A special treat for those long time fans

Surprise! So, for those who have not given up on this blog just yet… here’s a little surprise entry from Kenya as my experience comes to a close! Man, I can’t believe how fast 4 months can go by. CRAZY! Well last night I was looking through some of the throngs of photographs, (a total of almost 5 GB thanks to Pam and Pira’s picture additions) and got a little reflective. I can’t even believe the things that I’ve been up to in the last 3.8675 months. Over August I traversed the country, east to west and even further into Uganda. I have made many friends along the way (human and animal) and I think the hardest things to do in my last week will be saying goodbye to family and friends and coming to terms with the fact that my first Kenyan experience is coming to a close. I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to come to Kenya, explore Nairobi, live at Egerton University, travel to places with AIESECers, interns and other foreigners and see some of the natural beauty this country has to offer. Thank you so much to everyone who has been a part of my life, it has been an unforgettable time!

Ok, so an explanation of the picture mosaic:
1. Eew Eel!
This August Pam and I took a week trip to the coast. We started in the city of Mombasa and made our way north to the small island of Lamu, acclaimed for its untouched Swahili culture… yeah right! European overload! The old town was absolutely gorgeous with its narrow winding street and the beach was also absolutely gorgeous. The main mode of transport is via donkey although there are now a few vehicles that have appeared. We took a one day dhow trip to a small beach on a neighbouring island where the captain and first mate cooked a delicious fish lunch and we were free to explore the beach. As we were packing up our lunch, the tide was coming in and covering the mangrove trees. As the Dhow group watched the tide come in, from the mangrove roots, appeared a creepy looking snake-like animal. One turned into three and we tried to feed them passion fruit and orange rind Note: Eel are not big fans of fruit! The idea that eels were around definitely made the wade back to the dhow much more exciting!

2. Butterfly Sex
On the road to Hallingham, trying to find the place where Pam and Kristian would be living I found a BEAUTIFUL BUTTERFLY… upon closer inspection there were 2 beautiful butterflies. SICK! Get a room!

3. Chameleon Day (Part Deux)
That’s right, just as I was complaining about how all the chameleons have disappeared from campus, my pal Paul finds one trying to get off the road. I lovingly picked it up and took it home for some experimental trials… I just wanted to see if it could change colour! So after spending the day together reading, watching tv, climbing the curtains, and NOT changing colour to match my pink shirt, I released the little guy. It was a sad goodbye. I definitely will miss those little fellers. It’s like finding hidden treasure when you come upon them.

4. Anti-social tortoises
On Canada Day we got to hang out with the giraffes and tortoises. However, the tortoises are not the most social animals and so they stayed in their shells through out our entire visit. You can’t win em all!

5. Myloo
What a day! Who knew that a trip to Nairobi National park would have been SO exciting? It was probably one of the coolest hours of my life. Our guide Bernard took us on a special trip to visit Myloo, a female cheetah who was born in captivity. We got the chance to get up close and personal with her and listen to her purrr while we stroked her fur. What an amazing creature. During our safari we saw some wild cheetahs eyeing a herd of gazelles, I definitely had the urge to jump out and pet them… good thing the doors were locked.

6. Donkey Island
Donkeys do everything on the island of Lamu! There has even been a donkey welfare center created to ensure that the donkeys are treated in a humane way. There’s nothing like waking up to the Hee haw of donkeys! Oh and with donkey comes donkey poo! Pam and I managed to avoid stepping in it most of the time.

7. Dairy Delight
Ahhhh, the comfort of cows on Egerton campus! Sitting in a classroom, in the AIESEC office, or just strolling around campus the grazing cows can be heard. I can’t say I’ve ever stopped to listen to cows chew, but it’s inevitable here. A ripping and grinding sound like none other. I could listen to it all day, as long as the dairy keeps producing fresh strawberry flavoured yogurt. Shall definitely miss the cows… well more the yogurt that they indirectly produce!

8. A Sea of Pink
I was lucky enough to take a second trip to the amazingly beautiful lake Nakuru. It was no less breathtaking than the first visit. The zebras were out in full form along the lakeshore which made for some absolutely gorgeous photos. One of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen!

