Week 04: Rest, Ruksana, and the Culture of Cards

Finding connection through food, games, and shared stories

Our week, which for all intensive purposes, starts on Saturday and we simply lounged around for most of the day. The place where we stay has wonderful couch net things where we can lay and enjoy the view. Most of Saturday was spent resting, recharging, and reading after a tough week. Opting for a change of scenery, we ventured out to go to our local coffee shop and lunch place for some more reading. The dog from our compound followed us all the way down the mountain, into town, and right up the stairs to the second story eatery. 

One continued lowlight of the week (opposite of highlight) was the constant terror of a certain street dog. Attracted to our beautiful angel of a compound dog, Kibuyu, this demon spawn lurked outside the main gate, waiting to get a chance at her. Due to his large size and camouflage brindle pattern, he was constantly cloaked in the shadows of the near-equatorial sun. Several times, it seemed like he materialized out of nowhere, scaring the living daylights out of us. 

1) Our lazy Saturday 2) Kibuyu at the restaurant 3) Sunset at Sunset Hotel 4) Our walk down the mountain each day 5) Demon dog!! 6) Ruksana dinner with Nomad Sam 7) Lucy & I's favorite spot to do field notes at the hospital 8) Our walk past a plant nursery 9) A rare view of a cat!

The rest of the week went by in a flurry. We went from the hospital to lunch to home nearly everyday. This week we were able to do a few more interviews for our project which felt good, however, people are sceptical about talking to us so it hasn’t been the easiest to get interviewees, leaving us feeling discouraged. 

In an effort to keep our spirits up, we visited our favorite Indian restaurant down the road about 4 times for dinner. Whenever we appear, the waiter knows exactly what we will order and doesn’t even need to provide us with a menu. This week, we met a kind traveler named Sam from Colorado. We spent several days with him when we weren’t working, joining him for meals and conversations about life. One night at Ruksana, we learned that he was once employed for Amazon, making good money but burning out in the world of corporate America. After 4 years of unfulfillment, he quit and decided to become nomadic for a while. We exchanged stories of living in hostels and good places to seek out in the Iringa region along with new “expansion” packs for our card games. He was nice enough to teach us some midwestern rules for Gin Rummy and we played every night. 

This leads me back to talking about the culture of cards. After a few weeks of going to each meal together and exhausting our personal life stories, we decided to start playing some card games. It started with Gin Rummy, which Lucy had played recently on a trek through Peru, but led to us playing King’s corners, speed, garbage, last cardi, and more, adapting the game for the number of players present. A single pack of cards has brought us new friends and new enjoyment out of our time here, exchanging new games and tips for each new round played. Across cultures and languages, a pack of cards is a communication technique that spans education or knowledge . Everywhere around the world, cards are a tool for connection and communication. So keep playing.