Friday the 13th (of July)

http://elegantlysaid.com/2012/01/10-fun-facts-about-friday-the-13th/

Did you know that there is no row 13 on an aeroplane?

For some reason Friday the 13th is deemed a bad luck day yet no one can properly and accurately trace its origin...

But did you know that on such a day 17-21 millions Americans suffer from increased fear and stress that something is going to go wrong (in this world we seem to love to be scared of something. All the time. "Scratching your nose could cause early onset of bankruptcy")... Apparently people stop going about their regular day for fear of something terrible happening and instead stay locked up at home.Who says their house wont burn down in Death is really after them.

Since the adoption of the Gregorian Calander, in the last 4 800 months since commencement, there have been 684 Saturday the 13th's, 687 Wednesday the 13th's BUT 688 Friday the 13th's.

Tupc died on September the 13th 1996
On the 13th January 2012, the Costa Concordia sank

On the 13th January 2012, we had out first Friday the 13th. Thirteen weeks later we have our next Friday the 13th (today). In thirteen weeks time, on the 13th of July, we will have our third Friday the 13th.

Legends of the number 13: 

- If 13 people sit down to dinner together, one will die within the year.
- The Turks so disliked the number 13 that it was practically expunged from their vocabulary (Brewer, 1894).
- Many cities do not have a 13th Street or a 13th Avenue.
- Many buildings don't have a 13th floor.
- If you have 13 letters in your name, you will have the devil's luck (Jack the Ripper, Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahmer, Theodore Bundy and Albert De Salvo all have 13 letters in their names). - There are 13 witches in a coven. (http://urbanlegends.about.com/cs/historical/a/friday_the_13th_2.htm)

The Devil's Dozen

Consider this, that the idea that 13 is an unlucky number is as old as counting. In cave days, we had ten fingers and two feet to serve our counting means. That means we could count to 12. What lay beyond, 13, was a mystery and couldn't be comprehended.

The LUCKY number 13

The Chinese consider 13 as a luck number...  So did the Egyptians. For Egyptians, life unfolded in stages; 12 on earth, the 13th on the afterlife.

The crucifixion

Took place on a Friday... And staying with the Bible legends, Eve tempted Adam on a Friday. Friday is a bad day.

The number three

The number three, and numbers in groups of three, numerological-ly speaking, is a lucky number, or combination of numbers. Therefore, because there are three Friday the 13ths in 2012, people are taking that as a sign of good luck. And because apparently the world is ending this year, we need all the luck we can get.

Conclusion

So, in conclusion, 13 represents the mysterious, fearful unknown, because we could not physically count further than thirteen when our great grannies and granddaddies lives in drafty caves. And Friday is bad luck day. I suppose it is that day when masses celebrate the end of a tough work week, and end up regretting what they said, how much money they spent, who they kissed, where they woke up (Eve shall forever more tempt Adam - to Adam's never learn?). And because it is bad luck Friday, it had absolutely nothing to do with how intoxicated you were.

Top 10 ... of Malawi. Pepani!

So let me try and put together a top 10 of Malawi - quirks maybe, characteristics possibly. The top 10 hit-you-in-the-face-you-are-now-in-Malawi facts:

1. Food. Simply there is not much, or it is very expensive. There are hundreds of kilograms of tomatoes for sale, onions, bananas, a local type of spinach, rice, nsima (maize), casava, ... yep, that's pretty much it. Then you can buy white bread, and I sourced out some local good yoghurt. In the bigger cities there is more of a variety of fresh vegetables (debatable whether more expensive). Anything else, expect to pay through your teeth. According to consultants and such people, the lack of food is due to a) poor farming methods and lack of crop variety and b) lack of staggering of crop planting meaning when there is food there is too much food but no planting is done to ensure food during winter/the dry season etc.

2. Nali. The best thing about Malawian food - hot, spicey flavourful Nali sauce. In flavours hot, vey hot, garlic, curry.

3. Power's No. 1. A little sachet of alcohol spirits. Costs between 10 and 15 Malawian Kwacha (about 50-75c) and gets your powerfully drunk at 40% spirits volume.



4. A drunk country. According to independent sources (other travellers I met) it is agreed that a large part of the Malawian population is at some pint in the day 1)smelling of old alcohol or 2) drunk. I know this sounds like I am hating on the country. I am not. Malawi is truly a lovely country. But there is a lot of alcohol consumption.

