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theonyxpath · 5 years

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Matthew Dawkins here, with Meghan Fitzgerald’s Maa-Kep draft for Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition! Enjoy!

Maa-Kep

Shadow of Pillars

Spies, Junta, Dapifers

We would never say we know better, of course. It’s just that not taking our advice would be a mistake.

I listened closely while he spoke. The people would love him, he said. They would offer their loyalty gladly, and in exchange they would gain power over their own fates. All it would take was a revolution, guns and fists raised high in silhouette against the orange blaze that would light up the night and banish tyranny. I could see his passion, his dedication. His logic was sound. His preparations were prudent. Even now, I laud his efforts.

He looked up from his maps and schedules to beam a smile my way. He cut a handsome figure, there in the candlelight, and I admit his plan had merit. It was a temptation, as surely as any convincing bait ever is. I smiled, too.

“So,” he said, “what do you think? Will it work?”

“It would have,” I assured him. “It would have worked very well, were it not for one fatal flaw.”

“What’s that?” he asked, concern writ plain in his bright eyes.

“You told it to me.”

Tradition of the Amulet

The relics of the Maa-Kep are protective talismans, badges of office, engraved emblems that declare something to be true, and unobtrusive seals that can hold back power, carry it, or transfer it from place to place. Worn or mounted, they passively soak in magic and secrets. Like their amulets, the Maa-Kep are subtle protectors and preservers of ideas and ideals, those who quietly move power from hand to hand or rein it in when it needs limiting for the greater good. They serve quietly but never let anyone forget how important they are. They absorb information, only doling it out when and to whom they believe it’s warranted. They’re the secret police of the Arisen, and the beat they walk is all of civilization. They shepherd ideological purity; sometimes those ideas come from the Judges, sometimes from the mortals the mummies guide, and sometimes from their own meret’s priorities.

Magnanimous in Victory, Blameless in Defeat

Maa-Kep rarely take the spotlight themselves, instead gathering information and then reporting it to someone else who will do the forward-facing work for them. This is partially because they believe to take credit is to disrespect their place as tools and useful right hands, passed down to them from the Judges and the Shan’iatu. It’s also for plausible deniability in case something goes wrong. It’s not that they throw their friends under the bus, it’s just that it’s easier to smooth things over later when they’re not the ones catching the heat. They’re loyal to their leaders but unafraid to speak truth to power — if only behind closed doors. They shape civilization around them by forever making corrections and adjustments to everything and everyone, whether with one quiet word or with a brute force tool — like a fellow mummy or a well-armed cult.

Foundations

In Irem, the Dapifers were originally a collection of middle managers — slave drivers, overseers, and convoy masters. They gradually made themselves indispensable, demonstrating their dedication to making sure Irem’s caravans ran on time and their understanding of the inner workings of empire. The Shan’iatu eventually recognized the guild’s potential to be so much more, and elevated the Maa-Kep to act as secret police whose true purpose was hidden from the other guilds. They preserved the ideological purity of Irem, making sure no one strayed from the path to glory and conquest in the gods’ names.

The Wheel Turns

The guild’s secret duty didn’t stay hidden forever; by the time of the Rite of Return, the others knew why the Spies had been chosen. Their fellow mummies don’t always remember it, though. Having a Maa-Kep in the meret is a slow pendulum swinging between trust and suspicion, as her comrades rediscover her covert goals over and over again; but by the time they remember, she’s always made herself too damn useful to ignore. To this day, it’s gauche to talk about it in polite company, and usually the meret’s cults other than the Maa-Kep’s itself aren’t in the know even once the Arisen remember. To those who don’t, the Junta are valued advisors and scouts, playing the roles of coordinator, majordomo, surveillant, appraiser, and yes, spy — it’s just that few realize this spy is always a double agent, even if it’s for their own good. (Usually.)

Maa-Kep are kingmakers and internal affairs agents, watchdogs and stewards. They are project managers who support their merets and cults, rooting out incompetence, corruption, and untrustworthy sorts. They watch over their allies but also constantly evaluate them. To those who do remember their purpose, a Dapifer is all those things as well as the conductor who guides the meret’s train along the rails and keeps everybody else in line. Some appreciate it; some resent it; and many feel differently depending on the Descent.

The Maa-Kep’s cults are extensions of themselves by way of surveillance, information gathering, and spreading out like a web of eyes and ears with the mummy at its center. The Junta are men in black and spymasters, but also keen investigators with cults full of detectives and journalists, and mysterious strangers who waltz into someone’s life, help him out for no apparent reason, then vanish into the ether — arranging people and events on a grand scale humans can’t see. They’re not the ones who give a man a fish; they’re the ones who teach him to fish by writing the manual and having minions leave it conspicuously on his desk without ever talking to him, watching him from across the street with binoculars while he reads it, and then expecting him to do it right.

Once, the Dapifers weren’t the ones with the big picture vision, instead enforcing that of the Shan’iatu. They were content with that… but the Shan’iatu aren’t around anymore. The Maa-Kep view themselves as the Shan’iatu’s true successors because they enshrine Irem’s highest ideals. They know how things are really supposed to be done, and how to make sure they’re done that way. The less they remember or care about their original mandates, the more they build their own versions of the grand vision in their minds and enforce those. They insist it’s what the Judges want — who better to keep the seats warm for the great sorcerers than the ones who stood by their right hands so long ago?

As Sothis Ascends

A Maa-Kep deals with immortality by resting assured she can rely on her powers of observation and knowledge-gathering to catch her up on anything she forgets or misses, and by staying focused on the minutiae. She can’t contemplate the existential dread of knowing she’ll probably outlive the human race if she’s busy micromanaging everyone else and poking her nose into their business 24/7. She might miss old friends, but at least she got to know them better than anyone else did — probably better than they knew themselves. Thus, they live on in her.

The patterns the Spies see and perpetuate in the world are those of behavior, relationships, and philosophies. They track the principles every society values and how it maintains its high road, or falls from it into a subversion or even perversion of its purported ideals. They understand how civilizations rise and fall by the integrity of their beliefs, their dedication compared to their hypocrisy, and how well their people work together.

Starfall

A Junta turns her back on the Judges because she sees what she believes is a flaw in the gods’ plans or comes to believe that something has corrupted even those lords of Duat. Those who grow to resent their servitude don’t do so because they hate the concept of serving, but because they feel they’re not being utilized to their full potential, they’re being ordered to uphold an impure idea, or their elegant work is stymied by frustrating obstacles beyond their control. Others fall to corruption themselves, losing faith in their purpose after standing vigil for so long or craving the spotlight after lifetimes of hiding in the shadows.

Vessels: Amulets

Who We Are

Internal affairs officer in a metropolitan police department, monitoring society’s dedication to its ideals through its law enforcement

Deep-cover espionage agent, collecting intelligence about cultures and nations around the world and only reporting back what will push her employers to act the way she wants them to

Project manager at a large company, raking in money so the cult can donate large sums to ideologically desirable groups

Butler and house manager for a rich and bustling estate belonging to another Arisen and consisting of generations of a dynasty cult

Trusted advisor to an influential politician or crime lord, whispering and nudging to influence governments, underworlds, or both

Beyond the Shadow of Pillars

Mesen-Nebu: You make an excellent vanguard, even if your materialistic streak makes you a bit of an embarrassment. We’d never say so to your face, though.

Sesha-Hebsu: Without you, many valuable secrets would be lost. Without us, your judgments would ring hollow.

Su-Menent: Curb your worst impulses, my friend. Your work is important, but not as important as you think it is.

Tef-Aabhi: It’s an intricate dance we weave, isn’t it? We both have long memories, but yours are so much more reliable. Pity, that.

Wadjet-Itja: One day, we’ll dig up the secret of how you managed your chicanery, and on that day, you’ll wish you never pretended at immortality.

