Our second week: Off to Kitwe

Monday, August 27, 2007

Today we are on our way to Kitwe! We packed up the truck, which Lois will be driving, with not an inch to spare. We left behind most of the suitcases in favor of boxes that had linens, towels, and kitchen things. Siggi will bring those suitcases along with the washing machine on Friday, when he comes up for a seminar.

We did the six hour drive in five and a half. It was a long drive so I tried to get Brendan to tell me things he noticed and then I would write it down. These are some of the things we saw:
Lots of blue mini-buses (Lois told us that they are blue because the political party in power right now gave them all blue paint because that is their color)
Men riding bikes with thin tires, carrying 2 bags of charcoal that weigh 80-100 pounds plus a bag of kindling on top
Mud huts with thatched roofs
Ox pulling carts
Termite hills that are like icebergs
Small twisters that Brendan insists on calling tornados
A semi carrying two trailers full of beer on it’s side with beer streaming down the side of the road.
We stopped for lunch halfway and found rolls for the boys. Peter and I tried a shawerma sandwich and a meat pie that were edible but not fantastic. There doesn’t seem to be much out there in terms of businesses, restaurants, and entertainment.

I was pleasantly surprised by the city of Kitwe. It has a nice city center with a central square and nice sidewalks (not just dusty paths like in some of the other towns we went through). Downtown consists of two city blocks so it was easy to find our bank and Shoprite. We made our way to the MEF campus which is about 15 minutes from downtown. We met Jimmy Juma who is the Coordinator of the Peace Program and Peter’s boss. We unloaded all our things and toured our house. The house has a spacious living room and dining room, two bedrooms and a third room that will be an office and guest bedroom. The bathroom has a tub with a showerhead and shower curtain. There was no water, though. Jimmy showed us around the MEF campus, and we saw Peter’s new office and a classroom.

Lois and I then left for a shopping spree at Shoprite for staples and cleaning supplies. Lois was so helpful in finding what I need to set up house. The store was a zoo, with so many people it was unbelievable. Lois stood in line with the first cart full while I went in search of food for the next few days. I slipped in vomit and it went in my sandal a bit.
The line for the bakery was so long I ditched it and bought some basic wheat bread. There were no cheese or bananas even though I saw some when I walked in. I bought ingredients for French Toast, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, chicken with potatoes and carrots, and spaghetti. I then stood in line for over thirty minutes. Guys in front kept inviting their friends to join them to buy their one frozen chicken or package of meat. The lady behind me scolded them but they paid no attention. Then the one who cut had the nerve to tell me that I needed to find him when I went outside so he could help me with my groceries (and so that I would pay him). I told him that I had a friend who would help me already. We went back and forth several times with me politely refusing. But I’m thinking, there is no way I am going to help you, especially since you cut in front of me and invited two more of your friends to do the same! Lois came back to find me after getting her things loaded and we got the rest loaded into the truck. There are always guys willing to “watch” your car so that nothing is stolen but then you have to pay them. But we were in a paid parking lot so there shouldn’t have been a need. We asked the guard on the way out and he said we shouldn’t pay those other guys but they are pretty assertive which makes it difficult. Our original plan was to go out to dinner that evening but it was already 6:30 by the time we got home so I just had Peter make French Toast instead. We sat at our small sloping dining table and had our first meal in our new house. The boys were starving and ate it all up with no complaining.

While Lois and I were gone, the boys made friends with the neighbors and played there all afternoon. There is a boy who is about Brendan’s age and a girl who is a bit older. There is also an older sister who is developmentally disabled. Apparently, Jason and this older sister were playing a bit of tag and Jason had no issues but Brendan was a bit freaked out. He eventually got over it and stayed to play. When it got dark, they were invited inside to watch Tom and Jerry on their satellite TV. It doesn’t get any better than that for them. This family is from Oman but spent 30 years in Congo. The mother and three of the kids are in Oman right now on an extended visit but the father is here as well as a family friend from Congo who seems to be helping out. It was great that the kids have friends already and that Peter was able to unpack a little bit.

The boys were exhausted after dinner but also absolutely filthy. The water had come back on around 5 p.m. so it was possible to bathe them. We were able to get hot water in the tub but the shower head is completely disconnected and the water pressure was so low that it would have taken an hour to fill the tub. Peter managed to give them a bucket bath and they came out clean but they weren’t too pleased with the experience. While we were trying to deal with this, Lois made up the boys’ beds, one of which is a very odd size so she tried on several sheets before finding one that fit. We were unable to put up mosquito nets yet so we sprayed the boys with mosquito repellent and they fell asleep.

