One thing about living in Africa is the contrast of old against new. Many times technology and advances of the first world collide with third world customs and infrastructure. What you get can be a big mess, an exhilarating adventure for a country, and a confusing sort of lifestyle. Take this country, for example.
People carry around iPhones and iPads, yet a good portion of the population still lives without electricity. Those who have money flaunt it when they have it – shopping at stores with price tags that make me feel like I’m shopping on Fifth Avenue, women with jewel-encrusted fingers and name-brand everything stroll down a dusty street with an $2 umbrella to shade from the sun. Donkey carts and BMWs share the road, and no one seems to bat an eye. A great importance is put onto education, and yet it’s not uncommon to meet teenagers who never finish school, barely learning to read and write. Western philosophies and ideas permeate the thinking of the younger citizens, yet when it comes time to settle down and marry, everything is done in the old ancient custom with rituals and labola and the whole family being involved.
Ladies still wear the traditional dresses, some even the traditional wear from along the Namibia/Botswana border – large, full dresses with puffy sleeves and yards of material around their waists, topped off with a matching fabric hat, two ‘horns’ pointing out on either side of the head at least eight inches. You might see a lady in traditional dress one day, and the next she will be in skinny jeans, a tunic top, and strappy high heels.
Modern medicine has made great advances, and one thing this country can boast of is good treatment options for those with HIV, about one half of the population. Yet people still go to the witch doctors as well, buying potions and bones, stones and powders, believing if they pray a certain prayer or drink a certain drink or make a certain journey that their illness will be healed.
And always there are beggars. While those who have it flaunt it, they seem very reticent to share with others, or at least we always feel like we are targeted by the beggars because we are ‘the white people’ and therefore must be infinitely wealthy. Sometimes I want to point to others and say, “I can’t begin to afford the clothes that she is wearing. Why don’t you go ask her?” There is rarely a day that goes by that someone doesn’t ask for money.
A brand-new, four-lane highway has just been completed outside of town. This beautiful, smooth road surface has wide shoulders, ample lighting, clearly painted lines… all somewhat rare features around here. Driving down this beautiful road, however, you still want to keep your wits about you, because the area is shared with several herds of cattle and goats. Just because it’s modern doesn’t mean it is advanced. :)
So this is the world of old collides with new. I'm sure there are more examples, but I'm having a hard time thinking of them. The longer I live here, the more this seems 'normal' to me and doesn't stand out as different or odd. But as I said, this old meets new is exciting, confusing, and always entertaining. :)