<--- More pictures at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=83025&id=713467480&l=b88c6e5b92
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Week 3
Mwashubekeni mukwai from Lusaka. We get to spend the day at the Arcades shopping center, and it's nice having computer access. We even had milkshakes earlier!
A lot of Zambians seem to have the misconception that American animals can talk. We stayed with another PCV couple whose host father had inherited the movie Babe from the previous volunteer. He was convinced that pigs really talk in the U.S. Another trainee in our group was also asked if her dog back home can speak.
On the topic of dogs, Zamdogs are extremely depressing creatures. They are very thin because they survive on leftover nshima, and skittish because it is common practice to kick dogs here if they get underfoot or too close. The squeal of a kicked dog is a common noise. However, it's deeper than a cruelty to animals. People do not like dogs to be close to them because rabies is often a problem here, and most animals aren't vaccinated. The dogs here are also covered in ticks.
Chris and I had half a day off yesterday, so we went biking on this rough road about ten minutes from our n'ganda (host family's home). It was great mountain biking and very pretty, bilharzia-infected streams and all. Around 5pm we decided to turn around because it gets dark very quickly. Unfortunately, we got utterly lost, deep in the bush. It's unsafe to travel after dark, so I was thinking at one point that we needed to stop at a hut and ask to spend the night. Thankfully a woman showed us the way to the main road, and we were home before the mosquitoes came out.
Everyone was worried that we would not get enough to eat here, but quite the opposite is true. Our host parents' goal is to make us fat. Being called fat here is a compliment, and it means someone is happy, so every night our Batata and Bamayo keep offering us more ubwali and umunani. They've also had a talk with Chris about how he is not to take another wife here (polygyny is common in parts), and that we will have five children eventually.
A couple weeks ago we went to the Eastern region to stay with another PCV couple and learn what it's really like to be a volunteer here. The Eastern region is gorgeous, covered with rocky hills that Chris wouldn't stop taking pictures of. In these mountains live baboons. Baboons that like to climb down and steal maize from the farmers (Remember, 90% of the people in the village are subsistence farmers). So most of the farmers have "monkey houses" situated between the mountains and the corn where someone sits all day and yells to scare the baboons away. Mostly this job is appointed to children. We visited one farmer who had married a second wife just to fulfill this task.
We've been in a village about 40K from Lusaka for the past two weeks, staying with our host families. Everday but Sunday, we have four hours of language class and then three hours of technical training. So we're often out on the main road biking to and from class. You'd think people here would get used to seeing all the muzungus everyday, but little kids still cry "how are you, how are you, how are you" and sometimes kids will run beside my bike in flip-flops. Once I had six children that followed me all the way home. I guess I can't blame them though. Whenever I see white people that aren't Peace Corps trainees or volunteers, I stare too. Seeing white people here is very uncommon outside of Lusaka.
If anyone is itching to send us a care package, there are things we need. I've managed to rip all of my skirts on thorny branches, so a travel sewing kit or a needle and thread would be awesome. Hand sanitizer would be great too, because there aren't many places to wash your hands here. We also want sunscreen and bugspray, because we don't like the stuff the PC gave us. Mom, could you send a Girl Scout activity or badge book? Also, Hershey's bars would make my month. One of our PCVLs baked us chocolate chip cookies last week, and they were to die for, even thought they were crawling with ants. Chris' mom sent us a letter and I believe postage was something like 92 cents, and it got here within two weeks.
Feel free to call us too, just as long as it is after 6pm our time (12noon your time). We usually have our phone on on Saturday and Sunday. It's super expensive to call out here.
A lot of Zambians seem to have the misconception that American animals can talk. We stayed with another PCV couple whose host father had inherited the movie Babe from the previous volunteer. He was convinced that pigs really talk in the U.S. Another trainee in our group was also asked if her dog back home can speak.
On the topic of dogs, Zamdogs are extremely depressing creatures. They are very thin because they survive on leftover nshima, and skittish because it is common practice to kick dogs here if they get underfoot or too close. The squeal of a kicked dog is a common noise. However, it's deeper than a cruelty to animals. People do not like dogs to be close to them because rabies is often a problem here, and most animals aren't vaccinated. The dogs here are also covered in ticks.
Chris and I had half a day off yesterday, so we went biking on this rough road about ten minutes from our n'ganda (host family's home). It was great mountain biking and very pretty, bilharzia-infected streams and all. Around 5pm we decided to turn around because it gets dark very quickly. Unfortunately, we got utterly lost, deep in the bush. It's unsafe to travel after dark, so I was thinking at one point that we needed to stop at a hut and ask to spend the night. Thankfully a woman showed us the way to the main road, and we were home before the mosquitoes came out.
Everyone was worried that we would not get enough to eat here, but quite the opposite is true. Our host parents' goal is to make us fat. Being called fat here is a compliment, and it means someone is happy, so every night our Batata and Bamayo keep offering us more ubwali and umunani. They've also had a talk with Chris about how he is not to take another wife here (polygyny is common in parts), and that we will have five children eventually.
A couple weeks ago we went to the Eastern region to stay with another PCV couple and learn what it's really like to be a volunteer here. The Eastern region is gorgeous, covered with rocky hills that Chris wouldn't stop taking pictures of. In these mountains live baboons. Baboons that like to climb down and steal maize from the farmers (Remember, 90% of the people in the village are subsistence farmers). So most of the farmers have "monkey houses" situated between the mountains and the corn where someone sits all day and yells to scare the baboons away. Mostly this job is appointed to children. We visited one farmer who had married a second wife just to fulfill this task.
We've been in a village about 40K from Lusaka for the past two weeks, staying with our host families. Everday but Sunday, we have four hours of language class and then three hours of technical training. So we're often out on the main road biking to and from class. You'd think people here would get used to seeing all the muzungus everyday, but little kids still cry "how are you, how are you, how are you" and sometimes kids will run beside my bike in flip-flops. Once I had six children that followed me all the way home. I guess I can't blame them though. Whenever I see white people that aren't Peace Corps trainees or volunteers, I stare too. Seeing white people here is very uncommon outside of Lusaka.
If anyone is itching to send us a care package, there are things we need. I've managed to rip all of my skirts on thorny branches, so a travel sewing kit or a needle and thread would be awesome. Hand sanitizer would be great too, because there aren't many places to wash your hands here. We also want sunscreen and bugspray, because we don't like the stuff the PC gave us. Mom, could you send a Girl Scout activity or badge book? Also, Hershey's bars would make my month. One of our PCVLs baked us chocolate chip cookies last week, and they were to die for, even thought they were crawling with ants. Chris' mom sent us a letter and I believe postage was something like 92 cents, and it got here within two weeks.
Feel free to call us too, just as long as it is after 6pm our time (12noon your time). We usually have our phone on on Saturday and Sunday. It's super expensive to call out here.
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