Gospel overload...

Well as many of you I am sure have heard on the international news, Zambia's president, Dr. Levy Patrick Mwanawasa died last Wednesday at the age of 59. In June he suffered a stroke and has been hospitalized in France since then. It has been a solemn time here as he was a very well liked president among many. The body arrived from France on Saturday and there was a full procession of cars and military along the main road through Lusaka, making its way to a conference centre for body viewing. The coffin was basically hitched onto the back of a truck in order for people to pay their respects, rather than it being in a hearse. Thousands of people, myself included, lined the street to watch as it went by. Now the body is being taken around to the other provinces in Zambia before he is laid to rest here in Lusaka next Wednesday. There is 21 days of mourning, which means no formal activities can take place. If your wedding was planned for this weekend you would postpone. I was supposed to go to a kitchen party yesterday (a ladies only, bachelorette type party where there is drumming, dancing, food and fun) but it too has been postponed. In addition, gospel music is rampant and is being played everywhere you go - at work, on the radio, on tv, at the mall, on the minibuses, at the bars, etc, etc, etc. There will be a presidential by-election in 3 months time. We expect that Zambia's history of peace and stability will remain during this time.

Yesterday one of the girls I work with said I was fat. She is 7. She said I am "big mama". Being called fat here is supposedly a compliment, as it means Zambia is treating you well, however it didn't feel like that at the time!

Petrol here is astronomically high - over $3 per litre. And we complain in Canada?! Due to this fact, I often notice the tank on empty. People dont get very much petrol at one time, they fill up as little as 1L at a time. Yesterday, the minibus I was on actually ran out of gas. We coasted for a while then some people got out and pushed until we got to the station. It was quite the sight!

Planning on going to Livingstone next weekend, to see Victoria falls. The falls are on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. People argue here about which side is more beautiful, just like Niagara falls. Unfortunately, I don't believe we will be making it to the Zim side.

An update on our immigration papers! We are still awaiting our work permits...When we entered the country we were given a 30 day visitors visa. So we went in last week to check on our papers. Luckily we met someone a couple weekends ago at a BBQ who works for immigration. We went straight to his desk and within 10 minutes we were in and out. Although out work permits were not ready as of yet, he stamped our passports, extending our visitor visa another 30 days. Melanie, who was away with work during that time was not able to come with us to immigration. When she got back to Lusaka her 30 day visa had expired. The fine was 1.8 million kw, or almost $600 CDN. Because of our new friend, he was able to wave the fee for her with nothing more than a warning. We must once again go back to immigration within 30 days and hope that our work permits will be ready.

Hope all is well! Take care.

Just a few photos...

Picture 1 is of this dodgy roller coaster whereby all that was stopping the people on it from going over the end was a few tires. The 2nd is of Melanie, Healther and I about to go out for a night on the town! The 3rd is of one of the girls I work with.

6th time's a charm...

After 5 failed and frustrating attempts in obtaining our temporary work permits at Zambian immigration, we have finally succeeded...well, we hope. We were told before we came that this process would not be easy. When I went to NZ, all I had to do was drop off my passport and a few documents at the NZ embassy in Ottawa and voila...4 days later I received my visa. Here is totally different. The first time I went by myself and the woman at reception told me I had to go to another office. The second time I went with Heather, Melanie and one of her work colleagues Midlam. The receptionist told us we had to come back when we had enough money, in Kwacha (Zambian currency), even though we had previously been told that we had to pay in US $. We went back the next day, with Midlam again, all our documents, and enough Kwacha, and were told we had to change the wording of one of documents - simply changing the word "visa" to "temporary work permit". So back to our offices again, re-typed the letter with the correct wording and then back to immigration in the afternoon. After putting our documents in the correct order and stapling them in the fashion they required, we were given the okay to pay. Unfortunately we were not told that as of that afternoon they had changed the rules, and everyone had to make payments in the mornings from then on. Grrr! The 5th time the computers were down so we were told to come back in an hour. So finally, the 6th time at immigration, our payments were made and off went our documents and application forms, into the land of the unknown....we will have to go back soon to see if our applications have been approved. Wish us luck!

Work is going well! The other day we took the kids on an outing, to a place called Dream Valley which is basically a large area with a pool and some rocks to climb on. It was nice though! They had lots of fun swimming and hanging out outside the shelter walls and locked gate with which they normally confined to.

