White African

In a rare moment I come close enough to a woman to feel something again. Here is a memory from a September afternoon. It is when the slightest touch brings you further into exstacy than the wildest orgasm.  Jeg tænker på en kvinde. Alt er som forandret efter at have været sammen med hende. Der er forskel. Jeg havde glemt, hvordan det føltes. Blot at kysse hende på ryggen var alt nok – som en orgasme dybt inde i en kvindes kusse med min tunge forsvundet i mørket. Det er dejligt igen at føle noget virkeligt. Alligevel er jeg altid interesseret i den næste smukke kvinde, jeg ser. Jeg er dem alle taknemmelige. De har lært mig alt, hvad jeg ved. Bagefter siger hun: ”Thank you for your kindness”. Var det dét, jeg var. Kind. Hun siger, at jeg var venlig. Det betyder ikke det samme. But I was kind. Jeg husker ikke at have været langsom på præcis den måde før. Det hedder det ikke. Det hedder tålmodig, men tålmodig er noget andet. Den stille og forsagte langsommelighed, hvormed vi forsigti...

A film has been made about the Danish author Jakob Ejersbo. He died very young. Just after his death his triologi about Tanzania was publish. Three huge books. The film ought to have brought new insight in his life and more understand of his books, but unfortunately it add very little. The impression is that a couple of his friends just want a bit of the spotlight. Very sad indeed. Officiel filmplakat  En meget selvsmagende film, hvor to venner sætter sig selv i centrum, uden at de bicdrager med noget. Det er en lukket fortælling, hvor vi er tilskuere til en privat og utydelig samtale mellem Christian Kirk Muff og Morten Alsinger. Jeg er måske ikke den rette til at anmelde filmen om Jakob Ejersbo. Det er simpelthen for tæt på, og jeg ved ikke helt, hvorfor jeg har bragt min i denne situation. Da bøgerne udkom blev jeg hele tiden spurgt af alle omkring mig, hvad jeg syntes om dem. Mit konsekvente svar var, at jeg nok ikke var den rette at spørge, fordi bøger handler om mig...

In the month of September I was traveling around in Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya between different festivals. Here is another story from Arusha, After Arusha I visited Nairobi and Kampala. In between the festivals I had time for at small round-about to Singida and Morogoro. The countryside in Tanzania always remind me of my time in Northern Mexico. The voyage was made possible by blue collar jobs in Denmark and private sponsors within the family. I Arusha møder jeg Saving Underground Artists (SUA). De driver en velorganiseret Open Mic i byen. Deres udgangspunkt er hiphop, men scenen inkluderer også rap, poesi, dans og visuel kunst. Det er en tidlig lørdag aften i Arusha. Jeg mødes med Biggie og hans kolleger fra Saving Undergrund Artist på en mørk bar i byens udkant, hvor der ofte er live musik. Udover den månedlige åbne scene er de også involveret i Arusha African Film Festival (AAFF) og Jambo Festival . Biggie indleder med at fortælle, at de meget hurtigt indså, at en helt ...

In this month of September I am traveling around in Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya between different festivals. Until now I have been to Arusha, and in the moment of writing I am in Nairobi trying to catch my breath between two very different festivals. My voyage is supported by blue collar jobs in Denmark and private sponsors within the family. Kunst og mode er måske ikke det umiddelbare indtryk af turistbyen i Nordtanzania, hvor mange hvide mænd og kvinder valfarter til for at tage på safari i områdets nationalparker, men byen huser flere forskellige kulturfestivaler og er kendt som hiphop byen i Tanxania Jeg er taget til Arusha for at opleve Jambo-festivalen. Kort tid før min afrejse får jeg at vide at festivalen er blevet udskudt. Da jeg allerede har planlagt en rundrejse i Tanzania, tager jeg imod tilbudet fra festivalens arrangører om at jeg kan komme til Arusha alligevel og møde dem. Jeg havde mødt den ene af dem, Malik Sufiani, da jeg deltog i musikfestivalen Sauti za Busara på...

