*I have a camera. I like taking pictures. Here are some of photographs from my recent life stuff.
Be kind to yourself.
Onward.
Kirby Kaptures: Burning Man/Life Afterwards #SuperLatePost
Tag: Black man
Getting naked in Cape Town (SFW)
It was Sunday evening. I had returned to Swaziland to attend training. I was on cloud nine after having the most amazing weekend in Cape Town. I had started the weekend with two goals. Eat great food and ride bikes while naked. Cape Town is known for some exquisite cuisine. The World Naked Bike Ride happened to be on the same weekend. Both of my goals were exceedingly accomplished! I ate amazing Thai food and sushi. Other PCVs at the training commented on how refreshed I looked as I shared highlights of the weekend. I smiled. I was extremely rejuvenated.
One PCV friend asked when I would be writing about this experience on my blog. I responded that I wouldn’t be writing about the naked bike ride weekend. I had reasoned that the weekend was not related to my Peace Corps service, and that this blog was singularly about my service. I had reasoned that I wanted to be a “good” volunteer, and not attract bad publicity or attention to the Peace Corps.
The World Naked Bike Ride (WNBR) is a clothing optional bike ride that takes place in more than 70 cities around the world. People from all walks of life join in to celebrate people powered transportation. Most ride bikes. Some ride longboards. Some participate in roller skates. Others choose to run.
The reasons that people choose to participate, like the participants themselves, are diverse. Some people want to bring attention to our global dependence on non-renewable energy. Others want to highlight the vulnerability of cyclists and remind motorists to share the road. There are naturists, and naturism activists, who use the ride to promote a clothes-free lifestyle and remind the world that nakedness does not equal sex or lewd behavior.
My first WNBR was 2012 in Philadelphia. A big reason for my participation, at the time, was to be part of an exciting counter-culture. It was thrilling to be around 2500 people in various states of undress.
To date, I have done the WNBR in six cities on three continents. While it’s still exciting to be naked and ride bikes through the city, I have added to the reasons that I ride. Having struggled with body image issues at various points in my life, I try to fully embrace body positivity, both in practice and thinking. People with all kinds of body types participate in the ride, and all are welcomed and embraced by fellow ride participants and most onlookers. Cape Town was no different. As we rode through the city, people lined the streets to cheer for us. The smiles were plenty. The weather was perfect. I was even gifted some delicious pizza after the 7.5 km ride. I even posed for pictures, and completed some interviews (one of which ended up on Japanese news). Body shaming has been normalized and is commonplace in far too many places. Simply stated, I ride because I refuse to embrace a culture of shame.
After much internal debate on whether or not I should write about my experience at the Cape Town WNBR, I decided that it was necessary. Yes, this is a blog about my Peace Corps experience. However, that experience isn’t limited to teaching classes, building gardens, and writing grants. Also, I believe in the importance of fully representing the great expanse known as the US of A. Some day, someone will read this while wondering if there is space in Peace Corps for them with all of their unique intricacies. Let this post be a resounding yes!
Be kind to yourself.
Onward.
Sweet Dreams – Fanboy
Because I am posted in a country where I might contract malaria, I have been given an antimalarial medication called, “Mefloquine”. One of the side effects of this medication is lucid dreaming. The following is what I dreamt last night (as best I can remember).
I was with a large group of people. They may have have been classmates. They may have been teammates. They may have been my Peace Corps Swaziland cohort. We were in a restaurant waiting to go somewhere or do something. There were maybe 50 of us. The restaurant was a cross between a McDonald’s and a Starbucks.
Anyway, I get up to go to the counter to order something. In my periphery, I notice a man sitting down. To my left. In the distance. Holy shit! It’s Dak Prescott. I get out of line to nervously and eagerly approach. I try to put a sentence together, but manage to say something unintelligible. He’s cool. He shakes my hand. No big deal. He smiles and gets back to whatever he was doing. I don’t even go back to the counter. I go back to my group to excitedly tell them that Dak is there. They don’t seem to care as much as I do. I tell them that they don’t understand, and that this is like meeting the president of the United States. They blow me off.
Fast forward. We’re in the same place. But they now offer banking services. Dak is getting a new bank account. On his way out, he jokingly offers me his signature. On the back of his card. I’m still so giddy and excited.
Be kind to yourself.
Onward.
Monday in a Picture – New Year, New Haiku (times two)
Happy New Year! Bonne
année from Madagascar.
Love meaningfully.
My mother almost
named me “George Quincy”. She knew
she’d just birthed GQ.
Be kind to yourself.
Onward.
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P.S. – Bonne année means “Happy New Year” in French.
Monday in a Picture – Uyatsandza kugijima
Happy Halloween!
Prior to joining the Peace Corps, I would have considered myself a fairly active person. I maneuvered the streets of DC on bike. Twice a week, I would join the greatest November Project tribe in the world for an early morning (running-oriented) workout. Although I ran with those wonderful folks, I never really considered myself a runner. A cyclist? Sure. But a runner? Not I.
There is major opportunity here to be sedentary, which is tempting with many movies and television shows on my hard drive that I haven’t seen yet. There have been glimmers of hope as I have seen others riding bikes in my community. The thing is that I currently don’t have a bike. While I’m hoping that this changes soon, I have a desire and the energy to be active now.
Enter community runs. I’m not particularly fast or good at it, but I try to go out at least once a week for a run. I’ve found that this does a few things. First, it gets out all of that built up energy. Strangely, the more that I run, the more that want to run. Second, it allows me to explore new parts of my community and make maps of it (with my GPS watch). It helps that the watch tells me to move and posts my efforts to Strava. Lastly, it gives me the opportunity to meet and see various community members while they meet and see me. Some people have even commented when they see me, “Uyatsandza kugijima!“, or “you like to run!” I smile and laugh. I don’t know if I would classify running as something that I like, but I don’t hate anymore. I’ve even thought about signing up for one of those races. A 10K or half marathon, maybe? Because why not?
Be kind to yourself.
Onward.
P.S. – I just want to say #GoBlue and #HowBoutThemCowboys! It was a sweet rivalry weekend.
What is Kirby Doing?: Stories from life after Peace Corps eSwatini 