photos + stuff

All,

Well I made it home in one piece, as you may know! :)
I have over a thousand photos to go through, but I decided to start off by adding the pictures of Sylvie and Ian and the kids they teach.

Click here to find more photos of their class, and stay tuned for more photos, videos and thoughts :)

XO
L

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let the voyage begin

Leaving Zanzibar by boat, waiting for the flight... this will take hours. Longer than before. First Amsterdam, then Seattle. I wonder who will I be next to now.. on the ship I already sat next this cute little boy who just wanted to sing.. he asked if I sang.. and told him I would hurt his ears.. so he just sung for the both of us. he was a kind spirit..
Leaving Sylvie and Ian was hard. I will miss them both terribly. they are good souls.
I woke today to rain.. I mean RAIN. like heavy drops that flood city type of rain. so what do we do.. we play in it. we walk around in flip flops and rolled up pants..armored with rain coats.. I feel like it is Seattle calling me home. I feel grateful. grateful for the experience.. for all of them. the kids hold up underneath an awning.. smiling and waving at us. kids in the middle of the street playing in the rain. letting go and getting wet. enjoying nature at her best. and what do I see... but a local.. wearing a Seattle Seahawk's hat.. like a lighthouse in the dark for me, letting me know.. you. reminding me of home.. letting this adventure begin anew. a new me. refreshed.

I arrive late on Monday.. so I won't be much active on responding for a bit. i work on Wednesday. I will need the time before work. to adjust back. just know I love you. I will want to see you. but I will need some time. understandable. be patient with me :) I love you.

I am excited. excited to be home. excited to go to work. excited to see all my friends. excited the most to see my family. We can meet a bunch of people.. we can even see have great adventures with them.. but the longest journey i will ever have .. will be with my family.

okay.. well I love you. and will see you soonish. till then.. have a blast. I can't wait to hear what you have been up to.

I LOVE YOU!
Lizzie

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zanzibar zanzibar zanzibar

The dictionary word of the day: ineffable. It's definition is basically the inability to express something in words.. i found this word in middle school and fell in love with it for obvious reasons.

ineffable.. yup.. my trip for sure.


we arrived in Zanzibar on Thursday morning... via a taxi from bagamoyo and a ferry from Dar. the adventure over to the island .. a bit uneventful.. the taxi driver talked a bit to me...he is studying engineering.. more specifically ..auto mechanic... the ferry to Zanzibar.. was hot, long .. and tiring.

we get off the boat.. and walk around looking for a budget hotel.. with three beds.. we went in a few before settling on one in stone town.. it is clean, has a bathroom, has hot water (very very hot water), has AC and a fan.. WOOHOOO.. it is paradise.. and NO BUGS :) I am a happy camper..

we leave the hotel and head out to explore this beautiful town. i mean beautiful. old concrete buildings with the open windows, the beach, the ocean.. breath takingly beautiful.
so we arrive.. and we are walking and sylvie runs into someone she knows.. (she lived her 2.5 years ago volunteering..for about 3 months.. so she knows the place a little and knows some good people).. he is so excited to see her.. and they just talk.. and he starts showing us around a little.. takes us to a cafe and have a wonderful iced latte.. yup a latte.. ohh man how much i love these things. we have our coffee and then walk around a bit more.. we go and eat at the outside food market.. it is so much fun.. and they have Zanzibar pizza..which was the best pizza i have ever had.. and no it is not like Italian pizza at all.. hmm look it up.. egg.. fried ... pocket kind of thing.. with veggies.. ..just darn good.. i mean GOOD! :)

anyway.. so we meet up with more of Sylvie's buddies.. (it is an island.. so you just bump into people.. i like that a lot. ) ... so we hang out.. they show us some places.. Sylvie revisits some of her fav places.. and it is a good night getting acquainted with zanzi life.

yesterday ... we woke up.. had breakfast on the roof top of our hotel.. overlooking the fish market.. the buildings.. the city.. we chill for a bit and then head to prison island. where we see turtles. old old turtles. older then any living creature i have ever touched. the turtles on the island are on the verge of extinction.. .. .. . to get there we took a dhow (wooden boat).. we saw the turtles..we saw the beach.. and we swam... :) swimming in the hot indian ocean.. feels rejuvenating.. feels like the salt just purifies you in a way..
we arrived back the main land of Zanzibar.. to stone town.. and then went to dinner.. INDIAN FOOD..DAAL (YUM YUM YUM) such a great great dinner.. real food. real good food that actually nourishes. Zanzibar is a huge spice town.. they are on the old spice route from south Africa to India.. so Zanzibar is a bit more of multicultural melting pot then other spots. (one indicator of this.. is that i don't hear mzungu (foreigner/white person) every time i walk around.. i really appreciate this). then we went out to the Livingstone and watched live music.. and danced. and saw the stars.

today.. :) well it is already a good day.. breakfast on the roof tops.. beautiful emails and messages from my loved ones. and then we head up north to go to another beach town.. hang out ..have dinner. :)

I LOVE YOU VERY MUCH!

