So wow my head is throbbing from all the adventures I've been on since last time. I am wearing an incredibly dirty shirt (mainly from the dust coming off of the camel), I haven't seen a mirror or showered for 5 days (thats called synergy), and I only have 10 minutes again. That said, there are definately some things I want to feel you in on:
We went Safariing. It's like going to a really big zoo. I saw an ostrich poop which is very hard to describe. I also saw monkeys haveing sex. At one point we were litterly riding with a herd of elephents which was really fun.
I split off from the main group with Paul and Julie to go visit the Massai. Before we left, we wanted to do one more safari which we didn't pay for. So the driver who couldn't speak any english snuck us in. That was sweet.
So the Massai village was another best part of the trip. It's impossible to list all of the things we did but here are some highlights. (PS another marriage proposal awaits)
Our guide:
The messiah are cattle herders. Our guide ran away from his home to go to bording school. There he learned Swahilli then English. He is a proffesional dancer and singer, the Messiah way. By the way, the Messiah are like the native american in the USA, just cooler. So he is no on the Tanzania council of the arts and a bunch of other titles. He started this tourist program we went on just so we could learn more about the Messiah culture. (We were the first people to have arrived in a month).
In the village we are greeted by 20 little kids. I call them ewoks because they would always scurry when we look at them, and they made funny noises like ewoks.
The village was amazing. It was extremely dry, but it was so neet seeing their clay houses. No one knew how to speak enlish, and very few actually even knew how to speak Swahilli (Tanzania's national language).
We went to the messiah market which was gigantic (probably 1000 people). There we could see all sorts of produce being sold as well as goats, chickens, and cows. Lots of cows. Paul bought some spears and all the Messiah people followed us around afterwards in awe of the spear.
The whole time whenever we took pictures funny things would happen. The culture is trying to change into a picture accepting. Sometimes when Julie would take a picture the people would start freaking out. And start mouthing off at our guide for about 10 minutes. Also, whenever we wanted to take a digital picture, everyone would want to see themselves afterwards. At one point we would have 50 mossiah around us.
I bought a walking stick which the a few people challenged me to a stick fight. I would just wave it in the air a few times, and they always would retreat.
One night we threw a party. We paid $40, and the whole town sang and danced for us ALL NIGHT. They wore some crazy clothes. There singing used their throat in very strange ways with lots of bobbing up and down.
At one point I jumped in the middle like everyone else. Everyone laughed. Apparantly I am not very good at jumping up and down in the Mossiah tradition.
We then put on traditional Mossiah clothes. (Julie looked hilarious) and danced some more.
Then we all went inside and sang even more. At one point they passed out the food which was the worst tasting thing in the world (actuall milk, bannanas, and maize). I am now OFFICIALLY a man because I drank the whole thing. My stomache still shudders.
At one point in the night I went to see the council. They gave me the name LoSarian (meaning no problems). One council man asked me to stay and offered me his daughter to marry. And he also offered to marry my sister. It was amazing.
Time to go once again.
See you guys soon.
Friday, December 30, 2005
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
Christmas Eve
So I have 6 minutes left. So I will quickly summarize what happened, and then maybe later go into great detail. Ask questions.
-Go bathing in waterfall in morning
-Go to a wedding in afternoon
-Dance in wedding precession
-Everyone stares at Elliott's dancing
-Get publicly acknowledged at wedding as a group
-Give some money as a gift
-Dance some more
-The whole group leaves besides me
-I dance some more
-At one point I do the worm in front of the whole village.
-When the wedding is done the MC pulls me into the middle and tells me "Let me show you how to dance African"
-We dance with all the villagers dancing around us. So HOT!!
-She then asks for my contact info which I go to grab.
-When I get back its night outside.
-We go sit on the side of the house to give her information.
(At this point its one of those moments where you got 2 people interested in eachother looking at the starts)
-We talk to eachother about our careers.
-Her name is Neema and she is an English teacher.
-Then things get weird with such questions as:
-"Do you have a fiance, why not?"
-"Would you ask your parents if you could marry someone outside the states?"
-"I want to Marry you Elliott"
-Kind of weird.
-I'm not too good with women, and Tanzanian Islamic women who know a little bit of enlish was definately a challenge.
What happened? Stay tuned, I ran out of time. It's a happy ending.
-Go bathing in waterfall in morning
-Go to a wedding in afternoon
-Dance in wedding precession
-Everyone stares at Elliott's dancing
-Get publicly acknowledged at wedding as a group
-Give some money as a gift
-Dance some more
-The whole group leaves besides me
-I dance some more
-At one point I do the worm in front of the whole village.
-When the wedding is done the MC pulls me into the middle and tells me "Let me show you how to dance African"
-We dance with all the villagers dancing around us. So HOT!!
-She then asks for my contact info which I go to grab.
-When I get back its night outside.
-We go sit on the side of the house to give her information.
(At this point its one of those moments where you got 2 people interested in eachother looking at the starts)
-We talk to eachother about our careers.
-Her name is Neema and she is an English teacher.
-Then things get weird with such questions as:
-"Do you have a fiance, why not?"
-"Would you ask your parents if you could marry someone outside the states?"
-"I want to Marry you Elliott"
-Kind of weird.
-I'm not too good with women, and Tanzanian Islamic women who know a little bit of enlish was definately a challenge.
What happened? Stay tuned, I ran out of time. It's a happy ending.
Catch Up Time Extreme
So I have been away from the computer for a very long time, and have so much to catch up on. So I'm going to give it in SparkNotes form, so that you can just skim through it. By the way, the marriage proposal day is going to go in its own blog above. :)
So here's my Christmas present to all of you, an updated blog!! Let me know if you want more juicy details on any parts, as I can elaborate thoroughly.
Also, things are red are the stuff that I think is most interesting.
DRIVE TO ARUSHA
-Saw a whole bunch of villages selling food in the center with many people comin by. (Lots of Safarites)
-Had to stop for a giraffe crossing the road.
-Almost got ripped off at a tourist trap. They kept saying "trust us" (shudder)
-People who did not get their passports stamped just gave their passports and $50 to the bus driver who disappeared for 30 minutes. (Sketchy)
Bus Stop in Arusha to Moshi
-Next day we get on the bus to go to Ismilie's village.
-We get to the bus place with a whole bunch of busses and we get surrounded by about 50 people.
-We keep bartering until we get our bus price down to $1 to get to Moshi.
-In the bus all of us sat in the back, so all the white people were in the back (people are scared of us).
-Vendors would hold up giant cardboard displays of the cheapest goods (like toy plastic cell phones) for people to buy on the bus.
-On our drive we saw many farms which were so fun looking and many worn down shaqs that look very hazardous to live in.
-At Moshi there are a lot more vendors and buses.
-One guy was selling Safari hats.
-The man in front of me buys a cell phone, and then right before the trip, he gives it back. So sketchy.
-We head to Mongua
Mongua
-Mongua is basicly a bus stop location with 5 shops around it. We stopped here because we needed a van that went out of its way to get to the remote village of Kyrangia (also known as Ismilie's village).
-I go peeing in the back, and see a giant farm which was very tranquil. I pee on a tree, and I'm pretty sure a guy was watching me.
-With our group of 9 we barter with the bus drivers (who all seem to be in it together) to get the price for all of us from $15-$13. We save a wopping $2, and boy we bay.
-We load into the mini-Bus and sit down. I ask can 9 people really fit in here? As it was pretty crowded.
-By the time the bus leaves there are 30 people in there.
-I get up for Stephanie so she can sit down, then a woman comes in I get up for, and then an old women with a baby comes in that I get up for.
-So by the end I was standing on the bus, with my back against the ceiling in between two babys..
-As we were going up a mountain the road was really really bumpy.
-Some of the group members sat on eachother.
-There was a cliff on one side of the road, but that didn't stop us from going fast.
-We end up going to the wrong secondary school, and have to pay $10 more to get to the right place.
-On the way to the right school we go up a really steep hill.
In Karuga!
-It is an amazing view at this secondary school. Surrounded by green mountains in all directions with mud houses on all sides, and paths leading up to all of them.
-We find someone at the high school, and ask where is Ismilie's house. She doesn't speak English but she waves her finger in a very broad circle in one direction (it basicly covered about 50 houses).
-We let our bus drivers go and start climbining up the mountain with our luggage.
-One friendly man sees us and helps guide us up.
-His wife also follows.
-The people here are so friendly, when ever we walk buy any of them they stop to say Caribou (welcome in Swahili) and our very happy.
Day 2 at Ismilies
-I wake up to the group quoting Monty Python.
-I had slept oustside last night until it started raining on me.
-We climb up a mountain guided by one of Ismilie's grandsons.
-We see the watersource that runs through the village.
-We crawl into a junglish area to a place with a sacrificing alter.
-Drank my first sip of alcohol (called humanjiyana)
-It was made from sugar cane and processed on top of the mountain. (that's my requirement for any future drinks).
-We went further into the jungle and found a sacred crave
-I crawled into the cave
-Really got a feeling of oneness with nature.
The Market
-I go with Ismilie's grandaughter Zawagi (calling her Z from now on) to the market.
