I'm sitting on the stoop of my hut at my homestay, in the Chongwe district of Lusaka Province, Zambia. It's unfathomable how much I've experienced and thought in the time I've been here. I can already tell Peace Corps is going to expand my mind immeasurably. Upon arriving in the pouring rain, my host mother and host sister greeted me warmly and helped me set up my hut. It's a one room affair with a tin roof and a lovely little porch. After I settled in a little bit and managed to hang my mosquito net, I went to sit and chat with more of the family. One approximate flood of Lunda words later, I sat with my host sister while she braided aMaama's hair. It was amazing how comfortable it felt, even though I was entirely out of my element. Family is family, I suppose. Some of the younger children taught me some songs and dances from their school, including ones featuring phrases such as "God is great and god knows best," and "We can beat HIV, just use responsibility," as well as "Abstinence is the best." How much comprehension was there I can't say, as the children here learn Nyanja in school- no English until later. Eventually we were called inside to eat and I enjoyed a delicious dinner of nshima (part of Zambian identity, as far as I can tell), stewed cabbage, soya pieces with tomato and onion, rice, and tomato soup (which Americans might just call tomato sauce). We wash out hands before and after eating, as nshima is used almost as a utensil to eat everything else. I heard stories about my host sister's daughter, who is two years old but has a personality three times her size. After saying goodnight (and using the Chimbushi for the first time), I relaxed in bed, marveling at how much had been seen and done.
Humans are said to be creatures of habit, rarely breaking from our hammered-in routines. Indeed, the reason Peace Corps Zambia seems so drastic is not the idea of living without comfortable amenities like electricity and running water, as millions of people around the world do this just fine, but the idea of living in a way that is different from what we are used to. It is not uncomfortable to sit on a mud stoop, to cook over a fire, to shower outside in a grass bathing hut using a bucket, or even to squat over a pit latrine. I'm personally amazed at how easy it is to change- without Google, without a common language even. It made me think- what other kinds of things would be easy for people to change, if we just put ourselves in a different frame?
Already I'm appreciating people differently- how hard everyone around me is working just to help their family survive. I hope I never forget the feeling I had falling asleep the first night in homestay: a comforting amalgamation of wonder, surprised contentment, and optimism about my next three months, if not the whole two years here in Zambia.
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