Firsts

Firsts

Yesterday I had to go into Lusaka after church to pick up our
daughter, who had spent the weekend there. I asked the two oldest
girls in the two newest houses to come with me; Annette (10yo),
Tereshina, Agnes, and Mary J (all 9yo). They were so excited.

We left immediately after church. On the way they asked what the
"round grass" was? It took me a while to figure out what they were
saying since I sounded like "glass" and I hadn't seen what they were
referring to. I finally understood that it was the round hay bales in
the fields.

I pointed out a couple of places on the way that have so much rubbish
(trash). I wanted it to be an object lesson on what happens when you
litter. One said, "that will make you sick."

I actually got pulled over at one of the traffic stops because one of
the brake lights wasn't working. I had to get out of the car and go
into the little Police Office to pay a fine. So the girls sat in the
car watching all the trucks and cars going by and wondering what was
happening. That was a first for me too.

When we got to Lusaka, they kept exclaiming over things that they saw.
I found out that Annette has been to Kabwe, a town north of us. None
had been to Lusaka before, and the other 3 didn't even know what a
city was.

We went to Arcades, a shopping mall which has a big craft fair on
Sundays. We went to Zamchick for lunch for chicken and chips (French
fries). Turns out it was the first time they had ever eaten chips. I
gave each pair of girls from a house 20,000 kwacha (about $5) to get
something for their mothers (housemothers) as we walked around the
crafts.

At one of the booths their eyes lit up to see a pair of shiny,
colorful, big earings. I don't know what the mothers thought of that.
There was a bit of money left so, I added a bit more so that each
girl could get a small thing for themselves.

We ended our trip with ice cream. None of the girls had eaten ice
cream before! So I think it is a day they will never forget.

A week ago our housekeeper, Esther, went with me to Lusaka. One of
the malls was recently remodeled and now has both an escalator and
elevators. So Esther, who is about 35, rode an escalator and an
elevator for the first time.

Of course, being in Africa, I have my own things that have been
firsts. But to see someone else do something that is commonplace for
me, but a first for them, is a joyful experience.