Contemporary Dance Fest.

Saturday night I went to a contemporary dance festival. It was a 4 day festival with dances from East African groups and some European groups. I got to see 3 Tanzanian, an Ethiopian, and Swedish performances. It was interesting to say the least. The last Tanzanian one was downright bizarre and I didn't get it at all. It was titled Rood which means red in Dutch and involved alot of red paint being dumped on the dancers. It was way over my head. I wasn't expecting to see men dancing in their underwear, which I'm sure the parents that bought their kids weren't expecting either.

I did really like the one called Black in White. This dance was about a horrendous human rights violation that still occurs today, killing of albinos. Witch doctors are still practicing making magic potions out of human body parts. Albinos are targeted for these killings for 2 reasons: One, they are not considered to be human. Two, it's believed by the witch doctors that the skin of an albino has magical power. Women and children are mostly targeted. These killings are endemic to most of sub-Saharan Africa. I haven't learned the complete history of these killings, but they still occur today. This dance was portraying these killings. What was interesting was that the choreographer mixed medias and used bits of an interview with an albino woman as a backdrop to the dance. It was emotional as she talked of how her mom fear This is an issue I definitely want to understand better. I'm anticipating a visit in November to the region where most of the killings have taken place. Once I learn more Ill be sure to share it.

All in all it was an interesting night. I'm glad to finally see a cultural event in Dar as they seem to be scarce.

Leaving Dar!!!!

WOOHOOOOOO!!!! I'm FINALLY going to the field. I leave on Tuesday and come back on Thursday. Its a short trip to participate in event (don't ask me what it is, I'm just happy to be going) for Nyerere day hosted by the Ministry of Gender. I LOVE LOVE LOVE being in the field, but this is far different from my past field experiences with Barefoot in India. Then we always drove or took a train or bus. We usually crammed 12 people in an 8 seater jeep and drove for hours crossing Rajasthan by night. I even once had to lay down (if I sat up I would hit the roof) on a pile of fabric at the back of the jeep for a 14hr ride. Once we got to the field we talked with communities, saw projects, and worked tirelessly.

Not this time though. When I asked my colleague if we were going by car or bus, she laughed and said, "Are you crazy?!?!" I thought it was a logical question, but apparently not in UN world. How silly of me to ask, of course we're spending 500 bucks per person to go by air. Shucks I wanted to drive and see the country. We will be going to Mara region, near the Kenyan border and Serengeti National Park (sadly no side trip to Serengiti this time). Also, another point of difference is that this time instead of working, we're partaking in a event of some sort, which coincides nicely for the government whose in campaign mode. Needless to say this will be one politically charged event and an interesting one at that.

Also yay for me. UNIFEM asked me if I would be so kind as to take the photos. Of course! Little do they know that I would absolutely love to! Stay tuned for the recap of my first Tanzanian field visit with the government.

By the way here is information on Julius Nyerere, Tanzania's first president, who will be celebrated on Wednesday a public holiday, but not a UN holiday as I learned.

My New Place of Living

I finally moved out of my supervisor's house (after 1 month) on Friday. I'm sharing a room with a 45ish widow which means I have NO privacy. When she's in the room, I go to the living room and vice versa. She comes in at 3am, wakes up often in the night and turns on all the lights each time she wakes up and snores. On top of that the bed is lumpy and hurts my back. SO I won't be getting much sleep these next 6 months. Her extra room has been rented to a 40ish balding Indian man, whose nice, but not too talkative. BUT not all the things about my new place are bad. The rent is cheap and includes delicious food, like the masala chicken and chips in the picture, it has internet access, a weak signal, but a signal nonetheless, and the location is great. I love that I live across from a Buddhist Temple and that I can walk out into a bustling neighborhood and take the local bus to work. Though at times I still feel like I'm not really experiencing Tanzanian life. I moved from the European bubble to an Indian bubble. My entire building is filled with Indian families, the tv is only subscribed to Indian channels, and the food is always Indian. I'm reminded I'm in Africa when I take the bus (Indians don't really seem to take the bus) and when I go to my friendly neighborhood market for a caffeine boost. Otherwise, I'm in an Indian bubble, which is Tanzanian, just from a different viewpoint.

yummy masala chicken and chips, my dinner Friday night

I stepped out of my building to see this fish being gutted. The first time I've ever seen the insides of a fish! I think he thought it was strange when I asked if I could take a picture...oh wells.

