Dial The Wild
Dial The Wild Podcast is an ongoing discussion with like-minded individuals who have a desire to engage the primal nature within themselves. Topics ranging from Music, Sports, Hunting, Archery, Jeeping, MMA, Comedy, Fishing, etc. what ever dials-in your wild!
Dial The Wild
Embracing the Midwest From African Beginnings: Victor Lidaywa
Have you ever braved a world so different from your own that it turned every certainty on its head? Today, our guest takes us along his extraordinary journey from the heartbeat of Nairobi, Kenya, to the quiet rhythms of Macomb, Illinois. As we navigate through his stories, we uncover the nuances of Kenya's political stability and cultural richness, the bonds of family among a band of six brothers, and the challenges of a society where opportunities for education and work are fiercely contested.
Our guest's narrative captures the essence of moving continents, from an amusing culture shock in the Midwest to the heartwarming tale of an interracial romance in rural America. His pursuit for a better life didn't just stop at personal fulfillment—it extended into his career, as he shares his vision for expanding his physical therapy practice to cater to an ever-growing community's needs.
Listen as we explore the significance of maintaining cultural connections, laugh over the quirks of adjusting to life in the U.S., and recognize the resilience of those striving for a better tomorrow, despite the odds. Join us for a conversation that's as rich and varied as the land of our guest’s birth—with a sprinkle of humor, a dash of love, and a generous helping of ambition.
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We'll see you next time. This is my setup there it's good at home.
Speaker 1:I've gotten, I've got my boom mics and my board and stuff it's just it's a pain to set up. So if I can get away with this dude, that's what I do.
Speaker 2:Oh okay, yeah, works pretty nicely yeah, usb mic yeah, you can give me a cue. Whatever you want to start, that's fine, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah I'm pretty much we're just bullshitting.
Speaker 2:So more or less.
Speaker 1:Make sure the setup is yeah what does uh, so we could start out like there you were a small boy in Kenya, oh yeah.
Speaker 2:Yep.
Speaker 1:I presume that's where you're from.
Speaker 2:I am from Kenya, yeah, yeah, this. So Kenya is where I was born. I'm actually a city kid. I was, I was actually born in a big city. So, okay, what city was that? It's Nairobi. So Nairobi, Okay, it's the capital city of Kenya. And Kenya, by the way, is just East Africa, way on the eastern side of Africa. It has one of the best economies in Africa, okay, and we actually got a lot of Americans, europeans, a lot of foreigners who stay there because it's been peaceful for a long time. It's got a stable economy, a stable political system, a stable democracy, so that has attracted a lot of outsiders, foreigners or Westerners or whatever. So we have a lot of it.
Speaker 1:Well, there's a lot of negative connotation around some of the countries on that side of the world, which is, you know, it is what it is, but you were fortunate to live in a place that didn't have near as much of that going on.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and you're right, you know, because I mean growing up in Kenya, as I said, I was a city kid, I mean, and we were surrounded with countries that were in turmoil, you know. So, like, if you look at Kenya, you know it's this little peaceful island Actually. No, kenya is about the size of Texas. Okay, so we on the north of Ethiopia, which also is relatively, you know, peaceful, but, and then we have Somalia, the borders are on the. Let's see northeast, you know, and that's a trouble.
Speaker 1:I've been they've had a Pirates are well known. Yeah, yes.
Speaker 2:And we've had a lot of refugees that have crossed over, just because of what is happening there, into Kenya. We've taken them in and, you know, with international help we've housed them and all that you know. And then I go south, so we have Tanzania, and then I go west. You have Uganda, you know. So Tanzania has been peaceful, uganda has been relatively peaceful. They have their own issues there, but Kenya has kind of it's the biggest economy within the eastern Central Africa area and it's actually, the, say, the third biggest economy in Africa, you know. So it's doing pretty well.
Speaker 1:Probably what would be ahead of it, like South Africa.
Speaker 2:So South Africa is there and Nigeria is there you know, and then I'm sorry, let me just turn this off here, you're good, I can edit all this too. Oh yeah, sorry, yeah, sorry. Let me just say this guy hey Marshall, yeah, did you drop it? Okay, I'll come get it here in a little bit. Okay, I'm doing an interview right now, but I'll be there to get it here in a little bit.
Speaker 2:Okay, I'm doing, uh, an interview right now, but I'll be there to get it, okay, all right, okay, all right, okay, bye-bye, sorry about that, I probably let me just make sure I just turn off this thing, off part of the things that you don't expect to happen, okay, so so I grew up in Kenya. I grew up in the city Family of six boys, I'm the oldest.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I was going to say you and your brothers look like a defensive backfield. I know we do Even in.
Speaker 2:Christmas. I know, actually We've all kind of trimmed because we go in the running bag, you know, but we were bigger guys, you know, back in the day we were bigger guys back in the day, Right. And I usually say, if I grew up in America I'll probably be playing football somewhere, maybe a running back or something like that.
Speaker 1:Right, Because there are a lot of what were the sports that you grew up playing.
Speaker 2:So the biggest sport that we grew up playing was soccer. Because soccer is king, I figured as much. Soccer is the biggest sport all over the world Other than the US, but it's making inroads in the US right now. Right, yeah, so America is doing well in soccer right now, but soccer was the only source.
Speaker 1:There's money in it, there's money. If there's money in it, the US will figure it out.
Speaker 2:So if you talk about a team sport soccer is it, but also but what Kenya is known for they're the runners. So you talk about these runners who break all these records.
Speaker 1:Yeah, marathoners.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there you go, but I am not from that tribe that runs. So, a lot of people think you're from Kenya.
Speaker 1:You're like oh, you can run, I cannot you run quite a bit, I do.
Speaker 2:But that's just me running just for fitness, right. But I'm talking about these guys who that will be a joke quite a bit. I do, but you know, that's just me running just for fitness, you know, right. But I'm talking about these guys who that will be a joke for them. They just don't stop, they just don't stop. And my peers they look at it, they'll be laughing at me, you know. Yeah, uh, my tribe, because in kenya we have tribes, so we have about 42 tribes. Okay, so my tribe is the second largest tribe, you know?
Speaker 1:Would it be considered like your native type, indigenous type people of that area? Absolutely Okay, yeah, that makes sense.
Speaker 2:So out of those 40 tribes that we have, you know, they can all be clamped. Actually, the whole of Africa can be clamped into three huge groups, you know. Okay, so we've got the Bantu's which are my Bantu the Kushites and the Nylots, so those are the biggest three groups in Africa. Okay, but in these three big groups we've got all of these tribes, like a lot. But those tribes also, some of them, have similarities, you know, like in the US, you know, say you know you're, you're a South and now you're not. That I, you know you, you have the way you speak and you can figure it out. Somebody from New York, so right, midwest, so from you know.
