Mgschmidt

Wisdom continually reaches everyone

2006-07-21T05:30:00.000-07:00

Proverbs 8

Doth not wisdom cry? And understanding put forth her voice?
She standth in the top of high places, by the way in the places of the paths
She crieth a the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors.

God’s support and guidance is more than earthly active it is absolute, at every instant is it there. The error comes when man turns from these calls.

-High places- are those seen easily, it is a guide and a call from a place of perfection.

-Places of the paths- we are all travelers, and the end is eternal life, wisdom is along this place guiding us as we need. Even along the path to eternal life in Christ, guidance is Truth realized.

-Gates- the place of justice in those times, the gathering place

-entry of city- at the edge of collection of people

-coming in at the doors: into ones home

Wisdom and understanding continually cry out at all locations, all are reached by this divine and powerful message and it only takes but acceptance of this and rebuke of the material things to find happiness.

Our demonstration of the pure and perfect life is an example to those in need, but our gratitude is the proof of value and joy. Our gratitude is our contribution.

march 30- ramblings

2006-03-30T06:59:00.000-08:00

March 30, 2006

I am grateful for the demonstration/conformation of God’s justice and mercy. Jill Carrol’s release is an example of, not the end example of his capacity. Truth is truth at all levels of demonstration. I am grateful for the kindness and openness of those in the community. How they are willing to reach out to the community for helping and caring about others. I am grateful for the enthusiasm about the idea of reaching out to others. I am grateful for the idea that I can do “nothing” while doing so much.

Jill Carrol’s release is a practical example that the God protects those qualities that represent him. It is not the matter that is important, but the real man. This is a victory over a false reality in error, but a conformation of power.

· I john 5:4 for whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith

· BBE I john 5:4 anything which comes from God is able to overcome the world, and the power by which we have overcome the world is our faith

Yesterday I felt overcome by a sense that the injustice seen in the world was greater than what God could supply. The idea from S&H that in reality there is no mortal mind, and therefore no transfer of mortal thought and will power helped me to realize that error is just that, error. That injustice we see is first accepted in our and others thoughts. It gives another a power greater than God. The person that is doing the action is at a higher place than the action would represent. The true justice of the situation comes through Love, when we see that person as a spiritual individual. The error that has attached itself, in our conscience, will slip away, leaving only a perfect demonstration of God. Paul/Saul switch is a perfect example. I know in my own life I have made many mistakes, and if I held myself responsible I would spend all days just getting forgiveness. Instead it is best to live the Christ and forgive others. Bringing ourselves into connection with the Lords omnipotence is a breath of fresh air. The difficult part of that idea is that we can never hold someone responsible for things of the past, in our own observations. If we do, we keep that error with them. As a man will overcome his false idea of sickness we do not want to remember his as sick. Along the same lines we do not want to judge another as still “evil”.

Today’s lesson is on the tares and the wheat.

Different thoughts as to the meaning are (from concordance)

-the Church will never be free of offenses, so the church will have to arm themselves with patience and steadfastness.

-that as we are growing in spirit, not to let Animal Magnetism remove us from our path. Any false evidence that seems to reside with Truth will fall away as we grow. The tares were thrown in the world, not in the heaven

The harvest seems to mean something in a far off time, and for now we must suffer. The purpose of the harvest is to collect substance, to gather. If we are considering the harvest a daily operation, when we gather or get information is should be only spiritual. If we see another doing something wrong then our observation should only be of what they are doing right, and to see them as perfect and capable of receiving the good. The harvest is the right we know exists. If I see myself as sick, I am separating myself from the bounty that God has provided. He has made me whole, and the understanding of Christ and its healing saving power will take away the tares leaving the wheat. The harvest is now.

· 207:16 The Science of being repudiates self-evident impossibilities, such as the (action) of Truth and error in cause or effect

· 343:14 Jesus strips all disguise from error, when his teachings are fully understood. By parable and argument he explains the impossibility of good producing evil; and he also scientifically demonstrates this great fact, proving by what are wrongly called miracles, that sin, sickness, and death are beliefs- illusive errors-which he could and did destroy

Note- these are my thoughts, not those of the church or others, I am a student and am learning. please post any questions or comments

God is all, evil does not exist, by Albert Einstein

2006-02-01T06:15:00.000-08:00

A University professor at a well known institution of higher learning challenged his students with this question. "Did God create everything that exists?"
A student bravely replied, "Yes he did!"
"God created everything?" The professor asked.
"Yes sir, he certainly did," the student replied.
The professor answered, "If God created everything; then God created evil. And, since evil exists, and according to the principle that our works define who we are, then we can assume God is evil."
The student became quiet and did not answer the professor's hypothetical definition.
The professor, quite pleased with himself, boasted to the students that he had proven once more that the Christian faith was a myth.
Another student raised his hand and said, "May I ask you a question, professor?"
"Of course", replied the professor.
The student stood up and asked, "Professor, does cold exist?"