#Onyx Path Publishing

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souslejaune · 5 years

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At ten a.m. the entire congregation relocated

At ten a.m. the entire congregation relocated to the Osu Presbyterian Church. We travelled in waves of sound and dust: The hearse leading the way with its horns blaring like a faulty ambulance; the family thrown together within the confines of two Peugeot 504 caravans; followed by the guests – some on foot, some in a bus hired for the occasion.

On the bus, the guests sang local spirituals at the top of their raspy morning voices, drawing eyes as the cortège wound its loud progress around Kwame Nkrumah circle and swept down the dual carriageway of the Ring Road. The family was silent. I sat sandwiched between Naana and my mother, my hands stuffed between my legs. Occasionally I glanced in the driver’s mirror to catch my father’s eye and to make sure that my face was as composed as a fourteen-year-old’s should be in a situation like this. I felt no identifiable emotion; every pure emotion was countered by a conflicting one. A giggle of relief burgeoned just below the surface of my grief, a part of me wanted to jump for joy. In the midst of the chaos, I thought of Mr Trabb in Great Expectations arranging Mrs Gargery’s funeral; grateful that we didn’t have anyone like him to push us around. I wouldn’t have refused Joe’s company though. I imagined him saying “she were a fine figure of a woman.” I couldn’t cry. My throat felt two sizes too big. The world felt too small.

The preacher extolled the virtues of giving. Spoke of the grace that comes from living a selfless life, and then decided to “take advantage of the passing of our sister” to address the “lost sheep” amongst us. “There are no second chances. The good book says it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle…”

I took a picture of his mouth – a non-symmetric oval with white spittle framing his coloured utterances – and lost myself in the loneliness of things I couldn’t speak of. I thought of the discussions I had had with GeeMaa about my gift – what she preferred to call my sensitivity – and wondered if I had let her down by my unwillingness to embrace it, my isolation when she encouraged engagement. I replayed my encounter with the wide-eyed old man at Kaneshie Market where I went to buy yam for a feast of Otɔ to celebrate my fourteenth birthday. Belatedly. My birthday had come during the school year so I was in the boarding house on the day itself. Still my mother refused to break the tradition that our family had kept up ever since Naana started eating solid food. Generations of my paternal family had done the same thing for years.

GeeMaa supported her loudly. “You can’t be a man if you haven’t eaten your Otɔ.” Her slanted walk was then smoother. Almost seductive. Her curly white hair was a mute admonition for me not to argue any further. The unblemished ivory of each strand glowed with an inner darkness of a kind that defied logical explanation.

I gave in with a smile. “As long as you all remember that I’m a man now!”

Naana stuck her head out from the living room. “Yes, but a little man…”

They all laughed. My mother holding her side, Naana shaking her head, GeeMaa clucking deep within her throat, mother hen style. Three generations of Oppong-Ribeiro women. Shaking like tambourines, but producing the more melodic music of mirth.

I decided to lose the battle to save myself from torture. I took the money my mother had placed on the kitchen table and left the house chuckling to myself. The sky had the look of a pale blue cloth someone had spat on. It was difficult to look at. It seemed to be having a joke at my expense too. As I headed out, I greeted Auntie Aba the waache seller and the shoemaker with his rickety workbench.

“Ayekoo.”

“Yaaye.”

Our ritualised greeting required nothing more to be said. I was warmed by the simple call and response.

I walked with an energetic swing in my stride, staying on the shady side of the street whenever I could. Especially by the cemetery at Awudome with its profusion of well-nourished neem trees. When I got to the market, my feet were dusty. I stamped a few times before going to seek out Sister Joy – my mother’s preferred yam seller. I was almost at her corner when I stumbled and stepped on a tomato. Its sweet juices spread like thinning blood across the dirty floor.

“Bɛlɛoo ei! Wɔsɛɛ e baa tɔ o ŋga. I pity your future wife.”

A tomato seller had dropped some of her merchandise. I apologised to her and offered to pay for the tomato but she laughed it off.

“It’s nothing. I was only joking.”

I smiled.

“Ayekoo.”

It was another voice: familiar yet completely new. I turned to see an old man leaning against a pillar with a box of sweets and lollipops.

I had never seen him in the market before so I frowned before I answered.

“Yaaye.”

He smiled. Offered me a sweet. I hesitated, and then reached out. As my hand reached the box he stopped me and closed the box. I noticed two deep scars on his leathery face. He pointed to a hand-sized hole in the top of the box indicating that I should pick a sweet by chance. I reached in. The belly of the box felt like a damp sponge. It was warm and there was nothing solid in it, yet when I took my hand out I realised I was holding a round black-and-white mint. A solid mint.

“Harmony,” he said.

“Excuse me?”

“Harmony. A circle. Black and white. There will be some changes in your family to preserve harmony.”

He walked towards an exit.

“What kind of changes?”

“You know.”

I stood in the same spot until a trio of market porters bumped into me.

“Small, why?”

“Are you OK?”

I shook my head apologetically and went to buy the yam.

At home GeeMaa insisted on cooking the Otɔ for me. Said she was getting old and might not have the strength to do it again. She poured some palm oil carefully into a small pan as the yam boiled, lit one of the gas hobs and put the palm oil on it to heat. She seasoned the oil with onions and pepper and some leaves she picked from the courtyard. When the yam was cooked she put fourteen eggs in a saucepan to boil as she told me stories of more soothsayers and medicine women and men in her family. It was a noble calling; there was more pain in watching others suffer than suffering yourself.

“That’s what I was taught. It’s not surprising I became a nurse,” she smiled.

I wasn't convinced.

She mashed the yam with a pestle and mixed it with the seasoned palm oil. Soon she had an orange mountain of palm-oil-coloured yam, which she put in a large wooden bowl. An edible volcano. Then she took the eggs off the boil.

I helped her shell them and place one egg for every year of my life on the orange mountain. When the mountain came down, we couldn’t stop licking our fingers. Naana had two eggs and told us that the rest of us would have flatulence because three eggs each was well over our daily protein requirements. Twelve eggs disappeared like alien moons down our throats. We didn’t care how they came out.

It was hard to imagine GeeMaa gone within two weeks of that meal. I was angry. I was angry when the hearse left the church to lead us back to Awudome Cemetery. I was angry as I tossed dust onto the roof of GeeMaa’s ambulance. I was angry at the sight of the woman wailing and being held back from jumping into GeeMaa’s grave. Producing sounds so outrageous that the over-abundant bats that rested upside-down in close-by neem trees during the day dispersed – briefly darkening the sky. She sounded like a djama chant, two beats out of step, and one note out of tune. I knew she was a professional mourner. My father had told me at Aunt Dee Dee’s funeral when I asked why she was so hysterical. I would recognise that wail anywhere. I was angry when we returned to our house for refreshments: The catering company blocked off the entire road in front of our house to make space for canopies and chairs. They didn’t care that they were causing a minor traffic jam. They revelled in the society’s acceptance of funerals as a reason to do as you please. Live as you wish. For a moment at least. Mostly I was angry because I hadn’t understood the old man at the market. I was angry because the rectangular-lipped earth had just swallowed the only person I could talk to about my confusion. I was angry because on the morning of her death I ran away and missed her last words. I kept a straight face and said little. I overheard people whispering. Saying I was odd.

“There’s something wrong with that kid.”

Of course there was something wrong with me. I had lost my grandmother. And she may have “done her duty on earth,” or “gone to help HIM,” but I wanted my grandmother to be with me.

Night fell and my spirits fell with it. I went to my room and turned off the lights.

My father came in and hugged me and cried.

My mother came in and hugged me and cried.

I didn’t cry. I just stared at them like I was looking at a painting of life.

Naana came and sat by me in my bed. Her eyes were like pimples – pointy and swollen.

“I’m tired of crying,” she said.

I lay down. “I want to cry. I just can’t.”

“Why?”

“I think was my fault.”

“That’s nonsense. She was old.”

