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)
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