Chapter Seven: Weltanschauung

A year later - GULU Walk Update

2009-08-02T18:14:00.010-04:00

I miss this blogging thing. It's just that when I don't travel I don't find words.

(Not to say that I haven't travelled in the last year - I have - let's not talk crazy... but nothing had me emotionally riled up which is I guess where I find my words most times).

Anyways, I just wanted to talk about something that's REALLY exciting that is finally happening, confirmed and details sorted (well, mostly).

Four years ago I went to a documentary film about a place called Gulu. Let's just summarize the situation there as "hell". Your typical senseless war involving children, rape, murder and innocent people. Totally ignored by the world.. where on earth is this Gulu place right? So needless to say I was touched, fascinated, angered (read my very first blog) - so I researched, I learned and I visited..and now all this time later (on October 16th 2009) I will be presenting the opening event for the walk with my first photography exhibit. The gallery is on Queen West (like really West - Parkdale. So trendy ;)). I will be exhibiting my photography from the IDP camps and helping GULU through fundraising and creating more awareness.

I hope. I'm pretty excited and nervous. Mostly I'm nervous nobody will come and I'm trying to think up creative bribery to get you all there... I'll keep you posted... more details to come.

In the meantime do as I say:
1. open your day planner
2. turn to October 16th
3. get out a PEN (no pencils)
4. Write "Gulu Fundraiser"
5. Close the day planner
6. Stand on your head..(I'm going to far right?)

xx
Andrea

Back on track..

2008-06-12T05:16:00.001-04:00

Originally uploaded by An Smith

The only sound in Stonetown at the moment is the constant hum of power generators. The power went out just over three weeks ago and rumours are that it could be more than two months before it gets switched back on and a sense of normally returns. It means that water prices have doubled, petty crime is on the increase and normally meagre incomes are being spent on things such as petrol, kerosene and candles. Surprisingly, as Zanzibar prepares itself to head into high season, I haven't found that many businesses have increased prices (perhaps a ten percent petrol charge on your bill is the most you will find) and it seems that life is resuming as normal. I think about the drama we experienced a few years back after our epic four day 'black-out' but in fairness power outages here are common place (just not for this long). Let's say Zanzibar experienced a snow storm - now that would create drama! It's all about what you're used to I guess. You adapt and move on, but especially in the developing world where 'discomfort' is a daily event. In the west (and more developed nations) we live as conveniently and comfortably as possible. Any small change to that and we completely freak out!

I've just returned to Zanzibar after a few weeks in Malawi and a road trip through the south of Tanzania by car. Well, actually, "by car" is a bit impersonal. Her name is Mavis and she's a tough lil 'ol white four door Toyota with the determination to drive a significant portion of Africa's pot-holed dirt roads. We met her driver - an Aussie by the name of Will - and he was on his way to Dar and was looking for company and a share on petrol costs so we gladly accepted. Will had already travelled through about half a dozen countries in southern Africa and was just getting to the end of his journey (Arusha to teach for a few months) when we met him. Him and Mavis were my BFF's for about eight or nine days as we wandered through random African cities, enjoyed spectacular scenery along the way and even camped on the edges of a wildlife park for a few nights freezing our butts off and trolling for animals during the day. No radio leads to great conversation and overall.. a fantastic trip! Him alone (one of the more real and honest people I've met in a long time) actually helped to salvage the end of my disastrous trip this far (erm, I'll get to that part in a minute). Again, Tanzania always manages to completely blow my mind with the diversity and beauty of the landscape and seeing it by car just makes it that much better (not to mention toilet breaks are unlimited! amazing!). I was reminded again why Denise and I 'stopped' travelling to get to know this country better.

This trip, overall, has been pretty long and random for me. I've been homesick the entire time (a first for me) and my mental attitude sucked as I spent almost five weeks on my butt and hobbling around on crutches after breaking my foot two weeks into my trip. I was more than lucky to have friends like Mardia and AJ who did their best to keep me amused and carried me great distances, helping me with just about everything (guys - you're awesome - thank you again!). When you come to a place for two and a half months intent to really give photography a go it's mildly spirit breaking when you spend most of it on your back watching movies! Anyway, things are looking up. I did re-hurt my foot in Malawi and it seems to be acting up a bit.. but I'm almost home and that means good doctors and hospitals.

At the moment I feel back to my old self. I'm really enjoying being back in Stonetown and trying to enjoy the last few days as much as possible. Mardia is working her butt off trying to get the restaurant re-opened and we've got friends arriving tomorrow morning for a quick Mwanza reunion before I fly out on Sunday.

xx

Malawi

2008-06-12T04:38:00.001-04:00

Originally uploaded by An Smith

When you cross the border from Tanzania to Malawi there is this immediate sense of calm. The lack of infastructure indicates a life of simplicity and peace that is perfectly idylic in it's solitude. The yellow-green hills are dotted with mud brown huts, typical of east african countries i've visited, yet the the difference here is intangible. The towns seem less hectic and are noticebly vacant of the crumbling 1970's architecture i've become used to seeing everywhere. Local busses are new with floors that don't have gaping holes and the entire structure doesn't threaten collapse at every grumbling turn!! I've witnessed a few manicured round-abouts and a few garbage cans scattered around (mind you, they are empty but it is a start!).

We bought a direct bus ticket from Dar Es Salaam (Tanzania those of you who are geography challenged) to Lilongwe (south part of Malawi), a twenty-seven hour journey. Our intention was travel south to north along the lake stopping for a few days in each place to check it out. We arrived at 4am (for our scheduled 430am departure) and we were immediately informed that buses in Tanzania do not legally leave until 7am and that is when we would be leaving as well. Rolling our eyes and craving the extra two hours of sleep we pulled up chairs to wait, wondering why we'd been told 430am just the day prior. Africa!!! An hour into our journey and the bus conductor is handing us a $15 refund explaining that the bus will no longer be travelling to Lilongwe and that they would drop us off at the border. Twelve hours later and a dozen of us are standing on the side of the road, scratching our heads and waiting for a Dala Dala ride to the border crossing, not having a clue where we are but 'assuming' we are close. Three bumpy and mushed hours later, after picking up just about every Tanzanian, their cousin and their chickens we arrived (at 9pm in the pitch black!) to the border. Which, of course, is closed. Anyone who has done an African border crossing by foot knows that even in broad daylight it can be a harrowing experience. Border towns run rampant with thieves, pick-pockets, scam artists and all of the above who are trying to persuade you to exchange currency at black market rates. So here we are, two white girls with backpacks and no clue where to stay, what to do or who to trust. Twenty people are pulling us in every direction trying to convince us to climb on their bicycles (to go where exactly?). I can't see a single thing in the darkness. A few tomato stands are lit by candles and that is virtually the only light. Luckily, a Malawian who had been riding with us realized our situation and quickly escorted us to a guest house where he assured us we would be safe and taken care of (which was the case) before he resumed his journey.

We ended up crossing the border the next morning and headed to Nkahta Bay to relax for the week and decided we'd had enough of buses and relaxing by the lake would be preferable! The lake itself is incredible. It's the colour of an ocean and it's so clear that you can go snorkeling and diving in it with great visibility. It's also filled with tons of colourful fish (blue, yellow, spotted, stripped.. you name it) which was so cool for a lake! My week there was enjoyable but frustrating, as I managed to re-hurt my foot so spent most of my time lazing and reading. I guess I shouldn't complain!

Visiting the kids..

2008-05-15T07:04:00.001-04:00

Originally uploaded by An Smith

Being back in Mwanza is very refreshing!! First of all, it's about 10 degrees cooler and there is no humidity so it is much more comfortable. I've had my best sleep here since arriving back in Tanzania. The noises are familiar to me. The Maasai playing with the ring tones on their phones and making strange noises, singing, laughing.. talking endlessly about who knows what. Shuffling along in the mornings while they sweep the sand and that damn Rooster. Won't someone just eat it? Please. Eat it. I can't believe it's still alive!!

I forgot just how cold the water is in the shower at the house in Buswelu. The tank on the roof doesn't seem to get the sun during the day so it doesn't warm up. Getting in there first thing in the morning takes balls, and I don't normally mind cold showers when it's hot out.

The children were happy to see me, excited.. confused!!! Shy!!! Curious!!! I could describe it in many ways but at the end of the day it's so great to have come back to suprise them.. they are super confused about where Denise is because to them we come together so despite me trying to explain that she is in England and will come to see them one day they don't really get it and still chant her name (together with mine) when I walk into the compound. Super adorable..

A lot has changed since we left and again, nothing at all. I expected the kids english to be a bit better than it is, but I don't think they have had consistent teaching since the six months that we have left (actually, the kids complained to me that they aren't getting taught anymore).

Also, the electricity is still not running (despite it being paid for with receipts to prove it). Apparently the 'bribe' was not high enough. Yup, despite paying for it we didn't bribe enough to actually be high on the list for the electricity to be connected so we are still waiting. Everything is in place and it's been wired.. but (as Leo famously stated "this is Africa"). It leaves a bitter taste in my mouth but Joel assures me that he will get a credit on the rent when they move out, so essentially the money went to help with paying the rent for the orphanage. I'm okay with that. I guess. I'm not sure what else I can be.. In the meantime they have organized solar panels which will ease the cost of the fuel needed to run the generator.

Last time I was here we had to come to peace with the fact that when you get involved in something like this it won't be perfect.. but I can assure you that the children are happy and they are going to school and in my mind that's the most important two factors.

Beaches, Rainbows and Christmas Cards..

2008-05-15T06:45:00.001-04:00

Originally uploaded by An Smith

I love the drive back from the beach to Stonetown (we just spend the weekend at Kendwa beach resort). The drive is only about an hour and it's the best if you do it an hour before sunset so you have that perfect soft golden light touching everything as you wind your way past the villages to town. Today in particular it is beautiful because it's raining but the sun is still shining and the sky is clear. There is a perfect rainbow arching over us as we weave along the road; both ends disappearing into a jungle of dense palms far off in the distance. A few small children, about six years old, are walking in a line down the road. They are using giant palm leaves, as big as they are, like umbrellas in a futile attempt to keep dry. They are totally drenched! I saw them earlier this morning playing in a field. Same palm leaves to sheild themselves. Still soaking wet!

The steet is busy, people are walking and bicycling in every direction. Going to mosque or coming home from a visit with family or from work. I have no idea. Two boys sit on the back of a makeshift wagon with one wheel which is being pulled by a donkey. They look incredibly amused with themselves and have an empty cart. Likely they are finally on the way home after a long day of delivering firewood or fruit. Or something.

Back in Stonetown we are treated like the tourists we appear to be, despite the fact that everyone I am with lives and works on the island. The colour of our skin makes us a constant target. They have surrounded our car as we get out and are trying to sell us spices, cd's and necklaces. "Crack-pot Harry" is trying to sell us a Christmas card. It's the only thing he has. I laugh to myself wondering where on earth he picked it up and again at how funny it is that he is trying to peddle 'Seasons Greetings' in the middle of April on the predominantly Muslim island of Zanzibar. (In hindsight, perhaps I should have bought it). In any case, I am soaking wet and still covered in sand from our day at the beach and look a bit out of place standing in the middle of town while Mardia haggles our taxi rate for the day.

The 'other' local crazy decides to follow us as we find our way home and is temporarily thrown off his plan of action when we split into two groups heading in different directions. He's mumbling incoherent Kiswahili to us but decides to follow Katie and I. We loose him moments later as we (while laughing) kick it up a notch and start into a sprint and dodge around a few corners and through alley ways to find our street where we live. He's totally harmless but there is no need for him to know where we live. That's the thing about Stonetown though. After a few days here they know who you are, where you stay, if you have a nice camera and laptop and what your daily routine is. It's a little bit unnerving at times, but if you're smart you should be fine.

I am home now to pack because tomorrow I'm heading to Mwanza to visit the children. I can't wait to see them but I still have some weirdness about the fact that this time I'll be there without Denise! It's ridiculous that I'm actually craving Kuliana's pizza and rolls just as much as the roasted corn and rice and beans that I can get in Buswelu Corner for pennies. I will have to hold out on the mendozi with chocolate bars and sugar dip because (as tempting as it is) it just isn't right without Denise, Suzy and Jessica to ease my indulgant guilt!!!

My first two weeks back in Africa have been really, really (I stress again the really part) relaxing. I spent my first week trying to adjust to the time difference, the heat and the noise. Getting my travel legs back I guess. Unfortunately, my second week was spent sick which threw me for a loop! I'm used to having more of an iron stomach from all of the travelling but I guess it's not as tough as I thought it was!

Ma-hm-bo Vi-eh-phi Ra-h-mboo!

2008-05-15T06:40:00.001-04:00

d e a t h.
Originally uploaded by An Smith

I am staying with a Muslim family in an apartment somewhere in the midst of the maze that is Stonetown. I have a 'self-contained' apartment on the top floor (there is not technically what I would consider a real door seperating me from the family but I don't think they go to the upstairs part). There are two bedrooms, a massive living room, great kitchen space (a fridge!) and a flush toilet. Cold water showers only but it's 25 degrees with 100% humidity. Who needs hot water! I have been covered in sweat since arriving but I really don't care. It feels good, familiar. $100 per month.

Sleeping peacefully in the mornings is presenting itself a challenge and I usually find myself with my head wrapped up in my sweatshirt to try and block out the noises for just a few more minutes of peace. The first call to prayer begins at about 5am. I love the haunted, eery sound of it. I try and sleep a few more hours but people start walking past my window and the noise gradually increases to a maddening choas of voices and customary greetings as people pass each other and start their days. A motorbike screetches to a stop narrowly missing an older woman as she shuffles through the streets and two men compete (every morning) to win the title of 'loudest bicycle bell'. Men and boys of every age sit together looking bored, contemplating life. Children scream and laugh and chase each other through the streets and I give up and drag myself into the shower. First thought.. coffee.

I walk down the two flights of stairs to the street (wearing a scarf to cover my shoulders) and rip it off and stick it in my bag the second I get out of the house. I'm already sweating and I know I should keep it on but ug..the heat. I wind my way through the narrow cobblestone streets greeting the artists and shop keepers who are trying to convince me to come in to their shop. I love you, please will you be my friendy, where are you from. You are never anonymous in Africa.

Sitting in Livingstones (sipping on coffee) and the place is literally deserted..it is the rainy season so tourism is low. I feel like (if I was a writer) this would be the place I would haunt. Insufferable humidity made (only the slightest bit) easier by rickety cieling fans. Dramatic skies threatening thundershowers, a view of the ocean and the cargo ships unloading potato sack after potoato sack (how can this tiny island possible need this many potatoes?). A fifty (plus) woman does her best to hide her age behind sunglasses that practically cover her entire head, wearing touristy clothes that are just a bit too young and (intentionally) too tight. She swings to the music while paying the bill. The twenty-five year old beach boy accompanying her does his best to look amused and treats her like she is the most beautiful woman in the world (bored to tears when she's not looking). The life of a beach boy, made easier by a European woman twice his age on a two week holiday with cash to burn. Can't really blame him.

Mardia tells me I look 'cleaner' than last time I was here. I'm not sure what that means exactly (Mardia is known for speaking her mind) but I do assume it's a good thing. I do have the same daily shower thing that I did last time I was here (even sometimes twice - I swear! In fact, Denise was the one who loved to revel in her own filth for days and brag about how long she'd gone without a dribble of water to clean herself - hahah!!). It must be the clean fingernails and manicured toes that are throwing her off.

We are spending today at the 'sandbank'. Literally, it is a mile long stetch of sand that is only visible during low tide. There is nothing on it.. only birds. It's a twenty minute boat ride from the town and we are the only people there. Snorkeling and suntanning. Tough life this is..

Footloose

2008-01-07T20:47:00.001-05:00

---
Originally uploaded by An Smith

If you've spent (perhaps) too much time with me (usually at Crego) you will eventually realize that I think Footloose is the best song EVER. Like ever ever.

Here's why (only the funniest episode of Will and Grace to exist):

http://youtube.com/watch?v=pi4U1u4LSdY

I still think it kicks butt as a Kings option ...

Conclusions

2007-10-17T10:11:00.001-04:00

Goa, India
Originally uploaded by An Smith

I am at the computer in the den of my sisters new townhouse wearing Jess's clothes, eating a bowl of homemade chili (by request of course) and I'm uploading pictures, doing laundry, shopping on line to buy a new laptop, organizing 'stuff', airing out my backpack, drinking coffee (instant just for the memories of Africafe) and haven't showered since Zanzibar (again, for the memories of being a former dirty backpacker). I keep talking to the dogs in Kiswahili by mistake.

We arrived last night at about 10pm after 22 hours of flying. It was the most luxurious traveling on the entire trip. People complained we smelled (I suspect this is what happened) and we had two seats each for all three flights. I watched 8 movies, ate 12 meals (including all the desserts), slept like a baby and made a stop in Boots to stock up on favorite products followed by a stint of slathering myself with the most expensive eye cream / face cream / anti-wrinkle / anti-aging / uplifting / tightening and toning free samples I could find. I am now 3.2 years younger.

We left Dar at 5.30am and the horizon was a bright red-orange glow as the sun started to rise so that it literally looked like the sky was on fire. Just as we flew over Kili (the same time that the crazies who are climbing it would get to the top) a bright neon pink sun appeared (and we giggled knowing how terrible the people who are watching the same sunrise, but are at the top of Kili, are feeling because they are cold, starving and have altitude sickness. Maybe they even had to take a poop on the top in front of many strangers - it happens). In any case, we had our noses glued to the window so we could take it all in because the view was absolutely breathtaking and a fantastic final image of Africa.

Denise and I were top form delirious for the entire time we weren't asleep (possibly cause of all the desserts) and therefore giggling like kids and doing dumb things like talking with sock puppet hands. "Look!! AN!! British people!" as we boarded our BA flight in Nairobi - yup, just the 'two of us' could not hear the announcement; "Anyone who is currently already using their headphones please refrain from doing so until after takeoff" due to the simple fact that we had our blinkers on our eyes. If you're confused you are supposed to be (I admit I am also).. let's move on.

