Change In Plans

ONE OF THE GREAT JOBS

Greetings from Cape Town.  Many South Africans are going back to work today: the old, European-style, four-week summer holiday seems to have gone away in the post-apartheid transition.  This has made Zola and me think about some of the truly terrible jobs that we have observed in our travels.  

In a clumsy parent psychology way, I am sort of trying to have Zola make the connection between doing well in school and not having one of these awful jobs.  Of course, in many places (including South Africa) the unemployment rate is so high that any job would be better than no job.  Also, I’m sure there are many truly terrible, dangerous and physically demanding jobs (eg, in Indian agriculture) that take place away from tourists’ eyes.  This list is only a sampler.  By a global standard, any of us who get to work with our brains, in a safe and comfortable environment, are incredibly lucky.

In no particular order, these were the lousiest jobs that came to mind for Zola and me:

Tannery worker in Fes, Morocco -  These men stomp around in big open-air vats, mixing pigeon feces and dyes into animal skins.  It is a brutally hot, tedious, and physically demanding job, hazardous to the health, and it smells terrible.  Within reason and legality, it doesn’t get much worse than this.

Punkawallah in India (largely obsolete) - “punka” is the Hindi word for a big fan, and the punkawallah was responsible for fanning the maharajah or other important person, to keep them cool.  It is a fun word to say, but must have been a terrible job.  Most of the royal punkawallahs were also eunuchs, which would be a definite negative.

Head-tote porter in Kathmandu - for some reason, it seemed that Nepal uses a lot of human labor in moving heavy things around.  Loads that would be carried by donkeys in a few countries, or by some wheeled vehicle (motorized or not) pretty much everywhere else, are carried on the backs of Nepalis, attached by a rope to their foreheads.  I think the rope is called a tump line.  This would be a terrible job.  We met a tiny girl carrying a heavy load of wet laundry this way, and Zola tried, unsuccessfully, to strap on the basket and walk 20 meters.  

ZOLA AS TUMP-LINE PORTER

Escalator Greeter in Japan - Many escalators in Japan have two greeters, one at each end, who bow as you get on and get off the escalator.  Standing and bowing appear to be the extent of their responsibilities.  This job is safe, indoors, and physically easy, but pushes the concept of monotony to a new level.

Domestic-route pilot in Nepal - this job is just flat-out dangerous.  The equipment is ancient, the routes are hazardous (mountains and weather), and the airport infrastructure is poor.  These planes seem to crash with alarming frequency.  Next time we will drive, thanks.

Elaborate-design craftsperson (Tangka painter in Nepal, stone-inlayer in India, mosaic-tile maker in Morocco, rug weavers in multiple countries) - the men and women who do these jobs may love the beauty of the finished products, and for the opportunity to approach perfection over their careers.  In many cases, these skills are handed down from generation to generation, performed by large families.  In each case, however, the work requires painstaking attention to tiny details, and endless task repetition, usually done in an uncomfortable position.

Anything cow related in India - the skinners of natural-death cows, and the collectors of cow dung are very low caste.  If anything bad happens to the cows, they seem to get blamed.  Occasionally, the dead-cow skinners are attacked by Hindu fundamentalists who think that the skinners killed the cows.  Cows are so weighted with religious and cultural significance that it seems best to steer clear of them generally.  

Shopkeeper in Moroccan medinas

- this is another job where the tedium and the sense of unfulfilled human potential would be stifling.  Seeing a row of ten identical small shops, each with shopkeepers who have practically nothing to do, and no way to differentiate their products, was depressing.  Maybe the physical ease and the social element (everyone you know walks by) would be enough to offset the negatives.

We also saw many jobs which would be fantastic to have. Two of the best were:

Bollywood star in India - Indians seem to adore and cherish their entertainment celebrities far more than Europeans or even Americans do.  The biggest stars (eg, A. Bachchan) are treated like deities, rivaled only by cricket stars.  Doing the dancing and the wet sari scenes would be fun too.

Gulet captain in Turkey - less grand that being a Bollywood star, but this would be a terrific job.  The captains motor and sail their magnificent boats around in beautiful places, they meet interesting people, they have the on-board chefs and stewards to a lot of the more difficult work.  It would be a fun job, and only requires about six months of work each year, leaving time for something else on shore.

Now it is time to get Zola started on his math work, so that he ends up as a Bollywood star rather than a punkawallah, I guess.

TALLULAH AND SIENNA RUNNING ON THE BEACH