"What kind of question is this? Of course it exists. Have you never been cold?"
The other students snickered at the young man's question.
The young man replied, "In fact, sir, cold does not exist. According to the laws of physics, what we consider cold is in reality the absence of heat.
Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-460 F) is the total absence of heat. And all matter becomes inert and incapable of reaction at that temperature. Cold does not exist. We have created this word to describe how we feel if we have no heat."

The student continued, "Professor, does darkness exist?"
The professor responded, "Of course it does."
The student replied, "Once again you are wrong, sir, darkness does not exist either. Darkness is in reality the absence of light. Light we can study, but not darkness. In fact, we can use Newton's prism to break white light into many colors and study the various wavelengths of each color. You cannot measure darkness. A simple ray of light can break into a world of darkness and illuminate it. How can you know how dark a certain space is? You measure the amount of light present. Isn't this correct? Darkness is a term used by man to describe what happens when there is no light present."
Finally the young man asked the professor, "Sir, does evil exist?"
Now uncertain, the professor responded, "Of course, as I have already said. We see it everyday. It is in the daily examples of man's inhumanity to man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil."
To this the student replied, "Evil does not exist, sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat, or the darkness that comes when there is no light."
The professor sat down. The young man's name -- Albert Einstein

Thank you, arigato, yewo, zikomo

2006-01-24T07:02:00.000-08:00

I want to take a short minute out to extend my gratitude to all that offered help during my time away. There are so many wonderful examples but I thought I would touch on a few.

Many Malawians opened there houses to us and gave what little they had.
My parents continuously sent me updates and spiritual materials which helped me through many different challenges.
Random people helped out with things like rides after an accident, directions, food, money, clothing and more.
A family in Nairobi and a RPCV in Kampala housed me for a while.
I could sense tremendous spiritual prayer while I was experiencing hard times.

It is said that charity is the greatest thing we have to offer or recieve. God Bless all.

Home at last

2006-01-19T19:03:00.000-08:00

well the trip is over, 2 and a half years of vacation in sunny africa. I spent my last day in Egypt at a place called the Blue Hole, a coral reef in the shape of a circle with beautiful fish and rainbows of coral. Great snorkling.

My journey home was peaceful and free of some of the overwhelming conditions that seem to go with this type of return. I owe this to my loving family, taco bell, and previous travel experiences.

I was greeted into the US of A by friendly people of all ethnicity, though speaking a wonderful NY english. Elton John poured out of the speakers and I knew I was back.

It is great to be home with my family and to have a chance to relax and catch up on all the wonderful things that have happened since I was gone.

Just a few thoughts on travel. Some of my best moments were when I was in an unfamiliar situation, all by myself, needing to rely on others. This was when you recognize a deeper beauty in humanity, when someone who does not speak your languages smiles at you and helps you the best way they can. They are not motivated because you are a tourists or rich, just because they are kind. A great example of this would be walking the streets in the morning looking for a small sidewalk food vendor, where you will find the salt of the earth going about their daily lives. People were so welcoming.

Another thought would be about traveling in tour groups. the benefits are the freedom from worry and responsiblity as everything is taken care of. Most likely you will never find yourself stepping off a ferry at dark in a strange city with no where to go. At the same time you sacrafice the natural experience of real existance. The tours will find "cultural" experiences but they are staged and lack the roughness or normal living. There are amazing people out there, and in experiencing that hospitality unbridled, we see the presence of a higher harmony. There is the oppurtunity for exchange with local people when you travel in small groups. As a solo traveler people approached me for some wonderful, though sometimes wacky, conversations. It is definetly more work but greater growth results.

The only thing that I can use to describe the pleasures and troubles of travel would be the amount of dust that settles on you. Airplane travel is fast and convient though it shields you from the main mode of travel in most countries. buses can be dangerous crowded and smelly but this is the way of the people, especially in Africa. the people you meet on buses are usually very willing to help. You spend more time with them. You see the place, not just the highlights.

In summary, there was always a question, what is the difference between a tourists and volunteer. both are transit, one is trying to work with the people. In the end, I always felt partially as a tourists. It was there lives and we just were observing it for a bit.

My trials and joys were filled with blessings. Love was shown from Malawians and visitors alike. A great amount of support came from those in the states and for that I am grateful. You cannot imagine how helpful it was to recieve a letter or email of encouragement, with something as simple as "keep up the great work" or "we are proud" or "stop wasting our tax dollars." Well maybe not the last.

Upon returning to the US I get the feeling that I will always carry part of Africa with me. The struggle, the triumph, the anger, the love, the ease of life, and the stubbornenss.

