Postcards from Côte d'Ivoire: Entry 10

Ou sont les pieds d’Alicia cette semaine? 
(Where are Alicia’s feet this week?)

Friday, March 26, 2021

Alicia’s freshly painted toenails for the beginning of her journey.

It’s hard to believe the time has already come for me to write my final blog from Côte d’Ivoire (CI). What I’m going to focus on today is gratitude - the secret to a happy life! I originally thought I might make two lists - one of things I’m grateful for in the U.S. and one for things I’m grateful for in CI. But now that I’m sitting down to write my thanks and blessings, it’s all blending together, so here goes with one cross-cultural list:

·      I am grateful that I love two countries that are so very different because it gives me a deeper understanding of myself and the world, and I have learned A LOT these past two months. Thank you, Côte d’Ivoire, for always welcoming me with open arms (despite how sweaty I am most of the time here). The most important perspective I gain is the experience of being in the minority - I’m usually the only white person in the towns and villages we visit. It’s an uncomfortable feeling, and exhausting somedays, to stand out and feel “different” than everyone else. What an important experience for a white American like me - that’s when my passion for equality in income and opportunities gets recharged. Everyone who loves liberty and justice for all should feel welcome in the U.S.

Our inaugural tour participants sitting down for a lunch provided by the Koné family at the Koné Compound

 ·      I am grateful to live in the U.S. - a melting pot of many different people and cultures - where we don’t have to travel very far to gain new perspectives on ourselves and our habits and traditions. We do have to maintain open and compassionate minds, though, and I’m very sad that there seems to be a lack of that lately. Americans, let’s be the beacon of hope for the rest of the world by showing them our “grand experiment” can work! 

·      I am grateful for the hospitality of the people in Côte d’Ivoire who don’t expect to be warned in advance of a visit and always greet us with warmth and offers of food and drink or anything else we need - even if they don’t have much. I’m also grateful for the time people give us. Nothing is hurried here. Every interaction starts with inquiries about my well-being, the well-being of my family, and if we’re visiting a Muslim family, it also begins with blessings.

The Hotel Mon Afrik restaurant in Bouké, Côte d’Ivoire

 ·      I’m grateful for the customer service and quality products produced in the U.S. Despite the outstanding hospitality and hard work of the Ivorian people, they haven’t quite mastered the art of “the customer is always right” or “quality is job #1.” (Except at Hotel Mon Afrik, in my experience, where staff get excellent training from their boss Maruska Prochazka. We Americans have mastered the art of making it easy for people to buy our products and services. Our reputation even reaches across the Atlantic to CI where everyone loves to “buy American” even though most Ivorians I meet have very little knowledge about the U.S. I’m often asked if I’m Chinese, for example. And when I’m asked where I’m from and tell them, “Seattle, Washington” they think I live in a suburb of D.C.

A street vendor selling African masks and figures

·      I’m grateful for the hard-working and honest government workers in both countries. We are SOOO lucky in the U.S. to be able to take for granted things like reliable and high-quality social services, utilities, paved roads, parks, schools and healthcare systems, etc. When I get back to the U.S. I’m going to hug my sanitation worker (post-pandemic)! So much is improving in CI thanks to the hard work of the current government. There is even sanitation service now here. CI has a lot of work to do, though, and I’m just so grateful that the current president is laser-focused on putting the infrastructure here back in place while rooting out corruption.

·     I am also very grateful and lucky to have an incredible team at Koné Consulting for working so hard while I was recharging my professional batteries. Not only did they serve our current clients, but they submitted a bunch of proposals - our business development team has been so busy I don’t even know the current count - already won two of those opportunities, hired our newest employee Anna - an excellent choice - without a lick of help from me, and continued our eternal quest to incrementally improve the way we do business. Thanks team - you made this amazing two-month adventure possible for me. I especially want to thank Christina Watson who stepped into my shoes and assumed “Acting President” with aplomb despite the fact that she told me 10 years ago when I hired her that the only thing she didn’t want to do was take my place. Love you, Titi! You are the best VP a President could hope to have by her side.

Alicia and Sekou in Abidjan for the New Years Eve fireworks

·      Finally, I’m grateful to my husband Sekou, who for 22 years has been patiently educating this white, privileged lady about how other people in the world live. Little did I understand the day I said “yes” seven days after we met (a love-at-first site story for another time) that our marriage was not just between two people, but two cultures and how that would impact our lives. It has not always been easy, like most marriages, but ours takes extra work to remain open-minded, curious, and awestruck about every aspect of our life together, including what we eat, how we celebrate, how we grieve, how we communicate, and how we raise children, to name a few. As Anu Taranath writes in her book Beyond Guilt Trips: Mindful Travel in an Unequal World, I’ve had to learn to be okay with discomfort, sometimes. (We’ve added Ms. Taranath’s book to our welcome kit for our tour participants. It is excellent.)

 ·      So, I’d like to end with a blessing to all the people I’ve encountered in CI and all the people who have been following my journey through these blogs. While I’m not a religious person - agnostic is probably the best description of my beliefs - I am touched by the Islamic practice of blessing everyone you meet and returning the blessing. I wish you, your loved ones and your whole family good health and longevity, peace, prosperity and love. Amina, amina, amin. - Alicia

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