Mazviitaishe: A Zimbabwe Girl Who Lives in the Capital City

Interviewer 记者: Benetta

Translator 翻译: Benetta

Editor 编辑: Benetta

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ENGLISH VERSION

Could you tell me more about your cultural background? I'm a Zimbabwean girl who lives in the capital city. For the most part, my country is not very modernized, so things that are normal in the more developed countries are pretty foreign to us. For example, we don't have efficient post offices or even electricity. If you were to share your culture with people who are not familiar with it, how would you describe it? One word to describe my culture is traditional. the Shona culture keeps many traditions. For example, the Shona culture believes strongly in having large families and extended families, so unlike other places, in our culture, a person can have up to twenty or thirty cousins, and all of them live in the same home. Another interesting thing about my culture is how people interact. In my culture, you have to be very respectful, or others will believe that you'll get cursed by the ancestors. What is your favorite thing about your country? My favorite thing about my country is the weather. It is very sunny and warm and the winters are not very cold. What are some traditions practiced in Zimbabwe? First, as mentioned earlier, we live pretty closely together in a compound, and there's a compound for each family. Another interesting tradition is in regards to marriage. If a boy wants to marry a girl, they don't just get married. The boy needs to pay the bride price first, and then the parents of the girl will go to the boy's house and stay for two or three days before they can get married. What are some stereotypes people from other countries have about Zimbabwe? Are these stereotypes true? Just a general stereotype not only towards my country but also the rest of Africa, some people think that most Africans are slow or are not very intelligent. This is not very true. For example, my school is ranked internationally, and also some people at my school won international competitions. What is the education system like in Zimbabwe? Compared to the rest of the education systems in Africa, Zimbabwe has a better education system. However, the things we learn at school are pretty theoretical and we don't get to see the practical sides of things. For example, if you learn computer science, they'll teach you the theories, but you don't really get to see what the practical sides look like. Most people study abroad after high school, and a very small percentage come back after studying abroad.

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中文版本

可以分享一下你的文化背景吗? 我是一个住在首都的津巴布韦女孩。在很大程度上，我的国家不是很现代化，所以对发达国家来说很正常的事情对我们来说都很陌生。例如，我们没有高效的邮局，甚至电力都很糟糕。 你会如何向不熟悉你文化的人描述你的文化？ 用一个词来形容我的文化就是传统。修纳文化保留了许多传统。例如，修纳文化非常推崇大家庭和大家庭，所以与其他地方不同的是，在我们的文化中，一个人最多可以有二三十个堂兄妹，而且他们都住在同一个家里。我的文化中另一件有趣的事情是人们如何互动。在我们的文化中，你必须非常尊重别人，否则别人会认为你会受到祖先的诅咒。 你最喜欢津巴布韦的什么？ 我最喜欢的是我的国家的天气。它阳光充足温暖，冬天也不会太冷。 津巴布韦有哪些传统习俗？ 首先，如前所述，我们住在一个大院里，每个家庭都有一个大院。另一个有趣的传统是关于婚姻的。如果一个男孩想娶一个女孩，他们不是直接就可以结婚。男孩需要先付彩礼，然后女孩的父母会去男孩的家，在他们结婚前呆上两三天。 你认为别人对津巴布韦有什么刻板印象吗? 这些刻板印象是真的吗? 这是一种普遍的刻板印象，不仅对我的国家，对非洲其他国家也是如此。有些人认为大多数非洲人迟钝或不太聪明。这不是很正确。例如，我的学校在国际上排名很高，我们学校的一些人在国际比赛中也获得过冠军。 津巴布韦的教育系统是怎样的？ 与非洲其他国家的教育体系相比，津巴布韦拥有更好的教育体系。然而，我们在学校学到的东西都是理论性的，我们没有机会看到事物的实际一面。例如，如果你学习计算机科学，他们会教你理论，但你并没有机会实践。大多数人在高中毕业后出国留学，只有极少数人在留学后回国。