Speaker 1:Chicago. Someone from Texas, absolutely, so we go that, so okay.
Speaker 2:So there's people from the same tribe, they speak the same, but also there's this uh neighboring tribe that they share the same, almost same dialect. You know it's kind of a complex, but but I'm a band too, okay, uh uh, you know groups in Africa.
Speaker 1:It's one of the things if you're not from that area, you probably don't hear it as much because, like when I was in England, they would say that, well, this guy's from London, he speaks proper, yes, but this guy's from Wales, so he's you know he sounds like back there. It all sounds like an English dialect to me, but they could hear it. They can hear it.
Speaker 2:Like we do. Yeah, and just to give you another way, talking about Africa, africa is a huge continent, I know you're talking about. You know you can feed about two and a half US, the US country. Two and a half of them can feed in the whole continent, you know. But going back to the sub-tribes, the three, the Bantus, you know. So in South Africa, which is way up there it's farther than where we live in Kenya, where I grew up in Kenya there are people who are Bantu. If they speak I can pick up words. I can totally understand a few of the things they're speaking. It's different but because we come from the same origin, I can pick up some words.
Speaker 1:Is it a different language or just dialect? It is, or does it just depend?
Speaker 2:It depends. So it's more dialects, more language. You know, some words have changed, I think, with how people migrate, you know, they pick up other forms of expressions and language and how they, you know, call. Something might be different, but some of the words stay the same, you know, and that just shows how diverse Africa is. But also we're kind of connected. You know, Sure, but out of the three big groups Bantu, Kushites and Nylons if you're a Bantu, it's hard to understand what a Nylon is saying. If you're Kushites, you also have a hard time understanding what a Bantu is saying, because they're totally different.
Speaker 1:You know sounds, you know I'm going to be watching a YouTube video on this tonight, like breaking this all down, yeah um, but you were also talking about at one time when I because the reason we met is because I started coming here for rehab after my shoulder surgery and then, um, we just kind of hit it off and you know, how's your kids, how's your kids, well, they're kids. So but, um, you told me at one time the education structure is a little different there too. Yeah, you don't have your elementary school, junior high and high school. You said it was quite a bit different.
Speaker 2:Yes, you're right, and I think right now before I just tell you about the education system that I went through right now they're trying to Americanize the education system, so it's going to be more like what is here in America. The system is going to be matching the American system, but growing up it was different, you know. So you would go to a nursery school, then you go to a kindergarten, and then you go to a primary school and then a secondary school, and then secondary school. You spend, uh, you know said, about three years in secondary school and then you go to for your a levels and then you spend two years for your a levels and then you go to university okay, so a levels would be like the back half of high school so you'll be there, so it would be.
Speaker 2:So it's like the three years of high school, like, uh, so your freshman, uh, sophomore, junior, uh-huh, and then you'd graduate, and then you'd go for your senior year and an additional year for your air levels.
Speaker 1:Okay, so you'll have two years of you know? Is that like job training? Is that or is that vocational?
Speaker 2:it's, it's no vocational, it's more. It more narrows down uh, uh, the, the classes that you're taking now. So say you like chemistry, so you just take a few classes, uh, aligned chemistry or physics or you know it, just whatever you want to do or pursue, it just kind of narrows it down to a point.
Speaker 1:I got a career like you want to follow, okay, engineering so, so that first you what you would spend three or four years, two or three years in a nursery school, like three to four years in like a grade school system, yes, and then you would, somewhere between what we would call junior high, in the first couple years of high school, go to like do most of your primary work, like most of your what we would call gen ed.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and primary school would be. Yeah, you're right, and a primary school would be. So let's say, you start maybe at three years old, you know, you do your nursery school. Three, four years. Three to four years, your nursery school and then five years you start your kindergarten and the six years you you start your kindergarten and then six years you go to primary school. So you are six, you study primary school, grade one, we call it standard, standard, one Standard one.
Speaker 2:So you're standard one. What you equivalent of grade one? Yeah, so study one, study two, you go there to standard seven. So you can see here you go up to eighth grade. There you go seven, and then you go to your high school or secondary school Okay, and then have the three years there and then go to your A-levels, which you have there two years.
Speaker 1:So you're kind of like doing a community college after three years of high school, absolutely Okay.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and those guys were old. I would look at these guys. I'm like man, when you're in a room, you know, you're like oh man, I'm old, I'm, you know, guys had beers. I'm like what's happening? Here, but you're still in the same high school with them.
Speaker 1:You know, okay, is it like guys come back to finish that at times, or Well, no, Okay, it was different.
Speaker 2:Uh, education there is, so they take national examinations.
Speaker 1:It's a do or die system.
Speaker 2:Oh, okay, it's a do. Well, yeah, you can redo. Back to your question. You can redo it, but you, yeah, you have to repeat some classes. They put you up with the angry kids, but nobody wanted to do that, you know, because you'd be old with all this yank. They put you up with the angry kids, I know yeah.
Speaker 2:So they'd be like yeah, you know, you did not do well in this, so you might have to go back to classes and nobody wanted to do that. So people would just graduate and just go and whatever, do whatever.
Speaker 1:So when is it that you decided you were going to enter the healthcare field and that you were going to go, go that route and end up over here?
Speaker 2:so and so, but the air, the air level, before I oh, yeah, yeah, go ahead so it switched. So there's another president who came over, switched it to an 844 system, so that would mean eight schools of primary education, uh, four years of high school more like an american system and then four years of college. You know know, okay, eight four, four. That was the system. So, and that was it, that's the system, that we were the pioneers of that system.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I- it sounds like the system you came up with would actually kind of more prepare you for a field that you were going to enter at some point Absolutely, instead of our system where it's like yes, I made it through 10, 12 years of school, yes, now I'm going to go party for two to four years See absolute.
Speaker 2:And the system, the education system there is. You know it's kind of dry. You pass or you fail. You know you make the pass in the national exam. Oh, you've done. You know you're like I'm sorry, dude, I'm going to be a mechanic. You start to be a mechanic or figure out something.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:There's no one way or the other, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:That's just what it is, because it's so competitive. Unemployment is high. You know, the schools are limited. They don't want to take you back. You cannot repeat classes, you know.
Speaker 1:Well, how many colleges or universities? Universities would be in kenya? So? Or is it not just kenya, but are there surrounding countries that also have theirs?
Speaker 2:so we took. So most african countries are very young and, uh, when I was going through the education system because, as I said, we're pioneers of 844, so we're going through the air level system, uh, but when I go to high school, they switch it to the 844 system. So we were the first one to go through four years of high school. So we finished four years, other than doing three and then going to the two, two more.
