Kwaheri, Africa! See you next time!

As I get ready to move for my new role in China, I can't help but have mixed feelings about my imminent departure from Africa.  My life in Africa has been filled with a colorful collection of maddening frustration, wild amusement, life-changing personal (& professional) lessons, and endearing friendships.  This has been one of the most memorable and worthwhile thing I've done in my life so far...a big THANK YOU, to everyone here (friends, chance encounters, strangers on the street), for making the last 18 months so memorable and meaningful!

There are many things I will miss, but other things I'm eager to do without:

I will miss the most random conversations / encountering I have while working / traveling that can be both hilarious and frustrating at the same time (but certainly make good stories)
I will not miss having to follow up on people 100 times to remind them to do their job and frequently yell at people from the top of my lung in order to get something simple done (that's someone else's daily job / profession)

I will miss getting uttermost attention (not to be confused with great service) at even very cheap hotels and restaurants, being called "Ms. Arlin", and feeling very respected (this is more so the case in Nigeria)
I will not miss feeling like not being able to fit in, that people will always look at you as though you're a upper class citizen, and giving you differential treatment or do not voice their opinion because they are afraid of making a mistake in front of you

I will miss the smell of sun on my clean laundry
I will not miss doing laundry by hand, especially after a very muddy hike over the beautiful, iron-rich African soil

I will miss the sandwich lady who visits my office every day, bringing delicious samosa and swahili dishes for 200 ksh...
I will not miss pizza Friday at the office, where our office manager forces us this horrible diet every Friday, missing the point that its main purpose is to get everyone together on a casual note rather than eat pizza, despite of the name "pizza Friday"  (it's better because it's free, but still...)


I will miss my undeserved celebrity status (for being foreign and thus "special")
I will not miss getting marriage proposals from random nameless guys wherever I go ...no, I don't roll that way!


I will miss the beautiful Nairobian weather year round at 28C
I will not miss the horde of big fat termites when it rains that have their way of invading your house despite of all the locked doors and windows

I will miss the big smile all Kenyans carry on their face and the endless good jokes from fun-loving Nigerians
I will not miss the hopelessly corrupt policemen who make your life miserable just to make 400ksh

I will miss being so close to raw, untouched nature & walking safaris where the animals look at you, recognize you exist, but do not run away...makes it feel truly like you're living and sharing this world together
I will not miss tourists on safaris with their giant cameras and showering $1 bills / pens to local children (creating a horrible culture/expectations)

I will miss having the routine of a fixed (taxi) driver, someone I can chat with, and learn more about culture and just life in general
I will not miss having to take a taxi everywhere and can never just go outside impromptu

I will miss River Cafe and Honey Beauty in Gigiri, where it's the perfect santuary for good food, followed by out of this world massage pampering
I will not miss seeing the ridiculous wealth among the diplomatic / international aid circle and feeling like I'm part of some sort of neo-colonial era

I will miss enjoying beautiful (and super affordable @ $1-2) flowers whenever I want a bouquet to freshen up my flat
I will not miss the never ending awkward moments when the street hawker persistently try to get my guy friends to buy me flowers

Lastly...
I will miss the amazing friendships I've developed and being part of a league of extraordinary folks trying to make a difference in the world!

This is not the end, I shall be back!

Lost In Translation

10 months later, I finally understood why I got a room of Nigerians balling uncontrollably during a training in Enugu after I shared a very serious (and hopefully inspiring) story about a farmer in Kano being able to improve his productivity with d.light lantern... No one told me the truth, but apparently "productivity" means "sexual productivity" around here.   At the time, my colleague just told me that they think I have a funny accent, but now the truth came out after I met a Taiwanese couple who have lived in Nigeria for a long time who broke it down for me!

While English is a common language in Nigeria, common people usually speak pidgin English, which despite of its English origin, it might as well be a different language.  I am constantly confused when I am dealing with blue collar Nigerians.  For example, if you ask someone "have you eaten?"...they'll answer "I don chop"...which, actually does not mean "I don't eat" (chop = eat), but means I have eaten (I guess maybe it came from I done chop)...SO, if I don't chop = I have eaten, then what's I have not eaten?  I have not eaten = "I never chop"...confused?  So am I!  Usually I'm pretty good with picking up languages, even Swahili is going OK...however, sadly, I don't really see the light at the end of the tunnel for this pidgin English business...I don't quite get the logic...yet...

Here are some examples of useful and some funny pidgin English, some courtesy of a post from matador network:

• How Bodi? / How You Dey? – How are you doing today?
• Wetin? – What?
• Abi Na Wetin - What is it this time?
• Na You Biko - You the man!
• Aba Made - Fake
• Abeg – Please, but usually not a repentant plea. Example – Abeg! No waste my time!; Which means Please! Don’t waste my time!
• Abi? – Isn’t it?
• Na so? – Is that so?
• Shak - drink
• Chop - eat 
• Bodi dey inside clothe - I'm surviving
• Eh eh - no
• Ah ah - for Goodness sake
• Dey go - keep going
• E - it is
• Fit - can
• Dey - is/am/are
• I no no – I don’t know
• I no sabi – I don’t understand
• I dey fine – I’m fine. I’m doing well.
• Wetin dey happen? – What’s going on? What’s happening?
• Wahala – Problem/Trouble. Example – Why you dey give me wahala? Which means why are you giving me so many problems?
• Comot! – Get out of here!
• Gi mi – Give it to me.
• I Wan Chop – I want to eat
• Come chop – Come and eat
• I no agree – I don’t agree, I disagree
• Vex – Upset. Example – Make you no vex me! ; Which means “Don’t upset me!”
• Dem send you? – Have you been sent to torment me? (I will likely be using this one frequently)
• Wayo – Trickery. Example – That man be wayo; which means “that man is a fraud!”
• Butta my bread – Answered prayers. Example – “God don butta my bread” which means God has answered my prayers
• Listen well well – Pay attention 
• Go slow – Traffic jam
• Enta voicemail - Stolen/Cannot be found (Enta = enter)
• Grammar - something confusing and just don't want to have any more of.  "e.g. that one you dey talk na grammar, I go still do wetin I wan do"

...and 2 of my favorites!

• Airforce 1 - flying witch (e.g. e girlfriend mama na airforce 1 = my girlfriend's mom is a flying witch)
• I go land you slap – I will slap you!

