#42 In Memory of Tom

I woke up this morning to find emails of tragic news. One of my very close friends, Tom Lueders had passed away. There was an accident in a hotel room involving carbon monoxide poisoning. His father was with him and, after being taken to the hospital, survived. I felt frozen; how could this be?

When I started this trip my first destination was to Washington DC to visit Tom. I am so happy that I had a chance to spend time with him again before I left out of the country.

Tom and I met when he moved to Grosse Pointe from Boston my senior year and I found him in my science class. When we first hung out with a few of our other friends, he suggested we go putt-putt golfing. We convinced him that it must be a Boston thing and that we had never heard of it. After a couple of hours of trying to explain this game with colored golf balls and hitting the ball through clowns and such he realized that we had him going; from then on it was a mutual harrasing and a great friendship.

I went to visit Tom in Boston where we painted the town red. I went to visit Tom in Rome where we arrived back home at around 6am to throw all the cheese in his refrigerator out of his 6th story window at anything or anyone we felt deserved some cheese. He came to visit me in college and easily got along with and became friends with all of my other friends.

In the summers when we were back at home we spent time discussing life, going out on the boat with his dad, going into Canada or just hanging out, trying not to get into trouble.

Tom grabbed life by the balls. He didn't just sit around and wait for things to happen, if he wanted something he would go and get it. He always enjoyed himself because life is too short not to. If I ever checked my email and saw there was something from Tom or saw his name on my phone (Tommy Boy) when it rang, a huge smile would come over my face because there would be a great, entertaining story or just a voice with excitement in it.

I know that Tom lived life to its fullest and enjoyed it more than most people. I am happy to call him my friend and even luckier that he called me his.

When I would talk to Tom before a night of going out, I would tell him to stay out of trouble and he would tell me that if he got picked up by the police he would use his one phone call to call me. I never got a phone call, which was a good thing.

It is not length of life, but depth of life. -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

#41 Walk like an egyptian...just don't get run over

I have put up all of the pictures from the trip through africa and Egypt. Sorry it took so long.

From Nairobi to Dubai (6 hours) From Dubai to Cairo (4 hours)= long night.

My plan for Cairo was to blend in which is why I grew a beard for a month.
I was surprised when I walked down the street and every 10 feet someone asked me if I needed a hotel room or wanted to know where a good souvenir shop was. How did they know? How could they see past my clever disguise? Was it the blue jeans and sneakers? The baseball hat or sweatshirt? The blue eyes or white skin under the beard and everywhere else on my body? The backpack I had on or was it just the fact that I can only speak two words of Arabic and I don't even pronounce those two right? Anyways, I blended in like a bull in a chicken coop or a cheap modern day building next to the pyramids (you'll hear more of this later).

When I arrived in Cairo I got in a cab and headed towards my hotel room that costed $8. After checking in and getting my bearings I headed to the Egyptian museum. People say you could spend days in there, maybe you could but I was out of there in less than 2 hours. Don't get me wrong, it is amazing; all of it. After you see a couple tombs, you've seen them all. Things weren't labeled very well either. That and I really am just not good with museusm, if you don't remember reference back to one of the first blogs in Washington DC in august.
I met a guy who owns a shop who I got talking to, his name is Mohammed if you can believe it. It is the most common name in the world. If you are in a Arab country and you want to make a guess, well it's a good guess to make. (Lots of people with the name steve in Africa, in Middle East not so many). Anyways, I spent a bit of time with this guy talking about egypt and the history. He bought me dinner, a free dinner is always good even if it cost less than a buck.

The following day I headed out on a day trip with a couple of friends I had made in the hotel. Gustavo from Argentina (no one in Egypt could pronounce his name so they called him Mustafa) and Kiran and Vibha who were a couple from India who I will meet up with again while I'm in India. Anyway we headed out on our day trip to the Pyramids, Sphinx, and the surrounding areas. I had imagined for the pyramids that I would walk a mile or so into the desert before coming across these wonders. I was wrong, they are right in the middle of the city, it between houses and restaurants, well with a big fence around it.

The monument was built by the Egyptian pharaoh Khufu of the Fourth Dynasty around the year 2560 BC to serve as a tomb when he dies. The structure consists of approximately 2 million blocks of stone, each weighing more than two tons. It has been suggested that there are enough blocks in the three pyramids to build a 3 m (10 ft) high, 0.3 m (1 ft) thick wall around France.

So this place is impressive!!! I didn't realize that the whole thing is basically brick, I always thought of it as open inside. And people had these things built so they could be buried inside of them; just one person, it's a bit greedy. The only opening is this small room where the tomb is held and you can only get to it by walking through a very narrow tunnel with low ceilings. We took a camel ride around the pyramids to see all the angles and also to see the sphinx. It just amazes me that these were built so long ago and with nothing except a human work force. They guess that it took between 20-100 years to complete with anywhere up to 25,000 people working on it at one time. What I don't understand it that right next to the pyramid they put up a building maybe in the last 20 years. This building may have taken a month to put up. They don't even make it the same color or material as the pyramid so that it will blend in. It is hideous and embarrassing to see this crap of a building next to one of the biggest wonders of the world. Just outside the fences of the pyramids you can sit in a restaurant to watch the sun set over the pyramids. It is not a fancy restaurant like you would imagine, in fact it is a KFC/Pizza Hut. So for the price of fries we sat on the 3rd floor and watched the sunset.
When we made it back to the city center we stopped at a local restaurant for some local food (koosheri) and stuffed ourselves for under a couple of dollars.

The following day and my last day in Cairo I went to see Old Cairo and the different Mosques that were built years back (one was 450 years old and the other about 100). They were both absolutely beautiful and very calming to be inside. I then headed to the citadel which is where the king Mohammed Ali used to live after he had it built back in the 1800's. I went with a driver Farouk who drove us the day before to the pyramids. He was a good man who I learned a lot from about the local culture. He would always sing "come with me, I'll tell you we do" and announce that "life is delicious". He told me that he didn't believe me that I'm American because all Americans are very arrogant.
If you want to visit a clean city don't go to Cairo, the smog is amazingly bad. The two days I was out driving I saw two accidents, both involved only one car luckily. Both times the driver was going to fast and spun out of control and hit the median. The traffic lane lines mean nothing in Cairo, I think the drivers think that it is just decoration. On a highway there may be four lanes with 6 cars driving along in them. If you earn your drivers licence in Cairo you can drive anywhere in the world, however you might piss a lot of people off in other parts of the world.
My last night I went on a boat cruise up the Nile river (the longest river in the world) with Kiran and Vibha whose company I enjoyed very much. That night I said my fairwells and got a few hours of sleep before heading to the airport where my plane would be delayed 4 times and I would spend the next 12 hours of my life.


Anyway, I am a faker and I don't care, and I proved it today by being photographed on a camel in front of the Pyramids, and if that wasn't impertinence I do not know its name.
Richard H. Davis

#40 Possible help with the Maasai and those less fortunate.

As you know I spent quite a bit of time in Kenya with families and the Maasai people.
The one woman I stayed with in Nairobi who I called mom works with orphans to help them get an education along with trying to donate to local villages that can't easily get things. Auntie who I stayed with also helps orphans to be educated.
In the maasai tradition like I said previously the girls anywhere from 12-17 will be married off and before marriage must get circumsized which can cause many health problems. Some girls from these villages have run off so this doesn't happen to them. Auntie gives them a place to stay and tries to get them into school to be educated to make decisions for themselves in life. To raise money for them many of the maasai women walk several hours each day to make bead work. Maasai beadwork is known around Africa as top quality work. When I get home I will bring some beadwork (bracelets, necklaces, etc..) if people want to see or possibly buy some.

I saw all the buildings and met many of these people and know that it is a very good cause. I also know that people everywhere in the world need some help.

If you have clothes that you are getting rid or maybe after the holidays if you clean out old stuff and would like to help these people that I stayed with they would be very appreciative as would I for some donations.

The address to send stuff (clothes, pencils, pens, old card games) to is:

Martha Betty Miyandazi
Box 00200 67196
Nairobi, Kenya

If you do send anything please include a piece of paper with your name and return address inside the box.

To tell you a little more about the maasai way of life I have to first tell you their main idea is to let life take care of itself; to live without hurting the land, air, fire or water. They are very good listeners, they will not consider anyone an enemy until they know them. Cow's are life, they are the main food supply and raising cattle is the most important job in the maasai world.
Men can marry multiple woman, usually determined by how many cattle they own.
They are very close, caring people who trust people.
For more information and to learn about my friend Miyere who walked from Nairobi to Cape Town (it took him over six months) go to www.maasaiwarrior.com

Thanks for your help


We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give. -- Winston Churchill

#39 My family and stay in Kenya, an experience you can't book through any tour

undefined

After finishing the tour trip in Nairobi we spent the day at the police station and around because EGG got her passport stolen. She is home safe now so life goes on. If you are traveling in a big city that you aren't familiar safe be careful with your stuff, people are trained to steal. Oh yeah, the police station didn't have a fax machine to have a copy sent to and when we asked if the embassy was open they said they didn't know. When we asked if we could use a phone to call and find out they pointed us to the pay phone: thanks boys, keep up the good work.

