I started 2019 in the idyllic island nation of Cape Verde in West Africa. Then something unthinkable happened in Senegal the next day; my cell phone was stolen in the Dakar Airport on January 2nd. Though there were cheaper versions of smartphones on sale in West Africa, I opted not to buy a replacement one in Africa because of their poor quality. During the subsequent three months, I had to depend on an outdated Lonely Planet guidebook and verbal instructions of locals to make my way through West Africa.
My journey from Senegal to Ghana was nothing short of an adventure movie script. Many a times the sceneries were so extraordinary. The sunsets and sunrises were phenomenal.
Sunset in Touba Kouta, Senegal
West Africans would often say to me, "Mama, Africa is suffering." I would just nod in agreement and reply, "I know and I am suffering with Africa." Life is what you make out of it. African children are eternally joyful. I met a number of them in Guinea and Ivory Coast. They are my inspirations.
At a catholic mass in Grand Bassam, Ivory Coast.
Just when I thought my journey would be less challenging when I reached Accra, Ghana at the end of February, I contracted a life-threatening bacterial infection in my right foot on March 8th. The prognosis was not good in the first week because the infection was taking place at an alarmingly fast rate. I thought I would die in a Ghanaian public hospital on March 13th after 32 hours of receiving no medication. But I survived! Subsequently I braved a 28-hour trip back to Vancouver on March 24th with a plane ticket that I purchased around Christmas 2018.
I was seen by several Infectious Diseases doctors at two different hospitals in Vancouver. They could not come up with a definite diagnosis. The treatments were trial and error. Fortunately, after a surgeon accidentally removed all the infected and scarred tissues on my calf during a biopsy, the debrided wound began to close. I think I have contracted Necrotizing Fasciitis (flesh eating disease). Walking long distances for extended periods of time seemed impossible even at the end of July when I bought the plane ticket to go to Malta. The wound care nurses advised me that I should not walk than 10,000 steps a day until the wound is totally closed. I have allowed for extra time for each country on this journey to avoid complications.
Two days after the Federal election in Canada, I embarked on my Around the Tropic of Cancer journey. The first countries were relatively uneventful. Malta is very Baroque. Cyprus is a little more difficult to get around during the off season.
Valletta, the capital of Malta.
Before going to my next country, Lebanon at the end of November, I had alternative plans in case the demonstrations got out of control. I even had plans of spending Christmas in the Holy Land. In the end, I stayed in Lebanon for 32 days until I was due to fly out to Dubai. In the first week of my visit, I spoke to many young people in Beirut and asked them to act rationally, and to avoid another civil war in Lebanon.
On December 21st, after the visit to Our Lady of Lebanon in Harissa, I found myself stranded at the hilltop. The cable cars had stopped at 5 PM and there was no taxi. I made a conscious decision of walking all the way down to the highway to catch a bus ride back to Beirut. It was a 1.5 hour walk (25,000 steps) and for the most part no lighting on the road. It was very symbolic, just like what the Lebanese people are going through at the moment. The path was very dark. I pray that the Lebanese people would have the faith to rely on Divine Providence. They will overcome all the obstacles with God's help.
I am going to watch the New Year's Eve fireworks at Dubai Mall tomorrow to finish off an eventful year. May 2020 be more peaceful for all the people around the world.
