「我怎樣生活比我變成甚麼重要。喜悅是種習慣，應該是來自內在的不是外在的。」
“How I live is more important than what I become. Happiness is our habit, it comes from inside not outside.”
來到東非，我認識了很多KOICA(韓國國際協力團)的義工，但Sang卻是第一位在借宿網站有註冊的，她剛開啟帳戶不久，於是，我成了她第一位在烏干達接待的客人。
Sang是一位個子矮子但笑容甜美的女生，她時常都很安靜，但卻很盡力照顧我和確保我一切安好，她也帶我認識其他在同一小鎮做義工的KOICA友人。經過幾天的相處，我發覺我倆其實有挺多相同的價值觀，我剛在年初決定要當個半素食者，她則已當了三個年頭了。
寄宿 認識自己的機會
初中畢業後，Sang希望高中時期能離開家裏出外居住，原因是她看見哥哥因為考聯招試壓力太大而常常在家裏發牌氣，她不希望像哥哥那樣，於是決定要上一間寄宿高中。
在寄宿學校生活，她變得獨立起來，也對自己了解更多。在學校她沒有結交很多朋友，因為她不是一個愛社交和愛說話的人，那時她想將來自己一定不可以跟太多人一起共事。她喜歡動物，希望能在動物園工作，她尋找相關資料後發現了獸醫這個職業，她喜歡讀書學習並決定將來要當獸醫。
踏上獸醫之路
高中畢業以後，Sang考試成績不是太理想而進不了獸醫學系，她只進了機械工程系。唸了一個年頭後，卻發覺自己都是不喜歡機械的東西，她決定離開並重考大學入學試，終於成功考進了獸醫學系。
獸醫學主要分為三種類別的動物，寵物類的、動物園類的、野生類的，獸醫學生要學習所有種類的動物以準備不同的工種。最後一年，大學屬下的野生動物拯救中心啟用，中心主席是她的教授，並問她畢業後有沒有興趣在那邊工作。
發現大自然的苦況
二零一一年Sang開始在野生動物拯救中心工作，那是一間全新啟用的中心，由於沒有前輩可讓她學習而掙扎了很多。她的主要職責是拯救海鳥，牠們因為人類活動而受污染，羽毛沾上了油脂，不能飛翔或游泳，她要用清潔濟幫牠們清洗和弄乾。
雖然很喜歡動物，但工作了兩年半後她還是決定離職，因為感到了工作上的限制。野生動物害怕人類，若果能夠被人類捕捉送來中心，代表牠們的情況已經很嚴重，超過七成被拯救的動物最終會不治。預防勝於治療，若果大自然環境的污染情況不改善，被救回的雀鳥回到大海也會再次受污染，那是惡性循環，她覺得最重要的應該是專注環境保護教育和執行政策上的改變。
和大自然和諧共存
在野生動物拯救中心工作的日子，Sang也作了一個重要的決定，她決定要當個半素食者。她看了一本關於不同人類活動導致二氧化碳排放的書，像踩單車和駕車，食肉和食玉米，書本也講解了製作肉食所需的過程，碳排放量牛肉最高，豬肉第二高，雞肉第三高。她也發現工廠模式運作的動物養殖場對動物福址的殘忍行為，她身為獸醫不應危害大自然和動物的。本來她只打算減少吃肉，但發現少吃比不吃更難，於是寧願當個素食者。
為夢想鋪路
KOICA是韓國政府管理的海外義工計劃，Sang知道非洲有很多野生動物，希望能嘗試在這裏生活和工作，她還可以練習英文。不過，發展中國家始終沒有很重視環境保護，這裏的工作都是集中於農務和畜牧。
她於二零一三年六月來到烏干達。起初她不太會說英語，和別人溝通時常常有困難，另外她也花了許多時間去學習有關農務和畜牧的知識。
去年她在機構開始了一個有機豬計劃，是引入韓國科技的環保養豬方法。豬糞會被細菌分解，所以養豬場不會有臭味，本地農夫非常欣賞她的計劃，她也獲得很大的滿足感。
今年六月KOICA的兩年合約將會期滿，現在她能負責畜牧，從前她處理野生動物，下一個計劃她希望能到私家寵物診所工作。最終的夢想，是有一天可以在韓國的小村落定居和開辨一家私家動物醫院，處理各種動物的咨詢工作，她說，大城市裏已有很多專科醫院了，她當普通科就好，因為在小村莊裏人們主要是飼養寵物和畜牲的。
活在當下的快樂
Sang是一個充滿正能量的人，她喜歡專注當下。在野生動物拯救中心工作和參加KOICA都是她的夢想，不過她沒額外努力，機會就降臨了，她只想活得快樂和享受人生。
快樂指數她給自己八分，KOICA給她很大的支持，本地人也對她很好，在韓國大部人都早出晚歸工作，跟他們相比自己有餘暇學習和培養興趣已經很幸運。唯一的不足是烏干達的村落生活很沉悶，又沒有親人好友分享喜怒哀樂，下班後常常剩下一個人。
「我怎樣生活比我變成甚麼重要。喜悅是種習慣，應該是來自內在的不是外在的。我做甚麼工作其實不重要，最重要的是能夠和大自然和諧共處。」Sang跟我分享她的人生觀，她希望人人都可以活得快樂。
最後，她給我送了一套韓國明信片和一條小手帕作交換禮物。她發現，很多非洲人都不認識韓國，更常常叫她做中國人。
28/01/2015
寫於烏干達西南部小鎮Ndama教堂
I came to know a lot of KOICA (Korea
International Cooperation Agency) volunteers in East Africa, but Sang was the
first one who registered on Couchsurfing. She was new in CS and I became her
very first CS guest in Uganda.
