Now that we have settled into Lusaka, it is time to start a new blog. Life is full of extremes again but different to Timor. Lusaka is far more developed, spread out and, in ways that reflect the character of Zambians, more relaxed. We have two large shopping centres to choose from, and even a cinema in town, where we saw the latest Harry Potter film for the equivalent of three dollars each.

There seems to be a strong middle class, lots more fancy cars on the road (Jaguars, BMWs and Mercedes) and evidence of local wealth. However, the poverty is also very stark.

Lusaka is laid out with a mixture of contrasting suburbs. There are areas with made roads, big house blocks and signs of wealth (including very English sounding places like Northmead, Longacres and Ibex Hill – where we live). But between these areas are townships or compounds, including one called Soweto. Here the roads are non-existent and basic services (including in some cases water and primary schools) are missing. On one of our first bike rides, we ended up going through one of these areas. People were friendly, but very puzzled at these muzungus riding along their dirt roads. At one stage, to get to a rickety bridge over a small stream, we had to go through two families’ yards. They were very friendly (‘You are welcome’ seems to be the favourite saying of all Zambians) and let us pass through on our way to a real road.

For those interested in history, Zambia was originally settled by the Khoisan people, but over the last 2000 years has been increasingly settled by the Bantu people (one of the dominant ethnic groups across Southern Africa), who moved East and South from the area now known as the Congo. Like Timor, the first European visitors were the Portuguese, but the British moved in, in the 19th Century. Lusaka was settled in 1905, the same year the railway bridge at Victoria Falls was erected, as a good stopping point along the railway line to link up to the Copperbelt area, where the big deposits of copper had been found. In those days, Zambia was known as Northern Rhodesia, but it achieved independence in 1964. Unlike some other African countries, Zambia seems to have avoided inter-tribal conflict, the first President, Kenneth Kuanda strongly pushed the notion of one Zambia, with allegiances to the nation to take precedence above tribal bonds. It seems to work, as noted above, almost all the Zambians we have met so far have been very friendly and relaxed. Someone said that because there were fewer (racist) colonists here, it avoided some of the antagonism and conflict of other post-colonial countries.