Love
Lizzie

PS. my homesickness will be cured soon ;) I really really love you all very very much!

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Winding down the trip.. but not the experiences..... :)

My time here has been magical.. we are leaving bagamoyo in the morning.. and heading to zanzibar. i am so excited to get off the main continent and play on an island.
Sylvie and Ian have a holiday tomorrow and friday.. so we get a 4 day weekend!! I am so excited. I am unsure of what the weekend adventures will be.. maybe seeing the dolphins on my bday (saturday). heck yeah.. sounds like fun.
It is always funny for me to think of getting older.. you know ..does it mean getting wiser? i am unsure of that. In some people's opinion.. you could say i was a bit of a kid... you know taking my laundry over to my parents, never cooking at my place, etc etc..
maturity for me though.. is real simple. the definition for me = to take care of what you have. maturity.
I think this trip has been so eye opening for me in so many ways.. ways that i still can't digest down on a blog. I guess though as each year passes, i am learning more and more of taking care of what I have.. And as i would go face to face with locke.. i would argue that the only thing that we truly have is being apart of life and part of this earth.. so another year passes and i learning how to do my part in taking care. maturing.

I love you! And see you soon!

Lizzie

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to catch you up real quick...

well hello :) I love you first off. I have tried to upload photos.. but most of the time there is a problem with the upload. so sorry.. i guess you will just have to wait :) and maybe even i will make you come party with me while i show you.. you know.. a benefit..like $5 charge to support PSA.. and then you can see all of the photos..hmm.. maybe ;) i know ..just ideas ideas..
okay.. so what have i been up tooo... well also please let me know what you have been up to.. seems a little self centered of me when i write these things.. so i write them with my mum mostly in mind.. and then i figure if anyone else reads it .. its a bonus.
so i arrived in TZ on friday.. hung out at the hotel.. met the ocean.. and was reunited with Sylvie and Ian. We had a great time, even though both were sick. Ian had lost the skin on the bottom of his feet due to playing basketball outside barefoot..this is mostly due to the anti-malaria medicine he was on, and the side effects of that.. is weakening of the skin. sort of speak.. and Sylvie.. well she had malaria.. hmm.. not fun.. not cool. but she caught it with in 12 hours..so the medicine was able to treat it and she was fine by sunday. hey did you know in seattle we are trying to find a vaccine. click here for more info on that. i love how science and seattle is global.. okay well so friday., yeah we eat.. we hang out.. we catch up. it is lovely. saturday we wake.. we hang out at the ocean.. we play we talk.. we eat.. we drink.. we are merry and joyful. sunday.. same sorts of things.. also we headed into town took pictures.. played.. relaxed.. read. Monday.. school!!!! i went with Sylvie and Ian to school... they are working here. the kids are adorable.. so in TZ it is summer break.. and some kids are taking summer school to get them prepared for high school. they are called the preform 1 class. There is about 7 kids in the class. and ian and sylvie are the unofficial teachers. they are still waiting on their teaching visas to come through. so now.. they are undercover..they are called tutors.. and teachers assistants.. but yet the teachers.. that should be teaching.. may duck out a class or two when sylvie and ian are there.. so then Sylvie and Ian get to teach. :) It was really special to watch them teach.. social studies.. remember this subject.. i still have no idea what this truly means.. so anyway.. the class was on geography of TZ and on english greetings.. like "hello..my name is.... I live.... and I am so and so old. " they had little skits to do with the class.. pretty cute. pretty neat. you can see why sylvie and ian teach.. you can tell how important caring, loving, intelligent teachers are in the world. How wonderful they are.. how important they are. teachers.. students.. education.
sylvie and i were talking afterwards. i was thanking her for her work. how beautiful it is that she teaches. She made a really good point. she said all that really matters in life.. is education and health.
i think she is absolutely right.
I didn't stay with them the entire day.. it felt like it was 120 degrees outside.. sweating as soon as the door opens hot. sweaty and gross. and i felt heat sick.. so i layed down while they taught the last class of the day. Computer training. Sylvie and Ian taught kids how to use the computer. Some of the kids.. this was their first time ever turning on a computer. The impact is HUGE they have. zero to 2010 in less then a click. fascinating how this is.
I noticed this with rwanda too.. it is like the third world gets to jump and skip most of our technological mistakes..or steps.. like the land line. no one has a phone line.. but most people have cell phones. they just jump to current technologies. i mean why not though right. why take the long road.. when you see the short cuts.
i wish they saw the short cuts with waste management.
In tanzania.. they burn.. they burn the waste.. but guess what.. long polymer chains.. don't burn.. ie.. plastics don't burn.. so you walk around and you see these lands.. burned and ashed.. with plastic remaining.. everywhere. i see it all around. i hate it. i hate that we have plastic bottles.. plastics that can't be recycled easily. i don't think they have any company coming around to pick up trash. they just individually reuse it. or burn it. or just leave it exposed in the land. in the road. in the ocean.
