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Lukosa

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Trip of a Lifetime: Ultimate Africa: Day 14 Part 2

14.2-HEADER

November 16, 2015 cont …

9:18P

Back from dinner and drum entertaining and dancing around the boma.  For our presentation we performed the hokey-pokey again.  All the staff members joined in and danced with us.  It was really fun and nice to drink a local beer (Zambezi) by the campfire.

So, anyway, back to our list at the Lukosa Homestead.  As we were sitting there in the “summer kitchen” we all went around and told our names and where we were from.  Then each of the villagers, minus the small children, who were only seen and not heard and very well-behaved, told us their names, marital status and how many children (and grandchildren) they had.

Homestead women

The women of the homestead were seated on a mat on the floor inside the summer kitchen.

Shalom, the first twenty-some year-old boy, translated for the headman as he explained the men’s duties in the homestead and his wife, via her grandson, who was the older young man, told us about the women’s role in the homestead.  We were then encouraged to ask questions followed by them inquiring about our life and culture back home.  They were particularly interested to learn about our process of getting married, weddings, and having children.  They were intrigued to learn that some married couples in our culture choose to never have kids.  The woman then brought in a tall wooden receptacle that resembled a butter churn and two long wooden poles.  Inside the receptacle they placed grain and used the wooden poles to pound down on the corn, alternating one pound at a time forming a fast engine-like motion.  By doing this for hours they would eventually create cornmeal. To help pass the time the ladies would sing while they worked.  The grandson who had now taken over the tour, translated the song’s lyrics:  “Those who work will prosper and those who are lazy will suffer.”

Cornmeal churn

Women making cornmeal

(Note:  We are now hearing the deep grunting of a leopard right outside our tent – yeesh!)

The grandson then gave us a tour of some of the structures around the homestead.

Village tour

Young man giving us a tour of the village. Beside him is the village “headman.”

We were able to go inside the girls hut because it was “the tidiest hut in the homestead.”  Haha!  The boys hut was off limits to our viewing because it was “messy.”

Village Hut

The girls room

We also went inside of the “winter kitchen.”  This is where the women do their cooking when it gets cold out because it’s more enclosed that the “summer kitchen.”  Interestingly enough, this winter kitchen is also where they hold “calling hours” for viewing a dead family member before they are buried.  The room was very simple.  It, like the “summer kitchen,” was round.  We were told the kitchens are intentionally designed this way because snakes like to hide in corners.  The villagers build their kitchens round so there are no corners for the snakes to hide.  Against one of the walls was a case of shelves and in the middle was a small fire covered by a metal grate.  On it sat a cast iron kettle with two small cast iron pots beside it on the ground.  The structures where everyone slept (the girls’ bedroom, boys’ bedroom and headman’s house) were all square.

Winter Kitchen

Inside the winter kitchen

After the tour we returned to the cool summer kitchen for “bush tea”, coffee and delicious rosemary shortbread cookies.

African Bush Tea

The young man being very hospitable and serving the “bush tea,” coffee and cookies.

We were also given the option of eating home-cooked mopane worms – yes, you read this correctly – WORMS!  This was a very interesting experience.  Vitals informed us prior to arriving in the village that the women would not be offended if we declined eating them.  The worms come from the mopane trees and are loaded in nutrients.  They were first boiled in water, then fried with onions and tomatoes.  As the bowl was passed around, I took one of the worms.  I mean, why not?  When in Rome … right?  The worms were crunchy on the outside and squishy on the inside.  Their flavor closely resembled that of a sardine.  Hmmm … no regrets but not exactly on my most favorite list.

Mopane Worms

Village woman offering us some mopane worms

As we enjoyed our morning tea and coffee, the learning and discovery continued as we were told that when a young man is talking one-on-one to an elder he never looks him directly in the eye or if the elder is seated the young man never remains standing so that he is above the elder’s head.  Eye contact is considered a form of aggression and standing above an elder is disrespectful.  So the young man must kneel or be seated.  I did not notice this behavior during our visit to the village.

Overall, visiting the Lukosa homestead was an amazing experience. The family was so grateful for all the groceries and cleaning supplies we brought them.  It was wonderful to see smiles on all of their faces.

Smiling African woman

I love the smiles on the faces of the villagers.

Next, we took the minibus to St. Mary’s School.  There, some of the kids came outside to greet us with a song.

African children singing

The boys and girls of St. Mary’s School in Zimbabwe greeting us with a song.

We were able to visit three different classrooms (the 1st graders, a computer room and the 4th graders).  In the 4th grade class we sat down amongst the students and talked with them.  They were still learning English but able to communicate pretty well with us.   I sat at a table with Cheryl and the kids told us about their favorite sports and games to play at lunch time and what they were learning.

St. Mary's School

Sitting down with the 4th Graders at St. Mary’s.

One particular boy was very enthusiastic in answering our questions and even read us a long paragraph from his English textbook.  It was so heart-warming to see the excitement in all their faces.  They loved having their pictures taken and insisted on us showing them their picture from our digital cameras.   Each of these kids had their own pencil, broken in half from a full one.  There were also aluminum soup cans on their desks filled with rocks or corn kernels.  This was what they used to learn math.

African Student Reading

One of the boys eagerly reading to Cheryl and I.

The school’s principal was grateful for all the gifts we donated including reading books, coloring books, deflated soccer balls, pencils, pens and crayons.

