mio nuovo blog

Sierra Leone, i giorni tre e quattro

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 19:33:22 +0000

Those of you who know me know I love, LOVE pretty textiles. Ideally, the fabric ought to be sewn into clothes ... we all have dreams. In life there are a few things I like living w/ - books!, jewelry, textiles, art - esp. paintings and posters. I have no objectivity about Sierra Leone - the groundnut stew is better here, the fabric is prettier, the landscape is magnificent - understand I fell in love w/ this country over 35 years ago ... one of the good things about me is my loyalty (loyalty and being stubborn go hand in hand!)
le foto (sopra) 3 of the new fabric choices (1st row) M2B holding a small bowl of groundnut stew gravy!, Gladys who is the fabulous creator of the stew and Danna, my gracious host; this young lady has great posture/balance AND lovely fried plaintain chips on her head (2nd row) groundnut stew which I will always love - my first lunch, first meal in Sierra Leone 35.5 years ago was groundnut stew!; a schoolteacher w/ her little students near the old cotton tree in downtown Freetown (3rd row) many cars throughout west AF have messages on the back, esp. taxis and small, private buses; after the war many people vacated their villages to move to the capital - this photo shows how full, just teeming w/ people, traffic and activity Freetown is (4th row) the new textiles; a man carrying timber on his head (5th row) more of the new textiles
(sotto) two more photos of busy downtown Freetown

troppo occupato ... too busy!

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 21:20:35 +0000

no bad Italian tonight Angela! I'm back in Sierra Leone, which makes me happy and sad simultaneously. You can see the effects of the 10 year long civil war here - men w/ missing hands, the overcrowding of Freetown because so many people became refugees in their own country. But it's also still beautiful - the mountains, the ocean views, the best groundnut soup in all of west Africa is here. I guess my feelings for this country are a metaphor for all of life as I experience the good and the bad, the highs and the lows. But one of the benefits of this posting was to be able to come to this country that helped me to become me. le foto (sopra) the sun setting over the harbor last night; I took this photo from the helicopter, which I find so cool ... back in the day, in 1974, the ferry took at least 90 minutes to cross the harbor from the airport ... 8 minutes on the chopper! (1st row) Regina; Joyce, her husband and Zainab ... aren't they beautiful? that's how west AF women roll when going out to an office party ... I of course was wearing capris ... they were at least ironed! (2nd row) Regina, Nyhira & Aseda, her 2 daughters; Stanly in a shirt that says "princess in training!" (3rd row) Nyhira eating her chicken sans hands; our recent Mexican food feast at Paul & Ted's house (4th row) Emmanuel sort of cooperating for this photo; M2B e a good friend, sangria! (sotto) Chantal & Peter at the Mexican food party; another shot at the very beginning of the helicopter ride from the airport across the harbor

la buona cucina di Fre!

Mon, 4 Jan 2010 22:03:58 +0000

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE ... BONNE ANNEE 2010 ... BUON ANNO!!! I like 2010, it's really new yet but I like it nonetheless. here are a few moments from my very fun xmas and new year's w/ a few very nice, fun people helping me to eat a lot of good food ... Angela, lots of food shots for ya!
(le foto, sopra) dear Chantal or Tal w/ her husband Peter at the dining table before our xmas day eclectic mostly Asian food dinner! (1st row) Fre's amazing spring rolls, homemade!; Fre (2nd row) Howard e Leikun, Fre's husband, on xmas day; Sheik in my kitchen preparing chicken and attieke, an Cote d'Ivorien dish, xmas day (3rd row) Emmanuel did all of my scut work for the pad thai - separating cilantro leaves from the stems, dicing the groundnuts finely - he was a great sous chef!; Chantal e Joyce during dinner (4th row) Leikun is a very dangerous man w/ alcoholic beverages in his hand; the xmas coconut cake Kevin graciously contributed (5th row) Fre's sauteed mediterranean veggies; her chocolate pecan pie ... yum to all of her food (6th row) M2B taking a photo of myself last week; Fre e Leikun after dinner and many shots of vodka and limoncello last Saturday!! (7th row) Leikun looking very pleased w/ himself for getting both of his guests pretty smashed; poor Emmanuel finding it challenging holding his head upright! (8th row) M2B, Fre e Emmanuel distracting Leikun from holding a bottle by posing for a photo; Emmanuel e M2B, xmas day ... Emmanuel specifically asked for an apron, hence his charming attire (sotto) M2B w/ my fork preparing to enjoy Fre's wonderful dishes last Saturday (02/01/10); Fre e Leikun have a beautiful home filled w/ very interesting paintings, carvings, metal sculptures and baskets from all over Africa from their native Ethiopia to many west AF countries ... the shape, the colors and the style of the basket in this photo were all particularly attractive to me

