at long last, it seems as though peaceful negotiation has paid off in kenya and both odinga and kibaki have agreed to a power-sharing coalition.
see below for an explanatory article from the bbc.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga have signed a power-sharing agreement which will see the creation of a prime minister post.
Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, who mediated the negotiations, said the deal would be known as the National Accord and Reconciliation Act, and "entrenched in the constitution".
He outlined the key points of the agreement as follows:
# The post of prime minister will be created, with the holder having the authority to co-ordinate and supervise the execution of government functions.
# The prime minister will be an elected member of parliament and the parliamentary leader of the largest party in the National Assembly, or of a coalition if the largest party does not command a majority in parliament.
# Two deputy prime ministers to be appointed, one to be nominated by each member of the coalition.
# The prime minister and deputy prime ministers can only be removed if the National Assembly passes a motion of no-confidence with a majority vote.
# A cabinet to consist of a president, vice-president, prime minister, two deputy prime ministers and other ministers.
# The removal of a minister of the coalition will be subject to consultation and agreement in writing by the leaders.
# The composition of the coalition government will at all times take into account the principle of portfolio balance, and reflect the parties' relative parliamentary strengths.
# The coalition will be dissolved if the current parliament is dissolved; or if the parties agree in writing; or if one coalition partner withdraws from the coalition.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
daily bread
last week i learned that world flour prices have soared from $14 something per hundred weight to $48 something in the past year alone. have you noticed the price of your bread has gone up???
the following is an article entitled "UN warns of new face of hunger" which explains some of the reasons for our recently soaring food prices.
______________________________________________________
The United Nations on Monday warned that it no longer has enough money to keep global malnutrition at bay this year in the face of a dramatic upward surge in world commodity prices, which have created a "new face of hunger".
"We will have a problem in coming months," said Josette Sheeran, the head of the UN's World Food Programme (WFP). "We will have a significant gap if commodity prices remain this high, and we will need an extra half-a-billion dollars just to meet existing assessed needs."
With voluntary contributions from the world's wealthy nations, the WFP feeds 73-million people in 78 countries, less than a 10th of the total number of the world's undernourished. Its agreed budget for 2008 was $2,9-billion. But with annual food-price increases around the world of up to 40% and dramatic hikes in fuel costs, that budget is no longer enough even to maintain current food deliveries.
The shortfall is all the more worrying as it comes at a time when populations, many in urban areas, who had thought themselves secure in their food supply, are now unable to afford basic foodstuffs. Afghanistan has recently added an extra 2,5-million people to the number it says are at risk of malnutrition
"This is the new face of hunger," Sheeran said. "There is food on shelves but people are priced out of the market. There is vulnerability in urban areas we have not seen before. There are food riots in countries where we have not seen them before."
WFP officials say the extraordinary increases in the global price of basic foods were caused by a "perfect storm" of factors, including a rise in demand for animal feed from increasingly prosperous populations in India and China, the use of more land and agricultural produce for biofuels, and climate change.
The impact has been felt around the world.
Food riots have broken out in Morocco, Yemen, Mexico, Guinea, Mauritania, Senegal and Uzbekistan, and Pakistan has reintroduced rationing for the first time in two decades. Russia has frozen the price of milk, bread, eggs and cooking oil for six months. Thailand is also planning a freeze on food staples.
After protests around Indonesia, Jakarta has increased public food subsidies. India has banned the export of rice, except the high-quality basmati variety.
"For us, the main concern is for the poorest countries and the net food buyers," said Frederic Mousseau, a humanitarian policy adviser at Oxfam. "For the poorest populations, 50% to 80% of income goes on food purchases. We are concerned now about an immediate increase in malnutrition in these countries, and the landless, the farm workers there, all those who are living on the edge."
Much of the blame has been put on the transfer of land and grains to the production of biofuel. But its impact has been outweighed by the sharp growth in demand from a new middle class in China and India for meat and other foods, which were previously viewed as luxuries.
"The fundamental cause is high income growth," said Joachim von Braun, the head of the International Food Policy Research Institute. "I estimate this is half the story. The biofuels is another 30%. Then there are weather-induced erratic changes, which caused irritation in world food markets. These things have eaten into world levels of grain storage.
"The lower the reserves, the more nervous the markets become, and the increased volatility is particularly detrimental to the poor, who have small assets."
The impact of climate change will amplify that already dangerous volatility. Record flooding in West Africa, a prolonged drought in Australia and unusually severe snowstorms in China have all had an impact on food production.
"The climate-change factor is so far small but it is bound to get bigger," Von Braun said. "That is the long-term worry and the markets are trying to internalise it."
The WFP is holding an emergency meeting in Rome on Friday, at which its senior managers will meet board members to brief them on the scale of the problem. There will then be a case-by-case assessment of the seriousness of the situation in the affected countries, before the WFP formally asks for an increased budget at its executive board meeting in June.
But the donor countries are also facing higher fuel and transport costs. For the biggest US food-aid programme, non-food costs now account for 65% of total programme expenditure.
Global impact: Where inflation bites deepest
1. United States
The last time America's grain silos were so empty was in the early Seventies, when the Soviet Union bought much of the harvest. Washington is telling the WFP it is facing a 40% increase in food commodity prices compared with last year, and higher fuel bills to transport it, so the US, the biggest single food aid contributor, will radically cut the amount it gives away.
2. Morocco
Thirty-four people jailed this month for taking part in riots over food prices.
3. Egypt
The world's largest importer of wheat has been hard hit by the global price rises, and most of the increase will be absorbed in increased subsidies. The government has also had to relax the rules on who is eligible for food aid, adding an extra 10,5-million people.
4. Eritrea
It could be one of the states hardest hit in Africa because of its reliance on imports. The price rises will hit urban populations not previously thought vulnerable to a lack of food.
5. Zimbabwe
With annual inflation of 100 000% and unemployment at 80%, price increases on staples can only worsen the severe food shortages.
6. Yemen
Prices of bread and other staples have nearly doubled in the past four months, sparking riots in which at least a dozen people were killed.
