Naming of Things.

In Tanzania, the naming of things is an art form. And therein lies the joy of a Tanzanian road trip.

We started a list of dala-dala (minibus), bajaj and truck names a while back and on our recent road trip out west we passed the time with a renewed interest in on-the-road entertainment in the form bus and truck names.

Some of the names could be better classified as allegiance pronouncements which center largely around religion and football and tend to be quite straightforward: Manchester United, Barcelona, Islam, Jesus, and many variations therein.

Philosophical naming conventions can make you look and think twice, or at times elucidate a very fundamentally different worldview in this part of the world: Born to Suffer, God is SO good, !2nd chance!, no gain without pains. 

And other names can just be downright hilarious, if not, perplexing: bankito, Grace & Vincent, Blue Horse, goodfellaz, Uprising, Allocation, Don't Panic: Message Sent, Double 'D', Mr. Promise, The Expendable's Full Respect, The Top Judge, Coaster for All of the Nations, AMBUSH, Doctor Bush, Castaway, Liver Pool, King Perfect, Black People, Logistika, Power (of) God, Bananaland, V.I.P. Class, B. Positive (wait, is that a blood type allegiance or a philosophical pronouncement?!).

Incidentally, this is something that Sarah Markes captures well in her Dar street level sketches. And her new book certainly did not disappoint! In fact, we have become not only proud owners of her new book, but also of two original street level sketches capturing the hilarity of naming of transportation modes.

Piracy on the High Seas.

We see it, hear about it, and feel it in our daily lives. The reach of the Somali pirates is hitting closer and closer to home, as they grow more and more powerful.

Recently, a BBC international news headline read: Greek oil supertanker Irene hijacked off Oman. Frankly, you do not need too wild of an imagination to guess that it is the Somali pirates behind this ship seizure. Carrying 266,000 tons of crude oil with an estimated value of $200 million, it is believed this is the largest vessels ever seized by Somalis.

Today, four Americans sailing on a yacht off the coast of Oman were taken hostage by Somali pirates. While pirates usually attack cargo ships, in more recent years it has become increasingly common that they now seize yachts as well. The yacht's owners had been sailing around the world since 2002, apparently on a Bible hand out mission.

Overstretched international anti-piracy forces operating in the Indian Ocean give priority to protecting cargo ships over private yachts. We have an acquaintance here who runs an anti-pirate private security firm. Basically, if you have something you want to transport, he hires mercenary types to board your boat and help keep you safe from the pirates. Right now - business is booming. When I pointed out his rather perverse implications behind this business model, he demurely agreed.

But the story hitting closest to home began four months ago now and is still unfolding. Two people whom we know from the Dar es Salaam were kidnapped off of Mtwara in South Tanzania. They were sailing home to South Africa to spend the holidays with their families; they had volunteered to work as crew on someone else's yacht. The stories about the circumstances under which their yacht was seized are murky, but either way, the result is tragic. Two South Africans from very humble backgrounds are now being held for ransom by Somali pirates. The initial ransom price was set at $10,000,000, an astronomical sum by all accounts. Apparently, their families are bargaining for their release, while at the same time begging for contact to make sure that the person they are dealing with can assure that their loved ones are safe, hell, even alive for that matter.

We recently learned that negotiation proceedings were beginning to reach a formative end, and to help ensure that these negotiations were brought to a positive end we were asked to contribute a rather modest amount, approximately $10US to support the fund being raised to ensure their release. It was assured that all donations would remain anonymous, it certainly doesn't bode well for assuring future safety when pirates know who is willing to fork over cash for someone's release. We unflinchingly were willing to contribute to this fund, in fact we made an extra donation on behalf of our friend who met this couple and has been actively following the story of their release stateside. But the reactions within the community were mixed, and I can see both sides.


Somalia has had no functioning central government since 1991, which allows piracy to flourish off its coast. Somali pirates have made millions of dollars in recent years by capturing cargo vessels in the shipping lanes around the Horn of Africa and holding the ships and crew for ransom. A ransom payment perpetuates and further fuels this practice. This is probably the biggest and most compelling reason to not give money, and it also just so happens that this really goes against the grain of my belief in the importance of "development." I suspect most Somalis themselves would share this opinion.

