f*** the po-po

first the good news:
- happy 7th month anniversary to me. i've now been in sa for about 7months, and this is only significant because i meant to post a happy 6th month (1/2 yr) anniversary to me and i forgot, so this will have to do. 7 months seem like a long time, but it really hasnt felt that long, and i still consider myself a newbie.

- mama okunade (i.e. my mom) is coming to visit. tomorrow. so looking forward to seeing her and getting some good home cooking. finally. um, not that thats the only reason i love my mum. don't be offended, feminists!

- congrats to madiba (i.e. nelson mandela) on being 90. well, he's not really 90 yet, but the celebrations are under way. the huge one in london was very good, it was broadcast here as well. looking forward to seeing whats planned for when he's back here. on a tangent...sometimes its sad to look back at the man/icon and see what he's been through and accomplished, and then look at where sa seems to be headed now. im holding out hope tho. another tangent, kudos to madiba for rebuking bob mugabe (i'll get to him later); take a hint, mbeki.

now the crazy stuff:
- back to mugabe; or bobby as i say, cuz we tight like that. congrats on the sham election. the man is ancient anyway, he's gotta decay soon, ne? you know some "christians" apparently were all upset that he said that only god can remove him from office. now why would you be upset at that. first, you have to ask which god he's referring to. then instead of crying foul, tell u what you do: get on your knees, arms in the air, and pray day and night that mugabe's wish comes true, and that god does remove him...and, i mean, this can be in the form of a sniper, or the nigerian style "heart-attack slash food poisoning slash old age". god works in mysterious ways, i say.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/29/opinion/29kristof.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&oref=slogin

- a wk ago i filled up the tank in my tiny car. it cost me 500 rand. thats close to $70. and thats after the guy tried to top me off and i had to stop him at 500. 500! even in the US, 70 bucks is a lot of money. but this is south africa. average incomes are about 50-60% of the avg in the US. and we're paying so much more for gas. further, its been announced that prices will go up again on tuesday or wed by 12-15%. moh-fugga wha??! so yea, quit ur b**ch'n americans and go ride the damn bus/train.

caveat: this post has and will likely contain more french. I want to apologize now. I'm only foul when I'm pushed to it!

- last week wednesday, some people here decided to hold a protest/strike on the highway in johannesburg central, where i work now. this protest not only disturbed the flow of traffic at the time people got off work, it actually completely halted traffic on the highway and on some of the local roads. so here i was heading home, feeling pretty good, cuz u know, i was done with work for the day. all of a sudden i notice that what is supposed to be the on-ramp to the highway that i take has somehow become an off ramp and i can't get onto the highway (in hindsight, it was probably very well that i didnt, as traffic was stopped for 3+ hours on the highway. completely stopped, not just slow).

problem #1, the highway is the ONLY way i know how to get home. seeing that i couldn't get on, i decide to do what i've learned to do now when i'm lost: follow the car in front of me. so i did that for a bit. then decided to call some people when i realized i had no idea where i was. that helped for a bit (like a block and a half). then more traffic. in about 2 hours i had managed to move about 2 blocks away from the office building. when i managed to look up and see my office building i decided to just go back to the office and wait the stupid thing out (esp. after hearing on the radio that everywhere was packed). getting back to the office, 1 block away took me another 30 minutes, and that was that short because much hated and antagonized taxi drivers actually got out of their taxis and helped traffic along in the streets of town.

so on my way up the elevator from the parking lot, i, very coincidentally, ran into my client, who had been on the top floor of the office building apparently planning is route out of town. after unsuccessfully describing to me how to get out of town and skip the protests by using some route through the infamous nigerian, drug-dealing district, we decided that i would just follow him. thankfully, he eventually got me out onto another highway, free from protests and i got home. throughout this adventure, i must admit i went from thinking this was pretty funny (haha onramp becomes onramp, ladiladi-har), to being kinda frustrated, to being utterly pissed off and wanting to get out my rifle and go shooting some game (sorry, animal-lovers, but as a card carrying member of the NRA, i have my god-given rights!).

