The wonders of city life.

The environment was salubrious, but we never had a chance. The laws that restricted certain groups of people from traveling to the city had long been waived after independence. Travelling to the city was an experience that everyone I knew longed for.

It all came as a surprise, “Tomorrow we are going to the city” my mother said. This was the day l anticipated. I longed for it. “Tomorrow we are going to the city,” I kept on repeating these words to myself as I imagined what I would see.

Sleeping was the last thing l did that night. Everything was in place and ready to travel to the city for the first time. My mother could sense the enthusiasm. The bus was delayed and it arrived after four hours of waiting. As soon as we were on board, the bus rattled off in a cloud of mid-morning dust to paved city streets, billboards and tall buildings. “How are you feeling, my son?” my mother asked with a lovely smile on her face. It is true that in certain circumstances, you can’t help the feeling. I couldn’t reply to my mother but the smile that covered the face of her son was enough to discern the feeling.

After an hour’s journey, we arrived in Harare, the capital city of Zimbabwe. As the bus speed quickly through the city streets, I could not stop to marvel at the lovely gardens and the upmarket houses in the nearby neighbourhood. Nevertheless, the busyness of the city gave me a fright. How do these people manage to walk? Are they not afraid of these cars? Surely they must be afraid, I convinced myself. A big billboard in the middle of the city appeared above the roofs of the tall buildings written in bold capital letters ‘WELCOME TO THE SUNSHINE CITY’. Truly it was a sunshine city; the magnificent tall buildings, clean streets and the lovely gardens with beautiful flowers across the road summarised everything about the city.

I could not wait to set foot on the ground. I was bouncing off the walls. All this was happening in the sight of my mother. As soon as we reached the station, l was ready to get out of the bus and breathe the city air. “Hold your horses! We need to get permission from the bus driver before we can go out” my mother said. After ten minutes, the driver opened the doors and there we alighted and my father was waiting for us.

As l look back and reflect on this experience, l will never forget the day l traveled to the city for the first time. It is indeed a lifetime and worthwhile experience that will forever be part of me.