Living it up in Lusaka

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Spent some days in Lusaka before and after a trip to Livingstone courtesy of Holiday Inn (thank you, Southampton!). Dropped off blue box, water filter and other equipment to VSO, had my exit interview with the programme manager and also got myself tested for malaria and bilharzia. Met up with Fiona (who had previously come to the South Luangwa game reserve with us) and Anne, an ex-VSO, now with a 'proper job' working on the development side of an ISP which is expanding Zambia's broadband capacity.

After Chipata, Lusaka was very noisy and bustling. It is mainly low density sprawl except for a few streets in the very centre; homes in the wealthier areas are still bungalows with large gardens, as they would be elsewhere.

Both here and, later, in Livingstone I was something of an oddity, having picked up what I thought were Zambian greetings and mannerisms during my time here, but which I now found out are very Eastern Province and regarded as pretty quaint and provincial. It was the equivalent of someone from Somerset wandering around London going 'oo-ar'. However, it did give me a point of discussion with locals such as security guards and then guides, and I met several people from Katete, Petauke, Nyimba etc, and even one chap called Chipata! (Inventive names are not uncommon in Zambia; there are rumoured to be two men in Chipata called Celtel, after the biggest local phone company).

I can't really compare people and life in Chipata with that of Lusaka, but from Lusaka onwards I saw and became part of a far more white, tourist and 'colonial' Zambia, of which there is relatively little in Chipata.

On the Sunday afternoon I was invited by Anne to the Lusaka Gymkhana Club, for part of their annual Derby day, and watched mainly children put their ponies through their paces while proud parents watched on. Though I've never been to a gymkhana or otherwise mixed with the country set, it was clearly a small piece of England transplanted thousands of miles. The children's names included Bunty, Tabitha, Sophie and Emma, everyone got a good round of applause however well they did and those who fell off (not infrequently as there was one jump that many of the horses kept baulking at) were given roses as a consolation prize.

After this we went for 'sundowners' at one of Lusaka's better establishments, next to the Polo Club ( 😉 ). Very agreeable but with prices equivalent to those in British cities.

While the following risks some severe sweeping generalisations, I think it is fair to say there is some serious money in Lusaka. There is a growing middle class including people working for, for example, the government, NGOs, Barclays Bank and the mobile phone cpompanies. Whereas in Chipata, people with money are buying things- TVs, satellite, computers etc, in Lusaka there is a growing service economy at the top end as people eat out more and take holidays to eg Livingstone and South Africa. With a 'western'-paying job there's a great lifestyle to be had in Zambia, especially if you are within striking distance of Lusaka, though of course such an existence is miles apart from the experience of most of the Zambian population.

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Photos

Bunty
Brave small girl on a rather large pony

Comments

[Dad]

Wonderful Experience
What an interesting account of your Lusaka and Victoria stops! I reckon it is of considerable interest from a sociological viewpoint as much as anything. Must have been a tremendous experience for you, which I found really absorbing, especially the gymkhana details