50 DAYS IN...ON THE NEW LIFE JOURNEY
well, it's been 50 days now since i left the US of A to move to east africa. can that be right? seems awfully fast! wow, guess i'm finding my groove and staying busy. i'm half way to 100 days! that'll be @ jan 10, 2012. i'll just be back from cape town, south africa. hmmm. another 50 to go... wonder what's in store next?????
finally having a quiet weekend! been slammed and pushing it pretty hard and have had lots of obligations (mainly my daily kiswahili lessons!) but finally, this saturday, nothing on my plate. good thing too, i rolled my foot running today and tore something i'm afraid! i don't know, i didn't sprain my ankle, i tore something in my foot i think. on the outside. left foot. i hope not, but this time it feels different. no bueno!! it's hard to walk and hurts to stand on it! geeesh! hope it's nothing too serious. don't wanna be a gimp for the next few weeks! my own fault, my first run in 5 years? 7 years? and i'm 30 lbs over! and i crushed my foot whilst running across a trench. oh well, i have a 10K run in march...wanna git er done and lose some fat! so today was day one of training...er, not so much! didn't go that well. already had my first set back! and drinking beer and eating pizza twice a week at que pasa (with 2 pints and nice margherita pie for $11 is hard to pass up! in a cool hip venue! but can't do that every week! once a month maybe! and the wine here is so bad and so tannin-y and gives such a bad hangover even from one glass, i'm drinking beer again! oy! fattening! but cheap and filling! what am i? back in college??))
had a biz meeting yesterday about a sudan video project. ha! turned out to be not that at all. all they wanted was my contact with Charity: water to partner with what they are doing in the Sudan! so...no gig! nothing wrong with that, just not what i was expecting. i was so surprised! so that job, or what i thought was a job, went away. poof. i still may do a "vision" trip with them one day up there in a small chartered plane which is could be cool. and as a hollywood maven used to say... it never hurts to meet!
FINDING THE PERFECT SLEEP
still trying to get the balance right on my nightly sleep cycle. it's warm enough when i go to bed, but it gets cold around 2am, like in the high 50's, and my shack has no insulation, and if it's raining, you feel the damp cold temperature. so i've tried the camping method where i go to sleep with socks on, sweatpants and a hoodie, but it's too claustrophobic! (being from so. cal., i'm used to a low of 65!). so i skyped with a friend who used to live in the congo (the DRC) and he said during the cold months he would use an electric blanket. fair enough. good solution. use an electric blanket and i can sleep in my boxers. the end. one problem, the power is so expensive here they don't use electric blankets. they use hot water bottles! now i haven't checked the local Nakumatt supermarket to see if they sell electric blankets yet, but my friends say they sell these water bottles/bladders you fill up with hot water and you put them in your bed. really? seriously? is this Amish Country? part of it is getting accustomed to my single bed (trying subconsciously not to roll out of it every nite!) and trying to keep the single comforter covering most of my body. but hot water bottles? don't think i'll go there. but i might look for an electric blanket. my utilities are a flat fee here at the shack, and an electric blanket compared to the juice my edit bay is eating up, would be negligible. still, the things we take for granted elsewhere. and summer is coming! should be warming up! but in the meantime, man it rains a lot! and it's cold!
the shack is holding up. sometimes it rains so hard i think the whole duct-taped ceiling paneled roof is gonna cave in and everything i own will be wet! but so far so good. no hot water the other day due to no electricity, but had a nice hot shower today after my run, er limp, and it felt good. you really take the hot water at home for granted!
