Happy Holidays

I can't believe that Christmas is right around the corner! I'm heading north (Ohio) to visit my mom for a few days so that is going to be interesting as it always is! I'm signing off for the rest of the week and I'm wishing you the very best holiday season wherever you are.....

It's HERE!!!

Speaking of home, my little apt. got a major boost on Saturday with the arrival of my long-awaited couch! It is actually more comfortable than I remember and fit exactly as I had calculated. And I saw a very beautiful 1940s secretary desk that was almost perfect and now have the store owner on the look-out for the exact style that I'm looking for. I also got some quotes for framing some art work for the walls. There is still a LOT of work to do, but I'm definitely closer to my goal than I was on Friday.

What was I thinking?

Stone-filled sculpture of kneeling man behind the Portland Museum of Art

When I returned to the U.S. in June and was still playing the 'oh where shall I live' game, Portland, Maine was the very first place I was obsessed with. You can check out this previous post about that mini period of my life. Today, sitting in my home here in Washington reading about below 0 temperatures, snowed-in residents with no power and worse, I can only laugh at myself. To think that me, ultimate lover of all things related to warm weather, would have even thought for one single second that I could survive such winter craziness is indeed truly laughable!! Thank goodness for following my instincts!!

Rwanda

Wow! I can't believe this week is almost over. After 5 straight days have having my butt kicked by the flu, I'm ready to just relax in bed and NOT have to wake up early to go to work.

Anyway...I'll end this week with some beautiful pictures taken by my buddy Adam on his recent trip to Rwanda. Rwanda isn't a country I have spent much time fantasizing about as I generally prefer places with a coastline. There are so many great shots I had trouble selecting which ones to show you. Fortunately, you can check out the rest right here.

These pictures definitely have me thinking twice about this little land-locked country!

Hope you have a great weekend!

These guys need no introduction...just marvel!

A cozy little place to grab lunch after seeing one of mother nature's finest creatures....

Synchronized fishing anyone?

Land this fertile looking just makes me wanna run out and grow something! Mind you my household plants aren't looking too hot these days....

I could definitely find room in my apt for one of these funny little guys/gals!

BHF Magazine

The other day, Ali over at Austin to Africa, Brasil to the Bay sent me the link to a fabulous lifestyle magazine BHF Magazine Africa. Particularly wonderful is their collection of photos from the November Vlisco Fashion show in Benin. The magazine, based right here in the DC Metro area, focuses on showcasing all the gorgeousness and talent that comes out of the continent, a theme that you know really resonates with me and which I strive to reflect on this blog. Their I Am Africa series showcases great photographic work by Africans all over the world who share what Africa means to them. Anyway, thanks so much Ali and I hope the rest of you enjoy it as much as I do!

Vagabond No More?

Vagabond - 'purposeless wandering'. In the late 1300s, British cops would collar vagabonds and force them to show their means of support, if they could not, they would be sent to the slammer. By the early 15oos vagabonds were also whipped while in the slammer. By the time the 19th century rolled around, vagabonds were defined as men "with a vagrant strain in the blood, a natural inquisitiveness about the world beyond their doors."

In recent days and weeks, I've listened to the tales and experiences of my wandering friends with new emotions. While I have definitely lived my fair days of wanderings, living on people's couches, giving up friends, etc in search of a new adventure, moving to new cities without a solid idea of where my next paycheck would come from, I am very much beginning to question that lifestyle for for myself. I honestly don't know if I could do it again. In the mere four months that I have lived in D.C., I've found myself slowly growing roots in ways that I had long forgotten about. I have developed little routines that are soothing and even the boring things that I have to do have become a slice of my existence here. This new settledness about myself only comes blaring through when I listen to new friends. Where once their tales of country hopping, adventures on crowded buses, or experimenting local cuisine would have filled me with a slight jealousy, that feeling is slowing becoming one of 'good for you, but not for me.'

I wish I could touch that moment when my priorities shifted. I'm sure it started sometime in Sudan on one of my days when I felt frustrated about the lack of hot water. The feeling grew over the summer when no bed I slept in truly belonged to me. I knew for sure that something was different when a friend asked me recently to go to Cuba for a vacation and besides the 'I just started my job and would have to take unpaid leave' thoughts I also had the mental debate of how to use my limited funds a) plane tickets and hotel for a great experience that will last only in terms of days OR b) use funds to slowly furniture my living room with pieces that could last years. The fact that the choice (b) was a no-brainer was a big signal that A CHANGE had arrived.

I am not 100% sure how I feel about this new me. Sometimes I think something was seriously wrong with me, but luckily I have non-vagabond friends who have either gone through similar feelings or are completely on the settled-side of life. They remind me that a) what I'm experiencing isn't strange and one could even call it a 'normal' part of that infamous process called growing-up, and b) it isn't all boring. I still have many 'I wanna go back abroad' feelings - I would be on the first plane to Mozambique or Tunisia if someone offered - however now I am a little more careful in evaluating the financial and non-financial costs and less willing to throw certain things to the wind as I have in the past.

