new pics:
http://cornell.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2115790&l=515c9&id=407940
old album with more photos added:
http://cornell.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2112579&l=58498&id=407940
Friday, June 29, 2007
it's a mileage reducer
1. jamesism of the day:
i met james on the road a little ways away from the office this morning. this is what he had to say:
james: tamika, let me introduce you to zambian way of life. you see this [showing me a small piece of square cloth]?
me: yes james. what is it?
james: this is what we call "mileage reducer."
me: oh really. why's that?
[james bends down and wipes the dust off his shiny work shoes]
james: you see? the mileage is now reduced.
2. we saw a sign for "tse tse" fly control. tse tse flies are some of the main reasons it's been hard to introduce horses and western cattle into africa, they carry lots of diseases that those animals are really susceptible to. on the one hand, this has probably saved wildlife habitats and tribal lands indirectly because of the inability to expand livestock operations. on the other hand, expansion of farming land would probably make it more possible to provide food to more of africa, especially in drought-prone areas where it's hard to grow crops anyway...to tse tse or not to tse tse? that's the question...
3. mr. peri, who's the gate guard at the house i stay in lusaka, and who is a "proper bushman" according to the neighbors, jumped up from his little fire the other night when we walked in. he had on nothing but his boxers, and started saying loudly "madame! madame! good evening." he's normally pretty quiet by the way. i think he was drinking that kachaso. too funny.
going back to feira tomorrow, won't have much (read: any) internet access until the beginning of august. hope you're all having a great summer!
i met james on the road a little ways away from the office this morning. this is what he had to say:
james: tamika, let me introduce you to zambian way of life. you see this [showing me a small piece of square cloth]?
me: yes james. what is it?
james: this is what we call "mileage reducer."
me: oh really. why's that?
[james bends down and wipes the dust off his shiny work shoes]
james: you see? the mileage is now reduced.
2. we saw a sign for "tse tse" fly control. tse tse flies are some of the main reasons it's been hard to introduce horses and western cattle into africa, they carry lots of diseases that those animals are really susceptible to. on the one hand, this has probably saved wildlife habitats and tribal lands indirectly because of the inability to expand livestock operations. on the other hand, expansion of farming land would probably make it more possible to provide food to more of africa, especially in drought-prone areas where it's hard to grow crops anyway...to tse tse or not to tse tse? that's the question...
3. mr. peri, who's the gate guard at the house i stay in lusaka, and who is a "proper bushman" according to the neighbors, jumped up from his little fire the other night when we walked in. he had on nothing but his boxers, and started saying loudly "madame! madame! good evening." he's normally pretty quiet by the way. i think he was drinking that kachaso. too funny.
going back to feira tomorrow, won't have much (read: any) internet access until the beginning of august. hope you're all having a great summer!
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Zambia Digest Vol. 3
so i'm back in lusaka after spending a couple of weeks in feira a.k.a. "the bush." we were staying in a house (i'll send pictures) made out of plaster and grass thatch. it's super-cute. the first couple of days were spent making courtesy calls to all the government official and tribal chiefs so they know we're there and what we're doing. so i met a chief. with ashy legs. me, not the chief. well, his might have been a little ashy too. the first one we met was not in the greatest health. his liver is shot from drinking this really strong distilled alcohol called kachaso that people make in their yards. it's supposed to be really dangerous, can blind you, etc. when we got to the chief, everyone was very formal and deferential and alice (the professor i was with) and i are just trying to sit quietly and smile and follow the example of what everyone else was doing. so one of the workers did like a whole step routine before he shook the chief's hand; we're lookin' at each other like umm are we supposed to do that too?? we need to have a practice session before we can do that. luckily a simple hand shake sufficed.
