Some thoughts from my first week in Lusaka

Arrival

So I arrived in Lusaka on Saturday 18^th February.  I was expecting the airport to be considerably larger than it was, and I couldn’t help feeling that it has shades of Cardiff International Airport. The first thing I noticed was the sun-scorched plastic windows on the terminal building which had been exposed to fifty-odd years of intense sunlight. I was also expecting some kind of melee considering I had arrived at an African airport but passing through customs was relatively straightforward, and we (VSO volunteers) were met by representatives of the VSO Programme Office to take us onto our lodgings for our in-country training at the University of Zambia.

Taxis

I saw Ban Ki-moon. He was part of a motorcade heading into the city on some business. I caught a glimpse from the rear seats of a clapped-out Honda that was proudly owned by Duvee, my taxi driver. Duvee told me that Mr Ki-moon said it should be OK for civil partnerships in Zambia (homosexuality is illegal and taboo in Zambia) to occur and if they wanted children they should be allowed. He was completely opposed. I could not understand half of the conversation so I just rattled out ‘yeah, yeah’ after every sentence to keep the conversation going. He blabbered on about Jesus, Muhammad and some other stuff and then I heard him talking about reproduction. I lost interest at this stage so just kept the show rolling with some more yeahs until I heard him talk about Colonel Gaddafi which is when my ears pricked up. I’ll never know how he actually got from religion to Gaddafi, though…

Taxis are a real experience in Lusaka. Apparently they have licensed taxis but I haven’t seen one, therefore I have become accustomed to using the unlicensed ones. The taxis are all moribund Japanese cast-offs that have been refurbished and shipped to Africa for re-use. The fumes that come from these cars are a saccharine petrol smell very different to the smell of fumes in London. Bartering a price for a ride is interesting. The drivers obviously overcharge you because you are white – they charge muzungu (white person) prices. So you have to be stern and try and get the price down. This can be done by walking away with your final price. You then have to hope they come crawling after you.

Town

Lusaka is quite hectic from my point of view but apparently it’s nowhere near some other African cities. After a week of being shepherded around town by VSO I eventually got my first walking experience near the centre and it was a real experience. There is so much life to see. It’s a different kind of life that you see on the high streets and town centres in the UK. The people here are driven by different needs, and the streets are covered in human traffic. People are selling, sitting idly about or simply getting from one place to the next. And when the rains have come down the mud pavements are covered in puddles so just adds to the drama of it all.

Cairo Road – the main drag – is the heart of the city. It is a long dual-carriageway and is packed with traffic. Taxi drivers just shout at you because you are white and they think you need a lift out of town, but apart from that the locals don’t hassle you. I walked down the central reservation where there is a track amongst trees – it is very pleasant and a lot easier than walking down the busy shop-fronted pavements. When I got to the end of the reservation a group of lads were just hanging out; one of them acknowledged me and put his fist out to touch mine, so I touched it and mumbled ‘alright’ and I moved on quickly with my backpack in tow. No matter how hard I try here, I’ll never be able to look cool! Who knows what they thought of me.

The other striking scene that Cairo Road offers is the on-road economy. As you near the northern end the road breaks into three lanes where the majority of the action occurs. All through the day there are people walking towards the traffic in-between the cars selling stuff: hazards lights for cars, fruit and vegetables, newspapers, mobile phone top-ups, trainers, cutlery… I could go on. It’s mind-boggling. It’s like 99p stores but on the streets. I’ve seen people buy newspapers and mobile top-ups, but I’ve never seen anyone just stop and try on a pair of trainers right there on a busy carriageway. I would love to know if these people make any sales on their trainer stock.