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Post by onlyMark on Nov 13, 2016 20:00:21 GMT
You may or may not know that I am now living in Zambia. I expect to be here, all being good, for at least the next three years and anything up to six. It's been quite a hectic few weeks with one thing and another but as things are settling down I'll find time to post a little about the country. The first thing is that the title of the thread is slogan of Zambia and is not a tourist slogan like Incredible India or God's Own Country, but a political one used by the founder of the independent country after British rule, Kenneth Kaunda. I'll fill things out more as we go on but for now I'll post photos of a local craft market as an introduction. Arcades Saturday MarketEvery Saturday in the car park of one of the shopping malls is a craft market. It is not the only one and there are also several shops dotted around. The items on display are usually NOT from Zambia, but some are. The cloth is local as are a few of the carvings, but more often than not they are from surrounding countries, especially from the DRC (Congo). Prices for westerners are reasonable and as you would expect, the prices are 'adjusted' depending on who is asking. Negotiation is the done thing, in fact they are a little offended if you don't play the game and try and get them down as low as possible. One item for example was priced at 120 Kwacha (about 11 euros) and came quickly down to 100 and then 80. But that was it, no lower. In one photo you can see some vehicles made out of reeds(?). The biggest one on the right was about 18 euro. It even had opening doors, boot, bonnet and a little engine. I may treat myself another time. A wooden giraffe about 40cm tall was 8 euro. The glass and copper wire trees were 9 euro each. Furniture is not so cheap though I'm sure the price would come down. A number of photos in you'll see (somewhat blurred) two carved bookcases. They had carvings on the side as well. Each was equivalent to 450 euro. I can fully imagine some westerner with a load of money buying tons of stuff, shipping it back to Europe and selling it in a shop for three times as much. Have a walk round and see what you fancy. I'll tell them to save it until you come.
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Post by onlyMark on Nov 13, 2016 20:03:44 GMT
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Post by onlyMark on Nov 13, 2016 20:04:56 GMT
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Post by onlyMark on Nov 13, 2016 20:05:45 GMT
Mrs M had to spend a bit of time in her office but I managed to drag her away for lunch. A local cafe called Mint Lounge was quite busy but we managed to grab a table on their terrace. They do really good frozen fruit smoothies and the food is more geared towards the expat and local middle class taste. It was handy for us as it is just across from her office and meant she didn't have to spend too much time away. I had a halloumi, hummus, aubergine and vegetable roll. Cost 7 euro - Mrs M had a bacon, egg and avocado sandwich. Cost 5 euro -
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Post by breeze on Nov 13, 2016 20:26:55 GMT
New adventures for you, Mark. Is that Wilfred Thesiger claiming to be you?
What are the green things in two photos--glass, pottery? Some are shiny, some aren't.
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Post by onlyMark on Nov 13, 2016 21:07:42 GMT
My Hero, Mr Thesiger is. In the dim and distant past when I went to comprehensive school, that is the days I actually turned up, we had Houses named after explorers. I had at the time heard of people like Livingston and Cabot but this man Thesiger was an unknown. Bear in mind I was eleven then so my knowledge was sadly lacking. As the years progressed and I began to find out more about him I decided I was actually in the right House.
The green stuff is stone. Quartz? do you call it?
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Post by Deleted on Nov 13, 2016 21:28:41 GMT
This is excellent. Living in the African part of Paris, I know a number of nearby places that make the masks, statues and bowls right here. They are still authentic African artifacts made by Africans, just not in Africa. I have never tried to check the prices they charge. They don't make the fancy little cars or all of those things out of Coke cans, though.
The sandwiches look perfectly acceptable as ex-pat food, but have you seen any local snacks that look appealing? I know it can be a challenge. The prices seem a bit high, but the photos that you showed elsewhere of Lusaka (I suppose) look a lot more modern and well kept than I would have expected. Do you know how Zambia ranks among African countries?
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Post by bjd on Nov 14, 2016 6:58:21 GMT
No thanks for the stuff at the market, I'm trying to declutter. In fact, it definitely looks like a market for tourists and ex-pats with prices to match. Or maybe I should stop thinking that prices in the various African countries are low?
Isn't the green stone called malachite?