and let me just say that feira is unreal. it's almost like a time warp. some of the houses in the villages literally are huts made of brick with grass roofs. the professor who came with me to feira is the director of an international development institute, so she's travelled all over africa, the middle east, central and south america, and she said that she's never been anywhere before where the houses look like they probably did about 100 years ago! zambia is just an extremely poor country. this goat project is a good fit because everyone - EVERYONE - has goats. and they just wander around free; they don't require much maintenance. we met with the people in one of the villages and they estimated that 60-80% of the baby goats are dying before weaning - with good management that number should be around 10%. the good news is there are a few relatively simple things we can recommend to help turn that around so i'm excited about doing the training! i'll be training community extension officers in a two day session, then they will be training farmers in the villages. then i'll be doing follow up visits to the individual farms and villages to help with further training and answering questions, as much as i can. so that's pretty much what i've been doing.
i will also say that the landscape, with the baobab trees, mountains in the background and wildlife, is BEAUTIFUL. and the sky at night and the sunsets are gorgeous. i have never seen a night sky like that. also, there's a huge baobab tree that they used to chain the slaves around before they took them on the ships; there are some slave huts as well. amazing. and the people there are so warm and friendly. like i mentioned before people are always singing and always greet you. when we got to feira, some little kids were following us saying "hi how are you?" all excited they could use their english on someone. when i responded they got all giddy, started giggling and ran away. all kee kee-in' and whatnot. so i think they had a meeting and distributed a memo because after that EVERY time i see a child they blurt out "hi how are you?" in their cute little zambian accents. i rode in the back of the pick up on the way to the market and every time we passed some children, whether they were on a hilltop or on the road, they were waving, all excited, and i'm waving back like i'm miss america. in the back of a toyota hilux. hilarious!! feira doesn't get too many foreign visitors, so of course when there a couple everyone knows!
highlights:
1. there is a group of, i guess about 20 kids that sing at the top of their lungs in the distance for like 2 hours every night. harlem boys' choir got nothing on them. ok, maybe they're a little less...how you say..."refined" than harlem boys...but they sound good. for real.
2. i'm learning to drive stick on a 1970's land cruiser. i named her big bessie, but she also goes by one eyed bessie. or princess. she's sensitive, she has a complex about her size so we try to keep the positive reinforcement going. we have to jump start her every time we turn off the engine or stall. they have wired the button that beeps the horn to the starter motor so you have to press this button before you try to start the ignition. so i said "ok how do you beep the horn now?" there are two copper wires that i have been instructed to press together delicately in order to sound the horn. i couldn't even make this up if i tried. the first day bessie got there, alice, the professor who is here with me until tomorrow, bravely volunteered to teach me how to drive manual. so after a 20 minute driving lesson at the "airstrip" a.k.a. cow and goat pasture, and after a few episodes of having to have the four guys who came with us push the car to get it started (stalling? what stalling? when in doubt clutch it out! thank you gil), the program director comes knocking on my door and says "ok now we're going to pick up 16 goats. you're driving." alrighty then. so i drove like 40 minutes on bumpy dirt roads in big bessie hoping hoping HOPING i didn't stall (the car was also full of people as well - about 7) until we get to the village. good news, i didn't stall on the long part of the drive! handsen (director) is like "ok turn right here." i'm like "all i see is bush!" "no no, right here!" and then i see a foot path about 2 feet wide. bessie, let me tell you, is just a little more than two feet wide. and by the way, the path has people on bicycles, and people walking, on both sides, coming towards me.
3. everyone has a cell phone, even in the poorest areas. i'm like "how you got a motorazr...and no shoes??" but that's how it is. i guess we have people in the states living in subsidized housing driving mercedes right? hmm...
4. more jamesisms:
*"tamika, you know we have women here who bleach their skin? know what we call them? FBI - formerly black individuals."
*"your eyes do not choose what your motner-in-law looks like." interpret that as you will.
5. so there's a shop keeper in the market who i find so amusing. he's this little man named most, and he's full of soundbytes. this will be a new soundbyte installment to accompany the "james-ism digest." mr. most-isms:
*mr. most: yes, i've been to the states.
me: really, where have you been?
mr. most: michigan
me: oh ok. what were you doing there?
mr. most: well...you know i am a short man.
(that was his final answer.)
