I can safely conclude that her maker took good time crafting her and it did not take a rocket scientist to see.
Her smile was so captivating that it blurred all the surroundings to nothing but a blurry scene.
The color of her skin was the very epitome of what would be called a perfect African American descent mix.
And the icing on the cake? Not even the smallest of pimples or blemishes was in sight.
She was of medium built, a height of about one point six nine meters when standing.
At least it would be the best height to stand next to. “ She would definitely look up to me right?” I
joked to myself.
“ So what have you been doing in Zambia?” I asked hoping I wouldn’t get a one word answer.
A one word answer would mean consciously pretending to sleep the rest of the journey, only waking up to the air hostess’ food calls.
“ Oh yeah, I’ve been there for some weeks, l had an architectural excavation as part of a school program in the rural north of Zambia now in the rural north of Zambia.
“Are you in Uni or High School?” Obviously I had a premeditated answer. What would a high
school student be doing many miles from home in a rural setting of a totally different culture
sacrificing the comfort of her WiFi and warm blankets?
“ I am in my second year of University in Texas studying archaeology and we all were deployed to Zambia”, she said with a little laugh as she realized just how much l wanted the conversation to continue.
At this point I was so engraved in the conversation that I didn’t even pay attention to the safety
session just before the plane took off.
“We? Meaning you had other people with you?” I responded with a quizzing facial expression.
“I came with a couple of friends. We found a place to stay and we had someone who would
cook for us everyday. I could show you the place.” She said taking out her phone to show me pictures of her just departed “apartment.” Surprisingly, it was a basic room with a metal bed at the
corner and a floor which evidently lacked some tender love and care for a time. I can say I
was quite amused by the level of adventure and how she could blend into the rural African style
and still feel proud about it.
“Let me also show you my cat. I had to leave it to someone before I left.” She swiped her phone
to show me the image I would describe as the cutest for the day and it had her cat climbing her back and smiling.
“As an African you can’t own a cat and not move around like that without people being
suspicious,” I said in a joking way.
“Oh yes! I heard that it’s associated with witchcraft and superstition. But since I am a muzungu,
none of that applies to me right?”
Muzungu is a Chichewa word meaning a white person. Chichewa is one of the main Zambian
native languages.
“Well you could be one,” I laughed in response. But basically what were the highlights of your
experience?”
“First of all, I had to sprinkle water on the floor to let the dust settle before I swept. We ate a lot of
the native meals made of ground mealies and they were so heavy, it was like a thick porridge. This other time at the market I met this lady who was
like, oh hey! You are so beauty, they obviously all the time left out the “ful” part, I want to marry
you to my brother who already has four wives and you can be the fifth one.” She said, gesturing
a lot when illustrating.
I am a person who loves conversations a lot hence coming across someone with this amount of
energy was so magical. It was something I had been missing for days and glad to have found it before the end of my mini vacation.
“ The last wife is the most loved. You should have gone for it,” I said smiling in her direction. “
“No way! I could never be someone’s fifth wife,”she strongly emphasized.
At least I myself do not believe in polygamy.
“Ah and I also got to visit Victoria Falls and do some safari riding!”
She had already lived my immediate dream, bunjee jumping at Victoria falls.
“I’m sure it was a new experience for you and quite refreshing for me to hear. My mind is fed up with images of lions and giraffes” l said with a sarcastic tone.
“Haha, obviously you would not pay to see lions again but you’ll still hear me screaming about safari and
basically say, boring!”
“ Well with a reason as compelling as you, I would do it over and over again”
“You can now tell me about yourself,” she added.
I told her a bit about myself, beginning with what I had been doing on the computer. She looked
so attentive and engaged. I hadn’t received such attention in a while. In my mind I was already
thinking, I guess this is something worth exploring!
11 October, 2023