Flying in to Heathrow in London was completely bizarre because after spending 10 months in the chaos of infrastructure that is the third world the picture perfect Thomas the Tank engine villages and winding roads with colourful cars looked... fake and impossible. I'd never really noticed before. However, and despite appearances, my world suddenly felt really hectic and fast paced and I was kind of overwhelmed by the people who push by in a hurry and then run over Denise with their suitcase, don't take a second to apologize and avoid eye contact cause you might have some sort of communicable disease (actually Denise does have a disease but it doesn't really count).

There are a million things I know now that I didn't know before. About myself, the world, different cultures. For example, I realize that I look really terrible in most shades of green and that the majority of food items begin with the letter "P". (I can almost guarantee that nobody else - but D and I - have laid in our middle of nowhere guest house and named all the foods we can think of going through each and every letter of the alphabet. If you're ever bored try it.. see if you can actually get to P. That's more the challenge right there my friends..). I know that bananas are the most versatile food in the entire world and I now consider myself kind of a connoisseur (the red ones and/or Moshie bananas are the bestest). Here is a list of all the things (I can think of and ate on the trip) that involve banana: banana milk shake, banana pancake/crepe, fried bananas, banana soup, banana split, banana&avocado sandwich, banana fritter with chocolate, banana smoothie, banana pizza, roasted banana, banana with muesli&yogurt, banana chips, banana in coconut sauce. I think that is it. I also know things like high altitudes make people very gas-o-liscious, there is someone in every country that looks like Morgan Freeman, chocolate tastes best first thing in the morning while you are still in bed, sunsets are better in Africa (especially if they involve a beer and a hammock and a box of Pringles) and climbing mountains is dumb. Seriously though, I really am taking a lot with me from this trip (but I will charge for my knowledge - by the hour). My memories right now are a bit foggy due to experience overload and I expect I will keep learning from my trip for a long time to come. It's definitely helped to shape my perspective on the world, including what I want for my life and I saw things that made me smile that I will never forgot and of course things I wish I didn't because they make you sad and you start realizing the world can be terribly cruel.

One of my best memories is sitting on a bus in India with a little girl (she couldn't have been more than four and she was what they would consider an 'untouchable', which basically means she is of the lowest class in Indian society and likely won't have the opportunity to amount to very much). She was sitting behind me with her parents and baby brother, wearing only a t-shirt. She probably hadn't bathed in a week because she was filthy. I decided to share my iPod headphones with her and we rocked out to Western music for a good hour until they got off of the bus. I won't forget her smile or the fact that the family waved goodbye with big grins until I couldn't see them anymore. I do have a million and a half memories like that.. but for some reason that one has always stood out the most in my memory.

Finally, I couldn't have asked for a better travel compadre (as we said many times, our friendship is a low risk business agreement and therefore there was no pressure). I would definitely do it all again in a heartbeat, maybe even the Kili part. We had a hell of a lot of fun, we should have wrote down more of the ridiculous things we giggled about (cause there were so many) and we should have ate more (kidding!). I doubt that is even possible! It was pretty friggin fantastic though, wasn't it ;)

Tomorrow Lost

2007-10-17T06:58:00.001-04:00

Lake Kevu, Rwanda
Originally uploaded by An Smith

'Tomorrow Lost' is the memorial that is dedicated to the children
that died during the Rwandan genocide of 1994. The name is eerily
fitting and the memorial itself is tastefully put together and
extremely informative but being there and seeing it first hand doesn't
change that it is impossible to swallow (or believe) what happened in
this country just over a decade ago.

The photos are life size and hang tastefully on the wall. Immediately
the spirit of the children in the photographs jump out at you - they
remind me of all of the children I've met in Africa. Big smiles,
happy, playful, mischievous eyes and mismatched grubby clothes.
Innocent as hell. Beside each picture is a small description which
details the child's name, age, favorite food and a characteristic that
would best describe their personality. The last detail is the method
in which they were killed. Shot, bludgeoned to death, stabbed in the
eye. However it was, it was brutal and cruel and disgusting. It
goes without saying - none of it should have happened and you can't
help but walk out of there with the sickest feeling in your stomach.

I think most people (are now) aware of what happened in Rwanda, thanks
to movies like 'Hotel Rwanda' and Romeo Dallaire's novel detailing his
personal experience during the crisis. (And if you still don't know
just keep an eye on E! Now because Paris Hilton, is like, visiting
there, for like charity stuff, like, this month! Wicked!).

Anyway, to give a Cole's note semi accurate history lesson tensions
built during colonial rule when the Belgians pitted the more dominant
Tutsis against the Hutus in order to have a political advantage. They
switched 'sides' when people began to push for Independence and
basically all hell broke loose after that. Originally Germany was
'awarded' rule of Rwanda during the late 1800's when the Europeans
decided to divide Africa - it was then 'won' by Belgium as a result
of WWI. (Don't assume that Africa was even aware of it being divided
let alone having a say in what was happening).

We spent some time in a really sleepy village in Rwanda, very close to
the Congolese border. It was your typical African town with a small
market selling not much more than designer jeans, tomatoes, cocoa
butter and colourful kangas. There were no tourists, no restaurants.
There weren't even street vendors or cars let alone bicycles. "Rush
Hour" was a line of people walking home from work, or whatever it was
they were doing. On April 1994, 11,400 people were massacred in this
town. In one day.

There wasn't much to do there. We spent most of our time detoxing,
trail running and exploring mountain villages. We realized that a lot
of people 'hung out' at the gas station. So we did to. We sat on the
bench in front of the small shop that sold cool drink and did what
they did. It was actually pretty entertaining as far as people
watching goes. We met a little boy who was three years old. He
didn't speak English, French or Swahili so the lines of communication
were hugs and smiles. We couldn't figure out if he 'belonged' to
anyone because he was just always there hanging out wearing snowpants
and a ripped t-shirt that had seen better days. A man gave him some
money, and he immediately went to buy muffins because he was clearly
starving. He sat down on the bench with us, and in typical African
fashion he offered us his food before he even took any. This lil guy,
who is half starving..with 'nothing' in the world, except really
impressive manners.

Looking at Rwanda now you see a relatively more affluent society than
what we have seen in other African countries (sort of). The roads are
paved, the people are better educated and there is a lot of
positivity. It seems like there are a lot of opportunities and that
people are moving forward. The international community has pumped a
lot of aid because of the guilt from ignoring the genocide and perhaps
that is the only positive thing you can take from the experience. It
doesn't make it better that 1 million people had to die but it's
comforting to know that nothing like that will happen to these people
again.

Rwanda

2007-09-01T13:20:00.001-04:00

IDP Camp - Gulu
Originally uploaded by An Smith

The Boda Boda {1} drivers wear helmets but that's not the most shocking part. They actually require you to wear one as well! The intersections have traffic lights, they work and they are obeyed in an orderly fashion. Traffic (including the matatu's {2}) will actually stop if they see you trying to cross the road and wave you across safely. This includes the times that you aren't standing at one of the numerous 'designated cross walks'. The sewers have grates over them so you don't have panicky thoughts about losing focus and falling three feet head first into an oozy, bubbling, grayish mess of unidentifiable refuse while innocently strolling the streets. Nobody calls out 'mazungu' {3} and when we got off the Matatu from the Uganda border at the bus station not a single person paid attention to us. Nobody wanted to sell us faux watches or stolen sunglasses from their portable shop on a piece of cardboard, nobody tried to convince me I needed a set of encyclopedias for only 10,000 shillings - nobody even tried to pickpocket me!! Even the boda drivers didn't rush us and try and put our bags on their boda first. We had to approach them! Bizarre really. Doesn't sound like Africa does it? Obviously you haven't had the pleasure of visiting Kigali (pronounced Chigali) in Rwanda then.

It's a country where you can ask a question in Swahili and they might surprise you and answer in French (or vice versa). My limited knowledge of both these languages means I can get by quite nicely with this method and it makes things fun because speaking english fluently and without confusion is rather boring (really).

We sat and had dinner last night in the food court at a mall (a mall!!!!) and not one person took notice of us. Nobody stared. Nobody asked me for my email address. Nobody pointed and giggled. In fact, we were the ones gaping and looking rather ridiculous in our grubby backpacker clothes while everyone else was decked out in funky fashion with cool hairstyles (a mix of western, African and Erykah Badu). Might I add that the majority of people here are all over six feet. The men and women here are so tall, Denise actually looks short!

So the first thing you notice when you cross the border from Uganda is the stunning scenery. It's manicured, the roads are paved and there are brick wall things {4} that line the roads (every time we passed a brick wall thing Denise would point, mouth agape like a small child, in absolute amazement). Then there are the people. They are fantastically friendly and go out of there way to help you if you appear even the slightest bit lost or have a question. And the rest.. well, I wrote about it already.

Of course, in many ways Rwanda still has it's challenges like everywhere else we have travelled. We are at the end of the trip so money is getting tight and we are trying to stick to a very small budget (which we know we will blow in Zanzibar at the end..) so we are going a bit cheap on food. Dinner last night (mall food court) was a bun and a smoked sausage from the supermarket. It set us back pennies and was yummers. Today we decided to go with the same scrumptious plan, because it was all we could think about all day. Splurge 0.20cents on an avocado and 0.50cents on a slice of Havarti (!!!!Havarti cheese!!!!) and a jar of English Spicy Mustard and it becomes a gourmet meal that Eric and Berenice would have trouble competing with.

Anyway, we get back to the guest house, order a beer ($1), set up shop at the bar with a plate and a knife and sadly realize that, unlike yesterday, the sausages are raw. Not a problem. We ask the extremely friendly bartender if she can arrange for them to be cooked for us; we'll pay. She nods and disappears with the sausages only to return with the sausages 20 minutes later. Still raw and bone cold. She smiles, places the sausages in front of us and walks away. Who knows what happened to it during the in between but.. we didn't eat it. Cheese and avo it was. And that is when you look at one another and say: "TIA".{5}

So just to keep you up to date, we left Kampala (and the amazing food and drink fest that was Eric and Berenice!!!) and had to go to a place called Lake Bunyoni for 5 days to recover. It is at 2000ft in the mountains, quiet, super cheap, the air is clean and the scenery is priceless. We spent our time swimming (in a freezing cold mountain lake free of belharzia and crocs!) and doing trail runs. We detoxed and I read 4 books because they had a fantastic free library.

Footnotes (not sure this is the correct term):

*First, ignore my inability to reference things properly like a school book or book that feels they are oh so special to do so and felt the need to invent a method to do it formally in a manner that all others should follow. I will not.. besides, I can't figure out the french keyboard to save my life. I decided to reference slangy words cause otherwise my sentences turn into long rambles and I forget what I'm talking about missing the point altogether and then.. well, I just thought this would be easier and more fun.

1. Boda Boda: Motorbikes that you hire to take you (preferably) short distances around town and (preferably) on relatively nicely paved roads. It can be scary at most times.. if not absolutely terrifying. Genuine concern for my knees has never been higher as you whiz through traffic, cut across sidewalks and go the wrong way in traffic all the while balancing both backpacks and praying for a safe journey. It gets you there fast and cheap.
2. Matatu: (known as a dala dala in Tanzania) is a mini bus that fits 12 comfortably but you normally squeeze in 20+ and luggage, chickens, babies on laps, giant bags of maize and a conductor who is in charge of making you pull in your tummy, shove your butt and make more room. You can take them far (if you dare) or on short trips around town and they are the cheapest mode of transport. You sweat profusely for the first hour you wait to leave because they require you to wait inside in the midday heat while ten people stand around, scratch their heads and strategically try and figure out how to get in more stuff and people. Generally you can't move once you get in one but that's okay. It somehow makes the bumps more tolerable. Oh and, as a pedestrian you always (Rwanda as the exception) get the f out of the way and fast.
3. Mazungu: translates from Swahili as European tourist, or white person or foreigner. You basically hear it everywhere you go.. locals (especially children) call you from everywhere waving, running and screaming. It's bizarre but I like it. You feel like a celebrity or royalty (as we all should at some time in our life).
4. Brick Wall Things: are just what they sound like. I'm not sure of there purpose, but they are esthetically pleasing so if that is purely the reason for there existence then I applaud the person who built them. Of course, I am sure there is a practical reason for them that some smart person (or Gabe) will notify me of.
5. TIA - Stands for This is Africa. Made famous by Leonardo in Blood Diamond. It pretty much sums up or solves any really frustrating moment you have here.. you say it, shrug your shoulders, smile and move on with it.

xx

IDP Camp - Gulu

2007-08-17T04:24:00.001-04:00

IDP Camp - Gulu
Originally uploaded by An Smith

The second camp we went to this week held 11,000 people. It was absolutely massive. It's a mother camp (differs from where we were the first day which was a satellite camp and is closer to their original village and means people have shifted from the mother camp and are getting ready to go home but are still in need of protection and assistance). The camp has been in existence since 1986! Honestly, it's more like a village now, despite the cramped conditions and lack of land there are businesses and bars and a market. I guess after that duration of time normal life is bound to happen.

I was wrong about the food rationing in my last post - I did the weighing and recording yesterday (more like spot checks to make sure it's being divided evenly) and it works out to about 4kg of maize, 1 kg of peas and 0.5kg of oil per person for a month. Do the math.. it's not that much. People who are considered 'extremely vulnerable' (the elderly and those with illness) get about three times that much because they can't do cheap labour to make money to buy more food.

We visited a third camp and helped to remove the 50kg bags of food from the truck. It's complete madness. All the men stand around and do nothing and the woman are lugging these things around with a baby strapped to their back! It was 38 degrees. Honestly, African woman are the strongest (mentally and physically) than any other woman in the world. I was helping as lady who was twice my age and she had ten times more strength and energy than me. It was hilarious!

While we were walking around one of the camps a very intoxicated man came up to Denise and I (and very politely and quietly) offered us 200 shillings each to have sex with him. That'll buy you a banana (should we be insulted??)!! Anyway, we politely declined and he wandered away without a problem. That's just the way things work here..it's not the first time (or the last) that we've been offered money or livestock for marriage and so on.

When we were wandering around we came across the soldiers (who are supposed to be protecting us!) and they were a few buckets deep into the local brew known as "Marwa". It tastes like warm beer and it is made from this grain.. anyway, it's revolting but I guess like anything, you acquire a taste for it. We took some shots of them (which I will post eventually) and the soldiers were really concerned that their wives and our husbands (we always say we are married) will see the pictures and we will all get in trouble. HA. Amusing :)

Leaving Gulu back to Kampala and then we will see what happens next I guess. No plans yet.

When HIV might be the better alternative..

2007-08-14T11:50:00.001-04:00

IDP Camp - Gulu
Originally uploaded by An Smith

There is something like two hundred and forty NGO's in Gulu at the present moment because of the war with the LRA (I blogged about this in one of my first entries so if you really are interested in whats happening in Northern Uganda cross reference that and there are some links that will tell you what you want to know. If you already know than hey, I think that's even cooler).

As you wander around town you can't help but notice that the only vehicles on the road are convoys for the UN or UNICEF and so on. We spent today distributing food to an IDP (Internally Displaced People) Camp just on the outskirts of Gulu with the WFP (World Food Program) and had the opportunity to tour the camp and meet the people while they rationed their food. We were escorted by two Ugandan army trucks full of dudes with machine guns (just in case) and then about 4 more UN trucks surrounded the one that carried the food. Bit of an ordeal but once you get to the camp the entire process takes about an hour (normally, but we were there all day because there was a film crew from Germany documenting it). They are allocated 25KG of food (roughly depending on the number of people) per family which consists of yellow split peas and millet (dried corn) and they get a 4 litre jug of oil (fortified with vitamin A!!) that should last them anywhere from 30-45 days. I think it depends on how much funding is coming in.. obviously the more money the more these people get fed.

The camp consists of many small round mud huts where the families sleep and often cook their meals. (The one we visited today has about 1600 people living there but this is a small camp). There are communal showers and toilets and a boar hole where they get clean water for cooking and bathing but no running water or electricity. They do have access to other types of food, that I assume they cultivate themselves or just grow in the area (like cassava, coconut and g-nuts which are like peanuts).

Things here are relatively peaceful right now (the raids on villages which involved rape, murder, mutilation and kidnapping of children to turn into soldiers has thankfully stopped at the moment and the LRA is currently
demanding millions of dollars to sign a peace deal) so most families are trying to return back home (wherever that may be) and pick up the pieces of their lives that have been totally destroyed by the rebel army. They are still safer sleeping in the camps at night because they are protected by the Ugandan Army. There are schools at the camps so the children (and there are tons of children) can get a good eduction. There isn't much to do at these camps so - they make babies. HIV, disease, malnutrition and unemployment are obviously high on the list of issues that the NGO's are trying to manage right now, and one of the saddest things I've learned is that a lot of woman are turning to prostitution to survive within the camps (this obviously being a means of income for them). They actually are choosing to risk contracting HIV because they figure they are going to die one way or another.. and HIV is a slower death than starvation. (Not to mention that they don't have any education about using birth control or family planning).

I sat with one of the families today and attempted to talk to them while they waited for their turn to get their food but they didn't speak any English. (It's surprising because in Uganda the official language is English so I assume because of the war and their displacement these people just aren't educated and only know the local languages). It was impossible to really talk but we managed with dumb actions and sign language and I played with the baby while they laughed at my hair and the cuts on my legs and enjoying looking at the pictures I was taking of them on the digital camera.

As a whole it was an amazing and eye opening day and considering we were involved with fundraising last year it was really nice to be able to visit the people and see the progress that is being made here - we are going back all this week so I assume that means more stories..check out the pics on Flickr for some images of the camp and life within it. They seem to have the most amazing thunder and lighting storms ever up here.. and another one is just starting so I assume that means I will not have power soon :)

No more Moraji!

2007-08-14T11:20:00.001-04:00

Sipi Falls
Originally uploaded by An Smith

Denise and I have started speaking in half sentences. (Well, not exactly). What I mean is that she starts a sentence and I finish it and we frequently add in the odd word between breaths and vice versa. It's started happening a lot lately when we tell stories to other people about our experiences but it's developed a really good flow! In truth our conversations (which never end because we are always chattering about something) can become very simple and sometimes a tad embarrassing when we realize the idiotic conversation we are having about how confusing it is that oranges are green in Tanzania is being overheard by someone with an intelligence level higher than a fish. It happens a lot - and we get some strange looks, especially during the frequent (sometimes violent involving lame dance moves) giggle fits. It's kind of cool though because we can still stand each other after spending the last 200 or so days together :)

For example, a real conversation we had the other day:

A: Denise, what was your favorite meal in India?
D: Um, the one at that restaurant.
A: Oh yeah, me too.

