Muli Bwanje (How are you?)

I have been here in Chipata, Zambia for 2 months now, and there is so much I have been experiencing, seeing, and doing. My overwhelming excitement always leaves me lost for words, or not knowing where to start.

So, I will start with the first day my feet hit the orange clay roads of ‘Mother Africa’. My transition from the States was very smooth. It took me two days to get here. Someone should have reminded me that you cannot travel for two days straight and not take off your shoes. I wanted to run out of the room when I took my shoes off, but that would mean my feet would have to come too. :)

Of course, from the minute I got off the plane I went to snapping pictures in attempt to share this most amazing place. Never before have I seen so many people just walking. Never before have I been in a place where every billboard I passed had black people on it. Never before have I seen little wood boxed telephone booths with real operators in them. Never before have I been in a place where bicycles are the main transportation.

Just a couple of hours being in the country, and my snapping came to an abrupt end when I took a picture of the police station sign. They called me in the gates and said I’m not supposed to take pictures of the station without permission, and that it was very disrespectful. I apologized and tried to explain to them. Then they stop talking to me after realizing that I had just arrived, and started fussing the guy out who was my escort, saying that he should know better. Not rudely, I interrupted and said that he wasn’t aware that I was taking the picture, and that I could delete the picture from my camera. I deleted the picture and they let us leave. Thank God for digital cameras, because they where not letting up on this matter. That stopped my snapping for a while, because I wasn’t sure if it was OK anymore. But, that happened in Lusaka, which is the capital of Zambia, and I am far away from that place and taking many pictures again.

I too have joined the likes of the Zambians by walking everywhere I go. I have received no special treatment from the sun. I also get daily kisses. Although I have adjusted, my sneakers couldn’t take the heat; they just fell apart. I had to get some glue for them. I rarely see my ankles these days, and I war with the mosquitoes every night praying to God that I don’t get Malaria.

The daily rituals I look forward to, is the hospitality. You are greeted with a special handshake in Zambia. When someone knows you come from another country, they graciously say, “You are most welcomed.” My favorite is when you are greeted by a young child they always ask, “How are you?” But, the funny thing is that you can say fine, how are you, and they won’t stop asking until you have walked off, and they can’t see you anymore. (How are you?…How are you?…How are you?…How are you?…How) Being from America, someone always wants to know how do I find the place to be. I always answer in three words; I LOVE IT

I don’t want to overload you with too much reading, but I will try to update the entries more often. I still have so much to share with you.