Sorry it's been so long since I updated this thing. I've been swamped with work ever since we got back from our last field trip two weeks ago. Last week, I had two midterms. I got an A on my one in EU Relations with the Muslim World which was a total surprise but I'll take it. Apparently this is still fake school because at Beloit, I probably would have had a C on it. Meh, no complaints. My other midterm was for my Civilizational Identities class, and it wasn't bad at all, but it still required a lot of work. This upcoming week I have a midterm and a presentation on Wednesday. Kate is also coming to visit Freiburg for a few days, starting late on Tuesday night until we leave for Amsterdam on Thursday evening. I'm SUPER excited, but I'm running around trying to study and really just freaking out my housing situation for next semester and trying to resolve that before I can relax for a long weekend.
Anyway, going back a few weeks...
On February 22, we went skiing in the Alps. It was a lot of fun, but unfortunately the way in which it was set up required a lot more cross country like skiing than anyone would ever want on regular skis. The next day, my back and arms were incredibly sore, while the muscles that were supposed to hurt were completely fine. It was overall a really nice day, though.
That Sunday, we left for Budapest. The transportation situation was terrible all around Eastern Europe and it started that day. We got on a bus at 6 am for a flight that was supposed to leave Stuttgart around 11. The flight didn't end up leaving until 3 because of technical difficulties. Thanks, Easy Jet! It was, however, the fastest flight of my life. I maintain that we just teleported from Germany to Hungary, because I fell asleep the minute I sat down and didn't feel the take off or the apparently very brutal landing. Can't complain about that!
We arrived in Budapest and went on a night boat tour. It would have been amazing if I could understand the woman giving the tour and if it wasn't so cold out. This was really the only time that we got to see both the Buda and the Pest sides of the city. We had meetings in the Hungarian Parliament, though, which was really cool. The speakers were incredibly pessimistic about Hungary's future. The whole city was gorgeous, but everyone all over the city just seemed incredibly depressed all the time. It's like there's something engraved in the Hungarian psyche or something.
On Tuesday, we left for Krakow. We left in the afternoon and stopped for dinner in Slovakia. Note to self: Never try to find anything to eat in Slovakia EVER again. Boiled potatoes for dinner? Sweet. We got back on the bus and within an hour, it broke down. We were stranded in the parking lot of a closed grocery store in the middle of nowhere in Slovakia for FOUR hours. It was freezing outside and they let the exhaust go onto the bus, so we all felt incredibly sick by the time our backup bus came. We finally arrived in Krakow around 3am. At least now I can say that
I've been to Slovakia, though...
Krakow was a really nice city. It just felt homey. The city wasn't very destroyed in WWII, so there is a lot of medieval architecture throughout the city. There's also a really neat market in the middle of the city square. Everything was really cheap and that's where a ton of souvenirs are coming from. I met up with John, a friend from Beloit. We had Indian food and he showed me around the city a little. It was really great to sit down and talk to someone from Beloit and talk about people that we both know.
On Thursday morning, we left for Prague. On the way, we stopped at Auschwitz, which had the same impact on me as Dachau did a few years ago. Our tour guide was eager to tell us everything that she knows about the Holocaust, particularly in Auschwitz of course. It was really interesting and incredibly depressing, of course.
After a nine hour bus ride, we finally arrived in Prague. We immediately looked for a place to eat. Jamie (the other vegan) and I decided to go to a vegetarian restaurant. A bunch of friends came with us and we absolutely fell in love with the place. Absolutely amazing. We ended up going back there two more times to eat. mmm... Anyone going to Prague: Find Clear Head. It's to die for.
Prague, like Krakow, was left untouched by WWII and remains gorgeous as a result. We had a lot of free time in Prague, which was incredible because we actually got to go to all of the places that we wanted to. Unfortunately, the day we wanted to go to the castle, it was closed. We did walk up to the top of an observation tower and we did walk all the way up to the castle and take some cool pictures which you can see on my blog. Also, because of the amount of free time, we had ample time to explore the night life. One night, I took one shot of something. I don't know why, but I was absolutely wasted for hours. Much drunker than I'd been since I got here... Absolutely amazing. It wasn't absinthe, either, it was some sort of Czech liquor.
The past weekend we traveled some more. I went with five friends to Munich. Unfortunately, all of these girls are in the other travel group so I didn't get to go to Eastern Europe with them. Munich was a lot of fun, though. I basically saw the same things that I saw when I was there before. On Friday night, we went to the Hofbrauhaus, where I had a liter of beer and a pretzel the size of my head for dinner. Delicious and nutritious. On Saturday, it was absolutely gorgeous out. We climbed up to Neuschwanstein (the Cinderella castle) and took gorgeous pictures. That basically took all day. We came back and went to an Indian restaurant and it was absolutely delicious.
Well, that's enough for now. Props to anyone who read that whole thing! I'll update again when I get back from Amsterdam and hopefully I won't wait as long that time.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Kira (Thailand): We are not afraid
You guys may be weary of reading (or not reading, whichever the case my be) about my life-changing experiences, but the trip I just got back from was pretty incredible, in every sense of the word.
We just finished our water unit trip. The water unit focuses on the impact that large government-planned dams have on local communities, and how these communities are protesting. Basically, the Thai government (under influence from the world bank and such) is really into building dams for irrigation and/or electricity. They often lie to local people about what they are building and how it will affect them (one community was told that the government was simply building a bridge and not a dam. Incidentally, it is impossible to cross the "bridge" created by the dam because the government put a ton of thorny plants across one side. In another instance, villagers were told that the government was building a rubber weir. Strangely enough, a large concrete dam was built instead). Problems created by these dams include lack of fish (which is a HUGE problem for communities that have subsisted on fishing for generations), flooding of land (kind of sucks for rice farmers), and salinization of soil (which the royal irrigation department denies, but which we also saw with our own eyes). Some villagers got some compensation for their land, but others don't have land titles (which they wouldn't need, really, unless they needed compensation from the government). Also, the villagers don't want money. They want their farmland and their fishing rivers back.
The day we left Khon Kaen, we had exchanges with the Royal Irrigation Department and the Electricity Generating Association of Thailand. These exchanges were pretty frustrating because a lot of what these groups said were lies (flat-out denial of facts), they weren't very well informed (EGAT had us talk to engineers, who obviously knew little about social issues), and they just didn't like us much (and we didn't like them much, really). That night though, we got to exchange with the man whose house we were all staying in for 3 nights. He does a lot with the AoP (explained later), and he was pretty inspirational to talk to. He talked a lot about his experience protesting and his views on democracy.
We spent this part of our homestay in Sansakrit province to participate in the 100-day after-death ceremony for Wanida. Wanida was an activist who worked with the Assembly of the Poor, which is a movement that includes poor people (farmers, fishers, slum dwellers, etc.) from throughout Thailand. It originated in Sansakrit province, which is where the ceremony was and where Wanida worked. As part of the ceremony, we went on a 16-km march with around a thousand people (mainly villagers and NGOs. We saw some people we knew from other homestays, which was fun). It was pretty amazing. Even though it wasn't technically a protest (we aren't allowed to participate in protests because the presence of foreigners delegitimizes them), we all carried flags that either had pictures of Wanida or the words "No Dam." The march took most of a day, with a couple of fried-rice breaks. During lunch break at a temple, a bunch of us students jumped into the Mun River. The villagers made fun of us and kept telling us that there were big snakes in the water (there weren't). We also exchanged with NGOs during the day (i guess as somewhat of a mistranslation, the term "NGO" is actually used in Thailand to refer to individuals. Someone who, for example, works in a community and helps them protest is an NGO). We ended up at the Thai Baan Center, which is the headquarters of the Assembly of the Poor.
The next morning, we went on a boat and explored the Mun River and the Mehkong. The highlight of the trip was seeing Laos (the Mehkong separates Laos and Thailand). Although we couldn't legally go to Laos without visas, we stopped at a little island (more like a bunch of rocks) that belongs to Laos. So we were in Laos (kind of)! We were all really excited about this. That afternoon, we went back to the Thai Baan Center and had some more exchanges with NGOs. We also got to see a former prime minister speak (briefly, in Thai, but it was pretty cool that he showed up for Wanida's ceremony), and we saw a short documentary of Wanida's life and some singing and dance performances. I really liked the atmosphere at the Thai Baan Center, and I wish I could have communicated better.
