HERE!!!!

Got up this morning, had a fantastic continental breakfast at the hotel in Lusaka, then prepared to leave for Namwianga. I must first say that this breakfast was far better than the breakfast in the states. Awesome. It was probably the granola and the yogurt. And the fact they SERVED me coffee. Funny story—after being offered and then accepting a second cup, the servant did not come by for a while. I started to worry he had forgotten when someone else offered me more. I tried explaining I was waiting, but before I felt like he understood he just took away my cup! NOOOOOOOOOOOO I thought. Anyway, about three minutes later, “my server” comes out of the kitchen with a pot of coffee and the other server approaches him and I hear indistinct mumbles about coffee. I am pretty sure my server was upset at the other guy for taking my cup away. The second server walked off looking confused, and my server got me a new cup from a freshly set table and served me a second cup. Fantastic. Anyhow, soon we were off to Namwianga by bus/van. We stopped off on the way and had lunch at a place called Tooters—yes, Tooters. They have “fast food”—I think they are famous for fried chicken. I ordered chicken and chips because it sounded safe. It was a big chunk of fried chicken and fries. It wasn’t bad. Many pictures have been taken so far, but the best might be the ones taken when we had to assist our driver by pushing the bus so it would start—NICE. The entire drive was very serene—windows open, warm sunshine, cool breeze, and happy chatter. I sat with Lauren and enjoyed getting to know her, swapping stories, laughing, and resting. I took several pictures today on the road. We arrived around 4:oo this afternoon—I think. Having trouble keeping up with the time…Anyways, upon arriving we were greeted by a few people then we unloaded the vans, got rooms, and unpacked. Namwianga is a small village I believe, and it is just outside of a town called Kalomo (spelling may be wrong). The mission we are staying at is very rural, but has several little houses as well as a little college. Most of us girls are staying in a house with a kitchen, common area, and three or four bedrooms. There are four girls in three of the rooms and one in each other room. The rooms aren’t huge and they have bunk beds. Ours is at the end of a hallway and has a small bathroom (toilet/sink) attached. We do have a small closet that is currently locked by a barred door we cannot seem to find the key for, but will have soon. I kind of like it. It’s cozy. The roof of the house is straw-like, and the walls seem pretty normal. The floor is concrete. We have electricity and running water, and the showers are in a little house just a few steps away. They are solar-powered for warm water that reportedly work best in the afternoons. There are beautiful trees around the house as well. Honestly, it is a little “rough”, but it is also peaceful and I think we will all be just fine. It is almost like being at camp, but better. I am rooming with Lauren, Liz, and Ashley—the HIZ-Path “alumna”. Ha. She has been here before so we roomed with her! I did start to get a little overwhelmed when I was unpacking. It has been a very busy trip so far and we have constantly been around each other and I am still a little jet-lagged. I perked up during and after dinner though. Lennerd (he cooks here) was going to make his “famous” fried chicken, but apparently they had power off for a long time today, so he made grilled cheese instead. It tasted great! We had a few veggies with it and followed that up with a fabulous homemade chocolate cake that said “Welcome HIZ Path”. Very delicious! After dinner we all went to the common area in our house and played a game while we waited on an update from our teachers about internet info and plans for tomorrow (Saturday). The internet is not very fast and only works like one person at a time. I haven’t really attempted getting on yet. Tomorrow we have breakfast, then we are going to tour the campus. Later we will shop a bit for material and come back here to unload some supplies needed for working next week. Maybe I will shower then too ;) That’s about it for Friday. I am tired, so I am just going to relax and probably go to bed early. Love you all!