If I had to pick a favorite village thus far, it would probably be Kamisenga. Whether that's because the people are nicer or the photo-taking went really smoothly remains a mystery, but I'll go with a combination of the two for now.
The day started off right, and by that I mean at 10:00 instead of the usual 0800 wakeup call. Djondoh was running late again, but Dad ran into one of the old enumerators, Malambo, so we got to meet him instead of being bored. Djondoh turned up just as Malambo was leaving, and we set off for the village. I know I said Kanyenda's road was bad, but Kamisenga's makes it look like Lakeshore Drive. It was more pothole/puddle than road, and we found ourselves a foot deep in water at times.
From the first second we docked at Kamisenga, I knew I'd like it there. The singing that greeted us was amazing! Every other village had been home to nice voices, but this was a level above. This time, Djondoh added a twist when he introduced us. He asked some women to come forward and interview us. Dad had already introduced himself, so I was up first. I got all easy questions (where are you from, what do you do, etc), and Tim's were very similar, but Mom had a mush harder challenge. She and a Kamisengan woman were told to have a conversation about marriage and courtship customs in Zambia and America. Ten minutes later, I was a lo more knowledgeable about bride-prices, go-betweens, and chitenge-covered kwacha.
When Tim finished taking all the pictures, he decided to play with the younger kids there. Children had been scarce at the other villages, so he harnesed his inner 10 year old with gusto, racing and carrying the young Kamisengans who had taken to following him around like a neo-Pied Piper. When they led him over to the road for races it attracted an even bigger crowd, joined by some older men and women wanting to get in on the fun!
We had by far the most pictures to print out (90) but still managed to finish relatively quickly, thanks to our diligent helpers. One of them, Isaac, looked like Mr. Omar from "Everybody Hates Chris"-- decked out a white suit, pink shirt, and black tie.
We wrapped up the printing around 4:30, but Djondoh was engaged in a discussion about how to properly feed dairy cows, so we waited another hour while he convinced the villagers not to graze them. For part of the time, I joined Tim with the kids, but eventually freed myself and went back to hear Djondoh wrap up the meeting.
We were again given a meal of chicken and rice, and I'm again alive, so all's well. It was delicious.
Tim always likes to ride in the back of the pick-up when we go along dirt roads, since it's illegal back home. We often given one of two villagers a ride as well, but this time Tim was joined by 9 people, a bike, and some plants. When the dust settled, he could barely move. The best part was when the women next to him all started singing and laughing raucously, while he and the other guys sat in silence. Eventually the truck cleared out, and Tim was no longer a member of, as Mom and Dad called it, the "Party Pickup."
Interesting Side Note:
We tried another new fruit today! Djondoh saw some "yunga" growing by the side of the road, so he stopped and got us some. It tastes a lot like an apple, but smaller and with a pit.
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| The kids here loved the camera, and ninja poses were popular among both boys and girls. It looks like Tim's swinging someone in the background |
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| I couldn't move from this position for a few hours, since the bench wobbled and the printer would mess up if it moved at all. |
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