“But she was strong.” I didn’t say that I thought GeeMaa had become ill because I went to boarding school and stopped chewing my neem sticks. I didn’t say I thought that GeeMaa had died because I had become a man.

“I know. Did you hear about FatherGrandpa?”

“No. Is he dead too?”

“No, silly. He couldn’t come because he was too sad.”

“Good excuse.” I sat up again. “He didn’t care about her.”

“No. No. Daddy went to see him; every time he looked at Daddy he would start sobbing. He couldn’t control himself.”

Naana had a pained expression on her face. I laughed at the ridiculousness of the situation. All I could see was an image of FatherGrandpa slapping his left shoulder to kick-start his faulty laughter and finding only tears. Naana pushed my head and laughed too.

“Daddy said he just has a great capacity for love. That’s why he never stays with one woman.”

“Poor fool!”

We laughed and laughed. Then I cried. All the tears I’d carried since GeeMaa died came rushing down my cheeks. Then I bawled. Loud enough for the dead to hear.

Our parents came back to the room and sat by Naana and I. The walls were covered with photographs and captions I had put up. Naana’s periodic table had gone when she went to live on the university campus.

“It’s hard…” I tried to speak but felt a fish-bone of grief rising up my throat. By now my whole body was racked with sorrow. I shook like a sapling in a storm.

My mother held me and started crying.

My father always cried when my mother cried.

Naana couldn’t help herself.

Within minutes we were a wet huddle. A rock hollowed out. GeeMaa took a part of us all with her and left us all with a part of her. I was uncomfortable with the part I thought she had left me.

“Mum, do you believe some people can read the future?”

“I don’t know. I suppose there are prophets… Why?”

“Nothing.” There was nothing to be said.

Uncle Sanjit wrote to the family to extend his condolences.

continued next week… | start from beginning? | current projects: The City Will Love You and a collection of poems, The Geez

#niiayikweiparkes #fiction #prose #proseseries #novel #novel series #ghana

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csrgood · 6 years

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Covestro Unveils New Survey of U.S. Fortune 1000 CEOs on Business and Purpose

In the U.S. today, the age of the “purpose-driven” company has taken root – and will continue to grow in the coming decade. Stakeholders, including top talent, increasingly are demanding companies have a purpose beyond making a profit and the c-suite itself recognizes that a company’s future success and competitiveness will hinge on its commitment to helping solve society’s problems.

That is according to U.S. Fortune 1000 CEOs and other c-suite executives in the first-ever i3 (ignite, imagine, innovate) Index, a national survey commissioned by Covestro LLC that is designed to examine timely social responsibility and sustainability issues facing corporate America.

Click to tweet: U.S. #Fortune1000 executives on #Purpose impact to #Business in new @Covestro #i3Index survey: http://bit.ly/2GreO8R.

The Covestro i3 Index found that many senior executives (51 percent) do believe there is inherent tension/conflict between a company being profit-driven and purpose-driven. However, most (69 percent) also say that the act of balancing profit and purpose is having a positive, transformational impact on business, with half or more reporting such impacts as they integrate a purpose-driven approach into various functions.

And, when it comes to a company’s social purpose, its people are also key. With Millennials driving the bus on purpose, the c-suite believes empowering their employees’ personal sense of purpose and giving them opportunities for more purpose work is a win-win that is good for both their business and the employees themselves.

“The research reveals a strength of opinion that confirms, in corporate America today, purpose is being driven by the workforce and other stakeholders. Companies are not only responding, but understanding that a company’s social values are a defining part of its brand and success,” said Jerry MacCleary, chairman and CEO of Covestro LLC.

“The fact that many of the senior executives see a tension between being profit-driven and purpose-driven signals growing pains and illustrates how purpose can actually be the transformational ingredient that brings a business to the next level.”

Major findings include:

Employees – both new hires (77 percent) and current employees (76 percent) are the primary drivers of demand for purpose-driven companies; followed by customers (68 percent), “other stakeholders” (61 percent); regulators and policymakers (53 percent) and investors and shareholders (52 percent).

An overwhelming 86 percent of CEOs/c-suite executives confirm that today’s top talent is more inclined to work for companies that have a demonstrated commitment to social issues compared to ones that don’t.

Some three-quarters (73 percent) predict demand among stakeholders for purpose-driven companies will increase in the next decade.

Four in five (80 percent) agree that a company’s future growth and success will hinge on a values-driven mission that balances profit and purpose; and, three-quarters (75 percent) believe these companies will have a competitive advantage over those that do not.

Half or more respondents report that integrating a purpose-driven approach has transformed different aspects of their business, including Environment, Safety and Governance; Corporate Social Responsibility/Philanthropy; Communication and Reputation Management (71 percent, respectively); Human Resources (60 percent); Growth and Business Strategy (59 percent); Sales and Marketing (54 percent), Innovation, R&D, Products and Services; and, Shareholder and Investor Relations (53 percent, respectively).

Some two-thirds (68 percent) say it is important for their companies to empower their employees’ personal sense of purpose and predict employee desire for purpose will increase over the next 10 years (64 percent), primarily due to Millennials and their mindset (33 percent).

“Today, purpose is more than just a buzzword. Companies have to deliver on the promise of making society better – they have to do it through their actions and by enabling their employees to realize their own personal need to be part of something greater than themselves,” said Rebecca Lucore, head of corporate social responsibility and sustainability at Covestro LLC.

More detailed survey findings and a copy of the executive summary can be found at: www.covestro.us/csr-and-sustainability/i3/covestro-i3-index.

Survey Methodology

The survey, conducted by SSRS of Glen Mills, Pa., polled 100 senior executives from U.S.-based companies included in the Fortune 1000 list. Interviews with these executives were completed online and by telephone from October 26, 2017 to January 16, 2018. Industries represented range from retail, manufacturing and agriculture, to business and personal services, finance, insurance and real estate, among others. Based on the sample size, the overall margin of error at the 95 percent confidence level is +/- 9.8 percent.

About Covestro LLC and i3 (ignite, imagine, innovate):

Covestro LLC is one of the leading producers of high-performance polymers in North America and is part of the global Covestro business, which is among the world’s largest polymer companies with 2017 sales of EUR 14.1 billion. Business activities are focused on the manufacture of high-tech polymer materials and the development of innovative solutions for products used in many areas of daily life. The main segments served are the automotive, construction, wood processing and furniture, electrical and electronics, and medical industries. Other sectors include sports and leisure, cosmetics and the chemical industry itself. Covestro has 30 production sites worldwide and employed approximately 16,200 people at the end of 2017.

i3 (ignite, imagine, innovate) is Covestro LLC’s companywide corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative that aims to spark curiosity, to envision what could be and to help create it. Built on the three pillars of philanthropy (i3 Give), employee volunteerism (i3 Engage) and STEM education (i3 STEM), i3 seeks to create sustainable and lasting impacts.

Find more information at www.covestro.us.

About SSRS:

SSRS is a full-service market and survey research firm managed by a core of dedicated professionals with advanced degrees in the social sciences. Service offerings include the Omnibus Survey, Probability Panel and other Online Solutions as well as custom research programs – all driven by a central commitment to methodological rigor. The SSRS team is renowned for its multimodal approach, as well as its sophisticated and proprietary sample designs. Typical projects for the company include complex strategic, tactical and public opinion initiatives in the U.S. and in more than 40 countries worldwide. SSRS is research, refined.

Visit www.ssrs.com for more information.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Covestro AG. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Covestro’s public reports which are available at www.covestro.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.

This press release is available for download from our website. Click here to view all our press releases.

Editor’s Note: Follow news from Covestro on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Covestro.

source: http://www.csrwire.com/press_releases/40907-Covestro-Unveils-New-Survey-of-U-S-Fortune-1000-CEOs-on-Business-and-Purpose-?tracking_source=rss

#CSR #corporate social responsibility #social good #philanthropy #employee engagement #workplace givi

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kelsey-pie-blog · 6 years

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Fab Five San Fran trip!