Sang was a small size girl with pretty and
sweet smile, she was generally quiet but always tried her best to take care of
me and made sure I was doing fine. She even introduced me to her other KOICA
friends in Mbarara. After spending time together for several days, I realized
we actually had quite a few common values. I just decided to be a semi-vegetarian
at the beginning of 2015, while she has adopted the same decision for 3 years
already.
Boarding,
to Learn about Oneself
After graduating from the Middle School, Sang
didn’t want to stay at home during her High School period. Her elder brother went
to a normal high school, while he studied hard for the High School exam he
always stressed out to the family members. She didn’t want to repeat that so she
decided to go to a boarding High School.
Living in a boarding School, she became
independent and learned more about herself. She didn’t have a lot of friends in
school because she was neither a social nor talkative person. That was when she
realized she wouldn’t want to work with many people in the future. She was
interested in animals and wanted to work at the zoo. She searched for the
information and found out about Veterinarian who treats animals. It seemed to
be a tangible dream because she liked studying. She decided she wanted to be a
Vet one day.
Path to
become a Vet
After high school graduation, Sang didn’t
do too well in her Exam and failed to get into the Veterinarian Medical School,
but into Mechanical Engineering School instead. After studying for one year,
she didn’t like mechanics and decided to quit. She repeated the Entry Exam for
the University, and finally, she got into the Vet School.
There were three main categories of
animals in the Vet School, pet animals, zoo animals and wildlife animals. Vet
students studied about all kinds of animals to prepare for different job opportunities.
In her final year, a Wildlife Rescue Centre belonged to her University opened.
The Chairperson of the Centre was her professor, asked her if she wanted to
work there after graduation.
Realizing
the Bitter Situation of Nature
In 2011 Sang started to work at the
Wildlife Rescue Centre. It was a totally new Centre with no seniors for her to
learn from and she really struggled a lot. Her main duties were to rescue the
sea birds, victims of pollution and contamination from human activities. The
birds got oil in the feathers and couldn’t fly or swim. They needed to be
washed with detergent and dried in the process.
She liked the animals very much but
decided to quit after working for 2.5 years as she felt the limitations of the
job. Wildlife animals fear human, if they were caught and sent to the Centre
meant they were in severe situation. More than 70% of the animals rescued died
at the end. She felt it is more important to prevent the cause than just
treating the animals. If the environment is not clean, the birds treated would
go back to the sea and get contaminated with oil again. It is a vicious cycle.
It is more important to focus on education and implement change in policy
regarding the protection of environment.
Living
Harmony with the Nature
During her time at the Wildlife Centre,
Sang made an important decision in her life.
She decided to be a semi-vegetarian. She
read a book regarding the Carbon Dioxide emission from different human
activities, like riding a bike or driving a car, eating meat or maize. The book
also illustrated the processes required to produce different types of meat,
beef being the highest, pork the second then chicken the third in terms of CO2
emission. She also learnt that factory scale animal farming is cruel to animal
welfare. She was a Vet so she should not harm the nature and animals. She
decided to reduce her meat consumption but realized it was more difficult to
eat just little than none. She decided to become a vegetarian.
Paving
the Path of Dreams
KOICA is a national overseas volunteer
project in Korea. Sang wanted to try living and working in Africa because there
are many wildlife animals here. She also wanted to practice her English.
However, environmental conservation is not a high priority in the developing
countries. The works here focus more on agriculture and livestock.
She came to Uganda in 2013 June. At first
she couldn’t speak English well and had trouble communicating with other
people. She also spent a lot of time to study more about agriculture and
livestock.
Last year she started an organic pig
farming project at her agency, an eco-friendly technology from Korea. Pig waste
is degraded by micro-organisms so the farm has no bad smell. The local farmers acknowledged
her project very much and she felt really satisfied.
In June her 2 years KOICA contract will be
up. Now she is dealing with livestock, and she had experience with wildlife,
her next plan is to get trained in private pet clinic about pet animals. She
hope one day she can reside in a small village in Korea and open a private
hospital to do consultancy for all types of animals. She prefers to be a general
Vet because there are already many specialized hospitals in the big cities. People
mainly deal with pet and livestock in the small villages.
Living
Happily in the Present
Sang is a very positive person, she likes
to focus on living in the present. Working in the Wildlife Rescue Centre and
KOICA were on her dream list, she didn’t spend extra efforts chances just came.
She tries to live happily and enjoy life.
She rated 8 out of 10 in her happiness
scale. She has support from KOICA, and local people are nice to her. In Korea
people are busy working early morning till late evening. In comparison she has free
time to study and work on her hobbies. The little upset was the village life in
Uganda made her feel bored sometimes. She has no closed friends or families
here to share feelings, and she is alone most of the time after work.
“How I live is more important than what I
become. Happiness is our habit, it comes from inside not outside. Whatever job
I do is not important, the most important is to live harmony with the nature.”
Sang shared with me her life moral. She hopes people can always be happy.
She gave me a pack of Korea postcards and
a handkerchief as the presents for exchange. She realized many Africans don’t
know about Korea, they always called her Chinese.
27/01/2015
Written in Ndama Paresh, Uganda
