Week 5 - 29.4.12

Another busy week in Lumwana.

It started off with me cutting the kids hair. Phil is lucky as we have been given some clippers, so his hair is easy. Tom’s was well and truly in need of a cut and Laura’s fringe was just getting a tad long. Mine, well, nothing seems to work here. I can’t do a thing with it and there is no hairdresser around. Most of the women wait until they go out on a break and get their hair cut then. As we have no intentions of leaving for a while mine will just have to wait. One of the women was brave enough to let me cut her hair. Diane is new as well, as was in need of a cut, so put out an e-mail asking for a hairdresser. I said I would give it a go. She seemed happy enough and it didn’t look too bad. My cleaner Rose showed up with yet another gorgeous hair do. She is a stunning girl and her hair is amazing. Apparently a lot of the women here wear wigs. They get their own hair braided or mixed in with the wig and so can change their style quite easily. I am considering some braids.

Phil’s temporary work permit has arrived. Now we have to wait for the permanent one, before any of our goods can be sent out of Perth. We have no idea how long this will take. Some say they waited 4 months, others have waited 18 months! If only we knew this before we left. I only hope it is this year! We are coping well though considering. I may have to start ordering clothes off Amazon UK, as I am running low on cool weather items, as are the kids. Although I have been told that a shop in Solwezi sometimes sells clothes. I will have to check it out. We have been lent some toys and given others from people that are leaving so that has been a real bonus for the kids this week.

I was given a blender, which has come in so useful. Bread crumbs are not easily available, so I was able to make my own and it is easier (lazier) to cream butter and sugar for biscuits. We bought a huge pumpkin for $1.20 and an enormous amount of purple sweet potato for $2 off the side of the road today, so I will be making some soup tomorrow. I also bought tomatoes, $2 for about a dozen. Very, very cheap. The lady that sold me the pumpkin did so with a bag of goods balanced on her head. Their posture is amazing. We saw a young girl, mid 20’s carrying an esky on her head without holding onto it, earlier in the week. The women are incredible!

On Wednesday, for ANZAC day, we had a service at the school. It was the first time they had held one. Miss Dianne got up to talk about the meaning of poppies and Laura thought she said ‘puppies’ and so in her loudest voice asked “Where are the puppies? I want to see the puppies.” Her comment certainly got a laugh, however it took me some time to convince her there were no puppies, only poppies. She was very disappointed.

I helped out at Tom’s school on Thursday. It is so exhausting, I have no idea how Miss Jo and Beauty (the helper) do it every day. Every Tuesday and Thursday, the 3 year olds come to school as well, so 2 Mum’s volunteer to help out. So it is more like a playgroup on those days with craft, play, singing and reading as such. This week we had water play, play dough and painting. I had to take Laura as well, so it was a bit difficult looking after her and watching the other kids as well. She was so exhausted by the end of it, but gets on well with the other kids. She will fit in next year that’s for sure.

Yesterday, we finally got our car! It is a white Prado, so I am not too sure how long it will stay white for, not with all this red dust around.  We went for a drive out to the dam. I was surprised to see how large it is. It will be wonderful when we get our kayak and can go out on the dam. It also felt strange
being in a car again, as it has been about 3 weeks since I was in one. Even stranger to drive as that
has been a lot longer. It was also the ‘end of month’ morning tea. I had a great time meeting some more girls that have only just come back from break. The kids had a ball, playing with all the others and eating the yummy food that is prepared for us, such as donuts.

Today we went to Solwezi after talking to Grandma and Grandad on Skype.  We stocked up on all the foods and goods that we cannot get here in town. It really is amazing to see the people on the roads, at the markets, in the villages. As today was Sunday, a lot of people were heading to church and it amazes me to see the men dressed up in their suits and ties, walking along the road to church. I was able to take some photos today, so will post those later in the week.

I have spent a bit of time taking photos of the town this week and so will post those for you to see where we live. Hopefully it will give you an idea of what Lumwana is like.