Remembering

I rememba mah formative daze in the city of the pope

I had no guide so to speak, because mah then boyfriend
had other important things to do it seems

So I would jus wake up in the morning, prepare a lunch pack,
a bottle of water and my not digital camera

And I would head to town, without even a guide book or map

I wud launch mesef into the city and started walking

I guess that’s where I developed mah hobby
of walking about with no specific destination in mind

It wud be a combination of intuition, luck and mah disoriented nature that I wud come across sum monument or ruin or church or something all so touristy

As is often the case, all those touristy areas will be full of tourists with their tour guides

People then used to do these cultural tours,
and what better place to do a cultural tour than rome itself

[Someone once remarked that rome is like a museum
You can walk from the coliseum to the Spanish steps to piazza venezia to piazza navona even to the Vatican [for the young and bold] And you can do all of this in one day]

The tour guides will be explaining historical things as to how did that ruin come about

Or who built that church and who commissioned it and when it was commissioned and how long it took to build it and all the orgies that goes with it

I would stand there and listen

And one by one the group would start noticing me

I was rather conspicuous, as much as I tried to be inconspicuous, it was impossible

Can you imagine, a group of elderly Americans, in their tourist shorts and caps
and water bottles and digital cameras

Mostly couples and all of them fair skinned!

But mah favourite group to join was that of Japanese

And I did not even understand the language, but it was jus so much fun to see their faces when they notice me trodding along

And trod along I would, until they start getting uncomfortable by mah presence

Then for sum reason, I would feel like mah job is done and I will change route

Only to land smack into another tourist group from another part of the world

and so it went....

in ya dis ya time

Revisiting Palermo

I expected to find da sud-island-sudest (southern) heat

but alas i was welcomed by sista rain hersef....

t'was kinda funny and sad at the same time neh!

so me land inna palermo mek it straight to da a friend's house

and he's not there, he no longer lives there

me friend Katie is not answering her fone (found out later that she relocated to padova!)

me other friend who was supposed to host me is outta town

and my other friends (couple) are jus about to hav a baby so it wud be an inconvenience to host me

I mah not feeling da palermo vybz no mo'
so cut long story short me don have nowhere to go

but i had a good mind to prepare two huge paninos/sandwiches

from Anthony B&B befo leaving dat morning

so me head to piazza garibaldi to sit under a tree

[i mah familiar with dis here piazza, we used to sleep on (top) of these trees

(they are huge) with dem mah hippies friends back in da daze]
me munch on mi sandwich clear me head and think of the immediate future

but i was too tired to think, so i ate and actually fell asleep on the park bench deh

i was woken up by rain drops!

whatta way to wake up, me look around there are trees all over

me hav no idea where am i who am i what time/day/year is it

is jus rain drops and they are getting faster and vigorious

me gather mesef up and rush under the nearest tree for cover

that sicilian rain that com in heavy loud drops (jus like dem sicilians)

my cover under the tree was limited but me hung out as long as i could

dodging drops here and there but i still managed to get wet

so eventually i came out of the hiding place and threw mesef into the city

and the rain.......

as i am heading up the road not too sure where i mah heading except forward

one bwoy on a motorino/scooter spots me and slows down and hesitate

i pull him over and ask for a lift (my street wit/cred is slowly coming back to me)

he stops and start chatting, where have yu been, long time no seen blah blah

so the guy knows me but hell i don rememba who where when

this is a common occurrence fo me in palermo

cut long short

bwoy offers me a place to stay

says he just rented a big house for his girlfriend who will only be moving in next month

and if i need a place for a short stay, well the house is free albeit with no electricity

one of those fortuitous coincidences seen

so that is how i came to spend my palermo trip in da enchanted house...

