less and everyone knows that soon they will finish. Early maize is harvested for family consumption, the take still too small for sale. To outwit the random showers, families hang their maize from the ceilings of nsakas (traditional outdoor cooking shelters) to dry. The smoke from cooking fires drives away pests and dries the maize in the lee of the roof. I find that this imparts a certain flavor to the maize meal that is produced and makes nshima superior in both taste and texture to the bland commercial brands available in town.Zambia has its fair share of socialist holidays and for many rural Zambians these days pass without notice.
For Youth day this year, the school held an event with the focus on young women. Restless Development volunteers worked with the teachers and myself to coordinate a day-long show of culture, drama, and educational activities at Changilo Basic School. Restless Development is a non-governmental organization that works at schools to promote female empowerment, equality, and HIV/AIDS awareness in Central and Copperbelt provinces. The show we organized at the school featured dramas and poems written by the children in which the young women dealt with sugar daddies, abuse, and living in an area with a high HIV/AIDS prevalence (It is estimated that 17-21% of people are living with HIV/AIDS in Central province).
The dancing was the highlight of the day as the girls group we started last year as part of Peace Corps GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) program led the crowd in a cultural tour of Zambia's many diverse tribes. The girls each wore the traditional dress for each tribe respectively and taught us about the customary foods, ceremonies, clothing and crafts from each region. They concluded their tour with a spectacular dance presentation that brought in several participants from the crowd.
The Easter holiday came late this year and fell within a couple days of my birthday. Zambia has about five national holidays during this time (Easter Thursday through Monday) that are considered holidays by Peace Corps as well. I decided that it was time to visit Northern province, the only part of Zambia I had yet to visit, and make my way up to Lake Tanganyika by Easter. B and I, joined by a small group of friends, hopped a chibuku (maize beer) truck heading North and began to make our way through the Muchinga hills.Mpika is the first town one comes too heading due North out of Serenje. A little over a hundred kilometers from Lala land, Mpika is where the great North road splits in two and the well
maintained branch to the West runs to Kasama and Mbala. We took the Eastern branch towards Nsoka and traveled up "Danger Hill" (that is the honest-to-God name of the place), over house sized pot-holes, and past burned out wrecks of tractor trailers in search of the Kapisha hot springs. We reached our destination in one harrowing afternoon and set up camp by the natural hot springs. Kapisha is adjacent to Shiwa Ngandu house, a historic farm house that now operates a resort, and the two are owned and operated by the same family. They are very fond of Peace Corps volunteers and all of us were loath to leave their hospitality after just three days.Kapisha staff dropped us off on Kasama road at our request to begin hitching North to Mbala. We met up with more volunteers in Kasama and contracted a bus to take us all to Mpulungu. Zambia's only port, Mpu
lungu sits just West of Mbala on the shores of Lake Tanganyika. The Lake boarders five countries and is the deepest of the rift lakes. It is a huge source of wild caught fish and Mpulungu has flourished with the trade. We spent the night at a small lodge and hired out a boat the following morning to take us to Isanga Bay about three hours away. Isanga Bay is only accessible by boat during part of the year and is secluded enough to enjoy unspoilt nature but the lodge nearby provides enough amenities to feel comfortable. The campsite that the lodge maintains right on the beach was pristine. We celebrated Easter as a family with a braii (cook-out) and games on the beach.I made it back to Serenje in time for a quiet birthday celebration with friends and of course, cake.
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