A Kenyan Ghost Story

As is often the case in Kenya, internet connectivity was a bit of an issue so I'll try and get caught up. My time in Kenya has been very successful on the Global Module front, with the requisite number of Scudder-related travel adventures. I spent the time at Kenyatta University, one of our main international partners, and I feel we're making great strides there. I've managed to pick out several departments (sociology, literature and history) to act as "homes" or "incubators" for the Global Modules as we continue to grow. I'm working on a grant with some folks at North Carolina A&T University that would bring some much needed computers to Kenyatta.

I spent the time at the Conference Centre at Kenyatta, which is a pretty nice place - and there were actually some folks there this time (unlike last time when the only other person was a professor from England who was a vegan, which the meat-loving Kenyans couldn't begin to understand). Unfortunately, the internet usually seemed to be down at the business center and a couple different nights the electricity was down in the Conference Centre itself (which was made even more annoying by the fact that it was on in the rest of the campus). What made it even stranger was that sometimes the electricity would work in one outlet and not anyplace else, which led to me almost scaring myself to death one night. I had come back from a day full of visits and was greeted with the information that the electricity was out - and that the backup generator was acting up - and that the repair folks had decided this was a wonderful time to go on strike. So, I had dinner by myself in the dining hall - the crowd that had been there earlier had now cleared out. However, the crew that worked the dining hall could not have been kinder and took great care of me - whipping me up my own meal - which I downed with a bottle of Fanta, which apparently is the national drink of Kenya. I always asked for a Coke and they would always stare at me sadly and encourage me to get a Fanta instead. Armed with candles and matches I went back to my room - and setting up the mosquito netting in the darkenss was another adventure and I almost suffered the total humiliation of hanging myself in the mosquito netting (and thus providing proof positive of the total idiocy of all Americans). I sat down at my desk, with the television behind me, to write in my travel journal in the total darkness of my room - and, for that matter, the entire Conference Centre. At a certain point I suddenly heard a woman's voice behind me - and just about jumped out of my skin when I turned around and saw nothing behind me. And then the television blinked on. Apparently the only outlet in the entire Conference Centre which had decided to work was the one attached to my television. The next morning I told the story to the morning crew and they thought it was very funny and joked that I must have been visited by a jin (obviously drawn from the Arabic jinn) - but then they more seriously stated that jin were more common on the coast in Mombasa.

I had a Global Module in Africa . . .

OK, I'm running around like a lunatic trying to get ready for my next trip. I'm heading back to Africa this weekend to present at a conference on curricular design in African universities and to visit four universities. First off, I'm heading to Kenya to revisit our partner Kenyatta University for several days of meetings as we fine-tune our agreement. Then it's on to South Africa for stops at the University of Cape Town, the University of Pretoria and the University of South Africa - as well as the conference. I'm getting tired just thinking about it. I'm especially looking forward to the return trip, which runs from Johannesburg to London (isn't it possible to fly northwest from South Africa to the U.S. instead of over the entire length of Africa and Europe?), and then London to JFK, and then JFK to home - that will be a relaxing day. It's central to our vision to create a strong foundation in Africa - and with partners in Kenya and Ghana and Morocco - and new potential partners in Egypt and South Africa - we're well on our way.

Reflections on Things at Hand: India

It occurred to me that I don't really have any pictures of India on this blog (mainly because I started it since my last trip there). That's really a shame and I'll make an effort to get caught up. Of all the places I've visited India is my favorite. Not only is it an absolute goldmine for a historian, but the people there are the kindest I've ever met. As a friend of mine said one time - travel to India ruins you for travelling to anyplace else in the world - what else can match it? I've been lucky enough to travel to India four times, including spending the entire summer of 2004 teaching at our Champlain College campus in Mumbai (which is still the greatest learning experience of my life). Here's a picture of me and a fine gentleman that I met on the streets of Mumbai on the last night before leaving to come back in August 2004. My good friend John Neelankiavil took the picture. We had just finished a going away dinner and we saw the elephant down the street. John and I ran like luatics across several lanes of traffic (never a good idea in India because they drive like lunatics) to catch up and grab a picture.

Uffizi Gallery

When I was thinking about the then upcoming trip to Florence I was very excited about visiting the Uffizi Gallery, one of the world's great art museums (and one of the oldest). My only concern was having to wait for hours and hours in line (my Lonely Planet guide had suggested that waits of four or five hours were not uncommon). Their suggestion was to call ahead and reserve a ticket, so I asked the good folks at the bed and breakfast where I stayed to do that, and beyond them having to kill time on the phone, it was pretty easy. You have an extra fee, but it's "only" 4 euros. As it turned out, the wait wasn't too long any way (it was that way on everything I visited in Florence - must have hit town at a good/bad time), but it was nice to know that the option was there to save hours in line. The Uffizi is massive, with a central courtyard separating the two main wings of the museum. Normally you would go to gate #2, but if you call ahead and reserve a ticket you pop over to gate #3 to pick up your ticket and then walk over to gate #1 to enter. Very painless. The museum has around fifty rooms and over 1500 paintings, so you could easily spend more than one day there. To be honest - and this is going to sound somewhere between insane and pretentious (thus, probably representative) - I didn't like it as much as the Prado in Madrid, although I suspect this is just a personal thing. The Spanish painters (most notably El Greco and Goya) were just a lot "darker" and it fits my generally meloncholy mood better. That said, I had an extraordinary time at the Uffizi. For some reason I got really emotional when looking at Botticelli's Adoration of the Magi (pictured above in a shot I swiped off the net - you can't take a picture of it). The painting is in a huge room with other Botticellis, including an entire wall, dominated by The Birth of Venus. You could literally almost pass by the Adoration of the Magi because it is right beside a much larger painting and it almost got lost in the crowd (which is maybe one of the things that got to me). That said, I think what made me emotional was the painting's role in reshaping how I teach. Several years ago, as an experiment, I put together this Powerpoint presentation on the Renaissance - so, instead of simpy telling the students about the Renaissance, I would show them paintings from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance and have the students "define" the two ages just from examining the paintings. The core of the presentation was a side by side slide showing two Adorations of the Magi, one from the Middle Ages and one from the Renaissance (Botticelli's). I've often made the point to students that you could define the entire Renaissance just from examining Botticelli's Adoration of the Magi - the secularism, the individualism and the fascination with Greece and Rome. Anyway, the experiment went much better than I could have ever imagined and it led me to change my entire approach to teaching - trying, as best I can, to provide the students with the evidence that will allow them to discover the key concepts. So, anyway, when I actually had the opportunity to see the painting it really hit me hard. Anyway, the Uffizi is located right off of a lovely square with several restaurants and it is only a block or so away from a market (as well as a lot of high-end shops) - all in all, an unforgettable way to spend the day.

