A Day in the Life of a Zambian

This morning we woke up early to get all of our errands completed...hah!!


We drove by the gas station for a Diet Coke and Mike and Ike's- no such luck, they had Coke Lights yesterday but none today.


We went to the bank to open a checking account. We needed a passport photo, copy of our passport, a reference letter and a copy of Erik's pay stub. We had cash but they didn't care.
We got all this information and will return tomorrow morning to open the account, well, to begin the processing, it will take 2-3 days to open a checking account???
I asked about their online banking features...but got no response.


We then headed to the market to get the passport photos and found a Coke light at a little cafe.


Got the photos, went to the Game to buy appliances, hangers, dog leash, etc. It was a mad house. The sale paper comes out on Wednesday so Thursday morning is the worst time to shop if you don't like crowds and the best time to shop if you like deals. People were loading up on pillows, curtains, and sheets. They don't get this stuff in often so when it comes in they go crazy. It reminded me of Lisa Stratton shopping for a Wii:)


Our appliances were delivered as we went to eat lunch. We met another couple from South Carolina who are here teaching preachers in the "Compounds" deeper knowledge of the Word. Pretty cool!! They are here for 3 years and have been here for 6 months so far.


We did go by to open a PO Box for mail as they do not have home delivery here. We signed up for a year and we were told to come back around 3 for the key- Erik went back at 3:30 and was told to come back in the morning. No hurries, no worries in Lusaka!!


I went garage sale shopping with Niki Cook, Baptist missionary house rep, and got some household items that are hard to find or very expensive; hangers, ziploc bags, Tupperware.


We went to dinner this evening as the electrician was at our house installing the stove- everything is in celcius here or liters, I cooked a chocolate cake from Pillsbury($10) at 180 degrees celcius. Life is certainly different and the grocery store has 2 choices- US brands, very expensive or African brands, comparable to US. We did buy peanut butter, I will let you know tomorrow how it tastes.


While I was away shopping, the kids had to entertain themselves, Erik was working on the appliances. Without TV or a DS, they must work together and be creative...This was their project today.

Where, oh where, is that doggy??

Yes, We lost Peterson!! Actually Ethiopian Air decided to go ahead and send Peterson ahead of us to Lusaka. What a heartbreaking surprise.

After a very restless night on the plane, we arrived in Ethiopia knowing that we would get to walk Peterson only to find out that he connected on the next plane without us. UGH!!

What a blessing Bob West is- he called our contact at the Embassy and greeted Peterson as he got off the plane. Bob said that Peterson recognized him. I told him that I owed him big time for rescuing Peterson- he even let him curl up in his bed with him last night. What a guy!!

The Kasper family minus Peterson- stayed in Ethiopia at the Crown hotel. No phone connection, no internet, 20 minutes outside of the airport. We survived and arrived in Lusaka around 2:10pm today. It took about 2 hours to get through customs with all of our luggage.

Erik did very well chosing our home. We were greeted by a very friendly Moses, the gardener, and a very excited dog. The house was not a big surprise because of Erik's videotape but the yard was gorgeous. The Calla lilies were in bloom as well as the other native flowers. Someone tell my Granny Brad that we have a Guava tree- please send recipe for Guava jelly- 1 part fruit, 3 parts sugar?? I wonder if the local store sells mason jars??

The weather is great and the air is so fresh and clean- expect for the fertilizer that Moses put down today.

We went out to dinner at the Irish Pub and we all ate well. Bradley passed out at about 7:30 on the ride back home- I have some very tired kids.

We are all looking forward to tomorrow- we have to register the minivan, get a bank account and find a refrigerator, stove, washer, dryer, couch, rug, and some food. Should be much fun!!

Leaving America

We woke up at 4:30 am in Washington DC- packed up- filled the rental vans with gas- loaded all our luggage- 8 crates, golf clubs, 2 computer boxes, 1 suitcase and one extra-large dog crate- in the Budget shuttle and we were off.
It took over an hour for Erik to check us all in and get Peterson's crate inspected, taped up and say "goodbye" to Petey. After all that the Ethiopian Airlines manager asked us where the water bottle was?? We told him we had bottled water and a bowl in the bag taped to the crate- "Not good enough". Erik hopped in a taxi headed to Petco with 2 hours to spare, 8am. He arrives at Petco to find the lights on, 1 car in the parking lot and the doors shut. That did not stop my man. He opened the doors and the manager came running to him explaining that the store did not open until 10am. After much discussion, Erik convinced him we really needed a water bottle for the dog's crate.
Needless to say, we are all exhausted and ready for a nap already.
We will be in Ethiopia in about 16 hours- we will spend Monday there then fly to Lusaka Tuesday morning.