the writing nib

Author: Nibwene

  • My Dearest Dar

    My Dearest Dar

    In the evening the sun goes down behind the palm trees, slowly, like how the noises change. You won’t know how it went from hearing cacophonies from the streets to the sound of Bongo Flava blasting on speakers not far from where you sleep. If you’re still in the city center sunset will be the time when cars start excessively honking at one another. The smell of used fished oil is usually the same everywhere. I guess somehow the entire city decided to use similar oil brands. Walking along the Kivukoni Front I can’t ever help but overhear the many discussions going on among the vendors. Most times it’s about the latest government scandal to hit the news stands. Sometimes it’s about Ali Kiba and Diamond just after one of them releases a new music video. Other times it’s arguments between Yanga FC and Simba FC hardcore fans and these ones usually happen on Monday morning at the cobbler’s booth which also happens to serve coffee.

    As I sat in the cold at the Schonëbeck station in November 2017 I realized how my world had changed in just three months. I remember going back home in August after spending a month in the US. I felt so angry when I got out of the plane. In my head I thought, “in comparison to JFK this looks like something out of an apocalyptic movie.” It was shock coming from having to face intense heat and watching “Tanzanians being Tanzanians”. It all started in Doha when I was waiting for the last of three flights back home. I sat at the airport with a big white pillow on my lap trying to distract myself from all the eyes that were looking at me and the fact that at that moment I realized how loud we Tanzanians could be. What annoyed me the most was that some Tanzanians there were complaining about something in a way that made it look like we’re all like that. It was government taxes, flights, heat, and I was silently complaining to my subconscious about them complaining about stuff.

    So I saw my mum and dad at the airport, they were all happy to see me. I could see it in their eyes, they were excited to hear stories from New York and I had plenty all leading down to ‘Tanzania needs to get its act together!’ Why were we so awful at just everything? I spent the entire drive back home trying to avoid talking because I was so frustrated that after we get out of the car I would have to live without air conditioning for another month until I come to Germany. It was probably 30 something Celsius, who cares anyway, and this was supposed to be some sort of “winter” or the end of it, (HashtagTropicalClimate).

    In that month I couldn’t get anywhere around the city without something to wipe my face every 2 minutes. It’s just hot and the worst thing is that most of the Tanzanian public doesn’t allow us to dress according to the weather. If we did that we would be beaten by “angry” men in the streets and humiliated on every gossip newspaper in circulation. That’s just Tanzania for you.

    However, in that month, I came to realize how I love my city so much. I wouldn’t say I genuinely love my entire country so much because honestly, I’ve only been to three cities in the 20 years of living there. In August, after seeing a different side of the world for the first time I was now able to view Dar es Salaam from a new angle. The fact is Dar es Salaam isn’t the best there is, there are better things out there, but its uniqueness is what makes it special, what makes it home to 5 million people. There’s just something nostalgic about the strong smell of the Indian Ocean’s saltiness as you walk by the Hyatt Regency every morning to work or to catch a city bus at the main bus stop. Dar es Salaam might seem like this typical African city with thousands of street vendors among 5 million people living in a fully heated oven, most of us without air conditioning. But the beauty in all of it lies in the feeling of belonging to something that is greater than me as an individual; the struggle that the name ‘Dar es Salaam’ embodies in the eyes of the 50 million people in other parts of the country. Like every other country, Tanzania also has that place where people go in the hopes of “making it” and finding peace in life. After all, it does mean ‘haven of peace’.

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    Jangwani, Dar es Salaam. Captured by @i_am_racker

  • A New Home

    Germany is an awesome place.

    I never really thought of being anywhere in Europe for college. I was so fixed on going to the US and thank God that never happened. I’ve been to the US only twice, the first time was awesome, I made friends and I saw places and I got on a roller coaster and that was cool because for some few seconds I seriously thought I was dying but then I realized I wasn’t so I was happy to have another chance at life. I’m hoping I don’t screw it up. The second time was a few days ago and it wasn’t so pleasant because I got to see a side of the US that I think most outsiders don’t get to see. I was very disappointed even though I know I shouldn’t be.

    The reason I’m able to write today that Germany is awesome is because I never paid attention to it at all apart from the few times in secondary school when we learned about the World Wars. And that was it. I didn’t know how modern Germans are like or how the cities are look or how cold it gets in the winter. So when I got here it was like growing up and subconsciously learning to call a place home. In the few months that I’ve been here I’ve grown to love the place and the best part is that I didn’t have a picture of what it’s like here so there was no room for disappointment. I think that’s the way to enjoy things in life, sometimes. If there’s a good school somewhere go study there not because you’ve been told how the place is or have seen filtered images of the place on the internet that set high expectations for you.

