Carol

[I first met Carole through a friend from Indonesia while we were all studying in Spain. Right away I saw a light in her, with a warm smile that lights up her face and radiates warmth. Originally from Zimbabwe, she moved to Europe to study for a Master's in Education Policies for Global Development.] This is her story:

I just finished my master's and am living in Germany now. I just have to start the job search hassle, I’m already stressed, but for now, I'm fine. After my studies, I moved in with my boyfriend and his parents, so I don’t have many expenses. I met him when I was living in Brennan, Germany. We were friends for a couple of weeks and then started dating last year in May. His name is Dennis. [In her unique accent, she pronounces it “Daneese”.]

So yeah, I'm from Zimbabwe. Because I thought, like, okay, after finishing this master's program, if I go back to Zimbabwe, what will I be doing? But the economy is bad there. There are no jobs, inflation is crazy. Then I said, okay, it's not difficult for me to get a job-seeking visa after starting here.?I'll see how it goes because I'll get a visa for, like, 18 months or so, and then I will see what happens. If I don't like it, then I don't know. I can move to another country. But for now, I just want to try it here.

[I asked her if she had talked about marriage with her boyfriend and whether she would consider marrying him for immigration paperwork.]?Yeah, we talked about it but, no, I don't think I want to do that. Because I am educated here so I can stay without using any marriage for visa purposes. We do want to marry someday after knowing each other for at least four years.?

So yeah, I was born and raised in Zimbabwe. Since that time, I never left the country. The only time I left Zimbabwe, the first time, was in 2019 when I moved to South Africa and stayed there for a year where I was teaching at a nursery school. It was a very busy Montessori school and I didn’t have to do training really because I don't know, like, the owner of the school, it was just starting out and looking for people. I was teaching the toddler class, the two to three-year-olds. I was breaking out my phone and looking at the internet what to do with the kids. But I really liked it. And then that's when Corona hit. So I think I only taught for, like, six months or so.

And that's when I was doing my applications to come and study in Europe. After that, I got a scholarship to do my master's. Then I went back to Zimbabwe to process my papers and moved to Spain in October 2022. I was supposed to start in September, but because of Covid, we did our first course online. Then the presential [in-person] classes started in October.

Life in Zimbabwe

Growing up in Zimbabwe, I would say if you are privileged, if you are lucky enough to have both parents, then things are a little bit easier for people to fall back on. But in my case, I'm an orphan, so things were really hectic for me.?But in our culture, we appreciate the extended family. So it's not like just a nuclear family most of the time it's like the extended family living together.

So I grew up with my grandmother, and my other aunts were so supportive when I was growing up but then when my mom died… my mum died when I was eleven so during that time that's when I faced so many challenges because our father had to come and take us and I was living with him and the stepmother and the situation was not the best but I don't know.

I'm just someone who's very determined in life. I wanted to be on top and achieve all my dreams so I knew like, okay, if I want to escape from this, I have to start...I think studying will open more opportunities for me.

I was studying a lot. I finished my secondary school. Then I did my A level. And when I was doing my A level, my uncle was paying for my tuition for my school fees. He lost his job so he couldn't pay it anymore. Then I told my teacher about it and she was like, you can apply for this scholarship. They support students who are orphans. Whether single orphan or double orphan, they can support you. So I applied for that. Then I got the scholarship because my grades were good. So that scholarship took me from school until I finished my bachelor's.

So for me, education really helped me, because I think if I was someone who is not really interested then things would have turned out differently for me. But for me, I just believed in, like, okay, if I get educated, then I'll get more opportunities in life and I'll be able to live the life that I want.

So after graduating, I think after three months or so, I got a job in Zimbabwe, and I was working there and getting money. I was living comfortably by myself. And then my contract ended up, like, two and a half years.?I was working at UNICEF Zimbabwe as a research assistant in the Social Policy and Research section, that was my first job. So, like, monthly, I would get something like $1,300US.?Like, if you're in Zimbabwe, then it's a lot of money. You can live comfortably.

Mainly, we were working with the government, with different government ministries. So in this case, we were working with the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare. Also, the Ministry of Health so UNICEF would support them in doing research studies, and offer technical support and financial support. Because the government doesn't have money to do this kind of research, UNICEF comes in place and then sponsors their studies. So, for example, we are doing a study to find out how the Zimbabwe public health system is efficient in detecting children with disabilities.??

So when I was working there, we were working together with the government, going through the field, collecting data, analyzing data, and writing the reports. And also we're working with other local NGOs [Non-Governmental Organizations] and other international NGOs on different projects.

