Around the World in Five Days

Some of you may find it hard to believe that I'm actually a student when I tell you that by the end of this evening I would have been to five countries in less than seven days. 


I am a student, but a student of food. I'm still trying to figure out what exactly I'm doing here at UNISG and what my ambitions and goals are. In the midst of this 'confusion' there is clarity,revelation, and  sometimes confirmation. I know that the sense of adventure runs through my blood, but it been reaffirmed that I like traveling. 


My adventure this year with food and people has afforded me the opportunity to be transported- figuratively- to several countries and have a glimpse of life and society of these no longer foreign and far removed places. China, Thailand, the Netherlands and Australia are no longer places on a map but places with gastronomical significance, people and  memories attached to them. 


I started the week off celebrating Chinese New Year. Our classmate tastefully educated us on the customs and the traditions associated with the new lunar year. We welcomed the year of the dragon with sumptuous dumplings, fried rice, noodles, fermented rice wine and the phrase 新年快乐 meaning happy new year. By the end of the celebration our classmate let us know that we were probably now qualified to work in a dumpling shop somewhere in China. I think we deserve the qualification since we spent a good part of the afternoon making dough, rolling the dough, filling up the dumplings, cooking the dumplings and finally after our hard work eating the yummy dumplings.


I had a taste of Thailand on my way home from school when I stopped by my friend's apartment. I was tasting her Thai dessert she had made the previous night. I cannot remember the names of these dishes but a warm banana and coconut dessert and a  warm bean and ginger sort of dessert soup were very different  for my some what under developed palette. I can't wait to taste more of her Thai creations.


Last night my flatmates joined me on my journey. They had their first taste of Southern Africa. I prepared a meal I have prepared countless times in my life; nonetheless, I believe that they enjoyed their sadza, nyama and muriwo. As I showed them how to mold the sadza into their hands and how to properly clap their hands in thanks, I realized that these every day customs and traditions that are intrinsic to me are not mundane, but something special that gives me a sense of belonging. 


As far as I know (excuse my ignorance) we do not have any traditional baked desserts in my country. That makes me sad since I like dessert and baked goods. I was unable to offer my friends a 'traditional' baked dessert from my homeland but lucky me we had a birthday to celebrate, and I believe that birthdays call for dessert.


The celebrant went out for her birthday dinner were she was not allowed to order dessert. Unbeknownst to her, in the cold dark night nine of her gastronomy classmates walked through the silent streets of Bra to deliver a delicious delicately designed Dutch Apple Pie her. We sang and toasted to our classmate and she generously shared her dessert with us. I believe the surprise dessert was well worth the wait. I have never been to the Netherlands but I hope that when I go there I'll have an equally delicious apple pie like the one my Dutch classmates made. 


To end this world tour tonight I'm headed to Australia. Our Australians have decided to celebrate Australia Day with us with an authentic Aussie barbie (BBQ). I know nothing about Australia except from what I learnt while studying English Literature and reading novels by the Australian author Peter Carey. Oh and how can I forget to include the "knowledge" gained from watching hours of Neighbours and Home and Away! 


But I wish I could make one more stop to South Africa today to celebrate a very special birthday.Today my friend celebrates another year of life. I am so thankful to have met her. She changed my life for the better. She is the friend who you call at 4am just to say hi (even though she would not appreciate it), the friend with the cute dimples and the beautiful smile.The friend with a high tolerance of crazy, the friend who cooks from the heart and makes sure you are always well fed and full, the friend who is the voice of reason. The friend who loves you just because you are you. Buon Compleanno L! I pray that your life is full of love just like you. 

Liguria

In the few months of living in Italy I have had several moments of flashbacks and recall of memories of my past lives. With what audacity do I have to speak about a past lives? I bestow the power upon myself within reason and with a very good explanation.Each time I have relocated to a new country I consider that starting a new life. So I would roughly calculate myself as having had eight lives already and I’m well in my way to my ninth life.

This particular flashback was brought on when my traveling buddies and I were in the Italian Rivera, in Liguria , the north-western coastal region of Italy. We were on the search for mussels, well just really good fresh sea food at restaurants. We had some hits and some misses in our search. The best seafood that we found was at the local fish market in La Spezia. It’s a pity that we only got to see the seafood and not cook it for ourselves. The cooked seafood at the several restaurants we tried left a lot to be desired. I would say in my limited Italian that it was così così (so-so).

Mussels at the market in La Spezia

Fish at the market

While walking through the fish market I remembered growing up on the Mamaroneck Harbor in the USA and having our land-lord and his brother come looking for mussels in our backyard that led to the shore. I knew nothing about the little creatures that are delicacies. I thought it was strange and even funny that a senior citizen would drive up to our house in his bright red classic Mercedes Benz, wear his rubber boots and walk down to the shore with his metal pail and all other tools needed in obtaining the little shell fish.

