After two years I thought I had a handle on Ngabes. Maybe I don't know all the intricacies of their culture, but at least I know how we differ. This week I was truly taken aback, bewildered in a forest of invalid assumptions, and it all has to do with landscaping.
Landscaping is a formidable task out here. With the constant rain there is a tendency for everything to return to the earth. Pathways don't survive long in the fecund soil and flowers get choked out by indefatigable grasses. Then there's the children and livestock constantly running through your yard, trampling or eating whatever attempts you make at ornamentation.
Nevertheless, after months I finally had thriving bushes of beautiful white flowers that I've enjoyed over the last year. You can guess where this is headed to I'll just hit the highlights.
Kid asks to cut grass for a few bucks. Oti heads to Kwite to work on the aqueduct. Oti returns to find much of the grass untouched, but the flower bushes cut down to the ground.
Peace Corps gives you a lot of practice learning to laugh in times like this. Picture the scene, this kid whacking away at my flowers. "I gotta get rid of these weeds. Boy, Oti will be sooo glad!" Meanwhile, back on the gringo farm, the act is nothing short of vandalism.
So I learned something this week. I really thought flowers (FLOWERS!!!) were something universally appreciated. This isn't something abstract like how weird it was for me opting to build my house next to the tranquil sounds of the river versus five feet from a neighboring family of 5+ screaming children. After all, we're talking about flowers (FLOWERS!!!).
Sure I'm upset my flowers are gone, but the feeling is dulled by wonder. I live in a world where flowers (for most) are weeds. If it doesn't grow food, what's the point? My Ngabes see the world through rose-killing glasses. But really, how do they see the world around them? Our realities must be so different, influenced by so many divergent and incongruous experiences. How absolutely fascinating, right?