I wondered about waste in Rwanda. what happens to it.
have you ever seen the story of stuff? it is a quick video.. check it out. here.
anyway.. it gets you thinking.. i saw this a few years ago.. and got a sort of confirmation that we really need to figure out a way to have stuff that is sustainable. stuff can be good. and can be sustainable. we are smart enough now to make such things. i am confused as to why we don't. i doubt that it is just money. and i am sure there are tons of people working on better solutions. i like how we have sugar based plastics that are decompostable. pretty neato. we are getting close i hope. it stinks that the 3rd world cant skip the first worlds waste problems.. and just already be sustainable. and ecofriendly.
rwanda is much cleaner then tanzania. rwanda follows rules. follows rules religiously. each moto and moto rider must wear helmets. in tanzania.. the bikers don't carry a second helmet, and they probably don't have one for themselves either. Rwanda is a young country. Tanzania.. i see a lot more "wiser" individuals. ;) Rwanda smiles more.. i think out of courtesy. Tanzania they will stare more with out any look in their face. Rwanda is proper. Tanzania is free. it is funny though that Rwanda didn't pass the antihomosexual bill.. and yet Tanzania did. So in TZ it is against the law for instance to be gay. but since no one here cares about laws.. it is not enforced. nor even acknowledged. however, in Rwanda.. if it was passed.. it would have been enforced. I really am thankful and more appreciative of HDI/Aflodis/Cedy's work on human rights. It is a great thing that Rwanda is the only east country with it allowed. And it would have been the only country that would have prosecuted. Otherwise, all east african countries don't care.won't enforce the laws. it is interesting.. gay rights in america too.. i have heard stories while i have been away.. about bullying. about the young man that committed suicide. this breaks my heart.
i am naive of course. and don't understand the importance of regulating other people lives. I am unsure of what regulating love really accomplishes? i wonder if we have done any good by doing such things? i wonder if making people feel different or outsiders makes the other majority feel better or what. i am sorry i am pretty stupid. i just don't get it. i dont' get humanities need to marginalize people.. based on any number of reasons. why make people an outlier? why make people different. and then impose a hierarchy. what i know.. is that i know what is right and wrong for me. i know what makes sense. what doesn't make sense. but to impose my beliefs onto others (when of course they are not causing direct harm) makes no sense. i have no idea if they should take a left or a right. or go up or down. how can i know such ridiculous things? the world is more beautiful when we paint it with different colors.
this black and white thing.. is cool.. but i love me a rainbow.
soo what did i do today.. well i decided i needed a day by myself.. so i decided to hang out with just me.. well that was until i went out.. on the beach started taking pictures.. and this guy comes up to me. he seems friendly enough. and i like his smile. it seems authentic. he asks if i want to see his art. i say sure. i go up and look at it. it is beautiful. Bagamoyo is an art town. it has the number one art school in TZ here. and it shows by all the vendors. i love artist. i love art towns and beach towns. they kinda go hand and hand for some reason. i guess the ocean is just that inspirational.
I start talking to him.. and he asks if i want to go around town today and he will show me some places to take pictures. he said we can go by bike. i know i know i know .. what you are thinking. i should say no.. continue on my day.. alone. but no. i am in africa. i liked his smile. so i said sure. bring on the adventure. it is daylight and he is not that big. we rent bikes (bicycles) and he takes me down to the fish market. he shows me around. introduces me to people. we have a soda in the local place. there were three girls there. they wanted me to take pictures of them. So i do. that was fun. While we are there he asks if i want to smoke. i tell him no thanks. he has a weed smoke i think.. and chills out. he seems more Jamaican to me at this point but i laugh. he now is for sure harmless. we finish our pop.. and head out.. out to the school. he wants to show me the carving school where he studied. We biked up there and I hung out with his art teacher and his art teachers friends. It was a cool little loft of a place.. there was a small bed up the bamboo stairs.. to the open wind thatched roof hut. blank canvas all around.. and sculptures available for sell. i buy a small post card for my friend Jenn Cota. she is a mum with a little one. the post card is of an african mum with a little one. kinda cute. (i know.. all my other friends i got you possibly a little something too.. even if it was just a photograph that made me think of you) anyway.. i talk with them for a bit and they offer me art classes. i wish i was staying longer. i would for sure. learn from the local artists. the best of tanzania. we then get back on our bikes are ride around town. he showed me some more places.. took some photos but primarily just enjoyed the simpleness of riding a bike in the yellow sand around this beach town. through the mud huts with sticks exposed, and then through the left over concrete buildings.. looking at art in motion.
i stopped by his hut at the end. and i bought a little sculpture for myself. to remind me of the good we all have. the gratefulness of bounty. the pleasure in sharing. the gift in unity.