5. They have Lake Malawi. Well I needn't say anything else really.

6. Two in one. Did you know that the whole of Lake Malawi is not actually IN Malawi. Yes, a portion in the north is in Tanzania and in Tanzania they call that part of the lake Lake Nyasa. But Malawians don't speak of this ;)

7. No dolla. There is a dire shortage of foreign currency in the country (after the president kicked the English Ambassador out of the country and thus England cut off aid money). And therefore there is a dire shortage of fuel in the country. Beware you can get stuck in place because vehicles cannot get fuel. Also the British money was used to pay the salaries of among others, Policemen. Now they are not being paid. Now they have been told to get their salaries from fining vehicles on the road.

8. One, two, three. Yes indeed, when I asked people in Malawi what the Chichewa words for one, two three etc were, I was simple told "one, two, three".

9. Rasta (non) loving. Apparently, and this I heard in Lilongwe, Malawians are not the biggest fans of Rastafarians. Therefore, thus and in conclusion, it appears that most if not all of the Rastafarians in Malawi now reside in and around Nkhata Bay.

10. Peanuts. Malawi probably makes some of the best roasted and salted peanuts (called groundnuts, or G-nuts) that I have ever tasted

Malawi, the warm heart of Africa

(PS which is true. It is the only country where, on being stamped into Malawi, the border official said "Welcome to Malawi, we are a country of warm-hearted people. Enjoy your stay". Therefore, in light of my sometimes harsh seeming quirks of the country, I wish to molify all readers by saying that while the above are my 10 quirks that I noticed in the country, all fits under the unbrella tone of warmth and friendliness as I experienced with the border official. And anyone who has ever crossed a border will know just how surly and sulky border officials can be if they choose so!)

Lingerie shopping in Zanzibar

Now who'd have ever though that this would happen in Zanzibar. Lauren, in all her ripped jeans and old t-shirt glory, strolling through the very muddy streets of Darajani, holding up panties and bra's in search of vaguely matching black nickers and bra. The reason? Well, I am not allowed to tell yet, it is a surprise. In a few weeks time the reason for such a shopping expedition will be revealed. It is nothing saucy or down right gross. But I just can't tell you right now.

So back to the topic at hand. Underwear shopping.

It is not like an experience anywhere else.

Issue 1: all shops, wait, correction, most shops on the island are owned/managed my men. All underwear shops are owned/managed, it seems, by men... sigh...

Issue 2: there is one thing lacking in Zanzibar. Manners. Of men. Towards foreign women.

Please pause for a rant. No matter what you wear, whether you expose your shoulder and knees, or cover them up, young men on the island still treat you like a common whore. So now I pretty much wear what I want. Modestly. But I do still cover up a lot of the time, in solidarity with the women who need to cope with the heat, while covering in many layers. End of rant.

Issue 3: The stalls are in the open.

Now most of you know that I am not a shy person. While it is a bit disconcerting to have to flash around lacy nickers in the public (conservative) eye, it really can be done.

Except every time I walked up to a stall (except one owned by a dear old man), the silly hormonal and rude men would saunter up and begin helping your to choose your own underwear. Ai...

I told most to **** off (not the F word, but similar sentiments). Suffice to say I was hot and bothered by the time I left the swarming muddy mess that is Darajani (after a hard rain storm). And I had no undies (there are no black bras in Zanzibar...)

Two funny anecdotes:

At one stall, while browsing through the black nicker options, the owner brought out this (granny pantie style) beige one, signally that this was my skin colour, not black. The more I insisted I wanted black, the more he insisted that I was wrong that I needed (frilly, embroidered, thick-as-hell) beige high waisted nickers...

The second, at another stall, the owner asked if I wanted "bikini". So if the nickers were high waited (this is for the men reading this blog), as women, we know that bikini is low cut. 20 seconds later out he swung bright red and green and black THONGS, waving them in front of me, asking if the size is right, if I want smaller. And no matter how much I waved me hand and said "Hapana, hapana" (no, no), he still insisted, "another colour...??"

You gotta love Zanzibar... Ai, but the men.... This is for another post...

So keep glued to this amazing, Spectacular Spectacular blog. And the reason for the Lingerie shopping will be shown.

Baadaye