Drinks and Rounds in Zambia
By Dickson Jere
Ordinarily, I drink fine whisky. Single malts. And they are pricy too!
But when I am out in public places, I take lagers. My all-time favorite Castle or lately Budweiser. The reason is simple. I cannot remember, even once, where I went to drink in popular spot and didn’t get free drink from somewhere among the patrons.
“Sir, someone has bought you a drink,” is the familiar line from waiters.
I usually feel guilty as my drink per tot – single malt whisky – cost more than the entire round of ten people who offered me a free drink. Not fair on them if you ask!
I will, off-course, then enquire where the drink came from and try and reciprocate the Zambian way.
“Give them a round…” will be the usual reciprocity.
The cost of that round of ten people will usually be far less than a cost of my whisky. But then I remain guilty thinking I should send more rounds to match up the cost of my whisky which they painstakingly bought for me. Maybe they didnt know the price! So I keep to beers in public.
But here is the major problem.
If you are just two of you – drinking beer and not whisky – and the people who sent you a free round are ten, you have to buy ten unbudgeted drinks for the sake of keeping the Zambian reciprocal drinking custom! Or else you will earn a bad name of “wa kaso mu guys” or that you like drinking free beers, which in the first place you did not even ask for!
So you oblige.
When you try to split the bill, ati he likes “Dutch” where each one pays for his or her own drinks – a rare phenomenon in Zambia. We don’t split alcohol bills here – rather we fight to pay the bills!
But the opposite is also true. You are drinking lagers and a fellow walks in and ask for a drink from you. You politely agree to buy him one. And then he orders double tots of whisky which is so expensive that it costs more than what you have budgeted for the entire night! In short, the begger is drinking expensive than you the buyer!
Welcome to Zambia the real Africa!
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