Spring Cleaning

There hasn't been to much amazing adventures going on in my world.  Sometimes you just have to get some work done.  That doesn't mean that my life has been unexciting by an stretch, just not a lot a traveling.  The break has been nice in a lot of ways.

 

Ulysses

Galena, Illinois: A little town made famous for its proximity near the Mississippi, its surviving Victorian architecture, and its most famous resident Ulysses Simpson Grant. Mostly surviving now-a-days as a Midwestern hamlet, Galena embodies the idea that drives people to bed and breakfasts. It is a place my mother has been taking me since I was small and a favorite little town of mine. I believe I have been on a tour of Grant's home there around 10 times.

"Hey Brian, Did you see that? I know you have the time; they most definitely have the beer."

Political, sometimes what seem like obvious governance goes by the way side for other political reasons. This is news to no one. Recently, the voters of the city of Cedar Rapids turned down a proposal to build a flood wall for the Lower West side for all the typical reasons (no taxes are good taxes, it would destroy the river, or people should never live anywhere where they could be flooded). I had to admire what Galena did creating a natural flood wall to protect its downtown. Instead of making the downtown district worse, it actually greatly enhanced it by giving the city an inclosed feeling that made the whole city feel more intimate. The top has become a walking trail and the wall gives Galena a natural earthy feeling. It feels like a small town version of Cartagena.

Domestic Life

My life cannot always be exciting. I would love to have amazing pictures to continually show the world, but unfortunately I am busy working and that simply is not that thrilling. That does not mean I never whip out my DSLR and go shoot some photos. Mother Nature is still punishing me for my time spent swimming each day in the Caribbean and I continue to find enjoyment from fighting my mother's cats.

If you ever need a fun activity, you should try going to an Asian market and have someone there show you each weird item they have despite not speaking English. If you listen long enough they will sample all the cool fruits for you.

"Mom, can I eat the cat?"



"No"

Finally I had to take a picture of my 2011 tax return. I feel my tax return fairly shows how awesome of a 2011 I had.

Wintertime U.S.A.

I live in the Midwest. For whatever reason some long time ago, people decided that would be a good idea... or at least a very cold one.

Life as a Nazarite

Okay, so I am back living in the United States facing unemployment/underemployment and the single best winter the upper Midwest has ever received. When I am not providing people with far too many drinkable calories, watching Steve Wilkos throw chairs around while sweating on a treadmill, or biking along muddy trails, I spend a lot of time remembering where I have been. I have done a lot really quickly, and this being the first time I am not actively doing some thing massive in my life since I was into death metal; I have a lot to think about.

I went though my massive collection of photos from the research I did in South Africa in 2009; there was not a shortage of them. I looked back at the blog post i did a couple of years ago about my research and it doesn't even justify how important or amazing the work was. So I have decided to post a collection of picture from those months really showing how life changing the experience was for me and how unique and beautiful of a world the Shembe community has created.

I returned to Durban after studying abroad there. With lot of planning and even more help from Prof. Dale Wallace, I immediately starting living with a family of amazing Shembe followers in Musgrave. The family included Gogo, Nuntu, Zahkona, Phiwo, Yoli, Njabulo, Lusanda, and an infinitive rotating amount of cousins so that the tiny two bedroom apartment was never less then 3 people past capacity.

The first month of my time was taken up by library research, adjustments to living, and Sabbath observance. This included going to Elinda in the north of Zululand near the Zulu Royal Family's homestead in Empangeni. There I saw lots of ceremonies, including the wedding ceremony.

In July I moved to eBuhleni in the far reaches of the outer township of Inanda near the Inanda Dam. eBuhleni is the holy city of the Nazarites, and this means that anyone living here must practice the Shembe traditions at all times including never wearing shoes. eBuhleni is a hill, the bottom is the entrance and the rough and thorny walk up to the ceremonial ground is surround by extremely densely packed city. I live in a tent on top of the hill, but my family stayed in a house at the bottom where I spent the majority of my time.

Oh course, the reason I was there was to research the church... and I did. Hours and hours of research. Research from the crack of dawn until the midnight and 2 a.m. mass. I spent time with people dancing, in one of the many services each day, kneeling for hours, going to baptisms, weddings, virginity testing, circumcision, ancestor ceremonies, weddings, puberty rites, and to top it off more kneeling. Seriously, the Nazarites kneel all the time. That is hands down the most impressive thing they do. All while wear heavy clothes in the beating African sun. I went through close 2000 photos of people in white robes to pick out a few great ones.

Of course, Shembe is famous for dancing, and I saw hours and hours of it.

This blog is not about Shembe though, it is about me. I have written a lot on the topic and the amazing people who make up the church. Most importantly, the family who took me in and took care of me is what I would like to share. So here is a picture of my family, one that captures my life for that time, and one of my family and me leaving Ebuhleni.

The Fifth Season

The Midwest in December is not really known much for tourists trying to escape the warm climates of the south. For me personally, it was a bit of a culture and climate shock after Colombia. The Midwest is also not known for being a place of booming industry and job opportunities. I took a few photos from the center of Cedar Rapids. After the flooding of the Cedar River in 2008, most of the area feels forgotten and depressed. As the city expands on the north and south sides, the middle and downtown seems to have been left to the follow the classic story of urban decay that has plagued other cities of the Midwest.

Rainy Daze

The final stop in my never ending tour of South America was the capitol of Colombia. It rained nonstop for the 4 days I was in Bogota. I went to every free museum in the city. In the end crippling poverty, lack of internal heating, and the thought of facing a non-stop onslaught of Gringos can make someone melancholy. That being said, Bogota was a bit of a bummer for me. I still got to see the massive city from the top of the cerro, ride the cable car, see Botero's "huge" collection, and walk around the city.

Chao Sudamerica. Te extraño muchísimo. Teníamos muchos momentos buenos junto. Algún dia, quiero regresar a tu abrazo: para explorar tus cordilleras, nadar en tus mares, amar tus hijas, subir tus volcanes, enseñar con tus niñatos, y vivir en la patagonia. Me has dado tanto. Gracias por los amigos. Gracias por las aventuras. Gracias por la plata, las noches locas, y el aire fresco. No te recordare, y lo se que tu tienes muchos mas secretos que tengo que descubrir. Chao Sudamerica.