On September 23rd, 2019, I watched a YouTube video of Greta Thunberg delivering a speech regarding the Climate Change Crisis to world leaders at the United Nations Assembly. For the following five days, I would post a note on Facebook everyday telling Greta what I did that day to rectify the situation. Here are the notes: Sept 23 Dear Greta, When I was doing my daily walk an hour ago, I saw a 500 ml water bottle on the sidewalk. It was wet and muddy but I picked it up. When I got home, I rinsed the bottle and put it in the recycling bin. There is a plastic re-purposing plant in Vancouver. I know one less plastic bottle would go to the landfill. Sept 24 Dear Greta, This morning I called my bank up and requested an address change. When the rep asked me if there was anything else that he could help me with, I replied with a question. "Is there any way that I could receive all the annual reports electronically?' He said to me, "It would cost you to opt out of the mailing list but there is no guarantee that you will never receive printed materials from us again." After 30 minutes of very heated discussion, I still opted out. I am sorry that I could not stop the bank from printing my copy of their annual report which is readily available on the bank's website. Sept 25 Dear Greta, As I was getting out of the house for my daily walk today, I saw my neighbour. We waved at each other. I asked where she was going because she was sitting in the driver seat in her car. She told me she was going to the bakery to pick up a birthday cake for her grandson. I told her that I was heading that way and could pick up the cake for her. The bakery is only 1.5 km away. I reduced a bit of CO2 emission and fossil fuel consumption today. Sept 26 Dear Greta, This morning I visited my grandfather's grave. I brought a pot of chrysanthemums to visit him. The cemetery does not allow artificial flowers except for Christmas wreaths during the holiday season. Knowing that cut flowers are grown in heated greenhouses, I purchased the potted mums this time because they are grown in unheated hothouses. I shook off some of the soil and put the flowers with roots into the bronze vase and recycled the plastic pot. Sept 27 Dear Greta, I used to buy packaged baked goods. Those clear plastic containers are pretty but bad for the environment. Today I made a dozen cheese scones from ingredients that I bought in bulk. There is a store in Vancouver that sells food stuff by bulk only. Customers would have to bring containers and bags to carry their groceries. We can save a lot of resources (paper, plastic, metal and glass) by eliminating packaging for all dry goods. Sept 28 Dear Greta, The Climate Strike week has come and gone. I hope your message would remain in people's conscience for a long time. As an adult, I apologize for not being able to pass the environment to you and your generation in the same condition that I found it 57 years ago. Don't despair; there is still hope if people are more conscious of their lifestyles and change their ways of handling resources. Love, Rowena
Last summer I quit Facebook cold turkey after getting fed up with online social media and developing an addiction to checking news feed constantly. I lived happily in the real world for about four months before I reactivated my account. I had to join a FB group to get up-to-date information and advice for my West African journey. I am once again active in social media. But I am a bit smarter this time. I would use social media as a platform to educate and to change mindsets in addition to sharing my travel photos and experiences.
Recently I did a series on Eradicating Poverty on Facebook. I am going to copy and paste the posts into this blog and hopefully create the first ever multi-media post on blogger. Here it goes:
Day 1 For the next week, I am going to post ways to eradicate poverty. This issue has been on my mind for a long time. I don't have solutions to the problem yet; however, by going through the discovery process, hopefully we will be inspired to do something about it.
Douglas Kruger is a South African author whom I recently discovered on YouTube. He is a very convincing speaker. I also like the topic he writes about - Getting out of Poverty. He tackles the issue at a micro level. By changing our mindset, we can escape poverty. Today I bring forth two of his principles:
1) Raise your personal value
2) Repay trust with ''Excellence''
Day 2 Eradicating Extreme Poverty on a Global Scale
Dr. Rosling was an expert in presenting data, even meta-data. This 5 minute video clip does not tell us how to eradicate extreme poverty; however, it certainly makes the task not so daunting. Unfortunately, Dr. Rosling passed away in February 2017.
Day 3 Eradicating Poverty through Sustainable Development
Back in 2015, the United Nations announced its goal of eradicating poverty worldwide by 2030. How could we eliminate poverty in fifteen years? The old model of foreign aid has been gradually replaced by sustainable development. I am sure you would have heard about SUSTAINABILITY. But what is it exactly? The following clip provides a very basic explanation of sustainable development.
Day 4 Eradicating Poverty - Defining Poverty Line
In October 2015, the World Bank updated the international poverty line, a global absolute minimum, to $1.90 a day.
To me, $1.90 USD a day makes no sense and is an arbitrary figure. I have visited countries which are in the Top 10 Countries with the Lowest GDP per capita. I would think food cost would be much lower so that most of the working class would be able to afford basic necessities. That is often not the case.
For example, in a medium size city in Ethiopia, a hotel clerk earns $120 USD a month. He could barely provide food for himself, his younger brother and grandmother living in his grandmother's house outside the city. He could not even afford bus fare and walks to work six days a week. He supplements the household income by selling gadgets and working as a local guide in his spare time. His grandmother grows vegetables for their own consumption in front of her house. Meanwhile, the cheapest room in the hotel is $40 USD per night.
One day last summer in Vancouver while waiting for the bus, I had a conversation with a new Canadian who was also waiting for the bus. He works part-time as kitchen help in a restaurant and gets paid minimum wage. After payroll deductions and taxes, his monthly disposable income is roughly $750 USD a month. He pays $400 USD for a room in a shared house. His biggest and only entertainment is talking to his wife and children on Skype. He scrambles to send $100 USD to his family in El Salvador every month.
In a rural setting, basic survival is more about having clean drinking water and proper shelter. Subsistence farming would provide food for the villages. $1.90 might just be enough to live by...
Day 5 - A Case study: Zero Poverty 2020
A plan to eradicate poverty in the municipality of Concepcion, Iloilo in the Philippines was launched in August 1999. The following link is a short summary of the results of the initiative. The plan was executed in a top-down approach with emphasis on population control and changing mindsets.
