The Next Few Days..

The days began to consist of more scheduled and planned sessions starting on day 3. We had Bemba-learning sessions each morning, and then went to Hope Village after we ate some lunch (aka, peanut butter and jelly sandwich and chips). Hope Village looks like this:

The bola (soccer) field

 The Church

 Hope House

 The School

 The School

While we spent more and more time with the kids at the house and from the community, I started to feel overwhelmed by the amount of love these children and the community had for us. Just by our team coming to their village, we were showing that we cared, and in return they showed us so much more love and hospitality than a lot of us have ever received. On the 5th day of the trip, we drove through the village of Tawapia (where many of the school children live), and it was incredible how the children would light up when one of us waved at them or said "Muli Shani", which means "Hello, how are you?" The fact that Americans were in their village - not just any African village - meant so much to them. By this point of the trip, tears welled up behind my eyes more times than I can count. It's indescribable how beautiful the children are; how loving and joyful the people are as a whole; how much they love to dance and praise the Lord; how simplicity is so full of happiness; and how pride comes from entirely different things than what we call accomplishments in America.

We spent New Year's Eve at the church, along with the entire congregation. In Zambia, the new year means so much more than just a night to throw a party and get friends together - they are truly thankful to have lived through another year, and to be blessed with the year ahead. We praised God together as we celebrated life and acknowledged the struggles that were overcome in 2010. Of course, in true Zambian time, the countdown happened about 5 minutes after the actual stroke of midnight, but Ba Charles had to finish his sermon before the countdown could begin. It was such a beautiful service, and it has caused me to look at the whole celebration of New Years differently. It's not about a kiss, a date, a new dress, or how extravagant a party is; it's about the fact that God has given us another beautiful year to live out our lives praising Him.The new year should celebrated just as we did that night - hearing the word, thanking God for life, and dancing for Him, together, in community - a whole body celebrating the One who created us.

Dancing in Zambia is interesting - to say the least. To be completely honest, my hips do not move like the Zambian women's hips.  I was embarrassed to dance from the moment Ba Margaret took my hand and pulled me up front at the New Year's service, but, even still, it was fun to dance at New Year's, and to watch the kids at hope dance in their welcome ceremony to us. It was happy. And it was fun. At the welcome ceremony, Anna was the most fun to watch, as she's the smallest in the house, and shook her hips the most of any of them. She even had Ba Charles laughing hysterically.

This video isn't of the Hope house welcome ceremony, but it's the welcome ceremony that the school held for us before we left. It's a perfect example of how they dance.. (and that's my Rita girl with the red fabric wrapped around her waist)

Basically they're awesome. Little Shakiras all over the place. I loved it. I loved watching them dance and do something that they were so good at, that embraces so much of who they are and where they come from. It was beautiful. And hilarious, at times.

At this point in the trip, the Zambians were teaching me beyond what words can teach. With so little verbal communication, it amazes me that they taught so much, but what I learned from them is more than some people could teach me in a lifetime. My world was being turned upside down and I'd only been there for a few days. I knew that God was present in every interaction and moment spent with the people I got to meet, and it was beautiful.

Chels.

Day Two.

Monica, Heather, and me killing time at the Johannesburg airport.

 Our tiny airplane from Johannesburg to Ndola.

We landed in Zambia, and I was very surprised about the airport we were at. We used the stairs to get out of the plane, and then walked into a small building - one where the baggage claim consisted of a whole in the wall and airport security handing luggage out. We then went through the door, where we were greeted by a very excited Ba Charles and Pastor Judy. Our bus drivers, Ba Mwambe and Ba Musonda, were also there.

Pure joy basically exploded from me when I saw our bus for the first time. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of it, but this bus was amazing. It was bright sky blue and across the flat windshield it read "GUIDE ME LORD." On the back window, was an "I love Ndola" sticker. Entering the bus was an even more exiting experience. The seats were covered in plastic and there were little mini seats that folded down into the aisle to make rows of 4 across the interior of the bus. 

We drove around and dropped each group of, one by one, at their host homes. We were the third group of four to be dropped of and we were so excited to see our place and meet our host family. I was again surprised by what was in front of us. I was expecting a place similar to the other two groups - one that was in a more rural area and probably a small house. Instead, we were in the city - on a very busy street and on the fifth floor of a very nice apartment building.

We entered the apartment and met our hosts, 22-year-old Musonda, with her baby, Asia and 14-year-old Margaret. They also had some friends over, but I don't remember their names. They gave us time to settle in and find our way around the apartment. The three girls from the team that I was rooming with and I were in one room together and it was so cute. All four beds were lined up against the wall and had pink, silky comforters on the beds. Prof. Trujillo was also with us, but she was in her own room down the hall.

