How can feet possibly be so delicious to insects!?!?!!?
And why can't I stop scratching mine!
I heard an insult today: 'I feel sorry for your shoes (pause for dramatic effect) because your feet must really stink.' I think I could add 'AND ITCH!!!!'
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Palm Wine + Kola Nut.
Friday we presented our workplans for the rest of the ten weeks. The scope of what everyone is trying to accomplish is humbling, ambitious, and extremely exciting! I managed to use clip art and colored arrows to present my timeline. I felt pretty proud of my attempt at graphics, considering I am working with people who are extremely talented with design softwares. Hopefully, someone will teach me how to use a snazzy program like Illustrator or InDesign.
After we presented our work programs, we celebrated! The fellows were thoughtful enough to bring palm wine and kola nuts with them in the morning, so we experienced the kola nut and palm wine ceremony with all its pomp and circumstance. The ceremony is a welcoming of guests, acknowledging that they are welcome any time. After the presentation of the kola nut and money from the male head of household to the guest, there is a five part call and response. One of the fellows translated everything from Igbo, the local dialect, to English so that we got the full effect.
Then the kola nut was broken and passed around. The bitter pink fruit is supposed to be extremely stimulating. One of the fellows said that students will use it to stay up for days. He also said that women will drink it to promote lactation. Then, he warned us not to eat more than a quarter of the fruit's flesh in this sitting.
Once we all had our kola nut, the palm wine was generously poured from a blue plastic gallon container that probably held some sort of fuel or oil prior to palm wine. Someone promised me it had been washed out. The palm wine tasted like a cross between coconut water mixed with pure fermentation. I helped myself to two generous glasses, which contributed to some extreme post-imbibing gastrointestinal bubbling. Someone told me that there was more alcohol in the palm wine than in a guinness. I doubt it. But it was delicious. And it was fun to just sit around and laugh together sharing in this tradition.
After we presented our work programs, we celebrated! The fellows were thoughtful enough to bring palm wine and kola nuts with them in the morning, so we experienced the kola nut and palm wine ceremony with all its pomp and circumstance. The ceremony is a welcoming of guests, acknowledging that they are welcome any time. After the presentation of the kola nut and money from the male head of household to the guest, there is a five part call and response. One of the fellows translated everything from Igbo, the local dialect, to English so that we got the full effect.
Then the kola nut was broken and passed around. The bitter pink fruit is supposed to be extremely stimulating. One of the fellows said that students will use it to stay up for days. He also said that women will drink it to promote lactation. Then, he warned us not to eat more than a quarter of the fruit's flesh in this sitting.
Once we all had our kola nut, the palm wine was generously poured from a blue plastic gallon container that probably held some sort of fuel or oil prior to palm wine. Someone promised me it had been washed out. The palm wine tasted like a cross between coconut water mixed with pure fermentation. I helped myself to two generous glasses, which contributed to some extreme post-imbibing gastrointestinal bubbling. Someone told me that there was more alcohol in the palm wine than in a guinness. I doubt it. But it was delicious. And it was fun to just sit around and laugh together sharing in this tradition.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
The Largest Market in Africa.
Today we went to Onitsha. It was part market-research, part cultural-shopping-adventure.
Anytime we leave our cloistered oasis, there are multiple steps involved. It is not arduous, so much as it requires a fair amount of organization. So sometime mid-morning, we boarded a wooden boat bound for Otocha where we docked at the ferry landing. The boat is best described as a long wooden canoe powered by a motor and bamboo pole. The captain drives the boat from the back with the first mate giving gestures and occasional verbal cues indicating upcoming obstacles - water hyacinth, fishing nets, driftwood. Once we docked at the landing, kids began to gather. White people are not a common sight, I suppose, and staring is socially acceptable. The kids were generally smiling and entertained by us, although only a few of them spoke english so communication was limited to body language and eye contact.
Otocha has a market that runs every day, with a large market rotating every four days. It is an interesting cycle based on the four days of the Anam calendar. You have to find out when the last big market was and calculate when the next one will be in order to figure out when to shop. Today was not one of the larger days so we got oriented while someone collected the cars and our vigalante escorts. The vehicles are now stored in Otocha since they cannot be stored at the site due to the wet, muddy road conditions.
We then drove for about an hour to Onitsha where we took in the market. We started with the food sections and then traveled to the heart of the market. It is said that if you cannot find it in Onitsha, you cannot find it in Africa. The scope of the market is expansive and quite ordered. There are separate sections for food, meat, clothing, books, electronics, construction goods, etc. This gives you the opportunity to comparison shop as well as take in as much sensory stimulation as you can handle. We had wonderful escorts and trying to maneuver seven interns and a number of staff through narrow stalls of goods is an adventure on its own.
