Posts
Monday, June 28, 2010
The Red Dust Storm
So, the most amazing/crazy/bizarre thing happened today. We were sitting in a panel discussion talking about the importance of women’s education in Burkina when we noticed the sky started turning dark. It looked like the sky before a thunderstorm, so I assumed it meant rain. I was super excited about this because when it rains, which isn’t very often here, it cools the temperatures down a lot! The next thing I know, the sky turned reddish-orange. I’m not talking a light orange sky like we sometimes have in America. I’m talking burnt-sienna (thanks crayola), and then the wind started to pick up and we were in a full fledge dust storm! We had to go inside the building because there was dust everywhere. We couldn’t breathe or see through all the dust! This lasted about 30 minutes or so, then the sky started to clear and the storm stopped. I left my bedroom window open that day, and when I returned home after school my entire room was covered in a red layer of dust. All my books, clothes, and bed were covered. That’s the last time I leave my window open for the Harmattan!
The Land of the Upright People
I landed in Burkina, my new home for the new two years, about a week and a half ago. It’s been crazy, busy, and exciting starting Peace Corps all over again. We had our staging (a Peace Corps orientation) in Philadelphia and it only lasted about 5 hours. It was almost the exact same set up as last time. We discussed the goals and purposes of Peace Corps, our anxieties and anticipations, and did a few awkward ice breakers. For those of you who do not know, Peace Corps has three main goals, which they base a volunteers service upon. They are:
1. Filling the need of trained people to interested countries
2. Teaching other countries about America and it’s people
3. Teaching Americans about other countries
These are just summarized in my own words, but I’m sure you get the point. The main focus of the goals in cross-cultural exchange. This is an important part of a volunteer’s service. This allows us to integrate into communities and successfully do our job here. Integration is also a key factor in our safety here. If we can successfully integrate into our communities and become a respected member, life here will be much easier, and funner, for a two year service.
After staging, we headed off to Burkina. The entire trip took about one whole day, and was successfully completed without any problems. We were greated in Ouagadougou Airport by our new country director, Shannon, and a few members of the Peace Corps/Burkina Faso Staff. Shannon handed us a short itinerary for the next few days, which I didn’t really look at too much. It wasn’t until later that night I noticed the cover of it said “Bienvenue! Welcome to “the land of the upright people!”. Almost two weeks later, I still don’t know the story behind this, or why Burkina was named that. It would have made my service much more diifficult had I came to a country where the people were pre-homo erectus! Hah!
Anyway, our first few days in Burkina, we stayed in a pretty sweet hotel. They had AC, and served us ice cream for lunch! This is huge in Africa. We had a lot of introductory sessions, and met a lot of the new staff. We also started the huge task of vaccinating everyone. Thanks to my time in Guinea, I already had all but 2 shots. Woohoo! Everyone else will be receiving about 15. Burkina has the same language requirements as Guinea, which means by the end of the three months of training, everyone must test at an intermediate-high level in French. As you all remember, last year, I knew no French and tested at a level of novice-low (the lowest level there is). Apparently all my hard work paid off because I tested this time at Intermediate-High on the first test! This means that I will be taking review and practice sessions of French for the first four weeks, which is when we receive the name of the site where we will live. At this point, I will stop taking French and begin taking classes in the local language at my site, which is called Jula. I’m pretty excited about this, and proud of myself for remembering that much French! This is a huge weight off my shoulders.
After our days in Ouagadougou, we went to the city where we will be living for our training for the next few months, called Ouahgouya. This town is also pretty nice. It has internet connection (although it’s slow and doesn’t work very well… it’s still internet!), electricity everyday, and a hotel with a pool.
Last week, I moved in with my host family, the Traore’s. My experience with them so far is much different than in Guinea! My family in Guinea, the Fofana’s was more of what I would consider a traditional African family. There were a lot of children, and my host mother stayed home most of the time and did house work, while my father went to work. My new family is not like that at all. My host parents just got married last year, so they are still a young couple, and don’t have any children yet. Although my host mom did tell me she wants to have at have 10 haha. My father works at pretty big bank that is in 6 west african countries and France, and my mother does small loans for the market women (at least that’s the best understanding I had of her work with my not so great French). They both work a lot, so I’m usually home with my 2 cousins that are staying here, Aissatou and Rashidatou. I think my parents are pretty well off though because we have satellite TV and I have a fan in my room, so I’m not complaining haha.
