My journey starts with a scavenger hunt.  Visas, shots, and all the things I’m convinced I can’t live without for 9 months.  OK, visas first.  Nigeria and Ghana seem the most likely places I’ll be frequenting.  Work permits, residence permits each have their own needs.  Lots of pictures of my ugly mug, and some questions I can’t really answer.  Like, when do I leave? (Now I know that.  Then I didn’t.); when do I return? (beats me);  where will I be living? (not sure since addresses there are a bit vague and seem to include stuff like “Off Idejo St.” and “near <something>”).  My favorite treasure from the hunt:  a notarized letter from the Ada County Sherriff’s Department proclaiming that I’m truly a mensch.  I will treasure that.

Out of Retirement, Into Africa

I’m going to go work in Ghana for 9 months.

Like all the best moves in my life, this was unplanned. My former boss forwarded a message from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business soliciting volunteers for business coaching in West African countries. After an application process that lasted slightly longer than my assignment will be, I was accepted.  The mission of this program fits my “what’s next?” goals to a tee. Try to figure out where I could help something grow.

I strongly encourage retirement in measured doses.  This time has been great.  I set my sights on learning.  And “finding myself:”

I found that my aging frame required various medical repairs. I found myself re-marking territorial boundaries with my wife of 35 years, and the dawning realization that I was the intruder. I found a whole bunch of musical instruments that I wanted to master, gigs I wanted to play, and in-laws I needed to help. Busy year. But when I found the frequency of letters to my Congressmen spiking at an alarming rate, I decided it was time to get out and start chapter 2.  A year is enough. The corporate goo has been flushed from my system.  Here we go!

You can follow just the posts from Africa by clicking the “Ghana” category.

Stanford asked me to include a little disclaimer here.  “The ideas and thoughts expressed in this blog are my own personal views and do not represent the views or opinions of SEED or Stanford.”

You can find it here: https://seed.stanford.edu/about-seed.