yep I sit here under a foot of snow in bfe and know exactly what you mean. The 4G world is bringing the asylum worldwide. We are reaching a crescendo of consumption and instant gratification that can only result in nothing good for anyone. Everyone needs to play hockey. Two of my favorite players were in an eastern European league during the lockout. Playing on home ice as the crowd chanted "monkey, Monkey!" in Serbian, the not exactly white players had no idea what was being chanted until after the game. Fear and ignorance are a fatal combination and the absolute cacophony of competing propagandists created by our nose dive into the information age make it damn near impossible to learn and not be afraid. Something has to give.
Be afraid, be very very afraid.
Having said that, I am not afraid. I love all of this insanity. I love the destruction of any attempt at communism. I love the inability of anyone to gather a consensus of anything about anything. Anarchy! ftw! If we can just find a way to burn all the money, (and weapons) we'll be fine :P
Get on the ice, slip and slide around and try to put that biscuit in the basket!
Re-entry is always a bit tricky Stumbled onto this blog today and you've captured some of our thoughts and feelings as our adventure has come to an end also. We'll see what comes next for us. Figuring out the differences between 3G and 4G may be trickier than you think. Welcome back. Hope you'll write again soon... as you are the expert in your area and we can learn from you.
Thank goodness for habits... otherwise you wouldn't have wrtten this profound coming home blog. Best wishes as you experience the most difficult culture shock...fitting into what was your own culture,
I've been also in Abuna Yosef in september 2011 Congratulations for your blog.
I went alone. I stole one blanket from the hotel. I walked up just knowing that there is a mountain named Abuna Yosef. I was surprised for the brightness of green wheat, the welcome of people and the big amount of people living in this plateau.
I slept in Wedebiye Health Center. Thanks the nurses for their hospitality. I climbed next day to the top and even I climbed another big rock unknown in the west. Next day going down it was \"Holy Cross Day\", and everybody was doing pic-nic everywhere. I spent a lot of time accepting invitations for coffee and araki.
I realized as nice is just walking without maps, guides and even clear objectives. I enjoyed a lot.
LOVE YA! Hey Lumo, just wanted to say how much I loved reading about you and the rest's misery. I'm finishing a bachelor's degree at a non-descript university in Portland, and was thinking it miserable, but now I know much, much better. Keep doing ya thing Boy! Aloha from Hawai'i via rainy Portland Oregon
Another great blog Colin. I have never been to Africa so I can only read from afar, you paint a very vivid and realistic tale for me. Pictures are drop dead dynomite as well.
thanks thanks andrea. i can't claim to have anything to do with the pictures. those were all the doing of my friends - credit where credit is due. I don't really know what to do with a camera.
Excellent observations I too experienced the "human zoo" in my visit to Southern Ethiopia in 2010, and was more than a little concerned about people lining up to be chosen for photographs and the endemic practice of payment for such photographs. One wonders which tribal practices are being retained just for the benefit of tourists, but this is difficult to discern. For example, there are two types of Hamer bull jumping ceremonies - one attended by women and foreigners and the other a local male only affair, so this practice would continue even without tourists, albeit in a less commercial form. Likewise, do all women wearing the lip plate and do all men subjected to scarification do so for commercial considerations - I would think not. It is still possible to experience a less-commercially driven experience when visiting the tribes, but it does take time. On my first visit to the Mursi, there was the usual onslaught of shirt-tugging and "photo, photo" calls, but this subsided after 30 minutes and the final hour of my 90 minute visit continued without avarice being the sole motivator for any interactions. The following day, I visited another Mursi village that rarely sees tourists and it was a far more sedate and relaxed experience, we even shared a few laughs.
God Colin. Holy shit. It makes my brain ache some to read this last piece- to wonder at their definition of beauty- and to wonder as well at which parts of their culture will come under attack. Your writing as usual is incredible. What I admire most in this piece is your ability to take them in and not judge them- but to admit some discomfort with the whipping and their "beautiful" traditions. You rock. Love Lisa
Diane
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thanks for sharing
Great writing Colin. You should be doing that for a living, I would buy your book! Keep it up, and thanks for sharing.