Month: October 2012

It constantly surprises me how much social norms can change within different spaces.

Every morning, I cross my fingers that I can jump on a dala dala with a seat, but almost full of people. Depending on where and how I catch the dala dala, it might take me anywhere from 20 min to 45 min to get to work. As with the red minibuses in Hong Kong, most dalas only leave the station with enough people on board.

Every second day or so, though, a dala dala doesn’t come for a while and the crowd builds up. People push and shove to get in and “as packed as sardines” is a severe understatement. A tangled plate of compressed spaghetti would be a bit more accurate. Or even better, vacuum tank (no air to breathe…).

During these cramming sessions, women and men apparently do not take notice if they reach across your face to grab the handrail, step on your flip flop protected toes with their leather shoes, nor squeezed you into a strange shape with their shapely bum. The normal gender norms of men and women separate and remaining a respectful distance are completely disabled the moment you walk into the alternative universe called a dala dala.

I suppose it’s not that different from wearing a bikini on a beach compared to a bikini in Kariakoo. Yet, it still amazes me how much the concept of personal space and modesty gets completely thrown out of the dala dala window by the simple fact of piling into an enclosed moving space. And the best part is that I have yet to hear of any stories (or personal experience) about females being “felt up” in dalas, unlike in crowded trains back home. While it’s probably twice as crowded in a sardine dala than in the Hong Kong metro (or the Japanese metro), the sexual predators behave much better! So, for those rape apologists, it’s possible – men are not born to sexually molest and rape any woman they have a chance to.

Nothing makes me angry and annoyed more than people assuming that men will always be “men.”

One phenomenon really jived with my perceived sense of professionalism when I first arrived in East Africa: almost every single person I knew from work had one or multiple side businesses. (Talk about entrepreneurship!)

The lovely Mama is running a layer chicken business, selling eggs, and earning a tidy profit. The manager imports cars after work hours. The dada is involved in a pyramid scheme to sell products. The kaka offers delicious food in a catering business…Everyone, it seems, spends their weekends and week nights earning extra money, as if it’s not busy enough at work already.

I constantly wondered how could people possibly concentrate on so many tasks at once. And a few times, I wondered if productivity is lower than back home at the formal work place because of these “side” jobs. Running your side business during normal work hours is, to some extent, accepted. This fact really didn’t sit well with me when I first arrived in East Africa. I was brought up to have a certain perception of what is proper work ethic. To be professional is to fully concentrate on my formal job when at work. You’re paid to work from 8 to 4 and you’d better work from 8 to 4*. The Hong Kong part of me still thinks that there are no “off” hours for work. Weekends, overtime, holidays are all fair game if work needed to be done.

Now it makes sense, at least partially. Fortunate enough to have always had unemployment insurance, family help, and savings to fall back upon, I had never really worried about what would happen if I suddenly got fired. Good employment laws also dictates that I would never actually be suddenly fired unless due to a criminal act. The weight on my shoulders have never been more than light.

Here, it’s different. Unemployment insurance is non-existent. Contracts often non-formal. Employers powerful, and courts unfair. Not to mention ten other relatives that depend on your salary to provide tuition fees and food.

That’s why “side” jobs where you are the owner are actually the proper jobs. They are the insurance in case your formal job fails. They are the ones that will provide continuous income regardless of your formal job. If you’re lucky, you’ll earn enough with your side job that you don’t need your formal job any more. It’s simply the most rational survival strategy.

For quite different reasons, this entrepreneurial culture is rubbing off, and I really want to start some sort of business here. On top of my formal job, of course.

(*which, actually doesn’t happen anyways. People who can work with high concentration for that many hours are almost super human. This post from Study Hack is very revealing. The vast majority of us don’t actually work as much as we think we do)