Pride

In Lusaka people get off work quite early. By 8 PM the shops are closed and cab guys knock off (that's the term used to mean logging off work) by this time.

Last night I had to go back to office after I had come home. My technical guys back in India were not able to access the servers here and they wanted me to get their work done based on directions given to me over phone, skype and team viewer (an application that allows one to access other computers remotely).

I called up Bwalya, a cab guy that I had recently found and used for transport when my company cab guy couldn't make it. The time was 7.10 PM. I got to office and expected the work to be over in 10 minutes as informed by the technical guys. And Bwalya said he could wait and pick me up since he generally knocked off at 7.30 PM and this fit in perfectly with his routine. 

But than as always with work it expanded and by the time I left office it was 8.30 PM. I apologized profusely to Bwalya. I am extremely finicky about other peoples time and was relieved when he very graciously said it was alright and that it sometimes happened in his line of work. 

On the way I remembered we were out of rice at home and asked Bwalya of he was ok with me stopping over at the only store opened at the time. This store was a little out of the way home and to this too he very generously agreed. 

Back on the way I said sorry again and was saying, as a way of showing empathy, that I had taken away time that he could have spent with his kid. (On our previous trip when he had come to drop me and a colleague at the airport he had brought his daughter to see the airport and the planes, as she had never seen one before and that's how I knew he had a kid.)

To this he replied with pride - "I sometimes take my kid with me during work, because I love my job and am very proud about the commitment I show to my calling. At the same time I want to also be there to see my kids grow up". So it's alright Mani... 

He dropped me home, said good night and left me thinking....