Impressions of Africa

One moment sticks out showing the contrast between Africa and home. When we went for a walk through the Ugandan village in Bwindi, a small boy of about 10 came up to us and struck up a conversation. He was simply curious to learn about us.

Had the situation been reversed, no child would approach adult strangers in the UK. And they'd either have been worried about being taken for paedophiles or else wondering what scam was about to be pulled.

Indeed we can only imagine what reception would be given to affluent, lone, black strangers wandering into a poor white area in the UK. Hostility and suspicion - maybe even outright violence. Instead we met only a warm welcome , friendliness, smiles and waves.

In Uganda particularly (we didn't really get to meet many local people in Kenya - the Masai came to talk to us at the Lodge about their culture and performed traditional dances - but it was all very stage-managed entertainment) we got the impression from the large numbers of people standing or sitting outside their houses that people had time for themselves and each other. While this lack of industry may hold them back economically, who is to say that we Europeans, with our stress and lack of leisure time, have got it right? We may pity them for their poverty and the lack of what we consider basic amenities but they may pity us for our hectic lifestyle and the lack of work-life balance that we suffer to pay for it.