(top left clockwise: Muir woods ; Golden Gate Bridge ; Muir woods ; Dream Valley ; Dropbox ft dinosaurs 🐱‍🐉)

Intro

Thanks to Stemettes and Deutsche Bank, me and 4 other ladies were flown out to San Francisco to attend Dreamforce 2017!

This blog post is going to be a run down of everything that happened, how awesome it was and how you could be flying off next year to attend a conference with Stemettes ✈️

(left to right: Gate B39 at Heathrow Terminal 2 ; Plane just before take off at Heathrow ; Luggage Claim at San Francisco airport)

Day 1- Travel

Got up much earlier than normal, like much earlier. Dragged my luggage downstairs, triple checked i had everything, proceed to run around the house headless making sure I had everything- especially since I wouldn’t be coming home after the trip I would be getting a train straight back to university in Birmingham. Then my dad eventually set off from the house and I waved goodbye until Christmas break.

The fact I was going to San Francisco with 7 people I had either never met or had barely spoken to was scary and it still hadn’t quite kicked in yet by this point. Stemettes had been so gracious and picked me as a winner and offered me such a wonderful opportunity to do things so many things outside of my comfort zone and throw me into a world of unknowns. I had been preparing for a long time now to make this trip work alongside keeping up with uni work and running a hackathon, AstonHack 2017 but I was ready for the challenge!

I elected to get the heathrow express since I would get a discount using my railcard and it was the quickest way out of heathrow upon my return. So my parents dropped me off- we actually ended up having to run for the train but I got it, found a seat, settled in and all was merry.

It really did take 15 minutes and before i knew it I was taking the lift up to the departures hall. I was anxious as I wanted to make a good first impression and I knew I’d be spending lots of time with these 4 ladies and the 3 chaperones during my week long trip. Once through the entrance I realised I had no idea where they were but I found them through the power of Whatsapp group chats and we started chatting away.

Then we went off to go through check in- using the self service machines but being in a muddle because you couldn’t remember the flight numbers but we all came through unscathed eventually and when we reached departures we went to a restaurant to eat. This was the first chance to really sit down and ask them about who they were and how they ended up winning the competition so it was really interesting to hear. We all had a chance to wonder around duty free before we met up and headed to the gate. Yasmin and Charlotte even bought each of us some neck pillows! Then we headed to the gate which was one of the furthest ones away 😞 but we boarded with no issues, found our seats and before you know if we were flying through the air (bit of a Christmas reference there just bc it’s that time of year 🎄❄️☃️).

Our next stop was Vancouver around 9 hours away, they gave us a hot meal on the plane and a snack just before we landed. Our connection wasn’t that far away so we made our way through the terminal, following the lady who had kindly escorted us to the right place. We actually went though US customs in Vancouver- using a self-service machine to scan our passports and show our ESTAs as well as have a border checkpoint officer scan it and ask why we were going to San Francisco. Then we go into the departures lounge and was once again allowed to be free and I got something to eat since my body hates aeroplane food 🤢. Then we were soon off to the gate and boarding the next plane. I wanted to get some Tim Horton's but it just so happened that the one in the lounge, right next to our gate but closed for refurbishment 😭. I always had Toronto on the way back though so my hopes weren’t lost yet! This was a much smaller plane and the flight time was only around 2 hours.

We landed in San Francisco fairly late at night so we went straight to get our luggage, where we nearly had issue with some luggage but it all was fine in the end, found out where the shuttle bus was and then we were off to the hotel, catching glimpses of San Francisco as we raced by. We all checked in 🏨 , had to play a game of hide and seek with the rooms for a bit but we eventually found them and I fell asleep straight away- ready for the week ahead of us.

(left to right: Muir woods ; Breakfast at cafe 😋 ; Alcatraz Island)

Day 2- Sightseeing

Breakfast we met up in the hotel lobby and tried to get a table at a place called the Pinecrest diner but it was so busy so we walked around and found another cafe to eat at before heading to the bus tour shop nearby. We got on the coach and it took us to:

> Alcatraz- we got to via a boat and we did the audio tour around the main prison building 🎧

> Muir Woods- drove over the golden gate bridge to get there 🚌

The bus then left Muir woods, headed down more windy windy roads and dropped us off at Sausalito- a little city on the shoreline just north of the golden gate bridge. We walked around the shops a little and found a weird shop which sold lots of random and funny gifts such as weirdly captioned gum packets, cowboy rubber ducks, the world’s smallest rubber turtle and even had a huge wall of Funkos.

The driver asked where we wanted to get dropped off and we had decided on Chinese for dinner so we did just that and it was great 🍜

(left to right: Moscone West Trailhead lobby ; Mark Benioff’s keynote ; Exploratoruim for EU Salesforce party)

Day 3- Dreamforce begins!

During the night Sharmin and Sofia had had some bug issues in their rooms and in the morning we left for another hotel. From the new hotel we called some cars to take us to the registration point to pick up our Dreamforce badges 📛.

We went to get our badges from the main building at Moscone West and got our first taste of what was to come for the rest of the week. As we entered the huge lobby it was all decorated with a woodland theme, with fake trees and the pillars of the building turned into tree trunks. There was a dj blasting out pop songs and people milling around everywhere and we danced our way through the line to register and pick up our badges.

Then we took a walk around Moscone West to see what was on offer here. There were a few areas in the main convention hall on the ground floor such as the Trailhead Zone, Admin Meadow, Developer Forest, AppExchange Den and Startup Valley. We went around the room and learned that we could scan our badges at nearly every stand or station with employees and volunteers throughout the event and earn free swag that we could collect at a later time. There was plenty of swag being handed out in the Developer Forest with external companies giving things away such as fidget spinners and usb ports in the shape of a stick man.

We were meant to attend the Aston Kutcher talk but by the time we wanted to get in it was already full! So instead we went to pick up our free backpack and other stuff and then took a ride around the block on some Dreamforce rickshaw bikes 🚴. We squished ourselves into the seats and had a great time rolling around the block- even if one of the bikes did malfunction we made it in the end!

The next thing we did was file into Moscone Centre North for the CEO, Marc Benioff to listen to his keynote 🗣️. You can read the highlights from his talk here. It was interesting to hear more about Salesforce and how much he valued his Trailblazers and how inspirational they can be. He also mentioned the 4th industrial revolution and how “the world is in the midst of a wave of innovation and technology that is radically changing our economies, our societies, and our daily lives”.

We then headed back to the hotel for a bit to explore since it had a games room and a beautiful garden area (!!) and then later that night we all went out to Pier 15 for the Salesforce EU party. We arrived fairly early tho and ended up walking down the pier to the ferry terminal to get some food for dinner before heading back and the party was in fully swing. There was a lady doing acrobatics in a hanging hoop and the whole room was covered in exhibits as it was being held in an exploratorium so there was much to look at. There was also nibbles and drinks being handed out. The Stemettes led us around and we met some of their friends, some of whom used to work in London but then moved out to the USA.

(left to right: Michelle Obama keynote ; 1 Hacker Way- Facebook’s HQ ; AT&T Park)

Day 4- Dreamforce Day 2- Michelle Obama & Facebook

Thanks to the new hotel, we were in the heart of Fisherman’s Wharf and for breakfast there was a iHop conveniently located right next door so this became our meeting points in the morning. We marvelled over the menu and at some of the weird breakfast food combinations such as eggs and sirloin tips but also how big some of the portions were for a stack of pancakes 😍🥞.

Then we hooped onto one of the scheduled coaches which was departing from a nearby hotel and we made our way into the city centre to queue for Michelle Obama’s keynote that morning. We joined a very long queue and at one point they closed the entrance saying it was full, but then after more waiting around we ended up getting let in, found some seats and hearing her talk about how children and young people are the future and they could go on to solve problems that we haven’t been able to solve; diversity everywhere and anywhere is key to success and finally you can do anything you want in this world, but you gotta work hard 💪.

