I took a nice long walk today. I took a right turn out of my house and kept on going, about 3 miles into farmland. It was incredible.
The horizon is visible at any moment for miles and miles around, making the sky look absolutely enormous. It looks as if you'll run into thick forest if you walk for 5 miles in any one direction, but it's an optical illusion. There were sparsely arranged trees everywhere, and because it's so flat, the edges of what can be seen look like thick forest.
And the farms are all different. Different crops, arrangements, irrigation, sizes. But they're binding quality is their graceful imperfections. There are no perfectly straight lines. No plants are at exactly the same height. But the intention of straight lines and consistency is obvious - the hard manual labor necessary to produce this aesthetic is downright intimidating. Though there were only a few farmers out (whom I greeted in Changana), it felt like I could see thousands toiling over the soil.
The wind frolics over these crops, and when you're walking by a taller plant like corn, it speaks. The wind brings the voices of hundreds of birds, all nonchalantly looking for their lunch, a mate, or just a place to take in the sights. There are birds like sparrows, who seem to always be hyperactive and jovial. But I was surprised, pleasantly so, to see long-necked, lumbering birds I couldn't even begin to name. Assessing their lives in a stately manner, they look back at you as if you were just another big bird.
There was a pair of elegant white heron-looking birds sitting next to one of the irrigation lines. They were scanning the horizon in unison - searching for nothing in particular. I slowly approached, wanting to see them fly away, but not in a panic. A couple minutes and a few yards later, they did, in a wonderfully blinding flourish of meter-long wingspans. Their feathers, perfectly preened and uniform, reflected the sunlight so precisely, I could only say "wow".
Ebi stopped by Friday evening and as he was leaving, I went with him to "accompany" him, a cultural difference I'm still getting used to. You typically walk with people who are leaving your home for a while. I guess the intention is to make sure they know their way and are safe, but I think it's just an outgrowth of the general African feeling that being social is necessary and forms the very foundation of society.
While we were talking, we hit on the subject of "changing the world". He's as idealistic as I am, but knows his limits. He said that he wants to change how his fellow Mozambicans come to rely on foreign money and assistance, but knows he can't change it all at once. He wants to go to college in the UK, come back, and settle into a community where he can bring some real change on an individual, personal level.
I said that that sounds like what I'm doing. We agreed that it's very difficult, but not impossible to exact change in people who are from a completely different culture. The exception comes in leading by example, which is not as integrated a change an individual can make, but it is still change.
You can't mandate that people change from a different culture because you don't have the collective subconscious that is required to make decisions and integrate your personality seamlessly. You can empower others to make change, inspire others to make change in themselves, but any change that you make is short-lived and narrow. I think it's important to recognize that because even within your own culture, these rules exist. Until you work on an individual basis, is it possible to really change someone. And then, with that power, you have to ask yourself if it's wise to do or not.
Really, I'm trying to say - and Ebi was trying to say to me - that change always comes from within. Change is always something desired by the person who will change, who decides what and who to listen to. Maybe, however, there is some room here. Maybe being the person who inspires someone to seek to change is what we're looking to be.
Peace
John
