Many people will tell you that the way to survives the last few weeks of term and exam season at university is by getting enough sleep, drinking lots of coffee and proper nutrition. I say thats a load of bollocks. That does not mean that the opposite is how to survive university, not sleeping, not drinking coffee and living off of pot noodle. The fact of the matter is the key to surviving the last few weeks of term is friendships and being sociable.
Last year a mate of mine said something when she was a bit drunk, at the time I thought it was quite logical, granted I was a bit drunk as well, but thinking about it now she had a valid point. To quote her, "Friends are like bras they hold each other up". I guess it makes sense but needs a bit of further clarification. Friendships are a bit like the relationship between bra's and boobs. A bra holds boobs up and in place to stop them from crashing to the ground because, the sad but unfortunate truth is," a woman's breasts are a journey the destination is her feet", to quote Sally from the BBC TV series, Coupling.
Friends so a similar thing they hold you up when your tired stressed, exhausted contemplating slamming your head against a wall or alcoholism. They provide humour to take your mind of the never ending mountains of school work. They remind each other that "everything will be alright and if it's not alright it's not the end". They do little things which make you realize how lucky you are at the end of the day. They make sure that you get enough sleep, and don't over dose on caffene.
The fact of the matter is friends, no matter wether they send you text messages from across the planet telling you that make your day that much better or providing bottomless hugs to being your hermit buddy on the 6th floor of the library are truly wonderful, just like bra's.
Friendships and bra's both stop you from reaching your inevatble journey. As I mentioned earlier, Bras stop your boobs form reaching the grounds, or slow the process down and friendships stop you from going completely insane which will happen to us all once we hit the age of 70.
So, sleep as littler or as much as you want, drink as much coffee as you want and east as unhealthly as you want because all you really need to get through university is a group of wonderful friends, where ever they may be.
Friday, 30 November 2012
Thursday, 22 November 2012
Hairy University Dominos: The Wisdom Bun and the Wisdom Beard
It is november, and the weather is currently shittier that the service on the district line...... ok, people who are not familiar with the service on the London Underground probably won't get that reference, but either way it gets dark at 4 o clock now and the sky is black and pelting it down.
In my primary school, we use to play this game where depending on the sorts of rain we would associate them with one of Gods moods or actions. For example, if its raining heavily for about 15 minutes or so, God was washing his hands. So in the context of the old primary school game, I'd say that got has lost all control of his bladder for the past week or two and should probably go see a specialist or invest in some adult nappies.
I suppose the weather being the shits is actually a good thing this time of year, as it means that I can't get distracted by sunshine forcing you to procrastinate. It's interesting to see how peoples aperance changes over the course of the term. In the beginning you can see that people are actually trying to look nice, hair is done all nicely, most of them have and a new hair cut or colour, the boys are clean shaven, and peoples outfits tend to be fairly well thought out this usually lasts for a long time and then the Wisdom Bun makes its evil apperance.
The Wisdom Bun, is a specimin that forms on the top of female university students. Wisdom Buns are mounted on the top of the subjects head which is basically, a messy bun which comes from students having little to no time to do their hair due to the amounts of school work slowly escalating throughout the course of the term. As soon as the first Wisdom Bun appears on the head of a poor student marks in the first Wisdom Bun that triggers a domino affect and it is just a matter of time before the remainder is doomed to be a victim on the Wisdom Bun. By the end of the semester, approximately 7/8 of the female university population will have a Wisdom Bun mounted on their head, and nestled in their scruffy clothes. I saw my first Wisdom Bun appear in about the forth week of school this year, but i guess that is expected to happen when you are taking a forth year history class.
I managed to hold out till week eight of the semester before my first Wisdom Bun mounted itself on my head. Then it dissappeared again until this past week and now its back and will remain until the 5th of December. The unfortunate thing about Wisdom Buns is, they rarely, provide any extra wisdom which is much appreciated by the female student during times of academic purgatory. Basically the wisdom bun is a pseudonym for, "I look like Shit and I don't care nor do I have time bun, or do I give a flying f&#k, I just want sleep, wine and a bubble bath bun". It's probably for the best that the Wisdom Bun operates under that aylias, for names sake at least.
Although male university students don't opt for the wisdom bun (ok well the ones that arn't dirty hippies) men can typically be seen sprouting Wisdom Beards, or Scholarly Scruff as some men arn't quite able to sprout Wisdom Beards . Just like the Wisdom Bun, the Wisdom Beard slowly creeps up on the university male through out the course of the semester. As soon as one man decides to opt for a Wisdom Beard or scholarly scruff due to lack of time or simply not caring, or onset of exams they realize that, many of the great scholars have had quite epic beards. So, by sprouting a beard they will have the wisdom of Charles Darwin, and their cranial capactiy will expand greatly, allowing them do dominate over assignments and exams. I am not a man so I cannot say if they do provide any extra wisdom or if they just provide extra warmth for the winter.
Some times the Wisdom beards go on hold for the the month of november ,during the joyus month of "movember" in which 90% of the good looking men, and university men in general decided they would like a sex embargo to be issued from their significant other. Perhaps the single ones instead want to see what they would like if they were to become a famous dicatator ( name 1 dictator that has not had a distinctive moustache) by growing something that looks like a slug met big foot on their lip.
Wisdom Buns, Wisdom Beards, and Scholarly Scruff, slowly start to decline as of the last day of classes. As more and more students become increasingly liberated from the academic deamons of the underworld, in which bibliographies, lab exams and chicago style essay formats reign supreme. The reverse domino affect of the Wisdom Buns, Wisdom Beards and Scholarly Scruff can be seen. Females hair returns to a multiple array of perfectly designed hairstyles, targeted to highlight their features, razors are reunited with the hands, neck and face of the university males.
I suppose a term at university is just a bunch of domino's or rounds of dominos..... well hairdos and facial hairdos anyway. They rise they fall the come back for more and will only dissapear once the student walks across the stage to get their $20,000 piece of paper. Unfortunately for me, thats still about 2.5 years away so it looks like I still have several rounds of Wisdom Bun dominos to experience...... better stock up on the hair ties in that case.
In my primary school, we use to play this game where depending on the sorts of rain we would associate them with one of Gods moods or actions. For example, if its raining heavily for about 15 minutes or so, God was washing his hands. So in the context of the old primary school game, I'd say that got has lost all control of his bladder for the past week or two and should probably go see a specialist or invest in some adult nappies.
I suppose the weather being the shits is actually a good thing this time of year, as it means that I can't get distracted by sunshine forcing you to procrastinate. It's interesting to see how peoples aperance changes over the course of the term. In the beginning you can see that people are actually trying to look nice, hair is done all nicely, most of them have and a new hair cut or colour, the boys are clean shaven, and peoples outfits tend to be fairly well thought out this usually lasts for a long time and then the Wisdom Bun makes its evil apperance.
The Wisdom Bun, is a specimin that forms on the top of female university students. Wisdom Buns are mounted on the top of the subjects head which is basically, a messy bun which comes from students having little to no time to do their hair due to the amounts of school work slowly escalating throughout the course of the term. As soon as the first Wisdom Bun appears on the head of a poor student marks in the first Wisdom Bun that triggers a domino affect and it is just a matter of time before the remainder is doomed to be a victim on the Wisdom Bun. By the end of the semester, approximately 7/8 of the female university population will have a Wisdom Bun mounted on their head, and nestled in their scruffy clothes. I saw my first Wisdom Bun appear in about the forth week of school this year, but i guess that is expected to happen when you are taking a forth year history class.
I managed to hold out till week eight of the semester before my first Wisdom Bun mounted itself on my head. Then it dissappeared again until this past week and now its back and will remain until the 5th of December. The unfortunate thing about Wisdom Buns is, they rarely, provide any extra wisdom which is much appreciated by the female student during times of academic purgatory. Basically the wisdom bun is a pseudonym for, "I look like Shit and I don't care nor do I have time bun, or do I give a flying f&#k, I just want sleep, wine and a bubble bath bun". It's probably for the best that the Wisdom Bun operates under that aylias, for names sake at least.
Although male university students don't opt for the wisdom bun (ok well the ones that arn't dirty hippies) men can typically be seen sprouting Wisdom Beards, or Scholarly Scruff as some men arn't quite able to sprout Wisdom Beards . Just like the Wisdom Bun, the Wisdom Beard slowly creeps up on the university male through out the course of the semester. As soon as one man decides to opt for a Wisdom Beard or scholarly scruff due to lack of time or simply not caring, or onset of exams they realize that, many of the great scholars have had quite epic beards. So, by sprouting a beard they will have the wisdom of Charles Darwin, and their cranial capactiy will expand greatly, allowing them do dominate over assignments and exams. I am not a man so I cannot say if they do provide any extra wisdom or if they just provide extra warmth for the winter.
Some times the Wisdom beards go on hold for the the month of november ,during the joyus month of "movember" in which 90% of the good looking men, and university men in general decided they would like a sex embargo to be issued from their significant other. Perhaps the single ones instead want to see what they would like if they were to become a famous dicatator ( name 1 dictator that has not had a distinctive moustache) by growing something that looks like a slug met big foot on their lip.
Wisdom Buns, Wisdom Beards, and Scholarly Scruff, slowly start to decline as of the last day of classes. As more and more students become increasingly liberated from the academic deamons of the underworld, in which bibliographies, lab exams and chicago style essay formats reign supreme. The reverse domino affect of the Wisdom Buns, Wisdom Beards and Scholarly Scruff can be seen. Females hair returns to a multiple array of perfectly designed hairstyles, targeted to highlight their features, razors are reunited with the hands, neck and face of the university males.
I suppose a term at university is just a bunch of domino's or rounds of dominos..... well hairdos and facial hairdos anyway. They rise they fall the come back for more and will only dissapear once the student walks across the stage to get their $20,000 piece of paper. Unfortunately for me, thats still about 2.5 years away so it looks like I still have several rounds of Wisdom Bun dominos to experience...... better stock up on the hair ties in that case.
Saturday, 3 November 2012
The Travellers Body
I was getting ready to go out clubbing for a mates birthday. As I was doing my make up last night and trying to tame the vivacious mane that is attached to my head which is uncontrollable in this cities climate, I looked at a scar I have on my arm in the mirror that I got from when I was travelling.
Normally, I wouldn't pay much attention to it but for some reason it , as I continued to get ready I started to pay more attention to the other battle wounds I have collected of the past twenty years of being a smelly traveller child. It made me think, that these blemishes on my skin aren't just the bits of discolouration and damaged tissues. They are pieces of your travels and your experience's that you carry with you for the rest of your life, a piece of your adventures that you never get rid of, even in your old age when your face looks like a prune and you have lost all control of your bladder.
As I have mentioned in a previous post, when one comes back from travelling it all feels a bit like a dream and it's hard to believe that it has all happened. The Travellers Body often goes into shoc,k and carries some of them most valuable, memorable and beautiful experiences will ever have as a traveller.
The most important parts of the Travellers Body are the travellers arm and the travellers feet.
The Travellers arms often take a beating or two and are the most exposed part of the travellers body 95% of time. The travellers arms house some of the most emotional, and meaningful experiences the traveller will ever have, wether it comes from holding some of the most beautiful children in your arms and tickling them to death, to getting a henna tattoo on a street corner during rush hour, to moving your way through the coral reefs of the Indian ocean, to saying good bye to some of the most amazing people you could have ever traveled with, not knowing if you will see these people again. The travellers arms are filled with passion and feel both pleasure and pain as they are the easiest location for mosquitos to bite and injuries to occur.
The travellers arms are also the most decorated part of the travellers body, as bracelet acquiring is a universal traveller hobby. The travellers arms show them of with pride, these bracelets are either bought in markets or shops, or given buy some of the locals you met on you way that enriched your trip. The travellers arms pride themselves on showcasing these trinkets as each trinket tells a story, a story that is unique and is not the same as anyone else's, and the travellers arms are filled with stories and pride themselves on there extensive collection.
The travellers feet become tougher with each destination, the skin gets thicker as the terrains they cross get richer. The travellers feet leave only footprints, on the surface of the earth and disappear. The travellers feet collect little things as well, usually dirt but that gets washed away and also blisters and scars acquired from bush-waking, wearing new exotic shoes or just being an idiot. My travelling shoes still have dirt stains in them from when I was in Kenya, it won't come out and to be honest I don't mind. When I was in Kenya I hadn't showered for a week, hadn't brushed my hair in days and had come out of the hospital 4 days before that.I was in the middle of nowhere,surrounded by rolling hills, farm lands and goats with a view of Kilimanjaro and the wind blowing though my hair and I couldn't have been happier. So when I'm walking down main road in Vancouver in my traveller shoes I have a little bit of that Kenyan paradise with me.