Then we hopped in some cars to go visit the Facebook offices. We signed into the system in a little waiting area and a lady named Emmaka Porchea-Veneszee came and welcomed us. She took us to the food area to grab something to eat and explained what she did at Facebook. She was a briefing assistant to Mark Zuckerberg. She prepares him for each meeting and gives him all the background information about the people hes be talking to and tell him anything else he needs to know so he’s prepared. There was such a wide variety of food available- a huge buffet restaurant, a noodle shop, a bbq place and also a dessert shop just to name a few places, and it was all for free! She then walked us over to another building and we went to a meeting room and met another lady named Meghan Buonaiuto, and she talked to us about her role as a product manager and she let us ask her all kinds of questions like how she came into this role and what she did at college. Then aother lady came in, she was the Executive assistant to Mark Zuckerberg and she did’t have long so she just talked about her role, what it entailed and how she’d been at the company for over 6 years.

Then Emmaka took us on a tour of this new building we were in. She walked us past a clear glass cube in the middle of some desks where we all excited as we could glance Mark Zuckerberg in the middle of a meeting. She led us up to the roof of the building and it was so beautiful- it was a park landscape with foliage and deckchairs and it was so peaceful. There was also a juice bar where some of us tried smoothie shots and their Veterans Day smoothies that were available. When she led us back downstairs she left us with man for a few minutes and she came back out of a room with goody bags for each of us. There was a water bottle, a shirt and even a baseball cap which you can see if you look at the ed of my post for bonus content 😉

Then we headed back in the Uber and to make the most of our time we chose to go to Westfield shopping centre. We split up, walked around in groups and also popped into Sephora across the road and took it all in as we don’t have any stores in the UK yet 😭

Later that night some of us went to Dreamfest- a concert at AT&T Park starring Alicia Keys 💃 and Lenny Kravitz 🎤 and was supporting the UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals. We had a great time singing along to New York and also eating the free snacks such as hotdogs, fries and coke cola.

(top to bottom: Equality summit keynote ; Dream Valley entrance archway with Saleforce mascots ; Executive summit equality panel [with Anne-Marie second from right 💁])

Day 5- Dreamforce Day 3- Equality Summit

> iHop breakfast- enjoyed some more pancakes again 😋

> Hotel Nikko- Anne-Marie was part of a equality panel with executives only in the crowd. She mentioned what Stemettes was and then the fab five and we stood up to quickly say who we were. Afterwards some of the executives came up to us, i got asked multiple times if I was the one at university, but it was really nice to know that they actually listened to us and were genuinely interested in what Stemettes was and why we were there.

> Walk to Moscone West 🚶‍♀️- We talked to some of the executives and asked them about their jobs, why them came to Dreamforce and they asked me about how I was doing at uni, what I studied and also what my plans for the future were. I took a lot from these conversations as between them I got may words of wisdom.

> 2nd Equality panel in Moscone West floor 2- I continued to talk to other executives. I talked to one guy who worked in a company in London who were looking for people studying computer science and I learned more about his company and connected with him on LinkedIn later!

> Panda express 🐼 for lunch- Went back to Westfield as it was nearby and I enjoyed as much orange chicken whilst I could 😋.

> Natalie Portman’s equality chat- Interesting to heard about her career so far and her academic achievements and what working in the entertainment industry has taught her over so many years.

> Equality summit keynote- got some pictures with the Salesforce mascots 📷 and listened to Laurene Powell Jobs, will.i.am and artist JR for their views on raising awareness of equality all around us and hearing personal stories, particularly the ones from JR about being punished for art pieces he has performed in certain countries.

> CEO Mark Benioff- got a picture with him after the talk! 📷

> Dinner- delicious chicken burger from a place near Moscone West

(left to right: Bloomberg offices tour ; Golden Gate Bridge ; Dream Valley carousel)

Day 6- Dreamforce Day 4- Last day & Bloomberg

> Carousel 🎠- free ride because we were with Dreamforce

> Customer success expo - walked around and picked up some goodies, also completed my quest to win some more free swag!

> Bloomberg- We were treated to an office visit as they were just around the corner from Dreamforce. The lady taking us on a tour gave us information about the current work space and how it’s all used as their office was fairly small but they utilised it well. They showed us some of their current projects and how the Bloomberg software worked over some lunch. We also asked them questions about how they got to their current role and it was refreshing to hear some of their advice about climbing up in the professional ladder starting from college.

> prize pick up for the quest!- We all picked up a free item, I went for an Astro plushie, others went for a laptop case or Astro keychain.

> pier 39 seals- we visited and took some pictures with them. They did smell reaaaaally bad though but they were all so cute flipping and flopping and screeching everywhere.

> golden gate 🌉- we visited a landing area close to the bridge and took loads of pictures. Unfortunately the area became very foggy just as we arrived but 30 minutes later it was clearer and we got some amazing pictures.

(left to right: Slack reception’s sofa + name badge ; Lombard Street ; Heathrow terminal 2 baggage claim)

Day 7- Checking Out, Slack & Dropbox

In the morning we got up earlier than usual to get a shower in and to triple checked we had everything packed. Once we had checked out we went to a special place called the Pinecrest diner. We tried to go to this place on the second day but it was too busy and we have so many people it was going to be a long wait but when we arrived there was a large table free and we sat down almost immediately! I had the corned beef hash brown and it was delicious- I’ve tried to recreate the dish in my flat since coming back but to no avail.

Then we walked over to the Slack offices 💻 where we met a lady who took us on a tour- I especially loved the names of the meetings rooms as they were emojis. We settled in a room and met with three developers who talked about their roles and gave us a little demonstration of their current work. Also they talked about how they got to where they are now. One lady came out of college with a degree in recreation and is interested in physics but she got into coding and makes slackbots now- she demoed a slackbot that would alert everyone in the channel that there was emergency in the office so they would know.

Our next stop of the day was Dropbox. We walked to their offices and had a tour from a lady who worked in the business department. She was very nice and explained the different areas of the building, showing us ‘The Mint’ which is their chill room with games, instruments and many beanbags, also their library which was very quiet and relaxing, their dinosaur display in one of the corridors and also their shiny panda mascot. We also had the chance to sit down with two more employees, a developer and also a product manager who let us ask them loads of questions. We also managed to get a crepe as every Friday they have crepes in their cafe for free and we picked a Friday to visit 😋!

🌼🌻l🚗l🌼🌳 🌼 On the way back from Dropbox to the hotel we visited

🌳 🌼🌻l🚗l🌼🌻 Lombard street. It was a sloping road where it zigzagged

🌼🌻l🚗l🌼🌻 🌳 and had loads of pretty flowers and trees surrounding it.

🌻🌳🌻l🚗l🌼🌻 Directly opposite was also a steep road which presented us

🌼🌻l🚗l🌼🌳 🌼 with a magnificent view of uptown San Francisco. We then

🌳 🌼🌻l🚗l🌼🌻 headed back to the hotel to pick up our luggage.

(Top left clockwise: San Fran airport ; heathrow arrivals corridor ; Marylebone station entrance 🚄 ; Marylebone station departure boards ; Heathrow Terminal 2 arrivals exit 👑)

When we got to San Francisco airport we checked in, went through security and then grabbed a bite to eat at a Japanese restaurant 🍛After a little wander we made our way to the gate and had a smooth take off for Toronto ✈️.

By the time we reached Toronto airport it was early morning and we were all very sleepy. We went through security and border control again and back out to the departure lounge and waited for the gate to open. I could see Tim Hortons from the gate but the queue was as far as my sleepy eyes could see so I had to pass 😢. The plane was delayed for a while and some of our party had to go back through security again but they made it back with time to spare and we took off. As soon as we were in the air I went to the back section of the plane and as the plane was fairly empty, I took up my own row, laid down fully and made the most of the space. When i woke up at one point I found a breakfast tray above me but I mostly spent my time dozing off, so I was ready and energised to rush for my train to Birmingham once we landed.

