Is it already February? Am I just getting older, or is time really going faster?
My time at St. Francis is drawing to a close and, after a year of living in Zambia, it is hard to “wrap things up” without a huge nshima pot of emotions sticking to everything.
I told my nursing class this morning that I only have two more weeks left with them. It appeared as if I had told them the sky wasn’t blue, it was purple, and that it was falling. People actually gasped, and the puppy-dog eyes made me almost tear up, so I quickly made a joke, which changed the mood and they laughed and applauded.
Now that people know I’m leaving, I get the ‘sorry-to-see-you-go’ and all that, but I also get the “what are you leaving me in remembrance of you?” I’m told by everyone from slight acquaintances to very close friends that I should leave them my stethoscope, my uniforms, camera, refrigerator… They mean well.
I’m looking forward to coming home, there are plenty of things I miss and plenty of things I want to do in Canada. But I will miss this place and these people very much, and already I feel it pulling me back.
I can’t explain what it’s like to be here for a year, it’s something you can only experience. I can try to explain the symphony of insects at night, some sounding like bubbles popping, other like floating glasses tinkling into each other, I can try to describe the peacefulness of thunderstorms or the smells of the market, but all this will just end up as poetry. These things have created their own special place in my heart, and pictures and words can never express them fully. That’s the goodness of it, as we say.
What I can do is write never-ending lists of things I’ve realized, things I love, and things I’ll miss. Not included will be ‘things I’m frustrated with’, though I feel I have written enough of that, and will save it for a more productive use.
Here’s a list of “Things I’ve Realized”. Many (but not all) are also “things I love” and things I’ll miss”; so think of it more as a compiled list, save me the typing.
Things I’ve realized:
1. You can never eat too many mangoes.
2. There is no such thing as too many greetings, even if you say them all in a row “How are you? How is your family? How is work? How is the day going? How is your husband? How is his work? How are you finding Zambia?...Otherwise, you’re okay?”
3. Not all ants bite.
4. Those small black ants that like to live in your house are among the worst, and will make your finger swell up and itch like crazy for 3 days.
5. You have not eaten unless you’ve had nshima. Even if you have had rice, potatoes, pumpkin, etc, you have yet to have your meal of nshima.
6. The Zambian concept of time is different from Canadian/Western time.
7. Earplugs are a necessity on 6 hour bus rides.
8. 6 hours of continuous Celine Dion is worse than super loud wrestling footage. Her songs just ‘go on and onnnn’.
9. You don’t need an alarm clock to wake up at 5am on a Monday. The crows landing heavy-footedly on your tin roof serve the same purpose, and are just as reliable.
10. Cheese-flavoured Jiggies actually taste pretty good.
11. Ask a yes-or-no question, and you will always get a ‘yes’ response.
12. Ask a non-yes-or-no question, and you will always get a ‘yes’ response.
13. Flying ants kind of taste like bacon.
14. You have an 80% chance of being peed on if you hold a baby.
15. Never ever count on having power at any time of the day, especially during supper time.
16. Always accept any gifts given to you, even if you already have three bags of groundnuts. Even if you’re allergic to groundnuts.
17. “Sorry, but I’m married” is not a deterrent, and is taken more like a challenge…
18. Mini-bus drivers could win “World’s Worst Driver” every time. Hands down.
19. You don’t need an invitation, even an excuse, to visit someone or have dinner with them, and they will gladly welcome you every time.
20. Wherever you go, you will eventually find a family, feel loved, and have support.
21. Laughter is the best medicine. Panadol comes a close second.
22. Two lumps of nshima twice a day will make you fat. Apparently, it will also help you to have twins.
23. The only thing worse than getting stuck in the back of an overcrowded, 6 hour long bus ride without earplugs or proper ventilation is having intestinal issues at the same time. Or… listening to Celine Dion for the entire trip.
24. Zambian nursing students will write down EVERYTHING you put on a powerpoint, even “Do not write this sentence in your book”…
25. Visiting “big shots” from the donor community bring out a whole new level of butt-kissing.
26. Nothing can kill a cockroach.
27. African babies and children have more patience than the average Canadian adult.
28. A man holding hands with another man is normal, but a man holding hands with his wife is offensive.
29. You can fit 9 people into a taxi, and 7 plus at least one child is standard.
30. It's not rude for a man to scratch or hold his crotch while talking to someone, or even while shaking hands with them… provided it's the other hand.
31. Picking your nose is acceptable, even while flirting with someone or cooking for them.
32. Swearing is NOT acceptable.
33. Asking direct questions is a bit rude and giving direct/clear answers is never expected.
34. Praying lots and being thankful to God and humble is ordinary.
35. If you avoid Zambians that are involved in public transport, you'll almost always like them.
36. If you're friendly to the ladies selling produce in the market you will get an extra fruit or vegetable.
37. When someone makes a joke, they expect you to slap their hand and then hold it for a while, and it's actually nice and makes perfect sense.
38. Everyone wants to do more schooling, regardless of how educated they are and whether or not they're employed.
39. Helping others is not optional.
40. There is an entire new dimension to what I thought of the words ‘suffering’, ‘love’, ‘forgiveness’, and ‘faith’; and I have learned so much from and am so humbled by these incredible people.
41. No matter how long I practice, I will never be able to shake my butt like a Zambian woman.
