Take a hike

I went on a short hike today with friends. We found several interesting things and I wanted to share a few of them with you.

Bundles of carrots (if only Dale Chihuly were here to see them)

A pool of green goo. Primordial ooze, anyone?

Sticks of clay.
We watched a woman make these and she explained that they are used to make mugs and plates, and also that pregnant women will eat them - perhaps to avoid anemia during childbirth.

A man showed-off his ancient coins (some dated 1907).
He also treated us to some of the biggest passion fruits I have ever seen.

If you think building a fish pond up the side of a mountain sounds strange, Germany built a Swahili school for its soldiers near the top of it.

This is presumably not the bridge used to transport the materials for the German Swahili school.

The landscape

A baby pineapple

I also wanted to share a few photos from a similar hike we took a couple weeks ago:

This rock looked remarkably like marble swirl cake, perhaps because it's closely related to either marble or cake (I was hoping for the latter).

The German school near the top of the mountain. I struggled to understand why they decided to build it here, until I saw the view.

The view.

For shizo

I am attending a Swahili training program this month, hoping to build a grammatical foundation for current and future vocabulary. I have been surprised to find, however, that my instructor speaks a different language entirely.

"Let's get this started for shizo," he said as we initiated my studies, "Welcome to the club. Let's bounce."

After a few secret handshakes (I always forget the snap), I lost track of who was teaching grammar to whom.

Sure I've had to correct him on certain noun classes, and sure he is a little fuzzy about some of the possessive pronouns, but in a different time and place he'd be married to Britney by now and adored the world over.

This afternoon I met a new instructor, with whom I will be working next week; he attended my midday exercises. When asked by my current instructor what he thought of my work, he said emphatically: blublastic. Meaning, apparently, fantastic.

It looks like I will be learning more vocabulary next week that is not in my textbook. My hope is that I not only figure out the snaps in the handshake, but that I also learn to augment nouns and pluralize the second person plural.

For shizo.

Clay castle

There were red-tailed monkeys dancing in the trees above a friend's office recently. I admired their agility and was grateful to live in a place where such wonders exist.

Then a very different wonder formed before my eyes. A mysterious column emerged from the underbrush and wafted into the canopy like smoke from a chimney, starting narrow and billowing as it rose. But this wasn't smoke. It was termites.

My friend and I slipped into the forest and one of nature’s marvels unfolded before our eyes. A termite mound was alive with activity - winged termites emerged from dozens of holes, their wings compressing as they crawled into the light, each termite directly followed by another and lifting off without a moment for sentimentality. Their systematic, orderly movements were a little surprising – reminding me more of assembly line footage than spectacles I have witnessed in nature.

Then I became aware of something else: a rhythmic, pulsating patter which seemed to emanate from the mound. Was it the sound of their wings beating rhythmically inside?, I asked.

My friend corrected me: That is the soldier termites who are protecting the flying termites from the invading army ants, he explained. As I would learn, army ants are notorious for (among other things) raiding termite mounds, and soldier ants pound their head on the outside of the mound to inform troops inside that reinforcements are needed.

Sure enough, I saw a circle of soldier ants encompassing the base of the mound and seemingly protecting it from attack. Army ants crossed the path at my feet.

Holes into the mound will be sealed soon, my friend explained; termites would efficiently lock-down their castle for the night. Indeed, few winged termites surfaced. A clever defense was underway.

Complex social roles of ants were happening at my feet, inches from my nose and at the tip of my finger as I pointed at new discoveries. Twilight encroached quickly and we began to struggle to make sense of the scene before us; soon we stepped out of the forest, curious to know how the drama would conclude. Curious to know how it began.

Only a few termites fluttered in the air as we walked back past the office. Those who escaped successfully will have the chance to mate and begin a new colony. Others were no doubt consumed by swooping birds and maybe, just maybe, the monkeys dancing above.

Ladies are not allowed

I took this photo earlier today at the entrance of a crushed red-velvet lined Indian restaurant in Dar es Salaam. Interpret this sign as you wish, but I am guessing it is not meant to protect women from spicy paneer.

A friend recently returned from a trip to the US - it was his first trip outside Tanzania. He was struck by how "empowered the women are" in the US. "They were running around with cell phones and making decisions," he said. He has vowed to help women overcome hurdles "in his village and his home." I am so glad he gets it. But signs like this remind me just how much work is left to be done.