Of course I knew exactly where and when she met. Yes, of course we ate at a restaurant every night, but I new she meant the one in
Mumbai (that incidently the waiter had to cut us off from ordering everything we wanted because he thought it would be 'too much'). So, maybe it's a bit of mental telepathy, I'm not sure. Grunts, mumblings and looks are easily translated now a days. I guess we are kind of a faux married couple in a way. We even resort to telling embarrassing stories about each other. :)

So I realize it's been awhile since my last update.. where are we ?? Let me get started here..

We have spent the last week and a half travelling around Uganda and plan on being here until the end of the month. Uganda really is as equally stunning as Tanzania, but everything is just that much more green and lush. It feels a bit more jungly and the soil is red red red.. it's actually like red clay so when it rains (and it does everyday!) everything gets a strange reddish tinge to it and when it's dry everything has a layer of red dust on it. The houses are reddy mud huts and the tin roofs have a thick layer of red dust. And of course our feet are red stained. It's next to impossible to get the suckers clean.

Last week I arrived in Kampala after a 34 hour (yes I said 34 hours by myself with no ipod cause i forgot it in Zanzibar) bus ride from Dar es Saleem. No bathroom stops and no food stops. Not that I had any money to buy food, but that is a really dumb long story. I found Denise in Kampala (with out luggage cause the airline misplaced it) and we immediately went to drown our sorrows in fast food and then caught up while watching a real TV in our hotel room. Met up with my friends Eric and Berenice the next day and stayed with them for a few days (they are house sitting at a gorgeous place with a view of the bay and the entire city and we watched MTV practically the entire time. It was like heaven. Hot shower.. laundry and good home cooked food and excellent company! What more could we ask for really? Personally I am shocked that Jayz and Beyonce broke up.. when did this happen?).

We then went to visit another friend in Jinja and spent most of our days lazing by a pool along the Nile (we saw a real live crocodile *NOT on safari*..it was creepy because we were on a bus and looked down and it was swimming hungrily from one side of the river to the other) and then took a two day trip (smushed with 25 other people in a Matatu - it should hold 12) to a place called Sipi Falls. Probably the most scenic place I've ever spent time in and worth the 6 hours of not moving and severe sweating that getting there and from involved. The view from our cabin (at $10 per night) included 5 waterfalls overlooking a deep valley lush with banana and coffee bean trees and the local village was adorable. We did a half day hike which took us to two of the waterfalls but unfortunately for us (and my sleeping bag which was airing out in the great outdoors) it poured rain for the last two hours. Imagine torrential rain and we are walking in corn fields which tower high above our heads and through jungle forest and absoltely the most remote villages and farm land to see these waterfalls but we are drenched to a point that I never thought was possible before. Since we were on a mountain (and they tend to slope) the red path we were walking on quickly turned into a gushing red river as deep as mid calf in some places. Needless to say, we made it home alive and drenched and frozen and then somehow managed to warm ourselves us with copious amounts of hot tea and a red liquidy thing that they called tomato soup. So it was back to Jinja for more pool time and then we had to celebrate our friends last night in Africa.. and we sent him out in style. We actually saw the sunrise this time.. from our 2 hour taxi ride to Kampala (where he dropped us and then continued to the airport). We really didn't intend to be at a club until 4:30am (the car came at 5am) and we really didn't intend to drink way too much local gin (tastes good but the hangover is like nothing you can even imagine). So we found ourselves at a mall coffee shop at 7am with no sleep and a stomach ache and no place to stay. Had to beg a backpackers place to find us a dorm bed and we slept for a few hours and proceeded to spend the rest of the day on a couch in the common room drinking fluids and eating lots of hamburgers. I hate gin.

Saying good-bye to the children (again) was one of the more challenging moments of my life. I tried very hard not to break down and cry in front of them but some of the older girls pulled me into their bedroom and sang good-bye songs to me in Swahili.. it turned into a bit of a sob fest and possibly one of the most unforgettable moments of my life. I miss them..

Gulu tomorrow..really looking forward to the next week. ..

Zanzibar

2007-07-09T05:19:00.001-04:00

Zanzibar
Originally uploaded by An Smith

We just spent ten of the best days of my life in a place called Kendwa Rocks in Zanzibar. (Actually, I can't really complain about my last three weeks.. they were pretty amazing. Safari, Kili and Zanzi...I spent a fortune but it was worth it!!). Zanzi was the ultimate..perfect white sandy beaches, turquoise water, good food, nice people and of course the perfect mix of relaxation and party. We even attended our first full moon party.. 5am and rendered useless the next day. Need I say more? Anyway, because of this I've actually decided I don't need to travel anymore. I found my spot :) Perhaps it's the 7 million destinations in the last 6 months.. maybe I'm a bit travel warped?? Bound to happen I suppose!! Doesn't matter cause I am totally helplessly in love with Tanzania.

So what did I do for 10 days that made them the best ever? Well, absolutely nothing. I got up in the morning, ate breakfast (fresh fruit, eggs, unlimited coffee) and then I would plant my butt in a hammock and read a book (if I had the energy) and lay in the sun. Listen to the waves. Sleep. Around noon I would get a massage ($2 for an hour) and then head into the restaurant for lunch. Homemade soup and the best chapati I've ever tasted. The afternoon would be similar to the morning. Maybe reading, maybe not. Hammock. 4pm required a beer and a pow wow (all three of us in one hammock) and we would watch the sunset until about 7pm and then get ready for dinner. Fresh fish, seafood and sometimes beans and rice at the local joint (we actually brough in lobster for them to cook us!! Goes nicely with rice and beans actually). Some days (if feeling adventurous) we would wander down the beach where all the artists have their shops set up selling Maasia paintings and buy art for my non existent house. I may have bought to much but what the hell.

Now we are back in Mwanza, Denise has malaria again (poor thing) and it's great being back with the kids!! We are trying to spend as much time as possible with them as Denise is leaving this week (for Europe with Martin and then back in 2 weeks when we will meet in Uganda) and I have to leave in 2 weeks because my visa won't let me stay longer. And now.. looking at the time.. I gotta go teach!! There is never enough time in my day it seems :)

xoxo

Notes from a small climb..

2007-07-09T04:48:00.001-04:00

Kili..
Originally uploaded by An Smith

Climbing mountains is ridiculous (the really really big kind anyway). You spend a very long time getting to the top, then get sick and find that you don't care about the photo opportunity you've just spent 5 days getting to simply because you are more concerned that you are dizzy and nauseous and completely disoriented from lack of oxygen to the brain and are coincidentally teetering on the edges of a slippery glacier volcano. Then you have to climb down again (I fell eight times) and it takes a week to recover and you then have an annoying cold to deal with while lying on the beaches of Zanzibar in the heat. Okay, so to give you a better idea here are my notes from the six days it took me and Denise to climb Kili..(the abridged version of course);

Day One:Mandara huts 2720 meters

We only hiked for three hours today and it was relatively easy in comparison to what will come (I think). Our guide keeps reminding us to walk 'pole pole' which means slow in Swahili. (You literally have to move at a snails pace so that your body acclimatizes properly. It's actually a challenge to move this slow). I am pleasantly surprised by our accommodations.. we have our own lodge with bunk beds and mattresses and solar power. There is even a flushing outhouse and showers at this camp (not that we plan on showering for the next 6 days). We have to drink 3-5 litres of liquids each day so they are force feeding us hot drinks cause it's already so cold I can't feel my toes and I can see my breath when I talk. The drive to where we began our ascent this morning was incredible and only goes to further confirm my suspicions that Tanzania is the most stunningly gorgeous country I've ever traveled in. The vegetation is so lush and the stone houses that hide in the midst of the banana plantations and fields of sunflowers are so adorable. There are flowers of every colour and millions of things I can't even describe. Just come here yourself.. much easier than me trying to find the right words and identify plants.

Reality: Our park fees for the week total $630 per person, in comparison to a local who pays $1 to enter the park. You have to wonder what the government is actually doing with this money and then when you do the math and you wonder what the guides and the porters get paid, not to mention the company needs a profit and the cost of food..and you kind of get a bad feeling about it in your stomach. The porters actually get paid $7 per day if they are lucky and then they rely on tips from you to supplement their income. They have the hardest job in the world. They carry a load of 30 kg on their back up Kili and then get nothing mainly because the government takes it all. The money is so little the majority of them don't rest between jobs because they need to survive... and just to give you an idea there are three of us climbing (we've picked up a Swedish girl to climb with us) and we have 9 staff; 2 porters each and 1 cook and 2 guides.

Day Two: Horombo Huts

51/2 hours today and it felt good. It was much stronger than yesterday and it's getting easier to chill out and walk slowly. We stop every ten minutes to drink water and breath. We are over the clouds now and the view is amazing. Kind of looks like you could run out and jump on them or have a really cozy nap.. but don't think I will try it. Bit of a headache but nothing serious. Nothing much to do but sleep and read...

Day Three: Acclimatization day

We only did a small hike to Zebra rock today which is just over 4000 ft and then descended back to Horombo and took the afternoon to relax. Tomorrow is the big day and we are suddenly a bit freaked out because one guy just came back from attempting his ascent and was in the severe stages of mountain sickness. He was projectile vomiting blood and had completely lost his memory and had purple lips and fingers. There was another group of guys who couldn't even get to the next camp and had to turn around because of severe nausea and so on.. um, why am I doing this again? I'm not sure. Mountain sickness actually has nothing to do with physical fitness, and actually I don't think you need to be fit to climb kili.. you need mental determination and a bit of luck that the elements don't mess with you. We'll see what happens.

Day Four: Kibo Hut 4700 metres

We got off to a late start today (of course, we tend to doddle more than anyone here it seems). Took us 5 hours to walk to Kibo. Headache is getting annoying and now trying to nap in a dorm room full of people who won't shut up before we ascend at 11pm. YES. 11pm. These people are driving us nuts.

Day Five/Six: Gilmans Point: 5685 metres (um, that'd be the top)

We left at 11pm and I have to say that the first two hours were incredible and felt amazing. All you could see were a million starts and a long line of headlamps weaving up the mountain. It suddenly seemed like what we were trying to accomplish was pretty exciting and the energy and vibe in the climbers was really cool.

I was wearing four pairs of pants, 2 tank tops, a t-shirt, 2 long sleeved shirts, a fleece jacket, a rain jacket and a winter jacket, heavy duty gloves, a balaclava, a scarf and two pairs of socks. I was warm enough for the first few hours but after awhile your energy gets zapped and you can't actually move fast enough to keep warm. You can't eat either (for energy) because you feel like you are going to hurl. It's great. We had to stop every 10 minutes and drink water and breath. Helped with the dizziness and nausea. Sort of. I was like a small child in oversize clothes and could barely move (the pictures are so funny I don't even recognize us). Good thing our guide Julius was awesome. He zipped up our jackets for us, fixed our hoods and adjusted our scarfs. He even took our socks and shoes off and warmed our feet on his belly when necessary! He had the best motivation techniques and new when to get us going and when to keep quiet. I don't think I would have made it without his constant encouragement and positive attitude.

Getting to the top is a bit overwhelming. Denise and I immediately burst into tears (which was a bit bizarre). I didn't expect any sort of emotional reaction but after walking for about 7 hours through the night you are really emotionally retarded. And frozen. The view from the top is really nice but you feel like hell so it is a real struggle to actually appreciate what you have just accomplished. The sun rising is something I will likely never forget and the view of the glaciers is really gorgeous. You basically walk around the volcano once you get to the top from peak to peak.

On the way down the naseau and headache started to subside but our legs were like jelly because you have to skate/run down deep loose gravel. It's really strange actuallly.. and it was at this point Denise and I became seriously delirious and I could not stop laughing (or falling due to laughing). Anyway, somehow we made it back to our beds. We slept another 2 hours, ate something and then had to walk for 5 more hours to a camp for the night at a lower altitute. Day 6 we walked out of the park..took another 5 hours. Blah.. I'm exhausted just writing and thinking about it!

Am I glad I did it? Still not sure. I guess I am.. it's almost three weeks later and I'm still angry at the mountain and just getting over my cold. Our guide really summed it up best "I don't get you tourists. You come here, you spend a thousand dollars and spend all of your vacation time to climb this f'ing mountain.. for what?". Um, yeah.. why'd we do that again :) ?????

No idea.

If I could be any animal I would be..

2007-06-14T11:36:00.001-04:00

Don't even until you've brushed your teeth.
Originally uploaded by An Smith

If someone said to me "Okay An, here is unlimited resources and money - now go build a magical paradise", this is how I would do it:

1. Dig a giant circular hole. (No, make it bigger than what you just imagined. How about I give you a number of 264 square kilometres to give you a better idea of what I mean). 2. Lay down vast grasslands, pour in some lakes, rivers and salt fields. At the edges put blobs of enchanted forest, murky swamps with lush marshes, giant cactus and some jungle. If you were to try and climb out of the hole you would be faced with thick jungle-like vegetation and might have fun swinging on vines or climbing miniature waterfalls. If you get lost you might want to climb one of the numerous knobby snot yellow bark trees to try and orient yourself. 3. Add elephants, hippos, rhinos, buffalo, zebras, monkeys, wildebeest, gazelles, warthogs and pink flamingos (for colour) and let them call this home. Of course, there are also a million more birds in all sizes, shapes and colours (but no crocs because they don't get along with anyone and lets let the odd lion, cheetah or leopard wander in so that the population stays in check). 4. Do not let humans destroy it.

Okay okay, so likely nobody is ever going to give me money so I can build it - but it's okay because what I have just described is a place in Tanzania called Ngorongoro Crater. It already exists. What it used to be was a giant volcano until it erupted 2 million years ago. Then it did a funny thing and collapsed. (This is otherwise known as a Caldera). Sound amazing? Well, it is. The perfect African snowglobe comes to mind, minus the chocking plastic roof and oh yeah, the snow.. ;) In fact, it's the type of place you half expect to see the odd Dodo bird or Wolly Mammoth..

Don't hate me. We just spoiled ourselves with a four day camping safari in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro area. It was beyond words and worth every single penny - and it cost a lot of pennies but I could have happily done it for another month.

Rainy season is just ending and the Serengeti is much more lush than I ever imagined it would be. *As an aside, the rainy season ended early and then started again and now it is sporadically raining so the wildebeest have stopped in mid-migration and are standing around a bit confused as to what is supposed to happen next.. all one million of them*. But, I will get back to them shortly. So the Serengeti isn't a large flat dry plain of yellow grass with one tree like I had imagined.. it's stunningly beautiful and green and there are mountains. We saw every animal I mentioned above (except for the Rhino) and I'm sure there are a few I've forgotten. Like Impala and numerous types of buck. And we did see a crocodile.. in fact one almost ate me.

Tenting is frigging scary (but fun and soooo unexpectedly cosy). Getting out to go to the washroom at night is not recommended. One of the girls in my tent (she will remain nameless) was in tears at about 3am because she had to go number 1.. and so I held out the flashlight and played the brave night watchman while she crouched in front of the tent..she was literally in mid steam when she flew back in to the tent due to a giant animal coming around the side of the tent. We didn't keep the flap open to see what it was but it was big and snarly. Did I mention we had seen the leopard a 3 minute drive from the camp dining on a fresh kill? Eek!!

Every moment really was incredible but the highlights were a cheetah who was not camera shy (Denise has the most amazing video of her contemplating going after some wildebeest for a mid day snack) and a pride of 7 lions who were lazily sleeping on a giant rock (rare for them to be out in the open like that during the day).

Wildebeest and Zebra appear to be the best of friends and migrate together (it's sort of cute - they actually form a single file zig-zag line at times - it's very organized of them). I also have a whole new respect for wildebeest.. not only are they damn ugly (yet super cool looking) but they are also incredibly brave. We watched the cheetah watch them for hours.. and they formed a long defiant line as if to say "hi we know you're there and if you want one of us you are in for a serious fight". Incredible. She still had them at a standstill hours later when we were returning to the camp..but this time she was sitting like a queen on a giant rock over looking the field of them.

Ngorongoro is the area that the Maasia are from (I think I've mentioned the dude who protects us at night in Buswelu - the one who is damn good with a bow and arrow. He is Maasia and incidentally he could get you between the eyes with the arrow, even after a few beers so I wouldn't mess with him). So this is where he comes from. Traditionally the Maasia are cattle herders and were booted from the Serengeti but still have grazing rights in Ngoro.. I don't know that much about them except that they drink blood. Ew.

Ngorongoro is so dramatically different than the Serengeti..it's as if someone drew a line and said okay one stops here and the other starts here so the landscape must be totally different so we know for sure. With that said, if you ever get the chance to visit Tanzania you should - it is the most amazing country and I highly recommend it. The people are friendly, it's safe, the food is decent, the scenery is breathtaking and I can't recommend it enough. I might feel differently in about 7 days when I descend from Kili..gulp. We are being picked up tomorrow morning at 8 am and just paid a $1000US to climb a mountain for 6 days. Apparently it's worth it.. I guess we will see. And yes, this month is proving to be the most expensive of my entire life.. :) Just wait till I buy my new camera...

Asante Sana Squash Banahhna

2007-06-14T10:29:00.001-04:00

Happy and Davy
Originally uploaded by An Smith

We spent our last day with the kids on Saturday and decided a games day would be a good way to have some fun before going. We played egg & spoon and wheelbarrow races and ended everything with a waterballoon toss which turned into a kick ass water fight and everyone was drenched by the end of it! It was hilarious!! We also decorated cupcakes and friends of ours visited to play football with the kids (which they loved) and they also brought sodas, chocolate and samosas for a treat. Gloria made us a special lunch (pilau with beef!) and we even had special seats for the day. It was so adorable and a really fun day overall. It was sad saying bye to them.. even knowing we are back in three weeks!

