Arandis, Namibia: A Matter of Perspective

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

A Matter of Perspective

13 February 2007

Snow is on its way. Or so they say. Anything less than the ten feet in ten days that the good people of Oswego, NY got is a blessing. Ten feet of snow in ten days. Talk about changing your perspective on life. Imagine having to enter your home - using a second story window. What happens with the single story homes? Buried until spring? And to think I left the mid 90's behind a few weeks ago.

Perspectives.

I've told this story to many people since I've been back but it's one that I have been wanting to post here. On the first Sunday I was in Arandis, after the church service, Daniel (Brenda's "adopted" son) was heading back to the Rossing Mines where he works as a welder. He was going to be picking up his uniform and bringing it home. Brenda knew that I had wanted to take photographs of the facility and even though I would not be able to get inside any of the buildings, at least with Daniel I would be able to get further within the grounds than had I gone alone or with Brenda.

So off we went. He was kind enough to stop at different places along the way to point out different things and to suggest pictures for me to take. When we got to the facility, we pulled up to the building where his locker was and his uniform was stored. After entering, he was quick to come back out. He had forgotten the key to his lock. Now, we weren't that far from home so I figured we would drive home to get the key and come back. Well, not Daniel. He went looking for a bar or something to simply break the lock.

Ah, the impatience of youth, quickly came to my mind. It's the same here as in America. He found a bar, went in, broke the lock and came out with his uniform. Mission accomplished. We returned home.

The next day, Brenda and I were heading into Swakopmund to get various items. We also had Boniface and Franco with us. Now, for someone who said they would not be heading to the coast, I was there three times. And, I am convinced that everytime you have to go to the coast to run errands, it ends up being a 5 hour trip. At least that is what it was each time we went into town. And it is less than a half-hour drive.

So, 4 1/2 hours later, we are on our way out of Swakopmund. Oh, we also had an extra passenger with us as Boniface offered someone a ride to Arandis...as long as it was okay with Brenda. Aye Boniface...shaking her head frustratingly, get in, she said. She would never have said no.

About 10 minutes out of town, Brenda begins to slow down like she is landing a 747 on a short runway, says a few words, rolls her eyes, sighs, shakes her head and moans ... the lock, we forgot to get the lock. She pulls off the roadway, bangs a U-turn and before we know it, we are heading back into Swakopmund.

The lock? We? What lock, I asked. Daniel's lock that he broke on his locker when he was getting his uniform, she said.

Oh, that. You mean yesterday, when I would have done the "adult" thing and driven back home to get the key, I thought to myself. I told Daniel I would buy him a new lock, she said. Then adding, he needs the lock because his uniform will get stolen if it is not locked up. I also thought to myself, it sure would have been easier if Daniel would have just gone home to get the key. Now Brenda has to drive all the way back into town. I wonder how many locks he goes through...?

After spending a good 30-45 minutes and three stores later (the first being a hardware store) trying to find a lock in Swakopmund, we were finally heading back to Arandis. During the ride home, Brenda and I were talking about different things. The issue of the lock came up, and how Daniel just broke it instead of returning home to get the key. I said something like, kids, go figure. She looked at me and asked me what I meant by that. I said something like, well being older (and wiser, I thought), I probably would have opted to not break the lock and returned home for the key.

Aye Don, she exclaimed. Daniel knew that if he would have returned home to get the key and gone back to the mines, there wouldn't have been enough gas to get back into Swakopmund. We likely would have run out along the way. And, as I thought about it, Brenda did do a B-line for the gas station when we arrived into town.

Perspectives.

How often during our daily lives are we quick to come to conclusions about a person, place or situation and maybe not understand everything about the person, place or situation. I was reminded by Darin that during these cross-cultural exchanges, this happens all the time and we need to try to be sensitive and aware of the possibilities of it happening. And, although this was less related to any cultural differences, it did reinforce a couple of situations during my 2006 trip that were cultural in nature. Situations where we, as visitors, may not have fully understood or appreciated the reasons for a few decisions that were made by our hosts. And, without this understanding, some questioned the decisions, or didn't think they were fair...from their perspective.

(Pictured above are Daniel and Vuola, Brenda and Hailey)

posted by Don @ 9:55 PM

0 Comments: