Archive for 2010

Time is flying. Next week is my last full week. This week is also the last week for the 6 interns who have helped us tremendously. We, volunteers, could not do it without them. They are English students who translate for us on our placements. It’s a great bunch of girls. So they is going back to uni and a new group of interns is coming next week. It is a great experience for them too, as they get to practice their English skills. We are having a farewell party next Wednesday for them, so that’ll be great! It was [...]

I am 3 weeks from departing for my trip to Haiti.  The anticipation is rising and I am ready to go.  I still am concerned about what I am going to do with my dog Amsterdam. He is my baby and the idea of being away from him for 3 weeks is terrifying. That is probably going to be the hardest part about this whole trip.  For the past 3 years he has been by my side, except for the occasional weekend trip, and every time I have to leave him behind it breaks my heart.  I also have never [...]

March 16, 2010 3:30pm
Yesterday was orientation and the Kigali Memorial. Orientation was great, had a lot questions answered. Clair is amazing and so is Willy, my bosses
The Memorial was really, really well put togethe. The main memory that I have is at the end of the tour there was a section for Rwandas Lost future Hero’s (or something along that line), a memorial to the murdered children that were lost. There were several Rwandan children and facts on how they lived, likes, favourite person and at the end how each one was killed. The on that hit home [...]

San Diego Wedding Photography kristinacazares.com

I made it home, with some complications, but all ok.  I’m still a little sick in the stomach from Quito and I’ve lost a total of 16 pounds during my trip.  I guess I’ll have to eat that much more to make up for it!  My adventure was an adventure, I’m glad to be out of Ecuador, and I learned many things.  Here’s a TOP TEN list of what I learned from Ecuador.  
10. Bananas grow in large bunches on long stalks, upwards. 
9. Termites create these raised tunnels of soft wood where they march and create giant, bulbous colonies along the [...]

Hey guys!
Thanks to everyone for sending support my way! I’m 4 weeks in and feeling really comfortable now. I’m riding the boda taxis (motorcycles driven by men with no licenses or clue about rules of the road) side saddle (how the women ride because they always wear skirts). I was not loving the idea of boda when I first got here so I count this as a huge accomplishment.
The past two weeks have been a huge lesson for me. Just really settling in, accepting that things are done differently here and trying a lot of new things. The work load [...]

The plane wasn’t as bad as I thought almost 40 hours in the air/airports and only my sleep got messed up. I think so far the smell of Rwanda is the most surprising, not that it is bad at all, just such a scent that is so foreign and different. I’ll try to describe it later on. This place is beyond beautiful!
The internet is pretty unstable so far so. I will post as many entries as I can. Tomorrow I meet with everybody I’m working with and get settled in at FVA. Walked around some of the local streets last [...]

Finally getting this journal started!  Two months from now I will be flying out to Uganda!  Excited, somewhat nervous, and overall blessed, I’m finally on my way to fulfilling a dream/vision that I’ve had for so long.  To experience the manifestation of a consistent prayer started so long ago is such an indescribable blessing that leaves me stunned and speechless.  Keep me in your prayers!

Little-by-little we are approaching the end of this trip. I cannot believe how rapidly the time is flying by! It seems just as I am hitting my one-month stride here, the number of days until we fly home is ever-decreasing.
I am truly starting to love this country and these people, and as I become more comfortable with basic language skills, customs, and local travel, I  enjoy my time more and more. We have been slightly more autonomous at the clinic on Tuesdays and Thursdays (though we are still not super comfortable with diagnosing conditions and prescribing medications, as Teresa, the [...]

The great thing about the Tuy Hoa programme is that there is always something different to do.  We teach a couple of classes at the Fishing Village school and the little school – which is literally a little school for little people (about 15 kids being taught in this small room).
These kids come from low socio economic backgrounds and we are their English teachers!!  Today we did ABC practice then some numbers 1 – 10. We always sing songs – “If you are happy and you know it” etc etc and reada story. I love reading stories to the kids [...]