On a funny note - saying "now" does not necessarily mean what we would think. For example, we call our taxi driver, asking him if he could come pick us up now. And he'll respond in one of three ways: "now?", "just now?", or "now now?" And depending on when we want him to come, we will answer accordingly. Now means anytime really, no rush. Just now means anytime in the next 30 minutes or so and just now means immediately. It took some time to remember which was which but now (or now now) it's quite entertaining!

Cleaning here is a huge deal. Everyone is cleaning, all the time.
1. There are always clothes on everyone's lines.
2. People are constantly whipping out their shoe shiners at every opportunity!
3. Zambians just love washing their cars
4. Sweeping the street, sidewalks, ditches, and driveways is very common.

If you would like to call me or text message me (which would be really exciting!), my cell is
011 260 97 947 4935. I will text you back, if I dont it's because I didnt get your text. Sometimes the lines are down and messages don't go through. In terms of my address, that will come soon. I dont know my P.O Box.

Hope all is well, wherever you are in the world!

-Mwansa

Yum yum Nshima!

I dont believe I have talked about the food here yet...well, nshima (pronounced sheema) is their staple food. It is made out of corn flour and cooked to a very specific consistency. You can use the same flour to make all kinds of different dishes. So it becomes this sort of lumpy ball of stuff that you eat with your hands with whatever "relish" (or side dish) it is prepared with. For example, there is nshima and rape (yes, thats right....it's called rape. Its a green vegetable that you cut up very finely and cook with tomatoes and onions. You can buy it in Canada and there you would call it rapini I believe. Or there is nshima and meat or chicken, nshima and beans, nshima and scrambled eggs, etc. Before I came here, people told me that they didnt really like nshima, that it's rather bland. Zambians don't use spices, just salt. I like nshima though! It's fun to eat. Bake a little ball of it in the palm of my hand and then dip it in the relish of the day. There aren't a lot of restaurants that make typical Zambian food but I eat it everyday at the shelter with the girls. I even helped prepare it yesterday with one of them! It's not easy, thats for sure. There's only a few windows of opportunity to add more flour and hot water. Otherwise, it turns to mush. Once I do it a few more times, I will start cooking it at home. More about food....Zambian's consumption of salt and sugar is exceptional! Most families buy a few pounds of sugar at a time and generally put 5-6 heaping tablespoons of it in their tea. When I say, "ay zikomo" or "no thank you" to sugar in my tea they look at me with puzzling faces. Salt is the same. I dont add any salt to my nshima and relish, but they tip over the bottle of salt and make a little mountain on their plate. On another note, the other night we went for dinner at our landlord's (whose flat is attached to ours). It was such a lovely evening! And, there was SO much food! Chicken, beef, game meat (which was warthog...pumba!), potato salad, nshima, rape, rolls, rice, 2 kinds of cake, and custard. A feast! There were so many of us too, cause they have a big family. In total, we were about 12. It was delicious!

Hmm...whats next? Today I was supposed to go to a court case of one of the clients but that fell through, so instead I went to a funeral. Unfortunately, funerals are not hard to come by here. I didn't know the man but I was asked to come anyhow. He was a very well-known and well-respected doctor at the University teaching Hospital and the executive director of CHAZ (Churches Health Association of Zambia). He was a large donor towards the YWCA. There were upwards of 5000 people there, open casket, and lots of singing. It was a beautiful service and seemed more of a celebration with the way they were singing and clapping. It was 4 hours long.

Work is getting better by the day. The girls are opening up and some of them have shared their stories with me. They always ask me at the end of the day if I am coming the next day. That makes me feel good! I proposed to them that we make a little movie, with pictures and videos. They love the camera! And more importantly, they love posing for the camera! It's really cute.

The other day I went to this compound where a group of women were making bags made out of recycled plastic grocery bags. So cool! I bought one, that photo is of me with the woman who made the bag. The second photo is pretty self-explanatory, me holding a baby (the baby of the woman who made the bag) which I loved! So warm and comforting (for me! I can only imagine what it must be like for the babies). The bag was about $20, if anyone wants one just let me know and I can go back and get one! Part of the money goes straight to them and the rest of it goes towards buying necessary supplies for a support group which they all belong to, for women who are HIV+.

Until next time...

Mwansa (which is my Zambian name that the girls I work with gave me)

Muzungu, muzungu!

Hello!

