We took some good advice and walked the last 2km of river-road to the lake. On our way out, we met a family of fellow-travelers who had decided to go for it. Their car was grounded on the axle with the exhaust spitting under two feet of water.
What struck me about the situation was everyone’s level of calm. The crew that eventually pushed the car out included the full family complete with dog, 5 local guys, and the 4 of us, and not once did anyone seem despairing or frustrated by the predicament. The group knew that we would collectively figure it out, and we did, using a combination of logs and elbow-grease. This spirit of unshakeable confidence in a group’s ability to MacGyver out of anything can be found throughout Zambia.
But it’s not only Zambia. In India, there is a word for simple, innovative fixes: Jugaad. Jugaad seems to be not only a word but a concept, a guardian angel, a way of life, something I can’t yet fully understand but aspire to live by.
In the last few months I’ve seen my bike tied to a minibus’ back windshield wiper with string, a broken chair sewn together, a school bus made of lashed-together crates pulled behind a bicycle, and 6 bulls pulling a car out of a ditch. Nothing’s ever really broken, finished, stuck.
Contrast the Jugaad spirit with the one too prevalent back home, where things usually work but we have no idea what to do when they don’t, and small mess-ups can ruin a day. I reckon we all need a little more Jugaad in our lives.