After this, we left Sansakrit province and spent a day touring the large dams. It was kind of depressing, really. We spoke to one woman who wasn't against the dam, and she said that this is because she wants water for irrigation (even though she already has water, and she doesn't think the water would come to her village anyway). She also said that the only people who protest are those directly affected by the dam. She doesn't protest because she isn't. We also talked to some people who were making salt. When the dam is closed (this one hasn't yet been closed, but has already caused problems), the land that these people use to make salt will be flooded (yay salinization of water).
Then we met our 1-night homestay families. My family was really super-nice. I love homestays, and I am kind of sad that this was our last organized one (although I may be going on one in a couple of days? Not sure). We had an exchange with the villagers, which went really well. The village headman told us a lot about the villagers' experiences with protesting. Once, when the villagers were protesting outside of a ministry in Bangkok, the Prime Minister himself grabbed a pregnant woman who was protesting and kicked her in the stomach, causing her to lose the baby. Stories like this were horrifying.
The next morning, we woke up early to water plants. Later on, a bunch of us went fishing. This fish pond was larger, and the fishing was a multi-step process involving hitting the water with long sticks, fencing off part of the pond, digging up the lilies, and then fishing with large and small nets. I really enjoyed working alongside the grandmas with small nets, catching small fish. After fishing, we all had a yummy lunch that consisted mainly of grilled fish. Then we went back home, showered (I'm really starting to like the bucket showers), and said goodbyes. Our host mom gave me and the other girl HUGE bags of snacks and plaid scarves. It was really nice and unexpected, especially since we were only there for a night (students usually stay longer, but we had Wanida's ceremony).
So now we're back in Khon Kaen. I still have to process everything.
We just finished our water unit trip. The water unit focuses on the impact that large government-planned dams have on local communities, and how these communities are protesting. Basically, the Thai government (under influence from the world bank and such) is really into building dams for irrigation and/or electricity. They often lie to local people about what they are building and how it will affect them (one community was told that the government was simply building a bridge and not a dam. Incidentally, it is impossible to cross the "bridge" created by the dam because the government put a ton of thorny plants across one side. In another instance, villagers were told that the government was building a rubber weir. Strangely enough, a large concrete dam was built instead). Problems created by these dams include lack of fish (which is a HUGE problem for communities that have subsisted on fishing for generations), flooding of land (kind of sucks for rice farmers), and salinization of soil (which the royal irrigation department denies, but which we also saw with our own eyes). Some villagers got some compensation for their land, but others don't have land titles (which they wouldn't need, really, unless they needed compensation from the government). Also, the villagers don't want money. They want their farmland and their fishing rivers back.
The day we left Khon Kaen, we had exchanges with the Royal Irrigation Department and the Electricity Generating Association of Thailand. These exchanges were pretty frustrating because a lot of what these groups said were lies (flat-out denial of facts), they weren't very well informed (EGAT had us talk to engineers, who obviously knew little about social issues), and they just didn't like us much (and we didn't like them much, really). That night though, we got to exchange with the man whose house we were all staying in for 3 nights. He does a lot with the AoP (explained later), and he was pretty inspirational to talk to. He talked a lot about his experience protesting and his views on democracy.
We spent this part of our homestay in Sansakrit province to participate in the 100-day after-death ceremony for Wanida. Wanida was an activist who worked with the Assembly of the Poor, which is a movement that includes poor people (farmers, fishers, slum dwellers, etc.) from throughout Thailand. It originated in Sansakrit province, which is where the ceremony was and where Wanida worked. As part of the ceremony, we went on a 16-km march with around a thousand people (mainly villagers and NGOs. We saw some people we knew from other homestays, which was fun). It was pretty amazing. Even though it wasn't technically a protest (we aren't allowed to participate in protests because the presence of foreigners delegitimizes them), we all carried flags that either had pictures of Wanida or the words "No Dam." The march took most of a day, with a couple of fried-rice breaks. During lunch break at a temple, a bunch of us students jumped into the Mun River. The villagers made fun of us and kept telling us that there were big snakes in the water (there weren't). We also exchanged with NGOs during the day (i guess as somewhat of a mistranslation, the term "NGO" is actually used in Thailand to refer to individuals. Someone who, for example, works in a community and helps them protest is an NGO). We ended up at the Thai Baan Center, which is the headquarters of the Assembly of the Poor.
The next morning, we went on a boat and explored the Mun River and the Mehkong. The highlight of the trip was seeing Laos (the Mehkong separates Laos and Thailand). Although we couldn't legally go to Laos without visas, we stopped at a little island (more like a bunch of rocks) that belongs to Laos. So we were in Laos (kind of)! We were all really excited about this. That afternoon, we went back to the Thai Baan Center and had some more exchanges with NGOs. We also got to see a former prime minister speak (briefly, in Thai, but it was pretty cool that he showed up for Wanida's ceremony), and we saw a short documentary of Wanida's life and some singing and dance performances. I really liked the atmosphere at the Thai Baan Center, and I wish I could have communicated better.
After this, we left Sansakrit province and spent a day touring the large dams. It was kind of depressing, really. We spoke to one woman who wasn't against the dam, and she said that this is because she wants water for irrigation (even though she already has water, and she doesn't think the water would come to her village anyway). She also said that the only people who protest are those directly affected by the dam. She doesn't protest because she isn't. We also talked to some people who were making salt. When the dam is closed (this one hasn't yet been closed, but has already caused problems), the land that these people use to make salt will be flooded (yay salinization of water).
Then we met our 1-night homestay families. My family was really super-nice. I love homestays, and I am kind of sad that this was our last organized one (although I may be going on one in a couple of days? Not sure). We had an exchange with the villagers, which went really well. The village headman told us a lot about the villagers' experiences with protesting. Once, when the villagers were protesting outside of a ministry in Bangkok, the Prime Minister himself grabbed a pregnant woman who was protesting and kicked her in the stomach, causing her to lose the baby. Stories like this were horrifying.
The next morning, we woke up early to water plants. Later on, a bunch of us went fishing. This fish pond was larger, and the fishing was a multi-step process involving hitting the water with long sticks, fencing off part of the pond, digging up the lilies, and then fishing with large and small nets. I really enjoyed working alongside the grandmas with small nets, catching small fish. After fishing, we all had a yummy lunch that consisted mainly of grilled fish. Then we went back home, showered (I'm really starting to like the bucket showers), and said goodbyes. Our host mom gave me and the other girl HUGE bags of snacks and plaid scarves. It was really nice and unexpected, especially since we were only there for a night (students usually stay longer, but we had Wanida's ceremony).
So now we're back in Khon Kaen. I still have to process everything.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
John (Poland) An Odd Season Between Winter and Summer (And Other Observations)
Well, when I last left you all I believe I was in Warsawa and not having the greatest of times. I'm happy to say that things did get better, I did enjoy touring the Royal Castle and Old Town, which were destroyed brick by brick by the Nazis in retaliation for the Warsaw Uprising in 1944. Which brings me to my favorite part of the trip - The Museum of the Warsaw Uprising. It was a very new and innovative museum that chronicled the Polish Home Army's failed attempt to retake the city in late summer of 1944. The Soviets had told the Poles to rise up, then stopped on the banks of the Vistula and allowed the Germans to destroy the city as well as an Democratic opposition the Soviets might had faced. Over 200,000 people, mostly civilians died. After the Nazis finally left, the USSR didn't fail to try and execute the leaders of the uprising, including concentration camp survivors. The museum was set in a big warehouse-like structure and gave you the feeling of being in the center of a destroyed city, having to peer through broken windows or crawl through claustrophobic pitch black sewers to get see exhibits. It was very moving and my only complaint is the scarce coverage of the Ghetto uprising in 1943 (at least in the part of the museum I saw). But other than those major sites, Warsaw was far less cool that Cracow.
