Christmas Blessings

Mazabuka, Zambia



Cassie's hut where I spent Christmas!

My dear family and friends,



A cow head that was sitting outside my house. I'm here with my
friend Dana. I definitely don't have the courage to eat THAT

Merry Christmas from Zambia! I hope that these days are filled with peace and every blessing for you as we celebrate the birth of Jesus! Being here in a culture that doesn’t celebrate by giving gifts, I am definitely removed from the commercialism of the holidays, but it also makes me really appreciate the genuine love and thoughtfulness behind the gifts I have been given in past years. I spent the better part of last week with my Peace Corps friends in their villages (without electricity or running water) and it was definitely a Christmas that won’t be easily forgotten. It was full of new experiences and not at all like the Christmas we have in the States! I was in Lubombo for Christmas day which started with Cassie and I walking through rain, knee-deep puddles, and fields of maize in order to get to church. After waiting 1.5 hours it finally got underway and afterwards we were fed nshima and chicken. I was ‘nakuta maningi (too full)’ that day because we rushed back after that to have lunch with our other friends. After a soccer game involving the village headman and several other important people, we spent the evening dancing in and around the streets! Life in the village is simple but beautiful in its own way. I’m keeping this short because I really just have to add that I am so so grateful for each one of you who has made 2012 such a memorable year! Here’s to 2013!

Annie

Some of my American friends: Matt, Ty, Cassie, (and thats me).

My ride back into Mazabuka from Chikankata. Before it ended up
being 22 people, 2 large suitcases, and two live chickens. I had to
put my backpack on the roof of the truck because
there was no other place!

Thanksgiving, Inswa, and Getting to Know Zambia

City of Joy, Mazabuka, ZAMBIA

My dear family and friends!

I hope that you had a great Thanksgiving celebration at home. It (surprisingly) doesn’t get a lot of recognition here, but at least the sisters commemorated the day by serving chips and ice cream at lunch. Our City of Joy is becoming quieter these days because the girls are starting to leave for holiday- to visit family or former homes for the next month. My days will be pretty free after Friday, and I will have time to sleep in and work on a few projects around here. I’m not sure what the Christmas season will bring, but the Peace Corps volunteers will be nearby so I may have a little American celebrating! I’ve been thinking a lot about my position and work here. Because the community is relatively new (2008) and still developing, it seems that the focus of the volunteer is largely up to their personal ideas and strengths.

Playtime!

While I was helping a good bit with school, lately I've been more intent on just spending time with the girls and getting to know them individually.  Usually I try to join in on their activities and interests, which involved planting grass and maize and catching inswa this week!  It's a ground termite that flies out after a big rain.  The first time I saw the girls collecting the insects off the ground I lost my appetite, but fried with a little salt they're actually pretty good (much better than the charcoal-like caterpillars) and taste a bit like peanut butter.

A few of the inswa we collected to eat.

Now that it's the rainy season, it's cooler at night and often cloudy during the day which is a nice break from the heat of the past few months!  When the rains come it's like being in Texas - sheets of water and rivers forming in the sandy roads.  The girls are becoming more comfortable with me, asking questions or sharing stories from school.  I think that the presence of volunteers here is essential because it's proof to these girls that someone loves them and care about who they are and their choices in life.  There's a sad history of abuse in Zambia and teaching the girls that they're worth something will hopefully continue to improve things.  There are a lot of assumptions about 'muzungus' around here that I'm learning to live around.  That I have money to hand out.  That I don't know how to cook.  Or work. 

Learning how to plow with cattle!

It's really sad to me that experience has taught Africans that their stereotypes are often based in reality.  Because of that, I enjoy surprising people and helping with work, although I don't like doing it form them because that creates its own problems!  I was helping Christine to weed her portion (grassy area) and as I was cutting out the long grass runners wondering why I hadn't done it before at home.  Then I realized we have lawnmowers.  I think that culture shock will hit me harder when I come back to the States!

