For my Favorite Blog Follower

Here is an image for my favorite and most dedicated blog follower, my mom. My mom has been religiously reading my blog and has made the most comments. The rest of you need to step it up a bit!

So as a thank you to my mom here is a photograph I took for her. She has been asking me to look for Obama related goods in Kenya. She is right to ask because Kenyans are particularly proud of the fact that Obama has Kenyan roots. Here is a piece of fabric with a title and tag line in Swahili that reads..

"Congratulations Barak Obama; Yes we can"

That is my best guess...I could not find a translator online from English to Swahili...anybody like to help?) And no, I did not buy it. The image will have to suffice. :-) Stephane did record Kenyan reactions to the inaugural speech. If I have time, I will post some sound bites. They were quite enthusiastic, to say the least!

No Comment #1 & #2

"No Comment" is a section in my blog where I do not make any commentary on the posted images. I tweaked this concept from something I observed by watching the news in France starting in 1998.

My favorite part about the evening news in France was the "no comment" section where they just showed video images with no sound. This effect reinforces the power of the image as a "signifer" pushing you to seek the "referent" for what it "signifies." (Thank you Ferdinand de Saussure!)

Here are two unrelated photographs - just think of it as your own personal story time.What do these photos evoke in you? Send me a comment on my "no comment!"

No Comment #1

No Comment #2

Kazuri Beads Support Single Mothers

The beads are smooth, glazed and vary in size and shape. They are painted in an array of brilliant colors. The best part is that these beautiful beads create jobs for single mothers in Nairobi.

My visit to the Kazuri bead factory was uplifting. The operations manager gave me a private visit. He showed me the bead making process. Being a management consultant, I could not help but ask questions such as, "How are people hired and trained? Who gets chosen to do the quality control? How do you define bead quality?What do you do with the rejected beads? How do you know how many beads to make? How are you tracking your supply and demand?" These questions all have answers but they are not the most important part of this story. What I found particularly heart warming was the room filled with single mothers who would otherwise have no trade and therefore no source of income to support their children.

The Kazuri factory takes in single mothers and trains them to be specialized in bead making. The beads are exported all over the world. There is now a huge waiting list to be a Kazuri bead maker. Earning 6 dollars a day provides these women a leg up in society. To any Westerner, this sum of money seems ridiculously low. To these women, the sum of revenue is a godsend. Think about that the next time you order a tall double vanilla mocha frappaccino.


Unpainted beads drying in the sun








Assembly line








Stock Room









International Order Log

African Art Inspired the Cubists, n'est-ce pas?

The cubist movement is potentially one of my favorite movements in Art History. The invention of Cubism was a joint effort between Picasso and Braque, residents of Montmartre, Paris. These artists were the movement's main innovators. Until I stumbled across this piece of work the other day, I had forgotten how much African art had inspired the cubist movement.


Take a close look - wouldn't you say that there is a bit of Picasso in it? Uh hum...clarification.. wouldn't you agree that there is a bit of Africa in Picasso's work?

Achieving Little Dreams

I am now officially a published photo journalist! See my photos here:

http://nairobichronicle.wordpress.com/2009/01/29/deaths-feared-in-nakumatt-inferno/

Here is the letter from the Chief Editor of the Nairobi Chronicle:

On Thu, Jan 29, 2009 at 8:50 PM, Nairobi Chronicle wrote:

Hello Leah, Thank you very much for your photos. I have published them on the site today. As you probably guessed, we were nowhere near the scene when the disaster began and we did not have photos. I might have ended up using newspaper photos but it is good to have original, unique images to give the audience a different perspective.

Once again, thank you for your efforts,

Regards,

CHIEF EDITOR

"G" like Giraffe, "E" like Elephant

I am not really an animal person. For example, I never had posters of panda bears on my walls as a kid. I detest being licked by dogs. Some people actually kiss their dogs on the lips. I prefer animals that keep to themselves and do not interact so much - like cats! (Exceptionally, I did once have a mentally retarded cat that did lick me all the time). Ever since my cat Coal-Ball and then my brother's cat Geneva died, I have yet to move on to other pets and probably never will. Furthermore, I am not a wild life photographer. I have always preferred the human landscape. If I took photos of animals, it was to please others when they asked and found no enjoyment in it whatsoever.

