At the end of a four-year secondary school programme, every Zimbabwean is required to sit for the Ordinary Level (O Level) Examination. The pass rate in the past few years has hovered around 20%. That number means that, every year, only 20% of candidates who sit for the O Level exam score a grade ‘C’ … Continue reading
I have written many exams in my life, from spelling three-letter words to solving differential equations. And then there was the Zimbabwean provisional (learner) driving license exam – the hardest exam I have ever written in my life. You laugh? Do not. When I took my learner’s driving license in California, it was all a … Continue reading
Some kids recently came to me requesting help on a school assignment that asked them to describe the time in which we had hyperinflation in our country. Anyway, that period is still fresh in my memory, and it got me reflecting…there are a few days/incidences that stick out, and this is just one of them…. ***** … Continue reading
Hello! I haven’t written in a looong time and I’ve lost a step or two. Here begins my blogging road to recovery… She’s hurt and she wants to talk about it. He’s angry and he doesn’t want to talk about it. She talks to him, but he remains silent and tries to avoid all conversation … Continue reading
Every “Armed Robbers Strike” headline is almost always immediately followed by another “Armed Robbers Caught” headline in Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwean police need a pat on the shoulder for their magnificent work. Or do they? If you consider the situation a little more, you will find that the police do not really need to be at … Continue reading
This is the last article in my ‘America’ series. I haven’t written in over a month. I was trying to find words to describe a very special person that I met in the US. Of course there are a million words, but I’ve selected only a thousand of them. ___________________________________________________________________________ Sometimes, we meet some great … Continue reading
The one thing I never got used to in the US was the food. Tasteless chicken, tasteless beef, all-fat pork, syrupy pan-cakes, cheese, sweet maize (corn), lobster, raw spinach, rubbery hot-dogs, tofu and broccoli were some of the things I had to deal with. While at Stanford, I developed my own ‘default’ menu. If ever … Continue reading
This is the second article in my America series. It’s (hopefully) a funny one. Enjoy! Having sung in Chewa at church, spoken Ndebele at home, studied French, learned in British English at school and in American English at university, I have realized how important culture is to understanding a language. For example, when I first … Continue reading
Hello! I haven’t written/read in a while – been very busy. Anyway, I’ve decided to write a little bit about my experiences living in the US. You can imagine the possible experiences when a Zimbabwean public high school student is suddenly catapulted into Stanford University, California…I’m kicking off with an article on kindness. It was … Continue reading
Because my girlfriend said I should. Happy Valentine’s Day Mandy 🙂 Continue reading
That’s one long header! I was sitting inside a bank recently, waiting to speak with a banker. I watched her while she helped two other clients before me. She spoke quietly, and she never smiled. I therefore braced myself for another unpleasant experience with a Zimbo (= Zimbabwean) at work in an office. I thought … Continue reading
Independent End Time Message Church leader Robert Martin Gumbura has been sentenced to 50 years in prison for rape. The 57 year old husband to 11 wives, who bragged in court about his dream of one day being father to 100 children, was convicted on 4 counts of rape and possession of pornographic material. Three … Continue reading
This article is written in response to numerous internet searches that have been sending many people to my article: Lobolo: A (High) Bride Price to Pay. Among the top 10 most common searches that brought people to my blog, I found these two: “lobola prices” “how much is lobola in zimbabwe” Because my previous article … Continue reading
I just read an article titled “Prostate Cancer on the rise Among Zimbabwean Black Men.” It made a few interesting claims: “It is not clear that the use of sexual enhancing drugs or early testing could be a reason for the rise in prostate cancer among black men,” he said. “The kinds of diet we … Continue reading
A short piece by Sheshe, my little sister. Her story (which I think is part fiction) gives a glimpse of life as a young boy in Zimbabwe, from a little sister’s perspective. Please give your constructive criticism in the comments, and please bear with the British English. Note: Levy is my younger brother. Also, at the end, … Continue reading
This small fellow, also known as the scaly anteater, is Zimbabwe’s rarest animal. It is probably the most special too. Not only is its image engraved on the country’s $2 coin, but it has so much cultural significance: it is said that in the Shona culture it must be given to the king if found. … Continue reading
Joseph “Chinoz” Chinotimba, newly elected Member of Parliament for Buhera South, Zimbabwe, is an interesting man. He is the subject of the most popular jokes in Zimbabwe. The jokes, usually alleged Chinoz quotes, are made even funnier because one can never dismiss the possibility that the quotes are real. Here’s a popular example: Chinoz is … Continue reading
No, I’m not talking about cabs that carry one or two passengers. I’m talking about those commuter omnibuses (‘kombis’) that carry 15 people. The ones that move thousands of people everyday to and from the city center. When you have so many people stuck together for 10 to 20 minutes in a vehicle, interesting things … Continue reading
See also: How Much is Lobola? I saw this picture on the internet, and I found it funny but sad and offensive at the same time. It shows how much lobola costs across different parts of Zimbabwe. Lobola (usually translated as ‘bride price’) is a gift that a family asks of a man who wants … Continue reading
When Zimbabweans talk about the greatest films ever made in their country, they almost always refer to the 1990’s decade. This decade produced Neria (1992), which is probably Zimbabwe’s highest grossing movie of all time. Other notable movies from this period include More Time (1993), Everyone’s Child (1996), Flame (1996), and Yellow Card (2000). Older people may … Continue reading
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