Another thing I’m rather excited about are the bikes. Now in Guinea, my bike was broken for the entire time I was there. I rode it once for about 5 minutes, then got a flat tire and pushed it back home. Now, in Burkina, there are brand spankin’ new bikes for everyone! I was a little nervous at first about having to rely so heavily on biking as my main mode of transportation, but now I’m getting used to it. I bike everywhere. I live about 2-3 miles from our training center so I bike to and from school everyday, as well as lunch, and anywhere else I have to do. It’s nice and relaxing… when it’s not 100°F and I’m sweating my butt off.
1. Filling the need of trained people to interested countries
2. Teaching other countries about America and it’s people
3. Teaching Americans about other countries
These are just summarized in my own words, but I’m sure you get the point. The main focus of the goals in cross-cultural exchange. This is an important part of a volunteer’s service. This allows us to integrate into communities and successfully do our job here. Integration is also a key factor in our safety here. If we can successfully integrate into our communities and become a respected member, life here will be much easier, and funner, for a two year service.
After staging, we headed off to Burkina. The entire trip took about one whole day, and was successfully completed without any problems. We were greated in Ouagadougou Airport by our new country director, Shannon, and a few members of the Peace Corps/Burkina Faso Staff. Shannon handed us a short itinerary for the next few days, which I didn’t really look at too much. It wasn’t until later that night I noticed the cover of it said “Bienvenue! Welcome to “the land of the upright people!”. Almost two weeks later, I still don’t know the story behind this, or why Burkina was named that. It would have made my service much more diifficult had I came to a country where the people were pre-homo erectus! Hah!
Anyway, our first few days in Burkina, we stayed in a pretty sweet hotel. They had AC, and served us ice cream for lunch! This is huge in Africa. We had a lot of introductory sessions, and met a lot of the new staff. We also started the huge task of vaccinating everyone. Thanks to my time in Guinea, I already had all but 2 shots. Woohoo! Everyone else will be receiving about 15. Burkina has the same language requirements as Guinea, which means by the end of the three months of training, everyone must test at an intermediate-high level in French. As you all remember, last year, I knew no French and tested at a level of novice-low (the lowest level there is). Apparently all my hard work paid off because I tested this time at Intermediate-High on the first test! This means that I will be taking review and practice sessions of French for the first four weeks, which is when we receive the name of the site where we will live. At this point, I will stop taking French and begin taking classes in the local language at my site, which is called Jula. I’m pretty excited about this, and proud of myself for remembering that much French! This is a huge weight off my shoulders.
After our days in Ouagadougou, we went to the city where we will be living for our training for the next few months, called Ouahgouya. This town is also pretty nice. It has internet connection (although it’s slow and doesn’t work very well… it’s still internet!), electricity everyday, and a hotel with a pool.
Last week, I moved in with my host family, the Traore’s. My experience with them so far is much different than in Guinea! My family in Guinea, the Fofana’s was more of what I would consider a traditional African family. There were a lot of children, and my host mother stayed home most of the time and did house work, while my father went to work. My new family is not like that at all. My host parents just got married last year, so they are still a young couple, and don’t have any children yet. Although my host mom did tell me she wants to have at have 10 haha. My father works at pretty big bank that is in 6 west african countries and France, and my mother does small loans for the market women (at least that’s the best understanding I had of her work with my not so great French). They both work a lot, so I’m usually home with my 2 cousins that are staying here, Aissatou and Rashidatou. I think my parents are pretty well off though because we have satellite TV and I have a fan in my room, so I’m not complaining haha.
Another thing I’m rather excited about are the bikes. Now in Guinea, my bike was broken for the entire time I was there. I rode it once for about 5 minutes, then got a flat tire and pushed it back home. Now, in Burkina, there are brand spankin’ new bikes for everyone! I was a little nervous at first about having to rely so heavily on biking as my main mode of transportation, but now I’m getting used to it. I bike everywhere. I live about 2-3 miles from our training center so I bike to and from school everyday, as well as lunch, and anywhere else I have to do. It’s nice and relaxing… when it’s not 100°F and I’m sweating my butt off.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
The 11th Hour
I cannot believe this time is here again. I'm leaving on Monday... only 4 days away!! The time is dwindling fast. Today was my last day of work, and now I have a busy weekend of goodbye's and packing. Although I must say, I am significantly more prepared this year than last year (my Dad is thanking me for this haha).
Last year, I did not pack one thing until the day before I left. I sat in my room for 6 hours with Hannah and Gab trying to figure how do you pack for a 2 year trip to Africa?!? Well, it didn't go too well because my poor Dad was woken up by a sobbing me at 1am asking him to help me pack. All he said was, "I was only half sleeping because I knew this was going to happen." Hahah.. thank god for that man or I would have had a nervous breakdown and ended up going to Guinea with nothing (although I must admit, i was quite upset when he took out all 30 lbs of my snacks, homemade popcorn, and drink mixes hahah). So this year, he informed me about 3 weeks ago to start packing because he didn't want a repeat of last year. I took his advice, and now I'm all packed with 4 days and 20 lbs to spare :) Much less stressful and no tears!
