Some of these questions were sent by friends and writers, some by Denise. I hope they generate more questions or even prompts.
Who are you teaching? How many? How often? Are they appreciative?
I am basically teaching anyone I can, with the hope of empowereing creative thought. I am hoping to bring my message to girls and women to give them voice. I have held two groups of writers who rnge from college aged “children” to teachers, to headmasters. I hope to have some of the facilitators meet several times before I leave. And yes, even past the need to please and to avoid being hurtful, it seems they genuinely appreciative when the express thanks
Are you sleeping through the night? How are you doing without technology? Are you writing lots and waiting to email everything at once? How long is your dongle good for?
I am sleeping at least 8 hours (the time change doesn’t seem to affect me that much. I hate being cut off from my village. I am writing a whole lot but without access to internet, I can’t email or post hence the frustration about lack of technology (I am also having trouble posting pictures to my blogs, which is also frustrating). My dongle – a USB device has yet to connect my phone to the internet, hopefully when I do find a wifi I can download an app that will fix that.
What animals have you seen?
Namitembo, where I spent a week, is mostly rural agrarian. There is an over abundance of free range chicken that seem to know to whom they belong because during the day, they wander everywhere. There are goats that are moved from place to place and staked but there are again a few wanderers that seem to know their place. There are few dogs and the ones, who, with the exception of 2 pet dogs at Jacaranda, are mainly kept around as guards. I saw one cat at a priest’s house in Zombe City and another at Jacaranda
Have you eaten any greens? Fruit? (I did not supply you with Vitamin B because it’s not needed with a typical American diet.)
Mustard greens are a favorite so I have had a few of them (well cooked) and some beans. I have politely refused other vegetable that are starchy (potatoes are a favorite) or uncooked. So far I have only been offered salad once, at a small coffee shop/restaurant (no coffee by the way) in Zombe city on the day I traveled to Limbe, a suburb of Blantyre
Are you doing any cooking? Who is preparing meals? How are you paying for food? What spices are used? Any turmeric? Garlic?
I haven’t been cooking. At Namitembo there is a full time cook and at Jacarande, there is a cook at the guest house where I sup, and the Bed and Breakfast – Chenje’s Nest – gives me a nice breakfast of eggs and sausage. The food so far has been rather blandly cooked, especially at the mission, mostly roasted or boiled with some kind of gravy or another. Turmeric and garlic don’t seem to be as popular, so I haven’t had either. I did experience some interesting Ethiopian food on the plane here, when the stewardesses shared their supper with me, now that was tasty. I have the name of it saved somewhere and will look for it when I get home.
I have grown to like the Ricoffy, an instant coffee that is blended with chicory. It is mellow and tasty, reminding me of the mellow taste of a light roast coffee at home. It is also a good excuse to ask for boiled water. My other drink of choice is the locally grown tea of which there are several brands, another good reason to ask for boiled water. By the by, I had the opportunity to use the SteriPen (thank you Debbie) while in Namitembo when the supply of bottled water ran out. It worked well and I was able to drink the tap (well) water that was available. The water is taken from an aquifer that contains runoff from the nearby plateau and tastes rather nice, though some claim it is salty. It did have a little body but no where as rich as some I have, like the well water in Yolo County.
How did you clothing theory work out? Is there a way to get your clothes washed?
Clothing theory worked out pretty well, I haven’t followed it exactly but I only ran out of clothes yesterday. At Namitembo I would would have been on my own so I saved them until I got to Blantyre where I could have someone do them for me.
The idea of treating them seems to have been effective, I have not been bothered by mosquitoes at all. However, the rainy season is not yet here and that, I understand is when they come out in force. I did try Deet once but it may have been what triggered my allergies/upper respiratory stuff when I first arrived so I haven’t used it again. I do carry it with me all the time just in case.
Does anyone have pets? Cats? Dogs? Giraffes?
So far the only pet I have seen was the cat at the rectory in Zombe City, and he had the job of keeping mice at bay or he wouldn’t have had a place there. I don’t think pets are something that most people have, at least the ones I have been exposed to. Sad to say, I have seen no wild life but may try to do that while I am here.
Are the locals shy? Have you had a chance to speak with many natives? Is their English understandable?
Everyone here is friendly, if you follow form. Whenever appproaching and individual or a group itis appropriate for one or the other to say, “Hello how about you?” to which the other person replies “I am good, how are you?” If it is a group, you follow this ritual with each individual before conducting any business. If passing on the road, you each throw your “how do you do’s” and either stop and visit or just keep going. Sometimes if it is a stranger you may raise a hand in greeting with a single word that sounds like “moanneh” or if you want to show higher regard and or can’t say anything you clasp your crossed hands with your palms together.
Most people here have a good grasp of English although it is heavily accented, which tires me out when trying to understand what they are saying. I have made several dear friends and have had some deep spiritual conversations like, issues of race, gender inequality, with them. I will describe some of it later. I have found that younger non Africans (like the young women volunteers from Scotland, who will be at Namitembe for a year) grasp the language quicker than I.
I appreciate the questions and will post the above when I get a chance so that others can get the benefit of questions they may be shy to ask.
It is 8:20 on September 12, I am at the Chenjes nest, just finished breakfast and have plenty of coffee to grease the typing fingers.
I wrote this on the 12th but couldn’t get to publishing it until now on the 24th of September
The Gift Of Voice 