Author: Jacqueline Kubania
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We Are Who We Are. Not Lazy. Not Unmotivated. Not Unintelligent.
I have fantasies of being enrolled in a boot camp. In them, a sadistic trainer kicks me out of bed every morning at 4 a.m., putting me through hours of such punishing physical exercise that it makes me weep. But there’s no time to cry because right afterwards I have to attend French classes with…
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The Thing About Kids
A few months ago, I took my friends’ children to the cinema to watch The Little Mermaid. I’d been planning the outing for two weeks, coordinating with both sets of parents for a day that worked, securing the tickets, and getting the kids all excited for the movie. They sang in the car on the…
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Allow Yourself To Be Bad At Things
Any week you don’t see this column on your feed, it is mostly because I haven’t submitted it. I tell myself that I am too busy to write it, or I don’t know what to write about. But the truth is that when I hold back from submitting a piece to my editors, it is…
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You Split (the bill), You Lose…
Today I am inserting my nose into married people’s business because I feel like if you (married folk 😀) put your business out there, then it becomes fair game for hot takes. Hollywood superstar Gabrielle Union recently went on the record saying she splits bills 50-50 with her hotshot basketballer husband Dwyane Wade. Like everyone…
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I Have Always Been A Cat Person
A three year old has just moved in with me. Her name is Rosie. She has orange hair, a spicy attitude and startling gold eyes. Rosie is a ginger cat with a healthy suspicion of people – unsurprising, given her difficult beginnings in this world. She was rescued from Mombasa two years ago after some…
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Ordinary People, Living Ordinary Lives, Embracing Extraordinary Courage
You might have seen it. A sustained Twitter campaign by @HoneyFarsafi targeted at Nairobi County governor Johnson Sakaja to fix drainage in Korogocho, an informal settlement to the east of the city. This week, @HoneyFarsafi reported that the part of the slum she’d been campaigning for had been attended to, posting pictures of concrete drainage…
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I Drank Tea In Japan And Felt Zen
One must-do if you ever travel to Japan is signing up for a Japanese tea ceremony in Osaka. You will end up in a ragtag group of other itinerant tourists eager to immerse themselves into a centuries-old tradition. Like you, they are looking for something to make their trip feel a little more authentic. Or…
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Solo Travel Can Be Difficult. Do It Anyway
I’m writing to you from a chilly Japan today. I seem to have mistimed my first international vacation in four years, and now I’m stuck in my hotel room as it pours outside. The view is good though. From my 13th floor perch, I can see the Tokyo Tower with its flashing lights through the…
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My Mother Wants Me To Get Married. It’s Sweet.
I wasn’t always good at it, but now I’m good at being single. I know how to self-soothe (don’t read too much into that 😅 ). I revel in the love that I already have. I enjoy my own company. I value my independence. And I really like living alone. So when mom tells me…