Other than packing, I've been enjoying all things American. This includes lots of margaritas, french fries, and hamburgers. I've been using the excuse that I'm going to Africa to eat and drink whatever I want haha. It's been wonderful.
I've found out a little bit more information about my training group. I'm leaving on June 7 with 21 other people who are all education volunteers. I know there are science and IT volunteers, but I'm not sure what other types there are. About 2 weeks after we leave, another group of about 60 volunteers, including health, small enterprise development, and girls empowerment, will be joining us in Burkina (including Ali!). This will be a huge group.. about 80 in total, compared to my 17 from Guinea.
I'm trying to go into this situation open-minded, but it's hard for me to not compare every aspect of this situation to Guinea. I loved my group (G-18) last year, and I wish they were all joining me in Burkina Faso. I've already been through staging and pre-service training once, so I know what to expect... kind of. I'm looking forward to it, but also dreading it. I know the trainers will pull out the dreaded flip charts and markers. And of course, we will do skits... these are the parts I would prefer if I could skip haha. But on the other hand, I'm excited to meet the new group and learn about Burkina. I'm, surprisingly, even looking forward to my new host family (although, I doubt they could compare to the wonderful Fofana family).
Well, I must get back to packing up my bedroom, but 4 days.. OMG! I look forward to getting everyone's letters haha. But no seriously, please mail me letters!!
Last year, I did not pack one thing until the day before I left. I sat in my room for 6 hours with Hannah and Gab trying to figure how do you pack for a 2 year trip to Africa?!? Well, it didn't go too well because my poor Dad was woken up by a sobbing me at 1am asking him to help me pack. All he said was, "I was only half sleeping because I knew this was going to happen." Hahah.. thank god for that man or I would have had a nervous breakdown and ended up going to Guinea with nothing (although I must admit, i was quite upset when he took out all 30 lbs of my snacks, homemade popcorn, and drink mixes hahah). So this year, he informed me about 3 weeks ago to start packing because he didn't want a repeat of last year. I took his advice, and now I'm all packed with 4 days and 20 lbs to spare :) Much less stressful and no tears!
Other than packing, I've been enjoying all things American. This includes lots of margaritas, french fries, and hamburgers. I've been using the excuse that I'm going to Africa to eat and drink whatever I want haha. It's been wonderful.
I've found out a little bit more information about my training group. I'm leaving on June 7 with 21 other people who are all education volunteers. I know there are science and IT volunteers, but I'm not sure what other types there are. About 2 weeks after we leave, another group of about 60 volunteers, including health, small enterprise development, and girls empowerment, will be joining us in Burkina (including Ali!). This will be a huge group.. about 80 in total, compared to my 17 from Guinea.
I'm trying to go into this situation open-minded, but it's hard for me to not compare every aspect of this situation to Guinea. I loved my group (G-18) last year, and I wish they were all joining me in Burkina Faso. I've already been through staging and pre-service training once, so I know what to expect... kind of. I'm looking forward to it, but also dreading it. I know the trainers will pull out the dreaded flip charts and markers. And of course, we will do skits... these are the parts I would prefer if I could skip haha. But on the other hand, I'm excited to meet the new group and learn about Burkina. I'm, surprisingly, even looking forward to my new host family (although, I doubt they could compare to the wonderful Fofana family).
Well, I must get back to packing up my bedroom, but 4 days.. OMG! I look forward to getting everyone's letters haha. But no seriously, please mail me letters!!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Welcome Book
Here is the link for the Welcome Book that Peace Corps sends out. It has a ton of good info if anyone's interested :
http://www.peacecorps.gov/welcomebooks/bfwb686.pdf
http://www.peacecorps.gov/welcomebooks/bfwb686.pdf
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Peace Corps Round 2
As many of you may know, after much thought, I decided to re-enroll in Peace Corps. This was a big decision. Did I want to go through PST (pre-service training) all over again? Did I want to commit to 2 years... a year after I originally wanted to? Was I ready to go back to Africa? And I decided, hell yes! I'm ready and I'm excited!
In October, when I got evacauted, I felt lost, depressed, and stressed out. I wasn't sure if I should continue with Peace Corps then, or come home and figure something out. I decided not to continue with Peace Corps in October because of all those reasons. I was unprepared to jump into another country, and wasn't ready to put in the work that's involved in that type of change. So, I think I made the best decision for me at that point.
