Yesterday was a good day. But before I get into it, I’m going to give a warning. Some images are pretty graphic and disturbing as the holiday being celebrated was one called Eid al-Adha or the “Festival of Sacrifice”. So, just be warned that towards the end of today’s post there is discussion of gore and a couple images which may be uncomfortable.
I slept a bit in yesterday morning because of the previous late night. I think I’m now used to my routine and schedule—my stupid body forced me to get up at 7:00am, even though I was trying to sleep longer. I had no plans for the day, so I took my time getting ready and taking breakfast. I did a small load of laundry even though there wasn’t much because it’s best not to let it pile up. It took me about an hour and I’m really starting to appreciate the luxury and convenience washing/drying machine have provided me.
I was pretty bored at home and couldn’t think of anything entertaining to do, so I went to the office. I got there around 11 and found that only one other person had come in on the day off. It was kind of nice having a quiet office for once. At some point he left so I was all alone. I spent about 3 hours there and then decided to go get some lunch.
I first stopped by the hotel then went to the spot I recently discovered that serves delicious mishkaki—the super tender and juicy grilled beef skewers. Unfortunately they were closed for the holiday so I started to walk back towards the hotel, a bit disappointed. I happened to go a completely new route on my way to the hotel, and luckily stumbled upon a random restaurant that had mishkaki sitting on their grill, so I happily entered and ordered a heaping plate. After lunch I had some energy to go exploring. I made a very rash and impulsive decision to get a haircut.
I went to the barbershop my Danish friend had showed me. I was a bit nervous to get a hair cut even though I desperately needed one, but I told myself it would be okay because my buddy said it was fine. The man who sat me down was extremely confident at first—I walk in, he points to a chair, I show him a picture of what I want and he gets started right away. So, I was feeling good with the first few snips. It was a little off putting that he only used his hands, grabbed a chunk of hair and started chopping away with scissors, but this is Africa. At one point he pulled out a comb, tried to use it, dropped it a few times and then gave up on it. It was at that point I noticed his hands were shaking a little bit—I think he was nervous. From this point everything went downhill.
He finished with the haircut and for the last portion of it I couldn’t help but laugh, seeing how he had absolutely butchered my mop. Upon his finishing, I noticed that the bangs were completely uneven, one side of it going down to my nose and the other above my eyebrow. I pointed this out and he got back to work. The language barrier was a bit difficult here, I seemed to find the one person in Shinyanga who didn’t understand a lick of English or was afraid to show that he understood everything I had and just messed up horribly. After the second go at the mess I decided it wasn’t going to get any better and uneven is better than bald. I got a nice shampoo, they styled my hair with a product I’m guessing isn’t meant for my type of hair, and sent me out.
Please laugh at me, it will make me feel better and I know I was laughing for a while after walking out of the barbershop. And don’t worry, the haircut doesn’t look this horrible after I washed it and made a few alterations at home. And for $4 I guess I can’t complain.
I went for a run directly after the haircut. Maybe I wanted to get away from there as fast as I could or maybe it was my routine kicking in, who knows…
During my run I was struck with some things I have, up until that point, been innocently ignorant of. Driving along the main road I noticed a small truck with its bed full of animals and guy sitting on top of the cab roof. I didn’t get such a good look at it and didn’t think much of it (animals are often transported by small personal trucks, even motorbikes, and I often see things like this), but a few minutes later when another similar truck came along I payed closer attention. This time I noticed that the animals laying in the bed of the truck (cows this time, but I later saw some goats too) had their necks cut wide open, some still trickling bright red blood onto the pants and shoes of the men standing around their lifeless bodies. It was then that a lot of lights flicked on and I made a bunch of connections.
The previous night I had been talking with a Muslim who was telling me he was going out to a nearby community for yesterday’s holiday. He told me all about Eid al-Adha. It’s some sort of commemoration of Abraham’s story of nearly sacrificing his son, but then sacrificing a cow instead. To celebrate it’s a full day of community and family prayer, meal, and slaughtering of animals. In Shinyanga it’s normally a cow or goat, maybe a sheep, but in areas like Egypt they also sacrifice camels. I was very interested in the sacrificial aspect of it and he told me that there are a lot of laws and moral rules to be followed. For example, using a really sharp blade for killing the animal and then ensuring the meat is all used or donated (donation and charity also being a big part of the holiday).
Right near my hotel I ran into this. As frequent as I eat beef, I wasn’t ready for the site of a slaughtered cow so blatantly in my face. There was also the little vehicle that had just arrived to collect the dead cow. After seeing this whole process I was forced into a deep reflection upon culture and comfort.
I got home from my slightly traumatizing run and showered. It was about 7:00pm by the time I was out of the shower and I was feeling very tired from such an eventful day. A few friends had invited me out for the evenings, but I decided to stay home. I got to bed by 9:00pm after listening to an audiobook for a long while.
Today should be back to the normal boring life of desk work, thankfully, as I am feeling tired and have reach my limit of disturbing encounters for the week.