Seeing and smelling the ocean brought back memories of childhood and the past four years of my life living in a costal city. It was quite refreshing to be near the ocean. I had never seen the Mediterranean Sea, now I can say I have. I think I had the best vantage point that I could ask for while walking through Cinque Terre . (These are 5 little Idyllic Italian towns connected by footpaths. Their beauty is in the way that the towns are situated on the edge of cliffs and the houses literally cling onto the rocks.)

At Riomaggiore

You could describe the towns as the quintessential little Italian village. It was spectacular. Imagine people living in a little village on a cliff. Breath-taking views of the ocean and the mountains. All this can be seen while walking/hiking through the towns. Disclaimer: the memorable walk through Via Dell'Amore should be done with a loved one (although friends are a more than perfect substitute) the name itself ‘street of love’ explains such, and the locks of love illustrate it. Legend has it that padlocks or any sort of knotted materials left by lovers on chain link fences will ensure that their love will last forever.

If you have 5 hours or so to spare while you are in Liguria I would recommend that you walk through Cinque Terre. I would also suggest a little site seeing of the port city of Genova . It’s a grand city with the medieval city walls still intact and numerous castelli (castels) to be seen. While walking through the medieval section of the city I felt like I had been transported to a fantastical place. A place you would only imagine, but alas to my surprise the dark narrow streets lined by enormous buildings from centuries ago exist.

Many of the buildings were being refurbished with modern interiors allowing the inside of the building to juxtapose the ancient outer shell. I must not forget to mention the many beautiful churches that are the norm in Italy. In Genova you will find the beautiful Cattedralel di San Lorenzo built in the majestic Romanesque style. When I see some of the buildings I sometimes think I should have studied architecture. Who knows maybe I will; considering that I have no idea what the future holds for me and anything is possible, for example last year this time I had never heard of Bra, Italy let alone UNISG, but look where I am. I can tell you though that next week I’m planning (well the university is) another adventure to the South of Italy.

Cattedrale di San Lorenzo

Travelers and ancient castles in Genova

Any time is tea time

Tea has always been a part of my life. I don't think I can imagine life without it, or memories of my large extended family without it- especially my aunties and uncles sitting together and discussing life over CUPS POTS of tea. A hot beverage that brings people together; one to warm up your soul on cold winter nights as you sit at the back of a truck on your way to the village for a family gathering, or even to be drunk in the afternoon in the middle of the blazing hot summers of Southern Africa.

My memories of tea are to do with community. Everyone drinks it and as the common saying goes: 'any time is tea time'. Where I'm from, one drinks tea all the time- maybe that's not quite true- but I can only speak for my family. I'm not sure which side of the family consumes more of this beverage, my mother’s side or my father’s, it is a close tie between the two. When you go to large family gatherings the tea that is served is warm, milky and sugary- just the way that everyone is expected to like it. In my large extended family it’s usually two pots made and sometimes even three varieties- thanks to diabetes and other health restrictions: one pot made with sugar and milk, one without the sugar but the milk and finally one just black tea. Did I mention that you need to know who drinks what lest you cause the onset of some health problem.

A cup of warm milky chai in Eldoret 

That has not always been the case. I remember some darker days in recent past when you drank whatever was offered-well you still do but, there is a bit more on offer these days. Most likely the traditional tea that you were accustomed to was just not there and you drank indigenous herbal tea sourced somewhere in the garden or in the farm from the rural areas (possiblyMoringa tea  or even Makoni tea ) but not in a supermarket, obviously without milk because you could either not find it, or afford it. Lemons became our friends. Somehow I remember always having sugar available even though I don’t usually put sugar in my tea.

In all my few years of drinking tea I was basically clueless as to where it came from and how important it is not only to warm up your soul, but as a liveliood to so many and the social, economic and political implications that tea has on people and nations. Drinking numerous cups of chai and seeing tea plantations for the first time in my life and picking tea inspired the anthropologist/sociologist in me to observe and asks questions about the dynamics that surround the discourse of tea.

Tea is the livelihood of so many people. It is a labour intensive crop that needs to be harvested meticulously with gentle hands as only the bud and the two youngest leaves are picked. Harvest is almost weekly. The people go through the vast plantations bush by bush picking the leaves and putting them into the porous sacks the walk to the delivery point where the tea is weighed and collected by the tea company. Wages are then paid, I believe by virtue of the weight of the sack. All this human labour just for tea I thought, why not mechanize it? The answer I was given was that it would be a terrible idea. The machines do not have the same finesse as the human hand and the quality of tea would be inferior to that picked by people. And then what would you do with all the people who would be out of work?

