mba begins

so this weekend marked the first few days of my mba programme at uct. ive still got a lot of issues to sort out logistically, but i'm trying to not let it bug me down and just enjoy my time. i don't really have a lot to say, so i'm gonna limit myself to 2 points. one is an administrative matter and the other more interesting:

1. administrative point. unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately; depends on ur point-of-view), i will not be updating this blog as frequently anymore. although, some may argue that i wasnt posting that often anyway. anyway, with school getting under way, I'll probably at best be able to post only about once a month or whenever something extremely interesting happens. i dont think many people really wanna hear about how i spent my days at the library and making some group presentation, etc.

2. more interesting point. these last 2 days,we've had a brief orientation into our professional development course, and its been extremely interesting. ok, maybe before i wouldve dismissed it as way-too-soft skills and airy fairy stuff. but i think its different now, cuz im in an environment thats new, exciting, and different, requiring that incredibly diverse and strong people and personalities get to know each other quickly and work together and perform well. the 2 days was filled with a lot of introducing yourself and doing some weird and crazy icebreakers and learning how to develop relationships within teams that we'll be working with all year. one of the things that struck me, so positively, is how many people within this class who are actually doing the programme to make a difference in their communities. and im not talking about the kinda difference i was making with accenture - helping rich people get richer - rather, life changing, social status-uplifting changes, from small initiatives to ruling the world and changing it for the better. lots of these were lofty (perhaps unachievable) goals (like the kinds i have!), but it was so cool to know that people are actually thinking of such things (other than me). i hope to meet every single one of them and together go out and change the world. So that, in the words of my favourite economist, the future can say of our generation that "we sent forth mighty currents of hope, and we worked together to heal the world"

on to the mother city

the first blog i ever posted on this site, i believe was called "welcome to the motherland" or something like that (i could simply check, but i dont wanna...). well, now ive moved from the motherland to the mother city. i arrived in cape town tonight (its called the mother city, im not sure exactly why, and i could look it up but i dont wanna...).

so today begins yet another chapter of my life. ive been working and traveling and enjoying my time in joburg for the last 2 years and now its time to hunker down for a year and remember what it feels like to be a student again. I'm starting my mba course at the end of this week. in between, i need to sort out a lot of things including finding a place to stay...

recently, the prevailing question has been if i'm excited or if i can't wait. hmm, i think if i had time to consider it i would say im very excited. and definitely when i landed here today, i couldn't help but feel good about starting another chapter in my life. of course i was sad because i realllly love joburg and ive met some extremely amazing people (some of who threw me a suprise going away party that didnt quite turn out to be a surprise...its the thought that counts. thanks guys1). i also have to fight the feeling of frustration and worry as i try to get everything sorted before i start the programme. all of which gives me little time to actually reflect what's going on. at the airport today, a friend commented in passing that what ive been talking about since he met me (literally a couple days after i got to joburg) is finally happening. the truth is ive been considering this school think in sa even before i graduated university. so given that context, its really something to be very excited about. its finally happening. its here. i'm here!

a couple people, i think sensing my worry and anxiety, have been reminding me not to forget to have fun. i think that's truly a valuable life lesson. sometimes we tend to take ourselves too seriously. in fact, most times we do. if there's one thing that should be learned before we die, its to not forget to enjoy ourselves, to have fun. i think this will be a tough year; a demanding year; a rewarding year; a year of significant growth; and most importantly, a fun year!

Haiti - my thoughts and prayers go out to all Haitians. I commend all the organisations helping out there...wish I could be part of it.

Sawubona - I see you

I'm taking a break from my recent serious-ness topics and top 10 topics to discuss a movie in a...well...serious, yet not so serious manner.

Avatar

I keep talking to my artsy type friends about this movie and they don't seem to like it that much. and then others like it basically for the 3D effects, etc. I'm going on record to say that i thought it was a brilliant movie. Granted, it's a cliche story. yes, its been done many times in different forms. sure, the acting/dialogue left plenty to be desired. but i think its a story that cannot be told enough times. or rather, a story that needs to be told in more interesting ways, suitable to both adults and children, that tell of some of the atrocities and hawkishness that not only abound 400 years ago, but still remain today.

*********side note*********
i think i enjoyed this movie also cuz the scientist reminded me of my dad who used to work with plants from the amazon forest to try to extract nutrients or chemicals that he would use to make different kinds of medicines. his boss had a long standing relationship with the community that lived in the forest and used to travel there every year. proof that deals can be made on a human, non-threatening manner.
*********side note*********

back to subject at hand. Though the story focused around the americas and relationship of settlers with the native americans, i think its one that can be applied in most colonial histories. i read an interesting article (link below) with this intersting insert:

"Throughout the Americas the earliest explorers, including Columbus, remarked on the natives' extraordinary hospitality. The conquistadores marvelled at the ­amazing roads, canals, buildings and art they found, which in some cases outstripped anything they had seen at home. None of this stopped them destroying everything and everyone they encountered..."

