Hello, Africa

As I stepped off the plane from West Africa to Zambia, I had to ask myself: Is this Africa, too?! I had resolved myself to the reality that where I live is not like what is portrayed in The Lion King, but I have finally seen some parts of Africa that are. So much has happened in the past few weeks, but here are a few highlights from my time in Zambia:

First we learned to manage in an urban environment: getting on minibuses, asking the right questions, seeing how Westernization affects Africa, sipping Mirinda (my new soft drink of choice), and being invited into homes even when they don’t know us. While Zambians are super welcoming and friendly, we learned that they are a very secretive group. It takes some work to truly get into an African’s life. I'll take that challenge, thank you. :)  

  Next, it was off to bush camp, where we were living in a legitimate tent city. Even without the comforts of the first world, this was my favorite part. We learned the joys of the longdrop/ latrine/ squatty potty: bees by day, bats by night. Honestly, I don't think I've ever talked about poop as much in my entire life. Water for baths had to be pumped from the well, heated by kettle over an open fire, and put into our makeshift showers (which were buckets with faucets attached to the bottom). The villages were empty in the daytime, due to harvest season, so we went out to people’s fields and joined them there, chatting and harvesting alongside them. We heard more of the dark underbelly of African culture as we interviewed witchdoctors, met girls who couldn’t speak until their mother-in-laws paid them, and heard of rampant polygamy.

Finally, the piece de resistance: homestays. We lived with an African family for a few days. It was an experience learning to draw water from a well, cooking nshima (a grits-like paste), sweeping a dirt yard, picking beans and okra, cleaning pots with mud and detergent, and trying our best to communicate [Who knew cow meat and cat meat could sound so similar?] All in all, it was a great time learning from our African brothers and sisters. I've been reminded of how diverse this continent can be. I've seen the (more) glamorous spots as well as several not-so-glamorous ones. It all just makes me excited to get back to my country and begin to be involved in life there.