Other Resources:

• BabaWilly’s Dictionary of Pidgin English Words and Phrases
• Naija Lingo
• Naija Dictionary

Poverty is the Biggest Violation of Human Rights

They said children are the future, and for marketers, children are easier to mold and more open to new ideas.  Consequently for d.light, we're trying out something so that we can educate kids about our solar lanterns, in the hope that they will convince their parents through this early exposure and adopt it themselves when then get older.  As part of my effort to find out more about schools in Nigeria, I learned about the saddest social/religious practice during my recent trip to Nigeria - the Almajiri School.

The word ALMAJIRI emanated from the Arabic word “AL- MUHAJIRIN”, a concept that came as a result of Prophet Muhammed’s migration from Mecca to Medina, meaning the emigrant. An Almajiri is a person, who is sent out early in life in search of knowledge.  He become a pupil of a Quranic school under a teacher known as Mallam, and engages in daily begging for food in order to survive. Under this practice, poor families from rural areas across the 19 northern states and beyond send their children when they reach the age of 6 to Islamic boarding schools in the cities of northern Nigeria. Today, the word Almajiri has become nearly synonymous with child beggar, and is increasingly looked upon as a menace to society as many of these children become vagabonds or terrorists.

 

While I don't find the tradition of Almajiri problematic, similar idea exist in the Buddhist tradition where young monks will go around begging for alms, it's a way to feed these monks but also an opportunity for the community lay people to practice the virtue of generosity; however, what I find troublesome is how as times change, this tradition is becoming an easy place for abuse and exploitation.  In an ideal situation, the Almajiri schools and the community should provide enough emotional and material support for these children, but unfortunately, the level of support the Islamic tradition called for hasn't been there in most cases.  As a result, these children end up begging on the streets with no one to turn to.  Furthermore, with the high level of poverty, many of these kids did not leave home to become Allah's servant in their own will, they are sent away by their parents at an age as little as 3 because the parents cannot afford to feed them.

I don't know about others, but I was pretty useless when I was 6.  I cannot possibly imagine how scared, confused, and betrayed I would feel if all of a sudden I'm told that I need to go on the street and survive on my own!  In many cases, the so-called "Mallam" exploit the children and take the money they begged, and leave the children with very little.  THAT is child abuse or even child slavery in my book!  They are destined to live a life of poverty and destitute in this system.  


How can any child not feel abandoned and develop a sense of hatred towards society under these conditions?  With those deep rooted feeling of lost and betrayal, these children become the perfect candidates for terrorist groups like Boko Harem, who is spreading terror and paralyzing Nigeria as a nation at the moment.  When a child never experienced love and a sense of connection with another human being in life, picking up a gun or knife become quite an easy task and could potentially be the fastest way to feel "powerful" after a whole life on the street living without much dignity. This well explains why the young men in Boko Harem don't care about the fact that they are bombing/killing innocent people who follow the same Quranic verse as they do...why they don't care about the fact that they are paralyzing the agricultural sector that produce food that feeds the rest of the country, causing food price to skyrocket and more people to suffer in other parts of the country...Boko Harem doesn't seem to actually want anything besides creating chaos potentially in retribution to such an unfair lives they have been living this whole time!  


So there you can see a whole lifecycle of a potential terrorist (or child soldier in other parts of the world).  The outdated Almajiri system, which meant well, is totally abused due to extreme poverty and horrifying ignorance of the Northern communities.  There are very little things that make me feel sad, since I'm quite a hopeful person.  Usually I could find a tiny glimpse at the light at the end of a very long, dark tunnel, and let that carry me through.  However, with these Almajiri, I feel nothing but sadness since I can't see a way out.  The entire system is so open for exploitation as the ones with power want to perpetuate it to their advantage and the poor either are too ignorant to see the problem or so dis-empowered to do anything.  There is no hope!  


In the mean time, the poor are popping more and more children out, which will only make the situation worse.  They don't understand family planning, and for many of them, their religion gives them an attitude that getting pregnant is God (or Allah)'s will so they shouldn't interfere.  So, do we tell them to stop having sex?  That's most definitely not going to happen...when you have so little, sex is their only way to experience a tiny bit of pleasure in life, how can one take that away from them?


To me, poverty is the biggest violation of human rights...there is no talk of "rights" or "dignity" when you are trapped in the poverty cycle.  You are forced to do whatever it takes to survive, and it's especially sad when vulnerable children is being forced into this type of situation every minute and second of the day.  


They said children are the future, but when I look at the children in Nigeria, I cannot help but feel hopeless.  Every time I visit a school in Nigeria, I am greeted by (literally) hundreds of innocent smile, each can lead the nation to a brighter future if they are given the opportunity.  However, after each fun school visits, I can't help but be reminded that each of these bright laughter at the end of the day, will really just represent another missed opportunity, another wasted soul, and another try at the game of life that leads to nothing.  Nigeria is growing to be the world's 3rd largest economy...it is scary to see that this is the future of the world's third largest economy.  Will my lantern really help these kids if they really just can't afford it?  For those who are at the bottom of the bottom, would a hand out be the hand up they need to get out of poverty? or would it really just further stripe away their dignity and perpetuate a system of dependency to foreign aid?  

Funny Names Nigerians Give to Their Children

Nigerian names are very interesting, and they never cease to amuse me...these are some names of people I've actually met

• Nice (who's that over there? That's Nice..ah, very NICE!)
• Gift
• Promise
• Blessing
• Innocent (What's your name, where were you when the murder occurred?  I'm Innocent, I'm innocent!)
• Bright (Hello, I'm bright!  well, let's see about that!...heehee)
• Goodluck (see Goodluck Jonathan, the current Nigerian president)
• Thankgod (name of one of my taxi driver, puts a whole new meaning to "ThankGod, You're here!")
• and...let's not forget  Sunday, Monday, Saturday

Do you have something for me?

"Do you have something for me?" is a phrase that I'm slowly getting used in Nigeria.  For my most recently trip, it feels as though I hear it as often as "how was your night" and "good morning, ma'am".

Upon arrival, I was stopped by the custom, he asks me what do I do, I said, "I'm trying to bring solar lantern to Nigerians", he said "Do you have a light for me?" I  politely explain "I don't bring product with me, we have product at XYZ shops in Lagos if you are interested in buying"...He then said, "OK, that's OK, I want to do business with you and make money", so I explain that I will take his contact and have someone call him.  Our entire conversation had probably 5% relevance to his day job as a custom officer, and 95% relevance to how he can get something out of this interaction.

Then comes the health inspector, wanting to check my yellow fever card, I show him my card, everything is set, he gave it back to me, and said "Do you have something for me?"... "No, I don't"... "OK, carry on"...this was easier than I thought it would be.

