Hi folks! I apologize for the long delay since my last letter, but this past month has just flown by... Not a whole lot has happened in terms of me working with my local schools. However, over the next 6 weeks I will be meeting with just about every PTA within a 30K radius of me, so life is about to get busy. I recently visited Chishimba Falls, a waterfall that is located about a 1 1/2-hour drive north of me... It was breathtaking! The most beautiful natural landscape I have ever witnessed! It reminded me of the opening scene of "The Lion King" where they are singing "The Circle of Life" and that blue-butt monkey holds up Simba for everyone to see. Yeah, it was awesome...

Alright, the rest of this is broken up into sub-categories. You know the drill. However, you will notice that there is a common theme to a lot that I have to say - spiders. All of you arachnaphobes are in a for a real treat.

Friday Night Football

So I attended my 1st Zambian football (soccer) game recently. (Don't worry- I'll get to the spiders later...) Anyway, the visiting team was from a village about 20-25K away (which is quite a walk before a big game), so they arrived on Thursday afternoon. They would spend the night at Mwelwa Basic School and then play all the next day.

So, Thursday afternoon desks were being shuffled around by the teachers while all of the students were busy mingling, singing, and banging drums. My friend Rhodah and several student teachers were preparing a massive amount of food for supper, which consisted of 3 HUGE pots of nshima, along with kapenta and beans for the students. For the teachers there was a freshly slaughtered goat. (Who needs those crummy concession stand burgers and popcorn when you can have goat?) They divided it up so that 1/2 of it (mostly the intestines, liver, and other gutsy parts) would be eaten for Thursday supper, and the other 1/2 (legs, ribs, etc.) would be saved for Friday lunch. Nothing went to waste- every organ was cleaned, cooked, and eaten (from what I could tell). Just watching them slaughter and clean the goat was enough to re-energize my joy of being a vegetarian. Thank God! I don't think I could have touched that meat if I was literally starving... ugh!

After everyone was fed, a big bonfire was constructed in front of the school. Everyone circled around and after a few short speeches by the teachers about how the kids better behave themselves, the drums were brought forth and the dancing began! First the teachers got up and danced (they tried to get me to join in, but I had never seen anything like this, so I opted to sit and watch). Then the students from both schools took turns singing and dancing around the fire... They had such natural rhythm- It was wonderful to watch!

The following afternoon I was only able to catch the final game, which I think was grades 11 & 12 boys (or the equivalent of a varsity team). Chanda Mukulu (the visiting team) wore bright green jerseys with matching green shorts and white numbers. Mwelwa wore a slightly darker shade of green jerseys with red shorts and red numbers (Hmm... these are both government schools and green and red are 2 prominent colors of the Zambian national flag.) Anyway, it was hard to keep track of who was on each team when they were on the field... To me they looked like a bunch of black Christmas elves playing soccer!

Whenever a goal was scored, all of the spectators would rush the field screaming and cheering... They would then lift whomever scored the goal up on their shoulders and carry him around for awhile. You'd think this is how people might act after their team scored the winning goal at the World Cup!... Overall, the village football experience was a lot of fun. I hope to have the chance to watch again sometime.

Village Fast Food

One day there was a funeral at the church near my house. I happened to be feeling really sick to my stomach on this particular morning, so I was sitting in front of my hut when these 3 men stopped by. They were from Kasama and I'd never seen them before in my life... After a brief introduction, they asked if I would feed them breakfast because they'd travelled all the way down here for the funeral!

"No," I said politely. I told them that I was sick and that I had not prepared any food even for myself. They clearly thought that was a lame excuse and so they had the audacity to ask me to cook for them while they attended the funeral so they could at least have lunch!!

This time I decided to drop the politeness and just be blunt.- "No. I don't know how to make nshima, so I couldn't cook for you even if I wanted to... And I don't want to cook for you because I don't even know you, and I feel sick!" Then 1 of the guys added (as if I weren't already sufficiently annoyed) "Could you at least give me 1,000 kwacha so I can buy some bananas to eat?" "NO." End of story.

Spider!

One day I was getting ready to fetch some water from the well... I can't carry a 20-liter container of water on my head like everyone else (go figure), so I use my bike to transport it back to my house. Before hopping on my bike, I decide to put on my baseball cap (I don't wear my helmet just to go to the well and back... Shh. Don't tell PC). I have gotten in the habit of giving my hat a good shake before even getting it near my head, for fear of spiders and other creepy crawlies that might have made a home inside. So, I shook my hat and put it on, then I loaded the Jerry can on the back of my bike and started off toward the well to get water.

