Remember the good old days, when TKZee used to start and end the party....when Mandoza's Nkalakatha was the song to be played? Ahhh infact, I visited my old high school a few months ago, and found them still playing the good old kwaito beats lebesi jam-ma ngawo back in the day! Then again, the UWC is a whole new environment. They'll stay playing Mandoza and Tribal Blast. But as I joined in with kids from over 100 countries, watching as the sweet Lebanese girl and the chemistry geek from Uganda tried their luck at doing the "kwaito dances" that I once went crazy for, I could only wonder...Where did Kwaito go?
With more than a passing resemblance to a National Geographic best-of issue, Zimbabwe is a beautiful country to visit. It boasts the majestic Victoria Falls, magnificent wildlife preserves and the medieval ruins of Great Zimbabwe, as well as the bustling city of Harare. Read Zimbabwe introduction
Its been about...emm...7 years since I finished high school in Manzini, Swaziland...All-girl Anglican school. No nonsense, don't-mess teachers and matrons. Best results in the country (may I boast a lil, dust my shoulders a lil?)...One thing St Michaels girls were known for...well, actually 3. Beauty (check), brains (check) and dancing (um, working on it to be dishonest). Do not even mess, besiba bontsa! We had school concerts, where students danced, performed skits, plays and had fashion shows...Ours was always the last. Of course ke, it was the grand finale. We danced to the likes of Boom Shaka, Mandoza, TKZee, Trompies, Mdu, E'smile, and that group....var vas jy....where were u! We even had the hair styles, I remember my first Boom Shaka braids, thick, black and long to the waist. Was I not feeling myself?? And then, of course, I had to borrow the "tsotsi" hat ('idori') and colorful all stars from my brothers closet. Well, by borrow, i mean steal and return before dark. They were the rockas...Trompies' "Sweety Lavo" was the anthem of all who had boyfriends. I remember mine coming early for the concert to make sure he got good seats and enjoyed a little "private moment" with me (Private means 'in disguise" from our nasty headmaster -- thats when the back of the hall was populated by lovebirds and the like). To top it off, I'd get a letter slipped into my bag with Sweety Lavo lyrics dedicated to me.
The foreign currency black market booms as the economy goes into freefall.
A shonky market fringing Zimbabwe's second city, Bulawayo, shows little enthusiasm for selling its hoard of clothing, kitchenwares and stereos: The real business here is the deals behind the stalls - selling foreign cash.
With the devastated economy plunging further into the financial abyss since last month's disputed elections, the black market is increasingly eager for US dollars, British pounds and euros.
Dubbed "The World Bank", Bulawayo's illegal foreign exchange dealers run the only bank without a queue and ready stocks of foreign cash.
This is a seller's paradise, securing up to three times more than the official rate, with a staggering 30 per cent rise in black market payments for foreign cash since the March 31 election.
Zimbabwe Victoria Falls
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country in Southern Africa bordering Mozambique, South Africa, Botswana and Zambia. It has an area of 390,580 km2 and a population approaching 13 million. The Zambezi forms a natural riverine boundary with Zambia and when in full flood in the February to April period, the massive Victoria Falls on the river form the world's largest curtain of falling water. The climate is tropical and moderated by altitude with the hot, wet season between November and March, followed by a cool, dry season from April to July and a hot, dry season from August to October.
The terrain is mostly high plateau with a T-shaped upland plateau called the "Highveld" running north-east to south-west across the country. Much of this plateau is ancient granite with sandy soils and many exfoliated domes, locally called Dwalas and balancing rocks, locally called Kopjes. The major river valleys lie at much lower elevations and are called the "Lowveld". The Zambezi Valley is bounded by large fault scarps of the African Rift System and the Chizarira Massif is also part of this system.
