Muli shani ('greetings' in Bemba),
The summer vibe is alive and well in Zambia. It is extremely hot. I frequently consider emptying our fridge and climbing in. If anyone would like to send water guns, water balloons, or a sprinkler, the kids and I would be very, very thankful. We have a pool in the back of our house but it will never be filled, my parents say. I am very bitter about this.
Due to the heat, I make the kids drink lots of water. So much that they have changed the way they say the English word. They used to pronounce the ‘t’ very particularly, ‘watt-teh’. Now they say ‘wah-dah,’ which I can only think is some hybrid of our two accents.
In the past week or so, we have been discussing their rights as human beings and children. First, I let them teach me. They told me their rights included, “education, love, and play time.” They were very happy to learn that they were not far off the mark.
The first right we talked about was ‘freedom of expression.’ They listed ‘coloring, singing, and praying’ under this heading. They are very intelligent children. I then traced each of their hands onto construction paper and let them color the page. On the back of each piece of original artwork, they delegated words for me to write down. This was their idea. They all mostly wrote the same thing which sounded like: “Dear Children, You are my lovely family and I love you very much.” We even made a page for Marcos which read: “Dear Children, Thank you for all the nshima, I love you very much.”
I am hoping to paste their individual pictures on each page, bind them together, make copies and give them each their own booklet.
We next talked about the right to education. Mostly they taught me this one, listing all the great reasons to go to school which they love to do. This day, we read out of Stephen’s school books, I read a sentence and they repeat it. They love doing this.
Our talks of freedom also included one day discussing HIV/AIDS. I am happy to report that they are well versed and serious about protecting themselves. They quizzed me, I just barely passed.
Today we talked about what it means to have dignity and learned ‘Seize the Day’ from the Newsies. (‘Nothing can break us; no one can make us give our rights away. Arise and seize the day!’) I desperately wish I had the actually movie to show them, I know they would love it. We are laying out plans to make our own music video to this song. I think in the coming days we will talk about why it’s important to know their rights and what happens when human rights are not recognized; then respect and discrimination.
While I am teaching them about rights, they try to teach me Bemba words. I am extremely slow but the kids assure me that I am doing well. Today I learned ‘musungu’ which means ‘white person.’ It occurs to me that I have heard this word many, many times while walking down Nile Avenue in blissful ignorance.
Until next time, peace.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
Humor and Due Course.
I have found a jumping castle! It is in Pennsylvania of all places. E-bay is truly one of the more brilliant ideas to come out of our age of technology. I rushed to the internet connection at Copperbelt University this morning to try and coordinate the purchase and shipping of it but I’m not one hundred percent sure it will work out yet. On the twenty-five minute walk there, I passed through and under a field of high tension electricity wires that created this odd chirping noise level with my head. I have never experienced this electrical sensation before so I could not have known that this was secretly a warning. If my life were a novel, I would call this ‘foreshadowing.’
My activities at the orphanage are finally finding a rhythm. When there is power, we dance and I work on the website. I tried to teach them the game ‘I Spy’ but it turned into a far more exciting game they call “I Spell in the World” which involves no spelling whatsoever. It does, however, involve running around the whole house and yard, shouting colors and wrestling each other. The ‘Hokey Pokey’ has remained intact and they love it (I’ve limited them to singing it once a day though). In the morning I try to work on the alphabet with the two little ones who don’t go to school yet. I’m not sure how successful my work will be. Working on their English is a big priority but reading together takes a huge amount of patience.
Now that they know me and we are comfortable around each other, they have started to show me their mischievous sides. This has made me aware of one large disparity between caring for children here and in the US. Safety standards are somewhat different. Sometimes I will scold them for doing something I think is dangerous ( i.e. A four year old handing a large, sawed-off, rusty garden tool above his head to another boy in a tree) but they just laugh at me. Not because they are being disobedient but because they think I’m being silly. I have spent many stern minutes trying to explain that I am scolding them for their own safety. Sometimes I think they understand and sometimes I don’t.
I also figured out that there are no readily available first aid supplies at the house and I was struck with terror. My goal this weekend is to purchase the supplies to make a kit. They are strong kids but I’m wondering where I should draw the line between those hyper-active-super disinfectant-hypochondriatic families in the US and the independent six year-olds fending for themselves and their siblings on the streets of Zambia.
