schmoovenet

The main thing you can take away was that it was a good time. I hope to go back in a couple of years. Never have I met nicer people en masse. That may be because we were guests, but I’ll take it. There’s so much to say but I’m going to keep it light here.

The flights were long and boring. I barely slept on any of them except the first, where I crashed hard and then woke up parched and hungry (I’d missed dinner apparently). I was tuned in to a channel showing The Third Man and, inexplicably, an episode of The Big Bang Theory. I think that I caught all of The Third Man in parts. Later flights had on demand films where I watched Crazy Heart (meh), Up In The Air (quite good), and Wolverine (slept through). I didn’t mind the food; in fact, in some cases it was pretty good. I was also quite lucky because I didn’t have anyone directly next to me on any of the flights (in two cases they moved to empty rows).

We spent much of our time at Justo Mwale Theological College. It is a beautiful campus that seemed to be on the outskirts of town. I believe the water came from a well and the lawns were well tended to. It was a beautiful place and a great home base. We were well fed and I thoroughly enjoyed my morning walks around the circle. The weather was beautiful and breezy and the concrete buildings kept us cool.

The first Sunday we split into groups to attend local churches; I was to attend Matero Presbyterian. We were assured that we could take pictures and video during church which was hard for me to accept. Church is different in Zambia: services go a couple of hours or longer and the structure is much looser than in the US. Before the service the leaders meet in Vestry where church business is discussed and the service is plotted. The music is ethereal and I wish I’d brought an audio recorder.

The next day we hit to road to Siavonga to visit Namumu Orphanage. On the way we stopped off at a point to get out and move around. As I got close to the edge of the hill I could hear singing from the valley–there seemed to be a small village. I wish we could’ve explored but we had to move on.

We arrived at Namumu with the children lined up to greet us. Would bring a tear to a glass eye, I swear. We toured the grounds and took naps. I felt a little weird: first we were taking girls’ beds in the dorms, and second we were being lazy americans by napping in the middle of the day while the girls did their chores around us. No kidding–the girls stayed up past 10PM watching videos on Auntie’s TV and then were up promptly at 5AM to do chores and get ready for school. Meanwhile, we were dozing off despite the loud music and were awakened by the girls and we still required afternoon naps. I felt incredibly lazy.

We took a brief tour of Siavonga taking in St Mark’s church, the dam, kapenta fishing on lake Kariba, and a market. The market was a sort of last minute decision. Women wanted chitenge (basically cloth that is wrapped like a skirt around the waist) not realizing that we’d receive several as gifts later in the trip. It was quite cool and I wish I’d gotten more pictures of the market.

The girls were shy but lots of fun. On our last night I led a baobab seed spitting contest (I was told it was ok as long as Auntie didn’t know about it). I’ve never seen children have so much fun. They have so much less than American children but seemed so much happier.

We drove back. Now, the drive reminded me of the drive between Chattanooga and Nashville, only we have 100% fewer baobab trees here in Tennessee. We stopped at a roadside market where I had my first experience haggling and dealing with Zambian peddlers.

We pretty much went straight to meet with CCAP leaders. It was rough because we were all tired and had just ridden four hours on rough roads. I am sorry I couldn’t give them the attention they merited, but I was tired and starting to feel slightly ill. Still, I respect the work ethic I saw in Zambia: many places strive to be self-sustaining through different methods. In Namumu they had egg farming, fishing, and construction; in Lusaka the CCAP had a chicken farm. It’s pretty amazing to be honest. They gave us women beautiful chitenge.

The next morning we visited crisis nurseries. Orphaned and vulnerable children are taken in and cared for until they are either placed with their blood families or new adoptive families. Again, incredibly happy children who are well cared for. We walk in and are inundated with hugs. I was used as a slide by one child while two others reset my watch and tried to take my glasses. It was so much fun and I felt surrounded by so much love at these homes.

Afternoon we met with people from Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa Zambia Synod. We were in a church on school grounds so again, difficult to concentrate hearing the children outside. Still, the presentation was good and I learned a lot.

That night we had dinner with Justo Mwale masters students. It was incredible to meet them and learn about their backgrounds. I felt incredibly sheltered when I heard their abbreviated life stories.

The next morning we attended chapel and then were off to Chaminuka Lodge. What a beautiful place! Lots of land, wild animals, and CHEESE. It was only the second time we’d had cheese on this trip. Zambians aren’t big cheese eaters it seems. We toured the cheese factory and enjoyed TWO game drives (one at sunrise, one at sunset). It was a wonderful excursion.

We went to another market, this time in a cultural center. Shopping is a sport–you haggle and are constantly pestered. No kidding, i would walk and would have the peddlers shouting “Madame!” after me. I wanted to pull a Patsy Stone and respond with “–moiselle!” but I knew the reference would be lost. At any rate, every peddler wants you to see his or her wares. If you don’t like the price you walk away and have prices shouted after you as you leave. it’s stressful!

Later we got back to Justo Mwale and we got ready to stay with a family. I ended up with the Banda family who mostly attended CCAP (the father is an Elder, the mother is in the women’s group, but the children went to other churches). I was happy that they had a daughter my age at home (she’d lost her job) because it helped me understand regular Zambian life a little better. They were a gregarious and fun family. We watched a little TV (Zambians love WWE as a rule) and played a lot of Jenga. They also served an amazing dinner which I tried to eat in the traditional manner.

Now, I haven’t really talked about food. I mean, I’ve mentioned that it was good, but not much more than that. So, there’s this stuff called Nsima. It is a staple and is picked up with the hands, rolled into sort of a ball, and then used to pick up the food and gravy. Up until I’d stayed with the Bandas I’d just eaten it as a side with a fork, but at their encouragement I ate it in true Zambian fashion. They got a kick out of it. They told me they wanted to show me how to cook chihuahua. I was a little shocked, but I tried to roll with it. They told me what it was (pumpkin leaves) and I told them what it was in the US (a small yippy dog). Again, lots of laughs.

The next morning I attended church at Mtendele. We walked through the streets and past several bars that seemed to be open already. Once again the church was amazing. I was asked to lead two prayers and I did, with the knowledge that they would be brief.

After church was an amazing lunch. I’ve not had chicken as good as it is made in Zambia. No kidding.

There was some miscommunication and I was picked up two hours after I was supposed to be. When I got back we headed to our final market. Because it was Sunday night the prices were rock bottom and deals were to be had. I bought a crazy marimba type instrument for about $48 (US, of course) less than the original price.

It was a great trip. I can’t wait for the next one.

Some links:

• The Outreach Foundation
• Alliance for Children Everywhere
• Mike’s blog about our travels
• Information on CCAP (Church of Central Africa Presbyterian) Zambia Synod
• Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa
• Sam Goes to Africa: Sam’s personal blog about living and working at Namumu
• Chaminuka