The difference is in the basics...
I have to start the morning with a good, strong cup of coffee, and today realized that perhaps there was a comparison to be made between different places in the world simply in the preparation of your food and drink. Here is an illustration of how I've prepared my coffee in different areas/phases of my life:
Living in Cape Cod, Massachusetts:
- I worked from home so would wake up and put a pot of coffee on the stove, using a gas-burning stove. The smell would greet me as I entered the house after an outdoor shower (yes, being a beach area, outdoor showers are very popular, even in America!) I'd then warm up some milk and froth it in a nifty little container, made specially for frothing milk!
Living in Cambridge, Massachusetts:
- For the last six weeks I lived in the USA I stayed with a dear friend in Cambridge, while working retail part-time. The pace of life in the city is a little different from the Cape, so here I'd wake up and put on the electric coffe-machine and warm my milk in the microwave. I didn't worry about frothing it - time was always of the essence!
Living in Harare, Zimbabwe:
- This morning I made my coffee as I always do: when leaving for my shower I put a pot of water on the stove to boil. (and it's good news, the electricity is working!) When I return the coffee is boiling and I take out my little coffee funnel and filters and wait for the water to pour through the Zimbabwean-grown coffee. The milk is "Chimombe" - long-life milk, which you depend on here, in case the electricity goes out and your refrigerator turns off! I make sure the sugar (which can also sometimes be a shortage) is tightly sealed, otherwise the ants, always looking for an opportunity to eat through your precious resources, will find their way in!
So there is a simple illustration of how life is different for me. After the redundant protests that were supposed to have happened yesterday, I was thinking that really life is not that different here from anywhere else. We human beings are amazingly adaptable creatures and it is the little things that make a difference in our daily life.
Yesterday I heard another interesting expression from a friend here. She asked me if it was a 011 or a 010 day. Hm...what do you think that could mean?!
It's refering to meals! In Zim, where food is ridiculously expensive in comparison to the salaries, people regularly skip one or more meals. Yesterday was a 111 day for me - I managed breakfast, lunch and supper. But most days have been 011 (no breakfast, but had lunch and supper!) As I write this I have to wonder about today. For how many people around me will today be a 000 day?
Living in Cape Cod, Massachusetts:
- I worked from home so would wake up and put a pot of coffee on the stove, using a gas-burning stove. The smell would greet me as I entered the house after an outdoor shower (yes, being a beach area, outdoor showers are very popular, even in America!) I'd then warm up some milk and froth it in a nifty little container, made specially for frothing milk!
Living in Cambridge, Massachusetts:
- For the last six weeks I lived in the USA I stayed with a dear friend in Cambridge, while working retail part-time. The pace of life in the city is a little different from the Cape, so here I'd wake up and put on the electric coffe-machine and warm my milk in the microwave. I didn't worry about frothing it - time was always of the essence!
Living in Harare, Zimbabwe:
- This morning I made my coffee as I always do: when leaving for my shower I put a pot of water on the stove to boil. (and it's good news, the electricity is working!) When I return the coffee is boiling and I take out my little coffee funnel and filters and wait for the water to pour through the Zimbabwean-grown coffee. The milk is "Chimombe" - long-life milk, which you depend on here, in case the electricity goes out and your refrigerator turns off! I make sure the sugar (which can also sometimes be a shortage) is tightly sealed, otherwise the ants, always looking for an opportunity to eat through your precious resources, will find their way in!
So there is a simple illustration of how life is different for me. After the redundant protests that were supposed to have happened yesterday, I was thinking that really life is not that different here from anywhere else. We human beings are amazingly adaptable creatures and it is the little things that make a difference in our daily life.
Yesterday I heard another interesting expression from a friend here. She asked me if it was a 011 or a 010 day. Hm...what do you think that could mean?!
It's refering to meals! In Zim, where food is ridiculously expensive in comparison to the salaries, people regularly skip one or more meals. Yesterday was a 111 day for me - I managed breakfast, lunch and supper. But most days have been 011 (no breakfast, but had lunch and supper!) As I write this I have to wonder about today. For how many people around me will today be a 000 day?
posted by VN at 11:20 PM
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