Idioms

Bwanji,

Muli bwanji or how are you in the local dialect.

It has been one month since I arrived in Zambia. I can honestly say that I have not experienced culture shock ---after all, Zambia is considered “Africa-lite”. Lusaka has three major shopping malls, a Cineplex with 5 screens, Subway, a good selection of dark chocolate, Blockmaster aka Blockbuster, cell phones, Internet, and everyone’s car of choice ---the Rav4.

Still, there are a few things that take a bit of getting used to especially when it comes to driving in Lusaka and understanding the local idioms. A colleague invited a few of us for a “bush walk” to be followed by a “braai” and “sundowners” after school one day. Cool. She gave me directions to her house: “Take a left at the robot and then the first slip after the flyover and then it’s the first right after the sleeping policeman.” I assumed she meant the guard at her driveway.

Yes, all private homes are gated and have guards. They are also surrounded by concrete walls or electric fences, and as an added precaution, have one or more dogs as protection. Petty crime is rampant. Car jacking, purse snatching, pick pocketing, and scamming do happen. Jackie’s (a teacher who lives off campus) guard caught a young man stealing clothes off her clothesline the other day!

The school too has a high retaining wall surrounding the entire complex and it employs 25 guards. They do their drills on the soccer field every morning and look pretty smart in their green berets. They do not carry guns; there is no need. Thank God.

Several teachers walk or ride their bikes on the numerous trails/roads, which surround the school. When I say trails I am referring to the hard beaten, well-worn paths that the locals use. Many of them travel barefoot and their prints are visible in the red dirt. They are the men and women who work for the white families in the new houses. Afterschool, you will meet women carrying jugs or large bundles on their heads or men riding a bike piled high with charcoal or firewood as they head back to their neighborhoods.

It is the dry season and the hills are brown, the grass dry and brittle. The baobab trees stand starkly against the blue sky. Every leaf is covered in thick red dust. Early on a Saturday morning as you walk you often hear the rustle of an animal getting out of your way---could it be a cobra? Yes, they do exist as well as other poisonous snakes. One has to be careful. You are in the “bush”. Despite my fear of creepy-crawlies, I enjoy walking the hills off of Leopard’s Hill Rd. So I said “yes” to the walk with my colleagues. What Helen meant by the “sleeping policeman” was a speed bump. Ha! What a great phrase! I also like the word “robot” for traffic light. Or “slip” for exit or entry road, and “fly-over” means overpass.

Translation: We were invited for cocktails to watch the sunset (sundowner) and enjoy a barbecue (braai) on her patio.

The sunsets are spectacular. There’s a reason for naming cocktail hour for this time of day. I have never seen anything like it. The colors are amazing; vivid and bold like the blood oranges that are sold on the side of the road. In a few short minutes it melts into the horizon and another day ends in Africa.