Speaker 2:So we did the four, but there were only four public universities. Can you imagine? So you have all these kids graduating Trying to get into the same school, absolutely, and the colleges would take about only 40,000 kids, because there are four, and there are all government founded universities or government universities. There are four of them. So you have all these kids trying to get in 40,000 students. You have over 300,000 kids graduating. The whole country Remember, kenya is the size of Texas too, you know.
Speaker 1:So spaces were limited, and how many colleges and universities are just in Texas? I?
Speaker 2:know right. Yeah, texas is probably the university of Texas. It's going to take the whole Texas Tech.
Speaker 1:It's 300,000 or whatever. San Antonio San.
Speaker 2:Antonio, they'll probably accumulate that. El Paso, el Paso, yeah, so that was the problem. So you have 40,000 spaces, and that was the problem. So you have 40,000 spaces and then if you don't make it, you know, that's why you really have to make sure you get a good grade in these nationalized exams. So if you don't make the cut, I'm sorry you're done. I'm sure there are people who would let their kids go. Many politicians, you know, politicians always have a way of doing things. Oh yeah, it's not just here, it's everywhere. Right, yeah?
Speaker 1:Yeah, way of doing. Oh yeah, it's not just here, it's everywhere, right, yeah, yeah, but anyway, uh, little bit of greenery always changes the scenery. There you go. I heard that the other day. Oh yeah, oh yeah that's pretty good.
Speaker 2:That's pretty good, but anyway, uh, so if you're, if your family's well endowed and blessed, you know you can send your kids outside of af or Kenya. You can send them to the US, you can send them to Europe wherever sometimes far East Asia but if so, if you're just a commoner, they don't have the money. You got to figure out what your kid is going to do. He had a passing grade, because they say the passing grade to getting to college is maybe a B+, and they'll have so many B+ that they'll be like, uh, maybe a B plus, and they'll have so many B pluses that they'll be like, sorry, no, not every B plus.
Speaker 1:This B plus is better than your B plus. Yeah, this B plus is better than yours, you know so.
Speaker 2:So it was so. Uh, it was so subjective, you know, sure. So you have all these kids who made the grade, but they didn't, they didn't get in, you know.
Speaker 1:And what would those kids do? They didn't get in, you know. And what would those kids do? Like what kind of jobs, what kind of a? You know you said it was a great economy. So I would imagine that you know, everybody, everybody needs a plumber, everybody needs a mechanic, everybody needs, you know.
Speaker 2:But I didn't know if, if there's industry, if there's so right now it's doing good, kenya's doing good right now, but back then it was not doing good you know just because of the political setup.
Speaker 2:The political setup was more like a one party system. You know, uh, the? You know there were always riots. Uh, on the streets with university kids try to advocate for a better system. Multi-party system, so you could have more than one party. You know a multi-party system, so you could have more than one party. It was only a one-party system, but unemployment was way high. It was almost like 50%. Oh, wow. So even if you have a B+, you don't get in college. So you have to figure out what to do. It's all or nothing.
Speaker 1:It's all or nothing.
Speaker 2:If you're blessed and your family has a business, you do that. If not, you just stay home or hope to get out of the country. If not, figure out something to do.
Speaker 1:A lot of those guys get ripped up in crime as well.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely yeah, we had. You know, like, you have people who made the grade and they're, you know, even college graduates. You know, even going to college, they don't guarantee you employment, you know, sure. So you're graduating there, no jobs. You're an engineer, but you're on the streets selling corn or sweet potatoes or whatever it is. That's crazy, and these are smart guys. Because there's just no jobs. But you just got to do it because your family is going to eat, you're going to provide for the family. So it was again. Things have changed. That's the place I grew up in. I, when I go back, I see a lot of change. Maybe unemployment is not at almost 50, maybe it's about, maybe, uh, close to 30 percent.
Speaker 1:Maybe, let's just say, 25, 27 better economy is always going to bring more jobs.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, usually, yes, absolutely it's still high, but but it brings. You know, yeah, so we've had and, by the way, we have one of the youngest populations in the world. Actually, not only Canada, the whole of Africa has the youngest population in the world, you know. And these kids that are coming out, you know they're unbelievable talented and they are coming up with a lot of things to do. You know, a lot of companies outside the world are trying to outsource them, you know, whether it's engineering, manufacturing or wherever Sure, Because they know these kids are smart, They've gone through school, They've had colleges, but they just don't have jobs, you know. So they give you opportunities. A lot of developments are happening there, you know.
Speaker 1:And a lot of those companies will find ways to. I won't say skip through the red tape, but they will coordinate the red tape to get them to other places.
Speaker 2:Yes, you're right. So, but that's where I grew up in and how I because I so I finished college. I went, finished high school, got a passing grade to go to college, but I couldn't go to college, you know. And so I was like, okay, what do I do? So there was, if you call it, there was a lady who had a touring company, you know. Later there was a lady who had a touring company, you know, uh, and she took me in to teach me, uh, about tours and travel, you know. And, um, then there was a private college, one of the first private colleges that are open in kenya. That time, uh, she sponsored me to go to the college, you know.
Speaker 2:So I went to the college, uh, got my associate degree in tours and travel, okay, and then this lady who put in money from, and I don't know how, she came into my I don't even know how that happened that was a miracle, you know yeah, but she offered me a job in a company you know, and so I worked with that lady for, uh, about two years and then that's when meeting foreigners and all that and talk to me about you know, uh, whether it's europe or there's the us, wherever they came from, australia, I was like man, there is a better world out there, you know. And uh, um, so I I had a uh cousin of mine who went to Iowa. Actually he was an Iowa Wesleyan. He had graduated, okay, and I say a cousin, he's kind of a not really a cousin, cousin is the most close relationship to him.
Speaker 2:So he graduated from Iowa Wesleyan, came a Western and got his master's degree in economics. But he had come on to kenya to visit for the holidays and he knew my mom and met my mom and my mom tell you, victor is here. It's just hard that you know, europe and america is good. He's tried to get there to go to school and finish education and that's how I go here. Okay, he helped me Okay.
Speaker 1:Yes, and was that? Uh. So what's that process like as far as? Did you have to get a work visa? Did you have to get a student?
Speaker 2:I had to get a visa and um you have to pay for the visa.
Speaker 1:Okay, I bet the government of Kenya thanks you seriously for your donation.
Speaker 2:I know right, so you have to pay and actually the visa is paid to the US government. You know which is and it's not for a poor country. It's a lot of money. So you're talking about $50, you know, and the visa is not guaranteed. You may get it or you may not, correct, and if you don't, you're not going to get your money back.
Speaker 1:You're out 50 bucks.
