Home Sweet Home

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Home sweet home. It feels good to be back in our home again and sleeping in our own bed, although our house shrunk when we were away. Both Peter and I commented on that when we walked through our front door. Must be those large North American homes we spent time in this summer. Over the last few days, our Kitwe home has swelled back to it’s normal size and seems spacious once again.

Our flights went well and the boys were very good travelers. We were greeted by our MCC Reps and other team members and it was good to see all of them again. But here is the big disappointment – we are without a vehicle once again. Our stolen car was never recovered and the different car that was purchased for us is sitting at the Ministry of Finance, waiting to be released. We suspect a bribe would help the paperwork be processed in a timely manner but we are not willing to play that game. Sometimes it is hard to be morally upstanding! So it is unclear whether we will get a car next week or next month or sometime in between.

Eric was very kind and drove all of us and our luggage back up to Kitwe so that we didn’t have to take the bus. We arrived home late Sunday afternoon. Shoprite was already closed for the day so I had to get creative in terms of finding something to make for dinner. I decided to see if there were any vendors left at the market and after pulling into a parking space, the first person I encountered was Alex, the previous customs official at the post office, who was now selling pineapple from the back of his truck. It was nice to see a familiar face and to discover that pineapple were still in season. I managed to find enough things to put together a meal for dinner. Monday morning, while Eric was meeting with the Director of MEF, I took the truck and did a MAJOR shopping trip. I went to all the random places where I find the things I need: ground beef that doesn’t have a funny smell at one place, milk and yogurt at another, the market and Shoprite. Since I will be relying on minibuses and taxis for awhile, it was extremely helpful to stock my pantry with the help of the truck.

Despite the hassle of being without wheels, there are pleasant and rewarding parts of being back. It is good to see familiar faces and to receive warm greetings from friends. I was pleasantly surprised at my affection towards Zambian people in general, something I had not been able to feel for the past while, probably due to the actions of the car thief.

The boys were excited to see their friends at MEF again. It didn’t take long before our yard was filled with boys eager to play soccer and asking for us to bring out the cars so they could play on our front porch with them. We brought home a Slip-n-slide from the US and that has been getting a lot of use as it is quite hot in the afternoons. The boys are now back at Lechwe with the start of the new school year. Brendan got the teacher he wanted, Mr. Nkonda, one of the few Zambian male teachers in the primary school. Both first grade teachers are excellent so Jason was in good shape. He has Mrs. Chiboleka as his teacher and I think she will be good for him.

I was also glad to see Peggy, our househelp, Monday morning. We sat down at the table to visit and find out how things have been over the past two months. Unfortunately, things have gone from bad to worse for her. She had to close down her restaurant at the end of July because the landlord said he wanted to make the building into a hardware shop. And just like that, she was booted out. Her family continues to give her grief because of their jealousy. When her business failed, they rejoiced that now she would be home to do all the work for them. Then last week, one of her three sisters died of malaria. Her sister was only 25 years old and went to the hospital to get treatment for malaria. They put her on a quinine drip and two days later, she was dead. Peggy had a bit of money saved from her business that she hoped to use to get the restaurant going again in the future but the family made her use it all to pay for funeral expenses and transport of the family to the graveside. Peggy has slipped into a deep depression. She is not eating or sleeping. She has no power (energy) due to her lack of appetite. She cries a lot and is worried about many things. She keeps wondering how her life would have been different if her parents hadn’t died when she was young. My heart breaks for her.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

When we first arrived, everything was familiar yet with a foreign tint to it. After a few days of being here, Peter and I keep commenting to each other that we are definitely back in Zambia. Here’s how we can tell.

Dry and dusty. It seems like Zambia recognized that a bit of moisture entered the region and immediately sucked it out. Our hands and lips instantly dried out and we are constantly parched.

Called fat. Peggy’s first comment to me was that I was fat. I tried to remember that this is a compliment here but it was a bit of a jolt. Peter was told by a participant that he was “physically fit” and I told him that he was being called fat too. Peter didn’t believe it until another person came up a few minutes later and said that Peter was fat!