I suppose all the travellers body is at the end of the day is a story, well i suppose its more of an anthology or a chronicle as it carries many stories with many chapters. I acquired a few more battle wounds, or story starters over the summer, that remind me of different things. I have a big scar on my leg from the exhaust pipe of a motorcycle when I was in Rwanda, which in the words of my dear friend Ryan "makes you more badass'. Another one on my leg that was caused from hiking on a muddy day, one of my foot courtesy of the rocks in the Indian ocean, Multiple ones on my arms from mosquito bites and rashes from the amoeba, one on my forearm from my near-death experience in a Rwandan hospital, and one under my hair from when I smacked my head on a toilet bowl in Nairobi. I'm am proud of every single one of them because each one has sort of helped me shape who I am.
Some of them are the result of brilliant adventures I have had, some of them are from some of the most terrifying moments of my life which have now made me a lot stronger and a lot braver.
" Studying makes you brainy but travelling makes you sexy." Therefore, if you have a collection of battle wounds you are probably one of the sexiest people out there, and it shows that your interesting, have character, are gutsy, have a sense of adventure
As bizarre as it sounds, i'm looking forward to collecting battle wounds/ story starters whatever you want to call it as its going to make the anthology or chronicle of my life that much richer and when I die, I hope I have a fair amount because then it means my life as a smelly travel child will be with me, and it shows that I made the most out of my life as a smelly traveller child.
Normally, I wouldn't pay much attention to it but for some reason it , as I continued to get ready I started to pay more attention to the other battle wounds I have collected of the past twenty years of being a smelly traveller child. It made me think, that these blemishes on my skin aren't just the bits of discolouration and damaged tissues. They are pieces of your travels and your experience's that you carry with you for the rest of your life, a piece of your adventures that you never get rid of, even in your old age when your face looks like a prune and you have lost all control of your bladder.
As I have mentioned in a previous post, when one comes back from travelling it all feels a bit like a dream and it's hard to believe that it has all happened. The Travellers Body often goes into shoc,k and carries some of them most valuable, memorable and beautiful experiences will ever have as a traveller.
The most important parts of the Travellers Body are the travellers arm and the travellers feet.
The Travellers arms often take a beating or two and are the most exposed part of the travellers body 95% of time. The travellers arms house some of the most emotional, and meaningful experiences the traveller will ever have, wether it comes from holding some of the most beautiful children in your arms and tickling them to death, to getting a henna tattoo on a street corner during rush hour, to moving your way through the coral reefs of the Indian ocean, to saying good bye to some of the most amazing people you could have ever traveled with, not knowing if you will see these people again. The travellers arms are filled with passion and feel both pleasure and pain as they are the easiest location for mosquitos to bite and injuries to occur.
The travellers arms are also the most decorated part of the travellers body, as bracelet acquiring is a universal traveller hobby. The travellers arms show them of with pride, these bracelets are either bought in markets or shops, or given buy some of the locals you met on you way that enriched your trip. The travellers arms pride themselves on showcasing these trinkets as each trinket tells a story, a story that is unique and is not the same as anyone else's, and the travellers arms are filled with stories and pride themselves on there extensive collection.
The travellers feet become tougher with each destination, the skin gets thicker as the terrains they cross get richer. The travellers feet leave only footprints, on the surface of the earth and disappear. The travellers feet collect little things as well, usually dirt but that gets washed away and also blisters and scars acquired from bush-waking, wearing new exotic shoes or just being an idiot. My travelling shoes still have dirt stains in them from when I was in Kenya, it won't come out and to be honest I don't mind. When I was in Kenya I hadn't showered for a week, hadn't brushed my hair in days and had come out of the hospital 4 days before that.I was in the middle of nowhere,surrounded by rolling hills, farm lands and goats with a view of Kilimanjaro and the wind blowing though my hair and I couldn't have been happier. So when I'm walking down main road in Vancouver in my traveller shoes I have a little bit of that Kenyan paradise with me.
I suppose all the travellers body is at the end of the day is a story, well i suppose its more of an anthology or a chronicle as it carries many stories with many chapters. I acquired a few more battle wounds, or story starters over the summer, that remind me of different things. I have a big scar on my leg from the exhaust pipe of a motorcycle when I was in Rwanda, which in the words of my dear friend Ryan "makes you more badass'. Another one on my leg that was caused from hiking on a muddy day, one of my foot courtesy of the rocks in the Indian ocean, Multiple ones on my arms from mosquito bites and rashes from the amoeba, one on my forearm from my near-death experience in a Rwandan hospital, and one under my hair from when I smacked my head on a toilet bowl in Nairobi. I'm am proud of every single one of them because each one has sort of helped me shape who I am.
Some of them are the result of brilliant adventures I have had, some of them are from some of the most terrifying moments of my life which have now made me a lot stronger and a lot braver.
" Studying makes you brainy but travelling makes you sexy." Therefore, if you have a collection of battle wounds you are probably one of the sexiest people out there, and it shows that your interesting, have character, are gutsy, have a sense of adventure
As bizarre as it sounds, i'm looking forward to collecting battle wounds/ story starters whatever you want to call it as its going to make the anthology or chronicle of my life that much richer and when I die, I hope I have a fair amount because then it means my life as a smelly travel child will be with me, and it shows that I made the most out of my life as a smelly traveller child.
Monday, 15 October 2012
Britain and the Potato: Monday Night epiphany
I come from a island that once had the largest empire in history. This island now is a strange yet charming place which I assume anyone who took time to watch the opening or closing ceremonies at the Olympics got a taste of. Needless to say, Britain is a country that is difficult for anyone to understand who does not have British family or has not lived with a British person, or had British friends. Staples of our country are booze, very fatty food, black taxis, double decker buses, telling people to mind the gap...... which (should be blatantly obvious if one has a brain). Our nationals past times consist of, getting drunk, dressing up, getting naked, complaining about the weather, uncensored television ,being the loudest fans at an international sporting events( and being loud in general), coming up with good words or puns, and food comas . Sometimes, all these national past times can be exhibited within the course of an hour. Our staple foods are, anything wrapped in pastry, gravy, large quantities of meat, cheap and cheerful chocolate and potato's. However the potato is not just as staple food in Britain, it has a far greater meaning.
Britain has a very special relationship with the potato in it's diet. It not only keeps 95% of the population alive, and clogs the arteries of about 40% of the population and acts as a sleeping medication on sundays for 80% of the population who over indulge on them at Sunday Roasts. Britons find comfort from the potato, and if having some potato's can't solve it. Then the chance are nothing can.Other than acting as a population regulator, strain on the NHS (National Health Service), and a natural sleeping medication on sundays, the potato has worked its way into popular culture.
Britain is famous for its comedy and since the 1980's the potato made its way onto the televisions of Britain and managed to induce the population into fits of laughter. In the 90's the potato started to be introduced as topics on TV quiz shows which teams would have to answer questions about. In the TV series "Shooting Stars", Ulrika Johnsson picks spuds(potatoes) as her topic for a quiz team in which Matt Lucas was forced to sing a song about a baked potato the spot, which led the audience to hohowling with laughter. TV shows in the 90's would often have episodes in which their were over the top potato crisis, and the potato even worked its way to being featured into a TV show, " The sex lives of the potato men."
In the 2000's/2010's the potato is still as prominent as ever in British culture, always being joked about or something obscure happening in regards to a potato or lots of them. The potato has now even become a catch phrase, first appearing on Celebrity Juice( game show) in which the host, Keith Lemon proceeds to blurt out the word, "POTATO!" in a variety of different accents at random intervals throughout the show. This has since gone national. The BBC introduced a children's TV show called " Small Potatoes", in which the them tune is a bunch of potatoes singing about small potatoes and then continues to show potatoes with children's voices talking about various topics before singing about such topics including, imagination, diversity, acceptance, dreams and love. Apparently, the BBC feels the only way to get the newest generation of Britons to be more globally minded is by having a bunch of potatoes singing to them about a variety of what are quite important topics, and kindly remindins them at the end of it that "we are all potatoes."
Personally, I'm not quite sure how I feel about my children being told they are a starchy object that can be cooked in various ways, clog arteries if they are covered in oil, have limited IQ, starved the Irish in the 1800's and are responsible for the high Irish population on the east coast on the United States.
I suppose its a good effort, to try make a less racist Britain but I'm not sure if the French would do the same. I suppose if the French were to use a food to make a more globally minded generation it would probably be snails or creme brulee's..... but I don't think either of those are as prominent in French popular culture as the potato is in Britain's.
Needless to say, Britain has a very special relationship with the potato, it's a cherished one and one that I think all Britons can agree on. The potato does not discriminate, it is as much Scottish as it is English, Welsh or Northern Irish. Is the potato what makes the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Island? In order to keep the country together will we have to change the national anthem to God Save the Potato as the UK is now experiencing a potato shortage? To be honest, who knows the fact of the matter is the potato is a part of British culture now and is becoming more permanent fixture of British society.
I'm not quite sure what it is about Britain that has lead it to have the relationship it does with the potato, maybe its the plane, oddly shaped look of it, maybe its the word itself...... because.....well it is quite a fun word to say.... has a nice ring to it and all...... or is it something else.
Well, there you have it probably the most scholarly explanation of Britain's relations with the potato. The next level of Britain's relationship with the potato is yet to be determined. It is safe to say the potato and the importance of potatoes in Britain is now added to our list of national past times.
Britain has a very special relationship with the potato in it's diet. It not only keeps 95% of the population alive, and clogs the arteries of about 40% of the population and acts as a sleeping medication on sundays for 80% of the population who over indulge on them at Sunday Roasts. Britons find comfort from the potato, and if having some potato's can't solve it. Then the chance are nothing can.Other than acting as a population regulator, strain on the NHS (National Health Service), and a natural sleeping medication on sundays, the potato has worked its way into popular culture.
Britain is famous for its comedy and since the 1980's the potato made its way onto the televisions of Britain and managed to induce the population into fits of laughter. In the 90's the potato started to be introduced as topics on TV quiz shows which teams would have to answer questions about. In the TV series "Shooting Stars", Ulrika Johnsson picks spuds(potatoes) as her topic for a quiz team in which Matt Lucas was forced to sing a song about a baked potato the spot, which led the audience to hohowling with laughter. TV shows in the 90's would often have episodes in which their were over the top potato crisis, and the potato even worked its way to being featured into a TV show, " The sex lives of the potato men."
In the 2000's/2010's the potato is still as prominent as ever in British culture, always being joked about or something obscure happening in regards to a potato or lots of them. The potato has now even become a catch phrase, first appearing on Celebrity Juice( game show) in which the host, Keith Lemon proceeds to blurt out the word, "POTATO!" in a variety of different accents at random intervals throughout the show. This has since gone national. The BBC introduced a children's TV show called " Small Potatoes", in which the them tune is a bunch of potatoes singing about small potatoes and then continues to show potatoes with children's voices talking about various topics before singing about such topics including, imagination, diversity, acceptance, dreams and love. Apparently, the BBC feels the only way to get the newest generation of Britons to be more globally minded is by having a bunch of potatoes singing to them about a variety of what are quite important topics, and kindly remindins them at the end of it that "we are all potatoes."
Personally, I'm not quite sure how I feel about my children being told they are a starchy object that can be cooked in various ways, clog arteries if they are covered in oil, have limited IQ, starved the Irish in the 1800's and are responsible for the high Irish population on the east coast on the United States.
I suppose its a good effort, to try make a less racist Britain but I'm not sure if the French would do the same. I suppose if the French were to use a food to make a more globally minded generation it would probably be snails or creme brulee's..... but I don't think either of those are as prominent in French popular culture as the potato is in Britain's.
Needless to say, Britain has a very special relationship with the potato, it's a cherished one and one that I think all Britons can agree on. The potato does not discriminate, it is as much Scottish as it is English, Welsh or Northern Irish. Is the potato what makes the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Island? In order to keep the country together will we have to change the national anthem to God Save the Potato as the UK is now experiencing a potato shortage? To be honest, who knows the fact of the matter is the potato is a part of British culture now and is becoming more permanent fixture of British society.
I'm not quite sure what it is about Britain that has lead it to have the relationship it does with the potato, maybe its the plane, oddly shaped look of it, maybe its the word itself...... because.....well it is quite a fun word to say.... has a nice ring to it and all...... or is it something else.
Well, there you have it probably the most scholarly explanation of Britain's relations with the potato. The next level of Britain's relationship with the potato is yet to be determined. It is safe to say the potato and the importance of potatoes in Britain is now added to our list of national past times.
Wednesday, 12 September 2012
The Great, the Good and the unfortunate: The Country Debate.
It's been just over a month since the East African Extravaganza came to an end and I am no back into the swing of academics and Mzungu living. After having been through what is to an extent of the beaten track travel. One gets pondering about what is a "good country". One of my good friends is from Kenya and about 8 months before I left for Tanzania she was saying to me that, " Kenya is a good country. People don't leave because of its problems, its safe and a nice place to live." At the time I was not sure what to think of it as Kenya' security situations has been more up and down that a yo yo in the past ten years or so.
On many a lengthy African bus ride through vast landscapes, rolling hills, surging landscapes, hidden lakes in tropical jungles. I started to think about what it means to be a "good country", and the other categories that countries fall into. After lengthy thought I concluded that there are three types of countries. The Great, The Good, and the Unfortunate.
