Fairmont Toastmasters Club

[Kristen Laas]

Kristen Laas: IceBreaker Speech "Mzungu" (Mar 2, 2005)

Introduction:
One of Kristen's mottos in life is, 'If you're going to have regrets in life, regret what you didn't do, not what you did do'. She has no regrets about living in Whistler for five years, about learning to ride (and crash) a motorcycle, about daring to ski off her first twenty-five foot cornice, or about quitting her job to travel through Africa for two and a half months. The only regret Kristen has is that there is so much more to do that she hasn't done....yet."

Speech Script:

People don’t ask, “Who are you?” when they first meet you.

People ask, “Where are you from?” I tell them I’m from Oshawa. What I want to say is I’m someone who’s moved twenty-five times in the past fifteen years, including four moves across Canada. I want to say I’m someone who’s acquired thirty-eight passport stamps while travelling through fifteen countries in the past five years. I want to say I feel like I’m from everywhere, yet I belong nowhere.

People ask, “What do you do for a living?” I tell them I work in marketing for Fairmont Hotels. What I want to say is that where I work has absolutely nothing to do with what I do for a living. In my heart, I’m an explorer and a student of life, who considers the world my classroom and the people I meet my teachers. This is my living.

But telling you where I’m from and where I work doesn’t tell you much about who I really am.

Up until one Tuesday in 2003, I’m not sure I would have been able to accurately answer the question of “who are you?”. I had long known who I wasn’t and where I didn’t belong, but I wasn’t entirely sure about who I was and where I did belong.

But on May 27, 2003, I discovered the answer to this question. As I stepped off the plane at Kilimanjaro International Airport, I finally figured out where I belonged. I became someone I hadn’t known how badly I wanted to be until that very moment.

I became a mzungu - a white person in Africa.

While I could talk passionately and endlessly about travelling 13,000 kms through Africa – about watching the sun rise over the Serengeti, about why one needs to take endless pictures of elephants, or even about the pros and cons of using a bush versus a hole in the ground….that’s not what this talk is about.

This talk is about three experiences I had that changed my life and made me vow to return to Africa.

The first experience happened in a remote mountain village in Tanzania.

We had just spent four timorous hours creeping up the side of a mountain on a single-track mud lane.
Upon our arrival in the village, we promptly engaged in a boisterous soccer match with the local children and cows, which ended only when the ball was accidentally kicked over the edge of the cliff. As we left the field, we were stopped by an older woman who spoke little English. She invited us up to her brand-new three-room mud hut, where we were showered with refreshments and made to feel completely at home by what seemed like the entire village. Although this lady, Bibiana, did not have much in the way of possessions, what she did have she offered to us freely and warmly.

As I sat on one of the three wooden stools she owned, I thought to myself, “Why is it that I had to go to the other side of the planet to be offered so much warmth and friendliness from people who, by our definition, have nothing?”

As I sat amongst new friends, I realized that I did not want my life to be defined by possessions and things. I wanted my life to be defined by experiences and memories, and by my belief that there are no strangers in this world, only friends I haven’t met yet.

The second experience occurred while I was standing on the edge of the salt pans in Namibia.

Picture yourself standing on what seems like the very edge of the earth. You slowly turn in a circle, hoping to see something…anything. But there is nothing to see but a pure blue sky above you and an ancient, dried-up, cracked earth below you, as far in every direction as you can see.

To stand in such vastness is a truly humbling experience, and it was impossible not to feel the power of the planet that lay beneath my feet. Standing on the edge of the earth made me realize how fascinating our planet is, and how much of our lives are spent simply getting through the day and just existing in this world, without fully living in it and appreciating it.

I realized that I don’t aspire to wake up every day and gaze in wonder at the urban jungle, nor do I aspire to follow the tried and known road that so many others follow every day, without even thinking about where that road is leading them or why they’re on it.

I aspire to gaze in wonder at everything around me that I haven’t seen yet. I aspire to keep myself open to the possibility of anything and everything, and I aspire to live on the road that’s unknown….wherever it may lead.

The third, and most memorable experience happened in B Section of the Maximum Security Prison on Robben Island.

I had just finished reading “Long Walk to Freedom”, the memoirs of Nelson Mandela.

And as I stood in front of Nelson Mandela’s cell where he was imprisoned for eighteen years, I thought long and hard about what he wrote about, what he believed in, and what he fought for – harmony, equality and freedom.

I thought about his beliefs and his ideals that he was prepared to die for, and I thought about how I had never really believed in anything that I was prepared to die for. I thought about how little I had truly been exposed to in the world, about how little hardship I ever had to face, and about how I had grown up with a safe and easy life in a country that I had taken for granted.

Perhaps it’s because I’ve grown up in such a safe and comfortable environment that I feel compelled to leave it.

Someone who I admire and respect, and whose opinion I hold in high regard, told me that they thought my desire to return to Africa was because I was running away.

Well, I guess if running away means finding a place in the world where one belongs, where one is happy and has peace in their soul, where one has a passion and a love for the people and for the country, and strives to convey that passion and love to others and hopefully open their souls to Africa, then yes, I guess I am running away.

But I would rather be running away with passion and purpose, than remain standing still for no reason.

Johnny Clegg, a favourite African singer of mine, wrote:

“Spirit is a story
Body is a book
I am the writer
Listening to my life song
Before it fades away”

My passport may tell me I belong to Canada, but my heart, my soul, and my life song tell me I belong to Africa.

I am a mzungu.

[Bill Li]

Strength:

Interesting opening sentence that captures the audience's attention. Use many numbers to illustrate your unique experiences.
The ending is memorable. I like the poem and the final statement.
The speech body is strong. You use three experiences to support your point "I want to become a mzugnu". Well organized, logic flow.
Each experience describes a scene very well. The followed conclusion is very thoughtful and touching my heart.
A good sense of humour
Excellent eye contact with each one in the meeting
Keep a good smile, control your nervousness well
The sentences are written beautifully.

Suggestion:
I feel your speech will touch me more if you add a few pause, and slow down a little bit when you make your points.

Congratulations! Well done!