But seriously, how can we NOT give?! If I were in their position I would certainly want to be rest assured that everyone who was able, was doing everything they could to help secure my release. Moreover, while I don't want me money going to fund piracy on the high seas, where is my small little protest in not funding them going to get me? This is a pretty well established system, with extremely sophisticated leadership and money management, I alone do not have the power to change that.

So I am curious to hear your thoughts. To give or not to give, that is the question.

Pure Swahili Coast.

Happy New Years greetings from the Swahili Coast.

Homeward Bound.

Tomorrow we are homeward bound for the holidays, or so we hope. Barring weather delays and grounded flights, we hope to board a plane and then another one and then another one to make it home in time for the holidays. Fingers crossed we experience a smooth journey. Afterall, it wouldn't be the holidays without Joannie's cookies to celebrate.

Via Chicago.

In my nostalgic dreams anyway...

Dream with me and Wilco here.

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Photo Credit: Andrei Sinioukov

Speaking of Fashion...

...what's your safari style?

Early European settlers in African were apparently terrified of of the effects of sun on both physical and mental health, as a result, a good hat ordered from the Army & Navy Stores catalogue was deemed essential.

Beyond the essential hat to protect from the sun, early safari adventurers were often accompanied by an entourage of cooks, a surgeon, and a train of wagons loaded with more "essentials" including items such as a piano, cases of gin, and crates of vintage champagne. In this way the term "safari" was adopted to describe the expatriate elite's adventures in the Kenyan and East African wilds, while in Swahili, the term simply means journey or trip. Go figure.

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References and Photo Credit:
Beddow, Tim and Natasha Burns. Safari Style. Thames and Hudson: London. 1998.

Condom Truck.

So cute.

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Photo Credit: Andrei Sinioukov

Abnormal Wide Load.

All of these situation were real, witnessed firsthand. And yes, the roads of Tanzania are indeed scary.

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Photo Credit:
Large Tire: Kristen Pfau

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

When I started to blog in October of last year, I conceived this as an opportunity to connect with friends and family back home in the States. I did not hold any bold ambitions about the reach of this blog nor any delusions that my thoughts and insights about my time overseas would reach anyone beyond a close circle of friends and family back home.

But since that time, my blog has managed to generate feedback in a surprising number of ways. I have been touched along the way to find out that I have some dedicated followers and I have been pleased to learn that my posts have presented learning opportunities or that I have managed to share a new and fresh perspective on a tired topic, experiencing life overseas.

Every once in a while I will hear from a friend who casually mentions something I know I have not told them directly, and it quickly becomes obvious they have read about my experiences on my blog. Thanks for reading friends and family.

But there was one time, when I received the below message in response my post entitled East meets West, and Back Again:

Dear Meghan,

Thank you for blogging yours truly and the SFW [Swahili Fashion Week] on your blog...much appreciative.

Warmest regards,
Mustafa Hassanali
Fashion Guru/Managing Director
Mustafa Hassanali HAUTE COUTURE

Thank you Mustafa, this message was truly inspiring.

Then there was the time when I received a personal phone call from the owner of Le Corsica, he informed me that when he read the contents of this post to his mother, she cried tears of joy and pride.

Thank you, P.F. I remain dually impressed with your culinary adventures in Dar es Salaam (and a superior darts player).

But two weeks ago, in response to my post Fanciful Excuses, I received perhaps what is the best form of feedback possible. A mere sidenote mention of a broken Lululemon messanger style bag, generated the following message from Lululemon's Online Community Educator, she wrote:

"I’m sorry to hear about your experience with our bags. I would love to know what bag specifically you have had issues with, as it sounds like something worth passing along to our Quality Assurance team.  We are dedicated to producing quality items, both clothing and accessories and I’m sorry to hear that you have had these issues.

Have you gotten a chance to return the bag to a local store?  If not, we’d be happy to offer you a refund or replacement bag. As an alternative to the style you have already tried, I’d recommend our Cruiser Backpack.  It is extremely practical and durable and my personal favourite of any of our bags: http://shop.lululemon.com/Cruiser_Backpack/pd/c/620/np/620/p/1046.html.  I look forward to hearing back from you and working to find a solution to your bag dilemma." 

Now seriously folks, this is customer service at its finest. Not only was she proactive in reaching out to me in the first place, but she was creative and thoughtful in her approach to helping me find a replacement bag, even offering to overnight ship a new backpack to my mother who could carry it with her on her recent visit here. And so it seems, I no longer have a viable excuse for not riding my bike straight to the gym after work!

