A Look Back Into The Future ~ Africa And Latin America

January 2006 Colima, Mexico

After putting my grades for the winter semester on ITESM’s computer platform and wrapping my classes up, my one month winter vacation/holiday could start. It goes without saying that leaving Colima during that time didn’t even deserve to be called a remote option. Colima in winter comes quite close to what I’m fond of calling “bloody marvellous”. From November to typically April or May the weather tends to be very warm without humidity. The sky tends to be bright blue without any clouds whatsoever. The sunset comes quite close to being spectacular, which I’m quite fond of watching on my roof terrace. Even though my lifestyle in Colima cuts the mustard for the term very mellow, towards the end of the year it’s increasingly apparent that I need a break.

Get A Second Passport

It’s increasingly apparent because by the beginning of December my not so friendly feelings towards certain “adults” and computers threaten to get the upper hand. However, that sort of being a little aggressive never represents a danger for students. Anyway, within the first few days of my winter break I started feeling as relaxed as I usually do throughout the year.

Instead of leaving Colima I spent Christmas with Mexican friends of mine. One of the books that I read during that break was the novel “The Dogs of War” by Frederick Forsyth. Frederick’s novel “The Dogs of War” revolves around some mercenaries in Africa. It also brings up the topic of why these mercenaries want to lead a life as mercenaries in Africa instead of living like Joe Consumer or Harry Up The Road. Even though I can’t claim to have ever been a mercenary, I do have some sympathy for these chaps in the novel. Because I’ve never been a mercenary I can’t identify with the thrill of still being alive after a battle. However, I do identify with their experience of “having Africa in your blood”. It’s difficult to explain what it means. When you’ve spent some time in Africa you know exactly what I’m rambling about.

Just spend some nights in the desert or the savannah in Africa. When you wake up very early in the morning you see huge baobab trees. The sunshine is already plenty strong.

The animals make an incredible noise. Once you have a rhino in front of your jeep. Then – while being on foot – you’re only separated by a few meters from a wild elephant. Or when yours truly crossed the border from the Drakensberg in South Africa into Lesotho I hitchhiked. A black truck driver gave me a lift. I reckoned more than once that we’re about to fall off a cliff (which would’ve been a slightly more dramatic departure than getting run over by a bus in Germany).

Even city life may be characterised as distinctly African. The rain in Egoli – the Zulu name for Johannesburg – smells different to the rain in Germany. The rain in Egoli smells African. Start the day with a mug of coffee on a verandah and look at Table Mountain in Cape Town. Once you’ve experienced that sort of thing for a longer period of time you’ve Africa in your blood.

Does all this mean that I’m keen on returning to Africa? Not necessarily. At least for the time being I don’t wanna live anywhere else than in Colima. Colima may even turn out to be a long term thing. But if I had to choose between living in South Africa or New Zealand, Western Europe or North America, I’d go for South Africa by a gazillion... despite my reservations about South Africa’s midterm future. During all my years in New Zealand I reckoned that there’s something missing there. I’ve always had difficulties pinning it down.

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South Africa: Offshore Haven

For those who are seeking prime investment opportunities or for anyone looking for a beautiful and exciting country to settle in, South Africa is an excellent option.

I reckon that I can now after getting a healthy distance from the South Pacific.

What’s missing there is the sense of adventure. New Zealand may be a choice spot to start a family and raise chamacos (Spanish colloquialism for children). But for independent bachelors New Zealand reminds me of a bottle of red wine without alcohol. For folks inclined to deviate from the mainstream the land of the long white cloud (one of New Zealand’s nicknames) lacks the certain something. Western Europe and North America... we don’t wanna talk about it...

Latin America Versus South Africa

Despite my reservations about the country’s future South Africa may still be one of my top places on my dance list.

However, I’ve no intention whatsoever of relocating anywhere. The reason is quite simple. My current life in my current Latin American backwater could hardly be more pleasant. During my time in South Africa I was working for a business and management consulting firm. My clothes looked accordingly from Monday to Friday. From Monday to Friday yours truly had to wear a suit and a tie in Jo’burg.

Based on my experience so far, appropriate clothes appears to be quite a significant matter in Latin America. But we’ve to keep in mind that there are a few differences between Mexico City and Buenos Aires on the one hand and Colima on the other hand. For example, the climate in Colima tends to be virtually tropical. Moreover, Colima ain’t the centre of the universe.

All this means for my clothes that I need formal clothes primarily for graduations, and every now and then when I’ve to put something together for private activities that we may call “executive casual”. Anyway, when I need formal clothes for graduations, I like the idea of attracting attention by doing things a little differently. Similar to New Zealand most men in Mexico go for dark suits and black shoes. It won’t surprise you that I pop up on those occasions in rather bright colours and wine red shoes.

Businessmen in South Africa wear quite often suits in bright colours.

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