I was picked up by family of my friend from South Africa, Miyere. After not long it was established that I call her mom and the girls with her my sisters. It turned out not just to be names they truly did treat me like family. We went back to the house and had dinner while we got to know each other. They gave me my own room while 4 of them shared another. I was then picked up after dinner by another sister who lived on the other side of town and shown around to different bars and clubs. The busy bars besides having all people with darker skin than I were the same as anywhere in the world; lots of people drinking, talking loud and listening to music or watching sports on tv, I want africa not a bar.

The next day I was taken to Auntie's where I met my aunt, uncle and cousin's. They run about 5 different groups there beside taking care of the farm and family. A youth group, a group to raise money to get water to people who live in the country and can't get fresh water, a group for awareness of the maasai people and a group to help runaway girls who leave home because they don't want to be circumcised and married off anywhere between 12 and 17 years old. A girls circumcision consists of having their clitoris cut off; I know it hurts just thinking about it. There is a lot of interesting stories and things happening in this part of the world. I also heard about the Koreans in Kenya who cook and eat cats. Not only that but they don't kill the cat before putting it in the oven. The family I was staying with is friends with a girl from Rwanda who saw her dad executed, her mom gang raped before she was beaten to death and she herself was buried alive only to be dug up and rushed to the hospital in time to save her life; you'll think twice again when you think you've got it bad huh?
I will get back later on the girls in the maasai life and what they are trying to do to help them get educated and to end the bad customs, it is bad because circumcision for girls is very dangerous and can lead to diseases and big problems.
On the other hand the night I arrived there was a celebration for the boys of the village who had been circumsized. It was ironic that while they lie in bed in pain we all eat a great meal and celebrate the night. When it was mixed company in the room talk was of travels, cultural differences and family. When the women left the room talk turned to how many different animals the different men have killed during their life and none could believe I've never slaughtered a goat before: oh forgive me. One guy had killed five lions, 2 elephants and a rhino; I had nothing to say but that I was beaten. After dinner everyone here uses toothpicks, they are quite skilled with them. In their custom when they get the food out of their teeth they just spit it out anywhere in the room (some people I know would fit it this culture with these habits).

The next morning I woke up early and milked my first cow. It was weird but quite enjoyable; is that wrong?. They said I wasn't bad for my first time, that doesn't mean in anyway that I was good at it. They couldn't believe I've never milked a cow. This day it was the independence day so we went to a neighboring village and watched singing, dancing, and skits which taught us about being smart about HIV. After we went to a restaurant and had a lunch paid by the government. I then went to learn how to make a pair of sandals from tires. I had a great teacher and after a couple of hours with a huge crowd watching the mazungu make the sandals I completed it. (After wearing them for a day I had cuts on parts of my feet where the tire dug in which later led to my food swelling, I need to fix them).

Bungee jumping, white water rafting, sky diving; these are nothing. Deworming cattle!!! This is what we did the following morning. It consists of grabbing these massive animals by the horns, ears, legs or tail; usually taking 4-5 people and holding long enough to put the seringe of medicine in the back of its mouth. It was very difficult even to watch which is what I did: someone had to take pictures.
I spent a fair part of this day herding the cattle which is probably the most important thing in the maasai life; cattle=life. I asked uncle if he had 30 cattle and had a choice of losing the cattle of his wife he replied "I can get another wife". After herding I met the people from the different groups in town before heading back to Nairobi to have dinner with mom and sisters.

The next morning mom and I headed out on a 12 hour journey to "Boma"=home, in another part of the country where Miyere and the family are from. We started off waiting on a bus for 2 and 1/2 hours before we left because they don't leave until the bus is full; and I mean full. I sat with a baby's head on my chest, a woman's arm restingon my knee and a baby's hand on my other leg while sitting in a seat that only had room for half of my back with luggage crammed all around me. These are the times that I wish I had stuck with the good old whitey tighties that hold me snug so I don't have to keep adjusting to get comfortable in my crammed space. They there is a moment of room and I remember why I switched to boxers and boxer-briefs, so that my boys down low can swing with the movement of the bus as it hits crater size potholes. I told you before I visited Ngorgoro crater which is the largest crater in the world; well I am convinced that the next 10 biggest are in the roads throughout Africa. When we reached the end of the road with the bus we had to switch to a Matatu (=dala dala). In this big van with 14 seats they fit 21 in so I was even more scrunched than on the bus. I was relieved when two people got off until they decided that since two got off we would put 4 more on making it a grand total of 23; holy shit!!!

After we survived the ride we arrived home to Kilgores with open arms and met my other aunt and cousins. Much of the time during the couple of days here was spent relaxing drinking tea (made from real tea leaves, real milk, real sugar, so it tasted different than any tea I've ever drank) and talking. During the talks the little kids would spend their time petting me. They would have their hands in my hair, on my arms, legs, hands and feet since many of them have never seen a white man before and if they have they haven't seen one as hairy as me. I really didn't mind at all, at least someone was paying attention to me right? When it was time to sleep I was taken to the room of the two boys that were close to my age and I spent most of my time with, Licky and Antoni. Their culture when they have guests is to never leave them alone because they think it is rude, but when I told them they didn't have to sleep in the bed with me and I'd be alright they left only to be yeld at by their mom. So they dragged a mattress into the room so I wouldn't be alone in the room.
I met lots of grandmas, aunts, uncles, cousins, neighbors and most of the community since we also went to a wedding. It was quite fun and I was the main attraction for the little kids, many who were scared of me and would cry just from seeing a white man.
A couple of the cattle were sick and had to be injected with medicine so I grabbed the ears and legs and wrestled it to the ground while they stuck it with the needle.

I ate sugar cane for the first time which was quite delicious. While they ate it with their teeth; everyone from gramps to the 2 yr old, they wanted to cut mine for me so it would be easier. This like many things I had to refused getting babied beyond belief; how soft do they think I am?

There was no electricity or plumbing.
I crapped for the first time in the bush. On my way to this mission I had envisioned how it would be. It's a lot more work than what I'm used to. Unlike my normal style where it's my time to relax maybe with my feet up, a book in hand, possibly even a short nap, this going in the bush is what I would imagine the CIA's work to be like. Get in quick, check around for danger (plants, wild animals, someone with a spear) take care of business and get out. I was however quite proud of myself when I finished, more than anything because I was worried about my body at this point (it had been almost a week before I pushed some brown out). When I went back they were all curious how it went and I told them I was happy the stump was there for me to hold onto. They wanted me to show them my stance which by the laughs I took to be the wrong one. I then learned how to squat the right way which made me want to try again.
They taught me maasai dances and songs which was good fun, it involves lots of jumping which I'm always up for. It was really great just to be immersed in their way of life and for them to accept me as one of the family. They really didn't want me to go and told me to tell my family at home that they love them too since now they are part of the family through me.
I got to know much more about their culture and how life is in that part of the world which I will explain in the next blog.

They LOVED the cameras, mainly for the reason that no one has one and they have never used it. It was a fight every time I took them out for who got to use it. When there was something to tape and I asked them to tape about 5 minutes to see a little of it I always had to go intervene after 15 or 20 minutes or else it would go until the tape ended. With the still camera after every shot, everyone wanted to see how it looked which would take much more time than the actual setup and picture taking.

We all had lots of laughs and good discussion and when I left after such a short time I really did feel like I've been there for a long time and have known these people for ever. The visit will always be with me and they will always be my Kenyan family.

(Kenyan) Mom and I headed back home the following morning on an express matatu and got the front seat so we had some leg room; it was a much better experience than on the way there. We were met at home by sisters who had big hugs for me. We looked at the pictures, listened to music and had dinner before my last night in Kenya.

I leave tonight to Cairo and then after a few days head to Kuwait.

It has been one hell of a journey so far and it amazes me to think it's only half over. Thanks to all of you who have been part of my journey and experience and making it what it is.


Live as if your were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever. -- Gandhi

#38 Random stuff that I thought or forgot or don't know where it came from.

undefined

The tour guide on the last truck I was on was named Belinda.
When it was Thanksgiving and we were excited she asked what it was that Jesus did on that day. She also had never heard of Fidel Castro. When we passed a block of buildings that was being demolished and someone asked why this was happening she said "oh that, they are demolishing the buildings but I have no idea why" This was our tour leader; one reason I was ready to be done.
A bigger reason: Dodo. This is the name a older german woman on our tour chose to have people call her. A bird that is extinct partly because it is an idiot bird. The name fits!!! First day on the bus she sat right in the front of the truck of 22 next to the speaker and then asked to turn the music down. When she wanted it further down she grabbed my ipod and turned it off; if you know me then you know that she was a close to death as she could have been. She also takes pictures of EVERYTHING. If the pictures I post aren't enough I can get hers but it may take you the same number of days I traveled to look at the pictures since she spent every moment taking pictures. I don't dislike many people, she is an exception.

In Africa guys hold hands. If it is your brother, father or real good friends and you are walking then it is acceptable to hold hands; and I mean fingers interlocked. They are not gay and can't believe that anyone in the world would see it strange. They are just comfortable and it is a way of life. It is nice!!! When I get home I'm holding hands. Mike and Adam if you were in Africa no one would question you.

