Late this morning, Peter, one of our collaborators, brought the cell phones that Megan and Spencer (and Nancy and Matt before them) had been using during their stay. The phones already have useful numbers programmed into them, including contacts for multiple taxi drivers who have become a staple in IHME visits, so we now have the ability to move around freely without getting too stranded for too long. Peter kindly gave us a ride to the Zambian Trade Fair that is happening this weekend and is apparently the cause of a national holiday on Monday. We didn't really know what to expect, but it sounded like too good an opportunity to pass up. After Peter parked the car along the side of the road, I was greeted by an incredibly enthusiastic man trying to convince me that I wanted him to paint my face. He tried talking into the window while I was still in the car, then actually reached out and painted a blob of green paint on my face as I was trying to get out even though I had made it very clear to him that no, I didn't want a face painting. There were crowds of people jostling in every direction, many with either paint or some other goods that they were trying to sell -- I was incredibly overwhelmed by it all. Peter led us through the crowds and to the shortest entry line that he could find, then bid us farewell and good luck.
Inside the fair things were a little bit calmer. There were still huge crowds, but they weren't all trying to sell us things, so we were able to look around in peace. We eventually found our way to the main stadium, where we watched a simulation of an emergency rescue by the Zambian Red Cross. They wheeled out a car full of "dead" people and emergency vehicles showed up to "rescue" them and put out the "fire" in the car. They even had a helicopter show up to medivac the survivors away.
After the emergency simulation, they wheeled out three large guns and had some sort of contest between squads to see who could disassemble and assemble it more quickly; Laura and I didn't really understand why this was necessary, so we moved on... We wandered for a bit, talked to a woman promoting BioGas, a type of sanitation that I hadn't heard of before, and found the coolest kids' entertainment ever: floating hamster balls with children inside! I think Laura and I both wished we were able to try it out.
After the emergency simulation, they wheeled out three large guns and had some sort of contest between squads to see who could disassemble and assemble it more quickly; Laura and I didn't really understand why this was necessary, so we moved on... We wandered for a bit, talked to a woman promoting BioGas, a type of sanitation that I hadn't heard of before, and found the coolest kids' entertainment ever: floating hamster balls with children inside! I think Laura and I both wished we were able to try it out.
After seeing a few more shows at the main stadium, we made our way across the street to one of the big shopping malls. This involved passing some other incredibly aggressive paint people (one got Laura on the back of her neck this time), but we eventually made it to the mall safely. I had to wait a ridiculously long time at the Hungry Lion (ha) to receive my two pieces of fried chicken, fries, and a coke, but it was a delicious meal once we actually got to eat. Finally, we walked to a nearby grocery store, picked out groceries for the week, and caught a ride home with Steve, one of the taxi drivers who comes highly recommended by our predecessors. Eight hours after waking up, I was ready to go right back to bed.
It was a pretty hectic and overwhelming introduction to life in Zambia, but I'm really glad we got to experience the fair; it only happens once a year, and I think it gave us a glimpse of what public gatherings and celebrations are like here. Tomorrow, we call our collaborators at the University of Zambia and map out a plan for the coming weeks.
