I have uploaded what appears to be three random shots I took from my bumpy bus ride across Uganda on my way to Karagwe. Tanzania. My objective is to show you the world I see and understand my struggle with its amazing contradictions. The first photo is a typical village scene. There are some fellows sitting around chatting. You can't hear their laughter or feel their gentle gestures, but a tenderness is there. What could they be talking about and in what dialect I do not know? The trash behind them? Why don't they pick it up? It spoils the picture or is there a message here?
The second photo shows a lady wearing a lovely shawl. She is looking across a mud puddle at some folks on a patio. People care here very much about looking clean and presentable. The big mud puddle will serve her and her friends as drinking water for several days.
The last photo of a lone tree at dusk on the savannah instilled in me a feeling of Africa which I have imagined since childhood. You might hear the lyric "... the lion sleeps tonight", when you look at this picture. The problem is there are no lions near here. They are long gone due to encroachment of people, degradation of the land for farming, and hunting and poaching for food.
My Amizade Adventure is a maize. I turn many directions in spirit and in purpose. I end in Bend, Oregon at home, or is that just one more remote outpost?
This is really fascinating, Lee. It's like National Geographic, but with gutsy comments. Except for the poverty, pic 1 looks idyllic. Maybe a sense of the tenderness you describe comes through. That was a happy observation. I immediately noticed the trash, and wondered the same thing, but did not continue to think about it deeply. I wonder what the answer is to that one? I hope you'll tell us if you find out.
ReplyDeleteAbout the water. I only saw it as a pretty reflection and an impediment to their walking. This is the drinking water? Do thy harvest it and keep it in jugs, or keep drawing from the same pool over the life of the pool? I imagine the latter could cause a lot of illness. Do you know yet? I love the clothing, and imagine you'll be showing more of it over time.
As for the Tarzan trees - I can see why you were reminded of childhood stories and dreams! What an exotic and interesting time you're having.
What an incredible experience you are having! Your photos are marvelous as you can see/feel the beauty, the poverty, the incredible differences not only between Africa and Bend, Oregon, but within Africa itself. Talk about three different worlds!
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One very quick observation about the trash: What are they supposed to do with it if they do pick it up? It doesn't look like the kind of neighborhood where they have Monday morning trash pickup.
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The trash again. I'd really like to talk that through with you. Not this time when I'm in WA. but next time! By then you'll have been to Navajoland...
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I imagine, like many things, it is difficult to swallow the death of romance about an area. It is certainly easier to bury one's head in the Oregon sand. It hit home about the song lyrics. Even though I know it is not how I would like to continue to imagine it, it is really similar to how I tend to remember my own history - better than it really was.
ReplyDeleteInteresting images in your head. What you see is what you get but not what you think. MB
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