Tea leaves being collected and ready to go to the tea factory

What about the political? What quantity of tea grown in Kenya gets labelled as being a product of a different country? –I was told that these things do happen although sometimes we choose not to believe that.  Are there governing bodies to regulate the production and the distribution of tea? Who has the highest stake in the tea production, who suffers the most, and to what expense? Dare I even suggest the impact of colonialism in the tea industry in Kenya, lest I be misquoted or misunderstood due to my lack of knowledge of the intricate dynamic that time and history has played on the nation.

                                               
                                              

                                                                                                   

All of those questions buzzed through my mind as we drove through the tea plantations of the Nandi Hills of the Great Rift Valley, stopped at the Tea Hotel in Kericho, visited our host’s grandmother and picked tea in her compound. I think I had and still have more questions than I do answers. I do believe though that I now have a slightly better appreciation of this stimulant called tea- that is until my professors and colleagues here at UNISG succeed to confuse me more about tea. 

Safari through Kenya

I’ve decided to use my time wisely as I’m on a journey right now or rather should I say safari. I’m traveling through Europe back to my little town of Bra. I thought I would reminisce about my days of sunshine and feasting in East Africa.

I did not have a white snow filled Christmas, but rather a warm one with rain. For me both are familiar, although my earliest memories of Christmas are cold winter nights with snow and warm coats, I thought I would be reliving this memory this past Christmas but instead I had the more familiar heat and rain showers that I have been accustomed to.Where I’m from its not Christmas without a downpour of rain. Although I was not at ‘home’ we still had a downpour so it felt like home.

Back to the story. I went on a safari (Kiswhili for trip or journey) to Kenya, spent 2 days in Nairobi and the rest of the time was in Western Kenya, in the Rift Valley , travelling and feasting with friends who have become family. This trip was based on relationships as I earlier alluded to. Back in his day my Dad was a student in Kenya. The holiday was for us to ‘retrace his steps’ in Kenya; meeting old school mates and friends and showing us (my mum and I) some of the places that he called home and people who were family for a time in his life. Without these relationships/friendships I don't think we would have had any reason for our safari.

It was a journey of a lifetime and I have a feeling I’ll be back there in Kenya very soon, there is still so much to see and experience. And anyway I might just accept one of the numerous marriage proposals I had during  our visit there. I may have to learn a bit more Kiswahili or even learn Kalenjin. But I think my Kiswahili is better than my Italian, but that might change in a few weeks.

Let me explain where we were. We were based upcountry in Eldoret , living on the outskirts of town and everyday we would drive out to the country side to visit family and friends- note that the country side was about 20 minute drive from our base station. So after a filling breakfast the ten of us would pack into the two cars and drive off into the day, usually slowed down by the bad roads and long distance trucks on their way to Uganda who were the cause of the deteriorating roads. Our days consisted of visiting relatives, talking, laughing, eating and returning home later in the evening and have one final cup of chai before bedtime.

Since we went to Kenya during the festive season you can imagine we were fed till we popped. Worse still we were usually special guests where ever we went so that meant ‘feed them more’ and generally it not a good thing to leave food on your plate, although the dogs are more than glad when you do. What was on the menu? One of my new sisters explained to me that if you go to any celebration or have a special meal in a Kenyan household its not special if the following are not there: pilau rice,Chapati , meat or chicken, chai, maybe some mandazi and mursik or mala (fresh milk), and sodas (soft drinks: my favourite being Stoney Tangawisi ) there might be ugali , but that’s an everyday thing so it may not feature.

My favourite thing was probably the chapati or commonly referred to as chapo. For my parents I think it could have been the mala and mursik. I think it brought back fond memories of their childhood as we have a similar diet back home of curdled milk- lacto or mukaka wakakora. I don't blame them. I'm not the biggest fan of mursik/lacto/mukaka wakakora but that was some good mursik that we had! 

Oh I just remembered I also enjoyed my chips na kuku- possibly the best I've had in a long time. That was on our journey back to Nairobi through the tea plantations. That being said I need a break for some chai that I brought back to Europe with me. So I'll tell you more after the tea break. 

Life is Relationships

Eermmm…So more than a week went by, a year in fact. Happy New Year! I hope 2012 brings a new perspective of life and an appreciation of the things that really matter in life. A very wise person once told me that life has several meanings; the most important probably being that life is relationships. On that note I think I will have to jump to my next adventure which was brought about by friendships and relationships. I have to remember though that none of these adventures would be quite the same without people there to experience it with you or interacting with people. So viva relationships!

Picnic lunches with friends make the world  much more exciting!

As for Emila-Romagna, my suggestion is that you go and visit the place and taste, hear, touch, smell and see the passion that the farmers have about the work and their produce.