my swahili lessons are coming along. hit the wall mid-week and had to take a day off! overwhelmed! feels like a job! and there is so much to learn and my brain is too small! but i'm one man trying and giving it a go. it's coming slowly. my german ranger friend told me it's a simple language to learn as there aren't that many words compared to other languages, so i should be able to tackle it. i never was fluent in spanish, but i do want to learn this if i can. jacken has been great, but i've been petulant some days. an enfant terrible! with a healthy dose of being pissy mixed with self pity. poor jacken! but it takes time every day to review it and learn it and i was falling behind. ergo, overwhelmed. then the "screw it" attitude surfaces. it's been a struggle, but i'm doing better. i ended the week strong, i think, and after tues, we go 3x a week instead of 5x! nzuri sana! very good! i pay jacken my teacher $5 an hour or $120 for 12 lessons, 2 hours each. (i used to pay $250 for a one day seminar in the states!) labor is very cheap here! (hence the relatively cheap food costs at restaurants!) jacken is certainly affordable, but he's 50, has never owned a car and probably never will. so weird here that way. the govt ruins it for the average joe. owning a car takes a million shillings! i don't get it and wish i could fix it. oh well, when i run for prime minister!!!!!!!!!!
THE HOLIDAYS
it so does NOT feel like the holidays are upon us/me. thanksgiving next week??? really?? then christmas?? and new years?? being on the equator it feels like hawaii. and being in africa, even though there are chrissy lights up at the mall, it just doesn't feel like the holidays. and hanging a paper turkey on the wall or some pilgrims isn't going to change that. plus with family so far away and no plans to see anyone i know, it's just weird. an american family invited me over on thursday, actually 2 families have, so i won't be alone. and will eat turkey i'm sure. so that's good. it's just funny being half way around the world and nobody celebrates it here, or really has even heard of it. i remember i spent a thanksgiving once in Wollongong, Australia, at a surf contest, and we ate turkey sandwiches on buns on the judges stand. it was very cool, at least it was something! no plans for christmas at the moment, but cape town is looking good for new years and i'll stopover and see some folks in joburg, SA, i haven't seen in 20 years! so that'll be fun! and in cape town i have a meeting with a big production house called Farm Film Prods, and hopefully will be meeting with Moonlighting as well, another large prod house that shot Invictus. my amercican director friend stacy shot with farm film, says they are great. it'll be fun to make some connections, be in their stable of directors if i can!
(5pm now, raining hard, just made some open-faced fried egg sandwiches for dinner...yum! ...never gets old!) (on a side note, trying to walk now is more like a hobble! this is going to get worse before it gets better and my 'lil fridge doesn't have any ice or large bags of frozen peas! oy!)
SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON TREEHOUSE
the shack has been a cozy refuge, but limited closet space has meant things end up on the floor and can live there for days! and that gets depressing. so, when the going gets tough...the tough go shopping. and in this case i bought some old solid wood bookcases for 20 bucks a pop and was able to sort all my junk! still needed more closet space desparatly, so i got creaitve and used the walking sticks i took up kilimanjaro in 2007 and extended them into hangar holders. like a make-shift closet bar. something, anything, to try and hang some more clothes. so far, it's worked great! the bookcases hold clothes and lots of misc. bits and the walking sticks are am improved wardrobe situation. in that regards, the shack is like the swiss family robinson treehouse. an opportunity to be resourceful...not unlike much of africa. and at the end of the day, as frustrating as it can be at times, with roads and traffic and and and, i still get to say to myself everyday..."hey man, you're in blinking Afrika!" and that hasn't got old and hopefully never will.
BLOG FEEDBACK
got some interesting feedback from my last blog rant on corruption. wanted to share some readers' views...keep 'em coming folks! always great to hear your feedback!
"Ah, David. So seriously corrupt. We used to have a big stash of proper paperwork, all signed and with expensive stamps from the gov't, and when we would go to get the medicines and medical equipment the hands would come out. Oh, you have papers? You have government stamps? But who is here? Are they here? No, I am here. Smile. Hand out. We're talking free medical care in the wilds but first we had to pay off the hands. Hands every where you turned.
Occupy Wall Street protests are essentially the well educated middle class protest against the inequity in the USA ... it's hard to see revolution in Africa, what with the entrenched powers and the apathy. There is talk here about Kenya warring with Somalia soon ... Love your blogs and the photos. Keep 'em coming. "
from West Coast, USA...
