i am not in africa

any more. i've taken my life back to nyc to see what i can do from there. a lot. i hope. it's not a permanent absence. i'll be back. and back and back. i've also been told i should shift this party to tumblr. and so i will. it's been a great run, amazing. a journey. pinhole. from frosty ohio.

people i miss

hlumelelisa

means "a new spirit". today is my last day working with paul, william, kagiso, happy, mafika, bra pieter and all of hlumelelisa's amazing learners and graduates. i've seen hlumelelisa's work touch so many lives. through teaching horticulture skills, nurturing, responsibility and patience - fighting crime in such a different way, in a place that so desparately needs it. it has been a true honour and priviledge. i will miss this family like none other. www.hlumelelisanews.blogspot.com. 

shooting with mbali

a few saturdays ago, i spent the morning in diepsloot with umuzi. taking photos with one of our youth photographers, mbali m. fun.

 

sharing lives.

working with the Umuzi photo club in SA has allowed me to spend time with some pretty amazing young people. this is rudzani. she is a poet. a sister and daugher. and now a young photographer. with a voice.

a sunday memory

as i think back on my time in south africa, i can look back over a myriad collection of short stories and experiences that when woven together have made my life so rich. the stories of the people here and their kindness ring most true. and this day for me was one of those. this is not my religion. i am not even of the people who are building this wondrous structure. but they let me in and led me through winding staircases that led to the very top top of the minarets. they read the arabic on the walls to me. and bestowed lovely tiles upon me to take as a reminder that i have a home there with them. 

in dots-o-mania

hartbeespoort. we walked and climbed high ladders over electric fences. then braved a carcass, the country jacuzzi and the historic barn. and settled in for some vino under green dappled shade.

smell.feel.taste

abeid's spice farm isn't like the manicured government plantation 

across the road. lucky for us. 

we smelled, we tasted, we guessed.

he quizzed us at the end.

spice island - zanzibar. 

one of the few places in the world where saffron is grown.

i like that detail.

1. the place 2. cloves 3. the man 4. eating pomelos and a jack fruit tree (of which i am no longer afraid - tasty) 5. green coffee 6. star fruit 7. eda and mila admire their jewelry 8. a spice meal 9. i still dream of this bowl 10. support your local women's cooperative

alitupa zawadi

i recently ran off for a three-day trip to Zanzibar

that turned into a week.

my journey was made possible by a lovely little family

of a friend, Zoe, who i studied with "en France"

all those years ago. 

thank you for taking me in 

and giving me shelter.

and for the juice - all of the juice.

i'm going to post some more essays

from my time there.

but first, this thank you.

for Zoe, Shaaban, Mila and Eda