The very peaceful Buddhist temple across the street. I think I'll be finding myself going here often when I need some space.

My First Kanga

Since I've come to Dar es Salaam, I've realized the great importance of having some sort of creative outlet for myself. Without taking photos as often as I would like, I feel completely unbalanced. Though this weekend I did manage to take some photos at the beach, it hasn't been enough. I need more. So I've been on a mission to find an art supply store (no luck yet) because I've always wanted to take up painting, but out of fear haven't yet. Therefore, until I can start painting and taking more photos, I've decided to design my own dresses.

This weekend I went to Uhuru Street in the centre of Dar es Salaam and bought my first Kanga. A kanga is a traditional Tanzanian garment consisting of 2 brightly painted pieces of cloth. You can either wear the kanga as a 'doti' (a borrowed Hindi word) or get it tailored into a two piece dress. It's about the wide as your arms outstretched and as long your neck to your knees. The interesting thing about kangas is that they each have a Swahili proverb printed at the bottom. Check out this site for common sayings and the full history of the kanga. While I was shopping for one I found 2 REALLY interesting kangas. One was an outright political statement supporting the ruling party and the other had a huge picture of guess who....OBAMA! hahaha it cracked me up. I have yet to see a woman wearing it, but the minute I do I will surely try to get that picture.

I picture this as a knee length dress.

My kanga doesn't have Obama, but the Swahili proverb roughly translates to 'God is a shelter in moments of hardship'. I initially had gone to the stores with certain proverbs in mind, but of course I left it at the house so I just bought the one with a pattern and color I liked. Now I'm not the most religious person, but I find this saying quite fitting for my time here in Dar es Salaam. Maybe the universe is trying to tell me something.

I think I'll cut that brown diamond in half and make it a neckline and the bottom brown bit the border at the bottom of the dress. Can't you see it?!?!

After I bought this Kanga, I found a man selling batik (tie-dye) fabric. I like the batik fabric much more, it has a natural feel to it. Kangas mostly have huge prints of flowers and leaves that can be a bit overwhelming.

Anyway, I decided that I would make a dress, but not in the style that the women here wear. Though the women look great, I don't think I would wear them much. Once I find a good tailor, I'll have 2 new dresses. Stay tuned for the results.

Kipepeo Beach...went on Sunday with my colleague and his wife. While they learned how to kite surf, I had drinks, a book, and this magnificent view. Look how pretty it looks against my newly coded background : )

Under some sort of construction

UPDATE Holy shits! I just bolded that using HTML and changed the background color to a more suitable grey using code!!!! Who woulda thought! Basic html mambo jambo isn't so intimidating after all. : ) I should be working and not playing but this has made me sooo excited. Thanks Lee and Chaitan. I'll have to stop this addictive fun and get back to work.

Still looking for the ideal color combinations (that must have my favorite dark purple). Thanks to a wonderful tip, I've learned that I can put a photo in the header.

The photo in the header was taken in Oaxaca Mexico in 2008. My mom and I went to this village outside the city where they make these wooden figurines, usually animals. They sterilize discarded injection needles and fill the tube with paint so that they can make these precise tiny little dots to paint the figurines (like in the photo above). While we were at this house in the village I noticed this chair sitting against the beautiful blue-ish colored wall. I loved how its covered with spots of paint with an empty bird cage next to it. It makes me feel like the scene is just waiting for the artist to return. It's quite a fitting picture for me right now as my inner artist is waiting to return as well.

BOO!

I'm not happy with the appearance of this blog and I'm really not happy that I haven't gone on any photo walks.

Any suggestions to make this thing look better?