We've finally done it. On September 8th, M and I will be boarding a plane, one-way tickets in hand, heading to Tunisia. We'll head east, turn right when we hit Cairo and follow the Nile down through Sudan to Ethiopia. From there we'll bum around various parts of Africa with a delightfully vague plan. The plan before then is to save as much money as humanly possible.
There are several things, I've noticed, that will take a lot of getting used to after all this time in Finland. My trips to Africa before haven't been fraught with all of these enormous culture shocks, but I've been in Helsinki for much longer now. And I can imagine that the following will be the most bizarre.
- The way the people look. They'll be black. Black, with black hair. Black, curly hair. There are a few Somalis living in Helsinki but still, the overwhelming majority of people are blonde, blue eyed and pasty-skinned. In fact if they didn't like wearing black clothes so much, they would be completely camouflaged once the snow came.
- The way the people act. I once again waited for the elevator coming back home after work tonight and as I was standing there a girl came in through the door, started coming towards the elevator and (shock horror !) I was there waiting for it. Rather than share an elevator with a stranger she turned, walked the length of the corridor and went up the stairs. This is quite a common occurrence here. Finns (at least when they are sober, which some of the time they are) have an inviolatable personal space the size of a small house. Africans have never heard of personal space.
- Communication skills. Being spoken to by complete strangers is something I've generally been used to and had no problem with, but it will still come as a bit of a shock now. How will I deal with this ?
- The temperature. What else is there to say ? An African winter is the same temperature as a Finnish summer. I love the heat though and, although I scored only the second sunburn of my life last summer here in Helsinki, I'm still filled with optimism.
In 299 days, we'll be there. Until then, life will be cold, dark, wet and mostly quite silent. At least I'll have a lot of space to reflect on this while I'm in the elevator.
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For those who are mystified by the use of the word chèche. It's one of these.
I'd like to thank Marvin Gaye for allowing me (by not stating any particular objection in writing) to shamelessly use a name of his song in my title. In the pages below, I will rant in an incoherent, sometimes enlightening, and more often unenlightening way, about a variety of topics, some of which I have a vague knowledge of, and some of which I assume I do. This is all written in preparation of the Africa project for 2009.
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Who am I ?
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- It's hard to tell sometimes. I grew up between two cultures, living in a third and now live in a fourth. On a personal level I am a normal person with abnormal dreams, wanting life to be one long rollercoaster ride, and willing to do anything to get there..
When You've Read and Learnt Everything From Me, Go Here.
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For those who are mystified by the use of the word chèche. It's one of these.
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