On the plane over here I was grappling with the dilemma of whether or not I should go back to work at my most recent job, at Safeway, when I return to Australia in February. The job pays as well as any at my age and job searching is always a hassle. But then, change is sometimes good for you and it helps to keep life interesting.
I was unable to come to a decision and neither was Greg, a Zambian I met on my second night in South Africa. We got talking at a hostel in Pretoria and he told me about the decision he faced with his job at the moment: a two-year contract he was on with one of Zambia's biggest TV stations had ended and to continue with the job (after close to five years there), he must sign a new 25-year contract.
Greg, 30, was a nice guy, went to Uni in London and had parents who were very well off by Zambian standards. A country where nearly 70% of the population live below the poverty line, making it one of the world's poorest.
The terms of Greg's new contract said that if he quit his job in the next 25 years, his pension would go back to the government. If he dies, he forfeits it as well (Zambia's life expectancy is 37, a point that Greg kept bringing up).
In the few days we spent together at the same hostel, I could never gauge which way his mind would go. At times, he treated it like his only option and he was fully aware of the importance of a stable job in his homeland, even without the freedom to quit without a significant sacrifice, especially if he wanted to start a family any time soon. Other times, he wouldn't stop talking about travel and all the places he might go to try his hand at a new career.
Anyway, I found it to be an interesting bit of perspective - from my first few days in Africa.