here's a pic of what the craziness looked like, but this doesnt really do it justice; it was much worse than this:



so who were the perpetrators of this bedlam? the f**king police. thats who. the decided to protest their salary by holding up traffic, like kidnappers holding down their hostages. now, i used to really hate protest, but my stance has softened a bit. and i do realize its a way of life in places like south africa or france. and i can understand u demanding better pay (don't we all). BUT, what the hell, do I have to do with you getting a pay raise. my point is, a protest/strike must be well planned out, well target, and well executed to be fully effective. why piss people off that have no effect on your situation. there were people that urgently needed to get home or to their kids, or people like me who had no clue how to get around that were stuck on the highway or in the streets of the city. why not go hold up your employees in their offices? the people actually empowered to make these decisions. and their actions created such madness in the city. criminals could go wild, cuz the cops weren't gonna stop them; they were busy doing their own criminal acts. at one point another police unit was dispatched to quell the craziness on the highway, so they decided to use rubber bullets to scatter the cops that were protesting. and what do the protesters do? they bring out their real guns and start shooting. hah, this is almost comical. if it wasn't so bloody ridiculous.

my argument i guess is kind of moot, as now the protesting cops have reached an agreement with their bosses which im sure includes some pay raise. still, im pissed off.

random post 328950: today, my church announced that one pastor was leaving the church and that another one would take over. the importance of this is the one taking over is a black african (s africa has made me reallly color conscious, sorry). this is really an interesting move, as this church is mostly white and trying really hard to get involved in the black community. this black guy is an awesome guy tho and now he will be heading the leadership team at the church. he's been at the vineyard for 20+ years and preaching at this vineyard on and off for something like 3+ years and very much respected by all members (as far as i can tell). i cant help but wonder tho: how many whites are gonna start leaving the church now?...

politics and condolences

well, i tried to keep my mouth shut, but it was way too difficult. i have to have a thread congratulating b-obama for his victory as the democratic nominee for us president (i also congratualte myslef for successfully turning my us-citizen parents away from hillary-inevitability to hard core obama supporters; pat on the back for me!). its really an extremely historic and important moment for america, no matter what happens next. even the entire world (definitely here in africa) are going crazy over this accomplishment. it's also highlighting the exceptional nature of the US - the part that most people admire and love and have easily forgotten about the last 7 years while focusing on the bush-man foreign policy of the current administration. the day after b-obama won the nomination (even with hilary's "i'm making no decision's tonight" speech) all the major newspapers here had obama on the front page, countless op-eds were written about it, and radio stations were going crazy. thomas friedman, of the new york times, wrote an excellent piece highlighting the moment in the context of egyptian society today, again re-iterating the fact that in many parts of the world, a story like barack obama's can never happen. an excerpt:

Yes, all of this Obama-mania is excessive and will inevitably be punctured should he win the presidency and start making tough calls or big mistakes. For now, though, what it reveals is how much many foreigners, after all the acrimony of the Bush years, still hunger for the "idea of America" - this open, optimistic, and, indeed, revolutionary, place so radically different from their own societies.

Whether he does or doesn’t, though, the mere fact of his nomination has done something very important. We’ve surprised ourselves and surprised the world and, in so doing, reminded everyone that we are still a country of new beginnings.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/11/opinion/11friedman.html?th&emc=th

point # 454: after being severely disappointed at clinton's speech the day b-obama won the nomination, the night of the last primaries, i was just as pleased at the excellent concession speech she gave a couple days later (even with her fuzzy math relating to # of votes she got). my beef now is passed on to the ultra-feminists that say they refuse to vote for b-obama, but would rather vote for mccain. heh, explain this to me please...u'd rather vote against all ur beliefs (abortion, equal rights, etc) than vote for someone who is more aligned to ur beliefs but just happened to fairly beat your candidate. sorry to be heartless, but this seems like some of hillary's supporters are the sorriest losers around. i can concede that there were some elements of sexism in the campaign, however, how much of this was obama's fault (shouldn't we look at the media or american sentiment or even john mccain, who when he was asked, "so how do you beat the bitch", he made no gesture to correct or repudiate the questioner). i don't really see the complaint here, b-obama followed the rules by taking his name off ballot in michigan, didnt campaign in florida and realized the game was a delegate game (and not a # of votes game) and he won by the rules. clinton tried to bend the rules at the end, and even with obama conceding some votes in mi and fl, she still lost. good fight fought. there can only be one winner. there was. and there were losers. time to move on. consider me heartless, but don't hate the player, hate the game.

point 8973: the fist pump between b-obama and mrs. obama was probly the best moment i've seen in politics in a long time. that was pretty cool. and it showed that political couples can still have fun sometimes. with all the fake and orchestrated smiles and appearances its too easy to see political couples as nothing more than arranged marriages and to see a couple do something spontaneous like that makes it look like they at least like each other. plus its hip. com 'on.

