No Skyscraper?

 Blue Lake, December 21st 2014 | Tafadzwa Bob's US Journey

There can be no keener rewarding journey than that of physical self-discovery and self- awareness. It is a journey that enriches your mind, your body and on top of it all your ability to love yourself. I am honored and blessed to be taking part in this journey. I am really falling deeper in love with myself, my craft and my artistic mission. All this is being facilitated through the intermediate I chose to walk this journey through with. The medium is Dell`arte international school of physical theatre. It is located in the small town of Blue Lake in California, USA. They have been holding my hand through for the past one month, and will continue to do so till June 2015.

Contrary to my pre- arrival perceptions about this town, in terms of its location and surroundings, it is very quiet, very slow, no sky scrapers and it is surrounded by very tall trees (redwoods). It is also very close to the Pacific Ocean. I find this location very helpful as it provides the chance to be closer to nature which in itself is a great teacher and inspiration. It is so gratifying to live and work in this intimate environment that facilitates depth of oneself and his work without the distractions of urban life and of course the Zimbabwean challenges of electricity, water, internet among other things. 

One aspect of this community that strangely, took me by surprise is the fact that the community here places the spirit of unhu/Ubuntu at the core of its existence. Everywhere you go here family and community bonds are emphasized. People are so kind. Their arms are always open, ready to welcome you in. Sometimes I think they try too hard. This is something that never appeared in pictures I painted about America. I was expecting to see mean, perhaps violent people who do not care about community and do things as individuals. Well, I was wrong. 

Random people greet you with smiling faces and when they hear you speak, they always ask “Where are you from? I hear an accent….”I tell them I am from ZIMBABWE. They open their ears and are keen to learn more about my country and they are eager to learn. Most people do not know the existence of our beautiful motherland. Those that know, have some really bad perceptions. Some of them are justified, but most of them really are not. 

Another striking thing that shocked me was the issue of pricing of basic commodities such as food. Things here are shockingly expensive. You know coming from a “dollar for two” culture it is hard to adjust to a $5 culture. Well, such is life, you got to adjust or die. I'm adjusting.