Speaking of Cracow, the city is really starting to come alive with spring! I'm enjoying actual warm weather in March and so are Cracovians. Currently they've brought out the tables for cafes in the Main Square and are opening decorative booths in preparation for Easter festivities, which are huge here. My classes have been (in general) equally inspiring. I'm really enjoying learning intensively about Poland, which, in American is almost impossible to do. Poland has been generally kept out of US curricula due to the fact that for most of our history until 1918, Poland was not on the European maps due to the partitions, then after WWII, it suffered from Cold War politics and was grouped as just "Soviet Bloc" country. Anyway, Poland's history and culture is as rich as any in Europe's and I've been fascinating delving into a world of unknown painters, composers, writers, poets and generals who are as interesting as any from France or Italy. I've especially enjoyed my lit class, as our professor, Pani Ewa, is just so well-spoken and passionate, I can listen to her talk about Polish writers all day, sigh.
I'm also still recovering from this past weekend, where both my parents and the Lexia groups from Berlin and Budapest came to visit. I loved being able to show my parents around the city and play tour guide rather than dumb American. I also enjoyed eating at nice restaurants every night. On their last night in town, we went to a traditional Galacian restaurant which served us free hog pate. I followed the by a meal of wild boar, spicy venison and something called roe buck. After all that, I found out that my side of potatoes Krakow also came with bacon. It was the largest number of different animals I've ever eaten in a single setting! My parents also got to tag along on the activities scheduled for us and the Berlin group including the Wawel Castle and Cathedral, a famous Art Nouveau cafe and Auschwitz. I also enjoyed meeting the Berlin group, which is very large and has guys, which was very exciting. We had many good nights sampling various Polish intoxicants and bonding, which points to a good couple of weeks after Easter when we see Budapest and Transylvania with them.
Although I hate to end on a down note, I do have to say that Auschwitz was a unique experience. I've never been to a place like that. It was almost as if visitors were there to bear witness rather than to learn, or enrich or enjoy themselves. Since I already knew most of the background facts, I focused on the concrete experience, which was indescribable. Seeing a giant room filled with human hair or walking through the actual gas chambers was chilling in a completely unique way. Auschwitz-Birkenhau has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which I makes sense, but goes so completely against the positive connotations that usually surround the word "heritage". It was odd commememorating a part of our human heritage that needs to be remembered and learned from, but also condemned.
Again, sorry to end on such a down note, hope everyone else is enjoying spring! (Or, in Robert and Audrey's cases, fall, again.)
Speaking of Cracow, the city is really starting to come alive with spring! I'm enjoying actual warm weather in March and so are Cracovians. Currently they've brought out the tables for cafes in the Main Square and are opening decorative booths in preparation for Easter festivities, which are huge here. My classes have been (in general) equally inspiring. I'm really enjoying learning intensively about Poland, which, in American is almost impossible to do. Poland has been generally kept out of US curricula due to the fact that for most of our history until 1918, Poland was not on the European maps due to the partitions, then after WWII, it suffered from Cold War politics and was grouped as just "Soviet Bloc" country. Anyway, Poland's history and culture is as rich as any in Europe's and I've been fascinating delving into a world of unknown painters, composers, writers, poets and generals who are as interesting as any from France or Italy. I've especially enjoyed my lit class, as our professor, Pani Ewa, is just so well-spoken and passionate, I can listen to her talk about Polish writers all day, sigh.
I'm also still recovering from this past weekend, where both my parents and the Lexia groups from Berlin and Budapest came to visit. I loved being able to show my parents around the city and play tour guide rather than dumb American. I also enjoyed eating at nice restaurants every night. On their last night in town, we went to a traditional Galacian restaurant which served us free hog pate. I followed the by a meal of wild boar, spicy venison and something called roe buck. After all that, I found out that my side of potatoes Krakow also came with bacon. It was the largest number of different animals I've ever eaten in a single setting! My parents also got to tag along on the activities scheduled for us and the Berlin group including the Wawel Castle and Cathedral, a famous Art Nouveau cafe and Auschwitz. I also enjoyed meeting the Berlin group, which is very large and has guys, which was very exciting. We had many good nights sampling various Polish intoxicants and bonding, which points to a good couple of weeks after Easter when we see Budapest and Transylvania with them.
Although I hate to end on a down note, I do have to say that Auschwitz was a unique experience. I've never been to a place like that. It was almost as if visitors were there to bear witness rather than to learn, or enrich or enjoy themselves. Since I already knew most of the background facts, I focused on the concrete experience, which was indescribable. Seeing a giant room filled with human hair or walking through the actual gas chambers was chilling in a completely unique way. Auschwitz-Birkenhau has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which I makes sense, but goes so completely against the positive connotations that usually surround the word "heritage". It was odd commememorating a part of our human heritage that needs to be remembered and learned from, but also condemned.
Again, sorry to end on such a down note, hope everyone else is enjoying spring! (Or, in Robert and Audrey's cases, fall, again.)
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
K.O. (Senegal)- the city shuts down
Hey guys! Time here just keeps chugging away, my program is already 1/2 over, and I'm scared that things will just start going faster and faster from this point forward.
Two weekends ago I went with Lizzie and her sister, who is visiting from the states after being in China for a month, went to St. Louis (not the one in Missouri) in northern Senegal for the weekend. It was absolutely great to get out of Dakar, we hadn't left for more than half a day before that, and after going to college and leaving every 7 weeks, Dakar was starting to get a little claustraphobic. Plus, who knew Africa could get kind of dull...
So we got to the gare routiere (the station that leaves the city) about 5pm and while we were planning on taking a sept-place taxi (which holds 7 people, surprisingly enough) we decided to go with the cheaper "bus." The bus, however, holds about 12 people and doesn't leave the station until it is full, and seeing as there were only about 5 people on when we got there, we had a long wait with people trying to sell us all sorts of things. Some were good, like cookies, and others were just sort of bizarre, like a flashlight that also played christmas songs at a very high pitch. We finally got on the road and got to St. Louis around 11:30 at night.
We stayed at the university with girls from UPENN who spent 3 weeks in Dakar doing intensive wolof at the baobab center, and it was really nice to get to spend some time on a campus and meet other students etc.
We planned on going onto the island of St. Louis, which was the old colonial capital of French West Africa on Saturday, having lunch and then hitting the beach, but after a great lunch at a little restaurant on the far northern corner of the island, from which we could see Mauritania, we started talking to a group of women as we headed to the beach. We exchanged pleasantries, and were quickly invited to lunch, and after we explained that we'd just eaten a bunch they insisted we had tea instead. The thing to keep in mind is that senegalese tea, attaya, is an extremely intensive process, so while we waited, the women, whose husbands are all in the military, attempted to teach us how to dance mbalax, with various degrees of success. We ended up staying until 5, and decided to hit the beach on sunday instead, which was absolutely amazing, with huge waves that left us tired after only being in the water for about 30 minutes.
We left St. Louis on monday bright and early at 6:30am in order to get to our wolof class in time at 2pm, and ended up being 15 minutes late because of traffic as we neared Dakar. The traffic was due to this huge conference that is taking place all this week, with leaders (ie presidents etc) from countries all over the Muslim world.
Because of this conference, ALL of the schools are closed all this week, our class at the University was cancelled, but our other classes weren't, unfornunately. We do, however, get off all of tomorrow, so it will be a great time to hit the beach, once we can figure out a beach to go to that doesn't involve having to go anywhere near where the conference is, since we wouldn't be able to move.
After this week, we have 2 more weeks of classes before spring break, then a week off, and then only one more week of classes before our month long "break" in which we have to write all of our final papers. That month will also include a trip to the Gambia, and right now it looks like spring break will be a trip to Guinea-Conakry and Eastern Senegal. We want to make sure to be in the country on April 4, senegalese independence day.
Things I love about Senegal:
1. Sun, every day.
2. Crazy markets with people trying to sell you everything you can imagine, and mostly stuff you don't want.
3. Being able to bargin for pretty much everything you buy, and having the knowledge of how much they should charge you so you can laugh when they tell you a ridiculous price just because you are white.
