A year-in-review
Posted by Adam Jadhav | Filed under notes, photography
2009 kinda kicked ass
This past year pretty much rocked. And the New Year came in fine manner. No kisses, but a bonfire amid the palm trees (above), new friends, lobster, a decent cigar (thanks, C!), champagne and even the Harry Connick, Jr., band playing Auld Lang Syne at midnight (never leave home without the iPod).
I meant to post this sooner, but here’s a little look back at my new life (as chronicled on this blog):
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Tags: andaman and nicobar, antananarivo, beach, beer, circumcision, conservation, delhi, diving, drought, economy, emerging nations, environment, festival, fishing, food, ft dauphin, gear, havelock, health, hiv, holiday, india, island, journalism, kenya, kibera, kisumu, lemur, maasai mara, madagascar, market, motorcycle, multimedia, mumbai, nairobi, party, photography, port blair, poverty, preparation, shenanigans, shopping, thailand, tourism, travel, wildlife
Adam Jadhav and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Bank
Posted by Adam Jadhav | Filed under multimedia, notes
Included below: audio narration of parts of the tale; look for the play button.
Apologies in advance for some colorful language. Not intended for underage consumption. Inspired by a true story, protected by opinion privilege, and forgiven because of creative license/satire. And, for the record, the line about the Post-it note is nearly a direct quote.
PROLOGUE
Having just moved to Chicago for the summer, Adam Jadhav needed a bank. Actually, he needed a place to cash checks. And he didn’t really want to pay incredible fees to the seedy pawnbroker down the street from where he lived.
Conveniently, a rather large bank called JPMorgan Chase (hereafter, as “The Bank”) operated a branch on the ground floor of the office building where Adam worked. Adam dropped by one afternoon and learned that The Bank was old and well established.
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Tags: banking, chase, delhi, enunciation, financial, fraud, india, jpmorgan chase bank, multimedia, nairobi, shenanigans, stupid, travel
Things Africa taught me
Posted by Adam Jadhav | Filed under notes
I’ve now arrived in India and am getting settled and spending a little time with family in Pune. I’ve also been coming up with a list of lessons learned from seven weeks in Africa. In no particular order, here goes:
- French, that language I really thought was useless, is so not useless. Especially if you’re in Madagascar in non-tourist towns, trying to report and the only people you meet competent enough in English to be a translator are either employees of the company you’re writing about or activists in the community.
Reef flip flops are awesome. Seriously. Reef. Write it down. Best sandal I’ve ever worn. Damn near the best thing I’ve ever put on my foot. For example, when I accidentally stepped into two and a half feet of quick mud and lost a flip flop (again, thanks Sara from London, for a great laugh), I immediately paid the local who pulled me out another 500 shillings (a little more than $7, probably his weekly wage) to get back in the mud and retrieve my flip flop. (Dear Reef, I’m hoping for an endorsement deal. “Backpack journalist in Third World swears by Reef sandals.” Sounds good, no?)- I like parentheses.
- Eat bananas. Leg cramps suck.
- Save some bananas for the lemurs.
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Tags: antananarivo, beer, emerging nations, health, kenya, kisumu, lemur, madagascar, nairobi, poverty, raila odinga, shenanigans, tourism, travel, wildlife
Taxi cab confessions in Nairobi
Posted by Adam Jadhav | Filed under notes, photography
Masha Mwangi: "You must live up to your name."
The following what I get for singing along with old church hymns randomly in a cab.
I would like to introduce you to Masha Mwangi, a 29-year-old born-again Christian cabbie, new-found friend and available driver, should anyone be in Nairobi.
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Tags: born-again, cab, christianity, father, god, kenya, methodists, nairobi, taxi
Nairobi in bloom
Posted by Adam Jadhav | Filed under photography
Nairobi's version of magnolia
Nairobi can be an ugly dirty place. But right now, as a short rainy season approaches, the jacaranda trees are in full bloom. The blossoms constantly fall, not unlike magnolias back home.
And it’s beautiful.
Tags: environment, flowers, jacaranda, kenya, nairobi, photography
Kenyans to Obama: Stick it to our idiotic government
Posted by Adam Jadhav | Filed under notes
I fully expected Kenya’s honeymoon affair with America to end when the Obama administration dropped the threat of a travel ban on numerous Kenyan politicians alleging they had stood in the way of reform. Here was the superpower trying to dictate local politics.
Instead, according to most of the locals I spoke to, Obama had won points, rather than lost them.
Kenyans for decades have labored under corrupt regime after corrupt regime since independence from the British in 1963. Even the country’s celebrated first leader, Jomo Kenyatta, is considered to have been corrupt. And don’t get me started on Daniel arap Moi. His legacy of gutting the constitution lingers today; so does his plundering the treasury (and really the economy).
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Tags: barack obama, corruption, daniel arap moi, government, jomo kenyatta, journalism, kenya, maasai, mwai kibaki, nairobi, politics, raila odinga
Goodbye Kenya, hello Madagascar
Posted by Adam Jadhav | Filed under notes, photography
Headed to the airport at sunrise
After 26 days in Kenya, I’m headed to Madagascar. I’ll be reporting at a large titanium mine Fort Dauphin in the south of the country — one that a conservationist boldly told me was “on balance, better for the environment.” I’m also hoping to check out some biological preserves with St. Louis ties.
In the downtime, I’ll be chilling on the beach, maybe kite surfing, definitely fishing and playing with a lemur or two.
And probably not speaking much English. Madagascar is a francophone country, so while Malagasy is the official language, French is the Western choice. (If broken e-mails from my hotel in the capital Antananarivo are any indication, English isn’t exactly popular.)
S’il vous plait, I might be screwed. Or it will make for more entertaining adventures.
My plane departs in 67 minutes. Catch you on the flip side.
Tags: antananarivo, beach, fishing, fort dauphin, internet, lemur, madagascar, mining, nairobi, photography, travel
