I’ve just walked in to Evelyn Hone campus after having dinner with one of the SmartCare developers and his wife. Hankey (his name) is a native Zambian who did a tour of duty on development projects in the Seattle area for 6 years, met his wife there (she is a native Washingtonian), and they recently moved to Lusaka (back here for him) with their two kids (16 and 7 years old). It was very interesting to hear their different perspectives on the move – each in their own way have had a “culture shock” experience, but they are settling in. Hankey is working long hours and traveling a lot – he has seen tremendous growth and change in Zambia and Lusaka in particular after his 6 year hiatus – and he’s shocked at how high the cost of living is in Lusaka relative to in Seattle (you get less here for much more money). His wife shared that aside from the obvious cultural and daily life differences (driving is more aggressive and on the Brit side of the road…familiar brands and products are harder to come by…Halloween costumes for their kids were ridiculously expensive and hard to get…and more), the one thing that has made her sad is what is referred to as the “dual pricing” – you either pay local prices or “mazungo” (white/American/ex-pat) prices. Her frustration is even more pronounced because she is part Thai and part black, and the ONLY reason she seems to be hit with mazungo prices is her very “American” accent. She has called vendors and salespeople on this ploy a few times and it’s been met with sheepish apologies…it doesn’t seem to be malicious – rather a logical assumption that foreigners who come to Zambia must have more money than the locals do. Something to think about. So, as I sit just outside the internet café waiting for Chrys (she was out for dinner too with a British friend passing through the city) I am THRILLED to see that customers are spilling out the door! Most of the internet stations are occupied with paying customers and there seem to be people waiting for their turn or buying other services. And, there are many students just sitting around at the table outside, some working wirelessly on their own laptops, others just socializing. It looks like a typical campus watering hole! The next-door vendor who sells snacks is doing good business as well and the campus area the café is in – where the dorms are – is literally buzzing with groups of people walking around and visiting, studying, or just hanging. It appears like the staff has things well handled but I can definitely project that Chrys and Marjory will need more space very, very soon. How cool is that?