Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Monday, April 6, 2009
Airplane Stuff
In the next few days I'll be putting up some pix that are strictly airplane related for the folks that like that kind of stuff...just a warning to those of you that might find that kind of stuff dull.....and here is a sample...=)
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Heading Home.......
Sitting here in the AA Flagship lounge...ready to be home, thought I'd do a little recap of my advneture.
I started out March 5th and arrived in Hong Kong the next day...actually two days later. Then it was off to Seoul, back to Hong Kong and down to Johannesburg. Next came Cape Town which gets high marks. Back to Jo'burg and down to Mozambique on an airline that seemed a bit sketchy...LAM, the national carrier of Mozambique. But that actually worked out well. In fact, a couple of us were able to talk the flight attendants into letting us serve the meal and drinks since it was a charter with just our group on board...that was just too much fun!
The 8 days I spent in Chimoio working on the school and med clinics was great. After that our group headed to Kruger National Park for a Safari that was just the greatest.
The only real excitement came about an hour into our bus ride from Kruger to Jo'burg when one of our buses was stopped by the police for inspection and failed.....we lost a couple of hours and folks were getting worried they might miss their flights...but it all worked out well in the end.
I left the group there and headed for London and on to Istanbul then back to London where I got to see a huge protest downtown against the G-20 summit that starts here next week.
So now its just another 14 or so hours of flying and I'm back in the good old USA...
I started out March 5th and arrived in Hong Kong the next day...actually two days later. Then it was off to Seoul, back to Hong Kong and down to Johannesburg. Next came Cape Town which gets high marks. Back to Jo'burg and down to Mozambique on an airline that seemed a bit sketchy...LAM, the national carrier of Mozambique. But that actually worked out well. In fact, a couple of us were able to talk the flight attendants into letting us serve the meal and drinks since it was a charter with just our group on board...that was just too much fun!
The 8 days I spent in Chimoio working on the school and med clinics was great. After that our group headed to Kruger National Park for a Safari that was just the greatest.
The only real excitement came about an hour into our bus ride from Kruger to Jo'burg when one of our buses was stopped by the police for inspection and failed.....we lost a couple of hours and folks were getting worried they might miss their flights...but it all worked out well in the end.
I left the group there and headed for London and on to Istanbul then back to London where I got to see a huge protest downtown against the G-20 summit that starts here next week.
So now its just another 14 or so hours of flying and I'm back in the good old USA...
Thursday, March 26, 2009
A Mosque is a Mosque.......
Spent the entire day touring parts of Istanbul and two questions are on my mind...
First...how many Mosques can one see in a day? Second....does anybody in Istanbul NOT smoke....cough...choke....wheeeze...Yikes!
So we started off on our tour and headed for a Mosque. Great. It was big. I had to take off my shoes...and it was cold. Interesting to see. Here is a tidbit for ya...all Mosques face Mecca, and to the right side of the front of the Mosque is always the Arabic word for Allah. On the left is Mohamed's name....now you know.
So off we go........to another Mosque....okay fine. Its bigger and its called the Blue Mosque...and its famous...but it's not blue.....and yes we had to take off our shoes and it was still cold.....
Then it's of to yet another Mosque.....only this one is smaller but looks a little nicer than the big ones....but I was all Mosqued out at this point....so we headed to the Hagia Sofia....which was built as a church after some dude conquered the place and then accepted Chrisitanity....then it bacame a mosque again after another dude took over...but they didn't destroy the Christian stuff....so at the front the place looks toward Jerusalem....and there is another window they added just to the left that faces Mecca.....hmmm maybe we can all get along?
The day ended with a trip to Topkoki Palace where the last few Sultans of the Otaman empire lived. For Muslims its cool cuz they have a bunch of stuff Mohamed had...but they also have what they claim is a sword that David(guy who wrote the Psalms) carried. Coolest thing was a wooden staff the is supposed to be the staff Moses carried. If that's true it is very cool........hmmmmmm
My impression of Istanbul is that is is totally cool. I guess I should come back and spend some time here. All they need is a Hard Rock.......
First...how many Mosques can one see in a day? Second....does anybody in Istanbul NOT smoke....cough...choke....wheeeze...Yikes!