But the best part, is that this backpack is AWESOME! Upon laying his eyes on it, a good friend said, I am buying one immediately upon my return to the U.S. A gentlemen in my office spotted my new backpack on my desk at work and immediately started thumbing through all of the secret compartments in deep adoration. Thank you Lululemon, I am now in possession of a highly coveted object and remain a truly loyal customer. Many, many thanks.

The "Typical" Safari Experience?

A few weeks ago we went on a "do-it-yourself" safari to Mikumi National Park. We took self-guided drives through the park in our Rav4, we set up our own tents and camped inside the park, and we packed all of our campfire food and drinks ahead of time. Our total costs for the whole weekend came to a whopping total of $100 per person, based on shared expenses among our group of 5. But the trip itself was priceless, seriously nothing beats seeing the silhouette of a giraffe in your headlights once dark falls.

That same weekend, some acquaintances of ours in Dar also went on a safari. Instead of the "do-it-yourself" approach, they opted to take advantage of an offer to stay in a luxury tent camp, priced at $1200 per person per night (although they were lucky enough to secure a "deal" which needless to say was still well out of striking distance from our $100 per person range for the weekend).

We all returned to Dar eager to trade stories of our respective safari experiences. Their opening question was, "Did you tents have a chandelier?" Hilarity ensued. While we all got to see animals and take snap shots til our hearts' content, it quickly became clear that our respective experiences were beyond compare. We all readily agreed that neither experience was for the better nor the worse, although perhaps that was just a convenient accord to strike between the "haves" and the "have-nots." Incidentally, most of our more luxury seeking counterparts are MBA students visiting Dar for the summer from a prestigious Ivy League program. Whatever happened to the life of a so called starving student?

Following our recent tour of Tanzania's northern park circuit, including 3 day game drives through Tarangire, Ngorongoro Crater, and Lake Manyara, I almost laughed out loud when I came across the latest Louis Vuitton "safari" ad campaign shot in Africa. The ads star Dree Hemingway, as in Earnest's great-granddaughter. Described as "quite simply superb," the ads within this 2010 Travel Collection catalog contain all of the regular features of a safari experience from tents to lions to sunsets to jeeps, but somehow the final effect is so jarring from my own safari experiences to date that these photos somehow seem to mock the "typical" safari experience. Perhaps I should ask my more luxury seeking friends for comment? Until I get a chance to edit recent photos from our more humble safari experience, feast your eyes on these glamorous shots.

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References:

http://habituallychic.blogspot.com/2010/08/chic-on-safari.html

Perception Matters.

Traffic in Dar almost looks fun in sketch form.

These sketches of Dar street life are brought to you by Sarah Markes, who was trained at Central St. Martins in London as an illustrator and graphic designer, and who has lived in Dar es Salaam for the last seven years. Her ultimate aim is to produce a book of drawings and creative writing inspired by Dar es Salaam street life, which is supposed to be launched at the end of this year. I cant wait! In the mean time, be on the look out for updates on her work and progress here.

The Motorist.

 

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Photo Credit:

Carolyn Schroder

Fanciful Excuses.

As mentioned in my last post, I seem to have a knack for casually forgetting the positive spirit boosts regular exercise renders for me. I have been known to think up some pretty fanciful excuses to justify such indolence. But sincerely I doubt I am alone in this camp. In all honesty, one of my biggest hang ups with biking to and from work right now hangs on the fact that I do not have a properly functioning bag to carry my things.

Upon moving here instead of bringing my ever trustful, virtually indestructible, one-of-a-kind handcrafted R.E.Load messanger bag, I opted to bring a more versatile Lululemon messanger style bag. Big mistake. Lesson learned. Several months ago en route to work via bike, my Lululemon bag broke, ie: fell off my back in the middle of the street while I was crossing two lanes of on-coming traffic. (As a side note: while I love Lululemon athletic gear, this is their SECOND bag that has failed me, falling apart within 6 months of purchase after just normal wear and tear, incidentally they made good on the first sale - replacing the broken bag for me free of charge, but following the second bag failure, I have realized I should just stick with their clothes, and perhaps so should they!) The scene played out in slow motion for me.