6. on the drive to feira, we stopped at one of the COMACO store houses to pick something up. there was this crazy dwarf there who ran up to me and held out his hand, palm down. i don't know what he wanted me to do with it. he was lookin' crazy so i just folded my arms, nodded and smiled. then the prof went to the back of the storehouse to do her "business." do you know that dwarf followed her right back there and ogled her while she was handling the biz!?! madness. but hilarious.
7. the district agricultural officer is a zambian who went to school in moscow for 7 years. there's another woman here who did the same. they speak russian fluently; they were teaching me some words! who knew i'd come to zambia and learn some of the language from my fatherland. : )
and this blog has been long enough...thank you for your attention if you've read this far... : ) if you haven't read this far, you're wack. but then you didn't read this far to know that. small details. SO i'll have e-mail access until the weekend, then back to feira! i hope you're all well and that your summer is going great!
and let me just say that feira is unreal. it's almost like a time warp. some of the houses in the villages literally are huts made of brick with grass roofs. the professor who came with me to feira is the director of an international development institute, so she's travelled all over africa, the middle east, central and south america, and she said that she's never been anywhere before where the houses look like they probably did about 100 years ago! zambia is just an extremely poor country. this goat project is a good fit because everyone - EVERYONE - has goats. and they just wander around free; they don't require much maintenance. we met with the people in one of the villages and they estimated that 60-80% of the baby goats are dying before weaning - with good management that number should be around 10%. the good news is there are a few relatively simple things we can recommend to help turn that around so i'm excited about doing the training! i'll be training community extension officers in a two day session, then they will be training farmers in the villages. then i'll be doing follow up visits to the individual farms and villages to help with further training and answering questions, as much as i can. so that's pretty much what i've been doing.
i will also say that the landscape, with the baobab trees, mountains in the background and wildlife, is BEAUTIFUL. and the sky at night and the sunsets are gorgeous. i have never seen a night sky like that. also, there's a huge baobab tree that they used to chain the slaves around before they took them on the ships; there are some slave huts as well. amazing. and the people there are so warm and friendly. like i mentioned before people are always singing and always greet you. when we got to feira, some little kids were following us saying "hi how are you?" all excited they could use their english on someone. when i responded they got all giddy, started giggling and ran away. all kee kee-in' and whatnot. so i think they had a meeting and distributed a memo because after that EVERY time i see a child they blurt out "hi how are you?" in their cute little zambian accents. i rode in the back of the pick up on the way to the market and every time we passed some children, whether they were on a hilltop or on the road, they were waving, all excited, and i'm waving back like i'm miss america. in the back of a toyota hilux. hilarious!! feira doesn't get too many foreign visitors, so of course when there a couple everyone knows!
highlights:
1. there is a group of, i guess about 20 kids that sing at the top of their lungs in the distance for like 2 hours every night. harlem boys' choir got nothing on them. ok, maybe they're a little less...how you say..."refined" than harlem boys...but they sound good. for real.
2. i'm learning to drive stick on a 1970's land cruiser. i named her big bessie, but she also goes by one eyed bessie. or princess. she's sensitive, she has a complex about her size so we try to keep the positive reinforcement going. we have to jump start her every time we turn off the engine or stall. they have wired the button that beeps the horn to the starter motor so you have to press this button before you try to start the ignition. so i said "ok how do you beep the horn now?" there are two copper wires that i have been instructed to press together delicately in order to sound the horn. i couldn't even make this up if i tried. the first day bessie got there, alice, the professor who is here with me until tomorrow, bravely volunteered to teach me how to drive manual. so after a 20 minute driving lesson at the "airstrip" a.k.a. cow and goat pasture, and after a few episodes of having to have the four guys who came with us push the car to get it started (stalling? what stalling? when in doubt clutch it out! thank you gil), the program director comes knocking on my door and says "ok now we're going to pick up 16 goats. you're driving." alrighty then. so i drove like 40 minutes on bumpy dirt roads in big bessie hoping hoping HOPING i didn't stall (the car was also full of people as well - about 7) until we get to the village. good news, i didn't stall on the long part of the drive! handsen (director) is like "ok turn right here." i'm like "all i see is bush!" "no no, right here!" and then i see a foot path about 2 feet wide. bessie, let me tell you, is just a little more than two feet wide. and by the way, the path has people on bicycles, and people walking, on both sides, coming towards me.
