Musungu! Musungu!

That's what I hear each time I walk or cycle past a group of children, and it means "white person" in Bemba. There's usually no distinction between chinese and whites - if you're fair-skinned, you're a musungu. Haha.

The other morning I was walking to the orphans' school, and before I saw the bunch of children sitting by the road, I heard them screaming, "MUSUNGU! MUSUNGU! MUSUNGU! MUSUNGU! MUSUNGU! MUSUNGU!" and as I approached, they asked, "HOW ARE YOU!", to which I replied "I'm fine, thank you! And you?" and they'd say, "Fine…" very shyly in reply. It's always the case, because the first English phrase they learn is school is "HOW ARE YOU!". That's how people greet each other here; Mulishani means "how are you".

So each time someone from home calls me and asks, "So, how are you?" I have to catch myself before going "I'm good, and you?"

So this one time I'm cycling through a village, half dead from the ride uphill on a dirt track. The children in this village are more knowledgeable, I think. Rather than screaming "MUSUNGU! MUSUNGU! (to infinity and beyond)", they're screaming, "CHINA! CHINA! CHINA! CHINA!" hahahaha it was so funny. I would've been more amused if not for the fact that I felt I was going to collapse anytime.

The culture here in Zambia is very different, but very lovely. A lot of us non-local girls on outreach feel safe here. I felt safe enough to take a 20-minute walk to the internet cafe on my own while the sun was still up. Here are a few things different about the Zambian culture:

1) Ladies always walk around in skirts, especially in villages or slums. Anything that reveals the knee (or something higher than the knee for that matter) is highly offensive, simply because the parts of the body between the waist and the knee are seen as sexual.

The chest, however, is not a sexual part of the body. Ladies can be walking around breastfeeding like it's the most normal thing in the world. Okay, I guess it's the most normal thing in Zambia… No one really cares about that here. (In the villages and more rural towns at least…) Interesting right! Hahaha.

2) Zambia runs on a 24-hour clock. Nobody says "The meeting is at 5pm". It's always "The meeting is at 17 hours". This took me a while to realise. The first time I met Pharen, my roommate, she told me about a sewing ministry with some ladies from the community. "They come and sew on Fridays at 14 hours". Naturally, my brain receives the comment as what I think is correct, "They come and sew on Fridays for 14 hours". And I'm thinking, whoa! That's a really long time to sew…

3) People here are highly relationships-oriented. Tasks are not half as important as people. Just by the greeting alone, you can tell that people care about people. Strangers walking past each other say, "Mulishani" to one another, which, as I said earlier, means "how are you". And of course you have to respond to the question right? I really enjoy just greeting people in Bemba and being able to respond in Bemba too - it amuses them and makes them smile! Awww… :)

4) Nobody ever makes offers. Nobody says, "Do you want a cup of coffee?", or "Can I help you with that?". If you want to give something or help with something, you just do it, you don't ask for opinions. The Zambian thinking is this: If you want to give it to me, you give it to me. If you don't want to give it to me, you offer it to me… Refusing a gift is also a no-no.

5) Ever heard of this thing called "African time"? (haha this is so funny la!) Back during the UGC, if one team member says, "We'll be there in 10 minutes", Matthew or someone else would say, "African time or American time?" - basically, African time = no concept of time. 10 minutes could mean 2 hours. So appointments between Zambians are really fulfilled accurately. Being late by 2 hours for an appointment is not unnatural for the people here - and it's also totally acceptable. (I'm glad this does not happen in Singapore or my father would be dead.)

6) Parents take on the names of their first-borns. That's how important the first-born is, whether male or female. The man who told me this is Ringwell, and he said that locally, people call him "father of Dollyca" in the local language (too complicated for me to remember), because Dollyca is his first-born. And then once he has grandchildren, he will take on the name of his first-born grandchild! So it'll become "grandfather of ______". Wow. A total reverse of the Chinese culture whereby the younger generation takes on the name of the older generation.

7) If I add a "ba" before your name, it's a sign of respect. Nobody's called me "ba Marianne", simply because I'm young(er).

8) For the left hand, wearing a ring on the pinkie means you're single. On the 4th finger means you're engaged. Middle finger means you're married. 2nd finger means you're widowed. Thumb means you're dead. No, I'm kidding about the thumb. But that's just cool and interesting! Maybe it's a universal thing but I'm just ignorant? Haha. Well, a Zambian told me that, anyway.

9) Zambians laugh when they're afraid. I learnt this from a missionary who works in a village along the Lake, and he said that as a musungu stranger meeting them, he used their laughter to gauge whether they'd accepted him yet. I found that interesting, but I guess that's what I do too. A defensive mechanism to hide fear is to laugh. I do it all the time (and no, that's not the reason I laugh so much… hahahaha…?)

10) Zambians eat with their hands. The most common staple food here is nshima, which is a maize thingy… I know not how to describe it. It has a partially rough texture, and is like a paste? Go google it la! Haha anyway, it's not nice when eaten in a "civilised" manner. Eating it with a spoon or fork just doesn't work. The texture and taste is incomparable to that when you eat it with your hands. You roll it into a ball and make a little dent on it to scoop up cabbage or fish with that little dent. Then you pop the whole thing into your mouth. And it is awesome. I haven't had nshima in a week, and I can't believe I'm saying this, but I miss it!

Okay! I'm surprised I managed to think of 10 new cultural practices (is that the right word?). It's an amazing place, Zambia. I really wouldn't mind returning next time… to work with orphans maybe? Haha. I'm currently very interested in ministry with orphans, especially because the whole time that I've been in Zambia, I've had a lot of contact with children, and while here in Mpulungu, I've had lots of contact with orphans - both physically and through stories and interviews with the missionaries who work in villages.

It's been good, being here :) I'm learning things about myself, and I know that I am growing, although I don't know how I'm growing. I really look forward to the training in September, because dad reminded me that it'll be a time of input and growth, and learning about my strengths and gifts, learning about all the different ministries in missions, learning about my purpose and God's will for me. I CAN'T WAIT! :) And of course making friends whose friendships with will last a lifetime :)

Oh my dayz, it's already August. Time is flying! People at home are starting university soon! I'm excited for you all! Ahhhh so fun la I can't believe a new phase is starting for all of you! :) Have fun in school man! Hahaha it's gonna be great for you all :)

Okay! Wow this is a pretty long post. Hello test test are you still there? Haha.

Love you all very much, missing people at home more and more each month (duh). Especially the 204 people! And the haising darlings! And the saikangs! And the kias (like duh, and this computer keeps changing "kias" to "kiss" hahaha!)! and of course my family! aiya everybody la! :)

Take care everybody :) I love you all! God bless!

With much love imported from Zambia,

Musungu Marianne