Today was a day of firsts; not that that is out
of the ordinary in Zambia since everything I am doing is new to me. Today I
took my first bus ride in Zambia. On a whim I decided to head down to Lusaka
with Jane to get a tour of the capital from a resident. The bus ride was
uneventful although I did get charged to pee in the bathroom. I feel as though
if I am going to pay to use the bathroom you could at least supply a toilet seat
and some toilet paper, but maybe my standards are still too high.
I also had my first real ice cream in Zambia; it
was heavenly. And I had my first exposure to Ethiopian food. Six of us went to
this little hole in the wall restaurant; a place that everyone knew of but had
no idea where it was. The address online is “on the road going to town, near
the Christian music store, but behind the lodge;” just to make sure that I am
getting my point across that is the address
not directions. We are seated in the restaurant and after informing the
waiter that it is our first time here, she pulls the menus from our hands and
rushes away to find the owner. She soon returns with this large beautiful
Ethiopian woman wearing a floor length leopard print gown/moo moo. She coos at
us in broken English then disappears returning an hour later with the largest
plate of food that I have ever seen. The enormous platter in lined with bread
that more resembles and thin spongy pancake. On top of the pancake sponge are
mounds of ten different dishes ranging from beef to chickpeas to curries
veggies. Ethiopian food like the Zambian nshema is to be eaten with your hands;
the sponge like bread is used as the utensil to scoop up the different dishes. It
was not all that sanitary but it was extremely delicious. I did become a little
nervous when the owner came back round after she noticed that we had stopped
eating. We explained to her that we were full, but she replied “No it is ok,
you can keep eating it will all come right out of you anyways! Eat, eat, eat
more!” I am happy to report that no such issues have arisen yet.
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