Today, Concepcion, Iloilo is a tourist attraction with many resorts. Its residents enjoy a much higher standard of life though a second coal-fired power generation plant is in the works. Is it urban development that has gone wrong? You'd be the judge. I hope to visit the place in my upcoming journey and see for myself.
Day 6 - Alleviating Poverty Through Entrepreneurship
After the basic needs (such as food and shelter) are met, we should consider ways of improving the local economy to create and maintain sustainable development. Do not underestimate the power of street vendors. I am going to illustrate my point with a couple of examples.
While trying to find some lotion for my bedbug bites in Gabu, Guinea-Bissau, I had a conversation with a store owner who sells plastic household items imported mainly from China. He told me that a big part of his business comes from his "mobile sellers". These people would visit nearby villages with his merchandise regularly. Even though the profit margin is not that great, these sellers do make a good living. At the same time, they are also providing an invaluable service to the villagers because the paths in between are not particularly easy to travel in, and often people have to walk 20 kms or more return trip to get a few items from town.
When I was visiting Goree Island in Senegal, I noticed that souvenir shops and art galleries are everywhere on the island. They were mostly empty and the storekeepers would be aggressively soliciting business on the streets. There were only two fruit carts in the town square. They were both manned by older ladies. They had so much business that they did not have to sell for more than four or five hours a day. These ladies make enough money to send their grandchildren to school.
I always "preach" to the vendors in developing countries. Sell what people need and try to sell something different from time to time. Now, I ask the customers to buy local, and from small vendors. When traveling, I always eat local food and buy from street vendors.
Day 7 Eradicating Poverty - Some final words.
Poverty is a worldwide issue. There are some exceptions but not many. As with any other mega issues, there are no one-size-fits-all solutions. Often the rectification process would have to be tweaked to make the results jive with the ever-changing environment.
In the more developed countries where there is a high level of infrastructure, socio-economic and political stability and automation, wealth distribution is transforming from a bell-shaped curve to a bipolar distribution. The size of the middle class is shrinking rapidly. As the median age of the general population in developed countries increases, the need to replenish the work force also increases. Human ingenuity to re-invent ways of doing things and maintaining sustainable development might be the key to eradicate urban poverty. The top-down approach would be more suitable.
In the developing countries where there is less infrastructure, more political instability and an agriculture-based economy, improving the standard of basic needs such as food supply and living conditions is paramount. In statistical terms, we would try to shift the bell curve to the right. The median age of the population is much lower than that of the developed countries. Therefore, education is the key to developing sustainable development. The bottom-up approach would be more suitable and escaping from poverty happens at the micro level.
As I mentioned on Day 1, I don't have a particular set of solutions to eradicate poverty. I welcome your comments and opinions.
According to Wikipedia, "...In the 21st century, Chinese immigration from Hong Kong has dropped sharply and the largest source of Chinese immigration (to Canada) is now from Mainland China." These new Chinese-Canadians tend to concentrate in Toronto and Vancouver. More often than not, the parents would buy big houses and expensive cars in the cities for their "only" children so that they could go to high schools or post-secondary institutions in Canada. The parents would return to China and periodically come back to Canada to visit their offspring. These young Chinese people are usually spoiled by their parents and expect to be treated like royalty by others . They have little or no morals or ethics. They have no respect for laws and rules. I am going to share my personal experiences with four of these Chinese princes and princesses of Vancouver. One summer afternoon three years ago, I was walking on a major street in Richmond, a suburb heavily populated by Chinese immigrants. A Ferrari sped by, almost running over a mom pushing a stroller on the pedestrian crosswalk. A police car was approaching from the opposite direction and managed to pull the Ferrari over to the curb. When I passed by the two cars, the policeman stood next to the Ferrari, trying to issue an infraction ticket for speeding and dangerous driving to the young Chinese man driving the Ferrari. That young man could not be more than eighteen years old. While the policeman was writing out the ticket, the young chatted nonchalantly on his cell phone as if nothing wrong happened. A few years ago, I volunteered to do translation for a study on the Diet Habits of Chinese Diabetic Patients. The medical student, that was hired as the research assistant for the study, is a girl from Shanghai, China. This young woman has no work ethics and is egotistical. She would make me do her work. When I confronted her with this issue, she retaliated by not reimbursing me the bus fares which include a monthly bus pass and single bus tickets in the amount of $120 CAD. She created her own rules for the transcription of the interviews and got away not paying me a single penny, claiming that I did not comply to her rules. When I expressed my displeasure, she just smirked at me. A couple weeks ago, one of my roommates hit me with her fist when we got into a heated disagreement. Her family immigrated to Canada a few years ago but she would not stay in the house that her parents bought because she did not want to be under the watch of her relatives and grandparents. Like some youngsters, she is messy and does not clean up after herself. Instead of using the doorbell, she kicks the front door when she locks herself out. She swears and lies often. To end my blog on a high note, I would you tell you the story of Victor. This story also took place three years ago in Richmond. I was supposed to attend an orientation meeting for volunteers for an annual event. I was walking in circles at the wharf for twenty minutes, trying to find the meeting place. A young Chinese man came to my rescue. His name is Victor; he was also looking for the meeting place. Eventually, his parents had to drive us to the other end of the dock. Victoria immigrated into Canada in 2011 and landed in a small town in Nova Scotia. There were hardly any Chinese immigrants in that part of Canada. The family learned to speak English and integrated into mainstream society in no time. They moved to Vancouver in 2015 only because Victor was accepted into UBC. His parents could not bear to be separated from their only son. Victor is a well-mannered, bilingual young man who likes to give back to the community. In my eyes, he is a true Prince of Vancouver.