7. Russia
The government struck a deal with producers last year to freeze the price of milk, eggs, vegetable oil, bread and kefir (a fermented milk drink). The freeze was due to last until the end of January but was extended for another three months.
8. Afghanistan
President Hamid Karzai has asked the WFP to feed an extra 2,5-million people, who are now in danger of malnutrition as a result of a harsh winter and the effect of high world prices in a country that is heavily dependent on imports.
9. Pakistan
President Pervez Musharraf announced this month that Pakistan would be going back to ration cards for the first time since the 1980s after the sharp increase in the price of staples. These will help the poor (nearly half the population) buy subsidised flour, wheat, sugar, pulses and cooking fat from state-owned outlets.
10. India
The government will spend 250-billion rupees on food security. India is the world's second biggest wheat producer but bought 5,5-million tonnes in 2006, and 1,8-million tonnes last year, driving up world prices. It has banned the export of all forms of rice other than luxury basmati.
11. China
Unusually severe blizzards have dramatically cut agricultural production and sent prices for food staples soaring. The overall food inflation rate is 18,2%. The cost of pork has increased by more than half. The cost of food was rising fast even before the bad weather moved in, as an increasingly prosperous population began to demand as staples agricultural products previously seen as luxuries. The government has increased taxes and imposed quotas on food exports, while removing duties on food imports.
12. Thailand
The government is planning to freeze prices of rice, cooking oil and noodles.
13. Malaysia and the Philippines
Malaysia is planning strategic stockpiles of the country's staples. Meanwhile, the Philippines has made an unusual plea to Vietnam to guarantee its rice supplies. Imports were previously left to the global market.
14. Indonesia
Food price rises have triggered protests and the government has had to increase its food subsidies by over a third to contain public anger.
FAQ: Food prices
Few winners and many losers
What is the problem?
In the three decades to 2005, world food prices fell by about three-quarters in inflation-adjusted terms, according to the Economist food prices index. Since then they have risen by 75%, with much of that coming in the past year. Wheat prices have doubled, while maize, Soya and oilseeds are at record highs.
Why are food prices rising?
The booming world economy has driven up prices for all commodities. Changes in diets have also played a big part. Meat consumption in many countries has soared, pushing up demand for the grain needed by cattle. Demand for biofuels has also risen strongly. This year, for example, one third of the US maize crop will go to make biofuels. Moreover, the gradual reform and liberalisation of agricultural subsidy programmes in the US and Europe have reduced the butter and grain mountains of yesteryear by eliminating overproduction.
Who are the winners and losers?
Farmers are the obvious winners, as are poor countries that rely extensively on food exports. But consumers are having to pay more, and the urban poor in many developing states will be hardest hit, as they often spend more than a third of their income on food.
How long are prices likely to be high?
The US Department for Agriculture says the country's wheat stocks are at their lowest for 50 years and demand will continue to exceed supply this year. There is potential to bring more land into production in countries such as Ukraine, but that could take time. And as all foodstuffs have risen sharply in price there is little incentive for farmers to switch from one crop to another.
What about the EU's common agricultural policy?
High food prices certainly remove the need to subsidise farmers and so there is a chance, say experts, that badly needed reductions in CAP subsidies, which cost European taxpayers dearly, could now be within reach.
Are other commodity prices also rising?
Oil, metals and coal have seen their prices rise strongly as the global economy has expanded rapidly, driving up demand for almost everything, particularly from emerging economies such as China and India. Some economists think speculation may also play a part. Disappointed by the subprime collapse and falling property values in many countries, investors have piled money into commodities. -- guardian.co.uk © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2008
the following is an article entitled "UN warns of new face of hunger" which explains some of the reasons for our recently soaring food prices.
______________________________________________________
The United Nations on Monday warned that it no longer has enough money to keep global malnutrition at bay this year in the face of a dramatic upward surge in world commodity prices, which have created a "new face of hunger".
"We will have a problem in coming months," said Josette Sheeran, the head of the UN's World Food Programme (WFP). "We will have a significant gap if commodity prices remain this high, and we will need an extra half-a-billion dollars just to meet existing assessed needs."
With voluntary contributions from the world's wealthy nations, the WFP feeds 73-million people in 78 countries, less than a 10th of the total number of the world's undernourished. Its agreed budget for 2008 was $2,9-billion. But with annual food-price increases around the world of up to 40% and dramatic hikes in fuel costs, that budget is no longer enough even to maintain current food deliveries.
The shortfall is all the more worrying as it comes at a time when populations, many in urban areas, who had thought themselves secure in their food supply, are now unable to afford basic foodstuffs. Afghanistan has recently added an extra 2,5-million people to the number it says are at risk of malnutrition
"This is the new face of hunger," Sheeran said. "There is food on shelves but people are priced out of the market. There is vulnerability in urban areas we have not seen before. There are food riots in countries where we have not seen them before."
WFP officials say the extraordinary increases in the global price of basic foods were caused by a "perfect storm" of factors, including a rise in demand for animal feed from increasingly prosperous populations in India and China, the use of more land and agricultural produce for biofuels, and climate change.
The impact has been felt around the world.
Food riots have broken out in Morocco, Yemen, Mexico, Guinea, Mauritania, Senegal and Uzbekistan, and Pakistan has reintroduced rationing for the first time in two decades. Russia has frozen the price of milk, bread, eggs and cooking oil for six months. Thailand is also planning a freeze on food staples.
After protests around Indonesia, Jakarta has increased public food subsidies. India has banned the export of rice, except the high-quality basmati variety.
"For us, the main concern is for the poorest countries and the net food buyers," said Frederic Mousseau, a humanitarian policy adviser at Oxfam. "For the poorest populations, 50% to 80% of income goes on food purchases. We are concerned now about an immediate increase in malnutrition in these countries, and the landless, the farm workers there, all those who are living on the edge."
Much of the blame has been put on the transfer of land and grains to the production of biofuel. But its impact has been outweighed by the sharp growth in demand from a new middle class in China and India for meat and other foods, which were previously viewed as luxuries.
