Wanawake (women) of AFRICA

Snapshots of Nairobi

sprawling, crawling city...
oxymoronic juxtaposition of
wealth abutting abject poverty
the modern arm-in-arm with the primitive
the all-pervasive odor and gray-white smoke
    of garbage burning
traffic moving helter-skelter through
    crowded streets, spewing clouds
    of exhaust into the already-pungent air
          or stalled bumper-to-bumper for
          seeming hours
a baker's dozen of mahogany bedsteads
    for sale decorate on street corner
    while on another stands a huge
    indoor shopping center
an endless parade of people walking
    along the roadside
occasionally, women bearing produce
    on their heads
here a small herd of goats grazing on
    sparse grass
there a yellow-vested work crew of
    women & men clearing rocks from
    a median strip
while overhead large hawks and herons
and garbage birds reel and soar beneath
the trail of jets
        this is Nairobi

Weather or Not?

Here in Carolina it is HOT!!! No other word for it. Today's temperature prediction is 95- which means it will actually be a bit hotter...at least that's the way it usually goes in this part of the country. Not my best time of the year, summer...usually I languish, doing as little physical activity as possible, preferring instead to hydrate myself with lots & lots of water and iced herbal tea while reading from my never-ending stack of books-to-be-read. So why, you might ask, (as numbers of friends actually have) am I heading to Africa, of all places? Well, let me tell you just a little bit about where I'm headed...and perhaps we'll learn something together.

Since all three countries I'll be visiting are in the Southern Hemisphere, the up-coming solstice will actually be the beginning of their winter. That's right- winter. Of course, we're talking about countries either on or near the equator, this is not cold winter...actually, it will be quite warm- but warm is distinctly better than hot, in my book. Today, for example, the weather in Nairobi, Kenya, has been cloudy with scattered thunderstorms, high of 73 degrees and low 54. A bit warmer in Mwanza, Tanzania: 86 and 65, sunny and humid. And in Kigali, Rwanda: 82 and 53, sunny and pleasant. I also find it interesting that there are almost exactly 12 hours between sunrise and sunset, due to the nearness to the equator. And I doubt if I'll be catching any fireflies.

So...I'll be thinking about those of you baking in the 90+ temperatures of the American east coast, while I enjoy the "winter" of East Africa.