Roaming A World of Difference
Those who have been to Rwanda would tell you about how exquisite the country and its landscapes are. But none of that exquisiteness I felt for the four and half years I was there for. At least not as much as I could have. The reason is simple. I barely travelled outside of Kigali. The first time I ever did was when I formed part of a team of policy-makers to finalise a research work for the government in 2018. Apart from that trip and another one I made to Musanze in 2019, I lived only in my chosen cocoon in Kigali; often between school, cafes, library, gym, and my room.
So, when the opportunity to pursue my Master’s studies in Beijing came knocking, I resolved that things would be different. I would be a modern-day explorer; discovering new places in Beijing every weekend and travelling across China at least once a month. But what a lie I must have told myself! Upon reaching Beijing my dreams of exploration faded like a wisp of smoke. I was soon tied down by the loop of academia. It seemed as if the spirit of Kigali had followed into Beijing, determined to keep me tethered to the familiar.
Then one day in January while I was reading in the library Aiden, my classmate from Canada, came around as usual to get me talking. It must have either been about politics or socialism. I can’t remember what exactly it was about. But somewhere in the conversation he spun the tale of an upcoming trip to the Beijing Zoo and asked if I wanted to join. At first I hesitated, my arsenal of excuses ready to be deployed, as I always would when members of the cohort invited me out. But Aiden had become good at pushing back on my lame excuses. And before I knew it, I had agreed to join the trip.
The day of the trip came and we made it to the zoo. I was excited. This was my chance to break free from my self-imposed shackles and explore the wonders of China. It was also an opportunity for me to see animals I had only seen in movies and documentaries: elephants, tigers, and of course the famous Pandas which most people were at the Zoo to see. As we entered the zoo, we were immediately swept into a whirlwind of activities — children shrieking with a mixture of delight and fear of the animals, couples stealing amorous glances, and animals that seemed to have a better social life than me.
Soon I started noticing being stared at. But I wasn’t bothered at first. Life in Kigali had prepared me for such moments. No one stares more than Rwandans. The pièce de résistance, however, came when we reached the baboon enclosure. There a young child’s gaze bore into mine. As he stared at me, he called out to his mother, who in turn called out to her husband. Before I knew it, I had become the star of an unexpected exhibit.
Like everyone else, I had gone to the zoo to watch the baboons and other animals. But there I was being the one being watched. Such that even the baboons themselves must have joined the watch party from their cage. In such a situation, one either gets angry or embarrassed or both. Or one might charge the racist card. But I was neither angry nor embarrassed nor did I think of it as racist. After all, I was just as much of an exotic creature to the child and his mom as the animals were to me. So, why not embrace the spotlight and give them a show worth remembering, I said to myself. Joke! I did not say that. ChatGPT wrote that part. All I felt was a sense of difference. I was a black man among hundreds of non-black people and that difference begot attention.
In that moment, I remembered my childhood in French-speaking West Africa when me and my childhood friends would not only stare at non-Africans-who mostly were Chinese, Pakistanis, Lebanese and sometimes French and Americans- but would chase after them as they walked to their destination; screaming “Tubabu”.
It also dwelled on me that we are all animals in this vast zoo called Earth and it only takes for us to leave our respective cages for us to realise that. With a deep breath and a smile, I moved on to searching for my colleagues who were tired of roaming the zoo and were waiting for me at a designated place.