Some of these students walk up to 6 km a day to get to school and then, of course, another 6 km to return home.  This made me ask Vitalis if they had to worry about encountering wild animals during their walk.  Vitalis explained that the kids are only walking when their is, at least, some daylight and they are taught what to look out for and how to respond.  However, he said, there aren’t too many encounters with animals except for elephants.  Then he chuckled and explained that the elephants have learned to avoid and actually will run away when they hear children coming.  This is because children will sick their dogs on an elephant who is too big to stop a small dog as it darts in between and around their legs.  This behavior exhausts the elephant who then gives up. Additionally, find out if using a cbd for dogs is safe if you have any pets.

In addition, Vitalis said that children used to roll tires over to an elephant who would pick up the tire with its trunk and throw it down.  The rubber tire would then bounce back up and all over the place.  This frustrated and exhausted the elephant who didn’t expect the tire to bounce so they would eventually give up and walk away in frustration.  So because of this, Vitalis stated that as soon as elephants hear the sound of children coming, they take off to avoid these frustrations.  I thought this was an interesting and hilarious look into the life of the locals.

I have thoroughly enjoyed all the new learning and discovery throughout this trip.

 

Publishing

Trip of a Lifetime: Ultimate Africa: Day 14 Part 1

14.1-HEADER

November 16, 2015 – 5:50A
Looking out from the front porch of our “tent” at a beautiful sunrise over Hwange National Park.  Temperatures are nice and cool.  Enjoying all the sounds of nature surrounding me and feeling very privileged.  I slept like a log last night.  Heading to breakfast soon.  I have a feeling today’s visit to the “homestead” and the elementary school will be eye-opening.

3:45P

Back at Tent 9.  What an enlightening day for learning and discovering.  Our jeep drive from Kashawe camp to the Hwange National Park boom gate entrance is 45 minute and from there to “Hwangetown” was maybe another 25 (by minibus).

First, we stopped at an open-air market to look around at the wares the local people were selling.  Most of the stuff was items you’d find at a hardware store along with cooking utensils, cleaning supplies, produce, spices, dry beans and nuts.

Fruit Market

A glimpse into one of the open air markets we visited. This was a produce stand but most of the items sold were hardware-based.

After browsing around for about a half hour, we got back on the bus and drove to a local supermarket called OK Market.  There, we donated $5 to Vitals for him to purchase groceries and cleaning supplies for the family at the “homestead” we were about to visit.   Browsing through the OK supermarket was a learning and discovery experience in and of itself.  The store was clean and very well-organized.  There was a variety of grocery items along with a section of cooking supplies, hygiene products, cleaning supplies, paper products, etc.  Everything was arranged on the shelves in a neat and orderly fashion and each aisle was clearly labeled overhead with the category of products it held.

OK Supermarket

Looking in the OK Supermarket from the front entrance.

I bought a $1.00 packet of oxtail soup dry powder.  I thought this would be an interesting thing to take home and cook for Aaron.  I also bought some pre-packaged chocolate chip cookies (brand name Charhons) to try.  I ate two and gave the rest to a family of three sitting outside the store.  Their baby was so adorable and smiled at me when I handed him a cookie.

Flame Tree

A beautiful flame tree across the street from the OK Supermarket in Zimbabwe.

Then we got back on the bus to head for the hosting homestead in the Lukosa village.  On the ride there, Vitalis taught us the words “Chi-ni” (which means “Greetings”) and “Ta Boca” (which means Thank You in the Shona language.  Vitalis explained all about his native language of Shona.  He said the alphabet is the same letters as ours expect they don’t have the letters X or L.  Their vowels are the same 5 vowels as ours but pronounced the same as they do in Mexico.  Words of the Shona language are very basic and easy to sound out as everything is pronounced just as it looks on paper.  Vitalis joked about how difficult it was for him to learn the English language.  He asked us why certain words were pronounced nothing like they are spelled.  We all couldn’t help but laugh in agreement as he gave some examples.  One example he used was the word “cafe.”  He asked: “If the word ‘cave’ is pronounced ‘k-ayve’ then why is the word ‘cafe’ pronounced ‘ka-fay’?”   That’s when Nora shouted out:  “Blame the French for that one!”  Haha!

Next, Vitalis asked us:  “If the plural version of ‘tooth’ is ‘teeth’ and the when you have more than one ‘goose’ you have ‘geese’ then why if you have more then one ‘booth’ you don’t say ‘beeth’?”  We all laughed hysterically at that one.

As we neared the village, we saw a couple of women carrying baskets on top of their heads.  Very cool.

Basket African Woman

A woman gracefully balancing a basket on her head.

There are a total of 500 homesteads within the village of Lukosa.  The homestead that hosted us today was very simple.  There were a few small structures made of mud from termite mounds with thatched roofs, a chicken coop and corn and grain silo made of sticks and a small outhouse made of cement blocks.

Lukosa Homestead

A view of the homestead we visited within the village of Lukosa.

We were immediately greeted by the family who were all very friendly.  There were six women, an older gentleman (the “headman”) and a boy in his twenties.  The school-aged kids were all in school but there were four 3 and 4-year-old boys.  One of our OAT pre-trip letters had suggested bringing something customary of your home state to share with the people at the homestead.  I brought a small pack of Ohio State Buckeye candies.  I handed them to one of the women.  She showed her son who was standing beside her and a big smile came across his little face.  It was adorable.  I loved it.

The family invited us into a structure called the “summer kitchen.”  They said it would be nice and cool in there.  We all filed inside and sat along the built-in bench that aligned most of the interior wall.  The women and children all sat on a grass mat on the ground.  In the center was a long wooden table. The boy in his twenties did most of the talking and then another boy (also in his twenties) came and took over the lecture.  Both of them spoke very good English.

Summer kitchen

In the foreground is a wooden stand used to dry dishes. The round building in the background is the summer kitchen where we all gathered to meet the family.

I’m heading out now for our evening game drive.  I will write more tonight before bed.