Speaker 2:50 bucks is gone, you know, yeah, so, 50 bucks at a rate of 100, back then it was about 100 shillings. So they use shillings there. You know, more like in British terminology, shillings, yeah, so 100 shillings is one US dollar is about 100 shillings back in the day. So you see that's 50, that's about 5,000. And that's a lot that can feed a family for like three months straight. You know, okay, yeah, so, but when you're out of it? So I had to apply for the visa, go the visa.
Speaker 2:I was so lucky I got training from one of the tourists that I used to work with or take around. She told me when you talk to somebody, look at them in the eye, look straight in the eye, because most Westerners like you when you look at them in the eye. But in Africa you don't look at people in the eye when you talk. You look down. Yeah, you know. So I would look down and talk to them because that's respectful. You know, I think in Japan it's the same thing. So you look down and like, oh, victor, look at me, talk to me when you look at me. So when you go apply for your visa, look at the person interviewing you right straight in the eye and I did that and I was like approved You're going to America.
Speaker 2:I know that was the best day ever. Where'd you end up? Here? In Macomb, In Macomb, Okay, At Western, At Western, and which is as I said when you started this podcast.
Speaker 2:You know I grew up in a city. Nairobi is a city of about 4 million people, you know. So I was a city boy. I was all exposed to American culture. We watched American shows Fresh Breeze of Bel-Air and so forth. We had a weekend movie night that showed all these American films and all that. You know the movies, you know. So it was kind of a mass in the American culture, without even knowing. And then you came to Macomb Where's the Fresh Prince? I mean, I'm sitting in the train, you know. And we get here and then I'm like, seeing all this farmland, you know, I'm like, wow, this is different, this is not. I know I expected the concrete Chicago. Well, let me tell you my experience. This is funny. So I came in the winter for the winter semester. So I get out of Chicago. I was poorly dressed. Get out of the flight Going outside. I was poorly dressed. Get out of the flight Going outside. You know, one of these wintery days when the sun is pretty cold outside, yeah, and I was not prepared for it.
Speaker 1:Have you ever felt anything like that before? No, I had not.
Speaker 2:So I had on like a sweater of some sort. This is not nothing.
Speaker 1:This is coat weather and you're out there in a fleece I know like a fleece.
Speaker 2:So yeah, so, and then the sliding was open and this cold air, this hit me. Oh my goodness. I was like doing u-turn a u-turn real quick back inside to the gift shop. Yeah, I didn't even have money for gift shop, so I had to dig in my bag and get several layers of clothes.
Speaker 1:You know, oh, man, I know so you got like a cool runnings where that guy just empties his bag and he just puts on all of his clothes.
Speaker 2:That's exactly what. I did everything I could, and then I'm like, oh my goodness, this is not good. You know, get um. I asked folks for the taxi to you know the train station because I patrick already told me okay, okay, you got to go. He didn't come pick me up. I don't know why he didn't.
Speaker 1:That would have been nice.
Speaker 2:I know, yeah, so I'm trying to find my way. I don't know currency exchange. I only had like about $200. My mom gave me $200. And I didn't know I come here, I didn't know the food, I mean, everything was strange. So I get on a taxi. I don't know what. They gave me the wrong change or whatever because I pretty much gave a $100 bill and he just gave me back. Maybe I didn't know how much change he gave me back.
Speaker 2:I get out of the union station and I'm hungry, I just need to get something. And I go to Subway, subway, I'm like what is this stuff? I don't know. And then he asked me uh, I just gave her 20 bucks and I don't know. I don't even think I got my change back. You know, yeah, I just slept and she gave me a sandwich and I just told her everything and it was. It was so, uh, spicy. What year was this? This was was in 96. 96. Okay, yeah, it was so spicy. I think I picked the spiciest sandwich ever at all, everything. And, oh boy, I could not finish it and I was really hungry. I ate a little bit.
Speaker 1:I'm like, oh, I can't do it. You found your way to the train station.
Speaker 2:I know and so yeah, and I'm waiting. I'm like, okay, gotta get my comb, so I'm waiting. Look at the tray. I'm new, everything is new, the smell is new, all these.
Speaker 1:I can imagine like you're excited. You're finally here, yes, and all of a sudden you get hit with this frozen tundra.
Speaker 2:I know right. And all this food is spicy yeah.
Speaker 2:You know, yeah, and you know, when a new place smells, it's also weird. You're like, you know, it doesn't smell like home, it smells like spicy food. I don't understand. I couldn't understand what Americans are saying, you know, because in Kenya, yeah, we talk English, we talk more like a British, which I have an accent, a British kind of English, you know. But Americans was hard to understand. So I was like, okay, what did you say? Pardon me? Well, uh, americans was hard to understand. So I was like, okay, what'd you say? Uh, pardon me? Well, you know, it was hard. Then, you know, yeah, so I was kind of lost, you know. But I found my way to macon with the train and then my partner came to pick me up.
Speaker 2:What was that like?
Speaker 1:the train ride from chicago to macon.
Speaker 2:It took forever I thought, uh, I I probably thought you were lost. I thought I was lost, you're right, because every time I was asking because I started this, I think it was a college professor and he assured me he was going to Macomb but every time I would ask you know, are we there yet? He's like no, no, no, we've got a long way to go you know, but I'm like, are we there yet?
Speaker 2:But I'm like, are we there yet? I'm like, man, it's light, it's getting dark, so then you don't see anything out of the train. I'm like, are they going to say when I get there, I made it here. And then I remember I go here. Patrick came, picked me up with his truck, took me out where I was going to stay and he was happy to see me, but I wish you would pick me up at the airport, you know, yeah.
Speaker 1:And so how long did you study?
Speaker 2:at Western here then. So I studied at Western for four years, okay, yeah, four years. I was going with the pre-med track, okay, and I decided to switch to do physical therapy. You know, I met my wife, my now wife.
Speaker 1:We've been married for 25 years and she's, you think, become a small. You said she's from Bowen.
Speaker 2:She's from Bowen, oh wow, she's from Bowen and I just I was fresh here and I just met her and she changed my life. When I met her, you know, I didn't know this how you date an American guy? I didn't know I was she, she was controlling all that. I didn't know, I was just along for the ride.
Speaker 2:I was just along for the ride. You know, and I remember when we started because we met there we went to. There was a regulator. There's a club called the Regulator or a bar here on Jackson Street. So my buddies and I were in college and you know we got kicked out by the bouncer because one of us didn't have an ID. Instead of going home and getting our ID in our apartment, we just decided to pass back the ID. Yeah, that usually doesn't work, it doesn't. The boss says I was like you got to go, you got to get out of here. So we're like, ah, let's just go to Change of Pays. They know us there, they don't even count us there, you know. So we go there.
