Sometimes life here feels a little bit like an episode of Cheers when Norm walks through the door. Well except the bar and English. But everywhere I go it's calls all the way of "Ba Teeny, Hello!" from the kids and various bemba greetings from the adults.
There is a culture here surrounding greetings. That is to say if you don't stop and greet every person you see it's thought rude and I've even had teachers exclaim, "I thought you hated me." Only because I didn't intterupt their class to say hello.
I look at this culture in two lights depending on what I'm doing and my particular energy level of the day. On the positive side I love that people actually say hi and acknowledge the prescence and well being of others and not just in an artificial way. I love that when I walk to the river I somehow hear my name before I can even see faces. I love that I know my neighbors. And I love that this "celebrity" feeling keeps me safe since I know people care about me. On the other hand on days where I'm running a bit behind to school or a meeting it's frustrating to not be able to just fly past with my blinders on. Or perhaps when my energy level has hit rock bottom it takes a lot of work to muster up the "Mwashibukeni" every ten feet as I stroll down the path. The funny thing is that no one would think twice if I were ten minutes late because I stopped to greet people.
In a way it's a refreshing change since the emphasis here is on people rather than meetings or appointments that we so commonly value in our society. The urgent pace of life is far less urgent here. The pace is calm and steady, stopping to talk or laugh with a friend.
I will say sometimes it makes me regret not living in a small town where everybody really does know your name. I do sometimes enjoy the anonominity of my hometown in America but the rich culture of community here is not something that will easily be forgotten when I leave this place. Even when I ride my bike to the market 7k away I hear my name in villages over and no matter how fast I'm pedaling it always brings a smile to my face. I'm starting to feel like this really is home.
