expat living

there are quite a few internet cafes in lusaka, but there is one i like going to in particular - la mimosa cafe - largely on account of the fact that it has the fastest, most reliable connection i've been able to find. the biggest problem is that the place is about 70 minutes away by walking or 20,000 Kwacha away by cab ($4).

i usually opt for my walking, and boy-oh-boy what a relief it is to be able to walk again, courtesy of Schering-Plough's biologics. anyway, on today's walk i chose a different route from usual and along the waysaw a number of rather nice-looking, well-to-do homes - in stark contrast to the slums that populate the city and even my relatively cushy nursing student dorms.

i've generally noticed two things:
1) many expats living in zambia and other developing countries are here doing some sort of humanitarin work
2) many expats tend to seek a mode of living that emulates their life at home as much as possible

by 2), i mean that expats will tend to live in houses that are quite posh by local standards, frequent the expat establishments (i stand guilty, la mimosa is certainly one of those), employ helpers (cook, maid, chauffeur), etc... etc...

now, i'm personally as guilty of anyone as wanting a nice clean place, warm showers (or any showers for that matter), and a home generally devoid of bugs. somehow though, i feel that it's a tad more egregious to live a western-style life in the midst of great poverty than in a place like riverbend or millwoods. i remember last year when i was in zambia i ran into a british doctor who actively sought to live in the slums - something that i thought was fairly insane even by the standards of craziest bleeding heart liberals. now, i personally wouldn't go so far as to want to live in the slums, but living in a really pretty place out here sits somewhat uneasily with me.

i guess this all boils down to the concept of how much material sacrifice is ideal.

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on an utterly unrelated note, the air here smells really nice. there's this hint of smoke that permeates through everything. i'm not sure what gives the air this flavor, but it seems particularly nice breathing it in as i sit out here in the open under the nighttime sky.