There is nothing more insane than trying to make a phone call in Zimbabwe. Maddening. I still do not have it down pat after two years in the country.
There are about twelve different ways to call a person, and unfortunately I usually end up trying all twelve before one of them works. There is no standard number of digits in a phone number here. Some have ten digits, others have five, others have seven, others have eight. Sometimes you dial with a plus in front of the number. Sometimes you must add a 04 before dialing. Sometimes you leave off the first four numbers. Sometimes there's also a 263 in there, with or without a plus. And calling South Africa? Forget about it.
Maddening.
It was surprising to move to Africa and realize how many people on the continent have cell phones. Basically every household, if not the majority of adults, have a phone. In the third poorest country in the world, this was a happy discovery. At thirty dollars for a new phone, the technology is actually more accessible here than in many other places. Unfortunately so many places still do not enjoy the wonders of electricity, that charging the phone is the most challenging part!
Phone "plans" and contracts are very rare in my city. Instead, street corners and parking lots are lined with men selling phone minutes. (Since we've been talking about gender, I'll just mention that I have never seen a woman do this job.) These phone minutes are a standard 25 cents per minute for any call, local or international. I have never seen a different price in my time here. Monopolies are easy to find in southern Africa, these "Buddie" minutes are the perfect example. You don't go anywhere without your Buddie!