Asante Sana means thank you in Swahili and I want to say a huge thank you on behalf of Joel, Gloria and the children. They are all extremely gracious and almost in shock by the amount you have managed to do. Thanks to your very generous donations Denise and I managed to raise a total of $3100. This is huge!!!!. Normally they don't get much more than the volunteer donation of $300 (times 4 volunteers) that we pay per month. This is what gets them by each month.. and now you probably wonder what we did with the money right?

Electricity: Yup, they will have electricity thanks to you. We took $800 (and topped up another $1200 donation from a company that had done some fundraising in Britain) in order to bring the kids electricity. In total it cost $2000 and it will reduce their monthly costs because the generator is more expensive to run than the monthly electricity bill will be. Asante sana a million times :)

Rice: An entire year supply!!! (another $800)

Those were the big items. We also bought medication for each child (for a month they had to take pills and use a special shampoo) and we managed to clear up the fungus that was all over their heads and bodies (it was pretty nasty and uncomfortable for them). We bought 17 pairs of (used) school shoes, 7 new mattresses (really good ones that won't deteriorate in a month like the ones they currently have), 9 new mozzie nets, 10 new schoolbooks and reading books and a basketball net. We had a delicious chicken dinner (it's real treat to have meat) with sodas for our first sleepover and we also treated them to sodas when they went to the beach for the day. We had a pizza party (most of them had never had pizza) which was a total hit and we had a kick ass dance party after. Those kids can dance like nothing I've seen before. It was pretty amazing and so much fun! We also printed pictures of them and decorated their rooms and did a nail painting party (even the boys joined in). We also took one lil guy for a few doctors appointments (malaria, worms and bronchitis) and bought tons of meds to get him better and organized a full checkup (I am happy to say he is negative for HIV and overall pretty healthy).

We tried to do a mixture of fun and practical... and I still have $250 to spend which I may use in July or save. I am fundraising right now to send them to the Serengeti at Christmas time (it will cost about $500US for all of them to go) so we are half way there.. :)

ps - keep you eye on the mail.. there are some hand made thank you's on the way...I think they will make nice fridge art in my opinion :)

Why aren't the cows wearing shoes?

2007-06-05T09:24:00.001-04:00

Hands of Mercy, Mwanza, Tanzania
Originally uploaded by ddboo

Yesterday I was sitting with a couple of the girls while they made Mendozi (basically a doughnut which they eat for breakfast and interestingly enough Denise and I have realized that if you put a chocolate bar inside when it's still hot and dip it in sugar you are eating heaven). We were chatting and watching Happy (one of the twins) throw her pink flip flop at the cow and chase it around the yard (they don't normally have cows in the compound.. they own a few which they keep at the farm next door but Joel decided that he wants the cows to be 'free' for a few days - personally I think they are a lawn mower and why not!?), it donned on me that we miss so much of the kids personalities because, well, we don't actually speak the same language. My Swahili is much more limited than their English and humour is one of those things that becomes impossibly hard to translate. I mean, we have a hell of a lot of fun but basically we miss all the cute things that little kids say. Like when they wonder why the cows don't have to wear shoes or they tell Davey (who is only three and incidentally sitting on my lap nursing a fat lip) that I am going to have to take him to the hospital to have his head cut off *and I'm nodding and smiling reassuringly at him without a clue*. haha. I'm going to have the kids translate more often :)

So we had some of the other volunteers over last week for dinner (apparently I can cook - who knew???) and I came to an understanding about parenthood. It was only after Denise and I spent the entire evening telling stories to our guests about the kids (obsessively) that I had a moment of "oh I get it when parents do that"... I mean we actually had to restrain ourselves from showing them a slide show of pictures on the laptop!!! On Sunday morning we went to church with them because it was kids day and they had been preparing special songs and dancing and performances all week. It was amazing. I was so proud of them.. and Denise and I beamed through the entire thing- I guess the truth is that we are at the mercy of these kids. What I can't imagine is what it actually feels like to be a parent if I can totally fall in love with these guys in a month.. scary and amazing at the same time :)

What else.. oh yeah, so we leave Mwanza on Sunday (for safari) and we have been feeling really beat up about leaving and totally apprehensive. *We had to move out of our house and into another compound until Sunday to make room for the shiny new volunteers - last night our shower turned on by itself and the night before the doors kept slamming shut.. we are SO SCARED in this compound it's a bit silly. And we have two guards this time!! Anyway..*.

To be honest we weren't totally sure how we were going to say goodbye.. and of course as fate would have it we found out on Saturday night that the volunteers for July cancelled (pole for them but talk about potentially lettting down 40 orphans cause you realize three weeks out you can't afford the flight!!) so what else to do but take their spots? :D So the fantastic news is that we leave here June 9th (Serengeti Tour, climb Kili and then recover on the beaches of Zanzibar) and return in July for another month of teaching and spending time with the kids. Denise and I are so happy it worked out like it did and we will cancel a bit of what we had planned (don't know what yet) but that isn't a big deal. There is always another trip :)

Off to have dinner with friends and organize arts and crafts for tomorrow.. try not to be too jealous that i will be camping in the Serengeti in a few days ... and I won't think about the fact that you are stuck in rush hour traffic ... oh wait. No I think your alarm clock just went off. Time to get up ;)

More about my kids..

2007-05-21T12:23:00.001-04:00

Happy
Originally uploaded by An Smith.

We had dinner at the orphanage the other night and sat around beforehand helping to peel cucumbers and slice tomatoes and just hang out with the kids. Dinner prep - what a thing to witness!! I can't even imagine having to cook for forty (plus) people everyday. (And keep in mind there is never ever the option to say hey, let's call in for some pizza or Thai tonight I'm tired or hey cook yourself, I'll be out). The great thing is to watch everyone help because they all have a task, nobody complains and they totally have fun. I can remember my dad telling me to set the table after school.. I could barely peel myself away from the Y&R long enough.. and the whining and complaining (um, sorry Dad!! :/). So anyway. We treated to chicken and sodas and Denise and I planned to spend the night at the orphanage. This being a special occasion meant they get power (I guess?). When the generator started with a huge bang the children went crazy like nothing I've ever witnessed before in my life - you would have thought they had won millions in the lotto. The generator going on is exciting for them - it means electricity at night instead of candles and they appreciate it so much that they cheer and jump and scream and run around in circles and it's absolutely hilarious. (Yup, you can learn a lot about the small things in life from these kids).

Speaking of, we took them to the beach Saturday. First time ever. Can you spell FUN children? Ice cream, sodas, swimming and a Dala Dala ride. The look on their faces on the way into town is something I can't ever forget. They take in absolutely everything. (They don't leave Buswelu Village very often. To and from school is pretty much it.. maybe a trip to the doctors). And the little ones.. they don't even really know that there is a world outside of their compound because they don't even go to school yet! Davy (he is three) fell asleep on my lap (on the way home) and had a look of terrified bewilderment on his face all day. He is a really quiet guy, loves a lap to snuggle up in and is a total doll. (Best hugger ever). Doesn't speak much or get into trouble and he does the cutest nose crinkle thing. Anyway, he woke up at one point (remember before I gushed about him for ten minutes he was sitting in my lap on the way home) and he had a complete heart attack when he woke up in the middle of the ride because he didn't' have a clue where he was. It was so funny, and so cute and everyone burst into giggles. After he realized all was okay in his very small world he smiled and nuzzled back to sleep. (Oh, and somewhere on that ride he managed to pee on my lap). Poor Lil guy. Couldn't handle the soda which was practically the size of him.

Okay, so backtracking a bit. The sleepover at the orphanage was SO FUN. It was like having a giant girls sleepover. Well, it wasn't like it. That's what it was.. but it was like being back in camp again. Denise and I each had a bunkie (I got Irene who was a good snuggler and she wrapped her hands in my hair somehow while we slept.. not sure why but it was okay I worked around it). Denise had Hannah who was a kicker and she didn't sleep a wink all night. Anyway, it was really fun. We got in trouble (um, noisy) from Joel a few times because we were doing photo shoots (and it put the kids into fits of laughter when Denise and I would pretend to be scared and dive under the mozzie nets hiding from Joel).

And that brings us to now. I'm sitting at an Internet cafe in town on the way to a bbq and I'm realizing that we only have 9 more days here and then we are done teaching (although we are staying around for almost two weeks longer to help with organization of some other stuff with the kids). I am really dreading leaving and I'm trying to enjoy every moment with them. I realize it's harder on me than them.. they will have a new set of volunteers and forget about us in seconds but I won't even forget the impact they've made on my life.

I hope there is steak and caesar salad at the BBQ! I gotta go :)

Hands of Mercy

2007-05-13T07:59:00.001-04:00

Hands of Mercy, Mwanza
Originally uploaded by An Smith.

Every morning we wake up around 8am, make tea and toast with PB (sometimes we splurge and walk to the duka for eggs and fresh chapati and fry em up) and then we walk the twenty minutes to Hands of Mercy to see the kids. We spend two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon playing basketball and soccer, supplementing their school with english and math lessons and most importantly - giving hugs when necessary. (Trust me, they need lots of hugs!).

They have a 'mom and dad' (who also have four of their own including a newborn) and they run the orphanage.. you can imagine trying to care for almost forty children with the help of a few volunteers and a few staff who help with cooking and cleaning. Not an easy task! (Um, actually I guarantee you that you can NOT imagine it. It's mad chaos!).

Eighty percent of the kids at the orphanage were left without parents because one or both have died (or are very sick and living) with HIV. In other cases their parents may have abandoned them (simply because the expense was too high to care for them) or they were orphaned for other reasons. The kids range from 3 years old to 14 (and ps - I am in love with all of them).

I can honestly say that the kids seem to be really happy and they are lucky to be in the care of the people who run Hands of Mercy. The place is full of love and full of fun!! They do need a lot of help though (and yes, here comes the final plea for donation money)... the kids are currently are sleeping four or five to a bed so a few more bunks and mattresses are a must (especially for the older kids as they get bigger), the mozzie nets are getting a bit tattered, they all share clothes and desperately need new ones and they barely have enough money to manage the food bill each month. We're talking basics.. no meat or veggies either. Toys? They don't really have toys... We also are in desperate need for paper, school supplies, crayons, pencils, books.. not to mention more practicle things like shelves so they can all have a cubbie for 'their' school stuff, and a door to keep the girls room locked at night (!!), new flip flops and meds for the skin infections (so contagious I even got some on my chest - right at head on lap level), electricity is a dream, a chainsaw to made chopping wood easier.. I could really go on and on with this list and I'm sure I'm barely even touching the really important stuff.

So.. there is now an organization that you can donate through Canada and get a tax receipt for.. www.hopewithoutborders.com You need to specify that you are donating to "Hands of Mercy" in Tanzania (it is not an official project).. let me know if you have any problems and let me know the amount and if you have a preference for what you would like to provide the kids with because Denise and I can still call the shots on the money expenditure. For example, $1200 is enough to buy the kids rice for a YEAR. Flip flops cost $1 each.. you get the idea !

ps - if you've sent me money already I'll gladly email it back to you and you can get a tax receipt if you want!!

Asante!

Buswelu!

2007-05-12T07:36:00.001-04:00

Lake Victoria, Mwanza
Originally uploaded by An Smith.

We are living in a place called Buswelu. It's about twenty minutes by car from Mwanza which is a small town located on Lake Victoria in Tanzania, East Africa.

Our house is cool - we have four roommates (other volunteers), electricity most of the time (no fridge or hot water) and we cook on kerosene stoves. The boys from one of the orphanages come and fill the tank on the roof with well water every week so we can shower and flush! We also have a Masaai who is our night watchman. He basically patrols the house at night and makes sure there are no problems. He protects us with a bow and arrow and a machete (I am totally serious). Denise and I had bow and arrow lessons last week (in the dark). He is sooooooo bad ass cool.

So putting down our bags for six weeks is an amazing feeling!! It's nice to stop and settle in for a while (oh yeah, and two days in we extended by another two weeks because we just adore it here). The orphanage is close to home and we can get the basics in Buswelu corner (there is a scattering of fruit and veggie stands and a few duka's that sell eggs, water, bread and basic items like soap and detergent). There is also (strangely) a million places to get your hair cut, but anything more complicated and we need to go to town.

Obviously we don't have a car so we rely on Dala Dala's to get us in and out of Mwanza (after dark we taxi). It's about 0.40cents one way and it takes a good hour and a half to catch one and get into town. (We sometimes walk up to half an hour or more until one goes flying by and we wave it down - they don't have bus stops really. It's actually much smarter in my opinion.. you get exercise and closer to your destination instead of standing around like a dummy).

Anyway, the dala dala is basically a large van with four benches and the idea is to mash as many people in as possible. If you are last to get on you have to sit on laps, stand or lie on top of people vertically and there is a possibility that limbs are hanging out. If you can do some sort of funky bendy thing with your body and get comfy you are totally laughing. Yeah, it gets super hot and smushy but it's fun. The more mashed you are, the less you notice the pot holes! The other day we ended up hitching on a school bus dala dala and the kids sang English songs for us while we dropped them off at their homes throughout Mwanza. Adorable!!

*Interesting Dala Dala tid bit - on the way in this morning I felt a sprinkling of something on my toes, looked down and realized the floor where my feet were was quickly being flooded with 'water'. I then realized the baby sitting on the ladies lap in front of me must have peed. The funny part of the story is that the mom and baby got off at the next stop. Unfortunately the baby wasn't sitting on mom's lap - yup, complete stranger got peed on !! See the thing is, if you have a free lap you get children, chickens or groceries shoved in it. What happens next is your problem :)*

So we are settling in quite nicely. We were even welcomed with a mild dose of Malaria - but we are feeling fine and took the meds and caught it in time before any serious side effects.. I actually didn't feel sick at all. Mom stop panicking and having malaria conference calls with Denise's mom ;).

The thing that is shocking Denise and I the most about our time here is our social life.. we suddenly are out every night and we've consumed more wine in the last week and a half that I ever have in my life. Last Sunday we took a boat ride on Lake Vic and went to a resort (friends of friends kind of thing) for a poikey (yum, lamb stew) and we swam and drank copious amounts of South Africa red wine. Last night we strolled in around 4am and there is a party for us tonight at some house on Lake Vic.

Pole F'ing Sana my friends.

Africa!

2007-05-01T07:49:00.001-04:00

Picture 012
Originally uploaded by An Smith.

The flight into Kilimanjaro airport may be a highlight of my life. I know that sounds super dramatic and over the top.. but it was stunning. This giant mountain poking through the clouds and lush green landscape with red soil and dirt roads winding around farms and those trees that look like Africa (come on, you know what I mean right. I dunno what they are called). I could pretend there were Giraffe's but in truth I didnt' see one. *Yet*. Denise and I sat there dumbfounded with mouths wide open and couldn't even reach for our cameras. It was such an amazing flight in, they take you right beside the mountain as you descend...beautiful! {I guess we will feel differently in a few months when we go back to tackle the sucker. Gulp}.

Anyway, Tanzania is proving to be a refreshing change from India. It doesn't smell, it's significantly cleaner, the driving is normal and they don't constantly honk the horn. I didn't see a cow either (in fact, I enjoyed one for dinner. Yum). After an hour stop in Kili airport we finally arrived in Dar Es Saleem. Big city, not meant to be anything special, so we booked our flight to Mwanza (to get to the orpanage) for tonight. We absolutely splurged (why the hell not) and rented a hotel with a pool close to the airport. The manager upgraded us to a 2 bedroom suite with a kitchen and living room once he realized 'we are in the industry'. It's hard not to get lost. Seriously. We have two washrooms!

Last night we decided to lay in bed and watch movies (really, nothing else TO DO). Going out at night isn't safe. In fact, we wanted to go to the gas station across the street from the hotel (to load up on chocolate and cookies of course) and the concierge escorted us. Just an eye opener that we don't have the same freedoms we enjoyed in Asia..

On that note, the concierge is possibly my new boyfriend (in his mind) and maybe that is why he is escourting us everywhere. He doesn't realize I already *have* a boyfriend from Zambia that I met on the plane yesterday. Eek. Too many boyfriends ;)

Varanasi..

2007-04-29T10:33:00.001-04:00

Varanasi, India
Originally uploaded by An Smith.

They use the river Ganges to bathe (as do the cows and buffalo), wash clothes, the sewer pours directly into it and they believe they can erase their sins by taking a dip in it. Millions of Hindu's travel to it every year on a pilgrimage and it's one of the most religiously sacred spots in India. It's believed that dying in Varanasi (the city built along the shores) is good luck and will stop the cycle of rebirth. The rivers edge is full of temples and bathing and cremation ghats and is the life, colour and activity that I"ve come to expect in India (x's ten). Varanasi, the city itself, is one of the oldest in the world and is built along the rivers edge. Walking around the tiny roads is like stepping back in time (into a maze).. so bring a map. It's easy to get lost and they don't let those pesky rickshaw drivers in (thank god...it's too narrow) - getting home after dark is a bit sketchy!

Denise and I did a 5:30am wake up for a boat ride down the river yesterday. I guess that's when there is the most activity..check the pics.. you will see what I mean! You are told not to take pictures at the cremation ghats (and yes, we saw bodies under sheets waiting to be cremated) but I'm not sure why you would want to anyway. The smell wasn't as bad as I thought it would be either. I guess we've become accustomed to bad smells in the last two months anyway.. I think the part that shocked me the most was how I felt about the womans body we saw floating in the river. She appeared to be pregnant and was caught on a fisherman boat. Kind of sad, obviously it doesn't seem a very dignified death. In India they normally cremate your body when you die, unless you are a child. I *assume* that is why she wasn't cremated.. because she was carrying a child. It mad me sad, but it didn't disturb me at all (like I thought it would... or perhaps "should" is the right word). The fact that people bathe and swim in the same spot is very strange (disgusting really)..but I felt a deeper level of respect and understanding for the religion and the culture and how serious it all is to them. Maybe that makes no sense, I can't really explain it. And I've got zero time to try because I fly out in 3 hours.. ah!

India! OUT!

2007-04-28T06:39:00.001-04:00

Bundi, India
Originally uploaded by An Smith.

It must be 45 degrees today and it's humid. I can't remember the last time I showered so I'm really hot and I'm jammed into a tiny cubicle with a pathetic excuse for a fan blowing hot air in my face. I am drenched in sweat head to toe and my butt is glued to the seat. Lovely.