4. Boutiques, selling everything and the owner getting mad if you don't stop by every once in a while, even if it is just to say hi.
5. My Senegalese family.
6. Pain au chocolat/Pain au fromage
7. cafe au laits on the street
Two weekends ago I went with Lizzie and her sister, who is visiting from the states after being in China for a month, went to St. Louis (not the one in Missouri) in northern Senegal for the weekend. It was absolutely great to get out of Dakar, we hadn't left for more than half a day before that, and after going to college and leaving every 7 weeks, Dakar was starting to get a little claustraphobic. Plus, who knew Africa could get kind of dull...
So we got to the gare routiere (the station that leaves the city) about 5pm and while we were planning on taking a sept-place taxi (which holds 7 people, surprisingly enough) we decided to go with the cheaper "bus." The bus, however, holds about 12 people and doesn't leave the station until it is full, and seeing as there were only about 5 people on when we got there, we had a long wait with people trying to sell us all sorts of things. Some were good, like cookies, and others were just sort of bizarre, like a flashlight that also played christmas songs at a very high pitch. We finally got on the road and got to St. Louis around 11:30 at night.
We stayed at the university with girls from UPENN who spent 3 weeks in Dakar doing intensive wolof at the baobab center, and it was really nice to get to spend some time on a campus and meet other students etc.
We planned on going onto the island of St. Louis, which was the old colonial capital of French West Africa on Saturday, having lunch and then hitting the beach, but after a great lunch at a little restaurant on the far northern corner of the island, from which we could see Mauritania, we started talking to a group of women as we headed to the beach. We exchanged pleasantries, and were quickly invited to lunch, and after we explained that we'd just eaten a bunch they insisted we had tea instead. The thing to keep in mind is that senegalese tea, attaya, is an extremely intensive process, so while we waited, the women, whose husbands are all in the military, attempted to teach us how to dance mbalax, with various degrees of success. We ended up staying until 5, and decided to hit the beach on sunday instead, which was absolutely amazing, with huge waves that left us tired after only being in the water for about 30 minutes.
We left St. Louis on monday bright and early at 6:30am in order to get to our wolof class in time at 2pm, and ended up being 15 minutes late because of traffic as we neared Dakar. The traffic was due to this huge conference that is taking place all this week, with leaders (ie presidents etc) from countries all over the Muslim world.
Because of this conference, ALL of the schools are closed all this week, our class at the University was cancelled, but our other classes weren't, unfornunately. We do, however, get off all of tomorrow, so it will be a great time to hit the beach, once we can figure out a beach to go to that doesn't involve having to go anywhere near where the conference is, since we wouldn't be able to move.
After this week, we have 2 more weeks of classes before spring break, then a week off, and then only one more week of classes before our month long "break" in which we have to write all of our final papers. That month will also include a trip to the Gambia, and right now it looks like spring break will be a trip to Guinea-Conakry and Eastern Senegal. We want to make sure to be in the country on April 4, senegalese independence day.
Things I love about Senegal:
1. Sun, every day.
2. Crazy markets with people trying to sell you everything you can imagine, and mostly stuff you don't want.
3. Being able to bargin for pretty much everything you buy, and having the knowledge of how much they should charge you so you can laugh when they tell you a ridiculous price just because you are white.
4. Boutiques, selling everything and the owner getting mad if you don't stop by every once in a while, even if it is just to say hi.
5. My Senegalese family.
6. Pain au chocolat/Pain au fromage
7. cafe au laits on the street
Monday, March 10, 2008
Kate (Ireland): The Day the Umbrella Died
Yeah, my umbrella finally bit the dust today. It was a long time coming. It really doesn't rain here as much as you probably think, but the past few days have been super windy and there's been lots of rain on and off. So it was only a matter of time. RIP my dear old friend.
Anyhow. I am in spring break mode. A week from today is St. Patrick's Day and I am suuuuuuper pumped. Molly Wasgatt will be here with me for a few days and I'm really excited to see another Beloiter and show them about how my life is here. St. Patrick's should be a giant freaking party and then it just gets better...a week from tomorrow, I will be on a plane to Freiburg to stay with Emily for a few days!! Two of my best friends here, Siobhan and Jerad, are going with me. Then we're taking a train to Amsterdam for three days. Next Jerad and I fly to Spain (Madrid, Toledo, and Barcelona) to see my friend Hilary from the film festival. 10 days of whirlwind happy wandering.
Otherwise I am really missing my Beloit boys in particular. I only have two consistent guy friends here, Jerad and Philip. Otherwise I'm with girls constantly, Kate my housemate from Houston and my neighbors Siobhan and Jenna. I love them and we have an amazing time together, but really...I miss my boys from home. I could use some really inappropriate, awkward humor every once in a while.
Some random things that have happened/I've observed lately:
--Irish families really are huge..I've met a guy with 5 brothers and a sister, a guy with 27 nieces and nephews (???!), and a girl with six brothers. As Philip explains it, "It rains all the bloody time. So what are you supposed to do when you're stuck inside? Have sex."
--There are no squirrels here. This confuses me. I told Philip that even Chicago is full of squirrels and he was very incredulous. Another golden Philip quote: "I've heard that the grey squirrel is just an invasive species. Just like the accordian."
--Everyone likes to ask me about the primaries. A lot of the older generation backs Hilary. I've heard that the underlying reason for many of them is that Bill was really influential in the Good Friday Agreement that helped put a stop to the violence in the North.
Sorry I spent so much of this post on umbrellas and squirrels. I love you guys a ton. Be well.
Anyhow. I am in spring break mode. A week from today is St. Patrick's Day and I am suuuuuuper pumped. Molly Wasgatt will be here with me for a few days and I'm really excited to see another Beloiter and show them about how my life is here. St. Patrick's should be a giant freaking party and then it just gets better...a week from tomorrow, I will be on a plane to Freiburg to stay with Emily for a few days!! Two of my best friends here, Siobhan and Jerad, are going with me. Then we're taking a train to Amsterdam for three days. Next Jerad and I fly to Spain (Madrid, Toledo, and Barcelona) to see my friend Hilary from the film festival. 10 days of whirlwind happy wandering.
Otherwise I am really missing my Beloit boys in particular. I only have two consistent guy friends here, Jerad and Philip. Otherwise I'm with girls constantly, Kate my housemate from Houston and my neighbors Siobhan and Jenna. I love them and we have an amazing time together, but really...I miss my boys from home. I could use some really inappropriate, awkward humor every once in a while.
Some random things that have happened/I've observed lately:
--Irish families really are huge..I've met a guy with 5 brothers and a sister, a guy with 27 nieces and nephews (???!), and a girl with six brothers. As Philip explains it, "It rains all the bloody time. So what are you supposed to do when you're stuck inside? Have sex."
--There are no squirrels here. This confuses me. I told Philip that even Chicago is full of squirrels and he was very incredulous. Another golden Philip quote: "I've heard that the grey squirrel is just an invasive species. Just like the accordian."
--Everyone likes to ask me about the primaries. A lot of the older generation backs Hilary. I've heard that the underlying reason for many of them is that Bill was really influential in the Good Friday Agreement that helped put a stop to the violence in the North.
Sorry I spent so much of this post on umbrellas and squirrels. I love you guys a ton. Be well.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Audrey (Australia)-The Learning Experiences Continue...
Hi All!
I'm sorry I haven't posted in so long. I had regular internet access at my homestay but I felt that I should be doing more productive things with my time than hiding in a room with electronics.
The homestay finished well. Our retreat at the Buddhist meditation center in Dharmanada was a really powerful experience. It was academic because we covered several different 'eco-philosophies' (views of humanity's relationship to nature) but also spiritual in that our teacher encouraged us to access our emotions and use all our senses to understand our relationship to nature. We had several experiential exercises, which included a trust walk, a creation story, and a truth mandala.
The truth mandala was an exercise created by a psychologist at Berkeley in the '80s when people were dealing with the threat of nuclear warfare. The psychologist, Joanna Macy, created the mandala so people could express the negative emotions associated with living under such a pervasively oppressive atmosphere. I won't get into the boring details but a lot of people opened up and it was a really good way to see the deep connections we share.