Planting- back row: Florence, me, Susan. Front: Maureen, Mami
Agness, Mami Bertha

One of my new favorite creatures is the chameleon. Seems to have some similarities to the Texas armadillo because I’ve seen it as often dead in the road as not! If you’ve never seen one walking go look it up on youtube. Weirdest thing ever. Much friendlier than the cobra we (and by ‘we’ I mean 3 men) killed on my porch a few weeks ago!  I’ve decided to work on one language instead of the 72 here in Zambia, so now I know a few short sentances in Nyanja. Laylo cu zizila (i=ee) means ‘today is cold’ and ooinda cuti? is ‘where are you going?’ Tien cu nyumba (lets go home) and nifuna kapinga yambili (I need more grass) have been useful a few times : ) Hope all is bwino. I’ll write again at Christmas time but know that you are in my prayers throughout this season of Advent! Please keep us in your prayers as well.

Ni nda tozaonana (I’m going, see you!)
Annie

Falling in Love with Zambia!!

The last few weeks have flow, largely due to having my friend Katie
here! It’s great to have her here sharing the workload and whatever
observations or stories we come up with during the day. I was
definitely missing a lot of the humor from back home too!

A typical Friday lunch of nshima, capenta, and veggies

Things are still pretty routine with the girls in school, but final
exams start soon so that will be changing. I always welcome the weekends here, because it’s a break in the routine, and as exciting as it is to share my learning with them, I don’t think teaching is something I could do permanently right now. Most days are good- when the girls pay attention- and the others are giving me a crash course in patience.

I’m falling more in love with this country and some days I just have
to stop moving for a minute or two to remind myself how beautiful the
land is. I don’t know if I’d ever feel ready to leave it permanently and that’s also because of the people. I get asked all the time ‘how
is Zambia/Mazabuka?’ It makes me feel as if my opinion of this place
really matters! When I bought ‘airtime’ to call home, the shop owner
caught me the next day and asked ‘did it work?!’ I really can’t
describe the openness and genuine character of the people I’ve met
here. Spending this last weekend mostly with the oratory leaders (most
are 24/6 years old) has made me truly appreciate my experience here in
a new way. I know that their attitude towards life and one another
will give me a new perspective on many things. Unlike the lack of
personal space in Italy (yikes) here it seems to be more from the
sense of community everyone shares. public transport is overcrowded
and it always looks like someone is going to fall out of the bus! But
I'll enjoy seeing it until the time I have to use one ;)
Last week Katie and I finally made the trip to Livingstone and
Victoria Falls, 4 hours south of us. While I was waiting outside the
bank for Katie, a man came up and asked ‘are you waiting for me?’ then
went on to tell me how welcome I was and that he hoped I would enjoy
my visit- a good first impression of the people there! I was also able
to accomplish all three of my African goals in one day! Starting in
the morning with a walking safari where we saw giraffe, a warthog
(Pumba), impala, a bushbuck, white rhinos, buffalo, monkeys, and
elephants! We got dropped off at the falls and spend hours hiking
around admiring the gorge and ‘boiling point’ (at the bottom). Since
it’s the dry season, there’s not a lot of water falling, but the placeis still incredible. As soon as we got back to the hostel, I literally
ran to join the elephant back safari! Not as much wildlife this time
(besides rogue elephants and a lion), but it was amazing to be riding
 such a massive animal, walking through deep rivers like it was
nothing! Afterwards we had a chance to feed them. New friends were
everywhere, from my bus companion, to the safari driver, to the other travelers. I was blessed to meet a beautiful family from Australia who
were incredibly supportive of my time here- thank you Toby and Esther!

Feeding Matinta, the elepant I rode.
The name basically means that
the person (or elephant) is the only boy in
 family of girls- or the
other way around!

Standing in front of part of Victoria Falls

Our visit to Chimungalu with some of the children there.

The week we got back, the sisters took us on an afternoon outing to Chimungalu, a village that is definitely part of 3rd world Africa. It made me even more thankful for the running water and electricity here! The men and women working/volunteering there have my respect.

On Tuesday the Irish sisters had Katie and I over for supper and besides having a night out, it was great to hear their stories and perspective since they’ve been here for 14/40 years! Wednesday we celebrated Zambian Independence and next year is their Golden Jubilee. Katie and I must have been greeted 100 times by people excited to see us celebrating in Zambian chitenges! I still have so much to learn here, especially the language which I’ve been pretty slow to grasp.
Maybe next time I’ll finally have a sentence or two memorized to share. ;)

I would love to receive emails from ya’ll, especially since I’ll be on
my own again for the month of November. Hope that all is well!

