Getting Oriented

It has been three months since I landed into Lusaka, Zambia from Baltimore, USA. Wow! What an eventful three-month is has been. A lot has happened; so I'll try to summarize as quickly as possible without missing the highlights. The family had started on their routine of work and school while I was wondering how in the world I’m going to fill my days in this new place where I knew nobody! Little did I realize that within the first two weeks I would be making dozens of new friends – from among the local Zambians, the very active Indian community, expatriates consisting of Americans, Europeans, South Africans and you name it.  I met new and friendly faces wherever I visited – grocery stores, temple, school, homes, neighborhoods, community. Zambians are a very welcoming group of people.
The first few days we stayed at Fallsway Villas, a serviced apartment until mid-September after which we moved into our own rented home. But we still felt ‘not settled in’ because our container of household goods which had been shipped out mid-July did not arrive until Sept-end. After the shipment arrived, it was a crazy busy week of unpacking, and setting up the home. But I was finally happy to have our own used sofas, beds, kitchen pots and pans. We hired a housemaid for domestic chores and a full-time driver (until such time that PK and I could feel comfortable negotiating the Lusaka roads. Which by the way are in no way close to being crowded or congested compared to Capital beltway or I-95. But the locals complain about “traffic problems” as an excuse for being late.)
Opening bank account in Standard Chartered Bank, getting DsTV cable channels (so I could watch my favorite channels HGTV, Travel Channel, Disney, and of course Indian channels for Bollywood films) took up a good chunk of my time during the first month or so! Not to mention getting set on utilities such as ordering prepaid phone cards for landline, cell phone, paying electricity bills etc. Though most of the day-to-day chores are easy to run, there is a general inefficiency and ‘laid back’ atmosphere in dealing with things in government-run offices and so delay is inevitable.
LOCAL LANGUAGE & CULTURE
Zambians are mostly Christians and visit the church every Sunday. (My maid takes the day off on Sundays to go to church.) They speak local dialects Nyanja or Memba. I don’t understand a word of it. But that’s not a problem, because Zambians also speak fairly good English; everyone, shopkeepers, drivers and maids speak passable English. The folks are very friendly and courteous to foreigners, but while on the road at night, one needs to be wary of thefts and burglary. Majority of the people live below poverty line and are susceptible to temptation. One really fascinating thing about Zambian women and marriages. Dowry is a payment that the groom makes to the bride’s family to compensate for taking her away from her parents. Now I’m not even sure if this is better or worse than the Indian system where dowry is given to groom’s family along with the bride. The Indian dowry system is bad. But the Zambian system? Doesn’t it amount to buying the girl if you pay money to her father? Hmm….
FOOD!
When I figured out where to buy what for the kitchen, I was on a roll. So here’s the list: Supermarkets such as Shoprite and Spar for milk, bread, fruits, and other American groceries; Premuni and Tuesday market for Indian vegetables and spices; Arcades and the newly opened Manda Hill for shopping malls which includes clothes, shoes, restaurants and movies. The big problem is that everything is VERY expensive. Yes, believe it or not. I thought cost of living in Africa, especially a small place like Zambia would be less than the US. But I was so wrong! Many daily use things are as costly as, some even more than, the US. This is because Zambia is a landlocked country and all imported goods have to travel by road from ports into the cities. There is a variety of restaurants such as Mexican, Indian, American, African dishing up a decent fare of items. Of course I had also carried with me from Costco the following which I store in my pantry: Mac & Cheese, Pasta, Ziploc bags, Paper towels and napkins.
Very soon I realized that food seems to be the highlight and grand finale for any event - performance, prayer or party - in Lusaka. And its almost always free. Or its included in the tkt price. No wonder Indians attend all functions in large numbers! I also started entertaining and having people over for parties at home. Mostly I cooked Indian meals for my guests and they seem thrilled with it.
Typical Zambian staple food is Nshima made with corn flour accompanied by spinach/rape/meat/fish. I haven’t tried Nshima yet. But my maid cooks it every day for herself and my driver.