At landing back at heathrow T2 I immediately turned on my mobile data and used it to check on train updates for my train back to Birmingham, leaving in just over an hour. Managed to make my train in time thanks to my luggage arriving very quickly, no delays on the Heathrow Express and a very friendly Uber driver and my day ended with me falling asleep straight away into my bed 💤.

Reflection

From this trip I’ve met so many inspirational people, especially women, that have made me so much more inspired to work even harder and that if I do that I really can get anywhere I want. Even though at university I’m just one of a handful of women on my Computer Science course right now, it doesn’t have to be like that in the future 👩‍💻.

It’s also made me more open to the idea of helping inspire others. During the week I was so honoured that so many women at these companies were willing to take time out of their busy schedules to take us around their offices and talk to us about their jobs and their path to success.

The only reason I was able to enter this competition was because of the Student to Stemette programme run by Stemettes. I signed up by chance, I was looking for summer work experience opportunities in my first year at university and came across the page, thought it sounded interesting so i signed up and I’m so glad I did. From the first meeting with my Sherpa (shout out to Neha who works in Deutsche Bank in Birmingham whoop whoop 🎉🎉) she taught me things about the world of work that I just couldn’t learn at university. She shared stories of her time working at the bank and also her beginnings as a electronics student.

If you live in or near Birmingham or London you should absolutely sign up for the scheme- there’s literally nothing to lose! You get to attend meetings with your assigned Sherpa (the mentor), you get free swag, amazing advice about working within the STEM industry and sometimes even work experience opportunities with Stemettes who organise all kinds of events all over the country!

But until next time ✌️

(fab five standing in front of a pretty sign at the entrance to Dream Valley 💁)

Check out all the pretty photos from my google photos album: https://photos.app.goo.gl/0AH6mOE9Kx6pW4P42

Bonus stuff

Check out all the swag i managed to collect below from the whole trip- the Stemettes told us to leave plenty of room for it and I’m very glad I left a lot of room for all mine!

#stemettes #dreamforce #salesforce #swag #stem #women in stem #san fran

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whatithinkabout · 7 years

Photo

Alone in the crowd - Darren Crowley

be by yourself

I thought I knew myself when I came back disentangled from my roots after living on the other side of the world for an entire year. To explain yourself in a foreign tongue, to people who haven’t known you for most years of your life, haven’t laughed, cried, lived and experienced with you, requires some inward reflection. You see, after that year and the countless months to come, which I spent unfolding my mind, I came to the realization that self exploration had only just begun.

Now, four years later I realize that all I knew back then was me when I was with others. Until you have moved out and live alone you will not know that certain kind of loneliness that is self inflicted and hollow. The loneliness that is the absence of yourself and the loneliness you have to adjust to and grow comfortable with. The loneliness that gets lost when you fill your room with love and music and begin to understand what it means to be at home within yourself.

You grow up with double-consciousness. The therm was around during the literary period of Romanticism and was relevant throughout the Harlem Renaissance, which is what fascinated me most. The Harlem Renaissance had woven itself throughout the quilt of american history during the Roaring 20s. It was the discovery and expression of African American culture and life and it was the time when duBois wrote of double-consciousness. You might call it four eyed vision. Two eyes are watching the world from their place inside your skull-turning inward and outward, always glazed with your perspective. Two eyes are watching you from outside. They could rotate in the mailman’s head, the cleaners, the bus drivers, your friends, your childrens, your wifes, your husbands. They are a part of your mind. Obviously I would never try to equate the experience of being experienced by others to the experience of being an African American in American society during the 20s or now even, but I would like to paint an image of the importance of self reflection through the metaphor of double consciousness.

What I am trying to say is: being defined by others can make you lazy. Double-consciousness suggest that you are aware of how others perceive you and how you perceive yourself at all times, but I think drawing encouragment, discouragment, admiration, love, hatred and definition from other people’s perception can heavily distort our perception of self. Until I moved out, alone time was always temporary. Whenever my social life would dwindle down to a bare minimum throughout the winter months, I would still be surrounded by family, sibblings, neighbours, peers,- friends even -most hours of the day. Alone time was rare and cherished. As soon as I moved out, I noticed the remarkable difference of having to deal with yourself for more than a few hours. I would experience what it felt like to have spent an entire day without using your voice. Getting up, living a day and going to bed without having spoken to, smiled at or hugged someone. I felt this emptiness through lack of definition for the first time. No kind smile, no sneer, no friendly grin, no “oh that’s classic you”. What am I, when the outside is removed? What makes me happy? How can I be alone with my head? I struggled a few times and there were tear stained pillow cases, especially when I had to deal with what life throws at you without the safety net of my family to fall back on, but I have never learned so much about myself as I did throughout those dreary days in February when life seemed to pause and the air moved through my room, thick like curling cigarette smoke. I learned to be with myself and feel warm, feeling conscious of existing in the tips of my fingers and the ends of my hair. I felt the sensation of being full of yourself - not the figure of speech ”full of yourself”, but the feeling of wholesomeness and a home within your skin, soul and body. I scribbled my thoughts on countless pages of my journal, exploring my mind, getting lost in it and letting it wander. Upon reading those pages of things that I think about, thoughts, observations and feelings that flutter across the surface of my mind or stir deep within, I would feel like I got to know myself. The way my mind moves, writhes and coils, unwinds and unfolds. How disturbances affect me and how I deal with them subconsciously. What it means to be honest to yourself and that working on your mind is demanding and tiresome, but rewarding all the same. I discovered the beauty in community, friendship, family and love and began to appreciate and nourish my relationships, sending random texts of gratefulness to friends or heart emojis to family members without explanation when I thought of them and my heart warmed. Making things my own filled me with inspiration and provided a creative outlet. It made and still makes me happy, so I made my apartment my home by creating an extension of my soul, sticking chips of my mind onto the blank wall, buying 250 glow in the dark stickers to create a starry night above my bed, spilling my reflections into journals.

I realized that maybe the meaning of life is love. Romantic, family, friendship, self and stranger type of love. Love between humans, any kind. If you take away love, all the pillars of your life would crack and crumble, because what glues them together is love, empathy, compassion. What would an accomplishment mean without anybody who can celebrate it with you? What would a career be without anybody who you can enjoy your success with? I am not advocating for the necessity of an official relationship, but even a friendly neighbor, a good friend or your grandfather could be the glue that holds up your pillars and gives them meaning.

Anyway. I haven’t been alone in a while now and this is the first of a couple of nights that I will be. It seemed daunting to me first- my semester at university is over, most people are away or preoccupied, my boyfriend included and I would have to deal with filling my day with myself. What seemed daunting to me feels like a chance now. Get inspired in boredom and idleness, write and do things you can only do by yourself- read, watch, listen to the world around you. Write, write, write. Force yourself to sit with yourself and tune into existing as a whole human, not needing outward definition to live fulfilled. This might sound a bit esoteric, but its surviving this ”waking dream” and enjoying it I believe. And it’s what my first year on my own in a strange city, surrounded by new people taught me. Bye For Now

#self love #self disovery #self reflection #music #love #friendship #compassion #alone #alonetime #loneliness #fulfillment #on my own #writing #personal #diary #journal #thoughts #meaning of life

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roodiaries · 7 years

Text

The Return to Asia: Singapore Stories, Big India & A Nepali Christmas

Embarking on my first trip outside of Australia since arriving on the island-continent in February 2016 was something I'd looked forward to and planned for months while farming in South Australia (scroll down to previous blog for more info). A voyage into the unknown Indian subcontinent was an exciting and unexpected opportunity to see places I'd wanted to visit for a long time. On the one hand, it seemed a little absurd to be travelling 10,000km away (more than halfway home in fact) when I could easily see great places closer to Oz. But on the other hand, my ex-colleagues and friends from Loja, Rene and Soledad, were doing a tour of Southeast & South Asia, and the most interesting part of their trip took them through India and Nepal. So why not? I'd saved enough money and hadn't seen them for ages, so 6 flights over 17 days were soon booked and I was ready for the adventures with the Ecuadorians to begin!