"The fundamental cause is high income growth," said Joachim von Braun, the head of the International Food Policy Research Institute. "I estimate this is half the story. The biofuels is another 30%. Then there are weather-induced erratic changes, which caused irritation in world food markets. These things have eaten into world levels of grain storage.
"The lower the reserves, the more nervous the markets become, and the increased volatility is particularly detrimental to the poor, who have small assets."
The impact of climate change will amplify that already dangerous volatility. Record flooding in West Africa, a prolonged drought in Australia and unusually severe snowstorms in China have all had an impact on food production.
"The climate-change factor is so far small but it is bound to get bigger," Von Braun said. "That is the long-term worry and the markets are trying to internalise it."
The WFP is holding an emergency meeting in Rome on Friday, at which its senior managers will meet board members to brief them on the scale of the problem. There will then be a case-by-case assessment of the seriousness of the situation in the affected countries, before the WFP formally asks for an increased budget at its executive board meeting in June.
But the donor countries are also facing higher fuel and transport costs. For the biggest US food-aid programme, non-food costs now account for 65% of total programme expenditure.
Global impact: Where inflation bites deepest
1. United States
The last time America's grain silos were so empty was in the early Seventies, when the Soviet Union bought much of the harvest. Washington is telling the WFP it is facing a 40% increase in food commodity prices compared with last year, and higher fuel bills to transport it, so the US, the biggest single food aid contributor, will radically cut the amount it gives away.
2. Morocco
Thirty-four people jailed this month for taking part in riots over food prices.
3. Egypt
The world's largest importer of wheat has been hard hit by the global price rises, and most of the increase will be absorbed in increased subsidies. The government has also had to relax the rules on who is eligible for food aid, adding an extra 10,5-million people.
4. Eritrea
It could be one of the states hardest hit in Africa because of its reliance on imports. The price rises will hit urban populations not previously thought vulnerable to a lack of food.
5. Zimbabwe
With annual inflation of 100 000% and unemployment at 80%, price increases on staples can only worsen the severe food shortages.
6. Yemen
Prices of bread and other staples have nearly doubled in the past four months, sparking riots in which at least a dozen people were killed.
7. Russia
The government struck a deal with producers last year to freeze the price of milk, eggs, vegetable oil, bread and kefir (a fermented milk drink). The freeze was due to last until the end of January but was extended for another three months.
8. Afghanistan
President Hamid Karzai has asked the WFP to feed an extra 2,5-million people, who are now in danger of malnutrition as a result of a harsh winter and the effect of high world prices in a country that is heavily dependent on imports.
9. Pakistan
President Pervez Musharraf announced this month that Pakistan would be going back to ration cards for the first time since the 1980s after the sharp increase in the price of staples. These will help the poor (nearly half the population) buy subsidised flour, wheat, sugar, pulses and cooking fat from state-owned outlets.
10. India
The government will spend 250-billion rupees on food security. India is the world's second biggest wheat producer but bought 5,5-million tonnes in 2006, and 1,8-million tonnes last year, driving up world prices. It has banned the export of all forms of rice other than luxury basmati.
11. China
Unusually severe blizzards have dramatically cut agricultural production and sent prices for food staples soaring. The overall food inflation rate is 18,2%. The cost of pork has increased by more than half. The cost of food was rising fast even before the bad weather moved in, as an increasingly prosperous population began to demand as staples agricultural products previously seen as luxuries. The government has increased taxes and imposed quotas on food exports, while removing duties on food imports.
12. Thailand
The government is planning to freeze prices of rice, cooking oil and noodles.
13. Malaysia and the Philippines
Malaysia is planning strategic stockpiles of the country's staples. Meanwhile, the Philippines has made an unusual plea to Vietnam to guarantee its rice supplies. Imports were previously left to the global market.
14. Indonesia
Food price rises have triggered protests and the government has had to increase its food subsidies by over a third to contain public anger.
FAQ: Food prices
Few winners and many losers
What is the problem?
In the three decades to 2005, world food prices fell by about three-quarters in inflation-adjusted terms, according to the Economist food prices index. Since then they have risen by 75%, with much of that coming in the past year. Wheat prices have doubled, while maize, Soya and oilseeds are at record highs.
Why are food prices rising?
The booming world economy has driven up prices for all commodities. Changes in diets have also played a big part. Meat consumption in many countries has soared, pushing up demand for the grain needed by cattle. Demand for biofuels has also risen strongly. This year, for example, one third of the US maize crop will go to make biofuels. Moreover, the gradual reform and liberalisation of agricultural subsidy programmes in the US and Europe have reduced the butter and grain mountains of yesteryear by eliminating overproduction.
Who are the winners and losers?
Farmers are the obvious winners, as are poor countries that rely extensively on food exports. But consumers are having to pay more, and the urban poor in many developing states will be hardest hit, as they often spend more than a third of their income on food.
How long are prices likely to be high?
The US Department for Agriculture says the country's wheat stocks are at their lowest for 50 years and demand will continue to exceed supply this year. There is potential to bring more land into production in countries such as Ukraine, but that could take time. And as all foodstuffs have risen sharply in price there is little incentive for farmers to switch from one crop to another.
What about the EU's common agricultural policy?
High food prices certainly remove the need to subsidise farmers and so there is a chance, say experts, that badly needed reductions in CAP subsidies, which cost European taxpayers dearly, could now be within reach.
Are other commodity prices also rising?
