Swahili, The Excitement of Soap and Creating Peace in Times of Violence

I was unable to make it into Mpika this past week; however I just found out that Fr. Joseph makes the trip often so I should be able to get to town next week. I thought I would have known this by now considering I’ve been here for a number of months. You’d think I’d have everything down ha! I sure thought I did.

One thing I have noticed about Katibunga and the surrounding villages is that they are all very homogenous. In many areas things run the same; family incomes, age, race, religion, occupation and many others. Africa, as a whole, is very diverse and this can be seen by how different Zambia is from South Africa even though the two countries are quite close. However, village life is consistent. Katibunga’s population is mainly made up of young undereducated Africans who identify as Christian and have jobs as farmers and construction workers which do not provide much of an income so they are considered poor.

In Lakeville, Minnesota you can find many similarities, but you are also able to find a wide range of differences as well. Some people are extremely wealthy, some are not. Some people are Catholic while others identify as Jewish, Mormon, Lutheran, and others. Some people are young and some are old. I mention this because I found it interesting. It is a different experience when living in a place where everyone is very similar, especially when you are the odd man out. A good experience, that is for sure.

While out walking the other day I fell victim to the rain once again. I swear the weather changes on a dime here. I was out walking and it couldn’t have been sunnier. I was about 8 miles out and looked down to check the time and when I looked back up the sky had changed to a melancholy haze and thunder could be heard in the distance. The weather forecast said the rain would come the next day, but it was wrong. I almost made it back before getting poured on, but had to walk about a mile in the rain. It wasn’t getting rained on that upset me it was the clothes I had drying on the clothesline that I knew were getting soaked again.

When I returned I ran to where I hang my clothes and couldn’t find them. I was relieved. One of the novice monks had taken them inside so they would stay dry. I was very happy not to have to do my laundry all over.

Some of my many wonderful 11th graders!

While walking I now bring my Swahili phrasebook with me in order to learn some words. I have mastered some of the introductory and basics such as hello, see you later, please, thank you, sorry, this is my friend…, I like…, I want…. It is nice to be able to get a grip on at least a piece of the language before actually having to use it and it’s kind of fun. When I arrive in Tanzania it will be Swahili overload. So this is my way of getting a head start. The rain soaked my little book, but I have been able to dry it out fairly well. Well enough to be able to continue using it at least.

The words aren’t super difficult but the spellings and pronunciations are a bit confusing. For example, the word ‘please’ in Swahili is ‘tafadhali’. Just by looking at it you’d probably pronounce this toff-uh-doll-ee, but that would be wrong. The letters sound a bit different in Swahili. It is actually pronounced taff-a-thaw-lee. The ‘a’ makes the sound it would in the word ‘pat’, the ‘i’ makes the ‘ee’ sound similar to the word ‘seen’ and then there are letter combinations that make you think what the hell like ‘dh’ which makes the ‘th’ sound. There are other sounds, but once you learn how the letters are pronounced then the words come a bit easier.

You are able to see how Bemba branches off of Swahili by the sounds of the letters and what seems to be a strong overuse of ‘m’ and ‘n’. Ha! Seriously, though, there are many words that begin with the letters ‘m’ and ‘n’. When using ‘m’ you usually are speaking to or about others. When using ‘n’ you usually are speaking about yourself. Bemba’s words are completely different, but the sounds are similar. Confusing, but interesting.

The difficulty I have in pronouncing Bemba and Swahili words also troubles many Africans when they try to speak English. I was teaching my students about how our body controls our balance which is by a fluid called endolymph which is found in our semicircular canals. When saying the word ‘fluid’ they were all very confused. This is because I pronounce the ‘i’ in fluid differently. So, now I must think about how I pronounce some words in order for them to understand me. To them, fluid is pronounced “floo-eed” which made me laugh. Now when I try to correct myself they all laugh. It’s a good time.

Yesterday, today and tomorrow I have and am working on reviewing the entire term’s material with my students. I now teach for 2 or 3 hours because nobody comes in after me so I just continue to teach. It seems as if the end of the term has made the other teachers lazy. In the end I don’t mind and the kids need the review so it works out.

Who knew soap could be so exciting? :)

I brought in pens, pencils and some markers to give away when the students answer the questions correctly. It’s amazing how much participation has increased. Today we played ‘Kerber Games’ (jeopardy) and the winning team members all received bars of soap. This probably seems like a strange reward, but some are unable to buy soap and considering I have been teaching them about the benefits of using soap I thought I would give them some. Tomorrow everyone will receive a new toothbrush. It’s like Christmas up in here. The kids seem to enjoy it and I think it’s fun too.

While working at the clinic the other day we only had a few patients so to pass the time Violet went out and picked some fruits from the nearby tree. We then snacked on them while waiting for patients. I mention this because in America I don’t think anyone would just walk out and grab some berries and start eating them. Most would probably assume they are poisonous.

Additionally, like clockwork, each day around noon you can hear and see a bunch of cows crossing the road to their grazing area. The clinic sits right next to this field so all these cows walk right by the windows. I just thought this was worth mentioning because it’s a bit funny and cool.