-It is a long winding walk.
-I see people batheing in the river.
-Lots of half developed houses, that no one is working on. Including a half developed church.
-Saw a house that had painted on bricks.
-I loved the market place.
-They were saleing anchovies, beans, mangos, bannanas, old clothes, cloths, shoes, and baskets.
-Hundreds of people wearing very bright colors.
-I take a picture of some old guys playing a game and they ask me for money.
-The cool thing was we were not the focus of this market, people didn't even see us as different.
-I buy the most delicious coke and drink it ice cold with sweat dripping over my face.
-So I try to eat a popscicle, but I cant get it open.
-10 kids gather around me, and 3 grandmas, all watching me try to open it.
-They all start laughing at me (including the grandmas)
-Some of the kids start imitateing me, which gets one of the moms upset.
-So the women in this village all cary grocerys on their head, including giant buckets of water. So I decided to imitate them.
-I try to balance 7 mangos in a bag on my head.
-This was completely different than normal culture because:
1. I'm a guy.
2. I'm white.
3. They are mangos (not good for balancing)
-While walking with the mangos on my head people's heads started following me. Everyone's. You could see their necks twist.
-On the way back we had to cross a very old crickety makeshift bridge that freaked me out.
-Z seemed sick as she was coughing.
-I go to a rock, which the night before someone had showed me.
The ROCK
-My friends are there waiting for me a gain.
-We look at the sunset for a while.
-They call me Mr. Hedman
-One of the guys asks me to go get my journal so I can teach him more math.
-On the way to get my journal 3 young women start talking to me in Swahili.
-Not understanding what they say to me, I just repeat to them what they say.
-One women laughs so hard she almost falls down crying.
-Ben says it is because I flail my arms when I talk.
-When I get back to the rock with my journal I teach the kids more math. (The night before I had taught one of them Algebra. Useing pieces of crumpled paper and asking "How many do you need?")
-I try to show them how to do triginometry, but its just not fun to explain. You try to explain to someone why sin(x)=1 works. They give me a 3x3 matrix to solve.
-Back at Ismilie's we talk about light, physics, and dreams.
-For dinner Z made a "special" cupate for me which was really big.
-I sleep in the grass with Teju.
-The next morning I wake up three kids staring at me. Z asks me why I am outside? I tell her that I am lost.
-On our hike of the day all the guys take a nude photo. One of the pictures we are all touching eachothers butts. Shudder.
-We stop by a small farm house, and a little girl about 3-4 years old starts following us. She is more fit than all of us and goes faster than us on the rest of the hike.
-There was a strange breed of what I call Turkey Duck here.
-We visit a man who says he worked for the post office his entire life.
-We stop by the market but there isn't a soul there today. It is eerie.
-At night I go back up to my rock, and see my friend again (his name is Frank).
-I spend the night talking to him about why America is different.
-Here in Tanzania Africans are obssesed with rappers.
-They ask me how Little Bow Wow is so rich.
-Frank then points out how St. John made it big from Africa.
-I tried to explain to him how in America there are record companies, and it is hard to get a record label.
-I told about how we don't many farmers and there are giant farms with machines.
-I explained why there is poor people in America (he could not understand this at all).
-He asked me if Bush was a good president.
-I asked him what would be good for Nigeria.
And that gets us to Christmas Eve, the best day ever in Africa!
So here's my Christmas present to all of you, an updated blog!! Let me know if you want more juicy details on any parts, as I can elaborate thoroughly.
Also, things are red are the stuff that I think is most interesting.
DRIVE TO ARUSHA
-Saw a whole bunch of villages selling food in the center with many people comin by. (Lots of Safarites)
-Had to stop for a giraffe crossing the road.
-Almost got ripped off at a tourist trap. They kept saying "trust us" (shudder)
-People who did not get their passports stamped just gave their passports and $50 to the bus driver who disappeared for 30 minutes. (Sketchy)
Bus Stop in Arusha to Moshi
-Next day we get on the bus to go to Ismilie's village.
-We get to the bus place with a whole bunch of busses and we get surrounded by about 50 people.
-We keep bartering until we get our bus price down to $1 to get to Moshi.
-In the bus all of us sat in the back, so all the white people were in the back (people are scared of us).
-Vendors would hold up giant cardboard displays of the cheapest goods (like toy plastic cell phones) for people to buy on the bus.
-On our drive we saw many farms which were so fun looking and many worn down shaqs that look very hazardous to live in.
-At Moshi there are a lot more vendors and buses.
-One guy was selling Safari hats.
-The man in front of me buys a cell phone, and then right before the trip, he gives it back. So sketchy.
-We head to Mongua
Mongua
-Mongua is basicly a bus stop location with 5 shops around it. We stopped here because we needed a van that went out of its way to get to the remote village of Kyrangia (also known as Ismilie's village).
-I go peeing in the back, and see a giant farm which was very tranquil. I pee on a tree, and I'm pretty sure a guy was watching me.
-With our group of 9 we barter with the bus drivers (who all seem to be in it together) to get the price for all of us from $15-$13. We save a wopping $2, and boy we bay.
-We load into the mini-Bus and sit down. I ask can 9 people really fit in here? As it was pretty crowded.
-By the time the bus leaves there are 30 people in there.
-I get up for Stephanie so she can sit down, then a woman comes in I get up for, and then an old women with a baby comes in that I get up for.
-So by the end I was standing on the bus, with my back against the ceiling in between two babys..
-As we were going up a mountain the road was really really bumpy.
-Some of the group members sat on eachother.
-There was a cliff on one side of the road, but that didn't stop us from going fast.
-We end up going to the wrong secondary school, and have to pay $10 more to get to the right place.
-On the way to the right school we go up a really steep hill.
In Karuga!
-It is an amazing view at this secondary school. Surrounded by green mountains in all directions with mud houses on all sides, and paths leading up to all of them.
-We find someone at the high school, and ask where is Ismilie's house. She doesn't speak English but she waves her finger in a very broad circle in one direction (it basicly covered about 50 houses).
-We let our bus drivers go and start climbining up the mountain with our luggage.
-One friendly man sees us and helps guide us up.
-His wife also follows.
-The people here are so friendly, when ever we walk buy any of them they stop to say Caribou (welcome in Swahili) and our very happy.
Day 2 at Ismilies
-I wake up to the group quoting Monty Python.
-I had slept oustside last night until it started raining on me.
-We climb up a mountain guided by one of Ismilie's grandsons.
-We see the watersource that runs through the village.
-We crawl into a junglish area to a place with a sacrificing alter.
-Drank my first sip of alcohol (called humanjiyana)
-It was made from sugar cane and processed on top of the mountain. (that's my requirement for any future drinks).
-We went further into the jungle and found a sacred crave
-I crawled into the cave
-Really got a feeling of oneness with nature.
The Market
-I go with Ismilie's grandaughter Zawagi (calling her Z from now on) to the market.
-It is a long winding walk.
-I see people batheing in the river.
-Lots of half developed houses, that no one is working on. Including a half developed church.
-Saw a house that had painted on bricks.
-I loved the market place.
-They were saleing anchovies, beans, mangos, bannanas, old clothes, cloths, shoes, and baskets.
-Hundreds of people wearing very bright colors.
-I take a picture of some old guys playing a game and they ask me for money.
-The cool thing was we were not the focus of this market, people didn't even see us as different.
-I buy the most delicious coke and drink it ice cold with sweat dripping over my face.
-So I try to eat a popscicle, but I cant get it open.
-10 kids gather around me, and 3 grandmas, all watching me try to open it.
-They all start laughing at me (including the grandmas)
-Some of the kids start imitateing me, which gets one of the moms upset.
-So the women in this village all cary grocerys on their head, including giant buckets of water. So I decided to imitate them.
-I try to balance 7 mangos in a bag on my head.
-This was completely different than normal culture because:
1. I'm a guy.
2. I'm white.
3. They are mangos (not good for balancing)
-While walking with the mangos on my head people's heads started following me. Everyone's. You could see their necks twist.
-On the way back we had to cross a very old crickety makeshift bridge that freaked me out.
-Z seemed sick as she was coughing.
-I go to a rock, which the night before someone had showed me.
The ROCK
-My friends are there waiting for me a gain.
-We look at the sunset for a while.
-They call me Mr. Hedman
-One of the guys asks me to go get my journal so I can teach him more math.
-On the way to get my journal 3 young women start talking to me in Swahili.
-Not understanding what they say to me, I just repeat to them what they say.
-One women laughs so hard she almost falls down crying.
-Ben says it is because I flail my arms when I talk.
-When I get back to the rock with my journal I teach the kids more math. (The night before I had taught one of them Algebra. Useing pieces of crumpled paper and asking "How many do you need?")
-I try to show them how to do triginometry, but its just not fun to explain. You try to explain to someone why sin(x)=1 works. They give me a 3x3 matrix to solve.
-Back at Ismilie's we talk about light, physics, and dreams.
-For dinner Z made a "special" cupate for me which was really big.
-I sleep in the grass with Teju.
