August Newsletter
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August 21, 2009
March 10, 2009
Kennedy
I first met Kennedy after another long day in the city where I had once again been unsuccessful in most of my endeavors. And I was in a foul mood.
I was on my way home and peeved that I had to make yet another stop. Why couldn't there be fast food drive-thrus like the "civilized" country I had come from? As I gathered my purse, cell phone, and list, Kennedy approached my car. I had already shooed away the men selling socket wrenches, DVDs and talk time. I didn't have time to deal with this kid too. I'd always managed to dodge him before. This time though, he was there before I even got out of the car.
"Madam, ground nuts?" he asked in a nearly inaudible voice.
"No, I don't want any."
"Only 5000, madam." I did the math in my head. That was about a buck for what looked like 3-4 pounds of peanuts.
"No, I don't want any," I repeated a bit more sternly.
"Madam. Please." He said it with such a sad, pathetic look on his face.
"No, I'm allergic to ground nuts." That wasn't really true. Just intolerant, not allergic. And I don't really like them anyway. Thinking I was safe, I stormed off into the Castle Supermarket.
It was nearly dark when I reemerged loaded down with groceries. In a country where the average worker earns 10,000 ZMK per day, I'm sure I had just spent 100,000 ZMK ($20) without a second thought.
I had already reversed my car out of the parking space when he showed up at my open window.
"Please, madam, I need money to buy notebooks for school."
March 9, 2009
Public Service Announcement
OK, this is really more of an electronics lesson, but also a PSA.
Do not plug a 110V surge protector into a 220V outlet.
It explodes.
Everything else attached to that outlet shuts down and the fuse requires replacing.
March 5, 2009
Running Errands
Running errands in town is terribly time-consuming and often very frustrating. I'll use last Thursday and Friday as an example.
Our director Bryan made reservations to fly back to Arizona for a brief visit. Airline reservations cannot be made on the internet in much of Africa. My understanding is that it is due to the high number of fraudulent uses of credit cards. So after finally getting ahold of someone in the British Airways office and securing a reservation, I had to go out to pay for it at a local bank. Only 2 branches in Lusaka accept those payments (of course, they're on the other side of town). On Thursday morning, Bryan's wife wanted to pay with a credit card, but they only accept cash. On Thursday afternoon, I went to one of those branches with US Dollars. I stood in line for 15-20 minutes, filled out the deposit form (with 5 carbon copies), handed over my $100 bills and found out that they did not have the $26 in change that I would require. They told me I could go to the other branch which was very nearby.
I stood in line again for another 20 minutes. Filled out another deposit slip (5 carbon copies again), and handed over my $100 bills. They did have the change. But one of my bills had a small tear in it so they wouldn't accept it. I tried to reason with the teller. No. I asked to speak to the manager and went round and round with her. The response was still no. She explained that they would have to sell it for a lower value on the foreign exchange market. I tried to reason, I argued, but all to no avail. After more than an hour of trying to pay for the ticket, I went home empty handed.
The next morning, I picked up Bryan and we went back to the bank with a new $100 bill. After another 20 minutes, we had finally paid for the ticket. The teller said he would fax the deposit slip to the airlines which would confirm the reservation. I got a call the following Tuesday from the airline requesting that I fax them a copy of the receipt. Things simply move at a different pace here and expectations of customers are much different than those in the US. I'll get used to it.
Feel free to pray for me.
January 20, 2009
Family Roles
I've found traditional family roles in Africa to be very interesting. Keep in mind that I'm looking at all of this through a Western filter.
Women are pretty much the glue that hold family and society together in much of Africa. The same seemed to be true for the Mwaanga family. Andrew has a job as a security guard at the Ubuntu school campus. He often has to work nights. During the day, as most men here do, he goes out visiting. Africans are very relational people. Much of their time is spent maintaining relationships with family and friends.
Meltdown
On Sunday morning, we woke up early (with the light) around 5:30 or so. We were planning on going to church, and I knew that we would need to walk. Grace told me that it normally takes her and her girls 30-40 minutes to walk it. The church is about 4km away or so. She thought it might take me nearly an hour and a half to walk. Most whites/non-blacks tend to own vehicles and drive everywhere, so the common belief is that we simply couldn't manage. So I told Grace that I'm sure it wouldn't take nearly as long as she thought and that I would be ok. We ended up planning for about an hour and made it there in about 45 - 50 minutes. I think she was quite surprised.
