It's been a quick three months.

I really can't believe I've not written on here in 3 months.  I think I'm just going to continue and only share it to Google +.  I want this to be more of a space for thought than a place to bitch, moan, or generally complain about Republican thinking.

I'm trying to focus on my being happy because since I have written here last, I have had 3 different spots of skin cancer removed.  Not really digging the Frankenstein look.  But, getting all of these cuts in me have given me some drive to try new things and to make sure that I am not letting anything atrophy.

So, a good friend of mine from DC - who is just as much a language nerd as me - and I are doing a 3 month Esperanto challenge.  She just returned from a trip to Budapest, where she took part in the first ever POLYGLOT Conference.  Many Esperanto speakers were there (one could dare say, the entire Esperanto speaking population) and they said that any linguist can learn Esperanto in 6 weeks.  We are going to try for 12 since we live twelve hours apart.  Tonight was day one.


Mi estas kontenta ke vi lernas Esperanto.

Teach a person to fish....

Sometimes in Africa, you get a lot of time to think about things in your life.  I've had the pleasure of going 'back to Mozambique' this past weekend.  I knew that I had to get out of 'white' Windhoek so I didn't go crazy starting at walls.  So, I went to this place called Katutura, the location or township for Africans north west of the city.

Katutura (The place where we wish not to settle) is 10 kilometers outside of downtown Windhoek, but it could be another world.  As I took a taxi into the location, I noticed immediately that the sights, smells and sounds changed and I was transported to Mozambique.  I went out there to look at a project called KATU TOURS.   The project received some funding from the office I'm working in now and I wanted to work out some of the details of the project in order to help with some of the social media marketing.  Since, according to a recent CNN article, most Africans access the internet through cellular technology, it makes perfect sense to put your marketing there.  Also, when you're a start-up with little capital, it works to your advantage.

KatuTours is run by Anna from Angola.  She takes people from the city around Katutura to foster communication and some understanding.  The ride is 10 kilometers and you stop at shops, the market and other spots throughout the location in order to get a better view.  The best part for me was when we stopped at the Shebeen of Tate Buti.  He's one of the biggest singers in Namibia and I'll be looking for a CD soon.  While we were at the Shebeen, people were sharing with me beyond belief.  The meat was delicious and kept coming, the beer was cold and the conversation was great.  You need anything more?

What I like the most about this project, is that for N$350, I got 6 hours of a wonderful time with a woman who really cares about her community.  She lives where she works and teaches others how to ride bicycles.  Hopefully, she can get just a little bit of help because she is definitely learning how to fish.

Back to the beginning, I said in Africa you get alot of time.  It shows you what is important.

More soon.

Ian

A photo of me with Anna

...uh, thanks I guess...

My housekeeper Raquia called me at work. She said she was sorry for interrupting but obviously couldn't contain her excitement. I asked her what the problem was and she just said she was excited about what she had done at my house. I asked her what she did, but she wouldn't tell me. She just said I needed to come home and find it out. So I finished the day and went home. Raquia had dug a MASSIVE new garbage pit for me. Can't tell you all that I was very excited because she put crocodiles at the bottom of it "to try and recycle." All I could really say was thank you for trying to recycle and pay her her month's wages. I was very confused when I went out and told some friends. Everyone was very excited about it except for my friend Anne. She just kept telling me "that's not how you recycle!" I believed her but didn't know what else I could do. She came over to help and all of a sudden the crocodiles started coming out of the hole and attacking us. Kuri, my dog, jumped in the way to defend me and ended up falling into the hole. I'll miss her, I thought as I ran away. You can't really outrun an African Croc though, trust me! Anne, who's always been braver than me, stepped on the croc, keeping its jaw shut while screaming at me to get something to beat it with. I woke up with my broom in my hand...

Oh I "love" lariam...

Oh it's good to be smart

Many people know that I'm trying to apply to school to start in the fall of 2009. Well, part of the application is for me to make a recording of where I am in the various languages I speak. They introduced me to this program called audacity. Well, part of this conference I've been at since the 21st of July is a Gospel Choir. But not in the African sense of the term - more in the middle aged white woman warbling away in church to something that was written in 0001. Yet somehow a group of Mozambicans can even make that sound amazing and amazingly spiritual.

So I schlepped my trusty computer to the coast to try and get some of these songs recorded. IT WORKED!!!! Considering I was recording in an old dank church built in 1890, I thought it came out ok. Everyone in the group says it has too much echo. I tell them it doesn't have too much echo because if I (the mulungo) can understand the Portuguese and the Xitswa being sung THERE IS NOT TOO MUCH ECHO. :) That and I didn't want to burn another 16 CDS. It's a rather boring task to do. But I got there and recorded some vocal exercises and 6 songs that they were singing. My favorite song has to be Hi ta Famba. We are marching in the light of God. I'll see if I can get it up onto here one day. Noel, Liz? Any suggestions? You two are good at this stuff.

The next morning, I spent all morning drinking chai and editing the audio much to the amusement of my maid. I don't think she's ever seen a computer before. So the fact that I could record my voice into the computer and play it back to her was just astounding. I really enjoyed it and hope I can edit my voice in German, Spanish and Portuguese so I sound like a native speaker!

Will we ever need to leave home?

Google. Pretty soon the world is going to be pre Google age and Google age dated. Forget about BC and AD or BCE and CE. It's going to be PGA and GA. But really... I discovered something online today that was just AMAZING! It's Google's scanned in book partnership program. I vaguely remember hearing something about this, but let's just say I've been out of the loop for awhile. Anyway, I had gotten a request to do some translation between English Portuguese and Makhuwa. I don't speak Makhuwa but it is similar to Xitswa which I do speak a little of. Both of them were Bantu Languages so somewhat related. I went online to try and find the phrases and words I was looking for with a colleague from that area of Mozambique. Anyway, I found this digital library from Google. We were able to locate a scanned copy of this book from the early 1900's that is thought of as the leading example of Portuguese, English and Makhuwa translation. Funnily enough, it's written by a German for the Imperial Overseas Bantu Department. Ahhhh colonialism. Anyway, it was a big help to finish my work which lead me to completion of my first "professional" translation job. I remember the first time I got paid to act. $50 then and I thought it was amazing. With this work of, oh it maybe took me a half an hour, I made about 27,025,826.99 Zimbabwean dollars!