vendredi 23 mai 2008

First impressions.

Flight London-Nairobi.
Blue the sky. White the clouds. Amazing picture from my airplane window.
London stayed behind with its Big Ben, its Tower Bridge and its lovely pubs.
Its two-floor buses, its British accent and its traffic on the left.


Brett and me in London


Flight Nairobi-Lilongwe-Lusaka.
The flight was an hour later, but no one seemed impressed or frustrated about that.
Let's get used to African time!



Lusaka.
Blue the sky. Few the clouds. Amazing picture from the mini-bus window (equivalent of a van).
Trafic on the left, mix of dirt and paved road, Zambians wearing traditional clothes, other wearing "westernized" clothes, fences with barbed wires or broken glasses on top, big houses, small compounds, palm trees...



Z-Unit (minus Olivia and Cherie) in Lusaka

Our compound at the Kuomboka Backpackers in Lusaka for the in-country training

On our way to the market... a robot!

Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, has been our host for a few days. We had two days of in-country training with the EWB long-term volunteers (LTOV) where we learnt more about the history of Zambia, health and safety issues, how to find housing and a few basics in Nyanja (the language mostly spoken in Lusaka).
The LTOVs made us do a scavenger hunt and so we were left by ourselves in small groups in the city.

So where do we start?
Ok, we have to find the market and buy a bunch of things that we don't have a clue of what it is!
Let's ask this couple that is walking towards us for the directions.

"Muli bwanji! Where is the market?
- Oh, the market! Keep walking straight this way and when you see the robots, turn right.
- Excuse me, did I hear the robots?!?
- Yes, robots.
(Confused looks on our faces)
- Oh, sorry, the traffic lights!
- OOoooH! I see! Zikomo!(Thank you)"


So the belief here is that traffic lights are mechanised policemen that are not flexible. You can't argue with them, they are robots!

2 commentaires:

Kim Jusek a dit…

hey madavine!!
it sounds like you are doing amazing! i wish we could be in closer contact, but it seems you are quite remote. my cell number is +2330247648753 if you get a chance, call any time you want and we can discuss our stories and our challenges! can't wait to hear all about it, great blog by the way, its beautiful and amazing!
love and best of luck, keep doing it for dorothy!
love
kim

Kyla Firby a dit…

Great story about the "robots"!