Downtown Canal
This lovely canal winds through an older section of downtown Nanning
— narrow, winding streets on each side, and this canal running
through the middle. It’s quite lovely, and as you see the trees are
currently in flower…though the water’s no picnic, and I hate to
imagine of the folks in the next shot are fishing. 🙂
In the shots after, you’ll see a bit more street scene on an old
shop-lined street next to the train station. If you look closely
you’ll see I was sort of following a woman who was lugging tons of
bananas on one of those traditional balance-on-the-shoulder things. My
heart really went out to this woman: it seemed the bananas she was
carrying on this blisteringly hot day must have weighed nearly as much
as she did.
I wish I’d had the guts to take more pictures on this street: the guy
walking across the street carrying some large firm sheet of something
odd-shaped, which when he slapped it down on the sidewalk a few paces
away from me turned out to be the dried skin of a shark. He slapped it
down next to piles of things that looked like they might be dried
pigs’ noses, but based on the taxadermically-mounted very large dead
white shark sitting in the storefront, and the shark skin that was
added as I watch, I deduced this shop sells various elements of dead
sharks. Sort of brings all those articles I’ve read in environmental
magazines to life in a new way.
Self Portrait with Tropical Vegetation
As you may have noticed, I tend when alone in a place to take a
self-portrait, which of course usually ends up looking a bit
idiotic…though at least this way you know I was really there and
it’s really me taking the shot. About three weeks ago — same weekend
as most of these other shots — I braved a new bus line to an area far
north in the city, where I’ve not previously been. How, you may ask,
did I choose this neck of the woods: by looking at the map and picking
what look like park farthest away from where I live, of course!
Sometimes I feel a bit pinned down in one spot, since work is pretty
consuming, and I live a short walk away from where I work…so it
becomes too easy to walk a path between my house and the office and
rarely look up and see the sky.
As you’ll see, the park was well worth the visit!
Dinner Chez Moi
Following this note will appear several shots of my expatriate
colleagues at a dinner party on the terrace at the house I live in the
— the house where we do all of our team parties, since it’s the only
house with good space to entertain. Parties like this are not uncommon
— potluck, everyone brings something, and we all sit around and talk
about the week, and what the coming week will bring, what’s
happening in other missions, and life in general. I’ve felt very
fortunate to have a really good group of people to work with
here. You may remember an earlier picture of the baby girl — Marta,
whose parents Stefano and Katja also show up in some of these
pictures, though she’s also shown sitting on Laura’s lap sometimes.
Stefano’s fieldco of the AIDS project, and Laura’s a nurse there;
since we (plus Katja) are the strongest English-speakers in the group
here in Nanning, we often end up talking together or going out to
dinner together. They’re all great people, and I’m going to miss Laura
a lot when she leaves — in less than a week! 😦 This party sort of
honored the arrival of a new medical coordinator, who is replacing the
young woman with the big smile that you’ll see in the solo shot. We’re
all missing Selina, who left this past week after more than two years
working here in various capacities and being one of the driving
spirits behind our projects here. I sure hope no one minds my posting
these…. 🙂
(so much world, so little time....) 