This past week I had the opportunity to accompany the MCC school supplies delivery trips in Lusaka. The goods we were delivering aren't quite the same as the bags that everyone fills in Canada - we purchased the supplies locally this time to maximize the amount that we could provide.
Four schools were part of this trip - the two that I teach at and two others. It was really neat to see the wide range of community schools that exist. The first school we visited was housed in a church. This is not abnormal for schools here, however, this particular church only was about 1/3 roofed. All the grades were in one room sitting on benches facing a small blackboard fragment propped up on a chair. I can only imagine what happens when it rains. As we drove up kids on the road were yelling "abuku, abuku" (I presume a translation is unnecessary on that one - it means book). Clearly, the purpose of our visit was well known.
The second school was a much different story. Over time they had built up several classrooms and a small library. They have also just started taking in a few orphans in a small dormitory facility and have a dream of building a new chapel and classroom space. They are supported by a local church and, presumably, some international donors. Every morning they run a feeding program for their students and we saw the big vats in which they cook the mush.
On this trip we just delivered the supplies to the schools. It is up to them to figure out how to best distribute them. I will get to take part in the distribution at Chimwemwe next week and hopefully at Aisha as well.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Friday, January 26, 2007
A Day in the Life of Me
06:00 Wake up, shake off sleep, and begin wait for the bathroom
06:05 Walk around the house to see if anyone is up to make breakfast
06:15 A host brother frantically asks if I can use my bike to buy bread as we have none
06:25 The host brother returns with the bread, I quickly swallow a couple of sandwiches
06:30 I'm on my way to school
07:30 I arrive at school if I take the bike
08:15 I arrive at school if I bus
08:30 My first class starts - primary school computer lessons
09:15 The kids are on break, I check e-mail
09:30 The deaf class is on the computers, once again I have no idea what to do with them so we do the same stuff over and over again
10:10 At this point I will eventually be doing extracurricular activities but right now is is free!
10:15 I buy my morning snack of three fritters for K600
11:30 I head outside with a football and watch chaos ensue as kids delight in playing
12:30 Afternoon classes start
15:10 Break - I may get a lunch or may not. If not then it is back to the fritter lady
15:25 School starts again
17:25 I "knock off" and start for home
18:30 I arrive home (or 18:45 if I'm on the bus) and collapse exhausted in my room
19:30 "Gardener's Daughter," the family's favourite soap comes on TV. I will watch TV/do work until supper
21:30ish Supper time
22:30 I'm off to bed
06:05 Walk around the house to see if anyone is up to make breakfast
06:15 A host brother frantically asks if I can use my bike to buy bread as we have none
06:25 The host brother returns with the bread, I quickly swallow a couple of sandwiches
06:30 I'm on my way to school
07:30 I arrive at school if I take the bike
08:15 I arrive at school if I bus
08:30 My first class starts - primary school computer lessons
09:15 The kids are on break, I check e-mail
09:30 The deaf class is on the computers, once again I have no idea what to do with them so we do the same stuff over and over again
10:10 At this point I will eventually be doing extracurricular activities but right now is is free!
10:15 I buy my morning snack of three fritters for K600
11:30 I head outside with a football and watch chaos ensue as kids delight in playing
12:30 Afternoon classes start
15:10 Break - I may get a lunch or may not. If not then it is back to the fritter lady
15:25 School starts again
17:25 I "knock off" and start for home
18:30 I arrive home (or 18:45 if I'm on the bus) and collapse exhausted in my room
19:30 "Gardener's Daughter," the family's favourite soap comes on TV. I will watch TV/do work until supper
21:30ish Supper time
22:30 I'm off to bed
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
School Begins
After a lengthy break I was more than eager to get back to the hustle and bustle of teaching. My teaching load is also much different this term than last. I have gone from being predominantly a secondary teacher (teaching Grades 8 and 10) to a primary/secondary teacher and I think I like the change.