An excerpt from my journal gives an idea of how I was feeling after arriving:
"It was interesting riding around Ndola in the bus today. We saw so many different types of living - from run down flats to completely gated-up communities. We, as a team, definitely stand out whenever we go anywhere, and it's a challenge being such an outsider. Ba Charles' wife, Ba Margaret, has been very hospitable and welcoming, though. She brought us down to get a snack after we got to the apartment (it was the longest/slowest walk to the shop downstairs that I think I've ever experienced) and then us girls rested for like 3 hours - just passed out on our beds and fell asleep...After dinner (macoroni, meatballs, cabbage, and water), we taught Margaret how to play Dutch Blitz and the five of us did that for a while. Being here has been everything I was NOT expecting, but everything has really been great. Even as uncomfortable and awkward it may be at times, everything is so good. I'm so excited to go to Hope house tomorrow and meet all the kids.. I just really can't believe that I am here, in Zambia, experiencing something I never have before. So much excitement in me right now."

...

Today, I am missing Zambia a lot. I miss the girls and playing hand games and laughing with them. I miss the sound and smell of Hope Village and I miss bus rides with the team. Most things get better with time, except for missing - that only seems to get worse. So, today, I'm remembering and enjoy thinking about all of the people I fell in love with across the world.

love love.
Chels.

Day One.

Over the next few weeks, it is my goal to share with you my thoughts, feelings, and pictures of my time in Zambia. Today, I will start with the first day of the trip - making it to the airport just in time for our flight and all the adventures up until landing in Ndola.

At approximately 4:30 on Tuesday the 28th of December, our team prepared to drive to the airport and get on the first of three flights until our arrival in Zambia the next day. I was very anxious, nervous, and ready to start the adventure - not knowing what my life would consist of over the next 3 weeks. I had my suitcase packed and snacks in my carry on, and was ready. (I did not, however, have socks in my suitcase - and that was on purpose. Fun fact about me is that I give my feet the chance to not have socks on them whenever that opportunity presents itself. I figured Africa would be very hot, and therefore never needed to wear socks. It was a fabulous decision and my feet are happy.) We left for the airport around 6:30, after talking about last-minute details and praying as a group before packing into the University vans. Our flight was scheduled to depart around 9, and we cut it very close, at least for what some of us on the team prefer when we fly. After a stressful time of figuring out which line to be in and getting all 15 of the team members through security, we made it to our gate about five minutes before they started boarding.

For this flight, I sat next to an older couple from Amsterdam that was traveling around the U.S. with a group of couples for vacation. They were very nice and seemed supportive of my trip, but with caution. The man warned me about water and all the sanitary things to be cautious of, but they definitely had characteristics of grandparents and seemed to genuinely care about me staying safe. They spoke limited English, so it was hard to understand them at some points, and the woman hardly ever knew what I was saying, so conversation was short, and I fell asleep after watching a movie. When I woke up, we were being served breakfast and about an hour from landing in London.

In London, we had enough time to go out and explore a little, so we got to wander the city and grab a quick lunch before going back to the airport for our flight to Johannesburg, SA. It was so surreal to walk around and see things that I've only seen in movies. This was my first time setting foot on ground outside of the United States and it felt so weird to be in a new place. It was, however, beautiful and we were happy to be walking around in fresh air and getting time to see everything there.

Jenna and I on the tube.

 Awesome architecture.

 Apparently these aren't just in movies. Double-Decker buses are sweet!

 Big Ben.

 Just a description of Parliament Square.

 Tossing my frisbee for the first time on foreign ground.

After all of that fun, we went back on the tube (where most of the team was falling asleep or sitting like a zombie) and to the airport. This flight was the longest of the three, and was about nine hours long. Most of us got to sit next to someone on the team, and I was lucky enough to sit in a whole row of z-members. I sat next to Josh, who had an idea for the perfect way to sleep, so I ended up sleeping for the entire flight. I'm not quite sure how I did it, but I managed to fall asleep about two minutes after I would wake up for any amount of time. I fell asleep during dinner and missed the attendant coming around to bring us our drink. The boys even put chocolate in my mouth (apparently I was sleeping with it wide open), and it melted without me ever noticing. It was pretty crazy how much I slept, especially after I had just slept for the entire flight before.

When we landed in Johannesburg, we were all pretty antsy and ready to be in Zambia. The printing of our boarding passes took quite a while, and the boys ended up playing some hackysack, which drew a crowd of onlookers. We were definitely the obnoxious Americans everywhere we went and it was interesting to see how other people reacted to us. We also ended up sitting in a big blob on the floor while we waited to board our bus, which brought us to our plane. We just sat there and played cards and talked, even though there were seats open to sit in. Our professor later described our group as being "free" and "carefree" - and I'd agree. We were very comfortable and free with each other and wherever we went and with whatever we were doing.

I'll update on our arrival to Ndola and our first day or so tomorrow.

Today was also our first day of the spring semester. I only have two more semesters left after this one! It's exciting to be growing up. Weird, but exciting.

Even though I'm not jet lagged, my body is still used to going to bed around this time and waking up early, so therefore, I am exhausted. Goodnight.

love love.
Chels.

I'm Back!

It's true! I'm in the States!
I feel no signs of jet-lag.
I think I could be fine with traveling the world.
Zambian children and people are amazing, beautiful, and incredible.
I'll update with pictures and stories for the next few weeks, but for now - I'm going to be processing, cleaning, unpacking, and doing laundry. And eating American food.

love love.
Chels.