First day in Zambia
In Words and Phrases
I’m not quite able to process or know the significance of my
experiences yet. These incomplete sentences are meant to portray this while
showing how full and dynamic even this first day in Zambia was.
Wake up call to get to the shower in time before the water
was shut off. Sun hitting tropical plants and brown dust. French toast. My
mom’s long hippie skirt. Muli
Bwanji. Bwino Bwanji. Left arm on right arm when shaking hands. GREET EVERYONE.
Walking. Around seminary. Around students home. Around empty, unfinished
chapel. Around homes of Mission Co-workers. Onto the street. So many long
skirts. The wrap around skirts that I forgot the name of but women wear and use
to carry babies. Staring. Loud music. Packed Mini-buses. Garbage. Burning
garbage smell. Hello. Hi. Will you be my language partner? Do you want to buy
this. People everywhere. Kids with no shoes riding bikes. Sick looking dogs. Hand
waving. Five privileged white people in a sea of black people. Junk food. Donut
hole looking things. Roasted corn. Bottled drinks. Little stands on the side of
the road. Giggling little girl. Weeping boy. Tell about you best moment in
life. Drawing a blank. Holding back tears. Persevering. So many logistics. So
many questions I don’t even know to ask. Driving on left side. Not many parking
spots. Expats. Deli. YUMMY sandwich and salad and cupcake. Can eat veggies
because it is an expat place.
Dust. Painted advertisements. Walls. Mall. Wait, am I back in America? No, that’s not a
McDonalds, it is a Hungry Lion. Cell phone. Dongo (hotspot). Grocery store. Kwatcha.
Whoa, now I’m going to have to do math when I buy stuff. Move in. Unpack. Pack again. Dinner.
Hospitality. Share fears and uneasiness. Culture Shock. Separation Anxiety.
Excitement. People want us here. Comfy bed.
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