After an afternoon of shopping and exploring market organization in the hot sun, we piled back into the van for the drive back to Otocha. It started to rain as we were driving back, which is not optimal when you still have a significant boat ride home. We tried to wait it out for a short period, but between the sun setting and the rain clouds darkening the sky, we needed to collect all of our groceries that had been purchased and head home. For this we needed a bigger boat. One of my favorite things about the ferry is that you just park your wooden boat and it will stay there. There is no security, nor any patrol of the boats. People generally know who's boat is who's (they are also labeled) and it brings bad fortune to you if you steal someone's boat. So it just doesn't happen.
Anyhow, we made it home in the cold, dark rain with food to feed 12 people for a week - 4 chickens and 8-20L water jugs included.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Location, location, location.
We have been here for almost a week which is hard to believe.
Before arriving, I was under the impression that we would be staying in thatched huts on the site. As with most things construction, there were delays. The huts and the staff quarters are not finished. So instead we are bunking in the Chife's house. It is really more of a mansion, a Trasarco McMansion, and we are really more like squatters. The house is brand new, almost completely finished, with floors and fixtures from Ikea and romanesque columns everywhere, and absolutely huge. Someone said the other day, "Nigeria is like Texas. They like everything to be bigger."
It is common in Nigeria that when someone from a community makes it big, becoming a Big Man, they build a large house in their village. Right now this white semi-Mediterranean style house stands out amongst the waddle-and-daub huts that dapple the countryside. Dr Chife grew up near here and his community raised money to send him to college. In addition to the New City Project, he has created programs, such as scholarship programs, that help to repay their support by reinvigorating the future of Anam. He models the principles that many aspire towards: success, generosity, vision. I look forward to hopefully meeting him this summer.
Anyhow, as far as where we are...Ebenebe is one of the eight Anam Communities located in Anambra State near the Ezichi and Niger rivers. It is primarily a farming settlement and some people live here permanently, while others just live here when they are farming. The landscape can be described as a forest-mosaic. What this means really is that it is part jungle, part forest, part farmland, part flood plane.
I share a sleeping room with two other interns, one from Spain and the other from Oregon. We all have foam mattresses and that are draped in mosquito netting each night to protect us from the mosquitos and their potential diseases. The room is part of Dr Chife's future office for the times when he is here. My suitcase is my dresser and I am grateful to be able to hang my toiletry organizer. We take bucket showers because although there is indoor plumbing, the electricity goes off for about six hours per day. The state put up power lines in the area years ago, but there is no power coursing through the wires. Instead, everything is run by generator.
Our office is the future living room and we have three large tables with various models of computers available for usage. Everything is open and studio-esque. The ten-week program has been reframed as a workshop, which emphasizes the nature of our work and the collaboration of everyone here because certainly everyone here has a lot of insight and knowledge to share. There are seven other interns total, six of whom are here. Five of us are American, one spaniard, one ghanian. I am really grateful to be a part of such a visionary and educated group.
All in all, it is a pretty good set up. We sleep, work, and eat in the house. We are close to the river and it is easy to explore the site. Things are off to a good start.
Before arriving, I was under the impression that we would be staying in thatched huts on the site. As with most things construction, there were delays. The huts and the staff quarters are not finished. So instead we are bunking in the Chife's house. It is really more of a mansion, a Trasarco McMansion, and we are really more like squatters. The house is brand new, almost completely finished, with floors and fixtures from Ikea and romanesque columns everywhere, and absolutely huge. Someone said the other day, "Nigeria is like Texas. They like everything to be bigger."
It is common in Nigeria that when someone from a community makes it big, becoming a Big Man, they build a large house in their village. Right now this white semi-Mediterranean style house stands out amongst the waddle-and-daub huts that dapple the countryside. Dr Chife grew up near here and his community raised money to send him to college. In addition to the New City Project, he has created programs, such as scholarship programs, that help to repay their support by reinvigorating the future of Anam. He models the principles that many aspire towards: success, generosity, vision. I look forward to hopefully meeting him this summer.
Anyhow, as far as where we are...Ebenebe is one of the eight Anam Communities located in Anambra State near the Ezichi and Niger rivers. It is primarily a farming settlement and some people live here permanently, while others just live here when they are farming. The landscape can be described as a forest-mosaic. What this means really is that it is part jungle, part forest, part farmland, part flood plane.