Then a couple days later, I hired a taxi to take me to a business meeting.  On the way back, during the 30-minute car ride, he asked me "Will you buy a car for me?" "No"... "Will you take me to America with me?" "no, and you shouldn't be asking me that because you have a wife and 5 kids" ... "Will you get my son a job?" "why?" "he needs a job" "what does he do?" "he can do anything" "that's very vague, no, I can't get your son a job"... Unrelenting, as we get closer to my hotel, he asked " can you ask the hotel kitchen to make something for me to takeaway" "why? doesn't your wife cook for you?" "yes, but i'm not going home, i'm going to keep working" "well, then eat when u are home" "but I'm hungry now" "then you can walk into the hotel and eat there yourself" "but I don't have money" "I don't, either, I will not pay for your dinner"..."OK, have a good night"...no hard feelings.

As I exit Lagos at the airport, the immigration officer amuses themselves over my last name and the fact that I'm Chinese looking, but holds an American passport.  This happens EVERY time I go to Nigeria, so I play alone the typical script, joking with them respectfully.  Then the lady immigration officer asked "Do you have something for me?" "for what?" "for something to drink" "oh, no, I finished all my Naira since I'm leaving, maybe next time" "OK"...she stamps my passport and wished me a good trip back to Kenya.

What amazes me is (1) how commonplace and "normal" asking people (locals & expats) for "something" is in Nigeria, and (2) how well people take "no" for an answer!  With the upbringing of an Asian family, rejecting someone's request is always something that makes me feel very uncomfortable.  Well, first of all, Asians rarely ask people for anything as it is a sign of weakness/failure. (as in contrast with Africa, which thanks to the work of aid organizations and the missionaries, has turned into this big "asking" culture)  Secondly, if you don't want to do something for someone when asked, you usually hesitate and the other person will get the idea and back out.  However, that kind of subtlety just doesn't work in Nigeria, and I've learned to be pretty straightforward so nothing is left to the imagination.  No means no! For the most part, people just leave you alone after you said no and there's no uneasy feeling.

So tip for next time you're asked for a little "something" in Nigeria, after much research, the best response apparently is not to agree, and not to say no, but simply smile and say "I can't now, maybe next time..." and of course, there will always be a "next time" :-) and if you are feeling brave, you can ask, "do you have something for me to bring back home?" and see how they respond.

Time to put away the carrot and bring out the stick

Out of all my business trip to Nigeria, I think this week was the most tiring and with the most mixed emotion.  It was extremely productive to get to know the team and business better, pushing them to a higher standard in terms of strategic business planning as well as management structure.  Some parts of our planning session I felt like I rather jump off a building than continuing on wasting my time with the level of unprofessionalism and just lack of critical thinking from certain individuals...but other times, I will see a light bulb go off in one of them, and it all felt like it's worth it!!  At the end of the day, even though I would never be OK with our output had I been in the US, we've mad such astronomical progress compared to where we started that while I walked away exhausted, I feel really good about what I was able to impact.

I also realized how naive and trusting I am with people during this trip.  Having been trained in multinational firms where people are results-oriented and work for career advancement, I took for granted the level of professionalism in all my colleagues who focus on the long-term by "getting things done well" vs. the living in the moment "how can I milk this job as much as I can" mentality.

A few of us were discussing how difficult it is to hire a reliable driver in Nigeria.  Within a few days of hiring, a driver already will be coming to you, giving you stories about his life, and asking for money to help his family do this and that... A driver can decide that today, he has enough money, and doesn't feel like working, so will make up some story to not come into work.  If you're too nice to him, he takes things for granted, and begin to expect that.  People began developing a false sense of indispensability very quickly, and after realizing this, it began to make a lot of sense why I see my better off Nigerian colleagues treating other people they way they do...always "putting them in their rightful place" with the way they order people around, and "demanding" instead of "requesting" for things...people seem to need to be reminded where they should be in the social structure, otherwise, the minute the lines are blurred, they cross the boundary very quickly and it evolves into something unmanageable VERY quickly.

For example, one of my colleague knew someone who once had a driver who was slowly poisoning him.  He found out after falling seriously ill, and upon recovery, he confronted the driver, and found out about the reason behind the malicious act.  Apparently, the driver felt like the person was being mean and "mistreating" him because he asked him for some assistance/money once, but the guy couldn't give him money because his business was not going well.  Mind you, this is not an advance to his salary, but just a handout/favor.  Plus, every other time he had asked for money, the guy had always given money to him...it's just that this time he couldn't help him.  Between (1) the driver having short-term memory and forget all the things the guy has done for him in the past, and (2) he only caring for the day and does not realize he won't have a job if the guy dies...he decided to plot this revenge and began slipping poison in his drink.  Another example, my colleague's driver just didn't show up at work one day (despite of being told that it's important for him to be available and on time for this particular week due to some important things that needs to be done...etc.)...when he didn't show up, my colleague called him to inquire why he did not report to work, he explained that he cannot come to work because his landlord is going to evict him, and if he comes to work, he won't be home to protect his family when the landlord comes...It never occur to the guy that if he goes to work, earn money, then he can pay the landlord and not get evicted!!!  Instead, he just didn't show up at work, and lost his job.  Ridiculous behaviors like this apparently is commonplace, so one just have to be prepared to look for a new driver every 3 months.  Stuff like this makes my jaw drop; however, in a very odd way, I can kind of understand the reason behind the behavior to a certain extent.   In a country where anything can happen any day, and the environment is constantly changing, you have to deal with life one day at a time, and every day can be different.  So, if I have money today, I spend it, do whatever I want, be happy, who cares about showing up to work so I can work tomorrow.  If I don't have money now, I just have to figure out how to sort the situation out the best way I know TODAY.  (vs.thinking about the future so I can be sure to not have to deal with this kind of situation tomorrow)  

Another thing is, there's seem to be little social constraint on one's behavior so everyone is free to express themselves however they feel like it.  If you're happy, you laugh, if you're upset with someone, you throw your fist around and make a mess for everyone.  Sometimes I adore Nigerians for this "living in the moment" thing, and appreciate that you can have a HUGE argument with someone, but the next day, they completely forget about it, and you're happy again!  Coming from a society where everyone has to follow a certain protocol, be polite, don't stick out to be different, have manners...etc..  A lot of the behaviors I see can be judged as "childish" "irresponsible" or plain "stupid".  However, labeling Nigerians as such would be unfair because I will be judging their way of life by my foreign standard, and frankly, the society and education level here just hasn't gotten to that point, and "development" has been very one-sided in the oil sector while everybody else are wildly neglected.  Although sometimes I scream "there's got to be a better way!!", the fact that this is a larger, cultural and national issue is slowly sinking in, and I'm beginning to ask myself, how should I deal with someone whose focus is getting the most out of today and may do anything to make sure he takes care of his family today.  The carrots that used to work for me no longer works with this group of people, and the carrots they want isn't something I am able or want to offer.

