Today is Sunday and we went to the local church in Zambezi. Growing up music was always a big part of my life. Between dancing to “Fly Me to the Moon” with my dad and rocking out to the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack. Or scream singing “Into the Unknown” and Abba with my mom, my love from music ties me to my family. I have done choir for 4 years and band for 9 years and have been fortunate to find community, love, and support within music. I have fond memories of my mom helping me and my siblings with piano, my dad singing me lullabies before bed and me and by siblings jamming out to “Mr. Bright Side” by the Killers. While I miss my family and home a ton, I feel that in every song and melody I feel that my family is with me.
A common belief is that music is its own language. Whether it is during mass, in the car with your friends, or a tune in the background at a park, music holds so much memory, power, emotion, and connection. Through my time at Gonzaga and in Zambia, I have been able to see and experience new perspectives around God and religion. During the mass in Zambia I prayed for the first time in years. It was not a prayer for something to work out for me on a whim. Nor for the immediate Hail Mary for a family member’s health. I simply thanked God, and asked for protection & joy for our group and the community. Thing singing in the choir reminded me of my Grandma Penny. She was always said to have had a beautiful voice and sang in the choir back in Ketchikan, Alaska. What made me decide to pray was the emotions I felt in the singing of the choir and the whispers of hope. It reminded me of my Grandma’s love of God, family and music. Even though during the mass in Zambezi I couldn’t understand all the words the singers were saying, there was pure joy and love in their singing. This brought me a comfort and happiness that I have not felt in a Catholic Church in a long time.
Later in the day, after having a semi stressful lesson planning conversation Sean and I went for a decompression walk. We came across an older woman boiling water for a shower. After waving and saying hi, I decided to ask if we could come talk, which led to us taking a seat on her tarp. We learned about her past experiences in the hospitals fighting the AIDS and HIV outbreak. She lives in a house sandwiched between her son and daughter’s houses. She had at least 12 grandchildren and great grandchildren running around playing and made each of them come say hi to us. We heard about how proud she was of her hard working kids throughout the region and made sure to tell us how happy she was we were in Zambezi. During the conversation I couldn’t help but reminisce of the times with all my cousins and second cousins running around in Ketchikan. One of her grandchildren, Hagai, started drumming on a wooden stool with two sticks. I pointed out to the boy that Sean is also a drummer and may or may not have peer pressured him into playing. They went back and forth exchanging rhythms, no words were spoken. It was a beautiful moment where even though there was a language barrier, cultural barrier and big age difference, they were able to not only communicate but build an understanding and connection with each other. I also gave the drums a shot but was not as successful (which Sean has on video). This made all of us laugh together and I was yet again reminded of the joy music had brought my family.
Later in the evening we had a meet and greet turned dance party with the local church’s youth group, St. Gabriel’s, the GABBYs. We all danced together to traditional Lunda and Luvale songs. None of us had any idea what the words meant but we moved our hips and swayed our hands just the same. Yet again, I had joy, love and laughter fill my heart and soul. There were people who I just met, some whose hand I never got to shake but the connection we had while listening to the music is a bond that will last a lifetime. As one of my teachers said, there are many seeds being planted during this trip that will one day grow into trees. I hope that through my experience in Zambezi, the seeds of patience, connection and hope will become a tree.
Kathleen Slee
School of Education, Class of ’27
Beautiful reflection with such vivid descriptions. Thank you, Kathleen.
Wishing you all joy and complexity and rhythm when you least expect it.
Hi, Loosh!
What a wonderful group!
What a lovely reflection, Kathleen. And I loved how you shared so openly about your experience with music and church growing up and relating it to your time there in Zambezi. Keep the updates comin’! They are such gifts for us back home. Miss you Natalie!
My darling Kathleen – if your objective was to make your mother cry, you succeeded! I love how you honored your grandma Penny, her love of God, family, and music is something we all carry within us.
Thanks to all of you who are writing such insightful and descriptive posts, I anxiously await each new update to learn about your experiences.
Thank you, Kathleen, for your beautiful, honest words which reflect the contrasts we all experience along our faith journey. Praying the joy continues for you all and the seeds flourish! Love and miss you Cate!
Oh, Kathleen. This is absolutely beautiful. Music reaches places nothing else can. I love hearing how it’s transcending barriers of language in Zambezi. There is so much I smiled tearily at while reading your post, starting with “I prayed for the first time in years.” I also nodded and smiled when reading of your decompression walk with Sean. Yes to that! Yes to not only having these amazing experiences, but yes to reflecting, decompressing and leaning on each other. Love it. I love how much music and family is in your heart as you experience this trip of a lifetime. I also love that you keep that bush plane steady when Pilot Jason lent you the controls for a moment (what?!). Amazing. Thank you so much for this beautiful post and for introducing us to Hagai and his grandmother. Hang in there with the lesson-planning and give yourself lots of grace as you do new, big things!
Blessings and Blessings!
xoxo, Elisa (Mia’s Mom)
Such an accurate depiction of the power of music and memory. Bless you for having the courage to stop and listen to a stranger, appreciate her story and make her day. I too am praying for your protection. Here’s to more spontaneous dance parties and memories of a lifetime (for you and the local community)!
p.s. I have been offline for a week and am looking forward to reading this backwards and catching up.
Love to all,
Nancy (aka founder of Katy Topness fan club)
LOVED the blog Kathleen! And you definitely had me at ALASKA and family music! Katy grew up much the same but I’m guessing you have put that together 🙂 Katy everyone is talking about you and your adventures!! We are all reading these entries and thoroughly enjoying the detail! Much love to all of you and Katy bug we love you so much!!!
Thank you for sharing such a moving reflection. Your words capture something that so many of us have felt but often struggle to articulate — the way music can reach the soul when words fall short.
Your story about praying for the first time in years is powerful. That it came not from desperation, but from gratitude and care for others, says a lot about where your heart was in that moment. Often, we associate prayer with need or urgency. But to pray just to thank or to bless — that’s a kind of spiritual maturity that comes not from obligation, but from genuine presence.
Thank you for reminding us that sometimes, faith finds us again not in answers, but in harmony.
Love and miss you Caroline O.! Can’t wait to hear your beautiful voice soon.
Kathleen- such wonderful reflection and storytelling!
Of course, you had our rapt attention as soon as we saw the pictures!
Thank you for capturing- both in words and images- the beautiful scene of Sean and Hagai “speaking ” to each other through their common rhythmic language. So memorable and moving. Again- connection and relationship. (Nice work with the peer pressure!) ☺️
Also loved that you had the courage and curiosity to ask Esther to share her story. Taking this time to get to know her and listen was so meaningful for each of you. These moments are life changing and we are so glad that you all are sharing this together. And you only just got to the village! Cannot wait to read more of the reflections and experiences in Zambezi!
Sean, what I would give to hear the call and response rhythms between you and Hagai. Making core memories for sure! Loved seeing your smiles here! Miss you and love you!
I just love that you’re all getting to experience this incredible culture, make new friends, and create memories that will last a lifetime.
Taylor—can’t wait to hear your bungee jumping story!
Take it all in and enjoy every moment!
Thank you, Kathleen, for your beautiful reflection! I absolutely love how music transcends language barriers. I can just picture you all at your meet-and-greet turned into a dance party – so fun! I also really enjoyed seeing the drumming photo. Thank you for sharing! Like Natalie’s Mom said, the updates are such gifts for us back home! ♥️