For one thing, mother grew up long before Zimbabwe\u2019s independence, for all of her childhood Zimbabwe didn\u2019t even exist. Between my sisters and I is about 10 years. What a difference 10 years makes! The difference is not just in our childhood memories but in the way we view and experience the world.
In celebration of POVO\u2019s 10 year anniversary, here\u2019s a list that every \u201890s kid will completely understand and every other human will find baffling. I was born in 1990 (don\u2019t laugh) so I spent the first 10 years of my life in this decade. Here we go, you know you\u2019re a \u201890s kids if\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
#1 You\u2019ve never seen a telegram.<\/strong> #2 You have no clue what Sub A and Sub B are.<\/strong> #3 You had one of those POSB accounts.<\/strong> #4 You\u2019ve never posted a letter.<\/strong> #5 You think milk is from the supermarket.<\/strong> #6 Your first language and your mother tongue aren\u2019t the same thing.<\/strong> #7 You grew up in the \u2018burbs.<\/strong> #8 You\u2019re horrified at the thought of not having more than one TV channel.<\/strong> #9 You think the bioscope is a laboratory instrument.<\/strong> #10 You would die without Facebook, Twitter or Instagram<\/strong> For one thing, mother grew up long before Zimbabwe\u2019s independence, for all of her childhood Zimbabwe didn\u2019t even exist. Between my sisters and I is about 10 years. What a difference 10 years makes! The difference is not just in our childhood memories but in the way we view and experience the world. In celebration of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":232,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-782","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-society"},"yoast_head":"\n
Before there was email, WhatsApp, Skype, text messaging and instant messaging there were telegrams for urgent messages. Don\u2019t ask me to explain exactly what they are because I
don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead of Grade 1 your parents had Sub A and started school at the age of 7 were they learnt about \u2018Benny and Betty\u2019. Benny and Betty are walking. Benny and Betty are playing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember that green POSB passbook where you kept something like $0.25 as your minimum balance? That\u2019s where you saved for the very first time and practised your signature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And you wonder what all the red boxes around town and the neighbourhood are about. Stamps are things that people collect and snail mail is a completely foreign concept
for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once upon a time, milkmen delivered glass bottles at the door. Can you believe that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And talking to older relatives is awkward because you don\u2019t actually speak your mother tongue fluently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before 1980, western suburbs (or locations) were reserved for black people and there were other areas which were for white people. If you actually had a choice then you\u2019re definitely a born free!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There was a time when not every household had a television and those who did only had one channel. Television ran from 530PM-9PM and you had to turn it on in advance to give it time to warm up. Huh?!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We go to 3D cinemas and they went to bioscopes. When a bioscope film was showing people would gather in the community hall to watch Popeye and Zorro. Ah,
the romance!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your parents have a social media phobia and you just don\u2019t get it. You literally give a running commentary of what you\u2019ve been doing all day and check your Twitter every 5 minutes.
One day, we\u2019ll look at our children and wonder at what strange creatures they are; one day we\u2019ll be the old people in the room! One day our photos and status updates will be ancient history, something for them to point and giggle at. For now though, \u201890s kids are the cool kids. And even though a decade can sometimes feel like a century, there are some things that we\u2019ll always have in common: Mazoe, Matopos and a love for our nation Zimbabwe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"