Unrequited love. While purchasing vegetables at the market, the vendor had to get change from the man at the next stall. She returned to me with the change and told me that the man in the next stall loved me. I told her that my husband also loved me and she laughed hard at that.

Beggars at the door. A man came asking for transport money, but there was also something related to “cutting” and his private parts. Thankfully Peter got to deal with that one.

Mice. We came home to evidence of mice in our kitchen. We set up traps and the next morning, one of the traps was missing. This is a bit disconcerting. I fear that an awful stench will come from behind our cupboards shortly.

Low water pressure. Taking a shower takes time when the pressure is so low, but at least the water is hot.

Painfully slow internet. Monday morning it took an hour to get 10 email messages and to send three. This morning I tried for over an hour to get messages and failed. I couldn’t even get a web page to load.

Kitchen time. I spent three hours in the kitchen one morning making pizza sauce and ratatouille from all the tomatoes from our garden. This morning it was banana bread. My days of convenience food are over. No more mother and mother-in-law to plan and prepare delicious meals. Back to the kitchen I go.

Friday, September 4, 2009

You wouldn’t think things could get worse for Peggy and yet, they did. While she was away from her restaurant, she had someone providing security for her pots and dishes. This week she went to retrieve her things and found virtually all of it stolen. She is left with five dishes and a container. All her nice cooking pots are gone and the rest of her dishes. She figures it was an inside job. She has searched all the restaurants in the market to see if she could identify her missing pots but to no avail. Man, it sure is hard to get ahead in this country. There goes that plan for Peggy to become self-sufficient after I leave.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

With ABBA blaring in the background, I tackled the delightful job of cleaning up mouse poop in my cupboards. The stupid mouse had even chewed down the corner of my plastic serving tray. What a mess! From there I moved on to making granola and found that the newly purchased box of oats from Shoprite was full of bugs. So I sifted all those out, at least I hope I got them all, and proceeded with making the granola. Bob gave me a pumpkin the other day so I also cooked and pureed that. And there went the morning.

A bit of good news . . . I was getting a bit stressed about transport this next week with errands I needed to run and getting the boys to activities in the afternoon in addition to the daily school run. I can use a taxi but what I need to do requires frequent stops and back and forth and what not. But Peter remembered that one of his participants has a car and since Max will be in class with Peter next week, he thought that perhaps Max would be willing to loan us his car during the day. Peter asked him today and Max agreed so that is splendid news. I felt a huge burden lifted, knowing that this week, I will have a bit more flexibility and control over my life!

In the evening, I represented the family at a farewell dinner for Bob which also served as a welcome to Brent and Erin, the new Fellows working with TEEZ for the year. We had Brent and Erin and Bob over for dinner the night before so I had already gotten to meet them. But it was good to talk with them more as we waited for the rest of the guests to arrive. I had a chance to catch up with Rev. and Mrs. Mabuluki, who led our MCC retreat last December. The ladies in the TEEZ office also came and I had a delightful time visiting with Ester, Phyllis, and Charles over a plate of nshima and relish. It feels so different now that I have a broader general knowledge of Zambia and can ask questions and bring up topics for discussion. There are many more points of intersection which eases conversation. The TEEZ staff love to laugh and it felt good to join in the laughter with them. A delightful evening. It worked out just fine that Peter opted to stay home with the boys and that way both of us were happy!

Sunday, September 6, 2009

All in all, a good day. Fresh pumpkin muffins for breakfast, thanks to my efforts yesterday. Home church with the family with all of us engaged as we talked about what it would mean for us to love our enemies and pray for those who hurt us. A transformer blew in the middle of our worship time and the power remained off until mid-afternoon. But Jason still got his “pizza buns” for lunch thanks to our little propane stove. A bit of reading, cross-stitch, and a nap in the afternoon. A call from my mom and the chance to hear that their home is no longer in the vicinity of the fires. A visit with Jenny across the road. Reading “The Tale of Desperaux” aloud to the boys and them begging for another chapter. Playing Cities and Knights with Adrian in the evening. A good Sabbath.

P.S. I am posting this blog from an internet cafe, the second one I tried. Despite trying for the last hour to upload a few pictures, I have not been successful. So perhaps pictures will be forthcoming in the future, but definitely not today!