When I returned to Vancouver in March this year, I came back with a severe bacterial infection in my right foot. I had to go to the Emergency Department of a hospital as soon as the plane landed. I was in and out of the hospitals for the next month or so. A typical question would be, "What were you doing in West Africa when you contracted the infection?" My standard answer would be, "I was on my annual six-month journey in West Africa." Then people would conclude that I was extremely wealthy to afford traveling for six months at a time. When I told them that I have visited 94 countries so far, I instantly became their idol, living their dream.
I reflected on what brought about this itinerant lifestyle of mine. I had a serious car accident back in January 2010. Even though I was making a decent living at that time, I was stuck in a dead-end job that was highly stressful. I kept working for another five months after the accident, and then I took a year of unpaid medical leave. I had time to think about life and to take care of my physical health. Because of the stresses in that last job, I acquired a whole bunch of chronic diseases such as hypertension, bladder spasm, skin problems, gynecological disorders, etc. In the meantime, I also looked for a new job but I was not successful in landing another job.
When pressed for an answer, I told my boss I would not return to work in June 2011. In July, I planned for a six-week trip visiting Russia, Mongolia and China. Even though I was still relatively unfit for extended travel, I felt wonderful during that trip. Subsequently I made a decision - I would only do things that made me happy from then on. I would travel as much as I could afford. I was living on my savings so I only considered budget travel like backpacking. I would travel as slowly as possible and staying at each place for a longer time. I was living in a one-bedroom apartment in a housing co-operative. Housing shortage in Vancouver was near crisis level around that time. To give up a large one-bedroom unit in a housing co-operative seemed like an unthinkable thing to do but I did.
I rested for another year and most of my health issues were resolved. My weight went down by about 20% in a year's time. In January 2013, I embarked on my first six-month journey to Oceania. I had hopes of finding a place in the South Pacific to call my new home. On March 1st, 2013 while visiting Tonga, I had a bicycle accident. I had to cut short my Oceania Odyssey. I returned to Vancouver for medical attention. In early September 2013, I resumed traveling. I flew to Mumbai and toured Southern India and flew to Sri Lanka from Chennai. Then I visited Malaysia, Indonesia and flew to Rarotonga in December. I was hoping to catch a cargo boat and visit a remote island from Rarotonga, Cook Islands. That plan never materialized. I ended living in Rarotonga for four and a half months until my visa expired.
When I returned to Vancouver in April 2014, my parents sold their house. When they told me that I could not store my belongings in their garage after they moved into their much bigger new house, I spent that summer selling and giving away my stuff along with a whole lot of items that my family collected over the past four decades. My plan was to rent a small locker where I can store my stuff when I am not in Vancouver. From then on, whenever I am in Vancouver, I would continue reducing the number of suitcases and boxes in storage. To this day, I still have a 125 cubic foot locker year-round.
The search for my new home did not end after the two attempts in the South Pacific. I heard that the cost of living is relatively low in Central America. That fall I flew to Mexico City and tried to make my way to Panama by mid-April. By mid-January 2015, I got an email from my sister that she had to return to work after taking a family sick leave for three months. I had to make a short turn around in Nicaragua and return to Vancouver mid-February to take care of my mother who had suffered a stroke. I was her primary caregiver for seven months.
