Wode Maya visits Somaliland

Wode Maya makes such great travel vlogs and he has really opened my eyes when it comes to showing Africa. Not too long ago, he went to Somaliland of all places. Not Somalia (despite this area being inside the mainland), but Somaliland. This non-recognized country is apparently very stable and safe to visit. I’ve heard of the name before in passing from different videos I’ve watched, but I was unaware of what it looked like. Not going to lie, I thought it would be super chaotic and dangerous given the grave issues with pirates, crime, and terrorism like mainland Somalia, but apparently this piece of land doesn’t have those problems. Seeing the money exchange guy leaving to go pray and coming back to see his wares untouched was mind blowing. You couldn’t even do that in an American suburb, for crying out loud (relax, I would never try to steal someone’s stuff). It was fascinating seeing this part of Africa that you never see in the media and Wode Maya’s adventures really show. He has other videos with him talking to locals and businessmen which I also recommend seeing.

I just needed to see something positive for my own mental health and I hope you enjoy this video, too.

Something to calm me down while also able to open some eyes: Wode Maya in South Sudan while dealing with VERY tall people

Here’s something different.

I’ve been checking out various videos from Ghanaian travel vlogger Wode Maya from time to time. He made multiple videos when he recently went to South Sudan of all places. It was very fascinating to see the country destroying negative stereotypes as some constant war zone. Wode was pleasantly surprised when he visited that country and how it was nothing like how the mainstream portrays it.

One of his adventures involved talking to people of the Dinka tribe who are a major ethnic group in South Sudan. They are one of the tallest ethnic groups in the world and there are several people in the upper six feet to even SEVEN feet range! The man you see in the thumbnail and later in the video is 7’3″. That just blew my mind because he’s literally 13 inches taller than me! It’s no wonder you have several basketball players coming out of that country and even joining different NBA teams. It was funny seeing the short Wode Maya being absolutely dwarfed by people who are head and shoulders taller than him.

I know it isn’t my usual stuff on the blog, but I wanted to do something different to calm down and to have some fun educational things going on. My geography nerd-dom is showing again and that’s one interest I’ve never been ashamed of liking. 🙂

Also, happy 10th anniversary this year, South Sudan!

Mystery Blogger Award! Oooooohhh!

Guess what? I got nominated for the Mystery Blogger Award! I was nominated by Lynn Sheridan. Thank you so much, Lynn! This has been great being nominated with two of my blogs quite recently. Without further ado, here are the rules.

1. Put the award logo/image on your blog

2. List the rules

3. Thank whoever nominated you and provide a link to their blog

4. Mention Okoto Enigma, the creator of the award and provide a link as well

5. Tell your readers 3 things about yourself

6. You have to nominate 10 – 20 people

7. Notify your nominees by commenting on their blog

8. Ask your nominees any 5 questions of your choice; with one weird or funny question (specify)

9. Share a link to your best post(s)

Now to answer the questions from Lynn…

1. What weird thing do you have nostalgia for?

Maybe new jack swing music since I’ve been listening to a bunch of it lately. Okay, I was very little when that was a thing, but I do remember that sound. Besides that, I’ve been nostalgic for a certain anime/manga series that I’ve been secretive about because of a goal I’m trying to accomplish.

2. How good are you at drawing? (An example would be amazing.)

I am absolutely TERRIBAD at drawing. Sorry.

3. What recent trend are you totally on board with?

Weird, since I’m not into trends. Maybe inventing new awards/tags or to much lesser extent (whether this is a trend is yet to be seen) AEW? I guess after that Everything Patterned post I did a while ago, I can’t hide that recent interest anymore, right?

4. What are you hilariously bad at?

See question number 2.

5. If you were so wealthy you didn’t need to work, what would you do with your time?

Travel to multiple countries all over the world, write all the books I want at my own pace, record tons of Ospreyshire albums (and maybe side projects as well), and to volunteer my time to different legitimate charities or to help out others.

Facts about me:

1. Outside of the Midwest, I’ve lived in Maryland when I was a baby.

2. I wrote my first book back in 2014, but I never released it until 2018. That book is Revezia: Terminal Rescue, by the way.

3. When I was in choir, I sang 1st tenor, 2nd tenor, and baritone when I was in college. It was fun using some of my vocal skills in some of my songs especially “The Uncrowned King of Johannesburg”.

Here are my favorite posts:

Representation Matters: I think this was a great series that I did. The first post is certainly a great intro and I then go into fiction, anime, and even the aforementioned Everything Patterned post. Definitely check those posts out.

Ospreyshire Origins Art Theft: Here’s a post involving multiple songs from my recent album.

Defensive For What: This was a very powerful and personal poem I wrote.

Do You (Or Should You) Separate the Artist From the Art?: I was so thankful with everyone who commented regardless if I agreed with them or not.

How I Learned to Utterly Despise that Expensive Ripoff, Overrated, and Bigoted Movie Called The Lion King (And the Existence of Kimba the White Lion Isn’t the Only Reason): Be prepared because I’m going to ruin The Lion King for you!

I hereby nominate:

Red Metal
H. M. Gautsch
Never Argue with a Fish
Ashley Capes
Traditional Catholic Weeb
Bill Ziegler
Three Worlds One Vision
The Great Kahn
AniB Productions
The Old Testament Made New

My questions for you!

1. Where would you like to visit that you’ve never been to before?

2. What is one movie, TV show, and/or book that you can’t stand, but everyone else likes?

3. If you could invent a language, what would you call it and how would you teach it to the world?

4. What is one interest or hobby that you never thought you would get into?

5. How do you want to improve as a person?