Herbicides, Caterpillars and Holidays

I am greatly encouraged by the Zamwipes, simple "weed brushes" used for the herbicide testing. Things are working good, despite applying under less than ideal conditions. I think there is potential here and I will be able to get some good information.

John and I have a goal to purchase 1-2 new items of food each week at the market and learn how to cook it. This week we tried the caterpillars. We decided that we do not like caterpillars. Apparently they are very nutritious, but they are an odd texture and made our bellies feel not so good. I was only able to eat about 3 and John stomached about 7 before giving up. We had only cooked 1/2 of the amount we bought so we gave the man who is working at keeping up our yard the remainder. We have been without water this week, the pump was broken and so we have been making do with what we have. Thankfully all is now fixed so we can re-stock our water supply. When you don't have something like water (even when you are use to only having it 3 times a day) you gain a greater appreciation for it! I am thankful for water!

This week contains two special holiday's: International Women's Day and Youth Day. On Monday Ruth went to the Farm Institute for a Women's Day function. All the women from the Agricultural research station and the Farm Institute (Extension branch of Ministry of AG) got together for a meeting. The PACO (provincial agricultural coordinating officer), a women, gave a speech and lead a discussion on HIV/AIDS. There was also a speaker on economic empowerment of women. There is a program for women to access loans to fund businesses, they were telling the women how to access the funds and the regulations. There was also a nice meal of chicken, rice, tomato sauce and cabbage. Coke and boiled groundnuts were also served. A Banacimbusa, a women who is a role model in the community, spoke about family relations and taking care of husbands, especially those with HIV/AIDS. There was a lot of laughing, clapping and some dancing too! Many of the women were dressed in their beautiful chitange material dresses, with lots of bright colors!

For Youth Day, on Thursday, we went to a couples gathering from our church group. We talked about traditional marriages and the customs that are helpful and those that are less than helpful for Christian marriages. Some of the good things from traditional customs are that hospitality is valued, and the importance of looking out for the interest of others (especially women) and community participation in the marriage. Some of the negative influences of traditional culture is the male dominance, relatives influence, an emphasize on sex, the expectation of bearing children, and if ones spouse dies the other partner is believe to have caused the death (especially if it is the husband who dies). John and I learned a lot about the culture and enjoyed the fellowship and a wonderful meal with our brothers and sisters here in Zambia.

As always I am learning much, love and miss you all and think of you often!