While in the clinic many people come in with pain in their mouth resulting from toothaches and cavities. This is obviously impossible for me to treat except for giving something to ease the pain. Br. Jerome who is in town until Sunday brought one of his medical books and I started reading random stuff. I found a section on cavities and teeth and learned that it is the breakdown of certain carbohydrates, sucrose and starches that cause organic acids to form on the teeth. When the acid’s pH level drops below 5.5 then it begins to damage the enamel (water sits around 7.2). Additionally, protein is known to help slow the drop in pH making it good for your teeth. So, eat your eggs, meat and nuts! Of course, you who are reading this understand that acids and sugars damage your teeth, but it’s nice to have some additional information to help with the patients.

Speaking of acids and sugars, we recently had pop at dinner. This never happens. Like never ever. I still have no idea what the occasion was, but when God gives you pop in the middle of Africa you drink the pop. The bottles are all glass which is funny because I don’t think America even makes glass bottles for pop anymore.

Each day around 3:00pm and 4:00pm (15 and 16 o’clock) there is siesta time. It is a time when you can go and grab a piece of bread and some milk and just sort of hangout. I usually take advantage of it for two reasons. The bread here is amazing and I usually am getting back from my walks around this time so it’s nice to be able to snack on something.

I recently told some of the monks that there should be some rain coming next week (it has been fairly hot and dry so we need the rain). They were amazed that I knew this. I told them that I am able to check the weather on the internet and that my parents in America can easily know what the weather is like here in Katibunga. This made them laugh. So, even though there is a small amount of internet here it is still a foreign concept to most. They don’t know all of the things that it can do.

Furthermore, many kids around the village ask me things such as “Joseph, can you ride a bike?” or “I heard that in America you only have to take one or two subjects.” There is a lot of confusion and obvious miscommunication that has taken place and so I am working to clear it up. I am very capable of riding a bike or driving a car (which they think is cool) and I make sure to let them know that I had to take all the courses that they had to. Ha, I didn’t do all that hard work for nothing. Sometimes I laugh and say “You think America doesn’t teach their students mathematics?!”

On Monday night as we were leaving dinner I heard Sister Agness scream. I'm fairly certain her scream could have jumped started a car because of how shocking it was. There was a large snake outside the refectory. It was 4 feet in length with a 4 inch width at least. This isn’t massive, but definitely the largest snake I have seen. The monks came running out and started throwing rocks at it. Simply put, this snake was pissed. It outstretched its neck and hissed which is actually pretty freaky. Finally, one rock struck the snake and another monk smacked it with a stick to kill it. I guess its snake season in Zambia!

Finally, the news about the Paris terrorist attacks has reached this part of the world. I have also noticed it being the main topic talked about on social media. There have been many good and positive things spread, but some I have read are so hateful, ignorant and sad it is has become discouraging. Many people have rushed to condemn the entire religion of Islam and the people who identify as Muslim. Why? Did every Muslim take part in the terrorist attacks in Paris? No. So why would you think to judge and hate them all.

The problem is generalization. People quickly group everyone together. For example, all Minnesotans are nice or all Asians are smart. Trust me, I know many Minnesotans who aren’t very kind and, of course, not all Asians are Einstein’s. So, why would you jump to group the innocent with the guilty? If I was mean to you would you go ahead and write off all red-haired people? No, you wouldn’t.

Now, what ISIS has done is terrible. Beyond terrible. It shouldn’t happen and I hope it doesn’t ever again (even though it probably will). However, we must use our brain and stop to think before judging an entire religion made up of over a billion people.

I believe there are no violent religions, just violent people. Many people have committed horrible acts  in the name of religion - even Christianity. Yet, you do not fear or judge all Christians because of this so why do we do it to those who we do not know? It’s because they are different. Psychologically, we grow closer to people who are similar to us. Use this knowledge to understand your feelings and fears of people who are different and know that just because they are doesn’t mean they are bad.

Dialogue is the avenue to peace. Dialogue and conversation have the ability to create peace among people. I strongly suggest listening, opening your minds and discussing your thoughts with others before coming to a conclusion. You never know what you might learn.

Remember, if you only have love for your own race then you only leave space to discriminate and to discriminate only generates hate.

Hate breeds anger and anger breeds shame.

Spread kindness, love, peace and understanding.

Some words from Pope Francis that we should think about…

Pope Francis, in 2013, wrote that when “faced with disconcerting episodes of violent fundamentalism, our respect for true followers of Islam should lead us to avoid hateful generalizations… an attitude of openness in truth and in love must characterize the dialogue with the followers of non-Christian religions, in spite of various obstacles and difficulties, especially forms of fundamentalism on both sides. Interreligious dialogue is a necessary condition for peace in the world…”

Additionally, he writes “…Often it seems that God does not exist: all around us we see persistent injustice, evil, indifference and cruelty. But it is also true that in the midst of darkness something new always springs to life and sooner or later produces fruit. On razed land life breaks through, stubbornly yet invincibly. However dark things are, goodness always re-emerges and spreads. Each day in our world beauty is born anew; it rises transformed through the storms of history. Values always tend to reappear under new guises, and human beings have arisen time after time from situations that seemed doomed. Such is the power of the resurrection, and all who evangelize are instruments of that power.”

Thanks for reading!