Today was busy! Easter Monday is a national holiday in Zambia, so of course we couldn’t have classes. We went to Bethel’s work day for a couple hours and attempted slashing again. I’m not very good at it and I have several blisters and a sore back as a result, but I tried to be as helpful as I could. They were all very nice and thanked us profusely for coming, but they’re naturally very polite people. For the next couple hours, we had to pack up our belongings and get ready for our move over to our new house. We stopped packing at 2 to go to choir rehearsal. The mixed choir at Bethel asked us to join. We happily accepted the invitation, but seriously, this is one of the most talented group of singers I’ve ever heard. Also, they sing in African dialects. And they dance. Those are very good reasons why I should have protested harder when they asked us to join. Practice lasted a couple hours and was actually much more fun and less embarrassing than I was anticipating. They wrote down the lyrics to a song they’re singing in Bemba so we could stumble along (this made me feel very inadequate…I speak one language, while most Zambians speak three or four). Some of the ladies showed us some of their dance moves for a while after practice. This is all simple stuff, like stepping forward with your right foot while moving your arms in a circle, but I’m pretty sure I look like a fool. Combine that with the fact that I’m over six feet tall and one of two white people in the congregation, and we have an awkward situation on our hands. Oh, and the women always stand in the first line with the men behind them. I’m taller than all but maybe two of the men in the choir, so not only will I stick out like a sore thumb, but I’ll be blocking the poor men behind me from seeing anything. The joys of being abnormally tall! And did I mention they want Rachel and me to sing with them in a huge competition in a couple weeks? But in all seriousness, it was really fun to be with this group of people. We’ve never really talked to them in-depth before today, but they were very welcoming. They’re all around our own age, speak perfect English, and are all friendly.
After choir, we started moving. Dee came over with the car and we loaded it up. I have no idea how we have so much stuff. When the kids saw us putting our suitcases in the car, they looked so sad. They thought we were leaving permanently! We assured them we would never just toss our stuff in the car and leave without saying good-bye…in fact the idea of leaving makes us want to cry, so we’ll probably be giving them hugs and crying the entire week before we actually do leave. Our new house is wonderful. Rachel and I really enjoyed the guest house – it was huge, comfortable, and close to all the action on campus. But it was just a place to sleep – the kitchen, laundry, etc., were across the yard in the other house. Here, we’re in an actual house. It has three large bedrooms, queen-sized beds, a kitchen, washing machine and dryer, and everything and more we need to live. The only downside is it’s set away from campus, so it’ll be a bit of a hike when we tutor and just want to see the kids. Overall, a very productive and busy day.
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