Minneapolis-St. Paul

After a busy and exhausting time in Idaho, we were off to Minnesota. We were discussing that we have been making this pilgrimage to see our friend Kathy since 2010.  She’s known our daughters since they were born. I met her on my first trip to India back in October 2008. She was still teaching there but nearing retirement. After she settled in St. Paul, and given that the airport located fifteen minutes away from her house is a convenient travel hub for us, it became a regular stop. She often catches us in the throes of jet lag, but on this occasion, arriving from a couple weeks in Idaho, we were more on our A game.

Early morning run along the Mississippi

Other than extensive time sipping coffee and/or tea catching up on things, we do tend to squeeze in a few activities. I’ve said in the past how much I’ve enjoyed getting to know the Twin Cities area. This time we explored a few new places.

Patriotic game of mini-golf

 

The Butler Did It

On the first evening we were there we went to the Park Square Theater in downtown St. Paul to watch a play. The theater is located in the historic Hamms Building, the previous headquarters of the mostly defunct Hamms Brewery. St. Paul has done a good job of preserving historic buildings and I’ve always been one to enjoy a bit of old architecture.

The play was called The Butler Did It, written and produced locally and ended up being quite a treat. Thankfully my daughters enjoy this sort of thing.

10,000 Lakes

Very livable city

During the day we went for a few walks. On day two we did a walk around Minneapolis that included Cedar Lake near downtown. It’s really amazing how many lakes are tucked into the state’s urban areas. I realize that their license plates brag about the “Land of 10,000 Lakes” so I suppose it’s inevitable that some are within cities. In reality there are actually 11,842 bodies of water in Minnesota that measure 10 acres or larger, but they didn’t have that statistic when they came up with the license plate idea. At least it’s more relevant than Idaho’s plates. I have never liked the “Famous Potatoes” moniker given that it’s a distorted representation of the state. I’m aware of the business/political interests that have put it there (and kept it there), but how many states tout their third largest commodity so boldly?

The Guthrie Theater

I digress. On another walk we went to the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. It’s an impressive building that allows you to just walk in and roam about the place. After living in Nairobi for ten years and working in Somalia, this sort of thing comes as a shock to me. A very pleasant shock. When Americans talk about fighting for freedom, I get the sense that not everyone understands it the same way. For me, one amazing thing about the US, generally speaking, is how safe it is. I remember my daughters commenting a few years ago about how surprised they were that most American homes are not surrounded by walls as they are in Nairobi. And most establishments don’t have metal detectors at the entrance. To me, that is freedom that American should protect. Adding more guns to the streets will only make it look more like Mogadishu.

I digress again. In addition to hosting concerts and performances, the theater has a wonderful deck that offers a cool view of the city. You can also see the newish stadium where the Minnesota Vikings play. As a kid, I revered sports stadiums like sacred cathedrals. I still find them impressive, but I am a bit more nuanced about how they reflect a society’s values.

Cleverly built to look like a ship (as seen through a tinted window)

 

Circus Juventas

The afternoon before we left, we went to something called Circus Juventas. I had never heard of it before, but it’s a performing arts circus school for youth. The performance is sort of like a Cirque de Soleil put on by kids. Most of the key performers were high school age, but there were some that were as young as five years old. I have to say, it was pretty amazing. It’s hard to believe how talented these kids are. I kept telling myself throughout the performance that these are not professionals – just youth who have arrived at this level as an activity while they are in school. My only complaint was that the performance was a bit long. I was already tired of sitting when they announced the intermission.

 

The Landmark Center

Maybe one other thing to note regarding our visit was the Landmark Center in downtown St. Paul. When we stopped in, we didn’t have much time given that it was not long before it would close for the day. So we did some speed-tourism on the main floor. I think it merits more time at a later date.

To understand the importance of the building, a bit of background about the city. St. Paul was chosen as the capital of the Minnesota Territory in 1849 because of its strategic location as the northernmost navigable port on the upper Mississippi River. As a result, it was a key commercial hub and a natural gathering place for steamboat travel and trade. When Minnesota prepared for statehood, there was some competition for the role. In 1857, a territorial vote attempted to move the capital south to Saint Peter. However, a local legislator named Joe Rolette hid the approved moving bill until the legislative session ended. This dramatic move allowed St. Paul to retain the title of capital when Minnesota was granted statehood 1858. As new states joined the Union, the government in Washington was looking to strengthen and formalize linkages with the more remote parts of the growing country. It allocated funds to each state for the purpose of hosting core federal institutions. Though the initiative was derailed somewhat during the Civil War years, it picked up momentum in the latter part of the 19^th century with an even greater sense of purpose.

