on july 10, i wrote:
i could not have dreamed up a better day in rainy, cold addis than this one with Tamrat Gezahegne & Leikun Nahusenay, talking jin riding hyenas in the hills, talking healing wells & spells, talking angels & saints, talking forks and spoons, talking meditative construction, talking dung & sex & confidence, talking studio speak & mama love, talking father's loom & weaving ways, sister's injera & berbere, the rain-soaked cobblestone speaking, the city gutted, speaking, symbols, speaking, blue taxis in red velvet, speaking, family portraits, speaking, exquisite corpse, speaking, window frames, framing me & you in the scene -- high on chai & love & possibilities. i guess it's always better to leave a place wanting more, but wow. this is hard! batam kabadnew. miss you all, fork, spoon, angel, love.
in january, i flew back to zanzibar intending to stay for 6 weeks, and stayed for 6 months. it's been a crazy, wonderful ride. managing a music festival, writing & publishing essays about bagamoyo & harar, leading workshops on arts & social change, researching arts & culture in tanzania, starting a collaborative kanga book, mentoring college students on study abroad, leading another round of lltg. none of this really came easy, but it all unfolded as it should. an amazing, abundant adventure! not without moments of fear, loneliness, & panic that i may be leading a very different life than most. there's no denying it -- this part of the world has my heart! so grateful for this beautiful network of good friends in this part of the world. i'm flying out of addis to chicago tonight. excited to go home, knowing too that i have a home here, and will be back soon!
i wake up every morning in chicago with regret. that i did not make the trek to lalibela. that i did not stay where i am now more comfortable -- at home -- in africa. i wonder how long it will take to feel that i am actually able to return home.
i could not have dreamed up a better day in rainy, cold addis than this one with Tamrat Gezahegne & Leikun Nahusenay, talking jin riding hyenas in the hills, talking healing wells & spells, talking angels & saints, talking forks and spoons, talking meditative construction, talking dung & sex & confidence, talking studio speak & mama love, talking father's loom & weaving ways, sister's injera & berbere, the rain-soaked cobblestone speaking, the city gutted, speaking, symbols, speaking, blue taxis in red velvet, speaking, family portraits, speaking, exquisite corpse, speaking, window frames, framing me & you in the scene -- high on chai & love & possibilities. i guess it's always better to leave a place wanting more, but wow. this is hard! batam kabadnew. miss you all, fork, spoon, angel, love.
in january, i flew back to zanzibar intending to stay for 6 weeks, and stayed for 6 months. it's been a crazy, wonderful ride. managing a music festival, writing & publishing essays about bagamoyo & harar, leading workshops on arts & social change, researching arts & culture in tanzania, starting a collaborative kanga book, mentoring college students on study abroad, leading another round of lltg. none of this really came easy, but it all unfolded as it should. an amazing, abundant adventure! not without moments of fear, loneliness, & panic that i may be leading a very different life than most. there's no denying it -- this part of the world has my heart! so grateful for this beautiful network of good friends in this part of the world. i'm flying out of addis to chicago tonight. excited to go home, knowing too that i have a home here, and will be back soon!
i wake up every morning in chicago with regret. that i did not make the trek to lalibela. that i did not stay where i am now more comfortable -- at home -- in africa. i wonder how long it will take to feel that i am actually able to return home.