I was a few month ago in Tanzania to media cover the Busara Festival in Zanzibar. Before going to the island I had a couple of days in Dar. I have earlier promised to text you about things of importance, and there is a club that I cannot get off my mind. I will still not reveal any pictures (may instagram rest in peace), because they would not make you see what I see, not that I see something extraordinary, but I see what I see and you have your own eyes. The Indian Club is called Salaam Bombay and located in Ssasini Peninsula if you want to see for yourself. It is on the borderline between dating, prostitution and something else. Jeg er i Dar i ikke særlig mange dage og har ikke været i Dar siden 2010. Derfor er jeg ikke helt tunet ind på, hvor jeg bør gå hen. Jeg linker op med en bekendt. Faktisk kender vi ikke hinanden, men jeg kender en som kender ham. Det er tilstrækkeligt. Vi mødes på Slipway Waterfront på den yderste spids af Ssasini. Det passer heller ikke. Jeg ved...

Under mit seneste ophold i Tanzania og Kenya insisterede jeg på ikke at vise nogle billeder i forbindelse med blogpost fordi der ikke er nogle billeder jeg kan tage som vil få dig til at se hvad jeg ser, ikke fordi jeg ser noget specielt, men jeg ser, hvad jeg ser, og du har dine egne øjne. Jeg har besluttet mig at fortsætte med ikke at vise nogle billeder...derimod vil jeg fra tid til anden vise farver, som jeg finder relevante.

I am currently in Tanzania for the Busara Festival in Zanzibar. Therefor I am telling you what I see, but I will show no pictures, because they would not make you see what I see, not that I see something extraordinary, but I see what I see and you have your own eyes. The music has begun and I am trying to get at grip of things. Does this remind me of what I have previously seen? The festival is a lot smaller than I anticipated. And here are way too many wazungus. Her er rigtig mange bazungus, men det er der jo altid på Zanzibar. Festivalen er lille. Det hele minder mig lidt om ”Jam on the Green” i Kampala. Det var en jam-session som foregik hver mandag gennem mange år i Kampala. Mandag var den eneste dag hvor musikerne i byen ikke havde jobs. Derfor blev jam-session mandag aften et tidspunkt hvor de kunne slappe af og spille sammen med hinanden på kryds og tværs. Efterhånden blev det også til et større hangout for alle andre i byen. Det var en slags social club. En gang o...

I am currently in Tanzania for the Busara Festival in Zanzibar. Therefor I am texting you about what I see, though there will be no pictures, because they would not make yiu see what I see, not that I see something extraordinary, but I see what I see and you have your own eyes. I am not good at preparations and long time in advance planning. Though there are circumstances that will force me to do so. Like getting a place to sleep in a rather small town during a festival week. I began ONE month in advance and that was almost too late. I 10 år har der været en musikfestival i Stone Town. Først i år lykkes det mig at komme til den. Måske er der ikke den store forskel på de få andre gange jeg har været i Dar Es Salaam. Og, dog! Jeg er blevet tvunget til at planlægge mere og ikke mindst tidligere. Faktisk plejer jeg sjældent at planlægge noget særligt og selvfølgelig var jeg lidt sent ude. Det har faktisk været svært at finde et hotel i Stone Town en måned før! Da jeg næsten havde gi...

Today is my 10 years anniversary. Exactly 10 years ago I came to Africa for the first time. In Arusha I was looking up in the Tanzanian sky. I saw millions of stars. Cristal clear. I think that I can say that I had never before seen such beautiful sight. It was as if I had a close up of the Milky way. I was night aften night amased because it was never cloudy - always clear. BUT there was none of stars that I could remember from my childhood. Not a single star formation. Everything was alian. Nothing at all ressembled my previous life. This vision of the Tanzanian sky has become a symbol of my African experience. I was a child again and had to start over. I had to gain new experiences and skills. In the beginning it was like a detective novel, but during the years I accepted what I had already read in Kapuscinskis books: That Africa will never become a habit. She will always be a condition, and therefor you cannot understand Africa but you can be Africa. In the same way as you let th...

Since I first stepped on East African soil I will always miss looking up into the Tanzanian sky with star formations that I will never comprehend, because there is nothing there that remind me of my childhood. I will always miss the shores of Victoria Lake in Kisumu, in Mwanza, in Entebbe, in Ggaba, in Munyunyo. I will always miss Nairobi - and I shall never forget how well I was always recieved in Kampala - and so I will always return to my African home. Happy Easter to all of you.