I left this morning for a quick 2 hr ride to Galway. It's a lovely city, full of students. I actually feel a little bit old walking around here, it's amazing how many young people are out and about here. The only thing is that it didn't take me 2 hrs to get here, it took more like 7... Was doing ok, until I got a flat tire. I started fixing it and someone stopped to help me. Then the navigation system took me way out of the way and I ended up in northern Galway County in the middle of nowhere. When I finally realized that, I was in the middle of nowhere, so I headed back toward the City center. Once there, I accidently had an accident... yikes. Nobody is hurt, only the cars sustained any damage, but I was really upset to say the least. I felt really bad, since it was my fault (hit a parked car..). Before you laugh at me, I must remind you that people drive on the left over here and you don't realize how much room you have on the side of the car. Not to mention, the roads are ridiculously narrow. Now you can laugh, I'm over it. I scoped out a few places that looked like may be good places to watch the game tonight. I know everyone is going to be out.
Go Ireland!
~k
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Friday, October 9, 2009
Green and Gold
Green is for the rolling hills and I think the gold is for the beer... not sure. So I arrived in Dublin, which is a rocking city, and quickly found a place to stay right near the main drag for a good price. I went around town for a bit, it's much colder here than it was in Italy, only about 12 degrees C (compared to about 25 in Italy). I did a tour of the Guiness Storehouse today, which was done very nicely by Guiness. They have a self-guided tour set up, and show you the process of making the porter and they also go through some interesting facts about the owner, like he signed a 9,000 year lease 250 years ago, on the property where the storehouse is located. That's pretty insane. After you go through the tour, you can either go up to the highest point in the area, called the Gravity Bar and have a free pint of beer, or you can pour it yourself. Since I never poured a Guiness before, I figured I would learn how, and proudly received a certificate for pouring the "Perfect Pint." hehe, ok, it was exactly perfect but it tasted good :) When I got out of there, it had started raining pretty hard, so I high tailed it back to the city center and grabbed some Bulmers (that's Irish for Magners Cider) and some dinner before calling it a night. I wanted to see some Irish music, but the bars were really crowded because Ireland is playing Italy tomorrow night for a spot in the World Cup, so the city is teeming with both Irish and Italians partying it up. Hope to catch the game somewhere tomorrow.
~k
~k
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Foodie
The last two days of cooking were amazing. Prepare yourself for some real home italian cooking when I get home. I'm talking, pasta, gnocchi, ravioli, veggies, crostini, dessert, bring an appetite.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Learning to Cook - Tuscan Style
I had the best night's sleep in a month. It was incredibly quiet and comfortable here. I woke up to fresh capaccino and saffron ricotta cake with home made fig jam. Not a bad start ;) I chatted with Luigi in my limited italian (how are you, sleep well, etc) and got the inside scoop from Paola and Simonetta about the cooking class ahead. There were two other couples there, two women from Israel who were traveling around Europe in a camper. What a neat idea I hadn't even thought of. The other was a couple from Monteal Canada spending a couple weeks in Italy. It was a nice group to learn tuscan cooking with.
We started off making dessert, since it had to rest in the fridge for a while. We made a traditional style tiramisu, with the lady fingers, mascapone cheese, and a bit of coffee and rum. Then on to the frittata, made with potatos and green beans. In making this, I realized that there are a few kitchen utensils I definitely need to get when I get home - potato ricer and a half moon knife (this thing is awesome).
We also made home made pasta called Pici. It was a rustic, thick spaghetti type of pasta that you roll with your hands. We made a tomato, garlic and olive oil sauce for it that had just the right touch of pepperoccini to give it a mild spiciness. Along with that, we made bruschetta. Now, I make bruschetta all the time but it has never, ever, come out as fantastic as this. I'm not sure that I'll be able to recreate it, but Simonetta assured me that I could email with questions if I needed to when I got home.
After the cooking festivities, we sat with the family and enjoyed this feast for lunch with some Chianti of course. The one thing I'll mention is that to make real Tuscan cooking, you can't be shy with the olive oil. When you think you have used enough, add a bit more.
Once the class was over, Paola took me around Tuscany to look at middle century villages and small towns. At one, we stopped in a supermarket and she asked me if there was anything there that I never had before. Of course, there was a bit, so she purchased it so we could try it for dinner. Along the way, we stopped into a small wine shop where I tasted some Chianti dessert wine. It had a similar taste to port wine, but a bit lighter. Traditionally, this is served with some biscotti dipped in the wine. I need to try that at some point. Back at home, we had dinner. Not like I really needed it after the rest of the food today.
Dinner, not like I had room for it, was a cheese plate with some bread and salad. There was mozzarella, but not like we know mozzarella. It was more similar to buffalo or fresh mozzarella, but the inside had a softer consistency, more liquid than solid. To round it out, we also had two kinds of pecorino, one young and one aged, along with a smoked cheese that was similar to gouda. They served the cheese with two kinds of spiced jam - one fig and one apple, both of which were very tasty! They were particularly good on the harder, aged pecorino cheese.
There was left over tiramisu, but there was no way it was fitting in my stomach. As I have learned well since I have been here, "Sono pieno."
^k
We started off making dessert, since it had to rest in the fridge for a while. We made a traditional style tiramisu, with the lady fingers, mascapone cheese, and a bit of coffee and rum. Then on to the frittata, made with potatos and green beans. In making this, I realized that there are a few kitchen utensils I definitely need to get when I get home - potato ricer and a half moon knife (this thing is awesome).
We also made home made pasta called Pici. It was a rustic, thick spaghetti type of pasta that you roll with your hands. We made a tomato, garlic and olive oil sauce for it that had just the right touch of pepperoccini to give it a mild spiciness. Along with that, we made bruschetta. Now, I make bruschetta all the time but it has never, ever, come out as fantastic as this. I'm not sure that I'll be able to recreate it, but Simonetta assured me that I could email with questions if I needed to when I got home.
After the cooking festivities, we sat with the family and enjoyed this feast for lunch with some Chianti of course. The one thing I'll mention is that to make real Tuscan cooking, you can't be shy with the olive oil. When you think you have used enough, add a bit more.
Once the class was over, Paola took me around Tuscany to look at middle century villages and small towns. At one, we stopped in a supermarket and she asked me if there was anything there that I never had before. Of course, there was a bit, so she purchased it so we could try it for dinner. Along the way, we stopped into a small wine shop where I tasted some Chianti dessert wine. It had a similar taste to port wine, but a bit lighter. Traditionally, this is served with some biscotti dipped in the wine. I need to try that at some point. Back at home, we had dinner. Not like I really needed it after the rest of the food today.
Dinner, not like I had room for it, was a cheese plate with some bread and salad. There was mozzarella, but not like we know mozzarella. It was more similar to buffalo or fresh mozzarella, but the inside had a softer consistency, more liquid than solid. To round it out, we also had two kinds of pecorino, one young and one aged, along with a smoked cheese that was similar to gouda. They served the cheese with two kinds of spiced jam - one fig and one apple, both of which were very tasty! They were particularly good on the harder, aged pecorino cheese.
There was left over tiramisu, but there was no way it was fitting in my stomach. As I have learned well since I have been here, "Sono pieno."
^k
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Veni, Vedi, Vici...
Back in Florence, it was then that I decided that I was ready to move on from Italy. I love it here, really I do, but I needed to go to greener pastures. What better for greener pastures than Ireland. Ryanair had nutso cheap flights into Dublin, and I figured that I could catch up with my return flight home in London on the 13th. So I found an internet cafe and made some arrangements for Ireland. I arrive there on the 8th, spend 4 and a half days there and then stop in London for one night before returning home. I can't believe that vacation is almost over... sniff sniff sniff.
After that, I went over to the Duomo to take a look at the Cathredral. It is one of the oldest churches in Italy, so I figured I should pay homage, not to mention that it is free which is always in my price range. I found my way to the bus station where I took a trip out to Greve in Tuscany and met up with a driver who took me to the D'Mari family for Italian cooking lessons. This family is wonderful and so welcoming with a hospitality that makes you feel as if you are home.