Ticking Clocks

As I get older, the number of women I know who are hearing their maternal clocks ticking away gets higher and higher. Some may have already succeeded after years of trying while others are just beginning to look at the negative sign on a pregnancy stick with that rinsing of disappointment and others still are holding out for that perfect timing when the right amount of money, the right guy, the right job and everything else are all lined up. I saw these beautiful pictures by E.B. Sylvester whose images not only make me want to jump on the very next plane to Mozambique but also remind me of the sound: tick tock, tick tock.

Christophe Calais: Bantus coming to America

French photojournalist Christophe Calais was introduced to me by my dear friend Helen who just knew that I would love his work and indeed I do. He has spent much f his career focused on capturing images in Rwanda. In recent years, he has worked with the great organization Mapendo International, capturing images of refugees being resettled into the U.S. I especially love the following images of Somali Bantus who were resettled a few years ago after spending just about forever either being persecuted in their country or living in refugee camps in Kenya. Prior to their departure for the land of the free, they had to pick up a few basic skills:

Yes ladies, no more walking a 100 miles to gather wood to cook for the family at the high risk of getting raped! Just a switch of the knob and one match stick and you've got FIRE!

And need I even mention how much I love the image of all their different fabrics mixing, matching and clashing?!?First ever plane ride

Toilet 101: Make sure you stay inside the circle, use the flush switch and put the seat down. I especially love the woman who clearly wants to check it out, but also seems a bit hesitant and is keeping her distance.

Make sure all children are clearly labeled! You wouldn't want to loose one of these in all that immigration shuffle!

Learning how to identify the bathroom, especially the one you are NOT suppose to enter.

Learning all about the magical box (also known as a fridge) and those cold little things called ice cubes!

DaWanda

Based on an African woman's name that means lovely and unique, DaWanda is the Etsy of Europe. Similar to it's American counterpart, DaWanda carries some unique designs and items that are African inspired and of course featured here:

London-based Norah over at Alkina Collections carries pieces designed by artisans in southern Morocco. Handmade leather belts and beautifully handwoven scarves in so many colors:Plisse Africain is line of Africa-meets-Dutch cloth jewelry by a Amsterdam-based jewelry designer Marije Geursen:She also makes very cool brooches such as these:
Over at JuneShop, you have beautiful frill tops with fun wax prints in the front that can easily be worn with jeans or a simple skirt to keep it casual or under a blazer to make it a bit more formal.


Africaworks aims to:
"wants to show the world that Africa is a continent that is bursting with creativity, authenticity, passion and color. It is a continent always on the move! All these elements are fused into one in each individual artwork that Africaworks has to offer. The aim is to assist the development of a country by supporting and promoting artists so that they can become self-supportive, financially independent and that they are therefore equipped with a higher sense of pride, self-respect and dignity"

For more about the team at DaWanda, click here and here to read an interview by Holly over at decor8.

Was I Really There?

Some days I find it difficult to remember or believe that I lived in Sudan for 2 years. It is only when someone asks me about where I was before I started me recent job or what I did after graduate school do I find myself reliving the fact that I did indeed spend a lot of time in a country I knew nothing about before I got there. While I can say that I know more about the people and the country now than I did back in 2004, Sudan is still a complex mystery to me. Even though I don't foresee myself going back there to live again, both of my experiences there (Nimule 2004-2005; Kapoeta/Juba 2007-2008), definitely changed me.

Amazing photos by Kristopher Carlson who has captured Toposa people quite beautifully.

B the Locavore?

Locavore is a word that Americans have come up with to describe something as natural as breathing to our forefathers and still normal to the majority of the world's population: eating food locally made, grown, and/or processed. To even attempt to have consciousness about where your food comes from is treated like an exotic (or primitive depending on the interpreter), activity. The loss of such knowledge in 'third world countries' (hate that phrase), is yet another sign that they are making key advancements.

These changes, the gaining or loosing of consciousness about food, seems to happen very slowly and before you know it, you have don't know where your apple has come from unless you read it on a sticker attached. A few days without a leafy salad with all the sidekicks or even the mere access to such food (even if you don't buy it) sends your body going into some unnatural state of shock. It's a total breakdown in connection between what we put in our mouths and our knowledge about where it comes from.

This was me until very recently. When I lived in Liberia as a child, of course I was a locavore, there really wasn't too much of an option. However there was still a serious disconnect as I rarely ever went to the market and even though my grandmother owned a farm, I can't remember ever making the journey beyond her home to her farm. In fact, I don't even know if she grew anything other than rubber trees and of course the guava tree at her house. When I moved to the U.S. it was made very clear that food comes from a supermarket and you need know nothing beyond this simple fact. Apple picking trips were a brief reminder that fruits come from trees and watching my uncle tend to his small garden showed that cultivating food is literally a very difficult labor of love.

