Kenya TV Program

While I do have access to satellite dish channels, yet another luxury I never had in the US, I love browsing through the Kenyan channels...it's primarily 1 channel plus a bunch of other Christian program and pop music channels...

I found this program amusing with the 3 languages (Korean, English, Swahili) going at the same time...the middle guy speaking English looks bored/pissed off, and the Korean guy on the right keep cutting the Swahili guy off...and some audience are diligently taking notes while there's one guy falling asleep...

When I was in Kenya last, we rode in one matatus that had TV screens and was blasting music like this...I hope I can learn to move like the folks here after 10 months...

All Settled In!!

After 30+ hours, I finally got to Nairobi late 8/27 (sat) evening. Thomas, the company driver, picked me up. He's a 37 year old Kenyan who's got a big smile on his face and apparently has laughing as a default reaction no matter he's angry, frustrated, or actually happy - what a nice trait! He used to be a safari guide for 10 years, and got recruited by d.light just 3 months ago. He said that everyone at the office jokes a lot and are like families...also, my boss talk and walk like Mr. Bean...He also said that he thought I was going to be militant like and serious from my name, but was surprised that I am nice, happy and laughs with him...I found this kind of funny, and tried to set the expectation that I AM a serious person, he laughed hard and didn't believe me...I'm looking forward to work on Monday now :-)

I am staying at this super cute renovated 19th century cottage in the Kileleshwa area nearby where the Kenyan President lives for 70,000 ksh (roughly $750) a month....It's gated with 24 hour security and housekeeping service during the week. The unit is very quiet and private, I have my own gated yard and the house is locked from the inside. It's also very spacious, probably the largest space I've ever occupied for myself during my history of renting!

My favorite part so far has to have to be (1) hot water (2) electricity + plenty of lights (3) relatively reliable internet (4) my own little yard (I'll need to take advantage of this with the gorgeous weather here) (5) an oven in the kitchen! hopefully I'll have some opportunity to bake!

  

  

  

5 Manifestos For Life

It's pretty common for brands and businesses to have manifestos now-a-day, especially for businesses that has a social angle, but, how about for ourselves? I found this post on Brain Pickings very interesting and helpful when it comes to thinking about our own manifestos.

Link: http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2011/04/08/five-manifestos-for-life/

This one from Holstee is my personal favorite:

Question: What should success look like in the next 10 months?

I've been contemplating this questions for a couple weeks now, but still have not been able to clearly define 3-5 goals/objectives for my 10 months in Africa besides "learning everything I can" and "contributing my time and experience", which feels way too vague.  Some more concrete goals from both personal and career development standpoint might be helpful so I know what exactly I'd like to accomplish at the end of my time there.  Any suggestions?

Right now, I'm stuck with the following draft, they all feel very generic (with the exception of maybe the first and the last one), definitely think I'm missing something big...please comment and challenge my thinking more!

• Basics
• Stay alive, healthy & safe...
• Career
• Immerse in all aspect of d.light beyond my job description: to understand how a social enterprise is run at that early stage and to take part in  the effort to start a new office and develop a new market.  to take advantage of the extraordinary talents in the office in Nairobi and Delhi to learn from them key lessons doing business and leading people in Africa and India
• Define clear objectives with d.light so I will actually help them during my time there...TBD with team in Africa
• Personal
• Travel and learn about the diverse cultures and rich history of Africa: I will get a chance to travel all over sub-Saharan Africa during my fellowship.  I plan to learn all about the different tribal languages (well, the basic words) as well as the secret handshakes. 
• Fight my introvert tendencies and meet as many people as possible in the diverse expat community: to learn about their stories and be inspired by the different walks of lives
• Learn to slow down: having gotten a taste of "African time" in May, I think learning to slow down and master the skill to still get the important things done would be a challenge
• Community
• Start or jumpstart an organization in the Kibera slum that will benefit the society: during my last trip to Kenya, I made some friends in Kibera, one of the largest slum in Africa.  I was deeply inspired by the optimism, collaborative energy, and entrepreneurial spirit from the folks I met there.  Despite of the harsh condition, people are happy and thankful for what they have accomplished thus far.  With the move this summer and my 30th birthday bash, I would raise some money from selling personal items and from friends.  I plan to work with my friends in Kibera to co-create an organization (or help an existing one already started by the community there) that would be helpful to the local community, hopefully something related to education.  I have never done anything like this before.  Historically, I've just donated money to a charity, and let them manage it from there, this could become something interesting.  

Embracing "Oneness"

This is a beautifully spoken TED talk by Thandie Newton.  As someone who's lived in several countries, common, easy to understand labels like "Taiwanese" "Asian American" "Marketer"...etc. become increasingly difficult to apply for me since I no longer solely identify with any particular group.  This creates some trouble when it comes to self-introduction...what used to be a quick 30 sec introduction all of a sudden becomes this long, drawn out, explanation of what exactly it is that I do, where is home, and what type of person I am.  From a career stand point, we often times are taught to go look for our "self's" and do what is right for our "self's"...however, the self constantly changes.  My "self" 16 years ago in Taiwan is not the same as the "self" I am today.  The only thing that has remained the same is the "oneness" that I share with everybody else.  The only desire that has stayed constant is the desire to feel connected to others and to contribute to the communities I belong to.  So it seems to me that the goal to embrace "oneness" is a more feasible and more fruitful one than the goal to find "oneself" and to fulfill its needs.

Link here: http://www.ted.com/talks/thandie_newton_embracing_otherness_embracing_myself.html