I had a delicious dinner with Simonetta, her sister Paola, Paola's husband and two children, and papa Luigi. Other than Simonetta and Paola, the rest of the family does not speak much English so it has given me a chance to brush up on some more Italian. When I get home, I definitely want to spend more time learning languages. For dinner, we had pasta with pesto, a savory bread made with parmasan and ricotta (for which I asked the recipe for - it was amazing), some crostini with a cheese that I never had before (scacione). It was a soft spreadable cheese that they added chives to and put on a fresh baguette style of bread. Then we had home made gelato for dessert. It was topped with a cherry, but not a marschino cherry, it was fresher and in a syrup and was sweet, but not overly so. I gained another 10 lbs just writing about it.
^k
After that, I went over to the Duomo to take a look at the Cathredral. It is one of the oldest churches in Italy, so I figured I should pay homage, not to mention that it is free which is always in my price range. I found my way to the bus station where I took a trip out to Greve in Tuscany and met up with a driver who took me to the D'Mari family for Italian cooking lessons. This family is wonderful and so welcoming with a hospitality that makes you feel as if you are home.
I had a delicious dinner with Simonetta, her sister Paola, Paola's husband and two children, and papa Luigi. Other than Simonetta and Paola, the rest of the family does not speak much English so it has given me a chance to brush up on some more Italian. When I get home, I definitely want to spend more time learning languages. For dinner, we had pasta with pesto, a savory bread made with parmasan and ricotta (for which I asked the recipe for - it was amazing), some crostini with a cheese that I never had before (scacione). It was a soft spreadable cheese that they added chives to and put on a fresh baguette style of bread. Then we had home made gelato for dessert. It was topped with a cherry, but not a marschino cherry, it was fresher and in a syrup and was sweet, but not overly so. I gained another 10 lbs just writing about it.
^k
The Engineer's Debacle
On Oct. 4, I took a day trip to Pisa. How can you come to Italy and not see the debacle? I guess I was a bit off in my proportions when thinking about these monuments. Pisa is about 7 or 8 stories high and during construction in the 12th century, it started leaning when they got to the 3rd level. Today, the structure is under renovation because it continues to sink on one side. They still give tours though, but the only allow 30 people at a time, every 30 minutes because they are afraid that it is going to collapse. Umm... no thanks, I'll take a look at the ground level.
I didn't have much interest in the rest of what Pisa had to offer (more churches, museums, etc.), so I made my way back to Florence so I could prepare for my trip to Tuscany.
^k
I didn't have much interest in the rest of what Pisa had to offer (more churches, museums, etc.), so I made my way back to Florence so I could prepare for my trip to Tuscany.
^k
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Biking in the Hills
On the 3rd, I signed up to go on a biking trip through Tuscany. It was a 23 km (13 mi) trek led by a few Scots and one irishman. We started off at a winery that was constructed in 1200, miraculously it is still standing up straight and tall. We took a tour of the winery and learned about what makes a Chianti Classico versus a Chianti Reserva. We also learned about cold pressing olives to make extra virgin olive oil and then tasted some wine, bread and olive oil. It was fabulous!
Then we got our bikes, mine was named James Bond, but I wasn't prepared to do any neat spy tricks. Off we went, through the Tuscan country side. It was absolutely beautiful. I wish that I had my USB cable with me right now so I could post some photos, but unfortunately it is back in Florence and I'm in Tuscany at the moment. There were endless rolling hills of vineyards, forests and olive trees without a house in sight. As we biked around, we passed wineries and small restaurants. Midway, we stopped for lunch which was absolutely fabulous!!! It was a simple meal, but so so good. Started off with a salad dressed with olive oil and red wine vinegar, followed by a four cheese pasta and finished with a tiramisu cake. That coupled with the two glasses of wine should hvae warned me of what was ahead.
Back on the bikes, we went for a while up a mild but long incline. Then we stopped and the guide told us about the hill that was ahead (which we couldn't see). He said, even if you bike every day, this hill will "kick your ass." I figured, it was only 900 km, only half a mile, how bad could it possibly be. A bunch of people took the van up to the top, bikes in tow. Several started off on the climb, me included. I really wanted to make it to the top on my own, but this is vacation after all. And after the two glasses of wine and huge meal, it wasn't going to stay with me if I kept going. So, I stopped mid-way and hitched a ride with the van to the top. Oh well... I'm a bit disappointed, but this is vacation after all.
On the trip, I met several really cool people. There was a group of recent college grads from North County San Diego. Naturally, I insisted that they go to your bar Joe, though they said it is a bit of a hike to get down there. I reminded them that they just treked around the world, a half hour to IB wouldn't kill them ;) Then there were Ross and Sue, a really nice couple from Canada who have traveled all over the world. I spent a lot of time with them walking up the big hill that none of us could do (they made it up the hill without hitching a ride). Then there were Sheri and Jim, a nice couple from northern California. At the end of the bike ride, the two couples and I got dropped off at the Piazza Michelangelo, which is a high point just outside the city of Florence, which was a great photo-op. From there, we walked back to town and parted ways. I made my way over to the market, which is about 7 blocks of merchants selling all kinds of leather goods, art, and other souveniers.
^k
Then we got our bikes, mine was named James Bond, but I wasn't prepared to do any neat spy tricks. Off we went, through the Tuscan country side. It was absolutely beautiful. I wish that I had my USB cable with me right now so I could post some photos, but unfortunately it is back in Florence and I'm in Tuscany at the moment. There were endless rolling hills of vineyards, forests and olive trees without a house in sight. As we biked around, we passed wineries and small restaurants. Midway, we stopped for lunch which was absolutely fabulous!!! It was a simple meal, but so so good. Started off with a salad dressed with olive oil and red wine vinegar, followed by a four cheese pasta and finished with a tiramisu cake. That coupled with the two glasses of wine should hvae warned me of what was ahead.
Back on the bikes, we went for a while up a mild but long incline. Then we stopped and the guide told us about the hill that was ahead (which we couldn't see). He said, even if you bike every day, this hill will "kick your ass." I figured, it was only 900 km, only half a mile, how bad could it possibly be. A bunch of people took the van up to the top, bikes in tow. Several started off on the climb, me included. I really wanted to make it to the top on my own, but this is vacation after all. And after the two glasses of wine and huge meal, it wasn't going to stay with me if I kept going. So, I stopped mid-way and hitched a ride with the van to the top. Oh well... I'm a bit disappointed, but this is vacation after all.
On the trip, I met several really cool people. There was a group of recent college grads from North County San Diego. Naturally, I insisted that they go to your bar Joe, though they said it is a bit of a hike to get down there. I reminded them that they just treked around the world, a half hour to IB wouldn't kill them ;) Then there were Ross and Sue, a really nice couple from Canada who have traveled all over the world. I spent a lot of time with them walking up the big hill that none of us could do (they made it up the hill without hitching a ride). Then there were Sheri and Jim, a nice couple from northern California. At the end of the bike ride, the two couples and I got dropped off at the Piazza Michelangelo, which is a high point just outside the city of Florence, which was a great photo-op. From there, we walked back to town and parted ways. I made my way over to the market, which is about 7 blocks of merchants selling all kinds of leather goods, art, and other souveniers.
^k
Friday, October 2, 2009
If David is that big, how big was Goliath?
Florence was amazing, such a beautiful city and lots to do. I spent a day at the Pitti Palace, where the Medici family lived for a long time. Now it is a museum, the palace is open for viewing and there is a botanical garden. I started out early and spent a lot of time in the museum and trying to better understand the rennaisance art. The palace was amazing, palatial, ornate, with gold leaf and art from all over the world. I just keep thinking about what it was like to live as a king in that time (or any time for that matter). What a foreign concept. From there, I spent some time relaxing in the garden.
I had some dinner left over from the night before, so I went to the market and got some wine and bread to go along with the cheese. Something interesting about Tuscan bread, there is no salt in it. So the first time I had some, in the restaurant, it took me a minute or so to realize that it wasn't that it tasted bad, but rather there was no salt. I found out why later (see the post on the cooking class). So I sat on the balcony at the hotel, a nice perk for a budget hotel for sure, and enjoyed a late lunch.
After that, I took a trip over to the Accademia Museum, where David lives. My goodness, he is GIGANTIC! For some reason, I thought that he was about human sized, but he is more than twice as big. The level of detail in the sculpting was amazing, he has toenails for crying out loud. All that carved into marble. He truly is an amazing work of art - go see it.
