Challenge the slums with the Hult Prize!

“If you can create a real business, the beginning of a prototype, you can change the world.”

Muhammad Yunus - Nobel Peace Prize Winner

Last Saturday was the internal competition of the Hult Prize at the San Francisco campus of Hult International Business School. In case you never heard about the Hult Prize, it is the world largest student competition for social good. It was initiated in 2009 by Ahmad Ashkar, a former MBA student of the Hult International Business School. Every year, the team with the best idea (chosen by the judges) to tackle a specific global issue receives $1 million to develop a social enterprise. This year, the challenge is Crowded Urban Spaces. 

Started at 9:15am, the competition saw the participation of sixteen teams of three or four members from undergraduates to MBA students. The teams where divided into four groups and presented their innovative ideas to “build sustainable, scalable, and fast growing social enterprises that double the income of 10 million people residing in crowded urban spaces, by better connecting people, goods, services and capital.” The public could not have access to the first pitches of the day but after that round he judges chose a winner per room for the finals. 

One of of the final four with the idea of using dechets to create building blocks: Team Jengo

After the lunch, the jury announced the winning team per room and right after hearing their name, the members of each team had 10 minutes to convince all the judges that they were the best to represent the school at the regionals. At that point, every detail could have made a difference and it actually did… I was glad to see that two of the teams in the final round were from the Master of Social Entrepreneurship program and that the winning team was one of them. Composed of students from France, Uganda, Japan and India, Slum Dunk made the difference with their Musana Carts. 

Taliey Bita facebook account

Slum Dunk developed the idea of providing simple and affordable, modular and solar powered business carts to street vendors in Kampala, Uganda. The goal is to provide street vendors with access to energy, capacity and mobility in order to double their income and empower them by facilitating infrastructures within the informal economy. 

Group hug for the winning team: Slum Dunk

I believe that one of the reasons why Slum Dunk won the competition was the considerable amount of researches they have done and the feedbacks they got from their targeted population. As I already mentioned in my previous article also about tackling the issue of slums, it is not just about providing a solution, it is about bringing something that people would be interested in. And in order to have an effective solution, the people directly concerned have to be part of the process to find that solution.

Winning Team: Slum Dunk

The other teams also had great ideas that they can proofread and present again online for a chance to continue the journey. If you want to learn more about the Hult Prize, previous challenges and winners, or how you can participate, please feel free to check the website.

One the final four, all from the MSE program: Team Synergy

The most energetic team and holding the second place: Team Chakravyuh

Patine à tes risques et périls ! Skate at own risk!

English version at the bottom! 

Comme si elle avait deviné que je voulais m’imposer des challenges, mon amie m’a invitée à faire du patin à glace. Au tout début elle a cru que je plaisantais lorsque j’ai accepté et que j’ai suggéré qu’on y aille le jour même. C’était une première fois pour moi et alors que je la croyais experte, Tati était également à ses débuts même si contrairement à moi elle n’avait aucunement besoin de tenir la rambarde. Je vous raconte cette expérience parce que j’en ai tiré trois leçons. 

Tout d’abord lorsque nous voulons tenter de nouvelles expériences ou entamer de nouveaux projets, il est normal d’avoir des appréhensions et de craindre l’échec. Toutefois comme l’a dit Nelson Mandela, le courage n’est pas l’absence de peur, mais la capacité de la vaincre. Il y a des risques, et il y aura des signes visant à vous décourager mais c’est à vous et vous seuls de prendre vos propres décisions. Ne dit-on pas que qui ne risque rien n’a rien? 

