Ohio Pride

It's pride weekend. That refers to something my illusive African readers might find shocking, so I'm scaling this up to encompass my general sense of Ohio pride.

I'm from Ohio. I've probably mentioned that a few times on this blog. In my experience, Ohio usually only surfaces as our coastal brethren complain about "flyover states," whenever an election comes around, or as the butt of jokes. I'll admit one thing though, they're often good jokes. (Thank you, Drew Carey, and the guy who made this video and then this video.)*

In response, we humble Ohioans have developed a fierce pride (re: defensiveness) that sometimes manifests itself in the unifying hatred of our neighbor to the North.

*Woman of Questionable Character.
Come on, internet, this is a family-friendly blog.
Still, you see what I mean?

When we're not hating on Michigan for their audacity of having a football rivalry with... someone else (those jerks!), we're representing our more endearing pride whenever we go... anywhere.

But when I say "anywhere,"  I really mean anywhere.

Whoa.

But still, I'm a Columbus kid, and so I can't really avoid it. It's the same reason I have no shame about my life-long devotion to Leonardo DiCaprio in his Titanic days of glory or the fact that I still own both Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync albums. When you're a 12-year-old girl in 1997, there are some things that are simply outside your sphere of influence.

So I'm proud.  And I thought I'd share a few of the reasons why with all of you:

1. Ohio matters - when you're wondering about whether or not to cast a ballot, you're probably justified. There's no real reason to do it because, unless you're from a swing state like me, it probably won't matter.
2. Ohio is the mother of the Presidents. Eight American presidents call the Buckeye State home. So, for history nerds, our state is a veritable playground of presidential libraries and historical sites.
3. Speaking of famous Ohioans, we are also the home of (yes, North Carolina) flight. The Wright Brothers, Neil Armstrong, John Glenn, and Eddie Rickenbacker all hail from Ohio... as do their inventions (Get out of here, NC!)
4. Let's keep going shall we: How about Thomas Edison, Annie Oakley, Bob Hope, Pete Rose, Steven Spielberg, Dave Chappelle?  Impressed yet?  (I tried to hit a variety of interests there.)
5. But our people aren't our only talent. Goodness, no. We've also got a ton of fun things to do:

• The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
• Pro Football Hall of Fame
• Cedar Point
• Rails to Trails all over the place (my fave!)
• Lake Erie
• Outdoor Dramas
• Cleveland in general (30 Rock, anyone?)

There are lots of other reasons to like Ohio - the Buckeye songs, the retail (so many things are from here!), the test market food, the hot-but-not-too-hot summers, but this post is getting a bit long and, as you might guess, the thing I love the most about Ohio is that it's home.**

*Go watch now. I'll wait.
**Too sappy? I can see that.

Hey! Hey!  Why do they say West Virginia is almost heaven?  Because it's next door to Ohio!

Dar es Sweaty.

I'm in Dar. Busy, sweaty, traffic-jammed Dar. This is not the capital of Tanzania, but you probably think it is. So do all the government officials who live here even though their office is a bone-rattling, multi-hour rough road drive away... in Dodoma... the actual capital. So, you're in good company.

I'm passing through on my way to America for a few weeks of visiting the land of milk and honey (and Chipotle).  But since I'm here for the next 4-ish hours, I thought you might enjoy a few fun facts about the de-facto capital of my current home.

• The first thing you should know: Dar is the hottest place on earth. I have no evidence for this other than the perma-shvitz I'm working whenever I'm here.

• The city was founded in the 1860s by the Sultan of Zanzibar as a summer residence. Zanzibar is now one of the world's premier paradise island destinations, so I really don't know what this guy was after.

• The Sultan of Zanzibar was also the Sultan of Oman.  That's not really a Dar fact but I still think it's weird. He moved to Zanzibar from Oman because of how much cash he made from the slave trade. Oh, also, he had 36 kids.  Whoa.

• Dar is really Dar es Salaam which is commonly translated as "Haven of Peace" or "Abode of Peace." Given that the city was christened by a man who was making his fortune from slavery, I find this name weird. That said, Dar is known to be much safer than its East African counterpart, Nairobi.

• Swahili, the lingua franca of East Africa, originated in and around Dar (or maybe Zanzibar... it was a really long time ago so there isn't really a common consensus on this point). Swahili is a member of the bantu language group, which is a sub-branch of the Niger-Congo languages (think: interior Africa). But, because of the heavy Arabic influence (12 centuries), a good deal of its vocabulary is derived from there.

• Rent in the nice areas of Dar is absurdly high - easily 2,500 USD (or much, much more) per month for a small flat. While that's frustrating enough, most Tanzanian landlords expect a full year's payment up front. You can see why we only visit Dar and don't stay.

There you go. If you're planning a visit, there's plenty to see, do, eat, etc., but you can get a guidebook for all of that.

Happy trails.

Happy New Year!

You may not have realized it, but it's 2014, y'all.

My circadian rhythm is all messed up. Well, not my circadian rhythm - that's my body's 24-hour cycle. To be fair, that does get messed up pretty regularly though - just because, whenever possible, David and I flee for foreign shores.

All in the last 8 months or so... if you want jobs like ours, get in touch! We're hiring!

Side bar: This reminds me of one of my all-time favorite songs: Pamela Brown. I really like the Leo Kottke version, which has a folksy feel, but the original, twangier Tom T. Hall version ain't too shabby either. You should you-tube it, mainly for verse 2:

I've seen the lights of cities and I've been inside their doors / 

Sailed to foreign countries and walked upon their shores /

I guess the guy she married was the best part of my luck / 

She dug him cause he drove a pickup truck.

You'll have to go listen to the song to get the rest of that little delight. Anyway.

So, it's not my circadian rhythm this time. It's like my "circ-annum" rhythm or something. All across America, high school seniors are lining up to walk across stages into what, for many of them, will be the best summer ever. Days are getting longer, grills are being wheeled out of storage, gardens are being planted, and weekend schedules are filling up with festival dates, outdoor concerts, cookouts, and bike rides.

In painful contrast, I'm shivering. Literally shivering. Leaves are covering the ground and I've spent the last two weekends in sweaters and boots working on a Christmas knitting project. Last night, I started a puzzle while my dinner - soup - simmered on the stove and I worked on my second cup of tea.

We're less than 8 degrees off the equator, but in the most confusing direction - South. I never realized the weather had such a big effect on me - but I am fully in winter-mode. Of course, if any of my former ilk (Ohioans) visited, they'd laugh. Despite the smattering of leaves on the ground, the bougainvillea is still in full bloom and we're tropical enough that there are limes fruiting on the trees in the backyard of our office as I type this.

But, still.  I'm all out of sorts.

It doesn't help my screwy sense of time that, for our purposes, it is 2014. Monday was basically our New Year's Celebration. We - and by "we", I mean the 1,147 farmers we served during the 2013 harvest - met our payment deadline.* So, it's on to 2014! We're diving head first into enrollment and putting our focus on expanding our services to (likely) more than double the 2013 headcount.

Anyway. My New Year's Resolution: buy more sweaters.  Seriously guys, I'm really chilly.

*And this is why my job is amazing - we're talking about some of the poorest people in the world and what did they do?  This year, 1,147 of them planted what, for many, will be the best harvest of their lives and they all paid for it - in full - by the deadline.  That's how poor people grow their way out of poverty and into a better life.  Cool, right?  If you agree, let me know -- we're hiring!