Be free! Now and forever

I quoted Walden by Thoreau in my very first post of this journey so I will do just that as I end this journey:


 "In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of universe will appear less complex, and solitude will not be solitude, nor poverty poverty, nor weakness weakness"
I will dearly miss this simple life

Here I am. Two years and 3 months older. It’s been journey of constant learning, of shrewd realization, of internal discipline and self growth. A journey though rain, early morning fog, the relentless African sun. A journey by bike, open-bed trucks, barefoot.

                A journey for all life. For my little sister Prisca who has grown into a young women; babbling English phrases and dreaming of a seat in a high school classroom. A journey for fourteen young children who entered preschool a year ago and are now donning their grade one uniforms with pride as they march around with unmatched confidence. A journey for families who have welcomed new babies, for families who have lost each other to HIV.

What have I learned? As a teacher, as a human, as a friend, as a sister, as a daughter; I’m not sure I have completely processed how much I’ve grown. I know I am not the same person but it’s like everything that lives and breathes and thinks and feels— growth is just hard to measure when it’s part of everyday life.

                Yet there is something that has boldly inspired me. Something that I know I want to hold on tightly to forever. It’s a simple phrase, and in Zambia can be overused or redundant. But to me, the meaning has morphed since I’ve arrived here and my current perspective is one that I hope will be ever appealing throughout my life.

In Zambia we say: Be Free

And once you learn how to be free, life is yours.

I strongly feel that I have been set free here and I’ll attempt to explain why, and how.

I’ve achieved a sense of realness from this experience. This “realness” is a sense of being in which you can sit down with yourself or with someone else and feel completely at ease to say or do whatever you want without a barrier of censorship- it’s just being free. And it comes from the routine of being stripped of all the barriers that society presents to us.

                 I got to this realness because of the lifestyle I live. It is not glamorous by the standards of American society but it’s the most beautiful thing to me. I draw water from a well, I bathe with a bucket, I pee in a hole in the ground, I eat with my hands, I live with mice and bats, I have only one small mirror, I don’t use makeup, I arrive to work covered in sweat and mud, I cook on an open fire, and there is little privacy in my day to day life. I am one with the earth. When the sun goes down, my body lays down.

                The physical environment of my lifestyle requires openness and it is not conducive towards privacy or hiding. I live in a culture where people show up unannounced. Even if I’m violently sick in my pit latrine, or singing Mariah Carey in kitchen (my kitchen is outside), I am immediately expected to pull out a chair and entertain any visitor that shows up, and sit with them. So you see, there are not many doors to separate yourself from the rest of the world in this lifestyle- almost every action and movement is exposed.

                Even among fellow Peace Corps Volunteers this is the case. When I have a friend come visit they usually stay for two or three days because it may take a full day to reach my house from wherever they biked or hitchhiked from. In other words, we are cooking, cleaning, sleeping, and eating together each time we want to “meet up.” It’s not like America where I can arrange to meet a friend at a certain time. In America, I can even choose to not entertain at my own house if I don’t feel comfortable. In America- I can prepare myself, do my hair if I want, and then “meet up” with my friend for just a few hours and then go back to my own home with my own shower, throw my hair up, fall asleep.

                This lifestyle is natural and unpredictable. If I cry, there is a good chance it will be in a public setting. If I fall off my bike, same thing. I will either laugh or cry in the presence of others…it's not a matter of holding it in until I get home. Everything around me is home.

               

                And you get to the point where any notion of formality or sense of pride has been squashed by humor, honesty, and realness. You forget that you’re “supposed” to throw out that tomato that fell on the floor rather than cook it anyways. Or that you’re "supposed" to change your clothes after two days. Or that the bathroom is the only appropriate place to use the toilet. Or that you’re supposed to politely engage in small talk before you dive in to inquiring about personal matters.

                But it just makes sense. But when it’s your last tomato, and your family is hungry, and the closest market is a 45 minute bike ride away, it just makes sense to eat it. Or when your clothes are not really that dirty, and laundry means fetching 30 liters of water and washing and rinsing by hand, it just makes sense to keep them on for two days--- it’s raining anyways. Or when your closest Peace Corps Volunteer neighbor bikes out to your house from 30 kilometers away just to visit you, and there is no waitress or movie theater or car in sight, it just makes sense to ask them about personal matters, they surely deserve more than surface level company.  Or when you have bats in your outdoor toilet; it just makes sense to pee in a bucket in the middle of the night rather than going outside. Sometimes I think that society just complicates things to the point that it makes sense.

In my mind those are the processes of how we achieve this freedom.