Snow and surf, Dahab - Sinai

2006-01-14T22:26:00.000-08:00

Hello all, greetings from Dahab, on the eastern side of the Sinai peninsula along the sea. It is a wonderful small comfortable feeling place for just about anything.

The Sinai area is very dry, with the exception of the coast and a few oasis. It is by no means flat and the scenery is stunning. It is dusty, sandy, colorful place with camels wandering about and local people living around oasis miles from anywhere. It is what i thought pakistan would be like. The coastal area is stunning with different blues of the sea. Off in the distance is Jordan mountains.

I recieved a bit of a scare. My first night in town, I was walking down the waterfront walk and a few arab gentleman said in passing "tomorrow it will all be over". now for a bit of history, a few months ago there was an attack in this area and the government is warning USA citizens to use caution and stay away from certain sites. I spent quite a bit of time, in my own mind at least, to try and remove any differences I saw between myself and any others here. I also tried to recognize a universal harmony that exists. The next night/day all passed with calm.

Two tough days of fun here. The first existed of canyon trips. A place called colored canyon, and it was. It was a mile walk down a deep water carved canyon which required some tight squeezes and some scrambling. We stopped at a small Bendouin(local people) village for lunch. It was a bit ironic because it was established as this beautiful out of the way oasis and behind the hut they had electricity and a satelite dish. The local people are having a tough time as development comes. They have less places to go and are forced to stop being as nomadic and are releasing thier camels, which are seen all over just wandering.

The next day was a trip to the St Catherine monastery (http://www.geographia.com/egypt/sinai/stcatherine.html) and Mount Sinai (Mt Moses). This is the place from history where Moses saw the burning bush and spent many days on the mountain and recieved the Ten Commandments. They are not sure if the bush is a decendant or not or if it is for sure this mountain but the general area is right. It is a beautiful isolated place. The bush was not burning when we were there though we did have quite a bit of excitement when we saw a firetruck heading up towards the monastery:).

The idea of the trip is to climb the mountain to see the sunrise or sunset. Our trip was for the sunset and by the time we got to the top it was soo cold(remember i have been in africa for a while). It started snowing at the top. The view was almost forever and if I had to pick a place to stay for forty days that would be it.

Today after the cold of the mountains I think I will go and try some snorkling at a place called blue hole.

Stay well.

random thoughts
-our minibus driver from the monastery almost hit a camel, big white easy to see camel.
- my name, Matt, means death in arabic, and this gets a bit of a chuckle when i tell it.

Picture of Rock Hewn Church in Lalibela, Ethiopia

2006-01-11T08:10:00.000-08:00

I was somewhat fascinated by Matt's post regarding Ethiopia and the Rock Hewn churhes- I did a little research- and here is a picture I found.

Ken

End of Ramadan

2006-01-11T03:31:00.000-08:00

I happen to be in Egypt when the festival at the end of Ramadan started. It is a celebration/feast of the time when Moses was given a sheep to sacrifice, instead of his own child(best guess).

To kick it off they slaughter cows, goats, and sheep. You can find large carcasses hanging throughout the cities including Cairo where a big shop will have 10. The hotel that I stay at slaughters animals and then gives the meat to the poor. And I do not mean that the animal is slaughtered elsewhere, nope right in front of the hotel. The hotel has two doors that lead to two different alleys. Early morning they started on first cow and about 2 hours later nothing remained except washed pavement. In the other alley they started midday and decided that it is better to take your time, and not wash down the alley. Women in really duded up clothes were stepping carefully through this. One interesting custom is for the cutters to put there bloody hands, on peoples backs.

After some other guests and I returned from a tour we were greeted by what looked like a mob scene. I thought for sure something was wrong. Nope they were giving away meat to the poor. They ended up locking the door to keep people out.

Today people were out everywhere, smiling, laughing and kids up to no good. In one park people were picnicking, dancing, singing, clapping and there was a fake sword fight using sticks. One of my favorite ways of celebration was minibuses, loaded with children signing and yelling, door open, driving in caravans around town.

Sudan, Egypt- Cairo, and Aswan

2006-01-09T08:29:00.000-08:00

sudan
not really sure if i can claim knowledge about Sudan as I only touched down there but here goes. The lower south east part boardering Ethiopia was almost all fields, none of those silly trees that limit planting. I mean massive tracts of land, very organized but farming only. When we landed at the airport there is a large circle of antiaircraft guns protecting the airport. boy did i feel safe.

egypt
I'll start with a joke, it was told to me by an Egyptian cab driver, A man said he went to the zoo and all the monkeys were gone. when he asked where they were the attendant replied "on the roads driving cabs".
Starting with Cairo. It is huge, modern, old, ancient, and busy. The architecture is varied and worth some time to view it. The streets are well marked and divided by lines though no one follows them. There is a strange system of hysteria that only the drivers seem to understand but after a few days it becomes comfortable. Honking the horn is actually a requirement every 43.7 ft (converted from metric). Security is incredibly tight, especially around all of the monuments. Lots of policemen.