Link to the rest of the article: http://www.mg.co.za/article/2010-01-12-mawkish-maybe-but-avatar-is-a-profound-important-film

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Anyway thats my shout out to the movie. Another interesting fact (see you come to this blog to learn, i just know it!): james cameron and his crew must have done a sht-load of research. kudos to them. did you know that "I/we see you" - a key phrase in the film - is a direct translation of "Sawubona"? Sawubona is the Zulu word for "Hello", but as the movie iterates, its meaning goes much deeper than that. If I see you, i'm acknowledging that you matter - everyone matters - that you are validated, respected, a valued member of the community. It's been described as an affirmation, an invitation to a deep witnessing and presence.

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I see it as the first step to ubuntu.

happy year of african football (YAF)

Lets not fool ourselves, this year, 2010, is not like any other year. its not like 2009 was just 2009 or 2008, etc. its not sufficient to just say happy 2010 this year, cuz that just doesnt tell the story. rather, i prefer to call this year the year of african football ('YAF' for short). I think that speaks a bit more to the importance of this year, so much more than merely 2010. I'm sure you will agree.

so anyway, here we are in the very first day of YAF and I hope that everyone's having a lovely one. I'm having a very relaxed one myself, after staying up most of last night. in my relaxed state, i thought i'd look back at last year and see what my resolutions were and if i'd resolution-ed them, and also what im looking forward to doing this yr. so here goes yet another list:

2009 resolutions:

• do more random trips to random places...check!: groot marico, kruger, natal, durban, uitkyk, limpopo, magaliesburg, hartbeespoort.
• go safari-ing...check!: kruger, couple places in botswana.
• be more involved in community...half-check!
• take the gmat; get my mba...check!: cape town here i come.
• find ways to enjoy my work...half-check!: botswana and a really interesting female flatmate and travel companion helped. [special note: thanks zama for making my bots experience that much more special and for tryin to teach me zulu when you know im a sucky learner and for insisting that others speak in english around me! never mess with a zulu-chik.
• eat more mangos...half-check!: can never have enough mangos. and dried mangos have been added to this resolution.

2010 resolutions:

• enjoy world cup 2010 to the FULLEST. it'll probly be a logistal nightmare and i will be a student, which means that ill have no money or time to do much. but...im enjoying the hype and i will continue to enjoy the hype. first time on african soil, its an event that i'll boast about to my grandkids one day and say "i was there". i love it!
• do bschool/mba. dont really have a choice here now that im enrolled, but make the most of it i will.
• be a man of my words. i.e. when i say that i'll do something, people should be able to trust that i will. not saying that i dont do that now, but lately i think ive disappointed a couple people, even though they wont say it, it makes me feel terrible. so i need to improve on that. with that goes, being there for, and doing all that i can, to help out friends and family.
• be more disciplined. spiritually and otherwise.
• do more outdoors. shouldnt be too hard in cape town. im thinking soccer, squash, tennis, hiking. open to adding other things to the list too (rugby??..)

one thing ive been thinking about lately, before YAF, was how the end of 2009 was not simply a year ending, but in fact the end of a decade. while thinking about the year that's passed and all its challenges and victories, i couldnt help but start thinking about the decade thats passed as well. yes, 10 years of living is a lot to think about but heres a challenge:

over the last 10 years, what are some events/decisions/things that you've been most proud of or that have shaped you the most and in what ways? additionally, what are you most looking forward to this year or in the decade to come.

those are daunting questions and even as i surveyed myself and my friends, we found it difficult to answer those questions at times. some even decided to run away rather than answer the questions! prof...

anyway, lots have happened in the last year, let alone the last decade (from graduating high school to varsity and the loss of a very dear friend to chicago to accenture to nigeria to south africa and gaining new very dear friends to cape town to barack obama to michael jackson and tiger woods and on and on). because of this, its really difficult for me to pick just one thing that i think has shaped me the most. since i introduced the topic tho, i would have to say one event that i think shaped me perhaps more than most has been my decision to move to south africa. included in that are all the lessons i've learned, interesting people ive met, and places ive experienced. i think that decision alone has brought about so many changes in my life and in my world view and it continues to do so. in the next few years, i plan on continuing to grow (personally, spiritually, relation-nally), basking in the glow of the african world cup, finishing up my mba and embarking on a brave new world of african development (however that may look like).

so how will you remember this decade? will you reminisce on opportunities gone by or challenges faced or giants you stared down and beat? will you be thankful that u at least laboured through it (at least there was no "third world war"...)? or will it be full of memories of good times, hardships, lessons learned, and growth? and more importantly, how do you want to shape the next decade, starting with YAF? what will change? how will it be remembered? what role will you have to play in it? its become trendy nowadays to say that we dont have new year's resolutions, but i hope we all have some general plans of what we want to happen or what we're most looking forward to. and i hope we all seek out what role we're to play; what gives our lives meaning, one decade/year/month/minute at a time and strive for that.

In the words of the great JayZ: may the best of our today's be the worst of our tomorrow's!

Happy YAF.