Ridiculousness

I suppose it would have been ridiculous to think I’d make it through this adventure without learning/being reminded about something about myself. Well, it looks like I went and got reminded of something. In addition to being a big fan of life in general, I also really like people. I like telling stories, and I love listening to stories. This has been made slightly more difficult with the whole “You don’t speak much English and I speak even less Swahili” thing. It has been great to get to know Mike a lot better and share the experience, but I definitely miss all you wonderful people and the time I get to spend talking with all of you.
You see, by the time I post this we will have officially been in Dar for over a week. This was not the plan as far as we knew it, but we are taking the advice of a young camper I had back in my days of leading Extreme Faith Camp and “going with the flow”. The week has moved much more slowly than we’re used to, but, even though the plan-changing and uncertainty can get frustrating at times, I’d have to say that I’ve really enjoyed our time here. I have had a ton of time to think, write, and even read! I finished the first book I’ve read just for pleasure in a long time, and it was wonderful! Since I’ve had short stints of internet access the whole time, I figured I’d type this as a Word Document (a.k.a. “novel”) to make up for all of those disappointing hours I’m sure you all spent hitting refresh on this blog in hopes that I would regale you with more stories. Here goes the long and short of it. I’m calling it ridiculousness because a wonderful student of mine named Louie always told me I used the word ‘ridiculous’ too much and then proceeded to refer to me as such. Not all of it is that ridiculous, but I suppose that’s all relative…
*Flights: Nothing too out of the ordinary for the flight process (as you may recall, the itinerary was a bit tiring). However, we got a little excitement when some artillery valve-somethingorother wouldn’t close on the plane that was supposed to shoot us through the sky from Chicago to Frankfurt. I didn’t and don’t know what that valve is all about, but I’m all for making sure the vessel that’s about to shoot me over an ocean is 100% cleared for take-off. After about an hour on the runway (some passengers were pretty upset, but I was holding in my laughter as I thought of Louis C.K.’s “Everything’s Amazing and Nobody’s Happy”…YouTube it- it’s ridiculous!), we finally took off. We learned that our ETA to Frankfurt was about the same time as we were supposed to be leaving there for Ethiopia…whoops. Well, we got off in Franfurt and were shuttled onto a bus that sped us to…another bus! This one sped us to a desk where we heard the flight had already left. After some German arguing amongst Lufthansa workers, we were brought on a short job down some stairs and to…another bus! This bus brought us to a desk where we got boarding passes and proceeded to get on…another bus if I remember correctly. Anyway, we ended up on the plane to Ethiopia, met some cool people, and the rest is history/
*First Night…I Mean Morning: As scheduled, we got in at 3:15 AM EAT (8hrs ahead of Minnesota). We spent some time trying to figure out visa things, but security quickly gave them to us and rushed us out (what we didn’t realize was that we were literally the last passengers in the airport). We exited and realized that we were surrounded by Tanzanians offering taxis, and we didn’t even know the Swahili word for “No.” Luckily, Barnabas, a monk from the guesthouse, got our attention and brought us to our destination. Around 5 we tried to get some sleep (wanted to be rested for our 7:30 breakfast bell!) Part of the reason I didn’t get to sleep until 5 was that there were cars starting, people talking, and ROOSTERS CROWING outside our window. I’m all for Rockadoodle, but it didn’t seem like the time or the place…
*Miscellaneous:
-Nearby bar that a monk brought us to played “Young Forever” by Jay-Z on repeat for a half hour as I sipped my Coke.
-There’s a “Home Depot” here…I don’t think it’s quite the same.
-We’ve seen a couple small lizards and they’re awesome!
-Apparently there’s a bunch of ways to cut oranges…You may be aware that I’m not an orange fan, but they are growing on me, as they are often the dessert option. I don’t even know if I can describe the cutting style. The peel the skin with a knife but leave the thick pulp, and they slice off a bit of the top. Then, they essentially suck each slice out individually. We’re thinking this style comes from the fact that many people eat oranges while walking on the street, and this allows for everything to be in one hand and not that juicy…Either way, we definitely get some laughs when we try it their way (no success yet, but I’ll keep you posted).
-PitiPiti (prounounced Petey-Petey and possibly misspelled) is a small orange circle with a green stem. It looks like a tiny tomato. It is not a tiny tomato. It is, in fact, the hottest pepper I’ve ever tasted in my life! The other guys took it in one bite without knowing what it was and learned the hard way, and I just cut it up and put it in the rice. It was delicious, but I sweated profusely, had to blow my nose and dry my eyes, and I needed about an hour before my heart slowed down…I haven’t had it again since, but I intend to rise to the challenge…
-At any given time there is noise, and it’s likely religious. There is often loud singing or speaking into microphones from other Christian churches that can be heard throughout the city, and there is also the call to prayer for the Islamic population. The call to prayer is actually beautiful and relaxing. I try to use it as my mindfulness bell (what up Peace Studies Capstone!).
-Another food lesson= Milk is not what I thought. The first day I gladly took it over coffee and tea, and I was definitely surprised at what I got. It was hot, and it was whole… The end.
-Finally, we did make it to the Indian Ocean! We went to the gorgeous Kipepeo (Butterfly) Beach! It had the works! White sand? Check. Bright blue water? Check. Delicious Pineapple/Mango Fanta? Check. Livestock crossing the shore before we could enter the water?...Check? Yep, that happened. Just your run of the mill goats and cows. It was pretty great!
Welp, I’ll try not to do this whole “No blog followed by novel” thing to you again. Until next time, have fun, and know that I am working on getting a Swahili translation for the beginning of “Circle of Life”.