Life in South Africa

Okay, so after my contract was over, at UNICEF, I stayed in Zimbabwe for like two months and then I was looking for another job.?I really it didn't get anything that I liked because if you are working for an international organization, then you're getting paid in US dollars which is a much better salary than the other salaries offered by any local companies or the government. So it's just like, okay, let me try and go to South Africa to look for a better job. And then I was there looking for jobs, but I didn't find anything that I liked.

Many Zimbabweans go to South Africa to look for work. I think about 6 million Zimbabweans are in South Africa.

So there are also challenges like Xenophobia, where the South Africans say ‘oh we don't want any foreigners coming to take our jobs’ and stuff. So it's also complicated getting a job there.?I thought I’ll try this and if it doesn't work, then I'll go back to Zimbabwe. I went trying to find something better. But then, in the end, I didn't find something that I liked.

The overall economy in South Africa is better. You can live comfortably even working at a pizza place, but not in Zimbabwe - where most clothes are second-hand, and it’s very rare that you can buy something new. But you're not safe there [in South Africa], there are xenophobic attacks that can happen there, you can get robbed or killed, especially in Johannesburg, but Zimbabweans don't care, they think it’s worth the risk to immigrate there. Yes, South Africa is better than Zimbabwe, people just want to feed their families and educate their children.

I just got this job and thought, I think this could be okay. But when I?was working there, I was not really happy about it. I was okay, for now, and thought I would just like to do this job and at the same time could keep on going with my application so that I could move to study here [in Europe].?I've always wanted to study in Europe because I thought if I do my master's in Zimbabwe, then I don't know because in my experience, like when I was working, I was seeing that if you get a masters abroad from the US or from Europe, then you're getting like a better position because they are considering that you're very well educated because you got your education in Europe.

After completing my bachelor's, I always wanted to study in Europe and that's when I started looking for scholarships. Initially, I wanted to study in the UK, but then I couldn't find a scholarship there and then and that's when I started looking for other scholarships, and then Erasmus. My friend got it and then he told me about it and then I applied for three scholarships and then got two of them, one in Barcelona. Then I decided where I was coming, to Barcelona.

I had to go back to Zimbabwe to process paperwork and then on to Barcelona for the two-year master’s program.?Its called ‘Honors Politics and Public Management’. It’s part of Erasmus, Education & Policies for Global Development. The program was between three countries, a consortium, Spain, UK, and Germany. You could choose, UK (Glasgow) or Germany.?Me? I’m at the University of Bremen. (In the first semester, we are all together in Barcelona then for the second semester, we split, the other half goes to Glasgow and the other to Uni at Bremen. We decided on this ourselves before we started the program. It is an individual choice based on preferences e.g., the syllabus, country, and language. etc.).

For me, in Barcelona, I was depressed. Everything was new, culture-wise and people and education system, everything was just new to me. The first month I really struggled. I relied so much on my friends, an international group from Pakistan, Azerbaijan, the US, etc,…everywhere. I was in a bubble of international people, and I never really got to know the locals. I was at the villa at Uni and got friends with a Nigerian girl.

I feel comfortable and at home more in Germany. In Spain, I was single. I met a Catalan guy on a dating app but we just dated casually since we both knew I was going to move to Germany. I never really got to know the Catalan culture. For me in Bremen, having a partner is a different experience - I feel more comfortable. Here in Germany, in the north, people are more open-minded, and having a partner made things easier.

When I met my boyfriend, I got to know a lot of people thru him, his family and learning the language, and helping me with bureaucratic issues with my papers or appointments. Even if they speak English, they don't want to speak English with you at the offices.

Finding friends is not so easy, it's easier when you know someone. It’s hard to get into a group because they already have their circles they grew up with. People in the south of Germany are very conservative, and there I experienced two times of racists.?

Once, I had food poisoning or something and fell sick. I was staying at the student hostel and my friend from Ukraine went to the hospital with me. She had lived in Germany for seven years so she explained that I was new and didn't speak German. She helped me fill out the forms while we were waiting for the doctor. The doctor was a guy in his 60s and he started talking to me in German, he was mean. When I explained that I don't speak German, he was saying, “How can you come here and not speak German? How would you like, where are you from? if I went to Zimbabwe and didn't speak your language?” I think as a doctor you should be concerned for the patient. Later, I was seen by a female doctor who was nice. But I thought this was very wrong. How can you be mean to me and you are a doctor?

The second time is that they stare at me a lot. I got used to it in the hostel. I didn't have any friends other than the Ukrainian girl. Later I made friends with other girls, from Iran, Bolivia, Vietnam, and two local girls and one colleague. They were also from other countries but had lived in Germany for many years.

