Friday, March 14, 2008
The Sri Lankan Birthday Meal
Anita Fernandez is a wonderful woman at our church who also is a teacher at Lechwe School. She is from Sri Lanka but she and her family now own a farm on the Kafue River near Kitwe. She invited us to their home for a birthday celebration for her husband. It was a bit of a feat getting out there in our car with the roads being terrible but we made it in one piece. Poor Anita managed to cook food for thirty or more people on charcoal stoves because they had no electricity. It was quite a diverse gathering with guests from Bangladesh, England, Germany, the Democratic Republic of Congo, India, Scotland, the Netherlands, and North America. Anita’s nephew, Noyal, is one of Peter’s students at MEF and he took Peter and the boys on a tour of their farm which has pigs, chickens, banana trees and a variety of other things. All the food was delicious, although I didn’t try the octopus as I heard it was very spicy.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
A Meal Fit for a Hero
Hero killed a cockroach this morning so he is definitely earning his keep. Hopefully he has finished marking his territory by peeing in each of the rooms. That is not cool.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
The Meal We Missed
We woke up with remembrances of our Palm Sunday Peace Marches that we so enjoyed at Pasadena Mennonite Church. But we were able to participate in a different kind of Palm Sunday march today. Our Presbyterian church was one of the organizers for an ecumenical march in the city center. Our regular church service was held earlier than normal and then we gathered in the center of town along with congregants from the Anglican, UCZ, and Reformed churches. The marching band of the UCZ church led the way and we all followed with our palm branches waving. We eventually made our way to the city square where a large tent was erected for the combined worship service. We didn’t last long, not even making it through all the formal introductions, which are so necessary here. Sitting in church services from 8:00 to 14:00 is just not something we are able to endure yet. There was to be a meal following the service, which the ladies of our church spent hours preparing, but this was a meal we chose to miss.
A Meal with Muslims
Instead, we dined with our neighbors. Madam Aline is away in Congo for a relative’s funeral. Mr. Yassir and his Bangladeshi friend, Mr. Musharrif, invited us to join them for their traditional Sunday afternoon braai. I brought a salad because I figured I didn’t have to worry about vegetables being hallal. Mr. Musharrif made a Bangladeshi biryani that was very tasty. Over lunch, he shared about his travels to over forty countries and was full of interesting tidbits. Before long, I was ready for my afternoon nap and so we took our leave.
An Intoxicating Meal
In the evening, Adrian came over to watch the boys so Peter and I could have a date. We dined at a lovely Indian restaurant. However, after the waiter took our order, I began to get a headache and then feel lightheaded. It smelled like they had used an obscene amount of floor polish and it hadn’t aired out. When I asked the waiter what the smell was, he said that the mines have been releasing gases into the air and no one can get away from the smell. “It is paining me,” he said, a phrase that we hear a lot. And truly, it was paining me also. On our way home, we drove through a haze. Peter had to quickly put up his window because the fumes were so strong. I think I lost a few more brain cells tonight.
Monday, March 17, 2008
The Meals They Never Eat
Over her regular peanut butter sandwich and tea made with four heaping teaspoons of sugar, Peggy shared with me her worries, before moving on to the cleaning. Her grandmother will retire in December and is eligible to receive a pension but it often takes two to three years to go through the process and finally receive the money. They can’t live off the wages that Peggy earns the two mornings she works for me. Esther, her daughter, has malaria “plus plus.” I told her that I will buy her a mosquito net which hopefully will cut down on the high incidence of malaria in her family. I discovered that Peggy, her grandmother, and her daughter all share a 3/4 size mattress. They have no blankets but share a sheet. Esther is weak and often sick but perhaps that is due to the fact that they only eat one meal a day. Peggy gives Esther a bun which is cut in half and she tells her to eat half of it at the morning break and the other half at their lunch break. Esther is in school from 7:00 to 16:00 and all she has in her stomach is one bun. For an hour, Peggy cried and told me how her sister has no job, no husband, no education, and therefore walks the streets for hours and thinks about how it would be better if she died because it would be one less mouth to feed. Peggy feels hopeless at times, and keeps praying to God to make a way for her. I know I am a big part of “the way” for her. It is hard to know when to just listen and when to act. It is Easter and it is time to act. I am putting together an Easter bundle for her which will include mealie-meal, beans, sugar, cooking oil, a chicken, and a mosquito net. After work on Friday, the boys and I will take her to her home and give her these few things. We will do the same on Saturday for Emanuel, who works in our yard, knowing that their family is struggling as well since he was fired and the appeal process is dragging on. I hate to think about how many other MEF workers are hungry as they wait for word on whether their jobs will be returned to them.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
A Meal Made for Television
One of the ladies I have gotten to know a bit at our church is a journalist who works for ZNBC. Anne is a classy, confident woman who can be very persuasive. She has a cooking segment each week and she is constantly trying to find ladies willing to give a demonstration of how to make their favorite dish. She has been hounding me for awhile and after tagging along on a taping of a segment by another lady at church, I finally agreed to do it. Although it is a cooking show, Anne assured me that baking would be just fine as well. So this morning I dolled myself up (I actually put on eyeliner to go with my lipstick) and got ready to be a television star. I actually have a bit of experience being on television. I was the “athlete of the week” as a senior in high school when I was the only female on the boys’ baseball team. And then there was the time that Peter and I went to a taping of the television show “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” and sat behind the host, Drew Carey. It happened to be a pretty good show and reruns were shown for the next several years. We kept getting calls and emails saying that people saw us on TV. But this time was a bit different. It was just me and Anne and the camera man, Prince.
I had decided to make Jeff and Kim Copeland’s famous Almond Squares so I baked one pan ahead of time (to show the final project) and assembled the ingredients to prepare the recipe on television. You wouldn’t believe how cheesy it was – me adding and mixing ingredients and trying to make small talk in between.
The second part of the show is where I get to share my “passion” with the TV audience. I discovered that they meant “passion” like we use “hobby” so knitting or painting or something of that nature. I decided to play the piano and sing. I had to play the song about twenty times through while the cameraman shot footage of me from all angles as well as a prolonged segment on my feet working the pedal. Then Anne sprung a spontaneous interview on me and I felt like I was in a beauty pageant answering cheesy questions. The final footage is of me walking out my front door and around the house. I’m curious as to how the final product will appear. We don’t have a television so I can’t watch it but I can get a DVD of the show at the studio. I’m still debating as to whether I will purchase it. Have I mentioned already how cheesy the whole thing was? At least the Almond Squares were delicious!!!
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