If I leave here tomorrow,

will you still remember me.

**Zambia**
"A chirping and bellowing slice of jungliest Africa"

I had to look it up too. Because who knows anything about Zambia? Well let me tell you a little bit about it. Neighboring Zimbabwe, The Republic of Congo, Angola, Tanzania, Namibia, and Mozambique. It is one of the poorest countries in the world. 86% of the population lives under the poverty line, 50% are unemployed. 6.99% of the land is arable and yet 85% of the labor force is agricultural? Copper rich country with privately owned mines - some of which are owned by the Chinese. Government is republic, temperature is tropical and moderate. 109 airports, 10 airports with paved runways. 91,440 km of roadways, of which 20, 117 km are paved. I get a mountain bike. I may live in a grass hut. 17% of the population has HIV and the Plague is listed as a health risk. I am not entirely happy about the grass hut.

Thus I will live for two years, free as a bird. For I must be traveling on, now, cause theres too many places Ive got to see.

You might be wondering how I am feeling about such an assignment? Well I can't really tell you. I am a bit shocked. Once I stop thinking about the physical discomforts that await me - the possibility of getting the plague, or worse - not having a place to plug my iPod into, then I start to see abject poverty, high HIV rates, strong incidence of young girls contracting AIDS from older men as just a lot to take care of. Apparently I will be working on a radio education campaign to get the knowledge out. Honestly it will be a bit of an adjustment but what are we if not adaptable.

And now I just need to remember to keep my dreams within the scope of possible success.

But here is what I ask of you, dear friends and family:
I leave in January of 2007 and from this point to then I will be collecting music and books to consider for my suitcase. Send me the name of your favorite book, or Cd, or even better - a playlist that I can download and put on my probably unusable iPod with your name attached to it.
Also if you have any resources about Zambia, HIV education, education in general, how to fix radios, how to start a women's collective, where to sell goods from a women's collective, small business loan pools, how to not be useless doing aid work, thatching grass roofs, warding off the black death, or repairing a mountain bike- let me know so I can call upon you later.
I plan to use this blog not only to update about my life and progress but also to post things that I need to know and don't know.
And actually I have no idea what I will need to know.
But I feel I should start collecting some skills and pronto. Because I doubt collage-ing will be of much use.

Anyway,
Keli