We are in Varanasi waiting to catch our night train back to Delhi and I'm desperately trying to compose my final thoughts on India. For some reason the power isn't off today (it's normally off between 10am and 2pm daily and then frequently for the rest of the day!!!!). It's nice to escape the afternoon heat with something quiet to do. Besides, we are officially 'India'd Out'!!

Denise and I sat on the roof of our guesthouse last night and ate our last Indian dinner (by candlelight!), drank beers to celebrate and watched the world (happily high above the madness) while we discussed our time here and our experiences. While we were relaxing a man at the guest house came to pray in the temple (yes, on the roof). He was oblivious to us while he rang a bell, sang songs and chants and lit incense. Shortly after the Muslim Call to Prayer started echoing throughout the entire city. Beautiful. The manager of our guest house sat with us for awhile and read our palms telling us about our future; health, love, happiness; and he had some amazing insights into our past.

I've mentioned before that there is so much I love and hate about India. Things I will miss and things I can't wait to get away from!! There is a constant buzz in the air which is now so familiar, the honking horns, the buffalo, cows and gangs of dogs sleeping in mud puddles, people everywhere in constant motion, rickshaws threatening to slice off your toes and everyone calling you to ask you your name, your country and to buy from their shop, good smells, bad smells and then the really terribly bad make you nauseous kinda smells. Oh, and my butt has been grabbed way too much for my liking. It must be the blond ponytail.

I've enjoyed my time in India immensely, much more than I ever anticipated to be honest. I feel different in the sense that I feel more confident, tougher..stronger, more spiritual and more aware of the world. India is it's own action packed movie full of religion, hope, controversy, contradiction, generosity, happiness and love, hatred and corruption, colour and beauty, repression, filth and sadness. How can you not walk away with something in a place like this?

This last week we saw Tigers in the wild at Rathamborne wildlife park (so cool!). We did an early morning jeep safari with a few other hard core safari connoisseurs. They even had outfits made for them to wear (you have to see the pictures..they matched!!). I did a quick stint of Agra which I hated (we had McDonald's AGAIN!) and then we hid in Delhi for a few days (watched a Hindi movie which was hilarious) and then came to Varanasi to end our tour of India.

I honestly can't believe how fast our trip is going. Tomorrow night we board a flight to Tanzania.. and after about a zillion transfers and hours of waiting and many airports we will arrive to Mwanza to settle down for a month and teach kids. I honestly can't wait for the break but I'm not sure I'm qualified to teach! Anway, we've kept up a pretty steady pace for the last four months..and the thought of not having to re-pack every few days is wonderful. Our only concern... what is the food going to be like!!!?????? :)

The true hospitality of India

2007-04-17T08:26:00.001-04:00

Pawan and Vishnu
Originally uploaded by An Smith.

Last night I was lucky enough to be invited along as a guest to the home of a man by the name of Kesaul. Sitting on a mat on the floor we ate chapati (the best I have tasted in India), slurped Dal (lentil soup sort of) and drank "Thums Up", the Indian version of Coca Cola (yup, I absolutely laughed my butt off at the spelling of 'Thum' especially since the logo is a thumb. Being the only person in the room with English as my first language I looked mini crazy as I giggled hysterically pointing and babbling thumb over and over because they didn't get it). In fact, nobody spoke the same language (Hebrew, English and Hindi) but it didn't matter - you always find out a way to communicate. I compared jewellery with Kesaul's wife and bonded with him and his daughters because we all eat with our left hands (socially not that acceptable in India - need I say more - hahem).

My friend Avi, from Israel, used to live in Pushkar years ago and trained to make jewellery with Kesaul and so he became quite close with the family, hence the invite. Kesaul is a very eccentric, religious man with an absolute heart of gold. We walked in, sat down, were offered the usual chai and watched while Kesaul casually hauled from a hash pipe and lit matches with his toes. He was surrounded by religious trinkets for worship, flashing lights, albums full of pictures of visitors and journals filled with good wishes from new friends he had met over the years. He proceeded to tell me all about Pushkar. It went sort of like this: "Happy heart, happy mind, happy life, you understand? Giant lake, Pushkar goes round and round in circles and I sit while everything spins and you spin now, giant flower, Brahma, used to only be water, you lucky heart to meet us in Pushkar, good karma, Avi happy mind, you understand. Good karma, you have happy heart no? I rename you 'Indra' because it's easier to say, so your new name is Indra, understand? Good mind, happy heart, you understand and you have good Karma in Pushkar?". Yup. It was wicked. We walked into town with the family after dinner and the best and most surprising part was the giant bear hug I got from Kesauls wife when we said goodbye. (Normally the women are extremely shy).

Indian hospitality is always something that blows my mind. The families trip over themselves to accommodate you (and by Western standards they have what you would consider "nothing"). They feed you, learn about your home and family, there is never awkward conversation or boastful stories. It's about family and new friends and being happy about life at that exact moment, rather than being showy or serving trendy food and expensive wine. It's a refreshing perspective on life.

I also had the opportunity to have chipati and tea this morning with Pawan and his mother at their home. They noticed my skirt is ripped so I'm going over there now for her to fix it and then taking Pawan out for dinner before I leave Pushkar. I will spend the rest of my life brainstorming how I can make sure this kid goes to college..

Mwanza Orphanage

2007-04-16T06:31:00.000-04:00

Wow. I am sitting here making plans to meet up with Denise and Martin again (a week on my own by the pool.. a complete self indulgance but I loved the R&R, zoned out and had a mini escape from India). Anyway, I realize I have less than two weeks here before we fly to Africa and we are almost at the half way point for our trip! Time flies when you are having fun and I'm going to be home soon before I know it.

When I left a lot of you mentioned that you would be interested in donating to the orphange in Mwanza in one way or another! Please email me personally if you want to donate cash (we can figure out something) or if you want to put together a package the address for postage is Hands of Mercy Outreach International, PO Box 10024, Mwanza, Tanzania. If you need ideas let me know, I can certainly ask our contact if there is anything they need.

My personal opinion is that a cash donation is more effective (and you don't waste money that could have gone to the kids on postage!). Cash is a double hit.. on the local economy and then I can go shopping and buy them what they need when I get there and we can fully assess the situation. The money will not be given to the orphanage but Denise and I will choose to spend it as necessary! We will of course give full information on what the money was used for and I have a few ideas for some other things we will do.. but enough about that ;)

Importantly, here is some information pieced together from a newletter that our contact sent out. I do realize that being my friends / family doesn't mean you will automatically want to hand out money or 'stuff' so maybe this will help. Last time I checked I was not able to get tax receipts because the orphanage is not an internationally registered charity. With that said, they are working on it. Remember, even $5 will go a long way..

AND one more thing ... a friend of Denise's family - I should mention he is five years old - took the initiative to raise money for the kids at the orphanage and instead of asking for birthday presents from his friends he asked for money. He donated his birthday to these kids.. and he is five and it was entirely his idea. That is amazing and inspiring :)

Hands of Mercy Outreach International, Tanzania

Hands of Mercy begun the new year with a new start by moving into a new home. The old home was very cramped and unsuitable for the number of people living in it. Thanks to a donation from Unatrac (UK), we have been able to rent a bigger compound for the children. The new house has plenty of room inside for all the children to sleep, eat and play. In addition, we also have a section for classrooms where we run extra classes for our own children and a nursery school for local community kids. The compound also has a huge area outside where the children can play, and where we have planted crops.

At present we have four volunteers at Hands of Mercy, who are officially our first volunteers at this project. We have a couple from New Zealand with us now who have decided to uproot lives back home, and move here to help the children. They intend to be with us for quite some time, and are like a grandmother and grandfather to the children.

Recent volunteers from Watoto wa Africa also used some of their fundraising to help at Hands of Mercy. Volunteers over the last few months have provided Hands of Mercy with bed sheets, mosquito nets, ground sheets for the children to sit on, seeds for vegetables and fruits to plant at our farm, shoes for each child, and special food for Christmas and New Years days. Hands of Mercy also organized a special Christmas concert and church service for four of the local orphanages, which our volunteers also contributed towards for the food and hiring of equipment.
Recently, Bridge to Aid, a local Tanzanian charity, came to visit Hands of Mercy. They sent us a dentist and nurse who gave the children some education about dental care and brushing their teeth. They checked all the children’s teeth for any problems and wrote reports on all the children. I’ve never seen children so excited at the thought of having their teeth checked by a dentist. But all things that are new are exciting to these kids. Each child received a sticker afterwards for their bravery, and a brand new toothbrush to practice their newly learnt brushing techniques.

The orphanage has recently been donated a generator, water pump, and two large water tanks thanks to Stanley Mining Tanzania. The boys from Stanley have been out at the orphanage in the scorching sun for the past two weekends bringing out all the equipment for us, and setting it up. Now the children can see at night, and we have running water inside the house. People from Stanley Mining also make up part of a group of people who are undertaking the challenging Kilimanjaro Marathon with the intention of raising money for Hands of Mercy. The money raised by our marathon runners will go toward some new beds and mattresses for the children, as currently the children are sleeping 4 to a bed.

Any questions, let me know. I gots to go back and swim.

Pawan Kumar

2007-04-12T07:11:00.001-04:00

Pawan Kumar
Originally uploaded by An Smith.

I decided to take Pawan for breakfast this morning. I've noticed him hanging around the temples and my hotel for the past few days and this morning he asked me for money from my country for his "coin collection". I didn't have any Canadian change but he was pretty happy with the Vietnamese money I scrounged up (I had to explain where Vietnam was because he had never heard of it!).

He followed me around talking to me about Pushkar and helped me find a place that would do a cash advance on my Visa. I knew he was probably pretty hungry (his mother doesn't make breakfast, there is only food enough for dinner) so I invited him to eat with me at a tourist cafe. The owners wouldn't let us sit upstairs, but rather to the side so nobody could see us!

He's only 12 years old and he spends his mornings begging from the tourists..spare change, chapati, biscuits... today he is trying to get a new pair of shoes. In the afternoons he goes to school because a family from Spain paid to send him for the next five years. His father works sewing clothes for tourist shops but drinks away his income. His mother doesn't do anything. The family relies on the money that Pawan can bring in so they can eat, pay rent (about $18CND per month) and buy other necessities. Today was his first chocolate ice cream shake ever and I practically had to twist his arm that I didn't mind.

Pawan has two younger brothers, which he won't allow to work. He thinks they are to young (although he was younger when he started begging at seven years old) and wants to keep them away from this type of work. He doesn't have a glimmer of childhood in his eyes and it's not that easy to get him to laugh. He told me that his biggest dreams are to be a pilot (he did laugh when I thought he said Pirate) and to live in Europe. He says that they won't come true, dreams like that won't be possible for him, so he prays to God every day that he will be reborn a European in his next life. He doesn't like living in India at all. I asked him what he does for fun, does he play football or games? He actually looked confused and asked me what I meant!

The story is the same for all of the kids we've interacted with over the last few months. It really teaches you a lot about compassion and tolerance and I struggle with it everyday. Some days I get so annoyed with these children! Not a day goes by where I don't get harassed for spare change or food constantly and it begins to wear at you. Sometimes I pretend they don't exist, sometimes I tell them no and to leave me alone and other times I melt and buy them food or drink. Every once and a while I feel like screaming and stomping like a five year old because I want to help every single child and ignoring them feels so wrong and it is so frustrating to be faced with it and be totally useless. I know I shouldn't even buy them food because it doesn't teach them anything. It doesn't make them work harder to go to school and try and get a job. Pawan said it is not possible for him to get a job in a shop and he tries to work for the tourist authority as an official guide, but obviously he is too young and they can't hire him. He has friends from Australia and a week ago he received a letter from them. They had sent him photos and 1000 rupee which is about $30 bucks. The postman opened the letter and stole the money! I asked him if he got mad at the postman for stealing and he said no, that the Gods watch the postman and when he dies the Gods will get him in trouble for stealing from a poor boy and his family.

Everyday that he goes to town to beg he prays on his way in that the Gods will be happy with him today and the tourists will give him money. He doesn't have a favorite God because he is too worried that he will anger the others if he favours one. I asked him if he ever gets mad at God that he is poor but he says no, only sometimes he gets irritated but he would never be officially mad at God.

He wishes he could learn to swim, and I would happily teach him but they won't let him in the pool at my hotel. The sign says Indians 9am-11am, Tourists 11am-6pm. Imagine?

The hardest part about travelling like this is learning how to face how real the world is outside of our cozy lives and deal with the guilt of having just about everything and not having very much appreciation for it!

On a much brighter note, we had dinner the other night in a hotel restaurant. The tables were low to the ground and you sit on cushions around the perimeter of a sandy garden. There was a cow in one corner that the staff kept chasing out of the kitchen, a giant German Shepherd tried to cozy up in our laps and then a cat took a huge poop in the middle of the restaurant!! UM! Can someone call the health authorities please :)

AND the guy with the cow with five legs put a curse on me this morning because I wouldn't give him money. Dammit!

Hindu Gods and Painted Cows

2007-04-11T02:50:00.001-04:00

India
Originally uploaded by An Smith.

There is always something happening in India. It is a land of hilarious contrast and contradictions of which you can't even begin to imagine. As I type this there is an ornately decorated cow peering in at me. He has five legs and his owner is trying to convince me to come out and take a picture of them for good luck. Um, yeah been there done that. (Besides, I've previously explained my new fear of cows made stronger last night when a baby cow suddenly ran straight at Martin and head butted him from behind). A lady in a purple sari is screaming at someone at the top of her lungs and some man just walked by and farted, burped and horked all at the same time. Impressive.

Walking down the street is kind of like being in the middle of a circus. You are trying to avoid fresh cow paddies and mysterious wet patches, dodge motorbikes that zoom around the small zig zagged streets at full speed, painfully ignore the children begging for rupees or milk who endlessly yank on your arm all the while trying to not breath when you pass the outdoor urinals (which they encourage the men to use, instead of a wall or the gutter). I'm still to discover where the woman go. The men who stand outside of their shops constantly leer at you and try and convince you that you need to buy something as you wander past. Dogs with three legs run around chasing cows and tourists before curling up in a cozy pothole smack in the middle of the street, despite the zooming rickshaws and motorbikes whirring past. It's a bit exhausting sometimes. Add the intense heat and your day ends with your head spinning as you try and take in everything you saw, the people you met and the new experiences you had that constantly blow your mind. I absolutely love it!.

I am chilling for a few days in a small town called Pushkar in Rajisthan. It's semi desert so it's freaking hot, but dry heat so it's manageable. I have a room with a view (about 200 white temples, a lake and mountains) for the exorbitant price of $9 Canadian dollars and I have a big pool to laze around. I'm planning on doing yoga and swimming and reading for a week. There is no way to ever truly escape India (perhaps a 10 day meditation course in the mountains where I am sure I would officially lose it so I think I will pass). This is my best effort for calm. It's quite hilarious that a country known for yoga and meditation is so mental and full of activity. Actually, it's no wonder because I don't know how they would survive without it.

Pushkar is a strange place full of backpackers and the tackiness they bring with them such as Internet shops, Falafal stalls, kids selling hash and colourful shops filled with baggy clothing and silver jewellery. Mix that with 400 temples, families in colourful saris on holiday to worship at the temples and bathe in the lake to wash away their bad karma and Sadhu's who are making the pilgrimage here to worship Shiva or their god of choice. It certainly makes for interesting.

Pushkar is a sacred holy city for Hindu's. It's one of many pilgrimage spots in India, and the only place in the world that has a Brahma temple. (It's supposed to be the only one because his wife, Saraswati, put a curse on him when she realized that he married another woman; the curse being that he could not be worshipped anywhere else in the world; anyway, we hear a rumour there is also a Brahma temple in Bangkok. I don't think anyone should tell Saraswati and I certainly hope she doesn't read my blog, because I wouldn't want to anger Hindu Gods). To further give you the Coles Notes (or Bill and Ted) version Brahma is the tubular dude who created the universe. There are about 450 million gods who are technically just a representation of him since he is off doing meditation somewhere more peaceful. The most important Gods are Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu. There is also a God with an Elephant head, Shiva's son, by the name of Ganesh and he seems high on the cool scale.

If I understand correctly the main principles of Hinduism are Karma, Reincarnation and Moksha. The idea being that you are want to live your life so that you can eventually escape the cycle of rebirth by being borne into higher castes and so on. One huge objection I have is that women can generally not be liberated but only hope that they are reborn as a man and will be liberated in the next life. Being a woman in India is never easy. The caste system basically defines who you can marry and what jobs you can do (is completely illegal but still prevalent) and has India completely backwards and inside out.

Anyway, the pool and a book are calling me so I suppose I should get back to it ;)

Tibetan Radio??

2007-04-02T03:49:00.001-04:00

Belgaum, India
Originally uploaded by An Smith.

First of all, I thought I should let you all know that my massage this morning was fantastic. I lay there while Denise had needles inserted in her leg and we could hear Tibetan chanting in the background (which was amazing and relaxing)... I had to fill the time somehow! I might marry my Tibetan massage therapist and bring him back to Canada with me. I am totally in love with him. :)

So. They have this dude who stands at the town centre with a megaphone and a few times a day he shouts out the news to the town. Information on town meetings, the weather, political situation in Tibet. I don't really know. I guess it's their version of a radio. It's really hilarious :)

I got butted by a cow!

2007-04-01T08:45:00.001-04:00

Mumbai (Bombay), India
Originally uploaded by ddboo.

Denise and I are currently in McLeod Ganj (A lot of Tibetan refugees fled here after the Chinese occupation of their country fifty years ago.. remember Brad Pitt in Seven Years In Tibet ? Yup, this is one of the places they came.. I can't find *him* anywhere though..?.).

It's a much needed break from the heat and we wanted to do some trekking; which we did yesterday and the day before! We climbed to 2900m and played in the snow in the Himalayas!! It was four hours (straight up) and about three back down..we were hobbling like we were 300 years old by the end.

I'm not sure if it is the altitude, a lack of protein and veg, wonky food or just overall exhaustion from travelling but we were both deliriously sick last night and can barely move today. Perhaps we are just officially tired :) Good thing we are planning on spending a week here to recover and started our day off with a healing Tibetan massage ($6) and then lazed around drinking tea and reading books at a cafe. Denise just had some acupuncture done and we booked more massages for the morning. Just in case.

