Spring Break in Africa
5/8/2012
Mwapona?
Kabotu!
This spring break, 16 students, 5 adults, and 2 namibian cohorts made their way to a nation that Crystal as a school as never been to before: Africa. Or to be more specific, Zambia.
I had the great pleasure of being a part of this group and exploring an unknown culture. Only a few of the students had been to Africa before, but never really explored the culture. Some of the things we saw really showed us “white people” the difference between their world and our world.
One big difference is that the Zambians walk ALOT. One of our tour guides told us that he had to walk 10 miles to get to his job on Bovu Island (which is a place-to-go-some-time-in-my-life location, this was the highlight of the trip). His two kids, one in elementary school and the other in middle school, had to walk to school. On their own! Children in Zambia could most likely walk ten times the amount the average American child walks to school. In Zambia, just about everyone walks. Even if they have a car.
If you ask any of the students who went on the trop what their favorite part of the trip was (besides the social interactions and Bovu Island), they will tell you it was the food. The biggest (and newest) being Nshima (pronounced Shee-Ma), which is basically made with cornmeal and water and a little salt for seasoning. One student even found a recipe online after we returned immediately went to cooking. Although, we decided it just wasn’t the same!
Going to Zambia was definitely a highlight. Not just of my spring break, but of my time at Crystal as well. I hope will all my heart that Crystal keeps this trip, because it is definitely one that neither I nor the other 15 students, 3 teachers, 2 husbands, and 2 Namibian-but-close-to-home friends will never forget.