Reminders I'm in a Developing Country

South Africa has a very good infrastructure for Africa. A great network of paved roads, railways, buses. Cape Town is also pretty developed and in some parts could be any city in the world. Tall banking skyscrapers, people in business attire on the streets. So sometimes I forget I am in a developing country.

South Africa is holding the World Cup next year. 2010. Big deal. Lots of construction everywhere. Particularly where I live, which is pretty close to the stadium that is being built in Cape Town that I've heard will hold semi-finals. I just look out my window and see the cranes working away. Not only on the stadium is there construction. Some roads are also getting a make-over, new lampposts are being installed, and fiber-optic cables are going in. Over a month ago at night I heard jack-hammering and looked out to see a crew jackhammering in the middle of the Main Road digging a hole. They worked throughout the night. Then they gradually worked their way up the sidewalk past my apartment. A crew of men hand dug a trench in the sidewalk with pick-axes. This was quite a sight. Manual labor is hard. I've done some trail building and using these tools is hard. Using them for 8 hours a day 5.5 days a week sucks. In the heat of summer. As I spied from my 6th floor window and as I walked by, it appeared these guys didn't even drink much water.

Once they buried the fiber optic cable they filled the trench partly with sand. Sand that had been dumped at the corner of the road. Sand that was dumped next to a storm drain and sand being sand, slid down into the drain and filled it. Not so good. Now they have completely filled the trench and laid gravel on top. On top of the gravel they've put oil. Some kind of black goopy oil. The empty oil canister is lying next the sand pile next to the storm drain and now there is black goopy oil in the storm drain. Okay, now maybe in a more developed country sand in a storm drain may not matter, but oil would. That storm drain leads directly out to the ocean and so will the oil once the winter rains come.

Another way I know I'm in a developing country: I recently read in the local paper about sewage just off-shore of a popular beach nearby. This is happening in a very upscale part of town: Clifton. As far as I know, you've got to have a lot of money to live there. There are some popular surfing spots and last year a few surfers got sick after coming into contact with some poopy looking stuff. Recently some surfers found some more poopy looking stuff and it was traced back to some rocks where it was oozing out of. Directly down from a new development. It appears the developers couldn't be bothered doing the sewage properly for the building so its just oozing into the ocean. Definitely not a good thing.

So these are the negative reminders that I am in a developing country. Jared suggests I also write about the good things that go along with being in a developing country. It's good to be balanced about it. Since not much can be relied on, it keeps things fresh and new. Since it's not as safe as the US or UK, we have to stay aware and so keep in contact with our surroundings and don't slide down into complacency and not noticing anything.

Most of all are the people. Even a lot of the South African whites here have a different sense about them compared to the US. A sense of knowing that life can be hard. And not taking things for granted. So many people in the US take so much for granted and get worked up about the most insignificant things. They get so insulated in their small communities and forget about the rest of the world. While there are constant reminders about how small the world is, there is so much to it! Here, many people are still on basic survival. They have directly experienced that life must be lived and not drifted through.

I'm reminded of the mini-bus taxis, a sort of public transport. On Friday and Saturday nights they blast trance music as they zoom about town, and on Sunday mornings they blast Africa gospel as they pick up church goers.

Another thing that is different about being here. The other day Jared and I were walking and passed a woman pushing a man in a shopping cart. He was lying in it making “wah wah” sounds like a baby and she was laughing. It was really funny.

It's all a reminder to pay attention and enjoy. Pay attention to life. Pay attention even to the great quality food I eat on a daily basis and to actually taste it, feel it in my mouth, experience the pleasure of eating and the sensations as my body embraces the basic nutrients of life. For me, I know I'll be able to buy more produce tomorrow and make more good tasting nutritious food, but for many, that knowledge isn't a part of their life.