(Zambia) I am too cold in Africa

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When I had told people that I am going to Africa, everybody was worried about hot weather. But now I am freezing cold. Maybe only the teacher of the earth science and the local people will understand what I mean.

12th June 2013
I am on the road again. These days the weather is going cold. Right now it is African winter. I’ve heard that some South African area gets snow.

 

When I saw this bird during cycling on the road, I though it is so beautiful. Right now somebody is selling this bird, and it looks so pitiful.
Tonight I have the place to sleep at the Zimbabwe people’s farm which I got introduced. It is getting cold that we make fire around the sunset.

 

13th June 2013
These days I’ve seen many local people cycling.

 

Around 3 pm I arrive in Kabwe which is a big city. There is a nice lodge that I just go into and ask them I can set up my tent. Luckily they allow it. I take shower at old staff house with cold water. If I arrive lately, maybe it will be freezing during taking shower.
Actually I can’t sleep well in the night that it is too cold. My camping gears are for only three seasons that if the weather is too cold, then it does not work well.

 

14th June 2013
When I wake up in the morning, my tent is totally wet with dew. I wait one hour to dry it with the sun. Today I can see selling 100% honey

 

Also there is selling charcoal.

 

A small boy is playing with the tire.

 

It is an African grocery that I think it is not a bad one. Some grocery has fewer goods than picture.

 

Today I can see many people holding something on the road. I am curious that I close to them. They are selling honey. I heard from Korean missionary that when he ate it, his body’s temperature went high. So, I am afraid of trying it.
I guess it will be expensive to buy it in my country. But in Zambia it is only 10K (2$). (It is not dot on his forehead, but bee.)

 

Around being sunset, it looks everybody is going home. I feel like I am the only one who has nowhere to go. My shadow is getting longer as much as my loneliness. Born alone die alone, it is a tragic human condition.

 

One hour before sunset, I ask one local people for the tent. She guides me to her house. It is ten minutes from the highway to her house.
She shows me around her house. It is like a well. It was dug on 1975 with a rope. They can still get water from here.
I am worried about the well that it is really deep that kids can fall. But she says she teaches all of her kids that they know it. Nobody has fallen into a well so far.

 

There is a village pump nearby her house. When people move a lever, they can get water. The woman on the picture is Constance who invites me at her family.

 

Africa has still culture of the large family. When I find one house, I can see a few more houses around there. It means there are a few more houses around Constance’s house.

 

It is her relative. The left one is Headwoman of the village. It has been interesting that actually their culture is similar to Korean culture. Being polite is very important, and young people must be polite to older people. Even African use two hands to give older people or stranger people something like Korean.
Here is huge contradiction that some of street African people (usually man!) are horribly rude, arrogant, impolite and discourteous. I have too many horrible bad experiences with street African men.
Never knows African.

 

This is a bathroom. A toilet is separated. The bathroom is surrounded with straws. It is like a labyrinth, but doesn’t have a door. I hope everybody knows I am taking shower that nobody comes to a bathroom. There is wood and sack on the floor. Constance heated water, but it didn’t take long time to get warm water.
Today again I am bathing with one bucket. It is really mystery that how I can wash with only this little water. I feel like always to rinse is not perfect that soap is left in my body. Anyway I feel good to have shower!

 

I set up my tent at the front of her house. The next to her house is kind of silo for corns. The staple food of Africa is a corn.

 

15th June 2013
The next day, I woke up very early, but it was too cold to do something. Around 6 am I start getting ready. At the outside, she is sweeping that it is typical African morning. I’ve heard that Zambia people start the morning with sweeping their yard.

 

They make fire in the morning.

 

The left one is Constance, who has four children now. She went a high school when she was teenager. Unfortunately there was no supporter who let her keep going to school that she dropped school at grade ten. She speaks English really well, and she can speak two local languages more.
Sadly, her husband died two years ago.
She guides me to the highway in the morning. I give her small money and some gift which will not make her uncomfortable.
During walking together, I ask her that how her life is.
“Are you happy? It seems you have many relative and family around you. How is life?”
“When my husband died, it was really hard. But I am getting used to it. Um, life is really hard that I have to take care of four children.”

Some studies have said that the third country people are happier than developed country people. I am wondering which is true.
I think the some of the third country people don’t have the word of “Happy” on their dictionary. So, when surveyors come to them and ask “are you happy?” they might just laugh, because they don’t know exactly what happy means. And then surveyors write down that “they are very happy.” And all of us believe that third country people are happier than us.
But the thing is Husband and wife die, the relative and family is suffering from HIV/AIDS, children doesn’t have enough food so that they are wandering the road, the government is too corrupt, under the corrupt government people have to pay much money to go to school that many of them give up going to school and some of them who has more money use those poor people as slave in 21c, then can we take their smiling as happiness???

 

Every day I see burning ground. I heard that it is good to make fire on the farm every seven year, but to do it every year is not good.

 

I arrive in Mkushi (Mukusi) around 4 pm. Someone introduced me her friend in Mkushi, but it was hard to contact. So, I go to Lodge to get permit to pitch my tent. Everything is fine except no place to take shower.
At the lodge, there are many people watching a Zambian game of preliminary of world cup. Some of them invite me at BBQ! Awesome! Meat and beer!
I hope tonight is not much cold. I will wear parka during sleeping!


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