The last (days, weeks?) have been sooooooooooooooo busy. I've been on a search to find my grandmother's past which was really exciting! She was born in Belgaum and also lived and went to school in Mumbai (Bombay). A lot of the buildings from the British occupation are still evident (mind you they are quite decrepit). Being in Belgaum was a taste of 'real' India - minus the tourists and the Pizza Huts and the western dressed locals. There were no other tourists. The children literally mobbed us if we took out our camera. We felt like celebrities, it was crazy. Everyone was inviting us to their homes, they wanted us to take picture of their pets.. crazy!

Next we were on to Mumbai where we found ourselves working on the set of a commercial as extras (paid!) and then being Peroni Angels (paid!) for the opening of fashion week at the best night club in town (they checked our taxi for bombs and we had to walk in through metal detectors!). We basically had to take pictures on the red carpet with all of the Bollywood stars and models. We constantly had six photographers shooting us at all times. It was maybe the most bizarre experience of my life. :)

Oh yeah, and I got head butted by a cow. With horns. Yooouch!!!

McDonalds McDonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken and a Pizza Hut

2007-03-23T11:14:00.001-04:00

Originally uploaded by An Smith.

So it turns out that the five star hotel doesn't take our kind. They wouldn't let us swim!!! Talk about being on the other side of the counter for once. Instead we went to the mall and had free makeovers. Denise looked *more* like a drag queen than I did because they gave her a look that involved purple eye shadow and bright pink lipstick. Mine was a tad more natural but still had a little something special to it. Didn't stop us from dancing around the mall (yeah, like a real air conditioned mall) to Dirty Dancing and Guns and Roses tunes while scarfing down scoops of Baskin and Robbins ice cream. MMMM. We had pizza for lunch (um, and breakfast) and we had Ruby Tuesdays for dinner. Veg burger and fries for me and a veggie quesadilla for Denise. No free pop refills. So it was easy to waste the day in the end. Fun also :) We realize we are going a tad crazy (just in general).. mind you not AS crazy as the guy on the train (a westerner) who had a really serious conversation on his banana phone.

Now we are in Hampi. It's hot in Hampi and there are giant round boulder rocks everywhere you look. And on those rocks there are ruins. It's cool! We went to look for the waterfall today (where you can swim) but again.. no waterfall! We have terrible luck with waterfalls on this trip! So instead we "swam" in this rock infested slimy oozy pool filled with fish and full of lots of different crevices you can squeeze through and slide around on. I say "swim" only as a reference to the fact that we were immersed in water. I don't think frantically splashing your arms while your feet are up around your knees sliding over oozy rocks and guiding your way counts as *swimming*. Then us and the new BFF's (only for the day though and maybe tomorrow) we met at the same oozy pool went on an 'adventure' to get to a restaurant by climbing the boulders instead of taking the road (like normal people). It took us about 3 hours of scaling, praying, jumping, crossing rivers, hoping there were no snakes, avoiding the cows and buffalo and sweating profusely in the mid day sun. Then we ended up running from giant fire breathing dragons through a banana plantation and then scaled the rice fields. However, we made it to a cute restaurant and the view made it all worth it.

Homeless again :D

2007-03-22T02:17:00.001-04:00

India
Originally uploaded by An Smith.

We arrived in Bangalore this morning at 4:30am!! Ya. Like AM. And our train doesn't leave until 10:30pm. Two over nights in a row and lots of time in between..ugh. Although, overnight trains are so fun and in India they are even more fun when you are the only tourist (you usually are) and everyone takes you under their wing to make sure you get off at the right place and are seeing the best places in India (so cute) and basically want to know your life story in a nutshell or take apart your headlamp with mild fascination.

Today we are being totally cheap and rather than get a sleaze bag hotel for the day we decided to freshen up in a scuzzy washroom at the station and store our bags in a locker. *And to note that when I say scuzzy I mean the ultimate in grossness. At home I wouldn't go inside this type of washroom for fear of immediate death or touching something that would cause your hand to fall off or at the very least turn strange colours.. of course when travelling it's a totally different story, and you feel as if you are immune to gross!! Well, probably cause we tend to be ON the gross side of the scale 98% of the time.*

Anyway, we brushed our teeth, splashed water in the right places, washed faces.. you know. That kind of stuff. Tried not to breath deep. Wandered around, pretended we were rickshaw Nazis, grumbled about how the city of Bangalore must not have realized we were arriving and therefore they forgot to roll out the red carpet and open stuff for us at the time we needed it. Very rude.

So here we are. We plan on spending $5 and going to the best 5 star hotel in the city and sleeping by the pool for the remainder of the afternoon. This fun has to wait while I finish backing up my Thailand pictures (taking forever - full time job, so time consuming - violins playing..) but at least this time I'm doing it to MY flickr account instead of some other persons whom I've never met. They must have been really pleased when they found all 200 of my pics in their account. Duh.

We spent the last 6 days in Mamallapurnam being lazy cows. A holiday within the trip perhaps :) We had a pool and a TV and we didn't move. We ate, we met amazing people and we suntanned. We didn't even really shop. No sightseeing. Unfortunately the orphanage thing got totally muckered up (but not for reasons previously discussed!!). I got sick, the driver was never free.. that kind of thing. Wasn't meant to happen I guess. The pool at our guest house was rank (lots of dead mozzies in the pool and dead crows hanging in the trees.. i suppose in an effort to scare away the crows? The town is nuts; it's like out of a Hitchcock movie and semi deserted because it is low season; throughout the day there are thirty crows flying over head squawking away.. very creepy. So we paid $2 to go to the nice clean dead-crow-free pool every day).

We met this amazing man by the name of Swamiji when we were there. He truly is a nomad in every sense of the word - he has travelled a lot of the world and does not have a home. He never has. He is probably in his forties (my best guess) and was born completely blind. He is a devout Buddhist and dedicates his life to helping people.

I can't imagine a harder place to grow up blind (with no family or education geared to your needs or social services to help you) - in a country with crazy roads, sketchy planks to get you over gutters (with icky stuff in them) from one broken sidewalk to the next, traffic that means you get out of the way fast or you get hit. He has the most adventurous spirit and is one of the most intelligent (self taught!!) people I've ever met. He can swim confidentely in a pool, has gone parachuting, tried jet skiing (mind you briefly), owns a digital camera (he loves to do the kind of shots where you all squeeze in while he holds the camera infront and tries to guess where we all are.. so cute) and even emails (he gets people help with that part.. we helped him type some stuff to friends and read him the replies). He actually won a photo contest once for the legally blind and he says that the spirit and soul of the people he meets is in the camera :) Refreshing to meet someone so determined to live his life as best as he can without letting a small thing like being blind get in his way.

India

2007-03-17T06:05:00.001-04:00

India
Originally uploaded by An Smith.

This trip is so much more than "oh look, that is a statue of Gandhi: snap - there is a temple with ornate decoration: snap - let's make sure we do all the 'stuff' in the guidebook, check". That's why we left without a plan, without too much research and without onward flight tickets. So far it's turned into exactly what we wanted from the beginning which was spontaneity and real interaction and experiences with the people who actually make the places you are visiting what they are.

It's about being adopted by a family for a day and teaching them how to swim in the ocean or sitting on the floor of a shop for countless hours while drinking Masala Chai tea with the owner and discussing love vs. arranged marriage in India or being invited to celebrate the birth of a baby with a family you've only just met (by mistake when you stumbled in to their backyard party on your bike!!).

South East Asia is really 'easy' to travel in and you sort of feel like more of a giant dollar sign in really touristy places. Like one with flashing light bulbs that says I am really really rich please scam me (and in most cases in comparison we are really really rich)...anyway, we did consider it a warm up to India and Africa and admittedly we did do the route that everyone does. A giant circle throughout the countries, not much thinking, book the next tourist bus, close your eyes and go. Don't get me wrong, we had cool experiences along the way (I think SEA has changed a lot over the last ten years because of tourism).. but India (i am happy to say) is a different story.

I don't actually know where to start to describe India. Life here is louder, it's faster, it's full of colour and it's madly chaotic; more so than anywhere I've ever been in my entire life. Travel in India is not necessarily easy. The people in India are so friendly and part of what makes this country so addictive. People say that you either love India and can't wait to come back, or you hate India and can't wait to come back!! I completely get it.

It smells bad (we put tiger balm under our nose when it gets really bad), the men stare (which is harmless to a degree), it's really bloody hot and hygiene and cleanliness is questionable (if not disgusting in some cases - there is garbage and filth everywhere). However, the food is incredible (we oink out every night - the new love of my life is Parotta) it is stunningly gorgeous (tea plantations, mountains, temples, white sandy beaches, jungles.. they got it all and more) and the people are simply engaging.

It seems that within minutes of meeting someone you find yourself in one of the most genuine conversations that you've ever had. These people absolutely love to talk and are so charming. You leave feeling like you've known them for years because they are so open to tell you their story and about their family and jobs and their opinions on India (Western influence vs. tradition and spirituality). At the same time, they are equally as fascinated to learn about you and what life is like in Canada.

My last few weeks have been a whirlwind. I suddenly feel like the days are on fast forward mode because I don't know where they are going. We have done so many varied things from boogy boarding on the beaches in Goa (did I really just type boogy boarding??), being witness to a "secret" wedding (Muslim local boys meets Christian European girl makes secret Hindu wedding ceremony which ends up making the front pages of the local paper anyway and was coincidentally put together in only four hours), ice cream dates (grade eight styles), house boating, trekking in the jungle, boat rides to search for Tigers, trying to prevent the girls from being washed away in their saris because of the waves while holding their hands and taking them deeper into the ocean, being homeless and sleeping on the beach (best sunrise of our lives while locals did yoga..)...ya there is more but I know your all seethingly jealous so I will stop ;)

We honestly didn't realize how large and varied India is and we understand now that having two months is just not enough time! Each state (I think there are 17??) has it's own identity, it's own culture, it's own food and language.. it's impossible to choose what you want to do and see because it all seems fascinating and once you get somewhere it's hard to leave. I know.. poor me I only have two months :)

Unfortunately we have to cut our time in the south because it's getting way to hot. Even the locals are closing up shop and moving north.. we are following.

Tonight we are going to an orphanage to play with children and might bring them some candy, food, take photos... we actually have to check it out first before we do anything. We are hoping it's a 'real' orphanage because we were just told about the scams. The idea that corrupt orphanages exist blows my mind completely. Maybe I'm completely naive, I realize corruption with international charities is a huge problem. I never really thought about it on a smaller scale, nor using children as your tool. It's completely sick. So these places aren't actually orphanages at all.. more like a day care I guess. They have parents, maybe they are very poor, but the point is they are not orphans and money and gifts aren't for them. It's all a complete cover up. Westerners visit, they give money, they give food, they promise years of support and donations and think they are really helping out. Stupid them. The person who runs the faux orphanage lives in luxury, upgrades their home, buys a new car, nice clothes.. and uses the children to run it. I'm sure the families who send the children get a nice kick back (I can't blame them..but at the end of the day they are still the victims who are being used and have practically zero gain) I recently had a discussion with someone about using the word hate. I know it's a strong word but when you hear stories like that it becomes really easy to hate the people who are twisted enough to take advantage of others.

Anyway, I guess I will keep you posted, this blogging this is like a full time job :)

Hammocks, Road Burn and Drinks with Umbrellas

2007-03-04T02:10:00.001-05:00

Koh Phangan, Thailand
Originally uploaded by An Smith.

One of my new goals in life is to spend more time in a hammock. They are the perfect mode for relaxation, specifically when placed beside the ocean between two palms. I'm not picky about it though. Beside the hut works for me also :)

We just spent the last (however many days we've been gone) island hopping around the south of Thailand. Our days consisted of sleep, eat, swim, read, sleep, swim, eat, read. We would rent motorbikes and tour the entire way around the island stopping at each and every beach for a swim. The rest of the time we snuck into private pools at smanschy resorts and hid underwater when the staff came around. Why not right?

It was the perfect end to our quick tour around South East Asia. It's crazy that we are flying to India tonight.. we actually stop in Sri Lanka to sleep and then arrive in Goa, India in the morning!

So besides two attempted robberies and one *mini* motorbike accident (and a lot of stubbed toes!!) we have zero complaints and zero traumas ... **The motorbike accident was embarrassing, almost not worth discussing ('cept Denise has a HUGE painful bruise on her foot). In Koh Phangan you see everyone walking around with broken limbs, road burn on their face, huge gashes. It's known as the Koh Phangan tattoo! The hills are huge and really curvy.. and everyone goes there and hops on and thinks they can handle it ... really nuts actually. We've walked everywhere since our mini crash :) No more motorbikes!

Time to chill and watch a move at a cafe in Bangkok then hit the airport...more updates soon.

xoxo

Randy

2007-03-04T01:54:00.001-05:00

Randy
Originally uploaded by An Smith.

Meet Randy. This kid haunted me for the entire three days we were in Siem Reap. Every time I looked down the lil guy was tugging at my arm with his big sad eyes, dressed in dirty pj's and his hair all crazy, holding his hat in his hand and asking for a handout. There was something about him in particular that stood out from the other kids - I still can't say what it was exactly!

Anyway, it got to a point that I couldn't handle it anymore. I kept telling Denise that if I saw him one more time I was going to absolutely lose it. He's only six years old, and his parents send him out all day and night to get money from tourists. We were told that it is quite common that kids will get a beating if they don't make enough money in the day.

Cambodia was a place that really hit me hard in a lot of ways. I actually felt how 'real' life is as opposed to the cushy lives we grew up in and are so accustomed to (and take for granted). It's not the first time I've seen poverty or been in a country with hardship but there was something about Cambodia that struck something in me and I think it was there amazing attitude and how full of life they are. The poverty, the disadvantages, the hardships these people have lived through..its right in your face. The happiness you see is what makes it so amazing. These people really stick together, they watch out for each other. They depend on each other for survival.

So back to Randy (actually, the way he says it: it is Rand EH kind of with a pause and a huge gruff excited emphasis on the EH part, haha cute..). You can't give kids money, it just encourages them and I also know the father is lurking in the alley or across the street waiting to take what he gets from the tourists. And besides, with all of the aid and charity organizations we saw all over in Cambodia it doesn't seem like there is an excuse to beg or to further encourage it. So instead of giving him money, we did the next best thing and bought him a giant bowl of ice cream. The smile on his face while he ate it was classic and he didn't hesitate for one second when I suggested the idea. He didn't say much while he ate and ran off quickly when he was done, immediately hitting up the next tourist in site for money, but he did hang close by us for the rest of the night.

The most amazing thing (and impressive) was that as soon as he sat down with us there was a police man and another man (who I assume was his father) immediately watching what was going to happen next. In a country where sex tourism is a such a concern it was nice to see that they had a genuine concern and reacted quickly when we showed interest in him. They were pretty happy about the ice cream for him - when they realized what was happening they sat back and relaxed.

So that was that. I left there wondering what was going to happen to him and to be honest he is still on my mind all the time. I hope he takes advantage of the aid programs that are offered everywhere in his country (and free education!).

With that said, if you are in Siem Reap and you see the lil guy, buy him an ice cream on me. He prefers vanilla to chocolate :)

I heart Cambodia

2007-02-22T06:18:00.001-05:00

Angkor Wat
Originally uploaded by An Smith.

I truly love Cambodia. Without a doubt it's my favorite place we have visited and maybe even one of my favorite places on earth. Admittedly our expectations were super low so it's been a pleasant suprise from the moment we landed in Phnom Phen.

It's an amazing country that seems to be slowly but succesfully recovering from a terrible genocide just over thirty years ago. The poverty is more evident here than anywhere else we've visited in south east asia and you see a lot more of the problems that landmines and a lack of good health care system have had on this country. It's heart breaking to think that there are no social services (besides aid agencies) to help these people.

The Khmer are beautiful, have a fierce integrity and seem extremely intelligent. They have a certain something about them that totally draws you in. The children are smart, well spoken and charismatic. Everyone is really easy to make a joke, they have a brilliant sense of humour. Every shop or restaurant seems to be involved in some sort of aid program, whether it be selling handicrafts that were made by those who are handicapped (because of landmines or they have polio) or simply run by street kids in order to keep them off the streets and teach them useful skills. There seems to be a lot going on to move forward here and I know the government is still completely corrupt but I would like to think that the majority of these organizations are valid and actually working to make a difference. A lot of the street vendors will have signs up saying that they used to beg but now they have learned to work for their money instead (through the help and education / training skills from aid organizations).

We went to Angkor Wat this morning (up at 5:00am!!) and spent half of the day wandering around taking pictures of temples and sweating profusely (by 9am it was so hot it was unreal). We stumbled across a hair cutting ceremony in the main temple (just after sunrise so the majority of the tourist brigade had moved along) and we sat and watched for about 45 minutes while this boy went through this incredible ceremony. That made our experience right there. Otherwise.. would I have liked Angkor? Probably not. It is filled to the brim with people and in my mind it had a really hard time beating out Tikal in Guatemala where there are virtually no tourists and you can sit peacefully at the top of the temple and listen to Howler Monkeys while you watch the toucans and parrots fly around the top of the jungle canopy.

It's heard to believe we head back to Bangkok tomorrow. We have to apply for our India visa and then are going to spend a few days in the islands while we wait. I don't know how the weeks have passed so quickly and so far everything has been perfect. We spend our spare time making up games (like zoolander or sing that word now) or debating on what object you would choose to bring to life and have as your friend, just for a day. So far we have not come to anything conclusive but we gots lots of time:)

Salty Meatballs and Leeches

2007-02-22T04:13:00.001-05:00

Phnom Phen
Originally uploaded by An Smith.

I don't know when it is exactly that you cross the line from a girl who likes to look pretty and then suddenly fall into the dirty grubby backpacker category, but I know we have jumped in head first and have successfully arrived.

Our finger nails are dirty, our feet are disgusting all the time (I'll get back to them in a minute), Denise has stopped brushing her hair (she is aiming to brush it again when we get back home). I only brush mine after I wash it, which is three times a week or so. We try to shower everyday but if there is no time we just use double deodorant and change our undies. As a rule we still shave our legs, paint our toenails (it helps to cover the dirt) and sometimes we put on mascara when we go out at night. You will also be glad to know that brushing our teeth is also still in effect.

