football and foolishness

2 completely unrelated subjects, but as i am currently shirking studying for midterms, i'll attempt to tackle both in my usual highly opinionated, kinda-sorta based on facts, and ultimately educated manner.

first, foolishness. i'm not liking some of the disturbing stories coming out of nigeria; well its not like stories out of nigeria are typically positive, but heading up to general election next year, i can't help but start feeling anxious for the country and looking out for signs of issues that might surface. 2 stupid events: 1; last week, the senate approved a 100% salary increase for government officials, including themselves of course. 100%!! give me a flippin' break. this is in a country where 70% of its citizens lay in poverty (less than $2 a day), a country where physicians, teachers, police officers, the most average (olu)joe(seph) (ngozi) slo is not being paid nearly enough to take care of his or her family. but of course, congress felt like they needed to reward themselves for all the hard work they have been doing the last 11 years (um, when was the last piece of significant legislation passed?). according to one bright official, the increase is needed to attract more qualified civil servants to political posts. give me a flippin' break (did i say that already?)! when did nigerian politicians (and most politicians around the world actually) forget that politics is about civil service; helping those that cannot help themselves and improving the lives of those who supposedly elected them. unfortunately too often the politics game is about what have i done for myself and my cronies lately. shame.

2nd event: related to cronies. an article came out about political thugs belonging to a candidate for deputy governor beating up a journalist. apparently attacks against journalist has been on the rise lately. and these thugs are employed by the politicians themselves. in case any one is disillusioned to thinking things have changed over the years in nigeria from before indepedence in 1960, you'll be happy to know that this practice of hiring thugs (official thugs) began well before independence. I was first indtroduced to this phenomenon by my late mentore, Dr. Le Vine (see previous post) who worked and studied in different parts of west africa during the spate of independence (late 50s and 60s). He told me that they were looking at some of the books (accounts) of the political parties and they kept noticing a funny line item in all of them. I believe the line item read something like OPT (not completely sure about that). after pondering what this might mean and coming up with nothing (other than "optional" perhaps), they decided to ask one of the party members. They found out the OPT stood for "Official Party Thugs". I kid you not. These were typically young men that they hired to carry out thuggish activities against other parties and individuals as a means of intimidation. and they put this expense on their books! i wonder if they got any kind of tax exemption for that?! 50 years on and the activities remains alive and vibrant. political parties still send out their thugs to intimidate journalists, other party members, and even civilians at the voting poll stations. in order to have any kind of credible elections (a goal the distinguished mr. goodluck jonathan has set out for his presidency), this issue of hiring thugs must be seriously dealt with. and please, lets stay away from amnesty. thugs must be punished, whether they are primary school thugs or football thugs or political party thugs.

speaking of football...what i really wanted to write about in this entry is football. and world cup 2010. I can FEEL it; It is HERE! I am here! I'm starting to get the feeling of a major event coming to south africa. an event i've been anticipating for the last 5 years, since the announcement was made that it would be held in south africa. apparently cape town is slow to getting excited about events like this. so when i went out today to get some pics of a city anticipating a massive and amazing event, this is all i got:

and here's a view of the stunning stadium where i will be watching at least 3 matches!

meanwhile in joburg...apparently the festive feeling has been crazy immense in joburg for a while now. why did i decide to leave joburg again??? Flags are flying everywhere, huge footballs are floating ubiqutously, signs and posters are pasted everywhere, cars are decorated to the fullest, etc. you cant even take 2 steps in the airport without being immersed in the world of football, african style. can you tell im looking forward to this??

