Af-riikka

After spending 10 days almost exclusively in Senegalese company in a very Senegalese environment in Rufisque and central Dakar, I felt like doing something completely different and touristy, something that toubabs (white/Europeans) do. So on a Saturday morning I packed my small backbag, forgot almost everything that was necessary except sunscreen which I sort of forgot to apply later on, and headed to the Route National No. 1 which passes by Rufisque and normally takes me to the other direction, towards Dakar. With the help of asking directions from a few locals, I found the spot for direct bush taxis, one of which took me from Rufisque to Toubab Dialaw. I am evidently getting used to the local comfort standards: sitting at the furthest back seat (the 7-place taxis, Peugeot 506s have three rows, like in a family car) I was waiting for the car to get full. While the Senegalese mamas were packing their bagages and stuff in the trunk, I was wondering where the smell of fish came from, tu...

"Things work, anyway", would be the very rough translation of this quote from a night watchman at the tiny hotel where I stayed during a field trip to one of the Woomal project ("Woomal" meaning "development" in Wolof, the environmental education project I'm working with) sites, in Diofior. He asked me the usual "how do you like Senegal?" question, and I replied something polite, as usual. We continued by comparing the unemployment in Senegal and in Europe (which for most people here is just one country), and chatting a bit in the dark night in the Senegalese countryside, then still with electricity, later on with almost a daily power cut. How do I like Senegal? I'm wondering if it is possible to experience all the phases of a cultural shock in two weeks, since that is how I feel. It was even somewhat surprising for me to be shocked with...all of this: beggars, heat, garbage allover, discomfort and other things I had already gotten used t...

Two weeks in Brussels have passed by so quickly - it also means that already one tenth of my traineeship period at the European Commission has been completed. Have to say that I am still overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of this whole machinery of European development cooperation. From next week on, I am supposed to "replace" for a month one of our office workers who is moving to a EU delegation in the Philippines. That includes functioning as the expert on conflict prevention issues: I know the basic content of SSR (security sector reform), LRRD (linking relief, rehabilitation and development), SALW (Small Arms and Light Weapons), and some other nice abbreviations I have learnt so far, but it does not make me an expert...we'll see if I need to do something else besides taking notes in meetings. After work there is the limited amount of freetime in Brussels, which I have mostly been spending with other stagiaires. On my own I have been going to cinema, and it has lately ...

Although I'm not physically in New York City anymore, I'll probably keep on writing about it a few more posts. The previous post implied that there is a niche for every possible country or culture in New York - that is the essence of that city. Being an Africanist, I 'had to' get acquainted with the African-ness of New York and found it in very different places, some by coincidence, some I was really looking after for. African Music Night at St. Nick's Pub 773 St. Nicholas Avenue at 149th st. (subway A to 145th st.) Review on Not-For-Tourists website ; somebody's blog entry on the night with some blurry photos; on the history of the pub on their website I spent my last night in New York, a Saturday night, in St. Nick's Pub. Mainly because I was exhausted after all the packing and going around Brooklyn, rushing through the last places I still wanted to see and didn't want to go somewhere two-hour subway-ride or an expensive cab-ride away. St. Nick's...

Oh well, I'll just continue with the topic of politics. Besides the economic crisis, there is obviously another main topic in the news here - and all over the world - The Elections, with only three weeks to go. It annoys me a little bit that I'm here, in the heartland of the Obama zone with no real competition from McCain, which makes discussions quite boring. As for the campaign paraphernalia, Harlem is definitely the ultimate place for Obama-shopping, you can find practically everything around the 125th street... Particularly Sarah Palin is relentlessly mocked in the NY free newspapers (yes, unfortunately I don't have time to read the NY Times during my subway ride to work, so I must content myself with the free ones) - but you've surely had the chance to read all about her in Finnish or whatever countries' newspapers. It seems that the US elections are perhaps even more passionately followed abroad, or at least Obama is embraced with an amazing fervour. I attende...

The 63rd General Assembly began this week at the United Nations. This meant more than 130 heads of states, prime ministers, their royal highnesses and so on in the UN premises, and accordingly, fairly strict security measures. Two blocks around the UN headquarters were barricaded and the entry was possible only with a UN id, entrance ticket to a specific event or a proof of residence in that area. Besides dozens of NYPD cars on the streets, one could even see snipers on the UN rooftops, as in the photo. It felt a bit surreal, like walking in a movie set or something. Then again, during a few days I walked by a number of famous people, such as our President Tarja Halonen, UN's Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, musician Bob Geldof or economist Jeffrey Sachs. Bono with his friends was also around the corner, but I was working while he was flaunting around, unfortunately (see for example http://www.kansascity.com/440/story/813598.html ). One of the most interesting occasions was our meeti...

