pick up and move 10,000 miles away, and settle into a plumbing- and electricity-free mud hut for the next two years. But PCVs share a common thread: we have a desire to leave the world better than we found it, to change not the world but people in the world, to expand our worldview, and to use our servant hearts to learn from others. When I spiral into the what-ifs, it’s easy to get mad at myself for leaving everything I know and everyone I love, but then I think about my life’s greater mission: to serve and empower others. Those five words quiet the what-ifs, slow the spiral, and help me reign this crazy decision back into perspective.

People move, travel, see the world, live in rugged conditions, learn new languages, and challenge themselves all the time. I have to remind myself that I wouldn’t have put myself out there and applied if I wasn’t ready to put myself out there and respond to the call.

I’m trying every day to re-frame the what-ifs…”What if I’m not prepared…What if I learn how to improvise and think on my feet?” “What if I fail…What if I gain the opportunity to learn from my mistakes and try again?” “What if I get hurt…What if I practice my first aid skills and a bit of resiliency?” “What if I expand my world?” “What if I help a community make a sustainable difference?” “What if I make new bonds that will last a lifetime?” “What if my dream comes true?”

In other words, Peace Corps prep isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. If this post feels a little negative to you, please remember that I am striving to be transparent and honest about my experiences!

PCVs and soon-to-depart PCVs, I can’t be the only one who’s felt like this, right? Family and friends, comment below with a what-if you want to ask me, and then try to re-frame it in a positive way!

100% Cleared and Official

Or, waking up to the email I was hoping for

Any PCV (Peace Corps Volunteer) knows that getting medically and legally cleared for service is no small feat. Today, I woke up to sweet, sweet relief because I was finally legally cleared. Having both my medical and legal clearances means I’m 100% set for service! Zambia, here I come!

As I mentioned, getting these clearances is a pretty involved process. It was difficult completing most of my medical clearance tasks while in Arizona, so when I arrived home for the summer, it was a mad dash of vaccinations, physicals, dental work, and pulling together mountains of very specific paperwork. After endless appointments, a cavity filled, documents scanned, emails back and forth between me and my physician, and new glasses, I was finally awarded my medical clearance. 1 clearance down, one more to go.

Back in March, immediately after accepting my invitation (sitting in a popular hyper-local pub surrounded by loved ones while on spring break), I began gathering the paperwork needed for my legal clearance. This meant surrendering my passport for a government-sponsored one, consenting to a background check, and applying for my Zambian work visa. Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do to expedite this process, and I’ve heard stories of volunteers getting their clearance just a week before departure (Mine came just 3 weeks prior to departure, but I can’t imagine the sheer panic of not having clearance one week before). I received a few updates via email that basically said “there are no updates yet,” but this morning, I woke up to sweet, sweet relief.

Subject line: “Peace Corps Legal Clearance Granted.” YAHOO! Having both my clearances makes this 100% official. In a flurry of early-morning excitement, my dad and I sat down and pored over the Amazon shopping list we’d been building since March (I can now explain to you the different merits of ultra-lightweight sleeping bags; never before had I considered the color of paracord 550 for maximum visibility) , made final comparisons on solar kits, read any updated reviews, and pressed the “order” button on many new essentials.

To have my clearances granted, to have my flights booked, to have much of my gear ordered…it’s all becoming real! It’s all officially happening! Watch out world, here I come.

Welcome to my Blog!

My attempt at keeping my friends and family informed while living abroad.

To everyone showing up to read my blog: Welcome, and thank you! Clicking on my link tells me you want to stay updated with the mountains and valleys of moving to Zambia with the Peace Corps. In a little less than a month, I will be serving as a Maternal and Child Promoter, which as many of you know, is a dream career for me.

All of this is really a dream come true: joining the Peace Corps, being given the opportunity to empower a community, getting to learn how others live, and focusing in on women’s health. It still feels so surreal, but now that my flights are booked, the plans are made, and the gear is purchased, this dream is quickly becoming a reality!

Keeping this blog is my attempt at keeping you all updated on my new life in Zambia! I strive to be transparent and honest about my experiences (the beautiful ones and the not-so-beautiful ones), to post when I can, and to give everybody the peace of mind that I am alive and well. I’m no blogger, so please bear with me as I figure out this platform. Thanks to all of you for choosing to walk beside me on this journey; I can’t wait to share it all with you!