Kenya-Arusha (6-7 August)

This is going to be a catchup, hopefully, of the last few days, but it'll be blurred and all over the place, I fear. *

Tues-Weds - We were on a plane. And then another plane. For hours. Very grateful for TC's insistence on getting visas before we arrived, as the queues in Nairobi were horrendous. We picked up the luggage - scattered here there and everywhere, not on the belts, weirdly, but gratefully we observered that our sleeping bags and tent remained attached to the rucksacks. We went out into a sea of taxi drivers, but, fortunately, there was Philip with our names on the card. I've rarely been so pleased to see anyone. Then, over to the Sarova Panafric - not cheap, but so so so nice and welcome after two days stuck in a plane.

Thurs am - of course, we hadn't booked a bus to Arusha, but fortunately for us, the people - Pennah and Kizito - at the Panafric saved us the hassle and got us there, no problem. From there, it was a five hour ride over to Arusha. Although we were both exhausted, neither of us could sleep - far too excited. And all the awesome coffee and unbelievably great breakfast at the Panafric - seriously, I cannot recommend that place enough. Mostly because they had baked beans, obviously...

Thurs pm - we're in Arusha! We arrived at the Mezza Luna hotel, having been cramped into a minibus with about 30 other people, including four spanish young women who literally did not stop talking the whole way, or sighing "madre mia" about the "ghetto" bus we were on - I'm guessing (hoping?) they didn't know we understood them. Annoying when you've had about 10 hours' sleep in three days, believe me. Our bus was surrounded by "flycatchers" - local parlance for the guys who want you to go on their safari or hiking trip. That's been a fairly common theme these last few days... still, more on that later. We ended up taking the same bus up to our hotel, which was a haven after a day on the bus - a kidney-shaped blue pool, a nice looking bar, huts, herons... and then we were across the road in a definitely more backpackery place, but lovely nonetheless.

Arusha itself was gorgeous - more on that tomorrow, but Mt. Meru utterly dominated our part of town, looming over us and framed beautifully by the street's lush greenery. It was COLD, however - we hadn't really thought about it, but should have done - with Kilimanjaro and Meru nearby, it's probably not that warm. Duh. And that pool there looked so inviting...

After wandering down to get cash from Barclays, we said hi to every kid in Arusha, it seemed, who wanted to practice some English. Then it was time for a spot of reading, beer, food, and some much much much needed sleep before the ICTR the next day. We also showered, which is noteworthy as it's not happening much these days, to be honest with you all. A little too much honesty? Hmm.

Basically: we're here, we're well, we're mostly happy, and it's so exciting it's hard to think about much else.

*Nowhere near enough time for that, so I'm going to divide it into chunks, I think.

Gone, Daddy, Gone...

I accidentally just published this without any text, and that was probably the most fitting statement, but of course, far too restrained for me, so going to change that pronto.

Although I am not yet packed, and we are scarily underprepared, today I leave for Eastern and Southern Africa.

The itinerary is, roughly, as follows:

Wednesday 6th - arrive in Nairobi
Thursday 7th - get the hell out of Nairobi - over the border to Arusha, Northern Tanzania, site of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (where, yes, we will visit).
Friday 9th - off to Zanzibar. Which is a real place, as TOH recently discovered.

Then... well then, it's a bit hazy. We're going to do a diving course there, get our PADI certificates, and spend about a week-10 days on a beach, diving, reading, buying gorgeous spices in Stone Town.

Then a couple of weeks in Mozambique, working our way down the enormous coast by diving. Honestly, google image searching "Ilha do Mozambique" and Quirimbas and Tofo and Bazaruto kept me going throughout my final year of law school.

Then it's over to Cape Town for about the 4th of September, where my travelling companion (TC) and I will meet TOH and Her Other Half (HOH) for Stellenbosch, Table Mountain, Robben Island and penguins. And if I smuggle a penguin home, I promise it'll only be one. Team mascot. Crouching Tigers will definitely have to become Crouching Penguins.

So that's it. Several thousands of miles and many languages, cultures and white sandy beaches lie between me and when I'm next back in NYC. I'm going to try to keep up some blogging, uploading of photos, but obviously, no guarantees. Luckily, I've been given an absolutely beautiful travel diary by JKS, and so hopefully I'll have some stellar stories to tell when I get back. And that will, finally, fulfill the mandate of this blog's title...

Have a wonderful summer, wherever and however you spend it.