Can a culture be destroyed by outside influences? There has been a growing concern on the vanishing cultures around the world, especially in the third world countries. The Western civilization is spreading through mass media (Internet, TV, newspapers), consumer products (food, clothes, make-up...) and accelerating movement of people around the globe. This cultural globalization, or McDonaldization as it also has been called, is normally thought as something evil and destructive, a view shared especially by the intelligentsia. On the surface it is true: even in the remotes village anywhere in Africa you can surely find a bottle of Coca Cola or Fanta sold in a tiny kiosk, whereas bottled water (being more expensive than coke and thus not accessible for ordinary people) is more of an oddity outside big cities. Sometimes the global products bring a whiff of familiarity in strange surroundings: I remember when our guests from South Africa last summer, when seeing the first McDonald's...

Last week I bought something strange: my first ever Benetton clothing, and the first yellow clothing during the last 10 years or so. I just couldn't resist the T-shirts for the global communication campaign of Benetton for this year: Africa Works . Funnily enough, the first place where I read about it was Iltalehti, the second best-selling tabloid newspaper in Finland! It stated briefly that the campaign is hosted by Youssou N'Dour and that Benetton supports a micro-credit project called Birima in Senegal. My Benetton T-shirt cost 17 euros, which is not much for Benetton clothes in general, but a lot for a T-shirt. The money goes probably to the huge advertising budget... Still, I have to say that I quite like the Benetton campaign - as always, they are skillful at advertising and gaining attention from people. The photos for Africa Works are supposed to present Senegalese workers from various fields who have used micro loans, offered by the NGO Birima, to start small, produc...

On the airport of Dar es Salaam, on way to Finland from Tanzania I realized that I had packed all my books (which would've all been on Zanzibar / Tanzania anyway, being books for my thesis) in the airplane cargo. Thus I browsed the bookshelves of several gift shops at the airport, wanting to find something new to read for my long journey. I picked up this book because of its unusual cover with a pink mud mosque, men with Kalashnikoves, a tank and the title: " The Lost Kingdoms of Africa - through Muslim Africa by truck, bus, boat and camel" . It sounded interesting enough, and I purchased the over-priced book for 20 $. The title of the book refers to the old, pre-colonial kingdoms especially in West Africa: Ghana, Songhai, Mali, Hausa...all those names we had to learn during the course on the History of Africa on my first year in the university. The author, Jeffrey Tayler, succeeds well enough in capturing the mood and mentality of the people while travelling from Chad th...

Right now I should be sitting on board of Qatar Airways flight, going to Doha and on to Vienna & Helsinki. But I am not - instead I am at a shopping mall 'Slipway' in Dar es Salaam, trying to spend another extra night here in Tanzania. What happened? I got to the airport - a bit late, I have to admit, but last days are always so busy everywhere. But I was there 1h20min before the flight time in my ticket. It didn't help though, since the actual flight time was about 1h5min before the time (16h35) mentioned in my ticket. So there I was, tired, with two heavy bags, trying to find someone to help me - all the Qatar Airways employees were finalizing the flight that I could not be on. Finally after pleading the security guards and various other airport employees, I got hold of one QA employee who managed to get me a flight for tomorrow. So, on Monday evening I will finally be in Finland, if everything goes well (inshallah!). What I learned? Always, always reconfirm your flig...

yes, YMCA in Dar es Salaam! I really do enjoy staying here, I already stayed three nights during my first week in Tanzania, and now I am back again since last Wednesday. I personally think that YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Mission) is a lot better than YWCA (Young Women’s Christian Mission) in Dar es Salaam, although all the guidebooks tell me the opposite. It is cheaper, there is more light and air going through the building, rooms are bigger and nicer, the staff is friendlier and the café/shop better equipped. The two hostels are situated almost opposite each other, near the main post office in the centre of Dar es Salaam. ‘Posta’ is also one of the main daladala (the public transport minibuses) stands, so I don’t have to walk too much if I want to get out of the centre – in the very city centre I can just walk. Most of the oh-so-grumpy staff in the beginning have started smiling, greeting me cheerfully ( “Rafiki! Mambo vipi?” ) and even trying to pronounce my name (I think I heard so...

Lushoto, a lovely small town in the Usambara mountains, a few hours from Arusha and at least 7 hours from Dar is Salaam is really the place for getting away from all the hustle and bustle of the coastal towns. Crisp mountain air, brisk walking in the rain forest and eating organic food at a farm - something completely different after strolling on the narrow streets of Zanzibar Town, munching greasy chapattis and samosas all day. Yesterday I really felt like being in Finland again when I was having lunch at Irente Farm, a few kilometres from Lushoto. The table was filled with rye bread (yes! real rye bread...didn't believe I would find that in Tanzania, in the middle of the mountains!), "the tastiest cheese in Tanzania", delicious jam, fresh vegetables and juice. Soon it also started to rain a bit, it got chilly and I had to add a sweater on top of my T-shirt. I felt happy :) Don't get me wrong, I really like the hot climate too, but after sweating for so many months...