People in Africa have nice hair cuts all the time, it doesn't get scraggly. Not that they feel the need to always look their best but why not, to go to a barber and get a haircut is less than a buck. If haircuts were cheap like that in the US I would get a haircut every week or two, wouldn't you? I don't even shave while I'm here, it is cheaper to go and have them shave my scruff than to use up the razor.

I've gotten 3 proffesional massages since in africa. It's like $10 for an hour and it's well worth it for the money I was saving sleeping in tents. These women have some strong hands, makes me want one now.

When I was driving in South Africa we were stopped by a police check point. (Africa has so many check points on the roads, sometimes used to harass drivers until they give them a bribe, sometimes for real reasons.) This particular time we were stopped and asked if we had pork in the car. We told them we didn't and they were satisfied. They didn't want to check and weren't worried if we had bombs or guns in the car; but pork, it's out of the question.

I read a great book: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer.
I like the kid that the book is about, the page where he is talking to a shrink is my favorite page, if you read it keep that in mind. It is written from the perspective of an 8 yr old who lost his dad in 9/11. If you want to tell me some great books that you've read I'd be happy to know about them.

MAZUNGU
This is what people in africa yell when they see me. In their language it means white person. Some places it is very rare to see a white person so they can't help themselves and it just comes out. It is not meant to be a bad thing. The only bad part is when they see a mazungu they charge you more for anything than they would charge a local; bastards!!! I spend a lot of time trying to make people that do this feel bad, I don't think it works very well.

People I meet on the street and talk to for minutes, sometimes seconds ask me for my address in the US in case they come to visit. Fine, I give it to them. Then they give me their address and tell me to write them a letter, of course they don't have email and when I mention it they get disgusted which makes me feel bad; maybe I should write them two letters now. We all know I will lose the paper that the man I have known for 40 seconds has just handed me.

I like catching someone on the streets eye and smiling, they can't help but to smile back. (I'm sure they are thinking: why is that mazungu smiling at me, I better smile so he will go away).

A smile costs nothing but gives much. It enriches those who receive, without making poorer those who give.
A smile takes but a moment, but the memory of it sometimes lasts forever. None is so rich or mighty that he can get along without it, and none is so poor but that he can be made rich by it.
A smile creates happiness in a home, fosters goodwill in a business and is the counter sign of friendship.
A smile brings rest to the weary, cheer to the discouraged, sunshine to the sad, and is natures best antidote for trouble.
Yet a smile cannot be bought, begged, borrowed or stolen, but for it is something that is of no value to anyone until it is given away.
Some people are too tired to give you a smile. Give them one of yours, as no one needs a smile so much as he who has no more to give.

#37 Are Lions or drivers more dangerous?

A dala dala isn't a food and it isn't an expression.
If you want cheap transportation you take a dala dala.
If you want to test your luck with life you take a dala dala.
They are these mini bus/big van type or auto that seat 8 or so people. They usually have anywhere from 7 to 15 people in them. It's not the amount of people that will make you clostrophobic or worried. It is when they bring in their luggage, goats, or anyother assortment of stuff other passengers may be carrying. They are about a 20th of the price of a taxi and it is what the locals do and so that is what I do to. Luckily I am here to report about it.

It is now mango season through much of africa. What does this mean? If at any point of the trip during any part of the day anyone and everyone is will to sell you a mango. You can't go 10 feet without passing someone with a pal of mangos. Pineapples are plentiful too.

I have a bit of a cold or flu or something which worries me not only because I'm in Africa but because I have a lot of crap to do and don't want to be sick for it. First step was to see if it was Malaria. After spending less to get a malaria test than I spent to write this blog I found out I was clear of that. Now I just chug water, get some sleep and push on.

Lion is the driver of our huge truck which we have spent way to much time in. While the majority of the group did a set up safari, myself and a few others chose to stay back and find our own means thinking it would be cheaper. Believe it or not it was a bit cheaper. We (Me, Alice and Egg) found a guide to take us to the Ngororo crater in Tanzania. This is the largest crater in the world. 17km by 21km. Because it is surrounded by mountains the animals there stay in the crater making it one of the most spectacular sites that I've ever seen. Driving through the crater we saw thousands of animals every way we turned. Tons of Zebra, Wildbeasts, Buffalo, a cheetah, a jackal, and a family of 11 lions which is where we ate our lunch; right in the car about 30 ft from the lions. The crater is also home to the Black Rhino which is an endangered animal and there are fewer than 100 left in the world. Each one that exists has a tracking device in its horn and is traced 24 hours a day. We were lucky enough to see 3 of them, one sighting was the mom and the baby. We also saw tons of baboons and some zebras mating (the expression hung like a horse goes for hung like a zebra as well). While nobody is allowed to get out of their vehicles in the crater I was able to get out for a couple of hours. Why you ask? Because our truck got stuck in the mud and we had to figure out ways to get it out. Luckily the lions weren't near or weren't hungry. After a bit of time and breaking 3 chains a bigger truck was able to pull us out and set us free. Lion our driver came with us on the safari which made it twice as much fun.

We head to Nairobi today and our tour ends tomorrow which is when I will be traveling alone again. My next stop will be in a maasai village to visit the family of Miyere who I met while in Cape Town and it turns out he is probably the most famous Maasai warrior today since when you go to maasaiwarrior.com it is all him and what he has set up. It should be an interesting experience. If you check out the website and have any questions you want me to find out while I'm there just let me know.

"I live the life I love, I love the life I live"
-Toots and the Maytals. in the song 'free man'

#36 Water, beaches, and locals.

HAPPY DECEMBER. I have been gone 4 months, has anyone noticed?

If you find yourself in Tanzania and are out on some local streets, but are worried because you don't speak the native tongue, Hakuna Matata=Don't worry. When you see people on the street, who ever speaks first just says "jambo" and the second person responds with "jambo". If by chance they say "mambo" you just reply "poor", and all is good in the hood. You can also use another saying that they also use in a few of the other African countries; that being "shop, shop". It has nothing to do with buying anything. If you say "shop, shop" it means-hello, how are you, I'm fine, ok thanks have a good day. (it could mean all of this or just part of it depending on how you feel and how they interpret how you say it, but either way it's a good thing to say.
If none of these things seem to suit you then you can say eminem or D12 or 50 cent and point to their shirt or hat since it seems that this was these rappers marketing plan: to outfit everyone on the continent of Africa with their apparel.
When I see someone with one of these on this is usually how the conversation goes: we'll say they have an eminem shirt on.
ME: oh, eminem Local: yes, eminem, I like very much.
ME: I'm from Detroit, the same city as eminem. Local: Yes, I like eminem.
ME: Detroit Local: deetwoit, what is deetwoit? ME: the city I'm from that eminem is from too. Local: Yes, eminem, from USA. You are from USA?
ME: Yes, I'm from USA, in Detroit. Local: I like USA...New York City.
ME: USA, New York City, no I'm not from there. I'm from Michigan.
Local: oh, Mexico. ME: shop, shop. Local: shop, shop.

If they can't understand me how in the world could they understand any lyrics from eminem or 50 cent? the answer: they don't.

In Malawi we stayed a few nights at some different camp sites right on the beaches of Lake Malawi which turned out to be great fun. We could swim at any point and then head nearby to the local villages to talk with locals and see the local villages (schools, hospital, how they grow and make their food, and I played some soccer) They invited us one night to a bonfire on the beach where we all played drums and danced and sang. (They taught me how to play the drums; they gave me a beat to play which if I play it alone when I get home you will think I'm going crazy.) I did some haggling for some handmade crafts. I really don't want most of the crafts but just find myself enjoying the battle of the price war that I end up with stuff. (this may mean that they won since I bought stuff, or we both won because we both leave thinking we got the best of the deal.)
The little kids love to get their pictures taken and think it is the funniest thing when they see it on the screen. I went through a battery just to entertain them with different poses for the pictures and then letting them look at it.

I made a bet with the driver and cook of our truck. They said I couldn't eat 12 eggs for breakfast. So with a big build up after a couple of days the eggs were made; I picked scrambled, with hot sauce. It filled up a full silver tray they had. Fork to mouth, fork to mouth, fork to mouth for about 10 minutes which at that point I held up the empty tray and collected my prize which was a bottle of Vodka. The funny thing was that when we made the bet, Lion-the driver wanted to bet a bottle of Gin which I agreed to. Then he bought the bottle of vodka and kept referring to it as whiskey. In conclusion: alcohol is all the same to them here, it doesn't matter what type it is.

Making our way into Tanzania we visited the countries largest city, Dar Salaam which is a pretty busy, happening place. This is where we boarded the ferry to Zanzibar, the island off of Tanzania. Our first night in Zanzibar Egg and I headed to meet Megadeath (Meredith from our old tour) who was staying in a five star hotel with a friend. Going from camping to a five star is like going from eating basic sandwiches to gourmet all you can eat with all kinds of meat, appetizers, desserts and a waitstaff to make sure you have everything you want. (I know because at the 5 star hotel we payed $25 and got to eat at this gourmet buffett along with unlimited drinks which I couldn't do because I was too full from the food.) The beach in front of the hotel was huge, we could walk for a mile or longer out without the water going over our waist, this with white sand to walk in. All of this in addition to Megadeath who is so excited and animated about everything which makes it hard to not smile and laugh the whole time you are around her (that or be astonished by what comes out of her mouth which also makes you laugh).

