Mwaisani

For those of you who know me, I'm not much of a blogger so here is my attempt at keeping you all posted on my life in Lusaka, Zambia for the next seven months.

I've now been here for a week and just finished my first half day of work - I met with my editor, Ngande, and spoke with him about what he expects from me and how he wants me to fit in with the newsroom's scheme of things. The Monitor prints twice weekly, once on Tuesdays and Fridays. The newsroom is calmer on Wednesdays and Thursdays and busier on Fridays, Saturdays, Mondays and Tuesdays (according to the designer that I just met). Everyone who works there seems to be really open, friendly and they were really welcoming. I'm going to be going on assignment with them over the next few weeks just to get a feel for how things work in the Zambian media before I dive into my workplan.

I have also found a fantastic flat which I will be sharing with three others from JHR and we'll be looking for one more roommate. The flat is in Olympia near one of the main malls, Manda Hill (which is apparently one of the hotspots on weekends, believe it or not) and comes with 4 bedrooms, a television room which we will turn into another bedroom, a living room, kitchen, enormous backyard and front entrance way with a stunning green garden. The landlady's family lives behind us with kids and we will be sharing the costs for a gardener and a guard. Rent comes to under $375 a person including everything and if we get a fifth person it will be even cheaper.

The past week has been both great and trying. The seven of us were staying far out of the city centre at a campground in chalets and finally got used to taking the minibus in to work (which I will have to write about in another post entirely). Last weekend I finally had the chance to meet some locals and NGO workers whom are all lovely and guided us with some insight into Lusaka lifestyle.

Cairo Road is the main business district in town and also the home of my office. During the day, it is chok-a-blok with taxi drivers trying to get your attention, business and commerce people, fast food joints and men selling everything from lollipops to belts. As I leave the packed and chaotic Kalima Tower minibus station and dodge traffic coming the opposite direction that I am used to, I arrive on Cairo Road, brushing past the shouts of 'my sista' and 'muzungu' trying to sell me anything under the sun.

Food has been interesting. Coming from a practically vegetarian lifestyle except for the occasional slip-up of chicken, I am eating meat every day - it's hard to be a veggie here because often when you go out to get food at a restaurant, nshima, the local dish of maize and veggies plus meat, won't have many options available. I look forward to cooking for myself once I get into my flat so I can finally save some cash and not live on just nshima, meat pies, and filtered coffee.

What has tickled my fancy is AppleMax (a type of apple juice that is lightly carbonated) and Mosi, the Zambian beer which is a lager. I also finally got the chance to visit Soweto Market, a thrift and vintage junkie's dream. My purchase for the day was a decadent pair of mauve ballet flats which are a half size to small but I will wear with pride nonetheless.

I'm off for now as I am about to bunk in with a Zambian couchsurfer for the next few days until I get my house. Ciao for now!