Its February 13. I'm on a plane about to cross the ocean, stop in London then fly to Accra. When I post this it will be Valentines Day (love you Sandy) which is why you need to know the real date.
I know, you are awaiting stories from Africa. Me too, believe me. It was training day at CCA today and just like last year I had an "ah hah" moment. Last year it was a phrase, "culture eats strategy for breakfast," and oh, how I have used that one this year! Today we were shown a Ted Talks video. It was a well spoken woman from Nigeria, and she spoke about not telling a single story.
I know. What? Here is my take (because each of us takes something slightly different right?).....don't tell one story, you need to tell many. If I tell you one story from Africa and it is about someone suffering in poverty, then I dont tell you another story about how cooperatives are helping this person OUT of poverty then your image of Africa is frozen in that first story. Powerful. If you have a few minutes take a peek, especially if you like telling stories like me.
http://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story?language=en
Sounds like you are off to a great start. Glad you made it over the ocean on Friday the 13th. We had a giant dump of snow so look forward to living vicariously through your stories! Karen
ReplyDeleteLook forward to ALL of your stories - I can't think of a better person to get to live this experience and tell it like only you can, Debbie - Have fun!
ReplyDeleteShannon
Thanks for reading! Can't wait for this to begin, actually it has, I have the bug bites to prove it, but really appreciate the support!
ReplyDeleteAlright, I know I promised to be engaged in your trip this time, so here it goes. You should know of course that these sort of comments are difficult for me, not because I do not care, but because it has been highlighted for me again and again that I am utter shite at engaging emotionally. This is ironic for, of course, a fact that is not lost on me; engaging emotionally is the polar opposite of understanding. Feeling sad and sorry is the opposite of the point, something I knew that you knew well before this post. So I will read, and I will comment, and I bet that I will even learn a heck of a lot, but I will be dammed if I actually mention that here, even if I hang on your every word when you get back.
ReplyDeleteSuch is life,
Dustin
I'm going to start in the real morning though, because even I doubt my efficacy at 3 am. I figure that you can wait a few hours for me to put your entire experience into glorious perspective.
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