Initial observations of Africa

The soil is red.  So incredibly red.  My heart soars at the sight of it - it reminds me of Moorefield where I grew up, even through the soil is probably a little lighter in intensity.  The problem is that the dust coats everything - you may think you have a great tan, but then you realise that you're simply covered in dust.  When it rains and the soil turns to mud it is even more impossible - you have to scrub long and hard at your trouser legs to get those mud stains out.  Suddenly I recall my mother's frustration of having to dust Moorefield (that red dust) and clean our muddy red clothes!

Nothing can quite prepare you for Africa.  I am completely surprised at the inadequacy of the provision of critical infrastructure - electricity, rail, roads, sewage, running water, rubbish collection, parks and open spaces.  There is real poverty in Africa.  I knew this - intellectually I knew this - and I am just so surprised at how ramshackled the cities are - everything is utter chaos - the streets lined with rubbish - people live in mud huts and having to find fresh drinking water...and yet people are so lively, well dressed in their Sunday garb, full of vigor and entrepreneurial spirit.  Nothing is wasted, everything is for sale, its a completely different way of life.

Yet for every person we see who working hard to improve their quality of life, there are others who exploit the mzungu (whites) - asking for money, bottles, pens, anything really.  I have found that 9 times  out of 10 it is boys/men ask for money, and not women.  Whether thats because boys simply have more confidence to interact with mzungu, or whether girls are busy working.

Women lead long hard lives in Africa. I am humbled by them.  They very seldom are resting, they are in the shops, selling their wares, in the fields, complete with young babies on their backs, they are heaving water and firewood great distances balanced carefully on their heads.  They have such dignity.  They look at Mzungu with curious and yet ever-so-slightly distrusting eyes.  And rightly so.

The landscape is more green and lush than I was expecting - though I am travelling in the wetter part of the year.  The Acacia trees are magnificent, Jacoranda trees have been in bloom so Nairobi and other cities we have visited have been covered in this lovely lilac bloom.   In Uganda sugar cane plantations were in a abundance.  The smell of burning sugar can fields are so distinctive.  The weather can get extremely hot during the days and surprisingly cool in the evenings.  My 3+ season sleeping bag has been handy indeed.  And when it rains, it can be Monsoonal - I had forgotten what really heavy rainfall feels and smells like after years of gentle UK drizzle.