Aug 10, 2012 - General    7 Comments

Changing pace

As the wife of a wildlife photographer, I know that holidays do not mean relaxation. When Will and I travel, we are usually busier than ever. Sunrise and sunset provide the best light of the day and therefore cannot be missed! During the ‘bad-light’ hours, it is important to get familiar with the sights in order to decide where to spend sunrise and sunset.

On our first night in Zambia, we slept solidly for 13 hours, waking at 9am. When we did wake up (no alarm set!), we took our time before ambling to get breakfast. It means that although I am in a strange, new country, I am not on holiday. This is something different…

However, whatever this is, it doesn’t fully feel real yet. I think it will continue to feel surreal until we get to Katete and start work. We are currently spending a few days in Lusaka (the Zambian capital) to get some jobs done. Although essential, this time in Lusaka does mean that we are still waiting to find out what our new life is going to be like, with a lot of unknowns still unknown.

What I have already learnt is that life in Zambia runs at a different pace. We had an overly ambitious job list for day one, including buying local sim cards, getting dongles for internet on our laptops, finding a reasonable guesthouse to stay at, buying supplies and household items, and trying to buy a car (this will require a separate blog post another day when I have the strength to write it all down!). Day one helped us to understand that ‘I will phone you back in 10 minutes’ actually means ‘I may phone you back at an undetermined time in the future’. We have also decided that only achieving one or two items on your to-do list per day is a good result.

On our first day in Zambia, we did manage to get ourselves conncected (sims/dongles), and find a lovely place to stay called Kaingo’s with Wifi, good food and lovely gardens.

Today was supermarket/local shops day. I think you can tell a lot about a country by visiting a local supermarket, and this was true in Zambia’s SuperSpar. Here are my main observations:

1. There is a whole aisle filled with Vaseline tubs and cocoa butter – it is very dry here (just in case my cracking lips and hands hadn’t already alerted me to this)

2. There is a whole aisle dedicated to bug spray and cockroach killing – yikes!

3. The jams are in tin cans not in jars – not sure what this tells me, but it’s very strange right?

After our enlightening supermarket outing, we felt satisfied with our achievements for the day, so we set up an office in the garden and have spent the rest of the day writing blogs, doing jobs and changing pace… Early night? Don’t set an alarm? Oh go on then…

 

7 Comments

  • Nothing like saying it like it is…”Die” Roach! Scary. I have to say that I have never seen so many cans of bug spray! Our local store, in Colorado, USA, has about 4 short shelves. The flavors of the jams look a bit unusual, in addition to the “canning” of them. Different, I agree.

  • I can tell I’m going to enjoy this blog!

  • Thanks for the comments guys! Tracey – I’ve never seen so many cans of bug spray either, I wonder how many I’ll get through this year!!

  • VERY interesting! You are an excellent writer, Nat. I love your outdoor office. I foresee a book about your Zambian adventures; would be a bestseller I’m sure.

    Kudos to Will, too, for his wonderful nature photographs and videos. I’m looking forward to more BeetleCam action.

    All the best to both of you in this new, and exciting, phase of your life.

    • Suzy – thank you for your kind comment, I hope to keep entertaining you with tales from Zambia.

  • I found this post entertaining…I am really excited to follow along on your adventure. I’m living vicariously through you. Good luck with the coming days…Jx

  • This is so fun to read! Over the summer I had the opportunity to go to Zambia on a short term missions trip for three weeks. Our team lived in a small village near the town of Nyimba and worked with the people there.

    You should defiantly check out Rhapsody’s! Its one of the best places we ate at while in Lusaka. I look forward to your reading about your adventures. Tsalani bwino!