The Great Country is a country which has sublime natural beauties, is somewhat untouched to a certain extent but contains lots of nocks and crannies which have yet to be explored and discovered. In order of a country for a country to be great it does not mean that it has to be developed and westernized. A Great country may not have the best healthcare systems, it may have certain levels of corruption within the government and it may lack social welfare programs and be disorganized to a certain extent. However a Great country, contains people that warm you heart, get your brain to question a lot of things. A Great Country is a country where if the country is not westernized, the western comforts seem pointless. Countries that I would consider to be Great are Tanzania, Rwanda and Italy.
The Good Country is a complex definition and can have two meanings. Firstly, the Good Country can be a country which is fully developed, clean, safe, has infrastructure, healthcare and all the western comforts and is pleasant . A Good country can also be a country which may have had a troubled past, or may be involved in a conflict, but has a bright future a ahead of it and, like the Great Country contains people and a landscape that will warm your heart, making other things seem arbitrary. Im going to use Canada and Kenya as examples. Canada is a clean developed fully industrialized country clean and is a pleasant place to live in. Kenya has had its up's and down over the years, still has mass inequality within the country, but to the people living nomadic lifestyles, its arbitrary.
There is no such thing as the Bad Country, just the Unfortunate. The Unfortunate Country is a country that had a rocky start at life and are still dealing with these problems. Unfortunate Countries are often called " beyond f*@%ed" or something else along those lines. Unfortunate countries have been explored by very few individuals, due to often high levels of violence within the country or less than ideal security situations. Those individuals that do get the chance or are brave enough to explore the Unfortunate Country usually work in the media or are there for research purposes. Citizens of Unfortunate countries are not often able to make it outside their homeland but those who do, don't usually return but hold fond memories of their birth place. I met a Taxi driver from Sudan a few weeks ago who was exiled to Canada and wants to go back but is unable to as a result of him speaking out against the government a when he was in his early twenties. When the Media posts pictures of his homeland in a war torn state,h e sends his family pictures of East Hastings in Vancouver and goes " This is Canada." As the media feels to represent his homeland in an accurate way, and continues to show the negative side of things.
On many a lengthy African bus ride through vast landscapes, rolling hills, surging landscapes, hidden lakes in tropical jungles. I started to think about what it means to be a "good country", and the other categories that countries fall into. After lengthy thought I concluded that there are three types of countries. The Great, The Good, and the Unfortunate.
The Great Country is a country which has sublime natural beauties, is somewhat untouched to a certain extent but contains lots of nocks and crannies which have yet to be explored and discovered. In order of a country for a country to be great it does not mean that it has to be developed and westernized. A Great country may not have the best healthcare systems, it may have certain levels of corruption within the government and it may lack social welfare programs and be disorganized to a certain extent. However a Great country, contains people that warm you heart, get your brain to question a lot of things. A Great Country is a country where if the country is not westernized, the western comforts seem pointless. Countries that I would consider to be Great are Tanzania, Rwanda and Italy.
The Good Country is a complex definition and can have two meanings. Firstly, the Good Country can be a country which is fully developed, clean, safe, has infrastructure, healthcare and all the western comforts and is pleasant . A Good country can also be a country which may have had a troubled past, or may be involved in a conflict, but has a bright future a ahead of it and, like the Great Country contains people and a landscape that will warm your heart, making other things seem arbitrary. Im going to use Canada and Kenya as examples. Canada is a clean developed fully industrialized country clean and is a pleasant place to live in. Kenya has had its up's and down over the years, still has mass inequality within the country, but to the people living nomadic lifestyles, its arbitrary.
There is no such thing as the Bad Country, just the Unfortunate. The Unfortunate Country is a country that had a rocky start at life and are still dealing with these problems. Unfortunate Countries are often called " beyond f*@%ed" or something else along those lines. Unfortunate countries have been explored by very few individuals, due to often high levels of violence within the country or less than ideal security situations. Those individuals that do get the chance or are brave enough to explore the Unfortunate Country usually work in the media or are there for research purposes. Citizens of Unfortunate countries are not often able to make it outside their homeland but those who do, don't usually return but hold fond memories of their birth place. I met a Taxi driver from Sudan a few weeks ago who was exiled to Canada and wants to go back but is unable to as a result of him speaking out against the government a when he was in his early twenties. When the Media posts pictures of his homeland in a war torn state,h e sends his family pictures of East Hastings in Vancouver and goes " This is Canada." As the media feels to represent his homeland in an accurate way, and continues to show the negative side of things.
Thursday, 23 August 2012
Homeland Glory: Mastering the art of living out of a Jansport, and Post African Reflections
The past two weeks have been absolutely lovely and have been really enjoyable although they have been extremely difficult at times in terms of readjusting. My first full day back I went to go get some clothes as about half my wardrobe was either peppered with holes or still had a pungent aroma of Africa and small African children. I saw a genuinely fat child outside McDonalds and he was a right chav and burst out saying " OH MY GOD THEY AINT GOT NO F***ING BIG MACS AT MACCY D'S,"and proceeded to go on about the lack of big macs at Mcdonalds. I felt the urge to go up slap the child and kindly tell him to shut up because he has two legs, gets more than 3 meals a day judging by the size of him, and has access to hot water which he can shower in..... wether he chooses to on the other hand is entirely at his digression.
Probably the most embarrassing moment of readjusting to life in white people land was on the Tube heading to the Olympic Park in Stratford. On the Dalla Dalla when you want to get off right before your stop you smack the roof or the nearest metal part and go "SHUSHA!" Of course, Anna being the extremely intelligent person that she is did this on the Tube and proceeded to get some strange looks and burry herself in her hair.
The atmosphere at the Olympics was absolutely brilliant and i'm very pleased that I went up to London. I can now confirm that the British Army are a bunch of absolute piss heads, but an extremely generous bunch of piss heads and proceeded to buy a sizeable chunk of the people in the bar rounds of Italian Larger. It was their day off before the closing ceremony and were going on a 15 hour booze up..... one of them however didn't quite last that long and proceeded to try hold a conversation and then promptly fell over. It was half past one in the afternoon.
The Olympics has been really good for London as well as England as a whole. There is a new life to the country and the city which is great to see, now its just a question of how long it will last. One thing that I have always liked about England is I can walk around go into a shop buy some milk or whatever and not be harassed. In Africa and Canada, people always want to talk to you and start conversation even if you are just buying milk which gets annoying as sometimes you don't really want to nor can you be particularly bothered to, so its really nice being able to buy what you need then getting on with your day.
I genuinely love London its probably my favourite place in the world to be honest. I enjoy being able to find solace in chaos, forever wandering down the streets looking at the periods of architecture, sitting in a park, getting a pint to go on the South Bank, or taking a Boris Bike around the city there is just something about it where every time I return to it I find my self more in love with it than before and my love for the city grows. London is a city which is as expensive as you make it and is just a question of what you know. I have a fairly extensive knowledge of the city buy now and I can now take a visitor they're find them a place to get a pint to go for 3 dollars, where to get a 3 course meal for 15 dollars and world class theatre for 7 dollars. The city is continuously changing but there are still some comforts that will always remain their. St. Pauls' and Big Ben still keep a watchful eye over Londoners strolling on the Thames, Waterloo station provides a easy meeting place, Primrose Hill, Russell Square, and St. James park provide a solace for those looking for a lunch time escape from the fast rhythms of the city.
Boris Johnson as much of a muppet as he is with his "wif waf"speeches, rugby tackling at charity football matches and dancing to the Spice Girls at the closing ceremonies( ok I admit that was absolutely brilliant and made me realize that Boris is an absolute legend) has done a tremendous amount of good for London. He's cut down traffic and congestion considerably, got people to cycle more by the invention of the Boris Bikes ( bike you take out at a docking station and return at another when your finished) he's made the place a lot cleaner and has some how encouraged Londoners to be friendly.... absolutely no idea how but either way its quite impressive. Granted this was probably done as a result of the olympics but still its impressive and I applaud Boris for it tremendously.
As much as I love London I also do love England as a whole, granted the economy has gone down the toilet in the past years, traffic can be horrible, weather can be rubbish( but that applies to anywhere). After being in Africa for three months you realize people can't really complain about England at the end of the day. The minimum standard of living is much higher than sub-saharan Africa, free primary and secondary education, the concept student loans to finance higher education levels, a more equal level distribution of wealth, a comparatively low crime alcoholism rate to many African countries despite it being probably the highest in Europe( ok the Irish might beat us but thats about it) and a much stronger economy. Putting it in that context you realize they're really is not much to complain about at all, but then again that goes for any Developed country.
My time in England has been marvellous having reunions seeing people I haven't seen in 9 years( which was amazing), cycling lots, and spending time with some of my favourite people in the world. The past week has been manic as I have been commuting between different relatives in parts of London and have been living out of a Jansport( small backpack in which according to a friend of mine, Ruby their are a large amount of in Holland). I have mastered the art of packing this in the most efficient way. As London can be hot or cold in the summer you pack 2 pairs of shorts and tights to wear under the shorts if it gets cold, 1 dress you can dress up or dress down a few nice bits of jewellery a few semi-posh tops, toiletries knickers and socks. All of these must be rolled in order to make room for spontaneous bits of shopping. Its very funny whenever i'm in England it doesn't seem like i'm travelling just feels like i am completely at home and that what whatever i'm doing is just life, not travelling just living.
Im currently at Heathrow heading to Canada in two hours and the nostalgia is starting to kick in. Everything has its pros and cons and the only cons with travel are it does cost money and secondly it all feels a bit like a dream when it comes to an end. It's hard to believe the past three months have actually happened and looking at my pictures I can't quite believe its all over. I have met so many incredible people in the past three months and I wish I could repeat it all over again but alas I cant really... at least not for a very long time. I guess the thing I miss about Africa right now is my kids ( yes Simran if you are reading this you will say "they are not your kids!"). My friends at uni have all sort of given me the nick name "mother Anna" or say " your such a mum" and I suppose the past three months I have been being a bit motherly with all my kids seeing them grow up, get better and develop personalities and start to see their true character. I remember in my last week at Plaster House there was a little girl and a little boy when I first got their in May (Baba and Naynoori who I have mentioned before in this blog), they were babies when I got their and could walk but in terms of height were just below my knees and bye the time I left. People always say kids grow up so fast and they really do, they aren't my babies anymore they're my little kids now.
Im pretty sure the post Africa depression will kick in when I'm back in Canada cause thats when it will really really hit me " Wow its really over", and the emotions will have come full circle. I'm not sure what it is about Africa but they're is just something about it. I always had an interest in it from a small age, and it continued to flourish when I started university. It's difficult to describe how Africa make one feel but all I can really say is they're is just something about it. That once you go, you will be hungry for more. My best advice is to just go out they're and discover it for yourself. Don't be a tourist and do the white mans Africa, be a traveller do the touristy things but make an effort to go out meet the locals, eat local food, pick up some of the language however rubbish you may be at it, go off the beaten track but not to far off, and if an experience that comes up that you may never have again do it Because that is where you will find the true treasures of Africa.
Probably the most embarrassing moment of readjusting to life in white people land was on the Tube heading to the Olympic Park in Stratford. On the Dalla Dalla when you want to get off right before your stop you smack the roof or the nearest metal part and go "SHUSHA!" Of course, Anna being the extremely intelligent person that she is did this on the Tube and proceeded to get some strange looks and burry herself in her hair.
The atmosphere at the Olympics was absolutely brilliant and i'm very pleased that I went up to London. I can now confirm that the British Army are a bunch of absolute piss heads, but an extremely generous bunch of piss heads and proceeded to buy a sizeable chunk of the people in the bar rounds of Italian Larger. It was their day off before the closing ceremony and were going on a 15 hour booze up..... one of them however didn't quite last that long and proceeded to try hold a conversation and then promptly fell over. It was half past one in the afternoon.
The Olympics has been really good for London as well as England as a whole. There is a new life to the country and the city which is great to see, now its just a question of how long it will last. One thing that I have always liked about England is I can walk around go into a shop buy some milk or whatever and not be harassed. In Africa and Canada, people always want to talk to you and start conversation even if you are just buying milk which gets annoying as sometimes you don't really want to nor can you be particularly bothered to, so its really nice being able to buy what you need then getting on with your day.
I genuinely love London its probably my favourite place in the world to be honest. I enjoy being able to find solace in chaos, forever wandering down the streets looking at the periods of architecture, sitting in a park, getting a pint to go on the South Bank, or taking a Boris Bike around the city there is just something about it where every time I return to it I find my self more in love with it than before and my love for the city grows. London is a city which is as expensive as you make it and is just a question of what you know. I have a fairly extensive knowledge of the city buy now and I can now take a visitor they're find them a place to get a pint to go for 3 dollars, where to get a 3 course meal for 15 dollars and world class theatre for 7 dollars. The city is continuously changing but there are still some comforts that will always remain their. St. Pauls' and Big Ben still keep a watchful eye over Londoners strolling on the Thames, Waterloo station provides a easy meeting place, Primrose Hill, Russell Square, and St. James park provide a solace for those looking for a lunch time escape from the fast rhythms of the city.