I had just turned onto the path in front of my house when I felt movement somewhere between my head and my hat. I got that sinking feeling in my stomach-  I knew immediately what it was and I couldn't stop my bike and get my hat off fast enough! I yanked the hat off, gave it a frantic shake (all while doing an irish jig-type dance and making these "blah! ugh! blah!" sounds), but I didn't actually see anything drop out of the hat... Then, out of the top corner of my right eye, I saw (and simultaneously began to feel) this big, brown, Goliath of a spider slowly making its way out of my hair and onto my forehead. I instantly turned into a terrified little princess of a girl and squealed, while flailing my hands about my head like my hair was on fire! This time, instead of the irish jig, I entertained the village kids who were watching me (awestruck) with my version of that football drill where players will move their feet really fast- like they're running in place. I must have been a sight to see!

I don't know what ever happened to that spider, because, again, I didn't actually see it hit the ground. (Everything happens so fast when you're freaking out!) I'm assuming it's not still in my hair.

Zam Fashion Show

A few weeks ago Rhodah returned from a 2-day trip to Kasama with a bunch of clothes that she had bought at the marker. It was eveningtime and we (her little sister, brother, Stanley- the 8th grader who lives with her, and myself) were all hanging out in her living room around the candle. The clothes were passed around and the living room was instantly transformed into a dressing room...

Helen (the 5th grade little sister) tried on her new training bra, a pair of baby blue flannel pajama pants with little cartoon sheep and fences, and a long sleeve t-shirt that said "Spring Break '81, Florida" across the back (beneath a Pepsi-Cola looking sunset)... She stood in the center of the room, looking like she was fresh from a slumber party. It was adorable.

When Rhodah asked my opinion, I of course took this opportunity to stick my foot in my mouth- "She looks very nice. Those are nice trousers for her to sleep in." Rhodah looked stunned- "To sleep in? Those trousers are meant to wear to bed? You don't wear these out?" "Yes, yes... of course she could wear those out. They look very good on her..." I tried (with only moderate success) to fish my way out of looking like a complete jerk. I had temporarily forgotten that kids wear pajamas all the time here. I don't think they really understand that there is a difference between clothes designed for bed and everything else. I've seen little girls sitting in class wearing Barbie nightgowns and boys wearing long underwear-type tops with trucks, dinosaurs, and Mickey Mouse on them.

Next, Stanley was modeling his new pair of jockey-style briefs. There he was, 17 years old, standing in the middle of the room in nothing but his new-found underwear. They were blue, a little big on him, and quite worn, but he was all smiles and very proud- "I can play football in these," he said, running in place. Modesty was nowhere to be found in this house!

Spider bite! No wait... False Alarm

An exerpt from my jouirnal on July 16: "Two nights ago I remember waking up during the night from my big toe on my right foot aching. I discounted it as simply a painful hangnail or something like that and tried to ignore it. Around noon yesterday it was throbbing when I walked, so I took off my shoe and sock (it was really cold, so I had socks/shoes on that day)... My toe was all red and swollen. At the base of where the nail meets the skin there was an opening (a puncture? a bite?) and I could see that there was a fluid building up around it. Of course, I couldn't resist the urge to give it a good squeeze (plus, I was hoping to relieve some of the pressure), so I squeezed the infected area and a nasty, gooky, golden puss came out. It was very painful.

I then noticed what appeared to be a red stripe that began at my toe and was stretching up my foot, like a streak heading from my sore to my leg. That got me worried that this might be a spider bite... The other plausible options are: infected hangnail, ingrown toenail?, small puncture/abrasion that's not infected, or insect bite.

I cleaned the area, applied some antibiotic cream and a bandaid, and kept an eye on it for the rest of the day. I even skipped a meeting that I was planning to attend that day because it was too painful to ride my bike... This morning I got up, gave the toe a squeeze (more gross puss) and applied a new bandaid. I don't see a red stripe any longer (maybe I was just imagining that out of worry that it was a spider bite) and it is feeling slightly less sore. I think I'll survive.

What frustrates me the most is that I pulled out my PC medical handbook for advice on what to do and it offered absolutely nothing useful. The section on spider bites says something like: "if bitten by a black widow seek immediate medical attention. Black widows are the most common poisonous spider in Zambia." Thanks. That helps. (Note: The toe healed nicely over the next few days- thanks to the expert medical advice from PC, I'm sure!)

Zam Science Project

One day I was sitting in front of my house when 1 of the local teachers and about 30 students walked up... "What's going on?" I asked after all of the usual greetings. "We are searching for bats. I want this science class to find a bat and then tell me if it is a bird or an animal by seeing if it has breasts." Could you imagine an American science class doing this?! Talk about 30 little lawsuits waiting to happen.

The really great part of the story is that I told them that I'd actually heard a bat in my house the night before and then they found the bat in my banana tree... Apparently the trunks of banana trees are very common hideouts for bats in the daytime. You learn something new every day!

Spider Bite! (Yep, for real this time)

On the night of July 19 just before going to bed, I started having the most awful headache. I attributed it to dehydration because I had spent so much of that day biking and working outside... I went to bed around 22:00 and almost immediately upon climbing inside my mosquito net I became very cold- so cold, in fact, that I burrowed beneath the covers and began shivering. The shivering quickly advanced into shaking and teeth chattering. I was so cold that I couldn't even muster the courage to get up and put socks on- even though that's all I could think of... My feet were so cold! These shakes and chills became borderline violent (I had absolutely no control over it) and they started coming in waves. Simultaneously, my headache escalated to the point of feeling like a "brain freeze" that you get when you drink/eat something really cold too fast... It was almost paralyzing and it was not letting up. I was starting to think I was having a seizure (but surely you're not conscious for those, right?)

