DECEMBER 3RD, 2007
By MWANGI

10 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Landed in Australia

The first post of the Displaced African blog: Yeah!

Smile it's the first one

First of all I must confess the title of the series is somewhat misleading. I almost never experience the emotion of regret to be quite honest. Instead I always look at every stupid thing I do as a learning experience for the next moment. If it were written for me I would have called it Ten things I have learned during my 5 year stay in Australia. The fact is, I am not writing this for me, I am writing this as a resource for ALL OF YOU especially if you somewhere in Mama Africa about to make the long journey to a Western country. I hope this series is of service to you and feel free to contact me and let me know your thoughts, in spite of your location or ethnicity.

Leaving Kenya

Picture this: It’s cold winter day in June 2002. The world cup final is playing out, Brazil vs Germany. This is the big one. The greatest world cup ever. Something even more important was happening in my life.I was arriving in Australia. I remember as I stepped out of the plane in my bermuda shorts and light cotton t-shirt thinking, “Jeeezzz now that’s cold,” before retreating into the jet and declaring that I was not getting out. But I did. Had I known these 10 things that frigid June evening, my life would have been dramatically different and stripped of the lllooooonnnggg learning curve that the past five years have been. At this point in my life I am begining to wrap my head around them and as I do I thought that as I do I would share them with you.

1) We don’t have to be friends but we damn sure have to get along

Nigga

2) We went from brothers and sisters to n***az and b****es

3) Ashanti Kingdom; Isn’t that the name of a new R&B album?

4) I am an African! An East African African! An East African Christian African! An East African, Kenyan, Nairobi born and raised African! An East African, Entrepreneurial, Nairobi born………

5) There’s no way I’m putting my shady native name on my resume, it won’t look good. Black power!

6) I am what I think I am!

Mandingo's girls

7) The myth of Mandingo’s girls waiting at the airport

8 ) Wow you’re successful; and you look just like me!! :-D

9) An apple a day

10) These are the choices that never end, they will go on and on my friend, some people started choosing things not knowing what they was but they’ll continue choosing things just because these are the choices that never end they will go on and on…..

There you have it. The first ever series in the history of the Displaced African. For those who may not understand what the previous 10 points were all about, come along on the journey with me and we will unravel what they mean together.

Till then be blessed so you may be a blessing to others,

Mwas

Tags: , , , , ,

categories Top 10 things I wish I knew before I left Africa

36 Comments

  • By who me, December 12, 2007 @ 5:20 pm

    Hilarious but true so true.
    Would love to read some personal experiences on how your expectations were met or dahsed

  • By admin, December 13, 2007 @ 3:30 am

    Thanks for reading. I am going to begin working on finishing an article for each point next week. Where are you writing me from? What do you think about the blog’s design?

  • By who me, December 13, 2007 @ 11:54 am

    I love the design the earthy color is vibrant and the head of the blog is just wicked. The wistful pose of the crouching guy and the women dancing around in the Africa frame is just sublime.
    Hope to read more soon

  • By Mwangi, December 13, 2007 @ 1:58 pm

    Cheers, I will pass that on to my design guy. Check in in about two weeks and the blog will be fully operational

  • By Mwangi, December 13, 2007 @ 2:00 pm

    And so well articulated too :)

  • By Mwangi, December 27, 2007 @ 9:29 am

    Hey,
    The reason I am linking up to my old blog is twofold:
    1) I don’t have an email form set up for the new blog just yet, I am still
    working on designing it-currently I’m working on the RSS
    2) I want to promote my old blog before fully launching my new blog.

    As for the pictures, I began putting them in because I am a visual person
    and I wanted to break up long articles. The pictures usually have
    something to do with the text right below them…I always thought that the
    connection was pretty clear but I guess I may have been wrong, I will test
    the pictures out over the coming months and see the response.

    Yet again thanks for the great feedback and please keep checking on the
    site because once I have finished tweaking the design and the specs I hit
    the ground running with articles.

    Have a fantastic day (or night)
    Mwas

  • By Wee Siong, January 4, 2008 @ 4:12 am

    Hey Bogi,

    Love the site, design is great, the colour scheme and leopard patches give it a solid African theme. Keep up the good work, any more pictures of the Mandingo’s? :P

    Cheers

  • By Mwangi, January 4, 2008 @ 4:16 am

    You know you wont believe this but i actually do….I wrote an article about the Mandingo heading a couple weeks back and I am editing it and will be releasing it around mid January and the visuals are there.
    Thank you for the compliments of the theme. Subscribe to the RSS feed and you will be informed once I start the 10 day challenge

  • By hussein, February 5, 2008 @ 11:26 am

    These blog is goner be cool.Keep it up man.

  • By Mwangi, February 6, 2008 @ 12:16 am

    Thanks for the endorsement Hussein :)

  • By Nakeel, March 15, 2008 @ 7:41 pm

    Hilarious dude.. Am loving your home…

  • By Mwangi, March 16, 2008 @ 12:34 am

    @Nakeel I am always flattered when veterans of the blogging world visit me and so thanks for stopping by and hope to see more of you in future.

  • By -Jim-, April 21, 2008 @ 1:13 pm

    Hehe …tDA. Very funny article

    Number 7 is quite hilarious. Do blacks out there call each other N*** and Bi**?

  • By Mwangi, April 21, 2008 @ 3:43 pm

    @Jim: As usual, glad I exercised your smiling and laughing muscles. People who came here in high school age or younger, without any distinct African identity latch onto the gangsta identity like you wouldn’t believe. Some of them even completely do away with their native names and start calling themselves “Big C” or “Big Q”or something like that and they’re usually so painfully ignorant….tis sad!

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