Africa, you love it or you hate it.

For those who want to know how it is to work in Africa, for those who want to know what it is to work in a place where people have a completely different culture… this is a real, but daily story, of how I work in Zanzibar.

I have written it before: people àre very nice and friendly here. But friendliness has not always much to do with working and knowledge.

As an (over-organised) European, you just have to be patient… and don’t loose your smile in such situations…

So this morning… I arrived at hotel “La Gemma dell’Est”, a 5 star resort in the Nord of the island. As all hotels, they have security at the gate checking who comes in and who goes out of the hotel. As I wear a uniform and I drive always the same car, most hotel guards already know me by now and let me in.

In La Gemma dell’Est it is a bit different. I was stopped by the guard.

Guard: “Good morning. How are you?”

Me: “I am fine thank you.”

I never ask “And how are you?” which is actually a bit rude. But if I ask, another question from his side  will follow (And how is the work today?) and then another (And how is your family?) and another… and there will be no end. And most of the time I am in a hurry.

Guard: “How can I help you?”

Me: “Well, you could help me by opening the barrier.”

Guard: “Where are you going?”

You should realise now that the gate of La Gemma is already 100 inside the territory of the hotel, so there is no other possibility than going to the hotel.

Me: “I am going to ‘The Royal Zanzibar’.”

That is the hotel nearby…

Guard: “Why do you come here?”

Me: “For fun, I just come here for fun.”

It is clear the guard has not understood anything. He looks at me.
I tell him: “Ask me a ‘good’ questions (I cannot use the word ‘intelligent’, that is too difficult for him) and I will give you a good answer.”

And the guard: “Yes madam, so how can I help you?”

Me: “Well, you could help me by opening the barrier.”

Guard: “Where are you going?”

And of course, I do it again: “I am going to ‘The Royal Zanzibar’!”

Guard: “But this is La Gemma dell’Est. Why do you come here? “

Me: “As I told you, I come here for fun.”

All this time I have my uniform, my name tag and behind the front window of my car there is a board with the Thomas Cook and the Neckermann logo.

Fortunately, the guards colleague comes to the gate, he sees me and asks the other guard to open the gate.

He opens the gate, but in his eyes I can still see the questions:” Can I help you? Where are you going? Why do you come here?”

When I leave the hotel, about 45 minutes later, he opens the barrier spontaneously. But the question marks… they are still in his eyes…