point 54732: what a terrible speech by mccain. i used to like this guy but couple things ticked me off. first, i dont really remember him congratulating b-obama and the moment that just passed. i mean, even g-dubbs (president george w. bush), not thought of the most amicably in the black community, congratulated b-obama and the historical moment. mccain, however...who advises this guy. first u cant compete with b-obama in making speeches (or reading off a telli-prompter, for that matter). 2nd, the few times the camera showed the audience, this was just sad. forced claps, smiles, old white people (not that theres anything wrong with this group; i like y'all), but a speech like mccain's would not have been as severely criticized, if it was not juxtaposed to that of obama's an hr later. it was just not a good comparison. sorry johnny.

point 347: as many of you know, i like us politics. one reason: it takes my mind off of african politics (for at least 2 seconds). in nigeria: well, its nigeria. violence still raving, who knows how long the president will live (health reasons) and the jury is still out on how effective he can be even after a full year. in sa: the president is lamer than a lame duck. i think his actions now are just to spike his opponents. in the near future, JZ is coming to power, with his what 6 wives and corruption charges pending. and ahh, in nearby zim: ole boy bob mugabe warned that his staunchest supporters were ready to take up arms rather than let the opposition triumph in a June 27 election. this is after several beatings and killings of opponent tsvangirai's supporters; tsvangirai's deputy is currently in jail awaiting trial for treason. this really troubles me. the zims that i've met are some of the nicest, smartest people i know. they are also calm people (in general, minus mugabe and his drugged up army). i doubt they will take to the streets or perform a kenya still revolt if (i should say when) bob wins the upcoming run-off. so im pondering when should we declare silent diplomacy and civil disobedience a failure? i'm all for civil disobedience, don't get me wrong, but a part of me knows that something drastic has to happen in zim; the situation is just way too dire. but as the population continues to be subdued by mugabe and his guns, what should the citizens do. just sit there and hope? too often many africans have tried this to their detriment. south africa certainly will do nothing. the un has been allowed to monitor the elections and i can declare right now that they will report that the whole thing was a scam (plus most except for the absolute bravest of the opposition supporters will not show up to vote after being intimidated). then there will be a outcry, but the un is powerless to do anything. so the world will just wait until the situation is no longer on the front page, while civilian atrocities continue in the country. god help zim.

finally, point 9346034: my ultimate sincere condolences to NBS broadcast journalist, Tim Russert, who suddenly died yesterday. I'm really saddened by this. The guy was one of the best and my favorite tv journalist. he did the sunday morning meet the press (also one of my favorite shows) and asked some of the toughest questions ive ever heard an american journalist ask. his death was sudden and unexpected and he will be greatly missed. RIP Tim Russert.

back home

made it back to sa in one piece and i gotta say the flight back was probably the best flight i was on. after a 5 hr layover at washington dulles airport and a terrible lunch i paid ~17 bucks for, i went to my gate and asked if i could get a window seat (since i requested for one when i booked, but they gave me an aisle instead). the bi-polar lady at the desk seemed nice at first, then turned cold and told me (in not-so-friendly terms) that the plan was full and there was nothing she could do. she then took my passport and ticket, typed something in her little computer, and gave me my ticket back; then said something in whatever language i couldnt understand (or maybe i just wasnt listening), but she was back to being friendly again. getting on the plane, i went to my aisle seat, sat down, put my bag up, tried to psyche myself into thinking an aisle seat was really the best way to go, anxiously awaiting probably the most "horizontally-challenged" person on the flight to come sit next to me. then they start making the awesome pre-flight announcements and the doors start closing, and still the seat next to me remained empty. i try my darndest to hold in my anxiety. it wasn't until the plane started moving and i cleared my eyes, twice, that i let out an extended smile at the empty window seat next to me. i had my 2 seat row all to myself. for 18 hrs. simply beautiful. i proceeded to lift up the arm rest. get out my blanket, pillow, and a good book and laid across the seats. i was briefly interrupted by the attendant telling me i had to sit up and put down my arm rest for take off, but luckily she left after 2 seconds and the armrest was back up and the laying down resumed.

back to my trip, i had a lot of fun in chicago/ st. louis. I definitely didn't get a chance to do all i'd like to do and see people that i'd like to have seen (sorry guys), but overall it was good. i didn't know how i would feel coming back to sa; maybe i would really miss the states and want to immediately go back. but it was kinda weird that on the way back from the airport i felt really good as if i was back home. it was a good feeling. also, i felt more comfortable driving here than i did driving in the us (i can't remember the countless times i hit the curb in the US or went to change the gear with my left hand.) still, of course, sa drives on the wrong side of the street! here are some observations from being back in the us and then back in sa:

Notes from chicago:
--it was late may and i was freezing my ass off. what was up with that. i get to chicago with my warm clothes, looking forward to some sun and all i get is windy and cold. not happy. started getting warmer near the end of my trip

--i enjoyed, a bit too much, getting to walk around. a lot. even tho it was a bit chilly, i walked (instead of driving) to work every day, walked to lunch, dinner, and sometimes just walked around aimlessly. i can't describe very well how awesome that was. i dont get to do that in sa.

