On July 10th, 2020, I hopped on what I now realize was a life-changing flight and moved back home from South Africa to Zambia.
How fitting, then, that I write this on July 10th, 2024, having accepted a job in Nairobi, Kenya, which will be my new home for the (un?)foreseeable future. Welcome to another era of my life!
But first, let's honour the past four years. They have, quite frankly, been the best four years of my life. As life would have it, however, the era ended in the worst way possible, with the loss of my dad and the loss of my oldest sister, our "Aunty" Munsha! Legend has it she was the only one who could calm me down as a baby. I can believe it; she was very calm, quiet, and peaceful, but she had a loud, piercing laugh. It would be nice to hear that laugh one more time.
Despite this, I am so thankful and grateful for the blessings I've enjoyed.
I found my career home, reconnected with and got married to my husband, lived full-time with my ageing parents for close to three years, bonded with my friends, siblings, and niblings, and lived my dream of being a lecturer when I undertook my Teaching Practice at the refreshingly well run Central Africa Baptist University in fulfilment of the requirements to graduate with a Post Graduate Diploma in Instructional Pedagogy, and became a fitness babe, with the ability to run 2.5ks!
I also moved to the best place to live in Zambia: the friendly city of Ndola! Gosh! I love Ndola. My favourite thing about that city is that there is always, ALWAYS, parking space in the CBD and everywhere. And it's free (side-eye to Nairobi 🤣). If I ever decide to settle in Zed again, it will be in Ndola.
In less than one year of living in Ndola, I built a strong community of like-minded friends whom I met through other mutual friends at yoga, karaoke, gym, and book club. Oh! How I love my book club. This small community of 10 people became such an essential part of my life, and there were tears at my farewell book club potluck, where we gathered at the farm I lived on and spent the whole afternoon together.
I am always blown away by how my community shows up for me whenever I'm relocating. From food drop-offs in the last days to free airport rides and help with packing, I am so grateful I was able to build this in my 11 months and 25 days of living in Ndola. I am looking forward to recreating this and more in Nairobi.
Am I nervous about having to do this all over again? Yes!! I am. East Africa is a whole other beast. There is a certain homogeneity to SADC countries that I appreciate and will miss. We have the same brands, chain stores, and similar cultures, and our Nshima, pap, and sadza are soft!!! (Can you tell that I'm still adjusting to the texture of ugali? whyyyy is it so hard, mwebantu 🤣) Over here, the current major supermarket chain, Carrefour, carries many brands I'm unfamiliar with, but I'm excited to try out and learn about them. I am also excited that Kenya has MrP Home outlets because the tiny Sheet Street shops we had on the Copperbelt just did not cut it for me.
I already have colleagues-turned-friends in this magical country, but I'm open to building my community even more! So please, WaKenya, introduce me to your friends, tell me about your favourite things to do, and tell me about fun activities that you think I'd like. I am approaching this move with an open mind, so my answer to any outing will be a resounding YES!
I don't know about other Zambian homes, but in my home, chapati was a treat! So now that I'm in the land of Chapo (as we call it 🤭😋), I am running a personal challenge of eating it every day for the next year🤣. What other foods should I try?
On a serious note, in Kenya, I look forward to immersing myself in new or otherwise uncommon things for me. I may even find myself summiting Mount Kenya. Who knows? The world is my oyster, and I'm here to take full advantage.
I also can't wait to look back at this post years from now and see how things would have changed. Let's make history together!
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