Sunday, November 23, 2008

November Rain


Rain

The first Real Rain of the season began earlier this week. Deluge, Gullywasher, Torrential. These don’t quite cover it. It began somewhat suddenly around 6pm as I was cooking dinner and did not let up for the next 4 hours. The last few weeks have brought sporadic showers, but not the real thing. This was an incredible rain and it was really beautiful. For the first two hours. Then I was ready to go to the toilet and brush my teeth along with the other things in my evening routine. I managed to do things from the safety of my semidry covered porch, and for the first time in two months I used a sheet because it wasn’t 100 degrees in my hut. There was only one leak in my roof, which was taken care of with a bucket, like in the movies. The next few days were cooled considerably though the humidity has definitely set in.

Rains mean farmers begin going to their fields to prepare the land and plant in earnest. From 5 am to noon, the village is a virtual ghost town because everyone between the ages of 6 and 75 are at the field. Except Ambuya (granny), age 84, who keeps me company next door, she on her porch snoozing and me on mine reading and listening to the radio.

Rains also mean new critters. I was pleasantly surprised to find few bugs in my life up to this point in Zambia. Apparently, insects accompany rains. Now its ridiculously frustrating to even have a candle lit nearby me at night, nevermind my headlamp, because a million different types of insect are flying towards the light. One particular variety, local name inswa, is a popular snack so people make a big fire to catch as many as possible and roast. I haven’t yet tried this “delicacy.” I’m too annoyed at them to bother catching them. Snakes and Scorpions are also new hazards brought by the rains. I’ve been told I can no longer go to the toilet or bathe in the dark because you never know when one might be hiding. I had found a few small scorpions in my hut and didn’t see what the big deal was after I squashed them under my shoe. Then I encountered a scorpion the size of my hand and a shiver went down my spine. They can be lethal and I am now fearing.

Rain brings Mangos. Since the day I stepped off the plane into Zambia, Mango season has been built up so that I believed it would change my life for the better. It makes rainy season worth it. With the recent showers, mangos have begun to ripen. Various children brought me a couple as they returned from the field each day this week. They are very tasty, however after what started as a slight itchiness and irritation in the corners of my mouth, escalated over the last week to become a very irritated allergic reaction around my mouth and chin. I’ve been told this is a common PC allergy. So no mangos for this PCV. Honestly, they are kind of difficult to eat. More trouble than its worth, is what I’m trying to tell myself.

Rain has made gardening MUCH easier. Though possibly less satisfying in a way. My water hauling muscles will go away and I won’t spend an hour in the AM and PM watering the garden. Interestingly, the squash and zucchini I’m growing are doing beautifully and the Lepu, a Zambian staple vegetable has all died. My onions are still small and they’ll probably be harvestable in 4-6 weeks, although I really have no idea.
Work stuff is going okay. I spent way too much time in the hot season biking to schools to observe classes. I’ve had two successful community meetings recently though. At two different schools I met with communities to sensitize them on education. This basically means encouraging them to pay the volunteer teachers, send their kids to school and be involved in school development like building projects. The turnout was great at both meetings and people were really receptive. The skeptic in me knows this is at least in part because I’m a white lady to gawk at and has the potential to be a donor, at least in their minds. However, if the end effect is further development of the school in some way, it’s worth it I suppose.

This week I’m attending a training of trainers, or TOT. So I’ll be out of my village for more than a week. It’s a nice break.

American election day was really exciting and we had a party full of American food and CNN. About 9 of us volunteers met up at a guesthouse where we could watch CNN all night long. We made cheeseburgers and fries and apple pie. Our patriotism was excessive, as we decorated our bikes with American flags. I was up almost the whole night eating up all the political commentary (if you don’t know, I’m a closet political junkie). The next day, Zambians were shouting, “Obama! Obama!” as we rode around town. It was pretty exciting. Maybe Obama, will reverse all the funding cuts for Peace Corps….

That’s all for now, maybe more later this week. Happy Thanksgiving!!
Love, CJ