> I am extraverted, and I love visiting new places and making new friends. Beside those in my professional circle, I often befriended hotel staff and cabdrivers. I was curious about their personal background, and relished their on-the-ground stories of the cities where they worked. Unlike many of us, they were well positioned to see people from all walks of life.
Below are some bits from one of them, a gentleman from Somaliland, working in Houston (US). It took awhile to wade through the accent of his English. <
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Mohammed
Mohammed is a cabdriver who took me from Intercontinental Airport in Houston to our consulting office, and he hails from the Republic of Somaliland. “Somalia?” I had to ask, because I didn’t quite understand what he said. “Republic of Somaliland.”
I saw that he had a book titled Islam on the floor next to his seat. I asked him if he was Saudi, and I believe he said, "No." But I didn’t understand him, at the moment. Because when he said that his home country was close to the Red Sea, I asked “Western Province [i.e., of Saudi Arabia]?” "No," he said, “We’re on the other side of the Red Sea.” And I tried to picture my globe at home, and I couldn’t place Somaliland. I then acknowledged “Ah, Africa.”
His story
He rattled on for several minutes, some of which I picked up:
He’s been living in Houston about nine years, but wants to return home in about three years.
His major in college was History, but apparently he studied (or maybe tried to study) Manufacturing or Engineering in the US.
He has a brother in Houston, who’s a congressman.
He said it was very cheap in Somaliland, and they have various hotels that we Americans were familiar with, e.g., Embassy Suites and Sheraton.
Western Africa is very beautiful, but also very corrupt. “They love corruption there,” from the president to the civil people. “They proud of it, too.” Nigeria is an example; I mentioned to him that I had a friend who was Nigerian.
He referenced Joseph Estrada, the former movie star President of the Philippines. He’d never visited the Philippines, but he knew it was made up of islands. Over 7000, in fact.
> Notes
Ron Villejo, PhD
January 2013 <
