yesterday was the longest day of the year and i took full advantage!
i woke up at 5:15 to see the sunrise, went to a few farmers markets all over the city, walked a few miles back to my house before lunch time, and then took my lunch (a salad with pears, farmer's market strawberries, gorgonzola, walnuts, and a strawberry balsamic vinaigrette, yum!) to clark park for the summer solstice festival where there was greaaat music and art stuff and it was a beautiful day and oh man it was wonderful! a couple people i live with came and we played frisbee on the field and ran around and i got my feet nice and dirty which is really the way i like my feet best. at 2:30 i took my bike to this place called the divine bike church which is this awesome biking co-op half a block from my apartment. you can go there to work on your bike - its all do it yourself - and they have new and used parts and volunteers with technical expertice so you can fix up your bike and get what you need from them. after 4 hours of solid work (i now understand how to put bikes together), Warthog was finished and ready to ride. Yep, thats my bikes new name (the perfect combination of speed and good looks). When I finished i went back to the park to hang out with my friend sam and we saw some people having a drum circle which was pretty cool.
then i went with mirah, jack, and their two friends who are visiting from out of town to the West Oak Lane Jazz and Arts Festival. It took us like, an hour and a half to get there (its in north north north philly), but when we did it was pretty sweet. the mainstage had a band called Mandrill playing and was situated smack dab in the middle of a primarily black neighborhood. Actually, we were pretty much the only white people out of thouuuusands of people there. so leave it to Bintou to get into a dance-off with this 65 year old black dude in the middle of the crowd. Yep, it was all out and the music was fast paced and there were all these people standing around us and cheering it was so funny and pretty exciting. it must have been a spectacle. and i got lots of smiles from the people standing around when the dancing cooled off. definitely an experience i won't forget.
This morning i woke up and decided to take Warthog out for a ride. we ended up going out for 2 and 1/2 hours, first biking around the city and then heading on the bike path that follows the schuylkill river really really far. it was so beautiful i just kept going further and further. i love being alone in this city because i just do whatever i want when i want to and can just keep going further if i feel like it. i saw some pretty great things while i was riding. like at one point i was riding next to a crew team in the river, and on the front of their boat they had a djembe player keeping this great beat for them! i slowed down for that stretch so i could stay with the music. i also passed this really cute little black kid who was probably 8 or 9 who was riding alone and just BELTING a song at the top of his voice!
After my ride, i made lunch and then headed to the park to grab a coffee with sam and then read by my tree (which has the perfect, back conforming shape) for a couple hours. there was
1. a cool yellow beetle on my leg
2. a people-watcher watching people, with a joint
3. a dude playing flute on a bench on the other side of the park
4. one bite of fair-trade dark chocolate for eatin'
5. a huge bag of handmade colorful ceramic beads that some dude sold me on the side of the street for five dollars (the whole bag!)
6. a topless couple (man and woman) in jeans, having a beer in the alley behind their house on my way home
tonight i got indian food (buffet) with my friend amy which was so filling but sooo good. tomorrow its back to work!
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Thursday, June 19, 2008
bintou spends six dollars
this evening (beautiful, sunny, 72) after my walk home from 30th street station, i dropped my stuff off at home and changed into a comfy pair of jeans and a tshirt plus scarf. as i set off on my non-specific adventure, i discovered $6 in my pocket. this, i decided, would be my capital for the evening. i just got home a few minutes ago and here is what i have acquired since i left around 7:
oh also, the coolest thing happened when i got home. me and bike were just about to walk in the door when we noticed a group of people standing around outside the pinball arcade. i thought it was a fight at first, but then i realized it was just a bunch of guys that were having a freestyling battle. man they were amazing. it was like being at a really good slam at the nuyorican only it was on the streets and they were like, in each others faces. at first it was just 2 guys going back and forth and then a few other guys got into it it was basically just a gangsta rap battle (to quote flight of the conchords).
so that was my day after 7. minus all the details of what i did to aquire all those things. philadelphia is a pretty exciting place to be if you dont know anyone (actually, i have 5 friends! not even including the people i live with!). this saturday is the longest day of the year and i plan on using every minute of daylight in some really fun way. hopefully bike will be ready to go.
- a fresh head of lettuce from the farmers market
- a beautiful onion with long green stems (its probably a special kind of onion but i dont know what its called), also from the farmers market
- a bag of really yummy granola (hand made, farmers market)
- a lunch-size container with tasssssty vegetable curry (leftovers from the dinner i made with amy) - also containing a zucchini i got at the farmers market
- a beautiful, rusty, skinny green roadbike (!) - acquired from the wonderful mirah and jack and their interesting landlord who no longer wanted it. the name of the bike will be revealed once im finished fixing him up (tubes, gears, chain, lock)
- the song 'down by the river' stuck in my head from 2 cute neighbors having band practice on their front porch
- a new liberian friend who speaks bambara and works at an african record store (no, he didnt physically come home with me)
- a flyer that i'm probably going to throw away (ok, its a stretch)
oh also, the coolest thing happened when i got home. me and bike were just about to walk in the door when we noticed a group of people standing around outside the pinball arcade. i thought it was a fight at first, but then i realized it was just a bunch of guys that were having a freestyling battle. man they were amazing. it was like being at a really good slam at the nuyorican only it was on the streets and they were like, in each others faces. at first it was just 2 guys going back and forth and then a few other guys got into it it was basically just a gangsta rap battle (to quote flight of the conchords).
so that was my day after 7. minus all the details of what i did to aquire all those things. philadelphia is a pretty exciting place to be if you dont know anyone (actually, i have 5 friends! not even including the people i live with!). this saturday is the longest day of the year and i plan on using every minute of daylight in some really fun way. hopefully bike will be ready to go.
