My Big Fat International Network

I have about 30 first-cousins (give or take a couple) on my father's side alone.

As a child I was always eager for the next family gathering where the full range of uncles, aunts, cousins, second cousins and in-laws were always on hand to tease, lecture, make fun of, and scandalize each other. Stories grew into legends and epics after being repeated over and over again over the family dinner table. And almost all the stereotypes were represented in my quite extensive extended family.

The quiet head of the family, my dad's oldest brother who never said much but was deeply respected across the family. The larger-than-life uncle who had a booming laugh and almost always talked in capital letters. The rakish younger uncle who cracked up his nephews and nieces with fabrications dressed up as true stories; the aunt who was famous for her verbal missiles but who no one quite had the gall to confront her about it; the cool successful cousin who all the mothers held up as a measure of how we should aspire to be like... you name it, it seemed my family had the whole caboodle.

But as is the nature of the current world, such family gatherings have dwindled in the last few years and this is in no small part to the dispersion of family members to corners around the globe. London, Oxford, Birmingham, New York, Durban, Kansas, Atlanta, Boston, Libreville, are all cities that play host to an Ajayi. Current and former. And of course the Ajayi family even manage to have a representative in Aotearoa as well.

So a pretty international-based family.

And then add to this my friends. During my time in AIESEC, I shared intensely deep experiences with individuals from across the globe. A lot of these experiences at 10-day conferences and a lot when I lived in Stockholm, traveled a bit around Europe and met such an amazing spectrum of life-stories, passions and learning's which were all wrapped up in the unique idiosyncrasies of each individual person. I used to boast to my friends here in New Zealand that there was nary a country Europe I would visit and not be able to count on a couch to sleep on.

Or at least there would be if I kept in touch with any of these people.

I have been enjoying married life so much with my queen that I find I have been retreating away from the single most important item that I took away with me from AIESEC. My network. And it seems so silly in this day and age of twitters, facebook and skype that I am not in constant, daily contact with people who have made the tapestry of my life like a coat of many colours!

And of course I must not forget the "friends of my youth", those I grew up with and have known outside my AIESEC crowd and who are mostly still back in Nigeria.

So this coming week, I will be spending a whole lot more time on the phone, Internet and email to try and strengthen those contacts I have made and who knows maybe even make a few more. http://nomadlife.org/ is an especially good tool to just catch up on what people are up to and Facebook makes it even easier to actually get in touch and communicate with people.

So, if we have ever crossed paths in the past, you just might be getting an email, phone-call or maybe just a comment from me on your FB page in the coming weeks.

(I have almost a thousand friends on FB, suffice to say not all the people on that list will be hearing from me. Unfortunately)

Where Are My Friends?

When I was moving here to New Zealand I was warned that one of the biggest challenges I would face would be that of isolation. Wikipedia describes one of the "uniqueness" of New Zealand as being its geographical isolation.


Boy were they right or what?

I found out exactly how right in my first few months here. I was used to having Africans as a large part of the immigrant population in my previous domiciles. Here in New Zealand, Africans are still quite few enough that it is almost an obligation to say hello if you bump into them on the high street. Although you are more likely to spot them from 500 metres away seeing as a dark skinned person stands out so much!

I have a lot of acquaintances in New Zealand and quite a number of friends already. The small Nigerian community is very tight and any excuse will do to have a get-together and gather everyone around. Music, food and speaking Yoruba or Pidgin English does wonders for your sense of community and homesickness.

But this post is about my friends. The ones in the Northern Hemisphere

I have been missing them a lot.

My MSN name and Facebook status asks where they are and I have gotten responses from quite a varied number of people (346 'friends' on Facebook and 225 contacts on MSN afterall). So this post is dedicated to all my true friends. Being who I am, I count quite a lot of people as friends so in the next few weeks, I will be sharing my friends with the whole world (such as it is) and why they are so special to me.

And perhaps... just perhaps... as I profile people here on my blog, consciences will be pricked and my phone will ring a bit more and my email box be a bit more that interesting to open up and read!

__________________________________________________________________

Name: Kenechukwu UMEASIEGBU


Time I have known him: 9 years

Location:
Global HR "something or the other" with Cadbury Schweppes, London United Kingdom

Most memorable moment with him:
Ask anybody who knows him and they will tell you that every single encounter with Kene is a memorable one. One of the most intelligent persons I know, Kene is a deep thinker who is very comfortable addressing a room of thousands or one-on-one with an indivdual. Whichever it is, he commands and gives you full attention until the end. (Switzerland, Festac, UNILAG, London)


What I Like Most about Him:
His conversation skills. It doesnt matter what you talk about, who initiated the conversation or how long you talk to him. Kene has an opinion about almost everything and he has never been shy or reticient in letting you know EXACTLY what he thinks. If you are having a dinner party, need a speaker for your annual conference or just want to unburden your heart... he is the man!


Other comments:
One of the people I look up to in a lot of things, Kene has been instrumental in shaping certain convictions I have. And certain questions I am still in the process of getting answers to have their root planted by Kene. (If you are reading this Kene, its not what you think! haha)

Kene is also the person most likely to ring me up (after my immediate family) just to say hello! (Which is why he gets the first post) And when he rings, its not in the middle of the night like most Northern hemisphere residents do but at a decent hour. New Zealand hour that is. I count myself very lucky to be Kene's friend and again dude, if you are reading this, I have not forgotten I still owe you 200 pounds!