I drove down to Adelaide with Renmark chums, Sam, Eisen & Yumena, for a rather formal - but nonetheless interesting - tour of the Cooper's Brewery: I was impressed that the current owners of South Australia's most famous beer are the descendants of the original 19th century brewer, Thomas Cooper (also a Yorkshireman!) I finally fled South Australia by night-flight to Sydney and spent a few days there sorting myself out while staying with Mark in his trendy Rozelle neighbourhood. Though his controlling housemate Vanessa took me for a stranger and demanded I leave when she found me laptopping downstairs one morning!

The first part of the trip was a long-awaited stopover return to Singapore, five years after I was there studying on exchange at the National University of Singapore. That was my first time living abroad and the source of a great many adventures in SG and eight other countries in Southeast Asia in 2011-12 – it's a shame I wasn't writing a blog then: it would have documented the ups and downs of several hapless bumblers traipsing around the region, full of legendary shaggy dog stories concerning daylight (wallet) robberies, Full Moon hospitalisations, back-room blackjack scams, rabid dog chases, giant bee attacks, volcanic dust storms, monkey madness, the ping pong mafiosas, asthmatic scuba and much worse. It was the quintessential Year Abroad and can never be topped. Singapore was the hub of this action, where I lived for 9 months and made many friends who I now consider some of my best pals. It's certainly one of my favourite cities and I was buzzing to be back!

I met up with one of the few Singaporeans I still keep in touch with, JD, who picked me up from the airport. The overwhelming humidity left me feeling suffocated and exhilarated in equal measure, and for the next four days it would be back to the body-punishing air-con-too-cold/outside-too-hot routine. I hung out with JD (who bought me lunch every single day: legend!) and another friend, Caryn, and I was able to experience once again the exquisite rooftop bars and incredible food. Seriously, I'd missed the hawkers! And I rarely give such high priority to food during a travelling experience: Singapore is a special case because it has it all. There's no getting bored with their array of cuisines, both local and from around Asia. I spent my time catching up with a couple of people over dinner and checking out a few sights that hadn't been around when I'd last been here (they build things incredibly quickly in SG: mostly because the mainly-Indian/Bangladeshi workers are made to labour relentlessly, part of the darker underbelly of a city that glimmers innocently on the surface). These sites included the Gardens by the Bay complex, which is a set of greenhouse domes, pathways, ponds and canopy walks, cementing Singapore's moniker as the 'Garden City'. I soaked in the views and gazed up at the ostentatiously luxurious Marina Bay Sands Hotel (the one that looks like a giant boat balanced on three towers), recalling the time when Kev, Mark, Scottish Kev and I sneaked up there somehow and chugged numerous tins in a state of embarrassingly British-hooligan rowdiness to disturb the genteel revelry of the upper echelons of international society. Much of the rest of the trip was a nostalgia tour of sites I used to hang out at: Clementi Mall where we'd sink large cheap Tiger beers on week nights till late; 'The Bridge' at Clarke Quay where students, locals, tourists, businessmen and everything in between mixed together in a cacophony of merriment; the utterly fake but still-enjoyable Sentosa Island with its cargo ships and oily sea; and of course, the university itself where I revisited classic food stalls, took the free shuttle bus round the tropical campus and felt like an old soul (I wanted to say to someone “you should have seen how it was in my day...”). It was genuinely emotional to be back here, but also a bit sad without the characters who made the experience what it was.

After a few hours' transit in Kuala Lumpur (the Airport King of Transfers), I glided 4000km north-west to the much cooler climes of Delhi, at the heart of the Indian subcontinent. It was with Malaysian airline, Malindo Air, certainly the best of the airlines I flew on during this trip, though my mind was preoccupied by thoughts of how to find my hostel in Delhi, and whether I would be overwhelmed by pushy taxi drivers upon arrival and give in to the pressures of culture shock when swapping the relative calmness of the developed world for the more haphazard ambience of the developing. In fact, it was a gentle introduction to a city with a metro population of about 22 million as I passed unnoticed in the dark through rows and rows of stationary three-wheeled tuk-tuks (or ‘auto rickshaws’ as they’re supposed to be called in India) and along the brightly lit and incredibly busy Qutab Road in Paharganj district. Something I already knew in theory but which became apparent in reality was the sheer diversity of stuff going on to bombard the senses, especially the eyes. Animals wandered willy-nilly along alleys and main roads: not just dogs and cats, but goats, rats, chicken, pigs and cows (which are of course holy to Hindus so unfortunately nobody shoves them out of the way). Countless ramshackle stalls sold spices, curries, chai tea and a million other exotic fares I had absolutely no comprehension of. People just wandered the street, some sitting around chatting, others lying under a bridge ready for another night on the street. Rickshaws and motorbikes weaved and squeezed in and out of the crowds, beeping their horns constantly as a customary announcement for people to shift their arse: I've never been anywhere with so much beeping; it's unbelievable.

I found my hostel – Zostel on Arakashan Road – without too much trouble, due to good signage. One thing that makes India more accessible than many countries is its use of English as a widespread second-language: most people in the cities speak it to a decent level, and others to a basic level, while road and shop signs are usually in both Hindi (the national language) and English too. It's clearly a positive effect of British involvement for 200 years: first via the East India Company's more stand-offish economic rule, and from 1858-1947 as full-on Empire rule. Though you would certainly have to mention some of the brutal things the British did here as well (e.g. the Amritsar Massacre in 1919; response to the Bengal Famine in 1943). I remember one Indian girl in a university class I did about her country's history ask me: “how does it feel to know what your ancestors have done?” I really didn't know what to say to that.

I only had one full day in Delhi, and made the most of it with a taxi tour to see some of the main sites here and in the British-built Indian capital of New Delhi, in practice a mini-city within the city of Delhi. Here, the traffic was less and the tree-lined boulevards spoke to a distinctly colonial era, adorned with pretty fountains and majestic buildings. One of these was the museum and former home of PM Indira Gandhi, India's first and only female leader (and no relation to Mahatma Gandhi), with a great collection of photos and artifacts on display. Outside was a boardwalk with a piece missing and a placard that stated it was the place where Indira was gunned down by her own guards in 1984, as a victim of the very religious communalism she had tried to fight her whole career. The exact same thing happened in 1991 to her son Rajiv, who was also PM. Three notable Gandhis assassinated in modern Indian history!

We saw the hugely impressive Qutb Minar, a treasure bestowed upon the city by the first Muslim ruler to conquer northern India in the 12th century (Qutab-ud-din Aibak from central Asia). Also there is the millennia-old Iron Pillar of Delhi, which my guide explained has non-rust qualities unfathomable even to modern-day scientists. I took a peek inside the Lotus Temple at dusk, a strangely captivating Baha'ist place of worship, open to all faiths as a site of reflection and peace. The Baha'is believe in respect for nature and the unity of all people under one God, irrespective of religion, race and nationality. It's hugely idealistic but logical and forward-thinking, and from my experience a very tolerant group, numbering some 5 million followers worldwide.

I met up with Ecuador chums Rene and Soledad at last and we spoke in Spanish almost the whole time, as I wanted to practice: it was strange speaking it in India, because I would often distractedly turn to a local and address them in this continentally inaccurate tongue - “disculpe señor, don- oops!” Not that I was very good – I fumbled through subjunctives and reflexive pronouns like a true amateur. ¡Qué bestia! I was also at the wrong end of most of the trip banter, accused of being 'cold and complaining too much,' like a proper Englishman and the antithesis of the passionate Latino personality. And for only saying “hello” in a casual manner when I saw them for the first time, rather than exploding with enthusiasm and darting over to adorn them with plentiful hugs and kisses. So I had to tone down the negative comments for the sake of the group morale: “Wow, isn't this wonderful, I just love the fact that this great big greedy fat pig is rolling around in shit so much, it's amazing!” It was all in good fun though, and sarcasm/complaining is a way of adding spice and good craic sometimes: things are boring if they're always rosy and dandy (I think this is more of a British/Irish thing?)