Apologies for not updating for some time. My last weeks and days in Zanzibar were frankly just too hectic: trying to photocopy, write down, interview and otherwise absorb as much information as possible. On the research process and exhilirating interview experiences I will write something later in Finnish - let's just say that it involved dirty jokes and phrases such as "Patria o muerte, venceremos!" ... Thus I left Z'bar on Wednesday, with my new, heavy bag full of books and papers. I left most of my stuff at a friend's place in Dar so that exploring Tanzania would be a little less painful. Unfortunately I only have one week for my little tour, because I have to be (well, I don't HAVE TO be, but I kind of want to...) back in Dar for the Finnish independence day on the 6th of December, since all Finnish ex-pats are invited for the reception at the ambassador's residence. After leaving Z'bar I stayed one night in Dar and continued then to Bagamoyo again...

Behind a fence at the Paradise Beach Resort , originally uploaded by rockriikka . I’ve been reading quite a lot of Edward Said ’s (1935-2003) texts lately. He is/was a brilliant writer, I have to say. Said was the one who raised the issue of representation of other cultures and criticised the present (then year 1978) academic scholarship, implementing the power theories of Frantz Fanon, Gramsci or Michel Foucault. Although Orientalism is The Book he is known for, he has written so much more – I especially enjoyed browsing and reading “Reflections on Exile and Other Essays” (2002), anthology of some of his writings. Said’s essays covered topics such as “Representing the Colonized”, “History, Literature and Geography”, an essay for honouring a famous Egyptian bellydancer – and lastly, one of my favourites: “Jungle Calling”, a praise of Johnny Weissmuller’s Tarzan on the movie screen compared to Edgar Rice Burroughs’ books. Quote: “Weissmuller’s African jungle was never filmed on location...

Here is finally some photos of my lovely bui-bui. It has been getting hotter lately, so I haven't really felt like wearing an extra layer every day. But it is an interesting social experience to compare people's reactions when I'm wearing it and not wearing it. When not wearing it, I'm being treated as any white person: "Jambo jambo honey, how are you?". When I am wearing my bui-bui, I get comments such as "Umependeza sana" (=I like you very much - this I get also without a bui-bui, but the amount of comments increases from half a dozen of umependezas to maybe two dozen...), "Are you a Muslim?", "Congratulations!", and a lot of salaam aleikums ...plus many approving smiles and comments especially from women, something that doesn't really happen without wearing a bui-bui. Some closer details, with a perfume bottle I also got today - from a shopkeeper who also spoke a bit of Swedish, had been living in Malmo many years ago. My...

After spending five days only in the biggest city of Tanzania I can't really make any justifiable comparisons between East and West Africa after two days. But there are things that I have just noticed by watching. I am actually quite surprised how much many things do remind me of West Africa. Of course the histories, cultures and languages are totally different, but still there are some things which can be categorized as so very essentially African. Let's start with similarities, then: God. He/She/Them is the most important thing for most people in Africa, it seems. Dar es Salaam is a nice mixture of religions, actually: mosques, churches and Hindu temples all over. But Jesus rules in visibility, at least: at one gas station all the workers had red shirts with a text: Jesus (heart / loves) me! I didn't know that Jesus sponsors oil business, too...and I'm sure car accidents can be prevented with the best bumper sticker I've seen so far: "This vehicle is protect...

A Tanzanian newspaper, The Guardian had a bizarre headline today: the Prime Minister suggested that "we must change and teach our children the Chinese language up to university level due to the fact that development has shifted to China". The article continued with promises "to provide the schools with electricity to enable students and teachers to improve their education performance". Don't you just love this bureaucratic language use? A lot has been written about the Chinese invasion in Africa recently. And now the development comes from there, if we listen to the Tanzanian Prime Minister! Actually, the phenomenon is not new at all. Though I was a bit surprised too to read in dusty Tanganyika Standard newspapers from 1964 (been working in the library of the Dar es Salaam university) that China, together with East Germany, were the only countries Zanzibar accepted to receive development aid from. Ideology was the main reason: Zanzibari Revolutionary Government ...

Bye-bye! , originally uploaded by rockriikka . Sorry that I haven't had time to write properly about the success of Young Africa project this year. As Finnish-speaking readers can see, I'm already off to Africa again, this time to Tanzania. Last few days were a bit hectic: moving stuff from my apartment, writing research plans for my Master's thesis, meeting people for good-byes and finally, trying to wrap up Young Africa 2007. We had some pretty intense 12 days there, in July/August - I'm sure Nthabi, Reason, Hamma and Collin can confirm that. Missing luggage, good shows, fun, fighting, sleepless nights, free champagne and many unforgettable encounters with people. I had a one-day-break in the middle of the tour, when I escaped to my friend's wedding (which was nice, thank you Saana!), but otherwise I was basicly on the run and stressing on minor issues too much. I know I should just take it easy, but it is difficult when one is trying to be perfect :) I...