Travel

U.S. vs China, as played out in Africa

As President Obama gets ready to make his first trip to Ghana this July, one cannot help but wonder how he will be received. Of course quite warmly, I imagine, especially in light of his Kenyan roots, but it will be quite curious to see how - if at all - China's growing influence on the continent has shifted African perceptions of American assistance. Bear in mind that this trip will be Obama's first to sub-Saharan Africa (and during his 8 years as President, Bush II visited the continent only twice); Chinese President Hu has visited 15 sub-Saharan states since 2004. And I needn't remind you of the litany of recent Chinese investments in the continent, dubious though some of them may be.


The question of U.S. versus Chinese influence in Africa is brought home quite nicely by Ken Maguire. In his article today, Maguire expounds on this battle of authorities, if you will, ultimately concluding that the U.S.-China relationship in Africa can be cooperative. There is no denying that it can't; the question, I feel is much more one of degrees. Obama's upcoming trip may indeed prove quite central in shedding light on this issue, along with countless others.

(Semi-) lighthearted on a Friday

With the sobering (though altogether unsurprising) news in this morning that Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khameni, is backing Iran's election results (as is Chavez, apparently) while protests swell, I feel compelled to counteract this bad news with something a bit more cheery. It is Friday, after all!

Before I do that, though, I'd like to bring a few more interesting Iran-related links to your attention:
  • Twitter's watchdog site, Twitspam, has compiled a list of possibly fake (i.e. connected to the Iranian security apparatus) Iran election Tweeters
  • Interesting Chinese commentary on the situation in Iran, from Shanghaiist
  • Ethan Zuckerman on Iran, citizen media, and media attention (the good, the bad, and the ugly)
Right, well enough of that for now. Let's chat photography, travel and music (three of my most favorite things!), shall we? Canadian blogger and world traveler Brendan (aka Cashewman) has compiled a wonderful list of tips for photography in developing countries. At the end of the day it truly comes down to blending in with one's surroundings, though Brendan articulates this infinitely better than I have here.

In keeping with the theme of lists, White African has a running list of practical - and at times amusing - travel tips for Africa. If I have the time, I will begin a similar list for China. Until then, do please leave your tips in the comments section of this post!

And finally, I'm quite excited to see Senegalese-born singer and song writer Youssou N'Dour's new documentary film, "I Bring What I Love," this weekend. In the film N'Dour speaks about his life, his faith, his music, and his vision for human rights and tolerance:



Happy Friday, everyone! Enjoy the weekend.

Update: I happened upon a great piece by the FT's Anna Fifield on the mood among the under-30s in Iran. Definitely worth the read!

On the creative benefits of an expat existence

Living abroad gives individuals greater creativity in problem solving, according to a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 
[...] William Maddux of INSEAD, a business school in Fontainebleau, France, and Adam Galinsky, of the Kellogg School of Management in Chicago, presented 155 American business students and 55 foreign ones studying in America with a test used by psychologists as a measure of creativity. Given a candle, some matches and a box of drawing pins, the students were asked to attach the candle to a cardboard wall so that no wax would drip on the floor when the candle was lit. (The solution is to use the box as a candleholder and fix it to the wall with the pins.) They found 60% of students who were either living abroad or had spent some time doing so, solved the problem, whereas only 42% of those who had not lived abroad did so.
As it turns out, it's not just that more creative people are more likely to live abroad; the study's authors controlled for personality traits that are known to predict creativity, leading them to conclude that "it is something from the experience of living in foreign parts that helps foster creativity." Finally - statistical justification of my chosen path of existence!

You can find the complete study findings here.