Their church has been unable to afford a roof yet. So they've got this little shelter made of branches which covers the first few pews in the church. However, in a pouring down rain, that wouldn't be enough to keep everyone dry. So we ended up in a very small building next door. There were an awful lot of us crammed into that tiny space. As soon as the service was over, it stopped raining.
We walked back home and Grace and the girls started fixing lunch. All of the sudden, I had the most terrible homesickness. I wasn't even sure why. The entire family was being extremely nice to me. At first it was just a few tears here and there that I could surreptitiously wipe away. After a while, the youngest girl noticed some of the tears. I went inside and wiped them away and tried to pull myself together. But really, it just kept getting worse. I continued to try to talk myself out of the homesickness. It didn't work.
Living Conditions
Grace and her family live in a burnt brick home with a tin roof and concrete floor which is a step up from many of the mud huts with thatched roofs. The entire one-room house was approximately 10' x 16'. The whole family sleeps in there. They had divided up the room into three sections. One side had a mattress for Grace and her girls. The middle section was where they had me eat my meals. And the last section had a bed in it for me. They'd used sheets and chitenges to make curtains for privacy in each of those areas of the house. At night when it rained, we could hear the raindrops on the tin roof. Often as we were getting ready for bed, the girls and their mom would sing (in beautiful harmony) or tell jokes and stories. It was a lot of fun just to listen to them.
Macha Family
My stay with Grace and Andrew Mwaanga turned out to be a very good experience. I was a bit dubious at first, especially prior to leaving, but Grace and her daughters put me at ease right away! I am so thankful for the time I had with them. As we became more comfortable with one another, we asked a lot of questions about the other's culture. We were able to share wedding rituals, coming of age traditions, cooking tips, and so much more. We spent a lot of time laughing with one another and learning from one another. Their three daughters are very hard workers and kept me entertained.
This family certainly has found a place in my heart and I will have many memories of them to treasure! I look forward to visiting them again.
January 17, 2009
Macha Family Stay
On Thursday afternoon I returned from the village live-in in Macha. Overall it was a very good and wonderful experience. I'll be posting details over the next several days as I am able. Click on the picture below to see the 143 pictures I've posted to Picasa.
 |
| Macha Family Stay |
If you are unable to simply link to it, copy and paste the following url in your address bar:
http://picasaweb.google.com/africagabi/MachaFamilyStay#
January 9, 2009
On the Road Again
Tonight I'm leaving for Macha, south of Lusaka.
I'll be living with a Zambian family for a week. My understanding is that they have a house made of mud bricks and a proper tin roof. I am brining along a mosquito net and candles. The family is the brother and sister-in-law of Esther, the Zambian helper at the guest house. If they are even half as nice as she is, I'll be just fine.
The hope is that I will gain a little understanding of what life is like for the Zambians and learn some of their culture.
Obviously, I won't be taking my computer and won't be on for the entire week. Right now, the plan is that I will ride out with Gertjan who lives and works there and fly back on a tentatively scheduled flight next Thursday. If the flight gets cancelled, I will stay there longer or find another way back into town. :-)
See you later!! I'm sure I'll have stories to tell.
January 8, 2009
Alien Registration Cards
Every Zambian person must carry a National Registration Card. It's a small ID with a picture and some vital information. You show that instead of a driver's license in many offices. As a foreinger, I now carry an Alien Registration Card, which I got today. It was kind of like hanging out at the DMV for a while.
I had forgotten to take the copies of my passport and work permit with me. So that meant we would have to go next door to make the copies. (It is actually not uncommon for businesses to request that you bring the copies along.) According to the instructions I'd received, I was to bring two copies of each document with me. I assumed this meant the face pages.
The copier next door was broken. Oh dear. Now what? Lesson one: Always make the copies at our office at the Farm. The gatekeeper at the NRC building wouldn't even let us in without the copies. So we walked back toward the car. I noticed another official building and decided to take a chance. So talked to the first person who looked like she worked there and asked if they had a copier we could use to get this done.