Oil, metals and coal have seen their prices rise strongly as the global economy has expanded rapidly, driving up demand for almost everything, particularly from emerging economies such as China and India. Some economists think speculation may also play a part. Disappointed by the subprime collapse and falling property values in many countries, investors have piled money into commodities. -- guardian.co.uk © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2008
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
bystanding
i have just come home from a genocide class that has really shaken me up. we were each given a little slip of paper with a child's photo and name on it, and told that this was the depiction of a boy or girl who died in the Holocaust. according to numbers written on the back of the photo, we were asked to write a letter to our child, from the perspective of a. their mother, b. a nazi soldier, c. a german bystander, or d. an american bystander. after ten minutes of writing, we were invited to share with the class.
many of the letters written from the perspective of 'mother' seemed really disingenuous, with expressions like 'my sweet' and 'baby girl' tossed in thoughtlessly. many of the 'nazi's failed to actually put themselves in the shoes of the perpetrators. and many of the bystanders didn't justify their inaction. but three letters really caught me by surprise with their depth of understanding and sincerity. as they were read, i felt myself turn cold and clammy, my heart sped and slowed, and i had to consciously remember to keep breathing. the first was a letter from a mother. the third was a letter from a father. both of these were potently and honestly written. the second was a letter from an american bystander. this one moved me completely and for the first time since i began these studies, i cried.
this phenomenon i like to call apathy is what consistently moves me through my efforts to educate and rally people. i vividly remember a line from "hotel rwanda" about the american public watching the news about the genocide and then turning off their televisions and going back to their dinners. this too, one of the few scenes in the film that shook me so, brought me to tears. there is an excellent line from a dr. seuss book that i have taken to writing all over the place..."unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. it's not."
apathy is so easy. we can easily distance ourselves from other people by thinking "we are not alike." we don't have to sympthize or empathize or imagine ourselves in lives or situations much outside of our own experiences. but as i grow up, i'm realizing that we are all more alike than we are different. religion doesn't matter. skin colour doesn't matter. money doesn't matter. gender doesn't matter. age doesn't matter. being alive to the world makes us the same and therefore responsible for and to one another.
many of the letters written from the perspective of 'mother' seemed really disingenuous, with expressions like 'my sweet' and 'baby girl' tossed in thoughtlessly. many of the 'nazi's failed to actually put themselves in the shoes of the perpetrators. and many of the bystanders didn't justify their inaction. but three letters really caught me by surprise with their depth of understanding and sincerity. as they were read, i felt myself turn cold and clammy, my heart sped and slowed, and i had to consciously remember to keep breathing. the first was a letter from a mother. the third was a letter from a father. both of these were potently and honestly written. the second was a letter from an american bystander. this one moved me completely and for the first time since i began these studies, i cried.
this phenomenon i like to call apathy is what consistently moves me through my efforts to educate and rally people. i vividly remember a line from "hotel rwanda" about the american public watching the news about the genocide and then turning off their televisions and going back to their dinners. this too, one of the few scenes in the film that shook me so, brought me to tears. there is an excellent line from a dr. seuss book that i have taken to writing all over the place..."unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. it's not."
apathy is so easy. we can easily distance ourselves from other people by thinking "we are not alike." we don't have to sympthize or empathize or imagine ourselves in lives or situations much outside of our own experiences. but as i grow up, i'm realizing that we are all more alike than we are different. religion doesn't matter. skin colour doesn't matter. money doesn't matter. gender doesn't matter. age doesn't matter. being alive to the world makes us the same and therefore responsible for and to one another.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
humanitarian soliciting
ever notice how the street corner solicitors for humanitarian causes are always young attractive people, either still in or fresh out of school? ever stop to admire the way they catch you with a smile and then sweep you into conversation about topics they can make you feel well-versed about? ever thought about how carefully crafted their speeches are, and how cleverly they get your name so that they can make you feel as though you're chatting with an old friend instead of a stranger on a street corner? ever stop to unpack the guilt complexes interwoven into the rhetoric of the good-cause marketer? ever glance at the latte in your right hand, or imagine the cell phone in your purse as you are being asked if you could spare a dollar a day, or fifteen dollars a month, or a one time donation to a good cause? ever politely say no and walk away and then almost turn around and rescind?
...then you must have been out in harvard square on a sunny day.
...then you must have been out in harvard square on a sunny day.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
seven days
this time last week, i was bundled in bed feeling ill. seven days later, so much has happened!
sunday: katie and rachel (two lovely high school friends who came down to boston for their reading week) visited the aquarium without me, because i had a fever and decided to rest up instead. i spent the day working on journal entries for my class in genocide and political violence, and katie arrived in the evening, disgruntled from the drive and ready for bed.
monday: this was presidents (not sure where the apostrophe goes) day in the united states, and the first ever family day in canada. i received a delightful email from a friend that concluded by saying that statistically, there should be a little population boom in nine months from this day. after a vegetable egg scramble, katie and i wandered bridgewater in our sweatshirts (yes, it was that warm here!) and then toodled on to the grocery store. we made hummous, reminisced, tried to do a bit of schoolwork, and then went for dinner. we went to a lovely little asian food restaurant down the road in bridgewater called chatta box, detoured to bring zaine home, who wasn't feeling so hot himself, came back and bumped into jeff, a new friend, and after eating, met rach and her boyfriend mike to see a movie in taunton. it was a silly romantic comedy called 'definitely, maybe' and was probably just the right fluffiness for the end of the long weekend.
tuesday: i got up early, made up a batch of whole wheat blueberry cornmeal pancakes, and zipped off to a meeting with professor james hayes-bohannon to talk about how his geography class on coffee could collaborate with the social justice league to put on a part of the upcoming fair trade fair. before our meeting began, he taught me how to brew a cup of coffee, beginning by grinding the beans (fair trade from equal exchange), boiling water (not tap!) and then letting it come to approximately 205 degrees before combining the two in a french press, brewing for five minutes, and transferring to a carafe. it might have been the best cup of coffee i've ever had. that afternoon, katie gave me a lift into cambridge, where she reunited with rachel and i ran to class. i am now auditing 'global food systems' at harvard with professor james watson, who is an anthropologist who specializes in culture of south china, and the culture of food. each week we are reading a book about a different food system, including sugar (sweetness and power), salt, tsukiji, bananas, potatoes, corn, and rice. harvard is this very interesting microcosm of very intelligent and professional students, but i can't help but smile as i immerse myself in the class that under these impressive veneers, they are all simply 20 year olds. heck, one person picked their nose through class last week. but i digress. after class, i met katie and rach for lunch at a cafe where the man behind the counter answered "how's it going?" with "i'm maintaining" and ended the interaction with "stay focused." the food was delicious and healthy and invigorating and after finishing, we explored the bead store across the street and i headed back to bridgewater. it was such an odd feeling to say goodbye to my friends in a place that is so far from where we know each other.
