Long Overdue Update!

I am writing again from my favorite local coffee house, and because our car is with the mechanic (apparently 1998 Honda CRVs need a little love here), I am on foot. It is always a good change of pace to walk places in the city. It is easy to get in the car at home, drive through one gate to the next, and blast the AC while listening to Raffi (It’s Stephen’s favorite.) But it is another thing to take in the many sights, sounds and smells of the Lusaka. Of course, it is dusty, hot and mostly smells of burning trash, but it is humbling.

On my way, I passed a few Peace Corps Volunteers leaving the coffee house as I was walking in. Volunteers are easy to spot! There were two, 20 something year old guys strolling behind and one, late 20 something woman leading the pack with a chitange sling bag. All three looked pretty scruffy, clad in t-shirts and flip-flops. I overhead of the young men say, “It was so weird being around all those people, wasn’t it?” It struck me how I was right there in their flip-flops 5 years ago. It gave me a brief moment to reflect on how far we have come. I vividly recall enduring the full day of hitch-hiking for a simple, hot cup of filter coffee and a piece of sub-par pizza. At times I long for those days again. Life was simple. There was the everyday, more or less predictable life in the village and there was life in the big city, but only as a guest. There were few responsibilities back then; no power cuts to worry about (no power to worry about at all!), no immigration hassles, no car trouble and no traffic to stress about. I took a moment to smile at the volunteers passing by, and then took another moment to savor the moment that I am in now. I have a beautiful baby boy who is happily playing with his nanny in our nice home while I get to enjoy a cup of coffee and work on a long overdue blog update. My husband is out in the field collecting his dissertation data and he is fulfilling his goal of completing designing and implementing his own project. It is something he can own for the rest of his career. I don’t have to hitch-hike anywhere, I can find high-speed wifi every day and I can take a hot, long shower, EVERYDAY. What a blessing it is to live and know two lifestyles in Zambia. Each experience came at the right time and I couldn’t be happier.

Now, time for the family update. Stephen is 10 months old and he is crawling up a storm! You can’t turn your back for a second or he is crawling out the door, sticking a spider in his mouth (Yes, that happened. Luckily he gave me his mischievous look and I pried it out.) or grabbing a random pen and marking up the wall. He is starting to walk when we hold his hands, pull up on the stairs, in the bath and on furniture, and when he doesn’t want to eat his broccoli, he causally throws it on the ground and hopes you won’t notice while you reach for the favorable sweet potatoe or apple. He also loves to laugh and show off teeth number 5 and 6! (We are currently having a lot of fist chewing and fussiness with those darn teeth, but they are almost in!) He has lots of baby girl friends here from all around the world and he has several local Zambian friends, of all different ages, he has made on our evening walks around the neighborhood. He continues to thrive and makes our hearts burst on an hourly basis.

Joey is finishing up week 4 in the field. He has been living/working in 3 different villages in the Mkushi area while his eight enumerators are riding on bicycles and trying to complete 3-5 farmer interviews a day. Joey sleeps on the floor in local school classrooms and spends his days in the bush reviewing the completed questionnaires, getting bicycles repaired, and answering text messages from his family who interrupt him all day with updates! There have been a few bumps in the road (impossible to avoid), but progress is being made and it is very exciting to see round one of data collection coming to an end. August will be a time for reviewing the data, one week of training, but mostly, quality family time and a mini vacation with Oma and Opa.

I have been actively searching for our next home. It is working out that we are on the move more than anticipated, but we are embracing it! In August, we move into a beautiful, big “safari” house full time. We have been back and forth between our city flat and the “safari” house for a few weeks, but on Monday we officially say goodbye to our first home here. Can you believe 4 months is up? I cannot. The flat was a wonderful arrangement for our family and I feel grateful we found such a great spot while we were still in the States. We have had wonderful memories there and it will always be a special place. It looks like we will have the opportunity to house sit for another friend in September. Once again, it is for a family with a young baby so Stephen will have his own nursery for at least another additional month. It is remarkable how well he has been provided for.

We have five months to go, A LOT to accomplish, but a lot to enjoy as well! 

Stevie has been such a good eater!

While Joey was away, Stephen and I enjoyed a local picnic with some friends.

We spent a night in Mkushi at our friend's house to see Dadddy and Stephen started to pull up!

Part of our bedtime routine is now taking evening walks in the carrier. Stephen loves to greet everyone we see.