here are some pics i was sent by a friend showing some of the excitement in joburg:

my only regret: i won't get to go to a match in what i believe is the most stunning stadium in south africa, the Moses Mabhida Stadium in lovely durban:

finally, there are some pseudo-academic work out there which describe soccer as having an added effect of bringing people together over the years. In fact, one of my favourite books is one called "How soccer explains the world". sounds funny, but the premise is undeniable. Warring and disputing countries have often come together through a soccer match; political deals have been done at football stadiums' box seats; and more importantly, individuals have come together on the pitch realising that they have more in common that their greedy political leaders would like them to believe at times. Cheesy as it may, I'm hoping that this happens with south africa and other countries during this world cup. south africa is a young democracy with lots of issues. but to see the rugby championship held in soweto township last weekend and hard core whites laughing and drinking with hard core blacks and indians and mixed people and no one worrying about differences in melanin was inspiring. the 1995 rugby world cup was inspiring in how it brought the nation together. soccer world cup 2010 has a potential to do the same, if we let it. the immediate problems in south africa may not be as visible as they were in 95 when folks expected the country to disintegrate into civil war, major issues still exist and are apparent (even if beneath the surface). football will not solve those issues, and hopefully it will also not be used to gloss over issues and sweep them even further into the carpet. the hope is that this will be a reminder that this is truly a remarkable country in africa (yes, south africa is an african country, dammit!), a rainbow country that is defined by different cultures and backgrounds and experience, and hopefully ultimately a country that embraces those differences, and more importantly celebrates those differences...together.

and to the rest of the countries, we can take a breather from the sorry state of economies, work experiences, debt crises, oil spills, political kak, for a month, before we go back to reality. Personally, I will be forgetting about the fact that i'm studying for a month, before going back to the reality of finals the week after!

Dr. Victor Le Vine

Last week I found out that my college mentor passed away. Since then, I've been putting off posting anything, especially about the man, even though I've started several posts. Even now, I'm not sure I know what I want to say or if it'll make any sense. Dr. Le Vine was pretty old, so while his death was not particularly premature, it was nonetheless stunning and it hurt. When something like this happens, it makes you really consider a lot of things about your life and forces you to ask some tough questions. For me, it was questioning what I'm doing here (in business school, in cape town, in south africa...), while so much is happening elsewhere (at home, with my friends, in the world....). It made me regret, very much, not making more of an effort to see him when I last went home to st louis. I called a couple times and he didn't pick up. I got so used to thinking I'll see him next time I'm around for a longer stretch of time. Now there will be no next time and I don't remember too much how we even left off the last time i saw him about a year ago; what we chatted about. I do remember reaching out to give him a firm handshake and him reaching out to me and dragging me in for a tight hug. I'm gonna miss the man.

Dr. Le Vine was a mentor, in the truest sense of the word. Not many people know that even before I finished my first year at university, I was busy completing my application to transfer to another school in chicago. I don't remember all that was going on in my mind that first year, but i remember it being a tough year, intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually. I think i was carrying immense guilt and shame and felt unsatisfied going to a school that wasn't even my first choice. It was as I was completing the transfer application, that I met Dr. Le Vine. I remember walking to his first lecture on 'international conflict and conflict resolution' and thinking it would be yet another anglophone political scientist hell-bent on africa returning to colonial times (yes, there're lots of those out there still). As he called the roll on the first day, he stopped at my name. This wasn't too unusual as lots of teachers had a hard time pronouncing my full name, and as I started to speak to put him out of his misery, he also began to sound out the full name. To my surprise he worked through my full name and actually pronounced it as it should be. Now this may seem petty or not a big deal to some, but i was intrigued cuz i had by then lived in the states for over 10 years and in that time no one had ever got my name right on the first try (tho i think its pretty simple!).

Intrigued, i thought i should get to know more about this man. After finding out that he was an africanist, with expertise in all sorts of areas regarding history and political science including african history, constitution building, nation building, governments, corruption, etc, I decided to ask him to be my mentor and to study under him. I soon found out that in order to do the kind of study I proposed, the student had to achieve a certain grade point average or above. Since I didnt have this gpa, i decided the best thing to do would be to act like the requirement didnt exist and see what happens. As it turns out, he agreed to do an independent study with me on Nigerian politics, culture, and government. I later asked him why he decided to take me on as a student, and he admitted that I did not meet the academic requirements, but there was a drive and passion he saw in me that made him want to be my advisor. More than anything else, having Dr. Le Vine as my mentor made me decide to stay at the washu and ultimately made my entire college experience worthwhile and complete.