As far as I know, Zambia is one of the better-run countries in southern Africa, although it's surrounded by others that are in dire shape.
Looking forward to a lot more information and photos from you, Mark.
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Post by onlyMark on Nov 14, 2016 7:05:34 GMT
There are no local snacks. I am used to being in India where every few yards you trip over someone selling food. Not so here. I've not yet seen anyone selling street food. There are little stalls where they will supply a bit of fruit or eggs or sweets, but nothing else I've seen so far. The national dish is called nshima which is maize flour/cornmeal made into a stiff mashed potato like consistency and accompanied by some meat, fish or vegetables. The culinary scene is sadly lacking. It is said that if you ask a Zambian if he has eaten that day, unless he has had nshima he will say he hasn't even though he's had lots of other things. It is usually eaten twice a day. As it is quite bland you always have a second dish with it called ndiwo - "The ndiwo second dish which is always served with nshima is often cooked from domestic and wild meats that include beef, goat, mutton, deer, buffalo, elephant, warthog, wild pig, mice, rabbits or hare, antelope, turtle, alligator or crocodile, monkey, chicken eggs. Green vegetables include domestic or garden grown like collard greens, known as rape in Zambia, cabbage, pumpkin and squash leaves, pea leaves, cassava leaves, bean leaves, kabata, nyazongwe, or bilozongwe leaves." This is a nice article on the matter - www.hungerforculture.com/?page_id=591Some recipes - afkinsider.com/37083/10-zambian-comfort-foods/In the rainy season the termites come out to mate. This time is looked forward to as they are caught, fried and served in a bowl as a snack.
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Post by bjd on Nov 14, 2016 7:08:55 GMT
Nshima sounds like ugali. Tasteless stuff but it fills you up.
I guess you will enjoy going to Spain for a food break from time to time?
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Post by onlyMark on Nov 14, 2016 7:22:18 GMT
Do you know how Zambia ranks among African countries? A lot depends on what you are looking at. In one example the life expectancy is very poor. If you look at the cost of living, it is relatively high. There are many criteria depending on where you look. Cars and imports are expensive as it is a landlocked country and is dependent nearly solely on revenue from mining, accommodation is expensive in comparison to other places we have lived. Food basic like nshima are cheap, meat is a reasonable price (e.g. good minced meat is about 7 euros a kilo), health care is probably about average for Africa - but something like overall satisfaction, which is difficult to measure, is very high. It is generally a peaceful, calm and happy country. If I had a choice of living in any country in Africa then it'd be Zambia or Botswana/Namibia. If I could choose any country in the world, then it probably wouldn't be here though.
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Post by onlyMark on Nov 14, 2016 7:38:00 GMT
bjd, the prices in the market are average. They are not high by any means and very little of anything in this area of Africa has a low price. It may look like an expat market but the population of expats and tourists is really quite low. The market there and all the others around couldn't exists without the locals. At some stage I will go round a couple of normal local markets which consist mostly of cheap goods from China, second hand stuff like clothes/shoes but also stuff that has been donated by the west, like clothing, which is then sold on but shouldn't be. You can live cheaply but there is then a tight restriction on what you buy. In one survey it is said that - "Lusaka is for example 10.6% more expensive than Houston TX for groceries, 123.8% more expensive for household costs than Kuala Lumpur, and 40.3% more expensive for transport costs than Dubai."
As for food, to be honest I can get more here that suits my preference than in Spain. I'll pay more for it of course but I've never found Spanish cuisine to be in my top five. When I was in Spain and I had a craving for some UK food it was difficult to find and either I had to make it myself or go to one of the English enclaves on the coast. Here I can buy pies, shepherd's pie, fish in batter, mushy peas, curries etc as it was a British colony for many years and so retains a certain amount of that culture. It is/will be rare though that I do buy those things here and mostly I am perfectly happy with normal stuff. If I could transplant Asian eating culture to here I'd be quite happy.
Nshima = Ugali. Same stuff in a different language.
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Post by onlyMark on Nov 14, 2016 14:13:51 GMT
Isn't the green stone called malachite? Had chance to look that up and yes it is. Not surprising really when you consider it's association with copper and the copper mining industry in Zambia.
