NEW!: Video Musings of an Afropolitan Woman

This post originally had a video that was part of my series Video Musing of an Afropolitan Woman.  It was the first of three I made.  I realised that it took way too much energy to talk and be me in front of the camera, it is much easier for me to write to convey my nonsense and splashes of profound insight and brilliance (we can agree to disagree on that he he he).  I don't have the desire to be in front of the camera really.  I think that my posts in and of themselves more than adequately reflect my personality.  If you haven't realised by now that I am an intelligent, slightly unhinged and wacky afropolitan woman I can't help you ;}.

After having a very lovely email conversation with the next big Nigerian film director who recently launched his site 37th State, I have been inspired to get off my very comfortable arse and finally start making videos.  I am the Queen of procrastination, yes that's with a capital Q.  I am very adept at stalling and convincing those around me to join the bandwagon and this skill is happily facilitated by my propensity to inertia.

So I now have my own YouTube Channel and you can find me on Facebook.  Please subscribe on any of those platforms or become a follower of the blog and/ or leave comments.  The interaction I have received thus far has been very helpful and encouraging and I value it greatly.

This first video is about African themed books from the continent and the diaspora.  I forced myself to watch it before my rather rudimentary stab at video making, involving little editing using the standard tool that comes with Windows.  What is clear that the clip itself is fine, I have used technology to the best of my ability, but it is me that could do with a bit of work:

1. I need to be less nervous. Popping your video cherry is not easy and as they say it is always awkward the first time is it not ;}?! Having to give myself the note to be louder is I'm sure releasing chuckles from the throats of all those who know me well.  My voice also sounds rather funny but I believe that is due to being at home and involuntarily suppressing my accent when talking to people so they are not hostile for whatever reason they come up with or just so I'm  not ripped off at the market when buying jewellery  I like to blend into my surroundings most of the time. This also happens in the US when no one can understand me when I ask for a glass of water at a restaurant. I have never been told to be louder, I'm always being told to be more discreet, quiet, or to just shut up!

2. I need a tan! Unfortunately I have spent the last 8 months in the cold by somehow managing to go to Europe during the autumn and winter only to return to winter in Zambia so have not had consistent sunshine for 3/4 of the year!!! I'm really smart like that. I am hoping that my pallid complexion is due to my recent bout of malaria but I know it is not - my family have been telling me I need some colour for a while. I will follow my dear British boarding school friends' lead by purposefully planning to sit outside when the sun is out and shellacking myself with oil to speed up the browning process ;}.

3. Better set design.  My minion, who claims to be my younger sister, said I was being too anal.  She filmed off centre so I am sure we are not related by blood.  Yes this is enough evidence for me to deny kinship.

African and Diasporan books that featured in the video were:

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
Harmattan Rain by Ayesha  Harruna Attah
Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga
Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Rich Girl, Poor Girl by Lesley Lokko
So Long a Letter by Mariama Ba
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

All great books I highly recommend :)

More water and quotes...

Today I was at sea, and after yesterday's metaphor for finding purpose in life, it seemed fitting to be taking a catamaran to visit Catalina Island, off the Southern Californian Coast, for some R and R. The island's topography is a lot like Siavonga, a town by Lake Kariba.  Siavonga never fails to revitalise me, and Catalina Island came close to that kind of regeneration.  I felt the hot sun on my back, my body was warmed, I stretched and reacquainted myself with my functioning body. I even took a a proper, full body dip in the Pacific for the first time :). I have only been able to wade because, contrary to what you may have seen on Baywatch, California beaches are pretty cold and the most I have ever managed is going in to my knees! I'm sorry but 20-25 degrees Celcius is not hot, it's not even warm! You need at least 30 to be able to start going into water without risking turning into, in my case, a brown icicle.  While out on the ferry, looking at the great expanse of water I felt at home. Deep, wide water has a way of calming me.  So being in that "canoe" on the river with no end in sight is not so bad really.  Especially seeing as my fortune cookie after dinner told me to expect a "welcome surprise this week" ;}! So maybe I'm getting close to that waterfall...

Also thought you would appreciate some more quotes I liked from So Long a Letter:

"Man is one: greatness and animal fused together. None of his acts is pure charity.  None is pure bestiality."