So Dr. Le Vine started as my professor, turned into my advisor, and later became a mentor and friend. The lessons he taught me were invaluable. Not only about nigeria, but about life, about how to approach problems, about how to reach out and grab your dreams, about how to never give up, and how to always give back. Dr. Le Vine emigrated from germany at a time when the US was decidedly anti-semitic (so afraid were his parents that they decided to alter their surname slightly so as to not look jewish), and built an amazing life for himself. He was constantly being called on by former students to give talks at their institutions or in their classrooms, he was regularly commissioned to the white house to advise on international conflicts and african affairs, he was regularly called on to give his opinions in editorials and to publish books. The man really achieved a lot in his life, but when we talked , he didn't talk about his books or his paper, he always wanted to know what I was up to and if I was keeping on the path to achieving the dreams that he once saw in me. I was always eager to talk about his previous students and the amazing work theyre doing all over the world. I came across this in an article written about him in the local newspaper:

"He is remembered as an enthusiastic mentor of students and as a great colleague to faculty across campus."

I was home shortly before he passed away and i didn't get a chance to see him. I hope you rest in peace, Dr. Le Vine. and i mean that in a more sincere way than i have ever. the way in which you touched the lives of those around you is exactly how i want to live and be remembered. I used to joke that I hope he leaves me some of his massive collection of books; in reality, what he has left behind is something much less tangible and so much more valuable. Full of hope, love, knowledge, care, and wisdom, Dr. Le Vine sought out to bring the best out of people, and out of the world around him.

I'll miss you sorely.

inspiration

who inspires you? this question was posed in one of my classes today and although I had thought over this question many times prior, I could not immediately come up with a response. so i thought I would ponder on it some more and perhaps jot down some of my thoughts later. so after my ponderifi-cation-ing, here goes...

there's a saying ive never been able to forget since i was introduced to it and i tend to carry it with me wherever i go. it seems ubiquitous, particularly in all my decisions and thoughts. after attributing success to ones ability to laugh, be respected, appreciate beauty, and earn appreciation, emerson concludes that "to know one life has breathed easier because you have lived; this is to have succeeded." I can think of no more precise and poignant way to define success.

so because I value this principle in my life, i tend to look for it in others as well and examine my admiration of them through the lenses of emerson.
1. james joseph. a former US ambassador to SA. he's also the mentor of the lecturer of this course and came to speak to the class a few weeks ago. The story of this man is truly touching. during his life, he has been intimitely involved in 2 major struggles (apartheid and civil rights), met countless adversities, seen promises become lies, watched many african countries cheerfully gain their independence only to quickly fall back into something of a neo-colonialism with tyrannical and nonsensical 'leaders'. And yet the man is full of more hope than the hope-monger himself. I asked him why so much hope and his response is "what else do you have but hope". You see, in addition to all the shit he's been through, he's also experienced some unexplainable and glorious wonders. he's seen the apartheid dragon slain and freedom donned upon all south africans; he seen integration of black students to public schools in the US; he's seen population being liberated from years of oppression and their voices freed; he's seen the election of a black president when few thought it was possible. he's left an undoubted legacy, not only on the international sphere with his diplomatic efforts, but also (and i'll dare to say probably more importantly) he's left a lasting impact on the lives of the individuals he's touched - one being my lecturer.

2. Matt and Melanie Chandler. I haven't spoken to these guys in a long time now and i miss them immensely. i wrote about them sometime last year or so. this is the couple i used to work with in inner city st louis, mentoring, teaching, coaching, and having fun with kids in the community. this young couple gave ALL they had to the ministry of helping the kids and trying to make a difference in their lives - lives often absent of much hope. They endured countless physical, emotional, and spiritual pain in their work, but they simply carried on with enthusiasm and love. the kids and myself have them to thank for the lasting impact they've left on our lives.