Then, there was still some time left to walk to the top of the tower next to the Duomo. I climbed something like 420 steps to the top for an amazing view. At least I'm getting a little bit of workout, otherwise, by this time in the trip my pants would not fit any more.
^k
I had some dinner left over from the night before, so I went to the market and got some wine and bread to go along with the cheese. Something interesting about Tuscan bread, there is no salt in it. So the first time I had some, in the restaurant, it took me a minute or so to realize that it wasn't that it tasted bad, but rather there was no salt. I found out why later (see the post on the cooking class). So I sat on the balcony at the hotel, a nice perk for a budget hotel for sure, and enjoyed a late lunch.
After that, I took a trip over to the Accademia Museum, where David lives. My goodness, he is GIGANTIC! For some reason, I thought that he was about human sized, but he is more than twice as big. The level of detail in the sculpting was amazing, he has toenails for crying out loud. All that carved into marble. He truly is an amazing work of art - go see it.
Then, there was still some time left to walk to the top of the tower next to the Duomo. I climbed something like 420 steps to the top for an amazing view. At least I'm getting a little bit of workout, otherwise, by this time in the trip my pants would not fit any more.
^k
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Firenze at last
It was bound to happen and I won't complain, but here it is. So on the last day in Germany, I sent laundry out. Half of it didn't come back. Hopefully Rob will receive it in the mail shortly. So, I was left with about half of my short sleeved shirts and considering that the weather said it was going to be around 18-20 degrees and it has been more like 25-28 degrees, I am getting a little bored of the same tops. Lucky for me, I'm now in Italy's shopping haven.
Yesterday, I decided to wear my sneakers since I thought it was going to be a cooler ride up to Cortina and maybe some walking through the hills. Well, apparantly, they are done. My arches were killing me, and by the way they stink to high heaven from walking through the Blantyre slums, sewage and then trying to wash them off. So Rob, I know you were wondering what was causing the stink... it was the sneakers and now they are stinking up Venice because that's where I left them. My flip flops are way way more comfortable anyway.
This morning at about 6 am, I woke up to a few screaming children in the room next to me and I couldn't move without lots of pain. My back was a mess and I'm not really sure why, since I wouldn't consider the two museums yesterday a strain on me. This also really wasn't the thing I needed when I have to drag a 22 kilo bag through Venice (there are no ramps by the way, just stairs over every bridge, no idea how people in a wheelchair can live here). Popped a few ibuprofen and turned out ok. That's what I get for getting old.
The plusses
- a so-so day on vacation is better than a great day at work
- I'm alive and I can take a 5 minute shower and not use my entire days worth of water in doing so
So, I'm here in Firenze and looking forward to enjoying the last week or so of vacation. More to come.
k
Yesterday, I decided to wear my sneakers since I thought it was going to be a cooler ride up to Cortina and maybe some walking through the hills. Well, apparantly, they are done. My arches were killing me, and by the way they stink to high heaven from walking through the Blantyre slums, sewage and then trying to wash them off. So Rob, I know you were wondering what was causing the stink... it was the sneakers and now they are stinking up Venice because that's where I left them. My flip flops are way way more comfortable anyway.
This morning at about 6 am, I woke up to a few screaming children in the room next to me and I couldn't move without lots of pain. My back was a mess and I'm not really sure why, since I wouldn't consider the two museums yesterday a strain on me. This also really wasn't the thing I needed when I have to drag a 22 kilo bag through Venice (there are no ramps by the way, just stairs over every bridge, no idea how people in a wheelchair can live here). Popped a few ibuprofen and turned out ok. That's what I get for getting old.
The plusses
- a so-so day on vacation is better than a great day at work
- I'm alive and I can take a 5 minute shower and not use my entire days worth of water in doing so
So, I'm here in Firenze and looking forward to enjoying the last week or so of vacation. More to come.
k
Venice, again.
so yesterday, the trip to Cortina and Dolomites was cancelled, much to my disappointment, as I had seen just about everything I could think of in Venice. So, I gave myself a lesson in dichotomy. First I went to an exhibit devoted to DiVinci, and it was really cool, as I thought it would be. It was mostly about his engineering and architecture works and not much about his art. I didn't realize how much stuff he actually invented - the ball bearing being one of them, and still used today in much the same form. He also apparently had a fascination with water systems, a man after my own heart ;) He made several inventions to use water as a means of making some things automatic, like an excavator. It worked by filling up a tipping bucket, which lifted a weighted hoe-like thing and then when the bucket filled and tipped, the weighted digger fell into the trench, dislodging the soil. I know that I'm starting to get a little geeky here, even for the geeks out there reading this.
From there, I took a stroll over to the Peggy Guggenheim museum, which houses a lot of modern art painting, sculptures and things like that as well as a tour of her house, which was pretty gigantic for the city of Venice. I stared for a long time at the Jackson Pollack paintings and tried and tried to get it. But I didn't. I can say that the one called "Circumcision" in 1946 felt like a really angry painting. There was one called "Eyes in the Heat" that was cool because of the texture he made with the oils but it made me wonder whether or not each stroke was deliberate or not. Now, painters like Dali, I can sort of get. The geometric and cubic painters like Picasso don't do a whole lot for me though. In some of the work, I could really appreciate the media used, like sand and pebbles with oil on cardboard, that was kind of cool too. Anyway, it was a world apart from DiVinci's methodical and detailed sketches of war machines.
k
From there, I took a stroll over to the Peggy Guggenheim museum, which houses a lot of modern art painting, sculptures and things like that as well as a tour of her house, which was pretty gigantic for the city of Venice. I stared for a long time at the Jackson Pollack paintings and tried and tried to get it. But I didn't. I can say that the one called "Circumcision" in 1946 felt like a really angry painting. There was one called "Eyes in the Heat" that was cool because of the texture he made with the oils but it made me wonder whether or not each stroke was deliberate or not. Now, painters like Dali, I can sort of get. The geometric and cubic painters like Picasso don't do a whole lot for me though. In some of the work, I could really appreciate the media used, like sand and pebbles with oil on cardboard, that was kind of cool too. Anyway, it was a world apart from DiVinci's methodical and detailed sketches of war machines.
k
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
A relief from Tourists
I'm such a bad tourist... why? because I don't like tourists. The ones that just stop in the middle of the road. The ones that walk really slow, talk too loud, read verbatim out of Frommers to their friends... I try not to be that person, but inside, I know there are Italians looking at me and thinking "get out of my way!" So today, I went to Lido, a small island in the lagoon of Venice. I rented a bike for the day, rode all over the island (it's only 12 km long), sat on a deserted beach for a while and lolled the day away with biking, prosecco, reading and a day free from the masses. It was wonderful.
While here, I've really been trying to hone my italian, what little of it I know. I've decided that I can easily say "hi" and "bye" - doh Ciao.... and make the morning nicities to the waitress in the hotel. I've just keep trying and today at the coffee shop, the waiter in Lido was very awesome. He didn't answer me in English like just about everyone else does. He made me work for it, and it worked. I ordered a coffee, with hot milk, picked out the little pizza that I wanted, responded that I wanted to sit outside, found the bathroom (and learned that it was occupato at that moment), and paid the bill. Seems small, but it was a minor victory for me. So for now, I'm going to keep trying, even if they respond to me in English, though it will probably be a challenge for both them and me, especially when I see them make those squinty eyes letting me know they have no idea what I'm trying to say.
The gelato craze is not a farce. Everyone (and I mean everyone) is constantly walking around with an ice cream cone. They have all kinds of flavors - tiramisu, coconut, creme della san marco (to please the tourists, I guess), creme della caramel... you name it, they have it. The thing is though, every day I want to want gelato. But there are so many other little delights that I want to try they the gelato just falls by the wayside. Like today, at the coffee shop, they had pizzas, but not your regular pizzas. They were a mix between puff pastry and pizza dough and they were little - fist sized - filled with everything you can imagine - soprossetto, pepperoni, sardines, mushrooms. So good that I'll them over gelato any day.
Tomorrow is my last day in Venice and I'm going on a day trip to Cortina and the Dolomite mountains. I hear that it's gorgeous, can't wait to see.