buon Natale/Joyeux Noel/Merry Christmas/happy winter solstice

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 20:48:29 +0000

non viaggio per me/no trips for me this Christmas. Last year I went to Bangkok - 15 hours in the air one-way. This year, 1 minute up the stairs to my beloved queen-sized bed w/ Martha Stewart sheets and my beautiful shuka from Tanzania. now that the diva portion is over, I wish everyone joy, good times, great food and time w/ those you love. A few fun photos to show the holidays in the tropics are a little different and shameless self-promotion of my new-found jewelry making 'talents.' le foto (sopra) my very first gingerbread house; my dear neighbor/new friend Paul made this cake (1st row) Yolonda & James at home in Yaounde, Cameroun; bubbles! (2nd row) gingerbread house; bubbles!! (3rd row) Fre & Emmanuel beading; Kevin in his new necklace packing up for the day (4th row) my red Mali wedding bead & white top necklace; Emmanuel who has discovered a liking for chocolate chip cookies! (sotto) my "sea" necklace e my "bumblebee" necklace

les tres bien poissons braisse' avec les plaintains!

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 20:06:03 +0000

if I say I'm posting this for dear Angela I don't have to conjugate verbs in Italian or French! so Angela, lots of food shots to thank you for being my muse so I can write in the one language I do know ... well! Just some scenes from all over Yaounde, including the insane, all-too-common west AF traffic - I'm in a different country every other week it seems yet the traffic never improves! le foto (sopra) my wood grilled fish dinner w/ cassava and a amazing spicy hot pepper sauce (my lips were numb for at least 30 minutes after dinner) (1st row) the fellas, Bubah e Jean-Pierre: M2B e Edna (2nd row) the plaintains e the cassava (it's soft and chewy, w/ very little flavor) (3rd row) the restaurant filling up w/ a mostly local Camerounian dinner crowd; the entrance to L'Oasis (4th row) fish grilling in the oven; Dorine e Edna choosing our fish and negotiating the price of dinner! (5th row) Yaounde traffic! (sotto) Yaounde has impressive hills! and one of the fish sellers (I don't know if fishmonger is appropriate for women!)

mia fermata a Nairobi (troppo lungo a il aeroporto)

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 08:07:32 +0000

scusa iAlex, I am too frustrated with the drama, the absolute soap opera drama of flying in Africa to try to conjugate Italian. next post, promesso!!!!
the last time I tried to go to Cameroun, a trip for which I cut my very happy return to Roma short, Air Ivoire cancelled my connecting flight, stranding me in Abidjan for 2 days. So this time I am taking the 'sure' route from Accra on Kenya Airways to Nairobi then to Yaounde. yes, I left west Africa, flew over Nigeria, which is next door to Cameroun all the way to the Indian Ocean just to fly back to my side of AF tonight. oy vey ... since I have half a day (at least I have free Internet, there has to be a silver lining to this day) I decided to put some of my pretty photos from airplanes on the blog .... enjoy! le foto, sopra Cameroun, 02/08 - the wetlands off of the coast of Douala (1st row) Mt. Kiliminjaro just after takeoff from Arusha, Tanzania aeroporto (02/08); flying over Lake Victoria, heading west to Ghana after the safari (02/08) (2nd row) a beautiful south facing perspective of the Potomac River, a very southern river (06/09); my last view of US airspace as I flew back to Accra from JFK on 02 July 09 (3rd row) a sunset view on one leg of my EUR vacation in Sept 09; waiting to board the tiny plane in Zagreb, Croatia on my way to Skopje, Macedonia (09/09) (4th row) isn't this one beautiful and peaceful; this is how it looked out of my window as I flew into mia bella Roma after a 15 month absence (24 sept 09); evening skies over Washington, DC (06/09) sotto, a very impressive cloud formation between Lubbock, Texas and Seattle, Washington (09/08) e funky clouds ring Accra ... flew in from Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire (10/09)

AZURE!!!!

Fri, 4 Dec 2009 19:51:53 +0000

sono troppo ostinata ... non bisogno una macchina perche quando ho vissuto a Roma, non faccio una macchina. Roma e' molto differente dal Accra. Ultimo dopo un anno compro Azure. Lei e' una macchina francese con buona energia. Lei e' molto fantastico! Oggi, Azure soltanto. una altre poste a presto! I am very stubborn, which those of you who know me know well. Sometimes I do what my late southern mother begged us not to do: I cut off my nose to spite my face. I fared quite well in bella Roma w/out a car. Roma is different from Accra, w/ a metro, a great bus system and nice taxis. Accra doesn't have the first two and the taxis - some of them are so rickety not to mention in need of a little carkeeping! Now I have the fabulous or tres fabuleuse Azure, my french born car. She's cute, perfect for me, zippy, peppy and loads of fun. and of great importance in the tropics, air conditioned!!!
(sopra) Azure in the driveway, looking marvelous!!!
le foto: another peek at Azure; me in Abidjan today, giving a talk on the history of black music. Michael Jackson is doing the moonwalk in 1983 at the Motown celebration in the background. I'm singing along!

