Don't Cry

Oops I did it again!!!!......Sitting around..one gloomy day ( Hmmm whoever thought that Africa was gloomy...how come they don't show you this on NatGeo!! Hmph!) ..Here I was all prepared...body groaning under the weight of millions of lil sunscreen bottles...when ....ta-da the sun disappears.

So all bored..and gloomy too..Here's what my twisted mind came up with.....from deep within its recess...

Don't Cry .......



Talk to me softly..
Else you'll wake up the mice
Hope there's power tomorrow,
And please don't cry
I know how your freezer's fried
I've been there before
Somethin is growing inside too
And you just dont know..

Don't you cry tonight
The Shaker's still working baby
Don't you cry tonight
Don't you cry tonight
There's still a roof above you baby
And don't you cry tonight

Four times through the filter
And the water is fine
Run me an ELISA before you
Tell me goodbye
The water is still so hard now
But its only Calcium and sand
The reader's on the blink too
Oh the times it worked...baby

And Don't you cry tonight
Don't you cry tonight
Don't you cry tonight
There's still a roof above you baby
And don't you cry tonight

And please remember that my hands are tied
And please remember
The vial's empty inside now honey
You can make the enzyme your own way
Bet you wished your salary was larger
You'll feel better tomorrow
No flood in sight now baby

And don't you cry tonight
And don't you cry tonight
And don't you cry tonight
There's still a roof above you baby
And don't you cry
Don't you ever cry
Don't you cry tonight
Results maybe someday
Don't you cry
Don't you ever cry
Don't you cry
Tonight.

Warriers' African Abode....

I'm back...after a hiatus...Thought I'd kick start this year with a literary masterpiece....I did..( I'm still reading it...!) Anyway after shaking off spying Mosi...I'm clicking away in peace!!!

Anwyay..so it has been an eventful week so far...We finally found a house.Of course , like everything else in good old Lusaka , seemingly routine things take an appallingly long time.The said house..is beautiful...with shiny black floor tiles...so shiny I can see my face in it...Good thing...?
So the story leading up to this house is certainly as entertaining as since the Warriers took up residence...

The earlier tenant..a bossy lady, was to move out of this house and we ( happy as a pie ) were to move in in November last year.What do you know..but bossy lady decides she doesn't want to go! She gets an injuntion saying she doesn't have to leave till December..What I wailed..I need a house pronto lady!Anyway...once the hammer sounded...heralding in a leaving date...there was a definite spring to my step..Me and Mosi stopped by the house for a viewing..and walk through.Bossy lady gave us one..in two minutes flat.She kept up a mournful spiel .."this is the kitchen ( duh...there's a cooker and refrigerator lady!! ) ..This is the study..this is the bath..( duh ??) and thats the front door.The only change of expression she allowed herself was when she remarked maliciously ,"oh yes..try asking the landlord...He never gets things done!"..Well did I mention that the lady hadn't paid rent in 6 months....Hmm and the landlord isn't helpful...gasp!!!
Ah me...my naivete was at its best that day...I looked at her garden and smiled at her adding,"You have a beautiful garden, such pretty flowers..." , she ( of Best hostess award fame ) spitefully shot back,"They're all mine, I'm taking them with me...don't think I'm leaving them behind"..So does that mean we aren't on the new year party invite list??

Anyway...so after this drama blew itself out..and carried bossy lady over the threshold with it..We moved in...you'd think that was the end of the drama, fat chance with me around!

Moving day dawned bright and clear...I was positively gushing about the space my new kitchen proffers...A step of salsa here...a swish of rhumba..and a delicate waltz there...Thus dancing around , I approached Mr Dishwasher Warrier and remarked all sunny, " So nice to have all this light shining through...so great to see the greeeee...."Of course that's an odd word...One of the kitchen cabinets had chosen that moment during my sunny speech to hurtle itself off its hinges and fling itself edge first on my toe..Arghh...I hopped around the kitchen trying to ease the pain....New dance move anyone?

