Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Egypt


With about 10 days before we needed to be in India, we headed to Egypt to check out its ancient civilization. No volunteer work… just a whirlwind tour of pyramids, temples, and tombs.We spent our first couple days in Cairo. First stop: the famous Egyptian Museum where the contents of King Tutankhamun’s tomb are displayed. The museum is daunting due to the sheer number of statues, tomb artifacts, and mummies on display. But the treasure of King Tut’s tomb lived up to its fame. The glittering gold, intricate metal carving, and shimmering gem stones are stunning. Around every corner I was tempted to break the “no photos” rule to capture the beauty and mystique of ancient Egypt.


Second stop: the Great Pyramids of Giza, one of the seven ancient wonders of the world, and the only one still in existence. Seeing the pyramids and camel drivers in the foreground with the city of Cairo in the background is a jarring contrast. And despite seeing countless photos over the years, the pyramids are still astonishing to see in person. It’s incredible to imagine how the workers got the multi-ton stones to the site at all, much less to the top of an enormous pyramid. I guess it was the Pharaoh’s economic stimulus package that kept the workers employed for 20 years.
Since some of the stones have fallen down, David did his part to help rebuild these colossal wonders.

Third stop: We spent a couple days on a Nile River cruise from Aswan to Luxor to see several of the most famous temples along the Nile. We got a crash course in Egyptian history and religious beliefs. Just ask us if you want to learn about Isis, Osiris, or the after-death journey to the underworld where a pharaoh’s heart is weighed against a feather to judge if he was good or evil. Or if you’re into mummification techniques, ask us how they got the brain out.


Once the pharaohs decided that pyramids made it too easy for grave robbers to find their treasure, they started digging tombs with secret tunnels deep into a mountain outside Luxor in a place known as the Valley of the Kings. Sixty-two tombs have been discovered so far with many archaeologists still digging. Most tombs were robbed of their treasure long ago despite efforts to keep them secret. King Tut’s tomb remained hidden because a later pharaoh dug his tomb above Tut’s on the mountain and the resulting rock debris kept the boy-king’s tomb hidden until Howard Carter discovered it in 1922.

We were dazzled by the scale of the pyramids, temples and monuments and impressed by the detailed work of the ancient artisans. We found modern-day Egyptians to be very friendly but also the most persistent in pursuing us as we walked the streets or in the markets. A couple of our favorite lines:
- “Let me help you find ways to spend your money.”
- “I don’t know what you’re looking for, but I have it.”


Now we head to India where three of our favorite people will join us for volunteer work in Calcutta: David’s 12 year-old brother Jeffrey, Charley Scandlyn, and his 15 year-old son Jordan. We look forward to seeing friends and family half-way around the world. They are the first brave souls to meet us on our travels. We hope more will follow!

- Steve

Kenya



If you’ve ever wondered what the most dangerous situation we’ve faced while traveling, the answer is easy – anything to do with roads. Driving on or simply walking across a road is quite often a life-threatening situation. Our five-hour drive from Arusha, Tanzania to Nairobi, Kenya was no exception. Passing on the wrong side of the road on a blind corner near the top of a hill at 60 miles an hour does not seem to worry drivers in Kenya or most African countries for that matter. When we miraculously arrived in Nairobi in one piece we met Gershon and Gladys Mwiti. Both Gershon and Gladys hold PhDs from Fuller Seminary. Gershon has a PhD in leadership and Gladys has a PhD in psychology. Gladys started Oasis Africa in Nairobi which has many programs, including counselor training (especially for post-traumatic stress due to violence and death) and low-cost or free schools for children who otherwise couldn’t afford it.



We were able to partner with Oasis for a week at a small school near Meru. At first glance Meru appears as a beautiful and peaceful farming community near the foot of Mount Kenya. But this region faces many serious issues. Like most countries in Africa, AIDs is a big problem. There are many AIDs orphans and people very sick with AIDs. Many women get pregnant who are unable to care for a baby so they may leave the baby to die in a dump or ask a stranger on a bus to hold their baby for a second and then disappear.



This is the Nteere family who hosted us during our stay. Gerald, Rose, Emily, Hilda and Dennis were so warm and welcoming that we immediately felt at home. We feel like we have an African mama and a second family now. We joined Monica Munger, from Oakland, CA who arrived for a 3-month stay several weeks before us. (Monica is the daughter of former MPPC pastor Bob Munger.) We were so blessed to spend a week with the Nteere family and Monica, though we are still trying to lose the five pounds we gained from Mama Rose and Emily’s cooking. Mama Rose is a big believer in drinking at least six cups of tea a day and serving each person enough food to feed three people at every meal. Like most women in Africa, Mama Rose has several jobs. She is a teacher at a primary school, women’s leader at church, on the board of several committees, and homemaker (with no washing machines, dishwashers, or refrigerators… food has to be bought daily and prepared from scratch). Monica gave Rose the nickname "woman who never sits down" which describes her perfectly.



This is the five faculty and 106 students at the school where we volunteered. The four teachers and cook were incredibly dedicated women. They love the children and hope that education will give them a chance for a better life. We helped with English classes, substituted for the teachers when they needed a break, and spent time playing with the children during recess and meals (porridge in the morning, beans and cabbage for lunch… every day).



Monica Munger (pictured here with four students) had been at the school for several weeks, making a big difference. Before she arrived, most students didn’t have pencils let alone books. Instead of a playground and games, all these kids had to play with were a couple of old car tires. With the support of her friends and church (First Presbyterian in Berkeley), Monica was able to buy basic supplies for the school. Now there is at least one book to two students, better teaching supplies, plus volleyball and soccer balls for recess. It was inspiring to meet such a compassionate and resourceful woman as Monica, who decided to come to Kenya on her own after not traveling out of the U.S. for over 30 years.