"Careful, I don't want to have to break you out of an Kenyan Jail!
In my opinion corruption in Africa is like the Nile...It has always been around
and impossible to stop. For thousands of years in Africa the powerful have preyed on the weak, When the tide changes and the weak become powerful they do the same thing back. This is one of the reasons why Africa, so rich in resources and manpower, is mostly third world. If they could break the shackles of Tribalism and corruption Africa could become many great nations. However their short-sighted vision is all they know, and will condemn them to their current reality. Africa needs a new vision where the powerful don't feed off the weak. Where the powerful realize the value of a strong middle class, and opportunity for all.
Just part of my opinion."
In my opinion corruption in Africa is like the Nile...It has always been around
and impossible to stop. For thousands of years in Africa the powerful have preyed on the weak, When the tide changes and the weak become powerful they do the same thing back. This is one of the reasons why Africa, so rich in resources and manpower, is mostly third world. If they could break the shackles of Tribalism and corruption Africa could become many great nations. However their short-sighted vision is all they know, and will condemn them to their current reality. Africa needs a new vision where the powerful don't feed off the weak. Where the powerful realize the value of a strong middle class, and opportunity for all.
Just part of my opinion."
NOW FOR SOME PICTURES
i know the photos are everyone's favorite part, so let's get to 'em! tell me if the video works and is worth it.
it can rain so hard i think the roof is gonna cave in!
it must be the rainy season. but this one is supposed to be the short one.
it must be the rainy season. but this one is supposed to be the short one. 
the other walking stick. makes a big difference, albeit so mundane!
the sky. so dramatic here!
here is Tamambo, my daily meeting place with Jacken for swahili lessons and tea!
here is Tamambo, my daily meeting place with Jacken for swahili lessons and tea!
these old "landys" are so cool. they never get old. where else on earth would you find these classics????
more patio of Rusty Nail.
on the adventure side, my friends at the Elephant Peppers Camp at the Masai Mara invited me down for 3 nights next weekend...at the family rate!! so awesome! can't wait! love it down there. and i'll shoot it and cut it for my reel. yes, i do 5 star safari camps!!!!! need to cut together my own charity water spot with all the ethiopia footage for my reel. a nice corporate PSA kinda piece that shows i've shot in africa! so CNN can see and whoever else. lots of NGO work to be had here but not sure what anybody will pay. guess i'll see soon enough! but i wanna shoot EPCamp and see what i can do with it. maybe try and get my safari family filmidea off the ground!
these are all web pics off their site, but you get the idea. and calum and sophie are so sweet! a really great family! very excited to go visit here!
well, blog's been acting up a bit trying to put in my captions. you get the idea. it's an awesome place! lots of real pics coming after my visit. i hope as good as these!
OVERALL
so, overall, my first intensive daily block of 12 days of swahili lessons is almost behind me and that feels great. a lot of pressure everyday with that for some reason, and failing at it is no fun! so, now that my big 2 week charity water edit is over, i should have enough free time to keep up with my swa lessons. and we'll soon go to 3x a week! whew!
i'm loving my little shack, and it feels more like home everyday. and maybe i'll chase down an electric blanket somewhere! i can cook eggs here on my propane stove and that's enough for now. and my toaster rocks. but the idea of finding a hibachi somewhere and bbq-ing some large quantities of kuku (chicken) is mighty appealing! gotta chase one down somewhere!
50 days in, and i'm starting to get a feel for stuff. and even have somewhat of a routine. still waiting on karen CC to process my membership app, but hopefully next week we'll make some headway on that. trying to decide if i should get x-rays on my foot tomorrow. it doesn't feel like a break, more like a tear. oh well. tomorrow can bring enough trouble for itself. the big question tonite is do i watch Spy Game or Braveheart!?!
all for now bloglovers.
usiku nzuri sana! (have a good night???)
african cyber hug,
ddm
Great stuff David!!! Now it's time to fess up about the "first violinist lady." You know, the "other story." Love you Bro.
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