Chapter Fifty Two
The part where we do something for the plot...
Hey you,
How are things?
So… this is a little crazy. It’s my first-journal style letter to you because I’m doing something so far removed from my usual activities and I want to share that with you including any lessons learned.
28-10-2025: I just accepted the role of “consultant” at a 3-day forum for a West African organization. They put “consultant” in the contract but after reading through, I’m basically going to be a bilingual maid. They have translators for the forum itself but need someone who is going to translate the mundane stuff and assist the French-speaking guests with little tasks. At least, that’s what I assume. Also, I signed an NDA so I can’t give you specific details unfortunately but I will do my best to make sure I describe the experience to the best of my abilities.
How did I even get the gig? Someone who knows I speak French called to ask if I’ll be available for the dates, gave me a rundown of what was required and I just thought, why the hell not. Friend, my French is rusty as fuck, but I’ve decided to move with the confidence of a Caucasian man. I mean, it can’t be that difficult, right?
02-11-2025: I just returned from the planning meeting with the rest of the team and I think I have a better understanding of what’s required of me. I’ll be supporting logistics within the venue, its staff and translating for the attendees who don’t speak English. But I’m still nervous because why was I stuttering when it was time to respond to the French-speaking members of the team? I understood them perfectly but words failed when it was time to respond, I could only smile. wtf! I am excited about this gig though. As long as they don’t throw me out for being a scam artist, I think all will be well and I have to remember to dazzle them with my rosy cheeks and smile.
03-11-2025: Not me being late on the first day! Friend, I was thirty minutes late and so embarrassed. I’ve got a reputation to protect and I don’t want to be known as a latecomer because I’m not. I’ll just make sure I’m super early tomorrow. So, the forum started off to a great start, the participants were engaged and engaging, translating wasn’t difficult at all, and when I forgot a word or phrase, I just used Google translate(hehe.) Attendants were from 9 countries in West Africa and while they were doing their presentations, I couldn’t help but wonder why Liberia didn’t change their flag because every other country has red, yellow or green but theirs is like the American flag with one star, ugh. The food offerings from the hotel(aka the venue) was so mid but I was doing a lot of walking around so I had to stuff my face regardless. I got home after two and half hours in traffic for a journey that usually takes me 20 minutes. I’m so tired!
Here’s my fit check…
04-11-2025: Today was relatively better than yesterday because I got to do more in terms of “being a maid.” I took a Bukinabe person to a photo studio to get their passport photo taken, I got face cream for someone, I went out to get methylated spirit for another person who was suffering from whitlow on their finger, I did a ton of translations during the lunch buffet because the dishes were in English and the Francophone nationals didn’t come out all at once, it was a case of me getting up from my meal any time someone needed a translation. A not so cool thing that happened was watching adults being greedy during the tea breaks. Knowing how many people are participating in the event, doesn’t it make sense to take 2 pieces of chicken wings and move on to the next offering? No, these people were out here heaping their plates without care or concern for their fellow attendees at a conference where “taking care of community” is the core theme. I was disappointed but I understand the scarcity mindset, it robs us of human decency sometimes. Before I continue, here is my fit check…
Overall, it was good day, I had to raw dog boredom though, I couldn’t listen to an audiobook or read because I had to pay attention in case any of the guests needed my attention. At one point, I started asking myself, “Amyn why are you even here, you have a job FFS.” Then, I remembered that I accepted this gig because I wanted to try something different, something for plot. There’s an after party tomorrow but I can already feel my social battery draining and I don’t know if I’ll be able to join the party, it would probably be loud too. Ugh.
05-11-2025: The final day has come and gone and I’m tayaaaad! Remind me why I did this again? Right. For the plot. First of all, here’s my fit check…
I woke early and got to the venue in good time, the sessions started on time and I was able to squeeze in some audiobook time because most of the sessions had the attendees in group discussions. The food offerings were better today and I ate well so, I’m very happy about that. I’m yawning as I write this but I have to put my thoughts down while it’s still kind of fresh. As you can tell, I didn’t attend the after party because I was all social-ed out. Why did I think this would be a good idea two weeks before Ake Festival? Oh dear. I have to go pay homage to the gods of celebration and merriment so that they can bless me for my favourite annual book event.
After the sessions ended, we had a debrief meeting with the team and I shared what I thought they could do better for the next one. Friend, this experience was wonderful. I enjoyed having the opportunity to meet people from different parts of the continent and it has only renewed my desire to find and read more books from these regions. Also, I think I’m going to work on moving my French from intermediary to advanced level because it’s so cool being bilingual. And that’s what I wanted to share with you.
Final thoughts: Doing this reminded me that there are so many galaxies that exist in this world that we might never get to know about if we don’t step out of our comfort zones once in a while. Whether it is by going somewhere new, trying something new, or reading something new, we learn about different people doing things in different ways and this helps to widen our worldview while appreciating diversity. I hope I’m able to write to you about more stuff like this in the future and most importantly, I hope this little adventure of mine inspires you to brave new horizons too. For instance, if you hate on a meal before you’ve even tasted it, this is a challenge to you.
Friendly Reminder…
Please remember to hydrate, eat well, sleep well so you can poop well. Most importantly, don’t forget to give yourself the grace you always extend to others. You need it too, okay?
See you on the other side, Dearest.
XOXO
Absolutely yes! That photo makes a lovely book cover!
Moving with the audacity of a Caucasian man is very necessary please.
fits are fabulous!!!! You’re such a star!
I love the journal style entries. And cheers to doing something just for the plot. Need to do something like this before the year ends. Fingers crossed.