Boris Johnson as much of a muppet as he is with his "wif waf"speeches, rugby tackling at charity football matches and dancing to the Spice Girls at the closing ceremonies( ok I admit that was absolutely brilliant and made me realize that Boris is an absolute legend) has done a tremendous amount of good for London. He's cut down traffic and congestion considerably, got people to cycle more by the invention of the Boris Bikes ( bike you take out at a docking station and return at another when your finished) he's made the place a lot cleaner and has some how encouraged Londoners to be friendly.... absolutely no idea how but either way its quite impressive. Granted this was probably done as a result of the olympics but still its impressive and I applaud Boris for it tremendously.
As much as I love London I also do love England as a whole, granted the economy has gone down the toilet in the past years, traffic can be horrible, weather can be rubbish( but that applies to anywhere). After being in Africa for three months you realize people can't really complain about England at the end of the day. The minimum standard of living is much higher than sub-saharan Africa, free primary and secondary education, the concept student loans to finance higher education levels, a more equal level distribution of wealth, a comparatively low crime alcoholism rate to many African countries despite it being probably the highest in Europe( ok the Irish might beat us but thats about it) and a much stronger economy. Putting it in that context you realize they're really is not much to complain about at all, but then again that goes for any Developed country.
My time in England has been marvellous having reunions seeing people I haven't seen in 9 years( which was amazing), cycling lots, and spending time with some of my favourite people in the world. The past week has been manic as I have been commuting between different relatives in parts of London and have been living out of a Jansport( small backpack in which according to a friend of mine, Ruby their are a large amount of in Holland). I have mastered the art of packing this in the most efficient way. As London can be hot or cold in the summer you pack 2 pairs of shorts and tights to wear under the shorts if it gets cold, 1 dress you can dress up or dress down a few nice bits of jewellery a few semi-posh tops, toiletries knickers and socks. All of these must be rolled in order to make room for spontaneous bits of shopping. Its very funny whenever i'm in England it doesn't seem like i'm travelling just feels like i am completely at home and that what whatever i'm doing is just life, not travelling just living.
Im currently at Heathrow heading to Canada in two hours and the nostalgia is starting to kick in. Everything has its pros and cons and the only cons with travel are it does cost money and secondly it all feels a bit like a dream when it comes to an end. It's hard to believe the past three months have actually happened and looking at my pictures I can't quite believe its all over. I have met so many incredible people in the past three months and I wish I could repeat it all over again but alas I cant really... at least not for a very long time. I guess the thing I miss about Africa right now is my kids ( yes Simran if you are reading this you will say "they are not your kids!"). My friends at uni have all sort of given me the nick name "mother Anna" or say " your such a mum" and I suppose the past three months I have been being a bit motherly with all my kids seeing them grow up, get better and develop personalities and start to see their true character. I remember in my last week at Plaster House there was a little girl and a little boy when I first got their in May (Baba and Naynoori who I have mentioned before in this blog), they were babies when I got their and could walk but in terms of height were just below my knees and bye the time I left. People always say kids grow up so fast and they really do, they aren't my babies anymore they're my little kids now.
Im pretty sure the post Africa depression will kick in when I'm back in Canada cause thats when it will really really hit me " Wow its really over", and the emotions will have come full circle. I'm not sure what it is about Africa but they're is just something about it. I always had an interest in it from a small age, and it continued to flourish when I started university. It's difficult to describe how Africa make one feel but all I can really say is they're is just something about it. That once you go, you will be hungry for more. My best advice is to just go out they're and discover it for yourself. Don't be a tourist and do the white mans Africa, be a traveller do the touristy things but make an effort to go out meet the locals, eat local food, pick up some of the language however rubbish you may be at it, go off the beaten track but not to far off, and if an experience that comes up that you may never have again do it Because that is where you will find the true treasures of Africa.
Thursday, 9 August 2012
After the African Sun
Well this is it I am back in the homeland as of 7 am this morning that the last week has been a bit of a emotional roller coaster. Driving through the Masai lands surrounding Arusha town with one of my many African mothers/sisters as the sunsets softly over the landscape with clouds looming over Mount Meru and the rolling hill that surround it as the sky turns a soft pink and purple hue, and I find myself falling in love with Africa all over again as I watch one of my last African sunset.
I honestly don't know where the past three months have gone but they have by far been the most productive, rewarding and entertaining months of my life. I have gained an amazing group of friends from all around the world and have had the pleasure of working with some the most talented people I have ever met. I have had the joy of meeting and working with the best kids in the world who will forever have a special place in my heart.
Coming to Africa and working at Plaster House has led me to question a lot of things including what is the real world? What is living? Are we really better off? I use to be a firm believer in Karma but after coming to Africa I am not so sure anymore especially after meeting Natazomowaki. Natazomowaki is nine years and is one of the best children in the world she would help me organize activities, take the little ones to the bathroom, and read stories to the little ones, overall and extremely helpful child. Natazomowaki has heart disease as well as a foot problem making it difficult for her to walk. She has been at Plaster House two years and is still waiting to go to Kenya to get open heart surgery and once she gets her heart surgery then she is able get an operation on her foot. Needless to say why my belief in Karma has been questioned as what can a little girl do that is so horrible that she is in the situation that she is now.
I also didn't use to believe in Magic until I came here but Plaster House made me think that their is some sort of Magic out there. Stefano is a little boy who is around four years old. He fell in a cooking fire, something which is far to common in Masai communities leaving third degree burns all over his face, arms, legs and stomach as well large head wound and psychological trauma. He was abandoned after the incident and the outreach co-ordinator found him and brought him to Plaster House where he is waiting for a skin graph. When he first came to Plaster House about a month ago he use to sit in a corner on his own and not interact with any of the other children or he would rip his clothes of start screaming and running around. Now he participates in story time, shares books, helps the other kids out if they need it and communicates with the other children. Despite being their only a month he has come amazingly far and it makes me unbelievably happy.
It's unfortunate that Africa has such a negative connotation courtesy of the media and that many people believe its a continent full of AIDS, War and Crime. Unfortunately some places in Africa have large amount of these, giving the continent a negative image. It's amazing how such a few number of countries have an affect on the others, like Uganda. Uganda borders two not exactly desirable neighbours, South Sudan and Democratic Republic of the Congo, therefore creating the impression that it is an unsafe country. The truth is, its only the borders of these regions which are a bit dodgy and Uganda's tourism industry is booming with Gorilla and Chimpanzee tracking, some of the best national parks in Africa, the discovery of White Water Rafting on the Nile( some of the best in the world) and the development of Adventure Tourism. In 2012 Uganda was named by Lonely Planet as "Best Travel Destination of 2012." I'm pretty certain that many of you reading were unaware of this and thought of Uganda as a country of Child Soldiers, Violence and Joseph Kony.
Being back in England now i feel the cleanest I have ever felt in the past three months and have had the biggest culture shock coming back. The taxi ride from heathrow was the weirdest, wearing a seatbelt, not being in a taxi with 9 other people, people signalling and seeing lots of white people was a very odd experience. Showing up at Jess house was even stranger having a glass of tap water, walking into the kitchen I thought I saw an African baby sitting on the floor.....turns out it was just the dog, which I could now stroke knowing that I wont contract rabies.
Well the East African Adventure has come to a close. 14 weeks, 13 forms for entering and exiting the Republic of Kenya, 12 times sitting in a field to steal a posh hotels wifi, 11 new British friends, 10 new favourite foods, 9 new African bands on my Ipod, 8 trips to the Masai market, 7 chickens placed under my feet, 6 long bus rides, 5 walks through no mans land, 4 new countries, 3 children I want to bring home, 2 African mothers and 1 incredible experience I will never forget.
oh by the way the dala record is 29 people 5 chickens and 3 babies.... one of which was placed on my lap.
I honestly don't know where the past three months have gone but they have by far been the most productive, rewarding and entertaining months of my life. I have gained an amazing group of friends from all around the world and have had the pleasure of working with some the most talented people I have ever met. I have had the joy of meeting and working with the best kids in the world who will forever have a special place in my heart.
Coming to Africa and working at Plaster House has led me to question a lot of things including what is the real world? What is living? Are we really better off? I use to be a firm believer in Karma but after coming to Africa I am not so sure anymore especially after meeting Natazomowaki. Natazomowaki is nine years and is one of the best children in the world she would help me organize activities, take the little ones to the bathroom, and read stories to the little ones, overall and extremely helpful child. Natazomowaki has heart disease as well as a foot problem making it difficult for her to walk. She has been at Plaster House two years and is still waiting to go to Kenya to get open heart surgery and once she gets her heart surgery then she is able get an operation on her foot. Needless to say why my belief in Karma has been questioned as what can a little girl do that is so horrible that she is in the situation that she is now.
I also didn't use to believe in Magic until I came here but Plaster House made me think that their is some sort of Magic out there. Stefano is a little boy who is around four years old. He fell in a cooking fire, something which is far to common in Masai communities leaving third degree burns all over his face, arms, legs and stomach as well large head wound and psychological trauma. He was abandoned after the incident and the outreach co-ordinator found him and brought him to Plaster House where he is waiting for a skin graph. When he first came to Plaster House about a month ago he use to sit in a corner on his own and not interact with any of the other children or he would rip his clothes of start screaming and running around. Now he participates in story time, shares books, helps the other kids out if they need it and communicates with the other children. Despite being their only a month he has come amazingly far and it makes me unbelievably happy.
It's unfortunate that Africa has such a negative connotation courtesy of the media and that many people believe its a continent full of AIDS, War and Crime. Unfortunately some places in Africa have large amount of these, giving the continent a negative image. It's amazing how such a few number of countries have an affect on the others, like Uganda. Uganda borders two not exactly desirable neighbours, South Sudan and Democratic Republic of the Congo, therefore creating the impression that it is an unsafe country. The truth is, its only the borders of these regions which are a bit dodgy and Uganda's tourism industry is booming with Gorilla and Chimpanzee tracking, some of the best national parks in Africa, the discovery of White Water Rafting on the Nile( some of the best in the world) and the development of Adventure Tourism. In 2012 Uganda was named by Lonely Planet as "Best Travel Destination of 2012." I'm pretty certain that many of you reading were unaware of this and thought of Uganda as a country of Child Soldiers, Violence and Joseph Kony.
Being back in England now i feel the cleanest I have ever felt in the past three months and have had the biggest culture shock coming back. The taxi ride from heathrow was the weirdest, wearing a seatbelt, not being in a taxi with 9 other people, people signalling and seeing lots of white people was a very odd experience. Showing up at Jess house was even stranger having a glass of tap water, walking into the kitchen I thought I saw an African baby sitting on the floor.....turns out it was just the dog, which I could now stroke knowing that I wont contract rabies.
Well the East African Adventure has come to a close. 14 weeks, 13 forms for entering and exiting the Republic of Kenya, 12 times sitting in a field to steal a posh hotels wifi, 11 new British friends, 10 new favourite foods, 9 new African bands on my Ipod, 8 trips to the Masai market, 7 chickens placed under my feet, 6 long bus rides, 5 walks through no mans land, 4 new countries, 3 children I want to bring home, 2 African mothers and 1 incredible experience I will never forget.
oh by the way the dala record is 29 people 5 chickens and 3 babies.... one of which was placed on my lap.
Monday, 30 July 2012
Wedding Crashing with the Prime minister, roud 2 at the hospitlal,cheekey trip to Kenya and life in general
I got back from traveling a few weeks ago and despite having washed my clothes two time they have yet to smell like roses and pixies and continue to be stubborn. If they continue to behave this way they will be forced to spend the remainder of their lives in the pit in my garden..... which contains the rubbish.
Life here has been good, going back to Plaster House after almost three weeks of travelling was amazing. I wasn't sure really what to expect but I was pleasently surprised when I walked through the gates and heard them all scream "ANNA!!!!" and ran up to me. It was amazing and before I left half those kids coudln't walk and now they were running, especially Sabina. Sabina is about 5 years old and when she first came to Plaster House she had never walked in her life and got around by crawling, after two rounds of surgery she can now walk all by herself so its amazing to see how much she has changed. Things at Plaster house are chaotic which is always a good thing.
First weekend back about 15 miniutes before it started we got invited to a African wedding. Having not showered in about 3 days and not having anything to wear we all looked a bit out of place. The Prime Minister of Tanzania was there which was quite cool he was very friendly and said he really liked England and English people(hes got 3 degrees from their) but then again who doesn't :P. The wedding itself was about as interesting as watching paint dry..... actually no thats far to interesting. It was about as interesting as staring at a piece of cloth hoping that it will move itself magically. It was a Masai wedding and their was no alcohol or dancing just talking and talking and talking and then the bride and groom ate cake in front of us when we had been waiting about 6 hours for food. Then after having people dance up individually and present their gift.... all 300 of them we got food and left very quickly. Needless to say the African Wedding was a bit of a disapointment.