~k
While here, I've really been trying to hone my italian, what little of it I know. I've decided that I can easily say "hi" and "bye" - doh Ciao.... and make the morning nicities to the waitress in the hotel. I've just keep trying and today at the coffee shop, the waiter in Lido was very awesome. He didn't answer me in English like just about everyone else does. He made me work for it, and it worked. I ordered a coffee, with hot milk, picked out the little pizza that I wanted, responded that I wanted to sit outside, found the bathroom (and learned that it was occupato at that moment), and paid the bill. Seems small, but it was a minor victory for me. So for now, I'm going to keep trying, even if they respond to me in English, though it will probably be a challenge for both them and me, especially when I see them make those squinty eyes letting me know they have no idea what I'm trying to say.
The gelato craze is not a farce. Everyone (and I mean everyone) is constantly walking around with an ice cream cone. They have all kinds of flavors - tiramisu, coconut, creme della san marco (to please the tourists, I guess), creme della caramel... you name it, they have it. The thing is though, every day I want to want gelato. But there are so many other little delights that I want to try they the gelato just falls by the wayside. Like today, at the coffee shop, they had pizzas, but not your regular pizzas. They were a mix between puff pastry and pizza dough and they were little - fist sized - filled with everything you can imagine - soprossetto, pepperoni, sardines, mushrooms. So good that I'll them over gelato any day.
Tomorrow is my last day in Venice and I'm going on a day trip to Cortina and the Dolomite mountains. I hear that it's gorgeous, can't wait to see.
~k
Monday, September 28, 2009
Buongiorno!
Here in Italy and it's way different from everywhere else that I've been so far. First stop was in Verona and luckily I checked my train ticket on the morning of because when I purchased the ticket, I asked and thought I received a train for 11:30. Turned out that it was at 9:30, so we had a bit of a rush in the morning when I realized that. I was only in Verona for enough time to check out the arena, see a fortress and one night in the hotel. What I noticed immediately was that it was ridiculously crowded. Times Square on New Year's Eve crowded. I was worried that this is what I'm in for the rest of the trip.
On to Venice. What a magical city! The system of canals and little Calles (streets) are so quaint. I got off the Vaporetto (water bus) at the Ponte Rialto, one of the most famous bridges here where there are shops that line each side of the bridge as you cross over it. With my bags and the bazillion tourists, it was a challenge navigating the cobblestone streets and locating the hotel which was down a tiny little calle off the square near the the bridge. I met someone on the train who let me know that the Museo D'Academie was free yesterday, nice tip, so I went. Basically it houses artwork from the 12th - 15th century. Pretty amazing stuff considering the time period. It is almost entirely religious painting. At night, I happened to find and American pub and watched the first half of the Eagles / KC football game and chatted it up with a couple of New Yorkers here on their honeymoon. It was nice to have a little bit of Americana after being away for a few weeks.
Then today, I took an early stroll over to the Dogi's Palace which I was told by many people that it's totally worth the entrance price. They were right. The sheer magnitude of this palace, the fact that they built it on hundreds of piles, with each one carved with a different decoration in the 11th century is pretty out of control. I mean, we can't even build anything close to that now without it costing a ridiculous sum of money, not to mention all of the regulations that would have to be overcome to complete it. Crazy.
Some other things that are much different... There is definitely a sense of style, fashion and generally being dressed up here. In fact, I'm feeling a little under dressed and I actually tried to bring some things that would fit in. The other thing is that every main street is lined with high end shops - D&G, Chanel, Benneton, you name it. I haven't felt the urge to buy a 2,000 euro handbag or 800 euro shoes yet, and hope I don't. It all seems a bit unnecessary. I didn't get this feeling in Germany, thankfully. And I'm glad that I went there first after Africa, otherwise I wouldn't know what to do with myself here.
So the rest of today, I just wandered around a bit. Sat in a square for a little while people watching, and finally found an internet cafe that didn't cost an arm and a leg for 30 minutes. I'm not sure how much I'll be able to post at these internet prices, not to mention that I'm not sure that I'll ever find this place again because I'm somewhere off the beaten path in the middle of Venice.
Maybe it's time for a prosecco. :)
~k
On to Venice. What a magical city! The system of canals and little Calles (streets) are so quaint. I got off the Vaporetto (water bus) at the Ponte Rialto, one of the most famous bridges here where there are shops that line each side of the bridge as you cross over it. With my bags and the bazillion tourists, it was a challenge navigating the cobblestone streets and locating the hotel which was down a tiny little calle off the square near the the bridge. I met someone on the train who let me know that the Museo D'Academie was free yesterday, nice tip, so I went. Basically it houses artwork from the 12th - 15th century. Pretty amazing stuff considering the time period. It is almost entirely religious painting. At night, I happened to find and American pub and watched the first half of the Eagles / KC football game and chatted it up with a couple of New Yorkers here on their honeymoon. It was nice to have a little bit of Americana after being away for a few weeks.
Then today, I took an early stroll over to the Dogi's Palace which I was told by many people that it's totally worth the entrance price. They were right. The sheer magnitude of this palace, the fact that they built it on hundreds of piles, with each one carved with a different decoration in the 11th century is pretty out of control. I mean, we can't even build anything close to that now without it costing a ridiculous sum of money, not to mention all of the regulations that would have to be overcome to complete it. Crazy.
Some other things that are much different... There is definitely a sense of style, fashion and generally being dressed up here. In fact, I'm feeling a little under dressed and I actually tried to bring some things that would fit in. The other thing is that every main street is lined with high end shops - D&G, Chanel, Benneton, you name it. I haven't felt the urge to buy a 2,000 euro handbag or 800 euro shoes yet, and hope I don't. It all seems a bit unnecessary. I didn't get this feeling in Germany, thankfully. And I'm glad that I went there first after Africa, otherwise I wouldn't know what to do with myself here.
So the rest of today, I just wandered around a bit. Sat in a square for a little while people watching, and finally found an internet cafe that didn't cost an arm and a leg for 30 minutes. I'm not sure how much I'll be able to post at these internet prices, not to mention that I'm not sure that I'll ever find this place again because I'm somewhere off the beaten path in the middle of Venice.
Maybe it's time for a prosecco. :)
~k
Friday, September 25, 2009
Salt of the Earth
by the way, I'm having a hard time with these keyboards, they are totally different from an American keyboard!
We went to Austria today, Salzberg actually. Just took a quick trip here on the train and I'm now taking a few minutes before our train home departs to catch up on a few things. This is a storybook city! So cute, with little colorfully painted houses and what a surprise it was when we found out that they were having a beer festival too! I think they have 52 of these a year, one every week and just tell everyone that it's a once a year festival.
We took a trip to the salt mine, so if you know either me or Rob at all, you know this one was made for us... haha. They give you a quick overview, in German and then you're off in a mine cart for a 10 minute trip in the pitch dark in a tiny little tunnel. When you finally arrive, you're in the salt mine, and they gave a great and very informative tour about how they have been extracting salt from here for the past 100 years. Then you get out of the mine cart and hop on a slide down a huge hill 100 feet to the mine. No way that would ever happen in AMerica, someone would sue.
At the end, they leave you with a small shaker of salt. I plan to use it on my next brezel.
Ciao... see you in Italy :)
We went to Austria today, Salzberg actually. Just took a quick trip here on the train and I'm now taking a few minutes before our train home departs to catch up on a few things. This is a storybook city! So cute, with little colorfully painted houses and what a surprise it was when we found out that they were having a beer festival too! I think they have 52 of these a year, one every week and just tell everyone that it's a once a year festival.
We took a trip to the salt mine, so if you know either me or Rob at all, you know this one was made for us... haha. They give you a quick overview, in German and then you're off in a mine cart for a 10 minute trip in the pitch dark in a tiny little tunnel. When you finally arrive, you're in the salt mine, and they gave a great and very informative tour about how they have been extracting salt from here for the past 100 years. Then you get out of the mine cart and hop on a slide down a huge hill 100 feet to the mine. No way that would ever happen in AMerica, someone would sue.
At the end, they leave you with a small shaker of salt. I plan to use it on my next brezel.
Ciao... see you in Italy :)
Castles Galore!
On Thursday, we went to the BMW Welt building, which is really cool looking actually, and we also went to the Olympic park where there was a tower to view the entire city. Then we went over to another Castle, they seem to be everywhere. This one was called the Schloss Nymphenberg and is the summer residence of the king. It was ok... ;)
So over the course of the week, I've come up with a few things for those traveling to Munich:
The lane that is really nice for walking with no cobblestones in it.... Yep, that's the bike lane. Watch out, someone will probably run you over if you're not careful.
