Mercurial Mercosur

We are encountering Latin American politics up close and personal.  This Sunday only a mile from our place was a giant "celebration" of Argentine independence.  In front of the Casa Rosada, the president Cristina Kirchner gave a speech while thousands of people waved flags, beat drums, and paraded.

Granted we could not understand the speech. But it still seemed to us like the focus of the event was baldly political.  The flags did not say Argentina... They said the name of the president, her family, her party.  The cameras at the event focused on her - we watched her dance awkwardly and kiss spectators.  The audience, our host told us, had  been bussed in.  Many were drinking heavily, forming drum circles that drowned out the speech, and even in one case trying to sell us "brownies de cannabis."  From the outside, and on TV, it looked magnificent.  From the inside, it was cacophonous.  In the U.S. July fourth is also a big party, but I feel like people are celebrating being American, rather than being Democratic/Republican or being part of a televized spectacle.

But Kirchnerism and Peronism are big, we later learned, and have as a central tenet resistance to large American corporations and in some cases American " imperialism."  I do feel at a disadvantage here compared to the other places we have been because of the institutional barriers against America.  The countries here are building a retaliatory bloc, and I don't know whether this is helping them in the end.  For instance, difficulty getting money from my US account - literally every ATM (whether HSBC, Citibank, or the local ones) is using the same network which charges six dollars per transaction on my US account and has low withdrawal limits.

And then, the reciprocity fees.  Because the US charges high visa fees, Argentina, Bolivia, and others charge us huge fees to enter.  We paid 160 for Argentina ad were going to pay more to go through Bolivia before deciding, enough is enough.  We were only planning to spend 1.5 days in Bolivia en route to Peru, but the embassy here decided (after some shady internal deliberation) that it would not grant a transit visa, and would charge the full 160 dollars each.  And since we had no dollars, they gave us a terrible conversion rate for pesos, making it come out to 172 dollars each.  And then, since the ATMs here are against us (see above), actually withdrawing that money would make it closer to 180 each.  We have decided to skip Bolivia and just go through Chile (which does not charge fees for entry as of two months ago).

I get the indignance that these governments feel against America.  But there has to be something to supply and demand, right?  I think this strategy is counter productive.  If you charge high fees for tourists, you are going to have less tourists.  And how does that help?

Deconstructing Durban

"There is nothing more Durban than going to The Cube and eating Bunny chow from Johnny's Rotis!"

Our fabulous host in Durban, Shaun, got really excited when he came up with this idea for a local experience.  We had heard about Bunny chow previously from some Durbanites we'd met in Zanzibar, who told us it was a specialty of the town.  But Shaun helped the identify the best (cheapest?) place to buy it, and the most scenic place to eat it.

You can't get more cubist than this.  The bunny is an end of a bread loaf, hollowed and filled with Indian food.  (Josh got mutton, I got kebab, and Shaun got chicken.). You are supposed to eat it with your hands.  Tear off a corner of the bread and scoop out the gravy and meat.  But it is very tempting to bring it to your face and just chew off chunks.  High marks on flavor, fun, and value!

Behind us, a metal cube overlooked the town.  Local art students paint the cube from time to time, but not when we were there.  Nearby us, a couple sat having an argument, which got Shaun even more excited.  Free local drama!  The Mabhida football stadium, a relic from the 2010 World Cup, dominated our view.  We did not go inside the stadium but you can take a little cable car up and bungee jump from the top.  As we finished our bunnies, a sightseeing bus called the "Ricksha" unloaded a gaggle of tourists into the park so they, too, could ogle the skyline and take photos.

All of these things paint a fun and resort-like picture of Durban.  It is the biggest port in South Africa and apparently a favorite beach getaway for Johannesburgers, who call it "Durbs" and even "Dibs."  But what about all the stuff we learned about South Africa in school and in the news?  What about apartheid and crime?

Well no one we talked to denied that segregation is still a reality.  The townships that were created for Black people to live in are still there - Umlazi, KwaMusha, etc.  (But now the Durban tourism board helps organize Township Tours!)  The Indians have their area and their shops.  Eat at the little beachside "Circus Circus Cafe" on a Thursday afternoon and all the waiters are Black, while almost none of the customers are.  (Being there felt like we were interrupting the Ladies Who Lunch.)  I stopped counting the number of commercial buildings with signs that stated, "Right of Admission Reserved." 

Indeed, for me Durban showed how South Africa is still very much a part of Africa, with the "formal" and "informal" economies creating a striking blend.   The Warwick Triangle is a warren of market stalls just on the edge of the city center's parks and skyscrapers, where hundreds if not thousands of shopkeepers were selling clothes, electronics, and most unusual for me, "traditional" medicines and remedies.

As for crime, a guidebook told us to be careful of our valuables and belongings if we walked through this area.  But nothing happened.  It was only when we walked back to the city center that we were targeted.  Walking on a busy sidewalk, I saw an arm reach over my shoulder.  The kid behind me grabbed this Nexus tablet I was holding and tried to pull it away.  But my grip was stronger than his.  It happened really quickly and left my heart racing.  I turned around and gave the kid a pissed-off look and hoped he was embarrassed.  Of course his attempt seemed brazen to me, but I felt it was pointless to make a scene in that context.

