What I got up to today...

Well, since I’m a school helper (as opposed to the many hospital staff members around here) I’m blessed to have weekends free and can decide what I want to do.

This morning began with a scenic walk into Kasempa with Hilary, an English anaesthetist working here for a month.  I enjoy being followed by a trail of African children shouting over and over ‘hello, how are you?’ My mission was to get apples, or at least some kind of fruit, but none was to be had. Tomatoes, cabbages, rape (chinese cabbage), onions and dried fish are plentiful, but it’s hard to find much fruit here. It’s funny, there is not a consistent supply of anything and sometimes you find the strangest things like ‘almond essence’ but then you can’t even find a loaf of bread to buy. You can never be sure that what was there last week will be around this week.

 A large market is buzzing with flies and the overpowering smell of 20 tables of sellers competing to sell their fish, and as a mzungu I can feel myself being watched by those 20 pairs of pleading eyes. I wish I could buy from all of them; I know they probably all have large families to care for and need the money!

Less than a minute after I walk in my door I hear a knock and welcome in a local boy who is one of the gr2 academy students, and his lovely mother. It was great to meet more of the family. I have met so so many children here but not many adults or parents; It’s a sad fact that Aids has wiped out a good part of the ‘parent’ generation so it is really common for children to be looked after by grandparents or aunts or uncles etc. It’s not uncommon for two adults to be caring for 12 children or more. This is why I meet so many kids and they’re doesn’t seem to be many adults around.

This afternoon I took one of my little African friends with me and enjoyed cooling off in the recently opened pool (thanks to Noel, a missionary who has been doing lots of maintenance around the place). I then went to praise team practice and had a lot of fun struggling through the polysyllabic Bemba words!

This evening Anja and Missy (my housemates) and Fynn (medical student) and I enjoyed a social evening having dessert with a couple other missionaries; weekend meals are often spent this way. Now I’m struggling with the internet and wondering how on earth I will manage to complete my online university application from the other side of the world, by the scarily close deadline…

Well, tusaka monan’ana (See you later!)

Election week

Well, Zambia has a new president: Mr Michael Sata.

The election was held this wednesday. Throughout the preceding week I was frequently passed by campaign cars stickered over with advertisements, waving flags, and proclaiming the praises of a candidate via loud speaker. Both schools and the hospital were running tight on staff because everyone goes back to their (often far away) birthplace to vote. I was asked many times to pray about the election, and it was definitely a big topic over the last few missionary prayer meetings. Zambia has had peace for many years and the people realise the blessing of this and are anxious that it will stay this way.

It is too early to tell what changes will occur as the result of the change of office, but as a Zambian man said ‘we’ll just sit on the bus and see where the president drives us’…  we are praying that Mr Sata will be a wise leader.

A Sunday in Mukinge

This morning (well actually two days ago now because of the internet being un-cooperative) I walked 10 minutes up the road to the Kyakabuka Evangelical Church. There are a lot of different churches around Mukinge but this is the closest which includes English, so as well as the Zambian people I was joined by a small contingent of ‘mzungus’ (white people).

 The praise team starts us off and fills the church with loud choruses; I begin to clap and sway, and I try to listen for Kikaonde words that I recognise … singing in church takes on a whole different form when you can’t understand the words, and the song titles that you do recognise turn out to be sung to a different tune from back home! Once my hands have got sore the preaching finally begins and we read from Ephesians 4 – on unity in the Spirit; it seems to be a common theme. My mind is beginning to get used to the interpretation style, so today I can grasp the main points of the sermon, and I even pick up a few new Kikaonde words as I compare the line by line bilingual preaching. The most common phrase I hear is ‘jizhina jowewe Yesu Christo’ – in the name of Jesus Christ. As I walk out the door, I am greeted by one church member, and then another, and then another, and then another, and it keeps going! Eventually I join the end of the line and then it is my turn to say mute mwane, muji byepi? (hello and how are you?) to each member on their way out. I love it, just one of the many awesome parts of going to an African church :D

As I walk home I am shocked by a sound that is something like a child screaming; I turn and see that it is just an unhappy goat taking a ride on the back of a bicycle!  In my few weeks in Zambia I have seen some very heavily loaded bicycles but this is the first time I’ve seen a goat on the back! Clare tells me that I’ll see plenty more animals transported this way so I’ll look out and have my camera ready next time!

For the traditional Sunday pancakes we missionaries are hosted by Michelle (head of nursing at the Mukinge Hospital here). The abundance of avocados and bananas and pawpaw here made for some good toppings!

