Rather incredibly, to me at least, it will soon be time to leave Zambia and head back to the UK. Which has made me rather reflective in the last few days, not that I am trying to speed up departure date at all; in fact, the opposite is actually the case and I wish in many ways I could stay longer. Whilst I have been fortunate enough to be able to spend two months here, I feel in some ways that I am only just getting to know the place. Which might explain the naivety or ignorance of the below observations.
To say it is a place of contrasts is both an immediately obvious observation as well as something that I rediscover on a daily basis. Take for instance the surroundings in which I write this blog now, a colonial style hotel reception where baby crocodiles lurk in the water feature whilst attentive staff attend to the varied whims of the assembled businessmen and women. Contrast that with the coaching I was doing this morning at the University Teaching Hospital’s Special School where the fun and movement games, the football match, and various other less organised forms of play were all squeezed into the tiny area between the vegetable patch and the classrooms for children of all ages and abilities. From developing world infrastructure and opportunity this morning to developed world affluence and expectation this afternoon in one short taxi ride.
I don’t mean this to sound like I am preaching in any way (it is a sincere and personal reflection upon many recent experiences which I am choosing to share as publicly as this blog can be), this has really got me thinking about what makes people happy. I have lost count of the number of times I have used the expression, ‘the grass is always greener on the other side’, in recent years. The fact I am in Zambia at all whilst many friends are in the UK, often seemingly burdened by their routines, is an apt case in point. And yet I always respond that in many ways their routine is enviable, which of course they both know and know I mean it. We are, of course, both wrong; and both right.
But I may have found a place here in Zambia where the grass is greener on the other side; not just because most of the land here is red would the idiom itself require physical as well as metaphorical explanation. Of course, it is human nature (or should that just be natural?) to be competitive. And I witness daily on the sports fields a competitive spirit just as instinctive and honed as it is anywhere else; even the severely disabled children playing a basic form of boccia this morning wanted to win. But I also witness a community that seems happy. Even though the team I am working with often don’t have a lot, and know this to be the case, there is a genuine warmth about both their behaviour and, more fundamentally, their lot.
Take for instance my gesture of buying Whycliff, who has spent several recent hours teaching me to sign (finally, a language there is hope I might be able to learn), lunch at a Western style restaurant yesterday; I sincerely believe he would have been happier had we been eating nshima at home, for a fraction of the price. Not that he would have embarrassed me by saying as much of course. Perhaps it is the spirituality, which I have been fortunate enough to witness during several visits to church, which teaches that you should not covet other people’s possessions, or perhaps it is the family and the community instilling similar values (I suspect these things are as inextricable as the laughter here is frequent and heartfelt). Perhaps it is even the incessant mix of music, from reggae to love songs and back to reggae ad nauseam. Whatever the reason, it seems different and admirable to this Westerner, Brit, Londoner and silver spoon owner.
Perhaps a sign of things to come as people have more and more opportunity and expectation is the use of mobile phones – one cannot ignore a ringing phone might as well be the national mantra – but I hope it is not. It is contrite of me to say that I wish I envied less and wasn’t always judging myself against my neighbour, both actual and perceived, but I mean it. Maybe I have misinterpreted those I work and live with, viewing them through my rose tinted spectacles (expensively purchased of course). Looking across the fence though, it seems to me that there is more loving and less loathing here. And who wouldn’t be happier living like that?!
Stephen Doran: Mark, a wonderful written piece. It has always been evident, to me at least, that there is much love in these ‘fields of dreams’ and have always wondered what it would be like to live in, what it seems, to be such a carefree lifestyle full of happiness and love. In my opinion, we are creatures of our childhood and although many of us are envious of others, for so many different reasons, worldwide, we must learn to respect what others have and protect no matter what the value that has in the eyes of others. Great work.
Hannah Chisholm: Loving this photo! A lovely heartfelt reflection and one I can really relate to and agree with. Glad that you’ve had a good time and made the most of the experience.
Posted in 2013
Scholey.com 