Speaker 2:And my wife saw us getting kicked out and she was with a group of friends and they're like, oh, those are my wife, you know. Okay, and um, and then now you know we met and she was a u of I, she was just for spring break here back in mccobb, oh yeah, and then she went. She told me she lives in west one. No career.
Speaker 1:westport is, you know, uh because you can't, you can't blink in this west point and remember no cell phones back then too.
Speaker 2:No, yeah, nobody had a cell phone, you just had a home phone, you know. So, right, yeah, if you're privileged enough, you had a cell phone. I think my wife had a cell phone because she would drive from uh west point to u of I, champaign. But her cell phone was big, it was the size of a vhs tape or whatever. You know, it was huge, humongous, but anyway. So she went and I called. She gave me a home number, her mom's number, their house. I called and the mom picked up. Man, I froze.
Speaker 2:I didn't know what to say. I was going to hang up right away, but I don't know where the courage came from. This is Richard. This is Taylor. He called me when she gets back and she was a nice lady, you know. And she was nice lady, she wasn't. She literally said she was nice and she's like, yeah, I'll tell her, you know. And I was like, oh, I'm never gonna hear what was.
Speaker 1:What was that like, getting to know that family out in the middle of nowhere?
Speaker 2:it's uh guns yeah, guys, farming, so farming, I know so. So here, you know, this black kid from kenya, you know, okay, and this is a white, blonde girl, you know, you know dad's a farmer, uh, mom's uh, you know she's a banker. She, you know, worked for the bank and and and here's this, you know, introducing this black kid, and I'm I'm like I don't know, I was scared more for that relationship than she was. She was comfortable taking me to a party, but I was really scared, you know, because I like, oh man, you know, I, I don't know, you know this is not, you know, but it was. The family was very accepting, the mom was accepting very nice, from the shit that you know does, actually they're like I don't know I don't know, you know, are you some prince that?
Speaker 1:is trying to, like, hide my bank. Remember those scams? No, we first got emails. I'm a I'm a Nigerian prince.
Speaker 2:So I need you to save my funds. I know he was probably he had my Nigerian prince. Yeah, it was good, but you know, it was just kind of like Hmm, I don't know I'm going. Yeah, it was good, but you know it was just kind of like I don't know.
Speaker 2:I'm gonna give you a little time just see how you yeah, you're gonna feel this, yeah, and and my mother-in-law was was nice and and then my, my wife, has three sisters, you know, and you know what sisters you know, and she's a younger one. You know they're very protective, you know, especially the, especially the older sister, and the middle sister was too. You know she did a whole background on me, even though I was going through a pastor test, uh, but you know, it's because you're talking about this white family.
Speaker 2:There's this black guy who's coming in, uh, and this black guy is not only american, he's from africa, you know, and it's like these two was mashing up. You know, rural America, white African Africa, you know City boy City.
Speaker 2:And I'm like, wow, you know, yeah, so that was I mean, but it went well. I've got to say I have very good in-laws. They're all good. Some of them took them a while to know me and you know figure out who I was, and some of them were like you know whatever, you know, yeah, and the dad was fine, the mom was fine and you know the middle sister was fine. So that's you know. And you know 20, actually 20, yeah, 25 years married 25, known each other for 27 or so something like that.
Speaker 1:So it's been, it's been a. So did you end up? Did you end up back in Kenya after that, or did you just stay?
Speaker 2:So so came here, I finished my education and I told you back to my education here. So I was in the pre-med track and I decided to talk to my because I just met my wife, you know, I think that's where we're going. So we started to stay together, you know, when she was dying in college. She graduated from, you know, and so we started living together. I was still finishing my college year and so I decided I was going to, I'd finish and I tried to figure out what to do, whether to go to med school or whatever you know. Then I decided, you know, talk to my advisor before I'd finished. Like you know, do physical therapy. It's more, it's better, it's a doctorate program, and that's how I got to PT and applied to PT school, got to University of Michigan and I loved it there.
Speaker 2:Laura was still staying here and I went there. So I was michigan for three years, you know. Okay, but I would commute back home every two weeks, you know, and come and see my family. But then, you know, we had a son, you know. So life is going on, you have children are coming up, you know. Yeah, uh, it was a hard time, you know, because I'm away and she's here. She's working in western and every two weeks I'd come back, you know, and I tried to get my education done, you know, uh, but everything went well, graduated and I came back here and you started working, because I know you've worked at the hospital.
Speaker 1:you've worked at a couple different places.
Speaker 2:Yes, I know I worked when I was still going through PT school at the University of Michigan. The hospital was actually trying to get me to come back and work for them because I had done some observation hours with them and then they took me on as an aide. So I was like a PT aide, you know, okay, and so I would help other physical therapists who were there. And you know that relationship developed and you know this is all who I was. I was working out, I was good with patients, good with people, I was good with the staff, you know. And there was a lady called Sandy Whitmer. She was an assistant director. She really wanted me to come back. Sandy Whitmer, you're a good lady. So she was the one championing for me to come here. I was thinking when I graduate, I'm not going to even stay here, I'm going to go to Texas. And I was ready to go to Texas, texas. And I was ready to go to Texas. But my wife was still like, nah, my wife does not like change. You know she's like, no, let's stay here. But Sunday with me, I got me to get back to MDH. I paid my college and my education and I worked for them for 10 years. There you go, uh hit the 10, 10 year mark.
Speaker 2:I was kind of tired and you know, I know I I was kind of burnt out and I was looking for something more challenging, something. I think I just come to an end of a line. I'm like I was just looking for something different to do, you know right. So I stopped and I I worked in, uh, canton, I was a prn, so I'd walk there, you know, two or three times a week, sometimes once a week. You know, while I'm trying to figure it out, I was thinking about just doing a consultation kind of business, where I see one or two patients a week, just walk one-on-one with them. So, and when I started looking at this place, I was looking more of an office setting, you know.
Speaker 2:But this joint was open, you know, and I'm like, okay, this would work. It's bigger than what I wanted because I was thinking about a cubicle. This is to work with the patient one-on-one, you know, and it opened up and I I go to the place, not knowing if, if I'm going to need the whole space. I think I only had like two pieces of equipment and a table, you know, one of those massage tables, and and and and and and and. Not fortunate, not unfortunate, fortunately, it depends on how you look at it.
Speaker 2:I started having more interest in people who knew that I was here, but some of them I'd worked with them at the hospital and they wanted to come and see me as a, to have me as a therapist, you know, and they wanted to come and see me to have me as a therapist, you know. So I was open only once a week here. Then I'd go to Canton and do two to three days there and then I'd see patients here and then they were like, why can't you do two days a week here? And then I started doing two days a week and then my schedule got full and then I was like, okay, I have to do more days here. And then I just you just explored it and became more busy and hard to commit to being here.