Right now I am teaching computer classes to Grades 3-9. I also teach Grade 8 English, Math, and RE and Grade 9 Civics. In a couple of weeks I will begin coaching a sports team (either basketball or football) and probably will be involved with another club as well. At my other school I teach computer lessons to Grade 8s and 9s as well as the staff and am involved in a Bible Club and a Games Club.
The first week of school is always quite hectic. Not all the students bother showing up till the second week so mostly things are just review. The school also did not hire a couple of teachers until a week into the term so I was busy filling in wherever I could. This meant I got to spend a lot of time with the Grade 3s and 4s. This was lots of fun. I am really enjoying my experiences as a primary teacher so far. The secondary classes so far haven't been as great. The Grade 8s are a little less disciplined than last year's bunch so I'll have to crack down on them a little bit. Hopefully they will straighten out and the term will be as good as the last one, or even better!
Right now I am teaching computer classes to Grades 3-9. I also teach Grade 8 English, Math, and RE and Grade 9 Civics. In a couple of weeks I will begin coaching a sports team (either basketball or football) and probably will be involved with another club as well. At my other school I teach computer lessons to Grade 8s and 9s as well as the staff and am involved in a Bible Club and a Games Club.
The first week of school is always quite hectic. Not all the students bother showing up till the second week so mostly things are just review. The school also did not hire a couple of teachers until a week into the term so I was busy filling in wherever I could. This meant I got to spend a lot of time with the Grade 3s and 4s. This was lots of fun. I am really enjoying my experiences as a primary teacher so far. The secondary classes so far haven't been as great. The Grade 8s are a little less disciplined than last year's bunch so I'll have to crack down on them a little bit. Hopefully they will straighten out and the term will be as good as the last one, or even better!
Salaula Market
Awhile ago I had written about the used clothes markets here where North American and European thrift is shipped over here in big bales and then sold at low prices. This gives people clothes to wear at affordable prices but has also had the unfortunate side effect of killing the local textile industry.
This past weekend was my first visit to one of the larger salaula markets in town. I went with my fellow SALTers who were in town for a meeting. You can basically buy any kind of clothing for any age group in this place - endless stretches of stands selling endless numbers of clothes. After some looking I finally solved my trousers crisis (I needed another pair) and picked up a pair of nice pants which were originally from Mark's Work Warehouse. They are quite comfy - indeed, I'm wearing them right now.
The best was yet to come however. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted a Maple Leafs jersey and we went to go check it out. Sure enough, there was a whole stand dedicated to only sports clothes. The guy must have gone through the other sellers' wares and bought the sports stuff. Mark and I picked up matching bike jerseys and there was even a third one there that we bought for our friend in Tanzania. I also bought another bike jersey while he bought a bike jersey and a couple of baseball shirts. What a shopping experience! I will certainly be going back to that stand some day to see what kind of new merchandise the vendor has brought in.
This past weekend was my first visit to one of the larger salaula markets in town. I went with my fellow SALTers who were in town for a meeting. You can basically buy any kind of clothing for any age group in this place - endless stretches of stands selling endless numbers of clothes. After some looking I finally solved my trousers crisis (I needed another pair) and picked up a pair of nice pants which were originally from Mark's Work Warehouse. They are quite comfy - indeed, I'm wearing them right now.
The best was yet to come however. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted a Maple Leafs jersey and we went to go check it out. Sure enough, there was a whole stand dedicated to only sports clothes. The guy must have gone through the other sellers' wares and bought the sports stuff. Mark and I picked up matching bike jerseys and there was even a third one there that we bought for our friend in Tanzania. I also bought another bike jersey while he bought a bike jersey and a couple of baseball shirts. What a shopping experience! I will certainly be going back to that stand some day to see what kind of new merchandise the vendor has brought in.
Monday, January 08, 2007
Shave and a Haircut...Two Bits!
