In 2020, although the epidemic situation in China at that time tended to be stable overall, there were still scattered occurrences from time to time, resulting in lockdowns. Because the main business could not be carried out normally (I was mainly engaged in terminal supporting equipment for security engineering at the time), after delivering takeaway for a few months, I learned through a friend at home that a listed company in my hometown was recruiting and went to a subsidiary in Africa. As an English major in college, I thought about going out and practicing it, and then I decided to go back and sign up. Unexpectedly, I successfully passed several rounds of interviews, did a physical examination, signed a two-year contract, and then worked in Africa for two years.
I had not been abroad before, I had to go to apply for a passport first, I still remember that the county could not do it at that time, saying that it was not authorized, and then the company specially opened a letter of introduction to the Exit and Entry Administration Department of the Municipal Public Security Bureau to handle it.
On September 5th, together with his colleagues Chen Lianchang, Cao Gong, Lao Mao, Xiao Wang Zong, and the society, he and his brother Fan and his group of 6 people took the high-speed train from their hometown, sleepered overnight, and arrived in Shanghai the next day. On the day I arrived in Shanghai, I did a nucleic acid in Punan Hospital, and the next day I got a negative report in Chinese and English. At the time, it was said that there was this requirement for flying, but later it was found that no one looked at this thing at all, whether before boarding in China, when connecting in Ethiopia or after landing in Zambia (so I still keep this), and it is estimated that this information has been entered when filling out the declaration form before boarding.
Nucleic acid test report in English
This is the boarding pass for the section from Addis Ababa to Lusaka, but unfortunately it has faded over time
I stayed at an express hotel near Punan Hospital for one night, and the next day I went to Walmart with his brother Fan to buy some daily necessities, I bought a 2.5L large water cup, he bought a few pieces of soap and some snacks. After breakfast early in the afternoon of the 7th, we rented an Iveco car and went to Pudong International Airport. At that time, the Zambian company had already given all the tickets, it was Ethiopian Airlines (English abbreviation EA, hereinafter referred to as EGYPTAIR, I also took the same airline plane when I returned home), and it took off at 00:35 a.m. on the 8th. The first flight takes about 12 hours, with a transfer to Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, and a flight of about 6 hours, stopping in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, and finally to Lusaka International Airport, the capital of Zambia. It is worth mentioning that on the day I arrived in Zambia, I saw the news that the Harare Chinese shot back the robbers, and according to the time, it was the day we stopped in Harare.
Since it was the first time to fly, and it was still so long, I was always very excited, did not sleep all the way, and talked to Xiao Wang and Lao Chen (at that time, the tickets were originally sold in one seat, but I and Commander Chen greeted Xiao Wang and changed seats, so we sat in a row. It happened to be in the last row in the middle of the plane, and behind it was a partition or something, so the three of our seat backs were adjusted at a suitable angle and comfortable) and ate several plane meals in a row. And many of us on the left and right of the countrymen, are fully equipped, all kinds of protective clothing N95, the whole process has not even drunk saliva, we are all wearing only a thin layer of disposable masks.
When the plane landed in Lusaka, my excitement continued, especially when I looked back at the plane and saw four Chinese characters: Jiangxi International, I almost thought I had arrived in Nanchang. However, bad luck soon began when we officially entered Zambia with a letter of approval for our work permits.
Because it was the epidemic period, the company arranged to bring several suitcases of medicines, that is, Lianhua Qingwen capsules and the like, but when I took my luggage out of the customs and passed the security check, my two old comrades (Chen Lianchang and Cao Gong) and I were detained by the customs. To put it bluntly, at that time, I graduated from college for more than 10 years, and I usually didn't need English at all, and the little things I learned were basically eaten with rice, so I didn't know what they said, and I was still very panicked. The three people who went out earlier and the person in charge of picking us up (the head of the integrated operations department of the Zambian company's headquarters, later called the little supervisor, because he is about 10 years younger than me, and I will have an intersection with him in my story) were outside planning how to get us out. But obviously they can be nearby, or occasionally walk to the exit gate to tell us how things are going. As a result, I stayed inside with the two old men for more than an hour, and the old black man yelled at us, and I couldn't understand what they were saying.
Later, I saw that no one had come to catch us outside, so I discussed with the two old men, and walked out with a backpack containing only clothes and a few books, and when I went out, the old black at the door still asked me for money, gesturing to count the money, I pretended not to understand, forced out, he was ready to pull me but did not hold. (Haha!) Think that at that time I was also ignorant and fearless, after all, not on my own soil)
I found them under a tree a long distance from the exit, and when the little supervisor saw me come out, he asked the two old men, and I said they were still inside, and then he exploded. Say that the two old men don't understand anything, only you can still speak a few words of English, how can you throw them inside and run out by yourself? Denounced me for being irresponsible. I didn't explain anything at the time, but maybe because of this, the little supervisor had an opinion of me at that time, which led to repeated difficulties for me in the three months I worked together. Of course, this is all an afterthought.
Later, a little black dressed like a dog came, and the little supervisor asked me to follow this little black through a special channel and returned to the customs, and I don't know how Xiao Hei communicates with the local customs officials inside, spending money is certain, how much is not clear. Anyway, in the end, we all came out and the boxes were all out. We landed at about 1:30 p.m. local time, but by the time we returned to the Zambian subsidiary, it was already dark and we were detained at customs for three or four hours.
This was followed by a 10-day quarantine, two people in a room, a black female chef delivered to the door for each meal, and a group participated in a subsidiary manager's office meeting, downloaded the NetEase dictionary by the way, and spoke English fluently to practice speaking. After 10 days, we will be released from quarantine and officially assigned to different jobs. Then I started working with the little supervisor for three months.
What stories will happen during this period? Watch me go to Africa next in bulk English, like friends trouble click the attention in the upper right corner, and listen to me slowly break down later.