I share a sleeping room with two other interns, one from Spain and the other from Oregon. We all have foam mattresses and that are draped in mosquito netting each night to protect us from the mosquitos and their potential diseases. The room is part of Dr Chife's future office for the times when he is here. My suitcase is my dresser and I am grateful to be able to hang my toiletry organizer. We take bucket showers because although there is indoor plumbing, the electricity goes off for about six hours per day. The state put up power lines in the area years ago, but there is no power coursing through the wires. Instead, everything is run by generator.
Our office is the future living room and we have three large tables with various models of computers available for usage. Everything is open and studio-esque. The ten-week program has been reframed as a workshop, which emphasizes the nature of our work and the collaboration of everyone here because certainly everyone here has a lot of insight and knowledge to share. There are seven other interns total, six of whom are here. Five of us are American, one spaniard, one ghanian. I am really grateful to be a part of such a visionary and educated group.
All in all, it is a pretty good set up. We sleep, work, and eat in the house. We are close to the river and it is easy to explore the site. Things are off to a good start.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Goat feast.
Today was the awaited Goat Feast.
Yesterday Mercy and Rose, our dutiful cooks, brought a goat back from the market. The goat was 2-3 years old, brown, and scared out of her mind after being transported in a car for a few hours. She cost about 150,000naira, which is approximately $100. I am not sure what the market rate is for goats at home, but for the amount of food that we are getting this seems like a deal!
Sparing the details of the processing, nothing from this goat is going to waste. Much of the meat was roasted over an open flame. Half of it was frozen. Some of it was stewed. (Goat head stew is a famous dish in northern Nigeria.) And some of it, I do not want to eat. It was quite delicious and more tender than I anticipated. I may not want to eat goat for a while after we finish everything, but for now I am really excited about this novel protein source.
One other note about today: A few of us went for an afternoon run and part way through a few kids began to follow us. There is a strange contrast to our need to go exercise and be physical after sitting most of our work days to the active lifestyle of the families in this area who are primarily farmers and laborers, but kids are a different story. They began to imitate us and we played along. We taught them some stretches and calisthenics and twirls for good measure and they practiced their new moves, laughing and smiling. Then we went down to the river for a quick swim and the kids watched us from the bank. One of their mates came along and we watched them explain what we were just doing, acting out the running and stretching and calisthenics. It was precious to see them laugh as they described what we did.
Also, my fingers are still burning from where I touched fresh chilis cooking last night. This is a true testament to the strength of the spiciness.
Yesterday Mercy and Rose, our dutiful cooks, brought a goat back from the market. The goat was 2-3 years old, brown, and scared out of her mind after being transported in a car for a few hours. She cost about 150,000naira, which is approximately $100. I am not sure what the market rate is for goats at home, but for the amount of food that we are getting this seems like a deal!
Sparing the details of the processing, nothing from this goat is going to waste. Much of the meat was roasted over an open flame. Half of it was frozen. Some of it was stewed. (Goat head stew is a famous dish in northern Nigeria.) And some of it, I do not want to eat. It was quite delicious and more tender than I anticipated. I may not want to eat goat for a while after we finish everything, but for now I am really excited about this novel protein source.
One other note about today: A few of us went for an afternoon run and part way through a few kids began to follow us. There is a strange contrast to our need to go exercise and be physical after sitting most of our work days to the active lifestyle of the families in this area who are primarily farmers and laborers, but kids are a different story. They began to imitate us and we played along. We taught them some stretches and calisthenics and twirls for good measure and they practiced their new moves, laughing and smiling. Then we went down to the river for a quick swim and the kids watched us from the bank. One of their mates came along and we watched them explain what we were just doing, acting out the running and stretching and calisthenics. It was precious to see them laugh as they described what we did.
Also, my fingers are still burning from where I touched fresh chilis cooking last night. This is a true testament to the strength of the spiciness.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Site Tour and Context.
Day Two of Orientation focused on creating a context for the ideas of designing a new city. After arranging the tables and computers in our workspace, we began with a site tour after a hearty breakfast of eggs, oatmeal and nutella. (Mmmm...chocolate for breakfast.) We walked the 4km (~2.2 miles) from the north to the south end of the area designated for New City development. The site tour was helpful to develop an understanding of the land, its current uses, and to imagine the potential development of the city. We saw where the future hospital will go among a grove of mango trees; we stopped at the high grasses that are being cleared for the brick factory; we rested on the bamboo stoop of a neighboring family and counted 21 kids for the 4 women that were present. It is hard to explain what we are encountering. I wish I could post photos to highlight the natural beauty that surrounds us and the excitement of the people that we have spoken with. Even with photos, the kinesttic quality of being here is hard to describe. Everyone that I have encountered is fully committed and engaged in making sure that the New City is a success. They are passionate about making this a better place for their families to live and return to for generations and generations. There is palpable meaning in what we are here to contribute.