-The next morning I wake up three kids staring at me. Z asks me why I am outside? I tell her that I am lost.
-On our hike of the day all the guys take a nude photo. One of the pictures we are all touching eachothers butts. Shudder.
-We stop by a small farm house, and a little girl about 3-4 years old starts following us. She is more fit than all of us and goes faster than us on the rest of the hike.
-There was a strange breed of what I call Turkey Duck here.
-We visit a man who says he worked for the post office his entire life.
-We stop by the market but there isn't a soul there today. It is eerie.
-At night I go back up to my rock, and see my friend again (his name is Frank).
-I spend the night talking to him about why America is different.
-Here in Tanzania Africans are obssesed with rappers.
-They ask me how Little Bow Wow is so rich.
-Frank then points out how St. John made it big from Africa.
-I tried to explain to him how in America there are record companies, and it is hard to get a record label.
-I told about how we don't many farmers and there are giant farms with machines.
-I explained why there is poor people in America (he could not understand this at all).
-He asked me if Bush was a good president.
-I asked him what would be good for Nigeria.
And that gets us to Christmas Eve, the best day ever in Africa!
Catch Up Time Extreme
So I have been away from the computer for a very long time, and have so much to catch up on. So I'm going to give it in SparkNotes form, so that you can just skim through it. By the way, the marriage proposal day is going to go in its own blog above. :)
DRIVE TO ARUSHA
-Saw a whole bunch of villages selling food in the center with many people comin by. (Lots of Safarites)
-Had to stop for a giraffe crossing the road.
-Almost got ripped off at a tourist trap. They kept saying "trust us" (shudder)
-People who did not get their passports stamped just gave their passports and $50 to the bus driver who disappeared for 30 minutes. (Sketchy)
Bus Stop in Arusha to Moshi
-Next day we get on the bus to go to Ismilie's village.
-We get to the bus place with a whole bunch of busses and we get surrounded by about 50 people..
-We keep bartering until we get our bus price down to $1 to get to Moshi.
-In the bus all of us sat in the back, so all the white people were in the back (people are scared of us).
-Vendors would hold up giant cardboard displays of the cheapest goods (like toy plastic cell phones) for people to buy on the bus.
-On our drive we saw many farms which were so fun looking and many worn down shaqs that look very hazardous to live in.
-At Moshi there are a lot more vendors and buses.
-One guy was selling Safari hats.
-The man in front of me buys a cell phone, and then right before the trip, he gives it back. So sketchy.
-We head to Mongua
Mongua
-Mongua is basicly a bus stop location with 5 shops around it. We stopped here because we needed a van that went out of its way to get to the remote village of Kyrangia (also known as Ismilie's village).
-I go peeing in the back, and see a giant farm which was very tranquil. I pee on a tree, and I'm pretty
DRIVE TO ARUSHA
-Saw a whole bunch of villages selling food in the center with many people comin by. (Lots of Safarites)
-Had to stop for a giraffe crossing the road.
-Almost got ripped off at a tourist trap. They kept saying "trust us" (shudder)
-People who did not get their passports stamped just gave their passports and $50 to the bus driver who disappeared for 30 minutes. (Sketchy)
Bus Stop in Arusha to Moshi
-Next day we get on the bus to go to Ismilie's village.
-We get to the bus place with a whole bunch of busses and we get surrounded by about 50 people..
-We keep bartering until we get our bus price down to $1 to get to Moshi.
-In the bus all of us sat in the back, so all the white people were in the back (people are scared of us).
-Vendors would hold up giant cardboard displays of the cheapest goods (like toy plastic cell phones) for people to buy on the bus.
-On our drive we saw many farms which were so fun looking and many worn down shaqs that look very hazardous to live in.
-At Moshi there are a lot more vendors and buses.
-One guy was selling Safari hats.
-The man in front of me buys a cell phone, and then right before the trip, he gives it back. So sketchy.
-We head to Mongua
Mongua
-Mongua is basicly a bus stop location with 5 shops around it. We stopped here because we needed a van that went out of its way to get to the remote village of Kyrangia (also known as Ismilie's village).
-I go peeing in the back, and see a giant farm which was very tranquil. I pee on a tree, and I'm pretty
Sunday, December 25, 2005
Quick Christmas
The shop is closing up and I'm going on a Safari tomorrow. That said, I have been haveing an incredible time while I've been gone from blogging. I attended an African wedding, rode in a small van with 30 people, explained why there are thiefs in America, did the Worm in front of an entire village, got a marriage proposal (don't worry Mom, I said no for now), and now I am going to go hang out with the Messih tribe.
Merry Christmas everyone. I really do miss you all despite my crazy adventures. I hope you have a wonderful christmas. And to my family, thank you so much for being in my memories. Have fun in seattle.
Elliott
Oh ya the best part. I taught an African villager who couldn't speak english how to do algebra. x variable and all. He wants to be an electrical engineer. Suweet.
Merry Christmas everyone. I really do miss you all despite my crazy adventures. I hope you have a wonderful christmas. And to my family, thank you so much for being in my memories. Have fun in seattle.
Elliott
Oh ya the best part. I taught an African villager who couldn't speak english how to do algebra. x variable and all. He wants to be an electrical engineer. Suweet.
Monday, December 19, 2005
I'm in Africa!
Favorite quote of the day:
"What do you want Elliott, to ride a zebra or buy a giant giraffe statue?"
Elliott- "Perferably both. While riding a zebra I can pick up a giraffe statue on a drive through. Then I could ride off into the sunset riding a zebra and waveing a giraffe statue. That's what dreams are made of."
Favorite event of the day:
Trying to talk to an African woman who was my same age. And every single thing I said she would just start laughing at me. We were on a bus ride so this lasted for 5 hours.
So yesterday was AMAZING, and it really hasn't even begun. To give you the sparknotes we left for Arusha, saw a whole bunch of things on the way, and now are at Arusha. But then you are missing out on the giraffe crossing the road :)
We started the day off packing and getting ready. They found Teju's luggage at the airport now, so now we are only missing one luggage bag. I sat on the roof of Nairobi one last time which was just so overwhelming. I aslo took my first shower. For lunch we decided to try a fish and chips place down the block. We thought it would be americanized oh but it was not.
Signs everywhere said "Free tomato sauce" How cool is that? All four of us ordered chicken and fries. The place was so busy, that there were no chairs so we all stood around a table. The funny thing was we didn't get any forks. Everyone in the restaurant had a fork, but not us. So we ate with our fingers. And wow we got so many glances. Remember we are the only white people without forks. Everyone in line would always stare back at us once or twice. There was one guy who actually started stareing at us through the mirror. As if we couldn't see his eyes in the reflection :) We had a long conversation on how it didn't bother us that much. And we pondered why being the minority in the USA is so much different. Probably because we are the ones with all the money in Nairobi.
After lunch I went with Teju to go get some vegetarian food now that he felt better (Stephanie is still fairly sick). There I asked for a bottled passion juice. Unfortunately, they poored me one that was from fresh squeezed passion fruit (which I can't drink as the water is bad there). So I asked for one in a bottle. They then poored the juice into a cup. And I was like "no in a bottle" twisting my hands to represent a twisty top. So they then took that mango juice and poored it into an empty bottle of water and put on the lid. I then bought it as it only cost like 30 cents and then threw it away. Sheesh.
We walk outside after ordering and notice BJ running to put our stuff on the bus. He tells us to hurry before the bus leaves. We then load all of the equipment franticly and hop on. But Paul is missing (he went to go buy some malarone). BJ then runs off to find them. Paul gets there just in time and we take off seconds afterwards.
When we left we gave our hotel manager a $45 tip. He was so excited that when he left we could see him dancing in a suit and running into people.
On the bus ride we saw some AMAZING things. We saw the international criminal justice center and the UN building for Kenya. They looked amazing and we decided to make sure we stop by those places when we come back (it was unfortunate that we were all stuck in the dangerous part of town). Eric Kelso sat next to me and had some sever stomache cramps so that was entertaining with his constant comments of "Hold it in buddy"
SIDE NOTE-
So it appears that everyone on this trip is haveing severe stomache problems besides me. And I mean severe. For me its the opposite, my digestion system is actually working better. My theory is that I have been living off dorm food for aa year and a half straight now, and that has done so much harm to my body, that real food is actually a blessing, no matter how foreing. Yah dorm food!
The bus was so hot that we all took off our shirts. Scairly, someone in another car drove by one of the female students and mollested her. That was upsetting to say the least. The bus picked up more passengers and Kelso was able to use the bathroom. I now sat next to a girl named Everly and a man from Norway sat behind us who looked incredibly high.
So I actually tried to have a confersation with Everly which was the second African I have actually been able to talk to. Strange note, both people I have had talked to so far are African women my own age. Strange. So from my conversation I found out that Everly attends school in Arusha and is studying Graphic Design (which uses computers). She hopes to one day make maps. She was born in Arusha but grew up in Kenya. She likes Tanzania (Arusha is in Tanzania) a lot better. I asked her what she was doing in Kenya and she said visiting friends. I asked her what she did with her friends and she started laughing and wouldn't answer. Seems like college kids are all the same on what they do in their free time :) She told me that one day she wants to visit America, but loves it here. Now you know Everly.
