Zambianisms

After being here a while we’ve encountered sayings, words, and practices that are unique to Zambia or Africa. I wanted to share just a few of them with you. If you have a schedule for the day, you have a “program”. Gasoline is called petrol here. When you move it is called “shifting” as in, “We shifted from Matero to Makeni in February.” Traffic lights are called “robots” and driving through a red light will not get you a ticket because the police have no cars to chase you down! Often the robots don’t work at all, so there’s a lot of give and take at intersections. “Geezer” is not slang for an elderly man, but is a water heater! When you’re hungry for fast food, ask for “take away”. Ground beef is called “mince meat”. Severe offenses may require delivering a live chicken to the offended party. Whatever you do, don’t talk about pants for you’ll find yourself talking about underwear! If you refer to someone who has died (which can be considered a social no-no), he or she is “late”. And, at the end of the day when your work is done, you will say it’s time to “knock off”. So, my blog is finished and I’m knocking off