A Zambian in America: expectations and reality

The Capitol Hill is the seat of the US government Picture from Zambia Daily Mail website

Victor Kalalanda after studying at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Picture by Nadonya Braggs

Victor Kalalanda as President of the African Students Association at his university in the USA.

Victor Kalalanda with ASA members after a game of volleyball.

VICTOR KALALANDA, October 8, 2021*

Victor Kalalanda records his first impressions about aspects of American life such as the economy, housing and food.

Many times in life reality does not live up to expectations.

For example, imagine paying a lot of money for college only to find that you can’t land a job years after graduation.

But many people will tell you that the United States of America isn’t like that—and it is true. The country just blows your mind.

Arriving in America in the fall of 1935, the father of African nationalism himself, Kwame Nkrumah, wrote that:

“I stood open-mouthed at what I saw. There was so much going on that it was a job to focus my eyes on anything for long enough to find out what it was. I was conscious of being hemmed in by the most gigantic buildings, so high that surely they must pierce the heavens; of being jostled about by the never-ending crowd; of being hooted at by what seemed like a hundred impatient drivers every time I thought about crossing the road, but somehow I felt neither lonely nor afraid, for there was an air of suspense, of excitement and gaiety and I felt rather as if I had wandered on to the stage during the performance of some revue.”

I’ve had to experience this by myself during my stay as a postgraduate student in the US.

And it makes sense because having worked and stayed in two other countries, Zambia and Switzerland, I can tell the difference.

Airports

America made its first impression on me when I landed at the St Louis Lambert International Airport in Missouri. It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen before: an entire sea of people entering the country.

There were as many black people as Indians, or even plain white people, standing in multiple queues waiting to be cleared to enter the USA.

But perhaps this is what makes America great because such an exposure to cut-throat competition at the very point of entry tends to govern how people approach life here: you’ve to work extremely hard to stand out.

And as a popular immigration destination, America itself has long reaped the greatest possible benefits from people of different race and culture.

It is for this reason that in his book, A Nation of Immigrants, the 35^th US President John F. Kennedy wrote that:

 “. . . every aspect of the American economy has profited from the contributions of immigrants. We all know, of course, about the spectacular immigrant successes: the men who came from foreign lands, sought their fortunes in the United States and made striking contributions, industrial and scientific, not only to their chosen country but to the entire world.”

But the same could be said about Zambia which, despite the well-known unease about foreign nationals, benefits from the expertise of different people like highly trained Indian professors in Zambian universities.

The Food

As an amalgamation of different cultures and peoples, America to me does not seem to have a staple food like in Zambia—only favourite foods.

In fact, if you walk into the house of a Zambian family, it’s easy to think you’ve returned home because they will, more often than not, cook nshima for you.

But Americans love their burgers, as one could tell from fast-food restaurants like MacDonald’s.

And unlike Zambia, since I don’t particularly have to eat nshima every day here, I find myself with a variety of food to choose from throughout the day, such as fruits, cookies, cereals, beef and chicken.

It’s the more reason newcomers to America gain a lot of weight within a short time. You gotta watch your diet!

Transportation

In my part of the US, the main mode of transport if you don’t own a car is a bus, which is cheap by the standards of the country.

My experience isn’t so different from Switzerland, where I used a highly efficient transportation system in the form of trains, trams and buses for every trip.

But unlike in Switzerland where people trust public transport more than private vehicles, Americans don’t seem as enthusiastic about their buses, since they are not just ideal for spontaneous travel and doing personal errands.

However, they are different from Zambia because their schedule is carefully planned and can be accessed from an Internet application.

I also notice that Americans are very grateful people, always saying hi to the driver as they step off the bus. In Zambia, the parting remark can just be one big insult, especially if someone was short-changed.

Housing

Housing in America is in a class by itself, though not particularly impressive to me, perhaps because it is not as pretentious as it is in Africa.

Since the American houses I’ve seen are built largely of wood to produce identical and picturesque architecture on roadsides, you might think the owners might be moving out soon and relocating elsewhere because the designs are beautiful but somewhat simple that they do not appear permanent in a sense.

In Zambia, by comparison, homes are so complex and sometimes so unnecessarily big that they tend to make a statement about the owners’ lifetime and permanent investment.

But be that as it may, housing in America is and can be ridiculously expensive, though it’s all about having a decent place which the American can call a home.

And because houses are expensive, I find that the apartment concept was popularised by a society like this one, just like in Zambia, since apartments are more affordable and they are popular among small families and young men and women enjoying the decencies of life.

The People

There is arguably no other country in the world where the term multicultural is truer than in the United States of America.

I get to see the racial and ethnic diversity every day, not only in universities, but also on the buses and in shopping centres.

I’ve met Bangladesh people speaking Bengali, Germans speaking German, Nigerians speaking their pidgin English and Chinese people speaking Mandarin. It is what it is.

The whole America comes across as a mosaic of people—blacks, whites and Indians, to mention but a few.

But as a black African in the USA, I live with the gains of the civil rights struggle and dedicated leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr.

I’m fascinated at the extent to which the fight for equal rights has entrenched mutual respect and tolerance between different races in the US.

It’s beautiful today to see blacks and whites, as a good example, respectfully giving each other way and opening doors for each other.

The Economy

The American economy is so big, and what has impressed me the most is how it compares with Zambia’s.

You’ve probably heard of the economics line that 80 percent of Zambians survive on less than a dollar a day.

Although I don’t believe that for the obvious reason that the dollar is too small for any family in Zambia, I’m interested in what one dollar can do for you while in America.

The country has so-called Dollar Tree supermarkets where you can buy any item for just one dollar!

It means that you can buy 20 big bottles of juice for just 20 dollars, which makes life really affordable for many Americans.

But what makes America’s economy even greater is that it has systems that appear to work, depending on a mass of diverse, highly educated and skilled people, who have created for themselves a strategic position in geopolitics.

The Universities

The notorious student debt aside, the good thing about America is that there is a university for everyone, affording individuals an equal chance to fulfil human potential.

This means that if you can get a loan you can study in America, but different types of scholarships can also fund your education if you decide to be an outstanding student.

Indeed, for a Zambian staying in America, such a chance is a privilege.

I end with retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson’s quote, which says more about America: 

“God has opened many doors of opportunity throughout my lifetime, but I believe the greatest of those doors was allowing me to be born in the United States of America.”

Original copy was first published by the Zambia Daily Mail on the stated date.*