A Peace Corps Volunteer’s Memoirs... Is there something in the lessons I learned that makes sense of why an Arab Muslim boy who grew up in America came to understand himself (and the world) more fully in Central Africa?
first, i remember really enjoying some of the parts of malidoma somé's book while in cameroon. other parts left me skeptical. it was "the healing wisdom of africa: finding life purpose through nature, ritual, and community"
not sure how i'd feel about it now, though. i have to admit that the skeptic in me keeps emerging as i browse through a lot of what i find on somé's website:
http://www.malidoma.com/cms/
but there's wisdom in the book. and though i now dislike making sweeping generalizations about "africa," i recall finding many parts of it relevant as i read it in cameroon. here's a review of the book that's also critical but positive:
with all that in mind, i'll share my comments from back in 2002 about the quote above:
plan as you will, "Africa always wins." but you wouldn't want it any other way.
honestly, i cringe as i read that. but it's there in my journal. so it must've felt real to me at the time. i now much prefer the nuance in this post, which i think gets at the same idea (both in somé's quote and my comment):
hmmm... what to say?
ReplyDeletefirst, i remember really enjoying some of the parts of malidoma somé's book while in cameroon. other parts left me skeptical. it was "the healing wisdom of africa: finding life purpose through nature, ritual, and community"
http://www.cultural-expressions.com/diaspora/msome.htm
not sure how i'd feel about it now, though. i have to admit that the skeptic in me keeps emerging as i browse through a lot of what i find on somé's website:
http://www.malidoma.com/cms/
but there's wisdom in the book. and though i now dislike making sweeping generalizations about "africa," i recall finding many parts of it relevant as i read it in cameroon. here's a review of the book that's also critical but positive:
http://interculturalmemories.blogspot.com/2009/05/healing-wisdom-of-africa-review.html
with all that in mind, i'll share my comments from back in 2002 about the quote above:
plan as you will, "Africa always wins." but you wouldn't want it any other way.
honestly, i cringe as i read that. but it's there in my journal. so it must've felt real to me at the time. i now much prefer the nuance in this post, which i think gets at the same idea (both in somé's quote and my comment):
http://namediso.blogspot.com/2008/02/not-wanting-to-be-there.html