    I felt so much joy last weekend when my long trip from Chicago to Bremen ended. It felt like I was back home, for the first time I seriously considered Bremen my home. I had a good time in Chicago simply because I got to see a good friend. That’s the only part of the trip I choose to remember because the other one will make me say bad things about a famous airline many people love. I might write or say something about that some other day or year. For now, try to enjoy my not-so-good photography.

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    Brandenburg Gate, Berlin

  • 52 Quotes from ‘Turtles All The Way Down’ by John Green

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  • Cell Respiration

    THIS IS A STORY ABOUT CELL RESPIRATION IN ANIMALS (PART OF A CLASS ASSIGNMENT). IB Biology but still enjoyable

    Once upon a time, in the land of Cytoplasm there lived a king named King Glucose V. This was the period of Glycolysis and it was full of conflict. The three main wars were Phosphorylation, Lysis and Oxidation. During Phosphorylation, 2 ATP guards of the king were given one phosphate servant because they are very unstable. King Glucose V was stripped of his king title and made a Hexose biphosphate. He was very angry so he started a war against his parliament. This war was called Lysis. During Lysis, Hexose biphosphate was killed and his two sons, Triose phosphate 1&2 were made temporary leaders up to the crowning of a new king. Both Triose phosphates wanted to be king so they fought another war. This was the last war of the Glycolysis period. It was known as Oxidation. Triose phosphates were killed by oxidation. A new ATP army of 4 major sections was formed and Electron carriers led by 2 Prime Ministers named NADH+H+ were chosen from NAD through reduction to be part of the new parliament. Some of the ATP sections were also chosen by reduction. At the end of Glycolysis, Two pyruvate kings were elected to rule Cytoplasm in coalition.

    Glucose + 2ATP —> 2pyruvates + 4ATP + 2(NADH+H+)

    The end of Glycolysis marked the end of a long period of Anaerobic respiration. Later on Cytoplasm faced hunger and the Pyruvate Kings moved the kingdoms to a new country called Matrix in the land of Mitochondria where it was believed that Aerobic respiration always took place. This way they were sure to increase their army of ATP. In Matrix, there were three eras before the formation of the larger 32ATP army.

    Before the formation of 32ATP army, there were three other wars. They all occurred during Aerobic respiration. The first war was The Link reaction also known today as Decarboxylation. During Decarboxylation or The Link Reaction, an enzyme representative from the Enzyme council Of The Empire of Organism, COENZYME A went to the Kingdom of Matrix. He was sent there by the Enzyme Council to conduct peace talks with the Kingdom. The Pyruvate Kings held CO2 captive since the period of Glycolysis and according to the law of the Empire, he was to be released during his 3rd life.

    The entire kingdom feared the presence of an enzyme in the kingdom. They knew enzymes had the power to make and destroy things, even their kings. When COENZYME A asked the Pyruvate kings for CO2, they refused therefore defying the law of the Empire of Organism. Because of this, COENZYME A destroyed the pyruvate kings and CO2 was released. COENZYME A became the supreme temporary ruler of Matrix as Acetyl CoA. He took with almost two thirds of the dead Pyruvate kings’ wealth. The pyruvate kings were no more and The Link Reaction was complete.

    After many years, the people of Matrix grew angry because of enslavement by Acetyl CoA. They held secret meetings each midnight to figure out how to conduct a revolution. Acetyl CoA was now a brutal ruler who nobody liked. His wife and kids fled away by exocytosis and he was excommunicated from the Enzyme Council Of the Empire. An Acceptor was needed to overthrow Acetyl CoA. However, for almost 43 years no one in the kingdom was ready to be an acceptor. One day, a young woman called C4, went to the secret meetings during midnight and volunteered to be the Acceptor. C4 had lived a hard life because of Acetyl CoA. Her father was taken from her on her 10th birthday to work for the king and they never met again. Her mother had nothing because women were not allowed to work. Sometimes she went to bed without food and longed for her father to come back. On her mother’s deathbed, she promised to do anything for the kingdom including sacrificing her life.

    On the day of the revolution, C4 attacked Acetyl CoA with the help of her fellow peasants. This was followed by a series of attacks involving other patriots like C6 and C5. Finally, C4 was killed by Oxidation. More NAD+ ministers were made prime ministers with the title NADH+H+, county leaders FAD+ were also reduced to FADH2 and ADP was reduced to 2ATP. This was the end of the Krebs Cycle.
    After the Krebs Cycle, electrons were transported through the Cristae region by mobile proteins and the 32ATP army  was finally made.