Germans don't wear flip flops. If you see someone wearing them, there's a 100% chance they are American.
Beer is the dinner of choice. And the lunch of choice and the breakfast of choice. It's everywhere.
If you try to get away from the saurkraut by going out for Ethiopian food, no luck. They sneak that stuff in everywhere! Not a plate goes by without saurkraut. Maybe that's why the beer thing is so popular.
Pretzels, Brezel, Brezen. Expect to eat lots of them, with salt, chocolate, powdered sugar, cheese, meat, whatever. They are really everywhere.
Still have to tell you about Salzberg...
ciao for now
kelly
So over the course of the week, I've come up with a few things for those traveling to Munich:
The lane that is really nice for walking with no cobblestones in it.... Yep, that's the bike lane. Watch out, someone will probably run you over if you're not careful.
Germans don't wear flip flops. If you see someone wearing them, there's a 100% chance they are American.
Beer is the dinner of choice. And the lunch of choice and the breakfast of choice. It's everywhere.
If you try to get away from the saurkraut by going out for Ethiopian food, no luck. They sneak that stuff in everywhere! Not a plate goes by without saurkraut. Maybe that's why the beer thing is so popular.
Pretzels, Brezel, Brezen. Expect to eat lots of them, with salt, chocolate, powdered sugar, cheese, meat, whatever. They are really everywhere.
Still have to tell you about Salzberg...
ciao for now
kelly
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
New swan stone
That's what Neuschwanstein means. We went to that castle today and did another waterfall hike ( got my exercise as this one seemed even a bit harder even though it was shorter). Turns out that there was a lot of eccentricity with Ludwig. For example he seemed to be obsessed with Wagner and swans, died mysteriously at the age of 40 right after he was diagnosed as " mad" and only lived on his castle for another 6 months before he died and it was taken over by Bavaria because he owed lots and lots of money on it. It was never finished and in fact only 16 rooms were completed. There was amazing brickwork, mosaics and painting as would be expected.
The watefall hike was really cool. We started out at the base of the mountain and took a path around the back of the castle through a gorge and up next to a waterfall. If I had to estimate the vertical, I would saybit was around 1500 ft and it took us about 30 minutes to get up there. The views were incredible!! Once we reached the top we were able to walk around to the south side of the castle and stand on a bridge over the gorge which was another several hundred foot climb. That was actually a little bit scary particularly when crossing the entire length of the gorge while the ground is waaaaaay down below.
Probably the coolest part of the day was for Rob. They were running some para gliding trips where you go off a mountain alp more than a mile high and sail around the castle. Unfortunately they only had one more spot and I knew Rob really wanted to do it so I took photos from below. He said it was amazing. Basically you go in tandem with an experienced glider and you are in front and they are behind controlling the glider. Apparently there is some similarity to jumping except without the freefall part. So cool.
We switch hotels tomorrow since this one is full for the next two days. We're thinking about going to Salzberg for the day so or will either be that or maybe another castle. Hopefully the next hotel will have a computer and I'll be able to upload photos.
K
The watefall hike was really cool. We started out at the base of the mountain and took a path around the back of the castle through a gorge and up next to a waterfall. If I had to estimate the vertical, I would saybit was around 1500 ft and it took us about 30 minutes to get up there. The views were incredible!! Once we reached the top we were able to walk around to the south side of the castle and stand on a bridge over the gorge which was another several hundred foot climb. That was actually a little bit scary particularly when crossing the entire length of the gorge while the ground is waaaaaay down below.
Probably the coolest part of the day was for Rob. They were running some para gliding trips where you go off a mountain alp more than a mile high and sail around the castle. Unfortunately they only had one more spot and I knew Rob really wanted to do it so I took photos from below. He said it was amazing. Basically you go in tandem with an experienced glider and you are in front and they are behind controlling the glider. Apparently there is some similarity to jumping except without the freefall part. So cool.
We switch hotels tomorrow since this one is full for the next two days. We're thinking about going to Salzberg for the day so or will either be that or maybe another castle. Hopefully the next hotel will have a computer and I'll be able to upload photos.
K
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Dachau.... why
so today was unexpected. We decided to take a trip out to Dachau, which is about 30 minutes on the train from central Munich and then a short bus ride. Obviously, we all learned about the Nazis in history class, and most have seen Schindlers List, and maybe some extra reading. Nothing could prepare me for what I saw at Dachau. What was done there was unimaginable, terribly moving and emotionally draining. We went through the barracks, saw the crematorium and even walked through the mass murder gas chamber that was disguised as a shower. I just don't understand how people can do this to one another. I always knew I was lucky to have the family, friends and things I do but standing there, as thousands of people did before and during the war, and as millions have done since was so real and unforgettably moving. Given this and the last week in Africa, every day, I realize more and more just how lucky lucky is. Wow...
k
k
Monday, September 21, 2009
Pretzels are everywhere
Today was a fabulous day. Since yesterday was such an early night, naturally we woke up at around 4 am. I spent about 2 hours telling Rob about Africa and going through the photos, we had an early breakfast and took off to explore the city. We walked toward the Englisher Garten. Oddly we saw some people surfing in the garden stream which is about 30 feet wide and only about a few feet deep! After a morning of walking, lunch and some chill time we neded something that didn't have much walking involved so we took a couple of above ground trams to see the city and found this quaint little restaurant for dinner. German food is pretty darn amazing and not just because you get a big pretzel with every meal.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
A gallon of beer might be too much
After a long long flight Rob and I finally met up in Munich. The airport is really cool with a courtyard and beer garden in the courtyard. We got our S Bahn tickets and headed for the hotel. On the way there we found a parade that we watched for a bit and then went to the hotel. Since it was early we couldn't check in so we thought it would be a good time to Check out the Haufbrau House. The food was pretty awesome actually. I got spaetzel which is basicAlly macaroni and cheese. Rob got some fried sausage thing also great. From there we walked over to Ocktoberfest and went to one of the beer tents where we met the most fabulous German guys. Rob doesn't remember much after that probably because each beer is a liter big. After a rough walk home we called it a night at 6 pm.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Safari Time!
Is anyone reading this thing? :) I don't have any time to post more, but I will fix up the last post and add to this one soon. These photos are from our time in Liwonde National Park - it was really beautiful!
Inside Blantyre
On Wednesday, we went to several peri-urban areas in Blantyre, which are essentially city slums. First we went to the Water Utility Association and met with the board members, which consisted of various members of the community including members of Parliament, members of the City Board, religious figures and members of the community. This group was formed in order to give some ownership and accountability to the implementation of water improvement projects and is supported by Water for People. I may have mentioned this before, but one of the unique aspects of the Water for People organization is that they partner with local residents and agencies in order to make this a sustaining organization instead of one that only provides handouts.
The first area we went to did not have any decent water facilities. In fact, they pulled their water from a small stream near where sewage is literally running through the streets.
From there, we went over to one of the new water kiosks that was provided through Water for People in conjunction with the Water Utility Association. There was an extremely long line for the water, and it was around noon. They impose tariffs, which are relatively small, on the people obtaining water. Even though the line was long, the morale in this area of the community was much better than where there was no water.
From there, we drove through some prareas to get an idea of the living conditions of the peri-urban areas. In one area, we drove as far as we could and in the distance saw a small area that the local people call the "island." Which is not really an island, but rather an isolated area where people live right next to the dump. It wasn't a city dump that is managed, but it was an area that people hauled their trash to. To give you an idea of how horrid it was, we sat in the car for about 10 mins while we were given an explanation of the area and there were easily over 100 flies in the van. Yeah, I was a bit freaked out.
After that, we went to another area of town considered to be the most poor. While there was water available from the water mains, there were sanitation issues. This picture is from a latrine that just discharges out of the back of the latrine. Water for People has designated a sanitation entrepreneur and he has been working with local masons to build new composting latrines.