So our first night in the new house....Mosi surprised me with a bottle of great wine...and two long stemmed wine glasses to go with.There we sat..all posh sipping on our Shiraz ( a great bottle Mosi!).The conversation got more passionate as the wine level dipped., when suddenly Crash!, our kitchen door slammed shut.As we bolted up from the chairs we were so lazily draped on, the house was plunged into sudden darkness...power out! We raced into the black kitchen,only to see the door partially open , and torrents of rain gushing into my spotless as a baby's butt kitchen...It was horrific..the water snaked through the kitchen into my hall...and settled into satisfied pools in the hall...growing fatter with every new gust of wind! Wailing in despair, only to be drowned out by the howling storm, I sank to my knees ( in prayer?..not!) mopping and wringing in quick, mechanical succession!..My thriftiness was out on full display...Not wanting to get all the wiping cloths dirty , I was frantically wiping and wringing the same little red cloth.Watching my arms moving at breakneck speed and only partially controlled by still fuming brain, my husband gently suggested I add another cloth to my artillery!

And the final straw ? ...well, this morning I was hanging up the curtains...Each window..I put up the solid curtains...then the sheers..and then stepped back to sigh..My number obsessed husband ,who only last night was adroitly balancing dinner in one hand while using the other to research DVD region unlocking codes, walked in.Immersed in a manual on camera lenses ( that shoot scary numbers like 2.5x,18-55 crvfx at you when you least expect them), looked up casually and said, "Mrs...They gypped you at the curtain place...those ones arent very good.They're letting light in..why are they so thin?", following that with a more urgent,Wait! Why are you banging your head on the wall?"......

The Warriers have arrived at Crossroads!

Hotel Lusaka.....( What are you waiting for...come visit!!! )

Ahh...so me and Mosi...just came off a nice,long lazy weekend ( what another one? ) Anyway..two virologists cooped in a room, no viruses to tinker with,no lab to play in, no chemicals to start a fire with...Give us a break..we had to do something 'Creative' !!!!!!! Here goes....

Hotel Lusaka ( sing to the tune of 'Hotel California'...duh!! )

On the Long Great East highway,
Lots of dust in my hair,
Warm smell of Nshima,
Rising up through the air.

Up ahead in the distance,
I saw the usual sight,
Four minibuses caused a traffic jam,
I had to stop for the light.

There he stood on the roadway,
With talk-time to sell,
I was thinking to myself,
Do I need MTN or Celtel?

Then he lit up a candle,
And he began to sway,
Oliver Tukutzi playing in my car,
Thought I heard them say...

Chorus
Welcome to the Hotel Lusaka,
Such a lovely place,Such a lovely place,
There's hardly any room at the Hotel Lusaka,
Any time of year,
Unless you have money, my dear.

Now she works at Immigration,
She's got a Mercedes Benz,
She's got a lot of pretty,pretty toys
From the Asians she befriends.

Some Work in Luanshya,
Down in the copper mines,
Some work in Lusaka,
For when we want to dine.

So I called the waiter,
"Please bring me my wine",
He said,
"There's a guy waiting for his food,
Since 1969 ".

And hungry voices are calling from far away,
Wake you up in the middle of the night,
Just to hear them say..

Welcome to .. ( chorus)

Cracks in the ceiling,
Rooms overrun by mice,
She said,
We are doing our best here
But the management lies.

And in the boss' chambers,
Gathered for the meet,
The power blew with no warning,
They couldn't see the Excel sheet.

Last thing I remember,
Is fumbling for the door,
I had to find some sanity,
In the place I was before.

"Good night", said Facilites,
We are away on leave,
"You can order any time you like,
But you'll never receive."

And still those voices are calling from far away,
Wake you up in the middle of the night,
Just to hear them say.

Welcome to... ( chorus)

Another edition of TIA folks.....I promise as long as I'm here...the "hits just keep on coming!"

So....instead of doing HIV research..maybe I can get a CD together .Here's one of my favourites...( from Mosi's blog).. and the other one I did...3 to a CD..probably not...But there's plenty of inspiration here!

Another day in Paradise..

Having lived here for a little over three months..hardly makes me an expert on Lusaka.But..I do have a lot of time on my hands..since Immigration refuses to give me a work permit..and obviously hires snails as go betweens in all their offices.Perhaps this is a good strategy..I threaten to continue writing till my permit is sanctioned....Man behind counter number 11..are you listening...Maybe I should sing too..??

( Sing to tune of Another day in Paradise, Phil Collins )

She calls out to the man at the bench
Sir can you help me?
I've been waiting all day for my lunch
Is there someone who can serve me?