i love you.. that was long.. now i am going back to the ocean. and soon will meet with S + I.

enjoy your day!!!

Love you,
Lizzie

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... .. .. . a picture of TZ... . .. .

one of my views

Love you,
Lizzie

ps.. mum.. you would be so proud.. i actually went to church this morning with Sylvie.. to the church you talked about. but dont get any wild ideas.. i just wanted to go to one service while here.. ohh and i did go to one for a second in rwanda.. cause the music was just too good to walk by and not stop in.

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well hello there miss indian ocean...

the ocean... enchanting always.

I left rwanda..the land of a thousand hill...around 3am on friday morning.. i was tired. the plane was mostly empty. but i was assigned the seat next to this young woman from rwanda...this was her first flight ever. she was suppose to leave a week earlier, but something got complicated.. and she had to wait till this flight...she was about 24 years old. by 24 i had lost count of times in the air. She was nervous. the engines started to roar.. and she started to freak out. she grabbed my hand.. and i guess i was her personal flight technician for the rest of the flight, answering questions.. like "what was that" "is this normal"...things i was aware of on that flight usually just fad in the back ground to me now.. and no attention is given. I tried to distract her with having her tell me about her travels, her studies, etc. she was nervous. she had another flight after kenya to go somewhere else. She wanted me to come with her on that flight. she thanked me. for doing?, not sure what. she said that flying wasn't that bad. I told her that i thought it was great of her to push herself out of her comfort zone and try new things. I told her the world seems small when you travel, and good luck. She wished me the same.
Sitting in Nairobi's (kenya) airport waiting for my flight to TZ, i arrived about 4am, i had lost an hour heading more east. Nairobi's airport is dirty, small, and unexciting. this is the main gateway to and from africa. you think it would be more impressive. you would imagine maybe new york's or even arizona's.. but no.. it is a small half circle airport..that is crowded with travelers from all over the world. It is the one place i have seen consistent white people in all of africa. i dont say that as a racist point.. it is just a fact. sitting in the airport. you see all nationalities, and no one nationality is dominant. even the workers in the airport i dont think are originally from kenya.. i like listening to the languages spoken.. i wish i knew another language.. i need to work on that.. work on the areas that are truly hard for me.. like language.. (obviously.. even my english needs improving;) ) ..overall i like not knowing what people are saying. I get an opportunity to listen to all the other messages they are sending.. non verbally. LOVE IT. my playground of imagination. put in head phones and just watch the people migrate.. migrate from where to where.. i wonder. i wonder what business or pleasure they are seeking.. what is the relations with the company they traveler with.. etc.
I bored my flight to tanzania.. it looks promising.. i think i am sitting alone.. i get on the flight and fall asleep immediately. the door to the plane is still open. i awake to a woman nicely arguing with the flight attendant. her seat was occupied by someone and she had to sit next to me. i felt from my 15 min nap rejuvenated. this woman obviously had travel experience. she seemed use to the routine. the flight takes off and quickly i learn that she is involved with.... guess.. what.... bill and melinda gates foundation. she grants funds to east african NGO's that work with farmers.. i ask about Rwanda.. and if she has any programs there. she tells me no. i tell her about the terraces, and the pygmies.. and about how we are working on getting them to become a Cooperative...we talk the entire trip. I start picking her brain about leadership, about systems for non profits, about women's role in africa.. shoot i pick her brain. she is so nice. she talks to me.. humors me even. :) we enjoy each others company a lot. i gave her a business card i had of Karl's and she gave me her business card. I want to stay in contact with her. she seemed like just a good soul and gave me wonderful advice on life and leadership. :)
i got off the plane.. and it was HOT. this is the africa... smell and heat..africa. okay also i love saying "i am in africa" i won't be able to say this for very long..
i get off the plane.. and an armed guard makes me pay for a visa.. $100 us. you have to pay in US and on the spot. there was a traveler next to me. on business. for a meeting. he leaves later today. he only has $90 ..ten dollars short. they guy won't let him go in .. with out paying the visa.. i give him $10.. and tell him .. to be nice to someone.
Visas... so that is something i am confused about.. if a country makes you pay to go to it.. then it is in indicator on the relations your country has with the country you are visiting. paying for a visa to travel is a way to indicate many factors.. rwanda was free for me.. the french had to pay to get in. interesting.
i walk out.. and find a cab.. the cabbies try to get me to pay $100 us to get to bagamoyo.. but i am wise to the prices.. i say no.. $50.. they are laugh.. and say no way.. i walk away from them.. and talk to another group of cabbies.. the dude came over and started talking in swahili to the cabbies.. i look at him.. and say NO.. this is just the hussle.. of it all .. the old guy walks up to me and says $50.. okay.. i go with him.. and over 2 hours later.. i land.. i land.. in what is the small village town of bagamoya.. check it out here.. bagamoya.
i love it.. i am staying at the bagamoya beach resort.. it is i guess known for having a creepy owner.. or so says my family's research.. but i have not seen him, and the people who work.. are nice. the place is clean. friendly. i take a shower. i unwind. i head out to the ocean..
well i see the ocean as soon as i arrive at the hotel.. it calms me in a way. it comforts me. it is the indian ocean. i have never seen the indian ocean before. she is beautiful. i will always love the pacific.... but it is nice to meet the indian ocean.. there is this boater inside of me.. this sailor.. of sorts ..that i just long for the ocean life. the boating life for voyage on the sea for months at a time.. sounds so soothing to my soul. yes it is naively romantic. i admit it.. but i want it as a reality.. one day. and maybe just start off with a two week voyage somewhere close.. just to get my feelers out. to experience big waves. anyway.. the indian ocean.. beautiful. i love it.
after my shower.. after a proper introduction to the ocean.. to the beach.. i turn around and see miss sylvie and ian. friends. relief.. joy. excitement. africa.
my room has two beds in it. they stayed the night last night.. and at minimum sylvie will be staying with me everynight. it is a good chance for her to get a break from her current situation (staying at the head masters house.. with his family). To learn more about their travels go here.. click here.
i love sylvie.. i love ian.. both good good souls. to be around. i am lucky to have them as friends.
(so i just wrote and finished this blog.. and the internet went out..and this was all that was saved... eek.. so try to rewrite what i had...but getting antsy :) ).
so i meet with them.. we eat. talk.. enjoy each others company. relax.. today.. same thing really.
i am feeling a bit guilty. to take this time.. to play .. to relax.. to read.. oh by the way suzanne... my book recommendation for you "finding form" by william gass... i just started it.. and think you will like it :)
anyway.. i know my body needs to relax. i am taking time. to soak in the sun. the ocean.
i dont know what i will actually do here.. and that is okay with me. i am going with the flow.. :)
i do'nt think i can go to any safari's too many days away. we may go to zanzibar though next weekend. :)
but who knows.
:)

I love you. very very much.

oh and Tanzania.. smells like. yellow green.

I love you,
Lizzie

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my favorite moments thus far

i have experienced soo much.. i know that a lot of this has not even sunk in all the way yet..

some of the highlights:
-being surrounded by singing kids in the village in the east.
-drinking apple juice with claude
-being on a bus full of pygmies signing
-being in the middle dancing with the people of bwiza
-tilling the land in bwiza getting ready to plant seeds
-eating ice cream with karl late at night
-walking back from the market with bags of shoes with bob
-making protein supplements
-my first moto ride
-the village in the north..shaking the hands with beautiful souls
-hearing peoples excitement about the process
-meeting martin and hearing him sing
-meeting the kids at the high school
-the random little girl today that ran up to me and hugged me so lovingly and was so excited to speak to me in english. her dad was so embarrassed. I assured him it was okay.
-the old guy that claude knows.
-the kids on the bus today.
-cedy and his parties :)
-the moms with their fabric and the sewing.


hmm okay that is a good list for now.. i will add more later.

love you lots.

oh and by the way.. TZ doesn't have reliable internet either.. so it may be a few days.. just fyi. so if you do'nt hear from me.. don't worry. i am alive. i am well. i love you!!!

