Africa » Zambia
Africa » Zambia
Is this a bot fly larvae in my toe? - Thursday, August 23, 2001
Greetings once again from "The Land of the Sleeping Cow" (that's Zambia's southern province, for some reason):
Speaking of odd titles, I've been keeping a list of people's first names that I thought might amuse you. I have no idea what goes on in Zambian parents' minds when selecting a title for their offspring, but here s a glimpse of who we've met so far: Wanted, Liberty, Treasure, Never, Reward, Fine, Brilliant (a boy with a developmental disability), Memory, Fresher, two people named Innocent, Obvious (my favorite) and Prosperina (my least favorite). [Is Rat such a weird name? That's "Mbeba" in Tonga.] And did I mention Prof. Jealous, the orthopedic surgeon?
Another quaint Zambianism: in Kalomo, the small town where we shop and bank, the municipal water supply turns off twice per day (from 9 a.m. til noon, and again from 2 p.m. til 5 p.m.) to save water. There are so many leaky pipes around town that it was deemed cheaper and more convenient to limit water availability rather than fix all of the leaks! Can you image a city council in America considering such a solution? It would never happen.
August 24 - Sounds from the village: the occasional *POP* of acacia pods dispersing their shiny seeds with such force that the *BUZZ* of the flying seed is also audible; 3 or 4 times per day the
*RUMBLE* of an ancient vehicle lumbering through our village; the constant *CHIRPING* of a new litter of chicks; the remarkably human-sounding *YELP* made by a young goat when separated from its momma; the constant, low level *ZZZZZ* of millions of bees working the millions of mango flowers; around mealtimes, the *YIPE* of one of the seemingly owner-less village dogs getting brutally smacked for simply trying to feed itself; the *SING-SONG* of high-pitched toddler voices speaking a foreign tongue (that we can occasionally interpret); about twice a week, the riotous *SQUAWKING* of momma hens running to the defense of their babies as the black-shouldered kite swoops down for an attempted meal; a rhythmic and hollow *THUMP THUMP THUMP* of our neighbor Belita pounding maize kernels in her giant mortar and pestle; and in the evenings the subtle symphony of African crickets *CHIRPING* lulls us to sleep. Wonderful.
The latest scoop on the local political turmoil (quite a shift from my last subject): As I briefly mentioned in a previous letter, our area is currently without a chief. In his absence, a group has formed (the Nyawa Land Trust) to question the validity of the local Community Resource Board, the group we have been sent to work with that deals with natural resource management in the lands surrounding Kafue National Park. The goal of the Land Trust seems to be to disband the locally controlled (and government mandated) system of land stewardship and replace it with something that would be more favorable to a particular outside interest who aims to get rich by running a private game ranch. (Whew!)
Two days ago, a general meeting of the entire area was called by the Zambian Wildlife Authority so that all sides of the issue could be heard. Our role in this situation is minor, but important (especially for us!) If the community as a whole decides to side with the Trust (and thus abandon the Community Resource Board), JP and I have little reason to be here. Our project also includes environmental education in local schools and work with farmers on sustainable agriculture, both of which we've made progress with here. But for reasons that I shan't bore you with, we also need a functioning Resource Board in order to do our work. The outcome of said meeting was that the community is glad to have us, and that both sides must find a way to work together to accomplish mutually desired goals. Sounds just dandy, but awfully optimistic given the different philosophies of the two groups. The meeting ended with smiles all around, but after conferring with our local cohorts and Peace Corps supervisor, we've decided to give the situation one month, then decide if this is the right village for us to work in.
This is a somewhat painful (tentative) solution for us, since we are just getting to know neighbors and local needs etc. So the idea of uprooting next month to start all over is not a fun one. We are also still without a house here, and if we move to another village (which would likely need to build us a new house -- not a lot of vacant houses in Zambia) it could be December before we have a home. So until mid-September, we will continue to live in Mukamuluti village, study Tonga, hang out with the neighbors, collect seed, haul water, star gaze, eat mango flowers and sand in every meal, teach a few environmental ed lessons, wait for the papaya fruits to ripen, and miss you all very much. Perhaps that's also the plan for the next two years! Sounds good to us.
Parting quote from JP: "Is this a bot fly larvae in my toe?"
Love you all, RT & JP
Note from the transcriber: following are various comments Rat added on the outside of the aerogram:
* New birds: Namaqua dove, white-bellied sunbird, and some unidentified owl the size of a Buick
* I have included (somewhat unintentionally) several stray mango flowers in this letter. They're tiny but are in EVERYTHING this time of year. Perhaps they will have ripened into mango fruit by the time you receive this. {Editor: Enclosed flowers are teensy}
*Ndilalemba alimwi kabotu amulindile asyoonto = I will write again soon. Please wait a bit.
- Created:
- Tuesday, October 19, 2004 at 2:41 PM