I look back to confirm the whereabouts of my bag to find it lying listless in the middle of the traffic lane. I look up and realize the sheer volume of cars flowing at great speed towards me. I shudder when I realize my MacBook is trapped inside the bag. I awkwardly dismount my bike in a state of panic. I contemplate risking life and limb to run into traffic to save my bag, er computer. I do a double take of on-coming traffic. Oh f*ck. I decide to save myself and rush to the side walk on the other side of the street. My face grows flush and I feel a wellspring of tears building. Suddenly, someone shouts and I look behind to see someone rushing into on-coming traffic, swooping down to gather my bag (and its unknown contents) all just in time to miss on-coming traffic and deliver the bag safely it into my hands. This whole incident makes me seriously rethink some of the widely accepted stereotypes about how untrustworthy the locals are, how they will steal the shirt off your back if given a chance, etc. Humanity and decency prevail, but the bag does not survive this incident.

On a recent trip to Morogoro, I was aimlessly wondering around and discovered a heaping pile of second hand bags from the United States. I was knee deep in bags, searching in earnest for a suitable replacement. I manage to dig something out of the pile that looks like it could serve my purposes. I negotiate a price of $5.30, cough over this modest amount and consider myself lucky. Until two weeks later the bag breaks and now there is a gushing hole leaving the bag partially open at all times.And so I am once again left with a fanciful excuse to not ride my bike regularly to and from work. Ug.

I recently discovered these Makr backpacks and I am lusting over them. Aren't they pretty and perfect? These handcrafted bags are made in small batches to ensure their quality and to not overproduce. But alas suffering from a bout of indecision over the price (as well as its durability given my track record...), I missed my chance to grab one of these. And since my R.E.Load bag remains in storage for the foreseeable future, my research for a replacement bag continues...

Bike Love.

The other day following an unruly bout of homesickness, Andrei and I met for a bike ride after work.

Ok, ok, while our ride was not nearly as scenic, nor even half as romantic, it did seem that a nice leisurely bike ride was just the cure for homesickness I had been seeking without even realizing it.

As most of you know, I am a bike aficionado. So you can imagine my sheer delight to receive this from Andrei on my birthday morning.

David Byrne is well known as the co-founder of the Talking Heads, but his professional and personal interests delve far beyond his leading role in this band. Since the early 1980s, DB has been riding a bicycle as his principle means of transportation in New York City, and following his discovery of the folding bike, bicycles now accompany him most anywhere in the world he travels. Bicycle Diaries chronicles his observations and insights - what he is seeing, whom he is meeting, what he is thinking about - as he pedals through and engages with some of the world's major cities from San Fransisco to Istanbul to New York to Buenos Aires.

He writes:

"I found that biking around for just a few hours a day - or even just two and from work - helps keep me sane. People can loose their bearings when they travel, unmoored from their familiar physical surroundings, and somehow loosens some psychic connections as well. Sometimes that's a good thing - it can open the mind, offer new insights - but frequently its also traumatic in a not-so-good way. Some people retreat into themselves or their hotel rooms if a place is unfamiliar, or lash out in an attempt to gain some control. I find that the physical sensation of self-powered transport couple with the feeling of self-control endemic to this two-wheeled situation is nicely empowering and reassuring, even if temporary, and it is enough to center me for the rest of the day.

It sounds like some form of meditation, and in a way it is. Performing a familiar task, like riding a bicycle puts one into a zone that is not too deep or involving. The activity is repetitive, mechanical, and it distracts and occupies the conscious mind, or at least part of it, in a way that is just engaging enough but not too much - it doesn't cause you to be caught off guard. It facilitates a state of mind that allows some but not too much of the unconscious to bubble up."

His words speak straight to my heart, I find that bicycling as both a form of transport and exercise grounds and centers me. I suppose I too strike that meditative "zone" that he references, which distracts me from my daily stresses and allows my creative juices to flow, in fact, most of my blog entries are crafted in my head as I ride home from work each day. I have long discovered that a little bit of exercise each day does wonders in terms of positively lifting my spirits, although admittedly this is a lesson I tend to casually "forget" on occasion.

If his words are not inspiring enough, perhaps these pictures will prove to be dually inspiring. Throughout the Bicycle Diaries DB chides the commonly held perception that spandex is a required uniform for urban cycling, which surely detracts some from this "sport". Now if only I could figure out how to look this good on a bicycle?!

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Photo Credits:

http://habituallychic.blogspot.com/

http://thesartorialist.blogspot.com/