Heute war ein ziemlich anstrengender und interessanter Tag^^ Ich habe ziemlich viel mit den groesseren Kindern gespielt, und sobald ich jemanden hochgenommen habe, kamen mind. 5 andere und wollten auch..^^ Ueber Mittag haben wir auch viel mit den Mamas und Studenten geredet und interessante Dinge ueber kulturelle Unterschiede etc. erfahren. Julie und ich leihen jetzt am Morgen meisten unser Modem an Liuba (Krankenschwester) und Rosemary (Sekretaerin) aus, damit sie einige Dinge am anderen PC machen koennen. Aber da das Modem so langsam ist, helfe ich ihnen meistens in dem ich meinen kleinen Lapi nehme und ihre Dinge erledige.. Julie hat [...]

I have been pretty lazy with keeping up my journals. I know some volunteers do daily updates but I’m more of a weekly person!
So last week ended up being pretty hetic. The boys orphanage was outstanding! They are so education focused with farming programs, sugar cane juice production, cooking classes, sewing classes, wood working and metal work classes, the produce their own honey and they have an actual school. Its good to see they are empowering these boys with skills for the rest of their lives. Some of the boys go onto university and have really successful careers. Its great! So [...]

Habari!
So, the latest update on my Kenya trip is that I decided to send 11 orphaned children to an orphanage with the money that has been raised in Canada for the IDP camp. These children were living with relatives that couldn’t afford them, and in some cases don’t want them. Many of these children had their parents die in the political conflicts in 2007 and quite a few have had their parent’s die recently (in the last year or two) from HIV/AIDS. Only one of the children has confirmed HIV status but a few of them haven’t been tested and [...]

I plan to make a PowerPoint presentation upon my return from Ecuador.  It will be comprehensive with lessons learned, trip highlights, and lots of pictures.   It will take some time to prepare, so please be patient.  There are a LOT of pictures and I have to go through all of them first.

Bericht vom Montag, 08.03.2010
Gestern waren Julie und ich in Nairobi und trafen einen taiwanesischen Freund von ihr. Wir sind rein zufaellig auf einen Masai Markt gestossen und haben uns dort umgesehen. Anscheinend ist es dort so ueblich, dass man einen Broker mitnimmt, der Dinge an denen du evtl. interessiert bist in eine Tasche packt und du am Schluss mit diesem den Preis aushandelst. Ich hab ihn extrem runtergemarktet, aber ich glaube ich habe immernoch zu viel gezahlt..^^ Ich bin nicht gut im Markten.. Jedenfalls werd ich naechstes mal sicher auch nicht mehr mit so einem gehen, sondern direkt bei den [...]

Bericht vom Freitag, 05.03.2010
Gestern, Donnerstag, sind Julie und ich am Nachmittag auf den Campus einer nahegelegenen Universitaet gegangen. In Kenya muessen Studenten alle 60 Stunden Community Service machen. Wir haben im Happy Life auch einige Studenten, die helfen kommen, und so hat uns einer jener Studenten auf dem Campus rumgefuehrt. War echt cool, vor allem war der Campus so gruen^^
Heute gab es eine kleine Feier zu ehren einer Mitarbeiterin, die gerade erst aufgehoert hat. Das war echt der Hammer, zuerst haben wir alle zusammen gegessen, und danach wurde gesungen und getanzt. Da Happy Life ein christliches Heim ist, haben sie [...]

Hi all,
I literally have mere moments to write this, so I will be uber brief.
The past days have been wonderful as we continue to engage with people in the camp and surrounding communities. I have slowly been building my language skills (though they minimal at best) and am daily learning more about the culture and traditions here.
We just returned from a 3-day safari in Maasai-Mara, which was incredible in every way, but I will save that for later. It was awesome to see more of the Kenyan country-side and to meet many Maasai people. And of course the wild animals [...]

Habari!
Things have been busy this last week. Ali and I have definitely gotten more comfortable with our role at camp and we have begun to take over the volunteer duties at the clinic. We spent Tuesday at the clinic helping dispense medication and hopefully we are beginning to cut down on the mass amounts of meds being given out at the clinic – we may have begun to use our discretion on the amounts of meds and we may not be exactly giving the whole amount prescribed when it doesn’t fit the clinical picture…
Wednesday was supposed to be our woman’s [...]

