A little story as we experienced it only in Zimbabwe. We pulled into the parking lot in Bulawayo at Food Lovers market, Pick n Pay and some restaurants, got out and stopped briefly at the passenger door because Sonja was still looking for a shopping bag. Suddenly, a little boy about 4-5 years old came around the corner. He was wearing a school uniform with a tie, laughing up to his ears and only saying Hi. Guido returned his Hi in a friendly way and started a conversation with him. He told us about school and the words just gushed out of him. As he talked he was still grinning and laughing and it was such an infectious, positive, happy laugh that only a completely clueless child can produce. The two of them talked and when Guido asked him if his mum was here too, he laughed again, called Yes, walked around our camper again and pointed to a car three parking lots away from us. Guido shouted to her what a sweet-hearted son she had, and he learned that the little one caught sight of us as we drove up and, when the car was parked, he shouted to his mom that he needed to run quickly to the white people and say hello. He then jumped out of the car and ran straight to us. When we went shopping, we still waved to him while walking and he had great joy – just like us.
Zimbabwe is worth a trip!
Now you might wonder what’s so special about it? Well, in Namibia and especially South Africa the reality is different. There, children beg almost every time they come to you. They want money, something to eat, water or anything else. In Zimbabwe, this has never happened to us. Neither in 2019, when we drove 3500 km through the country, nor currently. We were also able to walk undisturbed through the center of Bulawayo. We are far from building up any myths here. For tourists, however, this is a very, very pleasant country to visit. Come to Zimbabwe and experience it for yourself!
