So much to say, so little time

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I'm still alive despite not having posted in a little less than a week. Where we have been staying does not have good internet which yielded no posts. Tonight we moved into our home for the week at Kalundu where Sr. Scholastica is taking excellent care of us. (This idea of losing weight in Africa is not going to happen while I am here.) Let me see if I can go through the week and relay what has gone on so far.

Thursday afternoon: After writing on here I went to Hidden Voice to paint with Seth and Banks (Vanderbilt). I know I had not even been here a day, but it made it easier to become fully enveloped in this new world with two people who are about the same age as me. While at Hidden Voice we painted a new building that is now owned, not rented, though I don't truly know by whom. One constant here is that I have no clue what is going on around me. I try to ask questions, but I mainly just roll with whatever comes my way. It was great listening to the guys talk about what they had learned over the past six weeks here in Zambia. I enjoy hearing about the different social justice issues going on because I know there are here, but that is all I know. From them, I was able to gain a better understanding of what I was going to be seeing and hearing. I'm telling you, I need those two back.

Friday: Tina came in the night before, but this was her first day of truly being here. She is a speech pathologist from Colorado who is teaching a program about speech here in Lusaka and then in Kitwe next week.

*Forget this day-to-day business, my journal's upstairs and I can't remember everything*
We went to the Fransciscan Friary , I think it's spelled Makeni, but I could be very wrong. There they set up a celebratory lunch wishing best travels to the guys and welcome to Tina and me. Fr. Patrick is the one who truly took care of us as well as all the students and other friars there. I wish I could remember their names, but I hear about 20 different ones every day and I'm lucky to remember my own.

Let's just skip to yesterday. Sunday morning we went to a vernacular mass not far from St. Clare's. It was supposedly going to start at 830, but of course started at 9. The mass was beautiful. Not because it was in a fancy church or anything, but it felt like people wanted to be there and were actually celebrating the mass. The music was fantastic, there was some harmonzing going on that churches back in the States could only dream of. ; ) From there, Sandy went and took the guys to the airport (not going to lie, kind of sad) as Tina and I tried to get materials together for today and the rest of the week. For dinner we went out to a seafood restuarant - again, don't remember the name, Ocean something. It was great and I was able to get to know everyone - Tina, Sandy, Fr. Patrick - a little better. We also brought home Jassie (spelled it wrong earlier) some prawns, despite her saying "no." This was a big deal to her because we had just talked the other night about how much she missed prawns.

Anyway, so today we did the first two programs, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Both went well, but we were met by a different group than we were expecting. This program is really only meant for those with children, in class or at home, who are dealing with mild to moderate speech disabilities like stuttering (today's lesson). However we had everyone from mild down syndrome to those who could only make sounds. Anyone who works with any form of disability would probably not take kindly to the way things are done here. Very few people can afford the care needed for children with any form of disability. There was even one young man, 21, who lies on a mat and depends completely on his mother for everything. With proper care he could have been a little more mobile and possibly in a wheelchair, but no one has the funds and there are few programs for assistance. OK, off that rant for a second. I don't know much about the culture or the program we were offering so I helped watch the kids, I was kind of an accidental babysitter. You all would have been proud. Even though I couldn't understand pretty much all of them and they, me, it worked. We laughed and rolled a tire, held hands, and "flew" off the stage. I think I do so well because these children - for the most part - are angels. Seriously, they are more well-behaved than any kid of the same age in the States.

Let me just end with a small rant. I have come to find that women here are treated worse than I originally thought and it starts at the beginning. Young girls are often asked for sex with their male teachers in exchange to passing on to the next grade (7th to 8, and 8th to 9th I believe). Given, this is not for every case under the sun, but it does go on quite often. It's actually expected in some places. Ridiculous. Also, there was a sign that scared the bejeesus out of me on the second day here. It was a billboard with a picture of a young girl with the words "Having sex with me does not cure AIDS." Really? They call it defilement here, which is a supposedly nicer word than "rape." And this goes on with girls as young as two and three. Vomit enters my throat at the mere thought. There are so many things that are just impossible to think of that goes on within Zambian culture. Luckily, there are those who are hoping to change all of this, like the guys' friend, Moses. As much as outsiders like myself would love to change it, it has to come from within. I might not like the idea of missionaries, but if statements against this behavior make it into Sunday sermons, than I am all for it.

Alright, I've written enough. I'm going to now try and load some pictures. Love and miss you all!

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Photos

Room
This was my room as St. Clare's. It's actually made for postulates so there are two sets of bunk beds in there as well. Also, the bed looked much nicer earlier, this is from the last day there.

Jassie
This is Jassie in front of the building I stayed in at St. Clare\'s.

Makeni
This is the outside of Makeni. The sitting space with the thatched roof was actually made by the friars. It is absolutely amazing.

Speech Program
This is Tina and Sandy running the morning program. The gentleman is Timbo (?) who acted as interpreter.

Comments

[sandy]

This and that
Hi Meghan, You are a dream come true! It is great having you with our team in Zambia. We are blessed that you came into our lives. A few things...this and that...it is Tembo...the gentleman who was translating the first day. Makeni is the correct spelling! Sr Jassie is nickname for Sr Jacinta!! You forgot her dogs and their names...I will leave you to mention them again:) YOU also forgot to tell everyone that you REALLY DO KIDS!!!! and amazingly well. You are a natural...I have seen you in action for two days now with kids, unexpected and varying degrees of disabilities and they LOVE YOU and you are connected with them...so there goes the myth of not being good with kids! Sandy