Pabwato, an ant hill, and passport drama

 TOP NEWS IN ZAMBIA….IT’S ELECTION TIME! That’s right people, the presidential elections for Zambia are September 20^th and campaigning is in full force. I’m going to preface this now by saying that if anyone has heard the State’s warning American’s against coming here because of possible political unrest, or telling American’s currently living in Zambia to stock up on food, water, and shelter because of these elections that cautions like that are just plain silly. Zambia is extremely peaceful. Let me paint you a picture of election time here. Basically the two main parties (MMD which has been the ruling party for the past 20 years and PF which has been trying, and failing, to gain control, yet seems to have more favor here) are paying supporters to drive around with music blaring asking for support and passing out bracelets, shirts, chitengs, etc. in hopes they can bribe voters. President Banda is quite blatant in his bribing, creating a huge football stadium in hopes that the masses will come out for him. However, don’t kubaba, or don’t tell them. This means that one should take any and all gifts, be it monetary or whatnot, that President Banda is offering, but don’t tell him that you are actually going to vote for PF. My host brother, Marvin, has become quite the politician as of late, campaigning for PF during the day, and then campaigning to my mom and me at night. It is quite an exciting time to be here, actually, not scary in the least bit. I highly recommend anyone to visit if they want a good political show. Hehe.

Life has become quite busy for me as of late. School starts on Monday, so this week Teacher Judy and I have been monitoring our sixth graders while they clean up the school grounds. Since this tends to be boring work, we decided to play some educational games after working to treat the students that actually showed up. This has just filled my heart with joy. I wish I could put into words the elation I feel in being so blessed to have this classroom of mine. The excitement these kids have to learn is just incredible. I must admit, I was hesitant on how some of the games I found would fly, but there was no need to be. In just the three days that we have been playing and learning together I already see my students becoming more at ease with me, and understanding my fast, jumbled talk. I love them.

As mentioned before, Hope Fellowship is in the works of building a new church. Now last week I thought I would be building every day. However, office work kept piling up, and cars kept breaking down, making it only possible for me to come alongside the construction crew on Friday. If any of you have heard the term ‘back-breaking’ work, yet never experienced it, try destroying a termite hill with a pick. Five days later and I still have the blisters to prove how hard the work is. Props to the men and women who do it day in and day out. I would chip away at a section of the hill for about a half hour, and the lead man would come and kill it in like five minutes. I may have some typing skills, but they sure trumped me Friday. It was a wonderful experience to work with those men, though, and prove that we Abusungus don’t fear a little dirt, sweat, and sore muscles.

Oh, the passport drama! Stacey, listen up here. So upon arriving in Zambia over a month ago I was stamped as only a visitor even though my visa clearly states I am here on business. This means I was only given 30 days in the country before having to either ship out or somehow get it re-stamped. Being the forgetful person I am, thirty days came and went, and a week later I remembered that my visa was expired. Let me tell you, even when the passport control people jokingly say they are taking you off to jail, it is not so funny. Thankfully, the lady who was/is assisting me in this whole matter is ever so kind and loves the reason I am in her country. Therefore, instead of taking me to jail (which she legally could have done) or making me pay some exorbitant fee, she just gave me another 20 days to get things all settled. Unfortunately, this means that I will have to leave my lovely Zambia before those 20 days are up and return making sure to inform the border control that I am here on BUSINESS!!! Fortunately, leaving the country only entails maybe a safari trip in Botswana for a day or two. So Stacey, when you fly in, even though you are super jet-lagged and it is taking all of energy to just stay awake, make sure they stamp you as Business and not Visitor. They probably won’t say anything to you, they will just take it and stamp it, so be persistent.

I thank you all who may be reading this, and a special thanks to all who are praying for me. I had a super cheesy quote to share about how beautiful life is, and something about how great God is, but of course I left that journal at home so instead you get to read about me babbling about the quote. Hope you enjoyed it!

Love,

Sara Blumenshine