Halong Bay

To get you dreaming a little bit...

Paradisiac.
North of Vietnam, close to Hanoi.
Just recently declared a provisional winner of the New 7 Wonders of Nature contest.

Additional photos in our Flickr album.

Enjoy your week!

Very soon the long waited video of our "anthropological experiences" with Asian food...it's a promise.

Yassa poulet et jus de Bissap

Naga def? Mangi fi rek. (Question: what language is this? Virtual hug for the correct answer.)

Senegal, Senegal...Brazilian friends will recognize this.

We lived in Senegal for one year.
Yeah...Africa...we have to tell you about Africa...five years, lived in 3 different countries, visited 32.
But we have time.

Let me share with you the recipe of one of the most traditional dishes of this West African country and a very healthy juice, excellent for the coming summer (cooked and photographed by me!).
...sorry southern hemisphere...I know, for you winter is coming, but still you can make it and feel a bit African!

***
I don't know whether you have followed the recent news, but Senegal has demonstrated in those days to be the democratic example of African country that it is reckoned to be.
(....yes, violent protests have taken place but, hey, can we really judge?...protests around Europe these days are not being less violent...)
A new president is set to take office on 3 April 2012. Amidst controversy over the constitutional validity of a eventual third term in office for (now ex) president Abdoulaye Wade, Mr. Macky Sall won the last election runoff.

I don't want to start a political debate on Senegalese constituency and the democratic success of these elections, yet I do want to take the opportunity to remind you of some really notable and influential African leaders (in addition to Mandela...).
Who I think you should know about.
At least the name.
And one is from Senegal. You see, everything links up just about right.
Because people might not know, or simply, are just stuck with the African stereotype of "it's just a mess". But indeed this continent has produced some very wise and inspiring people to help us see the world from another perspective.

Leopold Sedar Senghor (Joal, Senegal 1906 – Verson, France 2001) 
A politician. A President (1960 to 1980). A poet. A philosopher. (More)

Cher frère blanc,
Quand je suis né, j'étais noir,
Quand j'ai grandi, j'étais noir,
Quand je suis au soleil, je suis noir,
Quand je suis malade, je suis noir,
Quand je mourrai, je serai noir.

Tandis que toi, homme blanc,
Quand tu es né, tu étais rose,
Quand tu as grandi, tu étais blanc,
Quand tu vas au soleil, tu es rouge,
Quand tu as froid, tu es bleu,
Quand tu as peur, tu es vert,
Quand tu es malade, tu es jaune,
Quand tu mourras, tu seras gris.

Alors, de nous deux,

Qui est l'homme de couleur ?

Thomas Isidore Noël Sankara (Yako, Upper Volta, 1949 – Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, 1987)

A military captain. A President (1983 to 1987). A revolutionary. A Pan-African theorist. (More)

“You cannot carry out fundamental change without a certain amount of madness. In this case, it comes from nonconformity, the courage to turn your back on the old formulas, the courage to invent the future. It took the madmen of yesterday for us to be able to act with extreme clarity today. I want to be one of those madmen. [...] We must dare to invent the future."

If you have time, also have a look at this documentary (1 hour).

To leave you on a lighter note, we've put some pictures of our year in Senegal in our Flickr album.

Here a small preview...

Fred (Fluzao) e Messi, versão Afro-mini-beat

Dakar antropologico

Ile de la Madeleine, in front of Dakar

Celebrating women

I know, I know...why do we need a day to celebrate HALF of the world population???

Very true.
Yet...

see also here...

Despite the fact that indeed there is a need to raise awareness on gender based discriminations, I feel that this day should also be used to celebrate the accomplishments of women in the world. 

To celebrate inspiring women.

I've found inspiring women almost everywhere I went. Those I've met in Vietnam.

(If you want to see more pictures visit our photo album on Flickr).

If you feel like knowing a bit more on what Europe is doing to promote gender equality, here is an interesting site. And here and here for a more global perspective.

On a more personal note, let me celebrate two really special women.
My little sis will be 30 tomorrow....tanti auguri Marziotti! Anche da chi ci guarda da lassu'.

E...

Naufragar...

Perché "naufragare"?

Ho pensato che forse quello che voglio raccontare attraverso questo blog é quello che c'é dietro questa curiosità, questo istinto che mi (ci) spinge la fuori.

Dicono che sia una caratteristica del Sagittario...non lo so, può anche essere...perché, ammetiamolo, io ci credo anche un po nell'astrologia (si, si ho studiato per essere scienziata ma deep down lo si sapeva che c'erano domande più grandi di me che non mi avrebbero lasciato andare avanti...comunque sto divagando). Ma credo che ci sia anche dell'altro. Magari lo scopriremo insieme. 

Intanto mi piace parafrasare Tiziano Terzani (da In Asia)

E più i nuovi mezzi di comunicazione porteranno con immediatezza, ma anche con superficialità', nelle case di tutti gli avvenimenti del mondo ridotti in pillola, più ci sarà bisogno di quelli che vanno a vedere, ad annusare, a commuoversi per una qualche storia vicina o lontana da raccontare a chi avrà ancora voglia di ascoltare.

E cosi si viaggia.
Alle volte semplicemente ci si guarda attorno.
Cercando di andare un po più la.

E poi cercheremo di raccontarvelo. Con un'immagine, una frase, un video o quello che capita.

Ecco, credo sia questo.

Eccovi la prima storia.

Naufragar...in Asia

Chau Doc (Vietnam) in un tempio

 

Se uno non ha niente dentro, non troverà mai niente fuori. E' inutile andare a cercare nel mondo quel che non si riesce a trovare dentro di sé.

Tiziano Terzani, Un altro giro di giostra