Awhile ago I made a deal with myself. I promised never to purchase goods at the fancy North American style shopping centers and, instead, find everything I wanted to purchase either in the market, on the street, or in worst case scenarios, in a shop downtown. This way I could get the full Zambian experience, put money into the communities in which I work instead of shipping it to Johannesburg or New Delhi, and, almost always, get a much better price. There were two exceptions to this arrangement: photo development and if I absolutely could not find a good somewhere else.
This has been very fruitful so far and with the assistance of one of my colleagues, Fred, who has sort of been my guide through Zambian life I have found everything I have needed within the local market. I surely could not have found these things by myself - assistance was definitely needed - but, since we've had lots of time over the break, a walk to the market now and then was not a problem.
The test, however, was to come with my first hair cut on the street. I had had one at Manda Hill, a glorified strip mall which serves as the primary shopping destination for local expats, because I was told that people here don't know how to cut "muzungu" hair. It cost K30,000, not bad by North American standards, but pretty pricey in the Zambian world. I began to think, however, that this was not way to get things done. I figured, since I was just getting a shave anyways (not a cut with scissors), that any street barber could accomplish such a task and that my hair isn't particularly "muzunguish" (as in straight) anyways. So I told Fred that I would like to go to a barber. "No problem," he said. He would take me to his guy.
I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I thought it quite likely that I would be walking out with very little hair. The barber was quite cautious, however. At first he had trouble believing that I was actually there for a haircut and not a shave. Once he overcame his incredulity he put an attachment on his shaver that took almost nothing off. I told him we could go a little shorter, by this time breathing a little easier myself that he seemed to know what he was doing. So he did it again, this time cutting down a little shorter, and did a very good job. Certainly, just as good as the barber at Manda Hill. By this point quite the crowd had developed - I don't think that it is every day that people get to watch a white man get his hair cut on the side of the road.
I also wanted a shave because I had developed quite the goatee over the fall. Again, he had a hard time believing that I wanted it to come off. First he took the bottom off but then questioned if I was sure that I wanted the little blip under the lip gone. "Yes," I said, "take it all off." Once again we had a similar pause at the mustache and again I replied that I wanted it off.
After all this hard work I wasn't quite sure how much I would owe. I was told that it would be K5,000 (or, $1.25 US)! I said that I could give him K6,000 seeing as he had done such a good job. It was K3,000 ($0.75) for the hair cut and K2,000 ($0.50) for the shave. What an unbelievable deal - I could get ten haircuts there for the price of one at Manda Hill. Needless to say, I'm hooked! I think that this is the closest I'll ever get to that old saying, "shave and a haircut, two bits!"
This has been very fruitful so far and with the assistance of one of my colleagues, Fred, who has sort of been my guide through Zambian life I have found everything I have needed within the local market. I surely could not have found these things by myself - assistance was definitely needed - but, since we've had lots of time over the break, a walk to the market now and then was not a problem.
The test, however, was to come with my first hair cut on the street. I had had one at Manda Hill, a glorified strip mall which serves as the primary shopping destination for local expats, because I was told that people here don't know how to cut "muzungu" hair. It cost K30,000, not bad by North American standards, but pretty pricey in the Zambian world. I began to think, however, that this was not way to get things done. I figured, since I was just getting a shave anyways (not a cut with scissors), that any street barber could accomplish such a task and that my hair isn't particularly "muzunguish" (as in straight) anyways. So I told Fred that I would like to go to a barber. "No problem," he said. He would take me to his guy.
I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I thought it quite likely that I would be walking out with very little hair. The barber was quite cautious, however. At first he had trouble believing that I was actually there for a haircut and not a shave. Once he overcame his incredulity he put an attachment on his shaver that took almost nothing off. I told him we could go a little shorter, by this time breathing a little easier myself that he seemed to know what he was doing. So he did it again, this time cutting down a little shorter, and did a very good job. Certainly, just as good as the barber at Manda Hill. By this point quite the crowd had developed - I don't think that it is every day that people get to watch a white man get his hair cut on the side of the road.