There are an incredible amount of important historic things to see, for example Babylon, the pyramids, the museum(filled with 150,000 items, so much so they just sit on the ground), and the citadel(an old fort complex with a massive mosque). All surrounded by city. The pyramids are in the seven wonders of the world for a reason, you just gotta see 'em. One note, the Queens pyramids are smaller and for a while I could not figure out why, until, ... it must be so when the queens don't like the location and decide to move them it is easier:)

Egypt is much more developed than the previous countries I've visited. Hostess snacks. operater phone help lines. and mc donalds/pizza hut/dominos pizza. i must admit i broke down and had a hoho snack. The food here is great, filafel and pitas for breakfast. mmmmm

Aswan
The next place after Cairo was Aswan, in the south. It was the end of the Egypt empire, kind of a gate on the Nile. It is a stunning place. Little oasis isles, tombs up on the hill over looking the city. And nearby is a few famous tombs as well. This is the place to come if you want to feel like indiana jones. at the pyramid there are thousands of people, stunning but feels a bit like a big amusement park, everything is very sterile and clean. Aswan on the other hand, The temples of the Nobles, to be specific, has shards of pottery and bones just laying around. the walls are painted up real nice. You can shimy into tiny little passage ways that lead to deeper ones. Top it off with a camel ride off into the desert to see a 7th century monastery. I followed it up with a hour and a half walk through the dunes. tough work, the camels make it a bit easier.

In the morning i took a sailboat for a 2 hour tour around the islands, unlike giligan and the skipper i made it back ok, caught a bus to see an amazing monument in Edfu. It took 230 years to build and i could not figure out how it was made. After that a train ride to Luxor, one of the most visited places in the world. In the center of town is the Luxor monument. Something to look foward to, renting motorcycles, cheap.

Rambling- the art of the honk

2006-01-09T07:26:00.000-08:00

Today i took a taxi with a honkanian driver. now most people think that the honk was initiated in the US but think again. Egypt is the official place. Through deep observations I have begun to understand the languages and nuances of the honks. Now one might think, what can there be to all of it. For example, length, rythm, pattern, and more. Each vehicle seems to match its driver.

For example, beep-beep means "hey you, the 5 year old, on the donkey, watch your ass", beep - means "you in the truck on the side of the road, opening your door, watch out if you want to keep it", beeeep-beep, means "yah your a big truck, and yah i'll end up moving but still, watch yourself." there seems to be some communication method as well, passing a car requires a few beeps, responded by a beep, followed by a beep, and this repeats until one car is finally far enough away.

my favorite image of the day was a boy, ~7years, was riding on top of a large bale of grass (2ft in diameter) balanced on the back of a donkey This had the kid about 6 feet off the ground, it was great. he looked to be having a hoot of a time.

backpack less backpacker

2006-01-04T11:46:00.000-08:00

in cairo now, crazy, busy, lively, city.

heres a travel trick for traveling light. give your bag to ethiopian airlines. thats a bit harsh. truth is they only loose about 4000 bags a year, a worker told me.

i am in egypt, with my tiny bag, and a packing list as follows.
2- shirts
1-trouser
2-underwear
1-fleece jacket
1-toothbrush
1-toothpaste
1-notebook

thinking about adding another shirt. not sure yet.

random note- a sign in ethiopian airlines office advertising for travel to america shows a picture of the statue of liberty and the caption reads "it will make you want to run for president". i am not sure what "it" is but you can fill it in.

truth is it works pretty well, except i wash a bit more often.

Ethiopia in my heart

2006-01-02T22:03:00.000-08:00

Happy new year, Hope all spent the holidays well.

People talk about being connected to a place. They like the culture, the music, the food, and the landscape. Well this is my place. I have already started dreaming about a motorcycle trip around the country. The food is good and cheap. The people are kind or a bit stand offish but rarely rude. The transport I’ve seen so far is safe, I repeat safe. The country appears safe for tourists and the troubles of the past election seem to be calming a bit.

Ethiopia is a place described as “a region with no flat places”. It is a tough life as evident by the mix of new high rises surrounded by scraps of metal sewn together for housing. There is a strong sense of history and identity. The vehicles that I have ridden in drive slowly/safely and are not overcrowded. They seem polite and mindful, without the might is right mentality. One good example of a different mindset is that there are stray dogs every where and in all my time here I have seen only one kid strike out at them or throw rocks.

