Lusaka reprised

The inconvenience of the widespread load shedding was substantial. The, young, on site caretaker helpfully hotspotted his phone so I could lockdown mine. It had been switched off almost instantly based on the tracking info available. I eventually set it to brick itself with limited recovery expectations. There's a thriving 2nd hand phone market so I expect that's where it was headed. No doubt experts in getting round the software locks google deploys when you trigger that option.
I'd met Jackson th following morning in a chain restaurant called Hungry Lion where you can get free iternet. He'd slipped into the booth I was at and plugged into the wall plug before I'd realised what he was doing.
Striking up a conversation he confirmed the suggested mobil shop the caretaker had offered as the place to check out my replacement options. 3 hours later he'd sorted an Uber like ride, called Yango, helped oil discussions on phone and accessories, walked me round the local street market shops to find a case, assisted in aquiring a replacement sim card, and then picked up a few supplies for his own 2nd hand phone/repair/mobile money shop. He was part of the burgeoning micro & mini business scene that was an alternative to the collapsed employment opportunities in the very soft economy. His business was a pragmatic solution to his current situation.
He also disclosed that he was expecting his first child any day. That turned out to be the next day.
We got to know each other quite well and discussed mutual interests in politics , social sciences and contemporary global economic disparities. At 31 he was a reminder that the following generations are at least equal to their preceding forebears.
In better spirits I returned to the apartment which now had power, wifi and tv. The power lasted through to 5.45 am. It remained off for the rest of my stay.
Similar to NZ, Zambia is hydro dependant and the drought was severely impacting generation. Even with a lot of rainfall this year lake levels will remain a constraint on generation. There is a move to solar but it is moving too slowly to address demand issues for the immediate future.Baca lagi