At the same time, I can't help but admire the amazing foundation that has been laid. It made me sad to think of how far we have to go in a country like Congo. But despite some hard life experience, you tend to express a lot of optimism. I am genuinely optimistic and positive and forward-looking, but on some level, I don't really have a choice. If the alternative is what is often called Afro-pessimism, the idea that Africa is this basket case that will never go anywhere, that doesn't do much for me.
Optimism is a survival mechanism, much the way humor is.
There are many more like me. If it means being multilingual or being familiar with multiple cultures and knowing something about how people from different places interact, people will be well served to learn all of that. You have a jump on things if that was your experience.