wednesday: class! monday and wednesday are my busiest days of the week this semester, with things going on from 9:00 until 6:00 with a two hour break in the morning. i passed in my genocide journals, did eurythmics at choir (dancing with motion! we embarrassed ourselves thoroughly), and then came home to a belated valentines package from home and watched the lunar eclipse. i have never (or don't remember having) seen such a thing before, and even though it was a long process, i was engrossed for most of it. we were lucky to have a good view of it from our porch, and reiko, zaine, john and i came in and out for tea to warm up our hands as we marveled at it turning orangey red and then back to full and bright again. zaine and i saw a shooting star above the moon at one point (my second ever...the first one i saw on martha's vineyard last semester). it was a lovely lovely lovely evening.
thursday: i woke up, poked around the house, and received a call that a friend from glendon, elek, had arrived on the train in bridgewater. after picking him up, i spent some time chatting and pointed him in the direction of the grocery store before heading to james hayes-bohannan's class to brainstorm about their project. it was a quiet group, but jill and dan and i spoke lots about what the social justice league does (everyday superheroes!) and where we're headed with this fair trade fair. after the class, we bumped into the other half of our committee (jeff, rich, and brandon) and had a little powwow about contacting vendors, applying for grants, and next steps. then jeff and dan walked me home and they came in for coffee, which was a disaster of sorts. a stick of butter had been left on top of the coffee maker in the sunlight and dripped, unbeknownst to me, into the coffee machine. what resulted was a massive pot of butter coffee, or buffy, which reiko, elek, jeff, and dan all tried. dan said he had a film on his lips. the others said it wasn't bad. i didn't think i could stomach it and told them to pour it out, but wonderful supportive friends that they are, they wouldn't do it. elek came with me to sustainable development class, where we bashed disney and discussed 'collapse' by jared diamond. we then came home and made vegetable bean soup with rice, and hit the hay.
friday: it was snowing when i woke up. which means that i was happy as soon as i opened my eyes and looked out the window. word reached the house through the campus website that classes (and everything on campus!) were cancelled after 10:00 am, but i had a test on hindu theories of personality at 9:00am, so off i went! jeff and i moseyed around town in the light snow to arrive at the rockin k and chat with diane (her son henry got into his art school of desire in new york city!!) for a couple hours. diane is also planning to hold a taste for justice event this year (on behalf of a zimbabwean women's group that is the theme for the year), and i am excited that i will be able to help out in some way. i had talked to tanya about it, thinking her penchant for food might get her interested, and lucky for me, she passed the information into perfect hands. diane made a delicious lunch spread for us; bagels spread with cream cheese and cranberries, artichoke, yellow peppers, and avacado, bean spead and cashews, and sundried tomatoes and hot peppers. it was scrumptious and gave me a boost to hike home through still-descending snow. when i arrived back, elek was getting chewy molasses cookies going, and i pitched in as well. how lovely to have a houseguest who bakes! later in the afternoon, i went out to shovel our driveway and walkways, a chore i normally don't like. yet this particular afternoon, it was the perfect remedy for all ailments, and i felt like i was working some canadian gene as i heaved the snow around, clearing space for our impending company. at about 7, elek and i were joined by john, reiko, john, kim, zaine, evelin, and ronan. we had a merry international games night, joking that the americans in the house (both named john!) were a minority, and that we represented three continents and five countries. we played rummoli, which is called tripoley here, and i won! in the last hand, all but one person was broke (no more pennies) but i finally laid down the 8-9-10 of one suit, which had been accumulating pennies since the beginning of the game. then ronan decided to teach john this complicated argentinian game called "trucu" (sp?) which seemed to have a new rule at every turn, but john picked it up and ronan was delighted to have found a buddy to play cards with. we made popcorn on the stovetop and ended our game night with "pig," where you have to stick your tongue out when you have four of a kind, and we laughed very hard as elek did a little monologue about a different version of the game and we all listened with our tongues out, waiting for him to notice that he was the last. after our guests had gone home, elek read zaine and my tarot cards and i pulled the moon, balance, loss, integrity, and the ace of earth.
saturday: the plumbers were back this morning, making plenty of noise to rouse us all from our beds. zaine and i took a walk in the snow, delivered a letter headed to the school for designing a society, and met ronan and evelin and her roommate katie to frolic in the snow. we built a snowman (the first ever for zaine, ronan, and evelin), threw many snowballs, and even made snow angels. we found a worm out under the snow, which was terribly bizarre, and probably a sign of global warming, and soon headed back to our place for hot chocolate. it couldn't have been more of a february day. and to top it all off, i received a postcard from a dear friend who is on her way to australia, which is perhaps the sweetest letter i have ever received. in our delightfully digital age, thoughtfully penned notes are highly underrated, yet so profoundly sincere and sentimental that i hope to continue writing and receiving them for all of my life.
sunday: katie and rachel (two lovely high school friends who came down to boston for their reading week) visited the aquarium without me, because i had a fever and decided to rest up instead. i spent the day working on journal entries for my class in genocide and political violence, and katie arrived in the evening, disgruntled from the drive and ready for bed.
monday: this was presidents (not sure where the apostrophe goes) day in the united states, and the first ever family day in canada. i received a delightful email from a friend that concluded by saying that statistically, there should be a little population boom in nine months from this day. after a vegetable egg scramble, katie and i wandered bridgewater in our sweatshirts (yes, it was that warm here!) and then toodled on to the grocery store. we made hummous, reminisced, tried to do a bit of schoolwork, and then went for dinner. we went to a lovely little asian food restaurant down the road in bridgewater called chatta box, detoured to bring zaine home, who wasn't feeling so hot himself, came back and bumped into jeff, a new friend, and after eating, met rach and her boyfriend mike to see a movie in taunton. it was a silly romantic comedy called 'definitely, maybe' and was probably just the right fluffiness for the end of the long weekend.