Now, I'm much more prepared mentally and ready to get out of here and back to Africa! I'm only 3 weeks away from starting Peace Corps Round 2 in Burkina Faso, West Africa! I'm excited because this country is still in West Africa and a french speaking country. I'm also really excited... and lucky, because not only will 2 of my fellow Guinea evacs will be in my training group with me, but 2 transferred there after evacuation, so I'm heading in with a nice little support network. This time around, I will be teaching science though, instead of math. This is a very vague description, which (I'm assuming) could either be physics, chem, or bio (or all three), which makes it difficult to prepare for what's to come.
It's a weird feeling going back into Peace Corps this year because I've already done it. I've been through the entire thing last year. I feel like I'm simply moving to Burkina Faso, rather than heading into this great unknown. With that being said, I've never been to Burkina Faso, so I'm basing most of my opinions on Guinea, so it will still be an adventure. I already bought almost everything I needed last year, so this year was much easier on the wallet. I also know what types of things to bring, and what things I'll never use.
Although, I don't have much to buy this year (thank god!), I still have alot to do. I'm busy filling out paperwork, digging out my suitcases from Guinea (yes, I just unpacked them), and trying to pack up all of my stuff. This is a huge task, but I've made some good headway so far!
I've got a little bit of information about Burkina Faso and staging. Staging, which will be held in Philadelphia, is basically a fast 2 day orientation of Peace Corps and a time to get shots. I'm hoping I already got the necessary ones last year, and won't have to get them again. After that, we're heading off to JFK airport where we'll fly to Charles de Gaulle, France, then to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso! I don't have much info about what to expect once I arrive in Burkina, but I'll post updates when i get more info.
That's it for now:) Thanks for following me on Peace Corps Round 2
In October, when I got evacauted, I felt lost, depressed, and stressed out. I wasn't sure if I should continue with Peace Corps then, or come home and figure something out. I decided not to continue with Peace Corps in October because of all those reasons. I was unprepared to jump into another country, and wasn't ready to put in the work that's involved in that type of change. So, I think I made the best decision for me at that point.
Now, I'm much more prepared mentally and ready to get out of here and back to Africa! I'm only 3 weeks away from starting Peace Corps Round 2 in Burkina Faso, West Africa! I'm excited because this country is still in West Africa and a french speaking country. I'm also really excited... and lucky, because not only will 2 of my fellow Guinea evacs will be in my training group with me, but 2 transferred there after evacuation, so I'm heading in with a nice little support network. This time around, I will be teaching science though, instead of math. This is a very vague description, which (I'm assuming) could either be physics, chem, or bio (or all three), which makes it difficult to prepare for what's to come.
It's a weird feeling going back into Peace Corps this year because I've already done it. I've been through the entire thing last year. I feel like I'm simply moving to Burkina Faso, rather than heading into this great unknown. With that being said, I've never been to Burkina Faso, so I'm basing most of my opinions on Guinea, so it will still be an adventure. I already bought almost everything I needed last year, so this year was much easier on the wallet. I also know what types of things to bring, and what things I'll never use.
Although, I don't have much to buy this year (thank god!), I still have alot to do. I'm busy filling out paperwork, digging out my suitcases from Guinea (yes, I just unpacked them), and trying to pack up all of my stuff. This is a huge task, but I've made some good headway so far!
I've got a little bit of information about Burkina Faso and staging. Staging, which will be held in Philadelphia, is basically a fast 2 day orientation of Peace Corps and a time to get shots. I'm hoping I already got the necessary ones last year, and won't have to get them again. After that, we're heading off to JFK airport where we'll fly to Charles de Gaulle, France, then to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso! I don't have much info about what to expect once I arrive in Burkina, but I'll post updates when i get more info.
That's it for now:) Thanks for following me on Peace Corps Round 2
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Around Africa & the Middle East
After alot of thinking while I was in Mali, I decided to end my Peace Corps adventures (for the time being..), and head back to the states. But, before I came back, Ali (another volunteer) and I, planned a nice 2 week trip throughout Asia, inlcuding Thailand, Malaysia, and India. We had plans to ride elephants in Thailand and drink tea in India, but unfortunately, we never made it there. Due to some lack of planning and good research on our part, we failed to realize we needed visas for parts of the trip. But, we were Peace Corps volunteers, and despite our short time actually being volunteers, we did learn a few important things that made the rest of the trip a success. These included not giving up, even when you're in the United Arab Emirates, with no plans or no knowledge of the surrounding area; being patient and having the ability to chat with just about anyone, trust us.. this one got us far.. it got us into the ONLY 7 star hotel for FREE!; and finally appreciating the world around us.