apres une semaine tres actif in Benin

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:41:59 +0000

Toujours, c'est incroyable, j'ai parle' le francais pour sette jours et, la chose plus interessante, mes collegues, les etudiants a' le conference a Parakou et mon chauffeur (qui est fantastique) Pamphil comprennent moi. Ca c'est bon! I hope I have written "still, incredibly, I've spoken french for 7 days and the most interesting part is that my colleagues, the students to whom I gave a talk yesterday and Pamphil, my fantastic driver, understand me. It's great!
les photos (au dessus) a lovely cloud dominated the late afternoon sky over Bab's Dock on Sunday (1st to 3rd rows) you can see the contrast between the calm, peaceful look of the photos from Sunday when Rhonda and I spent the afternoon at Bab's Dock and the scenes on the streets of Cotonou. It is simply mind boggling what people manage to carry w/out catastrophe on a small 'taxi-moto' or taxi motorcycle. the photos are blurry because the taxi-motos were moving quickly but the guy is clutching panes of green glass in the 1st row photo; just a sea of motos and taxi-motos in the 2nd row photo and a man holding a full sized rolled rug over his left shoulder (3rd row); (4th row) you cannot see the entire taxi-moto but that is a guy holding a full sized ladder on the back of one on Monday morning; I'm not sure what that guy is hauling on his bike but it's a lot longer than the bike in both directions! (5th row) a blurry shot of a guy carrying a big bag of rice (bags of rice here can be enormous - my guess would be at least 50 pounds/22 kilograms; another guy calmly walking down the street w/ a long object of some kind on his head and another in his right hand ... I am always in awe of west Africans' resourcefulness! (au dessous de) a young mother carries several items while her baby is tied to her lower back.

ma bonne journee parle le francais!

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:21:35 +0000

Quelle bonne surprise. J'ai parle' pour plus de six heures en francais. Seulement en francais. Je suis surexcitee que mon francais est bien vivant! Maintenant j'etudierai le francais pour trente minuits chaque jour. quelle bonne journee ... mais j'ai tres fatigue'!!!! Today I spoke french and nothing but french from the western Togo border to my hotel in Cotonou (6 hours straight). My lovely driver understood me. Wow. Ooh la la!
(le foto, sopra) You never know what you'll see on the roads of Benin; today, a man w/ a bunch of rabbits in a cage on a motorcycle (toutes les photos a droite/all photos on the right) scenes from the road and les frontieres /the borders; it never ceases to amaze me what African people, especially women, can carry on their heads
sotto/below, some food shots (enjoy Angela!) alloco w/ fish; Ben's waakye (rice & beans); fufu and fish stew; jollof rice and chicken

le foto della famiglia

Sun, 8 Nov 2009 14:06:59 +0000

Le foto in questa poste sono troppo vecchio - venti anni, trenta anni. Tutte miei zii, la mia madre e il mio padre sono morto eccetto la mia zia Frances. Lei ha quattro venti cinque anni adesso, avra' quattro venti sei anni in gennaio. Sono stato un ladro in la casa della madre per le foto! [these photos are very old - 20 years, 30 years old and older. Both of my parents and my aunts and uncles are all deceased except for Aunt Frances ... I had to be a thief to get some of the photos, stolen from my parents' house years ago!)
le foto (sopra) Aunt Frances, Aunt Grace, my mother, Uncle Frank, Uncle Grady and my father (1st row - my mother w/ her 2 younger sisters Grace & Frances, her cousin Frank, older brother Grady and 2 oldest grandsons Steven & Jerry; my father being very dignified w/ the grandkids swarming (2nd row) M2B, me w/ Jeffrey and me being in charge of Adrienne and Jeffrey; my oldest sister Ann & my mother (3rd row) Mother would not be pleased this photo is online but it's a classic, w/ my niece Stephanie; M2B, age 4 (it was a Sunday afternoon ... we were dressed up like this on Sundays and I dared NOT get dirty or worse, rip something! (4th row) Mother not wanting me to take her photo; my father w/ his father in Michigan (5th row) my father w/ his classic calm, chilled out Roy Brown face w/ Kim and Aunt Frances at Easter dinner at my brother Gerald's house (sotto/below) Ann, my cousin Mary and my mother in Tallahassee, Florida at a family reuinion; Uncle Grady, my mother and Stephanie in Mary's house; 1979, Sept. a birthday dinner for mother in the midst of hurricane David! Patty, Stephanie, Nicki and Trice