How to get a performing job at a Greek nightclub: going to a Zim wedding

Yesterday, Saturday, we went to a wedding. We were invited by Anne, a women we met through dipleague, which is a mailing list for (mostly expats) that are selling or buying stuff, or sharing tips.
Now, Anne, a member of this list, lives just a couple of blocks away from us and send us a very nice email welcoming us to the neighbourhood. We went over and were introduced to her family and life story.

Last Saturday, a niece of her was getting married and so she invited us to come attend a Zimbabwean wedding. So, we did our best to look as less casual as possible (quite a difficult task with our wardrobe being aimed at looking casual),
and went over. They all looked splashingly of course, and since we were the only whites at the wedding, we stuck out. If you don't have it, flaunt it and pretend THEY don't have it, is what I always say
.

The ceremony was actually very British/American style, and stylish as well. The pastor performing the ceremony was definitely Zimbabwean though, and had the audience in the palm of his hands, with jokes and thunder speeches. Pity most of it was in Shona, so we could only pick up the occasional word. He was taking a long time though, and with the African sun burning down at us, people started moving in the shade and chatting, so it didn't really matter.

Then came what everybody had really been waiting for, the food! Long queueing but everybdoy was so hungry at this point, they dove at it. Kids as always as adorable as ever....

Then time to hit the dance floor as first the bridal team did a small choreography, and then we were pushed on it as well. Being the only white persons to try and imitate the hipshiking of the Africans was cause for much hilarity and our popularity rose significantly. Before we left, I was even approached by a bouncer of a Greek nightclub that offered me a job to dance and perform at his club for, I quote 'the entertainment'... Don't know if I should see this as a compliment or an insult ;-)

In Primeur: The Zims newsletter!

The Volens development workers in Zimbabwe created their own newsletter! With interviews of Thomas and me ;-)

Check it out here in Dutch, French or English.

Groceries

Before coming here, we heard all kind of horror stories about how difficult it is to get your basic necessities, and images of people queueing for hours to get into some empty shop that has two or three bulk items and nothing more. Reality is quite different, though it is sometimes a hassle.

First of all, you can find most anything you could find in a normal supermarket, meat, vegetables, whatever.

Just to give an idea of prizes:

• a beer: 0.5€

• feta cheese: 1,5€

• 200g of butter: 3€

• a package of spaghetti: 2,5€

• 1l of fuel: 1€

• 400g of mince meat: 1€

• the rent for our two bedroom flat with garden: 300€/month

• electricity and water: haven't received the bill yet but everyone tells us it should be around 10USD/month

• telephone bill for one month: 0.4€ but it still isn't working

• SIM card for mobile: either 0.10€ at the official rate or 60€ on the black market

Some items are surprisingly hard to find though, and I can't find any logic behind it. For instance, we've now been looking for the past three weeks and in like 6 supermarkets for salt, which we can't find. Other rare products include sugar, rice, cooking oil and meallie meel (used as often here as we do potatoes). But lots of people travel to South Africa or Botswana to buy those products there and bring them in. Also, there even exists a mailing list dipleague which is used between all people (mostly expats though) to look for such items and offer things for sale (sadly, many people also leaving the country and selling household items).

How Zimbabwean economics work: the moment your company offers something for sale, you have to increase the price daily. Now what with products for which you don't simultaneously order consume and pay for your item? You can think of deliveries that take a couple of days, but also work. I agreed to pay my house maid 250M Zim$ for the one day of work per week that she comes to do the laundry, but if I should pay her at the end of this month, that would have meant she would get only 1.5€.

An example, the access to Wi-fi Internet in public areas: the so-called ZOL Hotspots: beginning of May, you could buy a card for 24h of internet at 350.000.0000Zim$, which was at the time the equivalent of about 2USD$. This makes it about 0.08USD for one hour. Last week, the company adjusted its prizes to 1h for 300.000.000Zim$, which is about 1USD for one hour: in short, the price went time twelve! But, in a couple of days or weeks of the current depreciation rate of the Zim$, and it will once again be worth almost nothing. Other areas in which this applies: telephone mobile rates, plane tickets, monthly subscriptions to newspapers, etc.

