There's a rat living in my drawer

Rats, scorpions, and 14-year-old married girls, are just some of the things Jonathan and Sinne from Faaborg in Denmark have had to get used to while living in northern Zambia for the past three months.

Sinne and Jonathan with thier Zambian family. Photo: Lena Vind-Andersen.

"We only have a single lamp in the entire house and batteries for my torch are hard to get. So, one day when I put my hand into my clothes drawer in pitch darkness, I suddenly felt something that was a little more woolly than my underpants usually are, "laughs Jonathan. It turned out to be a small rat in the process of building a nest. Needless to say it was quickly released outside. But such things are a part of everyday life, when you decide to stay with a family in a small village in northern Zambia.

Jonathan Tybjerg and Sinne Fyhn have become accustomed to all kinds of things in the three months they have been here. They've found a scorpion in a board game, heard about a witch doctor who was caught just around the corner and have seen a 14-year-old girl chasing after her husband, because he had not behaved properly. And they have had to learn how it is to be known by everybody.

Sinne and "brother" Enock doing the washing. Photo: Jonathan Tybjerg.

In Denmark, Sinne is accustomed to people thinking that her name is a bit strange. And Jonathan is best known as Jonathan "Morning Song", from his time as the energetic vice board chairman of his high school and organizer of the daily morning meetings. But in Zambia, people mainly notice them because of their white skin colour. The two 20-year-old friends, who graduated last year from Faaborg Gymnasium, are living very far from all the usual tourist routes. Other white people are at least 50 kilometres away.

Doctor and Nurse
And their traveller's first aid kit has been the cause of two new nicknames: Doctor Jonathan and Nurse Sinne. They originally brought the kit along to take care of their own bruises, but instead, they have mainly used the contents to relieve their host family's wounds and scratches.

"I sort of expected that people would know a lot about administering first aid. That they had all sorts of cool native plants and tricks they could use, since they live so far from everything. But when our little brother, Enock, spilled half a pot of boiling water over himself, it was me who had put him in a tub with water. Everybody else just tried to fan him with a notebook. They were quite amazed at the fact that you can stop the pain with water, "says Jonathan.

Corporal punishment
 On the whole, the stay has proven to be a very surprising acquaintance with African realities – be they good or bad.
"Our mother's first reaction after the accident was to smack Enock on the head for not having learned to stay away from boiling water," says Sinne, shaking her head. To her, the Zambian educational methods came as a bit of a shock. Both she and Jonathan have had many discussions on the subject, both with their host family, neighbours and not least the teachers at the school where they've taught English and mathematics.

A result of Jonathans and Sinnes stay is this poster, which is now displayed in every class room at the local school. Photo: Jonathan Tybjerg.

Corporal punishment is not uncommon in schools, although the law actually forbids it. But since the father of their host family is also the principal of the school, something worthwhile has actually come out of it. Convinced by Sinne and Jonathan's arguments, a new poster has now gone up in all the classrooms, forbidding teachers to hit their students.

The two friends are very happy with that outcome, because one of the reasons, they chose to travel as Global Contact volunteers, was to somehow be able to make a difference in people's lives. "We didn't just want to be tourists, we wanted to get to know a different culture from the inside," explains Jonathan.

And although they have recognized that it may be difficult to achieve any significant changes in just three months, they agree that they have at least been able to contribute something to the lives of their Zambian family and friends.

"We have been able to give them a different perspective on the world and some new ideas. And our way of treating and playing with the children has at least shown them an alternative way of doing things. And no .. it might not change anything right away, but as long as people at least think about something they have never thought of before, we have achieved something,” Sinne reflects.

The Danish "Viking Game" has become a popular passtime with children in Pilado. Photo: Lena Vind-Andersen.

Viking Games and football
And on some very specific and tangible points, their stay in Africa has actually changed something: There are now children of the village of Pilado that can play the ”Viking Game”. And there are more children who play football. "I was made the coach of the school team on the second day I was here," smiles Jonathan who has even organized a tournament with over 100 participants from the local area.

In order to get that organised, it was required, among other things, that Jonathan did several kilometres of cycling to round up the local trainers and teams. Because in a village in Zambia you can not simply put a notice up in the supermarket to tell people whom to contact in order to participate.

Sinne and Jonathan will return to Denmark in late June.

Jonathan was made coach of the school team on the second day after arrival. Photo: Lena Vind-Andersen.