As has been the case most of my time here, the Good and Bad are often intertwined, the Serious and Hilarious cuddle, sometimes so close it's hard to tell where one ends and the other begins. So I'll attempt to untangle them for you here in the form of a Good News/Bad News list, hopefully not disrespecting the serious as I relate the not-so-serious aspects of the last month.

The Bad News: I’ve gained ten pounds from the Zambian diet high in white carbs and oil, so people call me fat to my face (nine people to be exact, not that I’m counting). This is a compliment in Zambia.

Here is one place I’ve noticed that our cultures differ.

The Good News: I’m now having a Biggest Loser competition with fellow MCC volunteer Karen and I’m totally gonna win! So, if you’re reading this, you best be watchin yo backside, Karen—which shouldn't be too hard for you.

The Bad News: Two of the teachers at the community school are in the process of losing their jobs and I have to add statements on alcoholism and prostitution to our teachers' contract.

The Good News: I'm interviewing two new teachers this week AND the roof got patched at Hope School (refer to previous blog). So there's hope for the future!

The Bad News: An abused boy knocked on my window a lot a couple weeks ago. He needed a safe place to sleep.

The Good News: With police intervention, the boy is moving to Lusaka to live with a relative, who I'm praying will take better care of him than his abusive aunt.

The Bad News: The rain rain should go away and come again another rainy season. There’s been so much rain this year all of Mumbwa is praying for it to stop. I’ve never lived in a subsistence farming community before—weather patterns really matter when you don’t eat if your fertilizer gets washed away.

The Good News: All the rains have uprooted the foundation of the pit latrine I use next to work, so the brick building is tilting on its side and squatting over the hole is basically impossible/dangerous. This gives me an excuse (apart from my white-girl-too-good-for-your-pit-latrine excuse) to use a porcelain throne farther down the road. Hey, it’s the little things that matter here.

The Bad News: I just took a personality test that told me I’m excitable. I took that as an insult.

The Good News: Excitable? Sounds like an obnoxious little kid. No, there’s no good news to that. I’m still offended, even more than by the fat comments.

The Bad News: Poaching and deforestation happens.

The Good News: I’ve started working with World Wildlife Foundation to implement a Children and the Environment program at our community schools. It will teach kids to use natural resources responsibly and give them skills in weaving, pottery, carpentry, agriculture, etc. while preaching against poaching and the like. As long as the communities get on board, it seems like a worthy undertaking, and my goal is to see the program sustainably up and running in one school before my July departure.

The Bad News: The first half of my time here has drawn from my lips more complaining than you could throw a fairly-well-trained psychologist at.

The Good News: Call me hyperactive/excitable/uber-joyful like the personality test did, but here at the halfway point, I’m actually looking forward to the rest of my time here in Zambia.