Zanzibar is known for all the spices that they grow here so we went on a spice tour and learned about all the different uses for a lot of them. For example: If a man eats ginger it gives him a lot of strong sexual power, it is like a natural viagra.
If a women eats nutmeg it will do the same thing. In the Western world women have to be careful about men dropping a date rape drug into their drink at a bar where here guys will slip some nutmeg into a girls drink to get them wired up.

Today I spent my day snorkeling near a smaller island off the coast of Zanzibar. It was breathtaking to see the colors of these fish, they didn't look real.
It made me think about when at some restaurants or places they have the contests where they give an outline of fish or something and the kids have to color in the fish and they will use the best one for their menu or something like that. Anyway, I remember thinking when kids would use strange colors that there would never be fish those colors. I was wrong!!! Every color combination you could think of has a fish that exists like that. I was in a trance floating there and watching these fish letting my mind try to soak it all up. I also saw a sting ray and lots of dolphins swam along near our boat as well.

Tomorrow we leave and head back to the mainland where we head north for our last week on this safari. The big group has done alright. I know now which I probably should have always known that I don't like people telling me what to do and when there are a lot of people and organized like this people try to do that and it doesn't go over to well with me.

There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.
- William Shakespeare

# 35 More to come

Hey,
I don't have time to write an update but it willl be coming soon. I am in Tanzania now and have had some great times up to now.
The sound of the ocean isn't just in the shell, it is in anything that is enclosed near your ear. At 26 I just realised this and it is very dissapointing.
Other than that everything is great.

#34 Through Zambia and now into Malawi

After leaving Vic Falls we crossed over into Zambia and headed towards Lake Kariba where we boarded a houseboat for a couple of days. Once we were in the middle of the lake we were allowed to jump off the roof of the boat. Crocs don't tend to be in the middle of the lake, they are genarally near the shore which seemed to be the case for our experience as well. It was a very relaxing couple of days where we got to know the other people on our tour, catch some sun, fish a little and enjoy the scenery of the neighboring islands. At night if we didn't want to sleep in our rooms we could pull our mattress to the roof and sleep under the stars. I have never seen so many stars in my life, it was fantastic to fall asleep gazing at them only to wake up in the morning to the sunrise over the lake.

The next couple of days consisted mostly of driving and stopping for short breaks in little towns and villages. All along the roads there are the little (what we would call one bedroom huts) homes of these people who would get real excited as we drove by and waved. Little kids especially would scream and sprint towards the road to greet us with a wave or whistle as we drove by. Watching them it seems that they spend the morning doing all of the hard work in the fields or going to collect what they need for the day or week and then once the heat from the sun sets in they try to stay cool under the shade or take care of less energy consuming chores. It is the most basic life compared to our standards but it just amazes me all the time to see them so happy about everything.

One afternoon when we arrived at our campsite Egg and I decided to walk towards the nearest village which we were told was quite far away. We never did make it to the village but the entire time we walked we had company. Local people walking along with us or riding their bikes along with us to ask us questions about our lives and to happily answer questions about there life or teach us some of the local language. Some little kids just want to shake our hands or show off there little brothers or sisters. Most people don't have cars and there isn't too much public transportation so all along the streets are masses of people walking and people on bikes who carry more on their bikes than I could fit in my car.

Egg, German (Jamie) and I just realised that yesterday on thanksgiving was also one month that we've been traveling together (and they haven't killed me yet).
Oh yeah, HAPPY THANKGIVING to everyone!! Most of the world have no idea what Thanksgiving is. We just arrived today into Malawi which is one of the poorest countries in the world. We head to Lake Malawi which takes up about a quarter of the countries space.

I try to explain what I do and see but it is so often quite hard to put my feelings of these places and the people and feel of the communities into words.
I still have not had any type of connection to put up pictures but will let you know when I do.


The life I touch for good or ill will touch another life, and that in turn another, until who knows where the trembling stops or in what far place my touch will be felt.
-Frederick Beuchner

#33 One of the 7 natural wonders of the world and time to switch tour groups.

Some info about the falls I went to see all of yesterday.
The Victoria Falls or Mosi-oa-Tunya are situated on the Zambezi River, on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, (17°55′1″S, 25°51′0″E) and are roughly 1.7 km (1 mile) wide and 128 m (420 ft) high. They are considered a remarkable spectacle because of the peculiar narrow slot-like chasm into which the water falls, so one can view the falls face-on.
Victoria is the largest single sheet of water in the world , over 100 metres tall, and over one mile wide
The falls are extremely broad at about 1.7 km across, and the height of the cascade varies from 80 m at the right bank to 108 m in the centre. This makes Victoria roughly twice the height of Niagara Falls, and well over twice the width of the horseshoe falls (Niagara's main portion). The falling water generates spray and mist that rises typically to a height of over 400 metres (and sometimes even twice as high), and is visible from up to 50 km (over 30 miles) away. At full moon, a "moonbow" can be seen in the spray instead of the daylight rainbow.
During the wet season the falls have over 500 million litres (19 million cubic feet) of water falling over its crestline each minute, and spray from this rises hundreds of metres into the air because of the incredible force of the falling water.

It was absolutely fantastic to see this wonder. The water is low right now and still you get soaked walking a fair distance aways from the falls due to the pressure of the falls. They were so beautiful and like a lot of other parts of the world they didn't have security everwhere or tall fences up (in fact they had no fences or anything at all near the cliff) so you felt like it was just you and this amazing thing in the middle of nowhere.

Before we got to Vic falls we where in another city where we did the rhino trek for the day and got drenched. It turned out that we could upgrade at this place from our tent to a bed in a dorm room for the price of $1. Still some people didn't take it. Me, it was one of the best dollars I've ever spent. The owner of this place was also a massage therapist so for $10 I got a 45 minute sports massage.

Our first day arriving in Vic Falls we went out to a restaurant with our group and had a buffet style meal where I got to eat ostrich, warthog and kudu (similar to a deer, but much better meat). We also got to see a bunch of different local dances accompanied by singing. I loved this and got called up to dance during one of them (I think I held my ground) Later that night we visited a local bar/club that had live music and our group (the only white people in there) danced the night away with the locals.
I got to spend a bit more time with Gift, who calls me steveini and teaches me some of the local language. We went out to lunch along with Egg (Erin) and had some local food where you eat with your hands which I quite enjoy.

For the next 20 days or so Jamie, Egg and I join a new bus crew and so get to meet all new people for the next leg of the trip up to Nairobi.

It amazes me how friendly everyone is here and it's not just to us because we our tourists with money or since we are white and stand out in a crowd but just watching them among each other there is a happy kindness that I haven't experienced anywhere else.

It is also strange to be in a city with tons of people around while baboons just wander through the streets, on top of buildings and are just there but don't really get in the way of the people.

In this part of the world when you are talking to someone about doing something such as "when will you be here to pick me up?" they could respond "just now" when they say just now it means that it could be anytime after at least 2 hours and could be as late as months from now.
To the same question they could also respond "now, now"
when they say this it means anytime from now until usually about the latest being 2 hours from now.

Live as if your were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever. -- Gandhi

#32 Animals-the big ones, the real africa and an interesting collection of people on the big yellow bus-truck

High speed internet and internet in general isn't in much of africa.
There has been a crapload to happen since the last entry and I can't even remember it all so I will give you the highlights.
Erin, Jamie and I just bumbed around cape town for the last day until we flew into Joberg where we met our group of 19 people to join us in a overland safari from Joberg, South Africa through Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. There are people of all ages from many different coutries.
Our first stop was at Kruger Park. We did a night drive when we got there and saw giraffes, buffalo, baby jackals, baboons and lots of different types of deer type animals. This night also began our month long of sleeping in tents and waking up before 6 every morning to get on the road (we have lots of ground to cover) or start the days activities. The following day we spent the whole day in the park where we saw more of the same along with elephants, zebra, hippoes, rhino, a leapard and the king of the wild, the lion. It was such a great experience and cool thing to see out there in this park that is the size of belgium. (that's right, belgium=kruger-waffles+cool animals) We spent a majority of the next few days driving and stopping in small cities along the way which I really enjoyed since it gave me a chance to talk with the locals. In this time we also saw the 2nd largest canyon in africa, the great zimbabwe ruins where back in the day the king had 250 wifes (I don't even know 250 girls). We camped one night at a place that had a swimming pool that overlooked a cliff with valleys and mountains as far as the eye could see.

I have a small bladder. That and the fact that I drink a lot of water doesn't go over so well when you are always on the road in a vehicle with no bathroom although we can stop any time it's needed. I truly go like 10 times a day. I don't know who I inherited this from but it really disturbs the day especially when you can't get out because there may be lions or other animals near.