Speaker 1:And how long have you been doing age rehab here at uh on Jackson street? On Jackson street.
Speaker 2:Uh, we've been here about five years. Right now, this is the fifth finishing. The fifth year is going to be March. Uh, yeah, much, much faster.
Speaker 1:Yeah, five years, it doesn't look that long, I mean it's, it's actually more cluttered than it was when I was here two years ago, because I remember I got done with, I got done with surgery and they said that okay, well, you're cleared for physical therapy. And so you do the thing where you call the uh, you call the? Um insurance company and you ask them you know okay where can.
Speaker 1:I go. Yes, you know where the deductible is not going to turn me upside down, I know right. And uh, they mentioned one place which in town with I I won't say who they are, but uh, let's just say that when covid was going on, it was not a good place to be. I know so. And there's like well, there's uh, there's this, uh, victor, lead away. Is that how you say? Yeah, leader, yeah lead every.
Speaker 2:Yeah. My wife says lead away, I'm in africa, african way. I said lead, I your. But my wife would say lead away, okay, little way so.
Speaker 1:So it's like there's this victor little way. I was like who the hell is this guy? And so I call you up and of course you're talking like you are right now and I'm I don't know too many kenyan people, so this ought to be interesting. I come in here. It was just, it was welcoming, it was fun. We, we actually caught up from time to time, yes, and I remember that it was a lot of fun because I'd come in here and I was actually really down. Um, you know, I had just been winning everything in archery for the last couple of years oh wow, yeah and like there's your shoulder shot, you know you need a new one.
Speaker 1:I was like, okay, well, I'm probably never going to shoot this well again. And so, um, coming back here, you know you always kept me like, hey, we're going to get you there, it's going to be fine. We're, you know, stay on top of it, do your exercises at home, come up here when you can and we'll get through it. And it works. So You're doing good, you're back at it Now. I'm back at it Kind of Not as much as I used to be, but as much as I need to be, considering kids and work, hello kids, and work and fashion.
Speaker 1:Amen to Christmas.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and we've gone really busy and you know we just recently acquired the property.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you're about to expand the old Golden Corral down here. The old Golden Corral.
Speaker 2:You know, somebody asked me. One of the doctors is a good friend of mine. You know a good doctor, he's a friend of mine, but he was also my patient here not too long ago. He was like oh, are we going to be having steak there too? The old Golden Corral.
Speaker 2:Go to a buffet I'm like, I don't think so. So you're gonna get a soft survive scream up in there, right, that'd be awesome, that'd be good, right. So yeah, but we expired it because we've gone small and, uh, we got more equipment, uh, but we cannot feed all the equipment no, you've outgrown this place, we've really outgrown the space and, uh, with the services we provide, we got our silver sneakers who come in, yeah, and they just come exercise.
Speaker 2:So we got those people who just come in and exercise. And then we got our patient population. That definitely we take care of. But, yeah, we've grown smaller so we need to expand and get more equipment spread out and you know, so we can accommodate the community, you know Okay.
Speaker 1:Are you doing that on your own? Are you bringing in any more PTs?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so right now on staff we have three exercise specialists, you know, and we have an intern too, so let's say four. So they're helping a lot. You know I'm this only physical therapist here, but everything they do, you know I'm the one supervising, I'm the one you know prescribing, delegating and all that you know. So they're there just to make sure the patient yeah, because you're the kind of guy that wants to you want to do it all.
Speaker 1:Yes, absolutely Like you want to be one-on-one with everybody. You want to coach everybody through everything. And at one-on-one with everybody, you want to coach everybody through everything. At a certain point, when you've grown to where you're at, like, you just can't do it. Yeah, just do it all.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, we'll have another therapy staff. We'll have a massage therapy staff because it's big enough to have that. You know, sure, we'll have more equipment. We'll have a track that will go around the place. You know People really want that, you know, and with the clientele that we see or the patient that we see, that that will be very beneficial. Right, think about adding a hyperbaric chamber, you know, oh, really, yeah, so, uh, that's some, uh, we also think about having because it's big enough to have these things, you know hyperbaric chamber and a cryotherapy chamber. You know, right, so those are things that you know. A hyperbaric chamber and a cryotherapy chamber, you know, right, so those are things that you know. Uh, uh, you know that can help a lot of folks here, you know, depending on you know what you have going on in your life. You know what medical issue you have. You know so. And uh, uh, and then definitely, uh, the vast, you know range of equipment. You know equipment that will fit every person who comes to see us. Yeah, yes, that's awesome.
Speaker 1:Yeah, when are you looking at moving in over there?
Speaker 2:So everybody's actually excited about that and I begin that question a lot. The fasting patients come in. They're like when are we?
Speaker 1:moving in.
Speaker 2:Everybody's pumping elbows when the hell are we getting out of here? When are we getting out of here? You know, yeah, so have very good contractors working and they're they're, they're professionals, which is good. They're doing a good job, they're taking their time, doing a good job. You know, so the guy who, excellent, did an immaculate job, uh, so I don't want to rush him. So, um, the goal I'm looking at, hopefully end of march, move in, because what's left right now? I'm giving it about about three or four weeks to be done so and when it's ready within that time, the new equipment will go in fast. And then these are the equipment. We'll pick up what we can and what we don't need, or just we get rid of okay, yes, oh, so you've got new equipment.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we do have new equipment.
Speaker 2:Okay, we just get it when ready to put it in there.
Speaker 1:So just trying to decide what you're going to keep from here, yes, or what you don't want to carry, I guess yeah what I don't want to carry you there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we'll just uh find a way to get rid of it.
Speaker 1:Yes, awesome yes, so people can find age rehab on. I know you've got an instagram and I know you've got a facebook and I presume you got a website.
Speaker 2:I do have a website. Yeah, wwwagerehabcom. Uh, I'm on facebook. Uh just find age rehab on facebook. Uh, instagram, same thing.
Speaker 1:You can give us a call when you're not on vacation. I love you. You work hard, you work hard. I'll give you that. But you like your vacations, man. I do. I do like to travel.
Speaker 2:I do like to travel. Yeah, oh, you can. Just, you know, you can Google Age Rehab in Macomb, It'll come up, It'll point you here and we provide a lot of services. Whether you have an injury you're not sure about and you're like I don't know, I had my shoulder, I'm not sure about it, Maybe you can come we can do a screen analysis, we can prescribe some exercise for you and if you need follow-up therapy, we can send, you know, see a doctor and say, hey, this guy, I think, needs therapy. You know. So we do those screen analysis, whether you know if it's your grandpa, your grandma, your mother, your father who falls all the time. You know. So we do gait, balance and fall assessments, you know, here to help that population. You know, here, to help that population. You know we do post, pre and post operation therapy here. Neurological therapy we do here, you know. So those are some of the services we provide, you know.
