One big change in the last few weeks is that Cherie and I have stopped working in the play school as we realised the school was not going to be completed on time and that was our priority so we put all our energies into finishing the school building. We've still been going to the play school for one hour each day to make sure we were keeping up relationships with the children who will be joining us at Kapumpe school. This week, as a goodbye from us we took all 27 children to the mall for icecream in 2 minibuses. I was expecting the children to be excited (which they were!) but I had no idea that the majority of them would never have even seen icecream before. The first child we handed the icecream to just stared at it and had to be told to eat it. Thankfully once the children tasted it they loved it! We also had a Christmas party for the children and we planned to play lots of lovely Christmas songs but the children had their own ideas. They played some Zambian music, at full volume, and showed us their 'dancing' where they stood shaking their hips with very impressive rhythm and the funniest part was it was the boys who really went for it!
Zambia is definitely giving me an opportunity to learn new skills, so far I've learnt how to drive an automatic, a 16 seater minibus, to push start a car and then drive it without making furniture fall of the back as I navigate bumpy dirt roads(didn't quite manage this one and lots a sofa along the way), use an electro drill, put up wall brackets, carry a baby using a chitengi (large piece of material), sing and dance like a zambian and start a fire.
I'm slowly getting used to all the wildlife out here, some of which is good and some bad. Now that it's the rainy season there are tons of beautiful birds around, although when they squawk all night outside my bedroom window they seem a little less beautiful! Ants are everywhere and the huge ones are surprisingly painful when they bite but its really impressive to see how over night they can create an ant tunnel and even when you think you've destroyed it an hour later they're back in formation. The hardest thing to get used to is the snakes, which there are more of than I expected and unfortunately mostly in the new school grounds. The other day we found a green mamba which venom kills in 10minutes, luckily it was killed before it bit anyone. Recently I also saw what I thought was a large centipede with its head buried in the ground and trying to be brave I picked it up, however as soon as I squeezed it I realized the body was far to squidgy to be a centipede and it was in fact a snake. I was happy to discover it was already dead...I'm not sure trying to be brave in Zambia is such a good idea anymore!
The change is season also means there are mangoes galore which has made me very happy and happier still when you can buy 8 here for the same price as one in england.
Another thing I love about the rainy season is the storms, which happen almost daily now. Sometimes the thunder is so loud the walls shake and you feel as though they might fall down around you and the lightening strikes all the way to the ground and lights up the whole sky...I never get tired of watching them!
Although I feel I know the Zambian's culture pretty well now there are still some things I can't get used to such as seeing grown men walking down the road holding hands, but out here its more a sign of respect. The thing I love about Zambians is how joyful they are, they love to laugh and you find yourself laughing along with them (even when more often than not its not very funny!)
I'm pleasantly surprised to find that it actually feels a bit Christmassy here, we've decorated our house and although multicolored tinsel and a tree with no star on top isn't my style to say the least, it's better than no decorations at all! We also hosted a Christmas dinner this week for 19 people so another new skill I have developed is cooking a full roast turkey with all the trimmings.
In one week I'm heading to South Africa to spend Christmas with the family which I cannot wait for, especially as it means I finally get to meet my new nephew!! So I will sign off by wishing you all a merry Christmas and a happy new year!
