Manda Hill

Street vendors are a normal thing here...you are sitting innocently in your car at a traffic light and young men come to your window with things for sale. The Manda Hill intersection usually has the most vendors with the best array of products. (Perhaps because the goods are stolen or because they don't have legal permits to sell so don't pay taxes, they have the best prices in town!) There are vendors who have permits to sell newspapers and talk time and this is a great convenience not to have to go to a store -- most of us have pre-paid phones and you buy scratch cards to 'top up.'

The other day on our way into town the offerings at Manda Hill included:

mango, apples, pears, clemantines (all imported from SouthAfrica)

plastic fly swatters

Zambian flag bath towels

car-mirror hanging flag things (with gold tassels)

TV Rabbit ears/antennae

hair clippers/razors

Santa car windshield screen

badminton racket

new silver track suit

Zambia team scarf

Monopoly board game (from Saudi Arabia)

metal hand-made dog collars and chains

Tummy Trimmer

Plastic Chess game

Pirated CDs and DVDs

mini guitar

plastic passport covers

steering wheel covers

cell phone car chargers

striped oxford button-down shirt

white tee-shirt

green wristwatch

Plastic Toy airplane

Toilet plungers

pleather belts

sunglasses

pumice stones

handkerchiefs

and of course, a 3 week old puppy.