Until next time, my thoughts and prayers are with you from Zambia!
Annie



 


 

Faith

Salesian Sisters’ City of Joy, Mazabuka, Zambia

Nakambala Sugar Plantation.
My hands and feet were black from eating burned sugar cane
but it was delicious!

I can’t believe that I’ve been here for five weeks already! Time flies when you’re having fun right? Or staying busy! Things have fallen more into a routine since school started a few weeks ago. The school schedule in Mazabuka is all over the place though, so it makes it a guessing game to figure out what to expect from one day to the next! Most of the girls leave here at 6:30, some return at lunch time when the others leave, and everyone is back around 5:00. I’ve been put in charge of helping those taking exams (7th, 9th, and 12th) to pass. As things stand, it’s going to be a challenge, because most of the 8 girls failed their second term. The biggest hurdle is relearning Chemistry and trying to figure out Physics (something I haven’t done up until now!). I have fond memories of balancing equations which is definitely helping. Another goal is teaching a 14 year old to read. I’m pretty sure she’s dyslexic, so I’m also learning how to teach special-ed.

Nakambala Sugar Plantation.
The girls with me are Alice, Christine, Esther.
Esther, Queen, Orian.

Since I have a LOT of time to think, I was wondering why I’ve been sent to Zambia of all places. When I heard where the placement site was, I had to google it because I honestly didn’t know the country existed. But now that I’m here, I recognize so much good in this place, most importantly the faith of the people. I think that faith is what holds a lot of these people together, especially given their difficult lives and lack of basic family structure. I’ve met some really amazing men and women, including some sisters from Ireland, the priests of our parish, and Bishop Clement, the first bishop of Kabwe. He offered mass for us, and shared his beautiful experience in leading a diocese. I think his demeanor gave proof as he described the energy he gets from the faith of his people. He stressed how the apostles were full of joy in the face of difficulties as they spread the message of love to the world. And that joy is present here. When the congregation sings at mass, you can feel the joy coming from their hearts, like a force that can’t be stopped from finding expression. Since it was recommended by another volunteer, I just finished reading Tattoos on the Heart, about Fr. Gregory Boyle’s experience working with gangs in LA. I cried or laughed over every page and I would recommend it to each of you! He says that in working with the poor and underprivileged, we are “Allowing our hearts to be broken by the very thing that breaks the heart of God.” He goes on to quote Mother Teresa saying that “we are not called to be successful, but faithful.” I think this is an important distinction, since I’m often tempted to give up when I don’t see the fruit of my work, or the results I expect. Mother Teresa also says that many of our earthly struggles are due to the fact that we’ve “forgotten that we belong to each other.” One of the girls said to me- ‘you know, it’s funny how much like a black person you are.’ I had to describe to her that white person or black person, we’re both ‘persons’ and that’s what makes us belong to one another.

My adventures with strange foods have continued and I’ve found a few that I don’t like. Boiled okra leaves produce a slimy green mess, and I really don’t see the attraction. After climbing a papaya tree to give the fruit a second chance, I decided I was right the first time- It has a nauseating smell and the taste isn’t worth going through that. Sweet potato leaves on the other hand are delicious!!! It’s a different variety than we have at home, and we ate it boiled. I was also finally able to visit the market a few weeks ago- it’s a hectic place full of buildings and falling down tents, selling everything from nail polish to sugar to clothing. I think it has to be a square mile because it didn’t seem to have an end! I had the feeling of being sucked in, whirled around, and spat back out. Definitely an experience to remember.

Kids from the Oratory.

A few disorganized realizations I’ve come to: It surprises me now to hear an airplane! I think that only 2 or 3 have flown by in the last month! This culture is non-reflective in my experience so far. I think part of the contrast is due to coming right from ‘university,’ but it’s pretty rare to hear someone say ‘I feel’ or even ‘I think.’ Usually, people Do say ‘I’m asking for…’ or ‘I’m telling you…’ Some of you may know how much I dislike winter. Well I managed to skip it completely! I realized I’ve gone from Summer ->Spring -> Summer and I’ll be coming back in the Spring again! Haha. And Some funny things that happened: One of the boys said about his unruly brother/classmate ‘don’t mind him, he’s sick of mental.’ I also get odd questions all the time, like ‘how many friends do you have?’ ‘I like that --- how many do you have?’ ‘are there people in America who don’t know how to read?’ ‘When are you going to get married?’ Are there poor people in America?’ I think it’s helping me to come up with quick answers. And sometimes I have to hold myself back from laughing at the girls, like the other day I turned around from helping someone with their work and saw a 7th grader wearing a garter for a headband.



