Returning to Africa

Zambiopia

noun | zam·bi·o·pi·a /ˌzambɪˈəʊpɪə/

Definition

:  condition in which one has one eye on medical missions in Zambia and the other on medical missions in Ethiopia

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On Thursday, February 4th, I found myself traveling down a paved road [recently, by Chinese workers] driven by a garrulous Zambian driver named Jeré (I could call him Jerry, he explained, but the correct pronunciation of his name was closer to "Jer-ay").  The faint smell of burning trash mingled with the distinct scent of fuel exhaust gave me an olfactory experience I've only had in certain countries, Ethiopia being one.

Visually, I tried to place my new surroundings as we left Kenneth Kaunda International Airport en route to Lusaka Eye Hospital, and I (due in part, at least, to my relative lack of exposure to the African continent) used my memories of places in Ethiopia as frames of reference.  The flat terrain and green foliage were reminiscent of Gambella, an Ethiopian province near the border with South Sudan, but there was something unmistakeably unique about this new environment.  The buildings that emerged as we entered the capital proper were much less imposing than the towering structures of Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, and the sounds I heard coming from other cars weren't the unfamiliar inflections of a foreign tongue but rather the recognizable sounds of English, including Mark Ronson/Bruno Mars' "Uptown Funk" trumpeting from the car next to us.  The signs too were in English, aside from the occasional Chinese sign, which Jeré told me was due to the significant Chinese population in Lusaka.

To my left, green pastures unfurled, populated by buildings I presume were schools, all enclosed by 10 foot tall walls.  To my right, lampposts lined the road's center meridian, each adorned with advertisements for sub sandwiches.

As I chatted with Jeré, I learned he had 5 kids and 12 grandchildren and was only able to return to his home in the village a few times a year.  His grandson had earned top marks in school, but Jeré worried that the boy's parents wouldn't have enough money to pay the tuition.

Children walked the roads as we came closer to the hospital, asking us for money and staring into rolled-up car windows.  Eventually, we made our way into the district of Makeni, home of Lusaka Eye Hospital and Dental Clinic... and I emerged from the truck still jet-lagged but eagerly anticipating the weeks to come.