September 27, 2007

We went on a bush clinic yesterday. Everything went very smoothly even though we didn’t take the nurse with us this time. The four of us SMs plus Uncle Alan can pretty much handle everything now. All we have to do is weigh babies and figure out which immunizations they need. Plus check the pregnant mothers to make sure everything is ok.

Whenever we go somewhere where there are kids, the boys bring a soccer ball to play with. Then they usually give the soccer ball to the kids when they leave. This time I decided to bring crayons and paper, so when I finished my work, I went and colored with the bored older kids whose mothers had dragged them along to the clinic with them.

Before we left the place where the clinic was, we took a walk to a place where there is a waterfall in the rainy season. On the way we came across some lemon trees. I got really excited and picked A LOT because I had been wishing for some lemon juice. You learn to be really resourceful around here, and when you find something like a tree full of lemons, you don’t pass it by! There is nothing to drink except for water, so lemonade will be good! And lemon juice is handy for lots of other things like putting in an apple pie and making a lemon meringue pie out of... that is what I would love the recipe for if somebody (hint, hint) would like to send it to me.

Speaking of being resourceful, we are constantly trying to improve our eating situation. The food in the cafeteria is extremely lacking. It’s very repetitive and really corny. And by corny, I mean there is a LOT of maize and they use it for everything. For the bread, for the porridge, for the shima, (that’s the three basic meals right there.... bread and bananas and porridge for breakfast. shima for lunch. bread and bananas for supper, over and over and over and over and over again!) so far what we have discovered is that pie is amazing! There are mulberries here that we can pick, and piecrust has hardly anything to it. We’re excited that it’s so easy and fairly cheap. I also tried making a papaya pie... something like a pumpkin pie. Josh (one of the guy SMs) tried it and spit it down the sink. So I guess I haven’t perfected it yet.

The missionaries all get together for a potluck every Sabbath. It’s the one day of the week that we get real food that tastes good, so it’s really exciting! This week, Elena and I are going to have a pie-baking contest against the boys. We will each bring our pies to the potluck and get everyone else to judge them for us. I think Elena and I have the edge though, because we actually have an oven. The guys only have a hotplate. Not sure how they’re going do it, but it’ll be interesting!

I also made peanut butter right from scratch. I bought the “ground nuts” from some lady named Doreen. Then I shelled them, roasted them, and took them to Pauline’s house where I used her champion juicer to grind them. It tastes pretty good if I say so myself.

The boys have taken more complicated measures to curb their hunger. They made bamboo fishing poles and went fishing one day. I went with them. We didn’t catch anything, but it was beautiful on the Kafue River. None of the locals will go out on it because of the hippos and the crocodiles, but we didn’t see any!

We have pets now. The boys have a python named “lil’ Bruce” and we girls have a chameleon. Not sure what we’re going to name it yet. Maybe” Big Bruce” ?? I held the snake today. It was kind of cool. But I was really nervous. We took it around the village and all the local people ran away.

This Sunday we are taking a trip to western province. Not sure where that is. West I guess. We’re putting a roof on a church and will be gone until Thursday. I’m excited about that!

It’s nice here, but it’s exciting to get away from the predictability of the clinic. I hang out in a little room and play pharmacist all day. All I do is put pills in bags. Now and then I get to come look at something. One man had some cotton stuck in his ear, so we flushed it out. I saw glaucoma, cataracts, scabies, a lady with a discharge, and a little boy with a big cut between his eyes. I got to help stitch that one up.

I think I’ve been kind of homesick. Or at least North America sick. Things are so different here. There’s so much I miss. I would give anything to be able to eat even my least favorite dish from home, just to have food from home.

You know something funny? I don’t feel comfortable in pants or shorts anymore. I’m so used to wearing a skirt or a chitenge all the time that I feel so exposed if even my knees are showing! I’m running out of things to say. I wish you all could be here.