My travels included Lalibela and Bahir Dar. Lalibela is the home of the Rock hewn churches and is truly awe inspiring. Picture a 150 by 150 foot square. Now in the center place a 50’ by 50’ square. Between the two squares dig down 30-40 feet into the rock. Then cut out a church of the remaining structure. It was created as the 2nd Jerusalem and has tremendous symbolism. It took 23 years to build with 40,000 people. I find it amazing the amount dedication to a faith. Their Christmas is January 7th and there is around 9000 pilgrims that visit. They were just starting to ride, roll, and walk in when I left.

Bahar Dar is the home of monasteries on Lake Tara. They were built in the 14th century and have been manned by monks since. While visiting them the girls in our group could not attend as it is a man only thing. Funny how religion can be a powerful tool used for either good or bad..

I recently took a bus trip from Lalibela to Bahar Dar. The landscape of the central region is one big series of plateaus and valleys. The road was gravel and the 300km trip took 12 hours in a big bus with bench seats. It was not crowded and was an easy trip. Along the road there were tanks scattered about, left where they were destroyed. We found one of them inhabited by a few children playing in the afternoon. Another indication of the history was demonstrated when a man boarded the bus with an assault rifle, after a bit of arguing with the conductor.

This is not to say that Ethiopia is without trouble. The government is not operating at its best. While in Kenya there was a protest of the Ethiopian refugees to the UNHCR(United Nations High Commission for Refugees). The claim is that 25 refugees were abducted Christmas day from their homes. The people claim that they were abducted by Ethiopian security forces to be repatriated or punished for being dissidents during the last election. When I got to Ethiopia I visited the UNHCR office to try and see if there was a chance that I could work in a camp. They sent me to an NGO who told me due to my short stay that I could not. The group I visited, SIM, does education and relief support. More information can be found at http://www.ethioamericans.com/index.html.

One of the other problems that I found out about was the exploitation of children in this country. I spoke with a policeman about it and he said that it did not exist but claims of others are that there is little in the way of NGO’s here to protect the children. Many people who used to go to other countries now visit here. I was witness to young children parading around a hotel. More information can be found at http://www.ecpat.com/eng/CSEC/faq/faq14.asp . This describes what each of us can do. Mostly they suggest education and discussion.

The airlines lost my bag(which includes everything) so I am hoping to get it back before I fly to Egypt in two days. If not I will travel really really lightly.

Bwana Style in Nairobi

2005-12-28T04:39:00.000-08:00

B-w-a-n-a means well to do person or "boss"

I am staying with some friends here in Nairobi, Kenya. I know the wife from a religious training session. There is one husband, two sons, and one daughter. The youngest, is dennis the menace but is hilarious.

They have welcomed me in wonderful style. I am allowed to do nothing. Great food, dvds, video games, and more. They have a car and live in an appearingly nice area. I have saddly gotten hooked on a soap opera, mis 3 hermanas, spanish soap dubbed over.

As a thank you I took them to a cinema to see Narnia. It was great though a few fell asleep. The movie was at a really nice mall and I think we all felt out of place. After the movie the young boy dissappeared and we found him going to the bathroom in front of the car, in a fancy parking lot. We got away as the gaurds were coming over. Boy were those guys up tight.

Tonight I am off to Ethiopia for a week. Next wed. i go to Cairo via stop over in Sudan. If there is internet I will update. Should be great. Things seem to be pretty calm there.

Have a great new years and I look forward to seeing my family and friends soon. I miss you guys.

Happy Holidays- blessings to all

2005-12-27T00:59:00.000-08:00

Matt's first porter,
I went hiking in Mt Elgon National park on the border between Uganda and Kenya. It reminds me of Olympic National Forest with rainforest, rocky peaks, with the addition of a bamboo forest. Great hiking up there. I went with a guy from Israel who basically has been traveling on money from a startup company. We each had a guard with an AK47 rifle (for “pesky critters”) to escort us. I took a porter(someone to carry my bags) along, even though it went against my very center of hiking integrity, so that I would be able to make it up to one of the peaks and back down. This cut a whole day out. Tomorrow, I will catch a bus to Nairobi to visit some church friends for a few days.

Funny story about colonialization. The peak that I climbed wa called mt jackson. For a white man named Jackson. He discovered it, which means he was the first white to climb it. he did so with the help of a local individual that had lived near the top for years. For which the mountain was named.

The road from Kampala Uganda to Nairobi Kenya is what I would consider to include everything of africa. Mountains, plains, lakes, villages, towns, cities, and Nairobi. There are different tribes and different people. The road is all surfaces; smooth sections, rough, potholes, patches, gravel and more. In one 3hour stretch I think there was only one original place that had not been patched yet and the government of kenya is planning on removing it and replacing it with a patch as soon as money is available:). One place that touched me was the Lake Nakuru area. Huge lake in the basin of the Rift valley, sun setting over clouds sending beams of light. Amazing.