Friday, June 13, 2008
The Next Chapter
Its been a couple weeks since i'm home from africa and i've just started the next chapter in my summer... philadelphia! my life is still crazy and exciting and i kind of miss blogging so i figure, why stop? maybe my readers will dwindle... but hey, this is more for me than anyone else right?
so i just moved into the city on wednesday -- decided to sublet a room without seeing it first. mayyyybe not the best idea. while the location is good...i live... in a frat house. okay not really. not officially. but the NINE guys I live with are all in "SAMMY" (a frat) and i just found out tonight that this house is known as "SAMMY II." (Whhhhyyyy was this not posted on craigslist??) Anyway, its not a big deal... the guys are actually all really nice. My room is small and has an up close and personal view of the nextdoor neighbor's kitchen, but my bed is lofted and my fan is solid so im set. plus the kitchen is huge.
luckily, philadelphia is an awesome city so i've been out doing lots of exploring. i live right nextdoor to a pinball arcade and a restaurant that is called "CUPABANANAS" or something. its a burger joint. i know... what? just down the road theres tons of ethnic food -- thai, indian, senegalese, middle eastern, greek, italian, ethiopian, yadda yadda. i found a couple cute used book stores and bought "the end of poverty" by jeffrey sachs yesterday which ive been reading on the trains to and from work... its quite good so far! i'm also really close to penn and drexel so there are lots of young people around and lots of random truck restaurants that sell food out of the back or side.
so on tuesday at work (heres where my life gets crazy), one of my coworkers came up to me and said "hey claire, have you met Adou?" and pointed to this big black dude on the other side of the office. "no" "oh you should come meet him... i think he's from mali."... what??! i got all excited and went over to meet him. small world as it is, turns out hes from Bamako! he used to work for geneva global and has been living in the US for the past 6 years!!! we had a whole conversation in Bambara and he got really excited bc hes never met a westerner that speaks his native language. he wants me to teach his wife (who is american). I, of course, was excited because here I thought I had left mali and BAM! its back! Adou says theres a big malian population in Philly... who knew?
Work has been woooonderful by the way. i love geneva global and they have put me on a really important project -- i'm creating a huge, comprehensive database of NGOs in 10 countries in africa. i've been cranking out a country a day and reading lots and lots of NGO descriptions... which is really interesting (i know, i'm a dork) and also pretty inspiring. everyone in the office is also really hilarious. our boss was out on thursday which happened to be his 50th birthday, so we decided to wrap everything in his office in wrapping paper -- his computer, stacks of papers, the stapler, the phone, pens, a dirty coffee mug, the trash can, EVERYTHING. Then we blew up a million balloons and filled up his office with them and covered it all with a huge yellow table cloth. when he came in this morning, we all surprised him and someone also presented him with a wonderfully photoshopped photo of all of us plus him in a kilt with a wig on. so funny. we had a big birthday potluck for him at lunch and he told us crazy stories about his past... like this time he was captured in Liberia... i know, crazy.
tonight i met up with my malian friend adou and we went to a malian restaurant that he knew of called "MALIBA" We were the only people eating, but there were a bunch of malians hanging out that worked there and they looooved that i spoke bambara and it was really fun meeting everyone. the food was also DELICIOUS and it was so nice to eat with my hands again-- i cant wait to go back. Adou invited me to a party hes having tomorrow that will be all malian people. he said i should wear a malian outfit since everyone will be dressed traditionally. i cant wait!
but before that, i'm going to a flea market with some friends i hung out with tonight at this artsy musicy party on hazel ave. it was actually my friend mirah's brother, and there were lots of very cool, laid back people i would like to hang out with again. i also might go on a bike ride with a few people i met there... one guy says he has 4 bikes and can lend me one...woooeee!
oh! i also made a friend today when i stopped to have some tea (i know, weird) at a coffee shop. he was sitting outside at a table near me and asked me to watch his stuff when he went into the bathroom. when he came back he jokingly said "so, did anyone try to take my books?" and i said "yeah, a few people tried to steal 'Balkans'" (which is actually the name of the book he is reading) and we both had a laugh and ended up talking for like 2 hours. his name is Sam and he just graduated from oberlin last year. he came to the party with us and seems like a cool dude.
