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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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!
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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