If Bunny Chow and the Cube are Durban, so are inequality and and tension, as well as community.  And unusually expansive Constitutional rights.  If you haven't heard, the South African Constitution is one of the most liberal in the world.  I guess they are proud of it.  I saw it celebrated in street murals and mentioned on TV.  In fact, we were playing a South African board game called 30 Seconds which is similar to Catchphrase, and one of the words was "The Constitution."  Well good - if they've got it, why not flaunt it?  Now it is time to see how the Constitution will make a difference.  Will all those rights turn South Africa into a melting pot, or a tossed salad, or just a Durban Bunny Chow with a white bread surface and a gooey spicy interior?  I think that may be the worst food metaphor I have ever made. 

I will end this unusually long post by saying Thank You Again to our host with the most, Shaun, and the crowd at Jackrabbit's bar in Morningside - we'll sing "Be Our Guest" at your Karaoke night any time you want!

The Writings on the Wall

Some of the best street art I have ever seen is in Cairo, near Tahrir square.

This is Muhammad Mahmoud street, the site of heavy clashes between students and police in September 2011.  The entire street was then closed until six months ago.

Our friends Andy and Sayed interpreted the Arabic for us.  Vote for the pimp, this one said.

Andy says the paintings last for about a month, and then the government sends a worker to clean them up.  So even though he lives in Cairo, he had never seen some of these before.

The political situation here is uncertain.  Sayed thinks the current stability will last about six more months.  He was in Tahrir Square during the clashes and narrowly escaped being detained.  He tells about the colonel who interceded on his behalf.

There are no protests right now, because the government has made them illegal.  But who knows how long this will last.

Drinking mint tea and in a cafe in Cairo's backstreets, I felt safe and secure, and grateful to have excellent company in this layered metropolis.

Stockholm Sweet Holm

Hej hej!  It is the beginning of spring in Scandinavia, and the birds have just come back from Spain and Africa.  We have joined them, and are staying in Mälarhöjden, a suburb of Stockholm, five minutes from the world's largest IKEA store.  Our lovely host, the Östlunds, have been incredible ambassadors of Swedish history, food, and humor.  We are discovering how little we knew about Sweden (and the whole Baltic Sea region) before coming here.

This whole city is built on tons of islands.  You should Google map Stockholm and check out the crazy archipelago it sits on (and capture the two Pokemon while you'd at it).  Pretty flat in the center, it gets fun and hilly out where we are staying.  There are giant granite boulders peeking out and the soil is only about 1 meter deep.  But the Swedes are real good at digging tunnels through rock (mines of Moria, anyone?).  Most of the houses in this neighborhood have geothermal heating for example - each house having a tunnel going 250 meters down through the earth.

When you think of Sweden, you probably don't think of cardamom.  But yesterday, while enjoying fika (a coffee break) with our hosts, I discovered the Swedish cardamom bun.  It's like a cinnamon roll, but flavored with cardamom, which to me was definitely a double-take.  What?  Cardamom is distinctly South Asian, right?  Nope.  These cardamom buns are the perfect combination of sweet and spicy, fluffy and crunchy.  They are sold in every bakery here, and are reason enough to come visit.

Josh has been geeking out over the architecture, especially the work of Gunnar Asplund, whom he studied in school.  Asplund was a bit obsessive, but his City Library and Woodland Cemetery (Skogskyrkogården) are very striking, I have to admit.  Look at these "hieroglyphics" on the wall of the library.  Egyptian and Greek motifs were everywhere, but never quite as you would expect.  There is also the Drottningsholm palace, a mini Versailles with an awesome, very well preserved Baroque theater.

I think my favorite part of being here, apart from taking in the excellent, clean air and environment, is learning about the country through the eyes of our hosts.  They reveal how Sweden, like everywhere, is a country of contradictions. We learned that Sweden is a major arms exporter, yet has not fought in any war since 1814, a fact which explains some of its prosperity.  It sold steel to both the Allies and the Axis powers during World War II, for example.  We learned that the Swedish language abolished the formal "you" pronoun in the 1960s, and considers itself the most casual country in Europe, but that some young people are bringing it back when speaking to adults, in a kind of ironic politeness rebellion. 

We learned about how even private schools are free, since the government pays each school per student, but that some people are starting private schools, attracting students with perks like "free gym membership" and McDonalds vouchers, and then providing a substandard education while getting rich from the government payments that they don't actually use for teaching.  By the way, our host brother went to this amazing school in Stockholm, which really challenges any school in America with its emphasis on diversity and multiculturalism.  http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=2054&artikel=5526738

We learned that Swedish law and tradition gives everyone the right to enter, hike, camp, and even pick berries and flowers on land that is not too developed or built up, even if it is owned privately, but that certain companies are using this tradition (called allemansrätten) to bring workers from Thailand to harvest wild berries freely which they then sell for a profit.

It's hard being a utopia!

Listening to an free organ concert in Stockholm cathedral on Saturday, I couldn't help but feel a sense of homecoming.  I know that sounds strange, but it was peaceful, open to all, casual, and interesting.  Having all of these features present simultaneously is a rare thing, based on the places we've stopped on our trip.  Utopian or not, this feeling is palpable in Sweden so far, and makes me think, "Yeah. I could live here."  But could I afford it?  Um..... Check with me again after I get used to paying $5.50 for a single subway ride!