its been close to a year and a half since my last visit to Puma. I still keep in touch with my friend, translator, and co-conspirator of the stunted youth soccer and leadership programme. However, our communication is shaky at best. He continues to travel from Puma to Singida town for an hour of internet access. I continue to struggle with succinct articulation of ideas and well wishes.
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For some reason, I cannot finish writing my thesis. And then I came across this:
“in school – from elementary all the way through college, i was generally encouraged to write essays that had a thesis, in which every line was supposed to be in service to the main argument. but that form, by encouraging the writer to begin with a set idea, precludes discovery” – Thomas Beller
Working in Puma had been an exciting time for me. Despite the obvious discomforts (lack of running water and privacy, language barrier, disconnect to the people i love, etc), I was living the life: everyday moment was an act of discovery.
Now, i have to package that wonder and passion into an academic architectural thesis.
I’ve been dragging my feet, fulfilling a self prophecy that no thesis can really embody that sense of discovery I felt more than a year ago. Oh well