LOVE YOU LOTS!!!
Lizzie

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okay fine the smell..

everyone asks.. what does africa smell like.. i have refrained from answering that. i think tanzania has that typical african smell.. rwanda smells like hot heat, then wet..like wet big rain drops.. then it smells like red dust. like human bodies sweating in a bus. it smells like eucalyptus. it smells like cows. it smells like goats. it smells like fresh clean clothes that have been hung dry in the sun. it smells like shards of glass hitting the pavement. it smells like coal fires. it smells like fried food cooking. it smells like beans. it smells like the perfect small bananas. it smells like coffee. like really really fresh coffee. it smells like red. it smells like something hiding and deeper then you can smell. the smell has no direction. The smell just hits you. it is this and then it is that. it changes so fast you can't stop and know where. it just hits you. and you smell. like money circulating with out an end. like the rwandan frank is literally disintegrating and then gets revived with a shining coin. the smell. confusing. complicated. messy. interesting. real. depth with no corners. no hiding. exposed.

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.....my last day in Rwanda... . . . .......

hmn..i am gonna miss this place a lot. i leave for tanzania at 3am tomorrow morning. so essentially i am leaving tonight.

I arrived a little past midnight on Monday Sept 20th.. and now leaving by the same night's sky. seems fitting in a way.
so from sept 20th to oct 8.. what have i really accomplished.. probably honestly very little to nothing. at this place. but what have i internally accomplished.. wow.. well tons... hmm..

like..... getting a glimps how aid works in foreign countries..on the government level and on non profit level... i say glimps because i am still a bit confused on the whole system (gov level primarily). it works in ways i don't always see. my conclusion thus far.. is that the work is just as important to the people who are doing the giving as it is to the people receiving. and sometime it really is the other way around.. where the people who are receiving.. are actually the ones that give the most.

i have seen aspects of humanity that run the entire spectrum and each one of us has the entire spectrum in us... i definitely have a firmer ground on what i want to express and what i don't want to express. life is short, precious, vulnerable, fragile, fantastic, exciting, love, happiness, dancing, and music. i like smiling. i like other people smiling.

i really can't believe i am leaving today. i don't want to really. i can see myself getting in to so many more things here. i barely just hit the surface. i wonder how much closer one can be now via the internet. obviously face to face stuff matters.. but maybe not as much anymore. eh..so we will see. my plan is to help raise funds for PSA and continue volunteering, but who knows what else i can do for Rwanda. i fell in love with this place, with the people.

I am going to miss living with Karl .. he is a really really good soul. i have lived with him now for a little over 2 weeks.. and i just think he is wonderful. I have volunteered with him for like 3 years maybe 2 years.. i forget..and he just keeps surprising me with his heart and compassion. And those are the best surprises. There is a lot of really good guys in my life, my dad, my boss, my uncles, and cousins..friends..coworkers.... and Karl. :) I am very lucky.

The Pgymies: well they are the richest people i have ever met. they sing. they dance. they love. freely and openly. They have taught me a lot about myself, about humanity.

i can go on forever and ever about these people.. this place.. hmm.. :) i have had a wonderful time here. :) I am grateful on so many levels.

so what am i going to do today?
-pack
-go the market
-exchange money into tanzania currency.where i am going is about 2 hours north of Dar (where i am flying into)..so i need just about $50 for that..but i will exchange about $100
-go to HDI's office..transfer over files, etc.. finish up some stuff.
-finish the translations of the lullabies/stories.
-get dinner with Karl, Claude, and Aflodis
And then go to the airport :)

but see this is my plan...being in africa you can have plans all you want..but then the day happens and all sorts of things change and you just never know :)


Anyway, i will have ample of time at the airport later to write :)

Love you,
Lizzie

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let's make some music .. . .

