The Market

 Sunday 9/16/12

Nigel made us a great breakfast this morning with fried eggs, tomatoes and bacon – which is like the bacon you get in England – an FEB (Full English Breakfast)!   During breakfast we were serenaded by a choir located at a church just behind where we live.  Unfortunately this morning it was a male voice that was not very good at all and we had to listen to him over and over again.  Nigel said usually it is a female with a very good voice – hope she’s back next weekend!  Sunday morning we were treated to the same thing all over again.  It’s not close enough to understand the words, but you sure can hear the tone and pitch!

We then took off via taxi to an open air marketplace, Arcades, which conveniently was near a large grocery store, SPAR, and an Airtel store.  Inside the Airtel store I was sad to discover I left my glasses at home and had to get by with my prescription sunglasses – not easy to read anything while inside a grocery store for example!  We got a flash drive modem for my laptop and my cell phone set up with a new sim card and a local number, after a bit of palaver. Then off to the marketplace where we looked at an overabundance of things – carved hippopotami and elephants, masks, cheap jewelry, fabric, baskets, and a few treasures in between.  We found a very cool framed carving of five African figures to hang on the wall, and bought two pictures by an artist, Boniface Mahamba, that are of African figures made with feathers.  I just realized that my description does not sound as attractive and unique as they are – you’ll just have to trust me!

We did a big shop at SPAR because it has a lot more variety than Melissa grocery which is closer.  I loved the oatmeal box with the brand name Jungle Oatmeal. (Photo below)  SPAR is not within walking distance, but because we took a taxi there and back we can do a larger shop.  Thankfully, Nigel arranged with the same taxi driver, Lackson, to return and pick us up.  When Nigel called him from SPAR to arrange the ride home, Lackson, who has a strong accent, asked Nigel if we had left something in his cab. Nigel thought he said steak, and from our end I could hear Nigel say, “Steak, like in T-bone” and then, “no, we didn’t leave any steak in the cab”.  When Lackson arrived he asked me “are you sure you didn’t leave any “specs” in the car?”  He then produced my case with the glasses I have to wear every waking moment just to see properly.  The subsequent patron in his cab had found them in the back seat.  I had not left them at home, but in the cab! I was unbelievably lucky that they weren’t taken.  Thank you Lackson!!!

In the late afternoon after returning home, Nigel’s friends Patrick and Bush (his first name is Kelvin, but everyone calls him Bush) stopped by to meet me and say hello.  They were thrilled with the gifts Nigel had me bring over for them.  It was readily apparent that they really like Nigel and enjoy his company. Patrick said he loves Nigel’s sense of humor which is like his – warped! Patrick and Bush are just two members of a group of about fifteen Zambian drinking buddies who call themselves “the mongrels”.  Any night of the week you can go to the bar at the Mulungushi Village Lodge and some or all of them will be there. Because the flat wasn’t ready when he arrived, Nigel stayed at the Lodge for a couple of days last June and became acquainted with them.  It is a very diverse group of men, including a contractor, a printer, a banker, a lawyer, an IT guy and, as Nigel says, some general wheeler and dealers, ranging in age from late 20’s to early 50’s.  They took Nigel with them for a weekend away to Ndola to watch the Zambia vs. Uganda football (soccer) game earlier this month.

Last thought - while shopping at SPAR I got to the herbs and spices shelf and as I was reaching for some basics such as thyme, oregano and basil, it dawned on me how long I’m going to be here – long enough to buy whole bottles of herbs. Whoa!