We stayed a couple nights at a place called antelope park (I'm sure you could read about it online). When we arrived and set up our tents there were elephants swimming in the river that wasn't 50 meters from us (150 ft, ps-no one in the rest of the world uses ft) This place is famous for saving orphaned lions and breeding them to release them back into the wild since the population number has decreased unbelievably. During our time there I went and played with lion cubs, saw the larger lions and the breeding program and walked with lions one morning to see how they are out and about with other animals around. Some of us also did a carriage ride that went around the park where we could get an upclose look at animals, we saw wildbeasts, zebra and vultures eating a dead cow.(vultures don't eat skin so if a cow hasn't been killed with insides already showing the vultures starts to eat it by going in through the anus and eating the insides-I know that's nasty)
Today we went on a rhino tracking where we looked for footprints and other clues to help us figure out which way to go and then we ended up about 30 ft from them on foot.(they are huge-weighing around 2 tons) Our group decided to go with the guide who had the open top truck and so when it rained on us there wasn't a damn thing we could do except get soaked to the bone and freeze for the next few hours.

Meals have been good, our cook Gift is from Zimbabwe and is the nicest guy in the world who calls me steveini. Some of the group call me Sir-eat-a-lot.
I have been able to make mixes and play my Ipod in the yellow submarine which as you can imagine I've been quite happy about.

We had a day where we went to a little market to buy things and the people wanted everything we had. (I traded the shirt off my back for something) This is because in Zimbabwe it is so hard for people to get stuff they want anything. They asked for Erin's hairtie right from her hair and were so happy when they got it.(It makes you think about the fact that we get tired of our clothes so quick and can just easily go to a store to buy anything we want. The houses many of them live in are just little one room huts. I can't really explain how I feel about it but it's a different world then I've ever seen. We traded some US dollars for zimbabwe money and at the bank we would get 250 for $1 but on the black market we get 1500 for $1 since no other countries will accept zimbabwe money.

This has been such a great experience so far and I will try to update as much as possible. I can't put the pictures up here and don't know when I will get a chance but as soon as I do I will let you know.

#31 Bungee, Canoing, Ostriches and the end of the road trip.

216 meters= about 640 ft. This is the hight of the highest commercial bungee jump in the world that I did after I wrote the last blog. Driving there was the scariest part but then when I had in my mind I was going to do it I quite enjoyed it because I figured I live or I die and since I'm writing this you know the outcome. The two girls joined me as well and were nicknamed the BB's (bridge buddies), which we found pretty funny. It was quite a long way to free fall until the bungee kicked in.
Later that day Erin went paragliding to test her luck with life and after 45 minutes in the air and the guide on her back not being able to land where he wanted they ended up in a cow pasture and had to jump an electrical fence. We all decided that was enough excitement for the night and headed back to the ocean side backpacker to relax for the evening next to a bonfire.
The next morning the sun was shining and we headed out for our next adventure. We stocked a cooler with food and drinks for the night and jumped in canoes leaving our car behind. We had about a 2 hour ride paddling canoes to get to our cabin in the woods that was only accessible by canoes. We thought we would get a little sun and take our time but as we took off the clouds began to appear and after a short time the rain began. We pulled over to the side of the river to wait for a while under trees hoping to stay dry and keep our stuff dry. When the rain finally slowed we headed off again and not more then 10 minutes went by before we had to hurry and look for another pull off spot. This time, wet and cold and sitting under a tree we decided to make a concoction with our drinks. After a half an hour or so with our blood warm and full of energy we decided to push on through to the cabin. When we got there we were not dissapointed one bit. It was a beautiful wooden cabin with a big clean room, an outdoor kitchen with gas stove and a huge deck with a bonfire pit in the middle. First thing was first, I headed out with the axe there to paul bunyan some of the wooden stumps (Jamie took some pictures but it came to an end when the pieces of wood flew off and hit her). After we made dinner, got a roaring fire going and made some drinks we sat in our chairs with blankets and let the night fade into oblivion.
The next morning after finishing too much alcohol the last thing we wanted to do was get back in the canoes and paddle our way back (this time against the current and wind). There were many times that I contimplated living in the woods for the rest of my life or throwing my paddle overboard so I had to choice but to wait for help. When we finally made it back we got some chinese and headed back to our hostel (same one which we planned on staying one night and instead stayed 4) and slept and took it easy the rest of the day.
The next morning after I ate 9 eggs along with 6 tomatoes, a carton of mushrooms, half an onion and a block of cheese (needless to say Erin and Jamie do not approve of my traveling eating habits) and saying goodbye to the owners, Johanne and Annelle we headed off for a full day of driving. Our first stop was in a city known for raising ostriches. Our goal: to ride them. I was too heavy to ride them and I can't tell you in words how upset this made me. The girls refused to on account that they had to do a walking tour about the ostriches life before riding them; that and they are a bit freaked out by the bird that has a bigger eye than brain. Our next stop was to visit the famous local caves. This is by far the worse tour of anything I have ever done. Granted, it was the woman's first group she has taken but really, everytime she spoke I would have preferred that she was punching me in the face and I'm quite sure the rest of the group would have enjoyed it more as well.
We (I) then drove for the next 6 hours through some of the most beautiful country and scenery I have ever seen. One part of the drive was on small roads in the mountains that I was admiring when Jamie very calmly said "well, steve" and pointed at the car coming right at us since I was in there lane. After swerving out of the way my heart was pounding as the girl went back to talking about whatever it was they were talking about before our near death collision.
We finally arrived on the west coast and found a farm that was a backpacker/kennel. (seriously, I took a picture). Then the main mission was to get the girls food; they were upset that I didn't stop to let them eat for like 10 hours. Exhausted, we were awoken at around 4 am to roosters, barking dogs and any other kind of animal you would not want to wake up to. They continued through the whole morning which is when we decided to get up and get the hell out of there. We then had to decide on what to do for the day; mountain bike or go relax on the beach. So after our day (you guessed right) hanging out at the beach we went to a small fishing village nearby to treat ourselves to a delicious dinner at a restaurant on the water. I had some of the best fish of my life, called angel fish. We then went to our new hostel to get a good night sleep periodically waking up to the neighbors barking dogs.
Our last day with the rental car we took off back towards cape town and went to see the cape of good hope which is this southern point that has hikes where you can look over cliffs at the ocean. This day while driving along the bays we stopped at one beach that had tons of penguins everywhere. ( I didn't know penguins were in warm areas, they have it much better than the ones in march of the penguins). We also saw maybe 10 whales or so and they were very active, doing flips, waving there tails and fins and blowing water everywhere; one even waved to me, I called him sam; he was my favorite. Not only that but they were so close to shore that it was very easy to see them; we nicknamed it whale heaven.

People in south africa say "is it?" as we would say "really?" or something
for example
I would say " I had a great time last night, the people were real cool"
their response: "is it?"
This really bothers me for some reason but also makes me laugh at the same time.

if you want to check out the backpackers we stayed at on the ocean for like $15 a night the website is: www.buffalobaybackpackers.com the pictures are great.

We spent last night with the masai warrior, Miyere at his barbeque. I will still write a blog about him. I am going to his village outside of kenya when I get there and he informed me that I will be the first white person many of them have ever seen.

oh yeah. I woke up the other morning to a guy standing above me in his boxers. When I jumped and yelled at him what he was doing, he told us that we were in his beds and when I finally realised where he was supposed to be I pointed him in the right direction back to his room; ahh alcohol. After a short time later I got up to go to the bathroom and when I opened the door after going there was a black cat in our room in front of me. Luckily it went out without too much of a fight but it was too late I was freaked out.

Today we did nothing but ride a train to go to a beach that was too windy to be able to lie there. None the less, not a bad day, I learned a new language.

"I don't live the way I do to escape life, I live this way so life doesn't escape me"

It is my brother Mark's 21st birthday today, so mark, happy birthday!!!

We fly to Joberg tomorrow and on wednesday morning head out on our 32 day bus trip from Joberg to Nairobi.
If you would like to see the itinerary you can go to:
http://www.overlandafrica.com/tours_temp.asp?TourNo=212

3 months have already passed and it is amazing to me how much I have seen and experienced and how many great people I have met. It is very encouraging for the rest of my trip.
thank you to those who read this and write to me, I really do appreciate it.

#30 Driving the Garden Route, sunsets and 2 traveling buddies.