I spent Christmas with some friends from my church. it was nice to be away from the traditional commercial holiday and have a chance to reflect on the true beauty of the holiday. We stopped at a fast food joint for chicken and fries and then went to a park to walk around. I hope that your holidays are filled with joy for you and all around.

Random info.
-You can use bamboo for building, holding up climbing beans, for a cup, and for boiling water if you do not have a pot. On the last part you need to continually change sections out as the bamboo will burn over time.
-a sign in Kenya - Hospitol ceilings are boring. drive safe

Source of the Nile River, Check

2005-12-20T07:13:00.000-08:00

The source of the nile, check. Today I went to Jinja to view the location where the nile starts flowing from Lake Victoria.

Kampala is an amazing city. It is a cross between Los Angeles, West Virginia, and red dust of Africa. One of my favorite things is the use of scooters as transport. Taxi, moving truck, sight seeing.

I made a list of all the things transported around on scooters toinclude. Me and my massive backpack. three people, sofas, entertainment systems, hugeboxes, 5 crates of soda bottles, large pieces of sheet metal, and more. it is a strange harmony of cars, buses, and scooters going pretty much any way. There are almost no traffic lights but it works. it is a beautiful town, rolling hills, huge skyscrapers.\
tomorrow i am off for mt elgon national park for some hiking and waterfalls, that will be until dec 24th, when i will transport to nairobi to visit a friend from my church. i will not have email access until the 25th or 26th. happy holidays to all.

The USS Minow and General Lee

2005-12-19T04:15:00.000-08:00

Greetings from Kampala, Uganda.

Stage one – ferry from mwanza to bukoba, TZ
A four hour ferry ride is not complete without being yelled at over the intercom. I tried to climb out onto the front deck, and a voice from the sky (ship speaker) told me to get my behind back inside. To the positive it got me invited up to the top deck and I spent a good amount of time talking with the captain. He told me the ferry is much better than the buses as they get hijacked sometimes. Did not remember reading that in the Lonely Planet guide.

The ferry docked in Bukoba around dusk. I did not have much information about the city, only the name of one hotel. Another gentleman was waiting for a taxi and I asked if he wanted to share one. He was extremely kind in helping me drive all over the city looking for a guesthouse – guesthouse means really cheap hotel - that met my needs. He even had the driver stop at the bus stage to see about arranging tickets for my trip the next day. After I found a place then he went off to find his own. Never once asked me for anything, even an email. It was great to see kindness like that.

Stage two- bus from Bukoba TZ – Kampala Uganda
The bus left early. Our driver could easily find a job as a stunt double for the “Dukes of Hazard” tv show. As we were passing out of a small town we passed a sign that said, “Drive Safely”, as if one person could do it all. Well, 300 yards later he slammed on the brakes and drove the bus off the road. To avoid a bus heading towards us that decided to pass a slower car, in plain view of our bus. No mistake, just no thought. We made it clear. The next sign we saw said, “safe journey”. I like that one better.

Final thought for the day. A Ugandan lady made a comment about a few loud mouths that were blabbing about politics. She said “the election is over, they should stop talking about it and start talking about Christmas”, Amen.

Post Serengeti- pre Uganda

2005-12-15T06:20:00.000-08:00

greetings from mwanza, a town in NW Tanzania, along the lovely lake Victoria.

last few days were spent soaking in the beauty of serengeti plains, ngorongoro crater, and lake manyara park. just as wonderful as everyone rambles about so that should suffice.

highlights
- watching giraffes play fight in a courting ritual,
-seeing hundred thousand wildebeest spread out over plains(I imagine a lot like looking at Woodstock festival- hairy, dirty, things everywhere) ,
-feeling complete sense of awe/glory at expanse of plains of serengeti "endless plains"
-getting a good hitchhike in middle of serengeti national park in a Honda civic.
-learning a bit of Spanish from the Spanish couple I traveled with, such as elephante(elephant for those unlearned)

ramblings
*a zebra is a donkey in drag
*no matter who I talked with (animal or person) I could not find any proof of large numbers of animals gathering and singing/dancing in a choreographed fashioned, let alone sing
*the tribal masai people (Tanzania and Kenya) must be related somehow to Scottish people as they both wear kilts.
*giraffes should be in the big five, I mean come on.
*i kept thinking how great it would be to go off road motorcycling in the serengeti if it werent for those stupid animals.
*once an enginerd, always. while on game drive i caught myself trying to figure out how roof mechanism works

note on safaris- there are two sides, the animal side, which most are similar; and the behind the scenes side, ie transport, food, guide, cook. for the second part just try to imagine what you want out of it and get them to put it in writing. a lot of the services are extremely close but the cost differs quite a bit. The basic safari is just that but was plenty for me.

moshi, moshi

2005-12-12T07:23:00.000-08:00

hello i am in moshi (near Kilimanjaro mountain, which i spotted a glimpse of through the clouds, mole hill), for the next four days its off chasing lions and elephants on safari. hopefully i can post some pictures.

some random notes
- small world
i went to a cafe in Dar es salaam for dinner and was greeted by two individuals. Both could easily be cast in a movie about chess experts. very energetic and opinionated. one of the gentleman left early, the other and i started talking. he had been in kenya and had heard lectures about Christian Science, even knew the founders information. We had an amazing talk about so many things. especially churches.