Speaker 1:And it was nice to see that demographic.
Speaker 2:when I was here, you'd see like a high school kid struggling with a knee or an ankle injury.
Speaker 1:And then you'd see a dozen a high school kid struggling with a knee or a yes or an ankle injury. And then you'd see a dozen you know, probably 60 plus old folks and I'm just on the exercise. Absolutely, and it's the same thing, you know.
Speaker 2:so we have from the very young to very old, and I didn't know most of the older folks who loved come in the morning and then you go there. It starts changing when it gets in the afternoon you see more the working class and the younger folks. Maybe they come from school or work or whatever you know. So, yeah, so the demographic is pretty good here, you know, and we love our patients. They do love us too, right?
Speaker 1:Yes, awesome. No, it's a cool story about how you got here and how you ended up staying here. Yeah.
Speaker 2:It's been. And one thing I should mention my life has not been easy. My transition has not been easy. I remember just the few months before I met my wife. You know, right, I got a job at a factory zetter. Okay, on the other side, you know, and I'm with my friend Gilbert. He's actually, he works, he got his PhD in mathematics and works for Glaxo and Smith somewhere on the East Coast. You know, he's a big executive there. So we would ride our bikes, you know, in the snow, you know it's winter, we're riding our bikes to go to work, you know. And then we didn't have a car, you know. And then we would walk all the way because we lived right where. You know where International Sandwich Shop is. Yeah, you were right there on campus?
Speaker 1:Yes, yeah.
Speaker 2:Right above it they had apartments. They had the worst apartments ever with the roaches, but they were the cheapest too, so that's what we could afford. You know, Right right. So they had a lot of roaches in there, but it was cheap, it Right right? So they had a lot of roaches in there, but it was cheap.
Speaker 1:I think I see a restaurant.
Speaker 2:Okay, no, the restaurant, domino's was down there, you know. Yeah, so we would walk with Gil, but from there all the way to Aldi, just to get a you know a thing of salsa.
Speaker 1:I didn't know any better, you know yeah.
Speaker 2:But we're also students and young and you know.
Speaker 1:I just tried to go through school and live that well.
Speaker 2:Not only you, but uh most of your brothers ended up here too, right, yes, so, um, so I am one of four, all of us, you know. So I have three brothers here and I'm the one who, uh, helped them come here, you know, because the education opportunities are unmatched in the us than anywhere else in the world, and the potential here is there, you know, if you do it the right way, you know, and that's what we did, you know. So I applied for my brother's to come to college here. They got their visas, they get to school here, they got their undergrad degrees here and then they moved somewhere to get their graduate education, you know, and all of them are doing relatively good. I have two of them in Kansas and I have one in Macomb.
Speaker 1:So did you actually educate them on the things that you had to learn the hard way, or did you just sit back and laugh?
Speaker 2:No, so sometimes you just got to let them learn. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So when it came, you know we were leaving all guys to go to college. We used to live on the other side of town, a liquid it came. You know we were living all guys you go to college, this big. We used to live on the other side of town, a liquid drive there, you know, big apartment, just we didn't have beds, we just mattress on the floor. That's why I slept.
Speaker 1:College, that's college.
Speaker 2:The person who made me get a bed. I'm like I'm good here this is fine, but anyway.
Speaker 2:So my brothers the two who came last, you know, so we picked them up at the airport, came here, you know, had them set up with their mattress on the floor and, you know, bedding and all that. We told them, hey, you know, this country has bills, you know. So we had a black or a board with columns, electricity divided by, you know. So they didn't know that. We set them up with jobs on campus, you know, and they started calling their girlfriends in Kenya, you know. Again, no cell phones back there, so you got to do the landline and ka-ching. So the bill comes at the end of the month. So we all, these six guys sitting down trying to add up who called- they go?
Speaker 1:Were they ready to go back to Kenya at that point?
Speaker 2:I talked to my Ken's girlfriend. This cost me like a hundred and something dollars. I'm like, yeah, you should know better, you got to cut mom off sooner. So, yeah, things are done. They land the hard way, you know, uh, uh, you know, we have to teach them out. You know, right, driving on their. You know, uh, uh, you know we had to teach them out. You know, right, driving on their. You know the side that the us, you know, drive their cars. You know, because in kenya drive the opposite side.
Speaker 1:Oh, like uh, yes, much like england.
Speaker 2:Yeah, more like british you know, uh, so the things that you just had to let it play out and we would laugh if they made a mistake.
Speaker 2:You know you know, my brother one time came and bought beef from Aldi I think that's where we were shopping and you know, when you buy meat there's that pepper in the bag but he didn't take a bite. The socks, all the blood and stuff. He just kind of put it in and cooked. So we came and we're like Max, what you do, man, you cooked all the people. So, yeah, there are all those things, and there are endless things that we just make us laugh and think, man, we just didn't know much, you know, but we were innocent, we were hardworking and you know we go, we've got the best experiences, you know. Yeah, and now we children who don't, they can't even relate to their life.
Speaker 1:You know, I tell my kids what I went through whatever that's, just have you taken your kids back to Kenya? I have.
Speaker 2:We were actually planning on going at the end of this year, god willing. But they were there. My oldest son is 20. He's going to be 21 in a few days now, and my middle son is 15 and my daughter, she is 13. But we're planning on going at the end of this year, if everything goes well, and my in-laws are going to be there too.
Speaker 1:Oh, really that's cool.
Speaker 2:Have they been at all?
Speaker 1:They've been there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, oh, they have been. My mother-in-law has been there, my sister-in-law has been there. So we were there in 2013, 2013, crossing over 2014. And they loved it. You know it's too bad that we can't go again, but because it costs a lot of money. You know, yeah, yeah, because going and you know you're a tourist, you know you're paying tourist fees and everything you know. I figured an old travel guy would know his way around all that. No, I do, it's only that. So you know, like when you travel there, like you and me can go, you know, but it's like they know you're not, you know you're not local. They'd be like, oh, you're a white dude.
Speaker 1:You know.
Speaker 2:So your fee is kind of discriminatory. I'm like what the heck is this? You know, so you can pay maybe, uh, 30 dollars to get in a game reserve and I'll pay like five bucks, you know, because I'm absolutely mean local, you know, like you know. But if they know I'm american, I'm paying that 30 bucks too, right? So when you go, I tell my wife and my in-laws, don't say anything, just keep quiet. I'm just telling them you're Kenyan, you're from here, so I'll be the one talking Swahili, which they speak Swahili there, you know, sure. So and then I just pay. And sometimes they look at me like I don't think this uh, something done that I'll just give him a look.
