Another day goes by

Hey folks!

Since it’s hard to really capture the essence of Africa without experiencing it yourself, I’ve decided to give you a few snippets of my experiences here, in the hopes that you can get a feel of what it’s like!

Scenario 1

I am interrupted between seeing patients in the HIV clinic by a fellow nurse, stationed in a nearby room. He approaches respectfully, and somewhat timidly. “Can I ask you a personal question?” I smile gently and tell him of course, and agree to find him in a few minutes. As I walk into the room he’s working in, I prepare myself for some sort of embarrassing medical question , or perhaps even a proposal. I sit down, and he comes right out with it. “How can I come to work in your country?” Ah, this question. It’s not the first time I’ve been asked, and unfortunately it won’t be the last. I talk with him for a while, and as we discuss healthcare and politics, I try my best to encourage him to remain in Zambia, while inside I feel deeply for him and am angered and frustrated by how unfair his situation is, and how fortunate mine is…

Scenario 2

It’s Friday and I’m exhausted. It’s been 2 weeks and the hospital still has no blood or blood packs. I struggle to fix the oxygen concentrator so I can at least feel like I’m helping one of our many severely anaemic patients, praying she’ll make it through the weekend and we can get blood on Monday. The national blood shortage is taking its toll, a shortage caused by (I’m told) a scarcity of the glucose water given to donors post-donation. I find this hard to believe to say the least. A few beds down, another patient is vomiting due to the pressure built up around her brain from cryptococcal meningitis. It’s easily treatable by a medicine that the hospital ran out of 2 weeks ago. So she’s getting daily lumbar punctures to relieve the pressure. Not fun, but better than the alternative. Bad timing to get sick here…

Scenario 3

I say goodnight to my “nieces”, lock the door, and settle into bed. A few hours later, I am awakened by some sounds. I lie still and look around, fearing another 2 inch cockroach has made its way inside the bug net. I glance up to the (open) window, and see an outline of a face, looking back in Ben and me. I am frozen, my mind spinning with thoughts of what to do. The figure at the window strikes a match to get a better view of the room, and I quickly and loudly shout something, waking Ben up, and making the intruder disappear faster than he could blow out the match. I decide to bear the heat and sleep with the windows closed from now on.

Scenario 4

I walk home as the sun sets, passing familiar faces along the way, making sure to greet everyone as I go by. A truck pulls up beside me, the back FULL of people. They are returning from a village trip and dropping Ben off. Through all the greetings and chatter in Chewa, one voice greets me in English – “Hi Steve!!”. I can’t help but laugh as I wave back. I’m most widely known as Stephen or Staff here (somehow the ‘ie’ doesn’t carry over), but am also commonly called Mrs Ben or Madam Ben (by Ben’s friends), Sister (in the hospital), or Mrs Tembo. More recently, I was given Tambiwe as a first name (it means ‘fetching water’), but it hasn’t stuck yet. I love the confused looks on people faces when I introduce myself as Stephanie Tembo, or as they ask Ben, “Your wife, his name is Stephen?”.

I’m sure people are equally or more amused by the strange things us mzungus do, but here are some of the interesting things Zambians do:

- Men hold hands occasionally, as they are talking, as they are walking, even interlocking fingers sometimes!

- They mix up ‘l’ and ‘r’ regularly (wrestling becomes ‘lestring’) It’s not arways predictable, but it is common and often amusingry confusing.

- They exchange he and she; “my wife, he is a great cook”

- Wrestling (WWE, the fake stuff) is incredibly popular, and is played everywhere (buses, restaurants, everywhere)

- You haven’t eaten unless you’ve had nshima. Even if you’ve eaten an entire pumpkin, or are prepared an “authentic” Canadian spaghetti dinner by your new friends, you will have another full meal of nshima immediately afterward.

I do have moments of frustration, discouragement, annoyance of the constant “How are you mzungu!?”, but all in all, the past month has been great. I love the little town we’re in, I’m learning a lot at the hospital, we’re meeting great people, and staying healthy and safe. I’m building relationships and feeling more “at home” here, which I fear will make it that much harder to leave, but I didn’t come here to live in isolation! We bought a mini-oven, and are able to bake in it, which is more than amazing, and a welcome change from the usual nshima and beans. I’ve been making banana bread, and it is a huge hit! One neighbour borrowed the recipe and baked 36 loaves in one night!! She’s selling them at the market and a guesthouse, and everyone has been asking me for the recipe. It is very exciting.

Please keep the updates from home coming!