Today I had my first relaxed morning here in Tanzania, so I woke up at 9 and then Tova was still asleep. I went out in our garden and took a cup of coffee. I brought my computer and 4-5 books, thinking that I should read and write some. It took around 30 seconds, and then one pupil came and said “let me company you, I see you´re sitting alone”.
The expression in the title wasn´t only a thing two of the teachers told me, it is really something in the culture. The other evening I had slept during the afternoon and just wanted to take a walk. That occasion I made 50 meters before I was stopped by first, 5 students, and after a while they were around 15. That time we talked for half an hour, and then we got interrupted and could no longer talk.
To have time with oneself is very difficult here, because people run into our house all the time, either for hanging or to see how we are. Last week we both were sick and then people passed by the whole time and asked how we were, discussed different ways of treatment and they recommended us to go out and play football or do some kind of exercise. Because when you play football, you get happy… I am thinking if some of my friends ever passed by my house just to see how I am when I´ve been sick and I don´t think I´ve done it myself either.
Imagine if we all treat each other like this, that the most important thing in our life is to take care of our fellow human beings. Then I am certain that much fewer would have these insane mental disorders and we would be much happier. It´s a difficult thing to measure mental illness but it´s without any doubt one of the biggest problems in Sweden. Many have eating disorders, many are bullied in school, many are stressed and many have just a lack of socialness in their life. So when it comes to the social part, according to me Sweden is the “developing” country and Tanzania is the “industrialized”.