3. everyone has a cell phone, even in the poorest areas. i'm like "how you got a motorazr...and no shoes??" but that's how it is. i guess we have people in the states living in subsidized housing driving mercedes right? hmm...
4. more jamesisms:
*"tamika, you know we have women here who bleach their skin? know what we call them? FBI - formerly black individuals."
*"your eyes do not choose what your motner-in-law looks like." interpret that as you will.
5. so there's a shop keeper in the market who i find so amusing. he's this little man named most, and he's full of soundbytes. this will be a new soundbyte installment to accompany the "james-ism digest." mr. most-isms:
*mr. most: yes, i've been to the states.
me: really, where have you been?
mr. most: michigan
me: oh ok. what were you doing there?
mr. most: well...you know i am a short man.
(that was his final answer.)
6. on the drive to feira, we stopped at one of the COMACO store houses to pick something up. there was this crazy dwarf there who ran up to me and held out his hand, palm down. i don't know what he wanted me to do with it. he was lookin' crazy so i just folded my arms, nodded and smiled. then the prof went to the back of the storehouse to do her "business." do you know that dwarf followed her right back there and ogled her while she was handling the biz!?! madness. but hilarious.
7. the district agricultural officer is a zambian who went to school in moscow for 7 years. there's another woman here who did the same. they speak russian fluently; they were teaching me some words! who knew i'd come to zambia and learn some of the language from my fatherland. : )
and this blog has been long enough...thank you for your attention if you've read this far... : ) if you haven't read this far, you're wack. but then you didn't read this far to know that. small details. SO i'll have e-mail access until the weekend, then back to feira! i hope you're all well and that your summer is going great!
Zambia...some mo' (the Spike Lee version)
so i was just talking with one of the guys that works in feira, where i'll be going to work with the goats, and he was telling me about all the wildlife that is there; he said you see elephants all the time! i'm so excited to see all these animals outside of a zoo!! don't worry, i'll be careful. i won't be trying to make friends with dumbo okaay? now that i think about it, what a demeaning name for an elephant! more disney propaganda. they're actually very smart creatures. the place where i'll be at is at a point where you can see three countries from one spot - zambia, mozambique and i think malawi.
if you're not really sure what in the world i'm doing in zambia, here's a link explaining the project i'll be working on. i've been spending most of my time so far putting together a goat production manual: http://www.itswild.org/news
and some pics so far:
london: http://cornell.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2111892&l=2e2d3&id=407940
zambia: http://cornell.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2112579&l=58498&id=407940
other news. so i went to the goat markets the other day. can you imagine me, ms. vegan, wheelin' and dealin' on buying some goat intestines?? goot lort. we were trying to get an idea of what kind of goats are valued at the market and how much they cost, evidence of disease, etc. we went to the live goat market and i tried to take a picture, and i almost got CUSSED out. everybody started speaking in nyanja (i was with a zambian at least, who even asked permission before i took the shot) and we were taken to the goat market chairman. i knew he was official 'cuz he was sitting in the middle, bien crecido de la panza (with a big belly for all you monolinguals...lol...) and he was holding the money. he told us in no uncertain terms that picture taking is PROHIBITED in the market. alrighty then. as i slickly slid my camera back in my bag before it got confiscated...but i took some stealth shots from the car before we got out so it was all good...
some sad news regarding wildlife in zambia (tara sent me the link before folks in the office here knew about it - big ups sis): some poachers got through the HEAVILY SECURED park at victoria falls where the last two white rhinos in zambia live, and shot both of them!!! killed one. some guard must have gotten paid off or something. sounds sketch. my neighbor, mark the white african (that's his new official name...lol), was telling me his uncle owns a game farm and it costs like $36,000 or something crazy to shoot an elephant legally when they do the elephant culling. man oh day.
more randomness for the masses:
1) for all you jilani fans out there, i think i saw him selling cell phone cases on the highway. straight hustlin'.