So we started off on our tour and headed for a Mosque. Great. It was big. I had to take off my shoes...and it was cold. Interesting to see. Here is a tidbit for ya...all Mosques face Mecca, and to the right side of the front of the Mosque is always the Arabic word for Allah. On the left is Mohamed's name....now you know.
So off we go........to another Mosque....okay fine. Its bigger and its called the Blue Mosque...and its famous...but it's not blue.....and yes we had to take off our shoes and it was still cold.....
Then it's of to yet another Mosque.....only this one is smaller but looks a little nicer than the big ones....but I was all Mosqued out at this point....so we headed to the Hagia Sofia....which was built as a church after some dude conquered the place and then accepted Chrisitanity....then it bacame a mosque again after another dude took over...but they didn't destroy the Christian stuff....so at the front the place looks toward Jerusalem....and there is another window they added just to the left that faces Mecca.....hmmm maybe we can all get along?
The day ended with a trip to Topkoki Palace where the last few Sultans of the Otaman empire lived. For Muslims its cool cuz they have a bunch of stuff Mohamed had...but they also have what they claim is a sword that David(guy who wrote the Psalms) carried. Coolest thing was a wooden staff the is supposed to be the staff Moses carried. If that's true it is very cool........hmmmmmm
My impression of Istanbul is that is is totally cool. I guess I should come back and spend some time here. All they need is a Hard Rock.......
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Istanbul.......
Arrived in Istanbul a couple of hours ago and all I can say at this point is WOW!!
Have a stunning evening view of the Bosphorus Strait and the old city from the top of my hotel. Full day of sightseeing tomorrow....pix then.
Have a stunning evening view of the Bosphorus Strait and the old city from the top of my hotel. Full day of sightseeing tomorrow....pix then.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Out of Africa
So, Mozambique and South Africa are now just a memory. I left Johannesburg last night and arrived here in London early this morning. Waiting here in the BA Lounge for my flight to Istanbul gives me a few minutes to catch up a bit.
Mozambique was interesting to say the least. So much poverty and so many needs...and yet so very many smiles. Every time we passed the folks there they would smile and wave..and it wasn't just one of those I guess I better wave cuz they did waves. Seems to be the way things are. And the smiles.....all you needed to do was say hi and folks just break into the most beautiful smiles....
But the difficult part is to see the huge needs and feel like you have barely even touche the surface. Things as simple as a good meal or enough clean water to drink...things we don't even give a second thought to are so difficult for most of the people in Mozambique to come by. Every day is a struggle....
I spent two days with our medical/team. One day in the bush and one day in a small village near town. So many of their health problems could be fixed with enough clean drinking water and good food. I had people telling me they drink only two or three cups of water a day....wow!
What a contrast then to the last two days of our trip. The group traveled to Krueger National Park in South Africa for a bit of Safari action. Didn't get to see any Lions but saw Elephants and Hippos, Rhino's, Baboons and a bunch of other neat stuff. Way cooler than seeing them in a zoo. We caught a Giraffe and its baby walking along the road..really beautiful but what amazed me was how quickly they were able to run off the road and into the bush and completely disappear. I mean gone! We were only seconds away from them and by the time we drove to the spot they left the road they had simply vanished...how does a 15 foot Giraffe do that?
I'm off to Istanbul today then back to London Friday.
Mozambique was interesting to say the least. So much poverty and so many needs...and yet so very many smiles. Every time we passed the folks there they would smile and wave..and it wasn't just one of those I guess I better wave cuz they did waves. Seems to be the way things are. And the smiles.....all you needed to do was say hi and folks just break into the most beautiful smiles....
But the difficult part is to see the huge needs and feel like you have barely even touche the surface. Things as simple as a good meal or enough clean water to drink...things we don't even give a second thought to are so difficult for most of the people in Mozambique to come by. Every day is a struggle....
I spent two days with our medical/team. One day in the bush and one day in a small village near town. So many of their health problems could be fixed with enough clean drinking water and good food. I had people telling me they drink only two or three cups of water a day....wow!
What a contrast then to the last two days of our trip. The group traveled to Krueger National Park in South Africa for a bit of Safari action. Didn't get to see any Lions but saw Elephants and Hippos, Rhino's, Baboons and a bunch of other neat stuff. Way cooler than seeing them in a zoo. We caught a Giraffe and its baby walking along the road..really beautiful but what amazed me was how quickly they were able to run off the road and into the bush and completely disappear. I mean gone! We were only seconds away from them and by the time we drove to the spot they left the road they had simply vanished...how does a 15 foot Giraffe do that?