You all have heard me complain about the slowness of business here but today it was just the opposite: everything happened at once. The washing machine, the plumber, the internet men, and my dad with two Indian colleagues showed up at virtually the same moment in time. The same moment, in fact, that the power was out and my mom and I found out about a mounting minor crisis in the form of faulty ATMs (which have magic-ed away a few million in local currency of my dad’s money…). Since I couldn’t do anything about the lost money, I focused my attention on reconnecting with my beloved western culture through the World Wide Web (but mostly facebook). We had paid for internet service for our house a few days ago and they were supposed to have come set it up yesterday but fate had them show up during the weekly load shedding (which is a scheduled power outage). My silent prayers to the electricity gods were answered when the power came back on and they hadn’t left. But I paid for it by tripping over their extension cord (which ended up not working anyway) and spraining my left wrist. But spraining my left wrist saved my Nikon from a devastating fall that would most certainly have killed it. The electricity gods are only fair (and must be in cohorts with some particularly fickle ancient Chinese philosophers and Mr. Bush for their sense of humor and due course.)
In the world news arena, I am afraid to listen to BBC anymore. Things are not looking good, are they?
Peace,
Vidya
My activities at the orphanage are finally finding a rhythm. When there is power, we dance and I work on the website. I tried to teach them the game ‘I Spy’ but it turned into a far more exciting game they call “I Spell in the World” which involves no spelling whatsoever. It does, however, involve running around the whole house and yard, shouting colors and wrestling each other. The ‘Hokey Pokey’ has remained intact and they love it (I’ve limited them to singing it once a day though). In the morning I try to work on the alphabet with the two little ones who don’t go to school yet. I’m not sure how successful my work will be. Working on their English is a big priority but reading together takes a huge amount of patience.
Now that they know me and we are comfortable around each other, they have started to show me their mischievous sides. This has made me aware of one large disparity between caring for children here and in the US. Safety standards are somewhat different. Sometimes I will scold them for doing something I think is dangerous ( i.e. A four year old handing a large, sawed-off, rusty garden tool above his head to another boy in a tree) but they just laugh at me. Not because they are being disobedient but because they think I’m being silly. I have spent many stern minutes trying to explain that I am scolding them for their own safety. Sometimes I think they understand and sometimes I don’t.
I also figured out that there are no readily available first aid supplies at the house and I was struck with terror. My goal this weekend is to purchase the supplies to make a kit. They are strong kids but I’m wondering where I should draw the line between those hyper-active-super disinfectant-hypochondriatic families in the US and the independent six year-olds fending for themselves and their siblings on the streets of Zambia.
You all have heard me complain about the slowness of business here but today it was just the opposite: everything happened at once. The washing machine, the plumber, the internet men, and my dad with two Indian colleagues showed up at virtually the same moment in time. The same moment, in fact, that the power was out and my mom and I found out about a mounting minor crisis in the form of faulty ATMs (which have magic-ed away a few million in local currency of my dad’s money…). Since I couldn’t do anything about the lost money, I focused my attention on reconnecting with my beloved western culture through the World Wide Web (but mostly facebook). We had paid for internet service for our house a few days ago and they were supposed to have come set it up yesterday but fate had them show up during the weekly load shedding (which is a scheduled power outage). My silent prayers to the electricity gods were answered when the power came back on and they hadn’t left. But I paid for it by tripping over their extension cord (which ended up not working anyway) and spraining my left wrist. But spraining my left wrist saved my Nikon from a devastating fall that would most certainly have killed it. The electricity gods are only fair (and must be in cohorts with some particularly fickle ancient Chinese philosophers and Mr. Bush for their sense of humor and due course.)
In the world news arena, I am afraid to listen to BBC anymore. Things are not looking good, are they?
Peace,
Vidya
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Ubumi
I have finally met Eddy. He came to our house in a large van with two other men: Valentine the dress maker and Israel the teacher. Eddy uses the word dream every few minutes: "It's just a dream," "It started with a dream," "I have this dream." This makes me very happy and I suddenly understand why Penny smiles so much when she speaks of him.
Ubumi is really nice. Nicer, in fact, then our house (meaning it's furnished, clean and the lights work). It has a large walled-in yard with a slide and a covered area with tables for various activities. There is also a medium sized, yellow dog named Marcos. Someone introduces him to me every time he comes around. Marcos and I just give each other knowing looks.
My first day at the orphanage was a lot of fun. The first thing we did was get to know each other's names. Israel helped with this as the kids were shy at first. I am called Auntie Vidya and the children are: Memory Mwape (The oldest and only girl), John and Steven Chanda (brothers who prefer I use their first AND last names), Dominic, and Bernardo (which may or may not be his real name but he seems to like it.) There are two other children who depend on Ubumi but they are away at boarding school.