Today was my first Sunday here that I didn’t go down to the rapids… I spent the afternoon reading instead J All the missionaries have very well-stocked bookshelves here so there’s plenty of good reading material.

At 1600hrs (we talk in 24hr time a lot here) I found myself at the hospital chapel for praise team practice; I’m not sure how it happened that I’m helping lead the singing at church but we’ll see if it lasts more than this week!

(sorry for the lack of photos- the internet connection is not coping with photos at the moment!)

Last week...

I spent quite a few hours under the hot African sun, sweeping our huge front garden. I was warned that our 5inch thick layer of leaves could be providing a nice environment for snakes to hide in so I thought I might do something about it. Nearly every afternoon this week you could see the leaf piles at the base of our trees gradually increasing, and me out there struggling with our broken broom. I was joined a couple of times by my lovely hard-working Zambian friends who often come to visit. I really enjoyed working outside because not only were the results very satisfying, but it also gave me an opportunity to make some more Zambian friends; a few inquisitive travellers of the road stopped to look at the spectacle of a mzungu working in the garden and came to greet me :)

 

My lovely friend Melody insisted on helping with the job!

 

 

But after being otherwise occupied for a couple of days I’ve realised it’s a never ending job - the leaves just keep falling!

 

This has been such an awesome week. I have learned a lot more of my students’ names and I’ve met heaps more Zambian people, which is great because I really want to make friends with the locals around me.  One day this week I was disappointed to come home to find my clothesline empty and a few things missing. I started to plan a trip to the boma for some essential skirts, but only a few days later some people came to my door, returning the things and begging my forgiveness. Thanks God :)

School!

One of my cheeky grade 3's, Mulunda

So last Monday (5^th September) began the adventures of me as a classroom assistant at the Mukinge Hill Academy. Less than 2hrs had passed before ‘classroom assistant’ morphed into teacher – of PE. The next day it was social studies. Sometimes teachers have other commitments and don’t turn up. School has been kind of crazy, but also lots of fun and I love the kids! I am mostly helping with the grade 3’s.

My attempts to think are drowned in the constant chorus of “Auntie, Auntie!” and I vainly try to concentrate on the scrabbled sheet before me and cope with the overwhelming attention of 6 demanding and eager school children surrounding me. Gospel truths and biblical texts pervade the whole school atmosphere, from pledges in assembly to bible teaching to songs and to texts in the children’s readers. I love my grade 3 class and I hate having to be harsh– but if I don’t, I know nothing will get done. The second phrase my ears began to register is “auntie, I am asking” “for what?” I reply… a sharpener of course. Or it could be a rubber. It’s amazing that I have so far managed to retrieve everything by the end of the day!

God is a great great God. This is what we sung in assembly the other day and I am being reminded of it everywhere I go. He has abundantly blessed me here and I am really enjoying this beautiful place.

(sorry that I don’t have many photos of school – hopefully it’s less crazy this week and I can take some!)

What's been happening...

This is where I live.  

Just behind us is the main dirt road, and just behind that is Mukinge Hill.

This is the house I share with Anja and Missy. It is big and inside and outside are going to require a lot of maintenance!

Ok so…  What have I been up to in Zambia??
In the first few days I’ve done lots of different things. I’ve been walking up and down a dusty road and greeting people in Kikaonde (or trying!),

 hiking up Mukinge Hill 

and having a picnic at the river with some local girls, 

helping the male ward at the hospital relocate, drawing pictures with some little girls who come and sit on our doorstep, and cooking (which takes a lot more time here than at home – especially considering that at home it usually wasn’t me doing it!). We stocked up a lot in Lusaka but I’m getting tired of having to use up the fresh vegies and stuff- it determines what we cook each night! Also we kind of over-stocked on fresh vege so some has been chucked out- which I hate the thought of! I’m pretty inclined to stop eating like a white person and experience nshima as a staple. After all I did want to come to Africa and live like the Africans do!

Last Saturday I got the opportunity to walk to the boma, which is what they call the closest town. About 5kms of walking and we hit a continuum of stalls and buildings far along a bitumen road. These include countless barber shops, ‘supermarkets’ (smaller than a corner shop), bicycle spares shops, and churches.

this is what my feet look like after a walk to the boma

actually they look like this most nights!

At Mukinge, among other things, I’ve got used to frequent power cuts, hand washing, the sound of someone wailing from the hospital, and I’ve had my first taste of nshima, a Zambian's staple food.