Certain information in this education just falls through the cracks - the same cracks created by the many language barriers. The difference between millimeters, centimeters, and meters for instance. Concepts of time & distance. Things many of us (privileged) take for granted because our parents know and because we grew up in a car/mass transit culture. I grew up asking - how far is it til we get there? - the answer would be 5 more miles….and then I would ask, but how much longer? -and the answer would be 15 more minutes. And so my perception of time, space, and distance grew.
Klasie was telling me of a student he gave a lift one day. When they arrived at the school, the child did not get out of the car. Klasie said, “well, come along,” but as it turns out the little guy did not know how to get out of the car.. He has never ridden inside of a car before. It is typical here on the farms, that the workers (and their children) get around on tractors, the backs of trucks, on bikes and on foot. These people have not learned to measure in kilometers, but rather in footsteps.
This difference between white culture & black culture, the lower economic rung and the higher becomes apparent in the way time is valued and measured. The white culture here is very European and functions on an hourly/minute-by-minute basis. Whereas the black or African culture has a completely different concept of speed and time. And thus you get “Africa Time.”
This blog was started in 2008 to reflect on my volunteer work in South Africa. My intentions to live in SA stem from an attraction to what rises out of a place grappling to find a new identity and the people struggling to find their place in a new democracy. I stay on, not always knowing why I am here and what I have yet to accomplish. This blog is an exploration of my time, my limitations and my triumphs in this land. I hope there are some pearls to glean for those who read these postings!
i just read an entire book about africa that was supposed to have all this insight - i just learned more and find myself wanting to think more from this one post of yours. thank you.
ReplyDelete