2) zambians are some SINGING folks. just walking down the street you hear people singing lady smith black mambazo type harmonies (if you don't know who they are i think you better get on some limewire). the world would be a better place if more people sang in the morning. some people were singing in the office this morning and i commented on it. one of the accountants (james, who made the comment about "tell americans we don't live in trees"...lol) said "that's how we are here. over there you have all the money in the world and you don't even say hi to each other on the bus." wow. you right brother. you right.
3) more "jamesisms:"
james on music preferences: "ears don't choose." deep.
james' response to "how are you?": "i am how you see me." all right now.
4) it is "winter" here, meaning 60-65 degrees. people are breaking out space heaters in the office.
5) "bread basket," which is like our minimum wage, comes to about $3600/year, right. and the cost of living, when you buy basic things in the store at least, is about the same as in the states! recently there's been more investing in zambian enterprise, mostly by rich south africans, so zambia's economy which has been suffering for decades is getting a little boost; but the prices for everything have gone up a lot in the past 5 years or so. a similar thing is going on in zimbabwe, but more intense - the president there is basically reclaiming all this valuable land that white colonials had taken from natives years ago, and is redistributing it. as you can imagine, investors are pulling out, etc., so inflation is CRAZY there.
6) regarding the "no pictures in the market" phenomenon, people were telling me that it's basically because none of the villagers, who are all very poor, want to end up the next poster-child for "poverty-stricken Africa," as portrayed in national geographic, etc... a zambian here was telling me how the media knows how to pick out the most pitiful, destitute, poverty-stricken person and make that the representation for all of zambia, or all of africa even. i was thinking how there's a parallel with the media in the states; think about the images of blacks and latinos we see even on BET and throughout popular culture... just an observation...
if you're not really sure what in the world i'm doing in zambia, here's a link explaining the project i'll be working on. i've been spending most of my time so far putting together a goat production manual: http://www.itswild.org/news
and some pics so far:
london: http://cornell.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2111892&l=2e2d3&id=407940
zambia: http://cornell.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2112579&l=58498&id=407940
other news. so i went to the goat markets the other day. can you imagine me, ms. vegan, wheelin' and dealin' on buying some goat intestines?? goot lort. we were trying to get an idea of what kind of goats are valued at the market and how much they cost, evidence of disease, etc. we went to the live goat market and i tried to take a picture, and i almost got CUSSED out. everybody started speaking in nyanja (i was with a zambian at least, who even asked permission before i took the shot) and we were taken to the goat market chairman. i knew he was official 'cuz he was sitting in the middle, bien crecido de la panza (with a big belly for all you monolinguals...lol...) and he was holding the money. he told us in no uncertain terms that picture taking is PROHIBITED in the market. alrighty then. as i slickly slid my camera back in my bag before it got confiscated...but i took some stealth shots from the car before we got out so it was all good...
some sad news regarding wildlife in zambia (tara sent me the link before folks in the office here knew about it - big ups sis): some poachers got through the HEAVILY SECURED park at victoria falls where the last two white rhinos in zambia live, and shot both of them!!! killed one. some guard must have gotten paid off or something. sounds sketch. my neighbor, mark the white african (that's his new official name...lol), was telling me his uncle owns a game farm and it costs like $36,000 or something crazy to shoot an elephant legally when they do the elephant culling. man oh day.
more randomness for the masses:
1) for all you jilani fans out there, i think i saw him selling cell phone cases on the highway. straight hustlin'.
2) zambians are some SINGING folks. just walking down the street you hear people singing lady smith black mambazo type harmonies (if you don't know who they are i think you better get on some limewire). the world would be a better place if more people sang in the morning. some people were singing in the office this morning and i commented on it. one of the accountants (james, who made the comment about "tell americans we don't live in trees"...lol) said "that's how we are here. over there you have all the money in the world and you don't even say hi to each other on the bus." wow. you right brother. you right.
3) more "jamesisms:"
james on music preferences: "ears don't choose." deep.
james' response to "how are you?": "i am how you see me." all right now.