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Post by mossie on Nov 14, 2016 16:42:13 GMT
I like the look of some of the craft work, that wooden rhino really appeals to me. My mantelpiece is so cluttered with junk there is room for no more, or so I keep telling myself.
Well done for getting into such a place, wouldn't want to do 3 days there.
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Post by onlyMark on Nov 14, 2016 19:24:36 GMT
Clear a space Mossie because it'll be in the post tomorrow.
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Post by tod2 on Nov 15, 2016 6:39:40 GMT
Lovely hearing from you Mark and seeing a bit of your 'new home'. That craft market is vast and filled to capacity with a huge variety of tourist stuff so there must be a steady market for it. A lot of the items are also available here so I'm thinking the Zambians are either living here and selling it or selling it to our locals. Next time at a craft market I will ask the stallholder where they hale from.
Could you show us some photos of your living conditions? I take it Mrs. M is the only one working in Zambia. What of the schooling for the kids?
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Post by onlyMark on Nov 15, 2016 7:28:32 GMT
She is working and as usual, I am not. Oh dear, what a pity, what a shame. My living conditions are in flux at the moment because we are staying in a cheap lodge on the outskirts of town. This should end at the beginning of December when we move to our 'permanent' accommodation. It is a rented house built at the side of the owner's house which is exactly the same and on the same plot of land. We will be sharing their pool and the generator. Why the genny? Because electricity here is sporadic at best and there are power cuts for several hours every day. Water is also cut from time to time. They do though have four large Labradors, which is a downside for us as they are not controlled and roam the property. We have asked that before we move in a fence be built to keep them away from our side. They are willing to do this. The house has the big advantage of being within walkable distance, just over a kilometer, from Mrs M's work and as we have suffered in the past, especially in Cairo and Manila, from delays due to traffic, we are quite happy to compromise with a few things to do with where we stay. This is the shared pool - The front of the house with the lawn that the dogs will not be pooping on anymore if the fence is built - The inside has rooms arranged around a central open to the sky area as you can get an idea of from this photo. The kitchen is off to the left, I'm in the living room and the bedrooms are off to the right - I grabbed these as we were looking round. I'll do more when we are in. The rent includes payment for generator fuel, the part time guard on the gate as it is gated with walls, the gardener, water, rubbish collection and maid. No kids are with us so there isn't the problem of schools. All three are continuing their education in Germany. Two will be here for Christmas, the third wants to spend it with his mates.
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Post by onlyMark on Nov 15, 2016 7:55:14 GMT
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Post by bjd on Nov 15, 2016 8:10:54 GMT
It certainly all looks pretty well cared-for and organized, especially when compared to pictures I have seen of cities in west Africa. Looking forward to more.
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Post by mickthecactus on Nov 15, 2016 13:21:41 GMT
Did you get bored with Spain then?
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Post by tod2 on Nov 15, 2016 17:16:33 GMT
It looks pretty good Mark. The streets look well kept and garbage free - I know that won't be everywhere but from all appearances it seems well organised. The trees are spectacular! What lovely shade they provide - Bixa would think she was back in Mexico! Thanks for showing us. I hope loads more photos to come.
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Post by onlyMark on Nov 15, 2016 18:25:27 GMT
Tod, bjd, in the fullness of time I will post more. Without my own car it is a bit restrictive but we'll see how things go.
Mick, Mrs M's contract expired for Amman and we weren't bothered about renewing it to stay there. Knowing this, we had organised for her to have a sabbatical for a year and a bit and we used the house in Spain. It was never going to be a permanent stay as, bless 'er, she is still young enough to have to work for a living. So towards the end of the sabbatical her work was offering us countries where they had positions she could fill upon going back to work. One was Zambia and it had the advantage of a smooth transition where one person left as she stepped in. She didn't have to go back to work early etc. I liked the idea of living here, Mrs M knew little about the country, so I made her a 30 min Powerpoint presentation to convince her. We are not bored with Spain, we (or rather Mrs M) has to work. The Spain house will revert to its primary role of being a holiday home.