Learning their names took longer than you'd expect due to many distractions in the form of giggling fits. After that, I presented them with the box of match box cars. What a hit. I have never seen kids so excited. When I finally tore them away from the cars, we made thank you cards for all you lovely people in the US who donated. I haven't figured out the post office yet so I don't know how soon you'll get them, but don't worry, you will. I taught them 'Duck, Duck, Goose' and they taught me an African form of the same game called 'Mai' (I think). Their version is a lot more complicated, is spoken in Bemba, and involves a towel but they assure me I will be able to learn it. They wanted to play "duck, duck, goose" over and over and over again. They go mad with laughter when someone takes longer than expected to say "goose" and there's a lot of yelling going on the entire time.
Today I tried to update the security software on Eddy's computer. Let me just say that I did not know the meaning of the word patience before I came here. I spent an hour working on it and then had nothing to show for it because I lost the internet connection. But Eddy explained to me that things often take a long time to get done and it can be frustrating but you just have to have patience. I have already experienced this waiting in restaurants, waiting for taxis, waiting for friends. If someone says they will come at 7, you can start looking for them MAYBE at 7:45. It's taking some getting used to and I just can't remember what it was like to have so much instant gratification in the US all the time.
I have talked to Eddy about getting a jumping castle! He will look into it. Everything here is very expensive so I don't know if it will work out but it might. We may be able to get one at a descent price in South Africa. I will keep you updated on this.
I am wishing I had brought: notebooks, pens, workbooks, and a large world map. If you are interested in sending any of these things, let me know and I will give you the address!
Things are finally moving forward and I'm excited to be working with the kids.
Until next time, Peace.
Ubumi is really nice. Nicer, in fact, then our house (meaning it's furnished, clean and the lights work). It has a large walled-in yard with a slide and a covered area with tables for various activities. There is also a medium sized, yellow dog named Marcos. Someone introduces him to me every time he comes around. Marcos and I just give each other knowing looks.
My first day at the orphanage was a lot of fun. The first thing we did was get to know each other's names. Israel helped with this as the kids were shy at first. I am called Auntie Vidya and the children are: Memory Mwape (The oldest and only girl), John and Steven Chanda (brothers who prefer I use their first AND last names), Dominic, and Bernardo (which may or may not be his real name but he seems to like it.) There are two other children who depend on Ubumi but they are away at boarding school.
Learning their names took longer than you'd expect due to many distractions in the form of giggling fits. After that, I presented them with the box of match box cars. What a hit. I have never seen kids so excited. When I finally tore them away from the cars, we made thank you cards for all you lovely people in the US who donated. I haven't figured out the post office yet so I don't know how soon you'll get them, but don't worry, you will. I taught them 'Duck, Duck, Goose' and they taught me an African form of the same game called 'Mai' (I think). Their version is a lot more complicated, is spoken in Bemba, and involves a towel but they assure me I will be able to learn it. They wanted to play "duck, duck, goose" over and over and over again. They go mad with laughter when someone takes longer than expected to say "goose" and there's a lot of yelling going on the entire time.
Today I tried to update the security software on Eddy's computer. Let me just say that I did not know the meaning of the word patience before I came here. I spent an hour working on it and then had nothing to show for it because I lost the internet connection. But Eddy explained to me that things often take a long time to get done and it can be frustrating but you just have to have patience. I have already experienced this waiting in restaurants, waiting for taxis, waiting for friends. If someone says they will come at 7, you can start looking for them MAYBE at 7:45. It's taking some getting used to and I just can't remember what it was like to have so much instant gratification in the US all the time.
I have talked to Eddy about getting a jumping castle! He will look into it. Everything here is very expensive so I don't know if it will work out but it might. We may be able to get one at a descent price in South Africa. I will keep you updated on this.
I am wishing I had brought: notebooks, pens, workbooks, and a large world map. If you are interested in sending any of these things, let me know and I will give you the address!
Things are finally moving forward and I'm excited to be working with the kids.
Until next time, Peace.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
I've made it to Kitwe.
It has officially been a week since I left Ohio. Most of this week has been spent alternately traveling and then waiting, over and over again. We just missed all those east coast flight delays (thank goodness) and the flights were totally fine. British Airways is marginally better than any American airline I have ever been on, food being the biggest determinant. Also, it occurred to me somewhere halfway over the Atlantic that it’s actually quite odd the way people behave about airplanes. The behavior I’m speaking of is the calmness. It doesn’t seem right that we can remain calm, sleep even, when we are moving at six hundred miles an hour 47,000 feet above the ocean… imagine moving that fast on land, I bet I wouldn’t be calm in that situation.
We spent half a day in London. We walked to the Big Ben and the London Eye and ate at a great little all natural deli and cafe chain called Pret. If you are ever in London, eat there. It’s basically on every street corner. Really, I spent most of the day thinking about the coming flight to Lusaka.
