So it goes

Everything in my life smells of mildew. Everything. My Grinnell sweatshirt had mold growing on it. Which I take as a personal offense (How dare you, mold...How dare you?). I have been doing a lot of washing and airing and sunnying. Which takes a lot of time. And keep pulling out other things that smell of mildew. Black leather shoes molted yellow and white. My eye glass cleaner. Things that I have already washed...BUT I suppose it is the price to pay for living in a house made of all organic materials in a very wet country and cramming all my textile goods in one wardrobe.


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I tried caterpillars. They aren’t at all bad. But are still caterpillars when fried. Crispy. But the spikes don’t go away.
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The other day I felt like an adventurer-wading through rivers with my bike and climbing up and down muddy slopes. I was like Indiana Jones, slashing through the jungle to save my love from being sacrificed to the jungle gods. Only there is no jungle really…and I was on my way to a development meeting…and I had my bike helmet on the whole time…but for excitement sake would you please imagine the involvement of a machete and snakes. While still wearing bike helmet of course.

Someone told me that the river was very safe to cross and would reach my knees. It was in fact at my thighs and not so easy to cross the current on a rocky bed with my bike on my shoulder. The second river was to my lower thighs and muddy bottomed so a bit easier.

The meeting started 2 hours late and lasted for 3 hours, during which time it rained heavily every hour, so coming back the rivers were even more swollen. I thought might be to my waist but in fact was to my chest and the thing about rivers is you don’t really know how deep they really are until you are in the middle of one. Then there is nothing to do but put your bike on your head and keep going. I did not attempt the other river but instead took a slightly different route (why aren’t people more forthcoming with these secrets!?) which accounts for the muddy slopes. Down and up two sets of steep banks of mud, which I only managed because someone else was managing my bike for me. I did not fall in the mud until I was back at the school borehole cleaning off my feet.

All in all a pretty good day. It was beautiful when I was actually riding, the toe I thought was damaged and infected healed up, and while not super easy, crossing rivers is kind of fun and exciting. Though I think I will not make a habit of it.

This is my life. My pretty new date book got wet. It still holds dates but not quite as prettily.

That night the Lwimba River flowed over the bridge. We have gotten a lot of rain. The maize is yellow from it.
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My cucumber plant decided to grow peas instead of cucumbers to my surprise. They have also died from the rain.

My gardens harvest is thus far a handful of green beans and two handfuls of okra. The pumpkins are doing quite well too. Pumpkins are perhaps my plant mate because they need so little attention from and could probably grow on the moon.
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Have I mentioned before how startling it is sometimes to live within such beauty? Not beside it or by it or near it but ride through it carry water through it and be surprised by it. The full moon actually rises from my backyard and when the moon does not come out the milkyway stretches out directly over my house. I often stand out under it and listen to the crazy man sing drunkenly from across the river. This is also my life.

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I got letters from some 5th graders – this is but a sampling of our correspondence:

Is your hut small, medium, or huge? Do you know the size of your hut?
-5th grader

Keli: My hut is a bit bigger than 10 ft by 15ft. SO assuming that 5th graders are all 5ft tall, you could fit two 5th graders laying down one direction and three 5th graders laying another. Of course 5th graders is not at all a good way to measure because they are not all 5ft tall. In short, it is big enough to suit my needs but small enough I have to keep it tidy or I trip over things.


How old is Garbanzo? What’s the bed called that he sleeps in? Does he like kids at all?
-5th grader

K: He sleeps with me, usually tucked in somewhere very close. He likes everyone except dogs because they chase him up the mango trees.


I was wondering if you would tell me about your place. I heard you have no water or no light. That made me feel sad for you. I promise if you come here and I will give you anything you want. That is including an xbox.
-5th grader


Exactly why did you move to Zambia, Africa?
-5th grader

Keli: I came to Zambia Africa because I was curious about Africans and their ways of living. Also because I don’t want them to be poor forever.


I have one hobby and that would be to build.
-5th grader

Keli: What do you like to build? Cars? Robots? Castles?


If you want to know I have four siblings and they’re all younger than, so it’s tough.
-5th grader

Keli: I have three siblings but I am the second one born so my older sister was the one who had it rough. If you want to know, eventually having four siblings will be really fun.


I will be looking forward to your answers to my questions and maybe you could ask me some questions about my life arrangements.
-5th grader

They were all really good letters.

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Thanks for all the comments posted friends. I read and appreciate them. Really.