I also wanted a shave because I had developed quite the goatee over the fall. Again, he had a hard time believing that I wanted it to come off. First he took the bottom off but then questioned if I was sure that I wanted the little blip under the lip gone. "Yes," I said, "take it all off." Once again we had a similar pause at the mustache and again I replied that I wanted it off.
After all this hard work I wasn't quite sure how much I would owe. I was told that it would be K5,000 (or, $1.25 US)! I said that I could give him K6,000 seeing as he had done such a good job. It was K3,000 ($0.75) for the hair cut and K2,000 ($0.50) for the shave. What an unbelievable deal - I could get ten haircuts there for the price of one at Manda Hill. Needless to say, I'm hooked! I think that this is the closest I'll ever get to that old saying, "shave and a haircut, two bits!"
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
An Update on Zambian Politics
Seeing as Zambian news probably isn't making a lot of headlines across the pond I will fill you in on the current Zambian political situation. The last time I mentioned politics I believe I was dodging rocks in an angry mob. Things have calmed down since then but there are many interesting narratives playing themselves out.
First, there is the leader of the largest opposition party (the Patriotic Front - PF), Michael Sata. This populist leader has been raising a ruckus ever since the election came to a close. Sata is a controversial figure although very popular in urban areas. He says some things that I can appreciate but also some very scary things as well. He held numerous "thank you" rallies and eventually was banned by the police from holding rallies. This action was then condemned and he is now calling for mass protests against the government. The major issue is constitutional change, something which had commenced prior to the election, but on which the government is dragging its heels in a serious way. This is because if there was a change it would be to reduce the powers of the president. Naturally, the ruling party, the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD), has little time for such things.
The second largest opposition party, the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) is actually a combination of three parties - UPND, FDD, and UNIP. They ran a joint campaign in a remarkable display of setting aside self-interest. They likely would have won too, except that their well-respected leader died a few months before the election, and was replaced by a much younger, unknown leader. UPND, the largest of the three in the partnership is also quite tribalist. Their support is focussed solely in the Tongan area of the country and their leaders are Tongas. The parties, however, had nothing in common except for a dislike of the government and a desire for constitutional change, and so have been bickering ever since the election finished and now the Alliance is in the process of falling apart.
One of the recent incidents of political intrigue happened when Frederick Chiluba, former president of Zambia and leader of MMD, claimed that he had to be sent to South Africa for specialized medical care. The catch was that he is also on bail for charges of corruption. After weeks of back and forth between medical doctors and the government about the necessity of the trip (for which the Zambian taxpayers picked up the tab), charges of government intimidation of doctors to produce medical reports saying that Chiluba did not need the trip, and several trips to court, the president, Levy Mwanawasa decided to let Chiluba travel. Then, another catch. Chiluba's wife, Mwanawasa said, would not be allowed to travel with him, as she too is under charges of corruption-related activity. Eventually the court let her go to, thus ending the drama. In the middle of all this was Michael Sata and the PF. Chiluba left the MMD and joined the PF. During the just finished elections he also endorsed Sata. All the media footage of the events show Chiluba surrounded by supportive PF cadres accusing the MMD of playing with the life of the former president.
The year 2007 will be an interesting time for politics here. It will be interesting to see how those organizations interested in constitutional change - the opposition parties, the church, and labour unions - coordinate their efforts (or struggle against each other for that matter) and what impact this has on the government. I think the only thing that can be counted on for the coming year is to expect the unexpected.
First, there is the leader of the largest opposition party (the Patriotic Front - PF), Michael Sata. This populist leader has been raising a ruckus ever since the election came to a close. Sata is a controversial figure although very popular in urban areas. He says some things that I can appreciate but also some very scary things as well. He held numerous "thank you" rallies and eventually was banned by the police from holding rallies. This action was then condemned and he is now calling for mass protests against the government. The major issue is constitutional change, something which had commenced prior to the election, but on which the government is dragging its heels in a serious way. This is because if there was a change it would be to reduce the powers of the president. Naturally, the ruling party, the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD), has little time for such things.