I suppose the biggest moment of truth for me in all these discussions was...sometimes, it's important to take out the "stick", and using the stick can be very difficult... in all my professional work previously, you get things done by building relationships, give and receive favors, and generally by being nice to people and focus on getting things done and doing your job well. I spent a lot of time thinking about what the "carrot" should be and how to motivate people using positive reinforcements, yet, I have spent virtually no time thinking about how I could use punishment to shape behavior.

Here in Nigeria, especially outside a multinational company, a lot of time what's keeping you in a job is not the result you can deliver/competency, but if you're favored by your superior...So, many people focus their energy not in delivering what they're supposed to deliver based on their job description, but focus on making their boss happy.  In the meantime, I suppose you can never be sure if you can stay in favor forever, they milk their job as much as they can...In my instance, I found out this trip that there was a strong belief by a couple key people that one of my direct liaison in Nigeria was focusing more on giving out contract to her friends using the work we need to get done vs. finding someone who can do the job effectively at the lowest costs (a.k.a. what she was hired to do).  Because I'm remote, and she's supposed to be fairly experienced, I've been mostly relying on her to do these execution and trusting that she's doing it to the best of her ability...so, I usually just chime in on a higher strategic level...and when something is not on par of the standard I would typically hold my work to, a "this is Nigeria/Africa" sort of explanation is usually enough to persuade me to accept what we can get and move on.  I never suspected that all these other ulterior motives related to personal benefit could be coming into play because I liked and trusted the person.  By being too nice and easily persuaded, I'm actually encouraging her to take her bad behavior to the next level and further take advantage of the situation.  I was completely blindsided. And even after realizing that, I was still struggling to figure out the best way to "discipline" the person because the effective way just seem too harsh for me.  Eventually, a decision was made.  It is so upsetting to know that someone I liked is making such a stupid mistake (and likely will repeat such mistake)...and it is also difficult to continue working with her knowing fully well what she was actually doing as well as what will eventually happen to her.  I guess there are certain traits that cannot be corrected so once you see the warning sign, you're better off letting the person go than trying to make them change because it's often not so logical why they're doing what they're doing therefore isn't a behavior we can change using a line of reasoning/logic.  I know it's not personal, it's business...however, for me, it's still hard to detach the person (and his family) from the matter...

It was a difficult week, but I learned so much about people, management, and my own weakness...I don't know how this will change how I deal with people, but am glad that as the immigration stamp my passport, I'm leaving this country just a little bit wiser...

The "mad tea party" in 9ja wonderland...

Those of you who know me, know that I'm a planner...and those of you who knows Nigeria, would know that planners and Nigeria probably won't mix well together.  Well, last week was the true test of my mental capacity.  I experienced the kind of feeling you'd imagine a sane person would experience when she's mistakenly put into a mental institute...or how Alice felt when she was trapped in the Wonderland...nothing made sense, and things just spiral down so quickly that you began to question your own worldview up till that point!  For the first time in my professional career, I felt completely lacking control for the simplest task in the world, and felt the need to pray and leave the success of my project/business in the hands of God (or whatever higher power there is).  Somehow, He pulled through for me.  I love 9ja as a country, but this time, I couldn't wait to go back to Kenya, where things may be pole pole, but at least made a bit more sense.

The trip began with a trampede at the immigration control at Lagos.  Multiple planes landed and hordes or people were quickly cramming into a very small space while people are passing through the passport control people VERY slowly.  The space filled up very quickly, and soon people were pushing each other down the stairs.  At this point, it's probably a good idea to turn off the escalator, but of course it took a bloody accident for that to happen.  I only heard a loud thump and a silent gasp by the group, and saw a pool of blood afterwards...didn't really want to imagine or inquire what happened to the woman who fell down the flights of escalator stairs.

I was sent to monitor our very first sets of capacity building training in Nigeria...a set of training that d.light has been discussing with our Nigerian partner since May.  (i.e: plenty of time to plan).  The agreement was that we will send money ahead of time to fund the training, and our local partner will take care of the logistics (i.e. print training materials, invite distributors, book tickets/hotel reservations...etc.).  Our first training was in Enugu, Eastern part of Nigeria...we had a morning flight scheduled to leave Lagos at 7:10a, arriving in Enugu 9a, and training will begin at 10a with 60 people, some of whom traveled 5 hours to get there.  I showed up at the airport, only to realize that all the training materials have just been completed the night before, and are coming with us as excess luggage (vs. sent ahead of time).  All the paperwork + the normal Lagos chaos caused delay and a sense of panic inside me...I had enough mental power at that time and did a pretty good job suppressing my worries, and thankfully, we got on the plane at 7:10a exactly.  Cutting it close, but manageable... Whew...Enugu training went on, minor glitches here and there, all was well!

Next stop, Kano.  The night before we were supposed to go to Kano, I found out that not only do we not have our plane ticket to Kano purchased, don't know if there are tickets available to Kano, but our local partner also did not have enough cash on him to pay for our tickets if such ticket becomes available to us!  His master plan was...we fly half way to Abuja (closer to Kano, but NOT Kano), try to get into town (hours away from the airport) to find his bank and take money, come back to the airport to see if there is plane ticket available..and doing all these within a few hours because it was Friday, and bank close early.  Mind you, on top of the normal weekend traffic, we are in peak travel season as everyone is going home for Christmas.  In addition, Kano airport has a very basic runway (think Casablanca), and often has cancellations or delays if the weather is bad (which is often).  My jaws dropped as I discovered this news, and had nothing but questions in my head on how could this possibly be happening!  What will we do if we cannot get to Kano?  I'm spending $700/day to pay for this trainer to come train, and now he can't even train!?  What are the people going to do traveling all the distance there only to find out there's no trainer?  What the @#$%^&!!!?  Trying painstakingly to keep my cool, I asked, so what's our back up plan...the response I got was, "we'll see when we get there"...WE WILL SEE WHEN WE GET THERE?  This is what happens when we always plan 1 hour before the disaster is about to happen!  How about for once we plan ahead so we won't NEED to see when we get there and know exactly what will be there?  Why don't we have money?  What happened to the money I sent?  (at this point, I was politely reminded that I "ask too many questions"...and should just wait, and believe that things will look up...)

