To answer the mom's type of questions...

Where do you live?

Here.

Thanks Ashley for the copyright of that picture... ;)

This is my family's house. We don't spend a lot of time inside because when the sun is out, who wants to stay in? From early in the morning until the evening, most of our activities (if not all) are done outside. As we are still struggling to open our eyes at 6am, with a broom in one hand, we start sweeping the outside of the house. Oh, wait, before I forget, we do greet each other before we do anything else: "Mwashibukeni?" (Good morning?) to which you answer "Eya mukwai." After the house and the surroundings are clean, we then sit and peel ifiumbu (sweet potatoes) to cook them for breakfast. Agy, my little 3 years old sister, usually sits next to me and starts collecting small things that she finds on the ground to play with. The other day, she named a sandal 'Baby' and she played with it as if it was her doll. Cans, pieces of cardboard, plastic lids, everything here can become the most amazing toy. Sometimes, as one person is taking care of the breakfast, others are preparing the maize to be brought to the grinding mill or taking buckets to go fetch water at the well or the spring. My host father is often already gone to his farm since 5am but I would sometimes see him before I leave for work as he does a few trips back and forth to carry maize, wood or cassava back to the house.

We have a very nice latrine at the back of the house that has been built by my host father along with an innovative handwashing station. The plan in August is to dig a well in front of the house.
(Pictures to come!)

The bathroom is inside the house but we have to boil water and bring a bucket inside to bath. An integrated soak away keeps the surroundings clean and safe!

What do you eat?

Mmmmiam. Ubwoli!
Ubwoli is like bread for French or rice for Cambodians. One does not feel satisfied if he did not have ubwoli during the day.

What is that ubwoli thing?
It is usually made with maize flour and boiled water, but my host mother mix it with cassava flour to give it a softer texture (which I think is the best mix!). It can be compared to non-cooked bread dough, but still, it is not exactly that...

Ubwoli or nshima

We usually eat it for lunch and dinner with a relish (cooked vegetables, fish, chicken or any other meat) and since I live right by the lake, we have fish almost everyday. I really enjoy the small-small fishes called Cisense (or Kapenta for the non-Bembas) which is unusual among the Muzungus I know! My favourite veggie relish is Chibwabwa (pumpkin leaves mixed with groundnuts) and this is definitively a recipe I am going to bring back!

Relish: Inkoko (Chicken) with cabbage and tomatoes

In the morning for breakfast, we sometimes have cooked ifiumbu (sweet potatoes) but since I often need to rush to work in the morning before electricity cuts at the office, I just buy a greasy bun from the side of the road. At some occasions I had sweet potatoes mixed with groundnuts which appeared to be "succulent" (but heavy for the morning)! Another good recipe with sweet potatoes is to fried them with cinkondya (palm oil) and add a little bit of salt on top. Marvellous!

One morning, I did made crepes for them and they just ate until it hurts! Since I could not find maple syrup here (really?!), I simply put a lot of sugar on top. It was funny to see them licking all their fingers and the utensils I used! But I made sure to explain to them that we don't eat that every day back in Canada... imagine!

One anecdote:
One evening, as I came to sit near Beauty, my host mother, she brought the brazier closer to me. I said:"Oh no, it's okay! It is very warm outside!" She laughed at me, telling me that she forgot I was Canadian and put the brazier back in the middle. But then, Patrick, my 17-year brother, pushed the brazier away from him and told Beauty with attitude : "Me, Canada too! Don't need this!" After we all had a good laugh, I turned to Patrick: "So if you are Canadian, do you eat ubwoli?" (I know that Patrick can't sleep without having ubwoli.) He paused and his voice then breaks into high pitch:"Yyyy.. NO!" Alright! So I decided to go on a mission the next day to find him something that is not Zambian and make him take a break from ubwoli for a day! Surprinsingly, I found macaroni at one of the shops in Kashikishi (a commercial "town" located at about 35 minutes walk from home) and bought some tomatoes and onions! When I came back home, Patrick was laughing because he didn't think that I would be serious. So starting that evening, Patrick had macaroni when everyone else had ubwoli. He passed the test, and while I had some milk and bread for him the next morning, I found him already boiling water to prepare macaroni... for breakfast! And he thought that I was not serious!