4) it is "winter" here, meaning 60-65 degrees. people are breaking out space heaters in the office.
5) "bread basket," which is like our minimum wage, comes to about $3600/year, right. and the cost of living, when you buy basic things in the store at least, is about the same as in the states! recently there's been more investing in zambian enterprise, mostly by rich south africans, so zambia's economy which has been suffering for decades is getting a little boost; but the prices for everything have gone up a lot in the past 5 years or so. a similar thing is going on in zimbabwe, but more intense - the president there is basically reclaiming all this valuable land that white colonials had taken from natives years ago, and is redistributing it. as you can imagine, investors are pulling out, etc., so inflation is CRAZY there.
6) regarding the "no pictures in the market" phenomenon, people were telling me that it's basically because none of the villagers, who are all very poor, want to end up the next poster-child for "poverty-stricken Africa," as portrayed in national geographic, etc... a zambian here was telling me how the media knows how to pick out the most pitiful, destitute, poverty-stricken person and make that the representation for all of zambia, or all of africa even. i was thinking how there's a parallel with the media in the states; think about the images of blacks and latinos we see even on BET and throughout popular culture... just an observation...
Tambulan dilan Zambia!
so i'm in the motherland after a LONG trip. had like 10 hour layover in london during which i walked around with a pocket map for like 6 hours (the tube is TOO expensive - bump that!) and saw the sights! i saw big ben, westminster abbey, buckingham palace, the queen's gardens and more! i really made the rounds - i think i gave myself a stress fracture in my big toe from all that walking in flip flops...and leave it to me (and lonely planet) to find a vegetarian restaurant, gorge myself on YUMMY food, and fall asleep in a public park on top of my backpack, lookin' like a homeless American tourist (which at that point I technically was). then i had to book it back to the airport for a flight to johannesburg!
zambia is official. it's BEAUTIFUL and the people are very warm and friendly and only about half of them ride goats to work. the other half ride the burros sent from mexico since they upgraded to horses. and no i am not living in a hut. i have a cozy spot right in a tree. it's a fruit tree so i don't even have to come down to eat. okay that's ENOUGH with the stereotypes! one of the guys that i'm working with here told me that when i go back to the states i have to tell everyone that africans don't live in trees...lol... being here really has me thinking though about how such a historically rich (in many ways) continent could have been so stunted by colonialism, etc., and still has managed to maintain its cultural and tribal integrity, languages and affiliations. africans and those of us scattered throughout the diaspora really have inherited a resistant, resilient and proliferative legacy. makes me proud! i'm not gonna lie though, i've thrown the "...but my mom's jamaican" card a few times...gives me a little cred...i'm a poser, i know! you love it.
the people i work with are SO nice. i'm in the capital, lusaka, and i don't go to the rural villages i'll be working in until friday. one of my coworkers took me out on friday night; we went to like three spots. the last one was my favorite, they played all african music and i was lovin' it!! the ladies i was out with treated me like their little sister. very dignified women; this guy passed me a note about counting sheep in the club, it was really just a joke, and she damn near cussed him out, telling him "he was embarrassing her." HILARIOUS. we were driving home and she's like "um we don't stop at red lights at night. thieves." i said ok girl! these ladies are gangsta in the sweetest way possible. one of their friends gave us a ride to the bar and i thought he was a cab driver. so i'm like "how much?" she's like oh he's my friend. i said oh well aren't you coming in friend? she was like um i didn't invite him. straight g. LOL...
the neighbors to the place i'm staying at have a 20-year old son who's always checking up on me and making sure everything's all good; he's very nice. white africans fascinate me a little bit. not gonna lie. he was born in zimbabwe, and has lived in south africa for like 6 years before coming back to zambia. cool peoples. then denya (my coworker) invited me for lunch on sunday. that girl can COOK! she cooked all vegetarian stuff with the traditional "nshima," which is like this cornmeal type dish that's a staple food. traditional zambian cuisine requires that you eat with only your right hand (no utensils - and YES there are utensils in africa, this is just tradition when you eat local food), roll the corn meal stuff in a ball, and use it to like scoop up the rest of the food. it was BANGIN' son. then she took me to the sunday market. i wanted to buy EVERYTHING, there was so much amazing art work and jewelry, but i had to have some SELF CONTROL and say ok tam, you got like 2 more months here, pace yourself...