After concluding the three hour tour to the south end of Ebenebe, we took a boat back to our starting point. It was refreshing to see the land from a different perspective and it helped me understand the magnitude of how people here adapt to a changing landscape. For instance, farmland where yam and cassava are grown is dry right now, but soon will become flooded and the mounds of yam will be underwater. The tall grasses that border the river will be submerged in months time. It became easier to conceptualize that when the road gets flooded, people adapt. There is still access to neighboring communities by river. Essentially, the river becomes the road.
To celebrate the river, a few of us took a sunset swim in the murky waters at sunset. It was quite an adventure through someone's cassava mounds to get to the river, but we made it and had a glorious swim. It is hard to believe that we have only been here for two days as there is so much to see and comprehend. But I am beginning to see how things fit together and the specific possibilites of this collaborative project.
After concluding the three hour tour to the south end of Ebenebe, we took a boat back to our starting point. It was refreshing to see the land from a different perspective and it helped me understand the magnitude of how people here adapt to a changing landscape. For instance, farmland where yam and cassava are grown is dry right now, but soon will become flooded and the mounds of yam will be underwater. The tall grasses that border the river will be submerged in months time. It became easier to conceptualize that when the road gets flooded, people adapt. There is still access to neighboring communities by river. Essentially, the river becomes the road.
To celebrate the river, a few of us took a sunset swim in the murky waters at sunset. It was quite an adventure through someone's cassava mounds to get to the river, but we made it and had a glorious swim. It is hard to believe that we have only been here for two days as there is so much to see and comprehend. But I am beginning to see how things fit together and the specific possibilites of this collaborative project.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Ruban Workshop Begins.
After a full day of travel on Tuesday, we began our workshop on Wednesday.
I would like to start by describing our travel from Lagos to Ebenebe. Here's the plan: leave the hotel at 10am, fly from Lagos to Benin City at 11:40, drive for 2 hours to Anam, begin orientation. Sounds like a full day, but nothing too strenuous. I don't ask a lot of questions and I am up for anything, which is lucky. After breakfast at the hotel, we all load in the car and leave the hotel by 10:30am. Wondering if we are going to be late for check-in, we drive all of 100 yards to the airport. Realizing that we could have walked this far, we check in for our flight without showing any IDs. I wish I had taken a photo of the situation because well, it was unique. I have some photos from the arrival in Benin City (courtesy of Isabel). Anyhow, we make it through security with full water bottles. We were asked to take a drink from our bottles to make sure that it wasn't acid or something dangerous and then we proceeded to the boarding area. I think TSA could take a clue and follow this strategy instead of throwing out useful things all the time and banning water.
Inside the terminal, there were kiosks selling sundry goods from books to watches to edibles. Interestingly, the books mostly focused on bettering yourself in business, like focusing on management strategies or being a better consultant, or self-help/religious topics. I think I saw a medical dictionary too. We waited and our flight was delayed 30 minutes. Then 45 more minutes. When I asked our kind guardian and shepard Emmanuel if they gave a reason for the delays, he looked at me and laughed saying, "It is delayed because they are Nigerian!" I should point out, he is Nigerian and lives in Lagos. We eventually boarded the 40 minute flight and were greeted in Benin City by cars armed with police officers to take us to Ebenebe. The police officers are our security. They carry large personalized guns and scan the streets and onlookers for possible perceived threats. I feel extremely safe, but like a fish in a fish bowl.
Everyone I have encountered thus far is extremely nice and hospitable. It is hard for me to imagine anything going wrong. And at the same time, we drive for almost four hours and there are innumerable checkpoints where police stop cars and want money from vehicles that don't have security. So better safe than sorry. We stop at a market to pick up some mosquito nets and while a couple of people venture off, all of the new arrivals (the seven interns) stay in the van. We quickly become a spectacle. White people in a car in a town that may never have had a caucasian visitor. Kids run and tell other kids until there is a swarm of kids looking and watching. It is a little like we have paparazzi sans cameras. Thus the feeling of being in a fishbowl.
Our final destination is Ebenebe in the Anam region of Anambra state. We made it to our final destination after dark, perhaps around eight at night. This is one of the last days the road will be passable by car. Soon the rains will start and will flood the road making the river the only way to access the area. Already the road is rough and the vestiges of inadequately funded state road make themselves apparent as we pass from smooth developed road to mudholes that could swallow a car.