actually let's just leave the music making to the experts.. . and i mean that ;)
Okay my last few days.. world wind for sure...
let me explain...
i got to that party on friday night.. irony amounting..
saturday i go to dinner at the US vp ambassador's house for dinner.. gold rimmed plates, fancy furniture, projector for movie screen, hmm with alcohol imported from the us.. still though i drank coke-cola...and umm.. whatelse.. oh yeah. the house big enough to put all the pygmies in.
did you know that if you are not the VP or higher in the US embassy then all your furniture has to be the same, all your plates, all your items in your house etc. also once you are at the US embassy level, you are not allowed to do "dangerous stuff" like take public transportation.. ie the bus, or take motos. (the woman was shocked that we took a moto to the house.. she was like people die on those things.. if she only knew what i did in "safe" suvs.. she would know why i think motos are safer.. shoot someone else is driving;) ).. okay well anyway.. that was a trip and a half being there..Karl and i were twins.. we have matching PSA African shirts, we both had one nice pants, black shoes, and black socks.. but Karl is a bigger dork then i am, as he has the socks on that has each individual toe distinguished out.. i think they look creepy and in a loving way.. tease him for it.. they will forever now remind me of him.. well it does matter your socks.. cause as soon as you walk in anywhere even the US embassy person;s house, you take off your shoes.. and revile your socks. okay.. well so we eat, we talk.. and Karl presents a little power point that i helped him with. we leave.
sunday funday... in the village of Bwiza. I love those people.. well on the agenda.. community meeting. Claude has been working with the village for years now. Karl helps him plan the agenda and Claude then leads the meeting. The discussion included updates on the manure/seeds/fertilizer distribution (for the terrace project).. hmm .. man i know it was just yesterday but i forgot now all the items.. i must ask Karl.. anyway.. what i remember.. Claude told his personal story of being a Rwandan, living through the war, and how he met with Karl and how he got involved with the village. They never knew his story before.. they thought he might not have been Rwandan. That was cool to see how they connected with him on a deeper level.
Also Claude brought up the notion of a micro-finance loan, and to see if they would be interested in applying for a small loan as one of our projects. They responded with a large YES..and so the plan.. work with one group first. Give $100 US dollars to a group of 3 women. All the women can submit proposals to the village counsel for review. The counsel will review the applications, and pick one team initially. We have criteria for the loan such as, at least one of the three women have to read and write, at least one has to have experience with money, they must all agree on the same plan for the money, they must have a weekly meeting, must agree to pay back the loan at a weekly rate, must have a weekly progress report to the counsel and to HDI (Claude or Olivia), Then.. if they meet our guidlines, and the counsel approves their proposal then they will be given the money. This will also help them to establish them as a COOPERATIVE, which in Rwanda will be beneficial on many levels. But the microfinance project itself will have many benefits, such as accounting, management, selling, marketing, customer service, value of work, team building, breaking cultural barriers, building self-esteem, fighting discrimination, increasing economic viability, generating capital. etc.. We do have a risk here, and that is that the money will be "lost" ie.. "stolen"..well it's a small amount, so it is worth the risk. One of the projects might be selling tomatoes in the market.. and if that happens, you can see how the pygmies will have to interact with the general public.. which can have rippling positive effects :) i am excited to hear what all the proposals will be. and if we get only one team applying, or many.
So after Claude finished his agenda, a really neat thing happened.. the head woman came up and spoke and Claude translated... she went through all the things that PSA/HDI has done for the village, and she gave a big thank you. (okay for those that want to know.. a quick list, shoes, clothes, roofs, medical insurance, vitamins, deworming, securing food supply, cows, goats, rabbits, guinea pigs, education sponsorships, hmm.. capacity building, leadership training, shoot.. okay well that is enough for here)..
so then after she talked, one of the male leaders gets up and starts talking.. guess what about.. EQUALITY.. and how men and women are now equal. He said before women would stay at home while the men would do all the work, now the women help out with getting work, helping the family, and now they both contribute to the household, to the village.. and now they have partners. WOMEN AND MEN ARE EQUAL!
