A Tale of Royal Politics, Cultural Exchange, and Strategic Gifting The High-Stakes Meeting Picture walking into a situation where the last person who came before you got robbed. That's exactly what I was facing when I went to meet Almami, the ruler of Bondou. Major Houghton's fate was hanging over my head like a storm cloud. Talk about pressure! The Royal Security System Imagine the most exclusive club you've ever been to, then multiply that by royal security. Almami's palace was a whole citadel surrounded by mud walls, with a maze of passages that would make a modern security consultant proud. Guards with muskets? Check. Multiple checkpoints? Double check. Having to take off your shoes and announce yourself properly? Triple check. The Diplomatic Dance Here's where it gets interesting. I'm trying to explain to Almami that I'm just a traveler interested in his country, and he's looking at me like I just told him I'm from Mars. In his world, every white person was a trader – the concept of travel for curiosity's sake was completely foreign to him. The Great Umbrella Show Remember the first time you saw someone use an iPad? That was Almami with my umbrella. This powerful king turned into an excited kid, opening and closing it repeatedly while his attendants watched in amazement. Sometimes the simplest things create the strongest connections! The Blue Coat Saga Just when I thought things were going well, Almami dropped the diplomatic equivalent of "Hey, nice jacket... can I have it?" Pro tip: When a king "requests" your coat in his own kingdom, it's not really a request. There goes my only good coat! But hey, he promised to tell everyone about my "generosity" – 18th-century influencer marketing at its finest! The Royal Healthcare Visit The next day brought a plot twist – the king wanted to try out Western medicine. But when I pulled out my lancet for bloodletting, suddenly he felt "much better." Funny how that works, right? Meeting the Queens Now this is where the story gets really interesting. The king's women had their own court, and let me tell you, they were the original reality TV stars:

Welcome to the launch of our brand-new storytelling series: "Lessons from the First Voyages!" 🌍📚 In this series, we dive into real stories from the early explorers who first documented their travels across Africa — but with a twist:🔄 We remix their original journals into modern, relatable conversations packed with life lessons you can actually use. ✨ Why this series matters: - Learn how culture, power, and resilience shaped history. - Find surprising connections to today’s world — from politics to social media! - Laugh, reflect, and grow through real historical encounters. Our first storyteller: Mungo Park, the Scottish explorer who traveled deep into West Africa in the late 18th century. 👑 First story drops today:"The Art of the Deal: Meeting Almami of Bondou"➡️ A tale of high-stakes diplomacy, cultural misunderstandings, savage royal roasts, and... an umbrella that blew minds. Get ready to time-travel — and pick up timeless skills along the way. 🚀 Drop a 🌍 in the comments if you are ready to explore!

Here, we dive deep into the first books written about and by Africans — and remix them into real, relatable lessons for today. Weekly Story Drops + Podcast Conversations Reflections on Freedom, Identity, Resilience Memes, Challenges, and Gen Z-style Storytelling Deep Real Talk on Culture, Colonization, and Growth 🚀 First Step: Introduce yourself! 🚀Your favorite African story (or explorer) if you know one 🚀Why you are excited about this 🚀A fun fact about your roots!