Gonzaga-in-Zambezi

For the past eight months I was living in Florence, Italy and now I’m here in Zambezi, Zambia.  In some ways, life is very different here then it was back in Florence and both are different than my life in the US. However, through traveling I have learned that it is more interesting to learn about the human condition than it is to criticize all the differences between countries and cultures.   At the end of the day, I also end up learning more about myself and appreciate the world and the people around.

Before coming here I watched the movie Invictus, which tells the story of Nelson Mandela and his first year in office as the President of South Africa.   Throughout the movie, Morgan Freeman who plays Nelson Mandela, refers to a poem titled Invictus by William Ernest Henley, it goes like this:

Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the Pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the Horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how straight the gate,

How changed with punishments the scroll.

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul.

This is our third day in Zambezi and it seems as though I have been here much longer.  Everyone is so welcoming and kind, I can’t believe I’m living in the same world I was living in three days ago.  I thought I would mention this poem in the blog today because it reminds me of that human condition I am so desperately trying to understand.  And so far in Zambezi I can see traces of the strength that fills each and every face we encounter.  It is the strength that we all have to keep on moving with our lives no matter the circumstance, no matter the black pits we bump into, and no matter the Horrors.  Life keeps going with or without our consent.  And we all have the power to take control of our lives and make of them what we wish.  The people here, especially the children, have such an eternal life about them.   They seem so happy just to be alive.   At the end of this experience I think we will be the ones that are the most changed.  For the people we meet here, we might just become another chindele (white person) that came and stayed for a while.  But for us this experience will change the way we think, the way we act, and the way we live the rest of our lives.   I am excited and scared to live out the rest of this experience.  Excited because each day will bring a new challenge and scared because I don’t know if I will be up for that challenge.   Each and every day I will try to remember this poem though, and remind myself to find the strength that I need because life keeps going with or without my consent.

Christina Bernal, Class of 2013

Frozen in indecision, I stood facing a wall of color and pattern. I’d walked to the market to buy a new chitenge (the traditional dress for the women here), and could not settle my mind on selecting just one to wear during my days here in Zambezi. Individually, the designs of fabric were not appealing to me. I realized that I like them folded on top of each other in a heaping mound of color and pattern and beautifully draped on the women selling cabbage, tomatoes, and chickens. I appreciated the clashing of patterns, the combination and complement of color. Alone, the chitenge is a piece of fabric but collectively they are the colors of Africa.

While here, I have learned that Zambia is a collection of colors, tastes, sights, and smells. Of laughter, crying, rooster, dog bark, church choirs, flowering trees, and sparkling river, sweet sweat, burning bush, red dirt, and white sand. Here one man’s trash is another’s treasure. Nothing is wasted. There is no way to see Zambia without smelling it at the same time. I find beauty and meaning here by appreciating the individual parts in order to better understand the whole picture. As students here in Zambezi we have the opportunity to become pieces of this country.

I feel furthest away from everything I have ever known here, while all the same feeling deep roots to the people, the landscape, the smell, and the colors. The closest comparison I can make to Zambia is to the ocean. Vast, unknown, terrifying, strange, but memorizing, alluring, comforting, familiar, but unpredictable. Living here is like sitting by a campfire. I can’t stop staring, knowing I should draw my eyes away from certain scenes but hoping that if I look long enough I might find meaning to the hardship and the suffering, or to understand the paradox between poverty and happiness. I just want to tell the people that I’m sorry. I’m sorry that you have to do this work. I’m sorry that your world and your life is so hot and dark and unremembered. I’m sorry for intruding… But this place breaks your heart in all the right ways.

Natalie Gibbons, Class of 2011

After 34 hours of traveling the Gonzaga students and faculty have safely arrived in Zambezi, Zambia.  They left Seattle on Tuesday evening, flew to London, powered through a seven hour layover, hopped on a ten hour flight to Lusaka (the capital of Zambia) and ended their journey with a three hour flight on a Flying Missions bush plane into Zambezi.

The Gonzaga team was greeted at the Zambezi landing strip by students of Chilena Basic School who celebrated their arrival with singing, traditional dancing, and drumming.  For the past six years, this school has been an important partner – it has hosted Gonzaga student teachers with our literacy project and is the location of a new library that Zambia Gold Honey is assisting this community to build.  We are so appreciative of this relationship and the children were excited to welcome new Gonzaga friends to their community.

Students are settling into their new rooms and getting acquainted with Zambezi.  A formal orientation and introduction to each project will begin tomorrow, so there is not much time to recover from jet lag.  We will post a few first impressions of the Zambezi community tomorrow, hopefully…. the Zambezi community is experiencing a lack of electrical power now and we hope it will be back soon.

If you follow the Gonzaga-in-Zambezi Blog, you will likely hear about our Zambia Gold Honey project.  This rich organic honey from the Zambezi District is exported by our students to assist our partners in finding a sustainable market for their honey.  It is now on sale at GreenCupboards, a company started by Gonzaga alums.  A pretty sweet partnership, if you ask us.  Check out their blog below where you can find out more information about purchasing this honey, or go to www.zambiagold.org

http://www.greencupboards.com/blog/2012/05/01/zambia-gold-honey-for-change/

Please join our journey as we seek to practice the principle of accompaniment and develop real relationship through our leadership development projects in Zambezi, Zambia.

Welcome to Gonzaga University Blogs. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!