So, back to Mali. We left Mali, stopped in Morocco for a layover, and would later continue to Dubai. We had a 7 hour layover in the Casablanca airport, which as it turns out, is one place I've always wanted to visit. So, we're exhausted and resting at the airport when one of the airline attendants start to chat with us. We quickly find out that not only do we have enough time to get out of the airport and do a little sight seeing, but we also do not need a visa :) so.. of course we book it out of the airport as fast as we can! We head towards the row of taxis to find out how much it would cost to take us somewhere, and where is exactly is the best somewhere to see in Casablance when we only have a few hours. After a few minutes of arguing (we quickly learned that they do not bargain for prices there), we find a nice gentlemen who agrees to take us to the "Grand Mosque". We have no idea what that is or where we're going, but the next thing you know, we see skyscrapers, billboards, cars.. nice cars, and MCDONALDS! After living in West Africa for 4 months, we think we've just walked into heaven haha. After driving for a few minutes, the taxi drive explains that not only is he a taxi driver, but a local tour guide (how convenient), and for only $10 more, he'll take us on a tour of all of Casablanca. We quickly agree and we're off! We saw some amazing things, like the local market, parks and monuments, the Grand Mosque (see video), and of course our last stop.. McDonalds. Casablanca was exactly how I dreamed it.. full of vibrant colors, great food, and unique nic-nacs. After 4 hours of touring, the taxi driver/tour guide takes us back to the airport and we're off to our next stop, Dubai.
After a 7 hour flight on one of the most luxuriest flights I've ever taken (once again, this could be exaggerated since we just came from Africa), we landed at midnight in the Dubai Airport in the United Arab Emirates. We find our bags and hump them out to the nearest taxi. We were so impressed by the taxis here.. they had seatbelts, licensed drivers, we weren't packed in like sardines, and there were no chicken/goats attached to the roof. The driver takes off, and we're starring out into what looks like America, taking in the scenes, and we don't even notice that we have no plans past the taxi. We had one contact in Dubai, but remember, it was at least 2am at this point, so trying to contact him was pointless. We ask the driver to take us to the nearest, CHEAPEST hotel, and he says he the knows the perfect place. We pull up to a gorgeous hotel, which we realize immediately that this is no cheap hotel, but we're exhausted so we decide to just stay here for one night. (Rememeber.. we had planned to ony be in Dubai for one day to get our visas in order, then continue on our way through Asia.) We walk into our rooms, and there are slippers, robes, RUNNING WATER, and the most comfortable beds I've ever slept in! The next day, feeling completely rejuvenated, we figure out a new game plan, and extend our stay at this wonderful hotel for one more night. We decided to stay and explore Dubai for the next week and a half. That day, we collected information booklets, and talk to local tour guides who gave us advice on what to see while we were there. We find a tour company that's offering a special if you book 3 trips, so we chose to go on the Desert Safari, the River Dinner Cruise, and the Hatta Mountain Tour, then we go off to enjoy the night. We quickly found out that 1.) it is illegal to sell/buy alcohol unless you are at a bar and 2.) women there do not drink. These things ended up working out in our favor because most bars offered discounts and free drinks for women. We head up to the roof of our hotel, which at night, turns into a club/restaurant. We drink our free champagne, ate appetizers, and enjoyed the hooka. The next thing we know, we're dancing the night away with local Emirates. Needless to say, we have a wonderful time.
The next day, while lounging at the rooftop pool of our hotel, we decide, we no longer can afford this place, so we found a cheaper hotel a few blocks away where we stayed for the rest of the trip. The next few days, we saw the tallest tower in the world, the largest mall in the world, and the only indoor skiing place in the world, and wait for the day of our first tour.. the Desert Safari. Ok, so the Desert Safari. At approximately 4pm, the tour company comes to our hotel to pick us up, and we really have no idea what's in store for us. We head down the highway, past all the towering, futuristic skyscrapers, and the next you know, the tour guide veers off the highway into the desert. We're talking real desert, past camels, and sand dunes! We meet up with a few other vehicles in the middle of the desert, then we're off on the dune tour. The SUV's would drive fast up and down the sand dunes (see video). It felt like we were on a ride. The cars would fly down huges dunes with sand covering the whole car like a sand wave. A few minutes later, we stop the cars and everyone gets out. We were at the place for the dinner show. We go on camel rides, ride four-wheelers through the desert, and go sandboarding until the show started. There were twirlers and belly dancers (see videos). After the show, there was a huge of American food and traditional Emirate food, which was all delicious, and after that, we headed back to our hotel for a good nights sleep.
