Across Africa

 A few nights ago, I began another book, "Dark Star Safari" by Paul Theroux.

Theroux is a writer whose best-known works are accounts of his travels.  Years ago (1979), I read "The Old Patagonian Express", his account of traveling from Massachusetts to Argentina by train.  On my recent trip to the bookstore, I picked up a copy of this more recent book (2002) which tells of his journey across the African continent from Cairo to Cape Town.  As a young college graduate, Theroux joined the Peace Corps in 1963 and was a teacher in Malawi.  In 1965 he moved to Uganda to teach English at a university there.  Years later he wanted to return to that continent.  The news from Africa is always so terrible..."acts of God, acts of tyrants, tribal warfare and plagues, floods and starvation."  "Feeling that there was more to Africa than misery and terror", he set out to rediscover the land that he had known so many years ago.  Although he found Africa to be poorer, more corrupt and more decrepit than before, he remains optimistic about its future.

I have read about one fifth of the book so far, and Theroux has traveled through Egypt, and Sudan, and is now in Ethiopia.  The book is informative, full of adventure, and thoroughly enjoyable.  As one reviewer wrote, the author maintains "a tricky balance of crankiness, curiosity and charm."

In his opening chapter the author writes that he wanted to be "out of touch", to disappear.  He wanted to drop out from a world in which one is always accessible via cell phone or the internet, and Africa was the perfect place to do that.  This struck a chord with me.  You know that I am a dinosaur.  My cell phone is never turned on and is there for emergencies.  Although I write a blog as a form of diary, I belong to no other type of social media.  I have no desire to be on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc., etc.  I shake my head in disbelief when I see tourists walking down the street glued to their smart phones instead of taking in the sights and sounds around them.  Yes, I take lots of pictures, but my idea of travel is not to post on Instagram an inane selfie of myself in front of every famous landmark and wait for my followers to "like" the photo.  Perhaps the greatest feeling of tranquility that I have ever experienced were the days I spent (in a pre-internet, pre-Smart Phone era) in a jungle lodge along the Amazon.  My travel adventures cannot begin to compare to those of Theroux, but I can relate to what he writes in that first chapter.

I was looking at a list of Theroux's books (yes, on the internet... I am not a complete dinosaur) and I saw that his latest travel book is "On the Plain of Snakes... A Mexican Journey".  I am definitely going to search for that at the bookstore!  

Schnitzel and Scheherazade

On Saturday I got together for dinner with my friends Cliff and Jeramie.  We met at "Das Schnitzel Haus"... a restaurant specializing in German food, obviously.  However, I was the only one who ordered schnitzel.  Cliff had sauerbraten and Jeramie had the würst platter.

After dinner, Cliff and I went to the Blossom Music Center thirty miles away in the Cuyahoga Valley.  We were met there by another friend Frank.

We had tickets for that evening's concert by the Cleveland Orchestra.

The guest conductor was Elim Chan.  She was born in Hong Kong and is now the conductor of the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra in Belgium.

(image taken from the internet)

The guest soloist was a young British pianist by the name of Benjamin Grosvenor who played Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 1.

(image taken from the internet)

After intermission the orchestra played one of my favorite pieces of classical music Rimsky Korsakov's "Scheherazade".  The dazzlingly lush and exotic symphonic suite is inspired by the "Tales of the Arabian Nights".

 When I move to Mexico, I will miss attending concerts by our wonderful orchestra.

Class Photo

A couple years ago I posted on the blog my class photo from when I was in kindergarten.  From kindergarten through the third grade, I attended Fairwood Elementary School, but in fourth grade I was transferred to a newer and closer school, Lechner Elementary.  I had all my class photos from Fairwood, but I could not find the ones from Lechner.  

As I go through the process of clearing out closets, cupboards and cabinets in the house, I have been sorting through old photos and setting aside the ones I want to keep.  I finally found my elementary pictures from the fourth through the sixth grades.  Here is the photo of my sixth-grade class.  Can you find me in the picture?  As I look at it, I can still name about half of my classmates.

My sixth-grade teacher was Mrs. Prange, the widow of a Lutheran minister.  All through the summer before entering the sixth grade I was hoping and praying that I would not be in Mrs. Prange's class.  She was the stereotype of the stern, strict and unsmiling schoolteacher.  I was devastated when I found out that I was going to be in her class.

I can honestly say that all of my elementary school teachers were excellent, but I probably learned more that year than with any other teacher.  It was not a "fun" class, and I had more homework that year than I even did in high school.  But Mrs. Prange was a truly dedicated educator.  Years later, when I was in high school, I went back to Lechner and visited her.  She remembered me and seemed pleased to see me.  I don't know whether or not I told her that she was a great teacher.  I hope that I did.

A Local Taco Joint

Last month my cousin Gayle and I went out for lunch.  She told me to choose the restaurant, so I was looking on Google Maps for someplace new in the vicinity.  I found a place called "Blue Habanero" that seems to be part of a recent restaurant trend of establishments featuring "street tacos" and tequila.  (There are two other similar places that have opened nearby.)   I looked at the menu, and, although the prices were nothing like those of "street taco" stands or even the sit-down "taquerías" in Mexico City, they did have some items that you usually do not find on the menus of Mexican restaurants up here.  So, I decided that we would give it a try.  I did not know that Gayle had already been there, but she was not upset when pulled into the parking lot.  

The decor of the place, with its Day of the Dead theme is quite striking.

