A Note from Arissa – Day one at Hoya

A Note from Arissa:

After Day One at Hoya (Monday, Nov 18), Arissa wrote the following:

This morning we got to meet the students of Hoya Day School for the first time.  It was definitely awkward at first, but after some standing around, we got to talking and playing sports together, and then some of the teenage girls dragged Ang and I off to their dorms to teach us how to cook “shema”, a cultural food in Zambia.

The reason this stands out so much is because sharing meals is what Act Five is all about.  We often say that the best experiences we have are around the dinner table, and that’s the place where we feel most like family.  So it is cool to see that, despite a slight language barrier and very different food, the familial feeling carries to halfway across the world.

We were taught some of their dances, played some of their games, demonstrated how to make our own skipping rope out of tree fibres and were shown how to cook their favourite food – which, in case you’re wondering, is incredible.

In retrospect, this is one of those experiences that was hugely uncomfortable at the time but filled with unforgettable moments that make Zambia feel like a home for us as well.