Just a few quick stories to keep this blog breathing...

My countepart's (Lawrence) wife, ba Dorothy, has been quite ill for some time. Between a 'painful body' and 'eye sores', she has been put through the ringer. Of course with health care being like it is, she hasn't received much relief. She did however end up going to the provincial capitol's hospital about a month ago. Lawrence's mother however is convinced that Dorothy has been bewitched by someone in the village. We were warned about witchcraft or 'juju' as they call it here during training. However I had yet to really experience anyone who believed in it or heaven forbid practice it. Without saying these exact words, Lawrence told me his mom basically thinks that people are jealous of him and his family since he is my counterpart. Therefore someone is bewitching Dorothy and making her ill as a revenge for being friends with the 'mizungu' (me). Lawrence's mom thinks that Lawrence will be hit by the juju next, so he better watch out. In fact, she wants him to move up to Kasama with her, so he's not around me and therefore not around jealous people. Now you can imagine how this might make me feel. Obviously, I don't think that Dorothy has been bewitched, but I do feel a bit awkward knowing that people may be blaming me for their juju problems. Oy vey. Life in the village.

Next story... I was hitching up to Kasama with a big tractor-trailer truck delivering a bunch of watermelons. The driver was drinking beer (as I discovered AFTER I stepped into the cab), and would not sit still the entire trip. He asked what my name was and after repeating it about four times (because Zambians never seem to understand my name), the driver says this, "ah, your name. It means spare part for a helicopter yes? Or maybe it's a tractor part." I had to laugh a bit because I had never heard that one before. I guess I'll keep sticking with Chileshe for the time being.

Lastly, I have a little more than a week to go until my big Luchembe VCT Day. I have had all sorts of issues with the testers/counselors. First we were all set to go, then they backed out, then they were on again but they didn't have test kits, then they couldn't come, and now we're back to them being able to come, but still unsure about having test kits. I basically have to confirm, reconfirm, reconfirm again, and then reconfirm ONE more time with every person arranged to come to this event. It's been quite a hassle, but I'm really hoping to get about 100 people tested. I really think it will be a great opportunity for people to learn more about HIV/AIDS, the VCT process, and what resources are available to them in the village and the boma.