9. Is that a banana?
Getting caught in a Kenyan rainstorm isn’t the most fun thing, but the after effects are great! The campus smells fresh, clean and sooooo good. The cedar trees smell just like BC forests and all the dusty road are blanketed! Also, walking home after a good rain, I have found several of these giganto banana slugs! About 15 cm long and slimy lookin’ they crawl through the tall grass and along the dirt roads. I can’t even imagine what kind of mess it would make if it was stepped on… would it squirt, splat, explode… I wonder!

10. Jinga
Even though we didn’t make the time for the white water rafting on the Nile (apparently some world class rapids live in Uganda!) we were able to take a wooden boat on part of the Nile (while drinking Nile Beer) to a small island. Our local guide showed around the island… some of the main features were; an indigenous “imported” marijuana plant, a small lagoon, and the amazing views of the Nile rapids. Even more cool were the bugs. I got Tom, an intern from the UK to help me hunt for the weird creatures and we came up pretty successful. We found a giant grasshopper, weird looking beetle like thing and this fella, looks like the stink bugs back home… but it was a tad bigger and a bit more colourful. Any guesses on what it could be?

11. Giraffe Kiss
Yep, I got my very own giraffe kiss. What an experience! A huge blue tongue appears out of no where, sweeps across your face, takes the treat from your lips and leaves a slimy slobber reside spanning cheek to cheek. It’s an experience like none other.

12. Ostrich Farm
Watch out for dear life. Feeding an ostrich is not the world’s most desired job. The giant head bobs forward, sweeps past the lettuce and a large beak snaps around the foliage. You are lucky if your fingers don’t get caught in the process. Apparently the size of their eyes is larger than their brain!

I have one more week before I begin my journey home. I can’t believe it, already! Even though I am sad to be leaving this gorgeous place I am really excited to get home and see family and friends! Heehee, just imagine… 5 GB of pictures! Muhahahaha, look out guys and gals!

Quick Post

So I am trying to stay on the right side of the hump but my laziness is slowly pulling me backwards. I will be leaving in less than an hour for that 7 hour bus ride to Florianopolis that I mentioned in my last post. I am pretty tired so hopefully I will be able to sleep.... I am bringing a pillow and a blanket for the bus. I hadn't thought to do so on my own, but then my friend Patty reminded me too. It is a very good idea because busses don't have heat here and it gets quite cold at night!! No vehicles have heat. I suppose most of the year they don't need it. But this past Sunday I went with my host family to Gramado and Canella (they were going for Clara's birthday and they took me - so nice of them!) two little mountain towns near here. It was a great day but the weather was brutal. Rain, fog, and temperatures around 4 degrees. I will post a picture of Clara and I so that you can appreciate what the weather was like. The trouble with their being no heat in the cars here was heightened by the fact that due to the fog we had to have the air blowing full blast to keep the windows clear. Oh I was cold!!

When we got back to the city we first stopped at Patty's house to "surprise" Clara with a birthday cake that I had made for her. The cake, which I had baked the day before (see picture of Nicole from Chili indulging in the icing) didn't turn out anything like it normally does. It was surprisingly challenging for me to find the ingredients I needed (a frustrating experience). The only Cocoa powder I could find was already sweetened so I think that may have been the problem. Or maybe it was the type of margarine I used. Anywyas, it wasn't up to par in my eyes, even the icing was a bit funky. But everyone said they loved it nonetheless. They may have been just trying to not hurt my feelings but I'll take it for what its worth, hehehehe.

By the time the cake was eaten and we had socialized for a while I was extremely tired (we'd had a part-ay the night before at this rock and roll bar called Abbey Road) so we went home. I proceeded to have a very long and hot shower (yes I have figured out how to make the shower hot now, thank goodness!) and then I went to sleep. I woke up Monday morning with a cold, which was to be expected I guess with all the weather fluctuations and such. Turns out what I thought was the early warning signs of a nose bleed was just snot accumulating in my sinuses. And with that beautiful image... I will leave you because I have to leave for the bus station in 5 minutes! yikes (yay the Oilers are leading at the end of the 1st GO OILERS GO!!!!!)

Getting Over the Hump.