One of the most On Wednesday, we went to several peri-urban areas in Blantyre, which are essentially city slums. First we went to the Water Utility Association and met with the board members, which consisted of various members of the community including members of Parliament, members of the City Board, religious figures and members of the community. This group was formed in order to give some ownership and accountability to the implementation of water improvement projects and is supported by Water for People. I may have mentioned this before, but one of the unique aspects of the Water for People organization is that they partner with local residents and agencies in order to make this a sustaining organization instead of one that only provides handouts.
The first area we went to did not have any decent water facilities. In fact, they pulled their water from a small stream near where sewage is literally running through the streets.
From there, we went over to one of the new water kiosks that was provided through Water for People in conjunction with the Water Utility Association. There was an extremely long line for the water, and it was around noon. They impose tariffs, which are relatively small, on the people obtaining water. Even though the line was long, the morale in this area of the community was much better than where there was no water.
From there, we drove through some areas to get an idea of the living conditions of the peri-urban areas. In one area, we drove as far as we could and in the distance saw a small area that the local people call the "island." Which is not really an island, but rather an isolated area where people live right next to the dump. It wasn't a city dump that is managed, but it was an area that people hauled their trash to. To give you an idea of how horrid it was, we sat in the car for about 10 mins while we were given an explanation of the area and there were easily over 100 flies in the van. Yeah, I was a bit freaked out.
After that, we went to another area of town considered to be the most poor. While there was water available from the water mains, there were sanitation issues. This picture is from a latrine that just discharges out of the back of the latrine. Water for People has designated a sanitation entrepreneur and he has been working with local masons to build new composting latrines.
One thing that was really hard to deal with was all of the pollution in the streams near the houses that kids were playing in and ultimately ended up in their drinking water. I'm so happy that something is being done here.
The first area we went to did not have any decent water facilities. In fact, they pulled their water from a small stream near where sewage is literally running through the streets.
From there, we went over to one of the new water kiosks that was provided through Water for People in conjunction with the Water Utility Association. There was an extremely long line for the water, and it was around noon. They impose tariffs, which are relatively small, on the people obtaining water. Even though the line was long, the morale in this area of the community was much better than where there was no water.
From there, we drove through some prareas to get an idea of the living conditions of the peri-urban areas. In one area, we drove as far as we could and in the distance saw a small area that the local people call the "island." Which is not really an island, but rather an isolated area where people live right next to the dump. It wasn't a city dump that is managed, but it was an area that people hauled their trash to. To give you an idea of how horrid it was, we sat in the car for about 10 mins while we were given an explanation of the area and there were easily over 100 flies in the van. Yeah, I was a bit freaked out.
After that, we went to another area of town considered to be the most poor. While there was water available from the water mains, there were sanitation issues. This picture is from a latrine that just discharges out of the back of the latrine. Water for People has designated a sanitation entrepreneur and he has been working with local masons to build new composting latrines.
One of the most On Wednesday, we went to several peri-urban areas in Blantyre, which are essentially city slums. First we went to the Water Utility Association and met with the board members, which consisted of various members of the community including members of Parliament, members of the City Board, religious figures and members of the community. This group was formed in order to give some ownership and accountability to the implementation of water improvement projects and is supported by Water for People. I may have mentioned this before, but one of the unique aspects of the Water for People organization is that they partner with local residents and agencies in order to make this a sustaining organization instead of one that only provides handouts.
The first area we went to did not have any decent water facilities. In fact, they pulled their water from a small stream near where sewage is literally running through the streets.
From there, we went over to one of the new water kiosks that was provided through Water for People in conjunction with the Water Utility Association. There was an extremely long line for the water, and it was around noon. They impose tariffs, which are relatively small, on the people obtaining water. Even though the line was long, the morale in this area of the community was much better than where there was no water.
From there, we drove through some areas to get an idea of the living conditions of the peri-urban areas. In one area, we drove as far as we could and in the distance saw a small area that the local people call the "island." Which is not really an island, but rather an isolated area where people live right next to the dump. It wasn't a city dump that is managed, but it was an area that people hauled their trash to. To give you an idea of how horrid it was, we sat in the car for about 10 mins while we were given an explanation of the area and there were easily over 100 flies in the van. Yeah, I was a bit freaked out.
After that, we went to another area of town considered to be the most poor. While there was water available from the water mains, there were sanitation issues. This picture is from a latrine that just discharges out of the back of the latrine. Water for People has designated a sanitation entrepreneur and he has been working with local masons to build new composting latrines.
One thing that was really hard to deal with was all of the pollution in the streams near the houses that kids were playing in and ultimately ended up in their drinking water. I'm so happy that something is being done here.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Water for the Village
Today we went to two places who have been changed by water and sanitation. The first was a village where Water for People helped local people put in three bore hole wells and 78 improved latrines. There are 98 households, so they have 20 more to do before this village is complete. We met some of the masons who were trained to do this work as well as the people from the village who were extremely grateful for the work we have helped them to accomplish. They village head said that since the new water supplies have been put in there have not been any cases of cholera - success! The school was pretty amazing too. There were 500 students, but only 7 teachers - what a handful. The school had improved facilities and the teachers said that since adding hygeine education and improving the facilities, absenteeism has gone way down - more success. Today we're moving from rural to peri-urban communities.
~k
~k
Monday, September 14, 2009
Some Photos
Here is the waterfall we hiked to - it was absolutely beautiful!
Here are some of the children from the village. As you can see, they LOVE to have their photo taken. They were a lot of fun, they had so many questions for us. 
These women danced for us when we arrived and when we left. They were grateful to have us visit and we were grateful to have them share their way of life with us.
This boy is collecting water for the village. The pit is about 12 feet deep and takes him a few minutes to fill up each 20 L bucket. They share this water source with 2 other villages (a couple thousand people)! The water is also shared with animals, making it a breeding ground for disease.
This is the sun rise view from my hotel room.
Two Villages
Yesterday we went to two villages, both without water or electricity. What we saw was very hard to imagine and the large majority of this post may be difficult to read.
At the first village, we parked the mini-bus and then walked a few hundred meters to a small water source where there were some families washing clothes and dishes and gathering water. There were mostly women and children there. They were very happy to see us! We shared some greetings and took some photos - they love having their picture taken and especially getting to see the digital photo after it is taken. There was a girl who looked to be about 12 or 13 who very proudly showed us how she lifted the bucket of water, which contained about 20 L (5 +/- gallons) and put it on her head and then flexed her muscles. It was very funny :) I need to let you know though what this water source was like - it was a small hole that they dig, about 3 feet in diameter by about 1 foot deep near a small stream that was fairly dry because it is the dry season. They fill up shallow pans with the water and then empty it into the 20 L bucket. They fill up several buckets and then the women put them on their head and carry them back to the village - they never spill a drop.
From there, we walked with them to their village. It was several hundred meters (about 1 km). They let us know that they walk to the water source at least 5 times a day and sometimes as many as 20 times. As we approached the village, they begin drumming and dancing as a welcome to us. They gave us such a warm welcome and the children came running to meet us as we approached. There was some more dancing and then they set up some chairs for us and they asked us to sit in the chairs while the entire village gathered around and sat down in front of us. There were about 200-300 people or so (the entire village was about 380 families, each with about 5 people per family). One of the men from the ministry of health, who is a partner with WFP spoke to the village and let them know why we were there. Then the chief spoke and he let us know that the water source their water source is polluted and causes disease among the village. They share their water source with He asked us to help them get a clean water source so they don't have to share their water source with the animals and they can reduce diseases like cholera and diarrhea.
Then we took a look around the village. There were many houses that were brick, they make the brick right there. The roofs are straw and the houses are on average about 200 SF big, and about 5 people live there. In the entire village there were 38 pit latrines, meaning only 10% of the village has some kind of sanitation facilities. They don't usually share latrine facilities, so the rest go in the bush. In many cases, children are afraid of going in the pit latrines because there are no concrete slabs on the top of them - it's just a hole in the ground that is about 10-feet deep. Sometimes, especially when it is raining, the ground around it gets soft and the children fall in and drown.
After the chief showed us the village, we came back to the main area where they did some more drumming and dancing and we took lots of photos. The children LOVE to have their photo taken. I'll try and post some later, it looks like I can pretty easily upload them to this computer that I'm using.
The second village was very similar - I'll write more about that later. Some of the things that were truly outstanding to me was that the villages were extremely welcoming to us, they basically have nothing yet they set up the chairs for us and welcomed us into their community and let us see how they live. Many people speak English very well, but most speak native Malawi. There is a strong sense of family in the village and protection of their children. It is clear that these folks need some help.