Despite my preferences, for some odd reason I decided to visit the Elephant Orphanage and the Rothschild Giraffe Sanctuary today. I suppose it is because I am in Kenya (for goodness sake) and I should see animals in their wild environment. To my great surprise, I enjoyed it! I even photographed them and allowed myself to be photographed with them.

"G" like Giraffe

I tolerated the giraffe licking in my palm. However, I decided to refuse the Giraffe "kissing" the guide offered me. So what is giraffe kissing, you ask? You proceed to put giraffe 'candy' or pellets in your mouth and let the giraffe take it from your mouth. I watched a British guy do it willingly. It was almost as if he had done it before! He didn't even need instruction. How utterly disgusting! The guide explained that giraffes are "hygienic". Okay. (?) But my question is - how many tourists has that giraffe kissed? Sounds like a good way to get an interesting communicable disease if you ask me. Poor giraffe kissing all those tourists! Have you seen the size of a giraffe tongue? Why on earth would you want to be kissed by a giraffe? I will let you think about it.

"E" like Elephant

Now, let me take you to the Elephant Orphanage. This orphanage is very well operated. It turns out that due to the desire for ivory (which has increased by 600% due to abolishing some ivory import sanction in China), many mother elephants are poached and their calves are left behind to perish in the wild. The guardians of the orphanage raise the calves in their wild environment until they feel ready to join a new herd. The men in green act as their mothers by feeding them and training them to behave like well educated elephants - as their mothers normally would. In turn, the elephants recognize them as their foster mothers. The trainers even sleep with them at night! Indeed, these men have dedicated their lives to caring for these majestic beasts.

I had no idea that elephants were such sensitive animals. The trainers described each of the elephant's personalities and gave us tips on how to interact with them. Some are shy, some are naughty and misbehave given any chance, and some are very sweet. Apparently, you should never piss off an elephant because they also hold grudges and will get you back one day. They have an excellent memory. I now have a full appreciation for elephants and have found a soft spot in my hearts for them. Upon reflection, I discovered something human in elephants and it must be for that very reason that I enjoyed photographing them.

Foster Mothers

Do you want to adopt an orphan elephant for $50 a year? It costs over $10,000 to care for an elephant per year. When you adopt one you get a photo, updates on how it is doing and you can even watch the trainer put the calf to sleep at night. (Which is a privilege because the park is only open to visitors 1 hour a day). Voila, I am now officially an elephant and giraffe fan!

Poetry Pause (not Haiku, not Sonnets - just read it)

Giraffes
Elegant Beasts
Trotting smoothly in the horizon
Gentle eyes and long, sleek necks
Provocative, geometric designs
Limbs are thin, yet stealthy
Orphaned elephants
Dependent little calves
Missing their mothers' milk
Tripping and sliding in the mud on their wrinkly knees
Crusty brows and sensitive skin
Some shy, some naughty and some sweet

Question of the day: What is African Chic?

Answers:

1) Hotel lobby

and

2) My husband, Stephane in a hotel lobby

Travel Lucky Charms

Do you have a lucky charm that you carry with you when you travel? I carry a traveler's prayer with me - even though I am not religious, it is comforting to me. I also have my compass and whistle from Girl Scouts. I don't use it but I know it is there if I need to know which direction is north or if I need to whistle for help should I be stuck somewhere. My Aunt and Uncle in Santa Fe, New Mexico sent me this lucky image of two flowers (see to the left) to take with me on my travels so I thought it would be nice to post it on my blog. It's called "2 les deux." I love it!

Please do share your travel lucky charms with me! I am curious to learn more.

