Hey Everyone,

This post is going to be all about how a good family situation can make life look so much better. Before as you all know I was living in a church, but what I might not have made very clear was that The family was always polite but never friendly to me. I was looked at as kind of a bothersome guest they put up with because I was paying. I don't like to be really negative towards them because they were never mean to me but I was pretty stressed out while I was there.

However now I have moved in with a new family in Avandale compound. It is more expensive to get to University because I have to take the minibus, but I am so much more happy it is worth it. ON Saturday night, in true Apoorva style, I named the spider in my room. His name is Frank Chiquito, and he is the coolest spider I have seen. He sits so flat he could be paint on the wall. I have a suspicion that Frank is actually a few spiders as he seems quite large sometimes. While this would seem to have nothing to do with the family, it actually shows that I am relaxing and feeling at home after only a week and a half in the new house.

I live with Martin and Patricia Mangenda who have three children but only two live with them. The beauty of it all is that they named the two living with them after themselves so I simply can't forget their names. Then there Martins brother Christian and his friend Moses living with us as well.

Big Martin is a talker. If you are foolish enough to get him started you will sit listening for at least 20 minutes. But he is entertaining and he has travelled to many places and knows a lot about Zambia and Africa.

Big Patricia is a sweetheart. The first day I was there, I asked if I could help with supper. After being barred from the kitchen in the first house, lest I ruin the nshima, I was surpised when she said yes. So up till now I have cooked nshima at least 5 times. I grant you it is not as good as Patricia's but it is still edible and they all manage to strangle it down so it is ok. I sit and chat with Patricia after work every day while we make supper and I think it gives me some insight into Zambian lifestyle.

Little Martin is 6 and he is shy. it takes some prompting for him to talk to me, but he will. He loves spiderman and will do the craziest things when I turn the camera on. He is always biking on his little bike and I tell him he will have to train so he can win the tour de France someday.

Little Patricia is a talker as well. She is 4 and is way smarter than I was at that age I am sure. She can quote most of the ads on TV verbatim, which isn't because she watches too much tv (although maybe that too) but more because there are only about 4 or 5 ads on Zambian tv. Nevermind, she started to dance one day to the music on TV and very seriously outdanced me by about a million times. I was properly shamed and have decided I apparently need to brush up on my dancing skills before displaying them in front of her.

Christian is a really great uncle to the kids. He is watching out for them all the times, checking if they have done their homework, walking them to school, making sure they eat their vegetables. He is a really nice man. He is staying with the family only because he was sick for awhile and needed to be in Lusaka. Now he says he is getting better and will soon go back to Kitwe. I hope rather than know that his sickness is not what you are all thinking it might be. Moses, man is he ever shy. I can hardly get him to talk at all, but he smiles shyly when I talk to him, and I think it is really cute.

So that is all for now, hope you have enjoyed this post. Next post will be about the Kitchen party I went to this weekend.

SJ