For those of you who, like us, know
next to nothing about Zambia (but would like to know more), here's a
quick overview: The Republic of Zambia gained it's independence from
England in 1964 and has a
relatively stable (yet still somewhat corrupt) democratic government.
It is located in the south/central part of the continent of Africa and is bordered by the Congo and Tanzania to the north,
Malawi and Mozambique to the east, Zimbabwe, Namibia, and a tiny bit
of Botswana to the south, and Angola to the west. We've arrived at
the beginning of the rainy season, which usually lasts from November
through April but this year has started a little bit late. During
these months, the country is incredibly lush and green, and many
things grow easily here (including the grass which can make viewing
animals more difficult). During the dry season, we are told,
everything is brown, the grass is shorter and it gets a bit hotter.
Otherwise, the temperature remains pretty consistent throughout the
year-hot during the day, and still pretty hot at night.
Our first two nights were spent at a
wonderfully rustic hostel in Lusaka. It was located pretty close to
downtown, although you'd never know it. Judging by it's surroundings,
you might assume you were on the far outskirts of some forgotten city
in the middle of nowhere. The one lane dirt roads in the surrounding
neighborhood were filled with pot holes, lined with trees, and dotted
with mounds of garbage left to rot. As far as we could tell during
the short walk we took, there wasn't much at all in the immediate
vicinity to see or do. Fortunately, the hostel itself was a great
place to be. It had it's own friendly staff, an outdoor grass-roofed
patio/bar and staffed kitchen serving meals throughout the day.
On our first full day, we caught a cab
out front of the hostel and ventured to the bus station to try and
get our tickets to Livingstone. We made fast friends with our cab
driver on the way there. His name was James and he shared with us
many of his insights and opinions about the political system, the
educational system, and the job prospects for people in Zambia.
Mostly, I think, he was glad to have someone in the back seat who
cared, and it seemed that he would continue talking for as
long as we continued listening (or until we got to the station). He
had gone to school only up until primary, which is quite normal here,
and had started working when he was 7 or 8 to help his family get by.
He was perhaps in his mid 60's and had been driving a taxi for 14
years. In addition to driving his taxi, he ran a funeral home. He
told us about an article that an American reporter had written about
him a few years back, and explained how he often talks on the radio
about his life, hoping to inspire other Zambians to find a niche and
start their own businesses.
When we arrived, James graciously
offered to show us the way to the ticket booth (and then, of course,
provide our transportation back). He waited patiently a few yards
away while we pushed our way through what was perhaps the rankest
smelling crowd of people I have ever encountered, to get to the
ticket booth. With New Year's approaching, lots of people were making
plans to travel out of town and the buses were almost completely sold
out. We had been advised by multiple people to pay the (negligible)
extra to spring for the “luxury” buses (which have a/c) rather
than endure the “ordinary” buses (which are more crowded and do
not have a/c) but
unfortunately, all of the luxury buses were booked. We managed to get
two seats together on a regular bus and hoped for the best (or at
least not the worst).
We got back in the
cab and enjoyed another nice chat with James on our way to the local
mall to run some errands. When we arrived there, he gave us his
personal phone number and the website for the article he and his
business had been featured in. We promised to look him up and wished
him the best, thanking him for sharing his story with us.
After returning
from the mall, we hung around the hostel patio for the afternoon
enjoying some gin & tonics (we've read they're supposed to help
keep the mosquitos away, so I'm goin' with that) and attempting to
stay on top of our journaling. At one point we noticed James sitting
at the bar. We had learned that out front of the hostel was “his
spot” and he liked to hang out there whenever he didn't have a
fare. Apparently he took his breaks there, too. We got up the nerve
to ask him for the picture we were wishing we had gotten earlier and
he obliged.
Friday night there
was live music at our hostel and we met a whole slew of great people
throughout the evening. Tilly was on business from Ethiopia and after
talking to him for less than five minutes, he insisted we come and
visit him there. Norman was a local Lusakan and thrilled to tell us
all about Livingstone and Victoria Falls (our next stop). Rupert and
Jason were in the band and couldn't have been more excited to learn
that Sean had brought his saxophone. They welcomed him
enthusiastically onto the makeshift stage with them, and his “rare”
instrument quickly made him the star of the show.
(video coming soon!)
We had
a great time meeting and chatting with everyone and couldn't believe
how open and friendly all the locals were, or how many of them hung
out at the hostel. We learned that the band, 'Kapiri Mposhi Top Rank
Sweet' as they call themselves, are not merely the only classic rock
cover band in Lusaka, but are the only band of their kind in all
of Zambia.
The following
morning, James was waiting in his usual spot and was happy to drive
us back to the station to catch our bus. We said goodbye and headed
through the small gap in the fence and into the “station”, which
was really just a big dirt area inside a fence with little ticket
stands all around. It was absolutely swarming with people, and we
were an overly-cautious hour early for our bus. With nothing else to
do, we plopped our bags down near the ticket booth where passengers
seemed to be waiting and people watched. It was so different and
interesting, we couldn't have pealed our eyes away had we wanted to.
Despite all the people moving around and the constantly approaching
vendors trying to sell us various things, we never felt as though it
was a dangerous area. We simply sat and watched.
As our departure
time approached, we stood up from our backpack-seats, stretching and
preparing our legs for the long, cramped 7 hour journey ahead. Just
then, who should walk up but Chris, Sean's friend in the Peace Corps
who we were supposed to meet in Livingstone. Behind him was Kelsey,
Chris' good friend who's also visiting while we're here. They had
been up north in some of the villages and had happened to reserve
seats on the same bus. As we boarded, we happened to glance back to so James waving goodbye to us from in front of the bus- our first Zambian friend!
The bus ride wasn't
half as bad as we had prepared ourselves for. It took us through some
amazing country on our way south, and we spent the afternoon
alternating between napping and gazing out the window. The Zambian
countryside is vast, green, and largely untouched. We passed through
town after tiny town, slowly making our way south and admiring the
grass-roofed huts and perfectly planted fields.
The bus stopped
quite a few times along the way. In many of the small towns, people
would approach the bus holding bowls or baskets full of food up to
the open windows and trying to make a sale. Occasionally one of the
passengers would exchange a few Kwatcha for an ear of corn or a piece
of fresh fruit. It all seemed like it could be straight out of
National Geographic.
All in all, we've
been amazed so far by the friendliness and sincerity of the Zambian
people. Everywhere we go, we are greeted with broad smiles and warm
words of welcome. We get the feeling that they genuinely want us to
enjoy our time in Zambia, and so far, that's exactly how we feel.
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