Okay so right now I am going to make a post just to make a post. Updating this blog has been on my to do list for two weeks now and I haven't been able to bring myself to actually do it. I read on another blog today that blogging is like working out, its hard to get back on the bandwagon once you stop. I believe this is very true. I have had many blog worthy moments on this trip but now that several have past without me ever blogging about any of them I don't have any idea where to start. So I decided, as I am currently waiting for a busy website to become unbusy so that I might be able to benefit from a flight seat sale, that I would take this opportunity to write a post. I am doing this inspite of the fact that I that my eyes are burning from having sat in front of the computer all day with the airconditioning streaming down on me, despite the fact that I am mad at myself for wasting a beautiful day of 30 degree weather mostly in front of the screen, and despite the fact that I am incredibly tired and only want to sleep. See -- aren' I a trooper?? I can't say so much for my fellow blog mates. Oh Miss Penny Poo Poo over there in Africa... I believe that your internet access has not been so limited that you haven't had a moment to entertain our readers with a story or two. And Senor Buttercup in the Republica Dominicana, I'm sure a boy of your intelligence can figure out how to update a blog. But I don't blame you. This blogging fever is hard to catch. Maybe we are just a bit too old to be part of the blogging generation. I confess I am more of an e-mail kid.

But moving on. Hopefully this short, pointless, uninspired entry will help me get over the blogging hump and now I will be able to post regular fascinating tidbits. (speaking of which if people have any suggestions of what would be fascinating, I'm open to suggestions)

On that note I will sign off. But I will leave you with a picture. A picture of me and my fellow international friend here in Novo Hamburgo, Leonard from Holland. He is a great friend and I am so lucky to have him here. I have already made up a cheer for him "Leonard e Vodka, Party! Party! Party!" (vodka is pronounce 'vojka' as the first half of the cheer is in Portuguese) He isn't a huge fan of it, but then again noone ever really is a fan of my cheers :) On the night of this photo, Global Village at the AIESEC conference, I think more than vodka had entered his system. I of course was stone sobre.

I am giving up on the seat sale. I will take it as a sign that I am meant to take the 7 hour bus ride and use the time to reflect about my experience. Boa Noite!

My first week in a 'developing' country

So first things first, I arrived. And Porto Allegra was the same city as Porto Allegre, much to my relief. Phewf!

The Canadian CEED experience is funded by CIDA and as a result the countries selected to receive CEEDs are from a list of those countries that are considered to qualify as 'developing'. I was quite confident before I left, and am even more so now that I was assigned to the most 'developed' of the countries chosen. (I put developed etc. in quotation marks because I think the political correctness of the term is now questionable... who defines what is developed etc... but I'll use it nonetheless.)

Anyways I just wanted to describe for you my first week in a 'developing' country. I arrived at an airport just like any other airport. I was greeted marvelously by a group of overly-generous university students. I was driven from the airport to the University in a large van, over paved highways and freeways, and past numerous modern buildings and office towers. The University campus is beautiful. Each building is tastefully painted a different color to make it easier to navigate around. I went immediately to the AIESEC office which is quite swanky with three computes, each on its own full sized computer desk, a table and chairs, hardwood floors, and even a whiteboard. From there I went to my host family's house. They live in an apartment, which by Canadian standards would be considered small for a family of 5, but it's very nice. For the first time in my life, I am enjoying direct TV (HBO, WB, etc.) I think there are more English channels for me to choose from here than there are at my own home. In addition there are 3 computers in the house so internet is easily accessible. Ten hours after I landed, I boarded a luxurious bus headed for the border of Uruguay and Brazil. After sleeping nicely on my fully-reclining seat (complete with foot rest) I was ready to hit the shops of Riviera. Or so I thought. This city is duty free shopping in its prime. People were buying everything from Nike sunglasses, to cashmere sweaters, to dvd players, to cases of wine, etc. It was intense. After two days we bussed back home with our bus considerably more full of stuff. Now I am living the good life. I sleep in a little bit most days, I go to the AIESEC office for about 8 to 10 hours, where I alternate between working on the computer, making posters, attending meetings held in Portuguese and stretching my brain as much as possible to try to understand what is going on. At night I come home and enjoy a delicious home cooked meal (prepared by the women of the house), occasionally accompanied by a glass of red wine or Coca-cola.