tuesday: i got up early, made up a batch of whole wheat blueberry cornmeal pancakes, and zipped off to a meeting with professor james hayes-bohannon to talk about how his geography class on coffee could collaborate with the social justice league to put on a part of the upcoming fair trade fair. before our meeting began, he taught me how to brew a cup of coffee, beginning by grinding the beans (fair trade from equal exchange), boiling water (not tap!) and then letting it come to approximately 205 degrees before combining the two in a french press, brewing for five minutes, and transferring to a carafe. it might have been the best cup of coffee i've ever had. that afternoon, katie gave me a lift into cambridge, where she reunited with rachel and i ran to class. i am now auditing 'global food systems' at harvard with professor james watson, who is an anthropologist who specializes in culture of south china, and the culture of food. each week we are reading a book about a different food system, including sugar (sweetness and power), salt, tsukiji, bananas, potatoes, corn, and rice. harvard is this very interesting microcosm of very intelligent and professional students, but i can't help but smile as i immerse myself in the class that under these impressive veneers, they are all simply 20 year olds. heck, one person picked their nose through class last week. but i digress. after class, i met katie and rach for lunch at a cafe where the man behind the counter answered "how's it going?" with "i'm maintaining" and ended the interaction with "stay focused." the food was delicious and healthy and invigorating and after finishing, we explored the bead store across the street and i headed back to bridgewater. it was such an odd feeling to say goodbye to my friends in a place that is so far from where we know each other.
wednesday: class! monday and wednesday are my busiest days of the week this semester, with things going on from 9:00 until 6:00 with a two hour break in the morning. i passed in my genocide journals, did eurythmics at choir (dancing with motion! we embarrassed ourselves thoroughly), and then came home to a belated valentines package from home and watched the lunar eclipse. i have never (or don't remember having) seen such a thing before, and even though it was a long process, i was engrossed for most of it. we were lucky to have a good view of it from our porch, and reiko, zaine, john and i came in and out for tea to warm up our hands as we marveled at it turning orangey red and then back to full and bright again. zaine and i saw a shooting star above the moon at one point (my second ever...the first one i saw on martha's vineyard last semester). it was a lovely lovely lovely evening.
thursday: i woke up, poked around the house, and received a call that a friend from glendon, elek, had arrived on the train in bridgewater. after picking him up, i spent some time chatting and pointed him in the direction of the grocery store before heading to james hayes-bohannan's class to brainstorm about their project. it was a quiet group, but jill and dan and i spoke lots about what the social justice league does (everyday superheroes!) and where we're headed with this fair trade fair. after the class, we bumped into the other half of our committee (jeff, rich, and brandon) and had a little powwow about contacting vendors, applying for grants, and next steps. then jeff and dan walked me home and they came in for coffee, which was a disaster of sorts. a stick of butter had been left on top of the coffee maker in the sunlight and dripped, unbeknownst to me, into the coffee machine. what resulted was a massive pot of butter coffee, or buffy, which reiko, elek, jeff, and dan all tried. dan said he had a film on his lips. the others said it wasn't bad. i didn't think i could stomach it and told them to pour it out, but wonderful supportive friends that they are, they wouldn't do it. elek came with me to sustainable development class, where we bashed disney and discussed 'collapse' by jared diamond. we then came home and made vegetable bean soup with rice, and hit the hay.
friday: it was snowing when i woke up. which means that i was happy as soon as i opened my eyes and looked out the window. word reached the house through the campus website that classes (and everything on campus!) were cancelled after 10:00 am, but i had a test on hindu theories of personality at 9:00am, so off i went! jeff and i moseyed around town in the light snow to arrive at the rockin k and chat with diane (her son henry got into his art school of desire in new york city!!) for a couple hours. diane is also planning to hold a taste for justice event this year (on behalf of a zimbabwean women's group that is the theme for the year), and i am excited that i will be able to help out in some way. i had talked to tanya about it, thinking her penchant for food might get her interested, and lucky for me, she passed the information into perfect hands. diane made a delicious lunch spread for us; bagels spread with cream cheese and cranberries, artichoke, yellow peppers, and avacado, bean spead and cashews, and sundried tomatoes and hot peppers. it was scrumptious and gave me a boost to hike home through still-descending snow. when i arrived back, elek was getting chewy molasses cookies going, and i pitched in as well. how lovely to have a houseguest who bakes! later in the afternoon, i went out to shovel our driveway and walkways, a chore i normally don't like. yet this particular afternoon, it was the perfect remedy for all ailments, and i felt like i was working some canadian gene as i heaved the snow around, clearing space for our impending company. at about 7, elek and i were joined by john, reiko, john, kim, zaine, evelin, and ronan. we had a merry international games night, joking that the americans in the house (both named john!) were a minority, and that we represented three continents and five countries. we played rummoli, which is called tripoley here, and i won! in the last hand, all but one person was broke (no more pennies) but i finally laid down the 8-9-10 of one suit, which had been accumulating pennies since the beginning of the game. then ronan decided to teach john this complicated argentinian game called "trucu" (sp?) which seemed to have a new rule at every turn, but john picked it up and ronan was delighted to have found a buddy to play cards with. we made popcorn on the stovetop and ended our game night with "pig," where you have to stick your tongue out when you have four of a kind, and we laughed very hard as elek did a little monologue about a different version of the game and we all listened with our tongues out, waiting for him to notice that he was the last. after our guests had gone home, elek read zaine and my tarot cards and i pulled the moon, balance, loss, integrity, and the ace of earth.
saturday: the plumbers were back this morning, making plenty of noise to rouse us all from our beds. zaine and i took a walk in the snow, delivered a letter headed to the school for designing a society, and met ronan and evelin and her roommate katie to frolic in the snow. we built a snowman (the first ever for zaine, ronan, and evelin), threw many snowballs, and even made snow angels. we found a worm out under the snow, which was terribly bizarre, and probably a sign of global warming, and soon headed back to our place for hot chocolate. it couldn't have been more of a february day. and to top it all off, i received a postcard from a dear friend who is on her way to australia, which is perhaps the sweetest letter i have ever received. in our delightfully digital age, thoughtfully penned notes are highly underrated, yet so profoundly sincere and sentimental that i hope to continue writing and receiving them for all of my life.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
excerpt by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie from Four Letter Word
Emeka,
That round-mouthed surprise a woman shows (is supposed to show?) when a man proposes has always annoyed and puzzled me. Surely a couple whose relationship is strong must have talked about marriage instead of following the script of the silly ‘ambush question’ from the man and then the woman’s response of grateful surprise as if she were receiving a glorious gift she had never imagined would be hers. Are you smiling reading this? It’s not funny-oh! So, really, why was I surprised when you sent me that ridiculous text? We had talked about marriage, hadn’t we? Well, you had mostly. Still, reading your — do you think we can begin to discuss the possibility of getting married soon? — I felt first surprised, then amused, then frightened and then this stupid crazy joy that I still feel.
