Taking a break from penning my ideas to paper and posting them on my blog wasn’t planned. My urge to critically consider concepts just vanished. It took me a year and a half to really nail down where my passion for seeking out new ideas ran off to, and how I plan to get back there.
I’ve always tried to write my blog posts as essays -- meticulous in structure and taking care to write about ideas in a sensitive yet relevant manner. Living overseas in Tanzania and Ghana back in 2019 made it much easier to churn out these collections of thoughts because of the constant stimulation. Writing was as much an outlet as it was an interest for me.
COVID-19 halted many of our hopes and dreams, and for far longer than we had anticipated. The combination of returning from Africa and the lockdown induced feelings of isolation crammed into two months made my welcome back to Canada challenging. Although I was able to land a solid work-from-home job at Race Roster early in 2020, and move back to London, Ontario to live with some friends, I didn’t feel entirely right.
How do you describe a life changing experience to your closest friends? Your relationships can change when you spend an extended period of time away from where you grew up. The most important relationship that you learn about, though, is the one you have with yourself -- and the yo-yo-ing of provincial confinement measures forced me to look it in the face. I tried to write, but I didn’t feel I could contribute anything positive to the abysmal narrative shoved in our face every day, while also trying to grapple with my own feelings.
It was difficult to jump back into day-to-day life in the city that awarded me my undergraduate degree, where I had so many memories of people, places, and events that happened during those five years of academia and growth. But, the pandemic grounded us all, and as I’ve written about before, we just had to adapt. And we have continued to adapt in many innovative and marvellous ways that may not have occurred without a global pandemic.
I didn’t train nearly as much as I was used to during my seven months spent overseas. Looking back, in many ways it was the beginning of my transition away from the competitive running world (maybe I need a new blog name!) So, it was unreasonable for me to expect to jump back into training upon the move back to London. I hopped in a few workouts with the local group and ran on the off days occasionally, mostly to maintain personal fitness. It’s only recently that I’ve thought maybe my decline in mileage (and occasional full weeks off) has had a negative impact on my mental health. It’s a good week if I get two runs in. I’m trying not to take the privilege of good health and exercise for granted.
As much as I enjoy re-capping the dismal months that have coloured our lives since the beginning of 2020, that’s not the main purpose of this post. The fire that drove my curiosity to start writing in the first place -- the fire that was extinguished by the world shutting its doors -- has been rekindled.
I’m pleased to announce that I have accepted admission to a Master of Arts in African Studies and Swahili at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in the UK starting this September.
With Britain among the countries leading the charge in vaccinations per capita, it's promising that classes will be in person come the fall. The reason I mention this is because I’ve seen friends and family struggle with virtual learning (I’ve struggled with virtual work at times), but more so that the stimulation you get from being in the same room as like-minded people is just unmatched. Status of classes aside, I will be moving to (the other) London in August.
Not only does the idea of living in another country make my heart race, but to live in the city where my dad grew up and where much of my family still resides makes it all the more exciting. Combining this with the study of something I’ve found I’m passionate about makes it a no-brainer.
I toyed with the idea of going back to school since last year. I explored the option of studying international development (same as my undergrad), but in this pursuit I stumbled across the MA at SOAS. Sleeping on it for a few weeks I found that I was only really interested in SOAS’s program.
The program itself spans two years and takes a multi-disciplinary approach in examining the politics, culture, economics, language, religion and much more of Africa. It also has a parallel language component: Swahili, the common language found in East Africa (predominantly Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan and their neighbours).
My new academic pursuit is fuelled by a few items I’ve come to realize are anchoring my interest in Africa; the discovery of culture and different ways of life; language and intercultural communication; and, more broadly, the way in which Africa’s colonial history has shaped the way it has developed and is perceived by the rest of the world.
This MA ultimately prepares you to work in an African context (whether that be boots-on-the-ground or in some remote capacity). I have high hopes of returning once it's safe to do so and to continue challenging myself to explore new ideas.
Ben