Some spots reappeared on my hand so I went to the hospital to get checked out and sure enough my amoeba came back. I first got it in Rwanda got some antibiotics but they can come back, which this one did, I got some more pills and I should be good. Having an amoeba is a bit like being pregnant is some ways, there is something living on side of you, it causes you random bits of pain, hurts your feet, and treats your stomach as its own and reaks havoc on your bladder and your sometimes vomit.
Went to Kenya this past weekend with a friend of ours to meet his family. It was really lovely and I'm going to recomend that the next time anyone feels stressed out and needs a chill holiday dont go to the beach go to an African village with very basic standards of living with lovely African women who will feed you to you cant possibly move and then spend the days walking around the landscape. It leaves you very chilled out and very clear thinking.
So life In Arusha is as busy, entertaining and chaotic as always but thats the way I like it. As of today I have just over 1 week left in Africa and I don't know where the time went it all seems a bit like a dream. I don't want to leave but being in London for the Olympics will be worth it.
Life here has been good, going back to Plaster House after almost three weeks of travelling was amazing. I wasn't sure really what to expect but I was pleasently surprised when I walked through the gates and heard them all scream "ANNA!!!!" and ran up to me. It was amazing and before I left half those kids coudln't walk and now they were running, especially Sabina. Sabina is about 5 years old and when she first came to Plaster House she had never walked in her life and got around by crawling, after two rounds of surgery she can now walk all by herself so its amazing to see how much she has changed. Things at Plaster house are chaotic which is always a good thing.
First weekend back about 15 miniutes before it started we got invited to a African wedding. Having not showered in about 3 days and not having anything to wear we all looked a bit out of place. The Prime Minister of Tanzania was there which was quite cool he was very friendly and said he really liked England and English people(hes got 3 degrees from their) but then again who doesn't :P. The wedding itself was about as interesting as watching paint dry..... actually no thats far to interesting. It was about as interesting as staring at a piece of cloth hoping that it will move itself magically. It was a Masai wedding and their was no alcohol or dancing just talking and talking and talking and then the bride and groom ate cake in front of us when we had been waiting about 6 hours for food. Then after having people dance up individually and present their gift.... all 300 of them we got food and left very quickly. Needless to say the African Wedding was a bit of a disapointment.
Some spots reappeared on my hand so I went to the hospital to get checked out and sure enough my amoeba came back. I first got it in Rwanda got some antibiotics but they can come back, which this one did, I got some more pills and I should be good. Having an amoeba is a bit like being pregnant is some ways, there is something living on side of you, it causes you random bits of pain, hurts your feet, and treats your stomach as its own and reaks havoc on your bladder and your sometimes vomit.
Went to Kenya this past weekend with a friend of ours to meet his family. It was really lovely and I'm going to recomend that the next time anyone feels stressed out and needs a chill holiday dont go to the beach go to an African village with very basic standards of living with lovely African women who will feed you to you cant possibly move and then spend the days walking around the landscape. It leaves you very chilled out and very clear thinking.
So life In Arusha is as busy, entertaining and chaotic as always but thats the way I like it. As of today I have just over 1 week left in Africa and I don't know where the time went it all seems a bit like a dream. I don't want to leave but being in London for the Olympics will be worth it.
Friday, 20 July 2012
We Live In Colour
"The creative adult is the child who never grew up", or the adult who went to Africa. Africa is a place that is known for the being the birthplace of mankind but it is so much more than that. It is the continent of life itself. I saw a coca cola advert when I was in Uganda and it was one of the best adverts I have seen, it goes about comparing the differences between Africa and the West. One of the sequences went " When the rest of the world turns grey, We live in colour." Africans very much do live in colour, form the bright colours of their clothing to their personalities and manerisms which are very bright and loud and shine through theire Kanga's or Burkas, to the smiles on their faces.
Another part of this advert that i really liked is in another sequence it went " When the rest of the world turns its back 1 billion Africans are sharing a coke. 1 billion reason to Believe in Africa." And there are 1 billion resons, The people treat each other as family, they go out of their way to help you and they really do make the most out of each day. For example there is a women who sells tea behind our house and she says she is our African mama and you can quite often find here and other other Africans dancing in the street having a laugh. Or seeing children running around playing foot ball without a care in the world. Africa has an incredibly bright future, it has such charm and such charisma that it makes you believe that Africa will do great things one day. Africa is a place that not only gets under you skin it seeps into you arteries and your veins and works its way to your heart where it will forever have a place. The part of your heart which houses Africa will contain a love for the landscape, the people, the animals, the food and just the life style in general.
One song that will remind me of my time in is Beautiful Day by U2, there is a part of it where it goes "what you don't hove now you wont need it now, what you don't have now you will never need it now", and its so true sure what you have is nice but after not having it you don't really need it. Like posh kitchens, or nice cars or even carpet. Thinking about my life in Canada and England, i really dont miss much of the stuff at all really. It will be so weird going back i cant even comprehend it.
heres the advert if your curious.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rb6yctYKfhs
Another part of this advert that i really liked is in another sequence it went " When the rest of the world turns its back 1 billion Africans are sharing a coke. 1 billion reason to Believe in Africa." And there are 1 billion resons, The people treat each other as family, they go out of their way to help you and they really do make the most out of each day. For example there is a women who sells tea behind our house and she says she is our African mama and you can quite often find here and other other Africans dancing in the street having a laugh. Or seeing children running around playing foot ball without a care in the world. Africa has an incredibly bright future, it has such charm and such charisma that it makes you believe that Africa will do great things one day. Africa is a place that not only gets under you skin it seeps into you arteries and your veins and works its way to your heart where it will forever have a place. The part of your heart which houses Africa will contain a love for the landscape, the people, the animals, the food and just the life style in general.
One song that will remind me of my time in is Beautiful Day by U2, there is a part of it where it goes "what you don't hove now you wont need it now, what you don't have now you will never need it now", and its so true sure what you have is nice but after not having it you don't really need it. Like posh kitchens, or nice cars or even carpet. Thinking about my life in Canada and England, i really dont miss much of the stuff at all really. It will be so weird going back i cant even comprehend it.
heres the advert if your curious.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rb6yctYKfhs
Sunday, 8 July 2012
Uganda, Zanzibar and transiting Kenya.
After my intially planned 3 days cry fest in Rwanda which turned into a 1 week mind blow the boys and I got a bus to Kampal from Kigali. It was suppose to take 8 but ended up being 15 hours... oh well TIA. The border crossing from Rwanda to Uganda took a while cause "no mans land " ( the bit where you have to walk from Rwanda to Uganda and are technically in the middle of nowhere) takes about 20 miniuts to walk to but there were farms on either side of it so you get thinking " which country are they in and which country gets the profits." After crossing the border we continued to trek towards Kampala. It is really how much diffrence a simle line on a map makes. Rwanda is the land of 1000 hills and is greeny brown for the most part but as soon as you enter Uganda it gets flatter and more tropical.
Going to the bathroom during the journey was a bit of a challenge as you have to trek through grasses and compete with other Ugandan women to find a bush. There was an incident where i thought i found sizeable coverage and then a motorbike driver on the road quite a ways in the distance stopped and then proceded to have a conversation with me... which was a tad awkward oh well it happens.
After 5 days exploring parts of Uganda Ed and I flew to Zanzibar to meet up the others. We went Kampala,- Nairobi- Dar es salaam- Zanzibar.Ed and I have now filled out 10 forms just for entering and exting Kenya and have now started racing each other to see who can fill the form out quickest.... we are obviously so cool.
Zanzibar is absolute paradise, warm weather nice beaches cheap indian food and the ocean. Due to the fact that I do not tan my SPF 60 is a piece of poo and my malaria pills make me burn I now look like a radish and have a burn mark in the shape of the batman logo which is bloody impressive.
Its been really interesting backpacking through East Africa and seeing how diffrent each country is from each other. My favorite is still Rwanda and im pretty sure its an English persons paraside with nice weather, wine bottle sized deliciouse beer for 80p and Kebabs that melt in your mouth. Uganda has very very strong beer and Kenya is very expesive in comparison to the other countrys granted I was only in Nairobi but still. Jomo Kenyatta Interntional Airport in Nairobi is like my second home in Africa considering the amount of time I have spent there .
After Zanzibar im back to Arusha and back to my plastrhouse babies who I'm looking forward to see again .
Going to the bathroom during the journey was a bit of a challenge as you have to trek through grasses and compete with other Ugandan women to find a bush. There was an incident where i thought i found sizeable coverage and then a motorbike driver on the road quite a ways in the distance stopped and then proceded to have a conversation with me... which was a tad awkward oh well it happens.
After 5 days exploring parts of Uganda Ed and I flew to Zanzibar to meet up the others. We went Kampala,- Nairobi- Dar es salaam- Zanzibar.Ed and I have now filled out 10 forms just for entering and exting Kenya and have now started racing each other to see who can fill the form out quickest.... we are obviously so cool.
Zanzibar is absolute paradise, warm weather nice beaches cheap indian food and the ocean. Due to the fact that I do not tan my SPF 60 is a piece of poo and my malaria pills make me burn I now look like a radish and have a burn mark in the shape of the batman logo which is bloody impressive.
Its been really interesting backpacking through East Africa and seeing how diffrent each country is from each other. My favorite is still Rwanda and im pretty sure its an English persons paraside with nice weather, wine bottle sized deliciouse beer for 80p and Kebabs that melt in your mouth. Uganda has very very strong beer and Kenya is very expesive in comparison to the other countrys granted I was only in Nairobi but still. Jomo Kenyatta Interntional Airport in Nairobi is like my second home in Africa considering the amount of time I have spent there .
After Zanzibar im back to Arusha and back to my plastrhouse babies who I'm looking forward to see again .
Monday, 25 June 2012
This is Rwanda- tears, hills, smiles and a trip to the hospital.
So travelling is now in full swing. I am currently in an internet cafe in Kigali and have been in Rwanda about 3 days. The first day after landing in Kigali involved a trip to the hospital. The night before I was in Nairobi and started feeling ill and ended up projectile vomiting for 14 hours straight and have never been in that much pain in my entire life. Luckily the morning of my flight i stopped chundering and was able to make it to the flight and made itto the hospital the day after where i got a couple of IV's some tests and antibiotics and was discharged later that evening which was nice as i didnt have to spend the night there. Upon landing in Rwanda myself my travel mates Ed and Simran were in complete aw of the country its green rolling hills the fact the roads are paved, people obey the traffic signs, follow the speed limit and how unbeliviably clean the country is. After the 1994 genocide the country was filthy with the streets being lined with rotting corpses and blood so the President, Paul Kagame introduced mandatory community service called umuganda where everyone, himself on the last saturday of every month goes out into the streets and cleans and If you don't you get a $100 fine. When I first came to Rwanda it was only going to be for 3 days to see the genocide memorials then go to Uganda but Rwanda is so so so much more than a genocide. The genocide is a big part of the countries history and everyone in the country was affected by it, the Tutsi, the Hutu and the Twa and people say around hee "our history is unique, we must learn from it remember it for the generation that was lost and build on it" which is exactly what the county has done by developing education, infrastructure, medical facilities and social programs.
To learn more about the genocide we went to the memorial the day after i was discharged from hospital and it was honestly the most emotional day I have ever experienced in my life. You walk through the museum and it takes you through the historuy of rwanda, before, during and after the genocide before you get to some exhibitions. It was a sunday when we went and there were not alot of white people there, mainly Rwandans. Thee was a big group all in traditional Rwandan dress with white ribbons pinned on their clothing in memory of someone they lost in the genocide. The genocide was only 18 years ago to almost everyone in the country has lived though it. The most emotional parts where my eyes turned to waterfalls where when I saw a women pin a photograph of her son that was killed in the gencodie to the wall of vicitms, and the childrens room.
The childrens room is dedicated to the lost generation and future leaders of Rwanda, it profiles children who were killed in the genocide. When you see a picture of 6 month old baby and see cause of death "hacked to death by a machete in its mothers arms', you cant help but not burst into tears especially when theres a room of Rwanda women who lost children in the genocide all around you doing the same thing and you start to think in the words of my housemate Ed "If there is a God he left this place a long time ago". After the museum and walking through the mass graves we went into town for lunch and met a really nice guy who showed us all around Kigali and is helping us figure out what we want to do with the rest of out time here who was incredibly friendly smiley and helpful.
Needless to say Rwanda is so much more than an genocide and is a country that we can all learn from it has been to hell and back triumphed and out shone many of its neighbours and is a country that peopll should admire to from the cleanliness, to the safeness, to the amount of care they put into preserving the countrys natural beauty, to the friendliness of its people and how they have put their past behind them even after living thought absolute hell since since 1959 ( when the first Tutsi massacares started and continued to escalate till the Genocide). Rwanda You Amaze Me.
To learn more about the genocide we went to the memorial the day after i was discharged from hospital and it was honestly the most emotional day I have ever experienced in my life. You walk through the museum and it takes you through the historuy of rwanda, before, during and after the genocide before you get to some exhibitions. It was a sunday when we went and there were not alot of white people there, mainly Rwandans. Thee was a big group all in traditional Rwandan dress with white ribbons pinned on their clothing in memory of someone they lost in the genocide. The genocide was only 18 years ago to almost everyone in the country has lived though it. The most emotional parts where my eyes turned to waterfalls where when I saw a women pin a photograph of her son that was killed in the gencodie to the wall of vicitms, and the childrens room.
