Happy Independence Day!

Today is Independence day, Zambia became an independant country in 1964. Originally colonized by Britain, there is very little residual from that time other than the driving on the left side of the road, and very polite people who always address me as Madame even though I am a 22 year old kid from Canada, but hey, I'll take it.

On my way to the Internet cafe this morning, I passed thousands of people on their way to festivals and celebrations to mark the Independence of the country. My roommate and I were the only white people in sight, and we received many inquisitive faces looking at us as we moved through the crowd. The children often run up and say Hello Musungas (white person) and run off giggling to their friends. It is very fun and endearing.

I think everyone in the city is out celebrating this day. There is live music that gives me goosebumps, the singers are incredible and vibrant. There is drumming that would alter the beat of your heart. The dancers move in ways that have me convinced they have extra vertebra which would explain their ability to shake their hips at the speed of light. The rhythm exists inside their bodies.

There are circ-du-soleil groups all around arousing oooo's and awww's from the audience. The groups consist of older men to young tiny children, they have their faces painted and wear bright pieces of clothing. They look like fireworks when they throw themselves into incredible postures and formations.

Beside the cafe I am at, there is a man juggling with fire, and I kid you not he spit fire 10 ft in the air. All of the children have their faces painted bright yellow,green, and red, they look like little warriors ready for battle. The colors contrasted with their black skin is gorgeous.

The hot sun is hanging in the cloudless sky laughing at all of the festivities and continues to bath us in heat.

There are no worries on a day like today.

for your information..

nchima is the staple food in Zambia. pronounced shee-ma. it is a maize meal that is boiled for about 20 minutes, and becomes a sticky mass that resemble mashed potatoes expect that it is more cohesive. you roll it into little balls, flatten them and pick up other food with it. you eat your meals with your hands here. with nchima you would usually have a type of green that is called Rape, it is similar to pumpkin leaves. they are heated and served with tomatoes and onion. eggs are also scrambled and served with tomatoes and onion, meat is usually served in a stew. there are many vegetable gardens, there are mango, papaya, lemon, lime, pomegranate trees everywhere!! the fruit is beautiful. meat is very cheap here, and chicken is served everywhere, usually very spicy. there are stands all over the city selling fruits, veggies, and wild stock. i have never seen avocados as big as they are here, perhaps the size of turnips! so delicious. i feel saddened for the conditions the animals are kept in, but it is simply the way it is here and is acceptable. the local beer is called Mosi, and costs about $2 a bottle! hence why most people come down with Brown-Bottle malaria every Saturday morning. (of course i am not speaking from personal experience...)

eating is different here because you eat with purpose, if you are lucky of course. there are many people who can't afford to feed themselves and that has already shifted the way i think about eating. at home i feel people eat all the time, with no purpose, perhaps boredom, or abundance and accessibility. i hope to keep that awareness of eating consciously, and gratefully.

well on that note, its lunch time! bon appetite!

Know Thyself...

there was a great forest fire, and after many arduous hours of fighting in the woods two fireman emerge and collapse by a river. one has a filthy face of ash and sweat and blood, while the other mans face is clean and untouched by the heat.

who washes their face first?

the man with the clean face washes in the river immediately. he sees his comrades face covered with dirt and believes his own to be equally unclean.

the man with the dirty face, looking at his friend believes his face to be clean, and does not rush to wash his body in the river.

Never let someone else, or something else, define you or your capabilites.

sunny saturday afternoon

I moved into my apartment Thursday past and its nice to have finally unpacked after 2 weeks of hostel. yesterday my roommate and I were having a picnic in our living room- (we have no furniture, fridge, or stove) and we were having a very serious discussion regarding the unbalanced world we live in, and how expansive the problems are. We spoke like this for sometime, and then we looked at each other because we finally realized that there was music and laughter outside,
we look out and there, in our backyard, was a full blown dance party. the music was booming, there were people dancing and singing and laughing, kids were running around playing...it was a magnificent sight. And there we were feeling so sorry for these people who are living in poverty, but in that instant it was clear that I was witnessing the essence of joy as the people danced and laughed and enjoyed their Saturday afternoon. It doesn't take much to be happy, not another hand bag, or dress, or attention from a certain someone, It is inside you, it is in the air you breathe, and it is available to you at every instant. wake up.

and don't go back to sleep.

the swiss invented the watch...

but africa owns time...

id like to conduct research and find out if there is a scientific phenomena where time flows much faster here. i enjoy flowing through my days and nights and not counting down hours and minutes to rush off to my next appointment if you will.

i feel blessed to be meeting all sorts of radical people over the last couple weeks. a different breed of people travel Africa. those looking for a challenge and adventure. that is a common thread running through the spirits of all the friends i am encountering... out to explore the world, visit villages that have maintained a purity away from our western developed world. see wild animals roam in their natural habitat...find a perspective that allows them to make sense of their worlds...they seem aware to me.

this timelessness i speak of helps me remain in a state of peace because i am sipping on the breath of my life instead of gasping for air.

try it.