the house is empty its bare and its huge

it really looks to be a family house - once upon time

two bedrooms two bathrooms a lounge

a big kitchen a store room a lobby

it is clean, walls are clean and looks to be recently retouched

the only furniture is a mattress a wardrobe and a divano and the kitchen suite

the matrasse and the wardrobe are in the bedroom with the en-suite bathroom

the divano with springs and no cushions in the living room

the kitchen with its built-in cupboards fridge stove etc etc

and the doors of the cupboards were all always open and empty even the fridge door was open

revealing the barreness state of the house

the two other furnished rooms would be where i wud spend my days

the area is the noisiest i have seen in palermo

its a totally new zone for me, i had never even had designs on this area

and its not far from the hospital/clinic, which means the sound of the ambulance is a common feature

and young bwoys and gyals on motorinos whoozing past non stop

cut story short its a noisiest place - not loud

ca people deh ya talk a lot mo with their gestures and looks

and i notice there were a lot of butcher shops

compared to the usual bakeries/panificio, which were not missing!

'l'angolo del carne, la carneriera, carne carne carne'- meat everywhere

even the one shop specialising in horse meat only...

fo the inhabitants of that area

the whole world starts and ends there in the area

i kno all this ca that is what i wud end up doing the whole time- peeping/gazing from the window

an i was at the corner which meant my view was three dimensional

arabs africans sicilians all battling it out under the economic recession

chinese and indians line up the commercial section

and theres me who has just moved into an empty house with no lights

the consequence being i had to keep all the windows open at all times

to get light in the house, daylight from the sun

night light from the street pole light outside

i was rather conscpicous in the dark, yu kno, shadowy, dats all you cud see, a shadow

then i start wondering about this house

why hasnt the girlfriend started moving in

and why is she supposedly moving in alone not with him

i realise that this bwoy bubbles a lot talks fast and say a lot of things

he has left me there to freshen up and hed be back later

and has left with the keys

i shudder a bit but alas he rocks up and gives me the key and

the freedom to com n go as i please free reign

as i was enjoying the free reign

i notice water on the floor, i thought it was drippin from somewhere

but i cud not figure out from where

and everyday this pool of water slowly grows bigger

i try getting ahold of the guy but alas his fone is always off

and this water which i cud not tell where the f is comin from

i start shuddering again, i wait for daylight to comb thru the house to discover where the water be comin from

but nuttin a gwaan yet the pool is getting larger and larger

everytime i mop the water, it reappears....spoooky

and still the guy is not picking up his fone

i start spending a lot of time outdoors trying to relocate ol an new friends

but alas they are scattered everywhere,

and the fact that tis the rainy season does not make things easier

cos sicily is such an outdoor place, everything happens outdoors

so in a way was forced to spend a lot of time indoors, and that water (which by now i stopped mopping)

the pool is just growing and growing and still cannot detect where it com from

the house is spooky awrite, but i stay on anywhichways...

until t'was time to take leave of the place

and i did graciously...

left a note, the keys, an sms an a likkle present fo the disappeared bwoy...

and jus as i landed in rome, he calls.....[note that mah las sms was to inform him about mah depature!]

i thank him and we small talk a bit

somehow the water thingie did not com up in our small talk...

so i left it like dat....

in ya dis ya time

hostel chronicles

so
this hostel i was stayin at
the one with dem cold showers
became mah late hang out spot
everytime me com back from the movie world
me walk towards the rail tracks away from the city
but not far from her either jus in the back yards less lights very quite
but there is also a parking space in the basement so every now an then
yu catch a sight of party goers heading back home zooming off in their warm cars
an i wud be standin at the door of hostel facing outside and the stair case behind me
leading first to the bar and chill out and breakfast area all in one
pass that then into another bar chill out area that is not in use low lights
[because the hostel only open during the week of the festival, so less is used]
pass this foyer then enter in the dormitory
on the ground flow there's about 34 or more bunk beds
then a tiny section upstairs with about 15  or more bunk beds and thats for gyals only
so there i was upstairs in the first bed on the corner
later it turned out that there was about only four of us that were fixed there
others strayed two or three nites the most
one gyal had her alarm set in the morning an every time it went off
she neva hears it so it wud keep going off every five minutes or whatever
an from that time on yu cyaan sleep anymo cos dis damn cellphone jus keep going off
and everytime anybodi walked in you cud hear them cos it was wooden floors
and the other gyal invited me to go to a jazz club but i was goin to reggae that nite
the other two very inquisitive gals asked me a lot of question
which in turn i asked them a whole lot of questions too
turns out one is brazillian but lives in amsterdam [studyin i guess]
the other is german an livin in amsterdam as well good friends them said they were
then the ederly lady who was always so punctual
that i did not haffi set up me alarm anymo
cos she wud go downstair to tek a shower at the same time evry mornin
so i regulated mah sef like dat
the other gyal who spent so much time on the mirror fixin hersef up
and i need to tie mah turban...