3. mom and dad. this has kind of become so cliche these days that i almost hesitated to put them on the list. but thats just ridiculous. mom and dad are perhaps the most faith-full people i've ever known. and thats an extremely good thing, because I'm often grateful that at times when my faith and hope is slipping, theyre always good for some spare faith and hope or to simply carry the load with me. additionally, my dad inspires me through his life story. It seems like he had a lot of different ways he could take with his life and career, but his no 1 goal has always been to care for and love my mom and to care for and love (in his own way) his kids (us). any other ambitions came first. i'll be the first to admit to being an incredibly selfish person. im on this mba to better myself and *my* job prospects, etc. i need a bit of the humility and sacrifice of my father in me. my mom. i'm not quite sure that my dad's natural instinct was to show love and care for his kids, but i think what he's learnt over the years, he's learnt from my mother. and its served him well. enough about him; more about me. i've also learned the undeniable value of appreciation, care, love, and the art of hugging from my mom. people that meet her instantly fall in love with her personality and her brightness (i.e. her luminous smile and disposition). ive got a lot still to learn from her.

staying on family for a moment. i've said many times that i view family not only as blood relations, but also people that are very close to you and that share a lot of your life with you (and vice versa). lately, ive begun to realise just how much i value family. moreover, while my 'family' in south africa have been incredible, i find something pulling inside me, longing for closeness with my blood family. though i speak to most of them occasionally on the phone and on-line, im not sure i can continue placing a high value on it without actually taking steps to ensure that i show them how much i value them. that being said, im not sure what i will do about it or what i can do, but the idea and goal is to begin aligning my actions with my values. wish me luck.

back to the original topic...the people that i've mentioned earlier are only a few that have inspired me by making my life (and many other people's lives) breathe easier because they have lived. in the words of chicago (the band), they've brought meaning to my life...theyre my inspiration.

3 weeks in and really??

those that i talked to prior to starting the mba programme told me that this one year programme would be hectic with a lot of work and little time for much else.

what they failed to mention was just how diverse and interesting the people would be. admittedly, i was a bit anxious starting the programme. i feared it would be something similar to my undergraduate business school, full of cocky people who apparently loved the sounds of their own voices and couldn't seem to wait to start that hotshot job on wall street. ok not all of them, some of them are very good friends of mine; but generally, this was the feeling i got.

so my biggest fear coming in was that most people here would be like that, only this time it would be the johannesburg stock exchange and not wall street. but ive been absolutely pleasantly surprised at the quality and diversity of people here. there's still a bit of colour missing in terms of diversity, but in terms of life, world, and career experience and future aspirations, guys/gals are as different as they come. there are former actors, marketers, bomb makers/engineers, psychologists, insurance people, trusty IT consultants etc. also people from london, nigeria (not named me), turkey, some country in south america that ive honestly never heard of, botswana, south africa (surprising enough), US (really really surprising), canada (wha??), cameroon, italy, argentina, angola, etc. and even better, ive met an amazing number of people with similar aspirations to work in african development. imagine that: mba-ers doing good work! i like the sound of that. plus, most of them are wayyy more optimistic than i am about making a difference. maybe i can get my mojo back!

on a more serious note tho...wonder what would happen if more mba-ers were interested in helping ordinary people do extra-ordinary things. imagine ambitious people with management skills running NGOs and government organisations and non-profits and community organisations and making policy. would that be a better world? not saying only mba-ers can do a good job, but it seems like a good time for mba-ers to remake ourselves from the cocky bastards that speculate on currencies and bet on bad loans to cocky bastards that attempt to help those who cannot help themselves and leave the world a better place that how we met it. i know of at least one school thats trying to build such leaders.

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

.

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.

.

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.

53 frustrating hours

i just went through 53 (or so) hours that i don't particularly want to encounter ever again. i'm taking a break from my top10 lists, because i just couldnt help but recount how hectic the last couple days have been. i dont think i've had the consecutive set of events rain down on me like they did. not to say that i didn't necessarily deserve some of these things or even bring some of them upon myself, but anyway, like all things...lessons learned! my interesting experiences started on sunday.

sun, 1:15pm: picked up to go to airport. everything seems normal. looking forward to the nice botswana sun.

sun, 1:55pm: at the airport. get out of the shuttle, newspaper on my lap still on the same page it was when we left. negotiate with guy at start of the queue to let me in the shorter line. it works. things appear normal.

