Plural of Anecdote

Not often does random googling yield valuable insights, but when entering search terms ”Colombia Private Schools Slum” they do. Not because they are the center of my (everlasting) thesis work, but because of what I found on a blog by a guy who had spent some time in Bogota. Below is a quote from his post about the people in the Recycling District of Bogota

Do you see the blonde kid sitting next to me in this photo? I asked the locals where he came from. They explained to me that a German tourist met one of the locals a few years ago. And now there’s an extra mouth to feed in the Recycling District.

I’m not making this up. I didn’t photoshop the little blonde kid into the photo. There was really a half-German little boy growing up in this ghetto

This quote struck a cord in me, since one of my strongest memories from my time in Nigeria was the sight of a five-year old blonde girl with pale skin, whose only visible company was three Nigerian ladies of dubious reputation. That sight really wrecked my brain, since I could not understand why any responsible parent would entrust their child to those women. The conclusion was pretty obvious. But having solved that riddle, I found myself left wondering about what kind of life would that girl lead? What kind of identity would she have? I, of course, could not answer this question, but neither have I been able to forget it.

Now I add a new question on which to ponder: how prevalent is this fate? Considering that sex-tourism is on the increase (or, at the very least, the media coverage of it), the answer is probably quite depressing.

(Higher) Frequency

Yesterday I was in Cologne, checking out places to stay. I know that it is a bit late in the game to look for an apartment less than a week before I am about to start work, but since the housing market in Germany is liquid and functioning (as opposed to other places I know) this actually works fine.

Most students and interns share apartments (called Wohngemeinschaft, or simply WG). Renting a room is then a process in which I must convince the owner of the room that I am responsible enough to return it in good condition, but also convincing the other flat-mates that I am fun enough to hang with.

After having checked-out my latest WG, I took a short walk over to the AIESEC-Köln Stammtisch (i.e. the weekly get-together-over-beers). I am always amazed how AIESEC enables young people to quickly find friends in pretty much every corner of the world. The risk of me being lonely or not speaking enough German can now safely be said to be zero.

The main event however was who I ran into at this Stammtisch. In 2004 I did an internship in Nigeria, and a Mexican girl who interned after me (but whom I so far had only seen in pictures) was at this Stammtisch! Wow! A person who has almost the same Nigerian experience as me, and we by chance happen to meet in Cologne. As I've written before, this tendency to run into people is unbelievable.