Once the boys fell asleep, the headache took over and I got discouraged. There are so many things that are overwhelming at the moment:
We have a few hours of water in the morning and then it is turned off during the day. It comes back on at five. We will have to fill up buckets of water in the morning so we have some during the day. We also need to start boiling water so that we have some we can drink.
The faucets are drippy and underneath the sink it is totally rotting. It is like a neon sign saying “Cockroaches welcome!”
There is plumbing for a shower but it must not be connected. Lois said it would be a good idea to ask for new tiles around the tub and a new linoleum floor in the bathroom.
There are holes in the screens that let bugs inside and the windows in our bedrooms can only be pulled open from the outside because the crank is broken.
All of the appliances we bought are from South Africa so they have a crazy plug. We need to replace that plug with a Zambian one but the tools we need are in the suitcases we had to leave behind.
There are only two outlets in the kitchen, one that is for the refrigerator, and one other one that is far away from any of my counter space. The wires from the stove are all exposed behind it which seems a little hazardous. Peter discovered that one of the large elements on the stove does not work when he was making dinner.
There are no light fixtures, just the exposed light bulb in each room which reflects off the glossy paint on all the walls.
Our table is higher on one end creating a huge slant.
There is a siren that goes off at 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. that is connected to the mines.
The one dresser we have is warped and so the bottom two drawers don’t open and the top two do if you pull real hard. When I gave it back to Yvonne, the woman in charge of housing, she questioned why we didn’t want to use it.
The school’s internet has been down for almost a month and there’s no telling when it will be working again.

Here are some positive things:
We can sign out a MEF car and use it around town. However, if we want to go elsewhere, it will cost about 75 cents a kilometer.
The piano is here.
We have a bookshelf.
There is a lovely fireplace and mantle.
There are curtains, in awful shades of salmon, gold and green, but it gives us privacy as we wander around stunned.
There are not many bugs, though I killed one wasp and a lot of mosquitoes.
Lots of cupboard space in the kitchen.
Siggi and Lois gave a riding motorcycle to the boys to play with.
Lois has helped us so much.

Needless to say, it is going to take awhile for us to make this place feel like home and to figure out how to make it work for us.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

I woke up at 6 a.m. and started boiling water. The smoke alarm went off at 6:15 and Peter had to get out of bed to help me turn it off. Despite spraying the boys with bug repellent last night, their arms are covered in bites, and not all mosquito bites I think, from the size of it. I hope these mosquitoes weren’t carrying malaria, although we are taking antimalarial medication weekly as a precaution.

This morning Lois took us to visit Lechwe Education Trust. Ms. Lubamba gave us a tour of the campus. It is a very nice school with a library, swimming pool, and playground. It looks like Jason will be in Upper Nursery, which goes from 8-12, and Brendan will be in Grade 1, which goes from 7:20-12:30. Jason can go at the same time and play before and after school while waiting for Brendan. Only Brendan would have afternoon activities. If Jason gets up to speed, he will stay in Upper Nursery until January and then move into Reception with a few of the other older children. It looks like a really nice school. We got an application and will need to make an appointment to have Brendan assessed to see if Grade 1 is really the best placement for him. I hope we can have a look at the other school, Nkana, but this was our first choice from the information we had received prior to coming.

From there, we went to get lunch at the “Hungry Lion,” which is a fast food kind of place that sells chicken and chips (French fries), although they were out of chips. There was a really long line and no place to sit so we ended up sitting on a bench in the central square. We were very hot sitting in the direct sun. We went back to the Hungry Lion for some ice cream but the machine wasn’t working.

Our goal for the afternoon was to get wood to make the frame for our mosquito net. The first store sent us to a second store but that one didn’t open until 2 (closed for lunch). In the meantime, we went to a cell phone store where the selection was limited to three phones in the whole store. The second hardware store finally opened at 2:30 but didn’t have wood. We did buy a water filter system there which is something else we were needing. We drove past the market, which looks really crazy and chaotic, on the way to the third store which finally had the wood we needed, though not exactly. Peter thinks he can make it work.

We were exhausted when we got home. The boys played with the neighbors from Oman, Yachya and Nila. They enjoy playing with these new friends but are also frustrated that they don’t always play very nicely. I went for a walk with Lois and met Audrey, the wife of Ignatius who teaches in Peace Program. Audrey is a partner of MCC doing marriage counselor training, as well as peace and justice clubs in schools. It was good to walk around the MEF campus a bit but I inadvertently locked Peter out and Jason got scared of a beetle and was screaming when Peter got home. Not good.

