The power of perspective

Our first few days in Zanzibar were filled with realizations.

One of the things we realized very early on was that the power of travelling and the country of The Gambia changed us deeply.

Back then (February 2020) we didn't really know what to expect regarding the infrastructure, the reactions of the people, how to deal with transportation and a million other little things that you don't even realize that matter until you are in a foreign land.

Arriving in Zanzibar we realized how much our perspectives had changed.

Riding in overcrowded local buses no longer scared us. In fact, the lack of over-crowdedness might have slightly disappointed us. Talking to the people on the street or bargaining for different things seems to be easier and easier. Dealing with people trying to sell us things has become as habitual as saying hello to perfect strangers.

We came to Zanzibar having seen a very poor Gambia struggling to deal with many basic necessities. And so, based on our western perspective and our short time in one of the poorest countries in the continent, we formed our perspective of Africa. Poor, lacking in infrastructure, without basic plumbing, with mostly small corner shops fenced on all sides. We were driven to expect less.

But this island is showing us that we must not generalize.

Though certainly not on par with downtown Hamburg, what we found in Stone Town was a well developped urban area with a fully functioning plumbing system and electricity. With paved streets and drivers that generally comply with the laws of the road. A place with cafes, jewelry shops and a vibrant evening market which seems to cater to the locals more than the tourists. Sure, many houses looked in need of a fair amount of maintenance and many roofs were bare metal but it was still impressive. Even more impressive if we remember that this is neither one of the most affluent nor most influencial cities of the continent.

The truth is that Africa is a gigantic and gigantically rich continent and in it most things can be found. Sure, it is often poverty riden but if that is all we expect of it then we surely fail to understand it.

Our first thought of the continent as westerners is often one of crying malnourished children, one of conflict and violence. But are we being fair?

With thousands of languages, tribes and religions it is surely as rich in culture if not more rich than any other continent. Africa is rich in natural resources and is in fact the backbone of many manufacturing industries (diamond crafting among them). Even in the poorest of places, and even if nothing else, Africa is rich in smiles, something our western faces so desperately miss on a daily basis.

One of the main reasons why we are doing this trip and making sure to spend a lenghty amount of time in Africa is to change our perspective. To learn about the realities of living in this continent not through the eyes of sensationalism but through the eyes of everyday people. To understand reality as seen by the proverbial them, not as thus far understood by the equally proverbial us.

Why don’t we say hello to strangers in Europe? Why don’t we bargain for things? How many other everyday things are done differently here?

Sitting on the boat from Zanzibar to Dar Es Salaam we once more marvelled at the fact that the boat carrying us is as modern as anything we would encounter in Europe if not in fact more. Our perspective blindsided us from the possibility of this happening even though we have already seen that the quality of life in Tanzania is considerably better than The Gambia.

We love to think that we are open minded and respectful but clearly we expected less, we looked down on what we thought might be offered to us. We realize that we are still holding on to stereotypes.

Change does not come easy nor without effort and it is with this in mind that we persist on our journey of discovery.

With two months of Africa in front of us we hope to learn to expect more, to constantly expect variety, to shift the way we look at things around us and first and foremost to change something powerful inside each of us: perspective.