As we left the village, they all walked with us back to the mini-bus, singing and cheering along the way. When we got to the bus, they begged us for some bottled water. It's very hard, because we didn't have enough for the entire village, and giving out one or two bottles would surely have caused a ruckus.
When we got back to Blantyre, Nelson, our bus driver, took us to his favorite place to eat, called Martin's. It has lots of really excellent local fare, including Nsima which is sort of like polenta. I had some vegetables, pumpkin greens in a nut puree, beans and rice - it was fabulous.
~k
At the first village, we parked the mini-bus and then walked a few hundred meters to a small water source where there were some families washing clothes and dishes and gathering water. There were mostly women and children there. They were very happy to see us! We shared some greetings and took some photos - they love having their picture taken and especially getting to see the digital photo after it is taken. There was a girl who looked to be about 12 or 13 who very proudly showed us how she lifted the bucket of water, which contained about 20 L (5 +/- gallons) and put it on her head and then flexed her muscles. It was very funny :) I need to let you know though what this water source was like - it was a small hole that they dig, about 3 feet in diameter by about 1 foot deep near a small stream that was fairly dry because it is the dry season. They fill up shallow pans with the water and then empty it into the 20 L bucket. They fill up several buckets and then the women put them on their head and carry them back to the village - they never spill a drop.
From there, we walked with them to their village. It was several hundred meters (about 1 km). They let us know that they walk to the water source at least 5 times a day and sometimes as many as 20 times. As we approached the village, they begin drumming and dancing as a welcome to us. They gave us such a warm welcome and the children came running to meet us as we approached. There was some more dancing and then they set up some chairs for us and they asked us to sit in the chairs while the entire village gathered around and sat down in front of us. There were about 200-300 people or so (the entire village was about 380 families, each with about 5 people per family). One of the men from the ministry of health, who is a partner with WFP spoke to the village and let them know why we were there. Then the chief spoke and he let us know that the water source their water source is polluted and causes disease among the village. They share their water source with He asked us to help them get a clean water source so they don't have to share their water source with the animals and they can reduce diseases like cholera and diarrhea.
Then we took a look around the village. There were many houses that were brick, they make the brick right there. The roofs are straw and the houses are on average about 200 SF big, and about 5 people live there. In the entire village there were 38 pit latrines, meaning only 10% of the village has some kind of sanitation facilities. They don't usually share latrine facilities, so the rest go in the bush. In many cases, children are afraid of going in the pit latrines because there are no concrete slabs on the top of them - it's just a hole in the ground that is about 10-feet deep. Sometimes, especially when it is raining, the ground around it gets soft and the children fall in and drown.
After the chief showed us the village, we came back to the main area where they did some more drumming and dancing and we took lots of photos. The children LOVE to have their photo taken. I'll try and post some later, it looks like I can pretty easily upload them to this computer that I'm using.
The second village was very similar - I'll write more about that later. Some of the things that were truly outstanding to me was that the villages were extremely welcoming to us, they basically have nothing yet they set up the chairs for us and welcomed us into their community and let us see how they live. Many people speak English very well, but most speak native Malawi. There is a strong sense of family in the village and protection of their children. It is clear that these folks need some help.
As we left the village, they all walked with us back to the mini-bus, singing and cheering along the way. When we got to the bus, they begged us for some bottled water. It's very hard, because we didn't have enough for the entire village, and giving out one or two bottles would surely have caused a ruckus.
When we got back to Blantyre, Nelson, our bus driver, took us to his favorite place to eat, called Martin's. It has lots of really excellent local fare, including Nsima which is sort of like polenta. I had some vegetables, pumpkin greens in a nut puree, beans and rice - it was fabulous.
~k
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Hiking Mount Mulanje
Yesterday, we started the day with an orientation to some of the projects Water for People is doing in Malawi given by Elias, Efrain and Joseph. There are three regions where work is happening - Blantyre, Chikwawa, and Rhumphi. We will see programs in Chikwawa and Blantyre. Rumphi is about 700 km away. One of the most interesting and unique aspects of WFP is their commitment to partnership with local district assemblies, government, and constructors. In addition, the people working for WFP in the various countries where work is being performed are local and native to those countries. Combined, this makes for a sustainable program that can continue to work long beyond when WFP has completed their work there.
Only about 15% of households in the rural areas have improved sanitation facilities (meaning, they have a pit latrine that gets emptied occasionally).
They have implemented a program here to make sanitation a business. Starting in schools, there is a hygiene and sanitation education program for the children and children are given vouchers to bring home and explain hygiene and sanitation to their parents and encourage them to use the vouchers to obtain a composting latrine. In the meantime, WFP works with local constructors by providing them with seed money to begin constructing latrines (about 20 of them). When the households turn in their vouchers, they get one of these composting latrines. Each latrine has capacity for about 6-months. With each use, you are supposed to add ash and soil to aid in the composting process. After the latrine is full, it gets covered and allowed to compost for about 6 to 9 months. Upon completion of composting, the constructor gets the compost (until the latrine is "paid off") and they are able to sell it to fertilizer manufacturers. Once the household has "paid off" the latrine with the compost, the household is able to use the compost for their own use or farm. Pretty neat, eh?
They are also working with schools on beautification projects and improved sanitation facilities. This is very important for girls because without improved sanitation facilities, many times girls need to drop out of school when they hit puberty because they don't have the facilities at school to deal with their period. These programs help reduce sanitation borne diseases and allows girls to stay in school, hopefully breaking the cycle of poverty.
In addition to the hygiene and sanitation program, there is a water program here. The goal is to provide water kiosks in such a fashion that people do not need to walk more than about 0.5 km to obtain water. The government sets water tariffs for the water and the households pay for each day's worth of water. It is generally the woman's job to go and get the water. When water is not readily accessible, women can spend an entire day walking to a water source (many times one that is polluted) and hauling the water back to the village. Often times, this means that they can not attend school. With water facilities nearby, girls and women don't need to spend nearly as much time gathering the water for a day. When they go pick up the water, they usually carry about 20 L at a time, in buckets on their head (wow!). A typical household uses about 100 L per day. Just to give you an idea of how much water that is - a typical shower that you probably took this morning uses about 80 L of water.
When we go to Chikwawa today, I'll be able to better see some of this in action and I'll post more.
After the orientation, Nelson our bus driver (who is amazing by the way), drove us to Mount Mulanje for some hiking. It was about 1.5 hours from Blantyre and on the way, we drove through several small towns. Along the way we were stopped a couple of times by security guards, who asked Nelson a few questions and looked in the bus and then we were on our way. When we got to Mount Mulanje, there was another security checkpoint, where a little bit of heated conversation between Nelson and one of the guards. Apparently, they wanted us to stop and buy some of their curios (knick-knacks) but Nelson said that we would stop on the way back - which they were not too happy with. In addition, a man named Boniface came to the window where I was sitting and asked if we would pay for him to be a guide. When I told him that we had Nelson, he asked if we would pay him to watch the van. People there were desperate for work.
We went up the mountain in the van and then parked and walked a very steep hike to a waterfall (sound familiar Akua?? :) ). It was a fairly strenuous hike with amazing views. On the way, we bombarded Nelson with questions about life in Malawi, which he was more than happy to answer. When we got to the waterfall, it was beautiful. The forest was lush and there was a high peak just beyond the waterfall making is very picturesque. We saw some hikers there who seemed like they were camping. They had two guides and were off to hike to the top of the mountain. For the moment, they were basking in the sun and wading in the shallower part of the water. After hiking, we went back to Blantyre and had a great dinner at Bombay restaurant.
Today, we are going to Chikwawa to see some of the WFP projects - will write more later!
~k
Only about 15% of households in the rural areas have improved sanitation facilities (meaning, they have a pit latrine that gets emptied occasionally).