The second largest opposition party, the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) is actually a combination of three parties - UPND, FDD, and UNIP. They ran a joint campaign in a remarkable display of setting aside self-interest. They likely would have won too, except that their well-respected leader died a few months before the election, and was replaced by a much younger, unknown leader. UPND, the largest of the three in the partnership is also quite tribalist. Their support is focussed solely in the Tongan area of the country and their leaders are Tongas. The parties, however, had nothing in common except for a dislike of the government and a desire for constitutional change, and so have been bickering ever since the election finished and now the Alliance is in the process of falling apart.
One of the recent incidents of political intrigue happened when Frederick Chiluba, former president of Zambia and leader of MMD, claimed that he had to be sent to South Africa for specialized medical care. The catch was that he is also on bail for charges of corruption. After weeks of back and forth between medical doctors and the government about the necessity of the trip (for which the Zambian taxpayers picked up the tab), charges of government intimidation of doctors to produce medical reports saying that Chiluba did not need the trip, and several trips to court, the president, Levy Mwanawasa decided to let Chiluba travel. Then, another catch. Chiluba's wife, Mwanawasa said, would not be allowed to travel with him, as she too is under charges of corruption-related activity. Eventually the court let her go to, thus ending the drama. In the middle of all this was Michael Sata and the PF. Chiluba left the MMD and joined the PF. During the just finished elections he also endorsed Sata. All the media footage of the events show Chiluba surrounded by supportive PF cadres accusing the MMD of playing with the life of the former president.
The year 2007 will be an interesting time for politics here. It will be interesting to see how those organizations interested in constitutional change - the opposition parties, the church, and labour unions - coordinate their efforts (or struggle against each other for that matter) and what impact this has on the government. I think the only thing that can be counted on for the coming year is to expect the unexpected.
Dining With Polygamists (and other New Years Stories)
After the dud Christmas I was expecting a big New Years - after all, I had been told several times that it, and not Christmas, was the big celebration here.
The 31st began just like any other Sunday - we piled in our minibus and headed off to church. The amazing thing at church this Sunday was that there was a FEMALE PREACHER!!! I was shocked and amazed - that is not something you would expect from churches here. It's not as if she was a great beacon of progressive thought (she once referred to women as "weaker vessels" that men must have mercy on) but it's a start I guess. After the service a church party started. In addition to large amounts of food there was also singing and people had to go up and introduce themselves - say there first and last names and give a quick personal history.
There had been plans to go to a church overnight in the evening. This would have involved praying, singing, and sermons right through the night. For reasons unexplained to me, we never went. On one hand, it would have been a good cultural experience. On the other, listening to sermons at three in the morning (likely not even in English) struck me as a recipe for agony. Instead, we stayed at home with the family which was just as well. In the evening we had loud dance music going and the whole family was dancing away - particularly the young ones, who all had far more skill than I could dream of mustering. One even commented on my dancing, "that's not dancing, that's stepping." Oh well, I've never claimed to be a great dancer.
As midnight approached the dancing lessened and we settled in to watch some of the New Years party on ZNBC. They were playing a variety of music videos and interviewing guests at their studios. Out of nowhere, at about 11:50, they played the music video for "Wide Open Spaces" by the Dixie Chicks. After a long time of my host family singing along to local Zampop songs, there was finally a song for which I knew the words! This may seem entirely insignificant but it felt special at the time. After all, the Texan pop-country trio is one of the few musical acts that crosses the divide of the musical tastes in my family back home.
