Muli Shani Bonse?!  A lot has happened over the past few weeks.  For starters, the number of ticks that I have removed from my body is now up to 7.  Also, a family of 4 rats were discovered in my hut (they had burrowed into a hammock that I had laying in the corner).  But no worries, my cat killed the rats by dragging them outside one by one and pouncing/playing with each one until they were dead…  My cat has officially earned his keep. J

 

It is winter here in Zambia, which basically means that it gets chilly when the sun goes down.  During the day I am still wearing tank tops, but at night it drops down to maybe the 50’s/60’s °F.  I have put my sleeping bag in my bed between my sheets and my blanket – which is the only way for me to keep warm at night – but during the day when my bed is made it looks like there is a person tucked in beneath the covers sleeping… Normally, this wouldn’t be a big deal at all, but with another one of the symptoms of my Malaria Prophylaxis being paranoia, I am a little jumpy these days.  More than once have I entered my hut at night, casually glanced in the direction of my bed and frozen, thinking: “Oh God, there’s a killer villager hiding in my bed.  What do I do?!”  Don’t mess with me while I’m on this medication… Like I told my Mom over the phone recently, I am starting to relate with the mentally disturbed. J

 

Alright, time for some stories.  Enjoy!

 

News Update

 

I believe the last time I wrote I talked about the High School Axe Murderer from the village next door.  Upon further investigation I found out that the boy (after killing his uncle) did throw himself into a nearby river and commit suicide.  However, the reasoning behind his suicide appears not to be a fear of life in prison, but instead a fear of passing along the family curse!  Apparently, this boy’s Grandfather and Father had both murdered someone in their time, and the family believed that a spirit possessed each of them when the killings occurred.  So, after the boy killed his uncle, he decided to kill himself as well, in hopes of breaking the family curse and disabling the spirit from affecting the next generation… A reliable source (another PCV) told me that the family wants to conduct an exorcism in the future.

 

School Discipline – Zambian Style

 

A few weeks ago my friend Rhodah, a teacher at the school I live next to, was called out of her class to deal with some pupils.  What happened was, a 5^th grade girl had received a letter from an older (maybe 8^th grader) boy asking her to have sex with him.  The letter actually said something to the effect of “meet me by the road after school, we will make love, then you’ll be my wife forever.” Anyway, somehow the letter got into the hands of a teacher and the matter was turned over to Rhodah to deal with.  Rhodah questioned the young girl, asking if she had slept with that boy or any of the other boys at the school.  She had.  Then she asked what other girls were having sex with boys at school.  The girl gave her a list of names.  Rhodah called each of the girl’s into the office one at a time, and each girl contributed additional names to the list.  Finally, Rhodah rounded all of the girls up for a stern lecture (“You are 12 years old, you should not know sex!”) and punishment – they were removed from class for the entire day and forced to dig a trash pit behind the school.

 

Then Rhodah gathered together all of the boys whom they’d slept with (ranging from 6^th – 10^th grade) and made them dig a 2^nd trash pit, after their lecture of course.  One of the girls who got in trouble was the daughter to the Deputy Headmaster (Vice Principal) of the school.  That evening I was walking past his house with Rhodah, when I saw his daughter sitting on their front steps crying… “She is being punished,” I stated.  “She has just been beaten by her mother,” Rhodah clarified.

 

Netball

 

Last week I went to the fields behind Mwelwa Bask School to observe the girls practicing Netball.  In Zambia (or maybe it’s even an African thing) there are essentially only 2 sports – boys play Futbol and girls play Netball.  Here are the basics of Netball (based on my observations only):

 

            The Netball pitch (A.K.A. playing area) is a dirt field about the size of a basketball court.  On each end of the field is a wooden post (or maybe just a tree trunk) with a metal rim attached to the top… Just like a basketball goal, but without backboards or nets (the irony of Netball!)  The goal is simply a rusty piece of scrap metal that is secured to the wood with a nail.

 

            There are about 20 girls on the pitch at a single time, 10 on each team, and they are paired up, guarding each other.  All of the girls play barefoot and they wear whatever they wore to school on that particular day – mix matched skirts and blouses…every outfit is either too big, ripped, missing buttons or zippers, and appears to be a 1980’s hand-me-down.  It’s like watching Goodwill vs. Salvation Army.

           

            The game essentially abides by the same rules as basketball, except there is no dribbling.  You can’t move with the ball – you can only pass it or shoot it.  Also, a player can only shoot within a certain radius of the goal and when they decide to shoot, the person guarding them must step back and give them an unrestricted shot – no touching or blocking.  Now, I also noticed that there was only one girl on each tem who would shoot…  Maybe there’s a rule that there is a designated shooter?  I think they were probably just ball hogs. Oh, last but not least, the game is played with a big red soccer ball that the girls pass as hard and fast as they are physically able to – you’d think you were witnessing the Dodgeball World Cup of you didn’t know any better.  I saw a girl get pegged when she wasn’t paying attention… that’s gotta hurt!  I won’t be taking my chances with Netball anytime soon.

 

Nsoka! Nsoka!

 

A few nights ago I was sitting on my front porch reading when I heard a kid yelling, “Nsoka! Nsoka!”  Then he was screaming something about the Muzungu’s house…  After finally translating everything in my head, I realized that he was freaking out because there was a snake in front of my house!  Apparently, it crossed the path in front of this little boy and hid in this grassy patch of land about 15 meters in front of my house.  I rushed to the path, along with about 5 or 6 other village kids and 2 adults, and although we searched for awhile, we found nothing.  According to the boy, it was “big, black and yellow”… Great.  Just what I need, a big, black and yellow snake to keep me company.  That night I was feeling extra paranoid when I went to bed (I kept picturing the snake slithering through my window and down the wall), so I slept with a hammer next to my pillow.

 

So, I guess the official count of unwanted pests is now 7 ticks, 4 mice, and 1 snake.  God bless Zambia!  Oh, before I go I want to give a big shout out to my dog Rocky who turns four years old on the 30^th of June.  Happy Birthday Rocky!  Oh yeah, Happy Birthday Mom (1^st of July)!

 

Shalenipo,

 

Erin

Erin! I'm so glad to read something by/about you. It sounds like you are having quite an adventure; nothing less than what I expect from you! I wish you all the best in the world, and I'm sure you are making a lifetime of memories right now. Take care of yourself, and I hope to get back in touch with you one day so you can tell me all about your adventures! :)

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