Florence

Florence really proved to be everything it was rumored to be. There are certain places that you almost expect to let you down, simply because they are built up so dramatically - and I was half-afraid that Florence would prove to be one of those instances where the reputation would out-strip the reality. Instead, it was absoutely amazing. I know I've made this point before, but I still contend that the Europeans are simply far more sane than we are. They just seem to "get it" in a way that we don't - they own less and spend more time on travel and actually use their vacation time. The Italians, in particular, really seem to value protecting their free time and enjoying as many hours outdoors as possible - I don't think I've ever been anyplace that had a more overpowering love of ice cream (there is a shop seemingly on every corner, and really, really good ice cream - well, it looked good from the window as I passed by on the way to get another salad). I had expected Florence to be insanely crowded, but, for the most part, it wasn't nearly as bad as I had feared. I'll talk more about some of the museums I visited later, but even those were fairly easy to get into without a long wait. Anyway, let me post a few pictures and I'll have more specific comments when I get some sleep.

Mall of the Emirates

On the way to Florence I had an insanely short layover in the United Arab Emirates at Dubai. When my passport and credit cards went missing as part of the Great Unpleasantness I had to change my travel plans several times. This was not a problem with Royal Jordanian, which seemed happy with whatever crazy changes came their way. However, the Dubai to Paris to Florence part of the journey was on Air France and they have a complete "you broke it you buy it" approach, so no matter how it played itself out I had to fly through Dubai and then on to Paris/Florence. Initially I had hoped to stay for several days and do some real sight-seeing in the UAE, which is not something I had ever had the chance to do (although I had been through there four times previously). The UAE normally doesn't do much for me, mainly because I'm a historian and there's not much history left in Dubai. That said, I was determined to make up for it this time, but the GU changed that. It was brutally hot when I landed - something around 110-115ish - so my desire to make it back to the Gold Souq went out the window. So, instead, I went over to the insanely posh Mall of the Emirates, which is a great place for people-watching. I don't know if there is anyplace in the Middle East where the clash between old and new is more jarring - you see a lot of folks dressed pretty provocatively - but you also see a lot of men in the traditional Emirati white from head to toe along with women completely covered - all in a gleeming fortress of western consumerism. It's also the place where the inside ski run is located. When you rent your skis they also give you a loaner winter coat - not surprisingly, owning a winter coat is not something you see much of in the Emirates. I have to admit that it was a lot of fun just watching the kids playing in the manufactured snow. For me, however, the biggest thrill was getting a Krispy Kreme donut (it's something that Vermont yankees just don't understand . . .).

In Praise of Shwarma

For the last three and a half years, ever since my first visit to Jordan, I've been eating way too many meals at a little shwarma stand across the street from the University of Jordan. It's in the same row as McDonald's, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Popeye's Chicken, Kentucky Fried Chicken and the local fast food champs, the Chili House and Lebani Snacks. Despite the competition it continues to flourish. It's still a hole in the wall, but it's a much nicer hole in the wall now. It's located right on a sidewalk and that's where its two tables reside, right next to the glass-front refrigerators where the canned drinks are stored. It's also much more regimented - as late as last year when Bob Mayer, Rob Williams and I went there the cost of a meal would seem to vary depending upon the owner's mood (he's the one in the center of the middle shot as he's walking out of the back) - now the cost remains the same all the day (which makes it easier to plan, but has taken a bit of the charm away). On that visit Rob and Bob and I decided to have a competition to see who could eat the most shwarma - I left them bruised and destroyed. The menu has also expanded. When I first started eating here your two choices were big shwarma or little shwarma. Now they have hamburgers and fries and all sorts of other western-influenced edibles. The centerpiece of the menu, however, remains the shwarma. I'm not certain what is in it, and I don't really think I want to know. There is spicey meat - I think it's chicken, although sometimes little bites taste like beef, but I suppose goat is a possibility although I doubt it - I know it's not pork, obviously - and a pickle in a wrap. Now that the menu has expanded I have #8, no fries, and a 7-Up. It only costs 1.2 JD (about $1.50) and is about a third of what it costs to eat at the more western style competitors.

On a sad note, the Grill House, where Bob and Rob and I had hamburgers and were comped with the worst onion rings I've ever had in my entire life, has gone out of business - another victim of the shwarma monopoly.