Last week we had the chance to participate in a discussion with some Zambian youth. The most interesting part of the discussion was when we shared our preconceived notions about one another’s country. Some of what they said about the United States was dead on but others were completely wrong. For instance, they thought that we had a lot more job opportunities but they also thought that we had no consequences for disobedience in schools. After the formal discussion we had a chance to talk with some of the students one on one. I really enjoyed learning about daily life in Zambia from a local’s perspective. I was surprised to hear that one of the twenty two year old girls was already married. This experience gave me a good glimpse of what daily life was like.

While in Zambia our group also went to a village. The village still follows all the traditional rules that have been used for centuries. Their chief is extremely smart and charges people to come to the village. We took a guided tour of the village and our guide told us about some of the traditions they take part in. As we walked through the village, we saw many aspects of their culture. One of the first buildings we saw was the chief’s palace. The guide told us that people inherit the throne and the heir must serve for their entire life whether they like it or not. The chief must also swallow a stone which he carries in his stomach for the rest of his life. When the chief dies, it is against the law to say “the chief has died”, if they do they will be put in prison for three days and must pay a fine of one cow.

Within the village there was extreme poverty. Everyone lived in small mud huts. We were allowed to look into one of the homes. It was a collection of small huts with a grass fence around it. We were told that four children slept together in a tiny room.

After we saw the village, we were taken to a market. There were about fifty booths of people who all tried to sell souvenirs. it was pretty intense. Everyone would try to get you to come to their booth using any tactic possible. They would ask you questions to get you to stay as long as possible. Then when you tried to leave, they would try to make you say you would come back. It made me really uncomfortable. Eventually I realized that they were only trying to make a living. It was a really powerful experience.