Ensuite je me suis rendue compte qu’il n’y a pas de mal à demander de l’aide. Croyez moi, j’ai beaucoup de mal avec cela. C’est stupide je le sais mais même pour demander mon chemin j’hésite quelques fois. Résultat, je me retrouve souvent dans des situations déplaisantes que j’aurais pu éviter facilement si j’apprenais à me reposer sur quelqu’un d’autre. Chaque fois que je vacillais, j’avais le choix entre tenir la rambarde ou tenir la main de mon amie. J’avoue que j’avançais beaucoup plus facilement en choisissant la seconde option. Dans la vie de tous les jours, qu’on le veuille ou non, nous aurons besoin d’appuis pour aller de l’avant : Dieu, la famille, les amis, des experts…

Enfin, je me suis souvenue que c’est en tombant que l’enfant apprend à marcher. Cela est également valable lors de l’apprentissage du vélo, du surf ou du patin à glace. Je suis tombée une seule fois (il n’y a malheureusement pas de photo) parce que je suis restée trop longtemps accrochée à la rambarde. Mais cette chute je l’ai désirée car je savais que sans elle jamais je n’aurais réussi à me tenir sur la piste sans appui. Je ne suis pas devenue Kristi Yamaguchi en une séance mais j’ai appris à me tenir sur les deux pieds après m’être retrouvée sur les deux fesses…

Et vous, quels risques allez-vous prendre demain ? A qui allez-vous faire appel pour vous tenir la main ? Êtes-vous prêts à tomber pour triompher ?

      

Skate at own risk!

As if she knew that I wanted to challenge myself, my friend invited me to go ice skating. First she thought I was pranking her when I accepted and proposed to go the same day. It was my first time to skate and although I thought she was already an expert, Tati was also at her beginnings. However she did not have to keep holding the railing. I am telling you this experience because it taught me three lessons I want to share.

First of all, it is normal to apprehend or fear failure when we plan on trying new things or beginning a new project. However, as Nelson Mandela said, courage is not the absence of fear but the triumph over it. There are risks and there will be signs trying to discourage you but it is on you and you alone to make your own decisions. Do not they say that nothing ventured, nothing gained?

Secondly, I realized that there is no harm in asking for help. Believe me, I have many difficulties with that. Although I know it’s stupid, I even hesitate to ask for directions to strangers. As a result, I often find myself in unpleasant situations I could have easily avoided if I learned to rest on someone else. Each time I was swayed I could either choose holding the railing or holding my friend’s hand. I admit that I went much more easily by choosing the second option. In our everyday life, whether we like it or not, we will need support to move forward: God, family, friends, experts ...

Finally, this experience reminded me that the child learns to walk through falling. This also applies when we learn biking, surfing or ice skating. I fell once (unfortunately there is no photo) because I stayed too long attached to the railing. But I have desired this fall because I knew that without it I would have never managed to stand without support. I did not become Kristi Yamaguchi in one session but I learned to stand on both feet after I fell on my buttocks…

And you, what risk are you willing to take tomorrow? Who will you call to hold your hand? Are you ready to fall in order to triumph?

Hope for slums: Small actions change lives.

http://oslantis.com/projects/hope-for-slums-3/

One of the things we forget to be thankful for is the blessing of living in a comfortable house. If you are reading this, there is a strong possibility that you have access to a decent house and many amenities that are not accessible to millions of people in the world. Last thursday was Thanksgiving and we were supposed to be thankful for every blessing in our lives. Were you thankful for not having to worry about poor living conditions?

In the world, 863 million people live in slums and this number is expected to rise to 2 billion by 2030. For those who are not common with slums, they are “heavily populated urban areas characterized by substandard housing and squalor.” People living in slums lack some of the basic needs to live decently and are exposed to diseases that can be avoided if we decide to act. We love complaining but we rarely think about a way to change things and improve other people’s lives. Sometimes we believe that we are not strong or powerful enough to make a difference. Well, we need to understand that small actions can make a difference.