The other most eventful thing about my homestay was this crazy party I went to with three friends. We were told it was a doof but instead it turned out to be a house party with a bunch of crazy deliquent high schoolers on drugs. We tried to sleep in the back of a car with the trunk propped open and got harassed by a bunch of guys who were either trying to jack our car or force us to give them a ride. Eventually we went to sleep on a porch and fortunately missed the fighting that went on from 4am-6am. It was actually a little scary and has made me rethink getting into situations I don't know anything about...but a learning experience to be sure.
We got back to Byron Bay on Monday and had another two day workshop with a sustainability consultant. I found parts of it frustrating because we spent a lot of time on things I feel I already knew or could've learned on my own time. However we also touched on some really interesting ideas including frameworks for how to engage different groups and create plans for sustainable development. I feel that I now have the knowledge and ability to put my ideas and convictions into action...hopefully that will be true when I get back to school in the fall!
We leave for Tasmania on Sunday. I'm excited because we get to take a train and a ferry (boats, yay!) and also because I'm going to meet up with some Landale relatives, Chris and Penny Morton. After Tasmania I'm going to spend four days in Melbourne and hopefully spend time with Mackenzie and Ian (Claremont friends) before coming back to Lismore after Easter weekend for our Aboriginal camping trip.
I'm tired just thinking about it! I hope everyone is doing well and I'll try be more faithful about updates in the future (although my computer is going into storage until the end of March so my internet access will be questionable...)
I'm sorry I haven't posted in so long. I had regular internet access at my homestay but I felt that I should be doing more productive things with my time than hiding in a room with electronics.
The homestay finished well. Our retreat at the Buddhist meditation center in Dharmanada was a really powerful experience. It was academic because we covered several different 'eco-philosophies' (views of humanity's relationship to nature) but also spiritual in that our teacher encouraged us to access our emotions and use all our senses to understand our relationship to nature. We had several experiential exercises, which included a trust walk, a creation story, and a truth mandala.
The truth mandala was an exercise created by a psychologist at Berkeley in the '80s when people were dealing with the threat of nuclear warfare. The psychologist, Joanna Macy, created the mandala so people could express the negative emotions associated with living under such a pervasively oppressive atmosphere. I won't get into the boring details but a lot of people opened up and it was a really good way to see the deep connections we share.
The other most eventful thing about my homestay was this crazy party I went to with three friends. We were told it was a doof but instead it turned out to be a house party with a bunch of crazy deliquent high schoolers on drugs. We tried to sleep in the back of a car with the trunk propped open and got harassed by a bunch of guys who were either trying to jack our car or force us to give them a ride. Eventually we went to sleep on a porch and fortunately missed the fighting that went on from 4am-6am. It was actually a little scary and has made me rethink getting into situations I don't know anything about...but a learning experience to be sure.
We got back to Byron Bay on Monday and had another two day workshop with a sustainability consultant. I found parts of it frustrating because we spent a lot of time on things I feel I already knew or could've learned on my own time. However we also touched on some really interesting ideas including frameworks for how to engage different groups and create plans for sustainable development. I feel that I now have the knowledge and ability to put my ideas and convictions into action...hopefully that will be true when I get back to school in the fall!
We leave for Tasmania on Sunday. I'm excited because we get to take a train and a ferry (boats, yay!) and also because I'm going to meet up with some Landale relatives, Chris and Penny Morton. After Tasmania I'm going to spend four days in Melbourne and hopefully spend time with Mackenzie and Ian (Claremont friends) before coming back to Lismore after Easter weekend for our Aboriginal camping trip.
I'm tired just thinking about it! I hope everyone is doing well and I'll try be more faithful about updates in the future (although my computer is going into storage until the end of March so my internet access will be questionable...)
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Kira (Thailand): Stealing bell peppers
Hey guys, I just got back from another homestay (actually two homestays in a row). During the first homestay, I got to steal bell peppers, go fishing again, cook lots of food, and talk to some really interesting people. On the second homestay (just one night), I got to see some development projects gone wrong, get beaten up by a three-year-old, and make sweets. I love homestays, and I missed them during the two weeks or so that I wasn't on one.
This unit, called "Land," focused mainly on a proposed Potash mine in Udon Thani (about an hour from here). Potash is a compound of potassium and something else that is used mainly in the production of chemical fertilizer (CIEE likes to tie everything together). The villagers (who are mostly farmers) are opposed to the mine because they're afraid the salt dust that is produced as a byproduct will ruin their farmland and kill their fish. A group of villagers, called the Conservation Club, is really organized in opposition to the mine, and we got to talk to them about their experiences with protest. The villagers that support the mine (the CC claims that they've all been paid off by the company) hope that it will bring jobs to the area so their children don't have to go work in Bangkok and other countries anymore. The provincial government wants to promote development and economic growth, but also doesn't want to make any rash decisions. The mine has been discussed for the past 15 years and hasn't yet been built, but the company already has the land and everything.
The villagers are really divided on the issue, and CC members have even stopped attending funerals of villagers who support the mine (this is a really big deal in Buddhism). The CC claims that those who support the mine are short-sighted -the mine will only be in operation for 22 years, but their land will be ruined forever. I wish we had gotten to talk to pro-mine villagers in a neutral setting, but we only got to talk to them in corporate headquarters with company representatives. It kind of biased their responses, I think.
We went to Udon Thani, and my friend Cathleen and I stayed with a grandma and her 9-year-old granddaughter. They let us make the omelet the first night, but we didn’t add any MSG, so we weren’t allowed to cook after that (we washed dishes instead). They also fed us a lot of stir-fried ant eggs. Mmm. And we went vegetable picking in someone else’s garden one day.
After three nights in Udon Thani, we went to another village that has already been affected by a development project. We were all a little skeptical of a 1-night homestay, but it actually turned out to be really fun. Cathleen and I stayed with a woman, her sister, her father, and her 3-year-old daughter. The sister was really interested in my pictures, and they all really liked my apple orchard pictures (I think they thought I was a farmer like them?). They kept asking me how much I sold the apples for and how many I grew. We also got to stay up really late (10:30, compared with 8:00 every night at the previous homestay) making sweets, and in the morning, we took the little girl and a neighbor baby to the pond.
The river that this community is on was dammed to provide irrigation water. Rather than making irrigation easier for the farmers, which was the stated goal, this project actually caused problems. Farmers near the river get flooded a lot, which causes them to lose up to half of their rice crop. Also, the project didn’t actually improve access to irrigation water. Since the villagers have been farming for a while and aren’t stupid, the already had successful irrigation methods. The project ruined them. Now the villagers have to pay to get water pumped electrically into their fields, while it used to be natural and free. The people we spoke with claimed that there were no benefits to anyone from the project.
After we discussed this with the villagers, we met with a man named P’Suit. This guy has some really interesting views about the world. He cited the Amish as an example of a community that doesn’t hurt the environment. His main message was that we should work on our own consumption habits before we try to change anything else. Capitalism, which he sees as evil, has conditioned us to want more than we need. Communism and socialism, as they have been employed in reality, are actually just tools of capitalism. He was somewhat of an anarchist. It was interesting to hear him tell us his worldview, and I feel like I need to have more discussions and think a lot more before I say what I think of it.
Sorry if this entry was kind of dry/long.
This unit, called "Land," focused mainly on a proposed Potash mine in Udon Thani (about an hour from here). Potash is a compound of potassium and something else that is used mainly in the production of chemical fertilizer (CIEE likes to tie everything together). The villagers (who are mostly farmers) are opposed to the mine because they're afraid the salt dust that is produced as a byproduct will ruin their farmland and kill their fish. A group of villagers, called the Conservation Club, is really organized in opposition to the mine, and we got to talk to them about their experiences with protest. The villagers that support the mine (the CC claims that they've all been paid off by the company) hope that it will bring jobs to the area so their children don't have to go work in Bangkok and other countries anymore. The provincial government wants to promote development and economic growth, but also doesn't want to make any rash decisions. The mine has been discussed for the past 15 years and hasn't yet been built, but the company already has the land and everything.
