Shangon Cultural Center

Friday, June 20^th, 2013

Today was a day of mostly traveling. Right after breakfast we piled all the scholars and all the luggage (there might as well have been another bus just for the luggage because of how much crap everyone brought) in a small bus. I think Americans have a hard time packing light and if you’ve never been to Africa before it’s even more difficult. We stopped by the mall before heading to our cultural visit at the Shangon Cultural Center. Everyone stocked up on airtime, snacks, etc while at the mall. Buying phones in Africa – scratch that- doing anything in Africa takes three times longer than it should or at least that I’m used to it taking being from a culture that emphasizes customer service and is so obsessed with getting results NOW NOW NOW! Definitely a lot of running around at the mall with “Oh no we don’t have that try this store,” so we go to that store, “No, we don’t. Try this store.” 5 stores later we find the item.

The cultural center was fun. We were taken through traditional village with a chief and a sangoma (a traditional Shangon healer) Most of it seemed really touristy and staged, like some section of Disneyland. It was still fun though.

We finally got to Manyelti Animal Reserve, where we stayed before. We will be carrying out the rest of the training here before heading into the villages close by. Before the end of the trip the bus driver asked if I had a husband. I told him, “No, but I did have a man waiting for me back home.” Surprisingly I’m used to marriage proposals and men bluntly saying “I like you. I want you” and telling me that even if I have a man back home that I can have another one. It is in my experience that men are men wherever you go. You thought getting hollered at in America was bad ladies – think again!