The Landmark Center was designed in the 1890s and opened its doors in 1902 as a post office, courthouse and custom house. The castle-like structure has cylindrical corner towers with conical turrets occupy on every corner. There are two massive towers, one of which houses a clock. The building was in active use until the 1970s when it nearly fell victim to demolition. Thankfully it was saved by a citizen’s group and subsequently renovated to its original grandeur. In addition to a small museum, it currently houses some prominent Twin Cities arts organizations. 

* * * 

After three nights in St. Paul, it was time to move on to the next leg of our journey. We rented a car at the airport, bid our farewells and began making our way east towards Lake Michigan.

Vacation 1: Idaho

We've just returned from the US after a long vacation. We're tired and jet-lagged, but happy to be home. Travel went smoothly and we arrived with all of our bags. It was quite the adventure. So let me go back in time to start from the beginning.

Travel to the US

The school year ended and, as is our custom, we began looking towards summer in the US. We had done some extensive planning and it would be a lot to fit into five weeks, but we were excited to get the trip underway. 

Thankfully, travel went without a hitch. We had a very close turnaround in Seattle, but, after speed walking through baggage claim, immigration and the terminal, we arrived at our gate just in time for the final board call for the flight to Boise. 

Stunning view of Mt. Ranier as we were heading out across Washington.

 In addition to flying over Mt. Ranier, we could track some of the smoke from the many fires burning in or near the Rockies. We would have some issues with smoke over the subsequent weeks, but less than I was expecting given the amount of territory being consumed by fire. 

My sister picked us up at the airport and it was time for our action-packed Idaho adventure to begin. 

Boise

The first leg of the trip involved a number of activities that we squeezed in before heading to the mountains. I escorted my mom to a doctor’s appointment. We had a family get-together with the rare feature of all my siblings in attendance. I was trying to front-load as much family time as possible given that I would need to be dedicating a considerable amount of time up north.

And we attended a very fun AJR concert. If you’re not familiar with them, it would be worthwhile to look them up on YouTube. Highly intelligent guys churning out quirky, yet sophisticated, music. When I was living in Switzerland I regularly attended concerts, often as a part of my job at the boarding school. Later, when I was living in California, I went to a few but since then I haven’t really been to many. As my daughters are now both teens, that may change.

Another task I had in Boise was to begin preparing for my lean-to build which would take place the following week. Though most of the building supplies were purchased through a store conveniently just up the road from our property, there were some tools and things I needed to pick up in Boise to assist in hitting the ground when we arrived in Meadows Valley.

McCall/New Meadows

I have been anxious to get this build project started since the idea crept into my head several months ago. With my mom no longer able to us her RV, and the vehicle sitting in storage that is costing my sister money, I thought that taking it on would make sense for a number of reasons. It would: 1) keep the RV in the family in keeping with the wishes of my mother; 2) relieve my sister of the burden of storing the RV at her expense when she has no need for it; 3) provide us a place to stay on our property all the while allowing us to keep tenants in our house; 4) provide me with a manageable construction project that I have been wanting to do, and saving money from hiring a contractor. More on that later.

 

Fun on the lake

Theater Camp

The main driver for the timing of our entire trip was the theater camp that a friend of my brother had alerted us to last year. This woman helps run the camp and she put the seed in our heads. As it worked out, the girls were interested and we incorporated it into our plans.

Camp began on a Sunday and the plan was for Priya and me to alternate between McCall (camp) and Meadows (lean-to build location). In the end, it worked out pretty well. It resulted in shorter workdays than I had hoped but we were able to sufficiently support the girls and get some stuff done.

The production was The Little Mermaid. Kiran did prop/stage support while Kinaya acted in a few different roles. Overall, the whole cast did a great job in a gorgeous setting overlooking the lake. Afterward, the they decided to take a fully clothed lake plunge. In fact, they did about four or five. Though the girls felt it was difficult to fit in towards the beginning of the week, by the end of camp they were exchanging contact information and bidding each other farewell until next summer. It’s a good sign if they want to participate again next year.