The villagers are really divided on the issue, and CC members have even stopped attending funerals of villagers who support the mine (this is a really big deal in Buddhism). The CC claims that those who support the mine are short-sighted -the mine will only be in operation for 22 years, but their land will be ruined forever. I wish we had gotten to talk to pro-mine villagers in a neutral setting, but we only got to talk to them in corporate headquarters with company representatives. It kind of biased their responses, I think.
We went to Udon Thani, and my friend Cathleen and I stayed with a grandma and her 9-year-old granddaughter. They let us make the omelet the first night, but we didn’t add any MSG, so we weren’t allowed to cook after that (we washed dishes instead). They also fed us a lot of stir-fried ant eggs. Mmm. And we went vegetable picking in someone else’s garden one day.
After three nights in Udon Thani, we went to another village that has already been affected by a development project. We were all a little skeptical of a 1-night homestay, but it actually turned out to be really fun. Cathleen and I stayed with a woman, her sister, her father, and her 3-year-old daughter. The sister was really interested in my pictures, and they all really liked my apple orchard pictures (I think they thought I was a farmer like them?). They kept asking me how much I sold the apples for and how many I grew. We also got to stay up really late (10:30, compared with 8:00 every night at the previous homestay) making sweets, and in the morning, we took the little girl and a neighbor baby to the pond.
The river that this community is on was dammed to provide irrigation water. Rather than making irrigation easier for the farmers, which was the stated goal, this project actually caused problems. Farmers near the river get flooded a lot, which causes them to lose up to half of their rice crop. Also, the project didn’t actually improve access to irrigation water. Since the villagers have been farming for a while and aren’t stupid, the already had successful irrigation methods. The project ruined them. Now the villagers have to pay to get water pumped electrically into their fields, while it used to be natural and free. The people we spoke with claimed that there were no benefits to anyone from the project.
After we discussed this with the villagers, we met with a man named P’Suit. This guy has some really interesting views about the world. He cited the Amish as an example of a community that doesn’t hurt the environment. His main message was that we should work on our own consumption habits before we try to change anything else. Capitalism, which he sees as evil, has conditioned us to want more than we need. Communism and socialism, as they have been employed in reality, are actually just tools of capitalism. He was somewhat of an anarchist. It was interesting to hear him tell us his worldview, and I feel like I need to have more discussions and think a lot more before I say what I think of it.
Sorry if this entry was kind of dry/long.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Sara (Greece) - Moped Madness
This is going to be a ridiculously short post, but I felt the need to share this because it was craaaazy! So, I was j-wallking across the street (which really isn't that big of a deal, everyone does it) and while crossing, I was hit by a moped...yes, seriously, a moped slammed into me. The wheel banged into my calf and the handlebars into my chest. Luckly, somehow, I'm not 1. dead, 2. broken or 3. bleeding. I just have some EPIC bruises (seriously, these things are absurd). In other news, this comming Friday starts my spring break, and both my family and Derek are comming up for 9 days. I can not wait as I am feeling particularly homesick at the moment. Oh well. Alright, that's it. Love ya all, bye!
Robert (New Zealand) - Team Ed Go!
Ok, here's my very long post about the past week or so.
Surfing was a lot of fun. I didn't actually make too much of an ass of myself. I might even try again, if I feel like paying lots of money to rent a wetsuit and board. Who knows, maybe i have a future as a beach bum. Afterwards we had dinner at Jay and Marcie's house which is on a steep hillside overlooking the beach. You have to ride in a bucket cart to get up to it. We ate pizza and some possum that two students had skinned on their farm stay, and did some planning for our hiking trip.
Routeburn/Greenstone was amazing. The Routeburn is one of the "Great Walks", a desegnation of hikes in New Zealand that are relatively accessible, and especially beautiful. We split the group into two brigades for the hike, each hiking the loop in opposite directions. I was one of the student co-leaders for the Routeburn to Greenstone group. Being a leader was a good experience, but at times I sort of felt like I couldn't just relax and take in where I was the way I normally do on back country trips. Because the great walks try to be accessible to a large range of people, the campsites have very nice structures to stay in (which also cost a pretty penny). Doing back country trips with huts is new to me. I'm used to rolling into a campsite where the most you can hope for is a tent platform and an outhouse, and oftentimes all you get is a flat piece of ground. The huts we stayed in had up to 40 bunk beds, kitchen areas with gas stoves and sinks, common areas with fireplaces, and bathrooms with flush toilets. In a lot of ways I prefer a more "wilderness" experience, but having a hut at the end of a cold rainy hike is also very nice.
In any case, here's a not all that quick rundown of the trip day by day.
Day 1 - Glenorchy to Routburn Falls Hut
We spent the night before the trip in the town of Glenorchy about 7-8 hours south-west of Christchurch. We did a mass packing of group gear & food in the in the morning, packed up the vans and drove to the trail heads. The first day was mostly up-hill, and rather steep towards the end. The trail weaved through beech forests and boulders, past mountain creeks and waterfalls (so many waterfalls). Routeburn Falls Hut is right at the treeline overlooking the head of a massive valley. Quite a nice view. We celebrated the birthday of one of the students in our group with cookies, affirmations, and gifts of random crap that we could find around the hut.
Day 2 - Routeburn Falls to Lake Mackenzie
We started the day with a bit of silent alone time by the waterfalls above the hut. The morning was spent hiking through grassland in an alpine valley. Around noon we crossed over the mountain ridge, and by the virtue of rainshadow and mountain weather patterns, strait into clouds. Apparently there are amazing views as you skirt the ridge, but all we saw was white. In truth I kind of prefer it that way. Every once in a while the clouds open up a bit and you'll catch a glimpse of a view which is cool. The rest of the time you're hiking along a white void and have the distinct impression that you're tramping along the edge of the world. The last kilometer or two the trail descended into a dense beach forest. The place had a very mystical feel. The trees' trunks grow in a wavy pattern that almost looks like tendrils of flame. There are massive boulders scattered throughout the forest. Also, everything, and I mean everything, is covered in thick moss. At Mackenzie Hut we were treated to a talk by the hut warden that one of the students in the other brigade later named "Ranger Ridiculous". The man gave us a 25 minute talk about how to find the fire exits in the Hut (mind you it's only one room) in the style of stand-up comedy. He then proceeded to try to tell us that our group was a guided tour and not an educational group because Jay (our faculty member on the trip) had his hut tickets paid for by an organization (the college) and that we were going to be fined. Hopefully that's all been sorted out.
Day 3 - Mackenzie to Lake Howden
Day 3 was short and it was cold and rainy, but it was amazing none the less. We did the first two hours of the hike in silence. The trail went through more beach forest and then back up to the treeline. The trail crossed countless small waterfalls, each of which was beautiful but the highlight was Earland Falls which comes out of a cliff face hundreds of feet in the air and ends just a few meters from the trail. I was cold and wet and bordering on hypothermia when we passed so I didn't stop for long, but it was a powerful place. I am in love with New Zealand mountain waterfalls. We passed the other brigade just before arriving at Howden Hut, exchanged van keys, trail notes, and said quick hellos. With all our time in the hut we played a sort of telephone-pictionary game. Hilarity ensued.
Day 4 - Howden to Greenstone Hut
Day 4 was long, 24 Km. Fortunately it was relatively level the whole way and we had nice weather for it. We moved from the Routeburn track with is mostly alpine and in the mountains to the Greenstone track which follows the Greenstone River through a valley of pasture land, beach forest, and grassland. Greenstone (or pounamu to use the Maori name) is a rock similar to jade but almost as hard as diamonds. It was prized by Maori who see it as sacred. Jewelry and artifacts made of it were traded all over the country. The only place in the world where it's found is on the south island of New Zealand. The name of the south island in Maori is actually Te Wahipounamu, "The place of greenstone".
