Back on the continent and back here!

As I write I am wondering what I am doing here again…this was not supposed to be! I think I am trying to figure out what I want to do…blog-wise, personally and professionally. At least there is a bit of clarity on the last one but the middle one, well that’s all over the place unfortunately.

Going away party with colleagues 

I really wasn’t planning on being back…over three and a half years ago when I wrote the last piece I thought that would be the penultimate one. The last one I felt was to give this site a proper closure but for whatever reason it never happened. Perhaps I got busy with a new job, new responsibilities, owning a home and all the other errands that come with moving countries. Perhaps being a married man was it but, it could also be true that subconsciously I didn’t want it to end…the sadness I probably would have felt made me never go back to do a closing post.

In fact, once I got back to living in the US, I seldom visited this blog site …reliving the best times of my life and knowing it was all in the past was not something I wanted to remind myself about. I know I shouldn’t have felt that way but these the heart has its own way.

So as fate would have it (and a healthy mix of misfortune and good intent) I just returned to Liberia on another assignment. Life is the US was great while it lasted but things didn’t pan out exactly as I had planned when I left Africa. It was naivety on my part to think that everything in life can be planned and will happen to one’s desired outcome. Life reminded me that she is quite whimsical. We can effect a little but she will take her own course and in most cases, there is but not much to do other than go with the flow and make the most of it. Before I started writing I had to read my last post…I knew it would hurt (and it did) but it was necessary to re-orient mentally. I look back over the last few years and ask myself “Could I have done something differently?”

The "Sanctuary"

I know its water under the bridge at this point but perhaps I could have done something differently. Sure, I could have handled things with more poise, made fewer mistakes but, I err because I am only human. Even considering my honest mistakes the conscience remains clear that I gave my absolute best. Since then I’ve grudgingly come to accept that sometimes…the best is not good enough and like it or not I have to reconcile to that cold fact. I see a lot of parallels with a soccer game. You win some and you lose some but end of the day I can sleep well knowing I tried my best even if it is a losing cause. Make not mistake…losing still hurts but that’s blunted by father time.

Adios...served me well

I’ll look at the positives of the three odd years in the US. I became a home owner for the first time, I enjoyed marital bliss (short lived or not), my parents finally visited me in the US. It just took them a good nine years and some after getting their visa to finally come to the US. It was also a bonus that my brother, sis-in-law, nephew and sister visited me earlier this year. I reconnected with old friends and made a lot of new ones and for all that I am blessed.

American Mama1

So how did I land back in the mother continent. Earlier this year, when things were in a rut and when I was desperately looking for a change, I was reached out with the opportunity to return to Liberia. This all happened in mid-May right before I was going to take my family on a road trip. Since I was the only one driving for over 3000 miles it game me plenty of time to contemplate on this life changing opportunity. Fast forward to September, and it was time to bid adieu to the US (I don’t know how many more times I can do that). I loved my job, loved the team I worked with and absolutely loved the sanctuary of playing on a couple soccer teams but a hard decision had to be made.

American mama2

Now as I sit in the same room #6 of the guest house where I spent my first two years in Liberia its amusing how life has come a full circle. Some things have changed here…the company has big challenges ahead and we’ve lost some real veterans and a lot of the tribal knowledge along with them. On the other hand, a lot is still the same …it seems that life here runs on a different rhythm than anyplace else.

Going away at Steve & Kim's place

I’ve also got a lot more responsibilities that when I came here in 2010 as a greenhorn to Africa. There is a new management in place and the journey is just getting started. I thoroughly believe its going to be a hell of a journey. Professionally I am undertaking a completely different role to what I’ve done in the past. As I move out of finance into a more operational role I might have to tap into my Industrial Engineer background. All in all, I am excited and looking forward to the next couple years for sure.

All my ex-bosses in one frame!

Hopefully I’ll move into my house next week and get my drivers license soon so I don’t feel as restricted as I feel now. I’ve already started playing badminton and tennis will start shortly with the end of the rainy season. I get called “Peena…Peena” by the local kids I played soccer before and they ask me when I am going to start organizing practice sessions. That brings me to this blog… it’s a lot of time and effort to keep it going but quite a few lonely evenings and nights here makes me feel I could return to writing. It’s a good activity to keep the mind busy when there is not much to do after work hours.

As for the adventures, those are certainly going to restart…that I don’t have a doubt. I might be a little older now and my body might not quite like roughing it out but I am going to test it this November when I go to Central African Republic to get up close to the western lowland gorillas. Let’s see how it holds up to the rigor of backpacking in one of the toughest places to travel in Africa. I’m also planning on venturing out of Africa more this time around but what’s not going to change is the fact that I am still going steer clear of beaten path so don’t expect me to write reports from Western Europe anytime soon. I know I won’t be able to dedicate as much time and effort as before so the blog will be less thorough. With that being said…I look forward to the sojourns that lie ahead.