We are again in Solwezi for our provincial meetings. About 40 other Peace Corps Volunteers from Northwestern province have come to the provincial house for a few days to discuss some of the house rules, Peace Corps policy, and enjoy each others's company. I have been posted in my village for 6 weeks now.To get to Solwezi, I had to ride my bike for 3 and a half hours on a dirt road to the main town in my district of Mwinilunga, then get on a bus the next morning for 4 hours. The buses are actually pretty nice and modern. But, of course one of the two buses broke down, so the one working bus had twice the amount of people on it, plus chickens and pineapples.

Right now is the cold, dry, windy season. It's usually windy and in the 40s in the morning, but it gets up into the 70s during the day. We are growing some cooler weather vegetables in the garden; cabbages, peas, lettuce, and carrots. The garden is my big project right now, and its been a little bit of an obsession. Right now is a hard time for people because there isn't much to eat other than cassava root and leaves, as well as some fish and whatever people forage for. We have a few guavas still on the trees around the village, and pineapples are just around the corner.

I have really enjoyed exploring the area around my house. There is such a contrast between the landscapes, just short distances around my house. We have a lot of dry upland forest called ivunda. There is also the dense, moist riverine forest called itu along the watercourses. The region where I live has alot of springs, so these forests grow around these springs and the trees can get plenty of water during dry season. There are also some amazing plains, like what you would expect to see in Africa, both dry, upland plains and grassy wetlands, both just minutes walk from my house. I had a chance to walk into Nchila Reserve to see some Impala, Sable, and Puku antelope up close. Watching the impala run through the grass is amazing. The grass is very tall right now, so you just see a bouncing head most of the time.

I've been seeing some of the birds that people come to the northwestern corner of Zambia to see including, Bannnerman's Sunbird, Black-collared Bulbul, Black-and-Rufous Swallow, Brown-headed Apalis, Levaillant's Cisticola, and Anchieta's Tchagra. It's been great because all these relatively rare species of birds are literally in my backyard about 5 minutes down the trail from my house. My host family has been teaching me the Lunda names for all the birds. I'm also learning Lunda names for the local trees, of which there are hundreds.

I've been sick a few times, with a cold and strep throat. I also got some skin infections on my leg, so I'm taking some antibiotics. It's very difficult to stay clean here, but it might help to stop playing soccer and gardening barefoot.

I know that I can't possibly express in words what my experience has been like, so I will try to post more pictures next month. In the meantime, please keep writing. All your letters have been meaning a lot to me.