Getting out of the city we saw many wonderful sights. We passed through the desert with the strangest looking trees. At times we saw people walking on the roads. Where were they going? We began to see some actual African tribal people with long red blankets and sticks. I'm going to call them Red Sticks for the rest of this trip, as they are always in red and lean on sticks. There were a lot of women Red Sticks hearding either sheep or cows. We passed a bunch of small towns where it was inspirational to see the locals. There would be like two to three buildings and a bunch of items on the ground for sale. It was a local market. Lots of people would be there and it was such a cultural intake.
We got next to the border and I realized how much of my capitalist genes were still in me as we stopped at a tourist attraction. There was some amazingly cool statues of giraffes there and I really wanted one for my room. So I kept bartering with the people and offered them a $100. Unfortunately they had to ship it to me which sounded so shady. So I kept bartering back and forth and eventually decided just to get on the bus. It was so weird though, because I'm not the kind of guy who likes material possesions. Oh but these giraffes were SO cool. SO cool. On that note
"What do you want Elliott, to ride a zebra or buy a giant giraffe statue?"
Elliott- "Perferably both. While riding a zebra I can pick up a giraffe statue on a drive through. Then I could ride off into the sunset riding a zebra and waveing a giraffe statue. That's what dreams are made of."
Favorite event of the day:
Trying to talk to an African woman who was my same age. And every single thing I said she would just start laughing at me. We were on a bus ride so this lasted for 5 hours.
So yesterday was AMAZING, and it really hasn't even begun. To give you the sparknotes we left for Arusha, saw a whole bunch of things on the way, and now are at Arusha. But then you are missing out on the giraffe crossing the road :)
We started the day off packing and getting ready. They found Teju's luggage at the airport now, so now we are only missing one luggage bag. I sat on the roof of Nairobi one last time which was just so overwhelming. I aslo took my first shower. For lunch we decided to try a fish and chips place down the block. We thought it would be americanized oh but it was not.
Signs everywhere said "Free tomato sauce" How cool is that? All four of us ordered chicken and fries. The place was so busy, that there were no chairs so we all stood around a table. The funny thing was we didn't get any forks. Everyone in the restaurant had a fork, but not us. So we ate with our fingers. And wow we got so many glances. Remember we are the only white people without forks. Everyone in line would always stare back at us once or twice. There was one guy who actually started stareing at us through the mirror. As if we couldn't see his eyes in the reflection :) We had a long conversation on how it didn't bother us that much. And we pondered why being the minority in the USA is so much different. Probably because we are the ones with all the money in Nairobi.
After lunch I went with Teju to go get some vegetarian food now that he felt better (Stephanie is still fairly sick). There I asked for a bottled passion juice. Unfortunately, they poored me one that was from fresh squeezed passion fruit (which I can't drink as the water is bad there). So I asked for one in a bottle. They then poored the juice into a cup. And I was like "no in a bottle" twisting my hands to represent a twisty top. So they then took that mango juice and poored it into an empty bottle of water and put on the lid. I then bought it as it only cost like 30 cents and then threw it away. Sheesh.
We walk outside after ordering and notice BJ running to put our stuff on the bus. He tells us to hurry before the bus leaves. We then load all of the equipment franticly and hop on. But Paul is missing (he went to go buy some malarone). BJ then runs off to find them. Paul gets there just in time and we take off seconds afterwards.
When we left we gave our hotel manager a $45 tip. He was so excited that when he left we could see him dancing in a suit and running into people.
On the bus ride we saw some AMAZING things. We saw the international criminal justice center and the UN building for Kenya. They looked amazing and we decided to make sure we stop by those places when we come back (it was unfortunate that we were all stuck in the dangerous part of town). Eric Kelso sat next to me and had some sever stomache cramps so that was entertaining with his constant comments of "Hold it in buddy"
SIDE NOTE-
So it appears that everyone on this trip is haveing severe stomache problems besides me. And I mean severe. For me its the opposite, my digestion system is actually working better. My theory is that I have been living off dorm food for aa year and a half straight now, and that has done so much harm to my body, that real food is actually a blessing, no matter how foreing. Yah dorm food!
The bus was so hot that we all took off our shirts. Scairly, someone in another car drove by one of the female students and mollested her. That was upsetting to say the least. The bus picked up more passengers and Kelso was able to use the bathroom. I now sat next to a girl named Everly and a man from Norway sat behind us who looked incredibly high.
So I actually tried to have a confersation with Everly which was the second African I have actually been able to talk to. Strange note, both people I have had talked to so far are African women my own age. Strange. So from my conversation I found out that Everly attends school in Arusha and is studying Graphic Design (which uses computers). She hopes to one day make maps. She was born in Arusha but grew up in Kenya. She likes Tanzania (Arusha is in Tanzania) a lot better. I asked her what she was doing in Kenya and she said visiting friends. I asked her what she did with her friends and she started laughing and wouldn't answer. Seems like college kids are all the same on what they do in their free time :) She told me that one day she wants to visit America, but loves it here. Now you know Everly.
Getting out of the city we saw many wonderful sights. We passed through the desert with the strangest looking trees. At times we saw people walking on the roads. Where were they going? We began to see some actual African tribal people with long red blankets and sticks. I'm going to call them Red Sticks for the rest of this trip, as they are always in red and lean on sticks. There were a lot of women Red Sticks hearding either sheep or cows. We passed a bunch of small towns where it was inspirational to see the locals. There would be like two to three buildings and a bunch of items on the ground for sale. It was a local market. Lots of people would be there and it was such a cultural intake.
We got next to the border and I realized how much of my capitalist genes were still in me as we stopped at a tourist attraction. There was some amazingly cool statues of giraffes there and I really wanted one for my room. So I kept bartering with the people and offered them a $100. Unfortunately they had to ship it to me which sounded so shady. So I kept bartering back and forth and eventually decided just to get on the bus. It was so weird though, because I'm not the kind of guy who likes material possesions. Oh but these giraffes were SO cool. SO cool. On that note
I'm in Africa!
Favorite quote of the day:
"What do you want Elliott, to ride a zebra or buy a giant giraffe statue?"
Elliott- "Perferably both. While riding a zebra I can pick up a giraffe statue on a drive through. Then I could ride off into the sunset riding a zebra and waveing a giraffe statue. That's what dreams are made of."
Favorite event of the day:
Trying to talk to an African woman who was my same age. And every single thing I said she would just start laughing at me. We were on a bus ride so this lasted for 5 hours.
So yesterday was AMAZING, and it really hasn't even begun. To give you the sparknotes we left for Arusha, saw a whole bunch of things on the way, and now are at Arusha. But then you are missing out on the giraffe crossing the road :)
We started the day off packing and getting ready. They found Teju's luggage at the airport now, so now we are only missing one luggage bag. I sat on the roof of Nairobi one last time which was just so overwhelming. I aslo took my first shower. For lunch we decided to try a fish and chips place down the block. We thought it would be americanized oh but it was not.
Signs everywhere said "Free tomato sauce" How cool is that? All four of us ordered chicken and fries. The place was so busy, that there were no chairs so we all stood around a table. The funny thing was we didn't get any forks. Everyone in the restaurant had a fork, but not us. So we ate with our fingers. And wow we got so many glances. Remember we are the only white people without forks. Everyone in line would always stare back at us once or twice. There was one guy who actually started stareing at us through the mirror. As if we couldn't see his eyes in the reflection :) We had a long conversation on how it didn't bother us that much. And we pondered why being the minority in the USA is so much different. Probably because we are the ones with all the money in Nairobi.
After lunch I went with Teju to go get some vegetarian food now that he felt better (Stephanie is still fairly sick). There I asked for a bottled passion juice. Unfortunately, they poored me one that was from fresh squeezed passion fruit (which I can't drink as the water is bad there). So I asked for one in a bottle. They then poored the juice into a cup. And I was like "no in a bottle" twisting my hands to represent a twisty top. So they then took that mango juice and poored it into an empty bottle of water and put on the lid. I then bought it as it only cost like 30 cents and then threw it away. Sheesh.
We walk outside after ordering and notice BJ running to put our stuff on the bus. He tells us to hurry before the bus leaves. We then load all of the equipment franticly and hop on. But Paul is missing (he went to go buy some malarone). BJ then runs off to find them. Paul gets there just in time and we take off seconds afterwards.
When we left we gave our hotel manager a $45 tip. He was so excited that when he left we could see him dancing in a suit and running into people.
On the bus ride we saw some AMAZING things. We saw the international criminal justice center and the UN building for Kenya. They looked amazing and we decided to make sure we stop by those places when we come back (it was unfortunate that we were all stuck in the dangerous part of town). Eric Kelso sat next to me and had some sever stomache cramps so that was entertaining with his constant comments of "Hold it in buddy"
SIDE NOTE-
So it appears that everyone on this trip is haveing severe stomache problems besides me. And I mean severe. For me its the opposite, my digestion system is actually working better. My theory is that I have been living off dorm food for aa year and a half straight now, and that has done so much harm to my body, that real food is actually a blessing, no matter how foreing. Yah dorm food!
