Monday, July 23, 2007
destiny has its ways
Looking for housing is always a bore. Some people find it exciting. I don't. I've been enjoying the temporary month to month rental at my current residence, but it's not as private a space as I would like and I am not allowed to host, which is a drawback. Santa Cruz is a tourist hub in the summer. Come August right before the semester starts at UCSC housing is almost impossible to find. Today's events were a bit out of the ordinary.
I was shown a studio apartment by this British gentleman this evening. He owns a sprawling 8 acre property in the hills right next to the redwood forests right off 17. At first the locked gates, enormous mansion and the lawn ball field had me thinking he was just another rich, Californian property owner in the bay area. Boy was I mistaken. This old chap has seen more of the world than I can ever hope of seeing and is a living exemplar of 'Carpe Diem.' Instead of showing me around, we spent the first half an hour after we met chatting about his journey from California to Nigeria by van. In the early 90s he was offered a job in Nigeria. Him and his wife decided to drive their Volkswagen there. They made it by road to Canada first. Jumped on a boat which took them to Morocco and from there drove down via Central Africa to Nigeria. He had to rebuild his engine in the desert where they got stranded several times in the sand. They never stayed in a hotel, always camped out and cooked most of their meals to save money. After a few years of working with the Nigerian government, he was soon frustrated with the corrupt system he found himself in and decided it was time to leave. They left the continent much the same way they came in - across the equator to Kenya in the east and then back up north. They attempted to head south first but at the Gabon border they were warned not to head to Angola because of the civil war. So instead they went eastward. Road tripping has been his favorite way to travel and continues to be so today. He has covered Central and South America in exactly the same way as he saw Africa - armed with his vehicle, brilliant language and survival skills and his wife. Travelling is the best education anyone can have.
The only thing lacking in the studio he offered me for rent was a proper kitchen, which is a huge negative. I told him that wouldn't stop me from engaging in more enlightening conversation with him. How about tea or drinks sometime? I said. I've got a better idea, how about you come over and cook us an Indian meal. I miss the food from my Bangalore days. Deal. I drove off down the hill and watched him trek into the mountains through the black bamboo forest. I'll be seeing Mr G and his crew in the woods this weekends for some more nomadic tales. I'll have to think up a good menu for the occasion.
I was shown a studio apartment by this British gentleman this evening. He owns a sprawling 8 acre property in the hills right next to the redwood forests right off 17. At first the locked gates, enormous mansion and the lawn ball field had me thinking he was just another rich, Californian property owner in the bay area. Boy was I mistaken. This old chap has seen more of the world than I can ever hope of seeing and is a living exemplar of 'Carpe Diem.' Instead of showing me around, we spent the first half an hour after we met chatting about his journey from California to Nigeria by van. In the early 90s he was offered a job in Nigeria. Him and his wife decided to drive their Volkswagen there. They made it by road to Canada first. Jumped on a boat which took them to Morocco and from there drove down via Central Africa to Nigeria. He had to rebuild his engine in the desert where they got stranded several times in the sand. They never stayed in a hotel, always camped out and cooked most of their meals to save money. After a few years of working with the Nigerian government, he was soon frustrated with the corrupt system he found himself in and decided it was time to leave. They left the continent much the same way they came in - across the equator to Kenya in the east and then back up north. They attempted to head south first but at the Gabon border they were warned not to head to Angola because of the civil war. So instead they went eastward. Road tripping has been his favorite way to travel and continues to be so today. He has covered Central and South America in exactly the same way as he saw Africa - armed with his vehicle, brilliant language and survival skills and his wife. Travelling is the best education anyone can have.
The only thing lacking in the studio he offered me for rent was a proper kitchen, which is a huge negative. I told him that wouldn't stop me from engaging in more enlightening conversation with him. How about tea or drinks sometime? I said. I've got a better idea, how about you come over and cook us an Indian meal. I miss the food from my Bangalore days. Deal. I drove off down the hill and watched him trek into the mountains through the black bamboo forest. I'll be seeing Mr G and his crew in the woods this weekends for some more nomadic tales. I'll have to think up a good menu for the occasion.
# posted by Surya Swamy : 10:35 PM
