This has been a pretty busy week- seven airports, tens of interviews and many sleepless hours but I’m finally back from my Africa trip. I’ve been off researching an article for The Guardian’s International Journalism competition and it’s been both brilliant and stressful. Things kicked off badly when three days before my departure date I got an email saying I’d no longer be going to Nigeria (having done a lot of research and interviews already) but instead was off to Kenya. After much swearing I got over the panic and started hard on Kenya research. Then the next called to check what we’d be seeing and found out now we were going to Tanzania. If I’ve learnt anything this week it is that I apparently am relatively adaptive, but I may well be developing a stress ulcer I don’t know about.
An ulcer that no doubt would have been fed by the stress of a delayed flight from Dallas which meant I missed my transfer in London. I never thought I’d be one of those pathetic, emotional idiots from Airline tearfully begging the check in desk to please let me in. Anyway begging didn’t work and I had to book another flight (argh!). Good news was I got to nip into central London and have lunch with Ciara, although after 24hours without sleep I was a gibbering wreck. Managed to buy a cheap guitar though so good news for my poor flatmates.
Finally flying into Dar Es Salaam I was all a blur of sleepiness but as we drove precariously close through the busy, dusty streets there was no question we were in Africa. We pulled up to our hotel only to find it was above an Irish pub (that served mash and Guinness!) and out the front a group of Masai kept guard (I never asked from what- perhaps better not to know.) We were right on the beach front so sunsets brought beautiful views of the dows and fisher boats coming in to shore.
I spent most days at a disability hospital in the city as well as some other interviews. I guess it should have been a pretty depressing place to be (especially as the airport arrival zone thrust shiny images of safari, Kilamangaro and the Serengethi in my face), but actually it was an incredibly positive place. The staff and women I met there were all thriving even in less than ideal circumstances and everyone was so welcoming and warm. Plus their hospital food was pretty good, including what I was assured was a traditional Swahili dish but was in fact a chip omelette.
Snapshots from Dar es Salaam:
We’d eat breakfast up on the roof of the hotel and without fail would end up surrounded by big, fearless crows (Dar is full of them), the cook would come out and chase them off with a coathanger. I was exactly like a scene from Birdemic (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yy-9YLpC5uM).
While I didn’t see any elephants or giraffes I did see a guy on a bike with a stack of eggs in large cardboard cartons towering six feet above the back of his moving bike. You can keep your rhinos, that was pretty impressive.
There are no streetlights in Dar Es Salaam so whizzing around in a tuk-tuk at night is pretty exhilarating experience.
It was awesome to see loads of Masai walking around in their amazing tribal dress but with mobiles clipped to their daggers.
On my birthday we ventured out to this kind of beach side club restaurant. It was a Tuesday so very quiet but we had good food, cocktails and I got to paddle in the dark, Indian ocean. Another day we went out on a dow for a sunset sail- sat their with a Serengheti beach, watching the gentle waves and glowing sunset I was filled with happiness and a distinct feeling of sea-sickness.
We got a professional photographer for two days which was great and he told me I had a good eye for photos! That pretty much made my week.
And so I return... 2am start an flights via Nairobi, Amsterdam, London, Miami and then finally San Jose.
Arriving in London I got pretty homesick, or more just overcome with love for the city (it may have been the sleep-hazed emotions, or maybe there was something in the hot chocolate I’d had in Amsterdam). This was all augmented by the fact a lady actually talked to me on the tube, this may be the first time this has ever happened and to be fair was prompted by the fact I was carrying half a Tanzanian orchestra back with me (note to self- ze-zes and djambes are good conversation starters). She’d just been to see the Pope and in my dopey sleep I almost said oh yes I just read he’d met with Archbishop Rowan Atkinson. Ciara and Chinese food sobered me up and got a few hours sleep before heading off to Miami and San Jose again.
it's been really lovely to get back to UPEACE and see everyone again. Very silly seeing as I've only known people a month but is such an intense little environment being away for a week seemed like a long time!
Lessons learnt:
I now have some basic Swahili (though turns out I knew most of it before from The Lion King. I actually heard someone say Hakuna Matata! And it was a warthog.)
I am now an expert in the study of airports andand being the culturally sensitive person I am I learnt o adjust my behaviour in them accordingly:
Dallas- read classic American-lit and ate corn-on-the-cob and mashed potato
Nairobi- rushed right through the busy corridors because I was already late and had missed one plane already
London- got lost as it was toobig, is full of stuff but unforgiving on the unorgainised
Amsterdam- too cool for words, resisted the massage (actually who know how euphemistic that was?) drank hot chocolate, relaxed
Miami- ate dunkin donuts and pizza, drank lots of coffee and watched American football on all the tvs
(In my Rough Guide to airports of the world Amsterdam comes out on top no question.)
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