Flowery Prose

On Friday TOH and I actually did as planned, and made it up to the Bronx botanical gardens. And what a scorching, perfect day to do it - sun high in the sky, and we slowly pottered our way round, as we were still full of pizza, pears and Peroni from our trip to Arthur Avenue and the Bronx's Little Italy. It was a fantastic day, with the unexpected bonus of the littering of Henry Moore statues throughout the Gardens giving the park a gorgeous edge. It's wonderful anyway, but very much like a giant stately home, Natural Trust-type property. The coming round corners of pathways to see a smooth, bronze reclining figure, all angles and shadows, added something very special to the experience. The giant white fibreglass female reclining figure was almost incandescent against the green - I wish I could have captured it better.

Speaking of capturing, the camera is dead on its legs, and so many of these are a tad fuzzy and not quite what I'd like, but sadly a combination of no funds for a new one and the fact that Radio Shack has every single type of battery in the world other than the one we need for my gorgeous old Olympus' light meter means that you'll have to make do with these.





My favourite statue was this latter one - all angles, verdigris, shadows and twists cast upon a perfectly manicured green lawn that swept down from the building housing the laboratories and research centre. It would have been a perfect site for a period drama were it not for the curving, stark statue on the grass.

Callused

It's very strange to be done. The euphoria hasn't hit; as always, after a period of exams and great stress, when it's over I merely feel relief. Bruised, battered, but relieved. It's strange to think you get your life back, just like that - no exit interviews or preparation for post-traumatic stress. They just let you loose.

I'm not complaining. I'm planning books to read for the hols, swimming cossie purchase, catching up on Doctor Who, that sort of thing. Today we're off to the Botanical Gardens, which should be glorious - it's the kind of sunny, scorching day which I've only experience outside while heading to get lunch and briefly letting myself bake out there.

You enjoy the stupid things you would normally loathe and dread. Like doing handwashing, as I did this morning. And then it hit me - my maternal grandmother did this every week for 26 years as her four children got muddy and sweated and dirtied their clothes and sheets and everything in between. All by hand. It's playing on my mind a lot as I digest A Room of One's Own, which I finally read. And loved, obviously. I normally do read only detective novels in times of high stress, just as I watch shows - Bones, CSI, Law & Order - of that ilk, obsessively, when stressed. However, I had ordered the book from the library (honestly, it's like Netflix for books and is GLORIOUS - I love the NYPL), it arrived, and I decided that now was indeed the perfect time to read it. Its original purpose was to remind me of why women need money, and independence - and so remind me that I need to pass the Bar for the sake of equality in my relationship, if nothing else.

It did much more than that, however. One of Woolf's observations that struck me, that I keep coming back to, was the recognition of women's limited experience; that Jane Austen couldn't leave her house without an escort, that what women knew was so inherently domestic because they were constrained there. And millions of women lived like that, without remark or record. Like my grandmothers, who each raised four children and worked their entire lives. It gave me a kick up the backside, therefore, to realise that I was enjoying the break from the mental stuff to do the handwashing, and think just how different my life is from theirs. So really, I shouldn't be that pleased with myself. On the other hand, recently I've been such a mess that showering is an achievement, so maybe I should give myself a little bit of a break. And stop being so flaming earnest.

Think of a number...

I've decided to give myself a ten minute break in which I have to think of ten positive things about this whole bar experience. Which, believe me, is not easy. Here's what I've come up with:

1. I am now watching less than 10 hours of tv a week. Because I barely watch an hourlong thing when I get home at night. [Negative = not watching Six Feet Under or any Daily Shows at the mo - dammit. I LIKE tv. Still.]
2. I have rediscovered classical music. While the downside is that I'm not listening to any of the fantastic new (and newish) albums I have recently purchased (Neon Neon, New Young Pony Club, MGMT), I have been rediscovering the joys of classical music as it is, apparently, the only suitable music for memorization. Elgar and Fauré are particular favourites. Recommendations for suitable, non-jaunty things gratefully received.
3. Improved snacking. You see, because I am stuck sat on my backside all the time I can't be eating peanut m&ms whenever I feel like it. So anything low-fat and high-fibre to keep me full is consumed. Balancing consideration: level of crunchiness. Sadly, on my table in the library today are only people without headphones / earplugs, so the baby carrots are out right now.
4. Resumption of detective novel obsession.
   
5. Gym time? I am going 4-5 times a week because of the aforementioned arse-sitting.
6. Reduced consumption of alcohol. Some friends have renounced the evil stuff completely, but I just can't face that. So it's one light beer (with lime) per night.
7. I know now that I cannot write your will for you and expect a payout. So I'll forego the will-drafting to receive the cash, methinks.
8. The return of fishwatch.
   
9. Gratitude - for time after this misery, for the time up until now. That's it.
10. TOH is an absolute sweetheart.