Hello,
I know ya’ll are probably wondering what we’ve been up to! It has been so crazy since we left the states on tues. First of all can I just say that’s the LONGEST flight I’ve ever been on & I think we should invent something faster ;) We left Washington D.C at 5pm eastern on tues. and landed in Johannesburg, South Africa at 5pm (Joburg time) on wed. We really only sat there for 18 hours including a 1 hour gas stop in West Africa but with time zones changing it was 24hrs! In Joburg we stayed the night at a hostel and the next morning got on a plane for ZAMBIA!!! The flight was about 2 hours and we landed at noon in Livingston. The plane was soo cool because instead of the usual tunnel you walk through to get on and off the plane at the terminal there were just stairs to the outside, so we felt pretty special! Haha after customs we ate pizza and got on the Namwianga missions bus to drive to Victoria Falls! During the drive we all just stared out the windows because it was unbelievable! I couldn’t believe I was in Zambia! We drove past nice areas and poverty stricken areas, it reminded me a lot of Honduras. There were market areas with lots of people and rural areas with a few mud huts. We also drove past a few monkeys that were on the side of the rode! When we got to the falls it was AMAZING!!! I was in awe at how huge and pretty it was. Its probably one of the prettiest places I’ve ever been too! You could walk all along one side viewing the falls or walk along the side before it falls along rocks. We saw the bridge we will be bungee jumping off of in a few weeks, & it looked like so much fun! I can’t wait to go back!
After the falls we drove to Kalomo and on to the Namianga Missions where we moved into our houses. I was shocked at how nice they are. In my house there are 4 bedrooms that each have their own half-bath and then also 2 full baths that have really strange tubs but hey, atleast we have running water!! Connecting the halls is a living room, dining room, and kitchen. There are 2 girl houses and then the guys have a bunk house.
Friday August 26, 2011
Today after breakfast we took a tour and saw the college, clinic, church, and then we ended at the haven. I LOVE the haven! The 1st house has babies, so right when we got in we all went to see them! I picked up a girl named Victoria and held her until we had to go to the second house. Leaving her was the saddest thing, right when I laid her back down into her crib she started crying because she wanted someone to hold her. The second house was full of toddlers that had lots of energy! I met a girl named Teagan that loved being held and swung upside down so I played and held her for a while until I went to the last house. That house has children of all ages that are sick with mostly either aids or tb, but some have other illnesses.
Sunday August 28,2011
Yesterday we went to Choma which is a town about 45 min away from Kulomo, there we tried to exchange money but the line was way too long so we just borrowed kwatcha from our teacher because we were going to go to the market! When we got there, there were rows of wooden stalls or wooden frames lined with fabric to make little shops. Most of the stalls had dried fish, clothes, shoes, and cooking supplies, but we went in search for chitangies! Those are what the women wear around their waist as long skirts and also carry their babies in. After we got back to the mission and ate lunch most of us went and watched a futbol game between Harding and the Pirates. It was supposed to start at 3 but here people are really laid back and don’t depend on time so it really didn’t start until 4. We stayed for a few hours and the score was 0-1, we were losing but when they got a point it was so crazy. The other teams fans had those really loud horns that blew constantly and they rushed the field like it was a parade! Haha
Today we had church which was different than I expected. Most of the songs were in English and they also prayed and preached in English which might be because we are on the mission (most people here have learned English). At the end Ba Merritt had all of us stand up and say our name to introduce ourselves and said we knew Chitonga…& well I know a little but every time I say something they laugh! Lol so its definitely a good thing we start intensive tonga lessons tomorrow! After church I signed up to help cook lunch which was supposed to be spaghetti, coleslaw, and brownies but right when we were ready to put it all on the stove and in the oven the electricity went out, so we went to plan b (sandwiches) and saved the spaghetti for dinner! That night at church they asked us to sing for them so we had to all get up on the platform and sang three songs, one was in Chitonga.
Monday August 29, 2011
Today we started classes I’ve had tonga, global heath, and missionary anthropology. Ba Siazu was our tonga teacher and he helped perfect our greetings! One thing that’s important to the Zambian culture is being friendly. He said unlike Americans who can just say hello when you’re walking past someone they take time to greet properly and make conversation.