At the stroke of midnight we went outside for fireworks. We had a few of our own but the most spectacular displays were coming from Chilenje, a compound just to the south of us. It was actually quite impressive - people certainly put a lot of money into their displays. Then it was back inside for more dancing and TV.
The 1st was very much like Christmas in a lot of ways. Most of the day was spent preparing the big meal. I was asked to reprise my Christmas meal so once again I prepared a couple of chickens, stuffing, and seasoned potatoes. We had a few of my host father's relatives over to enjoy dinner (it's hard to call it lunch, considering it happened at 5:45 - nor can it be called supper as this happened at about 10:30). Among them was a polygamist with his two wives. I don't think I'd ever eaten at the same table as a polygamist before.
One comment that I heard many times is people giving thanks to God for surviving another year. This struck me as strange at first, but it does make a lot of sense. Back in Canada we sort of take survival for granted. As a young person, especially, I don't know a whole lot of people who died over the past 12 months. Here, with the scourge of AIDS, TB, malaria, etc. it is certainly not a given that you will make it to see the next year and you do know lots of people who did not make it. Thus, it becomes a cause for celebration and thanksgiving that you have made it to see 2007.
Happy New Year everyone or, as they say here, "Compliments of the Season!"
The 31st began just like any other Sunday - we piled in our minibus and headed off to church. The amazing thing at church this Sunday was that there was a FEMALE PREACHER!!! I was shocked and amazed - that is not something you would expect from churches here. It's not as if she was a great beacon of progressive thought (she once referred to women as "weaker vessels" that men must have mercy on) but it's a start I guess. After the service a church party started. In addition to large amounts of food there was also singing and people had to go up and introduce themselves - say there first and last names and give a quick personal history.
There had been plans to go to a church overnight in the evening. This would have involved praying, singing, and sermons right through the night. For reasons unexplained to me, we never went. On one hand, it would have been a good cultural experience. On the other, listening to sermons at three in the morning (likely not even in English) struck me as a recipe for agony. Instead, we stayed at home with the family which was just as well. In the evening we had loud dance music going and the whole family was dancing away - particularly the young ones, who all had far more skill than I could dream of mustering. One even commented on my dancing, "that's not dancing, that's stepping." Oh well, I've never claimed to be a great dancer.
As midnight approached the dancing lessened and we settled in to watch some of the New Years party on ZNBC. They were playing a variety of music videos and interviewing guests at their studios. Out of nowhere, at about 11:50, they played the music video for "Wide Open Spaces" by the Dixie Chicks. After a long time of my host family singing along to local Zampop songs, there was finally a song for which I knew the words! This may seem entirely insignificant but it felt special at the time. After all, the Texan pop-country trio is one of the few musical acts that crosses the divide of the musical tastes in my family back home.
At the stroke of midnight we went outside for fireworks. We had a few of our own but the most spectacular displays were coming from Chilenje, a compound just to the south of us. It was actually quite impressive - people certainly put a lot of money into their displays. Then it was back inside for more dancing and TV.
The 1st was very much like Christmas in a lot of ways. Most of the day was spent preparing the big meal. I was asked to reprise my Christmas meal so once again I prepared a couple of chickens, stuffing, and seasoned potatoes. We had a few of my host father's relatives over to enjoy dinner (it's hard to call it lunch, considering it happened at 5:45 - nor can it be called supper as this happened at about 10:30). Among them was a polygamist with his two wives. I don't think I'd ever eaten at the same table as a polygamist before.
One comment that I heard many times is people giving thanks to God for surviving another year. This struck me as strange at first, but it does make a lot of sense. Back in Canada we sort of take survival for granted. As a young person, especially, I don't know a whole lot of people who died over the past 12 months. Here, with the scourge of AIDS, TB, malaria, etc. it is certainly not a given that you will make it to see the next year and you do know lots of people who did not make it. Thus, it becomes a cause for celebration and thanksgiving that you have made it to see 2007.
Happy New Year everyone or, as they say here, "Compliments of the Season!"
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