I was staying in a backpacker in Cape Town called long street backpackers that overlooks the main part of town, it's good people that work there and many nice people I have met that stay there. They made food for everyone for a couple of days free of charge.
I have two friends from home who were traveling around South Africa and now have come to meet me, Erin and Jamie. Actually, I only knew Erin from home but have heard about Jamie and now have gotten to know her as well. The first night they arrived in Cape Town we headed for a 3 hour walk up the hills to go to a point where we could watch the sun set. On the way there printed on the street it said "100m until heaven" This was very exciting to me since I have heard so much about heaven and I never thought I would get to see it so soon. Madonna wasn't crazy when she said "heaven is a place on earth". Anyways, at the top of signal hill it was quite nice and the sunset was beautiful. It's just my expectations were sooo high that it couldn't possibly meet them. After the sun set it was quite cold and luckily we found some people to drive us back to town.
The next day we decided to hit the road so we went and rented a car. We learned that the car is not covered for attempted theft. They told us when we are out of the car to lock all the doors and the other safety things to deter the theives but I was thinking that if they attempt to steal it and break stuff we have to pay so why not leave the doors unlocked so they don't have to break windows and then if they do steal it, it would be covered by insurance.
Anyhow, getting comfortable again driving on the other side of the road with the steering wheel on the other side of the car and remembering how to do stick shift with my left hand took some time. When we got out of the city we got off at a wrong exit. Here there were thousands and thousands of shacks made out of metal or wood that people found and put together that couldn't be much bigger than a normal size kitchen and each one housed a family. We have since seen many of these neighborhoods.
The first night out of town we went to wine country and stayed in a beautiful hostel that was on a large vineyard. We did a long hike in the evening through all the vineyards, around large ponds and once again saw another great sunset. This place cost a little more than most places (about $19). When we left there we headed to a small beach town and got some beach time before heading to a city called hermanus which is world famous for whale watching. When we woke in the morning and went out to the cliffs we could see very easily a whale and her calf swimming. It was awesome to see and we watched for hours as they would every once in a while spray water through their blow holes and then also go down under by bringing their tale up above the water. They are a very peaceful animal to watch. When we left there and headed along the coast we saw a bunch of baboons back off the road in the bushes, it's no farm or anything, just wild baboons running around;crazy. (When I was telling people this later and they didn't seem to care much at all it was because I was so excited telling this story that I said bamboo instead of baboon and they didn't care too much that we saw bamboo.)
We stopped at the southern most tip of the african continent and saw where the Indian and Atlantic ocean meet. This night we stayed in a hostel that was actually an old train that is right on the beach. When we went back to the big dorm room (a train car) I saw 3 german girls that I had roomed with back when I first got to cape town. When we roomed together in cape town they always saw me eating apples and thought it was the only food I ate so they were amazed to see me eat other food. They would also ask me if I speak german and then I would tell them no, but when they would talk and then look at me and then laugh it didn't matter if I understood german or not; I understood what was going on. Earlier in the day we stopped at a little fishing village where the boats go out and actually fish with lines and the old styles to catch the fish. We were there when they arrived back and so we bought some fresh fish (a red roman which is only found in these waters). They were absolutely delicious!! After our night on the train we were off again and this time we found ourselves in another ocean city where we asked about hostels and were told of one that was out near buffalo bay, so we decided to check it out and when we got there we saw miles off beaches with this building that was right on the beach in the most amazing spot. We thought that can't be it, but to our luck and amazement that was it, right there on the beach for $13 a night where back home it would be hundreds. We were the only guests as well and at night they built a fire on the beach for us. Where we planned on staying for a night we will now stay for a few nights. Erin and Jamie have been very easy to travel with, they are quite laid back and happy about everything (it's not to hard to be happy in places that we've been), even when jamie cut her finger and almost bled to death (ok, a little dramatic).

You can't always view beauty from a comfortable armchair.

#29 South Africa Sun, Seals and Stories.

Have you ever looked at a tire from a car and thought shoes? me neither, until now.
Rewind.
Ok, so I arrived to the sunny Cape Town and got myself a room in a backpackers on long street, the main street in town (about $13). I headed off wandering around the city and found myself down by the harbor in the middle of restaurants, shops, boats and seals swimming all over the place. On all the little docks there were seals laying there basking in the sun. I ventured down to one dock that was away from people and had about 10 seals laying on it looking lazy as ever (reminded me of Adam-Borat and Mark-brother hanging out together) I went down to take pictures with them and as I got close one made a big bark and I ran like a little girl. (Ok, I know I have a lot of friends that are little girls and maybe you take offense to that. Actually thinking about all of you I picture you running as well so I'm sticking with it) I ran like a little girl!! It's not that they would bite me I don't think, but they are big and I wasn't expecting it. Well, then after walking around for a while more and getting some food I was still knackered from the long flight and so went to bed and slept for 14 hours. I decided the following day would be a beach day but instead of paying for a cab I walked for about 2.5 hours over the little mountain to the beach. Absolutely beautiful beaches with the mountains in the background I laid there and would go for a swim in the freezing cold water every half hour or so and the rest of the time enjoy the sun and the scenery (mountains, water and girls in the vacinity). I managed another day at the beach since I've been here but took a van taxi where they pack about 15 people into a van and it is quite cheap and quite an experience in itself. Another night I went dancing for a night with some other people I met in the backpacker, more Germans, I swear they are everywhere on this trip; luckily they have all been nice and lots of fun.

On another night I met Miyere, a Masai Warrior from Kenya. We have since spent a lot of time together and I have been fascinated, educated and made a good friend along the way. Last night I went to a barbeque (here they say a brii) in a farm up in the hills that overlooks the city. At the farm there are horses, cattle, donkey, chicken, pigs, dogs, cats and more animals that I didn't see. They aren't caged in or fenced in, they just walk around and all live in harmony together. The barbeque was to raise money for homeless children in the city. Today I learned how to make sandals out of tires. I tried some on and they are extremely comfortable so when I get home I will make myself a pair and if anyone else would like to learn, well then come to africa and have someone teach you. I will tell you much more about Miyere but he will have to have a blog of his own.
Life and things happen in mysterious ways.
I read the other day a quote.

Action without vision is just passing time
vision without action is just daydreaming but
vision with action can change the world.

#28 A hug fits all sizes and to the Cape I go.

My last night with Adam I sat courtside for the team's biggest game yet. They only dressed 7 so the players had to step up. Adam led the way with 22 points for an exciting victory over the other team. The reason I have more pictures of the cheerleaders than of the basketball game is that everytime I tried to take a picture during the game the other team would do well and our team not so well; so by the 4th try I eased off a bit. (some nice cheerleading shots however). After the game we decided to head out on the town with a few of the teammates to hit up a place that reminded me of vegas, not because it had lights or casinos or fake breasts but because it was this huge club sprung up in the middle of absolutely nowhere. Either way we had a fun night with adam making the most of his chance to drink on a rare occasion. The morning after with a frozen bag of vegies on his ass adam and I reminiced about the game and the night before. (The sore ass may have been from the game or a fall during the outing or a combo of both). And like that I leave another familiar face and was off on an overnight train/bus trip to frankfurt.

I then flew to Vienna where I got to meet up with recently new friend, Monika and her family. We danced the night away on both friday and saturday night with her sister, Ines and her friends who were all a fun and happy bunch. I was spoiled with meals, drinks and tour of the city and a comfortable couch. I headed into Ines's work one day which is a sort of after school hangout place for kids. Here I whipped out some magic tricks and to them I was like David Blane, they just couldn't believe their eyes. I followed the magic up with kicking all of their butts in ping pong (OK, so they're only 10). We spent sunday eating. Seriously, from the time we woke up until we went to bed we were eating. We met Monika's mom and sister, Mary for lunch where there was lots of laughing and great conversation. They joke a lot about sex and I said that in the US we generally don't say things about it as freely as they do with families and such. The impression that many Europeans have is that people in the US are very prude and don't talk about sex as if it's a bad thing. They pretend nothing ever happens while it has the biggest market of porn in the world. (This was just one of our many enlightening topics). We all then headed back to Mom's house to eat some snacks and desserts and meet her brother, Filip.
It was absolutly great to spend time with such a kind, outgoing family that made me feel like part of their family for the few days I was with them.
Monika- Thanks for everything, you are a wonderful person and made me feel right at home during my visit.

I headed back to Frankfurt for the night to catch my flight the next morning to Cape Town. I got a chance to meet up with a German friend Kristina for my last day on the European continent to hang out and go out for a great dinner. Kristina-It was great talking with you and thanks for the gifts, it was more than kind.

The following morning I headed to the airport at around 9 to catch my first flight of 6 hours to Doha, Qatar. Here, I only got to wait around in the airport but had a chance to visit the bathrooms. I was amazed that in the stalls near the toilet they had little shower heads. A little confused I thought about this as I sat there and then realised it isn't used to wash your head and face so like they say "when in rome" I figured it could go for "when in Doha" and it was great how clean I felt.
I boarded my second plane at around 8:30 for my second flight which lasted 12 hours. When we got on board the pilot announced that we would be leaving about 20 minutes late but not to worry because we would arrive 4 minutes early which for a 12 hour flight seemed beyond irrevelant.
I have been very lucky since I left home as far as flight go. Out of the 11 flights I've taken I have been able to get an exit row in 10 of them. I made this very long flight with Emirate air which is one of the nicest airlines I have flown with. The food was tremendous and plentiful. We had our own tv with tons of choices of movies (I watched 4, Nacho Libre, The Breakup, Cellular, and 16 Blocks-all decent) Also, the stewardesses were very friendly. I arrived this morning to Cape Town and beautiful weather and didn't realized that there are no buses from the airport to the city but lucky for me a guy I met on the plane called to me and offered me a ride to the city with his girlfriend and his mom.
So, here I am on my second continent, happy, excited, warm, and ready for more adventures.

#27 First continent coming to a close, off to warmer weather

If you are still having problems seeing the pictures here is an easy way to see them:
You have to make an account with winkflash.com which is free and then you click on public files and it will say to put in a user name which is when you put in my user name: stevehowson and all of my pictures will come up.