sun, 2:02pm: the cheeky lady at the counter asks me where my passport is. thinking she means my visa into botswana, i proceed to show her my exemption visa for bots. no, she says, wheres ur passport. again i translated her misguided english to mean: "where's the extension on my passport" (sometimes they miss the little stamp). no, she repeats, ur passport is out of pages to stamp. i cant let u travel with this. she explained to me that i need at least 3 empty pages in my passport to fly. since i fly to and from bots almost every week i was currently left with about 1.5 empty pages.

sun, 2:15pm: same cheeky lady. now trying to call bots to see if theyll let me through without charging the airline. no go. then calling the nigerian embassy (ha!). no go. solution (for now): i had to postpone my trip for a couple days, go to the nigerian consulate and see if they can issue me an emergency travel document.

sun, 2:55pm: after a sandwich, get a cab back home for a ridiculous amt of money.

sun, 8pm: woke up from a short nap, thinking i should be freaking out. but nah, everything should work out just fine, right??

mon, 7:50am: put on my monday best and head for the nigerian consulate so i can be there before they open and be one of the first in.

mon, 8:40am: arrive at consulate. theres already a queue of about 20 people, including some dear acquaintances. we chat. we wish each other the best of luck.

mon, 9:17am: lady asks if im here for collection or drop off. neither i say, but i have a very important question. she looks at me like im crazy. i recount the whole story from sunday and ask if i can get some sort of emergency travel document while i wait for the new passport. she looks at me like im crazy. transfers me over to the boss.

mon, 9:25am: i hunt down boss, who's trying desperately to escape me and leave the premises, recount my story and plead for sympathy. boss man says, but theres no such thing as an emergency travel document, and sorry i have to leave now, have a very important meeting to get to in pretoria.

mon, 9:27am: back to lady at the front: plead some more. she says, look ive told u all that i know, the only people that would be able to do anything different are my bosses (yea, loads of effing help they are). so btw, what is the normal process if i were to do it? heh, get this: fill out online application. submit and print. but before u submit and print u must print the page entry page, cuz u wont be able to get back to it once u submit. in order to complete the app, u must find a nigerian address to put as ur permanent address, and find a next of kin also with a nigerian address. after submitting, you must find a guarantor and have them fill out a couple forms with their ID photos. this guarantor must have a valid nigerian drivers license and all docs must be certified. after completing apps, u must hand all the docs in physically to the consulate (whats the point of online apps then??) and then u go home. after 3 wks theyll call u to take a photo. it takes at least one full day to take a photo. then u go home. if you're one of the lucky few, you'll get a call in 2 wks to come and collect. and if you're lucky, your passport will actually be ready on the day they say it is (have yet to see that happen).

mon, 9:35am: am starting to freak out now at the parking lot. what do i do? i need to be in bots this wk for training and we go-live the next monday and we've got presentations, etc...

mon, 9:45am: after a couple calls to friends, i decided that best bet is to try to drive to bots and try my luck at the border control instead. i'd submit my app for a new passport and then start driving first thing tues morn.

mon, 12:15pm: I finish the app and submit. i arrange to meet someone with a nigerian drivers license to complete the guarantors part at 430pm.

mon, 12:30pm: (actually this started a couple hours before). i begin calling car rental places to find a car to drive to bots. nothing available yet, but theyll call me back shortly. i call my car dealership, where my car has been for the past 1+wks. get the news that they think theyve figured out whats wrong with my car. gonna cost me the equivalent of $2000. i say go ahead and do it. oh and btw, will it be ready by first thing tomorrow morning? doubtful. so back to my rental car options.

mon, 4pm: i drive to the mall, where i'm supposed to meet the guarantor with the nigerian drivers license. still, dont have a car for the next day.

mon, 4:35pm: while tryin to sit down at a cafe, my flatmate calls me. the house is flooded. especially my room. books, bags, clothes, shoes...all drenched. from water from the toilet. toilet water. listen, i tell roomy, i cant deal with this right now; pls deal with it. i give him the landlords number to help sort things out.