The view south from City of Joy, not too many buildings in that direction. ;)

I’m really looking forward to seeing my friend Katie a few days from now! She’ll be here up until the halfway point of my service and I couldn’t be more excited to share my experience with her.

Some of you have asked for a way to donate to City of Joy and I am working on getting the information for that! I’m sorry this got so long, I guess I had more to tell than I expected.

Love and Prayers,
Annie

Learning to Love

Salesian Sisters' City of Joy, Mazabuka, Zambia

I bet you can find me easily here...
This was in the streets of Lubombo- the kids flock around pretty quickly!
I mention Lubombo in my Christmas post!!

The more time I spend here at the City of Joy, the more I realize how
much we narrow down our understanding of love and how small my heart
must be compared to the infinite compassion of God! Everything here is
a challenge, but I still feel that this is exactly where I’m supposed
to be right now. I want to thank each and every one of you for helping
me to reach this point- either by helping with the flight, or just as
importantly, your prayers and encouragement.

I’ll start by giving you a short description of this place and
hopefully the internet will allow me to send some pictures soon ;) On
the gated property is a convent with 3 sisters and 5 aspirants, three
houses for the 29 girls and 3 Mamis, and a volunteer house. A mansion
for me because it holds 12 and I’m the only one here right now (and
only American in Mazabuka that I know of)! There’s a hall as well as
basketball and volleyball courts (cement). Our road is rocks and dirt
(yet another new friend) which always makes for an adventure in the
van or pickup.

The girls are still on holiday so the schedule isn’t fixed, but the
days have looked something like this: morning Mass as the parish with
everyone from the convent- I love riding in the back of the pickup and
there are so many people awake by 6am that there’s always something to
see. Seems like a lot of life takes place along the road. Some
mornings are cold or dusty so we ride with a blanket over our heads.
Can’t imagine how that looks! After breakfast, I usually help the
girls with studies; most of them aren’t in the ‘right’ grade because
of their backgrounds. Lunch I eat at the convent and after that have a
few minutes before 10-15 of the girls come over to make bracelets,
draw pictures or play cards. From 2:30-5 we have Oratory, a Salesian
tradition of lessons, games, or performances and prayer led by the
aspirants and young men (ages 15-30) from Mazabuka. Kids from the
neighborhood come for that which gives me more than enough names to
work on! After dinner the girls often practice for an upcoming holiday
or visitor. They all sing so well! Somehow no one is too shy to sing
on stage and there are one or two really beautiful voices. They sing
on bus rides or when the power goes out, and I’m doing my best to
follow along even though half of the songs are in Tonga- their native
language. Each girl is incredibly strong and sincere. Even hearing
their stories, its hard to believe that most are orphans or come from
abusive backgrounds. It truly is a city of Joy. I wish that my arms
were longer or that I had more hands so I could hold more than two at
once!

Sugarcane is what Mazabuka is known for. The factory seems to employ
half the city! The girls don’t have any sugar left, so we all went
with Sr. Elisa to ask for more. We even found some sugar cane on the
way out (illegal to pick) and I understand why the kids get excited!
It really tastes great and way better than ‘Zambian bubble gum,’ a
slightly sweet seed that you chew to a pulp. Bleh. Nsima is the most
common item on the menu- maize flour cooked to the consistency of
grits or porridge. I’ve learned how to eat it with my hands (“like a
real Zambian”). Im also learning a few Tonga expressions; Twalumba is
‘thank you,’ mwabuka buti is ‘good morning,’ and maguwa is ‘white
woman.’ I get letters of appreciation from the girls all the time, and
I really understand Don Bosco’s (the Salesian Founder) words that “it
is enough that you are young for me to love you.”

There is so much to be done here, from helping the girls, being here
for them, and making their home more beautiful and more like family.
Some of it is due to resources we don’t have, but a lot of it can (and
will!) be improved. I hope that God is blessing each and every one of
you back home!

With prayers,
Annie