The childrens room is dedicated to the lost generation and future leaders of Rwanda, it profiles children who were killed in the genocide. When you see a picture of 6 month old baby and see cause of death "hacked to death by a machete in its mothers arms', you cant help but not burst into tears especially when theres a room of Rwanda women who lost children in the genocide all around you doing the same thing and you start to think in the words of my housemate Ed "If there is a God he left this place a long time ago". After the museum and walking through the mass graves we went into town for lunch and met a really nice guy who showed us all around Kigali and is helping us figure out what we want to do with the rest of out time here who was incredibly friendly smiley and helpful.
Needless to say Rwanda is so much more than an genocide and is a country that we can all learn from it has been to hell and back triumphed and out shone many of its neighbours and is a country that peopll should admire to from the cleanliness, to the safeness, to the amount of care they put into preserving the countrys natural beauty, to the friendliness of its people and how they have put their past behind them even after living thought absolute hell since since 1959 ( when the first Tutsi massacares started and continued to escalate till the Genocide). Rwanda You Amaze Me.
Saturday, 9 June 2012
1 month in Africa
So today is the 1 month anniversary of coming here and I cant belive how fast time is flying. It seems like yesterday that we got in from Nairobi and had our fist Swahili lesson.... granted I didnt pay too much attention because i was nackered but that is beside the point. Life had been pretty easy to adjust to here seeing goats an chickens on the way to work now days is completely normal. My record for people on the Dallla Dalla is 27 people 9 chickens and 2 babies. It was quite cosy to say the least. My Swahili is slowly improving working at the plasterhouse you pick it up very quickly, I can understand people decently well now its just talking back is difficult so I make an effort to look at my Swahili book most nights. Our water is still tempermental so going to the pub to use the toilet is still a regular activity.School has been chaotic and my lessons get cancelled regularly due to school being re-decorated so things are kept interesting. I have been lucky I have not faced too many challenges the only real ones were when a teacher asked me why the Europeans made Africa poor and when someones me to explain 9/11 when they had never seen a skyscraper.
Tanzania is a very interesting country it is the most stable and peaceful in Africa and they are extremely proud people. I had a discussion with one of my teachers at my school about the real success stories of Africa in terms of stability no necessecarily ecomonic growth. Tanzania, Ghana and Senegal after independance adapted socalist policies. In Tanzania under Julius Nyrerera, he implemented polices where " you where and Tanzanian first and your tribe second". As a result the country has no tribal conflicts unlike some of Tanzanias bordering countries like Kenya and Burundi. Ghana and Senegal are the same sort of deal.
South Africa seems to have a huge influence over Tanzania every morning at school they sing the national anthem and it sounds the exact same and Nkosi Sikilele Africa, the South African national anthem and is even sang to the same tune. The only supermarket is Arusha is a South African one. People here idealise South Africa economic growth but at the same time they know its very messed up and has alot of problems. One thing I learnt from one of the teachers is that Tanzania is very wealthy in natural resources, they have Tanzanite, Oil, Copper, Diamonds so the country has a lot of potential to be an African economic power house. The country is already a big military power and gives a lot of funding to the East African Union.
I really like my life here a lot and I find it very satisfying I get up early go to teach go to the Plasterhouse and have a bit of a routine here where I circulated between children who are stuck in beds, playing with the little ones and giving them a fair amount of cuddle time a day. Then coming home walking past cows, goats and trying to avoid stepping on a chicken, having conversations with the locals trying local food. My new favorite snack is Cassava and Chilli Sauce. Then coming home and going to sleep or sometimes going for a beer at a local pub.
This weekend we are going hiking around the waterfalls near bye so that will be fun. Euro 2012 has started and so its everywhere the country is also football crazy so things remain as lively as ever.
Anna
Tanzania is a very interesting country it is the most stable and peaceful in Africa and they are extremely proud people. I had a discussion with one of my teachers at my school about the real success stories of Africa in terms of stability no necessecarily ecomonic growth. Tanzania, Ghana and Senegal after independance adapted socalist policies. In Tanzania under Julius Nyrerera, he implemented polices where " you where and Tanzanian first and your tribe second". As a result the country has no tribal conflicts unlike some of Tanzanias bordering countries like Kenya and Burundi. Ghana and Senegal are the same sort of deal.
South Africa seems to have a huge influence over Tanzania every morning at school they sing the national anthem and it sounds the exact same and Nkosi Sikilele Africa, the South African national anthem and is even sang to the same tune. The only supermarket is Arusha is a South African one. People here idealise South Africa economic growth but at the same time they know its very messed up and has alot of problems. One thing I learnt from one of the teachers is that Tanzania is very wealthy in natural resources, they have Tanzanite, Oil, Copper, Diamonds so the country has a lot of potential to be an African economic power house. The country is already a big military power and gives a lot of funding to the East African Union.
I really like my life here a lot and I find it very satisfying I get up early go to teach go to the Plasterhouse and have a bit of a routine here where I circulated between children who are stuck in beds, playing with the little ones and giving them a fair amount of cuddle time a day. Then coming home walking past cows, goats and trying to avoid stepping on a chicken, having conversations with the locals trying local food. My new favorite snack is Cassava and Chilli Sauce. Then coming home and going to sleep or sometimes going for a beer at a local pub.
This weekend we are going hiking around the waterfalls near bye so that will be fun. Euro 2012 has started and so its everywhere the country is also football crazy so things remain as lively as ever.
Anna
Thursday, 31 May 2012
I HAVE A DEMANDING FRIEND IN ALBERTA WHO WANTS TO HEAR ABOUT MY LIFE SO HERE IT IS!
Ok so this post I will pick up where I left off. The plan to go to the genocide trials sort of failed the day we went it turns out that the last trial was the day before...... bollocks. Anyways I may not be able to see the trials but I will be able to see the Genocide memorial itself next month as I'm going to Rwanda with two other people from our group, Ed and Simran so now I have a choice of husbands!
Now to the interesting stuff, life in Arusha. The last few weeks have been busy with teaching and plasterhouse. My kids are great that I teach there all very polite and helpful and a lot of them are incredibly clever. They have monthly exams coming up next month so we are just doing revision for that at the moment.
Plasterhouse is going great but it can bve tough some days not because of screaming kids but because of the stuff you have to see. For example,the reaon why most of the kids at plasterhouse are their are because of disabilites( usually the legs) caused by the Maasai inbreeding, some of them have no feet, some of them have disfigured feet. Most of the cant really walk properly cause their lower legs stick out almos A shaped if you can picture that, so alot of them get surgery and then are bed ridden and in casts.
Baba is one of my favorites hes about three years old and is a very happy little boy who loves sitting on your lap and singing. He always runs up to me when I walk in the gates and gives me a big hug. On the weekend he got surgery and was in casts in his bed crying and sad because the casts where too tight which was quite difficult to deal with because you cant really do anything other than rub their heads and go "polle sana" ( im really sorry) I sat and drew with him for a bit which cheered him up.
I have a feew favorites and the plaster house and then there are a few kids that no one likes. My favorites are Baba, a little girl called Naanoori who is very happy and really enjoys cuddling, a little girl called Katrina ( who went home on saturday) Sabina who is about 8 years old has had surgery twice and is ridiculously clever and 1 leg Barracka. If the term "Cheeky Basterd" becomes and official term in the English language there will be a picture of 1 leg Barracka next to it. He had to have his right leg amputated in Janurary cause he had an over sized foot but he can hop around pretty fast. One time he some how ended up on top of a bookshelf with no shorts on someones water bottle and was pretending to be a water fountain.
There are a few kids no one lifes Elias and The One Whose Got Four Names But No One Knows Any Of Them So He IS Just Called the One Who Always Whines. Elias just causes trouble and urinates every where so they put him in dresses a lot of the time as well as alot of the little boys. The One Who Always Whines, cries when you go near him and cries when you dont go near him.... no one likes him at all.
Life in Arusha is good outside of work, minus the water never working..... ever. We have gotten a bit desperate and have resulted to going to the village pub for number twos and when we get really desperate we are going to put on our sunday best and go use the posh hotels toilets across the street.
Our local pub is called BIG Y and is cheap and good and we go there with the other Brits living near by quite a lot. One of the guys who says he owns it bu we figured out he doesnt actually hes just the Old Drunk Guy that tells everyone what to do at the pub but doesnt actually own it or work their.... basically hes the village drunk.
Our village is lovely there are kids everywhere 45% of Tanzanias population is under 15 and you can really see it all around here. I have come up with the white person in Tanzania drinking game, everytime someone says "MZUNGU" you have to drink..... basically you will be permenantly sloshed the whole time you are in Tanzania.
Now to the interesting stuff, life in Arusha. The last few weeks have been busy with teaching and plasterhouse. My kids are great that I teach there all very polite and helpful and a lot of them are incredibly clever. They have monthly exams coming up next month so we are just doing revision for that at the moment.
Plasterhouse is going great but it can bve tough some days not because of screaming kids but because of the stuff you have to see. For example,the reaon why most of the kids at plasterhouse are their are because of disabilites( usually the legs) caused by the Maasai inbreeding, some of them have no feet, some of them have disfigured feet. Most of the cant really walk properly cause their lower legs stick out almos A shaped if you can picture that, so alot of them get surgery and then are bed ridden and in casts.
Baba is one of my favorites hes about three years old and is a very happy little boy who loves sitting on your lap and singing. He always runs up to me when I walk in the gates and gives me a big hug. On the weekend he got surgery and was in casts in his bed crying and sad because the casts where too tight which was quite difficult to deal with because you cant really do anything other than rub their heads and go "polle sana" ( im really sorry) I sat and drew with him for a bit which cheered him up.
I have a feew favorites and the plaster house and then there are a few kids that no one likes. My favorites are Baba, a little girl called Naanoori who is very happy and really enjoys cuddling, a little girl called Katrina ( who went home on saturday) Sabina who is about 8 years old has had surgery twice and is ridiculously clever and 1 leg Barracka. If the term "Cheeky Basterd" becomes and official term in the English language there will be a picture of 1 leg Barracka next to it. He had to have his right leg amputated in Janurary cause he had an over sized foot but he can hop around pretty fast. One time he some how ended up on top of a bookshelf with no shorts on someones water bottle and was pretending to be a water fountain.
There are a few kids no one lifes Elias and The One Whose Got Four Names But No One Knows Any Of Them So He IS Just Called the One Who Always Whines. Elias just causes trouble and urinates every where so they put him in dresses a lot of the time as well as alot of the little boys. The One Who Always Whines, cries when you go near him and cries when you dont go near him.... no one likes him at all.
Life in Arusha is good outside of work, minus the water never working..... ever. We have gotten a bit desperate and have resulted to going to the village pub for number twos and when we get really desperate we are going to put on our sunday best and go use the posh hotels toilets across the street.
Our local pub is called BIG Y and is cheap and good and we go there with the other Brits living near by quite a lot. One of the guys who says he owns it bu we figured out he doesnt actually hes just the Old Drunk Guy that tells everyone what to do at the pub but doesnt actually own it or work their.... basically hes the village drunk.
Our village is lovely there are kids everywhere 45% of Tanzanias population is under 15 and you can really see it all around here. I have come up with the white person in Tanzania drinking game, everytime someone says "MZUNGU" you have to drink..... basically you will be permenantly sloshed the whole time you are in Tanzania.
Monday, 21 May 2012
Chasing the serengeti sun
This weekend we went on Safari in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro crater, we were told that now was the only time to go because of the migration the weekend after woulds and it was unbeliviable. The serengeti in Swahili means endless and the serengeti really is endless. You get a it of an adrenelin rush from safari, when you are going 80 miles an hour in a jeep , standing on your seats with you head and upper body poking out as you play with exposure and shutter speed, needless to say this weekend has given a whole new meaning to the term bus surfing.
There is so much natural beauty here it is not even funny,in the landscape and the animals you see its quite incredible, we were drsiving towards the Ngorongoro crate and we came across somewhere between 20,000-50,000 wilderbeasts running across the road which was amazing. Having seen them up and close I can now safely say that Wilderbeasts are the ugliest animal in the animal kingdom.
The hotels we stayed in were ridiculously nice, that it was a bit uncomforable to say the least. When you have been in a country for 10 days and been surrounded by absolute poverty and then your in a hotel with a bunch of loaded American and European tourists with ridiculously nice cameras they have no clue how to use and are there on a package holiday. Whats even more sickening is when you find out the people working there make 10,000 shillings a week (4 pounds a week) who work ridiculous hours.
Regardless Safari was amazing and a great way to spend my birthday. We are all now back in Arusha and back to work which feel good because I missed my plaster house babies. I really like my life here its quite rewarding and i enjoy the simplicity of it. People often mock African efficiney but i would easily say public transport is more efficient than Vancouver. You get around here mainly by Dala dal ( mini bus which seats 16comfortably but usually has about 25). they continueously come which is nice. Piki Piki is also big (motorcycle taxi).