You know, you’re wrong when you say that it’s remarkable how similar we are. Of course we are similar — except for the little fact that I am significantly more attractive — but it isn’t remarkable at all. Many other children of Nigerian academics read Enid Blyton and wondered what the heck ginger beer was; read every single book in the Pacesetters series; and read every James Hadley Chase. These are not at all proof of how right we are for each other — if they were, then you would be right for one out of every two campus-raised women I know. Your father graduated from Ibadan only two years before my father did. If your family hadn’t left Nigeria just before the war we might even have grown up together in Nsukka and maybe all of this marriage talk wouldn’t be going on because we would have known each other too well, you would have been my brother Okey’s friend from secondary school and you would always see me as Okey’s scrawny little sister. So no, there’s nothing remarkable about our shared interests. But the day you told me that your favourite part of Mass, the only reason you still go to Mass sometimes, is when the priest says ‘as we wait in joyful hope’, I was startled. I didn’t tell you then because the coincidence seemed a little too pat but it’s my favourite part of mass too. O di egwu!
So since your text came yesterday, I have been recalling the ways we are different, how you like beans and macho novels and the rainy season and I don’t. It’s suddenly important to me that we not be too similar. You know I have always been suspicious of anything close to perfection, anything too neatly put together. Always wanting to find bumps in smooth surfaces, as you tell me. It frightens me, how easily I now speak in the first-person plural. Yesterday, just before you sent the text, Aunty Adaeze called me and asked whether I would get leave for Christmas to go to the village. I said that we were hoping to get time off until after New Year’s so we could go to Uche’s wine-carrying and return to Lagos in January. She started laughing and said, ‘Ah, I asked about you and you are telling me “we”.’ After I hung up, I began to think about how used to you I am and began to wonder how many other times I had said ‘we’ without even realising it.
Yesterday, too, I realised that I have never told you how much I like you — this before your text, by the way. Love is different. Love is ridiculous. Love can just happen, as it did to you when you saw me and asked Ifeanyi to introduce us (exactly seventeen months and three days ago) and to me as you tried to charm me with your watery knowledge of Achebe’s work, but like requires reason. And yesterday I marvelled at how much I have come to like you. I like that you know when to leave and quietly shut my door and that when you do I never worry that you are not coming back. I like your cooking (I have never complimented you because I keep imagining those silly women who over-praise men for cooking, and those silly mothers who like to say, ‘My son can cook-oh, so no woman will use food to tempt him’). I like the way your butt looks in your jeans, that flat elegance that you don’t like me to point out, and I like that you make futile attempts at the gym to grow muscles we both know you never will and I like that you underline sentences in books to show me. I like that you like me and that your liking me makes me like myself.
I will, by the way, never write anything like this to you again. So smile all you want now, atulu. I remember when I was a kid, reading books in small dusty Nsukka, and often encountering characters eating bagels. It was an elegant word, bagel. I wanted desperately to have a bagel. Years later, in New York City (on our first visit to America as a family), I was flattened to discover that a bagel is a dense doughnut. I imagine you saying ‘From where to where with this story?’ as you read this. Well, my point is that I never wanted marriage and so perhaps it will turn out to be something good, unlike the bagel which I wanted and which turned out to be remarkably boring.
I have been reading your text over and over since yesterday and I have never felt so alive. So, yes, I suppose we should begin to talk of the possibility of getting married soon.
Chioma
That round-mouthed surprise a woman shows (is supposed to show?) when a man proposes has always annoyed and puzzled me. Surely a couple whose relationship is strong must have talked about marriage instead of following the script of the silly ‘ambush question’ from the man and then the woman’s response of grateful surprise as if she were receiving a glorious gift she had never imagined would be hers. Are you smiling reading this? It’s not funny-oh! So, really, why was I surprised when you sent me that ridiculous text? We had talked about marriage, hadn’t we? Well, you had mostly. Still, reading your — do you think we can begin to discuss the possibility of getting married soon? — I felt first surprised, then amused, then frightened and then this stupid crazy joy that I still feel.
You know, you’re wrong when you say that it’s remarkable how similar we are. Of course we are similar — except for the little fact that I am significantly more attractive — but it isn’t remarkable at all. Many other children of Nigerian academics read Enid Blyton and wondered what the heck ginger beer was; read every single book in the Pacesetters series; and read every James Hadley Chase. These are not at all proof of how right we are for each other — if they were, then you would be right for one out of every two campus-raised women I know. Your father graduated from Ibadan only two years before my father did. If your family hadn’t left Nigeria just before the war we might even have grown up together in Nsukka and maybe all of this marriage talk wouldn’t be going on because we would have known each other too well, you would have been my brother Okey’s friend from secondary school and you would always see me as Okey’s scrawny little sister. So no, there’s nothing remarkable about our shared interests. But the day you told me that your favourite part of Mass, the only reason you still go to Mass sometimes, is when the priest says ‘as we wait in joyful hope’, I was startled. I didn’t tell you then because the coincidence seemed a little too pat but it’s my favourite part of mass too. O di egwu!