A few days later, was our second tour, the River Dinner Cruise. Once again, the tour guide picked us up from our hotel, and we headed off to pick up a few other people in Dubai for the tour. Well, this driver got lost on the way to the hotels and we drove around in circles for at least 30 minutes! The other people in the car, (obviously not the patient Peace Corps type haha), we screaming at the driver and cursing that they wanted their money back! Ali and I chucked in the front, and felt bad for the innocent driver, but eventually, we found the hotel and made it to the boats with no other problems. We sailed down the river and into the Persian Gulf, and ate a great tradition Emirate buffet. There were about 15 other dinner boats that sailed at the same time, and we all went in a line. At the boats were covered with lights, so all you could see was the outlines of all the boats across the water.
Our final tour was the Hatta Mountain Tour. Once again, Peace Corps lessons paid off during this trip. The tour guide came to pick us up pretty early in the morning. We were half asleep, not used to being up early, when the driver drops us off at another hotel and tells us to wait here so he can go "fix" the car and he will return as soon as possible. We really have no clue what's going on, but agree and wait at the hotel. We're waiting.. and waiting.. and about 30 minutes past when the driver finally shows back up. We get back into the car, and then he tells us, he was unable to switch cars, so we have to reschedule the mountain tour to the afternoon, BUT he has the car now and is willing to drop us off and pick us up anywhere in Dubai. I ask if there's anywhere we can swim at for a few hours, and he nods and says he knows the perfect place. We're driving for about 15 minutes (still no clue where we're actually going), when the driver pulls up to a security guard, gets out, shows his ID, and then we enter. We enter the ONLY 7 star hotel in the world! The only way to get in is to be a guest there (which costs $3000 a night!!!), or be a member. The driver explains that he is a member because he is a tour guide and people often tour this place, but he's never been able to enjoy the beach because he works 7 days a week. We look out over the bridge, and ... hello paradise! The driver drops us off and says he'll be back in a few hours to pick us up for the Hatta Mountain Tour. We were greeted by waiters with water, beach towels, ice, and snacks. The water was the warmest and cleanest water I've ever been in (nothing like the good old Jersey shore haha). We enjoy our few hours in heaven, and then we're off to the tour. We drive for about an hour outside of Dubai, and then we stop at a checkpoint and show our ID's.. little did we know, we were leaving the United Arab Emirates, and now were in Oman! The tour guide told us all abou the history of Dubai and the UAE, about the beautiful, red clay mountains, about the Emirate people and their culture. We ended the tour at an oasis, which at the time was quite low because according to our tour guide, it only rains 1-2 days a year there! (Interesting Fact learned from the driver.. all of their drinking water is desalinated from ocean water, so they don't have to import water!)
Although we didn't get to go on our original trip, we had a blast! I saw things I never thought I would ever see in my life and met some amazing people! But, our trip was officially over, and I was headed back to America.
Our flight left Dubai, and we headed to Moscow, Russia where we had a 12 hour layover. Now, I just left Africa and Dubai (which was way hotter than Africa!), and so the warmest clothes I had was jeans, a tee-shirt, and sandals. We get to the Moscow airport and were greeted by SNOW! Yes, snow. The Russians are covered in fur hats, coates, and boots, and looking at Ali and I like we're idiots. We were freezing hah. After this way too long layover, I boarded by flight to Washington DC. I arrived, parted ways with Ali, and took my 15 minute flight to Philadelphia where I was warmly greeted by my Dad, Jessie, and Gab. It was a warm welcoming full of good food and good people! I was glad to be back in America :)
VIDEOS BELOW ARE IN THE FOLLOWING ORDER:
1. THE DESERT SAFARI IN DUBAI
2. THE GRAND MOSQUE IN CASABLANCA
3. THE TWIRLERS AT THE NIGHT SHOW IN DUBAI
So, back to Mali. We left Mali, stopped in Morocco for a layover, and would later continue to Dubai. We had a 7 hour layover in the Casablanca airport, which as it turns out, is one place I've always wanted to visit. So, we're exhausted and resting at the airport when one of the airline attendants start to chat with us. We quickly find out that not only do we have enough time to get out of the airport and do a little sight seeing, but we also do not need a visa :) so.. of course we book it out of the airport as fast as we can! We head towards the row of taxis to find out how much it would cost to take us somewhere, and where is exactly is the best somewhere to see in Casablance when we only have a few hours. After a few minutes of arguing (we quickly learned that they do not bargain for prices there), we find a nice gentlemen who agrees to take us to the "Grand Mosque". We have no idea what that is or where we're going, but the next thing you know, we see skyscrapers, billboards, cars.. nice cars, and MCDONALDS! After living in West Africa for 4 months, we think we've just walked into heaven haha. After driving for a few minutes, the taxi drive explains that not only is he a taxi driver, but a local tour guide (how convenient), and for only $10 more, he'll take us on a tour of all of Casablanca. We quickly agree and we're off! We saw some amazing things, like the local market, parks and monuments, the Grand Mosque (see video), and of course our last stop.. McDonalds. Casablanca was exactly how I dreamed it.. full of vibrant colors, great food, and unique nic-nacs. After 4 hours of touring, the taxi driver/tour guide takes us back to the airport and we're off to our next stop, Dubai.
