Today, the car got bogged and the back left hand tyre of the car busted open. This is the third time I have had a tyre 'incident' in Africa. The first time was in Uganda. On a hot, humid day on a long stretch of bitumen road. It was on the wide open road between Murchison Falls and Kampala. That day, the sun was hot. We were in the minibus driving and suddenly fish tailed, a few clunking sounds and came to a complete stop with smoke bellowing from behind the car. For a moment, it felt surreal. Everyone paused and then scampered for the exit.
The second time was just outside of the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. For three amazing days, we left the safari truck behind on solid ground and piled into Jeeps that allowed us to be free and our hair to blow in the breeze. For days, we sought out 'The Big Five.' The fields were littered with wildebeast and zebra on their annual migration north to the Masai Maara in Kenya. With everything from spotted hyenas to the prides of lions - we were nothing less than mesmerised with our encounter over the three days.
On our way out, we were reflecting upon our time in the Serengeti and the hub cap from one of the tyres went flying off, somewhere into the bush land that was home to more than the big five. Of course, that car would not be going anywhere until the hub cap was retreived...
My third (and dare I say final?) car incident occurred today. Coming back from the markets, I decided to stop in the shop to purchase some ingredients for a lazy breakfast tomorrow. However, before I could get too far, I got stuck in the mud and realised that the rear tyre was 'kaput.' This was not a pleasant situation. I got my hands on a jack and some rocks to keep the tyres in place. I was amazed at my immortal strength to get the spare tyre off the back door of the car. After around 20 minutes of deciding what to do, some help came along. Now, I must mention here that I am more than capable of changing a tyre - however not so capable in removing my car single handedly out of the mud in order to change the said tyre. After what felt like hours - or at least enough time for me to turn a nice shade of pink, the car was out of the mud and I was back on the road - and my good intentions for a lazy Sunday breakfast fell by the wayside.
One thing i have noticed throughout these three experiences are how different people react.
First, there are the busy bodies. These are generally the people who will try to be at the front of the repair operation so that they feel important. They will usually be found under whatever shade is available barking out orders at all and sundry, but will be lapping up the attention and embellish the truth to various passers by and to anyone who will listen (including so call friends on social media pages). Generally, they won't want to get their hands dirty.
The next type of people are the chiefs. Suddenly, you are in a situation where everyone knows better than the next person about how to go about the fixing process. Generally, what occurs in these situations, is that more time is spent arguing over who can or should do the most important job.... Too many chiefs and not enough Indians. Chiefs are often found photographing the event and trying to get the best shot possible.
Thirdly, there are the whiners and complainers. They are in cahoots with the busy bodies. Whilst the busy bodies tend to enjoy the situation , the whiners just plain whinge. They constantly use words like 'sue' and 'refund' and 'unsafe.' They will generally try to bring people over to their team, as they know they look bad. They usually stand around complaining about how things are better elsewhere. By no means will whiners get anywhere near the action. They will not get their hands, feet, bag, legs, or any other part of their boday tainted by dirt.
Finally, there are doers. They find out what needs to be done, and get the job done. They are often accused of being 'bossy' by the whiners, as they will often be under a vehicle barking orders so that the job gets done quicker. Amongst the doers, there is generally not too much ego involved and they usually make the job get done. Doers generally share a sense of humour and can afterwards laugh about their adventures and have great stories to tell.
In all of this, as frustrating as it may be, I have learnt three very important words: This is Africa. (TIA).