One of my friend told me about her team project to solve one of the world’s biggest issues. One person can make a change but a village can have a bigger impact. Therefore, they are working to create a challenge that brings people together to improve the lives of slums inhabitants. Their objective is to gather on one hand people who want the problem to be solved and on the other one, people who have creative ideas that can help solving it. One of the things I like about their idea is that they are looking for projects that take into account the culture and social foundations of the slums communities. They want ideas that involve working with the people who will be affected by the change instead of imposing a pseudo solution that will not be useful to the communities. If you want to learn more about their project, be inspired and make a change, you can follow the blog Hope for slums and you also have the opportunity to make a donation for the crowdfunding here.

Will you be the one continuously complaining about not being able to make a big change or will you start with smaller actions to make a difference?

Links:
http://oslantis.com/projects/hope-for-slums-3/
http://claudiapfaffenlehn.wix.com/hopeforslums

I have decided! J’ai décidé!

Version française en bas !

I came to realize recently that I am not spontaneous enough. I took a lot of decisions that I did not apply. I told myself that I would like to do this or that and the next day I forget about it or keep pushing it until I finally don’t achieve it. I'm not talking about extreme things like jumping out of an airplane in flight (which I had planned to do before backing up) but I'm referring to things much simpler such as talking to a stranger in the streets or in the elevator, taking a class out of school to learn something new, trying a new physical activity… 

I have a friend who is an extrovert and an expert in public speaking. Every time we take a Lyft together, she is always first to engage the conversation. We went together at the ATM and by the time I was done with my transaction she was already friend with a security agent standing near us. By hanging out with her, I have learned and I am still learning to talk to strangers. The easiest one being Lyft driver, I always start the conversation with the same question: Are you from San Francisco? Therefore, I learned that some of them were from El Salvador, Egypt, Oakland, Tibet, India and many other places ... Where am I going with this story? Well I have decided to stop procrastinating these little pleasures I can have in new experiences. 

I decided it was time to have a chat of at least 2 min with strangers and that they would probably not bite me. I wanted to improve my spanish so I look for an institution that provides spanish classes. I decided to write an article every day, regardless of whether or not I post it on my blog. I decided that I would read at least a book every week and try to summarize it. I have noted somewhere that I will learn how to code. I don’t know when yet, but I will in chaa Allah (procrastinating again). I have decided to post a photo of things I see or live every day. And finally I have noted that I will enjoy a physical activity during a minimum of 10 minutes each day (dancing, running, walking ...). 

Ok, I admit that I have only noted some of these challenges and not started yet but this time, I will do my best to fulfill the promises I made to myself. I will learn to set goals and reach them or die trying to. I just wrote the first article of a series of multiple ones and for me it’s already a great way of starting! And you, what challenges are you going to set for yourself? What are you planning to do to get out of your comfort zone and experience new pleasures?

Yes I can fly!

J'ai decidé!

Je me suis rendue compte que je ne suis pas assez spontanée. Je prends beaucoup de décisions que je n’applique pas. Je me dis oh tiens ! Je ferais bien ci ou ca et le jour suivant je ne le fais pas, le remettant toujours à plus tard pour ne finalement rien accomplir. Je ne parle pas de choses extrêmes comme sauter d’un avion en plein vol (ce que j’avais prévu faire avant de me dire qu’il ne fallait pas être folle non plus) mais je fais référence à des choses beaucoup plus simples comme aborder des inconnus dans la rue ou dans l’ascenseur...

J’ai une amie qui a vraiment la langue facile (façon de parler) pour échanger avec des étrangers. Chaque fois qu’on emprunte un Lyft ensemble, elle est toujours la première à engager la conversation. On va ensemble au guichet automatique et le temps que je finisse ma transaction, elle a fait ami-ami avec l’agent de sécurité posté juste à côté. À force de la côtoyer je crois qu’elle a déteint un tout petit mais vraiment tout petit peu sur moi. Au point où j’arrive à présent à converser avec les chauffeurs de Lyft en lançant toujours la même phrase : Are you from San Francisco ? Et ainsi j’ai pu savoir que certains d’entre eux venaient d’El Salvador, d’Égypte, d’Oakland, du Tibet, de l’Inde et bien d’autres endroits… Ou est-ce que je veux en venir ? Et bien j’ai décidé de ne plus remettre certaines choses à demain...