The flight was not full and I got two seats to myself which was extremely nice as we were in coach. Unfortunately, I didn’t see any of Africa below me because we flew over-night but as we were approaching Lusaka, the sun was rising. It was spectacular and reminded me of Jodie Foster saying “They should have sent a poet,” in the movie Contact.
In Lusaka, we were met by a woman from the US Embassy which was odd because she looked professional and we looked dirty and tired. We were supposed to go straight to the lodge and settle in but ended up having to immediately go for a security briefing, without showering. The briefing wasn’t nearly as official as it sounds. We were basically told to watch out for pick-pocketers, don’t ride the minibuses, and be very careful at night. This was my favorite line: “If you do get mugged in Zambia, it will be with a smile…where as in Zimbabwe they might just shoot you.” This was the beginning of a series of mini testimonies that I’ve heard about Zambia. Everyone wants us to know that Zambia is absolutely not like South Africa and Zimbabwe and they are very proud of this (as they should be).
Even though I have never been on this continent, I expected it to be comparable to India. It is in some ways, they were both British colonies, but there is one thing that struck me as different immediately: the population. It is not very crowded at all. The whole nation only has 11 million people, which isn’t even half as much as Ohio. I find it much easier to breathe/think/speak without that sheer mass of humanity pouring down on me from all directions like in some Indian cities.
Unfortunately, we have arrived in Zambia in a time of national mourning for their late President Mwanawasa. He died on August 19th and tomorrow is his funeral in Lusaka. He was loved, from what I’ve gathered. In honor of his passing, radio stations only play somber music and all happy events, like weddings, have been cancelled.
We are now in Kitwe but tomorrow everything will be closed due to the funeral. We do not have a house yet but hope to have one by Friday. It will be nice to unpack.
Perhaps the bravest thing I’ve done this whole trip was come face to face with a large, hairy, black spider in the shower. It’s not that I wanted to kill him, it’s just that he was so huge, one of us had to die. My insides still squirm when I picture him.
I have not been to the orphanage yet but I have been to CINDI (Children in Distress NGO). I may do an internship or some teaching for them. Thursday I will finally meet Eddy and the kids, I am very excited!
Peace,
Vidya
We spent half a day in London. We walked to the Big Ben and the London Eye and ate at a great little all natural deli and cafe chain called Pret. If you are ever in London, eat there. It’s basically on every street corner. Really, I spent most of the day thinking about the coming flight to Lusaka.
The flight was not full and I got two seats to myself which was extremely nice as we were in coach. Unfortunately, I didn’t see any of Africa below me because we flew over-night but as we were approaching Lusaka, the sun was rising. It was spectacular and reminded me of Jodie Foster saying “They should have sent a poet,” in the movie Contact.
In Lusaka, we were met by a woman from the US Embassy which was odd because she looked professional and we looked dirty and tired. We were supposed to go straight to the lodge and settle in but ended up having to immediately go for a security briefing, without showering. The briefing wasn’t nearly as official as it sounds. We were basically told to watch out for pick-pocketers, don’t ride the minibuses, and be very careful at night. This was my favorite line: “If you do get mugged in Zambia, it will be with a smile…where as in Zimbabwe they might just shoot you.” This was the beginning of a series of mini testimonies that I’ve heard about Zambia. Everyone wants us to know that Zambia is absolutely not like South Africa and Zimbabwe and they are very proud of this (as they should be).
Even though I have never been on this continent, I expected it to be comparable to India. It is in some ways, they were both British colonies, but there is one thing that struck me as different immediately: the population. It is not very crowded at all. The whole nation only has 11 million people, which isn’t even half as much as Ohio. I find it much easier to breathe/think/speak without that sheer mass of humanity pouring down on me from all directions like in some Indian cities.
Unfortunately, we have arrived in Zambia in a time of national mourning for their late President Mwanawasa. He died on August 19th and tomorrow is his funeral in Lusaka. He was loved, from what I’ve gathered. In honor of his passing, radio stations only play somber music and all happy events, like weddings, have been cancelled.
We are now in Kitwe but tomorrow everything will be closed due to the funeral. We do not have a house yet but hope to have one by Friday. It will be nice to unpack.
Perhaps the bravest thing I’ve done this whole trip was come face to face with a large, hairy, black spider in the shower. It’s not that I wanted to kill him, it’s just that he was so huge, one of us had to die. My insides still squirm when I picture him.
I have not been to the orphanage yet but I have been to CINDI (Children in Distress NGO). I may do an internship or some teaching for them. Thursday I will finally meet Eddy and the kids, I am very excited!
Peace,
Vidya
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