Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Zambia ramblings

These are some random Livingstone thoughts that probably don’t warrant an entire blog entry...

- The weather is like clockwork this time of year. The nights and mornings are cool and the days are hot with cloudless skies. There is absolutely no humidity or even a remote chance of rain. During the entire month there, we only had overcast skies ONCE!

- Nshima (silent "n" – shEEma) is the unofficial national dish of Zambia. It is basically ground maize cooked into the consistency of Play-Doh and something that looks like a pile of mash potatoes. Generally it’s eaten with just the fingers and rolled into bite-sized balls. I tried it only once, but found it pretty tasty. The most interesting part about nshima is watching the women labor to make it. The ground down the maize in an over-sized pestle and mortar, a task that takes phenomenal strength. Then they boil the meal until it reaches nshima-like consistency. For many (most?) Zambians, nshima is had thrice daily.

- Livingstone this time of year is incredibly dry and dusty. For the first time, I really began to understand the meaning of the popular phrase "walking in Jesus’ dust." At different times, both Leah and I remarked about how much more we understand the Biblical references to foot washing now after a month in Zambia. No matter if we were wearing tennis shoes, sandals, or flip-flops, our foot would end up caked in dust by the end of the day. Mine are so abused at the toes and heel that Leah now says they look and feel like the elephant we rode. I’m sure she means that in a loving way.

- Our last Livingstone memory was attending the Anglican church with some fellow volunteers. The service was a wonderful mix of traditional hymns and prayers combined with rousing African music. It was like having the grown-up version of the African Children’s Choir singing for us. The pastor was also incredible and preached a great sermon about Jacob and Esau. He talked about the need for apologizing when we are wrong and accepting apologies from those that wrong us. It was an excellent sermon! This church experience again highlighted that Zambia might be materially poor, but it’s spiritually rich.

- Another interesting thing to note about living in Livingstone is that you don’t see color while you are there. I know that sounds silly, but it’s true. In America when you are walking down a street, especially in North Dakota, you tend to notice people who are different than you. However when you are walking down a street in Livingstone you are the only one different, but you are never made to feel that way. For lifelong North Dakotans, Livingstone is the most diverse place we’ve ever been. But really, there is no racial diversity as everyone except muzungu tourists is black. When I walk into a classroom or Leah walks into a clinic we are the only diversity there. I’m quite interested to see if when I’m back in the US, I continue to not notice "color" as much as I did before time in Africa.

- As a tourist town, Livingstone makes efforts to offer modern and Western comforts like fast food, pizza, etc. However, I discovered that every attempt is just slightly off from what I’m used to at home. The pizza toppings were a bit different, the Subway restaurant didn’t exactly have the same meats, and the sweet desserts always seemed to have their own special taste. This isn’t particularly interesting, I’m sure, but to Leah and I, it became a running joke that our favorite things from home had their own Zambian versions that just didn’t measure up.

- This isn’t particularly related to Livingstone, but fun anyway. While travelling, I’m reading 1776, the David McCullough historical narrative about that crucial year in American history. Leah, on the other hand is reading Cry, The Beloved Country, the landmark Alan Paton novel that brought the horrors of apartheid to the literary world. Which one of these reading choices seems more out of context?

An update from South Africa is on its way soon…we promise!

For now, goodbye from Durban!
Zac (with assistance from Leah)

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