After a 7 hour flight on one of the most luxuriest flights I've ever taken (once again, this could be exaggerated since we just came from Africa), we landed at midnight in the Dubai Airport in the United Arab Emirates. We find our bags and hump them out to the nearest taxi. We were so impressed by the taxis here.. they had seatbelts, licensed drivers, we weren't packed in like sardines, and there were no chicken/goats attached to the roof. The driver takes off, and we're starring out into what looks like America, taking in the scenes, and we don't even notice that we have no plans past the taxi. We had one contact in Dubai, but remember, it was at least 2am at this point, so trying to contact him was pointless. We ask the driver to take us to the nearest, CHEAPEST hotel, and he says he the knows the perfect place. We pull up to a gorgeous hotel, which we realize immediately that this is no cheap hotel, but we're exhausted so we decide to just stay here for one night. (Rememeber.. we had planned to ony be in Dubai for one day to get our visas in order, then continue on our way through Asia.) We walk into our rooms, and there are slippers, robes, RUNNING WATER, and the most comfortable beds I've ever slept in! The next day, feeling completely rejuvenated, we figure out a new game plan, and extend our stay at this wonderful hotel for one more night. We decided to stay and explore Dubai for the next week and a half. That day, we collected information booklets, and talk to local tour guides who gave us advice on what to see while we were there. We find a tour company that's offering a special if you book 3 trips, so we chose to go on the Desert Safari, the River Dinner Cruise, and the Hatta Mountain Tour, then we go off to enjoy the night. We quickly found out that 1.) it is illegal to sell/buy alcohol unless you are at a bar and 2.) women there do not drink. These things ended up working out in our favor because most bars offered discounts and free drinks for women. We head up to the roof of our hotel, which at night, turns into a club/restaurant. We drink our free champagne, ate appetizers, and enjoyed the hooka. The next thing we know, we're dancing the night away with local Emirates. Needless to say, we have a wonderful time.
The next day, while lounging at the rooftop pool of our hotel, we decide, we no longer can afford this place, so we found a cheaper hotel a few blocks away where we stayed for the rest of the trip. The next few days, we saw the tallest tower in the world, the largest mall in the world, and the only indoor skiing place in the world, and wait for the day of our first tour.. the Desert Safari. Ok, so the Desert Safari. At approximately 4pm, the tour company comes to our hotel to pick us up, and we really have no idea what's in store for us. We head down the highway, past all the towering, futuristic skyscrapers, and the next you know, the tour guide veers off the highway into the desert. We're talking real desert, past camels, and sand dunes! We meet up with a few other vehicles in the middle of the desert, then we're off on the dune tour. The SUV's would drive fast up and down the sand dunes (see video). It felt like we were on a ride. The cars would fly down huges dunes with sand covering the whole car like a sand wave. A few minutes later, we stop the cars and everyone gets out. We were at the place for the dinner show. We go on camel rides, ride four-wheelers through the desert, and go sandboarding until the show started. There were twirlers and belly dancers (see videos). After the show, there was a huge of American food and traditional Emirate food, which was all delicious, and after that, we headed back to our hotel for a good nights sleep.
A few days later, was our second tour, the River Dinner Cruise. Once again, the tour guide picked us up from our hotel, and we headed off to pick up a few other people in Dubai for the tour. Well, this driver got lost on the way to the hotels and we drove around in circles for at least 30 minutes! The other people in the car, (obviously not the patient Peace Corps type haha), we screaming at the driver and cursing that they wanted their money back! Ali and I chucked in the front, and felt bad for the innocent driver, but eventually, we found the hotel and made it to the boats with no other problems. We sailed down the river and into the Persian Gulf, and ate a great tradition Emirate buffet. There were about 15 other dinner boats that sailed at the same time, and we all went in a line. At the boats were covered with lights, so all you could see was the outlines of all the boats across the water.