then downstairs at the bar from one o'clock in the mornin
we wud be sittng an talkin an listening to music
like the argentinian film maker who was so thrilled about the mood of that hostel
that he was actualy writing a script based on the hostel and lookin fo a camera man
he said that ever since he came to that hostel he kinda like started breathing again
cos he was invited by the festival so the first three nights he spent inna hotel
or the dutch projectionist who has a very intelligent his girlfriend
she one of the few people with the highest IQ in this world
so said the projectionist and he was not lying nor boastin
we was jus talking and he told us a lot of things about those big screens
and projectors and whats it like to be up there in that booth
and the difference between the morden technology and the old one
i think he finds himself uncomfortably between the two
the other guy is savin for a trip to australia with his 15 year old son
the othere guy is workin both at the hostel and at the festival
he is english from brixton with a heavy undiluted accent
then the other guy from rotterdam who worked the late nite shift
which began at one o'clock but him he wud already be there by ten
but he played good lounge music thats the reason i started hangin at the bar good music
but we cud not smoke inside...

and outside was cold but me use to hang downstairs by the door
watchin the late nite train passing arriving departing
snow falling or melting depending
rain fallin down in tiny silent drops
and someone wud walk out to hav a smoke too
then we end up having a chat too
and end up striking friendship too
that wud continue electronically henceforth
cos we ah livin
in ya dis ya time y'all...

back a yard

i left the snow behind
mah toes cud not tek it anymo
they jus kept freezin up and consider how much i walk
an the bitin cold was freezin up me locks too
so t'was with warm pleasure that me return to da pope city rome city
i had left the film fundis behind, t'was finished, neva got to kno who the winners were
i missed the ceremony, but like mah benin friend said: aagh! we can always read about it tomoro
and already by that time most people had left
rushing off to the berlin film festival that just started
so rotterdam suddenly became rotterdam with only the rimnants of the festival posters
the morning that i left it was so misty i cud not see mahsef and seemed to be the only person walking
lugging mah suitcase and backpack and this and that with a heavy jacket on..is not easy eh..
but when i left in the afternoon jus afta catching mah last movie alamar it had all cleared with scattered showers

is a beautiful sight...
the snow covering the entire city
or in the country side where it is jus stretches an stretches of white coverin everytin
or the river frozen or frozen park...brrrrrr.....
but then inside is always warm, train station, train, tram, bus, office house etc
so its this game of dressing and undressing all the time
it can get quite annoying at times
and the sound of the tram thats about to run you over ting! ting!
i met one sista from surinam in the train
we had a nice sisterlee chat
i will always rememba her
mah las encounter in the train between A'dam and R'dam
befo me ah land inna dis ya  Rome
now i hear is gonna snow tomoro
in ya dis ya time

snippets

cha!
all dat talk about not goin to industry parties
and doin the reggae twentyfourseven
jus flew outta da window las nite
cos afta that feel good movie there was no way me head to bed
so i hit the scene the industry party the press party the invitation only party the afta party
all in one nite, well a coupla hours so to speak ca the movie finish at midnite so.....
but me did not feel shitty or anytin like dat this mornin
infact am so fresh me cyaan wait to hit the scene again tonite..
cos yu kno how it goes mos
in ya dis ya time y'all

snippets

did yu kno that ever since i came here
i hav bin takin a cold shower every mornin
in this weather
where it snows one moment
then it ah rain the next
then the wind jus blows yu around that corner babe
then mr sun com out to give us nicessness every now and then
all this in one day, four seasons in one day
just like cape town, so i guess thats why i get this familiar vyb with this place
and then i am sittin in an office with a view
an everytime mr sun come out to play
i am there ready and waitin
so at times i pass an hour or so jus watchin the sun
and how it reflects on this here city
in ya dis ya time........

