April 15, 2013: Part One--The Fig Tree Cafe's Bathroom, 30 Wives, and Street Chaos

Best day in Zambia thus far! Boy, no drunken propositions, no fighting, and no noise after 11 pm really make for a good night’s rest. I feel ready to take on the day which is good because it’s time for the next stage of my trip: Friends of the Street Children. The original plan was for FSC’s director, Mr. Christopher Mulenga (Uncle Chris), to pick me up in Lusaka, but since my former room-mate, Sharon, is headed through Kitwe with her parents on the way to her Peace Corps post, I will ride along with them. Sharon has been in Zambia for just over a year and feels quite at home. I’m blown away by the fact that, for the most part, she hitch-hikes throughout Zambia. Seriously. Stands on the side of the road or in fueling stations and hitches a ride. And, 90+ percent of the time she’s by herself.

Courtesy of her trips and experiences, her parents and I get to hear facts and snippets about towns
and kilometer after kilometer of a private plantation that otherwise might have been unknowingly passed by. The private plantation referenced belongs to the children of a Zimbabwean immigrant who had, get this, 30 wives and more than 100 children. I know there are large families here and that it’s not unheard of to have more than one wife, but 30?! Wow, talk about complicated!

We also stop at Fig Tree Café.  It’s run by a British lady and has scones, tea, and the most unbelievable cinnamon buns  I have ever encountered. They were incredible, really. Not only that, Fig Tree Café has the CLEANEST bathroom I’ve seen since I was at my parents’ home! The janitors just happen to be finishing their rounds that morning, and I profusely thank them for their work! Yes, the bathroom with its soft, quilted, double-sheeted toiletpaper folded into elegant triangles, and citrus scented hand-soap is a bigger hit than the cinnamon bun (which is saying something if you know how much I like food)!

As I sit in the back seat of the large Toyota pick and watch the Zambian landscape roll by, I can’t help but think how smoothly everything is going. Big mistake.

See, Uncle Chris knows he will pick me up in Kitwe at a cafe called After 10. Since he is at a funeral, he has requested that I text not call him when we reach Ndola (about 60k from Kitwe). The only problem is that I texted him 30 km ago in Ndola and still haven’t received any confirmation. I text again--no response. Only 5 km to Kitwe…still, no response. Sharon and her parents are facing a time-crunch to get to her post (some serious off-roading will be required), so they don’t have time to wait around. I become progressively more anxious and find myself praying that Sharon gets us lost. Frankly, I’m relieved when she DOES get lost. I know, I know, that’s pretty low of me, but I barely kept myself from wishing for an accident to slow us down…bad me, huh?). We pass a fueling station and they decide to fill up while Sharon asks for directions. Yes, we’ve gone past the turn-off for After 10, but unfortunately it’s really close. We get there, pull up, and there’s still no response from Uncle Chris.

As we begin to unload my bags, vendors and street children surround the car. It’s chaos! We’re trying to get my stuff separated out but keep the other stuff secure. The challenge then is how in the world to get me to the café (we had to park a bit down the road). I have too many suitcases to handle on my own what with everyone surrounding us, but Sharon doesn’t want to leave her parents. At this point, I no longer care if I interrupt a funeral, so I call Uncle Chris. He’s surprised to hear that I’m in town and says he’ll get to me as soon as he can. 

Meanwhile, the children are getting more aggressive and grabbing at stuff. 

Things are not looking good…