Miami Beach is 6000 kilometres behind me and Dakar lies 1000 kilometres ahead. As each kilometre passes, I feel pulled closer and closer to my second home. So much more than physically. My whole world feels like it is shifting.
My thoughts are starting to form in French. Faces of karate students, talibés, villagers, Maison de la Gare staff, and other friends are behind my eyes as I try to get some rest in these last quiet hours. Failing. As I see the sun rising out my window over Africa, the air feels heavier, warmer. I taste the desert. The pastels of Florida are fading as vibrant, bright colours take their place in my senses. I already hear the cries of welcome, of de retour, les Canadiens! Hey, karate! And to Robbie: Le Champion! Strategies for better serving my clients and ESG investing factors diminish in significance as begging bowls and marriage précose lie heavier and heavier on my heart. Senegal.
I have flown over this ocean that lies below me on the way to Africa many times. Dozens. But each time feels so special. A new adventure awaiting. I am as much in awe of this continent as the very first time I touched down on African soil. It’s ancientness, richness, vastness, the birthplace of all of us. It felt like coming home, even back then.
My Senegalese Godchildren. My many protégés in school, studying for the unknowable futures that await them. So many karatékas who have found a passion and risen to it, despite their daily lived oppression. The Maison de la Gare staff, working everyday to make life better for children the world has forgotten. The villagers, so welcoming and generous even though they have so little. The village students for whom education has changed everything, walking for hours daily to attend school and for days to write exams far from home. The girls, who having tasted education will do anything to continue to learn. The boys, who when education was barred to them at home, would have walked across the the Sahara and crossed the sea to access it if they had to. The many friends I have met over the years, raising their families, instilling values and hope and joy even when they have so little. These beautiful people are inspirational. It will be good to be back.