I am currently in an Internet Cafe trying to plan a trip around lake victori through Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and Western Kenya. Any of my UWC friend reading if you anyone in any of these places thats would be willing to show myself and one other person around or if they are feeling extremely generous a couch please message me.
There is a UN court here in Arusha where the Rwanda genocide trials are being held and its free for the public to come watch as long as you show your passport so that's the plan for the weekend.
There is so much natural beauty here it is not even funny,in the landscape and the animals you see its quite incredible, we were drsiving towards the Ngorongoro crate and we came across somewhere between 20,000-50,000 wilderbeasts running across the road which was amazing. Having seen them up and close I can now safely say that Wilderbeasts are the ugliest animal in the animal kingdom.
The hotels we stayed in were ridiculously nice, that it was a bit uncomforable to say the least. When you have been in a country for 10 days and been surrounded by absolute poverty and then your in a hotel with a bunch of loaded American and European tourists with ridiculously nice cameras they have no clue how to use and are there on a package holiday. Whats even more sickening is when you find out the people working there make 10,000 shillings a week (4 pounds a week) who work ridiculous hours.
Regardless Safari was amazing and a great way to spend my birthday. We are all now back in Arusha and back to work which feel good because I missed my plaster house babies. I really like my life here its quite rewarding and i enjoy the simplicity of it. People often mock African efficiney but i would easily say public transport is more efficient than Vancouver. You get around here mainly by Dala dal ( mini bus which seats 16comfortably but usually has about 25). they continueously come which is nice. Piki Piki is also big (motorcycle taxi).
I am currently in an Internet Cafe trying to plan a trip around lake victori through Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and Western Kenya. Any of my UWC friend reading if you anyone in any of these places thats would be willing to show myself and one other person around or if they are feeling extremely generous a couch please message me.
There is a UN court here in Arusha where the Rwanda genocide trials are being held and its free for the public to come watch as long as you show your passport so that's the plan for the weekend.
Wednesday, 16 May 2012
TIA, lovely people avocados and divine beauty
It was a night flight from heathrow, flying over Benghazi, North Sudan, Darfur and Ethiopia, starting your descent into Nairobi and seeing the moonlight reflect off a tin roof and thats when it hits you. " Holy Crap this is real." We landed in Nairobi cleared cusatoms and got on the bus to Tanzania. Kenya is a beautiful country the whole 5 hours I spent there. The culture shock wasn't as big as I was expecting which is a good sign. The biggest shock came with a guy carrying an AK 47 in kenya who just jumped on the bus to welcome us to Kenya. As they say TIA- This is Africa. Clearing immigration at Tanzania was fine as well and we are now officially residents of Tanzania... get me im so posh!
Tanzania is an amazing country filled with a beautiful backdrop, and people. We met the other volunteers here who took us for a night out on the town. Canada and England you should be ashamed of yourselves, the beer here is cheap and ridiculously good and the entire night out including taxi cost about twenty dollars. I made friends with one of the local bartenders who use to live in vancouver, His name is Alli and he is also a hair dresser and we bonded over our love of drag queens, If anyone who went to apokalypstick is reading this i know your all laughing.We went out a few more times once for the anniversary of Bob Marleys Death and one night we went out dressed up as maasai's ( a tribe here) which was a good laugh.
I started teaching thisw eek which was terrifying but i like it alot the kids here are great i also work at the plaster hous a center for children who are recovering from surgery its an amazing prodject and its alot of fun.only problem is its hard to tell whose a girl and a boy... oh well TIA.
Im off on Safari this weekend which I cannot wait for!!
write soon,
Anna
Tanzania is an amazing country filled with a beautiful backdrop, and people. We met the other volunteers here who took us for a night out on the town. Canada and England you should be ashamed of yourselves, the beer here is cheap and ridiculously good and the entire night out including taxi cost about twenty dollars. I made friends with one of the local bartenders who use to live in vancouver, His name is Alli and he is also a hair dresser and we bonded over our love of drag queens, If anyone who went to apokalypstick is reading this i know your all laughing.We went out a few more times once for the anniversary of Bob Marleys Death and one night we went out dressed up as maasai's ( a tribe here) which was a good laugh.
I started teaching thisw eek which was terrifying but i like it alot the kids here are great i also work at the plaster hous a center for children who are recovering from surgery its an amazing prodject and its alot of fun.only problem is its hard to tell whose a girl and a boy... oh well TIA.
Im off on Safari this weekend which I cannot wait for!!
write soon,
Anna
Tuesday, 8 May 2012
Victorian England to Modern England in the course of 48 hours.
Its May 8th today, departure date for Tanzania and it hasn't quite hit me yet. It probably wont until I land. Anyways the past two days have been a good laugh back home in the motherland. Grandad came for a sunday roast and it was really lovely. Sunday roast fill you up nicely and put you in a bit of a daze/high/ coma for the rest of the day and everyone tends to pass out on the sofa. Especially when grandad puts the snooker on.
We ran out of hot water so we were forced to go back to Victorian time using the kettle to boil the water and filling the bath up with that. Poor Emily, Jessica's sister had to use Jessicas dirty bath water one day... poor child. The resort ended up being going to the gym with no intention of doing exercise but using the shower instead.
We are all a bit addicted to the game draw something, granted I am positively shit at it but its still fun. we basically spent all day yesterday sitting round the kitchen table drinking and playing draw something against one another. Ladies and Gentlemen I present to you the Modern British Family.
The sun is shining today which is lovely, England is quite beautiful on a sunny day but I know Tanzania will be more sunny and more beautiful than England. It still seems a bit weird thinking that I'm leaving today. Im looking forward to meeting everyone today at the airport and tomorrow once we get to Tanzania and meet the volunteers already there. Im really curious to see what everyones like and if we are all quite similar or if it will be a bit like Come Dine With Me where we are all very different from each other but have a common bond..... well I suppose its not really a common bond on come dine with me its more like they all think they're really good dinner party hosts.
Anyways, if anyone is actually reading this, next time you hear from me I will be in Tanzania adjusting to my lifestyle there and living as a Tanzanian.
We ran out of hot water so we were forced to go back to Victorian time using the kettle to boil the water and filling the bath up with that. Poor Emily, Jessica's sister had to use Jessicas dirty bath water one day... poor child. The resort ended up being going to the gym with no intention of doing exercise but using the shower instead.
We are all a bit addicted to the game draw something, granted I am positively shit at it but its still fun. we basically spent all day yesterday sitting round the kitchen table drinking and playing draw something against one another. Ladies and Gentlemen I present to you the Modern British Family.
The sun is shining today which is lovely, England is quite beautiful on a sunny day but I know Tanzania will be more sunny and more beautiful than England. It still seems a bit weird thinking that I'm leaving today. Im looking forward to meeting everyone today at the airport and tomorrow once we get to Tanzania and meet the volunteers already there. Im really curious to see what everyones like and if we are all quite similar or if it will be a bit like Come Dine With Me where we are all very different from each other but have a common bond..... well I suppose its not really a common bond on come dine with me its more like they all think they're really good dinner party hosts.
Anyways, if anyone is actually reading this, next time you hear from me I will be in Tanzania adjusting to my lifestyle there and living as a Tanzanian.
Saturday, 5 May 2012
Aftur Heim.... or as they say in English coming home
It is currently 2:30 in the morning i'm sitting in a ridiculously comfortable bed, but alas I am un able to sleep..... bloody Jet lag. I flew into London yesterday from Vancouver,and adventures are now safely underway. The flight was not nice, there was a crying baby behind me the whole time and I was really tempted to turn around and tell the mum to give her kid some whiskey and make it shut up already. Instead, I was a good sensible Anna and decided not to. In addition to having a Baby thinking it was Adele behind me, I was sitting next to two Germans I was on the Aisle and they conveniently needed a wee every single time I fell asleep! The flight was a bit delayed getting into London but not by much.
I absolutely love Heathrow, because, customs literally takes about two minutes to get through if you're an EU national. They literally look at your passport for about 10 seconds, whilst talking to a co-worker about the football, sip their coffee and hand it back over to you. I got picked up by two of my best mates Jess and Naomi which was a lovely surprise and we squished in the Jess's little car. It was like I never left the UK, but it always feels like that, gossiping about what happened in the village discussing the telly, life, families and mutual friends and singing along to S Club 7 in the car. Our singing voices are all as equally horrid as they were when we were kids. However, this time we actually knew all the words and what the lyrics meant. Its quite weird listing to songs from childhood and actually understanding what the lyrics mean..... it's a miracle our parents let us listen to these songs as kids.
So far being back home is wonderful. I know most of you reading this find it odd that despite having lived in the land of maple syrup, snow, hockey riots, bacon and Moose's( or is it Meece?) and politicians with revolting haircuts.... (not like David Cameron's is much better but thats beside the point ) I still call this country is home. I suppose the reason is because its where I feel the most relaxed and the happiest, I am not sure but there is something about it that as soon as I pass through customs I know I'm home, granted it's never for a very long period of time but that doesn't matter.
Last night was spent around the dinner table with Jess and her family. We had a Indian take away, wine gin and tonics, and mini French larger's that Jess's dad always buys. It was so so lovely and felt extremely normal, like home. We talked about changes that have happened in the area, and how some things haven't changed. Changes in the village have consisted of, a few black people from Zimbabwe and Jamaica who are apparently really clever have moved to the village, some more Indians moving in, running a restaurant that now gives you free beer with you curry if you spend enough ( just 1 reason why I love this country). Other changes that I have noticed are there are considerably less adverts for car insurance on the telly (Thank GOD!), some new sofas, Jess is now driving , the pub down the road now sells fancy Coffee, and the country has gotten extremely patriotic.
Think of what was suppose to happen with Kony 2012, but instead take Union Jacks and put it all over every single shop and every single street in England, what with the Queen's Diamond Jubilee( 60 years our queen'y has been on the thrown she has and your money Canada, and Australia to name a few) and then the Olympics and then the Royal Wedding last year. I think its a good thing for the county, the economy has gone down the toilet and things have been quite grim so i'm hoping that the Olympics will brighten some things up, and cheer people up a bit and hopefully revive it.
Although some things have changed some things remain unchanged. Booze is still cheaper, Curry is still better, the country is still more liberal than Canada, Chocolate is better, skies are grey, rain( but its different rain than Vancouver), roads are just as thin, American flag clothing is still fashionable in the summer, the chavs are still around, David Cameron is still a pompus twat, Boris Johnson is still the mayor of London and continues to be a hilarious muppet, and the gypsies still live on Oreston Lane.
Got a Sunday Roast tomorrow which I'm looking forward to it with Grandad and Jess's family. He's bringing half a cow so I'm looking forward to some yummy beef and having a lovely food baby before I go out that night.
It's 3 days till i'm off to Tanzania, and it hasn't quite sunk in yet that i'm actually going yet. It probably won't hit me till I actually get there, and realize that I'm a minority( not that I'm not use to that having lived in Vancouver for 2 years now). I'm really excited for it though, being a transient child of the world I enjoy change and adapting to local life styles and customs so, "being a Tanzanian/ African" for three months is something I cannot wait for. Especially, going to church and getting my gospel on, I'm not religious ,but I know churches in that part of the world are pretty much a continuation of saturday night which I quite like the sound of.
Hope this wasn't too long or dry.... well I am in England so it shouldn't be :P!
I absolutely love Heathrow, because, customs literally takes about two minutes to get through if you're an EU national. They literally look at your passport for about 10 seconds, whilst talking to a co-worker about the football, sip their coffee and hand it back over to you. I got picked up by two of my best mates Jess and Naomi which was a lovely surprise and we squished in the Jess's little car. It was like I never left the UK, but it always feels like that, gossiping about what happened in the village discussing the telly, life, families and mutual friends and singing along to S Club 7 in the car. Our singing voices are all as equally horrid as they were when we were kids. However, this time we actually knew all the words and what the lyrics meant. Its quite weird listing to songs from childhood and actually understanding what the lyrics mean..... it's a miracle our parents let us listen to these songs as kids.
So far being back home is wonderful. I know most of you reading this find it odd that despite having lived in the land of maple syrup, snow, hockey riots, bacon and Moose's( or is it Meece?) and politicians with revolting haircuts.... (not like David Cameron's is much better but thats beside the point ) I still call this country is home. I suppose the reason is because its where I feel the most relaxed and the happiest, I am not sure but there is something about it that as soon as I pass through customs I know I'm home, granted it's never for a very long period of time but that doesn't matter.
Last night was spent around the dinner table with Jess and her family. We had a Indian take away, wine gin and tonics, and mini French larger's that Jess's dad always buys. It was so so lovely and felt extremely normal, like home. We talked about changes that have happened in the area, and how some things haven't changed. Changes in the village have consisted of, a few black people from Zimbabwe and Jamaica who are apparently really clever have moved to the village, some more Indians moving in, running a restaurant that now gives you free beer with you curry if you spend enough ( just 1 reason why I love this country). Other changes that I have noticed are there are considerably less adverts for car insurance on the telly (Thank GOD!), some new sofas, Jess is now driving , the pub down the road now sells fancy Coffee, and the country has gotten extremely patriotic.