He walks on , doesn't look back
Pretends he cant hear too,
Smiles and talks to the girl at the bar
Forgets to bring back a menu

Oh think twice, its another day for
You and me in Paradise
oh think twice, its just another day for you
You and me in Paradise.

She calls out to the man on the phone
He thinks she's been crying
The line starts to crackle and die down
She can't hear,but she's trying.

Oh think twice.....

Oh Sata,is there nothing more anybody can do,
Oh Banda there must be something you can say

You can tell from the look on his face
You can see you'll be back again
Probably didn't fit any of the tires right
oh you know its a trip again.

Oh think twice....

Our Neverending journey!!! chapter 1

One of our friends here, booked us into the Protea Safari Lodge as a wedding gift.Perhaps it was to safeguard Lusaka's precious decibel limit.I have mentioned that I can be a tad loud right? Anyway..the lodge is about 35 kms outside of Lusaka, and is at a place called Chisamba.( A name with a surprisingly high vowel/consonant ratio, FYI we live on Bwinjimfumu road...!)The drive was in itself uneventful,peppered with some off-key singing and constant chatter( who me?)The real excitement came in the last 4 kms of if -I-must-be-forced-into-calling-it-that ,road .Mosi announced that my initiation into the Have car,will drive syndrome was long overdue...So drive I did..and said Mosi was struck with a sudden case of heart in mouth syndrome.We arrived in one piece and were shown to our very own chalet...


I set about unpacking a little bit, whistling a rusty tune.Perhaps my singing isn't that bad..we soon had a visitor.....maybe he came over to say,"Lady,will you pipe down!!".He was a greater Kudu..and peacefully walking around on the lodge premises.Most of the animals seen at the Lodge have been rescued and rehabilitated..and this particular one had a cute,quizzical expression!
Protea lodge offers drive through safaris....where people cram into a noisy van,race around the trail,issuing massive amounts of smoke,kicking up country-sized dust clouds.Loud ,excited chattering doesn't help their cause either.And then they grumble they 'didn't see anything!'Hmm go figure.Well...we were too smart for them.( and of course having learnt from many trips of empty camera rolls and vapourized enthusiasm) Me and Mosi set off on foot.We saw some lovely birds along the way.Such intense colours , such a contrast to the brown ,waving grass.



I am not very good with birds...but perhaps someone who is can identify them?
We walked all along the trail...happily drinking in the peace..and the feeling of being alone!...When...all of a sudden..have you ever had the feeling like a hundred pairs of eyes are on you? Straight ahead..a herd of Zebra and of horned -antelope-like animal.All eyes were trained on us..and they sized up the trespassers.

We stood deathly still..to avoid alarming them.For half a second I was scared.Those horns looked mean.And I was faced with a feeling that I have had before, that without arms or weapons..Human beings really are vulnerable and so weak.It's a humbling thought.Finally the herd grew bored..and cantered off.Our first brush with wildlife.
Walking still further along the trail we came across two Mahuts( elephant trainers) and their elephant.She lived on the Lodge premises too..and was out for her daily dose of fresh air.Now...cute as they seem..the idea of getting close to an African elephant raised my heartbeat..almost to levels that my aerobics instructor would be proud of.She rose effortlessly with me sitting on her.It was quite thrilling to be up that high..and looking down on fairly tall people ! We waved good bye to the two guys and their gorgeous elephant....Wow..that was some experience!!!
The trail curled around a Lion enclosure...It was almost mid-day.The famous African sun was doing its best to zap any signs of water straight into the sky.We came across a well fed, lazy lioness.I was inspired to tell a joke....I have a feeling the lioness didn't think it was funny !


We mosi-ed along..and came across a traditional hut..How lucky we were!...we had a chance to meet the last two Zambian tribal lords on Protea's turf...



How regal...how proud..how familiar?

That evening we strolled along the lodge premises...There is a shimmering lake framed by long ,tall blades of grass.The marsh is often visited by inquisitive birds and dazzling dragonflies.The one downside of having a camera obsessed co-traveler...is that you are often bulldozed into posing for pictures...Luckily though..this one wasn't a close up!!

Our trip ended the next morning ..after a scrumptious brunch.I even ended up sampling crocodile tails...my opinion ..I like them on crocs better!Happily fed and watered...we set off..sad to be leaving...And Mosi sadder still , that I was driving back, the same 4 kms!!

P.S. Photo courtesy...of course Dr.Mosi..renowned as much for wonderful photos as for his blog..