 

The Lean-to

As I mentioned, the objective of the project was to provide a shelter for my mother’s RV that is no longer being used. I figured that we could use it from time to time to have a place to stay and reduce the imposition that my family traveling from Africa makes on the Idaho family when we are visiting. It won’t replace it entirely, and I enjoy bonding time when we stay with family, but sometimes they have other obligations and/or visitors. We just don’t want to be an imposition. And, in all likelihood, I’ll be spending more time there over the coming months/years. Anyway, we’ll see how it goes. 

I have realized over the years that I have a number interests that do not interest the majority of the world. I like a job that takes me to one of the most dangerous countries in the world. I like cold weather. I like waking up early in the morning, even when I don’t need to. The list goes on. Another thing I like to do is build stuff, even if it’s complicated and I lack the experience and tools to make it easier. I read an article in the NY Times a couple months ago that talked about “friction maxxing” and I think it’s something that I have been doing since I was young, long before it was a thing. It’s basically intentional approach to doing things the hard way, generally for the purpose of developing and maintaining skills and/or abilities and retain agency. It is taking the elevator even where there are stairs. It’s writing something yourself rather than using AI. It’s using a regular bicycle when an e-bike would relive you of some work. I understand that there are times that these tools are beneficial and I don’t fault people that use them. It’s more my personal approach to things. The problem is that my relationship with friction can sometimes have implications for those around me.

I realize that there are people that tolerate friction far more than I do. I'm far from an extremist. I embrace technology where it makes sense to me and avoid it when I think it's getting in the way.

The lean-to turned out to be a lot of friction. For starters, just preparing the post holes for the eight support poles took forever. I knew the ground would be rocky from other things I have done on the property. But it was far worse than I would have imagined. My poor brother and wife were my co-workers on the project and I think they were regretting what they had gotten themselves into. I wasn't happy about it either, but it was my project and I was the one who had been wanting to build something with my hands. It was just not a pleasant way to get the project off the ground. 

Leveling the ground

 

Framing

 

Takes me back to my youth

Nicer than sitting in an office in Mogadishu

Not quite done and we had to leave

In the end, we lost a full day just due to the rocks. Even the excavator on the tractor was unable to bore through them. It ended up being shovels, a crowbar and a hammer that enabled us to get the job done.

Once we set the poles in the concrete and started the framing, things began to look more hopeful. Other than the rocks, the biggest challenge we faced was the heat. We were limited as to how early we could start given that we had to shuttle our daughters to theater camp each morning. By midday, we could only work in short stints before taking a shade/water break. Definitely tough sledding. 

Frustratingly, we weren't able to finish before we needed to leave. As it is now, it is a functional roof, but I'll be looking to finish it as soon as possible.

Back to Boise

We had few objectives for when we were back in Boise. One was to spend some time with my mom. I've been trying to take her to church/lunch when were there. We were able to do so both Sundays (the main reason we cut the build project when we did). 

I also wanted to have my daughters practice driving. They've done some steering over the years while sitting on my lap, but they hadn't driven on their own. So I took them to a location with dirt roads and no obstacles to crash into. They actually did quite well. Very weird to see my little girls becoming young ladies...

We also continued to track the World Cup matches. I found them to be so fun to watch this year. Even after the US lost during the knock-out stage, there was a surprising amount of enthusiasm in the country for the games. 

One other event that we were able to fit in was an evening at the Shakespeare Festival in Boise. While it was a beautiful evening out, the play didn't get the best reviews by our family. In fact, the girls ended up leaving shortly after intermission. 

Great seats

I saw Sweeney Todd several years ago. It's not my favorite and I'm not sure why it is so frequently presented by these festivals in the US. To make matters worse, this particular production was unnecessarily dark. When I saw it before, it was presented a bit more whimsically. This one seemed to lean into the more morbid aspects of the play which, to be fair, is apparently truer to its mid-19th century origins. Just not kid friendly.

As we reached the end of our two weeks, it was time to board the plane for Minneapolis.  

 

The World Cup (& Mogadishu)

Cup Controversies

I have been in Mogadishu this week. There as been considerable conversation here about the US not allowing entry to one of the world’s top referees, Omar Artan, who is a Somali national. In spite of traveling on a diplomatic passport, he wasn’t allowed in. It’s certainly unfortunate for him but also for the country he hails from. Football is not only the most important sport in Somalia, it was also going to be a means for the country to be represented at the World Cup (it may be a while before it is represented on the merits of their football team).