Think of what was suppose to happen with Kony 2012, but instead take Union Jacks and put it all over every single shop and every single street in England, what with the Queen's Diamond Jubilee( 60 years our queen'y has been on the thrown she has and your money Canada, and Australia to name a few) and then the Olympics and then the Royal Wedding last year. I think its a good thing for the county, the economy has gone down the toilet and things have been quite grim so i'm hoping that the Olympics will brighten some things up, and cheer people up a bit and hopefully revive it.
Although some things have changed some things remain unchanged. Booze is still cheaper, Curry is still better, the country is still more liberal than Canada, Chocolate is better, skies are grey, rain( but its different rain than Vancouver), roads are just as thin, American flag clothing is still fashionable in the summer, the chavs are still around, David Cameron is still a pompus twat, Boris Johnson is still the mayor of London and continues to be a hilarious muppet, and the gypsies still live on Oreston Lane.
Got a Sunday Roast tomorrow which I'm looking forward to it with Grandad and Jess's family. He's bringing half a cow so I'm looking forward to some yummy beef and having a lovely food baby before I go out that night.
It's 3 days till i'm off to Tanzania, and it hasn't quite sunk in yet that i'm actually going yet. It probably won't hit me till I actually get there, and realize that I'm a minority( not that I'm not use to that having lived in Vancouver for 2 years now). I'm really excited for it though, being a transient child of the world I enjoy change and adapting to local life styles and customs so, "being a Tanzanian/ African" for three months is something I cannot wait for. Especially, going to church and getting my gospel on, I'm not religious ,but I know churches in that part of the world are pretty much a continuation of saturday night which I quite like the sound of.
Hope this wasn't too long or dry.... well I am in England so it shouldn't be :P!
Saturday, 21 April 2012
Passport Bureaucracy, Modern Book Shops and Culture Shocks
Exams are over and my sanity level is slowly returning to a normal state. I now have the whole time to devote to adventure planning. I have currently been researching into the cheapest ways to travel to various parts of eastern/ southern Africa and have been currently trying to figure out my budget.
I was on the bus with a mate of mine the other day and we got discussing safari and prices. Safaris are pretty pricey, usually around $400 if you are not from an African country. If you are from an African country it will cost you about $15. After hearing this I got thinking about the perfect passport combination.
I currently hold a British passport and a Canadian passport. I am extremely thankful for both of these because it means that I can work and live in the EU and Canada, but also it is extremely easy for me to get to everyones favourite country, the USA. The British one also makes it very easy to travel through much of Africa as visas can be obtained at the border or are not required ( yippee!!). I concluded other brilliant passport combinations would be, South African and an EU citizen, if you have a keen interest in Africa then it makes you life considerably easier to have a passport of an African country. Also, Brazilian and Australian because it makes it very easy to travel through Andean countries as well as travelling through Europe and North America.
I went to a book shop today to pick up a Swahili phrase book, and I was amazed how for a book shop Chapters actually sells very few books. It looked more like the front cover of good house keeping than a book shop with all the pillows, home decor teddy bears and CD's.
I find it quite funny that when you go into a CD shop now days its mostly video games, movies, posters t shirts and books and when you go into a Book shop its mostly Cd's and home decor. Is this a new marketing tactic? If so doesn't seem particularly logical if you ask me.
Anyways, two weeks till i'm about to experience the biggest culture shock of my life..... and I cannot wait for it. I know that there is absolutely no way I can prepare myself for whats going to happen two weeks from now and i'm completely ok with it.There is something so wonderfully frightening, thrilling and exhilarating about culture shocks that sticks with you and changes you as a person each time you experience one.
Now time to pack up my house and get back to the Swahili learning!
I was on the bus with a mate of mine the other day and we got discussing safari and prices. Safaris are pretty pricey, usually around $400 if you are not from an African country. If you are from an African country it will cost you about $15. After hearing this I got thinking about the perfect passport combination.
I currently hold a British passport and a Canadian passport. I am extremely thankful for both of these because it means that I can work and live in the EU and Canada, but also it is extremely easy for me to get to everyones favourite country, the USA. The British one also makes it very easy to travel through much of Africa as visas can be obtained at the border or are not required ( yippee!!). I concluded other brilliant passport combinations would be, South African and an EU citizen, if you have a keen interest in Africa then it makes you life considerably easier to have a passport of an African country. Also, Brazilian and Australian because it makes it very easy to travel through Andean countries as well as travelling through Europe and North America.
I went to a book shop today to pick up a Swahili phrase book, and I was amazed how for a book shop Chapters actually sells very few books. It looked more like the front cover of good house keeping than a book shop with all the pillows, home decor teddy bears and CD's.
I find it quite funny that when you go into a CD shop now days its mostly video games, movies, posters t shirts and books and when you go into a Book shop its mostly Cd's and home decor. Is this a new marketing tactic? If so doesn't seem particularly logical if you ask me.
Anyways, two weeks till i'm about to experience the biggest culture shock of my life..... and I cannot wait for it. I know that there is absolutely no way I can prepare myself for whats going to happen two weeks from now and i'm completely ok with it.There is something so wonderfully frightening, thrilling and exhilarating about culture shocks that sticks with you and changes you as a person each time you experience one.
Now time to pack up my house and get back to the Swahili learning!
Saturday, 14 April 2012
University: How to induce type two diabetes and cause everyone to pull a britnay spears
I found out the other day that I actually fly into Kenya and not Tanzania and then embark on seven hour bus ride from Kenya to Tanzania which got me really excited because it means I can cross Kenya on my list of places that I have been too. Its exam season now and I am currently trying to write a paper on Canadian Foreign Policy towards Zimbabwe, it's interesting but at the same time stress full as its just one more thing I have to deal with. I picked Zimbabwe cause it's a place I have always wanted to go to, hopefully I will manage to go there in the summer if not guess il have to save it for another trip.
One of the things I am looking forward to about going to Tanzania is having minimal stress. Those of you reading this are probably thinking "what do you mean not being stressed?". Well the fact of the matter is in Tanzania is probably my biggest concern will be if I have air-dried my ass enough and making sure I don't use poison ivy to wipe my bottom after using the toilet.
I have been reading about stress and what it does to the body. Apparently it causes an insulin spike at a very dangerous level and can cause type two diabetes if it occurs and constant enough rate. I'm sure that at least one professor, if not more at my university are aware of this, and yet they still continue to bombard us with homework and sit back and chuckle to see how many people pull a Brittany.
Pulling a Brittany consists of you stress level hitting the fan, shaving your head, and going on a rampage like Brittany Spears did back in 2007. Luckily I have not quite reached that point yet.
Anna's Brittany moments have been dominated by travel thoughts as usual (some things really never change) and have consisted of dropping out and moving to Cape Town to work for a coffee roasting and trading company that I got offered a job at over a year ago.... needless to say it was very very tempting.
Other Brittany moments have consisted of moving to India covering myself in tattoos becoming a vegetarian and learning some random ass form of yoga to enlighten my soul...... or some shit like that.
Disappearing off to Brazil has been tempting as well, to learn Portuguese and work in a pub.... I know its random but I like Portuguese, its a fun sounding language, like a mix of Spanish, French and Italian being spoken through you nose..... bit like Jordies when they speak english..
Anyways time to pull some more stuff out of my ass for this paper. Don't worry theres no poison ivy involved.
One of the things I am looking forward to about going to Tanzania is having minimal stress. Those of you reading this are probably thinking "what do you mean not being stressed?". Well the fact of the matter is in Tanzania is probably my biggest concern will be if I have air-dried my ass enough and making sure I don't use poison ivy to wipe my bottom after using the toilet.
Pulling a Brittany consists of you stress level hitting the fan, shaving your head, and going on a rampage like Brittany Spears did back in 2007. Luckily I have not quite reached that point yet.
Anna's Brittany moments have been dominated by travel thoughts as usual (some things really never change) and have consisted of dropping out and moving to Cape Town to work for a coffee roasting and trading company that I got offered a job at over a year ago.... needless to say it was very very tempting.
Other Brittany moments have consisted of moving to India covering myself in tattoos becoming a vegetarian and learning some random ass form of yoga to enlighten my soul...... or some shit like that.
Disappearing off to Brazil has been tempting as well, to learn Portuguese and work in a pub.... I know its random but I like Portuguese, its a fun sounding language, like a mix of Spanish, French and Italian being spoken through you nose..... bit like Jordies when they speak english..
Anyways time to pull some more stuff out of my ass for this paper. Don't worry theres no poison ivy involved.
Thursday, 12 April 2012
Exam Period Rant: Congolese Monkeys and Academics
Im currently studying for an archaeology exam on friday and have an essay due on the 17th, and exam on the 18th, and a final on the 19th that is either worth 55% or 90%. Needless to say I have thought about jumping out of a plane, shooting myself in the head and taking up smoking, curling up in a ball screaming crying and drinking a bottle of whiskey straight. As some of you may or may not know i'm going to Tanzania for the summer and i'm leaving May 3rd and I can't bloody wait.
The fact that I have a ticket and am leaving very soon is causing a lot of distractions to say the least. Some of the useless bullshit I have to memorise includes looking at people going to random countries and it crossed my mind what on earth to the people at customs think.
For example, the Democratic Republic of Congo has some random specific type of monkeys that like to say "hello!" by having sex. Apparently there has not been much research done on these guys because of where they live. So naturally, it crossed my mind as to what a customs officer must think when a white guy or girl shows up with a research visa and says it wants to research these rather..... passionate? monkeys that not a lot of people know about.
Personally, I would just absolutely love to see the look of the customs officers face when some academic tells him that and see how he reacts. Does he go " we have more than one kind of monkey?" or would he react like me " why do you care about hypersexual monkeys? Are you interested in making some monkey porn, and want to find ones that are going to be the most comfortable in front of the camera?"or would he like most normal people just go what the hell let them through.
Anyways, 23 days till i'm off adventuring in search of the african sun. My visa is being issued as we speak, a visa..... A visa so I can work in the country and come and go as freely as I please....... not a visa to research hypersexual Congolese or Tanzanian monkeys.
Now back to seeing what other random ancient stuff that all looks and sounds the same I can fit into my head... sorry this wasnt much about travel but its about the world so its good enough right.
The fact that I have a ticket and am leaving very soon is causing a lot of distractions to say the least. Some of the useless bullshit I have to memorise includes looking at people going to random countries and it crossed my mind what on earth to the people at customs think.
For example, the Democratic Republic of Congo has some random specific type of monkeys that like to say "hello!" by having sex. Apparently there has not been much research done on these guys because of where they live. So naturally, it crossed my mind as to what a customs officer must think when a white guy or girl shows up with a research visa and says it wants to research these rather..... passionate? monkeys that not a lot of people know about.
Personally, I would just absolutely love to see the look of the customs officers face when some academic tells him that and see how he reacts. Does he go " we have more than one kind of monkey?" or would he react like me " why do you care about hypersexual monkeys? Are you interested in making some monkey porn, and want to find ones that are going to be the most comfortable in front of the camera?"or would he like most normal people just go what the hell let them through.
Anyways, 23 days till i'm off adventuring in search of the african sun. My visa is being issued as we speak, a visa..... A visa so I can work in the country and come and go as freely as I please....... not a visa to research hypersexual Congolese or Tanzanian monkeys.
Now back to seeing what other random ancient stuff that all looks and sounds the same I can fit into my head... sorry this wasnt much about travel but its about the world so its good enough right.
Monday, 9 April 2012
"The world is a book and those who don't travel turn only a page, 'therefore I travel' ".
I have
been in love with travelling since I was a small child. Most children read storybooks;
I would look at atlases, maps of the world, travel guides and ask my dad to
tell me about different countries. The majority of the way I live my life is centered
around maximizing travel opportunities. Whether this comes from having a very
diverse group of friends from all around the world whom I hope to visit all at
some point in my life. To doing a degree that I’m thinking.... hoping... praying
(no particular god just whoever) will allow me to travel as much as
possible.
Travelling
to me is not just a hobby. It's a religion, a lifestyle, an obsession a drug.
The world is not black so why should we view it that way. Travelling opens all
your senses and exposes to things no textbook, or Wikipedia article ever could.
The world is a playground, an expensive playground, some parts of this
playground are under construction, and some parts are dangerous, you just have to figure out which
parts its safe to play and learn in and that’s why I love it.
I've been
travelling since I was a baby, I am a dual citizen of the UK and Canada, and I
have been to 19 countries and have no intention of stopping anytime soon. The
best feeling in the world as far as I’m concerned is having a backpack on you
back, a passport and a boarding pass in you hand and moving, and knowing
everything you have is on your back and you can get up or stay put whenever the
heck you want. I am a transient child of the world and I love being a transient
child of the world more than I love life itself.
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