Kusafiri Afrika
"Kusafiri Afrika" is a Swahili phrase meaning "Journey through Africa." Spoken predominantly in East Africa, Swahili boasts an estimated 150 to 200 million native speakers. Swahili borrows liberally from the Arabic language, where we find the word "Safar" meaning "to take a journey" and "Safariya" meaning, simply, "journey."
So what does all this mean? Absolutely fucking nothing! But I love the word Safari. And guess what? I'm going on one. And it's gonna be a doozy! 77 days on a big, yellow safari truck trekking from Kenya (which is one of those green countries... I think!) to Cape Town, South Africa, which is that big pimple (boil?) poking out at the bottom of Africa... I think. To be honest, I don't know shit about Africa. Yeah, I've heard about all the beautiful animals and amazing terrain; about the poverty, strife, and civil unrest; and I take a keen interest in this being the epicenter of our existence, where we (the human race) had our coming-out party, so to speak, way back when, like 5 to 6 million years ago. That is, of course, if you believe in all that type of stuff. You know, that pesky evolution thing that is constantly tripping up and undermining all the crazies of the world. Bones don't lie! But there I go digressing again...
Anyway, as mentioned previously, I don't know a lot about Africa, and perhaps neither do you. So perhaps we can learn some stuff together. That's why I'm starting this little blog for my "Kusafari Afrika." One thing I've recently learned about Africa (love Google!) is that it is comprised of 54 separate countries. Weird, because as a kid I always thought it was just one, big country... inner-city education and all. And of those 54 countries, I'll be traveling to 11 of them. Yes, 11 different countries.
First stop: Egypt, where I'll embark on a separate 2-week journey checking out pyramids and temples and floating down the Nile. Don't worry, I'll be sure to dig into that "evolution" stuff.
So stay tuned! Look for periodic updates and pictures, and general ramblings. I leave June 6th; already have my khakis and safari hat packed! And please be interactive. I'll be rolling solo through Africa, so any messages will be greatly appreciated.
Oh, and if this isn't your thing, or you stumbled on this blog by accident - no worries. Like they say in Swahili: "hakuna matata."
See you in Cairo!
-Kevin