A Day in Lusaka

When I got to the Guest House, they were ready to meet me and show me to my room. It was spartan, the toilet only works sometimes, the electricity is there most but not all of the time, and the shower is a hand-held apparatus you have in the tub. But there was hot water, and I had a bath and cleaned myself enough to be presentable, then went off to the Arcades Shopping Centre on foot. It is about a kilometer altogether and pretty easy walking. I finally found the store which sells sim cards, lined up (as you do everywhere here) and got the card with a bit of time on it. I got the card in okay, but couldn't figure out how to get the time on it, so had to go back into the store. I was startled when I realized that the person just ahead of me was about twenty, in fatigues and was carrying a sub-machine gun on his shoulder! You don't see that in Canada! And he was just a regular one of the customers.

That accomplished, I called Dr. Margaret Mainbolwa, the assistant dean of the medical school (who was a trained nurse midwife, with a Ph.D in it from Sweden, of all places), and we arranged to meet at her office. Took me a while to find a cab, but I got there and finally found her office. Of course she was not there, but people are nice, and someone went to find her. She welcomed me warmly, and we talked about her research and the medical school. She helped me by arranging for the next interview which was at a different location, so I got another ride with two of the staff, and met with Dr. Fastone Gomar, a cardiologist by training and practice, but also a researcher and one of the founders of Zamfor here in Zambia. He has been involved in human resources work in health care, as well as tobacco reduction strategies. A very interesting man, and one whom I would like to spend more time with.

It turned out that the third person I thought I would see today was out of town, so I came back to Juls and slept. I took a cab with a young man who said of course he knew where Juls was, but when we got close, it turned out he didn't know, so we had to stop and ask a few times. Fortunately, we had agreed upon a price for the total ride.

I had forgotten how fast the sun goes down in the tropics. I woke about 5:50 and thought I should get going to meet Daphne and Charlie by 6:30, and by 6 it was already dark. I had been assured that walking around here was okay until after 8, but it felt a bit scary walking down the dark streets (no street lighting), on uneven roads with cars which don't always drive well, and being the only white person in sight. And the houses here are all behind high walls with razor wire on top of them, so getting help there would be impossible. But I made it safely, had a wonderful reunion and dinner with the Maurers. And then came home by taxi.

I have decided to take this iPad with me on the trip, so we will see how well it does. I am fascinated at the prospect of using it to keep a diary while out.


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Location:Lusaka