Speaker 1:I'm like man, come on man more man this don't look like the guy that was lost on the train.
Speaker 2:I think he's trained up, yeah some of them will let me go. Some of them will be like I don't think so, so I'll have to pay the full price. You know right, yeah, so, yeah, well, that's cool, yeah, so we plan on going there the last time 2013, 2014 yeah, that's been almost 10 years ago, you know so, when we had a nice experience, uh, we did the whole uh safari, which you need to do that with your family. Yeah, and if you want to go, let me know. Okay, I'll hook you up. You know, I'll prepare a lot of place to stay.
Speaker 1:You get out everything, I'll let you negotiate, I will negotiate, yeah.
Speaker 2:Uh, but it's something that I will definitely advocate for anybody, anybody. It doesn't matter your background, it doesn't matter your race. You need to make time and go see Africa. I think there's that experience you get when you're there Personally that I cannot convey. You can get some of it, but you cannot get 100% of it, you know.
Speaker 1:My wife's best friend from high school. She had a passing away of breast cancer a few years back, but she did, I want to say, a mission of some sort. She went to Botswana for a while and when she came back it's like she never left the place. She just loved it there. She wanted to go back terribly and it hung with her for a long time. She just wanted to go back, yeah and I'll tell you one.
Speaker 2:Uh, we have a lot of americans living in kenya right now. A lot, a lot more who go on the state.
Speaker 1:Well, that goes back to the dollar. There's money there and that's what I'm thinking.
Speaker 2:You know, if I retire, why would I retire here when my dollar is gonna to make me live way better?
Speaker 1:You're going to live wealthy back there, I'll be wealthy.
Speaker 2:I have more spending power there. $30 will take me a whole month there. But we got a lot of foreigners Americans, europeans, australians, whatever some Asians are coming in, so they're buying property. It's easy to buy property there as a foreigner and they're building houses. The last time I went, which was a few weeks ago, I met a guy from Georgia.
Speaker 1:Back to the vacations. Yes, I know right.
Speaker 2:I met a guy from Georgia In September last year. I met a guy from Vandalia, missouri, not too far, and I'm like what the heck are you doing here? He's like, well, I came and I just loved it, the weather is good, I'm staying here. So he's an IT guy, so he can work from home.
Speaker 1:Oh, there you go.
Speaker 2:He's like, yeah, I'm not going back. He's like I'm staying here. So, yeah, but you know, things have changed. A lot of African countries are coming out from that poverty that they had for years, you know. So they're coming to these middle-class countries, you know, or higher-end developing countries, or lower-end developed countries, higher-end developing countries, sure. So everything you can get here, you can get there, you know. So, yes, it's, it's pretty amazing. Infrastructure is good, uh, economies are doing well, you know, uh, uh, so, yeah, it's some, some place that it's gonna be the new big thing.
Speaker 1:It's actually a big thing that'd be the new abu dhabi or something, yeah because america is already saturated. You know Well, did you see that picture? It was floating around Facebook for a while, but Abu Dhabi in 1994.
Speaker 2:I know Abu.
Speaker 1:Dhabi 2024. It almost looks like the old pictures of Vegas when they put in the strip after Nevada passed gambling. They put in the strip and it's just like one piece of road with a couple casinos and now it's off the map. It's the same kind of concept.
Speaker 2:I saw that and I could not believe it and then. But the worrisome thing is, you know, china is making big footprints in Africa, everywhere, everywhere, they're everywhere.
Speaker 1:It's scary.
Speaker 2:Last time I went, I um, I saw a lot of actually a year ago and I went I was like wait, like this, this uh lady from china just walking, this uh in the streets, in the like inner streets. No, just you know, I'm like what the heck you should do just walking like that, like yeah, and then my brother's like oh, yeah, we got a lot of them.
Speaker 1:Just wander down the streets, you know.
Speaker 2:So what's happening with the Chinese folks? You know most of them are brought in by China because a lot of African governments have found it easier to get loans from China. Okay, so China is giving them loans, but when China does that, it brings in their manpower to make sure that the projects are being managed by their own. So they bring all these folks to work and run whatever they're doing, the companies. But most of them don't go back. They're like okay, well then that was I'm not going back to that, you know.
Speaker 1:China, not freedom there.
Speaker 2:Elbow to elbow. No, so a lot of them. They, you know they marry local guys and they just stay and start businesses, you know. So there's a big Chinese footprint, it's, it's and it's all of africa and all over everywhere. You know it's worrisome, it's uh, it could be good, it could be bad, you know it's just like it is here.
Speaker 1:I know, that's the case here.
Speaker 2:So it depends on how you look at it. You know, it's just a hot dog's a little cheaper I know right yeah, so yeah, but that does. That was a big shocker for me when I went. That was a big shock, but I was like oh, wow, okay yeah, yeah, it sounds like it's coming around though, yeah, it's got, yeah, but, and then they pull on.
Speaker 2:They're pulling resources from africa. Of course they're gonna feed their nation. You know it's 1.5 billion or 1.4 billion people there, you know. So that's so that's a lot of people, yes, um, the worrisome thing is, uh, when they find projects, uh the contract they sign with countries, they can take the project if you default. So we've had countries in Africa like I think it was Zambia that they defaulted on loans for an airport that China had built and China took it from them. So they're like sorry, dude, you defaulted, it's ours now, it's ours now. And if you're running an international airport in a country, in a foreign country, you can take out anything, bring in anything. Nobody's going to ask you what you're taking in.
Speaker 1:I didn't think about it that way, but yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so that's it. We have a port. There's a country in East Asia I think it's Nepal, or one of the smaller Asian countries defaulted on a loan for the port. They were building a port right on the Indian Ocean or whatever ocean is there, you know, yeah, and the Chinese government took it from them, you know, so. They can import and export anything, right, you know so, yeah. So that's the bad thing about those loans, you know, they come with a lot of attachments to them. Sure, yeah, but that's the world we're living in right now. Yes, it is, yes.
Speaker 1:Well, I want to thank you for your time. I appreciate coming. I always enjoy running into you in town football games. I know right.
Speaker 2:Sports corner ball games.
Speaker 1:I know, right, sports corner. Uh, yes, um, but yeah, definitely, get on social media. Go facebook, go to uh instagram, check out age rehab. Age rehab in macomb. Victor's here, he, he's not going anywhere. I'm here, not I'm here.
Speaker 2:Well, for a while. I'm here for the longest while for the longest while.
Speaker 1:Yes, so your kids are grown and married and you're probably headed back to Kenya to live like a king. I know I would go live like a king All right, yes. Thanks for your time man.
Speaker 2:Thank you, Travis, I appreciate your time.
Speaker 1:No problem, yep, you're welcome.