i am taking cold showers
because the hostel where i be stayin
don hav hot water for showers
so.....

i did not watch any movies las nite
an it was hectic in the day
then there were the awards for the short movies
and there is always a party goin on
but i don do industry parties
i do the reggae twenty four seven
no apologies no explanation no justification
is jus is
in ya dis ya time.....

rotterdam ... continued

cha!
as i was sayin the other day
tis the city that interests me most
bin here befo, about two or three years back
naturally t'was different then
the city had jus recently won the city of the yeah award
or sumtin to that effect cyaan rememba too well
i could see why but did not appreciate it much then
as i had a lot o' tings on me mind then
like how can i get mah ass back to amsterdam and how quick
t'was a disastrous trip, we was a group, and group dynamics took ova

so all me wanted to do was go to
mah favourite coffee shop in the red light district an hang...
but i was broke, as usual, so i had to hang here
so i did mah favourite pastime
walk walk walk with no destination in mind
along the way i bumped into two brethren
i asked them where i cud get sum reggae club coffee shop vybz n shit
them seh the aint no place like dat
but oh wait what about the bob marley coffee shop
the other guy hesitated, him did not want to send me there
him seh am alone, is far, might be dangerous fo a likkle gyal like me blah blah blah
me seh jus tell me where and how and
like the italians say: ci penso io
them tell me to walk down this ya road and jus continue str8
until i get to bob marley coffee shop

and i did. i walked in, i got buzzed in rather...
a very curious place it was i rememba
almost dingy with a lot of regulars there [i cud tell]
i ordered mah tea and chose mah spot at a corner
afta mah second cup me strike a conversation with the bar man
a moroccan who is Dutch anyway
by the time i was on mah second spliff
i start to check the composition of the people in there
its all men. young men. old men. middle man.
african. arab. indonesian. indian.
whatta curious mix it was.
an they were all Netherlenders!
fo me an arab chillin wiht an african chillin with an indian chillin with an indonesian
was such a sight to behold [i did not kno about surinam then]
half way thru mah spliff
me also check that there is no female species in sight only the I
and yu can also tell that these regular men don even bring their dates there
by the time i reach mah third spliff i notice sumtin else
all these male species are startin to flirt with me
thats mah cue, gots to go. i mah out!

i hit the streets again.
i am checking that i am in another part of the city
lots of africans arabs mixed and hardly any dutch people per se
i notice that i am actually inna de ghetto [where i belong ha ha ha haha]
ghetto fabulous faces ghetto yutes hangin by the corner
but mah western [educated] side of me got into the way o'tings
me started getting paranoid an shit
i am thinkin thats why that dude did not want to send me here
gotta gets outta here quick
back to the safe haven of youth hostels and travel guides and shit..
in ya dis ya time

fast forward three yeahs later....

rotterdam 2010

das whe me start bloggin. das de yeah me start bloggin.


why me start bloggin. ca i don hav mah camera with me.


can yu believe it, travelled without my trusted nikon.


so i kinda like feel naked. walkin around havin to experience everytin thru the naked eye


and not thru the lense. so this erotic naked feelin got me itchy


only two ways to remedy the shituation


either get laid or scribble sumtin to relieve the itchyness


gettin laid is a tall blond order so i resorted to good ol' scribbling


bin here for four days now


working at the Film Office as the Sales & Industry Club co-ordinator of sum sorts


and already am in the daily newspaper of the festival



cha!

but it is the city that intrigues most....