A feast awaited us upon arrival: greens, yam, casava, plantain, and fresh fruit for desert. We were exhausted and hungry after our day of travel and gratefully inhaled the deliciousness prepared for us. After dinner, we had brief introductions and watched an inspiring video from Dr and Mrs Chife welcoming us to the project. Then after settling into our rooms (which I may describe more later), we went to sleep.
The next day, the Rurban Workshop began.
When someone tells you that they are designing a new city that can serve as a model for African development, you know that it is going to be a big project. You assume that the project has immense potential to make a difference in the world and the lives of the individuals who will live there. But you don't really know how large the project is until you grapple with the master plan and the topics and concerns that have been discussed for years leading up to this moment in time. This project is especially wide in scope because it is so unique in evolution. The people in Ebenebe are building this city from the ground up, with every factor being weighed by the community elders. Our first day of orientation was all about understanding the Master Plan and the evolution of this project. After one day, I have a lot yet to understand.
I would like to start by describing our travel from Lagos to Ebenebe. Here's the plan: leave the hotel at 10am, fly from Lagos to Benin City at 11:40, drive for 2 hours to Anam, begin orientation. Sounds like a full day, but nothing too strenuous. I don't ask a lot of questions and I am up for anything, which is lucky. After breakfast at the hotel, we all load in the car and leave the hotel by 10:30am. Wondering if we are going to be late for check-in, we drive all of 100 yards to the airport. Realizing that we could have walked this far, we check in for our flight without showing any IDs. I wish I had taken a photo of the situation because well, it was unique. I have some photos from the arrival in Benin City (courtesy of Isabel). Anyhow, we make it through security with full water bottles. We were asked to take a drink from our bottles to make sure that it wasn't acid or something dangerous and then we proceeded to the boarding area. I think TSA could take a clue and follow this strategy instead of throwing out useful things all the time and banning water.
Inside the terminal, there were kiosks selling sundry goods from books to watches to edibles. Interestingly, the books mostly focused on bettering yourself in business, like focusing on management strategies or being a better consultant, or self-help/religious topics. I think I saw a medical dictionary too. We waited and our flight was delayed 30 minutes. Then 45 more minutes. When I asked our kind guardian and shepard Emmanuel if they gave a reason for the delays, he looked at me and laughed saying, "It is delayed because they are Nigerian!" I should point out, he is Nigerian and lives in Lagos. We eventually boarded the 40 minute flight and were greeted in Benin City by cars armed with police officers to take us to Ebenebe. The police officers are our security. They carry large personalized guns and scan the streets and onlookers for possible perceived threats. I feel extremely safe, but like a fish in a fish bowl.
Everyone I have encountered thus far is extremely nice and hospitable. It is hard for me to imagine anything going wrong. And at the same time, we drive for almost four hours and there are innumerable checkpoints where police stop cars and want money from vehicles that don't have security. So better safe than sorry. We stop at a market to pick up some mosquito nets and while a couple of people venture off, all of the new arrivals (the seven interns) stay in the van. We quickly become a spectacle. White people in a car in a town that may never have had a caucasian visitor. Kids run and tell other kids until there is a swarm of kids looking and watching. It is a little like we have paparazzi sans cameras. Thus the feeling of being in a fishbowl.
Our final destination is Ebenebe in the Anam region of Anambra state. We made it to our final destination after dark, perhaps around eight at night. This is one of the last days the road will be passable by car. Soon the rains will start and will flood the road making the river the only way to access the area. Already the road is rough and the vestiges of inadequately funded state road make themselves apparent as we pass from smooth developed road to mudholes that could swallow a car.
A feast awaited us upon arrival: greens, yam, casava, plantain, and fresh fruit for desert. We were exhausted and hungry after our day of travel and gratefully inhaled the deliciousness prepared for us. After dinner, we had brief introductions and watched an inspiring video from Dr and Mrs Chife welcoming us to the project. Then after settling into our rooms (which I may describe more later), we went to sleep.
The next day, the Rurban Workshop began.
When someone tells you that they are designing a new city that can serve as a model for African development, you know that it is going to be a big project. You assume that the project has immense potential to make a difference in the world and the lives of the individuals who will live there. But you don't really know how large the project is until you grapple with the master plan and the topics and concerns that have been discussed for years leading up to this moment in time. This project is especially wide in scope because it is so unique in evolution. The people in Ebenebe are building this city from the ground up, with every factor being weighed by the community elders. Our first day of orientation was all about understanding the Master Plan and the evolution of this project. After one day, I have a lot yet to understand.
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