So since your text came yesterday, I have been recalling the ways we are different, how you like beans and macho novels and the rainy season and I don’t. It’s suddenly important to me that we not be too similar. You know I have always been suspicious of anything close to perfection, anything too neatly put together. Always wanting to find bumps in smooth surfaces, as you tell me. It frightens me, how easily I now speak in the first-person plural. Yesterday, just before you sent the text, Aunty Adaeze called me and asked whether I would get leave for Christmas to go to the village. I said that we were hoping to get time off until after New Year’s so we could go to Uche’s wine-carrying and return to Lagos in January. She started laughing and said, ‘Ah, I asked about you and you are telling me “we”.’ After I hung up, I began to think about how used to you I am and began to wonder how many other times I had said ‘we’ without even realising it.
Yesterday, too, I realised that I have never told you how much I like you — this before your text, by the way. Love is different. Love is ridiculous. Love can just happen, as it did to you when you saw me and asked Ifeanyi to introduce us (exactly seventeen months and three days ago) and to me as you tried to charm me with your watery knowledge of Achebe’s work, but like requires reason. And yesterday I marvelled at how much I have come to like you. I like that you know when to leave and quietly shut my door and that when you do I never worry that you are not coming back. I like your cooking (I have never complimented you because I keep imagining those silly women who over-praise men for cooking, and those silly mothers who like to say, ‘My son can cook-oh, so no woman will use food to tempt him’). I like the way your butt looks in your jeans, that flat elegance that you don’t like me to point out, and I like that you make futile attempts at the gym to grow muscles we both know you never will and I like that you underline sentences in books to show me. I like that you like me and that your liking me makes me like myself.
I will, by the way, never write anything like this to you again. So smile all you want now, atulu. I remember when I was a kid, reading books in small dusty Nsukka, and often encountering characters eating bagels. It was an elegant word, bagel. I wanted desperately to have a bagel. Years later, in New York City (on our first visit to America as a family), I was flattened to discover that a bagel is a dense doughnut. I imagine you saying ‘From where to where with this story?’ as you read this. Well, my point is that I never wanted marriage and so perhaps it will turn out to be something good, unlike the bagel which I wanted and which turned out to be remarkably boring.
I have been reading your text over and over since yesterday and I have never felt so alive. So, yes, I suppose we should begin to talk of the possibility of getting married soon.
Chioma
fever
i do not normally get ill, but this weekend i have come down with something vile...i have a temperature, hot and cold flashes, a scratchy throat, upset stomach, and a pressure in my head. i'm not one to complain, but rather to draw parallels...and i can't help but thinking about one of my favourite picture books about mr. poggle and scamp called "terribly wonderful". 2 wonderful friends of mine are down in boston for a few days from toronto, and if i can just get a nap or two in before i see them, i'm sure the week will turn brighter before my very eyes!
Saturday, February 9, 2008
ode to my socks
maru mori brought me
a pair
of socks
which she knitted herself
with her sheepherder's hands,
two socks as soft
as rabbits.
i slipped my feet
into them
as though into
two
cases
knitted
with threads of
twilight
and goatskin.
violent socks,
my feet were
two fish made
of wool,
two long sharks
sea-blue, shot
through
by one golden thread,
two immense blackbirds,
two cannons,
my feet
were honored
in this way
by
these
heavenly
socks.
they were
so handsome
for the first time
my feet seemed to me
unacceptable
like two decrepit
fireman, fireman
unworthy
of that woven
fire,
of those glowing
socks.
nevertheless
i resisted
the sharp temptation
to save them somewhere
as schoolboys
keep
fireflies,
as learned men,
collect
sacred texts,
i resisted
the mad impulse
to put them
in a golden
cage
and each day give them
birdseed
and pieces of pink melon.
like explorers
in the jungle who hand
over the very rare
green deer
to the spit
and eat it
with remorse,
i stretched out
my feet
and pulled on
the magnificent
socks
and then my shoes.
the moral
of my ode is this:
beauty is twice
beauty
and what is good is doubly
good
when it is a matter of two socks
made of wool
in winter.
by: pablo neruda
translated by: robert bly
a pair
of socks
which she knitted herself
with her sheepherder's hands,
two socks as soft
as rabbits.
i slipped my feet
into them
as though into
two
cases
knitted
with threads of
twilight
and goatskin.
violent socks,
my feet were
two fish made
of wool,
two long sharks
sea-blue, shot
through
by one golden thread,
two immense blackbirds,
two cannons,
my feet
were honored
in this way
by
these
heavenly
socks.
they were
so handsome
for the first time
my feet seemed to me
unacceptable
like two decrepit
fireman, fireman
unworthy
of that woven
fire,
of those glowing
socks.
nevertheless
i resisted
the sharp temptation
to save them somewhere
as schoolboys
keep
fireflies,
as learned men,
collect
sacred texts,
i resisted
the mad impulse
to put them
in a golden
cage
and each day give them
birdseed
and pieces of pink melon.
like explorers
in the jungle who hand
over the very rare
green deer
to the spit
and eat it
with remorse,
i stretched out
my feet
and pulled on
the magnificent
socks
and then my shoes.
the moral
of my ode is this:
beauty is twice
beauty
and what is good is doubly
good
when it is a matter of two socks
made of wool
in winter.
by: pablo neruda
translated by: robert bly
Sunday, February 3, 2008
canada-friendly
to my delight, this weekend i discovered a room full of flags in hunt hall at bridgewater state college...canadian flags!! courtesy of the canadian studies program, there is a foyer decorated with the canadian flag, accompanied by each of the flags for the provinces and territories. i had to hold myself back from singing the anthem (haha!).
on saturday night, walking back home from the bus after a choir festival in a nearby town, a car full of people beeped at me, seeing the flag sewn to my backpack, and drove by with fingers in peace signs.
finally, at church this morning, one of the members of the congregation talked about an upcoming dance, where there will be english country dancing, and then as a joke, proposed a bit of canadian country dancing as well! i was in stitches later at the coffee hour when he demonstrated a few of his moves :D
on saturday night, walking back home from the bus after a choir festival in a nearby town, a car full of people beeped at me, seeing the flag sewn to my backpack, and drove by with fingers in peace signs.
finally, at church this morning, one of the members of the congregation talked about an upcoming dance, where there will be english country dancing, and then as a joke, proposed a bit of canadian country dancing as well! i was in stitches later at the coffee hour when he demonstrated a few of his moves :D
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