I'm sort of scared of my new look (besides the dirt) because I'm suddenly wearing thai pants and a head band and I think I'm a few days away from dreads (kidding!). I think. I would more likely just shave the damn hair off.. because of the heat.

Anyway, back to being grubby. The thing is that it isn't exactly hygiene that makes you 'grubby'. It's your entire new lifestyle. Things don't bother you anymore. Stuff like bugs, hair in your food and dirty washrooms become normal. Bad smells, black feet, hairs on the pillow, dead mozzies on the sheets. It is next to impossible to keep your feet clean. You are always in flips, the roads are dusty, you are sweaty all the time..my feet stay clean for a duration of approximately sixty seconds and when I shower the water is black and sand coloured. It's sick...

So this is the routine.. we arrive in a dusty city hot and tired from a death defying bus ride and are immediately surrounded by ladies and children selling fruit and tuk tuk drivers offering to take us to a guest house. We try (unsuccessfully) to keep some sort of personal space between us and them and figure out the plan, toss our bags into the Tuk Tuk and drive to guesthouse #1. One of us stays and watches the bags and the other checks out the room. We look for one thing and one thing only. Foot boards. Denise can't sleep in a bed with foot boards because she has giant long legs (lucky her). We will walk into any guesthouse and the walls are super grubby (usually water stains and dirt), there are wire things hanging from the walls that look scary, the sheets are clean-ish and there are buggies in the washroom. Sometimes there is toilet paper and sometimes (ha hem all the time) the washroom smells like mould.
"It's really nice! and only $2 each..". Denise wisely wondered yesterday when in our normal lives that would that be considered "nice'. She has a good point. We have transitioned.

Cambodia

2007-02-18T08:15:00.001-05:00

Hanoi
Originally uploaded by An Smith.

Apparently there are two paved roads in the entire country, only 10% of the population has access to electricity, the brand spanking shiny new SUV's you see everywhere are thanks to the Japanese foreign aid donation of $50 million *meant to pave the road from Phnom Phen to the Thai Border (who can blame them really, buying SUV's are much smancier and self serving and the potholes are a killer on the bum)*, the Thai airline industry is secretly paying the government to avoid paving the road to the borders so more people fly (potholes..ouch), nobody has anything bad to say about Pol Pot, the best chef's in New York pay top dollar for fresh pepper from Kam Pot, the King is gay, the beaches are better than Thailand and the countries biggest export is cockroaches (which are shipped to France and used to make perfume).

Um, so whom ever can prove or deny the above statements wins a prize.. well not really. Maybe a nice glossy 8x10? Of me. Come on.. it'll be fun! I know you're bored silly at your job. Think of this as a learning experience people.

Moving along.. I am completely in love with Cambodia! It's more what I pictured India and East Africa to be like.. the people are incredible and so friendly (even the really corrupt shady ones, and there are a lot of 'em trying to scam us). It's dirty, it's super dusty, it smells questionable, more people fit in cars and vans than I ever thought possible, things look like they might fall apart at any second.. you get the idea. It also has the most amazingly stunning white sandy beaches lined with.. fir trees (??), the ocean is hot.. almost too warm, and the food has been fantastic (best shrimp and crab ever in life). Yes, if we know one thing it's food. I don't really know how to spell (for example I originally inserted a "p" where the "b" in crab goes.. that would have been strange if I didn't edit), suck at sentence construction and don't give two hoots about museums. But I know food... so take my word on it, despite what you've heard. The Cambodians (ha hem, the Khmer's..) can certainly cook.

Moving backwards, we have been staying with our friend Manit's family in Shihanoukville for the past few nights. Her stepfather, who is British (and I note that he hates Farang and Lonely Planet) and his Cambodian wife (we will call her Mum and him Peter). She is five months pregnant and they are the owners of the two cute boys running around playing with balloons which you will see one day if I can ever upload pictures. One is named Anthony and I can't remember the other one. For the duration of the story she is Mum, despite her being my age, only because we didn't get any other introduction. He is Peter because.. well that's his name. Mums Dad is Dad and Mums Mum is Grandmum. There is also a pig. I'm not sure if pigs have names, but I assure you he is a lucky pig. There is also a Mr. X who is a random Cambodian dude I never was introduced to and finally there were a few of Mum's brothers and sisters. Or at least I think they were related.)

Getting to the point, Grandmum made a deal with Mr. X's boss to buy her pig for $100 dollars. Mr. X's boss agreed to bring the money in three days. The three days went by and who shows up but Mr. X but with the pig and not the money. His boss no longer wants the pig because one of its toes (there is a proper name but I don't know it) is too short. Grandmum will not accept this and demands the payment per the original agreement. Mr. X refuses, Dad and the brothers steal Mr. X's motorbike and lock the gate forcing him off of the property. Mr. X then runs (on foot) to his boss who then returns with his wife, their six children and four neighbours about an hour later. Dad (who is an x Khmer Rouge and spent time in jail for war crimes and is super buff and is 60) stood defiantly in front of the stolen motorbike and Grandmum invited the entire clan to discuss their predicament. After a thirty minute round table (calm, no yelling, minimal hand gestures and sadly all conducted in Khmer so I couldn't really eavestrop) they decide that nobody wants the pig and to save face for both families it must go free (I think it was lost at this point anyway running around the town gleefully, having just narrowly escaped certain death). Grandmum accepts $70 from Mr. X's boss and the entire group leaves happy. And that my friends, is how they do business in Cambodia.

This morning we woke up, Dad drove us to the market and put us in a car with eight other people for a two hour drive to Kam Pot (four in the front and four in the back including one small girl to the left of the driver) and we made our way. Maybe she worked the breaks? No idea but this was one of the paved roads, lucky us :) Somebody (we think he was actually Mums cousin) located us at the taxi rank in Kam Pot and took us to a guest house *he got us a good deal and I'm sure it included his cut and mums cut cause that's the way it works here*. He then drove us around to buy food, check the bank (not open, it's New Years Day) and took us 40 minutes by motorbike to the beach and even taught me how to drive the damn thing. I suck at changing gears. We haven't seen another tourist in days.. and come to think of it.. I can't believe how expensive pigs are.

*The picture I blogged from has nothing to do with Cambodia it's just I can only access my blog via my Flickr account. Huh? Anyway, it's actually an alley in Hanoi, Vietnam. It happens to be my favorite picture so far and it involves an eloborate fabrication about a run in with an action movie star. My friend Peter (not the British one, the Calgary one) did an amazing edit which I will post one day when I am out of a country that denies my blog access).

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

2007-02-15T11:39:00.001-05:00

Hoi An
Originally uploaded by An Smith.

We love food (..Denise and I..um duh). Much of our trip enjoyment is centered around food and in fact much of our pre-trip obsessing was over what we would eat while away.

There are certain foods from places I will eternally crave (which is part of what I love about travelling).. dried biltong from South Africa, almond cookies in Marrakesh, white rose from Hoi An (White Rose is a Vietnamese version of a Chinese dumpling with pork inside and crispy garlic sprinkled on top). I could really talk a lot about favorite food but those three might be my top fav food memories.. today anyway. And my memory tends to suck so.. don't quote me on anything ever. In general.

Um..babbling..k.. we normally have two meals a day.. breakfast consists of either granola (meuslit) and yogurt with fresh fruit OR eggs and bacon with a crusty roll and fresh fruit lassies. Always a latte for me, a cappuchino for Denise. Lunch is a snack of fresh fruit (mango, lychee's or pineapple) and then dinner. Mmmm. Dinner. The one meal we really look forward to. Obsessively.

It's hard to say what country has the best food so far. Our worst meal was in Thailand but it was also the most consistent in terms of amazingly delicious meals. My favorite in Thailand was a spicy noodle chicken and an unidentifiable green vegetable stirfry at a street vendor in Chiang Mai (devoured while sitting at a table on the road and drinking a beer). The whole meal and the beer cost less than $2 :)

Our best meals were in Hoi An (hands down - three amazing dinners in a row and likely the best food I've ever tasted) but prior to that we had been really disappointed in the Vietnamese food. Laos food is more like Thai food. We generally ate in outdoor markets but nothing to crazy, just really cheap.

**As an aside there used to be a pharagraph here about soup. Specifically Vietnamese Pho but it was grammatically terrible and since it was just about soup I took it out. Who really cares about soup anyway...*

In general we eat so healthy. The food is really fresh and always loaded up with fresh veggies, herbs and spices. Sometimes hygiene is questionable but you try not to think about that stuff or else you miss out on the experience. The only time we eat junk is long bus rides. We grab peanut butter, fresh rolls and oreo cookies. Everywhere you can find Mentos, Pringles and Oreo cookies. Nothing else familiar from home really but finding Peanut Butter in a grocery store is like finding gold.

*WARNING: Please skip this next paragraph if you are a dog owner and/or animal lover and have a weak stomach*

Dog is eaten in Vietnam (more typically in the north than the south). We did see fresh dog meat at a market in Hanoi - whole bodies and heads that had been BBQ'd, the skin and hair burnt off.. (I try to respect it.. you sort of have to try even though it repulsive. It's a different culture and that's just what they do and have done for centuries so it's not morally wrong in their world.. BUT the thing that gets me is they still have dogs as pets. How can you have them for a pet and eat them? I don't get that??).

mmmmmmmmmmm. Time for dinner. Vietnamese pancakes tonight..our last night in Vietnam!

Crash Landing - we win!

2007-02-11T11:24:00.000-05:00

It's like being a passenger in a video game but you don't get to control what happens (keep in mind you only get one life in this kind of video game and the crashing part really hurts).

You haven't lived until you've played chicken at 100 kms per hour with a mac truck or challenged another bus (on their side of the road) while going around a curve only to smash on the brakes and swerve at the last possible second just avoiding a head on collision. I'm absolutely convinced you have to be a complete mad man to drive a bus here! Yes I know, I talk about the bus rides here alot. And yes I do notice other things, like the food and the scenery and the people and cultural differences and stuff but I will get to that part later.

**Thought: perhaps this is why my blog access is denied in Vietnam.. they hate my scary bus stories**

We just did a 12 hour overnight from Hoi An to Nha Trang and made the mistake of choosing the very back seats. In part we were trying to be selfish in hopes the bus wouldn't fill and the three of us could stretch out and get comfy.. our last few overnights have been great, we've had our own double seat and you manage to get comfy, pop a few gravol and you are in a comma for 7 hours, snuggled up in our sleeping bags, munching on peanut butter sammies. It's do-able for sure, much cheaper than the train and you save $$ on a nights accommodation.

Ah. K where was I. The back seat of the bus here is over the engine so the seats are above everyone else (you are about 2 feet from the ceiling and your knees are at the top of the seat infront). You have a clear view of the road ahead of you and every bump means you get air between your bum and the seat. I guess thats fun if your not tall. (The guy I was sitting beside realized there was a giant hole above his head. Presumably where someone had been launched upwards and crashed their head with the ceiling. Youch.. So anyway, we pictured ourselve being launched head first down the aisle for a few minutes, realized seatbelts weren't an option and tried to sleep and not stare at the oncoming traffic. I was trying to decide if I would actually fly head first over the rows of seats infront of me (kind of like bus body surfing) or if my head would crash into the overhead compartment and my neck would snap in half). So morbid. Anyway, I ended up cramming myself in between the seat infront of me, on the floor with my head on my seat. It kinda worked despite my foot falling asleep but atleast I couldn't see the oncoming headlights, I could just feel the screeching and swerving so it was less scary.. Oh, and sitting on the engine is bloody hot. I survived though.

Beach and massage time! Maybe even some snorkeling.

My Life As I Currently Know It

2007-02-07T22:31:00.000-05:00

**TECHNICAL BLOG ASSISTANCE PROVIDED BY AMY HARRISON, FORMER ROOMMATE & JEALOUS FRIEND**

1. Wake up in the morning whenever I feel like it and roll out of my hotel bed (Hotel: sparkling clean, own bathroom with a tub and a flush toilet, a TV with the movie channel, a pool, nice central location and aircon - $3 per night).
a) Wake up time could be just before noon or maybe right at 4:45am to go see the ruins at sunrise. This really depends on the days activities and what I feel like doing.

2. Treat myself to a latte (x2) and muesli with fresh fruit (banana and pineapple) and fresh yogurt for breakfast while chilling at an outdoor cafe with the girls ($3). We discuss nothing and everything. (Lots of times we discuss 'bathroom stuff'. It's a hot topic when you are backpacking in strange foreign lands).

3. Wander casually back to the hotel and along the way maybe I will get measured for a new custom made pair of linen shorts or a new sundress (*So far I have bought 1 sundress, 1 pair of dressy shorts, 1 skirt, 2 tops, 1 scarf and 1 pair of linen pants..$30). I suck at haggling because I'd rather get to the beach than argue over 0.50cents and I'm semi concerned I am contributing to slave labour so I may have actually over paid. I really don't care about that part (over paying I mean, not slave labour).

4. Rent a bike for the day ($1) and lazily peddle 20 minutes to the beach.

5. Lie on the beach. Turn. Slather on suncreen. Turn. Zone out to iPod. Read my book. Turn. Slather more sunscreen on my burnt bum. Swim. $2 massage. More sunscreen. Shake off towel. Buy water and a fresh mango from the lady on the beach ($0.75). Swim to wash off mango. Play frisbee with Denise and try to pretend I look like I am from Baywatch. Swim. Slather.

6. Bike back from the beach during rush hour. **This is the most terrifying part of the day because there are lots of giant buses and motorbikes that whiz past and honk at me (read: Asia Road Rules and picture yourself on a bike).

7. Go to the shops where I ordered clothes and do a final fitting.

8. Shower, put on new nice clothes and do hair. Lipgloss and mascara so I feel like a girl. Go to our cooking class at my favorite restaurant ($5 for the class and dinner - private for the three of us). The food is the best I've ever tasted.

9. Wander back home, fall into my cozy bed and fall asleep listening to Amos.

10. Wake up and do it all over again :)

**Blog Assistance Rate is $750/word. Andrea, please pay ASAP**

Hanoi

2007-01-31T11:41:00.000-05:00

Picture something similar to a boxing day sale at Harrod's. All of a sudden pandamonium breaks out when two girls start fighting over the last pair of designer cut-offs (um, and remember you can't actually wear those designer cut-offs IN the store.. they do have a dress code..right Catherine?) Anyway, that was kind of my morning but the girls were frenzied Vietnamese and the shorts were..our passports. Okay. So I've managed to make my mother and sister giggle but everyone else is lost?

It started 40ish hours ago..we left Vang Vieng (no we didn't tube..don't ask..but there were alot of FRIENDS reruns) via Vientiene with a final destination of Hanoi. Thirty bloody hours on a bus in total..yuck. We bought food, we brought our sleeping bags on board and we even managed to get two seats each. Looking good so far. The most bizarre part (besides the constant honking, swerving of the bus and slamming of the breaks to avoid dogs and children) was that we actually arrived at the border at 1am and the bus driver proceeded to shut the bus off and slept until 7am (at which point the border opened). WHY wouldn't we just leave 6 hours later? That is a very good question of which I have no answer.

Anyway, we sleepily walked into to get our Laos exit stamp and it was like mad chaos.. we (being the ten foreigners on the bus) had to literally form a human wall so that the locals didn't push through us and force there way to the window. There was no line, and they practically tried to get between your legs so they could get stamped without waiting, regardless of the fact that we were there first and waiting patiently as you normally would in that situation. And they just kept coming out of nowhere and pushing and yelling and ..it was really way to much for that early in them morning and no coffee ;)

So.. we did eventually arrive in Hanoi and it's absolutely mental here. I freakin' love it! The traffic is like nothing I have ever seen before (I thought Bangkok and Marakkesh were bad?) but this is just nuts. Crossing the road is terrifying.. kind of like an advanced level of Frogger. They don't follow the lights (ie. yes they still go through red lights and maybe just use more caution but even that I doubt). There are streets and streets of 'stuff'. Vendors selling knockoffs of everything you can imagine..knockoff candy..purses, belts.. anyway, it seems great.

Going to get up at 6:00am and do Tai Chi in the park? Hm. I should go to bed.

Road Rules: Asia

2007-01-31T11:19:00.000-05:00

*Applies to Buses and Mini Vans*

1. Honk loudly and with frequency. This ensures that anything smaller than you gets out of the way (this includes but is not limited to scooters, woman & children, cows and tuk tuks).

2. When passing other vehicles only do so at bends in the road. This makes it more exciting for the passengers and the driver (not knowing if there is oncoming traffic is fun).
a) When passing on the curve ensure you are going really fast so that you can take the bend on two wheels and make that cool tire/pavement screechy noise.

3. If passing through a small village increase your speed to double the speed limit (refer to rule #1 re: honking). The kids and/or dogs who are playing and crossing the road get out of the way so it's fun (it kind of makes it like frogger but like, in reality!).

4. It doesn't really matter what side of the road you drive on. We do recommend the right side for continuity and to ensure road harmony. Keep in mind that the left, middle or side of the road also work just fine (refer to rule #1 re: honking and #2 re: overtaking).

5. When taking tourists on package tours be sure to leave an hour after the scheduled departure and THEN go to fill up the vehicle with gas.

6. Always remember, traffic cops are only there to accept bribes (we recommend you keep lots of small bills on hand).

Any questions?

Opium Villages, Mud Fights and Kayaking Delirium

2007-01-27T01:00:00.000-05:00

The truck picked Dan, Tim, Denise and I up at 8:45AM from our guest house and drove us into town to get breakfast before heading north of Luang Prabang for a three day trek through the villages and jungles of Laos. It was just the four of us this time with a guide ($45US for all meals and accomodation for the duration) which was perfect!! The first night would be staying at a Hmong Village and the second would be tenting beside a river. We had just spent two days biking around the city (and a 20km bike UP hill to a 'waterfall the day before) and our legs were slightly killed but we were totally motivated for the trekking. Couldn't be THAT hard right :)

A thirty minute drive from hell (I was certain I was going to fly out of the back of the truck!!!) and we found ourselves waste deep in a fast moving river. We had to cross to the other side with our packs on - it was hilarious and next to impossible to keep balance. It would take us six hours to get to the first village, we kept up a pretty good pace stopping to rest a few times and eat lunch.