The bus was so hot that we all took off our shirts. Scairly, someone in another car drove by one of the female students and mollested her. That was upsetting to say the least. The bus picked up more passengers and Kelso was able to use the bathroom. I now sat next to a girl named Everly and a man from Norway sat behind us who looked incredibly high.
So I actually tried to have a confersation with Everly which was the second African I have actually been able to talk to. Strange note, both people I have had talked to so far are African women my own age. Strange. So from my conversation I found out that Everly attends school in Arusha and is studying Graphic Design (which uses computers). She hopes to one day make maps. She was born in Arusha but grew up in Kenya. She likes Tanzania (Arusha is in Tanzania) a lot better. I asked her what she was doing in Kenya and she said visiting friends. I asked her what she did with her friends and she started laughing and wouldn't answer. Seems like college kids are all the same on what they do in their free time :) She told me that one day she wants to visit America, but loves it here. Now you know Everly.
Getting out of the city we saw many wonderful sights. We passed through the desert with the strangest looking
"What do you want Elliott, to ride a zebra or buy a giant giraffe statue?"
Elliott- "Perferably both. While riding a zebra I can pick up a giraffe statue on a drive through. Then I could ride off into the sunset riding a zebra and waveing a giraffe statue. That's what dreams are made of."
Favorite event of the day:
Trying to talk to an African woman who was my same age. And every single thing I said she would just start laughing at me. We were on a bus ride so this lasted for 5 hours.
So yesterday was AMAZING, and it really hasn't even begun. To give you the sparknotes we left for Arusha, saw a whole bunch of things on the way, and now are at Arusha. But then you are missing out on the giraffe crossing the road :)
We started the day off packing and getting ready. They found Teju's luggage at the airport now, so now we are only missing one luggage bag. I sat on the roof of Nairobi one last time which was just so overwhelming. I aslo took my first shower. For lunch we decided to try a fish and chips place down the block. We thought it would be americanized oh but it was not.
Signs everywhere said "Free tomato sauce" How cool is that? All four of us ordered chicken and fries. The place was so busy, that there were no chairs so we all stood around a table. The funny thing was we didn't get any forks. Everyone in the restaurant had a fork, but not us. So we ate with our fingers. And wow we got so many glances. Remember we are the only white people without forks. Everyone in line would always stare back at us once or twice. There was one guy who actually started stareing at us through the mirror. As if we couldn't see his eyes in the reflection :) We had a long conversation on how it didn't bother us that much. And we pondered why being the minority in the USA is so much different. Probably because we are the ones with all the money in Nairobi.
After lunch I went with Teju to go get some vegetarian food now that he felt better (Stephanie is still fairly sick). There I asked for a bottled passion juice. Unfortunately, they poored me one that was from fresh squeezed passion fruit (which I can't drink as the water is bad there). So I asked for one in a bottle. They then poored the juice into a cup. And I was like "no in a bottle" twisting my hands to represent a twisty top. So they then took that mango juice and poored it into an empty bottle of water and put on the lid. I then bought it as it only cost like 30 cents and then threw it away. Sheesh.
We walk outside after ordering and notice BJ running to put our stuff on the bus. He tells us to hurry before the bus leaves. We then load all of the equipment franticly and hop on. But Paul is missing (he went to go buy some malarone). BJ then runs off to find them. Paul gets there just in time and we take off seconds afterwards.
When we left we gave our hotel manager a $45 tip. He was so excited that when he left we could see him dancing in a suit and running into people.
On the bus ride we saw some AMAZING things. We saw the international criminal justice center and the UN building for Kenya. They looked amazing and we decided to make sure we stop by those places when we come back (it was unfortunate that we were all stuck in the dangerous part of town). Eric Kelso sat next to me and had some sever stomache cramps so that was entertaining with his constant comments of "Hold it in buddy"
SIDE NOTE-
So it appears that everyone on this trip is haveing severe stomache problems besides me. And I mean severe. For me its the opposite, my digestion system is actually working better. My theory is that I have been living off dorm food for aa year and a half straight now, and that has done so much harm to my body, that real food is actually a blessing, no matter how foreing. Yah dorm food!
The bus was so hot that we all took off our shirts. Scairly, someone in another car drove by one of the female students and mollested her. That was upsetting to say the least. The bus picked up more passengers and Kelso was able to use the bathroom. I now sat next to a girl named Everly and a man from Norway sat behind us who looked incredibly high.
So I actually tried to have a confersation with Everly which was the second African I have actually been able to talk to. Strange note, both people I have had talked to so far are African women my own age. Strange. So from my conversation I found out that Everly attends school in Arusha and is studying Graphic Design (which uses computers). She hopes to one day make maps. She was born in Arusha but grew up in Kenya. She likes Tanzania (Arusha is in Tanzania) a lot better. I asked her what she was doing in Kenya and she said visiting friends. I asked her what she did with her friends and she started laughing and wouldn't answer. Seems like college kids are all the same on what they do in their free time :) She told me that one day she wants to visit America, but loves it here. Now you know Everly.
Getting out of the city we saw many wonderful sights. We passed through the desert with the strangest looking
Sunday, December 18, 2005
So if anyone knows what to do in London please let me know. Do you know any people I can chill out with? Any places I should go to? It ends up that I am going to be in London by myself starting January 14 for 48 hours and I have no idea where to stay or what to do? Your comments will be appreciated :)
More Dancing
Best part of the day: Wakeing up and sitting on the roof of the building. Just listenig to all of the city sounds, looking at the hazy background covered in trees, and trying to remember I'm in Africa.
Quote of the day:
Teju: "I threw up Australia"
So I am typing this paper listening to eminem. Who would of known he came out with a new CD? Who would have known that it would be playing in Nairobi at 8:40 in the morning. This day was very non eventful, but I got to actually meet a few people so that was exciting. Highlights:
I went to a church service this morning. It was so much fun. It was an experience because everyone was stareing at me in the beggining.They just kept singing and dancing for like 20 minutes. And I just joined in with the fun. They were all shakeing my hands and saying caribou (welcome). I had to leave the service before it ended, and I danced out.
Suprisingly, people started laughing at me as I left. It just goes to show that the Elliott Dance is truly unique. It is not just some international rip off. No one is ready for it from any country.
Teju and Paul were not able to find their luggage and they are going again today in hopes of maybe recovering it. Teju got really sick on top of it, so thats a major bummer.
I found a store that sold Legos. I went in, and it ended up being fake legos (Kingdom Blocks), but I was still so close.
We keep eating India food, its really weird that there is so much India food here.
We met one of Ashley's contacts who was a producer for a famous music group in Kenya. He told us all about Kenya, its music, etc. It was much like a PLC experiential weekend. He told us that sometimes the buses can be hijacked so that will be interesting to say the least as we leave on bus to Arusha.
BJ made a friend ( a begger) who followed him throughout today. He just kept saying "can I have some money" over and over again.
I went over to the super market and checked out all of their clothers (I plan on changing my entire wardrobe to African). I kept looking at all the bright colored shirts, but the staff kept laughing at me. Apparantly the bright clothes are for woman. The men's clothes are all Americanized, how boring. I did that 3 times.
I've started reading Reconstruction of Christianity. And writing 2-3 comments on each of the page topics. Thats been fun.
I can't wait to see more natural Africa at this point. As BJ puts it, "we are stuck in a Prison here".
Philosiphically, I am at the crisis of loneliness. When you are surrounded by PLCers who are all at the top of their game socially I realize how seperate I am from the world. It could also be that I am in Africa. None the less a sense of solitude grows within me. I think I want to become part of the African community, but there are many barriers in the way. Hopefully, when we get to Mr. Smilies village this will change :). I need to regrasp my desire for change. As that was why I originally came to Africa. To really understand who I am. We'll see.
We are leaving the hostel today, so I don't know when I will be online again, but please do leave messages. They mean a lot to me. And to answer Tyler's question: Yes, Ben always dresses nice.
Saturday, December 17, 2005
So When you asked me what are we doing . . .
My favorite quote:
BJ "So I heard some people haveing sex last night" "Man she was loud"
Ben "Are you sure it was sex and not someone getting beaten up"
BJ "No, it was definately sex"
Ben "You're right, people haveing sex is a universal language"
Elliott "Ah sex and math, both Universal Languages, yet another similarity"
Best part today:
Having 10 complete strangers try to persuade us that they own a hostel we were at.
So the place we are staing at has internet, so I am able to put a little time into updateing you on our crazy adventures. And I'd like to emphasize crazy. (If you don't want to keep reading after that, you don't know me)
So we ended with me in England Airport. I take a nap. Wake up an hour before my flight. And wouldn't you know it, no one else is here yet. So I go to customer service and ask what is up? Apparantly none of my group has checked in! So the page gets Teju and Julie Marie. And there we are 30 minutes before take off and no group for Africa. Teju left his ticket with BJ so he can't even get on the plane. So Julie and I decided that we would have to go to Africa on our own. Kind of FREAKY. So we're chilling out in the airplane. Natasha asks where's my group, and I tell her I don't know. So like 10 min before the airplane leaves, in rushes our entire group. Whew.
