When there’s a moment in the office, all of the gossip is surrounding the highly secure visit of George Bush’s wife to the Government of the Republic of Zambia. “Can you believe they brought in FIFTEEN of their own vehicles” one colleague commented. Thank goodness we were stopped at a red light when a convoy of massive American vehicles flew past Alvin & me. We were struck by the size & speed of the vehicles; there were modern GMC Surburbans & those massive Ford trucks that you can only find in red-neck North America.
But the purpose of this post is not to dig my heels into the audacity of her visit (or the limitations on how American dollars are spent in ‘fighting disease’ in Zambia.) But as a side note- can ANYone explain to me just how one would believe that abstinence-only education is an effective way to fight sexually transmitted infections? Because I, for one, disagree whole-heartedly; to best illustrate my point, I was thinking way back to the days spent at Bellerose Composite high school. I was in the change room with my basketball team & one of the girls said “Don’t look” when she went to remove her shirt. Everyone in the change room swivelled to face the girl who had asked us all NOT to look. We ended up killing ourselves laughing at how one’s immediate reaction when told NOT to do something, is to go & do it & find out for yourself why it was forbidden. Now input sex education…abstinence-only- Gah.
But back to my story- the goodness of Bush’s trip to Lusaka. Yesterday when I knocked off from work I was enjoying a warm walk home (despite the chill in the winter air) until I noticed a man who looked a bit mad following me home. I never worry when I can hear the people, or predict why they might be following me. This man was walking much slower than me, so when he decided to catch up I could hear his loose pata-patas (flip flops) smacking loudly against the asphalt in his uneven attempt at a jog. Once he was just behind me, he would start walking again, so the gap would stretch between us. Ages ago, I had a bit of an altercation with a (possibly) schizophrenic drunk man, so whenever people approach me who appear mad, I am cautious (I’m not paranoid…but this guy wasn’t quite right in the head, therefore rather unpredictable).
I decided as long as I was on a busy street I would have no problems. There was a bit of a gap in pedestrian traffic as I was approaching an intersection with Addis Ababa Road (a well-paved, high traffic road). On the corner I noticed a trio of cops. Never in my life (in ANY country) have I ever been so thrilled to see policemen & women. As I neared, one of the policewomen said “Good afternoon”. I jumped at the chance for some friendly conversation & chatted with the threesome until the crazy man had passed (who promptly waited for me a few steps away from my new-found security friends). I desperately looked down Addis for hope of escape. Imagine a slow wide grin spreading across my face. Hahaha: Bush is on the move, which means cops are posted on every corner to prevent incident & stop the traffic! I giggled & laughed & greeted ALL of the cops on my way down the street. The crazy man became discouraged & turned down another road in search of a new adventure.
I suppose I owe the excessive Americans a vote of thanks...Happy 4th of July*giggling*
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