Oh Bulawayo why do you do this to me. Somehow I’ve fallen in love with the city for particular reasons. Everyone in the city is hustling to survive, and in many ways enjoying life. I was visited by an immigration officer today who wanted to make sure he knew where I was at all times………………That is when my guide Clifford explained to me he believes Central intelligence is following me, and watching me! At first I became somewhat paranoid being that the city is filled with people, but quickly something seemed to calm me down. I figured if an official was on my tail then I feel safe because should something happen to me he’s got my back right?. I never get his name but he has a warm smile, and he asks me whether or not I’m enjoying myself. It’s all love in Bulawayo. After the James Bond moment I entered the public library and had a chit chat with the Library director. He and his staff were extremely gentle and nice. We ended up speaking for an hour about life in the states vs. life in the main land. I swear to my goodness if America were to find its mate it would be Zimbabwe. Much of what America does wrong they do right and vice versa. It’s such a shame that the people are deprived from each other. I think Americans would love Zimbabweans and the other way around………..well at least I think so. I walked around by myself for a bit and after the first five minutes of trepidation being lonely my swag came back and I was doing my thang! There was a formal lunch and we were able to introduce ourselves to one another and I finally got into my studio and worked a bit on the computer still awaiting my lost pieces from the airport. Still no luck and it’s going on day 3. I am finding out a lot about the city’s history via the locals. What I find is race isn’t as hard to deal with or talk about as it is in the states, but man is it ever a topic and after speaking with so many people you come to have feelings of resentment towards those who colonized other people. It makes me sick to see native people watching foreigners drive these fancy cars past them………………WTF…………did I miss something? I saw a little girl reading in the library today and I really wanted to read to her or draw a picture for her but I wasn’t able to due to the pow wow the grown ups and I were having. Whomp whomp! The blacks are always moving toward the sun………..So I will explain. In the days of colonial power the colonialists planned the city out in a way that at dusk they were driving away from the sun to work, and at dawn the same thing would happen where they were driving away from the sun to go home. Because it was more convenient for them to be facing away from the blinding sun, away from the heat. It’s funny how I didn’t notice until Clifford brought it up to me. The car ride back to my lodge after dropping people off was blinding to say the least, and this notion of blacks migrating toward the sun was unreal around 5pm when the city literally shuts down and thousands of people are walking along the dusty unpaved road towards the blinding sun. When I say thousands I am not even joking. It is something you have to see to understand. It truly amazes me to see the eco system that is intrinsic of the culture here in Bulawayo. The one thing that was explained to me that blew my mind is there are no homeless people in Bulawayo. There are sometimes 10 people to a house because of the extended family system. So if your cousin or aunt from an extended line is without shelter your home is their home. The meaning of family is strictly different from that of the states where once you leave you are on your own. This weekend I plan to have beer with my studio mates. I already feel close to those guys.
Honorable mentions of the day:
Going to the supermarket and watching people purchase food was quite the experience. The building was akin to a huge supermarket with aisles big enough to fit two cars in between.
Watching a what seems to be four year old girl braid an adult woman’s hair and join in on what seemed to be an adult conversation.
A man yoked a toddler from getting hit by a car and continued on his way leaving the toddler to walk about in the congested street.
Listening to the locals talk about family, marriage, and rearing children in a passionate way was good times.
That was Thursday, Friday was really hard…………..really hard. Next time…………
I must say, as you write, I think I am picturing in my head what you are expressing. But as I read on, I realized that I will never be able to imagine the sights and conversations you are experiencing (unless present). I can't feel what you feel, but it touches my heart still. "The blacks are always moving towards the sun...."
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