The greenstone river was one of the waterways where the Maori collected greenstone that had washed down from the mountains, hence its name. The day was mostly a blur. I actually ended up thinking about Beloit a lot. About people there, all that's happened in the past two and a half years, and what next year will be like. Hiking through waste high grass tufts in a mountain valley watching the wind rippling the plants around you was quite cool. Greenstone Hut was small compared to the first three (only 20 bunks). It had a nice porch overlooking the valley, but the sandflies (little biting flies similar to blackflies) were pretty bad outside.
Day 5 - Greenstone Hut to Kinloch Lodge
The last day was mostly a mad dash through the rain to get to the carpark. Still there were plenty of nice views of clouds on the mountains, the river, and waterfalls. Once we got to the carpark we drove to a hotel/lodge near the trailhead, showered, took advantage of happy hour at the bar, and had a delicious dinner. For those of you who don't know, on leap-year day it is traditional for women to propose to men. Susan (who is seriously opposed to the concept of marriage) and I had a bet going over whether if she proposed to Jon,(who's been jokingly pursuing her the whole program) he would accept or not. She proposed in the middle of dinner and he accepted. She now owes me ice cream.
We got back to Christchurch yesterday. It's sad to be out of "The Nature" and back to the city, but it's also nice that Christchurch is starting to feel a little bit like a home. I'm feeling kind of stupid because I left my hiking boots at Kinloch Lodge. Oh well, hopefully I can get them back somehow. I also need to figure out what I'm doing for my spring break (fall break technically I suppose) in a couple weeks.
Things I have been appreciating:
-Dry cloths
-People driving around Christchurch at 10pm singing Weezer at the top of their lungs
-That Josh Ritter has Historical Conquests streaming on his website (I didn't bring my iPod on this trip)
-Referring to outdoor activity of any sort as "going into The Nature"
-"Fling" candy bars ("Chocolate with no strings attached." the wrapper claims)
-Mountains
-Spacing out on cross-country van rides
-Backcountry hiking in general, I've been missing it
Surfing was a lot of fun. I didn't actually make too much of an ass of myself. I might even try again, if I feel like paying lots of money to rent a wetsuit and board. Who knows, maybe i have a future as a beach bum. Afterwards we had dinner at Jay and Marcie's house which is on a steep hillside overlooking the beach. You have to ride in a bucket cart to get up to it. We ate pizza and some possum that two students had skinned on their farm stay, and did some planning for our hiking trip.
Routeburn/Greenstone was amazing. The Routeburn is one of the "Great Walks", a desegnation of hikes in New Zealand that are relatively accessible, and especially beautiful. We split the group into two brigades for the hike, each hiking the loop in opposite directions. I was one of the student co-leaders for the Routeburn to Greenstone group. Being a leader was a good experience, but at times I sort of felt like I couldn't just relax and take in where I was the way I normally do on back country trips. Because the great walks try to be accessible to a large range of people, the campsites have very nice structures to stay in (which also cost a pretty penny). Doing back country trips with huts is new to me. I'm used to rolling into a campsite where the most you can hope for is a tent platform and an outhouse, and oftentimes all you get is a flat piece of ground. The huts we stayed in had up to 40 bunk beds, kitchen areas with gas stoves and sinks, common areas with fireplaces, and bathrooms with flush toilets. In a lot of ways I prefer a more "wilderness" experience, but having a hut at the end of a cold rainy hike is also very nice.
In any case, here's a not all that quick rundown of the trip day by day.
Day 1 - Glenorchy to Routburn Falls Hut
We spent the night before the trip in the town of Glenorchy about 7-8 hours south-west of Christchurch. We did a mass packing of group gear & food in the in the morning, packed up the vans and drove to the trail heads. The first day was mostly up-hill, and rather steep towards the end. The trail weaved through beech forests and boulders, past mountain creeks and waterfalls (so many waterfalls). Routeburn Falls Hut is right at the treeline overlooking the head of a massive valley. Quite a nice view. We celebrated the birthday of one of the students in our group with cookies, affirmations, and gifts of random crap that we could find around the hut.
Day 2 - Routeburn Falls to Lake Mackenzie
We started the day with a bit of silent alone time by the waterfalls above the hut. The morning was spent hiking through grassland in an alpine valley. Around noon we crossed over the mountain ridge, and by the virtue of rainshadow and mountain weather patterns, strait into clouds. Apparently there are amazing views as you skirt the ridge, but all we saw was white. In truth I kind of prefer it that way. Every once in a while the clouds open up a bit and you'll catch a glimpse of a view which is cool. The rest of the time you're hiking along a white void and have the distinct impression that you're tramping along the edge of the world. The last kilometer or two the trail descended into a dense beach forest. The place had a very mystical feel. The trees' trunks grow in a wavy pattern that almost looks like tendrils of flame. There are massive boulders scattered throughout the forest. Also, everything, and I mean everything, is covered in thick moss. At Mackenzie Hut we were treated to a talk by the hut warden that one of the students in the other brigade later named "Ranger Ridiculous". The man gave us a 25 minute talk about how to find the fire exits in the Hut (mind you it's only one room) in the style of stand-up comedy. He then proceeded to try to tell us that our group was a guided tour and not an educational group because Jay (our faculty member on the trip) had his hut tickets paid for by an organization (the college) and that we were going to be fined. Hopefully that's all been sorted out.
Day 3 - Mackenzie to Lake Howden
Day 3 was short and it was cold and rainy, but it was amazing none the less. We did the first two hours of the hike in silence. The trail went through more beach forest and then back up to the treeline. The trail crossed countless small waterfalls, each of which was beautiful but the highlight was Earland Falls which comes out of a cliff face hundreds of feet in the air and ends just a few meters from the trail. I was cold and wet and bordering on hypothermia when we passed so I didn't stop for long, but it was a powerful place. I am in love with New Zealand mountain waterfalls. We passed the other brigade just before arriving at Howden Hut, exchanged van keys, trail notes, and said quick hellos. With all our time in the hut we played a sort of telephone-pictionary game. Hilarity ensued.
Day 4 - Howden to Greenstone Hut
Day 4 was long, 24 Km. Fortunately it was relatively level the whole way and we had nice weather for it. We moved from the Routeburn track with is mostly alpine and in the mountains to the Greenstone track which follows the Greenstone River through a valley of pasture land, beach forest, and grassland. Greenstone (or pounamu to use the Maori name) is a rock similar to jade but almost as hard as diamonds. It was prized by Maori who see it as sacred. Jewelry and artifacts made of it were traded all over the country. The only place in the world where it's found is on the south island of New Zealand. The name of the south island in Maori is actually Te Wahipounamu, "The place of greenstone".
The greenstone river was one of the waterways where the Maori collected greenstone that had washed down from the mountains, hence its name. The day was mostly a blur. I actually ended up thinking about Beloit a lot. About people there, all that's happened in the past two and a half years, and what next year will be like. Hiking through waste high grass tufts in a mountain valley watching the wind rippling the plants around you was quite cool. Greenstone Hut was small compared to the first three (only 20 bunks). It had a nice porch overlooking the valley, but the sandflies (little biting flies similar to blackflies) were pretty bad outside.
Day 5 - Greenstone Hut to Kinloch Lodge
The last day was mostly a mad dash through the rain to get to the carpark. Still there were plenty of nice views of clouds on the mountains, the river, and waterfalls. Once we got to the carpark we drove to a hotel/lodge near the trailhead, showered, took advantage of happy hour at the bar, and had a delicious dinner. For those of you who don't know, on leap-year day it is traditional for women to propose to men. Susan (who is seriously opposed to the concept of marriage) and I had a bet going over whether if she proposed to Jon,(who's been jokingly pursuing her the whole program) he would accept or not. She proposed in the middle of dinner and he accepted. She now owes me ice cream.
We got back to Christchurch yesterday. It's sad to be out of "The Nature" and back to the city, but it's also nice that Christchurch is starting to feel a little bit like a home. I'm feeling kind of stupid because I left my hiking boots at Kinloch Lodge. Oh well, hopefully I can get them back somehow. I also need to figure out what I'm doing for my spring break (fall break technically I suppose) in a couple weeks.