J’ai décidé qu’il était temps d’avoir une conversation d’au moins 2 min avec des inconnus et qu’ils n’allaient surement pas me mordre. J’avais envie d’améliorer mon espagnol alors j’ai noté quelque part que je vais m’inscrire à des classes d’espagnol. J’ai décidé que j’écrirai un article par jour, peu importe que je le poste ou non. J’ai décidé que je lirai un livre par semaine et que j’en ferai le compte rendu. J’ai noté que j’apprendrai à coder. J’ai noté que j’apprendrai l’arabe. J’ai décidé de poster une photo sur Instagram et autres chaque jour. Et j’ai noté que j’exercerai une activité physique d’au moins 10 minutes chaque jour (danse, course, marche…). 

Ok, j’avoue que j'ai juste noté certains objectifs et que les entamer est une autre paire de manche mais cette fois, promis je m’y mets. Je vais apprendre à me fixer des challenges et à les accomplir. Je viens de finir mon premier article et c’est déjà un excellent début selon moi. Et vous, que voulez-vous faire de nouveau ? Quels challenges allez-vous vous fixer pour sortir de votre zone de confort et expérimenter de nouveaux plaisirs ? 

Open your eyes and see the change / Ouvre les yeux et oberve le changement

French version at the bottom / Version française en bas

Intelligence and capability are not enough. There must also be the joy of doing something beautiful. Being of service to God and humanity means going well beyond the sophistication of the best technology, to the humble demonstration of courtesy and compassion to each patient.

- Dr. G.Venkataswamy

When I was younger I wanted to be a doctor. I dreamt about building two hospitals: one for rich people and one for the poor ones. I thought that I would use the money paid by rich patients to provide free or low cost services to the less privileged. Well, growing up, I didn’t want to be a doctor anymore but reflecting about it I already dreamt about being a social entrepreneur without even knowing what it meant…

There are many definitions for what social entrepreneurs are but to make it simple, a social entrepreneur is someone who creates business(es) to address community problems. As I told you in my previous article, I have started a Master of Social Entrepreneurship at Hult International Business School. As part of my program, I am currently taking a Social Innovation class. In addition to the fact that it is a very interesting and interactive class, we get to learn more about innovative ideas and products that are changing the lives of people around the world. This led me to decide to share the stories of some people and organizations that are making social impacts around the world. I want to start this series of social entrepreneurship articles with my midterm project organization: Aravind Eye Hospitals.

It seemed like while I was dreaming about my hospitals for rich and poor people, somebody was already realizing it in India. Dr Govindappa Venkataswamy better known as Dr V. wanted to eliminate needless blindness in India. Indeed, it was estimated that there were 12 million of blind people in India and 80 percent of them because of cataract for which there was a solution. Convinced that the McDonalds business model based on strict quality norms, assembly line efficiency, standardization…could be implemented in the eye care system, Dr V. worked relentlessly against the odds to create which would become one of the biggest network of ophthalmology hospitals in the world. He wanted to provide eye care services to people who would otherwise spend their lives blind while surgery or early detection could make a difference. Despite the fact that banks refused to loan him money because he was a retired man of 58 and his project seemed unrealistic, Dr V. mobilized some of his relatives to create the first Aravind Eye hospital with only 11 beds at the time in 1976. Six of those beds were reserved for people who could not afford treatments while the other five beds were attributed to people who could pay and therefore subsidize the others. This is still the way that Aravind Eye Care hospitals operates. Patients pay only if they want to and generally symbolic amounts. All patients receive the same treatment apart from the lodging where people with more financial means can have better accommodations…

One of my favorite thing about this organization is its self-reliance. It does not rely on any external aid neither from the government or international organizations. They are able to offer free services, build new hospitals and even make profits through the paying patients. Years after his death, the name of Dr. V will remain as someone who cares about others and demonstrated that you could do business and have a social impact at the same time. I’ll let you learn more about him from his granddaughter. 

