Saturday, August 30, 2014

First day in Words and Phrases

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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