Except for Teju. He never got his ticket from BJ. So I frantically tell BJ that he has to go back and get Teju. So he runs out and gets a page, and we just wait there. For ten minutes it is really intense, and bam, he's on. So we all make it barely.
The plane ride was fun. I sat next to a geinecologist. Weird. I didn't really know what to say. He was kind of crazy though, he came from California and didn't know where Paris or Athens was and listened to his music REALLY loud. Durring the ride I saw the coolest sunrise EVER. I mean EVER. The earth was still completely black and the sky still had stars. But in between was the most colorful fire on the clouds ever. I could even see the curve of the Earth. (See pic). What a great beggining. The meditation didn't work too well, I kept falling asleep. Yuck. But the good news was I was able to fall asleep.
Luggage wise 7/9 of our packs came in. Teju forgot to check in his luggage in England and Paul lost his luggage reciept. We have no idea where the luggage is, at all. So we decide to go check into our hostel without some luggage (our luggage is our backpacks with all our stuff for a month in them). We get a taxi through the airport. While we are doing this, we see about 50 people trying to get us to go in their taxis. It was funny. One man was jumping up and down. So I left my Hindu book on a mysterious table and loaded in. I handed my luggage to a guy who said he would put it in the back. Kelso told me if I do that again, it will probably get stolen. Outside I felt famous. About 20 people come right next to us and yell "Safari, Safari!!!" As BJ puts it we are 9 rich people, a huge target for tourist bookers. The taxi takes off.
A booker is actually in the taxi and he tells us we should book our tickets now for our bus tomorrow. So Ashley says to pull over and we do. And then BJ's taxi comes by and BJ is like no thanks we're not interested. That was our first booker experience. I'm going to call them Safarites from now on because they keep yelling "Safari, Safari!".
So we get to our hostel and it gets Freaky real Freaky. It ends up there is a house there but its under renovation. One lady is there tending the garden. We get into the house and it is awsome looking, but the owner is not there. So the taxi drivers (and mainly the safarites) ask what we want to do. We give them the shpeal. They tell us that they personally know the owner, and they will take us to him. They then suggest we go live at a hotel they know. And they start freaking out and just constantly all trying to go with them. And the weird part is more people start coming over to us. One guy drives in and tells us he is an official tourist guide from Kenya and he is here to help. Eventually BJ tells them all to leave us alone as we talk. We look into our tour guides (Lonely Planet rocks) and find a hostel in downtown Nairobi. So we decide to go there. And another guy comes over with keys. He tells us that the owner sent him and he'll unlock the door for us. BJ asks the man what the owner's name is, and the man doesn't know. So sketchy. So we drive into downtown Nairobi and it is scary. People are everywhere and there are a whole bunch of really run down shops.
We eventually check in but the Safarites decide to stay below us. And pester us some more. In fact they stay there all night and we checked in at 12 in the morning. We met one Safarite named Michael Jackson he was funny.
Once settled in (I'm with BJ and Ben) we went out to get some food. We aren't allowed to eat any fruit becuase it is washed with the water. So we tried a variety of different things that I honestly can't identify. The weirdest was some form of green meet. The crepes there are SO good. So we all go back to figure out what to do tomorrow, and a church service starts on the top floor. It is WILD. We hear stomping in rythm throughout the night. And once and a while a crazy roar would go out. I wanted to join in but the lady wouldn't let me in. That was weird. One of the kids just stared at me hard core. Kind of strange to say the least.
After we figured out that tomorrow we were going to go get bus tickets tomorrow I went to take a nap. I fell asleep, as did everyone else. Strangely enough, we didn't get up. We all slept right through dinner and didn't wake up till the morning.
The nights were freaky, no one was anywhere in the busy town. At one point to guys got into a fight right outside our window. A police man came buy and yelled continuously "Wanga, Wanga". He seriously said this like 50 times. And then the fighting stopped. Later in the morning we were woken to the screaming of what I though was a small child. It sounded like "Mah!" Over and over again. Later on I discovered it was a women in the street. To wake up, I went upstairs to chill out on the roof. I saw the lady fighting with some man. They were hardcore dukeing it out. At one point in time she pulled some sort of street figherish types of moves and jumped onto her hands. She then started fighting again. Eventually the guy put her down on the ground and kicked her. I so wanted to interfere. Another guy came buy a little longer to help her off of the ground. She then started beating up on him. Kids were running around the two cheering them on. Eventually the man put her on the ground. She pretended to faint. Then another guy came to help her and she started fighting AGAIN. She kept yelling "Mah, Mah" over and over. So freaky. Michael Jackson told me that she is possesed by Demons and needs a priest. She is currently sitting outside of our hostel.
For breakfast I ate on some delicious Crepes. Yummy!
Another interesting thing was a kid with AIDS started following us. I never saw someone who had visible AIDS. He kept asking us for money. Kelso told me not to give them money as then you will have all the beggers after you. So sad. So sad.
As BJ told me, this is the most dangerous part of the trip. And I'm going to agree. I really want to see non industrialized Africa. Buildings, poverty, busy for no reason, and crepes is not my idea of the world. It makes me sad that the world goes in this direction. I really feel strongly now on curbing the population as Nairobi is so sad with so many people are suffering. I hope one day I can help them. As Kelso put it, being they make $300 a year, you mine as well be carrying around $360,000 worth of wealth. So sad.
So hopefully you can see why I told you, "I have no idea". None of this could ever be planned but it really has changed my life so much. And now that I am awake I can't wait to see what else is going to happen. But it definately was CRAZY.
As always, please send me some replys, and let me know what is going on in your lives.
BJ "So I heard some people haveing sex last night" "Man she was loud"
Ben "Are you sure it was sex and not someone getting beaten up"
BJ "No, it was definately sex"
Ben "You're right, people haveing sex is a universal language"
Elliott "Ah sex and math, both Universal Languages, yet another similarity"
Best part today:
Having 10 complete strangers try to persuade us that they own a hostel we were at.
So the place we are staing at has internet, so I am able to put a little time into updateing you on our crazy adventures. And I'd like to emphasize crazy. (If you don't want to keep reading after that, you don't know me)
So we ended with me in England Airport. I take a nap. Wake up an hour before my flight. And wouldn't you know it, no one else is here yet. So I go to customer service and ask what is up? Apparantly none of my group has checked in! So the page gets Teju and Julie Marie. And there we are 30 minutes before take off and no group for Africa. Teju left his ticket with BJ so he can't even get on the plane. So Julie and I decided that we would have to go to Africa on our own. Kind of FREAKY. So we're chilling out in the airplane. Natasha asks where's my group, and I tell her I don't know. So like 10 min before the airplane leaves, in rushes our entire group. Whew.
Except for Teju. He never got his ticket from BJ. So I frantically tell BJ that he has to go back and get Teju. So he runs out and gets a page, and we just wait there. For ten minutes it is really intense, and bam, he's on. So we all make it barely.
The plane ride was fun. I sat next to a geinecologist. Weird. I didn't really know what to say. He was kind of crazy though, he came from California and didn't know where Paris or Athens was and listened to his music REALLY loud. Durring the ride I saw the coolest sunrise EVER. I mean EVER. The earth was still completely black and the sky still had stars. But in between was the most colorful fire on the clouds ever. I could even see the curve of the Earth. (See pic). What a great beggining. The meditation didn't work too well, I kept falling asleep. Yuck. But the good news was I was able to fall asleep.
Luggage wise 7/9 of our packs came in. Teju forgot to check in his luggage in England and Paul lost his luggage reciept. We have no idea where the luggage is, at all. So we decide to go check into our hostel without some luggage (our luggage is our backpacks with all our stuff for a month in them). We get a taxi through the airport. While we are doing this, we see about 50 people trying to get us to go in their taxis. It was funny. One man was jumping up and down. So I left my Hindu book on a mysterious table and loaded in. I handed my luggage to a guy who said he would put it in the back. Kelso told me if I do that again, it will probably get stolen. Outside I felt famous. About 20 people come right next to us and yell "Safari, Safari!!!" As BJ puts it we are 9 rich people, a huge target for tourist bookers. The taxi takes off.
A booker is actually in the taxi and he tells us we should book our tickets now for our bus tomorrow. So Ashley says to pull over and we do. And then BJ's taxi comes by and BJ is like no thanks we're not interested. That was our first booker experience. I'm going to call them Safarites from now on because they keep yelling "Safari, Safari!".
So we get to our hostel and it gets Freaky real Freaky. It ends up there is a house there but its under renovation. One lady is there tending the garden. We get into the house and it is awsome looking, but the owner is not there. So the taxi drivers (and mainly the safarites) ask what we want to do. We give them the shpeal. They tell us that they personally know the owner, and they will take us to him. They then suggest we go live at a hotel they know. And they start freaking out and just constantly all trying to go with them. And the weird part is more people start coming over to us. One guy drives in and tells us he is an official tourist guide from Kenya and he is here to help. Eventually BJ tells them all to leave us alone as we talk. We look into our tour guides (Lonely Planet rocks) and find a hostel in downtown Nairobi. So we decide to go there. And another guy comes over with keys. He tells us that the owner sent him and he'll unlock the door for us. BJ asks the man what the owner's name is, and the man doesn't know. So sketchy. So we drive into downtown Nairobi and it is scary. People are everywhere and there are a whole bunch of really run down shops.