Ouvre les yeux et observe le changement

L’intelligence et les aptitudes ne suffisent pas. Il faut également la joie de faire quelque chose de beau. Être au service de Dieu et de l'humanité signifie aller au-delà de la sophistication de la meilleure technologie, jusqu’à l'humble démonstration de courtoisie et de compassion envers chaque patient.

- Dr.G.Venkataswamy

Enfant, je rêvais de devenir médecin. Je voulais construire deux hôpitaux : un destiné aux riches et l’autre aux pauvres. Je pensais utiliser l’argent des patients nantis pour fournir des services gratuits ou à faible coûts aux moins privilégiés. Eh bien, en grandissant, j’ai perdu cette envie d’être médecin mais en y repensant, je rêvais déjà d'être un entrepreneur social sans même savoir ce que cela signifiait ...

Il existe de nombreuses définitions de l’entreprenariat social mais pour faire simple, les entrepreneurs sociaux sont des personnes qui créent des entreprises profitables afin de trouver des solutions à des problèmes sociaux et/ou environnementaux. Cette année, j’ai commencé un programme de Master en Entreprenariat Social à Hult International Business School. L’un des cours requis pour ce programme est la classe d’innovation sociale. Ce cours nous permet de découvrir chaque jour des idées et des produits novateurs qui transforment la vie de millions de personnes à travers le monde. J’ai donc décidé de partager les histoires de certaines personnes et organisations qui chaque jour apportent leur contribution pour créer un monde meilleur. Je vais commencer cette série d'articles sur l’entrepreneuriat social avec l’organisation que je dois analyser pour mon examen de milieu de semestre : Aravind Eye Hospitals.

Pendant que je rêvais de mes hôpitaux pour les personnes riches et pauvres, quelqu'un les avait déjà conçus en Inde. Dr Govindappa Venkataswamy mieux connu en tant que Dr V. souhaitait éliminer la cécité évitable. Il y avait environ 12 million de personnes aveugles en Inde et 80 % souffraient d’une cécité liée à la cataracte. Convaincu que le modèle d'entreprise de McDonalds basé sur des normes de qualité stricte et un service efficace et à grande échelle pouvait être appliqué dans le système ophtalmologique, Dr V. a travaillé sans relâches et malgré les difficultés pour créer ce qui allait devenir le plus grand réseau d'hôpitaux d'ophtalmologie au monde. Il voulait fournir des services de soins oculaires à des personnes qui autrement, passeraient leur vie aveugle alors qu’elles pouvaient recouvrir la vue ou éviter la cécité grâce à des interventions rapides. Compte tenu du fait que Dr V. était un homme à la retraite de 58 ans et que son projet semblait irréaliste, il ne put obtenir de prêt bancaire. C’est grâce à l’aide de ses proches et à l’hypothèque de leurs biens, qu’en 1976, Dr V a ouvert le premier hôpital ophtalmologique Aravind avec seulement 11 lits. Six de ces lits étaient réservés aux personnes qui n’étaient pas en mesure de payer les frais tandis que l’argent payé par les patients des 5 autres lits couvrait les frais et permettait de subventionner les opérations des autres. Aujourd’hui encore, les hôpitaux ophtalmologiques Aravind continuent d’offrir des services gratuits. Les patients décident si ils veulent payer ou non et donnent le montant qui leur sied. Pourtant, tous les patients payeurs ou non reçoivent le même traitement en dehors de l’hébergement où certains peuvent payer pour des chambres plus confortables.…

Au-delà de tout le travail accompli par Aravind Eye Hospitals, je suis fascinée par l’autonomie de l’organisation. En effet, ce réseau ne reçoit aucune aide extérieure, ni du gouvernement, ni d’une quelconque organisation internationale. Ils sont capables d'offrir des services gratuits, construire de nouveaux hôpitaux et même faire des profits grâce aux patients qui paient leurs traitements. Dr v. est décédé en 2006 mais il a laissé derrière lui un héritage inestimable. Vous pouvez en savoir plus sur la vie de cet homme et son organisation à travers sa petite fille...

