I am currently going through a Leadership Training Program that is facilitated by the Co-Active Training Institute. Introducing Bixterian is my way of landing back to sharing my leadership experiences as a Co-Active Leader. Let’s dive in!
I am in Barcelona baby!
This is my second time visiting Barcelona, thanks to an incredible Co-Active Training Institute’s Leadership Program I am going through.
I am loving every bit of the program and I would like to share my experiences with you, Bixterian. What is Bixterian, you must be wondering?
Bixterian is a vegetarian who enjoys their vegetables with biscuits 😆. Yes, and, for the sake of immersing you in my adventures here in Barcelona, can I call you Bixterian?
Going once… Twice… Thrice… Done!
Introducing Bixterian
After the retreat ended on Friday last week, I came to Barcelona. Since then, I have been walking on foot, averaging 13 km per day! So far, I have been to the Sagrada Família (inside, wow!), Park Güell, toured Barcelona City on a bicycle and repaired my broken phone, thanks to Francesca Mulliri, who is one of my best friends and a dear sister.
I have also visited a youth association, attended David Reyero’s book launch, which by the way, was in Spanish and lost my water bottle (I don’t know where). Speaking of loss, I have lost my way a couple of times. While each of the times I have been lost has had an impact on me, yesterday was epic!
A friend of mine and her partner invited me over to their house for a drink, a chat and an experience in their beautiful neighborhood restaurant. On my way there, I decided to retrace my way back to a restaurant where I had had dinner and the bookstore where the launch happened the previous night.
Well, I didn’t find the bottle in either of the places. By this time, even Google was confused about my main intention and agenda. And Bixterian, I kept walking in circles, and the lady at Google Maps kept rerouting me to a multiple options of roads, not as a pedestrian but as a driver.
This is so confusing because, by giving me driving directions I am ending up walking in circles as Google Maps tries to instruct me on the best way to navigate the streets. Add the beautiful tapestry that Barcelona offers through its magnificient architecture, and I am telling you Bixterian, it is so easy to get lost!
Hailing a Green-lit Cab
Overwhelmed by all the beauty, my heart started racing in excittement, worry and doubt and fear. I decided to call my friend and ask for help. As a nonprofit leader and founder, my work revolves around helping people. I am so used to helping boys find the things and resources they need in their life, so much that I am not accustomed to asking for help with personal needs.
Thanks to the Co-Active Leadership Training Program, asking for help is one of the muscles I am learning to build and develop. I look around me and there is no black person who looks like me in site. All around me, are old people walking their tiny dogs. I see a frustrated mom trying to keep her three children engaged with each other on a swing.
I am all alone, Bixterian!
“Gosh,” I tell my friend on WhatsApp call, “I have been going around in circles for the past 40 minutes and I am frustrated. I need your help!”
“Kaka,” she said, with calmness that steadied my heartbeat. “Find somewhere to sit and tell me what you see around you. Close your eyes and breathe in…”
What the heck dada? I am close to losing my mind and you are asking me to close my eyes in Barcelona where phone grabbing is considered a luctrative passtime! This is not time for yoga, dada, I wanted to scream.
“Okay, sitting down on a bench. Closing my eyes and breathing in…,” I said, instead.
“What do you see?” she asked.
“I am in a very quiet neighborhood where all around me are old folks walking their tiny dogs!” I replied.
Waiting with a drink in her hands
“Find the main road and hail a cab with a green light on top of it, show the driver my address and you will find me waiting downstairs with your favourite drink in my hands!”
O Barcelona is crazy, Bixterian!
One moment I am witnessing a man kiss another man by a red light and I am the only one taken aback by it all. The next moment, I am seeing a man dance with his lover outside a restaurant. Before I recover, I see a homeless man sitting on mattress while fiddling with an IPad! Now, my head is spinning from all the going around in circles and the tapestry of beauty.
Barcelona is where taxi drivers listen to Hotel California and other English songs that don’t translate to them understanding the English language! Do you see why I am feeling light headed, Bixterian?
Ha ha ha! I really hope you do.
The moment I see a green-lit cab stop for the red light, I run towards it like Samuel L Jackson would do in a movie scene. I jump into the cab and push the phone into Vicente Sanchez Belmonte’s cab.
“Take me to Trafalgar 68!”
“Si,” Vincente replies and resumes driving when the light turns green.
I arrive at my friend’s house. I find her downstairs with my favourite drink in her hands. What follows next is a beautiful night of walking through her neighbourhood. The three of us sit down to a sumptuous dinner, wine and a chat about the things I am learning about Barcelona and leadership.
Hold on Bixterian, this story doesn’t end here.
This is just, but, the beginning!
¡Adiós por ahora, Bixterian!
Photospeak
Sidebar
I run a nonprofit organization in Kenya called Lifesong Kenya. The organization provides a safe space for boys who need a second chance in life. We provide a halfway house, keep boys in school, play football (soccer) and support their families. This helps them to turn their troubles into treasure they can use for find healing and restoration from stigma and trauma.
I invite you to learn more about our work and, if our vision resonates with your heart, I welcome you to get involved. You can donate, volunteer or share about our work with your friends and family.