I have just recently past my six month mark here in Zambia, and it finally feels like home here. I have been getting a lot of questions from people about what my life is like, the food I eat, etc.My house, or hut I should say, is made of fired bricks, composed of very sandy soil, and then plastered over with mud. I am in the process of painting the walls in my kitchen and living room to seal the walls and also to brighten up the inside of my hut.
My roof is made of grass called "isote" in Mambwe. I have three small rooms in my house, which is a good size for just one person, and even though I think of myself as taller than I actually am, I am the perfect height to walk from room to room without hitting my head on the door frame. Unfortunately, some volunteers here have had some bloody encounters with low door frames.
The floors are finished with a thin layer of cement. I also have five small windows, each about one foot square, which is actually a lot more windows than many other volunteers have.My shower, called an "ulusasu", is a grass square structure located behind my hut where I take luxurious bucket baths. My Toilet, called a "chimbusu", is temporary at the moment. It is a latrine made of isote like my ulusasu, but I will have a second one built after the rains are finished. My new chimbusu will be made of fired bricks and plastered with mud like my house or "nganda". So, soon enough I will have a guest toilet. I know, I am living a very charmed life.
My "insaka" is currently under construction. An insaka is traditionally the kitchen area and they vary in design depending on where you are in Zambia. Mine is a circular structure made of bricks, and will have a grass roof. Zambians spend most of their time out of doors and find it odd that Americans spend time in our huts, rather than in the blazing African sun. As you approach a hut, it is customary to shout out "Odi?" or "Odi mukwai?", the latter of which is said with respect, because a village compound usually extends much farther than the house itself. The response to such a question is "Calibu!", which means you are welcome.
My favorite part of my hut is my front porch, where I am often found sitting and cooking on my braiser. My hut is located next door to my host family and on the main drag to the borehole, so there is quite a bit of village foot traffic in front of my house. The view from my hut is "beautif." (Zambians cut off the end of many works especially those that end in -ful. They also add -y to the end of many words. Bantu languages have a certain rhythm and tonality to them, so basically, it just sounds better that way. Zambians also have difficulty distinguishing between "l" and "r". For example, my host nephew's name is pronounced "Fa-lank-y." It took me forever to realize that they were just saying, "Frank.") I can look out, when the maize is short and see Lake Chila, and just beyond the lake, up on a hill, Mbala is a mere six kilometers away.
For food I eat a lot of eggs, potatoes, bread, and fresh veg which I can buy in Mbala. I also cook a lot of soya pieces and rice. Insima or shima, is the staple food here. Its alright but I'm not crazy about it, therefore I don't eat it that frequently. Insima is sort of like a lump of really starchy mashed potatoes made out of maize meal, cassava meal, sorghum, millet or a mixture of these. It is eaten with everything at every meal, and the accompaniments are called relish. Relishes are usually tomato based, sometimes pounded ground nuts (peanuts) called "icisasa" are mixed with veg like mushrooms. To eat insima you take a small piece off with your right hand of course, very difficult for us lefties, and roll it around in your hand to make a ball. Then you press your thumb into the center to create a spoon to scoop up the relish.Tomatoes, onions, Chinese cabbage, spinach, rape (a leafy green), eggplant, impwa (like an eggplant except with a bitter aftertaste. I don't really like it much,"I am not used."), beans, mushrooms, ground nuts, bananas, lemons, cassava, and maize are almost always available at the local market. Right now guavas, mangoes, and avocados are in season in my neck of the woods.
That is all for now, but I am going to post some photos soon as I know a lot of you have been asking to see pics. Until then, love to everyone and I miss you all. Also, remember that there a cozy hut in Sub-Saharan African in which you are always welcome!PS - Chipolopolo Boys Rock!!!!! For those of you that are unaware, Zambia, the underdogs, won the African Cup. I was in Lusaka for this crazy event and it was so amazing to see a country so alive. I have been in Zambia for some very historic moments thus far. Between this and the election last fall, Zambia has had a stellar year. Lets keep this momentum flowing!
