May 22nd

So another night spent with my rodent friends. I cannot get over how noisy they are. I question whether they are playing racket ball above my head or not.  I suppose all living creatures need their stress relief and these little brats like to do it at 0300 in the morning right above my head.

The house that I stay in Solwezi although plentiful in the rodent department is somewhat lacking in the kitchen area. For example there is a refrigerator that is almost always empty, there is a microwave, a toaster and a two burner hot plate placed on top of an old cast iron oven.  Also crammed into this 10 by 10 room are a washer and drier. All of these things I do consider to be a luxury compared to the village, but when trying to cook a meal to feed on average five people with three girls in the kitchen and only one electrical outlet things can get a bit cramped. I would like to have a word with the electrician who worked on this house. Putting only one electrical socket in each room especially the kitchen is not the most intuitive thing to do. The light switches for some bedrooms are located in the adjacent bedroom or ten feet down the hall or there no light switch at all and the light stays on until the bulb burns out. Also the fact that the bathtub nozzles electrocute you every time you turn on and off the water furthers my skepticism of the electrician. But to be honest there most likely was never an electrician just somebody with a how to book.

Ellen and I made apple crisp in the microwave. Yes it can be done and it was delicious.  I have taken to making pancakes from scratch; and from scratch I mean I just dump some ingredients in a bowl and pray that it is edible. Today was the third day that I have made the pancakes and so far it has been a success. No one seems to have died from them nor has anyone become gravely ill. I like to mark my success with low standards; good pancakes because no one died.

Zambian Pancakes:

1.5 cup flour

2 T sugar

1T baking powder

1T cinnamon

½ c oil

1 c water (Maybe more or less. Add enough to make it pancake batter consistency)

Pinch of salt

Disclaimer: I have never actually measured anything so in all honesty that could be totally wrong. If anyone is brave enough to try it let me know how it turns out.