We travelled by train southwest to Rajasthan state, a name evoking romantic images of a distant desert land where the Maharajas live in fairytale palaces. Our destination was Jaipur, the famed 'Pink City' and state capital. We stayed in the lovely Vinayak Guesthouse with helpful staff and a rooftop restaurant playing Indian melodies to set the mood. In and around town, there was plenty to see, including the vast sandstone/marble Amber Fort where the local Maharajas ruled before Jaipur itself was founded in the 18th century by Jai Singh II. The dastardly monkeys were also a factor here, scaring us when they tried to grab our stuff! The Hawa Mahal is another strange archictectural marvel in the centre of town: an eye-catching facade built simply so the women of the court could watch events through secret windows unseen by the men of society.

Jaipur is a major market haven, and the stalls selling clothes at very cheap prices abounded on every street and alley. Rene certainly got his money's worth, bartering frantically with one old guy for about 20 minutes to get a dozen scarves while the whole street came to watch! I particularly enjoyed the salesmen chat given in one shop: “do you exercise? You look like a Maharaja with that beard. You're a good size, not too tall.” All my insecurities put to bed in one very charm-ridden compliment session when perusing the shop, though unfortunately this was a much pricier one and smooth talking wasn't enough. In a more modest stall, I bought a single Indian-looking shirt, and the seller insisted on showing me a picture he said he'd had taken with 'Wolverine' in his other shop; I went with him and there was indeed a picture of Hugh Jackman... looking stressed and trying to escape the public attention, surrounded by bodyguards (I bet he wished he really did have claws)!

I'd had a great deal of trouble trying to book trains around India: simply signing up for the IRCTC website is a mission in itself involving mind-bogglingly complicated levels of email codes, proof of identity and fake Indian mobile numbers, and had had to book two of the three train journeys with a travel agent for an extra charge (feeling exasperated after weeks of trying online). For the one from Jaipur to Agra, however, I hadn't been able to book, so we ended up in the second-worst class. We were also a bit nervous because we'd been told by an Aussie couple in the guesthouse that their train had been delayed... by 17 hours! Our train was thankfully on time, but seeing hordes of people pile into the carriages nearby was a dread-inducing sight, and I imagined we'd probably end up having to stand in the toilet for 4 hours. Actually, we found seats and had a fun experience with the locals, drinking plenty of sweet chai tea (for 10 rupees each – equivalent of 20 cents), which all of us came to love. There was even space for Niña Soledad's enormous suitcase too!

So the third and final point on the Golden Triangle was Agra, another Mughal-built city. But whereas Delhi and Jaipur's interesting monuments and atmosphere went a long way to overcome the cumbersome cluster-fuckery of street life, Agra was a total shit-hole redeemed only by the Taj Mahal (which is a pretty decent redeeming feature to have in your city to be fair). We actually stayed at the place Karl Pilkington stayed at on An Idiot Abroad (he storms out because of the smell and the 'ensuite shed'), but they'd clearly improved it since then. We saw this amazing Wonder of the World from across the Yamuna River at sunset, before arriving at the South Gate at 5am the next day. We queued with our new friends from the hostel for over an hour waiting for them to open the bloody gates, and pretty much missed the sunrise, shivering in the early morning fog, hungry and tired. The bucket-loads of tourists almost ruined it for me: the ridiculous rituals of needing to have every possible picture of every possible pose with every possible family member left me seething: I wanted to slap them repeatedly across the face and run off with their camera. See with your eyes, not with your lenses! Not that my friends were much better to be honest... I never used to be this intolerant of tourist habits: I think it was the tiredness and me getting older and more cynical, plus I'm being a bit of a hypocrite because I took some pics too. Anyway, after the photos were all taken and ready to become people's next Facebook Profile Picture, we spent hours exploring the Taj itself and admire its pure white marmoreal exterior and impressively detailed austere interior (it is a tomb after all, built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan for his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, in the 17th century). A classic Indian site, and a worldwide icon deserving of its revered status.

Next stop was Nepal, the 'Roof of the World' and a wonderful travel destination as it turned out. Flying in with the snow-capped Himalayan skyline to the north was an awe-inspiring site. We spent a few days in bustling capital Kathmandu and nearby historic city of Bhaktapur (richly decorated UNESCO World Heritage Site and former capital of the region), and two days in chilled second-city Pokhara to the west. I found Nepal to be much more relaxing and less pressured than India: locals didn't seem to stare as much; they didn't push you to buy things; less bartering; there was much less traffic too. A hike we did along a ridge above Pokhara at sunrise was the main highlight for me: the sun revealing the mighty peaks of Machapuchare (6997m), Annapurna I (8091m) and Dhaulagiri (8167m), some of the world’s tallest mountains. We walked about 10km between the villages of Sarangkot and Naudanda, past quiet farmsteads and small sloping allotments, taking in the ridiculous views both above and below us. It would have been cool to do a proper Himalayan trek, but due to money, time and (above all) general fitness, it wasn't possible this time around.

It was pretty bizarre being in Nepal for Christmas, but the locals celebrated with New Year-style parties and the cool temperature and tasty roast turkey dinner helped make it feel a bit more Christmassy! I was in great company but still felt a longing to be in Durham with my family, only able to speak with them over a WhatsApp call for about 5 minutes because of the dodgy connection. Rene and Sole left for Burma, and I spent the evening of Christmas Day in a hippie hostel called Fireflies. It wouldn't be somewhere I'd normally choose, but I felt a need to connect with people seeing as it was Christmas Day. I bumped into Georgia, the California girl I'd met at Delhi Airport when we were both late for our flight, and met a lot of other friendly international people for another meal, good conversation and some beers. On my last day in Nepal, I ventured to the hilltop Monkey Temple (Swayambhunath), an ancient and holy Buddhist site centred around a golden stupa with the eyes of Buddha gazing down at you from each side. As with a lot of structures in Kathmandu and elsewhere, it was severely damaged by the 2015 earthquake: the city is still punctuated by piles of rubble and wooden beams propping up historic buildings. But the Nepalese people have made tremendous efforts of rebuilding and maintaining their incredible architectural treasures.

My last stop was almost 24 hours in Kuala Lumpur, again in transit. I spent the fourth night of my life at this airport (mad considering I've never lived here), curled up on some carpet somewhere, too tired to care and using my trusted Osprey bag as a pillow. Then I went to explore the malls of KL (and saw the new Star Wars, which was bloody fantastic), and took the opportunity to nip to Putrajaya, located between KL proper and the airport. Putrajaya is its own Federal Territory (like KL), was only built in 1995 and contains most of the government offices, despite KL still being the Malaysian capital. I told the taxi driver to take me “somewhere good” because I didn't have a clue about the layout of the city or what it contained; laying this responsibility of my entertainment upon a stranger was almost too much for the poor man, but he dropped me off in the sweaty heat at Putra Square beside the PM's house and the pretty pink Putra Mosque, overlooking Putra Lake (they're not very inventive with the names of stuff here!) It was a pleasant day's excursion but I was ready for a long uncomfortable Air Asia flight back to Sydney to celebrate New Year and continue my life in Australia. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and I'd missed my new 'home' country. But it had been one hell of a trip.

Thanks for reading, I’ll post soon about the new life in Sydney (sticking to Australia next time),

Oliver

(see below for photos!)

#Singapore #India #Nepal #Malaysia #BacktoAsia #HolidayAfterFarming #Where'sTheDriver?#EcuadorianAdventure #SouthAmericaAndUKMeetsAsia #TajMahal #chaitea #thali #sexypose #DoYouExercise?#Hello

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