Gonzaga in Chimfunshi

Home Again, Home Again!

Fri, 9 Jul 2010 23:34:30 +0200

It has been quite the month (or two for some!). Most everyone should be arriving home soon. They are probably tired, dusty, wanting to try familiar foods again, and certainly wanting to be with family and friends. Our students have experienced an entirely different world. They have been close enough to a hippo to see the sweat like rubies in the sunlight. They have sat within a few feet of a chimp for hours. They have tried to have conversations with young kids in broken bemba, and learned that a smile goes a long ways!

Zambia is a land of contrasts. People there would give you the shirt off of their backs (if they had one to give) in exchange for a smile. They have found happiness in living simply, yet, they are not simple. In fact, many have a great wealth of knowledge and wisdom they are eager to share. Though they have such knowledge, they are profoundly eager for education. Many of our students have broken their hearts wide open. They had a rough time leaving their Zambian friends. A lot of tears were shed the night we were preparing to leave Chimfunshi. A lot of tears were shed in airports as our students parted from each other.

Treat the returning students to a warm meal and warm arms. Listen to their stories. Look at their pictures. They will never be the same again after visiting Zambia. By listening you will know why.

All the Best!
 Bill Ettinger (Dr. E.)

And We Are Off.

Tue, 6 Jul 2010 12:51:21 +0200

Hello all. We’ve been en route to Eureka camp for about 5 1/2 hours now, and I was kindly reminded by Dr. E that I have in fact not written a blog yet. So yesterday was a our last night at Chimfunshi, and everyone was trying to knock off their list of Things I Want to Do Before I Leave list. I know some lucky people got to see their first Black Mamba down by the ravine. I, along with some others, went down to the river for our first time, and were seriously bummed we hadn’t gone more often when we found out how gorgeous it is down there. We also had everyone over for one last night of shana-ing. We started off in the Boma, moved closer to the speakers by the Ed Center, then moved back to the Boma when the women started singing and dancing. There was a slew of dance offs between a Muzungo and a local, all good fun. Then the classic tear-jerker, all the kids got up and sang us a song. We said our goodbyes, and some of the group went to watch the Netherlands game, while the rest of us went to the kitchen to eat our sorrows away. But it’s been a good run, and everyone is safe and sound and happy, and are having a great time.
Love,
Kayla

Everything left to do!

Sun, 4 Jul 2010 14:26:10 +0200

With just a few days left, we all had a pretty extensive list of things to do before we left. Katie and I decided to combine our lists and tackle as many things as we could in 3 days. Never would we have imagined the spontaneous adventures that would occur. Each day started with a Dawn Patrol. For two of the days it was a 4:50 wake up call to see the chimps by 6:30. Dawn pictures are always fantastic and I was lucky enough to be able to use the bio department’s camera. I witnessed chimps waking up and stretching on top of a termite mound and we even thought we discovered a new species of birds that all hatch at the same time (it turns out it was just dew on the leaves :]). The third day of dawn patrol was to the Dambo where we witnessed a beautiful sunrise, accented by the misty fog that settles over the tall grass, complete with swallows and a marsh harrier.

Despite our early morning waking, we continued to experience Africa each day, one new adventure at a time. One afternoon we went to the Ravine where we climbed trees with the local kids and pretended to be chimps. Another adventure began when we spotted a papaya tree. Katie climbed on my shoulders and we were just able to reach one of them (We just ate it and it was delicious!). We visited with the keepers, Katie tested Chiffon for her project, and Tom and I took a walk through the woods with Barry leading the way. He sang for us in Bemba the entire way too which made it even better!

But the biggest adventure of all was our walk around Enclosure 2. Katie, Tom, Edwin, Joanna (Edwin’s Girlfriend), Stempson, and I all made our way behind the enclosure. What we found was more than I could ever imagine. We took a few steps out of some trees and came upon a huge dambo surrounded by trees, being looked down upon by the bluest sky I had ever seen. I couldn’t contain my excitement and went running out as fast as I could to explore. Most of the grass was combed over from last year’s rainy season, but I found an extremely green area that was still flooded. I saw some cool trees in the distance and as I made my way up to them I was amazed to find the Kafue River, flowing gently beside me. There were huge trees growing out of the middle of the river (I’m sure they’re underwater during the rainy season) and bamboo fishing traps. Everyone else eventually joined me (although Stempson led them on a path with less soggy grass) and we all sat by the river to eat a very good lunch. Tom and I took about 200 photos. After the dambo, Katie and Edwin needed to go back, but Stempson led Tom and I down to a different part of the river with trees that grew outwards towards the water. It took Tom and I about 2 hours to walk the two miles back to the enclosures. We must have taken another 200 photos. We captured every tree, leaf, bird, spider, ant line, flower, rock, and chimp we came across. We even saw a hornbill! It looked just like Zazu from The Lion King. We also got a chance to see the far compound and the children there were very excited to see us. One of the boys even successfully tackled a chicken and held it in the air proudly so Tom could take a picture.

It’s hard to think that our days here are ending but it is adventures like the ones I’ve had in the past couple of days that really make me appreciate the fact that I’m in Africa. I enjoy finding new ways to experience this completely different world and I’m so glad that I’m getting the opportunity to soak in as much as I can before we leave. It’s inspiring to think that this whole world can be one big adventure as long as I continue looking for it.

-Charlotte Sieggreen

Adventures in Muchinshi

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 15:09:22 +0200

Mulishani!

