Napenda (Lovin’) Africa
Well, we’ve been in Africa for about 2 months now and I must say, I love it here. Everything from the ladies who roast corn and fry fish over a little fire on the side of the street, to the public buses that make you lose a couple years off your life when you ride them. It’s also made me realize how much unnecessary crap I own at home (although, I won’t lie… even after I return home, I don’t think I will be getting rid of my dvd collection or anything like that… call me a materialistic, vain, selfish pig… I like my movies… hehe). I do think I will be different when I return though… I can’t really put my finger on it, but I feel like a different person. Maybe I’m just being corny again.
Anyway, Arusha was good… we just hung out with our new friend Alphonce (he was our guide the first time we went through Tanzania). He showed us the local sights, food, and what not. Ugali is the local dish… reminds me a bit of Enjera in the sense that you eat it with your hands but it is much more difficult to eat. John indulged in a couple other African dishes that I didn’t get to try too… 1. A whole chicken – bbq’ed on a fire. The live chickens that are to be bbq’ed are actually in a cage right accross from the bbq… kinda cruel. 2. A leg of goat – bbq’ed over a fire as well… but you can imagine how big a plate a leg of goat is…. man that was a lot of meat. We also tried a bit of Konyagi (a local alcohol…kind of like gin… yuck). We really didn’t do too much other than relax in Arusha. I am getting pretty good with my kiswahili though.
Now, we are in Nairobi. I can’t say I like Nairobi as much as the other places we’ve been. It seems a little like any other big city. Tomorrow, we are going to the elephant orphanage and the giraffe center. I’m so pumped! You get to pet the animals and stuff…. sure beats petting goats at the petting zoo in Edmonton. And tonight, I think we are going to a restaurant called “Carnivores”… hmmmm… I wonder what they serve there? I hope they at least have something I can eat. I think John wants to try a little bit of everything…. Eland, Wildabeast, Croc, gazelle, zebra… you name it… apparently you can get it there. Hopefully we remember to take lots of pics.
Ummm, I think that’s all for now. Our next stop after Nairobi is Dubai so I’m guessing it will be very different. I’ll keep y’all posted.
Tags: Africa, Side Thoughts
cheng.ev
January 18th, 2007 at 10:21 am
Hey Cuz,
glad to see you’re still having a good time. Just a question that popped into my head, wondering if you’re more likely to stay in Edmonton upon your return, move to a bigger city/different country, or move somewhere more “rural”? Just being nosy (it’s in the genes).
January 18th, 2007 at 8:46 pm
be careful at those zoos….Nadeer got kicked out of one for chasing a penguin while hammered. just warning you….they seem pretty strict.