Thing did look up, by God's grace (yes, even I believe in God at this point, there's no other explanation), we got the last 4 tickets for the last flight from Abuja to Kano at 9 pm (who knows at what premium price), but this airline is notorious for canceling flights, and I've heard horror stories about that particular flight into Kano.  At this point, I have no idea what I can possibly do within my limited ability as a hopeless mortal, so I am just praying that it will fly, I didn't care how long it will delay, as long as it get us there so we can train the next morning.  Thankfully, J.C. pulled through for us one more time, and we got to Kano...late, but we got there.

Next morning, people began showing up for the training, but we had no clear idea who all these people were, how many are coming, and how many are late.  People were tardy for 2 hours on average, and we made the best out of what we got.  At this point, even my amazingly even-tempered Kenyan colleague was getting upset (while I'm already reached the edge of hysteria and appalled at how horribly managed everything was). The lack of accountability, initiative, and just this general need to be "the boss", is getting in the way of progress and results.  One hilarious example I could give is that as part of the training, we give out a certificate of participation at the end (side note: certificates are huge hits in Africa).  We wrote in the names of the participants to this pre-printed template, and laminates it before giving out.  We sent this fully grown man to do the lamination.  He came back with the certificates laminated, but there's a huge part of the laminate just hanging out and the thing is looking awful...I asked, can the shop not trim these edges so it looks more finished?  He answered "no"...I asked, can we trim it ourselves?  He asked "how?"...I asked, is there a scissor?  He said, "no"... I asked, in this entire hotel with all the conference halls, there is not one single scissor we can borrow for 5 minutes?  He said "no"... I said, please ask again...5 minutes later, the man has not returned, I walked downstairs, ran into the guy wandering around the hotel, then grabbed him to go to the business center, I asked the business center guy, is there something I can use to trim this laminated certificates?  The shopkeeper said..."like a scissor?"...I said, with a huge relief that I've finally talked with a sane person, "YES, like a scissor..." while having an image in my head of myself banging my head against the wall...

On a daily basis, I feel like one of those parents who asks her son to clean his room, no response, ask again, no response, and by the 10th time, the son says, "fine, I've done it", only to find out that he just shoves all the dirty laundry into the closet and considered the task done.  I suppose there's always the challenge of how you might show someone a better way when (a) his exposure doesn't allow him the bandwidth to open up to alternative options, and (b) his ego is in the way of seeking help for better solutions?  How do you show someone what he's missing when he's been perfectly happy with how things are now?  Same type of struggle happens in the world of new product commercialization.  How do you explain the benefit of the Internet to someone who lives in the age of telegraph?  There's a Chinese metaphor of the sentiment of an iron-smith lamenting the iron does not turn into steel after so much hardwork...I haven't lost hope yet, but I really hope that all these work and time spent will not result in nothing...

d.light-ing Schools in Kano

latest - d.light S1

Late October, I had a chance to observe a series of activation events d.light was doing in Kano  in Northern part of Nigeria.  We were focusing a lot on consumer engagement because affordable solar lantern is such a foreign concept, most people either don't know about it or are skeptical.  In Nigeria, especially, there are so many cheap, crappy Chinese LED lights in the market, people are just very wary of another product promising to be the best thing since the sliced bread!  Our latest launch is an ultra-affordable light, it is created to make solar light even more affordable for people at the bottom of the pyramid, and we're focusing on getting these lights to schools so kids can use them to study.  Currently children either don't get a chance to study at night because their ration of kerosene is reserved for "income-producing" tasks OR they study under the dim light of kerosene lantern, which is dangerous, bad for their health (with the fume), and screws up their eyes.  Imagine going through schools only to ruin your eyes and unable to afford a pair of glasses!

d.light much brighter than kerosene lantern

There are also studies that showed introducing solar lanterns increase study time and improves exam passing rates, so we want to focus on reaching students at the critical annual exam time when they need to study the most in order to get to secondary schools and universities, and help them at that tipping point in life.

Kano is an interesting town...also densely populated and lots of trucks are passing by shipping products for exports.  It's one of the cities in Nigeria with the least electrification, and is also one of the poorest place.  When the night falls, everything really stops.  The only one left are the police on their street by the roadblocks (given recent terrorist bombings), and a little bit of street vendors.


I visited 4 schools all together, as expected, the drive there was crazy, but a piece of cake compare to Lagos.

The minute I arrive at the school, I stick out like a sore thumb! All the kids went crazy and were trying to get my attention.  It's funny to see the kids' curiosity, and given the huge distraction I've brought into the classroom, I have to say our marketing team did a pretty good job engaging them and teaching them about solar lanterns.  In Africa, marketing to kids doesn't seem as taboo as it is in the US.  Companies like Unilever does it all the time for various products.  For example, dettol (anti-bacterial soap) and UNICEF has a hand-washing campaign in schools, and Kiwi show shine has a schools program teaching kids about grooming so they could "shine" (like their shoes after polishing with Kiwi products, a bit of a stretch, I know, but it's been successful).  I am just amazed by the simplicity of people here and how easily marketing messages get through to people. In general, people believe what they hear on TV or on the radio!  Compare to the cynicism in the US that I had to deal with as a marketer in the last few years, I just couldn't believe how easy it is! (ok, now I sounds like an evil marketer, but at least I have a good and truthful message to spread)

Here are some photos from the activation, I just adore the kids:

Happy JS3 (~9th grade) kid who just won a free d.light

A glimpse into the teacher's lounge... male and female teachers stay in separate rooms..and the male teachers slacks off definitely much more than the female ones

 

Girl school, these girls are so fun and beautiful!  but definitely overcrowded, each class had over 50 students and many were just sitting on the floor.  Since Kano is in Hausa-land and primarily Muslim, quite a few of these girls are actually already engaged or married by age 13-14

Christian school girls and boys were much less disciplined than the Muslim kids...they were poking me, taking to me, vs. the other schools, they just stare and smile and maybe gesturing to me that they want to get a "snap" (photo)

Other random things from Kano:

Gold market...stall to the right are all real golds...there's a "private" security system in place apparently

God is #1 priority in Hausa-land, and then it's survival, so  sending kids to school aren't people's priority up Northern Nigeria, many of these kids are in markets, on highways, selling water and other things

 

Emir of Kano...he has 40 wives I heard, and when I arrived Kano, our activation team there immediately began plotting to make me his next wife... I wonder how many d.light solar lantern he'll buy in exchange for wedding me...

