After Africa

Call me. You don't love me!

 
I just came across this delicate piece of South African design in a shop in the centre of Copenhagen.

I just love this way of putting an (universal?) emotion straight: Waiting for the man to call.

The fact that he doesn't call me, makes me feel that he doesn't love me.

South Africa or Denmark. Same thing.

Why not put it in print and wear it for the world to see what I find hard to say?

Mobile phones - part of the technological development in Africa.

Passion. Different tastes

Oh, I suddenly miss the way to spend a Sunday in northern Uganda....

On Blogging motivation, Top Key Words, Freud, being stuck in Africa, and living less...

I'm preparing a training session for Danish development NGOs on blogging for this afternoon where part of it is to explain that before starting a blog you should decide on software, succes criteria and aims, plan strategically, and then currently monitor if it works out that way.

That is if you want readers, to keep them or to influence agendas or what not.

I realise that I never planned beforehand in terms of blogging, but rather learnt stuff along the way. Simply because I had little idea of what the potential was. In fact, no idea, when I see what came out of it in the years to come. 

But what's there to monitor if you have no readers? And what's there to blog if you're out of ideas and motivation?

In terms of blogging strategies, aims and plans are worthless without personal drive, passion and motivation to express.

I didn't succeed very well in regards of blogging in 2011. Mainly because I've been lacking personal drive, passion and motivation to express myself.

I did get into Twitter during the past year, which has been cool for getting familiar with the media and community. However, I find it hard to say what I really want in only 140 characters, and turn both fascinated and sceptical at the same time when big men like Paul Kagame and Ian Birrell squeeze Twitter's (and their own) potentials to their maximums.

While I lived in Tanzania some friends would ask: 'Don't you miss cultural stimulation? Like the news on TV, the Sunday paper, theatres and rock concerts they way they operate in Europe?'

I never really did. (There was always Q-Bar). I already knew then, but it just feels more evident now:

Africa gave high, daily doses of motivation to express myself, and I simply haven't found it here.

And to me, not to feel a daily urge to write and take photographs, that is in fact sort of like living less.

This fortunately explains the reason why I have taken time out of Denmark with the intention of spending it in Tanzania from June and onwards.

Can't wait.

PS. I needed an illustration for the training session on how you monitor key words for your blogging. The above illustrates my top key words for 2011. I'm sure Freud would have noted my key words, and said something about the unhealthy thing about being stuck in Africa while actually in Europe.

Haya...

 

Living on the edge

20 Kali Cigarettes

Missing Dar es Salaam (and life among wazungu who smoke kali cigarettes). Rest of (old) story here. 

Distinguish!

Meandering in Greece

Photos from one of the few countries in Europe I've never been to before...

Vijana FM asks 5 questions to Rakesh Rajani

Vijana FM has asked 5 questions to Twaweza-founder Rakesh Rajani - have a look here.

My favorite is Rakesh' answer to the first question, where he also defines 'a good life':

(1) We can read and hear about your commitments, but we are curious about what motivates you. Why do you want to look into often sticky and long-unresolved issues in Tanzania’s development?

'I think it’s pretty simple. I mean, things need to be done, and you work on them. What else does one do with their life, other than work on the things that are important and are worthwhile?

I wake up in the morning and I’m excited about working on those things. You go to bed and you feel a little tired but you have a sense of fulfillment. Every day I get five to ten affirmations; people calling, sending e-mails, engagements you have, a sense of the difference you have made, a sense of how what you have done has been used by others to make a difference. And that’s a good life.

I don’t know what else to do because it seems otherwise you would have a boring life, a shallow life. So it’s the only life I know how to live, at least for now, and its very fulfilling. It gives you the privilege of engaging with others working on issues that really matter, and in that process I meet some very interesting, powerful people, like yourselves.'

In doubt where to start yourself - have a look here, where I just re-found 5 pieces of concrete (and free) advice on how to engage, also from Rakesh Rajani, noted down at a session at the British Council in Dar es Salaam in 2008.