We came across one village which was the poorest we have seen yet. In most cases the children seem well fed and happy and healthy and there is access to food, clean water and a school. They live very differently from us but there is nothing wrong with the way they live. In this case there was neither of the things that made it okay... The children were really sick (terrible coughs) and they didn't have a school or access to clean water. They had to bathe and get water from the same lake that the cows and chickens used for the same purpose. It was eye opening and totally heartbreaking.

The first night we stayed in a village that was completely cracked out. Everyone was on Opium.. it was totally bizarre. Besides the all night puke fest outside our cabin we had a great dinner and a decent night sleep. Not to mention an amazing dinner that our guide (Huan) prepared for us.

The next morning it was off again, this time only four hours of trekking, with some amazing stops (check Denise's pix..she has some amazing scenery shots). We kayaked for the last half an hour to the spot where we would camp for the night, set up our tents and walked into the village for a snack while dinner was prepared. We sat around with the locals while they practiced their english and tried to teach us how to count in Laos. The guys were drinking Laos whisky.. nasty stuff. Denise and I stayed away :)

Dinner was.. chicken soup. We *knew* that while we were waiting they were killing and cleaning one of the chickens who were running around the village. Um, ew.. but that's what happens so it's okay right? What we didn't realize is that chicken soup meant the entire chicken. Feet, head, bones and ALL. Denise and I couldn't eat after our guide chomped down on the chicken toes and sucked the brain out of the head.

At night we had a bonfire by the beach and the locals sang Laos songs while we tried to compete with our iPod party idea. We lost :) but it was entertaining to say the least.

The next morning we left early for our kayak ride down river back to Luang Prabang and stopped at a waterfall to swim for a few hours. The water is really low right now so the waterfall wasn't as incredible as it could be but it was nice because we were practically the only people there. The water was FREEZING but it was still fun and totally refreshing.

Continuing on we left to finish our trek with a four hour kayak down the Nam Khan river. There were seaweed fights, there were mud fights and there were rapids. At one point the guys completely bailed out at the hardest part of the rapids. Denise and I were laughing so hard at them floating down the river I'm suprised ours didn't capsize as well. Denise and I should be in the olympics for river kayaking.. we kind of kick ass at the rapids :)

The last twenty minutes were perhaps the most delirious of my entire life. Our arms were complete rubber (two to a kayak) and Denise and I could not stop laughing. Mix that with extreme exhaustion and you get silly. We were really glad to hit shore and get back to town.

Luang Prabang

2007-01-21T09:46:00.000-05:00

It took us three days to get here..5 hour bus ride from Chiang Mai to Thailand/Laos Border, weird boat across a stream that took 30 seconds, over night in the strangest 'town' I have ever come across and then two days on a slow boat down the Mekong River to Laung Prabang. (The boat meant 8 hours per day on a wooden bench and no stretching room.. my bum is more than a little sore). Scenery was fantastic though and we met some great people. The 2nd night we had a bonfire on the beach..small town with no electricity after 10pm.

Today was perhaps one of the strangest days of my life. We started out renting bikes (best way to see the city..peddle bikes! not motor which are illegal for foreigners???!!!).. anyway, biked around and saw some temples and so on and then decided to have a swim in a river to cool off since it was so hot. We have two new Dutch friends, Dan and Tim, that we have latched on to since the boat ride.. Canada vs. Holland in a seaweed match (we lost..).. we were also swimming with monks who didn't partake in the seaweed match until Denise and I got out.. then it was all hands on deck. Boys wipping seaweed at each other in a muddy river. Quite entertaining :)

So as we were leaving to head back into town we heard music and thought there must be a festival going on and decided to check it out. We were sort of on the outskirts of town at this point but ended up walking into some guys backyard (there was a band and huge stereo setup and tons of people dancing and drinking). The owner was quick to welcome us, it was his new son (River) birth party.. so as you would we spent the next two hours singing and dancing (really, I have never busted moves like we were..it was so funny). We drank, we ate, we danced and we were suddenly the center of the party. They went so far as to announce our names and make each of us come up and dance (like..fast dancing..arms shaking, booty wagging) with a member of the family. I DO have some of this on video and will figure out how to upload it for your viewing pleasure eventually. At the end we were invited into the house to meet River, and they performed a ceremony where each family member tied a white string on our left and right arm (I must have 10 on each and look somewhat like I attempted to commit suicide by slitting my wrists). Each person gave us a blessing as they tied it and we have to leave them on for three days for the blessings to come true. In turn we each tied strings on Rivers left and right arm and then we gave money to the family as a gift. Amazing...words unfortunately can't describe what we just did.

Luang Prabang. Yup, I am so in love with this city. We all are.. didn't really plan on staying here more than a night but we are staying at a beautiful and clean guest house ($3 each per night!!) run by a very nice Lao family (they invited us for spring rolls and beer with them last night before we had dinner in the market!) and the city itself is incredible. I can't really say enough about this place, I can see us staying a week atleast...

On our way out for dinner we wandered into a fair at the temple at the end of the road we are staying on. No tourists.. only locals. All of the kids were playing games and having a ball.. it was fun to see. And the monks were everywhere watching..I think they put it on to raise money. Completely surreal.

Tomorrow morning we are getting up at 5:30am to give offering to the monks as they do a morning walk through the town.

This really is the life :) I officially have zero complaints.

EFALUMPS!!!!!!!!

2007-01-18T09:37:00.000-05:00

I had a lunch date yesterday with a boy by the name of Tong Suk, Thai for "Jungle Boy". He has zero table manners, weighs about 240kg and is only 5 years old. By the end of it I was covered in slobber and watermelon, but it was great.. it was hilarious because he is super independent and a complete trouble maker! Not much different than a human 5 year old I suppose :) The idea was *I* would feed him bananas and watermelon but he was very insistent that he was old enough to do it himself. He wins cause he's much bigger.

Denise and I just spent two days at Elephant Nature Park, located an hour north of Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand. It's a safe haven for abused elephants, basically a charity that rescues elephants from all over South East Asia and allows them live the rest of their lives as free as possible and most importantly without abuse. The park is currently at capacity with 31 elephants (AND 36 dogs and 3 cats!!!)

We got to go swimming with the elephants everyday.. we would take a brush and bucket and they lie down and we would dodge elephant poo while we scrubbed them down. Amazing experience in itself.. and the rest of the stay we just 'hung' out with them. Went for walks with them.. fed them and you get the point..just no riding which is not really nice!

We learned that the Thai people have a terrible tradition for training elephants. When they are about 3 years old they are put into a cage and beat with bamboo sticks and terrorized until they become submissive - it normally takes two to three days depending on the elephant. We saw a video (shown on National Geographic) about this tradition and the organization itself and what it is trying to do for the elephants of Thailand.. as a result Lek, the lady who started the organization, had a hit put on her..long story.. it was stopped and she went in to hiding but they ended up poisoning one of her baby elephants as a way to tell her to keep her mouth shut.. it should be the next Hollywood movie..

The point is that they are trying to teach that positive reinforcement is a better training method which needs to be adopted.. read more about it at www.elephantnaturepark.org

See Flickr link for updated pics ...

Oh My Buddha - it's Same Same but Different you see

2007-01-16T01:30:00.000-05:00

Woke up this morning frozen and feeling nothing but severe pain in each and every muscle and bone in my entire body, only having had two hours of sleep (if that) I stuggled to get up. I had on every single piece of clothing that was in my pack and was wrapped like a butterfly in a cocoon in blankets. My pillow was a rock with a thin piece of material on it. The bed was a thin matt on the floor of a barn. The barn was on stilts 10 feet above ground and had no electricity (just candles). The floorboards had slits at least an inch wide between them (air conditioning?). The bathroom was a hole in the ground and the shower was the river. We were in a remote Thai village a few hours from Chiang Mai. It was awesome :)

We got up and staggered outside where Mr. Thirty Bhat (aka Mr. Khan) had lit a bonfire. Watched the pigs, cows, dogs, chickens and villagers get the day started while we drank instant coffee with dried carnation milk and tried to defrost our toes. The cows ate banana peels out of our hands and sniffed around for leftovers.

After breakfast (eggs and toast - yummy) we packed up all of our stuff and put our valuables (ipod and digital camera) inside a plastic bag, tied it with a knot and buried it deep inside our packs. Fingers crossed, put the bags on the bamboo raft they made for us last night and climbed on. Our feet were submerged to our ankles and every effort was in keeping our balance (standing) for the three hour river trip back to the truck that would take us back to Chiang Mai. Every once and awhile Mr. Kahn would yell "GET DOWN NOW" and we would drop to our knees and hold on for dear life while we tried to balance through rapids and dodge the rocks (and not crash like that guys boat did.. hhaha!!). Water was to my elbows while I was in the crouched position rushing through rapids and I was drenched from top to bottom. Did I mention my digital camera and my ipod was in my pack hanging on a tripod at the front of the boat? :/ Mr. Kahn would point out "ship wrecked" rafts as we'd pass them and jokingly tell me stories about how the tourists were lost in the rapids and all of there stuff was gone washed away down river. I think he was kidding :)

Three days ago we left with 12 strangers and two guides to trek in the national park north of the city of Chiang Mai. It was two days of hiking straight up the mountain and straight down again. No donkeys like in the Atlast Mountains but still similar. Carrying a day pack with everything I thought needed for the next few days wasn't to bad! It was sweaty, hot, freezing cold, we had amazing views, good people for company and incredible thai food everynight while we say around a bonfire drinking beers and getting to know everyone. Sleeping was not as fun.. but it's part of the experience.

Highlights included an elephant trek through the jungle at the end of day two... We (Denise and I)had to have the biggest elephant so I held on for dear life (fear of slipping off of the plastic seat with a rope *I* had tied across for our safety and crashing to the ground only to summersault further down the side of the mountain and lie dead and mangled at the bottom of the river seemed normal to me) but Denise played with the elephant (no hands even when we were going straight down at a 90 degree angle!!!) and gave him massages where the rope had made indent lines. We discussed how we would never do that again. Seems to mean for the poor elephants. They did appear to be treated okay.. and they even had a baby elephant with them which is apparently a good sign meaning they are happy (won't have babies if they are sad!!??). That's what we were told by some of the people on our tour anyway.

The river rafting was atually quite peaceful most of the time. We just strolled along while we passed elephants and water buffalo and villages with people doing laundry. Denise and I challenged our balance by doing dance moves. Yup.. we were doing the macarena at about 10pm your time, down a river in the jungle in the middle of no where while you all were cleaning up from dinner and getting ready to back to work :)

I have a million more stories to tell.. but no time!! Enjoy the pics.. If I can ever get them uploaded. Slow connection and still trying to finish Bangkok shots..:)

Thailand: The Land of Smiles ??

2007-01-15T23:54:00.001-05:00

OR let's try the "Land of Perverts" as Denise wisely renamed it last Friday night :)

I don't mean the locals, not at all in fact.. what I do mean is the European and North American tourists who are here to exploit the Thai women in the sex trade and buy a girlfriend for their vacation.

When we were in Bangkok it wasn't that obvious. We would walk around the city and you would see the odd fat and unattractive sixty year old man with a beatiful and very young Thai girl, and they would be on a 'date'. It would go like this: We would notice them, HE would avoid eye contact, Denise and I would shoot looks of disgust anyway and mutter pervert comments, and they would even seperate when they would see us so it didn't look like they were together. Nothing says "I'm doing something completely wrong and I know it" than that.

Coming to Chiang Mai was a completely different scenario. Not only old sleazy pervs.. but young ones as well!! AND completely hot ones as a matter of fact.. AND no shame. No avoidance of eye contact. Everyone here is doing it so they have no reason to hide it. When you walk down the street the bars are filled with only Thai woman and sleaze ball men. Denise and I actually feel quite invisible ;)

So we went to an "Authentic Muay Thai Boxing Fight" on Friday night. The posters and flyers really hyped it up and they were all over town.. real fights.. nothing staged.. that kind of thing so we were totally excited.. thought it would be a great to spend our night. Sweaty buff men fighting and beer :) BUT, what it turned out to be was a Thai hooker bar. It was Denise and I and Thai woman or lady boys "working it" for the N.A and European men who were looking for a girlfriend for the night or the week or whatever it may be. We had a beer and left (after we played some Jenga - click link for pics HERE and HERE!!). Shot dart eyes all around the bar and went home disgruntled and completely sad and grossed out :(

Nuff bout that.

Unemployed, $15,000 in the bank and a one way ticket to Bangkok?

2006-12-29T17:26:00.000-05:00

For the last year and a half I've worked two jobs, managed to pay off a sizeable debt (coincidently from other travels..) and saved $15,000 (and $2000 in pre-trip expenses I've already absorbed) for this next chapter. 14 months of planning, obsessing, researching..

Denise and I dropped our keys off at security..grabbed our bags mashed full of our suits and work clothes and did a dance all the way to the car. We actually sang "The Final Countdown" as we exited the parking garage for the last and final time. I came home, changed and tore the work pants I've lived in for the last year and a half to shreds and ceremoniously put them in the garbage can. Then I texted everyone I knew to tell them.

What a crazy good feeling! I don't have to deal with alarm clocks, or rush hour traffic or "urgent" messages from clients. Most importantly I don't have to eat in P4 anymore.

There is one thing I have to do now..there's a bottle of champagne chilling in the fridge that needs my immediate attention...

: D

Gulu Walk

2006-10-21T21:12:00.000-04:00

Denise, her dad and I did the Gulu walk today. In total we raised $1,290, which we were pretty proud about, thanks to everyone who donated ; )

It felt nice to actually be a part of something for once and I've already had my rant about this.. so nuff said.

D's African Birthday Party: The Obsession Continues..

2006-10-16T14:30:00.000-04:00

PHOTO CREDIT: MARTIN CIESZEWSKI (National Geographic specializing in animals of the plastic variety, and one hell of a photographer)

The Conflict in Northern Uganda

2006-10-04T21:44:00.000-04:00

For the last 20 years Joseph Kony and the LRA (Lord's Resistance Army) have been terrorizing the Acholi people of Northern Uganda, committing what can only be described as crimes against humanity including rape, murder and mutilation. They abduct children and force them to become sex salves and child soldiers. The stories and testimonials that I have read (as told by survivors) are enough to make you sick.

It doesn't seem clear what Kony is trying to accomplish as he terrorizes the people he claims to be fighting for. His idea is to cleanse Uganda and eventually rule the country based on the 10 commandments. I do recall reading (somewhere) that he had devised his own 11th commandment.. Thou shall not ride bicycles. Right. That seems logical in a rural community where the majority of the population cannot afford cars let alone to feed themselves. But what do I really know anyway. (Did I mention that punishment for getting caught riding a bike is a slashing.. with a machette.. to your bum?). Nope. Forgot that part.

Never heard of it? Hm. According to just about every article I read the situation is the worst humanitarian conflict of our time, yet the it continues to still go unnoticed by the rest of the world.

Thanks to organizations like this it is starting to get some attention. You can read more here about the man behind it all and a bit of the situation these people are forced to live every day.

What interests me most is what is happening right now. In 2005 the ICC (International Criminal Court) indicted Kony and his people, charging them with numerous crimes against humanity.

Yet it is becoming increasingly clear that the Ugandan's are now asking for sympathy for Kony, and they want the ICC to drop all charges so they can deal with punishment in their own terms and negotiate a peace agreement.

I don't claim to be anywhere near intelligent enough to understand the politics behind this. It's complicated. The Ugandan Government led by Musevini looks to be as guilty of committing crimes against these people, and maybe as corrupt as the LRA. I am just commenting on what I've read, and what I understand.

Back to the interesting part. The Acholi believe in something called Mato Oput and that seems to be part of the reasoning behind the sympathy. I've searched for information on it but there doesn't seem to be a lot. The IWPR (Institute for War and Peace Reporting) published an article on October 4th (2006) that I *think* explains it the best:

The elaborate ceremony called “mato oput” - which in Acholi means "to drink a bitter potion from the leaves of the oput tree" -involves a series of symbolic acts to restore unity between the injured and offending parties. Prodigal sons and daughters can receive forgiveness and be welcomed back into their communities.

It goes on to explain that the man or woman in question must take responsiblity for their actions, an egg is then crushed over their head to symbolize new beginnings, they admit their wrong doing, apologize to the offended and everyone moves on. All is forgiven. There is more to the ritual but you get the idea.

I don't know. I mean absolutely no disrespect to this justice system, I actually think it is quite amazing and completely positive way of dealing with things if you say, stole a pencil in math class, or tripped your friend purposely during a football match. Even robbed your best friend of his last dollar. Someone who is guilty of cutting off peoples lips and noses should get more than a slap on the hand and some egg in the face... right?

Preface to a Journey

2006-10-04T10:15:00.000-04:00

For the last year I have been in countdown mode. 364 days left in 2006, seven months until January, 2.5 months until we give notice, 769 hours until our plane taxies out of JFK, 45 minutes until this week is over.. yeah, ok, you get the idea.

It all started with a phone call from Trish with Right to Play, a quick google search and a five minute conversation in *P4 about volunteering in Africa with Denise.

Since then the 'conversation' developed in to reality, changed a million times and twice more just cause ..and eventually took shape. Our 25 minute car ride in and out twice daily was suddenly filled with inane babble - at times reaching hysterical giddy laughter - this place, that place, every place, anything travel and most things Africa.

We (um, for future when I say WE I am referring to Denise and I.. except when I'm not) had to issue a "travel talk ban" upon ourselves for a whole month, because we were driving each other crazy. It only kinda worked.

Not wanting to have a strict "plan" led us to Gabe who sourced our flight for us and he become temporarily known as our Travel God. Really. We called him that for awhile.

(Side Note: HE convinced us to buy a one-way ticket to Bangkok and then wing it and so we did and if this fails and we are denied entry in to the country or get stuck spending millions on flights I will blame it on HIM entirely and he will have to pay us back out of his dining out budget which is rather ridiculously high anyway. Just sayin' dude. It's all on you now).

I guess stay tuned if you want. Or not. I really don't care. Because I will not be at my desk in my office doing work stuff day in and day out. : )

Or actually. In 3 months and 3 days. Crap.