This wild ride called "Lagos"

As weird as this sound, sitting in traffic in Lagos has become one of my favorite things to do now.

 

Sure, if I'm on my way to a meeting, and am already 2 hours late, it could be stressful; however, everyone knows how bad the traffic could be, and people are generally pretty understanding if you're late (especially if you're a foreigner).  In fact, I don't recall ever having a meeting on-time in Nigeria. Sure it's extremely inefficient to sit in traffic for 4-6 hours of your life on a daily basis, but that is life in this part of the world.   The system is so broken in Nigeria that one can't even decide where to start fixing it, Lagos city was not planned, and people just flood into the metropolis, how do you get the people out so you can begin to build all the infrastructure? and even if you finish building it, there will just be more people that comes in and what you have just built will not be sufficient any more!  So people don't bother with hoping the system will be better and just put matters in their own hands.  Most nicer buildings have their own generators and water system, each one is self-sustaining, whether the government is there or not!  and I thought the US government is messed up!

It's 32C, hot, hazy, and sticky outside, and I am sitting in the back seat inside this "safe haven" called my taxi, having one of the most surreal experience ever.  Looking out from the car, LIFE is happening, raw, and lots of it, right in front of my eyes.  Drama, including what I have thought would only happen in movies are literally flashing in front you.  It feels a bit like I'm in an amusement park ride with the theme of an urban version of lord of the flies or time traveling back a few hundred years.

Driving (well, parking rather since you move at 0.5 km/hour) on the dusty road bumper to bumper, the constant hooting begin to blend into the background, providing the perfect theme music for what's happening outside...just to give a flavor of the type of things I've seen sitting in the car:

• Car on fire on the side of the road with petroleum tankers not far away stuck in traffic, I couldn't wait to get as far away from the spot as quickly as possible, but there were plenty of Nigerians standing just 1 meter away just get on with their business as usual, completely oblivious to the fact that the car can explode at any time
• People of all ages walking or crossing the highway...to paint a picture of what this looks like, imagine one of those doomsday Hollywood action movies where all the cars are trying to evacuate out of the city, but end up stuck/parked on the bridge; then, fill 50% of the remaining space on this bridge with images of people, walking in a state of panic to get out...THAT, is the kind of density we're talking about here, except, no aliens are invading, and this is every day life in Lagos.  Kids and mothers carrying babies on their back are jumping over the concrete barrier/divider in the middle to cross, that's just how they go to school, or to the markets!  Some determination to survive and do better, eh?!  
• Vendors packed on the side of the street with stalls lit by bursting open fire fueled by kerosene, which can easily be tumbled over and explode
• People waving their hands, yelling over various car accidents...this happens often since no one follows traffic rules, the guy on the outside land can decide to make a right, while you go straight, then bam!  It's understandable that people don't follow rules because the very few who does probably will never get to where they need to be with everyone else passing. These kind of argument can last hours, cars will just be parked at where the accident happens, regardless if it's in the middle of a junction blocking traffic from all side or not...It's usually settled by cash on the spot (otherwise you'll never find the chap again), and bystanders will join the argument to support either parties, in hope to get a cut out of the settlement money. Sometimes police are nearby to mediate, but the winner is usually the one with a deeper pocket.  Nigerian arguments are especially interesting to watch, they're very animated, and there's usually a lot of yelling and moving around and pointing involved
• Street hawkers selling everything from shoe shelves to snacks to puppies...these "waka waka (walkers)" also walk the highways, and can easily be squeezed in between large trucks, very dangerous...when the cars move, they run with the car to finish the transaction...i think sometimes people could easily just take the product and drive away

In short, there is never a dull moment, and this is how people survive, literally, it feels to me that people are not "living", rather, they are "surviving" one day to the next, and it never cease to amaze me how tenacious people can be, and how good life has been to me.

One of the parking guys, was very funny and wanted to pose for my camera, very nice guy, but the minute I finished with the photo, he return to being a very tough/mean parking guy, I guess that's what it takes in Lagos

Yoruba of the day

I think I may have been a Yoruba in one of my past lives...they're so fun to be with!

Yoruba for the day

• ba o ni: how are you
• da da ni: i'm fine
• e shay: thank you
• e shay po po: thank you very much
• be le: sorry
• be le po po: very sorry
• o dabo: goodbye
• owenbe: party

     ...and most important one...

• o fine...you look fiiine! (this is unisex)

...disclaimer: most of the spelling probably isn't correct, but the sounds should be..

First day in Nigeria

So the day had finally come - my first trip to Nigeria.  I have been warned by EVERYONE prior to this trip to be careful, that it's a rough place...and now I'm here, I can finally understand what they meant.  I was first greeted by very unfriendly immigration officer.  My flight attendant didn't give me an immigration form to fill out probably because I had passed out on my early morning flight, so I asked politely to see if they have a spare one to give me.  The officer went on to question why other people had their form and I didn't, and just seem reluctant to do anything...so I was like, well...I need one, don't you have one?  Finally, the guy next to him said something to him and he gave me a form...and then lectured me on how I should get a form next time...then, usually, once they checked your form, you're OK to go on, but not in Nigeria, there's a second stop where they inspect your passport again, there's a guy who inspect it, then the girl next to him stamps it...seems super inefficient to me!  Again, neither of the two people ever smiled the whole time, and just seemed very hostile, like I'm bothering them to do their jobs!  Finally, at the custom, right before I left the airport, the guard interrogated me on the purpose of my trip, after I explained myself, I finally got my first "welcome to Nigeria" and a smile...

The driver my distribution partner sent is a quiet guy, he didn't say much, and just took me to the hotel...first I got excited cuz it was a beach front property, and seemed like a very nice hotel, but then they didn't have my reservation on the book, so all of a sudden one small thing required the attention of 5 staff from the hotel plus my driver calling our contact to sort out.  The manager, who looked Indian, came to me and I guess wanted to be polite, showed me the room (with a gorgeous ocean view), and said everything is OK, they just need to sort out the rate with my distribution partner, then I can check in.  But of course, after I came back to the lobby, turns out that we went to a wrong place...my real hotel is a bit further inland, and hidden somewhere, it's definitely a bit of a let down, but still, I'm happy to be able to wash up a bit after a whole morning of sitting in traffic and dealing with angry people!