She was very pleasant and took us upstairs to her office where she had a small copier sitting right on her desk. Then she disappeared with my passport and work permit. She was gone nearly 20 mintues. I had no idea what she could possibly be doing, but Ernst told me not to worry. She wouldn't do anything malicious with my docs.
When she finally came back, she had had each of the 4 copies certified - far more than we needed or had asked for! Then she told us they were 11,000K each! That's over $2 a copy. We paid her and thanked her profusely and went on back to the NRC.
Today, Ernst and Susi were helping me get things done in town. Susi waited outside with a good book while Ernst and I went in to start the process. We were ushered into an office where a woman sat behind a desk looking over the tops of her glasses. It was her job to determine whether each applicant had brought the appropriate paperwork and copies.
I had not.
January 6, 2009
The Tuesday Market
Today several of us went to the Tuesday Market. Apparently, they've all wanted to go (and some have lived here for as much as 2 ½ years), but simply haven't. So we made it an orientation event!
Roads are pretty poorly marked here in Lusaka and the names on the signs don't always correspond with the names on the map. In addition to never having been there, Mary-Ann was having to navigate through the pouring rain and crazy traffic. Diane was giving directions which had been given to her by a friend. Unfortunately, her friend missed a step or two. Yay! An adventure!!
We finally found it anyway and pulled into a very muddy parking lot. We were greeted by a gaggle of young boys (12-18 years old) who all wanted to carry our bags for us. Of course, they expected to be paid for that as well. ;-) Thankfully, we already knew to expect them and to simply accept one of them to carry bags since they would follow us around anyway. A 13-year-old named Gift (not an uncommon name in Africa) came with me.
The market turned out to be covered. The wall around it was about 6 feet high and the ceilings were about 25-30 feet high. That was nice since it had been raining until about the time we arrived. It was a huge place and was PACKED with people selling their produce. There were about 8 -10 rows of vendors. Many of them had similar wares: mangos, avocados, green beans, corn, carrots, onions, potatoes, fresh herbs (including cilantro - called coriander here) and a variety of other things. I saw lots of okra too. :-( There were also a number of folks selling dried goods such as a variety of beans and spices (fennel, cumin, lentils, etc).
I walked up and down the aisles finding things I will eventually buy. Since I'm still living in the guest house at the moment, I didn't want to fill up their fridge with my stuff, so I didn't buy a whole lot today. However, I definitely plan on going back. I'll have to find a way to work it into my Tuesday schedule.
January 5, 2009
Curry in a Hurry!
One of the things I thought I was going to give up when I moved to Africa was the variety of ethnic restaurants I had grown used to in America. In fact, in Lusaka there is a great variety of restaurants to choose from. Being the capital, there are people from many nations here. Of course, they all want a taste of home. And there's always an entrepreneur to oblige the masses.
Today as Guillermo and I were running around accomplishing things in town, we stopped at Curry in a Hurry at the Manda Hill Mall for lunch. So it wasn't exactly in a hurry, but it was certainly worth the wait! Yum! They had quite the extensive menu of fabulous Indian food to select from and both Guillermo and I were very pleased with our choices, including the garlic naan.
So the next time you are in Lusaka ;-) I'll take you to Curry in a Hurry, or the Irish Pub right nearby. You decide.
God is Good!
There are a million and one things that I need to accomplish to get settled here. And many of those things I'll eventually have to help others with when they arrive. I've often been told that things in Africa simply take time to get done and if you've got 10 things on your list for the day and accomplish one or two, you've done well.
Mary-Ann and I made a list and schedule to complete all the things that I need to do/know fairly quickly. Her husband Guillermo got volunteered to drive me around Lusaka on Monday to help me get all of these things done. We had seven things on our list that we really wanted to accomplish as well as a list of eight things on a list of things to do as time permitted. Additionally, we were dropping off Guillermo's smaller truck at the mechanic's before we got under way.
As we were driving into town, I prayed with Guillermo that we would be able to accomplish everything on our list for the day as God would allow. So off we went expecting miracles!
We stopped at the ATM to load up on some more cash (total cash society here), then checked out the private clinic that most of the FMZ members use for general medical care. I was looking for a specific store that sells my vitamins and supplements. We found it, but didn't stop. I'll go back another time.