               And what does it look like on the outside? I sometimes feel like a fountain erupting with happiness and freedom and realness. And it is so easy to live that way when society is not telling you how to behave, or talk, or dress. A very obvious testimony to this is by noting how Peace Corps Volunteers dress. There is no television or magazine to tell you what to wear, thus there is no fashion expectation amongst us. So we feel free to express ourselves in any color or cut we want. Bright orange pants with a studded vest? If it makes one feel fabulous than one will exert fabulousness. I mention the Peace Corps population not to generalize but because I’ve observed it to be true among so many of us. I like to think that we are an elite group of people not because of the places we’ve been, the universities we’ve studied at, the confidence we portray, but because we’ve had the opportunity to peel away all of those outside layers in order to relate on a level of basic human understanding.

It’s refreshing, natural, and makes perfect sense to be free in such ways. And because of it I’ve learned to weed out the parts if me that never really were me, but were what I thought I was supposed to be. In return, I’ve gained a clearer portrait of who I am, what my passions are, what I believe in, and what I want. There isn’t much to cloud this.  Thank you Zambia

Having said that, I am prepared to hold on to these ideas tightly as I jump the train to Zanzibar, hop a boat to the Greek islands, and board a plane back home. I am determined not lose along the way what I’ve gained over the past two years. America, land of the free---you and your societal norms better be ready for me and my new kind of freedom.

My feelings about leaving and moving on are mixed and intense. I try to fill my days with visiting as many people as I can and trying not to think about IT. IT is a big deal but it does not make sitting in my village with my family and friends any easier if we keep reminding ourselves about it. I feel like I'm standing on the shore as I watch a huge tsunami enveloping towards me... I know it's coming and I know I'm supposed to scurry about and prepare myself to be taken away. But the whole thing is much too overwhelming to think of what to do, what to say, I'm awestruck. So I just stay where I am and live each day as I have for the past two years, IT's going to consume me anyways so I will just accept it and give in when the time comes.

11 days until I leave the village
22 days until I leave Zambia
44 days until I arrive in New York

posted pictures on facebook recently, but here are some more:

 CAMP GLOW 2013:

 STAFF ROOM:

 MY WATER SOURCE:

 This is how you carry a baby in Africa:

 PRESCHOOL BUILDING:

 CAMP GLOW:

 LAKE MALAWI:

CAMP GLOW:

 Camp GLOW:

 

This is my last post of my Peace Corps service. Thanks to all who have followed and supported, I have really enjoyed telling my story to you all. My last day in Kampinda village will be Monday, April 8. My last day in Zambia will be on Thursday, April 18. From there I will be travelling with some friends to Zanzibar, Tanzania and then to Greece. I will arrive back in New York on Saturday, May 11^th.  

Close-of-Service requires a great among of paperwork and protocol. I’ve copied and pasted my Description of Service, a condensed synopsis of all my documented work the last two years in case your interested, it's like my diploma. I admit I’m a bit proud so I wanted to share with you all ! Cannot wait to start the next chapter and to be reunited with all of you in May !!!!

Description of Service

Shannon Doyle Linehan

Republic of Zambia, Southern Africa

The Rural Education Development (RED) Program

Ms. Shannon Linehan arrived in Zambia on Feburary 3, 2011 to serve as a Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) under the Rural Education Development (RED) Program. The RED program operates in collaboration with The Zambian Ministry of Education (MOE). Volunteers work to support the MOE’s goal of “innovative and productive life long education and training accessible to all by 2030.” To do this, volunteers are placed within a zone consisting of both government and community-supported schools to provide assistance to as many teachers, schools and communities as possible. The work of RED Volunteers is focused in the areas of teacher support through teacher training and professional development; community support through co-curricular activities and non-formal education; and student development through co-teaching with a Zambian teacher to enhance teaching methodologies and improve the students’ learning experience.

Formal Training

Ms. Linehan’s 27-month Peace Corps service began with a rigorous eleven-week pre-service training (PST). Training was comprised of both cultural and technical instruction. A substantial amount of training hours were devoted to cultural sensitization and assimilation to the rural Zambian lifestyle. Her training included 139 hours of Icibemba language instruction and 22 hours of cross-cultural training. Throughout PST she lived with a Zambian family to foster cross-cultural education and local language proficiency. The second component of training comprised of 91 hours of RED specific technical training. Amongst the important topics covered were: overview of MOE initiatives and syllabus, teaching methodologies, classroom management, lesson-planning, sustainable development approaches, using limited resources in the development of teaching and learning aids, implementation of extracurricular activities, social mobilization, and Income Generating Activities (IGA). Upon acquiring these skills, she embarked on the practical component of PST through lesson demonstration and observation. Additionally, Ms. Linehan received 10 hours of instruction on HIV/AIDS issues and intervention. During Ms. Linehan’s time of service she attended additional trainings including a 10-day in-service training with a focus on project design and management, a 2-day co-teaching workshop, and a 5-day PEPFAR training on HIV/AIDS community education outreach.

