I will miss the termite hills. I will
miss the people standing outside on the hospital lawn warming
themselves in the sun on these cool winter mornings. I will miss the
flowering trees on my way to work that gift me with something
beautiful and sweet smelling to carry with me during the day. I will
miss the children at the preschool very near this flowering tree that
always greet me on my way home for lunch with a chorus of numerous
shouted “how are you?” or recently “how are you today?”. This
is one phrase that school age children through out the country learn,
as greetings are very important in Zambia. The standard response is
“fine, how are you?” I know I will be getting odd looks back in
the States when I respond in that way. I will miss the fresh bananas,
lemons and papayas from my yard. I will miss the glorious singing at
church. I have finally bumped into all three of my favorite singers there and have been able to tell them how much I appreciate them sharing their music with us each week. I will miss the women in their chitenges greeting me with a big smile, hands together and a little curtsy and the men with their hands to their heart. I will miss the the left hand supporting the right arm whenever giving or receiving something from someone or when shaking their hand. These are all signs of respect which I find very endearing and have readily adapted. I will miss the mild weather and the beautiful skies and sunsets.
I feel that I am getting a better
picture of what my work may or will be. It is not crystal clear yet,
but it is coming into focus. I believe a time to step away from the
information I have gathered and look at it from a distance will be good. It may give me some insight into how to go about achieving the goals of my
job description. At least I hope so. Relationships with the key
people I will be working with continue to grow and that is important.
My Tonga is still in need of plenty of work. At times I wish I could
have a couple months of direct language study without working at the
hospital but hopefully I can manage to language learn and work at
the same time. It is going to require more self-discipline than I
have had so far.
These last few weeks I have had a circle of friends with which to hang out with during off hours. They have all been a blessing for me during my weeks of frustrations with adapting to the new culture and work. They, have listened to me vent and encouraged me to play and helped me to get out to the villages and connect with the people. They will all be gone upon my return to Macha. A shout out to Esther, Fiona, Rachel, Kylie, Stiin, Sarah, Andrew and Allister. Thanks for the fun times. Stay in touch.
I hope to continue posting while in the States about discoveries and learnings from Zambia.
ps I am going to try and attach a photo to the Village Visits post of the choir in their blue uniforms I spoke so highly of.