When I moved here to the North, it was much better. I used another app, Bumblr BFF, to meet good friends and some Germans.?I met more people thru my boyfriend.??

In school, I was doing a case-study and internships. I wanted to go to the library and outside I met a girl from the US.?She explained it was pretty simple to use the library, so I thought, “Ok, no problem.”?But when it was my turn to enter, they told me I could only enter at 5pm-10pm for 12 euros, with no access during the morning or afternoon, I couldn’t borrow books and would be confined to just the study rooms. The girl from the US was not even studying in Germany but she was allowed to study in the library at any time she wanted.?

Inside, I stood in line for five minutes when the two librarians (white women) were chatting and laughing and not attending to me. They were so dismissive when they said we don’t think you would want that book, and telling me the restrictions. It was so bad the whole experience, so I just left.

Just because I am black, I don’t have access to the library, but the girl from the US just because she is white, they let her go in and didn't charge her. This was some racist shit. She wasn't even studying there, but I was!

More about Zimbabwean culture that you want the world to know??

Okay, so we are very friendly. It's easy for us. We are not like, very conservative [reserved]. We're open and friendly and we consider everyone like a relative. So it doesn't matter that you're not related, blood wise you're not related. We just see each other as brothers and sisters, uncles and aunts.

[So it's not just the people maybe close to you, it's like the world?]

No, like the whole community. For example, if I am cooking, and I realize, oh, I don't have salt. I can feel free to go to my neighbor and ask for salt or for cooking oil, or mealie-meal or corn meal, we use it to make our staple food, Sadza.

And I would say we are not people who are very direct. Even if we want to convey bad news, we find ways to say it [she giggles] in a nice way. We are not super direct. Even if I don't like something. I don't show it. Like, hey, I don't like this. We're not like that, I think it's a Zimbabwean thing. [She laughs again.] Like, we are not super direct, like people from here [Germany]. You just have to read between the lines. [If someone were to ask me to go somewhere and I didn’t really want to go, I would think] "Ooo, does she really want to go a lot? Hmmm." Because being direct is so hard for us.

Also, we’re very hard-working.?

And also we have this culture of totems. So everyone, like every family, has a totem. Our totems are usually animals, like wild animals, like lion, zebras, buffalo, and crocodiles. Yeah, wild animals.?

If we are from the same totem, let's say, for me, it's the zebra. And whenever I find like, ok, a random person, the first thing you ask most of the time is the totem, then say, okay, zebra, then I'm already considering that person family. Yes, I'm already considering that person, like, as family. And it's so easy. Whenever you are facing challenges, the community can chip in because you just say, okay, we are all related in some way. We don't have that concept of, like, oh, this person is a stranger, or whatever, we’re just welcoming everyone.

And if you are having a problem or don't have food or whatever, it's so common to go to your neighbors and ask for food and, oh my gosh, I want to go move there now.

You don’t pick your totem. It's like, it's from our old ancestors. Like, back then, people would grow/groom themselves according to these totems. So it's just like something that we grew up with. And even when people are thanking you, most of the time they say your name and all your totems.

These totems, known as "mitupo", are used by the Mashona to identify the different clans that made up the ancient civilizations of the dynasties. The symbols are usually associated with animal names and provide the social identity of the clan. I don’t always do it, it's all like greeting you or thanking you, especially the older people will say it. But for the younger people, for us, ha-ha, we are not doing that, but for older people, they do that.

And also we’re of this culture where before you start eating, you have to clap and then ask for like permission to eat, ha-ha, to someone who has just cooked the food. Like, before we eat, we do this. And then you say, like, “pansorroid pondsorro” [sounds like ‘pamusoroi’]. It means like, excuse me in a respectful way to the person who has cooked the meal. Then after you are done, you clap and say “Maita basa” or “mazviita” which is thank you to show gratitude for the food. If you're a woman, you do this [she claps her half-folded hands quietly together, one hand on top of the other]. If you are a man, you do it like this [she claps with her fingers straightened out, hands parallel to the ground].

Okay, so before eating, you say “tomosorry”. The after, you clap again and say “my tabas”. It just means, like, thank you or you've done a great job. We don’t eat without doing this. But if you're foreign, then people understand that you do not know what you're supposed to do. At the end, everyone claps again.

[I ask if there is anything else she would like to share.]?

