Travel-Trails

I'm back from Zambia. The flight home was easy enough--an hour's delay in Atlanta but otherwise easy enough. I slept A LOT on the plane and have felt good this afternoon....I hope to get a good night's sleep this evening.

What new in Zambia: Retail space—lots of new stores. Most of the places are chains that were based in South Africa (Bata Shoes, Shoprite and Mr. Price are three.) The good news is that products sell for less. The bad news, much of the sales revenue leaves the country—although all the retail developments employ people and the consumption opportunities give people a reason to aspire for middle class or higher status.

My friend Muwana took me to a couple of local Zambian social clubs. Our first stop was the BP Club—literally run by British Petroleum for the employees but available for others to visit. The BP Club is located near ZNBC's Mass Media Complex—Muwana's office location. It was a good place to be because it was off the beaten path—no mini bus routes were particularly close so if you didn't drive yourself or take a taxi, you'd probably select another place. The room would likely hold 50-60 people but there were probably no more than two dozen patrons when we arrived.

Muwana introduced me to several friends, including Joshua who upon hearing my name was Greg, told me he had a nephew named Greg and that for the evening, he'd be calling me Nephew. I called him Uncle. A doubting friend who walked up questioned us on the family relationship. As quickly as I could I said, "Look at our smiles and the sparkle in our eyes—you'll see that we are related." It was a good time for all to laugh.

Later we went to an Irish pub—the sort of place you'd see in the U.S. with all sorts of plaques or signs saying things like, "Liquor kept the Irish from conquering the world." The bar, McHags, is located in Manda Hill Shopping Center.

Food: It was great to have N'shima again. Made from boiled corn meal, the thick paste is the Zambian equivalent to bread. I enjoyed lunch with two friends at a restaurant called Food Fayre. During the week, they have a buffet style meal. Saturday, when we were there, we ordered from a menu board. The three of us had village chicken (a Zambian equivalent to free-range chicken), rape (a green similar to kale), okra, and lowanbi (a local vegetable that's boiled and cooked with some peanuts mixed in.) Delicious! The meal cost about 15,000K per person—that's a little less than $4.00. While it seemed like a bargain meal for a hungry worker, I found myself thinking later that I often spend only about $1 for lunch by bringing something to work or keeping some cans of soup in my office. The simplest option in Zambia would be to walk a little further to an open market and buy some bread, fruit or vegetables from a seller's stall.

Zambian Phrases:
"It's just there." A location reference that could mean 100 feet away or several miles.
"Where do you stay?" Where do you live?
"I'll just pass by on my way to . . ." or "I'll pass by at 18:30 hours." I'll stop by while I'm on my way. Or, I'll stop by at 6:30 PM.
"Do you take ______?" Do you eat or drink or consume something.

Things I brought back:
Baskets—a suitcase full of them. A tablecloth with a guinea fowl pattern. Some small animal carvings. A bottle of Mosi Beer, made by Zambia Breweries, a company once controlled by the government but privatized and then purchased in full by SAB-Miller—the combined South African Breweries and Miller Brewing. And, renewed friendships and wonderful memories!