mon, 5:15pm: guarantor shows up. we chat. she signs the forms. we go to an internet cafe. she prints some more necessary forms and signs them. we walk over to the police station (not too short of a walk) to have them certified. no hassles at the police station, surprisingly. everything ready to go, i thot.

mon, 6:01pm: i call back the only car place that said they might have a car available, she tells me she has a citi golf w/ no air con or power steering but i have to pick it up now as shes on her way out. as i was across town there was no way i could get to her fast. as i like a bit of comfort (esp driving long distances), i wasnt about to drive a non-power steering vehicle with no air con to hot and stinky botswana and keep this car for 2.5 wks before driving it back (i had decided that if i made it into botswana i couldnt leave till i was ready to leave for the year, to minimize the number of times they would need to stamp my passport). i decide ill try my luck again with all the car rental companies first thing tomorrow.

mon, 7:14pm: i drop the application at a friends who was also going for a new passport. we chat. i rest.

mon, 9:37pm: i have dinner with a friend. jollof rice and beef stew and fried plantain/dodo. not bad.

mon, around 12am: i get back to my appartment. hear the dripping sounds of water downstairs. feel the wet floor. walk upstairs to me room. the carpet is just soaked. my feet drenched in water as i walk the swampy jungle that is my room. i notice everything is wet. my roomy tried and got some stuff off the floor. problem is he put the stuff on top of my bed, so now my bed and sheets are also wet. with toilet water.

mon, 12:16am: disgusted, i take some dry sheets that were not on the bed and head downstairs to sleep.

tues, 6am: i'm wide awake after an uncomfortable night. do some reading while waiting for others to wake up so i can start calling.

tues, 7:30am: start calling car rental places again. again, nothing available. earliest lunchtime some say.

tues, 9am: remembered that theyre was one part of my app for passport that was missing. i need to print, sign, scan, and email this thing before 11am.

tues, 9:24am: find an internet cafe. all computers booked.

tues, 10am: got tired of calling car rental places with no response, so drop by one of the ones ive been calling. she's flustered. apparently she doesnt have enough cars either. anyway, eventually she finds me another car at another branch that will be ready at noon. phew.

tues, 10:30am: back to the internet cafe. now they have a computer. get on my gmail. need to prnt the doc. now u can only print be first saving on a memory stick. didnt have mine with, but no worries, they have loan ones. 2 of them. their both in use. wait 15 minutes. no joke. finally grabbed one of the guys with one of the memory sticks ask him if i could also put my doc there and we could go print it together. plan works.

tues, 11:15am: doc is finally scanned and emailed. heading back home to get my stuff, then off to pick up the car.

tues, 1145am: call my friend whose car im borrowing to work out how im going to leave the car. we sketch out a sketchy plan. eventually decided i would leave it in a mall and give the keys to his bro-in-law somewhere else. (eventually decided to just keep the keys with me)

tues, 1pm: i finally find this car rental place, but now i cant find a place to park.

tues, 1:40pm: we finish all the paper work and the keys are finally handed to me. now i have to figure out how to get to bots. i start driving and calling friends.

tues, 2-7pm: i eventually make my way with some sketchy and not-so-sketchy directions. didnt miss my way too much. nice adventure. nice scenery, to look on the bright side. said a prayer about every 2 minutes that i'd be allowed to cross the border. got to the border and snuck in between a large group. produced my passport, even declared my laptop. and in the end they stamped my passport. I Was Home Free!

tues, 430pm: i learn that the nigerian consulate rejected my application. whatever. maybe ill try it again. maybe i wont.

all that was much more hassle than i want to go through in the short amount of time again. i still dunno what happened to my flooded room, but hopefully thats been sorted. the day ended with great news tho. im here in bots now (and not leaving till i leave for good in a couple weeks!), i opened my email and i found out that ive been accepted into the university of cape town full time mba programme starting in january. the funny thing is when things like this happen to me, esp the good things, i remember my parents and close family. reason is that i know theyre tru prayer warriors and i can almost feel that theyve been praying for me. so i emailed my parents to recount the events, and surely they had been praying for me regarding these things the same day. my parents are amazing. anyway, extremely stressful day(s) turned into extremely happy night/morning/week. lessons learned!