Hello San Francisco !

CDG Airport

The last two weeks, I had both great and bad moments. From my flight’s delay of more than 10 hours in Paris to my quest of apartment in San Francisco, I tried reminding myself that “things are what they are, and whatever will be, will be” (from the book of Jonas Jonasson The hundred-Year-Old Man who climbed out of the window and disappeared). By the way, although I will not make a summary of this book I definitely recommend it to you. It was difficult to stop worrying but this book helped me to keep in mind that things will happen no matter what we do, so let’s go without the worries…

I will start with the great moments. I just moved to San Francisco for my one year master program of social entrepreneurship at Hult International Business School. As the name indicates, my school is very international because we have people from all around the world. For example in my team work, there are people from Norway, Indonesia, United States, Colombia and Cote d’Ivoire (myself). Add the fact that other students in my program are from Nigeria, Brazil, Senegal, Belgium, France, Japan, Mexico, India … With one of my teammates, we are already planning on exchanging language skills; so who knows what third language I will be speaking by the end of the year?

Another great moment was when I visited the city with my father and brother who happened to came in US for their work, few days after I arrived in San Francisco. With my older brother, we got a chance to do a nightly big bus tour and see this incredible city by night. It was windy, but it was worthy. 

Third and last pleasure was the great books I bought at a big book sale event. I am planning to offer these books before leaving San Francisco but for now I wish to spend unforgettable moments with them. 

As I said at the beginning of this article, everything was not pink and flowers. I am now coming to the bad side of the last days… When people tell you that San Francisco has high rents, you may not actually assimilate how high these rents are, at least I did not. I spent almost 2 years in Atlanta, renting an apartment at a price that most of my friends qualify high compared to other parts of the country. Therefore, I thought that the rents in San Francisco could not be far from those in downtown Atlanta. I was so wrong…

Atlanta

I will spare you the details of my quest but I will just share the lessons I learned while looking for an apartment. The first one is that if you have to live in San Francisco (and probably in other parts of the world) you should do your best to secure an apartment at least a month before you have to start school (in my case) or work. Although I did not find anything suitable there, Craigslist might be a good way to find an apartment or roommates (if you are not afraid about living with complete strangers you meet online). For those with a higher budget, you can also check Zillow.com. However, I have to tell you that studios, not even 1bedroom 1bathroom apartment, are ridiculously expensive for their size. LOWER YOUR EXPECTATIONS! You want to live on the west coast? Experience life in San Francisco? Great! But do not expect to have the same comfort as back home unless you are willing to put a lot of money in rent.

Another advice is that if you can’t find an apartment to stay - especially because it’s difficult to rent a place you never visited - I would recommend that you book a room with some housing providers like Vantaggio that are much cheaper than hotels. I have experienced both so trust me when I tell you that they are great deals! Of course, you also have to book many weeks in advance because they get rapidly full, especially when students and workers are going back on track.

Despite the difficulty of finding an apartment, San Francisco is an amazing place to visit. In addition to the fact that it is one of the most walkable city in the world, there is always something going on. There are many networking and learnings opportunities available. Last week for example I went to one of the dreamforce events where Susan Wojcicki, the CEO of YouTube and Jessica Alba, co-founder of The honest company were both panelists and talk about their experience as mothers and successful tech and business women…

I did not publish since a very long time ago but change will come in chaa Allah :) I am eager to share everything I learn here. So, see you soon!

London beyond the rain...

