No safety nets

I've finally made some cocktail-drinking girlfriends over the last few weeks, and feeling much more like myself now that I have people to talk about boys and makeup! Sarah and Mwape are new to Livingstone too, recently graduated from university in Lusaka and working as pharmacists here. We're working through the various tourist attractions and this weekend went to the crocodile farm and then the Royal Livingstone hotel to look at an art exhibition and watch the sun go down over the Zambezi.

All very pleasant, but various things this week have got me thinking about how much more precarious life is for Zambians than at home. There were few fences at the croc farm, for example, and we couldn't help wonder how safe we were in such close proximity to these seemingly indestructible creatures (they live about 150 years and are apparently immune to all diseases), most of whom had been put into captivity because that been causing a problem killing people in the communities they'd been found. Wandering round the Royal Livingstone we came across the small herd of zebras and giraffes who live there. There's a keeper who follows them round, who happily left them be and took us off to look for the impala. Definitely no risk assessment done for that, as zebras in particular are known to be a bit aggressive when tourists try to pet them!

Planning isn't a big feature of life in Zambia, and my colleagues regularly say things like 'if I have money I'll call you tomorrow'. I can't imagine what it would be like to live not knowing one day to the next if they will be money for food, and have been trying to remind myself this week to be more patient with my colleagues when they're not at work as they haven't been paid and are trying to source money elsewhere. And as we work, I'm trying to find the line between sensible caution, and teaching the concept of thinking about potential risks to new activities, with enjoying living in a society that sometimes feel a lot more free and less cautious than the UK. Where crocodiles are concerned though, I think maybe I'd be comfortable with a little more caution...