- one example of the differences between malawi and tanzania is creativity. here they put decorations and words all over the buses. most of them have names. some examples are "because", "picnic class" "sickator" and my favorite, "best wishes". is that really the message you want coming from your driver. another interesting note, the bus that i rode on going to lushoto, see story below, had marijuana leafs on the windows. again, singer in a band, artist, maybe even fish store owner that type of relationship with mind altering substances is ok. but not a transporter of human cargo.

- its in the water
i spent some time with three biologists from Sweden. one of the guys told me about the fish, cyclid, that they were studying. it displays a characteristic only found in lake Victoria, that after birth the males stay around the family without moving on. Supposedly this makes a more efficient production. it is one big nuclear family very similar to the family structure to the villages that i lived in. but only in this area.

-lushoto
yesterday i was in lushoto which is a mountain area in between dar es salaam and moshi. the ride up the 36 km twisty road was a bit hairraising. Part of the twisty road is one lane and placed conviently by a 200-300 foot drop off. i dont think that anyone had told my driver about the one lane part. on the way up we were rounding a tight bend. the driver was "overspeeding" and was taking up most of the lane, in the middle of a turn we found another truck, larger, coming down the mountain doing the same. now this may seem a bit over the top but there was no physical explanation for what happened, our driver swerved towards the cliff to make room. we were off the road during the maneuver and ended up right back on the one lane road. I believe fully that God guided that truck to the right spot. My gasping like a scared little baby surely did not help.

instead of taking transport down i rode a bicycle down. mostly for the beautiful road and twists and turns. it is been compared to the alps of tanzania.

- if anyone is interested in tsavorite, i have not found any yet

traveling solo

2005-12-08T23:20:00.000-08:00

A travel reporter from an explorer magazine said traveling solo is the best way to see places and meet people. Initially I was concerned about traveling alone but it appears to have many benefits.

people I have met along the way (all random encounters)
- a man buying and selling rice, we discussed the local elections and positive changes in malawi
- a man traveling for five days from Malawi to get back home to Burundi, he spoke at least four languages.
- a man who is buying sunflower seed oil press machines to take them to angola to the UN refugee camps. he travels with cash from lusaka to Dar, buys the stuff goes back to the angola border loads them into six wheel off road trucks and transports them 12 hours to the camps. "gotta be careful with all the mines around".
-breakfast with some tanzanian university students at a small local cafe, we talked about travel and tribalism
Of course tourists must be watchful for not so nice people but it opens a chance to meet many nice ones.

Mbeya to Dar es Salaam bus ride

2005-12-08T23:17:00.000-08:00

* on bus ride today I saw people on crappy chinese made bicycles loaded up with a large blue plastic 20 gallon liquid container and 2 or three smaller yellow 5 gallon containers riding along side the highway. When I asked were they moving petrol I got a laugh. Nope beer. Beer is a term for anything that can make one intoxicated.
The story of the beer is as follows, cut a small bamboo plant and it will bleed off a clear liquid, which is the beer. take lots of it, fill plastic containers, strap dangerously to a bicycle and travel long distances.
Heres the kicker, as the beer warms up in the sunlight it ferments, this causes it to expand. It continues to expand, so they add a vent to the cap, Now you might ask, wont it just spill out? well that is why they vent it into a tube. Run the tube to an overflow you ask, nope, run it to the ground, nope. That would be wasteful. They run it to the handlebars. As extra liquid comes out they drink it.
Excess liquer and long bike rides may sound smart but I beg to differ. The gentleman telling me this story laughed a bit and said in a deadpan voice "they get whacked often". I could only assume that this means they get hit by traffic.
*on public transport I saw elephants and antelope along side the road, dont get that in your fancy shmancy states do ya? I also watched one of the worst amercian action films ever, embarrassing to be an american. all of the people on the bus were eating it up and talking suprised when the hero used a laso to capture the enemy. who had a gun by the way.
* funny hotel quotes
-please tune any musical instrument at room volume
-women of immoral turpitude are strictly not allowed in room

in Mbeya, tanzania

2005-12-07T06:18:00.000-08:00

*myth buster - tanzanian buses less crowded, 29 people "in" mini bus. three hanging outside until the rain started. yah baby (note all of drivers have been extremely safe.)
*at one of the last police check points before crossing out of malawi the road block consist of a red and white painted bamboo pole.
*in Mbeya someone tried to pick my pocket but too little practice caused him to fail. practice makes perfect.
*i sat across from a young well dressed gentleman with a backpack that had four animal hooves poking out of it. as it is against culture to stare at another mans hooves I did not ask what type.