Things I have been appreciating:
-Dry cloths
-People driving around Christchurch at 10pm singing Weezer at the top of their lungs
-That Josh Ritter has Historical Conquests streaming on his website (I didn't bring my iPod on this trip)
-Referring to outdoor activity of any sort as "going into The Nature"
-"Fling" candy bars ("Chocolate with no strings attached." the wrapper claims)
-Mountains
-Spacing out on cross-country van rides
-Backcountry hiking in general, I've been missing it
Thursday, February 28, 2008
John (Poland) No food. Only drinks.
Hey gang, tonight I'm writing you from a very nice hostel in the less nice city of Warsaw, where me and the girls in my program are enjoying a long weekend. Since I last wrote, I'm finally starting to settle in to life in Krakow. My classes are interesting but so far pretty good. I have ten hours of language a week, which is both intense and a little bit of a lost cause, but I'm definitly giving it a college try (no pun intended). My other classes are finally getting off the ground, with culture and civ being interesting and my reasearch project/methods course being a little frightening given that I barely have a topic selected and I have about two months to reasearch and write an 18-24 page paper. I've really enjoyed getting used to living in a foreign country as opposed to just touring and have been pleasantly surprised how quickley I've adapted (although that adaptation is undoubtedly helped by the large number of people who speak at least some English in the city).
I've started really exploring the area as well. Over the weekend we had just ridiculously gorgeous weather for February (low 60s and sunny), which after two cloudly weeks was heavenly, so I took advantage of that to explore the many large parks which are right near my dorm. After the students being gone or inside for two weeks, it was great to see the city out and about. That being said, even I was amazed by the amount of PDA going on in said parks. Couples here just feel no compunction about getting as much physical/mouth contact as possible short of groping, no matter where they are. Maybe it's just cause Catholics love their sex, but it seems to be everywhere. There have to be more lingere stores per capita here than anywhere I've been.
Anyway, I've spent the last few days traveling after getting settled in. On Tuesday I didn't have class until 5, so I took a day trip with Megan and Caitlin to Tyniec, a great Benedictine abbey about a half hour outside of the city. Not only was the Abbey nice, but it was on cliffs overlooking the Vistula and the surrounding countryside, which was wonderful. Perhaps the happiest I've been in Poland so far (and certainly the happiest when I'm sober) was wandering through fields by the Vistula on what felt like a lovely spring day. (I'll have pictures of this up just as soon as my dorm gets it's internet fixed).
Then, last night, Emily had her one night in Krakow during one of her whorlwind tours, which was very fun. We hit up a nice Indian place, then I gave her a very basic introduction to Polish alcohol. One of my friends and number of people from her group came out and it was a good feeling. Everyone especially loved the Tatonka, a mixture of apples and vodka, which was decreed to be the equivalent of drinkning an apple pie. One person was even a former debater, so you can imagine how painful the conversation was for anyone without a deep interest in Policy/LD distinctions or the effects of PEPFAR on condom usage in Uganda. But overall, that was very fun and it felt great to see another Beloiter again!
So this morning, after sleeping through my overly ambitious alarm for an 8:30 class, I set out on another beautiful morning to head to train station en route to Warsaw. I eventually walked off any lingering effects of the night before and enjoyed a scenic trainride north, getting some much needed rest and coffee. Upon arriving in Warsaw however, we discovered that at some point the weather had taken a cold and windy turn, which would prove to an omen for the remainder of the day. We first spent an hour and a half wandering through the cold (all of us of course, being completely underdressed) trying to find our hostel, which we eventually did after realizing that it was on the other side of the street and should have taken us no more than 20 minutes. The walk was instructive for us, however, on a few matters. First, Warsaw is way bigger and way less inviting than Krakow. It's big, has few interesting places and nothing is near anything else. We confirmed this with a native who ran the hostel and informed us that he didn't like the city but if you had to come, it really should be in the summer. Our expereince then worsened as the one restaurant we were recommended (the Podwale Beer Company, sight) was already booked for the night, forcing us to repast to a nearby Chinese restaurant which was thoroughly mediocre. Finally, looking for a bar and finding nothing, we stopped into a Spanish(?) restaurant called Armando's which was A) far to swanky for us but also B) nearly totally deserted at 8:30. After Christine informed the waiter in her best Polish that we wanted "No food. Drinks only.", we spent most of the rest of our time there giggling, getting odd looks from an older gentleman in the next room and generally embarassing ourselves. It was actually a pretty good night, but a lot of that comes from a sense of relief that Warsaw is only a brief interlude on this trip.
Sorry for the long entry, props to anyone who actually bothered to slog through it. I'm really enjoying hearing about everyone both at home and abroad, so please keep posting and I'll hopefully be able to say hi on AIM from my dorm again soon.
I've started really exploring the area as well. Over the weekend we had just ridiculously gorgeous weather for February (low 60s and sunny), which after two cloudly weeks was heavenly, so I took advantage of that to explore the many large parks which are right near my dorm. After the students being gone or inside for two weeks, it was great to see the city out and about. That being said, even I was amazed by the amount of PDA going on in said parks. Couples here just feel no compunction about getting as much physical/mouth contact as possible short of groping, no matter where they are. Maybe it's just cause Catholics love their sex, but it seems to be everywhere. There have to be more lingere stores per capita here than anywhere I've been.
Anyway, I've spent the last few days traveling after getting settled in. On Tuesday I didn't have class until 5, so I took a day trip with Megan and Caitlin to Tyniec, a great Benedictine abbey about a half hour outside of the city. Not only was the Abbey nice, but it was on cliffs overlooking the Vistula and the surrounding countryside, which was wonderful. Perhaps the happiest I've been in Poland so far (and certainly the happiest when I'm sober) was wandering through fields by the Vistula on what felt like a lovely spring day. (I'll have pictures of this up just as soon as my dorm gets it's internet fixed).
Then, last night, Emily had her one night in Krakow during one of her whorlwind tours, which was very fun. We hit up a nice Indian place, then I gave her a very basic introduction to Polish alcohol. One of my friends and number of people from her group came out and it was a good feeling. Everyone especially loved the Tatonka, a mixture of apples and vodka, which was decreed to be the equivalent of drinkning an apple pie. One person was even a former debater, so you can imagine how painful the conversation was for anyone without a deep interest in Policy/LD distinctions or the effects of PEPFAR on condom usage in Uganda. But overall, that was very fun and it felt great to see another Beloiter again!
So this morning, after sleeping through my overly ambitious alarm for an 8:30 class, I set out on another beautiful morning to head to train station en route to Warsaw. I eventually walked off any lingering effects of the night before and enjoyed a scenic trainride north, getting some much needed rest and coffee. Upon arriving in Warsaw however, we discovered that at some point the weather had taken a cold and windy turn, which would prove to an omen for the remainder of the day. We first spent an hour and a half wandering through the cold (all of us of course, being completely underdressed) trying to find our hostel, which we eventually did after realizing that it was on the other side of the street and should have taken us no more than 20 minutes. The walk was instructive for us, however, on a few matters. First, Warsaw is way bigger and way less inviting than Krakow. It's big, has few interesting places and nothing is near anything else. We confirmed this with a native who ran the hostel and informed us that he didn't like the city but if you had to come, it really should be in the summer. Our expereince then worsened as the one restaurant we were recommended (the Podwale Beer Company, sight) was already booked for the night, forcing us to repast to a nearby Chinese restaurant which was thoroughly mediocre. Finally, looking for a bar and finding nothing, we stopped into a Spanish(?) restaurant called Armando's which was A) far to swanky for us but also B) nearly totally deserted at 8:30. After Christine informed the waiter in her best Polish that we wanted "No food. Drinks only.", we spent most of the rest of our time there giggling, getting odd looks from an older gentleman in the next room and generally embarassing ourselves. It was actually a pretty good night, but a lot of that comes from a sense of relief that Warsaw is only a brief interlude on this trip.
Sorry for the long entry, props to anyone who actually bothered to slog through it. I'm really enjoying hearing about everyone both at home and abroad, so please keep posting and I'll hopefully be able to say hi on AIM from my dorm again soon.
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