I’ve found traditional family roles in Africa to be very interesting. Keep in mind that I’m looking at all of this through a Western filter.
Women are pretty much the glue that hold family and society together in much of Africa. The same seemed to be true for the Mwaanga family. Andrew has a job as a security guard at the Ubuntu school campus. He often has to work nights. During the day, as most men here do, he goes out visiting. Africans are very relational people. Much of their time is spent maintaining relationships with family and friends.
Archive for January, 2009
Family Roles
20
Jan
Meltdown
20
Jan
On Sunday morning, we woke up early (with the light) around 5:30 or so. We were planning on going to church, and I knew that we would need to walk. Grace told me that it normally takes her and her girls 30-40 minutes to walk it. The church is about 4km away or so. She thought it might take me nearly an hour and a half to walk. Most whites/non-blacks tend to own vehicles and drive everywhere, so the common belief is that we simply couldn’t manage. So I told Grace that I’m sure it wouldn’t take nearly as long as she thought and that I would be ok. We ended up planning for about an hour and made it there in about 45 – 50 minutes. I think she was quite surprised.
Their church has been unable to afford a roof yet. So they’ve got this little shelter made of branches which covers the first few pews in the church. However, in a pouring down rain, that wouldn’t be enough to keep everyone dry. So we ended up in a very small building next door. There were an awful lot of us crammed into that tiny space. As soon as the service was over, it stopped raining.
We walked back home and Grace and the girls started fixing lunch. All of the sudden, I had the most terrible homesickness. I wasn’t even sure why. The entire family was being extremely nice to me. At first it was just a few tears here and there that I could surreptitiously wipe away. After a while, the youngest girl noticed some of the tears. I went inside and wiped them away and tried to pull myself together. But really, it just kept getting worse. I continued to try to talk myself out of the homesickness. It didn’t work.
Living Conditions
20
Jan
Grace and her family live in a burnt brick home with a tin roof and concrete floor which is a step up from many of the mud huts with thatched roofs. The entire one-room house was approximately 10′ x 16′. The whole family sleeps in there. They had divided up the room into three sections. One side had a mattress for Grace and her girls. The middle section was where they had me eat my meals. And the last section had a bed in it for me. They’d used sheets and chitenges to make curtains for privacy in each of those areas of the house. At night when it rained, we could hear the raindrops on the tin roof. Often as we were getting ready for bed, the girls and their mom would sing (in beautiful harmony) or tell jokes and stories. It was a lot of fun just to listen to them.
Macha Family
20
Jan
My stay with Grace and Andrew Mwaanga turned out to be a very good experience. I was a bit dubious at first, especially prior to leaving, but Grace and her daughters put me at ease right away! I am so thankful for the time I had with them. As we became more comfortable with one another, we asked a lot of questions about the other’s culture. We were able to share wedding rituals, coming of age traditions, cooking tips, and so much more. We spent a lot of time laughing with one another and learning from one another. Their three daughters are very hard workers and kept me entertained.
This family certainly has found a place in my heart and I will have many memories of them to treasure! I look forward to visiting them again.
Macha Family Stay
17
Jan
On Thursday afternoon I returned from the village live-in in Macha. Overall it was a very good and wonderful experience. I’ll be posting details over the next several days as I am able. Click on the picture below to see the 143 pictures I’ve posted to Picasa.
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| Macha Family Stay |
If you are unable to simply link to it, copy and paste the following url in your address bar:
http://picasaweb.google.com/africagabi/MachaFamilyStay#
On the Road Again
09
Jan
Tonight I’m leaving for Macha, south of Lusaka.
I’ll be living with a Zambian family for a week. My understanding is that they have a house made of mud bricks and a proper tin roof. I am brining along a mosquito net and candles. The family is the brother and sister-in-law of Esther, the Zambian helper at the guest house. If they are even half as nice as she is, I’ll be just fine.
The hope is that I will gain a little understanding of what life is like for the Zambians and learn some of their culture.
Obviously, I won’t be taking my computer and won’t be on for the entire week. Right now, the plan is that I will ride out with Gertjan who lives and works there and fly back on a tentatively scheduled flight next Thursday. If the flight gets cancelled, I will stay there longer or find another way back into town. 
See you later!! I’m sure I’ll have stories to tell.
The Tuesday Market
06
Jan
Today several of us went to the Tuesday Market. Apparently, they’ve all wanted to go (and some have lived here for as much as 2 ½ years), but simply haven’t. So we made it an orientation event!
Roads are pretty poorly marked here in Lusaka and the names on the signs don’t always correspond with the names on the map. In addition to never having been there, Mary-Ann was having to navigate through the pouring rain and crazy traffic. Diane was giving directions which had been given to her by a friend. Unfortunately, her friend missed a step or two. Yay! An adventure!!
We finally found it anyway and pulled into a very muddy parking lot. We were greeted by a gaggle of young boys (12-18 years old) who all wanted to carry our bags for us. Of course, they expected to be paid for that as well. 
Thankfully, we already knew to expect them and to simply accept one of them to carry bags since they would follow us around anyway. A 13-year-old named Gift (not an uncommon name in Africa) came with me.
The market turned out to be covered. The wall around it was about 6 feet high and the ceilings were about 25-30 feet high. That was nice since it had been raining until about the time we arrived. It was a huge place and was PACKED with people selling their produce. There were about 8 -10 rows of vendors. Many of them had similar wares: mangos, avocados, green beans, corn, carrots, onions, potatoes, fresh herbs (including cilantro – called coriander here) and a variety of other things. I saw lots of okra too. 
There were also a number of folks selling dried goods such as a variety of beans and spices (fennel, cumin, lentils, etc).
I walked up and down the aisles finding things I will eventually buy. Since I’m still living in the guest house at the moment, I didn’t want to fill up their fridge with my stuff, so I didn’t buy a whole lot today. However, I definitely plan on going back. I’ll have to find a way to work it into my Tuesday schedule.
Curry in a Hurry!
05
Jan
One of the things I thought I was going to give up when I moved to Africa was the variety of ethnic restaurants I had grown used to in America. In fact, in Lusaka there is a great variety of restaurants to choose from. Being the capital, there are people from many nations here. Of course, they all want a taste of home. And there’s always an entrepreneur to oblige the masses.
Today as Guillermo and I were running around accomplishing things in town, we stopped at Curry in a Hurry at the Manda Hill Mall for lunch. So it wasn’t exactly in a hurry, but it was certainly worth the wait! Yum! They had quite the extensive menu of fabulous Indian food to select from and both Guillermo and I were very pleased with our choices, including the garlic naan.
So the next time you are in Lusaka I’ll take you to Curry in a Hurry, or the Irish Pub right nearby. You decide.