By the time that I got on the plane to fly to Nairobi in September 2015, I realized that things did not work out the way as planned. I have in fact become a part-time global nomad. I don't believe in buying travel insurance. If I can live anywhere in the world, I can also die anywhere. However, I should have some kind of medical insurance coverage. Solution: Travel no more than 182 days in a calendar year to maintain a Canadian resident status. If I get very sick or seriously injured, I would come back to Vancouver for medical attention as soon as I could. Plane tickets are almost always less costly than travel medical insurance
After spending two winters in Vancouver since my early retirement, I also realized that I should always go away during the cold and rainy months since my body does not take the damp and cold weather too well subsequent to my car accident in 2010. Vancouver still has the best summer weather in the world. I would just have to bear the high cost of living and the apathy in this hometown of mine. Meanwhile, I give back to the community that I grow up in by volunteering as much as I can whenever I stay in Vancouver.
"... life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get."
Many analogies have been used to describe what life is like. One of my favourite playwrights, William Shakespeare compared life with these lines in Macbeth: "Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more. It is a taletold by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." On a lighter note, there is a famous line, that I like to quote all the time. It is from one of my favourite movies, Forrest Gump. "... life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get."
A few days ago, I heard another analogy in a philosophical discussion. It was used to emphasize the aspect how we had to improvise to forge forward in times of adversity. Life is like cooking a meal for your friends and family. I reflected on this analogy and became rather fond of it. A democratic host would keep in mind the likes and dislikes of her guests. It could be a buffet dinner or individual plates customized to individual preferences and tastes. An autocratic host, on the other hand, would only serve food that she likes with little regard for her guests' preferences. It seems to me that I have had mostly autocratic hosts in my life. Either I am just not someone that they care about or they are just self-centered. They only invite me because of social protocols. I have learned to decline such invitations. Why should I go through so much agony just to be polite? Sharing a meal with someone I truly like, however, is a wonderful experience especially when it is a home-cooked meal. When I take time to prepare something that my guests like, it is also an expression of love. Going to the market and food preparation are no longer chores. Sometimes I experiment with new ingredients and discover new favourites with my friends. In the first two analogies, though the individual takes action on his surroundings, he/she cannot affect how things would turn out. The experience is passive and unilateral. The last analogy, on the other hand, has elements of choice and interactions. Whichever way one goes through life, there is always a beginning and an end.
Vancouver is full of dirty old men. Every time I return to my home city, I would frequently be approached by "friendly" elderly men. These men appear to be educated and intelligent, perhaps just a little lonely. Who would have thought that a conversation at the bus stop or in the park would almost always lead to molestation and even foreplay? They all claimed to be just flirting with no ulterior motives. As it turned out, these single pensioners targeted the "non-professionals" because they simply would not have the financial means to pay for sexual services to satisfy their strong libido. I read about the Prostitution Law of Canada that was introduced by the Conservative government in 2014. It is modeled after the Swedish Prostitution Law which is based on the view thatprostitution is violence against women and a clear sign of inequality.Essentially, it is...illegal to purchase or advertise sexual services and illegal to live on the material benefits from sex work. Although it is legal to sell sexual services, in some cases it is illegal to solicit in public areas. Canada, being famous for providing an excellent social welfare net to its citizens, should really consider setting up safe houses for sex workers where these male seniors could get sexual services at nominal prices. These houses of pleasures would serve several purposes:
To provide a haven for sex workers who would otherwise be soliciting in public areas and living without proper health care.
To reduce sexual assaults and/or domestic violence rates because the sex-hungry crowd would not have to force themselves on their unwilling partners.
To improve public safety so that women could resume jogging in park or walking in the dark to and from their homes to bus stops.
To minimize the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.
This proposition is not entirely outrageous since there are already safe injection sites in Vancouver. These injection sites are staffed with social workers and health care workers as a harm reduction measure for the narcotic drug users. Similarly, the houses of pleasures should be staffed with health care workers who would administer mood stabilizers and condoms to the users before they could enjoy the 5-minute service on each visit. Studies have shown that mood stabilizers and antidepressants are effective in decreasing libido over time. In terms of finances, the sex workers would be on duty no more than 40 hours a week in accordance to the provincial employment standards and be given an allowance equivalent to Income Assistance (BC Benefits). The cost of a pack of cigarettes is roughly $15.00 CAD in Vancouver so I would think the patrons would be able to pay $15 for the prescription drug and condom per visit. Just like the safe injection sites, these houses of pleasures should be unmarked but far away from schools. If run efficiently, these houses might generate net profit for the local governments. If not, it is the kind of social services that should be subsidized with tax dollars. It is impossible to eliminate the oldest profession nor is it humane to arrest and castrate all these dirty old men. This alternative solution to a long standing social problem might just be what Vancouver needs to protect its women.