We eventually check in but the Safarites decide to stay below us. And pester us some more. In fact they stay there all night and we checked in at 12 in the morning. We met one Safarite named Michael Jackson he was funny.
Once settled in (I'm with BJ and Ben) we went out to get some food. We aren't allowed to eat any fruit becuase it is washed with the water. So we tried a variety of different things that I honestly can't identify. The weirdest was some form of green meet. The crepes there are SO good. So we all go back to figure out what to do tomorrow, and a church service starts on the top floor. It is WILD. We hear stomping in rythm throughout the night. And once and a while a crazy roar would go out. I wanted to join in but the lady wouldn't let me in. That was weird. One of the kids just stared at me hard core. Kind of strange to say the least.
After we figured out that tomorrow we were going to go get bus tickets tomorrow I went to take a nap. I fell asleep, as did everyone else. Strangely enough, we didn't get up. We all slept right through dinner and didn't wake up till the morning.
The nights were freaky, no one was anywhere in the busy town. At one point to guys got into a fight right outside our window. A police man came buy and yelled continuously "Wanga, Wanga". He seriously said this like 50 times. And then the fighting stopped. Later in the morning we were woken to the screaming of what I though was a small child. It sounded like "Mah!" Over and over again. Later on I discovered it was a women in the street. To wake up, I went upstairs to chill out on the roof. I saw the lady fighting with some man. They were hardcore dukeing it out. At one point in time she pulled some sort of street figherish types of moves and jumped onto her hands. She then started fighting again. Eventually the guy put her down on the ground and kicked her. I so wanted to interfere. Another guy came buy a little longer to help her off of the ground. She then started beating up on him. Kids were running around the two cheering them on. Eventually the man put her on the ground. She pretended to faint. Then another guy came to help her and she started fighting AGAIN. She kept yelling "Mah, Mah" over and over. So freaky. Michael Jackson told me that she is possesed by Demons and needs a priest. She is currently sitting outside of our hostel.
For breakfast I ate on some delicious Crepes. Yummy!
Another interesting thing was a kid with AIDS started following us. I never saw someone who had visible AIDS. He kept asking us for money. Kelso told me not to give them money as then you will have all the beggers after you. So sad. So sad.
As BJ told me, this is the most dangerous part of the trip. And I'm going to agree. I really want to see non industrialized Africa. Buildings, poverty, busy for no reason, and crepes is not my idea of the world. It makes me sad that the world goes in this direction. I really feel strongly now on curbing the population as Nairobi is so sad with so many people are suffering. I hope one day I can help them. As Kelso put it, being they make $300 a year, you mine as well be carrying around $360,000 worth of wealth. So sad.
So hopefully you can see why I told you, "I have no idea". None of this could ever be planned but it really has changed my life so much. And now that I am awake I can't wait to see what else is going to happen. But it definately was CRAZY.
As always, please send me some replys, and let me know what is going on in your lives.
Friday, December 16, 2005
My Plane Trip
Day 1
So my meditation plans have been interupted. It seems like that happens a lot. The seven hours alone in the airport are now no longer alone. It ends up Teju is coming with me to Chicago. So I've been chilling with him all day. Some fun things that happened at DIA:
We listened to kids sing for an hour. Brings back old memories.
I got a Hindu religious text, it happened to me just like it happened to my Dad. So awkward.
In Chicago they have this really cool futureistic pathway. So I danced on that. People are really stressed out here because its Christmas time. I told 2 guys to stop yelling at Customer Assistance.
I met a guy from London on my plane trip. He suggested that I go see Ministry of Sound which would be so awsome. So awsome.
England's Air Port looks like a shopping mall.
And the best part . . I met this girl from Rwanda who is a sophmore at St. Monica, California. And she too is waiting six hours for her flight. So I'm going to be chilling out with her for the rest of the day (4 more hours of waiting). I think I already like foriegn people a lot. So we'll see what happens :)
As for philosiphy, finished my Tao Te Ching, it was EXTREMELY confusing. And now I am going to by Davinci Code in paper back. Buh ya. I've decided to freeze all my hopes and fears for the future. As it appears, the best thing I can possibly do is just enjoy the moment. For as Tyler told me, well can't you just figure that stuff out in a month. So now I'm just going to be me. For surely the things I value most can't be put into specific instances. Now that I am alone, I've got to say, I really appreciated Julie Marie and Teju going on the flight part way with me. It was so much more fun. And I've also decided that I have spent a lot of time understanding the poor this semester, and I think it will take more work for me to understand the rich. Standing in line at Chicago I saw family get denied tickets and have to split up. And then comes a lady cuts in front of 20 people, yells at the Customer Service "I did not drive 5 hours to sit in economy class, I demand you upgrade me" This really solitifies my view that problems are relative.
Other than that, Ashley, one of the girls going with us, got contacts of about 10 families in Kenya from her African dance teacher. So we get to homestead! Which is so wonderful. I can't wait to meet more people from Africa. Hopefully they are as cool as Natasha (the girl from Africa). Speaking of which I should go, as she is probably waiting for me.
The coolest part of the day:
Dancing around to space music with laser lights on a walkway in Chicago Airport. I swear, when I get old and am in business suits, I'm still going to do it. So much fun. So much fun.
Let me know what you think!!!
Elliott Hedman
So my meditation plans have been interupted. It seems like that happens a lot. The seven hours alone in the airport are now no longer alone. It ends up Teju is coming with me to Chicago. So I've been chilling with him all day. Some fun things that happened at DIA:
We listened to kids sing for an hour. Brings back old memories.
I got a Hindu religious text, it happened to me just like it happened to my Dad. So awkward.
In Chicago they have this really cool futureistic pathway. So I danced on that. People are really stressed out here because its Christmas time. I told 2 guys to stop yelling at Customer Assistance.
I met a guy from London on my plane trip. He suggested that I go see Ministry of Sound which would be so awsome. So awsome.
England's Air Port looks like a shopping mall.
And the best part . . I met this girl from Rwanda who is a sophmore at St. Monica, California. And she too is waiting six hours for her flight. So I'm going to be chilling out with her for the rest of the day (4 more hours of waiting). I think I already like foriegn people a lot. So we'll see what happens :)
As for philosiphy, finished my Tao Te Ching, it was EXTREMELY confusing. And now I am going to by Davinci Code in paper back. Buh ya. I've decided to freeze all my hopes and fears for the future. As it appears, the best thing I can possibly do is just enjoy the moment. For as Tyler told me, well can't you just figure that stuff out in a month. So now I'm just going to be me. For surely the things I value most can't be put into specific instances. Now that I am alone, I've got to say, I really appreciated Julie Marie and Teju going on the flight part way with me. It was so much more fun. And I've also decided that I have spent a lot of time understanding the poor this semester, and I think it will take more work for me to understand the rich. Standing in line at Chicago I saw family get denied tickets and have to split up. And then comes a lady cuts in front of 20 people, yells at the Customer Service "I did not drive 5 hours to sit in economy class, I demand you upgrade me" This really solitifies my view that problems are relative.
Other than that, Ashley, one of the girls going with us, got contacts of about 10 families in Kenya from her African dance teacher. So we get to homestead! Which is so wonderful. I can't wait to meet more people from Africa. Hopefully they are as cool as Natasha (the girl from Africa). Speaking of which I should go, as she is probably waiting for me.
The coolest part of the day:
Dancing around to space music with laser lights on a walkway in Chicago Airport. I swear, when I get old and am in business suits, I'm still going to do it. So much fun. So much fun.
Let me know what you think!!!
Elliott Hedman
Thursday, December 15, 2005
The Beggining
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE comment on this blog. It would mean a lot to me if you let me know how your life is going or what you think about what I am doing. If you want to send me any private emails, email me at mathandstuff@hotmail.com If you want to see the coolest party coming up after Africa go here:
http://ucsu.colorado.edu/~hedmane/
So it is 6:30 in the morning. I haven't slept all night, and I'm getting picked up to go to Africa in 45 minutes. A cup o noodles sits besides me representing all that I had for dinner. My friends ask me, so what are you doing in Africa and I tell them, well when I have time I'll figure it out. I guess for the next 45 minutes I will have time, as sleeping seems a bit pointless now.
My life up to this point has had some major changes. PLC is done, which is a huge shift, as I often claimed PLC was my life. I am getting an internship working with IBM, which is as corporate as it gets, so I am going to see if the corporate world is for me (which I have a really good feeling it won't be). And additionally, I think I actually truly became attracted to a girl this semester emoti
onally. So I've had a lot of fun trying to figure that out, and now I'm at the stage where it is out in the open, but what's going to be done about is still in the air. So thats where I am.
