Neil in Zim: In my tourist era

Life back on campus has been decent.

There was a python found on the first day of class, and the guards caught it. They put it in a bag, tied up the bag, put it in a cage, locked the cage, and stored it in the science lab. Interestingly, the python escaped overnight … allegedly (I think the guards let it out). The python is a totem here in Zim (a spiritual animal associated with certain families) – and I was told that it may be very uncomfortable to watch your own totem caged. Other totems include antelope, flying termites, and others. The night the python was spotted, I ran with my phone and entered my tourist era, taking several photos and videos #Africa #safari ...

Speaking of being a tourist, I am no longer one here. Alexa and I visited the National Gallery of Harare, and the entrance fee was $10 for international adults and $2 for locals. I took out my $2 note to pay and the cashier pointed at the sign saying international adults pay $10 – to which I responded, “I’m a resident here,” and showed my residence permit. Being non-Black here can feel really alienating, I am stared at often and there is always the assumption that I have money to give. At times, I live to actively dismantle those assumptions, but at other times will give in, understanding that I don’t belong here, and may never, because of how I look (at least in the parts of Zim I’ve so far been to).

Alexa and I went to this restaurant called The Tin Roof and I had some amazing pasta, with a sweet tomato sauce. The restaurant was filled with young, white people, which I would normally feel extremely comfortable around, but suddenly realized that they don’t view us as them. And the more I’ve realized that it’s hard to fit in here, the more I’ve started to understand that there may be no place on Earth where I will fit in because of my identities. Is that true for everyone?

The new year brought new people (academic year follows the calendar year in Zim), and also brought new realizations. I now have my own group of eight advisees that I check-in on regularly and spoil with candy, I have a new boss I report to (James has moved on, and I miss his leadership style), but also new traditions. The signing of the school’s Honor Code was last week, and it was a little spooky if I’m being honest. The Honor Code is a key aspect of the school, and students+faculty are required to (by blood oath) sign it during a candle lighting ceremony. In it, everyone agrees to follow the four values of the school: Integrity, Equality, Service, and Curiosity. The idea of equality is a big source of tension with many members of the school, including myself. I don’t believe in equality. Not because it isn’t good in theory, but because it isn’t practical in low-resource settings like this one. The school, in fact, is a brainchild stemming out of the need for equity. While I agree that it would be nice to achieve equality in a spiritual sense, it is highly unlikely for everyone in a school to be equal. Should students also have access to my desk, my room, and my paycheck? More on this later.

Last weekend, Alexa and I watched a production of Medea at a theatre in Harare. I think I played the Overture to Medea in my final college orchestra concert, but didn’t know the context. In brief, Medea is an insane, and sick, lady who tries to gaslight and girlboss her way into seeking revenge on her ex-husband and his new wife, and in the way murders her own children. She’s iconic. After the show, we had some amazing Thai food (without nuts). It was a good weekend, not only because of the excursions, but also to be able to escape load shedding which has intensified at school (sometimes happening for over 24 hours).

Bhonzelda, the school’s dog, caught a tick-borne parasite from a visiting dog, and has been sick for now a week. It’s been sad to see her unwell, but I took her to the vet on Friday night where she was admitted. She is doing so much better, but has to be on several medications for the next several weeks. We treated her on her day out to some ice cream and she got to stick her head out of my window as the car sped down the highway.