What we love in Africa, admire about the West

Africa, with all its challenges has the most dynamic social relationships anywhere in the world. [iStockphoto]

The Kikuyu language has two sayings which may appear contradictory but which speak to two important truths that express the reality of life.

One saying contends that the roaming child leaves a feast at their house. The opposite saying states that a child who does not travel assumes only their mother knows how to cook.

Every time I get an opportunity to stay in foreign lands, I see these two truths at play. The first saying speaks to the failure to appreciate one’s home.

Every time I am away from home for long, absence makes the heart grow fonder. I then appreciate all the beautiful things the homeland offers.

The second saying relates to benefits of being away from home. It opens one’s eyes to treasures of other lands and possibilities that exist for others that are but a dream at home.

On the things that I appreciate, the first is the vibrancy of our social connections. Africa, with all its challenges has the most dynamic social relationships anywhere in the world.

We touch and keep in touch. We enter and cross into each other’s social boundaries, including those of strangers, sometimes annoyingly.

A quiet social gathering is an oxymoron. Life is buoyant, even amid struggle.

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That is not true in most of the West. People are polite, but they keep to their lane and laugh and talk within defined, and generally low, decibels.

Secondly our weather. We are a fortunate continent and Kenya most so. Our country has beautiful, people friendly weather.

No wonder we never bother to follow weather forecasts. Woe unto you if you ignore checking on the daily weather channels in Europe.

What started as sunny, and sunny does not equate to warm, could turn impossibly wet in an instant. And the cold! One feels it inside all pores and into every bone.

Thirdly, we have elastic margins where time is concerned. We are not rushed and rushing. Our one-hour meetings can stretch to four hours, and we find ways to adjust our schedules. We accommodate, oftentimes to a fault.

Time serves us. We do not serve time. In the West time is a master, measured and served sparingly. There is no time to just “hang out”. You see this as a challenge when at home. You long for it when away.

Shakshuka in a cast iron skillet. Shakshouka or shakshuka is a dish of eggs poached in a sauce of tomatoes, chili peppers, and onions, often spiced with cumin. In its present egg and vegetable-based form it is of Tunisian and Moroccan Jewish origin, and is now popular among many ethnic groups of the Middle East and the Maghreb. [iStockphoto]

As for our food! Let me be polite and not say any more on that subject. Now to what one admires when they are in foreign lands.

First is the absolute integrity and honesty across the board. I once stayed in Geneva for a week and used the trams and buses without paying. All along I had assumed public transport was free. I never saw anyone one pay and no one asked me for a ticket. They just expect that everyone abides by the rules.

Another time a colleague lost his phone in the train in Oslo. His only concern was that whoever found it would take it to a far off “lost and found.” Never for one moment did he imagine it could be stolen. Sure enough it was found and delivered to him that same day.

Secondly, is the politeness and decency with which most people handle each other. Put a foot onto the road and all vehicles stop, even on the busiest throughfare. We need to learn to be kinder to each other.

I also admire the physical and institutional infrastructure particularly the one that makes it convenient for people to live.

The public transport system in most of the West is exceptional and affordable. The school system is structured towards inclusion so that no child is truly left behind. Training facilities for career development abound.

Finally, governments are accountable. Leaders generally pay the price of their misdeeds. I know I have presented an overly rosy picture. Believe me I know there are worms and warts even in the best of the West. But when one is a visitor politeness demands you focus on the positive.

In that spirit, how I pray that we would enhance those things that we excel in and aspire to improve on the things that would make life more fulfilling and exciting in our beautiful motherland.

-The writer is an advocate