The week(s) that was.

Update on Margaret: We continued our work for a couple mornings. Kept her up to speed, she hasn't lost any ground. I have better learned the length of her attention span and when learning has come to an end.

Thursday, March 12th is Youth Day and a Zambian National holiday. What did some of our students do? Well NONE of them veged out on a couch in front of a TV or played computer games all day, NO. One team of 7, mixed ages spent most of the day painting the exterior of the clinic. With their "Tom Sawyer" enthusiasm, they tried (unsuccessfully) to enlist my help. Uncle Phillip was there to get them started and then left to attend his list of must do's. The kids with no further supervision and only a few encouraging words (Good job; or Looking good.) from Uncle Sam, kept at it through a hot day until about 3:30 and then cleaned up their brushes, rollers and work site. Throughout the whole time I heard not one word of anger, nor anyone hollering at another as to what they needed to be doing or to stop goofing off. Did hear some delightful singing and the monotonous (to my ear) drone of mostly electronic teenage (noise) music.

They had worked dilegently without the best equipment, an old heavy homemade ladder, for example, hard for me to move.

And finally, they did a wonderful job, no paint spills, very little splattering, no trampled flowerbeds. If you have any painting to be done, I reccommend them hightly. My only complaint: its hard for me to have a lazy day with all that good work going on just the other side of the wall. Other crews did the exteriors of two more houses and the interior of another.

Gardens pretty much surround the clinic. We have tomatoes which have gotten high enough to be tired up to overhead wires. Other tomatoes are about a foot high, which will come on later. Sweet potatoes and cabbage and maize is/are most of the sceenery from my windows. (for you damn Eng. majors)

You needn't think that you have a monopoly on winter activities. Why just the other day at the Arcades shopping mall at temperatures hovering around 80 F, well folks (not many) were skating. They were wearing hockey skates, perhaps Cornell is looking outside Canada? Notice I didn't say ICE skating. A 6 X 6m area was enclosed by metal rail (fence) and covered with heavy rubber mat covered in a white (not reminicent of ice) tough plastic. I didn't feel compelled to try it. Perhaps if they'd had figure skates.

Have had some cultural adaptation problems dealing with special care and compliments. Special care, specifically desserts, or better called 'after dinner treats'. After finishing a large Zambian meal, you are fairly stuffed with maize and not wanting anything more at least of the veg. catagory. But to show their appreciation of your just being here, before you can get away, out comes for examples: 1) a cob of boiled maize which most resembles field corn, I know this since I have eaten my share or what I thought was my share of field corn. It is served warm or cold sans butter, or anything else that might redeem it. You try to come up with the words to counter this 'gift' but their expectant faces foil your best attempt. Generosity overwhelms me and I look for anyone with whom I might share. 2. Or a medium sized boiled squash, halved. Fortunately they don't mind your throwing the seeed away. Again generousity is my only way through this. They call it in English a small pumpkin or in nyanja, mponda. 3. the other night after supper, thinking I was free of food, I was reading to the children when quietly without a word, there appeared in front of me a cup of steaming milk, tea bags, a bread and butter sandwich and a bowl of sugar. No one wanted to share! I hope that if you have dessert, that you can enjoy it to the FULLEST, as I do.

Finally, even though I am losing weight, the Zambians have a strange (to us)compliment when they haven't seen you for a time "Oh, you've gained weight." This goes back to when only the rich and well to do where able to put on weight. Perhaps its similar to things that I have said, "You're looking fat and happy!" which really doesn't refer to what one weighs. I asked Phillip if the compliment was any more common with the AIDs epidemic, AIDS here was called the 'wasting disease' before being "discovered" by modern science. "Interesting qestion." was his response.

Interesting questions are always more consuming than an answer.

Blog pressing out of Africa,
Sam