So one is constantly faced with waiting for the moment it is cheapest to buy something and worries that the prizes will be adjusted before you do. It makes life maybe more complicated and challenging but you must admit it is fascinating to watch. At least from the position of somebody who is paid in Euro's and not in a local wage of course...

The Animal Farm

Sunday was African Day, national (or should I say continental?) holiday. Daleen, an afrikaner girl we met through CouchSurfing, invited us along to go see Ballin Vaughan, an animal rescue farm 50km out of Harare where they keep rejected pets and prepare them to be released into the wild if possible. Thus, animal population vary greatly, always minimum four lions and two hyenas, two crocodiles, but also tamer and more approachable animals like goats, sheeps and donkeys. But they also have some really cute monkeys and mongooses (yep, lion king is here again). But it was so nice for once not to be focussing on what needs to be done for work or looking for stuff we need to settle in, just getting away from the city.

And it shows some of the potential Zimbabwe still has for tourists...

Capoeira: once again!

An ocean between here and Brazil, but in reality back to the African roots: capoeira is everywhere, even in Harare, Zim. I did capoeira, the mixture of dance/combat/play for a couple of months in Porto Alegre, Brasil and arriving here was excited when I heard there was also a club doing it here, and at only 5 minutes away from our house. So, twice a week I go jumping, playing and dancing, and afterwards drag my aching body back. Honestly, of all the sports I've done, I think capoeira is the most intense one, cause you use all of your body and keep stretching your limits of exhaustion and movements. But where I was aching in the beginning, it's already getting better after a couple of weeks.

And of course, the sport and exercise is just one aspect, the entire philosophy and atmosphere that comes with the capoeira is a perfect way of getting to know people and go places. There is a natural laid-back feeling about capoeira, and players are usually more outgoing and simply fun to be with.

Last Saturday, we met at the house of one of my co-capoeiristas to exercise and, natural show offs as they are, to take some pictures, of which here a couple. It's still a long way away before I'll be doing these, but I'm working on it!

Long time no written.
We're still very busy getting settled in, it ain't that easy. Just to get a SIM card for a mobile phone, it either takes ages and contacts, or 100USD on the black market. Bu we have the roof over our head, and it is more and more starting to feel like home. Buying the little things to get comfy, though most important to us now is getting transportation sorted out and the Volens office here so I'll have easier acces to internet and phone.

For transportation, we're looking for a small second hand car, like a Nissan or so, which will set us back about 2000 to 3000 USD, but another organisation has motorbikes which were just standing (lying exactly) about, needed to be repaired but seems that has been finished today. So hopefully tomorrow I will have some wheels under me!

It definitely takes adjusting though, especially the inflation rates. In the time we've been here, the value (if you can still speak of value), has tripled! and then they worry in Belgium about 5% inflation, here in three weeks it went up 300%... So each time you change money, you wonder how much will I spend in the next two or three days, and each time you spend it, you worry, will the price still be the same in a week, in three days or even tomorrow. Cause it gets cheaper as the day goes by, unless they uppen the price again. Very fascinating dynamics, but also very exhausting to be in. A week ago, some women came at the door and wanted to sell eggs... but not for money though, they wanted any old clothes or curtains or sheets, cause it's better to trade and to buy. So we gave them some disgusting old curtains that had been in the house and got two dozen eggs. She left gleaming and saying that she would finally have something to sleep under. Sad stories sometimes...

I went to a meeting with grannies, women taking care of orphans (usually but not always their grandchildren), and when I came in, they were just reviewing a funeral that had been held the day before and congratulating how everyone had chipped in, giving a bit of fuel for the carriage, and even somebody donating their wardrobe... to make the coffin. May you live interesting times ;-)

Found a place to live...

Task A, highest on our priority list has been achieved: through contacts here, we have a nice apartment/garden to stay in, at least for a couple of months. It has two stories, a garden and a swimming pool! All this for the moderate sum of 300€ a month for the two of us, so we won't have to spend the following nights under a Harare bridge ;-)

Kristien and Alain, our bosses have left this morning, so finally, we can get to work!