This was my 25th birthday....through the eyes of Nora Gavin-Smyth:
I am writing to you from sunny Dodoma, what some call "the Paris of
East Africa." I am in Dodoma town for the weekend to celebrate my
dear friend's birthday today. We celebrated by going to Club 84, the
club that you see when you close your eyes and imagine the best
African dance club in existence. The floor is a grid of lights that
pulses and flashes different colors. They play the bongo flava
(Tanzanian pop music that I love), they play the Rihanna, they play the
Drake, they play the Aqua (?). They don't play "So Call Me Maybe."
The prostitutes are so nice, when I run into them in the bathroom
they tell me I look pretty. The men, they like to dance kiduku (knees
in, feet out, kiduku kiduku kiduku kiduuukuuu). They aren't glommers
who attach themselves to your butt, but they'll dance with you in a
way that is very pleasant. Karibu Dodoma, I'll take you to Club 84.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Capture the Meat on a Stick
(Read in Dick Vitale's voice because it's awesome baby)
This is a classic battle of battles.
Big game day.
All the fans have been outside all morning drinking honey pombe and eating loads of meat.
It's red versus blue.
Maasai men versus Maasai women....and the babies on their back.
The men are gathering around the stick. They've set up their home court nicely putting the big guys on the perimeter by the thorn fence and the fast guys with the long sticks right by that meat.
Here come the women, marching in with their song. The audience is pumped with anticipation...you can feel the heat!
What's that? Oh a mzungu has joined the women's team. The men weren't expecting this. Some last minute strategy is going to be needed for them to pull this off.
In a game like this you can expect some playful banter between the teams. Both the women and men are whipping their sticks trying to win the game of intimidation.
For those of you out there just joining us, this game is a lot like caputre the flag except each team can use sticks to whack the others. For the men, they are protecting the meat on the stick from the cow just slaughtered, and the women will do whatever it takes to get it.
Oh baby, it's gonna be awesome with a capital 'A!'
The women are in position, just outside the fence now. The men are ready to go and THERE GO TWO WOMEN RUNNING TOWARDS THE MEAT! Sticks flying everywhere, men caught off guard by the quick start. The Mzungu is still back with the others. I don't know Scott, you think she's gonna do anything-this could be a bust for her rookie of the year award.
Whoa! Look out, here come the men attacking. This is something new. They are leaving their meat post and actually going after the women. The women are scattering, running towards the bomas. The men are surrounding them now. This sure is a surprise, leaving their meat, being really aggressive on the floor-you don't see that often enough.
But wait; keep an eye on that mzungu. What's she doing? Why she's sneaking around to the other side of the boma. Is she hiding? She's gonna have to duck a lot to do that.
(Insert laughter)
Whoa! She comes around the other side and attacks the men from behind. She got that mzee right in the heel. He's limpin a bit and now they're going after her around the boma. Oh a woman is streaking towards the meat! She's nearly there!
They got the meat on the stick! They got the meat on the stick!
Wow, just like that.
Game over.
Can you believe it, Scott?
The attack from behind was an unexpected strategy.
Let's watch that replay (pictures to come with play-by-play).
Well I think the men learned a valuable lesson today.
Never trust a mzungu with a competitive streak.
This is a classic battle of battles.
Big game day.
All the fans have been outside all morning drinking honey pombe and eating loads of meat.
It's red versus blue.
Maasai men versus Maasai women....and the babies on their back.
The men are gathering around the stick. They've set up their home court nicely putting the big guys on the perimeter by the thorn fence and the fast guys with the long sticks right by that meat.
Here come the women, marching in with their song. The audience is pumped with anticipation...you can feel the heat!
What's that? Oh a mzungu has joined the women's team. The men weren't expecting this. Some last minute strategy is going to be needed for them to pull this off.
In a game like this you can expect some playful banter between the teams. Both the women and men are whipping their sticks trying to win the game of intimidation.
For those of you out there just joining us, this game is a lot like caputre the flag except each team can use sticks to whack the others. For the men, they are protecting the meat on the stick from the cow just slaughtered, and the women will do whatever it takes to get it.
Oh baby, it's gonna be awesome with a capital 'A!'
The women are in position, just outside the fence now. The men are ready to go and THERE GO TWO WOMEN RUNNING TOWARDS THE MEAT! Sticks flying everywhere, men caught off guard by the quick start. The Mzungu is still back with the others. I don't know Scott, you think she's gonna do anything-this could be a bust for her rookie of the year award.
Whoa! Look out, here come the men attacking. This is something new. They are leaving their meat post and actually going after the women. The women are scattering, running towards the bomas. The men are surrounding them now. This sure is a surprise, leaving their meat, being really aggressive on the floor-you don't see that often enough.
But wait; keep an eye on that mzungu. What's she doing? Why she's sneaking around to the other side of the boma. Is she hiding? She's gonna have to duck a lot to do that.
(Insert laughter)
Whoa! She comes around the other side and attacks the men from behind. She got that mzee right in the heel. He's limpin a bit and now they're going after her around the boma. Oh a woman is streaking towards the meat! She's nearly there!
They got the meat on the stick! They got the meat on the stick!
Wow, just like that.
Game over.
Can you believe it, Scott?
The attack from behind was an unexpected strategy.
Let's watch that replay (pictures to come with play-by-play).
Well I think the men learned a valuable lesson today.
Never trust a mzungu with a competitive streak.
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