so im integrating well into life in philly i think. this weekend should be fun, since it will be the first time i really get to spend the morning/afternoon time in the city (ive been working everyday since i arrived). this entry is looooong but ive been slacking on my journal so
hoo RAHHHH for printers!
so i just moved into the city on wednesday -- decided to sublet a room without seeing it first. mayyyybe not the best idea. while the location is good...i live... in a frat house. okay not really. not officially. but the NINE guys I live with are all in "SAMMY" (a frat) and i just found out tonight that this house is known as "SAMMY II." (Whhhhyyyy was this not posted on craigslist??) Anyway, its not a big deal... the guys are actually all really nice. My room is small and has an up close and personal view of the nextdoor neighbor's kitchen, but my bed is lofted and my fan is solid so im set. plus the kitchen is huge.
luckily, philadelphia is an awesome city so i've been out doing lots of exploring. i live right nextdoor to a pinball arcade and a restaurant that is called "CUPABANANAS" or something. its a burger joint. i know... what? just down the road theres tons of ethnic food -- thai, indian, senegalese, middle eastern, greek, italian, ethiopian, yadda yadda. i found a couple cute used book stores and bought "the end of poverty" by jeffrey sachs yesterday which ive been reading on the trains to and from work... its quite good so far! i'm also really close to penn and drexel so there are lots of young people around and lots of random truck restaurants that sell food out of the back or side.
so on tuesday at work (heres where my life gets crazy), one of my coworkers came up to me and said "hey claire, have you met Adou?" and pointed to this big black dude on the other side of the office. "no" "oh you should come meet him... i think he's from mali."... what??! i got all excited and went over to meet him. small world as it is, turns out hes from Bamako! he used to work for geneva global and has been living in the US for the past 6 years!!! we had a whole conversation in Bambara and he got really excited bc hes never met a westerner that speaks his native language. he wants me to teach his wife (who is american). I, of course, was excited because here I thought I had left mali and BAM! its back! Adou says theres a big malian population in Philly... who knew?
Work has been woooonderful by the way. i love geneva global and they have put me on a really important project -- i'm creating a huge, comprehensive database of NGOs in 10 countries in africa. i've been cranking out a country a day and reading lots and lots of NGO descriptions... which is really interesting (i know, i'm a dork) and also pretty inspiring. everyone in the office is also really hilarious. our boss was out on thursday which happened to be his 50th birthday, so we decided to wrap everything in his office in wrapping paper -- his computer, stacks of papers, the stapler, the phone, pens, a dirty coffee mug, the trash can, EVERYTHING. Then we blew up a million balloons and filled up his office with them and covered it all with a huge yellow table cloth. when he came in this morning, we all surprised him and someone also presented him with a wonderfully photoshopped photo of all of us plus him in a kilt with a wig on. so funny. we had a big birthday potluck for him at lunch and he told us crazy stories about his past... like this time he was captured in Liberia... i know, crazy.
tonight i met up with my malian friend adou and we went to a malian restaurant that he knew of called "MALIBA" We were the only people eating, but there were a bunch of malians hanging out that worked there and they looooved that i spoke bambara and it was really fun meeting everyone. the food was also DELICIOUS and it was so nice to eat with my hands again-- i cant wait to go back. Adou invited me to a party hes having tomorrow that will be all malian people. he said i should wear a malian outfit since everyone will be dressed traditionally. i cant wait!
but before that, i'm going to a flea market with some friends i hung out with tonight at this artsy musicy party on hazel ave. it was actually my friend mirah's brother, and there were lots of very cool, laid back people i would like to hang out with again. i also might go on a bike ride with a few people i met there... one guy says he has 4 bikes and can lend me one...woooeee!
oh! i also made a friend today when i stopped to have some tea (i know, weird) at a coffee shop. he was sitting outside at a table near me and asked me to watch his stuff when he went into the bathroom. when he came back he jokingly said "so, did anyone try to take my books?" and i said "yeah, a few people tried to steal 'Balkans'" (which is actually the name of the book he is reading) and we both had a laugh and ended up talking for like 2 hours. his name is Sam and he just graduated from oberlin last year. he came to the party with us and seems like a cool dude.
so im integrating well into life in philly i think. this weekend should be fun, since it will be the first time i really get to spend the morning/afternoon time in the city (ive been working everyday since i arrived). this entry is looooong but ive been slacking on my journal so
hoo RAHHHH for printers!
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
youre invited...
hey all, im home from bamako (sad) and am spending a few days in westport before heading to philly on sunday
for those of you who are still checking my blog every now and then
and happen to be in the westport area...
ill be giving a short presentation about my research and findings at the women's market gardening cooperative in Mali
where: at my house
when: this saturday at 4pm (for no more than an hour)
call me or post on this blog if youre interested in coming!
hErE,
bintou
for those of you who are still checking my blog every now and then
and happen to be in the westport area...
ill be giving a short presentation about my research and findings at the women's market gardening cooperative in Mali
where: at my house
when: this saturday at 4pm (for no more than an hour)
call me or post on this blog if youre interested in coming!
hErE,
bintou
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