what happens after that.. well the pygmies are known for one thing.. SINGING..
yup a huge sing fest occures.. it is beautiful.. amazing.. awe.. inspiring..
they sing.. and dance.. and i even get a video of it.. and watched it agian today and loved it.. well they sang multiple songs..and for one of them.. Karl grabs me and says "honey.. dance.. just follow my lead",.. and so i did.. i went out with him in the circle and danced.. and this woman joined us.. and danced with us.. and it was beautiful moment. I. loved. every. minute. of. it. i have never felt so connected. with everything.
beautiful.
so today.. if you are good at something.. embrace it.
i am good at systems.. i get this from my father.. whom in my world, created systems thinking... i have never known anyone who thinks in this way for so long.. and engraved in my dna is thinking in such system ways..
so all good projects, all good processes.. needs a flow.. needs documentation, needs systems on how to be effecient. i love it.. i see it clearly.. i love talking to people.. figuring out the system, figuring out all the current steps, figuring out how people flow from ideas, to implementations.. to getting finances..to doing.. i love it all. so today.. and started basically since i got here. i gathered info.. worked with Oliva and Claude over the weekend individually gathering info,..working with Karl, working with Louise (the accountant)..Karl working with Aflodis.. and now.... a path forward with everyone on board.. we created a map.. a map with the only destination that leads to reduced perinatal, infant, child and maternal morbidity (illness) and mortality. Reducing it.. so the pygmies can survive. :) now my job in the next few days.. make the documents pretty.. make an actual filing system, etc. i love craziness.. and putting it together in a flow. i love too the process of doing it.. of getting the info out of people... it is like they are at first entertaining you .. then a little annoyed.. a little tired..they let out the frustrations with the process.. and then once you start laying down the foundation .. the road started getting smooth.. people start jumping in with great suggestions.. improving and evolving the system at alarming rates.. i truly love operations. it is innate in me. so i hung out in the office all day.. and will be in the office for most of this week. ensuring the system is operational on paper and in practice. i will head out to bwiza tomorrow morning-ish.. and that might be my last visit with the pygmies.. i am a bit sad. i leave rwanda at 3am on friday morning.. so i only have three days left.. omg.. freaky.. i could stay here for so much longer.. okay before i get sad about leaving.. and by the way.. after here i go to tanzania.. but that is another post.. anyway.. so after i left the office.. claude took me to his friends place.. The ONLY (or the only at this quality) record studio.. and guess what.. who was there.. but the number one artist of Rwanda.. this guy named Martin. whom is a fantastic soul.. i had no idea who he was i just thought he was some dude.. so anyway.. we are there listening to music.. claude and i want to ask the studio guy if we can record the pygmies there, if so how much per song, how many people can we get in the studio, how long would it take, etc etc.. so before we could ask all those questions.. we got to listen to them make music..make a song.. that was really fun because i actually loved the song.. who knows what it was about.. but it had to be about love of some sort.. all songs are really..aren't they?! anyway.. so there was abreak.. and claude left for a sec and so did the studio guy.. so i start talking to martin.. and his friend jonathan.. i show them the video of bwiza.. to say hey in my way.. thanks for letting me hear you sing.. and so then i start showing them the pictures of bwiza.. and i tell them why i am here in rwanda and then tell them about why we are here in the studio..claude then comes in and his laptop is open so he starts showing them the pictures from the north village.. and Martin's heart starts breaking.. i tell him of our work.. what we are trying to do.. how we need funds etc..we finally ask the studio guy the info..each song is $100 us...to record a cd is aobut $800 for 8 songs.. i asked him if he woudl give a donation.. he said he needs to think about it.. and then he said only 6 of the 20 people could come to the studio.. we also have another option of getting a donor to get recording info up to the village.. but it might not be high quality as a studio.. but we got options.. anyway.. we thank them for their time, and for the gift of music.. . martin wanted to get my number.. but i told him i was leaving soon.. so i got martin's facebook info instead..
i walked out of there.. and was walking back.. towards home.. claude looked at me and said " you look completely at peace" i told him "yes.. music does that to me"

