Ponds Of Kalambayi

1935 Words4 Pages

If given the opportunity, would you be willing to leave your culture and ideals behind to understand the way other people live, just to teach them something that will benefit their daily lifestyle and not yours? The novel "The Ponds of Kalambayi," written by Mike Tidwell, is a story based on the life of a Peace Corps agent sent to Kalambayi with the mission of "teach [ing] a man how to raise fish, [so] he eats forever" (). During his stay, Mike Tidwell had the opportunity to experience many good things in Kalambayi, along with many depressing ones. Kalambayi, and many other places in Africa were hesitant at first on whether they were willing to trust a "Mutoka," a white person, because of their earlier negative encounters with foreign white people. …show more content…

Reading this novel, I was able to discover two major themes: connection and disconnection. Mike talks about how he experienced many things an average person would have never experienced if they never went to a third world country, such as Priests who walk on hot rocks, daily funerals, the over-the-top generosity of the people who were less fortunate, and the need of Fufu in every dinner table. After reading the novel, I was able to compare some of the encounters the Kalambayi people faced with those taught in class. During class, I realized that globalization affected the people of Kalambayi drastically when it involved the diamond minds and cotton farming, yet Kalambayi is still alienated on the conflicts and the lives of the outside world. On the other hand, Mike Tidwell was still able to carry out his mission of teaching the villagers about fish culture while facing the truth behind globalization in a third world

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