My first impression of Nigeria is definitely not a great one.  I've really liked all the Nigerians I've befriended over the years, so I think they're super nice friendly people...just not towards strangers...there's just this sense of everyone can be a criminal type feeling, while I can understand where that came from, it's still not pleasant to be on the receiving end of this kind of hostility.  In contrast to the kindness and hospitality I've received in Kenya, this is definitely a pretty big adjustment.

Nigerian matatus in bright yellow

The infamous Lagos traffic...I though Nairobi traffic was bad, Lagos traffic is INSANE! People are aggressive, hoots constantly, and don't exactly follow the pavement when they drive...This is Saturday morning, imagine what it's like during rush hour.

Chapman - the local non alcoholic cocktail consist of  coke, fanta, grenadine, black current syrup, bitter lemon and a touch of cucumber.  There's a soccer match going on between Liverpool and Manchester, so everyone is watching...

Wasn't sure what this is, I think it's Egusi soup (made with salted fish, collard green, and some goat meat) + pounded yam

Another Post on Ben Okri

Writers are Listeners – Storymoja Hay Fest 2011

Posted: 19 Sep 2011 02:22 AM PDT
Written by Clifton Gachagua

Ben Okri reading one of his poems at the British Council tent, Storymoja Hay festival 2011. To the far left is panelist Daniel Waweru and to the near right is panelist Milton Obote. The session was at the British Council tent. An enthusiastic crowd had gathered, filling the tent to capacity.

Ben Okri started off by saying it was a pleasure to be in Kenya. This was his first visit. He felt in retrospect that he should have left his home country Nigeria in his 20s and visited the whole of Africa with only a notebook and some biros. He termed the Storymoja Hay festival as one of the most important festivals in Africa with stimulates literature, the sharing of ideas and the meeting of minds and spirits.

He started off by reading My Mother Sleeps. Then he read The Difficulty of Seeing. While explaining the latter poem, he said that one of his biggest interests was the paradox of seeing. That seeing is not just opening one’s eyes. The he read The Rhino. A poem made of four lines.

At one time, school children in UK had approached him to propose to them a list of ten great books they should read before they finished school. Like most of the other writers who had been approached to do the same, he found difficulty in listing only ten books, so he came up with what he calls Ten and a Half Inclinations published in his book, A Time for New Dreams.

1. Read the books your parents hate
2. Read the books your parents love
3. Have one or two authors that speak to you and make their work your secret passion
4. Read widely for fun, for stimulation, for escape
5. Don’t read what everyone else is reading, check them out later, cautiously
6. Read the books you are not supposed to read
7. Read for your own liberation and mental freedom
8. Books are like mirrors, don’t just read the words, go into the mirror, that’s where the real secrets are, inside, behind. That’s where the gods dream, where our realities are born.
10.5 Read the world. Read the world. It is the most mysterious book of all.

On being asked if he classified himself as an African writer, Okri’s reply was “It is a huge debate. A writer is a huge responsive being of undercurrents and overcurrents, of dreams, futures and histories. Writers are listeners. They don’t even know what they are listening to. Their ears are like the roots of a tree, that grow downwards, upwards and sideways. Writers are writers. Writers should write with no boundaries. There is no this is what you are supposed to write about.”  He mentioned that the danger of him classifying himself as an African writer would be than he could further be inclined to say that he is a Nigerian writer, then further that he is a Lagos writer, and then further that he is a writer from the specific street he grew up in.

Another set of aphorisms; hearing the African rhythm.

- Heart shaped Africa is the feeling centre of the world
- Continents are metaphors
- A people are spiritual states of humanity as distinguishable in what they represent as roses, lions and stars.
- Have we forgotten what Africa is?
- Africa is our dreamland, our spiritual homeland
- There is a realm inside everyone that is Africa. We all have an Africa within.
- When the Africa outside is sick with troubles, the Africa inside us makes us sick with neurosis.
- The sheer quantity of inexplicable psychic illness in the world is possibly  indirectly connected to the troubles in Africa.
- We have to heal the Africa in us if we are going to be whole again.
- We have to heal the Africa outside us if the human race is going to be at peace again in a new dynamic way
- There is a relationship between the troubles in a people and the troubles in the atmosphere of the world.
- The troubles of Africa contribute immensely to the sheer weight and size of world suffering.
- And this world suffering affects everyone on the planet, affects children and their health, affects our sleep, our anxiety and our unknown suffering.
- For it is possible to suffer without knowing it.
- We have to heal the Africa within. We have to rediscover the true Africa. The Africa of laughter, of joy, of improvisation, of originality, the Africa of myths and legends, storytelling, playfulness, the Africa of generosity, of hospitality, of compassion, the Africa of wisdom, aesthitism and divination, the Africa of paradox, proverbs, and surprise; the Africa of magic, faith, patience and endurance; the Africa of a fourth dimensional attitude to time; the Africa of a profound knowledge of nature’s ways and the secret cycles of destiny.
- We have to rediscover Africa. The first encounter of Africa by Europe was the wrong one. It was not an encounter, it was an appropriation, what they saw and bequithed to the future ages was in fact a misperception. They did not see Africa. This wrong seeing of Africa is part of the problems of today. Africa was seen through greed and what could be got from her. This justified all kinds of injustice.
- What you see is what you make. What you see in people is what you eventually create in them.
- It is now time for a new seeing, it is now time to flare the darkness on the eyes of the world.
- The world should now begin to see the light in Africa, its possibilities, its beauties, its jeers
- If we see it, it will be revealed. We always see what we are prepared to see. Only what we see anew is revealed to us.
- Africa has been waiting for centuries to be discovered with the eyes of love, with the eyes of a lover.
- There is no true theme without love.
- We have to learn to love the Africa in us if humanity is going to begin to know true happiness in this world.
- We love the America in us, the Europe in us, the Asia in us we are beginning to respect. Only the Africa in us is unloved, unseen, unappreciated.
- The first step towards the exoneration of humanity is making whole again all these great continents within us.
- We are the sum total of humanity.
- Every individual is all humanity.
- It is Africa’s time to smile
- That would be the loveliest gift of the 21st century, to make Africa smile again.
- Then humanity can begin to think about the universe, even the remote stars as its true home.

Ben Okri has been quiet a big influence in the Storymoja Hay festival. At the Bic tent for children, several portraits of the writer are on display.

Ben Okri, my new intellectual crush!