When it comes to marriage. So men pay a bride price. So now it just depends, I think now the lowest can be $6,000, it’s part of our customary law. The bride price is called “roora” or “lobola” that has to be paid by the groom. The parents of the bride decide on the amount they want and it can be paid in a lifetime as well if you do not have the full amount at that time. It varies between families, some can go to $20,000 USD, and some can be lower depending on the individual financial circumstance.

You have to pay. You have to pay the bride price. If you don't pay, then, of course, you're not considered, like the marriage is not traditionally recognized, it is part of our culture.?Yeah, they don't acknowledge it. But now, like, the marriage laws changed, people can actually live together without the bride price being paid. It was just a bill that was passed. I'm not sure if it is coming into effect, but yeah, people have to get married.

The husband he has to pay the bride's family. So it's like you get a list of the things that they want. So culturally, it has been done since, I don't know, but people still uphold that culture and the guy has to pay. But you don't have to pay everything at once. You can do monthly installments or pay in 20 years or so, but there are some things that are really needed on that day, and you make sure you to pay that, then the big amount. Let's say you are charged $10,000. You can pay $4,000 today, then in the next five years, you pay the other until you are done.?

And also, if you, like, marry into a family as a son-in-law, you get some responsibilities. For example, there are some kids who want to go to school and people will be looking, up to you, like, to kind of help in different situations. Let's say there are some children in the family that want to go to school, and then there's no money for them, then the son-in-law, let's say, has a very good job and has the money, then he takes responsibility for those children. For the family, it's really important.

For me, my mom’s brother, he was paying for my fees and helping me with my stuff so that I get educated and stuff. Yeah. I cannot say you're obligated, but you say to yourself like, okay, I have to do this.

The Past in the Future

I think I will stay here in Bremen. I’ll have the 18-month visa for job seekers after graduation. I always wanted to come here and now I'm here.?I’m thinking about staying here and eventually applying for the blue card [this is the residency card that would allow her to move and work without restrictions in the EU]. I would have to pass B1 German class to do this.

I haven't thought much about Zimbabwe. I was there for two weeks in March 2022 to see my cousin who got hit by a car. We do not normally refer to people as cousins, we call them sister or brother because they are family. I don’t use the word cousin when I am referring to my cousins, ha-ha, it is always sister…the importance of extended family…By the way, we do not marry our cousins as they are considered blood!!!!

I do miss the sunny weather because in Germany it's bad, and I miss the local food and atmosphere. I miss speaking my mother tongue, Shona.?

[We chat casually as she shares with me samples of her native tongue, the melody of her words bounces to my ears as a puppy might joyfully greet a friend.]

[When I comment that her words sound like a poem, she beams and says,] “When you praise or thank someone, you will do a poem and talk about their totem. It’s called, “kudetemba”. Sometimes people perform such poems when another does them a favor or even after being intimate.

Additional reading and links for more information about her culture:

Shona people often use zviera (taboos) as one of the ways of teaching young members of their society. The Shona had, and still have, unique ways of transmitting social values which are crucial to the development of their society.

What is Zimbabwe traditional food?

Maize and corn remain staple grains supplanted by millet, sorghum, rice, and wheat. A quintessential Zimbabwean dish is sadza. Corn is pounded into flour known as mealie-meal. The mealie-meal is slowly cooked until it reaches a porridge like consistency known as sadza

What are the three types of marriages in Zimbabwe?

There are three types of marriages in the country: registered customary marriage which is potentially polygamous; civil marriage under the Marriage Act which is monogamous; and unregistered customary law unions which are recognized only for limited purposes such as maintenance of the child and inheritance.

Do all Zimbabweans speak English?

While the majority of Zimbabweans speak Shona (75%) and Ndebele (18%) as a first language, standard English is the primary language used in education, government, commerce and media in Zimbabwe, giving it an important role in society.

?? The concept of Hunhu/Ubuntu in the Traditional Thought of Southern Africa. https://iep.utm.edu/hunhu/?

?? The Shona People of Zimbabwe | 5 Fascinating Facts https://blog.rhinoafrica.com/2018/10/15/5-fascinating-facts-about-shona-people-of-zimbabwe/?

?? Taboos as sources of Shona people's environmental ethics

https://www.academia.edu/72306699/Taboos_as_sources_of_Shona_peoples_environmental_ethics ?

?? Types of Marriages in Zimbabwe Under the New Marriages Act Chapter 5:17

https://www.mmmlawfirm.co.zw/types-of-marriages-in-zimbabwe-under-the-new-marriages-act-chapter-517/

?? Do all Zimbabweans speak English?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zimbabwean_English?

?? What Is Zimbabwe's Traditional Food?

https://www.citymity.com/question/5364/what-is-zimbabwes-traditional-food?/??????????