They have implemented a program here to make sanitation a business. Starting in schools, there is a hygiene and sanitation education program for the children and children are given vouchers to bring home and explain hygiene and sanitation to their parents and encourage them to use the vouchers to obtain a composting latrine. In the meantime, WFP works with local constructors by providing them with seed money to begin constructing latrines (about 20 of them). When the households turn in their vouchers, they get one of these composting latrines. Each latrine has capacity for about 6-months. With each use, you are supposed to add ash and soil to aid in the composting process. After the latrine is full, it gets covered and allowed to compost for about 6 to 9 months. Upon completion of composting, the constructor gets the compost (until the latrine is "paid off") and they are able to sell it to fertilizer manufacturers. Once the household has "paid off" the latrine with the compost, the household is able to use the compost for their own use or farm. Pretty neat, eh?
They are also working with schools on beautification projects and improved sanitation facilities. This is very important for girls because without improved sanitation facilities, many times girls need to drop out of school when they hit puberty because they don't have the facilities at school to deal with their period. These programs help reduce sanitation borne diseases and allows girls to stay in school, hopefully breaking the cycle of poverty.
In addition to the hygiene and sanitation program, there is a water program here. The goal is to provide water kiosks in such a fashion that people do not need to walk more than about 0.5 km to obtain water. The government sets water tariffs for the water and the households pay for each day's worth of water. It is generally the woman's job to go and get the water. When water is not readily accessible, women can spend an entire day walking to a water source (many times one that is polluted) and hauling the water back to the village. Often times, this means that they can not attend school. With water facilities nearby, girls and women don't need to spend nearly as much time gathering the water for a day. When they go pick up the water, they usually carry about 20 L at a time, in buckets on their head (wow!). A typical household uses about 100 L per day. Just to give you an idea of how much water that is - a typical shower that you probably took this morning uses about 80 L of water.
When we go to Chikwawa today, I'll be able to better see some of this in action and I'll post more.
After the orientation, Nelson our bus driver (who is amazing by the way), drove us to Mount Mulanje for some hiking. It was about 1.5 hours from Blantyre and on the way, we drove through several small towns. Along the way we were stopped a couple of times by security guards, who asked Nelson a few questions and looked in the bus and then we were on our way. When we got to Mount Mulanje, there was another security checkpoint, where a little bit of heated conversation between Nelson and one of the guards. Apparently, they wanted us to stop and buy some of their curios (knick-knacks) but Nelson said that we would stop on the way back - which they were not too happy with. In addition, a man named Boniface came to the window where I was sitting and asked if we would pay for him to be a guide. When I told him that we had Nelson, he asked if we would pay him to watch the van. People there were desperate for work.
We went up the mountain in the van and then parked and walked a very steep hike to a waterfall (sound familiar Akua?? :) ). It was a fairly strenuous hike with amazing views. On the way, we bombarded Nelson with questions about life in Malawi, which he was more than happy to answer. When we got to the waterfall, it was beautiful. The forest was lush and there was a high peak just beyond the waterfall making is very picturesque. We saw some hikers there who seemed like they were camping. They had two guides and were off to hike to the top of the mountain. For the moment, they were basking in the sun and wading in the shallower part of the water. After hiking, we went back to Blantyre and had a great dinner at Bombay restaurant.
Today, we are going to Chikwawa to see some of the WFP projects - will write more later!
~k
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Welcome to Malawi!
I finally made it, and when I saw my bag coming out along the carousel I was nothing less than ecstatic. It was a short drive to to the hotel and on the way, we drove through some really poverty stricken areas. The hotel is located in the city of Blantyre and the rooms and staff are positively lovely. The reception area is very comfortable and welcoming and there is a computer for the guests to use. Hopefully, I'll be able to post every day while I'm here. We met up with the Water for People group and everyone is fantastic. After we got back to the hotel, we stopped out to exchange money and ended up stopping by a market. I was completely overwhelmed by the high pressure sales and price negotiation that is involved. After 26 hrs of flight and hardly any sleep it wasn't something I could process right now.
Tomorrow, we start with an orientation about WFPs mission here and go over the itinerary. For now, I'm going to get some sleep.
~k
Tomorrow, we start with an orientation about WFPs mission here and go over the itinerary. For now, I'm going to get some sleep.
~k
Friday, September 11, 2009
fancy a sprint?
nah, me neither but that didn't stop me. I had only 1 hr to switch planes between London and Johannesburg. Naturally, the London flight was delayed. When I got to the border guard, they told me that the flight was already closed and I would have to rebook on a flight the next morning. So I went over to rebooking desk and was about to get new flight when lo and behold, the border guard called me back over and said I could get on the flight but that I would have to run, and assured me it wasn't that far. Apparently, we have different ideas about what "far" is when your running through an airport with bags - hehe. In the end, I made it on to the flight.
~k
~k
Thursday, September 10, 2009
ready as I'll ever be
The trash is out, hot water heater in vacation mode, and my football picks are made. I wish I didn't drink all that espresso at lunch, because I'm still wired. The flight is at 8 am tomorrow and it will be 30 long hours of flying and layovers. In the meantime, I'm going to drop off my car so I'm signing off until my next chance at a computer. See you on the other side of the pond.
~bekind
~bekind
Monday, September 7, 2009
From 5 Weeks to 5 Days - Wow
Just 5 days until I leave on the Water for People country tour - Wow! I've been doing a lot of reading and planning, even though I know that no amount of planning can prepare me for everything. These world statistics are staggering:
- 1 in 8 people in the world don't have access to safe water supplies
- The effects of not having clean water have a huge effect on the entire community, but particularly women and children because they spend several hours a day obtaining water, usually from polluted water supplies
- 38% of the world doesn't have access to improved sanitation - that's 2.5 billion people. Of that, 1.2 billion don't have any sanitation facilities at all.
- Did you take a shower today? I did, and in the process I used more water than most people in the developing world use in a day.
Providing clean water supplies and sanitation facilities improves health and reduces health care costs, allows for better attendance in school, and benefits the overall economy.
I am so looking forward to this trip, and hope that even in some small way, I can help make a difference for someone.
~bekindtoearth
- 1 in 8 people in the world don't have access to safe water supplies
- The effects of not having clean water have a huge effect on the entire community, but particularly women and children because they spend several hours a day obtaining water, usually from polluted water supplies
- 38% of the world doesn't have access to improved sanitation - that's 2.5 billion people. Of that, 1.2 billion don't have any sanitation facilities at all.
- Did you take a shower today? I did, and in the process I used more water than most people in the developing world use in a day.
Providing clean water supplies and sanitation facilities improves health and reduces health care costs, allows for better attendance in school, and benefits the overall economy.
I am so looking forward to this trip, and hope that even in some small way, I can help make a difference for someone.
~bekindtoearth
Sunday, August 2, 2009
5 weeks... and counting
I've been inspired to start my blog as I prepare for a trip of my lifetime. Over the last few weeks, it has become increasingly more real and I'm starting to feel the affects of travel anxiety. Something I'm not quite used to. I have three major legs of the trip - Malawi, Germany, Italy.
The Water for People folks contacted the group of us going on the tour with country information and to get some of us acquainted. Two of the tour participants reached out to me, so I sort of feel like I already know a few people going on this trip. I'm really looking forward to seeing - in person - how this organization and I though this organization make a difference. The simplest of all things that we take for granted, turning on our tap and having clean water come out of it is something foreign to where I'm going. I'm not sure how to comprehend that. I've seen photos and read stories, but I'm not sure what to expect and I feel like I shouldn't try to expect anything and instead just be ready to learn from the journey.
In the meantime, I've been preparing with vaccinations, stocking up on supplies, trying to figure out how I'm going to fit 4 weeks of stuff into carry-on luggage (not for any other reason than I don't want it to get lost). In any case, in 5 weeks I'll be on a plane to Africa - and that is just crazy to me.
The Water for People folks contacted the group of us going on the tour with country information and to get some of us acquainted. Two of the tour participants reached out to me, so I sort of feel like I already know a few people going on this trip. I'm really looking forward to seeing - in person - how this organization and I though this organization make a difference. The simplest of all things that we take for granted, turning on our tap and having clean water come out of it is something foreign to where I'm going. I'm not sure how to comprehend that. I've seen photos and read stories, but I'm not sure what to expect and I feel like I shouldn't try to expect anything and instead just be ready to learn from the journey.
In the meantime, I've been preparing with vaccinations, stocking up on supplies, trying to figure out how I'm going to fit 4 weeks of stuff into carry-on luggage (not for any other reason than I don't want it to get lost). In any case, in 5 weeks I'll be on a plane to Africa - and that is just crazy to me.
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