On Friday Kayla, Ann-Scott Ettinger, and I went to Muchinshi. We were the fourth group of people to stay there this session and were excited to experience what everyone had been talking about. We arrived at the women’s club on Friday and met Bona Rachel, Memory, Rohda, Bona Felise (Mary), and a bunch of children. They were so welcoming and very happy to see us. We also saw the group that was there the previous few days and Dani who had been there since Tuesday. One of the first activities I did was play with some of the kids that live at the center and then I went into the preschool. Charlotte was already in there grading the student’s work and handing out stickers. When I walked in all the children greeted me, wanted to shake my hand, and as soon as I sat down I had a huge crowd around me. They were so easy to entertain and really adorable. Soon later preschool time was over and all the kids went outside of the room. I picked one of them up and swung them around and then every other child wanted a turn. I had about 15 kids all wanted to be picked up and I realized that wouldn’t work. So instead I went over head, shoulders, knees, and toes with them in Bemba (local language) and English which they really enjoyed and then told them ndekutekunya which means I will tickle you (in Bemba) and they all laughed and ran away.
Later that day we got to walk to the market with Rhoda and buy food for dinner. While there we got to buy some more beautiful chitenges from the small shops. We took some of those back and the women made them into bags for us. It was a wonderful first day in Muchinshi. The next morning the preschool teacher Patrick offered to take us to see some women and men cutting grass that was used for thatch. He told us it wasn’t very far away but this being Africa you never really know what that means. We walked a for a while and then a group of kids started following us. Patrick told them to go back because we were going to be walking for a while but they wouldn’t listen and wanted to be with us. One of the kids was named Cynthia and she held my hand the whole way and wore my sun glasses. The kids never complained and were so happy. When we got out to the field we met a few different workers and got to try cutting the grass. It was very difficult and hard to do but gave me a chance to realize how hard the people here work on a daily basis.
We also got to go get water from the spring and carry it on our heads back to the Women’s Club because there is no running water in Muchinshi. I was the only musungu (white person) to get a jug without a lid so by the time we got back I was covered in water but I was glad that I got a chance to be as tough as these women.
The next morning Memory’s sister Barbara who was visiting took me to the Catholic Church. It was supposed to start at 10am but no one showed up until 10:30. I was the only visitor there and got greeted by most of the people that came into the church. All the people there were also wearing beautiful chitenges, dresses, or suits. The mass was completely in Bemba which I didn’t understand but all masses around the world are similar so I had an idea of what was going on. All the songs were beautiful, loud, and everyone was clapping and dancing along. At the end Barbara told me that I had to go up to the front to introduce myself. I was a little intimidated but everyone was very nice, welcoming, and clapped for me. Africa is very religious and it showed in the few hours that I spent in that church.
I truly came to appreciate the strength and ambition of the women here and it was so wonderful to spend a few days fully immersed in their culture. Life is simple, the food is simple, but the people are so inspiring, loving, and beautiful. On that next Wednesday we got to go back to the Women’s center as a group for the dinner. There were more women there that are part of the club and we sang, danced, and ate some amazing traditional African food. It was so wonderful to be back and see all the women and children again after a few days.

-Michelle Ross

A Day in the Life of a Zambian

Sun, 27 Jun 2010 08:47:07 +0200

Good morning! This week has been quite an adventure. I just returned from the Women’s Center at Muchinshi with Lori, Kristen Borash, and Lauren. From the moment we arrived we were immersed into the women’s lives as we walked to the local Muchinshi Basic School to set up a time to come teach, but we ended up teaching English and Math on the spot! Tandi, one of the women from the Center, was luckily there to help us out. Lori and Lauren taught 8th grade math (percentages) which we later discussed was below the American standard of what they should be learning. They were intelligent kids, but their lack of consistency with teachers’ attendance has hindered their academic success. Kristen and I taught 9th grade English (the passive voice) which was difficult for me! Kristen was an amazing teacher though, she rocked. After the initial lesson we both walked around and helped the kids individually, which was cool because I had an opportunity to talk to them one on one. At the end of the class, a group of girls gave me a piece of paper that had their phone number on it and told me they wanted to keep in touch! I was so happy that I made a difference in that short amount of time. We were exhausted (already!) but we had to walk to the market to buy food for the day.

The next day, Lori and I also handed out maize to the extremely poor elderly and children, which was like handing out soup at a soup kitchen at home, but a much bigger eye-opener because I saw true developing-country poverty. An interesting experience Kristen had was when she was teaching English the second day, she had the students write their own sentences using “because” and “since”. One girl wrote “The other kids won’t play with me because I have HIV.” Powerful stuff.

We made scones (a delicious tradition) and later that night, we were relaxing in the living room when Rhoda kept asking for Lauren to take “snaps” of her. One thing led to another, and she changed into a Zambian-national pride outfit which instigated a dance party! We were all laughing hysterically, dancing, or “shawna-ing” with the kids, and listening to Zambian music. The party got better when Memory came in with a flashlight that flashed blue and red on the front and projected Obama on the back! I think the popularity rating for him is higher here than in the states. I had such a fun time with the women!

The women walk to the market every single day to get fresh produce. Some other tasks the women perform daily is retrieving cooking and cleaning water from a well close by, and water for drinking from a hole in the ground about a half mile away round trip. This is done multiple times a day as well as cooking three times a day, which takes about an hour and a half (sometimes longer for protein items). I was absolutely astounded at how resilient the women are, yet they are the happiest, funniest people I have met on this trip. They are constantly smiling as they show us all of their daily chores, and they laugh at us as we attempt to try to help them. I really enjoyed my time at Muchinshi and I hope to visit them in the future!

All my love,
Carly