Well, where do I start? So much to tell you about the normal day-to-day ongoings driving to/from the farm and just around town. I'd like to give you an idea of what you may see while walking/driving down the streets of Ndola. So I'll try my best not to offend - I'll just say it, as I see it - so here goes:
-grown men hold hands as a sign of affection, it always makes me smile BIG (you hardly see women holding hands or a man & a woman for that matter...)
-drivers do not use their mirrors so you must be careful at all times. Especially me, who is accustomed to driving on the right side of the road, not the left and what's with the crazy roundabouts? I had to take a physical driving test in order to receive my Zambian drivers license and not before visiting 2 different offices 7 seperate times for paperwork, photograph, finger prints, oh I could go on -- nothing comes easy here in Africa.
-don't expect any catalyt convertors in the vehicles as like many other countries, the smell of petro/deisel is predominant and dirty soot in the air is a common thing
Unilever container, Derry purchasing cooking oil
Prisoners are often seen coming off a shift where they work on city duty (e.g. clearing trees, picking up garbage/trash, etc.) in town. Not certain what they have been charged with, but I wouldn't want to be around to see them jump off the back of the truck!
-many times a day, you'll have vendors walk up to you to sell things. For example, a lock for a door, a comb, fresh caterpillar snacks, cell phone talk time and many different hot DVD's. The other day a man came up to me with a special long 2m handled pole. When I asked him what it was supposed to be, he spoke little english and said, 'cobwebs -clean - corners'!
-you must keep your doors locked while idling in your vehicle or waiting for someone (even when your windows NEED to be down), as you never know when they will jump in the back of your car and steal your bag! yes, it happened to me and you can bet your bottom dollar I chased the guy!
-the weather is very hot and at first, I wondered why everyone was sucking on plastic bags filled with flavoured ice -- didn't take me long to purchase these treats along with the Kawama kids...
Flame trees decorate streets of Ndola
-women wear beautiful coloured chetenge's (skirt material) wrapped around their pants/trousers or sometimes 2 sets of chetenge's to keep the inner layer clean
-Zambians have a tendancy to clear their throats with a funny sound -OK a very loud snotty sound!
-Zambians will gesture that they understand you by nodding their head, but it's the opposite from the way that we nod. Yes, starting with chin down and then push chin up and out while raising their eyebrows to motion 'yes'
-the streets are quiet on weekends. Saturdays stores close at 2:30p.m., sunday most stores are closed.
-the cost of things can be very low e.g. Zambian Passports are 72,000 Kwatchas which is $18 (very expensive for most)
-my favourite thing about Zambians: they will always greet you with a smile and if you know them - a special 3 step handshake. You must always make time to say 'hello/mulishani' even to a large group of people when starting a meeting, a gathering, even when driving past children working the fields on your bike, anytime...
If you happen to be across the street and cannot reach each other -- they will hold their hand to their heart [LOVE that] and women often curtsey as a sign of respect!
Ndola is located on the Copperbelt -- just 10km from the Congo border
1600m above sea level
Southern Hemisphere
Land Area 752,615 Sq. Km
Population: 375,000 (2000 census)
Last heard approx. 800 westerners living in the area (I'm sure that # is higher now)
Fire break outside of our farms' borders
Today, Metehbel is a growing girl at the ripe age of 15. You can see a recognisable difference between these two photos. She is only in Grade 6 as she could not start school until she was strong enough. Metehbel , although a very quiet girl, has the most glorious smile you will ever see!