--i accomplished my 2 most important goals in the first hour of landing: 1. get a starbucks coffee; 2. get some chipotle (i would have chipotle 3 more times)

--i couldn't get used to so many cops on the highway stopping people for speeding. what a foreign concept!

Notes from being back in SA:
--as mentioned, for some reason im more used to driving here now. i almost got into some funny situations in the US trying to drive on the other side of the street.

--i dont like walking up the stairs to my apartment door. reason: on both sides of me lives a couple indian families. walking up the stairs to my place i can smell the most delicious smelling foods and i get so angry knowing there's absolutely no chance its coming from my place. i've been close many times to knocking on their door. when i got back on monday, it was even worse, because i knew i had literally no food at my place (i think i had 1/4 bag of chips, but i let a friend stay at my place while i was gone and he cleaned me out of that! heh, it's all good).

--i thought jet lag didnt really hit me. that is, until friday. i went right to work at 730 on tuesday and started on a new proj in town and pretty much have been working 12hr+ days. when i woke up on friday, i felt like absolute crap. i couldnt physically get myself up for a while, and after i did, i knew right away that i would not make it through the day (at least not well). had a pounding headache all day and could barely concentrate on work or what my mgr was saying. anyway, i finally got some much needed sleep and refused to wake up this morning until almost 2pm.

--back to the new proj i started. its in downtown joburg, so i get to finally spend some more time down there. some "interesting" observations so far:
- i dont have a parking pass yet for the garage, so i park on the street (which is not always advisable), cross my fingers, say a prayer, and head to the building.
- whoever designed the elevators must've thought he/she was really cool, but i havent decided what my assessment is yet. for these elevators, you have to choose which floor you're going to before you enter the elevator. then the screen tells you which elevator to go to. the doors open you enter and it takes u to ur flr. no buttons inside the elevator! i mean, what if i change my mind..
- the bathrooms are also very interesting. as in, i have to laugh a bit everytime i go in. first there are 3 stalls, only the first one is not really a stall. it's got a stall door, but when you open it, u see 2 small urinals. so in theory 2 people could use this stall. so that begs the question: should you close the stall door when you use the urinals. if u close the door than ur taking away someone else's right and privilege to use the 2nd urinal. however, if u recall, i mentioned these urinals are small and allow for next to zero privacy. so if you leave the stall door open and someone decides to use the second urinal, you take away that person's right (as he opens the door) to not be scarred for life, and/or vise versa. hence the dilemma
- 2nd thing about the bathroom. as u finish with your duty, u go to wash your hands, of course. well, after i did this the first time, i then turned to what looked like it was the place to get the paper towel to dry my hands. but it was not. in fact, it was some kind of container and inside this container were some always useful condoms. no i didn't mis-speak, they gave out free condoms at work, in the bathroom (mind u i dont work at an aids clinic or anything even remotely close to a clinic). i guess gone are the times when they only give out free condoms at junior high schools and ultra liberal universities...

a tribute to matt and melanie

as some of you noted, my posts have been coming less and less often. i kinda have an excuse this time - i was away from all forms of civilization...in downtown chicago.

well, before I rant on about my trip to the states, i'd like to share an email i sent to 2 of the best people i know. for the last 7 years, matt and melanie have led a program in innercity st. louis, teaching, tutoring, mentoring, feeding kids anywhere from 4yrs old (maybe even younger) to 18+. I worked with them for about 4 or 5 years when i was in st.louis/chicago. This is a very young white couple, living and working in an area of st. louis that is pretty close to if not 100% black. They are also 2 of the most courageous people i know having withstood violence and threats only to be adored and loved by the kids and some of the parents they serve. when i went home last weekend, i learnt that they were leaving to build up their own relationship with one another and with god. everyone that was there when the news broke busted in tears and they will sincerely be missed. i know a ministry is not about individuals, but they have definitely left a lasting impact on the kids as well as the adults they worked with.

