One –Year Reflection In January 2012, I made one of my dreams come true by relocating to Africa, and what a memorable year 2012 turned out to be. When I moved to South Africa last year, as I fondly tell people, I came with only two suitcases to my name and a goal to be part of the success story that Africa was turning out to be. In my mid-year reflections after six months in the motherland, I reflected mostly on the economic development and better standard of living that most Africans where experiencing. However, after one year of living and working in Africa, there are other social intangibles I have experienced which are not commonly talked about but are worth sharing.
With my love – Johannesburg, SA Jan 2013
In transit – Windhoek, Namibia – Jan 2013
Be Bi-Lingual – Yes indeed, colonialism did not help us by dividing countries along linguistic lines. But we have to make the most of it and use it to our advantage by being as multi-lingual as possible, because I assure you, underneath the language barrier, most Africans are all the same. However, most importantly, I think we are missing out on the full experience of “being African”, if one can only mingle/associate with English speaking Africans (if you are Anglophone), or with only French speaking Africans (if you are Francophone), or with Portuguese speaking Africans (if you are Lusophone). Life is so much richer from a career and personal perspective if you are African and bilingual in any of the official languages, ie..English, French or Portuguese.
Career Perspective – In fact, my current job was offered to me partly because I was bilingual. Additionally, from a work perspective, I see it all the time in that Africans, who are bilingual, go far within companies, as they have the option of working within multiple African countries, and by their language edge, develop better business relationships and understand regional markets better.
Personal perspective – I cannot tell you the amount of amazing friendships I have made by being able to communicate with people in different languages. I would certainly not have the life experiences I have had so far, if not for my amazing relationships with my English speaking, French speaking and most recently, Portuguese speaking crews. For example, almost every time I travel to another African country, I have somewhere to stay and someone to call to take me around. This year alone, I traveled to four new African countries, and each time I had the convenience of staying with one of my Anglophone or Francophone friends, and all this is by virtue of me being able to communicate in English or French, and as a result have formed amazing friends. For this, I am so grateful.
East Legon, Accra Ghana Dec 2012 – chilling at a neighborhood eatery joint.
Freetown, Sierra Leone – attending my cousin’s wedding – Dec 2012
Be Married – Or at the very least have a significant other before moving to Africa 🙂 This is just my personal perspective, but after one year of living here, I am afraid to say that there seems to be a lot of exploitation from both sexes towards each other. For example, it appears that girls would do anything to end up with a rich/successful guy. I don’t see much the attitude of lets build/make our fortune “together”. Girls rather prefer that the man is already made, and as such, guys – you would be prone to a whole lot of exploitation from girls who like you for what you have rather than who you are.
However, on the other hand, women don’t have it easy either. For starters, the ratio of successful guys for each available woman is low, and as a result, women here have learnt to put up with a lot of stuff. For example, it is common practice for a wife to put up with a husband’s infidelity, in regards to mistresses and extra-marital children,etc….because they simple cannot afford to let go of their husband, due to the fact that divorce still has a stigma and it would be hard for the woman to find someone else to start over with. So ladies, if you are planning to move back to Africa, please bring your man with you.
Downtown Gaborone, Botswana – September 2012
Maputo, Mozambique – Ponto d’ Oro beach – August 2012
Be- Politically Engaged – Africa is going places people! And is it essential that we do away with the mentality of blaming all our problems on others, and do something about it ourselves. I earnestly believe that this is the golden age for the continent, as we are definitely making huge strides in every domain. So, we owe it to ourselves to start taking some interest in the political processes in our countries, and to exercise our civic duties. We need to start understanding what it is that politicians are doing right or wrong, and use our votes to influence policy and change.
This past month, during my visit to Sierra Leone, I took time out to read up on the different political parties and their agendas for the country. It was with great pride I registered, and became affiliated with anything civic or political. Though a politics junkie I certainly am not, I believe that need not dissuade me from understanding the importance of voting and civic engagement in a country. Looking forward to casting my vote in December 2013, during the election for “Councilman” in the Brookfields community where I grew up in Freetown.
Cairo, Egypt – visiting the ancient pyramids – Jan. 2012
On that note….HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!! And thank you for following the blog. My goal for 2013 is to continue sharing with you my experiences of living and working in Africa, and being a source for all things job-related especially for those in the Diaspora who are contemplating the idea of moving back.
Peace & Love 🙂
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