Kensington park

I love London when it does not rain. The city amazed me by its beautiful parks where families can enjoy time together. According to the Independent, 47% of the city is green space. I wish Abidjan had such spaces for children to play safely and for people like me to enjoy rides or readings. Another great fact about London is the number of cyclists. It is not rare to see many cyclists riding in front of the bus without worrying that they might get hurt. I can’t even imagine this in my country and for that I say great job Londoners! What is still awkward for me after being in London for more than three weeks (in addition to the variety of accents) is the fact that the driver seats on the right side of the car. I still don’t know where to look at before crossing roads and I end up having a torticollis. Whatever…

From the top of Unilever House

One of the reason why I am in London, besides the fact that I love travelling – out of my comfort zone –, is that I am having my first professional experience. I obtained this internship through the Intern Group which is an organization that makes accommodations for students around the world to have an international work experience. So here I am, in London, interning as a Communication and Fundraising Intern with Beyond Food Foundation.

I love the cat attitude

The first day I arrived, I was offered a box of Belgium chocolates. No need to mention then that I love this internship. Beyond Food Foundation is a charity aiming to inspire and motivate people at risk of, or who experienced homelessness to gain meaningful employment. Though 3 programs which are Freshlife, Get Stuck In and the United Kitchen Apprenticeship, they train and mentor people affected by homelessness in London and therefore also contribute to reduce unemployment. As my first work experience, I did not know what to expect. But the convivial atmosphere, and the importance of our mission helped me to be more comfortable. I had the opportunity to visit some apprentices at their work, the kitchen of Unilever staff (I enjoyed a wonderful barbecue from the Chef), assisted to cheese masterclasses demonstration, and got an entry for Taste of London.

Thank you Chef!

Working to impact the future of someone is something, but having the chance to see and eat some free delicious meals along the way is definitely one of the best way I could start my entry into the professional world. I am so grateful for having this opportunity to meet incredible people who care about others. St Augustine said that the world is a book and those who do not travel, read only one page…. You know how much I love reading, so staying at one page is definitely not for me. Take the opportunity to go somewhere else. It doesn’t matter whether it is in a new country or just a new city. There are so much things to see behind your windows. I wish that everything I am learning here, and will have the chance to learn in other places, will give me the skills to provide meaningful solutions to some of Cote d’Ivoire’s issues. But for now, let me enjoy my remaining days in London and help to inspire others. 

Keeping the child in me

Stubborn, Little and Blacky

Stubborn saw Little and decided to take a rest.

He decided that he would have a discussion with Little no matter what Woman thought.  

 Yes it was sure that between him and Woman one was the master; but nothing said that it was the one holding the leash.

Woman wanted to go. Stubborn wanted to talk. Little did not have too much time and preferred going along with his human.

Stubborn was sad but not for too long because Blacky immediately emerged.

Stubborn was happier. He got a friend who actually wanted to spend time with him.

Man did not mind letting Blacky hang out with Stubborn.

But Woman was not very patient and was already tired of Stubborn's caprice.

After many attempts, Woman finally convinced Stubborn to go but he only went with her because he already got a date, same place, same time.

 

This is what happens in my head while waiting for the Lyft driver. Ayethink...

The Perfect Place...

I have found the perfect place.

A place of calm and quietude in the center of modernization.

A place of purity in the center of pollution.

A place where simple moments spent with loved ones will create the best memories.

A place that could testify that Erik loves Nia.

I have found the perfect place where I could let my thoughts go around without being bothered.

I have found the perfect place where I could read and flirt with the characters.

I have found the perfect place where I could write about my feelings, create stories and give life 

to people who only exist in my imagination.

I have found the perfect place where I could bring a special person just to do like movies characters.

I have found the perfect place where I could go to evade from the city.

I have found the perfect place where the birds’ song is the only melody worth listening to. 

I have found the perfect place that I should have been looking for one year ago. While I only have few days to spend in Atlanta, I promise myself to take more time to explore the next cities I will have the chance to visit or settle in. Don’t be like me and find a perfect place before having to go.