Well, the first week in Vietnam has gone. After arriving in Danang last Sunday afternoon, I’ve had a full week. We had a day and half of orientation including some vietnamese language tuition, which is a real challenge. Depending on the intonation of the word, one word can have 6 different meanings. There you go!
The first placement for me was the baby orphanage, where about 15 babies and infants are housed in 2 small rooms together with the ‘mothers’ who are there permanently. We, volunteers, go there 4 afternoons a week to help them out and to give the little [...]

The Tuy Hoa Childrens programme is mainly working with young kids and teaching them english although there is a caring element to the whole programme.
At all of the placements we go to there is some kind of extra need. Either the kids are disabled or they are from low socio economic backgrounds (which is pretty low in Vietnam!) or they are from poor families and from rural areas and have come to the city to get an education. All the children have higher needs and are often lacking the basic nurishment that you or I would be used too as [...]

So I have returned from an enjoyable but expensive time in the ever popular and very touristy Baños.  This is the cleanest and prettiest city I have seen in Ecuador, and it is made so by the large gringo presence (and $$$).  Friday night we arrived in good order after a long bus ride and partied the night away at a discotech.  We even got a free ¨Bienvenidos shot¨.  Saturday some of us rented some mountain bikes and we rode down the mountain road towards Puyo which is filled with waterfalls and scenic views.  That was one of the best [...]

Besides shoveling a whole lot of mud out of a water collection pit, work this week has been rather boring.  Last weekend I went to some far away place called cascada de latas and saw some beautiful waterfalls.  There was much cliff jumping involved as well.  The water felt great!  On wednesday, 34 Masters of Biodiversity students from Quito arrived for the next 10 days to study.  There´s about 50 people at the station right now.  Mealtime is a fiasco!
This weekend I go to the famous town of Baños, where there´s an active volcano, a cool road to bike down [...]

Hey everyone!
I’ve arrived in Jinja for the weekend, the touristy area in Uganda. Lynn and I are staying in a backpackers hostel for two nights, the views are amazing overlooking the Nile and Bujagali Falls. The trip here was a little risky, however, as we had to take bodas (motorcycle taxis) for 15 minutes on sketchy dirt roads without helmets. You hang on the backseat  you aren’t supposed to hold the driver. But anything for a $7 a night room. We’re here until Saturday evening. Today we’ll visit the town, shop in the market and get some mzungu food (pizza!) [...]

When I was told that It would be an 8 hour bus ride to Tuy Hoa (pronouced “Tea Wah”) I had my first – what AM I doing? moment. 8 hours on a Vietnamese bus….. that could mean anything but soon my fears were gone and we were on our way.  The bus was more like a large mini van and yes, it was pretty full with people and baggage and sure, our toilet stops were on the side of the road – but the experience was brillant the the views were something else.
The highway runs down the coast of [...]

Ich bin nun schon seit drei Tagen in Kenya und ich find es klasse!^^ Die ersten beiden Tage war unsere Orientierung. Wir haben einiges ueber die Gepflogenheiten hier erfahren und einen Swahili-Crashkurs gemacht.. Wir sind insgesamt 7 Volunteers, die jetzt am 1. Maerz angefangen haben. Es sind alles wirklich tolle Leute! Am zweiten Orientierungstag haben wir einen Ausflug zum Nairobi National Park gemacht, um dort das Animal Orphanage zu besichtigen.. Das war wirklich unvergesslich^^ Jede Menge verschiedene Tiere, wir konnten einen alten Geparden streicheln und ein kleiner frecher Affe hat mir meinen Touchstick von meiner Kamera geklaut, als ich ihn [...]

So wow! Where to begin?
I have been in Panama 5 days now but it honestly feels like I have been here for months! Boquete is such a lovely, friendly town. People I have met say hi to me in the street and it makes me feel like a part of the community! This is the type of place I see myself moving too in the future. Other than the amazing locals the other volunteers on the projects are full of life and energy. They really put a part of themselves into learning more about Panama and truly aspiring to make even the [...]

There are only a couple of days left of our volunteer time here in Boquete. I have been spending 3 mornings a week at a daycare centre working with the woman who runs it. There are only 5 children there (3 and 4 year olds) and we meet in one room of her house with some tables and chairs. The kids are cute and vary in abilities like any typical group. I struggle with my Spanish and can’t really understand the kids when they chatter away but I can often tell what they are saying by their expressions and signs. [...]