Why was I attracted to Zambia though? Well, we went to the Philippines first but only stayed a couple of years before she was promoted back to the HQ in Germany. Then Egypt came up and we (ok, I) grabbed it because not only had we met there but I knew the country, I expected we could travel easily to the surrounding countries - which never happened for various reasons like a revolution, then we went to Jordan for the same reasons but Syria decided to also have a bloody revolution, so we couldn't head that way and then north into Turkey - so I also am familiar with Zambia but the main attraction (for me) is its geographic location giving easy overland access to many other countries. She can work or go on business trips, I can load the car up and travel.
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Post by breeze on Nov 16, 2016 12:28:11 GMT
Where you're staying looks pretty nice. I'll be interested to see where you wind up living.
The malachite would really tempt me if I were not such a cheapskate.
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Post by onlyMark on Nov 17, 2016 15:40:37 GMT
Had a nice phone call this lunch time. I was half hoping it would come but wasn't sure. The car is ready to be picked up, he said. The bank had told me it may take two to three weeks for the money to be transferred. But it only took four days. So I grabbed hold of my pet taxi driver and he took me down to the garage. After a check round and a bit of paperwork, it was all mine. Here is my Mitsubishi Wanker(Spanish translation of....) Pajero. I was very happy with the one we had for years and 130,000km in Egypt so I was always going to lean towards what I knew - I need to get to know it and do a few things like getting a roof tent, tools and some overland gear and we should be ready to go. If feels a lot better to be mobile.
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Post by tod2 on Nov 17, 2016 16:25:38 GMT
It is a super vehicle Mark - the only reason I would never get one is because the spare wheel is on the back door. I would demolish it within the week whilst reversing...unless you tell me it has a camera to guide you.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 17, 2016 17:36:20 GMT
Now the entire continent south of the equator is open for daily exploration!
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Post by onlyMark on Nov 17, 2016 19:18:39 GMT
Tod, yep, it has a camera to guide you. It comes on when you engage reverse and there is a screen in the middle of the dashboard for the GPS, music controls etc etc. On the one we had in Egypt I had a tow bar fitted. Not because I wanted to tow anything, but just so that when I felt it touch, I knew I was there. Also it came in useful for the crazy drivers who misjudged their stopping distance behind me at junctions. The ball of the tow bar didn't half leave a nice dent in their front bumpers.
K2, certainly. Though I wouldn't get far in a day when Mrs M's at work. I could try it though and tell her, her dinner is in the oven.
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Post by mich64 on Nov 17, 2016 20:51:04 GMT
Thank you Mark for an introduction to your new home! It sounds like you are both happy with your choice and now that you have a vehicle the full explorations will begin for you both. Our vehicle has a back up camera and ever since we got this vehicle I find my husband backs in where ever he can, safety first but secretly I think he just enjoys it. I always find a spot where I can pull through as I am not a very experienced driver but am happy when I do not have to back out of a spot, especially during the winter season! The market photos are fabulous. I would take that shiny brown hippopotamus in the third photo. Quite a few of the items shown can be found in a store here in my town and indeed many items are quite expensive and no bartering here. I know dogs are not for everyone but those 4 labs would probably be found in my house most of the time so the landlord would probably end up building a fence for different reasons. Looking forward to your adventures and to learning about the nation of Zambia.
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Post by onlyMark on Nov 17, 2016 21:15:23 GMT
If anything exciting happens mich, you'll be the first to know. Well, it depends when you log on I suppose.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 19, 2016 4:21:37 GMT
Finally getting time to carefully go through this thread and have to say that I am very surprised. I don't know exactly what I expected, except that I thought it would be way more crowded, not just with vehicles, but with foot traffic. I'm very much looking forward to your shots of the markets and regular residential areas, etc. Sorry about the questions that follow, as I realize you can't answer them until you get out & about more. Congratulations on getting the car so quickly!
The women climbing the hill are wearing what appears to be traditional African fabric skirts with t-shirts. Is that common everyday dress for women? I see the party-goers are in similar clothing, but fancier. Is the fabric typical of Zambia, or from some other region?
I'm very intrigued by the food. Some of it looks sort of like Louisiana food, especially the nshima with okra. The fact that hot peppers are used there is promising. I'm wondering if the markets will have cooked food stalls.
Tod is right -- it does look like Mexico, except the more humid and tropical parts.
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