It has only been recently, mostly due to my time in Sudan working with farmers and butchers, that I have started to think more carefully about where my food comes from. While some friends and family think that I've lost my mind when I tell them about my current food shopping habits which include going to famer's markets on freezing days like yesterday, trips to Whole Foods, and also trips to the local grocery store all in the same week, I can honestly say that I have barely begun to scratched the surface. I get so excited about this and each trip to the market gets me more excited. I have no problem talking food to people I don't even know. Friday night at the company Christmas party, I found myself telling people about the various farmer's markets, which one is open in the winter, even which ones take food coupons (yes, the U.S. Government even encourages poor people to buy local) and all the food related places that I still have to explore come spring. I find myself looking twice at blood red tomatoes in December because I now know that they are either coming for far, far away or are going to be really pricey because someone is paying a lot of money in energy bills for a greenhouse.

I really noticed my change last week when in a moment of 'i need fruit other than the apple' I have bought 2 grapefruits all the way from Texas. For the first two days (I cut into halves and carry to work for breakfast), while I enjoyed the fruit, I was super conscious with every bite that what I was enjoying was a priviledge and that's how I decided to treat the event. With the second grapefruit, I was shocked back into reality with it's bitter taste and instantly knew that the foodie powers that be were telling me that clearly this was not what I was suppose to be eating - after all, food is suppose to taste good.

Anyway, as I have said, this is all pretty new to me, but it makes me very excited and everyday I just want to learn more and more. So, do you know where your food comes from? Do you even care? Do you care, but the cost of eating local and organic is too much of a hurdle, or too much effort (i.e. going to more than one place to get food)? I'd love to hear your food experiences in whichever country, county, state, province, city or village you are living in!

This has been a very long introduction to the week, but this is something I've been thinking about since last week and I'm glad I finally got the chance to share with you. With a little planning, I have also lined up an entire week of exciting posts so you can know that there will be something new everyday right here!

Africans in Iraq

Once upon a long, long, long time ago, Africans arrived in Iraq to do the only job that history seems to think we are super qualified to do abroad: be somebody's slave! Yes, almost 800 years before Europeans and Americans arrived on the continent to reap their own havoc, Arab dhows had already taken over 10 million Africans from the north and the east to work their lands, be some master's 'mamita' (translation: sex slave), and I'm sure just about every other menial job they had going on.

Fast-forward through the slave uprising that led to black power for 15 years, past the Arab beat-down to reclaim their land, and stop at the present moment in history with the descendants of these African slaves still being called slaves or abd. As if that wasn't bad enough, you can throw in 95% illiteracy and basically not a shot in hell for a job and you can quickly see that despite a thousand years, Iraqis of African origin continue to get the short end of the stick! Is it even a wonder that they look at Obamaville with sheer awe in their eyes?

Despite all the bad news, I found it very interesting that they still hang on to many African traditions. From spiritual healing ceremonies to the beat of African drums at wedding celebrations and even the preservation of ancient African dialects, this population preserves what they can from their past while struggling to make a future for themselves and their future generations.

For futher info, check out this NPR story and also here.

Liberia, Sierra Leone and Sudan

What do these three countries all have in common?!?! Well, today I found out that the three projects that my company manages in those countries may be coming to my portfolio and they may need a new lacky! Like a pup knowing a bone is about to be thrown, I was basically leaping all over my manager saying 'PLEASE, PLEASE, PICK ME!!!' (obviously in a more demure, professional, less desperate manner). While I'll continue managing my current projects in Iraq, just the mere possibility of working on a project in Africa sent my spirit leaping and laughing along.

*Note: In my line of duty, 'working' on a project means that you get to go to the country where that project is located hence the opportunity to travel to a country I want to go to is very exciting!

Yinka Shonibare

Whenever I'm in a new city, I always visit at least one local museum and/or other exhibition of art because I really believe that the art of a people really show a unique aspect of their history and characteristic. Unfortunately, this isn't an activity I usually do in whatever city I'm usually living in. In New York, I only went to the MET and other 'big' museums on rare occasions and didn't see a third of the gazillion art galleries that the city has to offer. So with this poor history in mind, I decided to turn over a new leaf and enjoy as much art as I can in this city. Lucky for me, the Smithsonian is all FREE and within a few minutes walking distance from my home so I have little excuse. So this weekend I decided to explore the National African Art Museum to see an exhibit on North African jewelry. I was slightly underwhelmed by the museum but an installation by the London based Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare. This first image so grabbed my attention that I actually turned to it twice before leaving the museum. I love how fun and whimsical it appears. The other two pictures showcase a practice of the artist to use wax printed fabrics made into Victorian pieces for expressing his vision.

Vlisco

I'm just LOVING this new ad campaign for Vlisco's new fabrics!!