reasons i stand out in zambia:
1) rockin' the new balances - no one wears sneakers
2) i don't speak any of the 70+ dialects
3) someone in the market asked me what tribe i'm from. i have no tribe. i feel so marginalized. this is why kids join gangs.
other randomness:
1) two people have told me that my name means "sent to help" in one of the native dialects. how fly is that??
2) there is broken glass embedded on the top of the wall in front of my house, like barbed wire. straight o.g. style.
i'll send pictures as soon as i can upload them. miss you all and write me e-mails!! : ) oh, and send me your address if i don't have it. postcards galore!!
zambia is official. it's BEAUTIFUL and the people are very warm and friendly and only about half of them ride goats to work. the other half ride the burros sent from mexico since they upgraded to horses. and no i am not living in a hut. i have a cozy spot right in a tree. it's a fruit tree so i don't even have to come down to eat. okay that's ENOUGH with the stereotypes! one of the guys that i'm working with here told me that when i go back to the states i have to tell everyone that africans don't live in trees...lol... being here really has me thinking though about how such a historically rich (in many ways) continent could have been so stunted by colonialism, etc., and still has managed to maintain its cultural and tribal integrity, languages and affiliations. africans and those of us scattered throughout the diaspora really have inherited a resistant, resilient and proliferative legacy. makes me proud! i'm not gonna lie though, i've thrown the "...but my mom's jamaican" card a few times...gives me a little cred...i'm a poser, i know! you love it.
the people i work with are SO nice. i'm in the capital, lusaka, and i don't go to the rural villages i'll be working in until friday. one of my coworkers took me out on friday night; we went to like three spots. the last one was my favorite, they played all african music and i was lovin' it!! the ladies i was out with treated me like their little sister. very dignified women; this guy passed me a note about counting sheep in the club, it was really just a joke, and she damn near cussed him out, telling him "he was embarrassing her." HILARIOUS. we were driving home and she's like "um we don't stop at red lights at night. thieves." i said ok girl! these ladies are gangsta in the sweetest way possible. one of their friends gave us a ride to the bar and i thought he was a cab driver. so i'm like "how much?" she's like oh he's my friend. i said oh well aren't you coming in friend? she was like um i didn't invite him. straight g. LOL...
the neighbors to the place i'm staying at have a 20-year old son who's always checking up on me and making sure everything's all good; he's very nice. white africans fascinate me a little bit. not gonna lie. he was born in zimbabwe, and has lived in south africa for like 6 years before coming back to zambia. cool peoples. then denya (my coworker) invited me for lunch on sunday. that girl can COOK! she cooked all vegetarian stuff with the traditional "nshima," which is like this cornmeal type dish that's a staple food. traditional zambian cuisine requires that you eat with only your right hand (no utensils - and YES there are utensils in africa, this is just tradition when you eat local food), roll the corn meal stuff in a ball, and use it to like scoop up the rest of the food. it was BANGIN' son. then she took me to the sunday market. i wanted to buy EVERYTHING, there was so much amazing art work and jewelry, but i had to have some SELF CONTROL and say ok tam, you got like 2 more months here, pace yourself...
reasons i stand out in zambia:
1) rockin' the new balances - no one wears sneakers
2) i don't speak any of the 70+ dialects
3) someone in the market asked me what tribe i'm from. i have no tribe. i feel so marginalized. this is why kids join gangs.
other randomness:
1) two people have told me that my name means "sent to help" in one of the native dialects. how fly is that??
2) there is broken glass embedded on the top of the wall in front of my house, like barbed wire. straight o.g. style.
i'll send pictures as soon as i can upload them. miss you all and write me e-mails!! : ) oh, and send me your address if i don't have it. postcards galore!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)