Curious Coincidence

I guess it's not so strange to sit on a flight beside a total stranger. But what are the odds that you sit beside the same person on the very next flight you take? Strange isn't it? Yet this is exactly what happened to me yesterday.

On the way back from Nairobi a week and a half ago, I had sat beside a Ghanaian policeman who is posted with the UN peace-keepers in Dafur. With the five hour delay we had - and with one of those hours sitting in the plane - we had started complaining about Kenya airways and then moved on after a while to just chatting. He told me a bit about what it was like to be living and working with the peacekeeping mission in Dafur, missing his family and friends yet within the midst of the war, just trying to appreciate the differences in culture and context that he had now found himself.

Just talking to him reminded me about the Ghanaian peace-keepers to whom Daillier had refereed to constantly in his book (on the Rwandan genocide). He always 'spoke' about the Ghanaians on the mission with such high respect and as being one of the forces that had stuck with the mission through thick and thin. Though not Ghanaian, I did feel a sense of pride - acquired patriotism? I wonder.

Anyway, I digress. So there I was waiting to do the usual immigration check when this guy in the line turns around and looks at me a couple of time. Didn't take too much note as I was busy chatting on my mobile. Then when I was finished this guy turns around again and says to me ' Are you Denise?'. We were on the same flight again, and even more strange seated beside each other. Curious coincidence indeed.

Landed in a cold, gray and rainy Nairobi. Reminder that I still have to post the off-line blogs on the experiences we had on safari a couple weeks ago. Won't be spending much time though and will just spend a couple of days before heading on to Addis for ten days. Was only briefly in Addis about a month ago and am looking forward to going back and linking with some of the Jamaican massive there. Jah Rastarant(love the name!) is a must and am already salivating about the home cuisine that is on the menu.

Big discussion on the CNN news show The Situation Room about Obama and the race card he is allegedly pulling (according to the McCain team). Off to watch it as opinions seem quite heated.

An aside: having been thinking that a really entrepreneurial travel agent should start marketing a Ba(ra)ck to Africa tour! Hmm, the possibilities and the market are endless.