Around 2:00 I finally got up to put socks on and when I climbed back in bed, I pulled the covers all the way up over my head- trying to trap in the heat- and it was then that I realized that I was burning up with fever! I touched my cheeks and neck... it was so hot and it surprised me so much that I literally flinched- like I had just blindly touched a hot skillet. I tried to take advantage of the fever by laying with my hands up around my face for the rest of the night, just to keep them warm. I was feeling so bad that periodically tears would come and they felt so hot- like little drips of scalding water were sliding down my cheeks. That night was miserable.

I got up around 6:00 with the sunrise. Thank God! I thought the morning would never come! At this point I was 100% sure that I had malaria (chills and fever during the night being 2 cardinal symptoms). The debilitating brain freeze headache was still there, strong as ever. I could tell that my fever had dissapated, but I decided to take my temperature anyway... it was 101 degrees fahrenheit. I quickly dressed and packed a bag. I was going to Kasama to talk to a PC nurse and start my malaria treatment.

I was at the road by around 6:45 and was able to hitch a ride by 7:30 with the 1st vehicle heading north. I think the truck that I was on was a Zam police vehicle, and there were a total of 16 adults and 3 children in the back, all hitching to Kasama. Most of us were sitting on 50 kg bags of sweet potatoes. I happened to be next to a police officer who kept resting his antique-looking war gun against my leg... Normally this probably would have bothered me, but on this day I actually started imagining the vehicle running over a pot hole, the gun firing, and the bullet hitting me right between the eyes. Then I would think: "I bet that would shift the pain away from my headache!" I would have welcomed the gun shot.

Once I got to the PC house I took a malaria test which came back negative. I called the PC medical staff in Lusaka, described my symptoms, told the nurse that the malaria test came back negative, and she said: "if it's not malaria maybe you just have a bad virus, like the flu... Get some rest, drink fluids, and we'll just keep an eye on it." I hung up the phone and burst into tears... I was in so much pain. This was not just the flu!

I walked into the other room to lay down and I noticed that my ankle was paining a little. Maybe I had rolled it when I was climbing into the vehicle that morning? Or it could have been from cycling the day before? I laid down and a few hours later I decided to get up and take a hot shower... I was starting to get the chills again. When I stood up to start off to the bathroom I almost fell over. My right ankle felt like I had severely sprained it. "Great. Just what I need, a bad sprain on top of this stupid mystery virus," I thought.

After my shower I took another malaria test (still negative) and then I started to seriously worry about my ankle. I was majorly limping and it hurt just to touch the skin. I could tell that it was swelling and turning quite red... Then I got a good look at the puss-filled sore on the back of my heel. I had noticed it the day before, but I had just assumed it was a blister from running since it was located right where my shoes tend to rub... Now the sore was very oozy and was beginning to form a black scab at the center- SPIDER BITE.

By that afternoon my foot had blown up like a balloon. It looked like I had a broken ankle and I could put absolutely no weight on it. It was extremely painful. By eveningtime the medicine that PC had prescribed was finally kicking in and my headache/chills went away... Now the only symptoms were directed specifically on my foot. PC decided that to be on the safe side I should travel to Lusaka for them to monitor me. So, the rest of the day was spent elevating my foot and soaking it in hot saltwater (which would allow me to massage most of the puss out of the bite, thus relieving some of the pressure and pain). The next morning I was picked up at 6:30 by a PC driver, and I spent the next 8 1/2 hours lying in the back of a land cruiser with my foot elevated. That was fun. Anyway, to make a long story much, much shorter (too late... I know, sorry!)... I spent 2 days cooped up in a hotel in Lusaka with my foot elevated before being sent back to Kasama. Although my foot looked more like a rugby ball with toes than a useful body part, I survived the whole ordeal. The nurse told me that I am forbidden to return to my village until the swelling is completely gone... So after exactly 1 week of spider bite drama, it looks like I will be heading home tomorrow morning.

FYI: I was told that there is no way of determining what exact type of spider it was (unless I would have caught it or seen it biting me- which I didn't). Chances are it was a Black Widow, a Wolf Spider (yes, I know... haha! Ironic), or any of a host of poisonous African spiders. Whatever it was, I just hope it's not in my bed!

I hope you all enjoyed reading about me and my minor maladies. Sorry if I bored you with too many details. Okay, I've got to wrap this up so that I can get to the immigration office before the end of the day... That's right, my work permit expires today. If I don't get there before 17:00, then I guess I'll be seeing ya'll soon... ha ha! Have a good one. I love and miss everyone!

Shalenipo,

Erin