Zambian Days

So I got into Lusaka on Sunday afternoon. We spent the night there and then got up the next morning to eat with some friends. We went to the market and I got so many awesome gifts for you people back home. Then we took on the four hour ride home. Yesterday morning we got up and Zeria, Joy and I went to the market. We walked which took about 45 minutes, but we stopped and talked a lot along the way. I learned to say “Bwino Bwanji” which people asked me “Maouka Bwanji.” Which is asking “How did you rise?” and then the answer is Bwino Bwanji. We had to cross to the other side of the road, because there was a madman that was known to be violent sleeping right next to the road. Then when we got into the market, a man came up to Joy and asked her if she was a missionary. And then he just started mumbling, so we walked off. He was kind of following us, but nothing happened. We walked through the Nyimba hospital, where they were just installing toilets in each ward oppose to two in the very back of the hospital for everyone to share.

Then yesterday for lunch, I helped Joy make nshima with a cabbage, tomato, onion soup. It was delicious and I’m going to try making it when I get back. But it’s pretty hard, so we’ll see how it goes. Then today we went to some of Kendall and Joys friends in a village about 45 minutes away. Her house was awesome. They had goats, chickens, dove, pigs, and huge barrels of maize, peanuts, and cotton. It reminded me a lot of Mamaw’s; just the African version.

Daisy and Zeria cooked in the kitchen while Joy and I sat outside with the kids and talked and just enjoyed the stillness of everything.

 I tried sugarcane straight from the stalk for the first time. Henry, Daisy's husband cut it for me and it was delicious. It was super sweet, but delicious.

Then we ate pork, soup and nshima. It was all sooo sooo goooood.

 After lunch we went out (and mom I know you will be jealous) to picked cotton! The field was right behind their house. We got a few big white sacks and started pulling away one by one.

Then we went back to the house and pulled the dried corn off the stalks to ground. My thumbs were already getting blistery after only a few corn stalks. No wonder African are so tough and awesome. The whole experience was wonderful. 

Then we went to visit Zeria’s sister, Bertha. There we ate some more food and then I got to go fetch the water with her.

I told Joy that I wanted to carry water on my head and I got to do it today! 

My arms got pretty tired, because I couldn’t balance the water on my head, but we did have to walk too far so it was good. I got a huge taste of the culture today and absolutely loved it. Tomorrow I’m going to go with Kendall to teach which should be awesome and how knows what else will happen! 




I LOVE ZAMBIA!