Our final tour was the Hatta Mountain Tour. Once again, Peace Corps lessons paid off during this trip. The tour guide came to pick us up pretty early in the morning. We were half asleep, not used to being up early, when the driver drops us off at another hotel and tells us to wait here so he can go "fix" the car and he will return as soon as possible. We really have no clue what's going on, but agree and wait at the hotel. We're waiting.. and waiting.. and about 30 minutes past when the driver finally shows back up. We get back into the car, and then he tells us, he was unable to switch cars, so we have to reschedule the mountain tour to the afternoon, BUT he has the car now and is willing to drop us off and pick us up anywhere in Dubai. I ask if there's anywhere we can swim at for a few hours, and he nods and says he knows the perfect place. We're driving for about 15 minutes (still no clue where we're actually going), when the driver pulls up to a security guard, gets out, shows his ID, and then we enter. We enter the ONLY 7 star hotel in the world! The only way to get in is to be a guest there (which costs $3000 a night!!!), or be a member. The driver explains that he is a member because he is a tour guide and people often tour this place, but he's never been able to enjoy the beach because he works 7 days a week. We look out over the bridge, and ... hello paradise! The driver drops us off and says he'll be back in a few hours to pick us up for the Hatta Mountain Tour. We were greeted by waiters with water, beach towels, ice, and snacks. The water was the warmest and cleanest water I've ever been in (nothing like the good old Jersey shore haha). We enjoy our few hours in heaven, and then we're off to the tour. We drive for about an hour outside of Dubai, and then we stop at a checkpoint and show our ID's.. little did we know, we were leaving the United Arab Emirates, and now were in Oman! The tour guide told us all abou the history of Dubai and the UAE, about the beautiful, red clay mountains, about the Emirate people and their culture. We ended the tour at an oasis, which at the time was quite low because according to our tour guide, it only rains 1-2 days a year there! (Interesting Fact learned from the driver.. all of their drinking water is desalinated from ocean water, so they don't have to import water!)
Although we didn't get to go on our original trip, we had a blast! I saw things I never thought I would ever see in my life and met some amazing people! But, our trip was officially over, and I was headed back to America.
Our flight left Dubai, and we headed to Moscow, Russia where we had a 12 hour layover. Now, I just left Africa and Dubai (which was way hotter than Africa!), and so the warmest clothes I had was jeans, a tee-shirt, and sandals. We get to the Moscow airport and were greeted by SNOW! Yes, snow. The Russians are covered in fur hats, coates, and boots, and looking at Ali and I like we're idiots. We were freezing hah. After this way too long layover, I boarded by flight to Washington DC. I arrived, parted ways with Ali, and took my 15 minute flight to Philadelphia where I was warmly greeted by my Dad, Jessie, and Gab. It was a warm welcoming full of good food and good people! I was glad to be back in America :)
VIDEOS BELOW ARE IN THE FOLLOWING ORDER:
1. THE DESERT SAFARI IN DUBAI
2. THE GRAND MOSQUE IN CASABLANCA
3. THE TWIRLERS AT THE NIGHT SHOW IN DUBAI
Friday, October 9, 2009
Mali
Well, during my service in Guinea, I was hoping to visit Mali for a vacation. Little did I know, 3 months after being here, and only 1 week of being a volunteer, I would be evacuated to Mali.
For more information about the situation here, look at BBC news or this article: http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-10-08-voa19.cfm.
We are currently waiting out the situation in Mali with no real answers or any clue of what the future holds for us. I have a few options of going to a new country, waiting it out for Guinea, or just going home. I don't know what decision is best for me right now, but I think I will continue my service in another country. More to come on this decision when I have more information.
On the bright side, I did make it to my site.. for 5 days. I cleaned out my hut, then unpacked and set up all my things. I was living in a compound with a great family in a very small rural village. Unfortunately, I didn't get to start teaching yet; basically just sat there for 5 days and read alot.
That's it for now, I'll keep you updated.
For more information about the situation here, look at BBC news or this article: http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-10-08-voa19.cfm.
We are currently waiting out the situation in Mali with no real answers or any clue of what the future holds for us. I have a few options of going to a new country, waiting it out for Guinea, or just going home. I don't know what decision is best for me right now, but I think I will continue my service in another country. More to come on this decision when I have more information.
On the bright side, I did make it to my site.. for 5 days. I cleaned out my hut, then unpacked and set up all my things. I was living in a compound with a great family in a very small rural village. Unfortunately, I didn't get to start teaching yet; basically just sat there for 5 days and read alot.
That's it for now, I'll keep you updated.
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