After leaving Janiboy and the crew in Kiel I headed to Hamburg to visit some other friends, Tom (who I met earlier on the trip), his girlfriend Anne, Oliver, and his girlfriend, Yvann (sp). We started the night with the guys just catching up and playing indian poker which is where you put the card on your forhead and look at the other people and there card trying to bet whether your is higher or lower. We did this while watching the German soccer team on TV (soccer rules in Germany, along with most of the rest of the world).
We all then headed out to the famous Rappebaun which is known for loads of bars and women who wear fanny packs, these women are known as whores. I'm not being mean calling them this, they really are. We met up with some of there friends who were on a bachelor party and joined the party for the night. While waiting to decide where to go next I was hanging back and was approached by two girls with fanny packs, they said that one would suck my ____ while the other one would lick my ____. (If I got a dollar for everytime I heard that I would now have 1 dollar).
This was not free of course and I kindly refused which is when they said they want to see me naked (they said this in the tone that Flea says "we want the money lebowski" in The Big Lebowski)and I told them to take a number which is when they got disgusted with me and walked away. We finally made it to a karaoke bar and they were all excited for me to sing a song in english with my american accent but after waiting for too long to call our song (which was going to be Karma Chameleon) we left and went to another bar where they played songs like the name game, it was great before heading back to crash. There is a sort of thing called easy karaoke which is this program that when you pick the song, no matter what your voice sounds like it makes your voice sound like the original artist of the song, so everyone sounds amazing.

The following day I headed back to Bremen with Tom and Anne to watch season one of friends which Tom had gotten since my last visit when we watched season 9.
Now I am back in Quakenbruk with Adam and the frogs. I am going to go see his basketball game tonight and then I go to Vienna for a few days before heading to South Africa in less than a week, which will be good timing since it is beginning to get cold here.

It is amazing how fast these first 2 1/2 months went by and to think about how much I've done blows my mind. I will have been to 10 countries, have been on 11 flights and many train and bus rides since I've left along with hitchhiking, bike tours, walking tours, boat tours and moped cruising. I've been able to see lots of friends I haven't seen for years and made some great new friends.

A couple of things I've noticed traveling around Europe:
1-Lots of people use travel books like Rick Steve's which may be a good start but what many of them don't realize is that when he travels he doesn't pay for anything, they treat him very well and the places he stays and the restuarants he eats at and he doesn't have to be on a budget.
2-People you meet will tell you their opinion of places that you are going and many times your opinion might agree but everyone's experience depends on lots of things; who you meet, how the weather is, what you do and lots of other things, whereas one bad experience can ruin the image of a city for someone. I could go to the same city 5 times and have 5 very different experiences therefor leaving me with 5 different opinions of what I would tell people.

Thanks for following along during the first leg of the trip.
I will try to continue to keep up frequently on the journals.

There have been quite a few people that I have come across that don't speak much English at all and I don't speak their language but a smile, laugh or body language can often say more than words can.

#26 Visiting Jan and northern germany, treated like a king surrounded by gourmet food, free drinks models.

North to Kiel I went to see my "german cousin" Jan. Arriving in Kiel I was met by the man himself along with his brother Kai. We headed out around the streets in our all access vehicle.
Jan works for Mybach, it is a restaurant/catering service that bases out of their upscale restaurant in the largest mercedes dealership in the north of germany. For the first couple of days I was in town there was a large festival. The 3rd of october is a celebration of the reuniting of east and west germany. There are 16 counties in germany and each has it's capital and every year this big celebration happens in a different capital. This year was Kiels turn. For these couple of days while Jan worked, Kai and I roamed around listening to different bands, checked out all the different booths and local entertainment and stopping frequently at one of the tents that is run by Jan's company stopping to get some free food or drinks.

For a couple of the other days during the week I would stop by the restaurant and get some (free) food including one the best steaks I've ever had; an argentinian steak. I took the bike into town one day to check out the city. Another evening Jan took me to Baltic Sea which I swam in. It wasn't strange that I was swimming naked in this sea to anyone but it was strange that I was swimming in the middle of october to them. As I swam there were people walking by with heavy sweatshirts, winter hats and baffled looks on their faces. For one week of the year an outdoor restaurant opens on the water that sells fresh clams; this is the week of the year when they are in season. This is an all you can eat clam restaurant and all I could eat I did, five huge bowls. It was absolutely delicious and being that they are afrodiciacs (sp) I figured I was going to be horny (well, more than usual) for the next couple of weeks.

The popular drink for Jan and everyone that Jan knows is called a cuba libre which is this cuban rum, Havana Club mixed with coke and fresh squeezed limes. It goes down easy and I figured I should have my share since we can't get Cuban run in the US and also since they were also free.

The final couple of days the mercedes dealership hosted a fashion show which is one of the biggest events of the year. Maybach was in charge of food, drinks, music and some decor. So I was in there helping set up shop for the event hanging out with the owner and the other manager (those two along with Jan call themselves the A-Team). The day before the models arrived so we got to watch their warmups as well. Models are OVERRATED!! at least these ones were. It was amazing that just because of that title many thought they were amazing but if most of you saw one on the street I don't think you'd look twice, maybe twice but that's it.
Anywho, since I wasn't really working and no one knew who I was when the party came I got to wear a pink workshirt (it was quite stylish, especially compared to my regular t-shirt look) which allowed me access to anywhere; even back stage. As I walked around and talked to people with a cuba libre in my hand while everyone else in pink shirts was serving drinks or taking dirty glasses and plates away I had lots of people stop me to what I'm assuming was order a drink or ask me something that they thought someone working should know, I would just smile and say I don't understand German and be on my way (I'm sure I made a good impression for the company). Fashion shows aren't very exciting either, I found myself back near the kitchen talking to friends I had made that work there like Olie and Kristina who were much more entertaining than the party.
Jan- I felt like a king visiting you, free drinks, free food, I got to play DJ and the best air mattress I've ever slept on. You have a very nice girlfriend and some great friends, I look forward to seeing you in the US next summer and I will stop telling everyone how you scream like a girl on rollercoasters, I promise; you too Tom.

#25 Croatian friends as I depart for a busy berlin.

On my final day in Croatia I walked around in the morning with Robert listening to many more stories and singing jimmy buffett. I then lost Robert because while I went into a store he accidentally fell asleep on a bench so I couldnt find him. I decided it was time to head to the beach to catch some sun before heading north to the cooler weather.
At the beach I made some friends, two croatian girls and a german guy. We spent the rest of the day talking, swimming and lying in the sun. As it grew later we decided to go and have dinner together so I headed back to get my bags then headed to meet them along with Robert who had napped and woken up in that whole time. For dinner I ordered a fish platter. When it came it was 4 grilled fish, not 4 grilled fish fillets, but 4 grilled fish, head and all. They were just caught in the last 6 hours and as I tore them apart with my hands and ate them I could taste the freshness. One of the fish had some sharp looking teeth which made me nervous at first until I had his whole middle section in my mouth. While at dinner we decided to have a mock wedding with rings made out of straws and Robert being a little drunk decided to be the priest; this after his only advice to me was not to get married. Anyways, it was a good laugh and a good group to spend my last hours with in Croatia.
On the flight to Berlin I met a couple who had been traveling, James and Jamie who had gotten engaged during their vacation. We all headed to the same hostel, chatted a while and got to share some laughs and stories. Before we boarded the plane, when I was getting my seat I jokingly asked the lady at the ticket counter to sit me next to the cute girl. She said ok and that she knew who I was talking about and to consider it a gift. So as I was boarding the plane you can imagine how excited and anxious I was to see who this woman at the counter thought was cute or who she thought I would think was cute. When I got to my seat there sitting next to meet was large, older german man who had his hefty legs slightly over in my already squished seat. James, after seeing this and knowing the story slipped me a piece of paper that he had torn out of the magazine. When I opened it, it read 'no need to look any further'.
My first day in Berlin I did a walking tour to see all the major sights and hear about the history of this very significantly historical city. I saw the difference that still show between the east and the west, the holocaust monument and of course the berlin wall. There is a few portions of the wall still up. Since people try to take parts of the wall they have one the most ironic things up I've seen; a 4 ft fence protecting a 10 ft wall. I also got to see the bank from the movie 'Run Lola, Run'-if you havent seen this movie I highly recommend it. We also saw the famous Hotel Astor which is more famous in the last few years because it is where MJ held out his baby from the balcony. After the tour and wandering around the city for the day I got a good night sleep for my next big day. The main highlight of the following day was I went to a soccer match, Berlin vs Stuttgart. Before the game in the parking lot I got a german brat and beer. This brat was a little longer than a hotdog but put in a bun about a third the size of a hotdog bun, I was very confused and looked around to see if this was what they gave to eveyone or just a trick on me, it wasnt a trick on me. The stadium was great and the game although ending in a 2-2 tie was very exciting with spectacular goals and constant cheering and heckling through the entire game.
I am now in the north of Germany on the sea in a city called Kiel visiting my german cousin, Jan and his friends.

A girl in germany told me that eastern germany has seen some sad and hard days and a Nietche saying they sometimes use is that: there will often be stones in our path and it is important that we take these stones and build stairs with them.