And now I am going to Africa. I am going to grow so much its going to be absolutely rediculous. 9 of my friends from leadership class are all going to Kenya and Tanzania with me, and every time I talk with them, they challenge my entire perspective of the world. That plus being in a part of the world that is completely foriegn to me will definately have some sort of effect.
I am takeing this trip day by day, as I feel that this is the best way for me to appreciate each moment. As of now I am planning for my trip to Kenya which will be many hours of flying. Here is a list of the books I'm takeing:
Angels and Demons -given to me by my AP English teacher
New Christianity - a book written by pastor, Pastor Rich Mayfield, who has helped shaped my life spiritually in so many ways.
Tao te Ching- Basicly the Taoist Bible
The Olive Branch and the Lexus - This book was recomended to me by numerous leaders in the field of engineering. It underlines how engineering is becoming international, and how my job is going to be taken by some guy who works for minimum wage soon enough.
The Davinci Code- So they don't sale it in paper back here, but they do sale it in paper back in London, so I'm going to be sure to pick one of these up.
In addition, I have a journal that I hope to fill. If I write down my growth and change, I feel like I will have a much better understanding.
As for today I hope to reat the entire Tao te Ching and then meditate. I have 15 hours in flight, so I can do some Air Borne meditation. Pretty cool huh, I could be the first to try this. But I got a lot of stuff to clear out of my mind. New begginings require fresh start, and I am definately leaving at a pivotal corner. Its time to let that corner freeze in time, and become new.
I hope to grow in a lot of ways. First off, I want to see where I want to go with this engineering thing. I love the classes, I love the projects, and I love the concepts. But when it gets to the work world, I have an aim to be more than a printer manufacturer. I want to be a person makeing a difference, choices, and contribution. So which direction do I go? Do I try to put that goal into place with a regular enineering job, or do I instead try to take a job that is all about change, and apply my engineering job.
Another great concept that I'm trying to figure out is how do others effect my life. This semester I've really learned that connecting with other people on an intimate level can be massively rewarding. This is something new for me. How do I persue this? Have I lost value in my individual self? What the freak do I do about this crush of mine? These questions will have massive impacts on my life, as I feel like I'm in the middle (half individual/half others) and it's really muddy and contradictory right now.
Finally, I hope to get to know Africa. As I've told all my friends, I want to ride a zebra. I wonder if my mom has figured out that my survival rate at attempting to ride a wild zebra is about 10% :). I can't wait to spend time with the natives which we have put into the schedule. I find that I can relate to foriegn people so much more than my peers here. I also can't wait to see an entire different landscape. Also, as my brother Hayden told me yesterday, I hope to "shoot a lion directly in the face, ride an elephant, and fight a famous boxer" (It's a Simpsons quote, but it is so funny).
But once again, I'm actually going to erase these goals on my plane ride. I want to take Africa in as a whole not as a means to solve a few of my dilemas. I can't wait. So once again, please post anything you have questions or comments on. I will check this thing a few times, so you can be sure of updates (With PHOTOS).
One thing I will miss a lot is my family. Traditionally, Christmas is the only time of the year, when my whole family can be together. Wakeing up with my brothers to see what Santa has laid out in the stockings. And then waiting for my parents to wake up so we can open Santa's big preasents. And then just chilling out with my family for an entire day. This has so much significance to me, as my family (all of us) are so busy. This year I won't have this. And on top of that, I wish I could be there for my brothers. Hayden is struggling with math and Leadership class, and I wish I could be there, to tell him, you can do it buddy. He is becoming my clone just 4 years behind. And Garrett is looking toward college and is lost himself in purpose. I love talking with him on what his purpose in life is. And how he handles his future. I will miss singing to oldies stations with my Dad which is ALL he listens to and talking to him about the strangest topics. And I will miss being in touch with my mom. She came up to say good bye, and unfortunately, I had to have an interview with IBM and do a presentation with PLC, and had an RA emergency at that time, so we never got to say good bye. She has helped me so much understand myself and what college means to me. So its going to be hard to say goodbye to that. This break could be the first time I ever get homesick, as it will now be almost nine months since I really spent more than a day or two with my family.
And as the song I'm listening to right now from Trans-Siberian orchestra states: "It begins".
http://ucsu.colorado.edu/~hedmane/
So it is 6:30 in the morning. I haven't slept all night, and I'm getting picked up to go to Africa in 45 minutes. A cup o noodles sits besides me representing all that I had for dinner. My friends ask me, so what are you doing in Africa and I tell them, well when I have time I'll figure it out. I guess for the next 45 minutes I will have time, as sleeping seems a bit pointless now.
My life up to this point has had some major changes. PLC is done, which is a huge shift, as I often claimed PLC was my life. I am getting an internship working with IBM, which is as corporate as it gets, so I am going to see if the corporate world is for me (which I have a really good feeling it won't be). And additionally, I think I actually truly became attracted to a girl this semester emoti
onally. So I've had a lot of fun trying to figure that out, and now I'm at the stage where it is out in the open, but what's going to be done about is still in the air. So thats where I am.And now I am going to Africa. I am going to grow so much its going to be absolutely rediculous. 9 of my friends from leadership class are all going to Kenya and Tanzania with me, and every time I talk with them, they challenge my entire perspective of the world. That plus being in a part of the world that is completely foriegn to me will definately have some sort of effect.
I am takeing this trip day by day, as I feel that this is the best way for me to appreciate each moment. As of now I am planning for my trip to Kenya which will be many hours of flying. Here is a list of the books I'm takeing:
Angels and Demons -given to me by my AP English teacher
New Christianity - a book written by pastor, Pastor Rich Mayfield, who has helped shaped my life spiritually in so many ways.
Tao te Ching- Basicly the Taoist Bible
The Olive Branch and the Lexus - This book was recomended to me by numerous leaders in the field of engineering. It underlines how engineering is becoming international, and how my job is going to be taken by some guy who works for minimum wage soon enough.
The Davinci Code- So they don't sale it in paper back here, but they do sale it in paper back in London, so I'm going to be sure to pick one of these up.
In addition, I have a journal that I hope to fill. If I write down my growth and change, I feel like I will have a much better understanding.
As for today I hope to reat the entire Tao te Ching and then meditate. I have 15 hours in flight, so I can do some Air Borne meditation. Pretty cool huh, I could be the first to try this. But I got a lot of stuff to clear out of my mind. New begginings require fresh start, and I am definately leaving at a pivotal corner. Its time to let that corner freeze in time, and become new.
I hope to grow in a lot of ways. First off, I want to see where I want to go with this engineering thing. I love the classes, I love the projects, and I love the concepts. But when it gets to the work world, I have an aim to be more than a printer manufacturer. I want to be a person makeing a difference, choices, and contribution. So which direction do I go? Do I try to put that goal into place with a regular enineering job, or do I instead try to take a job that is all about change, and apply my engineering job.
Another great concept that I'm trying to figure out is how do others effect my life. This semester I've really learned that connecting with other people on an intimate level can be massively rewarding. This is something new for me. How do I persue this? Have I lost value in my individual self? What the freak do I do about this crush of mine? These questions will have massive impacts on my life, as I feel like I'm in the middle (half individual/half others) and it's really muddy and contradictory right now.
Finally, I hope to get to know Africa. As I've told all my friends, I want to ride a zebra. I wonder if my mom has figured out that my survival rate at attempting to ride a wild zebra is about 10% :). I can't wait to spend time with the natives which we have put into the schedule. I find that I can relate to foriegn people so much more than my peers here. I also can't wait to see an entire different landscape. Also, as my brother Hayden told me yesterday, I hope to "shoot a lion directly in the face, ride an elephant, and fight a famous boxer" (It's a Simpsons quote, but it is so funny).
But once again, I'm actually going to erase these goals on my plane ride. I want to take Africa in as a whole not as a means to solve a few of my dilemas. I can't wait. So once again, please post anything you have questions or comments on. I will check this thing a few times, so you can be sure of updates (With PHOTOS).
One thing I will miss a lot is my family. Traditionally, Christmas is the only time of the year, when my whole family can be together. Wakeing up with my brothers to see what Santa has laid out in the stockings. And then waiting for my parents to wake up so we can open Santa's big preasents. And then just chilling out with my family for an entire day. This has so much significance to me, as my family (all of us) are so busy. This year I won't have this. And on top of that, I wish I could be there for my brothers. Hayden is struggling with math and Leadership class, and I wish I could be there, to tell him, you can do it buddy. He is becoming my clone just 4 years behind. And Garrett is looking toward college and is lost himself in purpose. I love talking with him on what his purpose in life is. And how he handles his future. I will miss singing to oldies stations with my Dad which is ALL he listens to and talking to him about the strangest topics. And I will miss being in touch with my mom. She came up to say good bye, and unfortunately, I had to have an interview with IBM and do a presentation with PLC, and had an RA emergency at that time, so we never got to say good bye. She has helped me so much understand myself and what college means to me. So its going to be hard to say goodbye to that. This break could be the first time I ever get homesick, as it will now be almost nine months since I really spent more than a day or two with my family.
And as the song I'm listening to right now from Trans-Siberian orchestra states: "It begins".
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