Paris vendor, Dakar traveler

Author: [French] Jia Lu (L.jonval) wrote, translated by Zhang Yingqi
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-04-01
Features: From the very beginning, it was destined to be a troublesome journey. Jia Lu knew this. But standing on the streets of Paris, the Senegalese vendor before him, with his dark skin shining like raven feathers, and the torrential afternoon rain in Africa seemingly about to pour down upon him—his childhood in Africa called to him. It wasn’t easy, but he had to go. As Jia Lu ventured deeper into the interior of West Africa, to places tourists didn’t visit, we saw more and more of such a traveler: he was sometimes restless and anxious, troubled and worried, and at other times, he couldn’t help but complain and express his opinions. He left the blooming Paris and the comfortable "petit bourgeoisie" life to take a boat across the 35-degree Celsius Senegal River region, to take multiple small flights one after another—just to get closer to the real Africa. Of course, he had opinions, because he had indeed seen things; he was there, and his eyes were his proof. This is the real, priceless journey of travelers: knowing it was a long and troublesome undertaking, knowing some problems were beyond contemplation no matter how hard they thought about them, but they still chose to go to the trouble, to ask questions no one could answer. It wasn’t easy, but they endured it willingly, as long as they were on the road. On the road, it was a fertile oasis, a warm stopping point, the resting place of travelers. On the road, even if everything was as difficult as ever, travelers had their own rewards.
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