I'm almost done with in-country training with VSO! It's been a great first 12 days in Zim. I've started meeting more people and adjusting to life here. One thing I can say about Harare - it's an easy place to like :)
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| Mbare Market |
Although English is the official language in the country and everyone speaks it, there are also several local languages that are widely used in conversation among the people here. I've been learning some expressions in Shona (the most popular local dialect) and it's amazing how excited people get when I greet them in their language :)
Last Wednesday I had my first nightlife experience in Harare! I went to the Book Cafe - a popular local hangout spot that seems to always have live music or poetry! I went there alone and almost right away I was invited to join a group of people celebrating someone's birthday :) I made a bunch of new friends that night and a couple of them even perform poetry there, so they invited me to come back for their show.
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| Worm from the market |
A couple of the the VSO staff here (Kupa and Mike) took me to Mbare - the largest local market in one of the poorest neighborhoods of Harare. Mbare is a typical African market - crowded, relatively inexpensive and with very fresh produce. I bought some fruits and veggies, and Kupa also got a bag of worms! Yup, worms... apparently it's a delicacy here. I haven't tried it (yet), but she promised to bring some to the VSO office next week, so we'll see :)
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| With Luther |
Also, last Saturday I got to meet someone I had been in contact with for several months through email. A friend of mine from the U.S. (Vibhuti) introduced me to a fellow pharmacist friend of hers (Luther) from Harare a few months ago. Luther teaches at the University of Zimbabwe and does consulting work for an agency not far from where I currently live. We had a great chat on Saturday and he offered to show me around, the next time we meet.
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