   

We were seated at a booth, and the waitress took our drink order.  I had seen "jamaica" (you might describe it as iced tea made with hibiscus flowers) on the menu on the internet.  However, I did not see it on the menu there.  I asked the waitress about it, and she said "yes" that they have "jamaica".   When she brought our drinks, my "jamaica" was in a margarita glass, and when I tasted it, I realized that she had given me a "jamaica" margarita.  I can't stand the taste of tequila, and I explained to the waitress that I just wanted an "agua de jamaica".  There was no problem.  She took back my margarita and brought me the non-alcoholic "jamaica".

For a starter we shared an order of guacamole and chips.  I thought that the guacamole was extremely bland.  We also ordered "esquites"... which they called "Mexican street corn".  It is snack made with whole kernel corn, mayonaise, lime juice, chili powder and cheese.  It was all right, but it lacked the flavor of what I have had in Mexico.

For our main course Gayle ordered shrimp tacos.  I asked for the shredded pork tacos that were supposed to be like "cochinita pibil".   "Cochinita pibil" is a Yucatecan dish in which the pork is marinated in orange juice, flavored with "achiote" (a seasoning known as annatto in English) and served with pickled onions.  There are three tacos to an order, and you also get a side.  I chose "sopa Azteca" as my side.

My soup lacked flavor.  The tacos were OK, but a native of the Yucatán would probably turn his nose up at them.

I give the place credit for offering some different menu items, but I don't plan to return to "Blue Habanero".  Call me a Mexican food snob, but I will wait until I return to Mexico City to have tacos that are far more flavorful at a fraction of the cost.

Packing Up

I had packed up my suitcase weeks ago for my trip in August.  For the most part I was just taking gifts for Alejandro's family, so as I bought the presents, I put them in my suitcase.  However, when I made my decision to move to Mexico, I decided that on each trip before the move, I should take some of the things that I will want down there.  So, I unpacked the bag and got out my biggest suitcase. 

I put the gifts back into the big suitcase and still had plenty of room for more stuff.  I wrapped up in bubble wrap some framed photos and a few of my Mexican handicrafts.  The condo that I rent (and plan to buy) is very nicely furnished.  However, looking at it, you would never know that you are in Mexico.  I will want to add a touch of Mexican decor to the place.  I am certainly not going to haul ALL of my handicrafts down there, but there are some prized pieces that I do not want to part with.  I assume that the owner, who is an airline pilot, will clear out all his books on aviation from the bookcases in the office.  Those will be a perfect spot to put some of my items.  Although I have plenty of clothes already at the condo, there is more that I want to take down.  (I have already cleared out and taken six bags of clothes to Goodwill, and before the final move, I will get rid of still more.)  I figure that if I pack a little on each trip prior to the move, I should have a lot of the stuff that I want to take already down there.  

The condo has some framed art prints hanging on the walls, but I will want to replace those with a few pieces of my own artwork as well as some paintings that I have purchased in Mexico. Some of those will fit in my suitcase, but others will not.  And that brings me to one of the more worrisome aspects of the move... getting an international moving company to haul things down there.  There are only a few pieces of furniture... the custom-made, solid wood, Amish end tables and shelf that I bought a couple years ago... that I would like to take.  Those items, along with some larger pieces of art, and any boxes of remaining mementos certainly would not fill a moving van.  Will a moving company be willing to haul such a small load?  And then there is the bureaucracy.  I am allowed to ship my household items to Mexico duty free within six months of obtaining my residency visa, but there is a lot of paperwork that must be done, and which will require a trip to a Mexican consulate up here.  I don't know.  Maybe I should just leave that stuff here to be liquidated.

Nobody said that this was not going to be an adventure... a stressful adventure. 😁

 

More Books

Last Sunday, the day after my yard sale, I had to get rid of all the unsold stuff so that I could put my car in the garage once again.  Twice I loaded up the car and took household goods to the nearest Goodwill.  I also had three large shopping bags full of unsold books.  I took them to "Half Price Books", a chain of stores that buys used books.  I got a whopping seven dollars for them.  I then browsed through the store and ended up buying a dozen more books.

I know what you are probably thinking... "I thought you were trying to get rid of stuff before your move to Mexico!"  But I need to build up a small library of reading material to have down there.  Each trip between now and my final move, I will take several books with me.  I know that I could probably buy books in English on Amazon down there.  But remember, I am a dinosaur.  I love to browse through a bookstore, and I prefer to see first-hand what I am buying.  Besides, I am not a big fan of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, or his business practices.  And don't even suggest that I get a Kindle!  I want to have a real book in my hands!

As usual, my selections were largely historical fiction.  I also picked up a few pieces of travel writing including Mark Twain's "Innocents Abroad".  Another old classic is Edith Wharton's "Age of Innocence".  I have never read anything by her.

I have many more books to take to "Half Price Books" before my move... so I will surely buy some more for the bookshelves of my apartment south of the border. 

The Garden in July

 July is usually when my garden is at its best.  This year not everything is doing well.  Some of the loosestrifes are so eaten by bugs and look so ugly that I am probably going to chop them down.  Most of the roses are not doing very well either.  But there are still a lot colorful flowers.

The plants in the flowerbox and pots on the patio behind my bedroom look very nice. 

Just yesterday I noticed that a large blossom on the hibiscus plant had opened.

The hanging baskets are doing well.  I have to water them almost every day.

Clematis

Purple Coneflower

Coreopsis 

Filipendula

Geum

Many more types of daylilies are now blooming, and others have buds.  It is always a race to spray the buds with deer repellent once they appear, because in one night they can all be eaten by voracious deer.

One of the clumps of daylilies that I took from the garden of my friend Gayle this spring has sprouted a stalk of buds and now has a flower.

One of the clumps of daylilies that I took from the garden of my friend Gayle this spring has sprouted a stalk and buds and now has a flower.