On April 21, 2011, having completed her Pre-Service Training and achieving language proficiency in Icibemba Ms. Linehan swore in as a Peace Corps Volunteer. On April 27, 2011 she was posted in Kateshi Zone, Kasama District, Northern Province. She lived in a traditional mud-brick hut, with a grass-thatched roof, void of electricity and running-water. She used a nearby well for water, an open fire for cooking, and a bicycle for transportation. Upon entering the community, Ms. Linehan employed her training in community entry to identify areas of need as well as establish relationships with key local counterparts, whom she would work in collaboration with throughout her two-year service.

Site and Program Specific Activities

Ms. Shannon Linehan was a member of the eighth group of volunteers to be placed in Zambia to serve under the RED Program. Ms. Linehan’s primary efforts in the village are noted as follows:

--Co-planned and co-taught 8^th and 9^th grade English; serving a combined total of approximately169 pupils.

·    --Solo-taught an 8^th grade English class of approximately 70 pupils.

·    --Established a consistent and functioning community preschool. Trained a community member in preschool teaching methodologies and child development. Co-planned and co-taught lessons to 40 children from ages 3-6. Organized funds, materials, and manpower toward a permanent and secure preschool classroom. Also created an organized Parent-Teacher Association.

·     --Instituted a literacy “night school” program for adults in the community in which 42 men and women of varying literacy proficiency levels participated in classes two times a week.

·    --Planned and led weekly Girls Leading Our World (G.L.O.W.) club; a girls empowerment club focused on leadership, confidence, and healthy decision making. Participants included approximately 56 girls in 7^th, 8^th and 9^th grade. The club was spearheaded by Ms. Linehan, a counterpart teacher, and two peer leaders. Highlighted topics included; HIV/AIDS, confidence, boyfriends and peer pressure, future goals, early pregnancy, and assertiveness.

·    --Instilled professional development amongst teachers through Teacher Group Meetings (TGM). Meetings explored: project design and management, classroom management strategies, gender in the classroom, targeting different learning styles in the classroom, and co-teaching strategies.

Additional Projects

During Ms. Linehan’s two-year service she also engaged in activities beyond the scope of the RED Program. These included:

·    --Wrote and received a grant to fund Camp G.L.O.W., a week-long girls’ empowerment camp focused on leadership and imparting confidence to participants. Participants included 16 girls, 11 volunteers, 8 teachers, and 11 Peace Corps Volunteers from three districts within Northern Province, Zambia.

·   --Organized camp G.L.O.W.’s activities and lessons. She also supervised the sessions carried out by Peace Corps Volunteers, facilitated teacher sensitization sessions, and oversaw the implementation of the 8 clubs that were formed as a result of the camp.

·   --Organized a Peace Corps World Map Project at Kateshi Basic School, in which a 4 X 2 meter map of the world was painted on the wall of a school block.

·   --Trained 30 American trainees during a separate Pre-Service Training. Ms. Linehan co-planned and co-facilitated alongside Zambian colleagues for week-long training component about teaching in the Zambian classroom.

·   --Facilitated frequent HIV/AIDS sensitization sessions with 8^th and 9^th grade students. This included giving factual information, answering questions, condom demonstrations, and escorting groups of girls and boys to get HIV tested at Voluntary Counseling and Training (VCT).

·   --Coordinated a pen-pal exchange project with an 8^th grade classroom in Zambia and a school in northern California in which students could exchange cultural perspectives as well as practice their writing skills.

 

Pursuant to section 5(f) of the Peace Corps Act, 22 U.S.C. 2054(f), as amended, any former volunteer employed by the United States Government following his/her Peace Corps service is entitled to have any period of satisfactory Peace Corps Volunteer Service credited for purposes of retirement, seniority, reduction in force, leave and other privileges based on length of Government service.  Peace Corps service shall not be credited towards completion of the probationary or trial period of completion of any service for career appointment.

This is to certify that, in accordance with Executive Order No. 11103 of April 10, 1963, that Ms. Shannon Linehan served satisfactorily as a Peace Corps Volunteer.  Her service ended April 18, 2013, completing 27 months of Peace Corps service in Zambia.  She is therefore eligible to be appointed as a career-conditional employee in competitive civil service on a non-competitive basis.  This benefit under Executive Order entitlement extends for a period of one year, except that the employing agency may extend the period for up to three years for a former volunteer who enters military service, pursues studies at a recognized institution of higher learning or engages in other activities which in the view of the appointing authority warrants extension of this period.