The People

I have not really talked much about the people here.

Where the hospital is there are no white people except for Sister McCarty, Dr. Kellert and any visitors. Many people want to say hello although some just stare. The kids are the funniest. They virtually all stare at me. Some of them smile and want their picture taken and laugh. Yesterday though I got quite a different reaction. I turned the corner and a woman was walking her very young child and the toddler started screaming and crying when he saw me. Everyone was laughing but my appearance has never gotten that reaction before- at least not to my face ;)

Men dress in pants of any kind (although now that I think about it I haven't really seen any jeans here). Some men even dress in slacks, shirts and ties, although not really at the hospital. Women wear dresses and skirts mostly. They often wear beanies or some sort of hats on their heads. Or they wear colorful scarves tied on their heads. Everyone for the most part has been wearing a lot of layers because it is winter here- although I think most days have actually been hot (70 to at least 80). Sister McCarty said that there is not really Zimbabwean fashion, if anything they copy Zambia or where clothes like in the U.S.

The women carry many things on their heads- they really do! I have seen them even carrying full suitcases on their heads and they don't use their hands- I have no idea how they balance it!

They also don't really like spicy things here so I have been happy that I brought a bottle of sriracha to add to things. More on food later because I haven't really tried anything local yet.

People are very nice and often soft spoken. They mostly all speak Shona here in the rural area although some speak a little English.

People make their living from agriculture here. They grow a lot of corn or cotton (and this morning I heard there is a lot of MJ here too...). But they can usually feed their family with what they grow and then sell the rest. I have not really left hospital grounds yet so I have not seen the farm land.