It has only been 4 days since I landed in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, but it feels like I’ve been here for years. Due to surviving the 24-hour flight to Lusaka (16 hours to Dubai, then 8 hours to Zambia) and the initial adjustment period of learning the layout of the city, buying groceries, dealing with stomach troubles, and figuring out internet services (not to mention jet lag), I had never felt as exhausted as I did when I entered Lusaka. Everything hit so quickly that I barely had any time to react. For the first few nights, I went to bed before 9:00 PM and woke up at 7:00 AM, and still felt exhausted throughout the day. Maybe it was the lack of sleep from finals catching up to me or the culture shock, but in all honesty, it was a rough transition. Fortunately, this adjustment period has come to an end, and it is truly exciting to be back on my feet and getting a sense of familiarity, many thanks to the friendly people of Zambia and two other college students from New York who are living in the same house and working at VITALITE too. While I expected to have some difficulty due to the language barrier and isolation due to being foreigners, I am pleasantly surprised by the friendliness of everyone that we have met. Many Zambian coworkers have given us suggestions for places to eat, clubs to visit, vacation destinations, and cultural references such as handshakes (there’s a secret way of shaking hands apparently!) and native words. I’ve really enjoyed having conversations with everyone and anyone, including a lady at the gelato stand. Z: “Where are you from?” Me: “America” Z: “Ah, no wonder you’re English is so good.” Me: “Thank you! But my family is actually from China, I was just born in America.” Z: “Can you speak Mandarin?” Me: “Yeah, I can. Can you?” Z: “I’m learning at the local university. Ni hao ma?” And this starts up a conversation where we shared a few words in the other’s native tongue, shared new words to learn, and bonded over the gelato flavors. Although it was a simple and short conversation, it was so genuine and enjoyable and not unusual at all. Through these conversations, people everywhere love to laugh and joke and maybe it’s coincidental or the fatigue or the slower pace of life, but I have truly appreciated this aspect. Therefore, despite the rough start, things are moving forward and I’m so excited to head out into the rural areas of Zambia to continue research. Tomorrow, I leave for Luangwa, a small fishing village, but tonight, I danced and laughed my heart out at the annual VITALITE party. P.S. For those of you who know my partner in the field, Drew Descourouez, and his incredible thoughts, well, let’s just say that every day is a new philosophical discussion that has me contemplating every aspect of my life, so perhaps that has increased my appreciation of Zambia.
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