Blogs from Africa - page 2691

2nd - 13th July 2007 I have been learning Afaan Oromo since living in Robe, as the majority of people in the town are Oromo. Amharic is the national language, and is the first language of 32.7% of the population. Afaan Oromo is the first language of 31.6% (according to the World Factbook from the CIA). VSO organise a 2-week intensive language training course for volunteers, held at the Fura Institute in Yirgalem, half way between Awasa and Dilla, south of Addis. Most of the participants were learning Amharic, but two of us (me and Jane from Nekemte) were taking lessons in Afaan Oromo with Solomoon. The course was excellent. And not as intensive as it could have been! Unfortunately for Jane, I accidentally had a cup of ‘sprise’ (mixed tea and coffee), which is ... read more

We had a quick taste of African-Portuguese crossing northern Mozambique for two days en route to Malawi, our proposed chill-out destination. It was a beautiful ride through Tete region in Mozambique, and trying to speak Portuguese (Mozambique's national language) really wetted my appetite for more of this Latin influenced - almost flirty by nature - country. After spending time in Zimbabwe there seemed to be a more vibrant feel in Mozambique (not surprisingly!) with people dressed-up to go out on a Sunday night - I later discovered Sunday to be the biggest day for Mozambicans to party! After four border-crossings in two days with the usual rigmarole of paper-work and being whisked-off to the side-room for "compulsory insurance and taxes" we arrived in Malawi. The focus of 'beach-life' propelled us to travel in the dark until ... read more

With the extra adults in the house to watch babies, Djibo and I were able to get away for one night without worrying about the house burning down! We went to Mbour and stayed in a little hut literally on the ocean front. It was amazing, you walk out the front door and you are right on the beach! We seemed to be the only ones around except for a few employees so we had a taste of what it might be like to own an island like a big film star! Strange though, sharing the beach with a pack of wild dogs…they don’t bother you, just wander around. Saturday we went to the fish market and wandered around. ... read more

Arriving in Marrakech by the skin of our teeth, due to a bus driver who thought he was in a Ferrari, we all had a sigh of relief stepping onto the hot tarmac. Arriving at our hotel, complete with pool and a/c, rooms sorted, bags dropped and we headed for the main square where you find musicians, henna artists, snake charmers, fortune tellers, and loads of food stalls where they barbeque meats and veggies and the smoke fılls the sky. Marrakech old city (the Medina) is walled with several gates and at the south end ıs a bıg square. Thıs weekend they were having a World Music festival wıth different music at each entrance. At the main square alone, there were about 10 or so drum circles going and you couldn't help but jump around!! It ... read more

Laid low by a cold for much of my first week, I’ve managed to spend a full ten days in Nairobi - an accomplishment that, I’m certain, will warrant a commemorative t-shirt before I go. Back on my feet at last, shaking a metaphorical fist at the gray winter skies, I pack my bags for a week in the bush - a stay with a Maasai chief who, incidentally, has a profile on CouchSurfing. When I tell Khadija, the receptionist at my hostel, that I’m heading to Narok in the afternoon, she shakes her head and says, “You’re going to the middle of nowhere.” When I tell her my final destination is actually twelve kilometers from there, a strange silence passes between us: a moment that snugly fits into the space between ominous and foreboding. I’ve ... read more