Peter and I moved things around a bit and switched rooms with the boys so that now they have the bigger room. They need more space than we do and that seemed to work well in Prague. I tried to start making dinner but had no electricity so waited until later. I managed to make spaghetti so now Brendan knows all will be well living in Zambia. The water turned off at 9 tonight instead of later. Not sure yet how all that works.

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

I had 2 goals today: give myself a bucket bath and do a load of laundry.
A bucket bath means that we fill a bucket with water, usually we are out of hot water because our geyser (pronounced geezer) only holds a few gallons and must have a leak. You can either do dishes or fill a bucket so we boil water in the stove and in our electric kettle. We stand in our empty tub and use the pot to dip water out of the bucket and pour over us. After scrubbing off all the grime and grit, we use the pot to pour more water over us. It takes awhile and can get chilly so I have decided to wash my hair separately.

Doing laundry means filling up a large bucket and adding detergent and a few clothes and praying it will get clean. Mom used to tell me how they did laundry in Mexico using a toilet plunger as an agitator so now I am doing the same thing in Africa. After wringing out the dirty water, I rinse it in another bucket. Then I wring it out again and take it outside to put on a metal drying rack. As I walk out, hundreds of little crickets jump around my legs. It is tricky to get the rack to balance on the uneven ground and then I hope that it won’t fall over with my clean wet clothes. My hands are raw and sore from all the wringing but I bought rubber gloves so that helps a bit.

I attended chapel this morning and cried through the song “To God be the Glory.” Will I ever be able to make it through a worship song without crying? As rough as it feels right now, when I participate in worship and hear the praises all around me, I know that I am in the right place. The speaker reflected on Daniel and emphasized how God’s glory was all around him. She made the point that God saw Daniel and God sees you. God sees me. That made me cry again. I feel as though I am hidden from God, way out here in Kitwe, Zambia. Although I am highly visible with my white skin (I’ve only seen a handful of white faces), I still feel invisible somehow. It ministered to me that God sees me and is present with me.

We said goodbye to Lois this morning. She has been a tremendous help in getting us a bit settled. We then had a bit of an Orientation to MEF with someone from MEF. We now know that the water is on between 4:30 and 8 a.m. (I can hear water clanking in the pipes at 4:30), 12 and 2 p.m., and between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. However, this is a general schedule, I assume, because it has not been followed precisely so far. I best have buckets of water ready, not knowing exactly when it will be turned off. Henry took us on a tour of the campus and introduced us to many people. Everywhere we heard, “Please, You are welcome.” “Pleasure.” There were many friendly faces, and big smiles from the women. It will take a bit of time to become part of the community and get to know people but I am looking forward to it.

In our orientation, we discovered that it will take quite awhile before we can have access to the MEF vehicles since there is a long line of people who have to sign off on it. In the meantime, we will try to use mini-buses and taxis. We put in a request for a driver in a MEF car to take us to Lechwe for Brendan’s assessment that we are still trying to arrange. We understand that there is a van that goes into town on Saturdays from 8:30-11 but this Saturday Peter is at a meeting all day so I don’t think that is my best option with the kids. There is a preschool on campus that we wanted to look into as an option for Jason. However, we learned that there are 135 kids in three small rooms, mostly orphans and vulnerable children. Henry recommended that we look elsewhere and not send Jason there.

We were curious as to how we get rid of our garbage. We have two big fire pits in our backyard where they are burning our leaves and other rubbish. We have asked what we do with our trash and are told that we have to just burn it in our backyard pit. With all the plastic and cans and all, that doesn’t seem like an environmentally friendly thing to do but it is our only option. I guess in the whole scheme of things, Zambia’s ecological footprint isn’t very large, considering it only has one electrical plant for the whole country.

You know the microwave we bought, then exchanged? Well, it doesn’t work. We had to unplug the fridge to use that outlet and discovered that after all that effort, the thing doesn’t even work.

Peter’s goal for today was to make the frame and hang the mosquito net over our bed. The boys have a hoop net over their beds but we have a square frame. The screws he bought were too long so he made the frame by tying it together. The only choice of color for the string was blue or orange so we have blue string all over our bedroom. After getting the frame together, then we had to figure out how to hang it from the ceiling and then tie the net to it. Peter tied it up with Brendan and I standing on the bed holding it up until our arms ached. It is a lovely mosquito net, I must say, with overlapping flaps on both sides so that we can get in and out quite easy. I am thrilled to have the mosquito net up since last night there was a mosquito buzzing in my ear and driving me crazy. Jason woke up in the middle of the night needing a drink, so I used that as an excuse to crawl into bed with him under the safety of his mosquito net.

