After a few complications of a delayed flight caused by a miss behaving toilet & then no one being at the airport to pick me up. I finally made it to Zambia! I thought I was staying at the orphanage but it ends up I am staying at a place called Songbird guest house. I arrived yesterday around 2pm & to my surprise there are 20 other volunteers here! Everyone is doing different types of volunteering, teaching, elderly care, community development, the list goes on. They were all very welcoming. My roommate has been here 3 months & he's got another 3 to go. He is doing community development. He's 19 years old & from Florida.
Zambia is a gorgeous land covered in poverty. I got to explore a little bit yesterday, went to the market & out to dinner with some of the other volunteers. On our walk out to the main road we pass a few unfinished cement buildings that some families live in. The kids all wave at us excited to say hello as chickens cross the road to get to the other side, literally. As soon as we walked by those kids & their faces lit up, so did my heart. It was the moment when it all really sunk in. I'm here, I'm doing this. I traveled half way around the world by myself, was welcomed with open arms & in no time some kids I've never even met had me smiling from ear to ear. As they were doing the same.
Today I start my orientation, I'm unsure of what it really consists of. I know they plan on taking me around town to familiarize me with the area & I would hope they would take me to the orphanage to go over things with me there. Either way I start at the orphanage tomorrow. I'm so excited. It's a 45 minute walk to the orphanage from where I am. I can rent a bike for $15 a week which I will most likely do. Since I prefer a good bike ride over a walk, if it's a daily routine. I hope to get some photos today & I will be posting some up on my next blog.
I wrote all of this at 1am in my bed because I can't sleep. My bed is covered by a mosquito net, it is hot as hell, the wifi does not work in my room & my roommate snores. These are the glory days! :)