New Roommate

I have a new roommate in my chalet here at Rapid 14 base. His name is Tyrone and he's a baboon spider, a relative to the tarantula. The photo isn't of him but looks the same. I accidently walked in on him in the shower yesterday. He needs to learn to lock the door! When I came back with my posse and a really big stick, he was gone and thankfully hasn't returned yet. Normally I don't have any issues with spiders. Lots of them eat mosquitos so we have a great relationship. However, there was no way I wanted to wake up to this thing crawling on me in the middle of the night. Since he's not dead, we came up with a plan B. My bed is now completely surrounded in a mosquito net. I usually wait as long as I can to put the net up since they're really hot to sleep under. However, desperate times call for desperate measures. The warm weather brings out the strangest insects and creatures here in Zambia. Last year were giant scorpions. This year seems to be the year of the spider. Oh the adventures we have!

Weather Change

This morning I woke up with this thought: "I'm not cold!" It's the first morning I've actually noticed that the frigid, winter weather here in Zambia was gone. There's a fine line between cold and hot season, and today may be the day we've crossed it. As the afternoon has progressed, long sleeves and pants were quickly changed into shorts and tank tops. There have been other signs of the upcoming hot season over the last week or two. The sky has been hazy from dust storms and bush fires, but the intense colors of the sunsets have only increased. Also, my garden seems to have started growing again after the long, winter sleep. No matter what, there's no escaping the heat. I can't bring myself to embrace this weather but experience tells me to grin and bear it until the blessed rains arrive in November. Until then it's lots of water and whatever shade you can find!

Cabbage Mishaps

On Friday evening, myself, two volunteers, and our zone manager Crispen had an overnight in Ndele village. Every friday morning, we hold a bible study in Ndele and wanted to take this chance to build a stronger relationship with the people. Just before sunset, the ladies were gathered, chopping cabbage for our evening supper. Becca and I grabbed our knives and went to join them. I must say that these women are excellent cooks. As soon as we sat down and began asking them about how to chop, the giggles began. In this culture, every woman knows how to make nshima and relish (i.e. cabbage). It's what makes you a good wife and mother. About 5 minutes into our chopping experience, I sliced my finger and it started to bleed. The women laughed and told me that my hands were "too soft" and that I needed "elephant skin." They then showed me their rough, callused hands, comparing them to my smooth, soft skin. My knife was quickly taken away; it was clear that I was fired from the job of chopping vegtables. Becca didn't last much longer as they fired her for chopping the cabbage into too large of pieces. We might not make great village cooks but the time spent with the people was absolutely amazing.