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Today was a bit rough. OK, a lot rough. Jason had a huge meltdown in the morning because he doesn’t like the cereal Maximize and he didn’t want to share his toys with the neighbor kids who came over to play. It seems he just needed to get it out of his system and then he was better later. I did another load of laundry, a big bucket full but mainly consisting of two pairs of Peter’s pants and some underwear. The mosquito net frame is already busted. The Internet is still down. The neighbor kids tease a lot: they told Jason they threw his socks into the firepit, call him a baby, etc. Peter stood in line for a bank account for an hour just to get an application. We are running out of money. There is no mozzarella for making pizza even though they had it in Lusaka. We need to call Lechwe School to make an appointment for Brendan’s assessment but we don’t have cell phones yet. There are only two phones on campus that belong to the Head of Administration and the Director. Apparently the phone bills weren’t being paid so they got rid of all the phones except these two.

Peter spent the afternoon writing a welcome speech for the dignitary visiting the seminar this weekend. This may be one of his regular tasks, it appears. He is spending a lot of time helping Jimmy, the coordinator, get things ready for a seminar happening this weekend. He is trying to balance being helpful, especially since Jimmy has been doing everything for a long time and there is much to be done, and also trying to get settled and figure things out for us.

By the time dinner rolled around, things began to look up a bit. More money is on the way with Siggi who is arriving tomorrow night with the rest of our things and will be attending the seminar on Saturday. I found a pipe to fortify the wood frame of the mosquito net, that I broke this morning. I made Cheese and Corn Chowder soup and Brendan had four bowls full and Jason ate his without fussies (the past two mealtimes have been a nightmare). I found Yongeberry jam which has become an instant favorite. Brendan calls it his “beloved jam.”

The boys were filthy, as usual, but the water turned off at 7:30 tonight instead of 10:00. So we made a bath with the reserve water that I had collected in buckets. By the end of the bath, it was the brownest water ever but I think the boys are a little cleaner. I must say that I love buckets. When we visited the Material Resource Center in Akron, the man was telling us that when they send out MCC Relief kits that have towels and toiletries packed in a bucket, that the recipients always say the bucket is the best part of the kit. Now we see why. You can never have enough buckets because you use them for everything: collecting water; laundry washing and rinsing; trash cans; storing flour, rice, sugar, beans, etc.

Tonight when we said prayers with the boys, Jason was thankful for his new home and Brendan was thankful for blankets and a pillow. I’m thankful that we didn’t have to try to make this adjustment while jetlagged, which would have sent me to the looney bin for sure.

Friday, August 31, 2007

We arranged for a driver from MEF to take the boys and I to Lechwe School this morning for Brendan’s assessment. The Head Teacher was out so the principal tested him. He easily did the work for those finishing Grade 1 so the principal highly recommended that we put him in Grade 2. Brendan is pleased and proud but a bit anxious about it. Then I went to get his school uniform at the shop on campus. The principal told me that they didn’t sell the gray shorts or socks and that I would have to buy the material in town and then find someone to sew it for me. That was a little overwhelming, especially since school starts next Tuesday. But the lady working in the store had bought shorts and socks and was selling them on the side to make a bit of extra money. We found some that fit Brendan and I was very relieved. He has to wear a white shirt, gray shorts, gray knee high socks and black shoes. He also has to wear a cricket hat, which of course we didn’t know what that looked like. The lady couldn’t find one that fit on Brendan’s “generous” head, as most were terribly tight on him. We finally went with an extra large which looks huge but at least it won’t squeeze his brains. He has to also have black shorts and a white polo shirt for physical education and a red shirt for compulsory inter-house competitions on Thursday afternoons. He is in the Zambezi house which is red. It all seems so Harry Potterish: he is assigned to one of two “houses” and they get points at the end of each week for their performance. Plus there are house competitions on Thursday afternoons. We were told that prefects will escort the children to their classes on Tuesday. It’s probably just British but it continually makes me think of Harry Potter!

