Urbanite
Today I finally ventured to downtown Lusaka. After a morning hacking code poolside at the lodge, I grabbed a cab at the crossroads to take me for a brief tour of the city before heading into the office. The proprietress had urged me to take along someone from the staff, either Everisto or Cheapo, for company. Very kind, but no thanks.
More Rhodes legacy: Lusaka started as a train stop along the way from Cape Town to Cairo. The main street was named in reference to the intended northern destination when the depot grew into a city, sometime in the 30's.
The cab dropped me off on Cairo Road and I sauntered on up the sidewalk. Lusaka is just like every other poor city anywhere -- crowded, dirty, and maybe a little cranky (I walked around two street fights). There wasn't much to see, and what was there wasn't particularly Zambian. Of note was that I blithely strolled in and out of shops, while Zambians were stopped at the door to have their bags checked. Big me, special me, touring on the monorail. After picking up a cell phone SIM and exchanging some money for the weekend, I hopped in another cab to head to the office.
It's probably just a city-mouse/suburb-mouse issue, but all the previous cab drivers were friendly but talkative as a Finn. George had a lot to say, happy to discuss politics, my impressions of Zambia and the work I was doing here. While conceding some of the local nuttiness, George is pretty pleased with the overall improvement in Zambia, especially the freedom to say what you'd like and pursue opportunities. He was also pleased to hear that Zambia would have a more sophisticated health information system than the U.S. when our project is completed.
More Rhodes legacy: Lusaka started as a train stop along the way from Cape Town to Cairo. The main street was named in reference to the intended northern destination when the depot grew into a city, sometime in the 30's.
The cab dropped me off on Cairo Road and I sauntered on up the sidewalk. Lusaka is just like every other poor city anywhere -- crowded, dirty, and maybe a little cranky (I walked around two street fights). There wasn't much to see, and what was there wasn't particularly Zambian. Of note was that I blithely strolled in and out of shops, while Zambians were stopped at the door to have their bags checked. Big me, special me, touring on the monorail. After picking up a cell phone SIM and exchanging some money for the weekend, I hopped in another cab to head to the office.
It's probably just a city-mouse/suburb-mouse issue, but all the previous cab drivers were friendly but talkative as a Finn. George had a lot to say, happy to discuss politics, my impressions of Zambia and the work I was doing here. While conceding some of the local nuttiness, George is pretty pleased with the overall improvement in Zambia, especially the freedom to say what you'd like and pursue opportunities. He was also pleased to hear that Zambia would have a more sophisticated health information system than the U.S. when our project is completed.
posted by Andreas Kollegger at 9:29 AM
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