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  Tanga, Tanzania
Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Well, I have begun to settle in here in wonderful Tanga. Many things have changed since my last entry, and so I suppose I will begin with that. First of all, if you look at my last entry, you will notice that I added a whole bunch of photos. Check em out if you wish, they're not great, but that's because I am no photographer. So, the first big change has been crew. Matt, the zimbabwian / english/ tea drinking/ food loving/ engineer/ "wow, that's amazing" saying  guy left first. I believe that he was off to Uganda to set up some sort of program there. I wish him luck. The next person to leave was my chou chou ( Dodo). This was not easy for me as he had become a very cherished friend with whom I felt very comfortable. He was heading back to France, then onto the Phillipines to study in the new year. I hope to keep in contact with him. He is a very cheery, light hearted person, who has a passion for mangos and ...chocolate. You can see how we got alopng well, as I am also a chocolate devotee!!! We had a beautiful last night supper with fish, homemade bread, foie-gras( french pate), champagne, and chocolate fondu with fresh mangos, pineapple and bananas. Are you drooling yet??? Finally today, la mere et le pere have departed. This is also a hard one for me, as I have grown quite attached to them both, especially la mere with whom I often cook and go food shopping. She made sure to leave me some good recipes, and I may, by request of dod, start writing them in here for everyone to try. No promises... I will also miss le pere for all of his funny jokes and jests. So that leaves for now just me, tom, and pierre. There  is another chick whom I met last night who may be joining us, buit I am not sure about that yet, so no comments yet. There is another man, a french photographer/poet  I suppose due to arrive in January, and the brother of  Dodo, Gwen to arrive in Seychelles in February. I'll write more about them after I meet them. So, as for Tanga... WEll, we are anchored at a yacht club. This is my first introduction to the yacht club scene and all of it's yachties.The club is fairly small, therefore not too snobby, and the ppl are all generally nice. I especially enjoy a young couple, steve a kiwi, and Ann, une francaise, with whom i quite enjoy drinking a beer or having a meal. I am not really interested in involving myself in the whole yachties scene, however as I find it rather dry, and typical. I dont mind the fresh water however, its nice to able to wash my clothes, and shower in it. One more good thing is that I got some free fish. It was from this South african sportsfisherman, the type of kill for no reason, too posh to eat certain types of perfectly good fish, big motor, feel manly-cuz-I-kill type of wanker that I really quite detest. I did the old, "wow, did you catch that all on your own...I am so impressed" bullshit that big ego'd men love, and he gave us a fat chunk of yummy fish the next day. Not my proudest moment, but damn I was hungry!!! I have gotten quite familiar with town too. The ppl are really great here, and I do not get treated like a stupid white tourist. This is good, cuz I hate being just seen as another big money muzungo. The weather has been nice, about 30 degrees or so, no real rain, and a light breeze at times. I wonder how it is in Canada? ( sorry, that was uncalled for...hehe) I am still boycotting Christmas and all of it's bullshit, so I wont say anything more about it than that. The thing that I love about Tanga is that you can walk into town get fresh fruit, bread, cheese, and anything else that you need with no problems, for cheap. Today I had a nice lunch of plaintains and rice in a nice chilli sauce, with a cold water for one dollar!!! I love this place. I am anxious to start work on the boat, and I think that now that everyone has gone, we will really be getting down to business. There is alot to do.  Well, that is all for now. Except for some food for thought...
I want to quote my brillant friend Rexius here, cuz I read something that he wrote that I really love and want to remember:
"I was raised by the box, in a box house, went to school in a box, hell even my shoes came in boxes from box stores..."

Remember to keep free ppl and return to the place where you were once wild. I know that winter can be depressing and confining in an already restrictive environment, but be strong! Do something everyday that does not conform. If you dont exercise your independence and freedom, you will loose it. If you sacrifice and compromise too much to society, you are no longer free. Dont be just another predictable solider marching to war for an unknown dictator, fighting a battle that you have already lost. You are not worth anything in dollars and cents, but you are incredibly valuable when measured in love and experiences. Break free from the norm and surprise yourself with your ability to do anything. It is possible. Anything is possible. 
 
Many will call me an adventurer - and that I am, only one of a different sort: one of those who risks his skin to prove his platitudes." - Ernesto Che Guevara
In bourgeois society capital is independent and has individuality, while the living person is dependent and has no individuality. - Karl Marx
As it stands, how much living do we have in our lives? How many mornings do you wake up feeling truly free, thrilled to be alive, breathlessly anticipating the experiences of a new day? How many nights do you fall asleep feeling fulfilled, going over the events of the past day with satisfaction? Most of us feel as though everything has already been decided without us, as if living is not a creative activity but rather something that happens to us. That's not being alive, that's just surviving: being undead. We have undertakers, but their services are not usually required; we have morgues, but we spend most of our time in office cubicles and video arcades, in shopping malls, in front of televisions. Of course suburban housewives and petty executives are terrified of risk and change; they can't imagine that there is anything more valuable than physical safety. Their hearts may be beating, but they no longer believe in their dreams, let alone chase after them.
But this is how the revolution begins: a few of us start chasing our dreams, breaking our old patterns, embracing what we love (and in the process discovering what we hate), daydreaming, questioning, acting outside the boundaries of routine and regularity. Others see us doing this, see people daring to be more creative and more adventurous, more generous and more ambitious than they had imagined possible, and join us one by one. Once enough people embrace this new way of living, a point of critical mass is finally reached, and society itself begins to change. From that moment, the world will start to undergo a transformation: from the frightening, alien place that it is, into a place ripe with possibility, where our lives are in our own hands and any dream can come true.
So do what you want with your life, whatever it is!   - Crimethinc.

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