Hey Matt/Melanie,

I just made it back to SA; I wish i could've got to hang out with you guys more when i was in st. louis, but i was there for such a short time. i'm glad though that i at least got to see y'all for the 2 minutes i was around. you're probably used to me not showing too much emotion, but when i heard that you guys were leaving north city, i was completely stunned. in fact, i almost lost it when i went up to hug Melanie and she just about fell to the floor with what i'm sure was a mix of emotions. even now, its tough for me to write this; but i wanted to send you an email just to let you know how much you guys have meant to me (you should already know the immense impact that you have had, and will continue to have, on the kids of north city).

My college experience and my life now would not be the same at all if I had not met you guys and if you had not helped me get involved at the training center, then later at north city. I still remember my first day at the training center, meeting you and the kids for the first time, playing basketball (or desperatley failing at it) with the kids and helping melanie in the kitchen with food preparation later on. I really enjoyed my time, but like others from WashU who were there, I wasn't really sure I'd be back. But for some reason, I tapped into my crazy side and kept coming back! and i've been absolutely blessed from it.

I'll never forget my first camp with the kids. Actually I remember before I even got there, matt had promised to put me with the "easy", "young" kids; it would be a breeze. and then i got there and was put in charge of controlling and mentoring the roudiest, craziest, old kids. I can't say that I was really excited for the week at that moment, but, matt, i owe a lot to you for that opportunity. you obviously saw something in me that i have never seen and i had a blast with these kids; obviously hindsight is golden and there were some interesting moments, but overall, the experience taught me a great deal and i hope i was able to at least touch the kids in some way. from then on, every other camp i helped at, i was with the group labelled as roudy, crazy, and old. i also remember my first really testy moment when i thought my head was about to be smashed in by an 11yr old. somehow, matt heard what was going on from all the way across the camp and i'll never forget the way you responded. guys, these kids love you so much not because you give them things, but because you treat them the way they should be treated; you hold them when they need to be held, you discipline them [very harshly, at times!] when they need to be disciplined; you teach them about consequences to their actions; you're mostly playful with them at the right times; and you reward them when they've done well. they love you so much because in you, they learn what it is to have a loving home (something many of them don't get in their places of living) and you show them a bit of what God's unconditional love is like.

I can't end without mentioning the strengths I've seen and learned from melanie. Melanie, you also saw things in me that i didn't realize i had or wanted to show. I think you realized how frustrated and tired i was during the first camp with the kids and you wrote me a message that i still keep in my bible. you may have even forgotten, but your message meant a lot to me; you said: "I know you made some sacrifices to come this week and i'm so grateful that you did. your infinite patience, willingness, and good nature shine through - even though you're stuck with a challenging group :) I know you're tired, and we have worked you to death, but please know your work has not gone unnoticed or in vain. Sowing seed takes a lot of work and you are a sower of many!" Maybe, you said some of those things so that I wouldn't just bolt and take off that week (I'm not so sure i'm the most patient person, heh!), but it did mean a lot to me to have you say those things. secondly, i will also never EVER forget this past summer when you (all 100 lbs of you) can charging into the boys camp to have a face-to-face (or maybe spit-to-face) not-so-calm convo with anthony (all 300+lbs of anthony). anthony later confessed to me that he was a second away from punching you; instead, he retreated, balled his eyes out, and reflected on what you said. I'm sure you guys talked later, but i remember him saying he was going to apologize to you and those he wronged and that what you said hit the spot with him. another reason these kids love you guys (and i could go on and on with this) is that you treat them all as individuals (boys and girls, men and women). too often, programs look for a one stop shop to "solve" every kids problems. but you guys never did that. you made it a point to get to know the kids and their families as much as you could and then treat each of them as an individual (what you did with anthony probably may not have worked with someone else). trust is such a huge thing with the kids, and you showed them from the start that they could trust you to be there for them.

Like I said, I could go on with examples of all the lessons you've taught me and things I have witnessed in your lives. You have made an impact of so many people lives; definitely the kids and certainly the adults that have worked with you. I only wish I can have the passion in my life like the one that you guy showed in working with the North City kids. Everytime i think of you guys, i always wonder how such a young couple could have so much passion and courage to deal with so many death threats, shooting, rejections, pain, and yet still persevere with such joy. I know it wasn't always easy (or probably was never easy), but I want you to know that what you have done in just 7 years has not gone unnoticed in the city of St. Louis. it's also meant a lot to me.

"To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; To know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded."

I know you guys need this break and I know you will figure things out, for sure. I also know that you're not done making a difference in people's lives. Keep doing what you do! God bless.

Love you both,
Folu

Some cool pics of matt, melanie, and the kids:

so much more here.