I met my young friend in the workplace. I was old enough to be her mother, but I knew there was a connection even before we met. How is that possible, I hear you ask!
Well, Jashiela, or Josh as I call her, was being interviewed for a secretarial position in the small firm of land surveyors I worked in. The secretary who was retiring, was a slightly haughty British colonial lady who escaped Kenya during the Mau Mau uprising. Mrs. B pretended to be the office dragon, but hid a heart of gold! She told me that one of the candidates for her position, had studied 'computers,' as she called it, and thought that she would be an asset in the drawing office. I agreed and we asked the senior partner if they could chat to her and ask whether she'd be interested in a position as a learner draftswoman as the drawing office staff weren't coping with the work load. As fate had it, Mr. H wasn't involved with HR but interviewed me a couple of years before, and then Josh as well, as the partner in charge of HR was away on both occasions.
Josh was taken aback, in a good way though. She was randomly applying for many positions after leaving varsity, and did not intend to work as a secretary for very long; a little crazy and impulsive just like I was/am. So, when this innocent pretty young girl with the long hair swept to one side, sat in the boardroom being interviewed, Mrs. B called me to 'check her out.' One wall of that boardroom was glass. I innocently walked past pretending to be fetching files, and thought this looked like someone I could mould. Hah, I was in for a surprise! This young girl had a strong character and a will of her own. She accepted this unexpected opportunity, which turned into something much better and eventually led to a career in town planning.
I had to train her in hand drafting, but we soon thereafter had to move to CAD - Computer Aided Drafting, something I was terrified of and I kicked up a big fuss saying we'd lose our individual style, and it would be way slower than drawing plans by hand, because the programs seem way too complex. I was in for another surprise! The trainee knew quite a lot more about computers than me, and so I became the learner during that change. I wrote about Getting Uppity about Techno Innovation! a while back. Not a nice feeling when you're older and have to learn stuff from the younger generation, but I was very thankful my young 'learner' could help me out, and had patience with the 'old lady';)
Josh and I became best friends, felt more like sisters, even though she is two decades younger than me, only a year older than my son!
When the company partnership split up, retrenchments started. Long story, many tears when she had to leave.
As fate had it we both serendipitously ended up working in the same office, with desks next to each other. Jobs were scarce during that period, plus we worked in a very niche field.
It was like it was written in the stars, quite unreal especially as it also was the beginning of BBE/ B-BBEE!
Josh came to welcome me in my new home, arms laden with food, as always. She had celebrated Diwali with her family, and I always get sweet meats and other delights, plus a bunch of flowers as well! I had other visitors and we had already tucked into the box, so it's quite empty in my photo! We made our mark on the wall of 'fame' at the village club house this past weekend.
We stil keep in touch with Mr. H, who is well into his nineties, but keeps his hand on the pulse of land surveying, and even goes out into the field if it's an old client. Golf, and his job entailing hours walking outdoors, has kept him fit!
This young girl from a very different culture to mine, has been my rock through some difficult times, but also shared happy fun times throughout the years. A kindred spirit for sure!
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