Beyond Mvuma

Happy Easter.

Today we (mom and I) went to the Great Zimbabwe ruins with the Cavanaghs.

According to our guide, G.Z. is the second largest ruin site in all of Africa, with the pyramids being the first. It was built around 1250 AD. The word ‘Zimbabwe’ literally means ‘house of stone’ and is of course where the country got its name in 1980 after independence.

We first climbed a rather steep hill with tiny steps of stone embedded into the ground. The king’s quarters or fortress was up at the top of the hill, where he could look down on his kingdom in the valley. It is a series of walls, enclosures and rooms set into the rocky hill top. There is an enclosure in the valley where the queen lived and ruled. Apparently she was really in charge because she was the one who kept the schedule . . . or at least that’s what our guide said.

Mom arrived last night. We spent the morning watching this chameleon outside of Sheila and Tim’s window. Chameleons walk with a strange ataxic 4 legged gait. Apparently, this is because they have 2 brains that are not connected so the usual coordination is delayed.

Later in the day we went to the market in town. Mrs. Blackwatch was there selling tomatoes and working on a basket.

It has been a busy week. I am here in Charundura for just 5 more days so much of my time has been spent finishing up projects and saying goodbye.

On Monday, I met with my English class for the last time. They entertained me with a play and then did a very humorous impersonation of me. Afterwards, I was invited to walk home with one of my students, Agnes who doesn’t live too far from the hospital. We ended up going down the road where I had ridden the bike a few times. Turns out I knew some of her kids already. . . they were the ones that were playing in the shade of the scarecrow and popped out when rode by. At Agnes’ home were her mother, two sisters in law, 9 children (the 3 girls, Linda, Juliet, and Faith are Agnes’), twin baby goats, 3 kittens and a slew of chickens. As I approached the house, I could hear the younger kids whispering ‘marongu’ (word for white person) and laughing, seeming to be very surprised and excited by my presence. They were all smiles as I shook each kids hand and exchanged stares. We chased the goats around for a while and played football (soccer) with a home made ball of sand and netting. And, of course they loved seeing their images on the LCD screen of my camera.

Yesterday, we went to my friend Florence’s home area in Siyahokwe. It is about a 45 minute drive on dirt road or a three hour walk from the hospital. On the way there, we had to cross a bridge where just 100 yards off the road there were some young boys bathing. When we paused over the bridge to take a photo they just laughed and waved.

Once in Siyahokwe, we met her family: her mother and father, two sisters, two brothers, her aunt and uncle (her father’s eldest brother), and several nieces and nephews and cousins plus chickens, goats and pigs. We had a snack of ground nuts (peanuts) roasted over a fire pit inside the ‘imba’ (traditional home) and then some watermelon.

As I explained in an earlier blog entry, the traditional home or ‘imba’ is a one roomed, round structure with a thatched roof. The floor used to be made of pressed cow dung but is now usually concrete. The walls used to be a combination of timber and mud but are now also usually made of concrete. Normally, there are several huts arranged together. One is used for cooking and has a fire pit in the middle. The others might be sleeping quarters . . .one for the parents, another for the boys and another for the girls. Then, there are also smaller structures used for storing grain or to house pigs.

Today was Palm Sunday. There was a big procession from the mission to the hospital and then back to the church. The service was outside and lasted more than three hours. There was incense and palms and drumming and blessing and singing. I half expected the priest to be riding a donkey (as there is a plethora of them around) to the church. Once we got to the church, everyone sat outside to listen to the passion, and then there was more drumming and preaching and singing. I have to admit I was relieved to be tapped on the shoulder and told to go to the hospital to see a young child who had had a seizure during the service. Turned out to be a febrile seizure and all was okay.

Some of my better photos from the last few days. . .