Let Me Check My Calendar

For my first several weeks I was at site I didn’t do much of anything. That was my plan. Peace Corps encourages it for a smooth transition to the village lifestyle. For the last couple of weeks I’d been worried because not doing anything was becoming comfortable and easy. I was worried that I’d slip into a habit of not doing much and being incredibly lazy. Sounds like college. It all changed though about 2 and a half weeks ago when Ba Kennedy Mwela and Ba Mark Chola came to get my advice and make appointments. It may be the first time in my life that I’ve said in all seriousness, “That sounds good, let me just check my calendar.” Now I use that sentence all the time. I’ve had appointments for the last week solid and have several into next month already.

So far I’ve staked one pond that is ready to be dug now, had several consultations for pond sites and farm planning, as well as attended several harvests. In the last couple months, 7 or 8 harvests have yielded more than 300 pounds of fish bringing in around $300.

My typical workday is 3-5 hours long, but I had an 11 hour day last week. When not working I read, work in my garden, clean my bike, or listen to music.