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One: turnaround
"If I don't go out and break in, then I won't have any chances in my life, that is, the poor ghost and the poor!"
This is a sentence that I said to my father before I left for Africa, and my father did not say anything and was very supportive of me.
I was a child born in the countryside, after graduating from college, I did internship work in a domestic company, did not work for long, felt stuffy and idle, very unsuitable for me.
Two: New to the field
Introduced by my fellow countrymen, I went to Zambia.
Do the construction of the foundation of the high-voltage transmission tower, I am not an engineering major, everything can only be learned temporarily, 3 days before the job, I am still learning to measure, starting from the most basic and simplest, slowly mastering a series of processes.
When I first arrived in Zambia, I was extremely curious about everything around me, due to the reasons of the project, I often changed places at both ends of the three days, maybe I stayed in a luxury villa tonight, and I lived in a tent the next day, such a life is very fresh for me, it is also very passionate, in just over a year, I have experienced too many things that I could not touch before life.
At the successful end of the project, just in the event of the epidemic, everyone chartered a flight back to China. At that time, I didn't have much planning for the future, so I followed the large troops and returned to China.
The first contact with Africa, I left a good impression, in addition to the environment is almost, life is boring, other general adaptation, I think this life is very suitable for my personality, I came up with the idea of going to Africa again.
Coupled with the lack of money, at that time, I didn't think about anything, I wasn't afraid of anything.
Three: Start again
In February 2020, I made my second trip to Africa, a landlocked country in the southeast--- Malawi.
In Malawi, I switched careers from engineering to factory management.
The company has a total of 4 factories, almost all things need to be handled by me, such as receiving, the delivery of finished products, the maintenance of the factory production system, the system supervision of the product and the management discipline of local workers, the first few tasks are mostly dead rules, and the last one will be adapted to the situation.
Some of the local workers live near the factory, some rent their own houses, although close, but late arrivals often occur, such as rain or not waiting for the car.
The factory implements the system of clocking in and out of work, how many minutes late will be deducted by the hour, I think they are very good management, as long as the system is implemented in place, the rewards and penalties are clear, they will do better according to the requirements.
Although it was a bit easy to manage, I still learned some lessons in terms of human sophistication, which I did not experience in Zambia.
When the new factory was first built, due to the need to debug the machine, I personally recruited a few locals, the work process is my own personal teaching, I have a lot of trust in them, counted as a confidant.
Whether it is work or life, I take good care of them, on weekends I will give them some tips, drinks, etc., wear old shoes by myself, and send them to some that I think is suitable.
Unexpectedly, not long after, I received a report from a worker that it was my people who stole things.
I didn't believe it at first, but I actually found a toothbrush from him, and at that moment, I felt particularly sad, life is so good to them, they are all called friends, I didn't expect to do such a thing.
With the occurrence of this incident, I slowly understood that no matter how good some people were to him, he could never change the act of stealing.
Maybe it's the difference between cultures, I always feel that Chinese and Africans can't fit into the same atmosphere, and it's for this reason that now I will pay more attention to management, and when I close the door, I will wait until everyone is finished, check it out, and then go last.
For some reasons, the company's personnel were partially reduced. There are fewer people, and I have more jobs, going to work at 7 a.m. and 5 p.m., occasionally dragging on until 6 p.m., but overall it's acceptable. Closed on Sundays, I will go to the factory in the morning to process orders, and the remaining half a day is my private time.
Leisure activities are basically the same, all are climbing mountains, taking photos, understanding the local customs, too much life is very plain.
Four
When I first came to Africa, I was extremely curious about everything, and when I set foot on this land again, I was much calmer. Especially after working in the factory, every day is the same life, three points and one line, day after day.
If I had been an impetuous person when I came, and now I am much calmer.
I didn't stay in Africa for a long time, but it changed me a lot, whether it was the three views or language, or the subsequent life path, it had a great deviation value. In the past, I was a person who valued money very much, and I experienced a lot, especially after the epidemic, I looked down on a lot, and slowly found that some things are more important than making money.
What is gained, relatively, something is also lost.
From graduation to society, when I first entered Africa, too much time and memories have been left in this land, and sometimes I often think back to my life in Africa, so that I can't remember anything memorable.
Every day is very busy, but can not find the meaning, there is a feeling of getting by, mixed life, stay in Africa for a long time, with the encounter, very much want to change, but do not know where to start, sometimes pessimistic thinking, feel that life has no room for upward development.
But fortunately, I'm young, I still have time, maybe one day I will come back to China, meet three or five friends, and do something interesting.
Start with yourself, start with your heart.