the writing nib

Category: nib’s things

  • The Ocean

    The Ocean

    To some people, the ocean seems like a scary place where you can die. First of all, you can die anywhere. But that’s not the point here.

    The ocean is like this magical if you think of it. I’ve dreamt of the ocean long before I first watched Sebastian sing that super catchy song ‘Under the Sea’ on The Little Mermaid. However, that particular film made me think more of it. Before I mostly thought of the beach part of it where I could play and catch some waves. But after it was about what it’s like to be part of the sea. Do the fish have some kind of kingdom that keeps them all at peace like how Disney tries to insist on all three of their Little Mermaid films? I’m curious.

    Sometimes people ask themselves whether there are different worlds out there. The way I see it, the ocean is another world that, as it happens, everyone except marine biologists and co. is not paying attention to. The sea level is an entry to another world – the same world where Nemo lives. That must mean something because some of us want to meet Nemo and not fry him (sorry?).

    leo13
    The Indian Ocean. Kigamboni, Dar es Salaam, TZ. By asuphotolog.

    The Indian Ocean, which happens to be 20 mins by foot from my home (lucky), is my favorite thing to look at. I remember the days when I had to ride the ferry boat every morning to work and the sun would rise high and its light would fall on the water. That one incident marked my mornings because I truly felt like I shared something with another world, a world I can’t live in because I don’t have gills… And this obsession with the ocean even made me visit the International Maritime Museum Hamburg the first time I went to the city. It’s basically a boat museum but the visit is truly worth it. Looking at all the boats gives you the feeling of wanting to be close with the sea world because everything in there tells you just how great the ocean is and not simply in terms of size but in history and whatever is in it and what it can do with its powerful waves etc.. I get a similar feeling when I look at these pictures by asuphotolog.

    This slideshow requires JavaScript.

    But, of course, as every story goes we, humans, have found lo many many ways to destroy a world that is not ours. I won’t get into that now. But save the oceans, please And take time to appreciate what is around you; the ocean, the lake, the river or even the sky because I’m certain some of us have dreamt of living in the clouds and being able to fly. I can assure you, that kind of thing doesn’t happen in this world of ours.

  • What’s On Your Mind?

    What’s On Your Mind?

    The first time I picked up a paint brush was on a Sunday afternoon about a month ago. I was in a room full of art such as paintings and potteryware and people who make these for fun and others who are professionals. It never occurred to me that I would come to love and appreciate painting as I do now. Painting was once one of those things which I didn’t understand why exactly people did them and especially how they made a living out it. At the time I was unsure what to do so I just decided to try and paint a picture of one of my favorite places in Dar es Salaam, Garden Avenue.

    27849010_891979757642305_1951001394_n
    Garden Avenue, Dar es Salaam. By @son_dullah
    27946295_891977820975832_1395994752_o
    A painting of Garden Avenue

    A few days later I decided to get some painting materials and try to paint myself. I got some brushes, mixing palettes, watercolor paper, a nice-looking glass jar and a set of 48 colors, which some people think is too much, but I prefer to escape the awful process of mixing hues to get the one I want.

    Now that I’ve made a couple of paintings I’ve decided this is something I’m going to be doing for a long time. Making any kind of art, I understand now, is very enjoyable since one has the power to imagine and reimagine things in their own way, like how I reimagined Garden Avenue in my first painting. One person even commented that the painting looked like a dark road in the middle of a forest which is completely different from what Garden Avenue truly is because the place is surrounded by buildings in the middle of a very busy city. But they’re probably not wrong because from the way I see it the place doesn’t scream “city” and whenever I walked there it was like I was far from all the commotion Dar es Salaam is always glad to offer. It’s not a perfect work of art but the joy in doing all of it comes from being able to free whatever is in my mind and not let it be buried with me when my time comes. It was like I tasted some addictive drug for the first time (don’t do drugs).

    So, the bottom line is that, since by now most of our new year resolutions have failed to materialize, it’s good to try something new that’s not part of a list made just after the date changed to December 1. It could be anything, even writing grammatically incorrect short stories based on whatever made up narratives you have in your mind. Let it all out of the cage!

    Here are two of the paintings I’ve done so far with the help of this amazing channel Paint Academy:

    27951271_891977857642495_821643078_o
    Autumn Scene
    27990487_891977847642496_1235545425_o
    Night Scene
  • 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’.

    26942332_878619488978332_1418311689_o
    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.

    26828283_877856439054637_1210720304_o.jpg
    Brandenburg Gate, Berlin