Ben Okri was Africa's most famous novelist and poet who won a Man Booker Prize for The Famished Road.  Being oblivious to the literary world and not much into poems, I didn't think of his visit to the Storymoja Hay Festival as big of a deal as everyone else, until I went to one of his readings.  I am now a total believer and fan! He is such a genius of beautiful words/brilliant sentences, sees life with such depth and openness, and has the courage to continuously pioneer a new frontier of thoughts in order to move the civilization forward.

Okri is fascinated with the many realities of humanity, the duality of life, this constant push and pull between form and spirits, and how one makes the most out of the constraint of form.  "Too much form means not enough spirit and too much spirit means not enough form".  In fact, human life itself illustrates such struggle.  We are all bound in our 6' x 2' form, our bodies, yet what's contained within our bodies are so much more!  Our spirit can expand in time and space and imagine what life is like hundreds of years ago or empathize with someone else from a different land and tradition.  We are constantly learning and trying to balance our spirits desire to expand with the practical constraint of our form.  Same duality can be seen in atoms with the opposing force of separating and attracting; that force is what makes up the world, and what makes the world interesting and beautiful.

The opening paragraph of The Famished Road reads beautifully..."In the beginning, there was a river. The river became a road and the road branched out to the whole world.  And because the road was once a river, it was always hungry"  River is water, water is fluid and full of possibilities, but it lacks form, you cannot control it.  Once it becomes the rigid road, it loses some of its original fluidity and creativity, however, the form brings other values by connecting people/traditions, enabling commerce...etc. Something is lost, but something is also gained from it.  I think this resembles human life as well...when we were first born into this world, we have many dreams, and it's limitless, we can fly around the world with Peter Pan or have a tea party with teddy bears...as we grow, we become more rigid as we "define" who we are, what we want, and start to pass quick judgement to things we think we know we don't like or don't want.  We take a more rigid form based on our tradition, language, and experiences.  This form allows us to focus, to add functional value to the world, to the economy, but it suffocate our ability to dream.  Because we once was able to dream without limit, we will always long for those dream and creativity after we have taken our forms. (just think, many of us working 8-5 jobs often doubt if this is it for our lives?  will we ever be able to do something more interesting?) The struggle and the beauty, I suppose, is in the "balance"...and in the balance we can find sanity and love and joy in life.  How to achieve such balance perhaps is the learning for our life times.

Another interesting way Ben Okri has explored this was by released a poem one sentence a day on Twitter earlier this year, with the word limits on Twitter, he is challenged to not waste any words and strive to have words work together so that each word end up express more than it could on its own.   Here was his poem, a great way to state a New Year resolution, isn't it?

O that abstract garden of being
Tells me to be brave, and clear,
In the fire of living,
And in the journey through the year.
So I will grow me like an oak tree
And make life’s honey like a bee.
Each day I will walk an interesting mile
And with the sun I’ll share a smile.
I will play again like a child,
And celebrate what’s wild.
I will swim in every sea or river,
And reflect the light of the sublime giver.
I will be at ease with opposition,
And will cultivate intuition.
I will walk the surprising streets,
And dance to life’s unexpected beats.
I will notice all the phases of the moon
And try not to act too late or too soon.
I will write something new every day
And look at paintings in an alternative way.
I’ll not dream the same way twice;
But I’ll not be shy to repeat what’s nice.
I’ll have the courage, when needed, to change;
And I won’t forget that life is strange.
And so I’ll learn to love the simple things
As well as the complexity that life brings.
Good or bad I’ll learn to treat the same
And I’ll not forget that it’s all a mysterious game.
I’ll not let that general fear of death run my life
Into the higher realms I will enter
O that abstract garden, make me clear,
Make me brave, without fear.
I intend to love this rich new year.

Another one of his twitter poems:

I sing a new freedom
I sing a new freedom
Freedom with discipline.
We need freedom to rise higher.
Be true to yourself
In the follies of our times.
Become what you are
In this era of economic crimes.
Only the free in spirit
Will find their way out of this maze.
We are children of the stars.
We ought to amaze.

...and my favourite one:
As clouds pass above our heads
So time passes through our lives.
Where does it go,
And when it passes,
What do we have to show?
We can plant deeds in time
As gardners plant roses.
We can plant thoughts, or good words too
Especially if they are noble and true.
Time is an act of consciousness:
One of the greatest forces
Of the material world.
We ought to use time
Like emperors of the mind:
Do magic things that the future,
Surprised, will find.
We could change our life today
And seek out a higher way.
The Buddha sat beneath a tree
And from all illusion became free.
And as we travel on this life that is a sea
We can glimpse eternity.
We can join that growing fight
To stop our world being plunged into night.
We can wake to the power of our voice
Change the world with the power of our choice.
But there is nothing we can do
If we don’t begin to think anew.
We are not much more than what we think;
In our minds we swim or sink.
If there is one secret I’d like to share
It’s that we are what we dream
Or what we fear.
So dream a good dream today
And keep it going in every way.
Let each moment of our life
Somehow help the good fight
Or help spread some light.
The wise say life is a dream;
And soon the dream is done.
But what you did in the dream
Is all that counts beneath the sun.
The dream is real, and the real is a dream
Each one of us is a powerful being.
Wake up to what you are,
You are a sun, you are a star.
Wake up to what you can be.
Search, search for a new destiny

• His BBC interview on the economic meltdown and his new book A Time for New Dreams
• Ben Okri Lines in potentis: while a bit mythical, deeply inspiring
• Ben Okri reads from his new book A Time for New Dreams
• Ben Okri reads selected poems
• Some interesting Ben Okri quotes to ponder:
• “We plan our lives according to a dream that came to us in our childhood, and we find that life alters our plans. And yet, at the end, from a rare height, we also see that our dream was our fate. It's just that providence had other ideas as to how we would get there. Destiny plans a different route, or turns the dream around, as if it were a riddle, and fulfills the dream in ways we couldn't have expected.”
• “Politics is the art of the possible; creativity is the art of the impossible."
• "Tolerance depends on the quality of imagination, the capacity to step out of your own world view into another...but you can only do that when you have respect for other world views and believe in the possibility of other validities"
• "Life demands constant openness"
• "Literature is a magic mirror that allows us to see ourselves much more clearly' and 'The writers job is to look deep, listen profoundly and write truthfully"

He says that poets are often weird people, they are like a wrecked ship...because they are not whole, they have the capability to let the world's spirit enter them and create works that serves as mirror to humanity.  This explains a lot, and I've now have a new found respect for artists and poets.