A Day in Town

Going to town should be a special treat when you live out in the bush, but actually, coming back to the bush is the special treat.

Each week we have to make a trip to Choma, the town nearest to New Day Orphanage, to buy groceries for the orphanage, for ourselves, supplies for the store, building materials, fuel for the generators and vehicles, and other things that come up.

We got a late start because of lots of business to take care of before leaving the orphanage, so we arrived in Choma about 10:30 a.m. We knew we had a lot to accomplish, so we went in two vehicles so that we could divide and conquer. The Morans went off to put in the order at the butchery, while we dropped off the order for the New Day Store at “Happy Investments.” We knew that it would take them several hours to find all the things on the list, because the typical Zambian store does not have everything you need, so they go and find it at other stores and sell it to you. We also stopped to check on our order for window and door frames and they assured us they would be ready by 2:00 p.m.

After we both finished our first assignment, we met at the bank so that we could get money out of the ATM. The lines were long as it was Friday and I guess everyone was planning a BIG weekend. We wanted to buy groceries last so that the food would stay as fresh as possible, so we went and ate lunch at the outdoor restaurant at the Choma Museum. The big trees provided some great shade and a cool breeze was blowing. If we could have stayed there all day, our outing to Choma would have been very restful.

After lunch, we divided up the grocery buying, and while the Morans headed to the grocery store, we headed to the open market to buy vegetables and dried fish. The market was crowded as usual, but we were able to buy what we needed and get back to the store to help the Morans as they checked out. We found them with looks of frustration on their faces as the people behind them were actually pushing their groceries forward thinking this would move things along faster. Maybe Fridays are not such a great day to shop.

Next we set out to pick up the “promised” window and door frames frame and get fuel. We were thinking we would be back at New Day by 5 at the latest. However, when we arrived to pick up the order, we found that they were not done. They still needed to be painted. Finally, Wes made an agreement with the shop owner that if they would give him the paint, he would paint them.

While Wes and Josh were at the shop trying to sort out the problem, Christy and I and their two children, Riley and Wes went to a little coffee shop across the way and had ice cream. What a refreshing treat on such a hot day. Little did we know we would wait in this shop for nearly an hour.

Wes and Josh finally settled the  problem with the frames, but now there was a traffic jam in front of the shop that kept things from moving. When this cleared, the guys tied the door and window frames down in the back of the vehicle, and off we went to get fuel.

There was only one station in town that had fuel, so the line was long and it was obvious that it was going to be a battle. Thankfully we got in the queue (the line) of vehicles and inched forward. Of course there were those who were trying to push their way in, but we managed to keep our place. When we finally headed out of Choma, we all breathed a sigh of relief that we were going back to the bush where all we have to listen to are drums beating at night, cow bells waking us in the early morning, and the sounds of birds singing. I’m glad we live in the bush!