So as of yet, my trip to a 'developing' country has not deprived me of any of the comforts of home. I am quite aware that my experience does not reflect the state of Brazil as a whole. For one, I am in the southern region, a unique region that once struggled for independence and where the people still consider themselves Gaucho's first and Brazilian's second. The South and the South-east are the richest regions of Brazil. Also, through AIESEC, I am interacting with the privileged group that can afford to pay to go to university. There are signs of poverty from time to time. Like the children asking for money while we ate at a cafe in Riviera, or the Houses made of recycled goods (to put it tastefully) that I noticed out the bus window as we drove home from our shopping spree, or the people who drive a horse and buggy around Novo Hamburgo collecting paper which they later sell to recycling companies. The disparity is huge.

I've talked about this with a few Brazilians and there seems to be a desire for change. Lula, the current president, was elected with the hope that he would do something to lessen the gap, but as of yet there hasn't been any noticeable change. I suppose it will take time. At the same time as people worry about the poor, it is important to acknowledge that they work very hard for what they have. I am not interacting with the ridiculously wealthy. These people have full time jobs which they work in the day and then they go to school at night and on the weekends. They live with a level of busy-ness that I don't think most North Americans could tolerate.

Okay enough of my rambling. It suffices to say that I am observing a lot. And as I take it in, my mind is continually churning; trying to come to grips with this different reality, its constraints and its opportunities. And trying to figure out how I fit in to the mix.

Oh! Is that a ladybug on your shirt?

The first one bites the dust. 1 down 2 to go.

So you see, the day is Friday May 5th, 2006 which means the first of three Edmontonians has flown the coop. Susan Marie Edey, the brave little soldier that she is, took her first steps and parted for Novo Hambergo yesterday at 4:10pm. And hopefully she made it... we are still unsure. Funny thing is; as Sue, Ryan and I sat in the Edmonton International Airport waiting for Sue's flight to the Tdot, we discussed how her ticket said she was off to Porto Alegro, however according to the map of Brazil Sue would like to be heading to Porto Alegre. I wonder if they are truly the same place? It will be a mystery until the next posting I suppose... hint hint :)

Can you imagine sitting at the YEG and finding a mysterious creature crawling on your sleeve? Well put yourself in our shoes for a moment. Sitting at the table pleasurably discussing if there will be snow in Brazil, and all of a sudden a tiny speck is scuttling across your sleeve. Squeamishly you look over and AHHHHH! Is that a lady bug on your shirt? This was the state Susan and our dearest buttercup found themselves in. Wow! Unbelievable hey?

Edmonton CEEDers -- Blogging Mayhem!

So tonight I went out with the other CEEDers from Edmonton. We decided that as much as we are not the "Blogger" types, together we can make this thing happen. And, as such, we are starting a joint blog. This means that our blogs will originate from three different countries, and will likely carry varied thoughts and perspectives, but it is our grand opinion that this diversity will make it all the more interesting.

I am here making the first post. My name is Susan Edey and I am a member of AIESEC Edmonton who is going on a CEED to Novo Hamburgo, Brazil. I am typing in a mildly intoxicated state because I just got home from my final CEED party before my departure on May 4th (36 hours from now). My fellow partiers were Jen Rosychuk, who is going on a CEED to Kenya, and Ryan Dube who is going on a CEED to Dominican Republic.

Us CEEDers from E-town have a varied history and that is what makes us such an interesting bunch. Jen and I went to high school together but didn't become friends until a school trip to Greece and Italy in the final months of grade twelve. Ryan and I swam together when we were in high school but never officially talked until AIESEC brought us together this year, 5 years after I quit the competitive sport of swimming. In the mean time we have had mild connections through friends of friends and sibling encounters, but I have to say I am thrilled to actually be talking to the guy himself.

When the three of us get together and ingest a couple of beers there is no telling where the conversation will go. Tonight the topic centred around democracy and capitalism - its strengths and weaknesses. It was an open debate with a variety of opinions expressed. I wish I could say that we came up with the solution for the world but alas we did not. But who knows, maybe we will through this BLOG!

Anyways, at the moment, I'm going to hit the sack so that tomorrow can be a fun filled packing type of day. But I depart for BRAZIL the next day so I hope I have inspired people to read this blog. And more importantly that I have inspired my fellow CEEDers to post. Don't worry about being cool or making life changing realizations on your blog. Just speak. Through our words and responses things should get interesting. Even though this CEEDer frienship is just forming I am sad to leave it. Lets keep in touch through this and share our thoughts and experiences. More importantly, let's jump on the Blogging bandwagon.

Post now, or forever hold your peace!