Hello everyone! Mwashabukeni mukwai! I can't talk long, I am at an internet cafe and there is a long line of people waiting to take my spot. Just wanted you all to know that I'm alive! I've been spending my 9-week pre-service training period in a small village outside Lusaka-- I have my own one-room mud hut with a thatched roof, my own pit latrine, and my own bathing shelter. My host mother and my language trainer are both teaching me to speak Bemba, one of the 7 or so languages spoken in Zambia. It's hard work but I think I'm getting the hang of it! I finally got my phone hooked up with internet access today (so y'all can send e-mails if you want), and I went grocery shopping (and bought cookies and nutella and chocolate, the essentials of life), so I feel a little closer to home today, though to be honest I've really been enjoying the quiet life of a rural Zambian. I can see loads more stars at night (when it stops raining) including Orion, who is resting on his side down here in the southern hemisphere. I ride my bike to and from training every day, and fall off every other day (but luckily it's rude to show much leg in public in Zambia, so covering up the bruises isn't much of a problem). I really like Zambia, and my fellow trainees are awesome-- we have a lot of fun together. This experience is intense and life-changing already, and I've barely gotten started. Let the adventure begin!

Hope to write you all again soon!