We are Bwana

We've just completed In-Service Training, and have been enjoying Lusaka for a week and a half now. It's really nice to be able to go to one of the big supermarkets and buy anything you want, even "American" brands like Oreos and Lays potato chips. Unfortunately, fruits and vegetables are outlandishly expensive because they're imported from South Africa- a very small package of grapes for the equivalent of $7, etc. We spend more money in a day in Lusaka than we do in several weeks in our village. Most goods are comparable in price to things in America, so it's a bit of a culture shock in itself to come from life in the village, where we pay the equivalent of $1 to have our laundry washed and 20 cents for a head of cabbage, to the hustle and steady flow of cash in Lusaka. We have managed to watch three movies since we've arrived; The Hangover, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, and Knowing. It was very funny to watch all of those movies with a Zambian audience. To express disapproval, Zambians click their tongue against the roof of their mouths and shake their heads. This clicking sound accentuated every crude part in The Hangover, which just made Chris and I laugh harder.

Earlier today, Chris and I returned to Chongwe to visit our host family during training, Bamaayo and Batata. It was really wonderful to see them again, and our brother and sisters. Bamaayo kept trying to feed us and invited us to spend the night. I think we all felt that our visit was too short. They are the closest we have to family here in Zambia, and we really do love them. We also got to meet the newest group of Peace Corps trainees, who will swear in as volunteers in a few weeks.

Tommorrow, we're off to Kabwata market to get my hair done, then to Cairo Road to buy Indian spices. That's another thing that I've begun to love about Lusaka, the Indian food. Especially naan and samosas. There's a decent population of Indians in Zambia, who I've just learned where brought by the British during colonialism to be the merchant class. There's also a lot of other white people; ex-patriates, British, Afrikaaners, and the occasional tourist. It's nice not to be the only white people around for once, especially when your mere presence evokes so much curiosity in the village. Even in Lusaka, though, there are places where white people aren't very prevalent, which are always the places we seem to find ourselves in, conversing in icibemba. These include mini-buses, cramped and cheap public transportation, which is always an adventure.

We will return to Kasama in four days, amid mixed emotions. It'll be nice to be back home after a three-week long absence, but we're sure going to miss hot showers, easy transportation, cheese, electricity, Indian restaraunts and pizza, and movies.