Mogadishu traffic

The visa debacle, affecting thousands of would-be fans, is only one of many. Ridiculous ticket prices is another. Some of this is the result of US policy as co-host of the tournament. Some of this is FIFA. And there is overlap given FIFAs president Gianni Infantino incessant pandering to the US president. Last December he presented Trump an invented FIFA peace prize citing “Trump's extraordinary global diplomatic efforts and commitments to peace”. After a couple of years of US foreign interventions, even if you’re a Trump fan, you’re likely aware that it has been less about diplomacy/peace and more about power/influence. Anyway, FIFA needs to stay in its lane and refrain inventing fake awards.

There have been other concerns as well. There is considerable cynicism around the mandatory water breaks, including in stadiums that are climate controlled. The breaks, seen as yet another commercial money grab, break the flow of a game in a way that many view as disruptive. Some feel that it has influenced teams’ momentum and thus the outcome of matches. Americans are accustomed to such breaks in major sports and most don’t think twice about using it as a bathroom break or to reload their nachos.  

There has also been a debate about half-time shows. Again, Americans are accustomed to entertainment connected to sporting events. Football purists feel that it takes away from the game. There is no question that such things can contribute to broadening interest in attending matches beyond just the hardcore football fans. From what I understand, the compromise is that the entertainment can happen, but the mandated duration of the halftime break will not be extended. I tend to record these matches so I speed past water breaks and halftime anyway. 

But for the matches thus far, I have found the ones I have seen to be fun to watch. The big stars have generally made their presence felt. It’s like almost any sport, it’s more enjoyable the more you understand it. I’ve been watching football for nearly 40 years with a level of interest that, if I’m honest, has ebbed and flowed depending on how busy I am and, to some degree, what was happening within the sport itself. I would still consider myself a fair-weather fan, amping up my attention during the World Cup, European Championship and, the past couple of decades, the Africa Cup of Nations. But I likely watch it as much as any other professional sport, with the exception of maybe American football. 

rainbow

 

And then there's diversity

One interesting statistic I saw the other day was that almost a quarter of all of the World Cup players were born in a country other than the one they are representing. In my world, a statistic like that makes perfect sense. In my daughters' classes at the French school, most of the children are mixed race (including my own) and have dual nationalities. In one of the classes, there are 24 students and 18 different nationalities. I realize that there is a lot of xenophobia in the world right now and people are feeling rather threatened by immigration - the feeling that "your people" are becoming marginalized. "Your people" are the good ones and the others are more prone to bad behavior, stealing jobs, etc. Though the sentiment is as old has humanity, the mixing of populations is continuing to accelerate as people have the ability to move around more than ever before. 

Sadly, I think it's politicians that are fueling these irrational fears and that's not likely to change. It's too bad really. I look at the melting pot that is the World Cup, and the world I live in, and see so much beauty in it. We have dozens of great ethnic restaurants within walking distance from our building. The local mall, though obviously very Kenyan, is one of the most diverse malls I've ever been to. Great for people watching. My life has been like this for the past two decades and I sort of fear homogeneity. Same faces. Same foods. Same language. Same customs.  

Diversity is happening whether people like it or not, obviously faster in some places than others. The previous World Cup had about 16% foreign born players. It's necessary to monitor immigration, screen applicants and regulate flows. But people need to get over their irrational fears of "the other". It appears that the trend is here to stay. 

seeing this troop of monkeys a lot lately; guard checking them out

 

* * *

...back to Somalia

Overall, this trip has been pleasantly uneventful. The security situation in Mogadishu was less tense this week than it was the past two weeks where there was political drama and the government was conducting some rather aggressive property searches, particularly in the neighborhood where our office is. It’s not clear how this is going to pan out over the coming weeks and months, but likely the country will stumble forward into next year where they will possibly attempt to hold elections again – with the localized violence erupting from time to time between now and then. With no real guardrails on the political process, it’s a cycle that will likely, and sadly, continue to repeat itself for decades to come. 

There is the question as to why there have been fewer Islamist militant activity in recent months. One analyst I read recently, in light of the above political mayhem, made reference to something that Napoleon once said that when your enemy is making mistakes, don't interrupt them. Very well could be.