Then we made our way to the Ministry of Immigration where we were looking for my completed/ approved work permit. We had stopped by three weeks earlier, but it wasn't completed. Today we found the record of it in the book, but we didn't have the receipt with us. Can't do anything there without the date-stamped receipt. But Guillermo had an idea. We went to see the man who had started the processing of my application. It seems that he had been promoted. We explained to him that we'd forgotten the receipt, but had the receipt number with us. So he wrote down the receipt number, date submitted, and the date and approval number for the completed permit on a piece of scrap paper. Then he handed it to Guillermo and wished us a nice day. Miracle #1!!
We took our newly minted "receipt" to the desk where you pick up the permits. There were two guys there: one who takes your receipt and pulls the permit and one who watches you sign it and then seals it. G had been building a relationship with the second man which is key in this culture. So after a little confusion about the receipt and me playing up the "stupid-American-girl=please-have-pity-on-me" bit, the first man found my permit and gave it to the second man.
January 2, 2009
Back to Lusaka
Today I came back to Lusaka. Instead of a 12-hour drive over sandy roads, I was on a three-hour flight. Oh what fun! I love flying in small planes. You can see everything so much better at 6,500 feet than at 33,000 feet. Phil was the pilot and there were a total of four passengers.
Leaving Chitokoloki, all I could see was a sea of green. The dark green of lush tree tops was punctuated with dots of villages and slashes of muddy brown rivers. It was so beautiful.
As we made our way South and East, the trees grew sparser and the villages were closer together. We flew over Kafue National Park. I was hoping to see some animals, but I believe we were too far above the ground to be able to see the smaller animals clearly and there were no herds of elephants visible today.
When we arrived at the Farm, we were greeted by most of those who were around. It was kind of fun really. I finally got to see some of the folks who were gone when I had arrived in Zambia.
Tomorrow I'll be meeting with Mary-Ann. She's organizing my orientation program. So we'll be plotting and scheming and setting a tentative schedule for next week.
December 22, 2008
Container Shopping
One of the blessings at Chitokoloki mission is the number of containers they receive from the US every year filled with items for the community. Primarily, those items are clothing, but they also contain household goods, personal hygiene products, crafts, etc.
When local people bring food to supply the hospital or do work on the mission station grounds, they are often paid with items from the containers. Sometimes it's a combination of cash and goods. They agree to how much their food products or services are worth and then get to go "shopping" at the containers.
What that really looks like is that the "buyers" put together a list of items that they would like to have. For example: a dress for a 3-year-old girl, men's shoes size 7, trousers for a 12 year-old-boy, bath towel, soap. These tickets are collected throughout the week to be filled. Ruth Hannah is in charge of filling the tickets and Vella will often help her with them.
Since I've been here, we've gone to help Ruth a couple of times. It's been an interesting challenge. While people may request specific items, there is no guarantee that they will actually be in the container. Then it is just up to us to do the best we can to fill the ticket and hope that they will be able to trade or barter with someone else later on.
I do think it's a pretty clever way to pay for things on the station. Because of that,
people in the Chitokoloki area are fairly well dressed. Most people don't have to wear clothes that are completely falling off their bodies, though the sizes are a bit troubling at times. ;-)
September 26, 2008
A little bit homesick
Recently, I was convicted by the Holy Spirit about focusing too much on the future. I've been so obsessed with getting to Zambia, that I haven't really bothered to live in the here and now. So I've started doing more things in my church. I was already involved with the choir/praise team and the missions committee. Now I've added being involved with children's ministries and with the Operation Christmas Child (Shoeboxes) as well as participating in a women's Bible study. I'm enjoying all of it and the people that I am getting to know better.
I try to justify my behavior by saying that I had two jobs (lawfirm and support raising). And to some degree, that was a good reason not to be as involved as I could have been. However, it really has more to do with being so single-minded and looking ahead that I forgot to remember today.
So now, I am enjoying today and all that it has to offer. And I am enjoying volunteering at the church during the week, as well as completing all I need to do for my departure to Zambia.
However, there are still days when I feel a little "homesick." Today was one of those days. I really am excited about to moving to Lusaka. One of the things I want to do most is dance at church! My body is German, my demeanor and my passport are American, but my soul - my soul is African. Always has been.
I want to be home. So, this evening, I allowed myself a quick glimpse. See for yourself. Who wouldn't want to be part of that?
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