Today I went out to the bank to try and retrieve my card, I had gone to an ATM to try and get some Zambian money the day before and it ate my card…so I had to go to the bank and get it back. I got there around 9:15 and they told me it would be 10a.m. before they would have it…so we went back to the Mission house and shot the interview we had scheduled for Troy…it came out really well and I am pretty sure it will be the key to tying everything on this trip together into one cohesive story. After the interview we packed up and got ready to head out to lunch and the next location…the car we have been using wouldn’t start so we all piled into Troy’s car and headed out… we ate lunch, kind of an inside joke but we had chicken again! We have eaten a lot of chicken here…Zambians eat a lot of chicken therefore it is the majority of the options around here. We headed out to the next shoot location. As we drive down the roads we pass tons of blue vans just packed full of Zambians, they are only supposed to hold about 12 people per van, but the drivers want to make more money so they cram about 18 to 20 people in.. if the police see them they will pull them over, kick everyone out and arrest the driver…we watched a car pull out into the middle of an intersection where a ton of the blue vans were at a light waiting… 3 police officers got out and walked towards the vans…it was obvious they had too many people in just about every van. The light changed and we were able to go, so we didn’t get to watch the full process, but I’m sure they all got kicked out and drivers arrested. We ended up at Troy’s office where we shot a little b-roll of Troy working and doing what he does best…then we left and went out to Collins house (the boy that grew up in garbage dump sleeping in a cemetary) He has been adopted by a pastor and we wanted to interview his new father. It was a great interview from a man who obviously loves God and is obedient to His will. The room we interviewed in had some really cool lighting coming in from the windows so Matt took a photo of me along with a couple of guys that looked like some kind of rap album cover or something…it’s funny because we looked like we were all posing, but non of us knew the picture was being taken. After the interview we left and headed to a marketplace where we walked around looking at more things that the Zambians create and sell. I have failed to mention that the majority of the roads here are really really horrible, so it is extremely common to have to have back surgery, you just get bounced around so much while you drive 5 miles per hour over these unpaved and partially paved roads. When you are in these places every once in a while you will hear a Zambian call you a Mazunga… it means “one who runs in circles accomplishing nothing” It comes from when Europeans first arrived, and the Africans noticed that the white people didn’t work so much as walk around and tell other people to work.It’s not derogatory, it has become kind of a status word where you have enough money that you don’t have to work, you can be lazy and do what you want. I’d like to think it’s comparable to the english words “rockstar” or “celebrity”, but really, I can tell when they are saying it, they mean “whitey”.. So it’s not really a term of endearment or anything We then headed back to the Mission house and planned out dinner…we decided to take Troy and his family out to dinner so we went out to Rhapsody again. I was really tired so I went to bed as soon as we got back. Check the photos to see images from the trip.

Tags: Africa, Italy, Lusaka, Rome, Sincera, Zambia, Zimbabwe

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