Continuing on from here, this is a list of places we've eaten (and liked) while we've been in Zambia (Lusaka, specifically).

O'Hagan's in the Manda Hill shopping area. Good “pub” food – shepherd's pie, meat and mashed potatoes, a variety of dishes with fries, even a good chicken cordon bleu. Prices run about $10-$15 per person. The only place in Zambia that converted Kwacha to US dollars when I used my credit card.

Cheng Dou – good... more

Most hotels/hostels will have restaurants on-site and will serve all three meals. A “rule of thumb” I have heard about food safety in Africa is to not eat at buffets unless you are the first ones there. You are also not supposed to eat any fresh food that is not peeled, so no lettuce, tomatoes, green onions, etc. I usually ignore this rule (and once to my great discomfort as I got giardia), but many travelers will not. The other rule of thumb is to expect everything to take a while – even the “fast food” places will take a good 30 minutes. The sit-down... more

Other food we've found in Zambia - most we've tried, but not the fish.

• Chips – these are homemade fries – think thick “steak fries”, best eaten with a fork. Mmm • Bream – fish served whole, including eyeballs and scary looking teeth. Popular dish here. We passed. • Kapenta – if you are brave, try these as well. These are tiny dried fish – sometimes kept in oil, but usually just dry. They are eaten whole and served with nshima, of course. • “Salad” seems to usually be some sort of cabbage salad, similar to coleslaw, but without the vinegar. • Mango – when in season, 'til... more

The food staple in Zambia is nshima - they have it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It is the consistency of very firm “Cream of Wheat” and is made from corn (maize). It's white and does not taste heavily of corn (not like corn meal mush or hush puppies would in the states). It is eaten with the hands – you break off a piece, roll it into a ball and use it as a scoop to get the other food being served with it – sauce, veggies, meat – all is eaten with nshima. They call the extra things “relishes” and often include things like okra or pumpkin leaves cooked with onions, tomatoes and some spices.

One of the great things to buy here are the wooden nshima spoons. Those... more

(Continued from here)

Monday, June 21

I started off the day today by going to the ALERT hospital for lepers. Some of the missionaries took me out there. It was really amazing and touching to see how many people are still affected by leprosy. As soon as they diagnose it, they get treatment and are no longer contagious, but much of the time, the damage continues. It affects nerves and in fact, the first sign many times is an area of skin that has no feeling. Kind of like with diabetes, it can really affect the feet and hands, with loss of sensation, then subsequent damage, potential gangrene... more

(Continued from here)

Saturday, 19 June 2004

After I talked to dh, I typed some more, fed the baby and got her to sleep, then left her with Lee Jr (not too close, though – she can't afford to get sick) and I took the other three kids out shopping. We went to get some money off the credit card, but I couldn't find it again. It must be the stress, because it's the second time in 48 hours that I have “lost” it and it takes Lee about 15 seconds to find it when he looks – in the same spot I already looked a half a dozen times.

Anyway, we went to the “Piazza” and found... more

(Continued from here)

Saturday, 19 June 2004

When Greg called this morning, we talked a little about the details, etc, then I told him I think I might have seen a kidnapping yesterday. I would never have even thought of that if it were not for the young man at church. He is about 20 and speaks pretty good English. He translated for the Sunday school teacher 2 weeks ago. Of course, I noticed he was blind – there seem to be a lot of blind people here. Anyway, he told his story. He was kidnapped when he was 10 or 12, taken to Djibouti where acid was poured into his eyes, blinding him.... more

(Continued from here)

Saturday, June 19, 2004

I'm starting to lose track of days over here. Today is one month since we left home. How sad for all of us except the four newest Richardson's. I talked to Greg first thing this morning and everyone is really struggling. Greg said that Rebecca and Ammon just cry all the time – it's the first time that either have been left for any significant period of time (well, since Ammon joined our family – he was “left” for over a year as a baby.) I suggested that he go buy a copy of “Return of the King” and let... more

(Continued from here)

Friday, 18 June 2004

After spending the morning at the Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, we went to lunch without Aaron. After we were done, we returned the the hotel, picked him up and took him to a clinic. He got a liter of IV fluid and a shot for nausea – it took forever, but then we finally got the OK to leave. We picked up his prescriptions – antibiotics and pain reliever, plus multi-vitamins. The total clinic visit, including the IV and all, was 96 birr and the meds were around 50, or about $17 total. Beats a trip to the ER in the States. I hope... more

(Continued from here)

Friday, 18 June, 2004

I mentioned I could kick some behinds of parents who seem to think that adoption is a temporary thing and they can end it by returning the kids to Ethiopia. This consular officer does one better, though. She gets on the phone to the FBI, their local DCFS and someone else – the Dept of State? She tells the parents that they are committing federal offenses and they WILL be responsible for these children, or they will go to jail.

She said one family said to her “Don't go all 'moral' on us” while they gave all their 'moral' justifications for... more