"A woman is like a ball; once a ball is thrown no one can predict where it will bounce. You have no control over where it rolls, and even less over who gets it.  Often it is grabbed by an unexpected hand..."

Transitioning From Young And Eager To Accomplished

I feel like I have been in a perpetual cycle of trying to transistion from the young and eager African I have always been to one that is accomplished, having made enough steps and made enough marks along the way to be able to look back and see a clear path from which to continue journeying on.  I am either walking around in circles or wandering around aimlessly or do not know how to read my own map. God forbid I am running in the same spot and created so much dust I cannot see that I am accomplishing nothing at all! I can see a few marks here and there but cannot connect them to be able to show a way that leads to something truly fruitful and meaningful.  That could just be the high bar I set for myself, propelling me to continue to challenge myself.  Or it could be that I am really quite useless and am still in denial or worse deluded into thinking I am making progress!

I re-read Mariama Ba's African classic, So Long a Letter, this week as I am setting out to concatenate all my various actions through school and work to finally start doing something that makes me happy and contributes to the continent.  Even though the characters are Muslim, West African, married with children, and living through the excitment of independence,  the strength that both Ramatoulaye and Aissatou show when life throws them curve balls is so inspiring.  The fact that they are able to do what it is they love and provide for their families without the help of their husbands is admirable.  The friendship that they have for each other and the advice they are able to give when the other is in crisis is something to aspire to.  Which reminded me of the counsel, help and shoulders to cry on my best friends have offered me, especially in this last year.  I am eternally grateful to have such love in my life, particularly from my African Posse of the female persuasion.   BIMBO just made an important life decision and was weighing the rationality of her thought process in making it.  Her ruminations made me think of a quote that really resonated with what it is that we who love Africa are all trying to do:

We are trying to "appreciate a multitude of civilisations without renoucing our own,  to raise our vision of the world, cultivate our personalities, strengthen our qualities, to make up for our inadequacies, to develop universal moral values in us," to make a better Africa.

However, trying to make that transition from young and eager to accomplished is no easy feat.  Finding people to give us a chance, finding the right organisation and/ or the resources to venture out and do our thing for many of us is proving difficult, especially in these uncertain and turbulent times.  Our youth invites people to find reasons not to give us the responsibility to be innovative, creative and productive in order to grow and thus we are being stifled.  Having some experience can leave us in limbo with too much for some things and not enough for others, causing us to be overlooked, or worse, underestimated. Going for what it is that we want to do and will make us happy versus quelling worrisome parents trepidations and satisfying expectations with regards our life choices is the perpetual quandary of the African child.  With family and friends adding more pepper to the already hot soup, it is hard to find our own ingredients to make our unique life recipes.  Trying to please oneself while fielding off societal expectations is quite tiresome.  There are things that are expected of a young African Woman, some which are great to aspire to, and others that are suffocating and restrictive. Ditto for the African Man. And for men and women in all cultures around the world.

I have decided that so long as you know what kind of life path you want and what you want to accomplish then all you have to do is seek out ways to achieve your goals and not be afraid of not knowing or changing the plan as you go along, despite the naysayers, pessimists and party-poopers.  You need to be flexible and prepared from anything. Piece of cake...ha!

All you need to know is the kind of river you are travelling on, the kind of boat you are captain of, and the direction you are going.  As you navigate the unforseen twists and turns, the rapids and placid waters, the crocodiles and the hippos, you will start to see how it all fits together as you learn to navigate and work out and hopefully eventually foresee these diversions and as people provide safe harbour with resources and advice along the way for you.

Right now I am on a very wide river that is eeriely calm and so wide all I can see is water (which leads me to think I may be stranded in the middle of some ocean) in a very tiny canoe with one paddle.  I think I am headed for a waterfall and I'm about to cascade into a period of exciting rapids. I pray I am not headed for a patch of tricky hyacinth that may trap me in unproductive pursuits indefinitely. I am hoping this happens soon because wandering around aimlessly is not something I do well...I can be aimless while knowing what path I need to take though ha ha ha ;}.

This post is dedicated to R4L, BIMBO, LOLZ, OXFORD SHIRT, COMBINE and MINI MI: Without you, my nervous conditions would paralyse, rather than propel me to excel.  :)