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| Coloring the Dancing House in Czech which I hope to visit one day |
Good afternoon Sunshine,
...and Happy 25.1.25 to you (it is not a thing, just thought that date was pretty cool).
Hope you are enjoying your weekend as much as I am.
I had a client event today that got cancelled due to the colds and flus going around, so I used the new found time to watch two Premier League games - the Wolves v Arsenal and the Man City v Chelsea...looks like Man City are on the come back.
As is my new normal when I watch the games from home, I tuned in a couple of minutes before the games. The network that has the rights to show the games here in the US always takes us on a virtual tour of the different stadiums across England as part of the 'countdown' to the game of the day. Every time I see these stadiums, I remind myself that I would like to see them in person, and not just the stadiums, I want to see Europe (yes I know England vs Europe).
As an African, I know that Europe and Africa dynamics can be a water and oil situation depending on the angle one uses to look it. I share this to say, two things can be true at the same time (read between the lines).
Before I state my case, I want to say that I have only been to Europe twice. Both trips were to the University of Galway in Ireland, way back in 2017. I was part of a project hosted by the University (here an itinerary of one of the workshops), so it was one of those tight trips - landed in Dublin, took a three hour bus to Galway, did the workshops (toured the town a little in between), then bus back to Dublin, flight to Nairobi...same thing both times.
I almost went to London in 2020, had been invited to speak at the London School of Economics …had my visa (it’s pretty easy to get a UK visa while in the USA) and everything ready, then the Pandemic cancelled all international trips.
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| Watched the Wolves v Arsenal game followed by Man City v Chelsea one - January 2025 |
So these two experiences are at the top of my list
1. I want to experience a little more of Ireland beyond the touch and go that happened in 2017 and I finally want to go to the London School of Economics because our union in 2020 was cut short
2. While in London, I want to visit Vaudeville Theatre which I mentioned in this post and watch a couple of games at the Emirates Stadium (plus I know a guy who does analysis for them - interviewed him when I ran my mental health podcast...I actually interviewed three guys based in the UK, and have connections with two epilepsy and mental health organizations there... would like to reconnect with them).
3. I have gone for a couple of German Christmas Village/Markets in Philadelphia, and I want to go to a real a German Christmas Village/Market in Germany (plus I have two friends from Kenya who work at DW, and when I read their former chancellor’s autobiography The Chancellor : The Remarkable Odyssey of Angela Merkel by Kati Martin - I bookmarked a couple of things I’d love to see/visit…including her apartment).
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| Balcony Diaries: Milk, cookies and Merkel’s autobio - Summer 2022 |
4. I would like to reunite with a lady I worked on a book about suicide in Kenya with…she is currently based in Italy
5. I did French in High School, and went to Alliance Francoise while waiting to join Uni - it was either computer packages or French :) - it would be nice use all that French knowledge in France as I ask for the (tejeve) TGV timings :)
6. As a Psychology student, I want to visit some of the spots that 'honor' the so called Psychology Theorists - Freud's psychotherapy couch (which I mentioned here) to Cajal's Neuroscience Drawings (which I have never gotten round to blogging about).
7. I just learnt about Malta thanks to Samuel Kolawole's The Road to The Salt Sea (read my review), so I want to see what its all about...maybe I will meet Able God (the main character in the book) playing chess at the public square.
8. Ayo, Nneka and Asa are based in Europe - and those are concerts I would pay money to attend...maybe I can even track a Stella Mwangi or Wendy Kimani concert while there.
9. I am part of Africa-Europe Foundation’s health strategic group, which is an initiative by think-tank Friends of Europe, that is based in Brussels. It would be good to go for a live meeting in Belgium, instead of participating on Zoom
10. I know I have really fished for reasons but this last one is a real stretch. I have this Mindfulness Coloring book of buildings from around the world and was very intrigued when I learnt about the Dancing House in Prague...so I want my art work to pose next to the real thing...plus my girl AO is married to a guy from Czech, so they might recommend a couple of things (or people wink wink) as I enjoy the hygge feeling (I mentioned here)
There we have them, 10 (solid) reasons that lay the foundation for my case.
On the real though, I think the US has served its purpose for me. I came here to 'rest' and finish school (the first phase at least). I have achieved those things...I was hoping to squeeze a PhD program while here but that part of the plan is proving elusive by the day. I have not given up on it, and my goal of becoming a professor, I just think I need to step back and re-evaluate things...aaaaand maybe a trip to Europe could help with processing things🤣🤣🤣
If this is my version of eat, pray, love type thing (not necessarily in that order) - I would say I am done with the first part, and I am open and ready for the second part. And If I was to visit Europe, and love it, and decide to make that my new home for a while, it will make so much sense because the time difference with Nairobi is minimal, as is the flight distance plus I know so many people there unlike the US. I know I am fetching again.
Not to fret, I have not made any plans, I do not even know how much tickets cost (yet)...and even if I did, my student life budget would laugh at the proposal...but just in case there is a windfall, or someone's uncle is sent my way, I am ready.
Until we figure this out,
Sending you love and light,
Sitawa