Choos

#24 Robert (Robbie)

If I had to write a biography about someone I think it would be Robert.
When I arrived in Split, Croatia on the ferry I was offered a room by and man and his son. It was a good price so I went with them to the house and when I got there I met a guy named Robert who comes and lives there for at least a couple of weeks every summer. He looks like a mix between George Castanza and Danny Devito but with a smile that I would imagine Mr Bojangles has in the song by Jerry Jeff Walker; it was only redone by the others. Robert drinks too much, smokes too much and has a dirty mouth, but means well. Much of his family lives in Michigan. His parents are both from Hungary and moved to the US when they were very young. They had their honeymoon in Pearl Harbor when it was getting bombed. He doesn´t like his mother. He has two sisters and a brother; one sister recently passed away. He is in his 50`s. He has lived in California and studied Oenology (the study of wine and wine making). He also lived and worked in New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and spends the majority of his time in Hungary and the Czech Republic.
I got to spend only about 24 hours with him but got to hear many stories. Our conversation was 90% Robert, 5% me and 5% silence (usually when he was buying a beer or taking a leak). He worked as a Roadie in the early 70`s for Yes, The Eagles and Pink Floyd; they liked him because he worked hard while they hooked up with women. He loves music and reading and writing. He has every National Geographic since 1953 and reads a lot of George Orwell and other classic authors. He hates McDonalds but eats a burger every once in a while to remind himself. His last girlfriend turned out to be a lesbien. The girl he liked most he was together with for 3 years and she had been married 3 times before him. At one point he told me that after he left her...well, she sort of dumped him, there was another girl interested in him but he still had feelings for the old one. He then adds 'looking back, I should have forgot about her and I would have even hooked up with roadkill'
He gave me advice about life: Don`t get married and don`t have kids. When I asked what else, he said that was it.
Once when he was in Estonia he almost got strangled to death by muggers who he earlier swore at and then resisted when they tried to take his money.
Following his stories I often felt like I did when I watched 'memento' where it jumps to the future and then the past and your just trying to figure out what the hell is going on.
I mostly just laughed at his stories and asked him more questions; I couldn't get enough. When I managed to say a word or two he would tell me that I'm really funny before starting another one of his stories.
When we passed the old square in Split he said 'See how old this stuff is, it's before indians came to detroit, that's what I like about history, how old stuff is.
As he would finish a beer he would say 'to beer or not to beer, that is the question and I know the answer' I once said 'another beer?' and he replied 'it's what I do, sometimes I just drink beer'
Robert remembers dates and cities that he`s visited from all over the world. To EVERY lady that walks by he says 'hi honey'
He told me that if he were a lady he`d find me good looking, he then laughed about this and for the next 25 minutes told me not to worry he loves women and I have nothing to worry about. (He then pointed out all the girls he would hook up with, which was pretty much everyone that walked by)
He does great accents from all over the world.
There is so much more that I can't even think of right now.
It wasn`t just the stories he told but the demeanor he told them in while coming up with quick, whitty comments about the stuff going around us at the time as well. He made me laugh and called me his friend; he even gave me a hug when I was getting on the bus to the airport. It`s very rare to ever meet a Robert but I will remember him and hopefully meet him again somewhere down the road to hear more stories. We traded contact info but he doesn`t have email yet. I know that you all would love to meet him so when I find out when I will meet him next I may take him on tour.
Next time you have a drink, cheers for Robert.

#23 Song long Dubrovnik, off to split

My last day in Dubrovnik I wandered all around the parts of the city I haven't been to after taking a morning swim. After my long walk (5 hours) I went for an afternoon swim before going back to make some dinner. There happened to be a festival in the main square where they had a band playing and passed out free drinks and appetizers to everyone; score!!! I spent a lot of the time there watching these little kids play, it's funny to hear little kids talk in other languages.
The next morning I boarded a ferry for an 8 hour ride up the coast to Split. It was an absolutely beautiful day, the sun was out, we were between the main coast looking at the cliffs and on the other side small islands and the big blue sea. I made some friends on the ride as well, a guy from new zealand, andrew who we spent about 3 hours of the trip laughing at this or that. Then I met an australian girl who I talked with in between her reading her lonely planet book and me telling her it was worthless. Then I met two German guys who I assumed they were friends because they sat next to each other and bought each other beers. They didn't really talk to each other, just sat quiet for hours taking in the sun and drinking there beers. When we finally got talking they were quite funny and we chatted and laughed with the australian girl the rest of the way to split.
I was sneezing a lot on the ride (I know, sneezing again.) I really enjoy sneezing, it really jolts the soul and stirs things up. I was also thinking how much I enjoyed the scooter riding and thought that if I live somewhere warm it would be fun to get a motorcycle or scooter but then thought about sneezing with the helmet on and the fact that the eyes shut for a moment, it could make for a dangerous, messy, situation.
More to come soon. I have met one of the most interesting people in all my days.

#22 Cruising through Croatia

Back in Prague Adam and I had another night out with nothing to exciting to talk about except that we saw this lady with bright red, leather pants that we found very funny and took lots of pictures of, you will see a couple.
The next day we toured and walked all around the city and ended the day with a boat cruise up the river through the city.
Thanks again to the Topalo family for being so kind and letting us stay in their apartment and feeding us as well.

Adam and I were then off on a flight to Dubrovnik, Croatia. We arrived and were picked up at the airport by people who we booked the hostel through. I on the way to the city we booked scooters (mopeds) for the next day and a 3 island boat tour for the following day. But for this first night we were ready to go out and check out the city's nighlife. We had our own apartment in the old part of the city. (The old part is surrounded by walls) It is a very special place, something very unique, the pictures will help you get an idea. So we headed out for the night and found out that everyone in the city goes out on saturdays to the point of being clostrophobic in every bar. Even when there is no room to go anywhere people keep pushing in and barreling through. The ones pushing through with the most force arent the big guys, but the girls. They are like running backs making space for themselves. We went to about 5 different bars and clubs until we just couldn't take it anymore.
The following morning we woke early and headed to a place we had been waiting for; the beach. It was absolutely stunning, so we laid there and swam for a few hours soaking up some sun and checking out the local scenery. After we both were worn out from the sun we stopped for lunch and then went to get our scooters. We felt like tough guys on the scooters, me with my helmet too small for my head and adam's helmet going over his ears we were off to explore as much as we could. We first cruised around the main city getting comfortable with our bikes and then headed for the main roads out of the city. We ventured to a neighboring town where we walked around and went swimming in their beaches as well. After a while at the beach I told adam that I'm going to get a speedo on this trip because it is acceptible here and when he asked me what if I get a boner all I could think was that then my back would get really tan. (I still haven't gotten one) We then headed up, up, up to the top of a mountain that overlooked all of Dubrovnik. To the backside of the mountain were hills and mountains that we were told not to go around because there are still lots of landmines out there. It is crazy to think that only 15 years ago there was a war going on where thousands and thousands were killed. The view from the top of this place was brilliant and at the point where we were resting and getting our views this dog kept coming by us and licking us and laying right next to us. We couldn't believe that the owners (who we assumed were the other people there) would not call their dog off. But then they left and when the next family came and the dog went to check them out which led to the little girls screaming we got bad looks because they assumed it was our dog. This was an ongoing cycle and we still never found out who's dog it was, but it was a very friendly, gentle dog.
We eventually made our way back to town with no accidents although I almost got ran off the road by a bus and adam almost skidded out once and almost became part of a pole another time. We had an easy night this night so we would be ready for our island tour the next day.
We boarded our boat along with a brazilian couple, a german couple, and a french couple. The brazilian couple was late and would be the entire day with no cares in the world. We left early in the morning and arrived around 7 in the evening. In between we visited three local islands and getting to know our company on the boat. We got a chance to have lunch with the French couple who were very nice and made lunch a bit more enjoyable. We went swimming off the different islands, and I had my first injury which was by a black plant in the water, the plant was more like bunch of black needles that got into my knee. When I stopped bleeding I asked our captain and he said not to worry, he's gotten it many times. This was the same captain who smoked and drank while he drove our boat with his foot and knee. It was a great day trip being able to see the local islands with the great company we had on the boat.
That night we wandered out into the city again. There is a building on the main street that has a stone protruding out of it and it is said that if you can stand on this stone and take your shirt off and put it back on without falling off you will have good luck for a year. We watched many people try and fail with only few actually being able to stand. We did watch one guy do it along with the shirt removal; I guess all the locals can do it. We tried and couldn't even stay up on it. There was an Ausralian girl who could stand on it easily, the only problem was she had a dress on and so wouldn't take it off. All the guys she was with wouldn't lend her their shirt so I told her I would lend her my shirt, but if she accomplished it we would share the year of luck and with that an agreement was made. She did it successfully and we were both happy. I'm not sure if my luck is the first or second 6 months or if it's split monthly.
The next morning adam was off back to the states and I once again am flying solo. I headed to the local national park island where I swam in their version of the dead sea and tried climbing a rope from the water before heading to the top to see the fort. When it began to rain I went back to get on the ferry and headed back to the main city. After getting dinner I went and sat in an outdoor cafe where I sipped a glass of wine while listening to a jazz band for a few hours and let the last couple of weeks soak in.
Two weeks traveling with adam flew by but still we did a ton of stuff: A walking tour in Budapest, a bike tour in Krakow, I river boat tour in Prague, a scooter and island tour in Dubrovnik along with many nights out and a lot of other sighseeing. When we weren't busy we were usually laughing about something stupid or making fun of each other for something or another.
Adam-I'm going to be in internet cafe's a lot less without you. It was a lot of fun, I'll just think of the mirrors or other little things we did if I need a laugh.