Journeying Across the Cradle of Civilization

So, I have already failed a little… slacked yesterday on getting a post up, but, as we said in Africa whenever something didn’t obey Western temporal standards: “This is Africa”. Meaning, basically the same thing as “Hakuna Matata,” “No worries, we’ve got no time, we’ve got all the time in the world, this is Africa”.

I’ll go back to day one to go forward to day three. Luckily, not all that much happens on the second straight day of travel, but I’ll share a few pictures and insights. 

This is the Paris Airport, and while it was technically on the first day of the trip, the architecture is just too incredible to pass up. Here, Paris has taken the brutalism that it is and has been known for and transformed it into a contemporary masterpiece! 

I feel like I looked awfully touristy in the Paris Airport... I hadn't yet found a concealed or comfortable way to wear my, to make it sound cooler, money belt, and I was feeling pretty frompy in my glasses, gym shoes and waffle T. All of a sudden I had an epiphany... what if American tourists embraced the look of an American tourist and they were really cool and sensitive to cultural cues and polite and exhibit all sorts of positive international behavior. Perhaps the world's perception of Americans would improve. My message out to everyone, be true to yourself, wear your fanny pack, let the world know who you are.

Thinking about it... fanny packs are pretty awful. Scratch that last epiphany.

I began my journal the first night in Nairobi, June 9th, under less than ideal terms. We had just left the airport and were only missing one bag. I guess a bag normally goes missing from trip to trip, so no big deal. Would it be my luck or not for it to be my bag? Of course. But, if anyone knows me well enough, I was mostly unphased by this, worse things happen to better people, I always say.. We went to talk to baggage claim and they informed me that my bag took a little bit of a grand tour and visited Amsterdam after Paris, and that I should have it in the morning, and if not, they would send it to the Tanzania-Kenyan border. Fortunately, we were staying in Nairobi for the night to increase my chances of getting it as soon as it made it to Africa. 

"Here I lay in a bed at the Methodist Guest House in Nairobi, Kenya, with some of the most campassionate people I [am beginning to] know [very well] and the last thing that is worrying me is my rerouted luggage. The only reason I mentioned it was because I keep getting asked about how I am doing from others. 

-luggage convo boring-

So how was my day? 

Cincinnati-NYC-Paris-Nairobi

Someone looks like they have been in an airplane for a while! [THIS GUY]

I am still waiting for this overwhelming reaction: "HOLY COW! I'M IN AFRICA" But to tell the truth, I just have not been nervous or anxious this entire trip. I suspect that seeing the Roche Health Center will do it if nothing else does before we get to Shirati. What happens if I don't get the feeling? Am I unphased by anything? Those questions and more will likely be answered in the next 13 days... I am going to sleep... to the sound of a ticking clock, barking dogs, and the whispering bustle of Nairobi, Kenya"

I credit my lack of "holy cow, I'm in Africa-ness" to the 10 weeks I spent with my class, preparing for this trip. I noticed on the ride through Kenya the next day, when I was in a van without anyone from the class, that the vocabulary that the other students used compared to the way I had been "trained" to describe, observe, and understand Africa was totally different. Not to say that my thoughts were not completely unadulterated by the West's perception of Africa, but the thoughts going through my head while dismissive comments about people walking barefoot or the crumbling houses leaned in the direction of sensitive and unknowing. Am I making any sense? I'm trying to say that I had been taught to react naturally, without precedent, versus comparing Africa to things I had seen and experienced before... like America. I mean, check out the BEAUTY of this market we passed! Africa has community!

On the way through Kenya to Tanzania, I made a few quick jots. The notes are short, reflective, some have a little humor, but mostly just jots. Take them for what they are worth.

"African ARchitecture -> People live outside for the most part. Buildings are for storage and sleeping. I suppose the climate allows for this. Wouldn't it be nice to live outside all the time? What if it rais really hard, then what? What opportunities does the climate provide in America? The Midwest?"

"I asked Fat Joe [our driver] if there were any mythologies associated with the Great Rift Valley... ... ... Mine."

"Hey Matt [Rasch... my roommate who asked me to slap a zebra for him]... I just saw a dead zebra on the side of the road... I don't think I'm going to touch it. 

"Just saw a live one... we are traveling at 100kph... I won't be touching that one either"

"On the road, just say a "World Cup 2010 Show House"... set up like a business, painted on the storefront. I wondering if the entire village gathered there to watch the World Cup? Community... they've got it!"

"I spoke with Regina about the "Wow" moment and she agreed that she hadn't felt it either. Perhaps we have matured beyond our giddiness. Maybe we are waiting to get to Roche, to meet the people we have been refering to all quarter. I guess I'll find out tomorrow. "

"Our two day voyage to reach Tanzania is over! I'm sitting in my bed at Motel 2000, walking distance away from the SHED compound. Everything I've been studying on maps and from the pictures is becoming very real very fast. I can't wait to see the place in the daylight."

Much like I was feeling at the end of the day of travel, I think it's time to head to bed. I sort of miss those mosquito nets... 

yeah, not really... that's one thing I wasn't sold on, haha.