Speaking of being lucky....I am glad that I had just missed the fire in the supermarket downtown. I caught a few photos of it. It is the photojournalist in me that couldn't help but take photos. It seemed pretty much under control. The firemen and police where there taking care of the situation. I heard there were some injuries but no deaths. Since the crowd was getting antsy and black clouds filled the air, I decided to avoid the area and headed for the Northfolk hotel. To reassure my friends and family - it was no big deal. But it was a good excuse to go into this beautiful colonial hotel! Read about the blazing fire in the Nakumatt Supermarket.

Here are some photos I took of the scene:

Onlooker standing on a car to catch a view









Family comforting each other

The blaze is well under way

This is Gerald the Giraffe

This is Gerald the Giraffe. He wants to learn French, he told me so. He enjoys speaking about English Literature and British Colonial philopophy over cups of stron tea (white with sugar, of course!) with his other Giraffe friends. Sometimes he drinks tea with Mr. Leo Pardi, a very distinguished leopard neighbor who manages to stabilize his desire to prounce and eat Gerald - it is just his animal nature, nothing personal.

When Mr. Pardi does manage to contain himself, he comes over for a cup of tea and they discuss Francophone Literature. Mr. Leo Pardi can speak French fluently and can read the poetry of the previous and most distinguished President and Poet of Senegal, L. Senghor.

Mr. Pardi was an exchange student at the Sorbonne in 1991. Gerald the Giraffe feels slightly inferior to Mr. Pardi and is hoping that one day he too can master the language and impress his neighbor with references to French poets and francophone writers. Should any of you have extra French grammar books and CDs, please send them to East Africa.

Random Stuff

Here's a silly weird link my brother sent me. Take a look and make sure your volume is on (if you want to hear the cheesy music).

http://www.weebls-stuff.com/toons/kenya/

The Maasai Market

Today, I went to the Maasai Market right outside of the Ya Ya towers where I am temporarily living (Means "house help" in Swahili). It is a market filled with crafts and known to be incredibly over priced. I did the best haggling I could and ended up with some nice gifts to take home with me: scarves, spoons, beaded necklace and bracelet (but not made with local beads) for me to wear while I am here.

So, let me tell you a bit about the Ya Ya towers. It is a great fortress that expats live in behind gated doors with high security. Right next door is the Ya Ya mall (house help mall?) which is filled with comfortable spaces for non locals to shop. It is air conditioned and convenient. I don't plan on purchasing anything there except for maybe a coffee at the local Java House. I see it as more of a "museum" where I can window shop and see the types of things people are selling. Needless to say, once I have an idea I can then go out to a real market and purchase the item for a real price in a more interesting environment.

The Mysterious Open Air Market

I actually don't know the name of this market because we had originally asked our driver to take us to City Market which is a well known area to shop for foods and other goods. We ended up in an open air market which was filled with delicious fruits and vegetables. We got mango, passion fruit, carrots, cucumbers, fresh coriander, onions, garlic and garlic seed, beans and peas. I quickly learned that I should ask for quantities in the kilo or half kilo but nothing outside of those dimensions - just didn't work. Things generally cost around 150 to 200 shillings a kilo, which is not cheap but not expensive either.

Upon coming home. we cooked up the peas with some masala spices and they were absolutely gorgeous. If I had had those peas when I was 5, I never would have pushed them aside until my 30s(inside joke with my parents).

A peculiar element of the market was the Obama posters. Kenyans are, to say the least, very excited about our new President. When they see Stephane in the market they cry "OBAMA." I think it is the national joke on Stephane.

"If I had 50 shillings for each time somebody called me "Obama" I would be a rich man!"

The Schedule

For those of you who are the 'follow a schedule' type of person, I will post it here. Just note that it will probably change.

Kenya: January 23 through February 6 ish

Ghana: February 6ish to March 6 ish with some time in Mali and Senegal

India: March 6ish to not sure

Then, I will head to Europe and not sure exactly what my itinerary is but will keep you posted!