October 12, 2009
As I mentioned in passing before, I was in Africa this past July with the Global Hope Network. We traveled to Kenya and Ethiopia, volunteering in some of these countries' poorest villages to help them develop. In Kenya, in the village of Gambella, we helped build dorm rooms for the teachers, we worked on the drip irrigation system GHN set up the previous year to cultivate the land, we helped repair a chicken coop, and we spent lots and lots of time with the children. In Ethiopia, in the Hruso village we helped lay the foundation for a school and some volunteers began surveying the villagers to begin health records. Most of these photos were taken by me, but some of the super amazing vibrantly beautiful shots were taken by one of the Hong Kong volunteers (they had, hands down, the fanciest cameras.) Except this first photo, but it is amazingly vibrant not because I have a camera that is in any way impressive, but because the women of Gambella are stunningly beautiful.
They greeted us with singing and dancing, then cooked us dinner of stewed goat, rice and potatoes. Now I came to Africa prepared to eat meat darn it, if need be! Luckily I was able to respectfully pick around the goat, as we ate communally (and with our hands, but that's just a side note).
Communal eating
In Isiolo, this is an outdoor market
down the street from our hotel. The village was about a 40 minute drive (on VERY unpaved roads) from Isiolo.
Some of the village children, hanging out under the tree that used to serve as their "school" before the Global Hope Network built them an actual school house.
Laying the foundation for the teachers' dorm rooms. Global Hope believes in hiring local construction crews to do the work, we were just there to help them in any way they needed.
Spending some quality time with the school kids. Duck, duck, goose remains a game universally unhindered by language barriers.
The rock clearing team! We spent many hours chucking huge rocks out of the fields, where the the poor helpless onion plants were struggling to survive amidst a 10:1 ratio of rock to dirt.
This would be one of those super amazing vibrant photographs taken by one of the Hong Kong volunteers.
More games with kids
You kind of get the idea here about how many rocks we are talking about.
A goodbye dance. These guys really knew how to pop & lock, it was phenomenal.
Our group in front of the almost complete dorm rooms, and our last day in Kenya.
At the restaurant Carnivore in Nairobi. Surprisingly they had a vegetarian menu.
Our first day in the Hruso village in Ethiopia. These children are some of the funniest, most charismatic kids I've ever met.
Seriously, look at these goofballs. We had so much fun teaching them songs, learning their songs, playing with them, trying to learn Amharic... or figuring out other creative ways to communicate!
In Ethiopia they go on 3-4 hour siestas each afternoon, when the sun gets too ridiculously hot to work (and we were there in the winter, mind you, which still meant 90 degree weather!) so the villagers set up these cozy mats for us, in case anyone wanted to squeeze in a nap.
Typical traffic during rush hour
Breaking ground for the school's foundation
Siesta in the church. These days were seriously tiring.
When we weren't passed out on the floor, we played cards. And during dinner we played cards, after dinner we played cards, at the airport, at the hotel, pretty much every minute we played cards.
In a standard Ethiopian restaurant. Customarily, Ethiopians burn incense, pop popcorn, roast coffee beans and eat communally around mesobs. The food, which is out-of-this-world delicious, consists of spicy vegetables and meat in the form of wat (a thick stew) served atop injera, a large sourdough flatbread made out of fermented teff flour. Ethiopians tear off pieces of the injera and use it to scoop up the wat - no utensils are used, and they really aren't necessary. Ethiopian food definitely ranks in the Top 3 Most Fun Cuisines Of All Time (not that I have a list or anything.)
This picture may look poorly developed or washed out, but no that thick blanket of gray you see there is incense.
Lots and lots of incense.
Ok this isn't in Africa, it's from an Ethiopian restaurant in Harlem, NYC. I just wanted to show you how the food is presented, and for some reason most of my Ethiopian food pictures didn't turn out so great.
So there you go, wat, tibs, injera, and happy taste buds! (not pictured)
The whole group in front of the semi-finished school. Due to some communication issues, and overall "TIA" issues, we weren't able to begin working on this building when we planned. "This is Africa" is a term thrown around a lot, when it comes to things like inefficiency or an overall slower way of life. In our case, we ordered materials for the school to be delivered Monday, they
got there on Thursday. Ohhh well, TIA! I'm really hoping this post will be the first of many; I loved Africa and the work we did there. I'm hoping to go back to Hruso in February with the GHN, the goal being to set up an irrigation system like the one in Gambella, so the people of Hruso can grow their own crops, and ultimately, become more self-sustained. If you would like to support that project, or any other Global Hope project PLEASE by all means contact me, and I'd love to give you more info. To learn more about the Global Hope Network, check out their website here.
August 21, 2009
Well, a lot has been happening lately. I think I'll keep the captions to a minimum though so I'm not here all night!
Lots of galleries:
Ok... we were in a pretty lame gallery, about to leave, and this guy in a black suit, leaning against the wall next to a door goes "psssst" at us then says "you want the Infinity Room" and nods his head at the door. So, intrigued, we enter this mysterious door (as he tell us "No smoking, don't step off the carpet") and we find ourselves in a room that does indeed, go on infinitely! Everything was a mirrored reflection of a million little hanging lights; the floor, the ceiling, all four walls, it all went on forever. And looking down, it appeared as if we were suspended in the middle of space.
Finally, I visited the Seinfeld cafe!
And one of my brothers got married:
My oldest brother had a baby:
And I went to Africa for 3 weeks! But that adventure deserves it's own post. To be continued.