Zimbabwe (Trip #2): Culture

LANGUAGE

Most commonly spoken languages: English, Shona
Important phrases to learn:
Majeeta (with hand clapping, or cupping for women) = thank you
Uri bo? = how are you?) Didi bo? = I'm good)
Roonina = delicious
a-Eh = yes

I realized shortly into the drive to Zim, that I was repeating myself frequently in mistaking Helen's a-eh (yes) for an eh? (i don't understand.) When it became evident she said eh to everything, I quickly stopped echoing myself. :P Ah, the joys of foreign languages.

POLITICS

"illegal" photo at the post office

It is absolutely fascinating to hear Zimbabweans takes on Mugabe. To summarize, it appears that most of the country has taken the view of, "Mugabe can't live forever. We will outlive him and then choose our leaders." They're peaceable and patient. It's apparent though too, they know if you say something against the government, 'well, just be prepared to disappear the next day.' To note, I got in trouble at the post office for snapping a picture (no it's not like anyone's face/identity was captured). I immediately was asked if I was a reporter. When I said no, one of the disgruntled bystanders said "It's illegal to take pictures here without permission." I of course apologized but walked away scratching my head at the immediate suspicion and fear that surfaced with a photograph.


FOOD

The food was delicious. I particularly liked sadzah (like a molded grits) and matikiti (steamed green veggies with spices) and peri-peri (chili peppers). We had more than one evening with lost power and candlelight suppers. Helen, because she had travelled in the US, knew we liked eggs for breakfast so a couple morning I made scrambled eggs for all of us.

Helen's family is similar to many in Mutare in having an adjacent machamba (garden/farm).  We went and picked fresh mangoes and had corn.  Sadly the avocado tree was still two months out from being ripe.

Vendors downtown.  Awesome produce!

EDUCATION

Boys at primary school

From the sounds of it, education is more valued than in Mozambique.  Particularly in Mutare where Methodist Missionaries came in the late 1890's brought a church and school.  The school has since grown from just a former primary and secondary school to a university called Africa University.  Just a quick history lesson, but Zimbabwe formerly was part of Rhodesia, called so because of the influence of Cecil B Rhodes.  You might know his name best for the Rhodes Scholarship

Girls at primary school

OTHER

Witchcraft and spirits still play a large part in cultural understanding and interpretation.  This was the front page for the local paper and was a story about a boy being possessed the spirit of a monkey that was killed at the same instant.  The boy's Shona description was something like "I was just taking a walk eating some leaves on my way to visit relatives when you killed me.  Why did you kill me?  You must make ammends!"  The boy went on to point out the accused monkey killers.  Obviously, said Helen, that's not real.  The boy's crazy.  But everyone reads it.

Many women wear weaves here.  So it was actually pretty interesting to watch how that's done too!

Zimbabwe (Trip #2): People

Driving to Zimbabwe:Helen and Dan

Helen is a teacher at the Beira International School here, but is from Mutare, Zimbabwe and goes back monthly to visit her children that still live there.  She offered to give us a ride to Zim, and once we got there, invited us to stay with her!!  Staying with a Zimbabwean family like Helen and her kids was such a huge blessing.

The main people we hung out with were: her son Rumbe (25 yo), other son Trip(21), her daughter, and a 5 year old neighbor named Shamayne, who particularly loved visiting us to be tickled and to dance.

Shamayne, as a little diva

Shamayne just asking to be tickled.

Vumba look-out with Trip and Rumbe

Tony's served REAL coffee and we gathered pears from the orchard

The living room of Helen's home was full of photos of the children from their school pictures and the graduation shots of when Helen graduated from college. I was curious about the family dynamics as there were pictures of the kids' father and it was obvious that Helen had been an influential single mother for a long time. On the trip home I asked about her husband as he had been brought up a few times by people we met in reference to how Rumbe was a good man like his father had been. He had died from a car accident when the youngest child was 2 years old. She had adopted the son Trip after her sister and brother-in-law died when he was 11 years old. Now Helen works in Mozambique because she is paid more and can support her children as they go to college. What a woman! She lives so far away from her children, but still supports them with monthly visits.

Trip, Dan, me, Helen, Rumbe, daughter, and maid Maria

My favorite memory of the trip was when Helen took us to her oldest half-brother's home to visit their family. Her brother is an apostolic pastor and farmer working for the ministry of agriculture. I asked her to tell me all their names and she stopped me and said, "before that we must pray!" Upon which Rumbe started singing a beautiful song that the rest of the family joined him in singing. At the end of their musical melodies we were motioned to kneel and then all the family members began praying outloud at the same time. I later asked Helen what they were singing in Shona. She said it was a greeting and story of how once they didnºt know God, but now they did in being born again and couldnºt stop giving him praises. It was one of those moments where even without translation you understand God's Spirit being present.

Zimbabwe

On the drive to Zim

Little did I know when I got a multiple entry visa that the maximum amount of time stayed in a single entry to Mozambique would be 30 days at a time. So, in order to avoid a heavy fine and also so that the Meyers could get a work visa, we left the hot coastal city of Beira for the mountains of Zimbabwe.

The drive into the mountains took us past cornfields, mud huts, cement huts, stick huts, palm trees, and into lovely green hills crested with wispy clouds. The roads weren’t pleasant with potholes and a 300 km journey took us 6 hours at 60-80 kph (or 120 km with Claude’s fast pace). Going through customs was a $30 visa to enter and the Meyers had to pay another sum for the car.

Driving up to Leopard Rock - looking out over Burma Valley

Leopard Rock

Leopard Rock Golf course

Vumba/Bvumba/Vumbai Valley drive

Mutare, city proper

Mutare, Zimbabwe is about 30 degrees cooler than the coast. It’s much more developed, more clean, and a second world country (if that exists?) People hurried on the main streets in Mutare, (as opposed to in Beira where there’s no point really in hurrying anywhere.) We stayed at a nice hotel called the Wise Owl just outside the village. We also visited Leopard Rock Hotel (at $250 a night, only the bus of Zimbabwean Parliament members could afford to stay there.) Apparently Queen Victoria stayed there in 1952 and it had a golf course that made me want to pick up golf (I know, what?) It was a pleasant afternoon in mountains that reminded me a little of Wyoming and Colorado with some of the red sandstone marks on the mountains, but more of a Hawaii and Switzerland mix with huge escarpments of rock and beautiful clouds hovering over the mountains.

It was a great respite!!

Mutare Post Office

In other news... with power outtages and intermittent internet access now, I will be back-blogging a bit to edit and update. Sorry if I dont get to emails right away either!!