off to dar es salaam tomorrow

Cotton Subsidies- Help Out

2005-11-27T05:33:00.000-08:00

The WTO has ruled, not surprisingly, that American subsidies of cotton have caused overproduction leading to lower global pricing. In 2002 $3.9billion went to US cotton subsidies. The striking part is that the money is 20% greater than the value of the cotton produced. Commodity subsidies - which pay the farmer the difference from the actual market value to Congress’s fair price- had the farmers receiving 86 cents a pound of cotton while it was being exported at 37 cents per pound. In Malawi the local farmers sell the cotton to coops at around 12 cents a pound.

It is estimated by Oxfam America that $350 million was lost by Sub Saharan Africa due to subsidies in one year. One country, Burkino Faso, received $10million in aid from the US while loosing $13.7 million to subsidies.

Some of the subsidies are reasonable but one, so called “step 2”, pays for US textile factories to buy U.S. cotton at market rates, covering the gap. This stings a bit as the farmer is paid to produce it and then Cotton companies are paid to use it.

The subsidies do not really support the rural small farmers. 71% of the subsidies goes to 10% of the producers, big business. This might be read as financially powerful lobbies helping politicians campaigns.

Change is in the works, supported by none other than Pres. Bush. The recommended changes include removing Step 2 subsidies and closing loop holes that allow people to take extra advantage. The estimated savings of this change would be $1.2 billion over 5 years for the government. This could be used for nutrition projects or sustainable farming projects.

This change in policy would bring an expected increase in market price of 5-13%. It would benefit rural small holder farms as well as greatly assist the over 18 million African farmers. Lower African poverty by creating fair trade. It appears as if the EU is not completely convinced to remove sugar subsidies so help support the changes for cotton.

The corporations will not like the changes as it means lost profit. Credit should be given to the cotton industry in the US for streamlining the process and keeping a market for cotton materials by marketing. This aside we should not protect something at such a cost.

Ø HELP OUT BY SIGNING PETITION
http://www.maketradefair.com/en/index.htm/t_self

Ø what you can do- through OXFAMS America webpage
http://www.oxfamamerica.org/whatyoucando/act_now/fallactioncenter/farmers

Ø see the following for more information
http://www.oxfamamerica.org/newsandpublications/press_releases/press_release.2005-06-20.9260528119

pork, pigging out, and pigskin

2005-11-26T00:44:00.000-08:00

Imagine a 30 foot long table covered in linen and platters and plates of food of all sorts. The line over 40 people long, salivating at such a spread. A lone Peace Corps volunteer(PCV) is at the dessert table trying to get a head start. This is where you can see into the working of a PCV's mind. As she is loading up her plate a brownie(one of hundreds available) falls from her plate onto the floor. Not just any floor, one of the few carpeted surfaces in the country. Finely dressed, a bounty of food, what does she do? Kick it under the table, nope, put it in a trash can, nope. Blow it off and put it on her plate yep. The only comments from those around us is that the floor is cleaner than most of our plates at home. Peace Corps, the toughest job you'll ever love.

Thanksgiving in Malawi contains many opportunities for thanks. It also lacks many of the things that you would normally relate to the holiday in the US. This year all of the peace corps staff were invited to the ambassadors house for a thanksgiving party. The ambassador donated a pig and a half and some drinks. We played tennis, tackle football, and swam in a nice swimming pool. I think that people were very thankful for things that might not always be on the top of the list, such as safety, health, and completion of our time here. Being in a safe country is something not to be taken for granted here. I think I was most thankful for a continued sense of awakening, both spiritually and physically. Being here has helped me to recognize what I can do without and what is meaningful.

The next few days will be spent dealing with bureaucracy as I finish my time here under my PCV contract. Then it is off on some travels towards Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and points beyond. I hope to update the blog occasionally.

Have a great holiday.

water buck

2005-10-25T06:26:00.000-07:00

this guy was very interested in us during our walking safari.

elephant picture from safari

2005-10-25T06:14:00.000-07:00

we went to liwonde national park and did a walking safari and a boat safari. while there we saw about 70 elephants and 25 buffalos just chillin' out on the plain. the walking safari was really cool because you establish a sense of respect with the animals, they dont want to be around you so if you stay back its safe.