I talked to Banak, the driver, on the way home. We drove by a high school and I asked how many high schools there were in the city. He said there were 10-12 high schools. And I said, “But there is only one Shoprite?” Yes, he said, it is terrible. 450,000 people all sharing one supermarket. He says that there is a Spar coming soon, they will begin building in December. It will be a little closer to us than the Shoprite so that will be nice. But things take a long time so who knows when it will actually be open.

Siggi arrived in the evening with the rest of our five suitcases. Later on we sat around and talked. He is very understanding of our situation and listened to our woes. His comfort was that it just takes time: a couple months to work out the hot water and washing machine, etc. He encouraged us to make do with taxis for now and then we will figure out at the end of the school year if we really need a car or not. That seems too long to wait but we will see what we can do. We feel like we are semi-camping already and to think of doing it for several more months is discouraging.

I woke in the middle of the night to the house filled with acrid smoke. Someone must have been burning their trash or fields or maybe it was from the mines but it was making me completely nauseous. It was difficult to breathe. Peter shut all the windows but it was still awful. We really can’t keep the smoke out, as there are vents to the outside in all the rooms. At that point I was really ready to go home!

Saturday, September 1, 2007

Peter was gone all day at a seminar. I haven’t seen him much and my “Honey do” list is getting long. I expected so see a bit more of him this week but it just hasn’t worked out that way.

Jason wanted to ride the motorcycle at the neighbors and I told him that he could not ride in the mud. Of course, he came back completely muddy, shoes, legs, everything. I was so angry. I was trying to get a load of laundry washed before the water was shut off and then here I had more laundry to do. My clothes rack kept falling over outside getting my wet clothes all grassy. I really need to iron all our clothes that have been dried outside because there are mango worms. Once you wear the clothes, the eggs that have been laid in the clothes burrow into you and form a boil. Then when you pop the boil, a worm comes shooting out. I really need to start ironing. Jason had a major kicking and screaming tantrum when the neighbor kids came over because he didn’t want them touching any of his toys. It was pretty rough. After awhile they got going and played nicely for awhile which allowed me to start unpacking our other suitcases.

A funny thing Brendan said to me. He was saying how the neighbor knows a very famous basketball player in the USA but Brendan couldn’t remember who it was. Then it came to him all of a sudden, “I know who it was, it was Bob Nolty!” I laughed so hard. Bob Nolty goes to our church in Pasadena and may be famous for all I know, but he is not Kobe Bryant, the basketball player Brendan was thinking of.

I was glad for the laugh because I really needed one. Then I returned to cleaning up mouse droppings that I am finding all over my kitchen. I am not happy about that. Then tonight I killed a huge cockroach that thankfully came in the front door and wasn’t coming out of his home in my cupboards.

Sunday, September 2, 2007

We played hooky from church as trying to find one and getting there seemed a bit too much. It was also the first day Peter spent with the family. Our family devotional went better than our Sabbath ritual the night before when Brendan was in tears over which part he got to read and then sulked the rest of the meal. I played the piano and we sang, “Listen, God is Calling.” With Brendan playing the low notes and Jason banging on the high notes, it wasn’t all that beautiful but they were into it so I can’t complain. Actually, I can complain and do it in my head quite a bit these days, but this just didn’t make it to the top of my list of things to complain about. It may only rank #53 or something like that.

We were going to go into Kitwe to do a bit of shopping but we couldn’t call a taxi because our cell phones that Peter bought don’t work. The scratch cards Peter bought with phone minutes said that they were already used. We agreed we would all take a minibus in the afternoon but then found out the stores close around 1 p.m. Foiled again.

Liz, who is here at MEF for a few weeks to do language training before going to Eastern Zambia, brought over peanut butter cookies. She thought I may have been craving some adult interaction after spending the week with my boys indoors mostly. We commiserated over the lack of hot water and no Internet. Jenny, a Brit on a three year assignment, dropped by to offer her tub for our boys’ bath tonight since she has hot water and heard we didn’t. She invited me to a Bible study she began with a few others. She has been here since May and will be a good resource for me, I think. Sibbi, coordinator for Media and Ecumenical studies, also dropped by to say hello. He is from India and has been here three years and is returning in October. His family went back to India last December so he has been lonely for them for a long time. It was nice of him to come by.

I made pizza dough and it turned out very well! It had such a lovely feel in my hands. Finally, something that worked.

So I have a washing machine that we can’t use because no water comes through the utility sink pipes. Tonight I had the brilliant idea that I could still plug it in and use the spin cycle since that is what is killing my hands. It might just work! And Siggi got our microwave to work. Little did we know that you just have to jiggle the handle up and down.