So things here are progressing nicely. I am really starting to enjoy myself! I had my first week of work and it went pretty good. I spent 3 days at the shelter and 2 days at the YWCA office. First I will talk about the office. I spent most of my time there kind of just sitting, waiting. There wasnt much for me to do but they told me to come there as opposed to going to the shelter. I found it rather pointless but kept quiet nonetheless. Wednesday evening there was a fundraiser at the Y for their 50th anniversary. They had performers - dancing, poetry reading, singing, fashion show as well as food and drinks for sale. It was fun but I think the turnout was less than they had anticipated. Payday here is the last Thursday of the month so unfortunately it was the evening before everyone got paid so people were saying they couldnt come because they didnt have the money for it. Come payday, everyone lines up at the ATM but by the end of the month, they have run out of money. So Wednesday I helped set up for the function and also met two girls who are completing their social work diploma at one of the colleges here. They are on "attachment" at the Y, meaning their placement. I was invited to one girls church! There are a few main questions people ask you when you first meet - your name, how many people are in your family, if you're married, and if you believe in God. When I tell people I am Jewish, their jaws practically hit the floor. The girls at the shelter are convinced I will be Christian by the time I leave Zambia. Zambia is considered a Christian country, if you haven't picked up on that.
So now to the girls at the CICC (child in crisis centre, the shelter where I will be spending most of my time)...there are 12 of them and they range in age from 4-16. At first, they seemed hesitant to talk to me or invite me to play with them. I hoped that in time, they would begin to trust me, as I of course understand that they may have difficulties with trust, considering their history of being abused. By the end of the week, I was playing with them, and chatting about God and heaven and hell. A few of them want to learn French so I am teaching them that, while they teach me Nyanja. I feel like I am learning quickly! A few new sentences I have picked up:
Tifouna kusovela - Do you want to play a game?
Vinoukila bwino - It smells good
Nizakakouyewa - I will miss you

There is one girl who is deaf so not only am I trying to learn Nyanja but sign language as well! People back home have been asking me if the girls appear depressed or anxious, considering the sexual abuse they have experienced. My answer would be no, not in the way we would think. They laugh, play, run around...all the things we would think a "happy" child would do. What strikes me most though is some of the things they talk about. For instance, as I was teaching of the girls French today, some of the sentences she wanted translated were "My mother doesnt like me", "I am stranded", "I don't have a family" and that, was heartbreaking. So there is no doubt work to be done, in terms of counseling, and in time, once trust and a relationship is built, I am sure their stories will come out.

A note about the minibuses: There is no such thing as too close for comfort here! That goes for the number of people on the buses, the distance away from pedestrians, and other cars. On a bus bench where in Canada, we would fit 3 adults comfortably, sits at least 5 here, maybe 6 if one were a child. It sure is cozy! Next is that pedestrians NEVER have right of way, so watch out, all the time! They wont stop. Period. Traffic here is busy, all the time. There are about 2 million minbuses on the road in addition to all the cars. It is often quite chaotic and could take 20 minutes to drive 20 feet. But even so, with all the traffic chaos, I have not seen any accidents (knock on wood). It takes me anywhere from 50 minutes to an hour and a half each way to get to work. I have an interesting route though, driving through town. Lots of things to look at and take in. I have had a few marriage proposals on the minubus. I tell them, "Ndine wokwatiwa", meaning, I am married but they dont seem to care.

Muzungu, muzungu!! White people, white people! I hear this throughout my day. Some say it is used as a derogatory term but others say that it is meant as just so...white people. It is interesting to note where the white people are, it is as if they hibernate during the day. I rarely see another white person all day, unless I stop at the mall on my way home to pick up something I need (a bar of soap, some bread, use the internet, etc.). I dont see them on the minibuses, ever.


You can buy just about anything on the side of the road...peanuts, candy, potatoes, beds (literally, there is someone who sells wooden beds that I pass by), sofas, TV's. I love it!

We have moved into our flat, and out of the guesthouse we were in temporarily. Our new place is really nice. Our landlord lives in the house attached to our place, along with his banja (family). It has hot water! The guesthouse didn't so my hot shower this morning was really nice! Mind you, the shower appears to be either frigid or scalding. I have yet to find the sweet spot. There are 2 bedrooms each with a bunk bed. So two of us are sharing a room now, and we will potentially switch every 2 months so we each get our own room.

The first photo is in the back of a minuibus (with Melanie on the left). The second is me in front of the Y head office.

Well I am sure this is long enough for now. Hope everyone is doing well! Please let me know how you are doing, as messages from home are always appreciated!