I'm off to Istanbul today then back to London Friday.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Moving on........
It's my last day here in Chimoio, Mozambique. I'll try to upload some pix when I get better internet, but here is a little summary of what I saw and did here.
I spent three days on the construction projeect and a couple more working with our medical dental team.....there are just so many needs here and the people are almost desperate for even the simplest things like a small toy or a toothbrush. I think one of the things that really amazed me was how little water folks drink here even though it is hot and humid.
I saw several patients that complained of headaches or that their heart beat really fast alot. When I asked how much water they drink in a day the answer was most often a cup or two....maybe three in a day. I don't understand how they even survive....
What I am coming away with is the re-realization of how incredibly blessed I am and convicted of how much I need to do to help.
I spent three days on the construction projeect and a couple more working with our medical dental team.....there are just so many needs here and the people are almost desperate for even the simplest things like a small toy or a toothbrush. I think one of the things that really amazed me was how little water folks drink here even though it is hot and humid.
I saw several patients that complained of headaches or that their heart beat really fast alot. When I asked how much water they drink in a day the answer was most often a cup or two....maybe three in a day. I don't understand how they even survive....
What I am coming away with is the re-realization of how incredibly blessed I am and convicted of how much I need to do to help.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Hot....very hot
Been here in Chimoio, Mozambique for almost a week now...and it is hot. But amazingly it cools down very nicely in the evenings. Construction on the school is going well...but the best part is the people...actually the kids. Never thought I'd say that...but they are so happy and friendly.
Anyway..this is a brief post. Internet here is sketchy at best. More later...
Anyway..this is a brief post. Internet here is sketchy at best. More later...
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Mozambique here I come.....
Today I'm off to Beira, Mozambique by plane, then a bus to Chimoio. I'm excited.
Mozambique is the real reason for this trip. I'll join a large group from the Carmichael SDA church(California) and we will be building a large school as part of a Maranatha Volunteers project. Oh sure, I have enjoyed seeing all the cool stuff I have thus far....but this volunteer project is WHY I am here...and I am far more excited about this than any of the other travel I am doing on this trip.
I'm not sure if I will have email access for the next ten days in Mozambique...so fear not if you don't see any posts for a bit.
On an interesting and for me quite humorous note....when I arrived in Johannesburg yesterday from Capetown I was taking my time heading for the bag claim. You see, I just don't see any reason to rush. It doesn't seem to matter how many "Priority" baggage stickers you get on your bag.....at least my bag anyway...it still comes off last. But not yesterday. Yesterday was a day for celebration!!! As I strolled into the bag claim area expecting to have a few minutes to just wait and people watch I saw it......MY BAG.....first on the belt and actually threatening to make a second lap on the belt....so with the adrenalin rush that comes with that kind of experience I sprinted the 25 yards to the belt and with great glee grabbed my bag.
See...it doesn't matter how much one has traveled...there is always a new experience to be had........I'm still savoring the significance of that moment.....=)
Mozambique is the real reason for this trip. I'll join a large group from the Carmichael SDA church(California) and we will be building a large school as part of a Maranatha Volunteers project. Oh sure, I have enjoyed seeing all the cool stuff I have thus far....but this volunteer project is WHY I am here...and I am far more excited about this than any of the other travel I am doing on this trip.
I'm not sure if I will have email access for the next ten days in Mozambique...so fear not if you don't see any posts for a bit.
On an interesting and for me quite humorous note....when I arrived in Johannesburg yesterday from Capetown I was taking my time heading for the bag claim. You see, I just don't see any reason to rush. It doesn't seem to matter how many "Priority" baggage stickers you get on your bag.....at least my bag anyway...it still comes off last. But not yesterday. Yesterday was a day for celebration!!! As I strolled into the bag claim area expecting to have a few minutes to just wait and people watch I saw it......MY BAG.....first on the belt and actually threatening to make a second lap on the belt....so with the adrenalin rush that comes with that kind of experience I sprinted the 25 yards to the belt and with great glee grabbed my bag.
See...it doesn't matter how much one has traveled...there is always a new experience to be had........I'm still savoring the significance of that moment.....=)
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
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