While we were at the school a 6 year-old student died from AIDs. We never met him because he was too sick to go to school that semester. It was both touching and heartbreaking to hear the children practice a song for his funeral. As everyone knows, AIDs is devastating but this made it very personal as many students at the school are HIV positive and are not getting antiretroviral treatment.



One day when Rose and Monica had some things to buy in Meru, I went along to see if I could find Internet access to buy our airline tickets to Cairo. Walking to the cyber café with my mission to buy tickets and send a few quick emails to family and friends it was easy to put my head down and ignore the young kids on the street asking for money or food. Without much more than a slight smile and wave, I passed by these dirty kids dressed in rags. As is often the case in Africa, the Internet was so slow I wasn’t able to open the webpage. After a few minutes hoping for a miracle I gave up and walked out frustrated at wasting half an hour at the café and trying to figure out what I was supposed to do with myself for the next hour or more when I was to meet Rose and Monica again.



I decided to pick up a few groceries, candy mostly, at the supermarket. While I was wondering around the aisles I found myself thinking about the young ragged figures outside. I went back outside to three kids I had noticed with a bag of rolls and a jar of peanut butter. The three kids quickly turned into more than ten who were having their first and most likely only meal of the day. Nearly all the kids, some not even ten years old, were so high on shoe glue they could not stand up straight. It seemed the only time they took the bottle of shoe glue off their lips was when they were putting bread in. It was sadly humbling how they all shared and worked together. One boy did not have a bottle of glue so another sat beside him sharing his only possession – a bottle of glue to dull the reality of life on the street. Every one of those kids has a heartbreaking story but only one was able to communicate it.


Dylan is sixteen years old and speaks pretty good English, which he learned in the few years he went to primary school and has been practicing ever since. He briefly told me his story as we sat together on the street. His mom either died or abandoned him and he grew up with his drunken father. His dad beat him so badly that he couldn’t live with him anymore and he didn’t take care of him anyway so he has been on the street since he was ten. He believes school is the only way out of the mess he is in but does not have the money to go. He was the only boy in the group who was not out of his mind on glue. Dylan explained that many of the other kids are AIDs orphans and how they all work together to survive. I am not sure what I am supposed to have learned from this experience but I do know that if the Internet worked I would not have spent time with those boys. It makes me wonder how often I put blinders up and simply ignore what is going on around me to finish some task that really is not important. I think I learned that life is full of tradeoffs but people should always come before things.

- David with a little help from Steve

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Ngorongoro Crater Safari

On the way to Nairobi, Kenya, we decided to spend a couple days in Arusha, Tanzania, near Mount Kilimanjaro. Arusha is the gateway to Ngorongoro Crater, renowned as one of the best places in the world to see wild game. After making the rounds of local safari companies in Arusha (with many a street hawker persistently trying to guide the two white guys to their safari tour), we found a two day tour to Lake Manyara and Ngorongoro Crater. We’d be joining four other people… we hoped they’d be cool since we’d be spending two days in a Land Rover with them.


The next morning, we met our traveling companions – a Frenchman named David, and three guys who grew up together in Utah – Mark Perkins plus brothers Troy and Read Flake (left to right in picture above). The Frenchman was aloof and didn’t say much. (Perhaps that’s because he’s been living alone in remote African bush villages working for the U.N. and other agencies for the last ten years.) But fortunately, Mark, Troy, and Read were interesting, fun, and loved to laugh, so we had a blast with them. Troy just finished taking the bar exam after months of grueling study, so he had invited Mark to join him on a multi-week recovery trip. His older brother Read, who works for United, took advantage of free standby tickets to join them for a week in Kenya and Tanzania.


We had our first bonding moment at a rest stop when a 3-foot baboon jumped through the window of our Land Rover, grabbed one of our lunches and some sun screen and jumped out of the window. Fortunately, we were not in the Land Rover at the time but just outside it. The “Jackie Chan Fast Action” award goes to Read Flake. Seeing the animal grab his sunscreen, Read gave the baboon a swift kick as it jumped down from the window, prompting the thief to drop the sunscreen to give priority to the lunch box as he scampered off (a good compromise for both sides). Not only did Read get his sunscreen back, he managed to get a video of the baboon in the act of thievery. Check out the video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=korqy8DoofY

We had a lot of fun with Read, Troy, and Mark (who now live in Illinois, California, and Arizona). Our conversations ranged from debates on wrongful injury lawsuits (with a spirited defense from Troy, the attorney in waiting) to alleged sites of lost Inca treasures.


We even had to hitchhike back to Arusha after our Land Rover broke down on the side of the road (unfortunately, there’s no AAA in remote Africa). Fortunately, a sympathetic tourist who had a Land Rover to herself for a private safari (I wonder how much that cost?), stopped to pick us up. We had such a good time with Read, Troy, and Mark that we hope we get to travel with them again sometime.

As for the safari, Ngorongoro Crater is one of the most fantastic places we’ve ever seen. Millions of years ago, a volcano blew its top, leaving a massive crater about 12 miles across. Animals that go down to the crater floor (now lush grassland) have a hard time getting out, so Ngorongoro has wild game literally everywhere you look. In just a few hours, we saw lions, giraffes, elephants, hippos, rhinos, herds of zebras and wildebeest, cheetahs, jackals, baboons, monkeys, impalas, antelope, ostriches, flamingos, and many more. If you can only go to one place for a safari, go to Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania. We’ll let the pictures convince you…



After saying goodbye to Read, Troy, and Mark, we boarded a bus to Nairobi, Kenya for our next adventure.

- Steve