:)

love you much!
Lizzie

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sometimes....

sometimes i just miss you..

sometimes i just want my regular clothes on..

sometimes i just want to walk down a road i have walked down before a million times..

sometimes i just want to run into someone i know..

sometimes i just want pho or mac and cheese..

sometimes i just want to sleep in my own bed....

sometimes i forget that seeing the big picture is not a common movie....

sometimes i get frustrated by ego points........

sometimes i get mad at myself for not getting money on my phone so i can call home to talk to my mum....

sometimes i wish i felt truly clean........

sometimes i just want to play chess with my dad....

sometimes.. i am extremely grateful and extremely exhausted all at the same time

Goodnight + Sweet dreams!
L

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kinda fun...

karl and coffee rwanda made the news... the american medical news :)
click here for the story

Doctor sells coffee to help Rwanda's poor

:)

L

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decadents - it was a party

thrown in the beverly hills of rwanda....by a drag queen from the UK that has lived in Rwanda for a few years. I guess this party is the party of the year for everyone. Armed guards as security. Catered food, Kegs in the garden, Wine inside. DJ's and dancing. and you look around and the crowd is so worldly mixed.
I only had one drink.. i thought tonight might be one of those nights you need your senses about you.
I danced some, but really just was so interested in talking to people. People worked all over the place, for fancy agencies, some for the government, some for the UN, shoot.. the NGO's were representing. I even met a guy who was an architect for some country, here to make sure that the buildings are earth quake proof and up to standards. I guess there is a problem with people building buildings (or there was a problem in the past) where they had no experience and would make something and then the building wasn't safe, cause they didn't build to code. i also met a guy who builds schools, and i asked him about maintenance. he said that maintenance of buildings is hard. it is an issue. they have to come back after they finish it, like every couple of months to check on it. but they get a local to be in charge but sometimes the funds run out, etc.
I talked to this one guy, he asked what I am doing here, and I tell him about PSA, etc. His response is: "oh great i have always wanted to see the twa.. please take me. i can even put my beer can on their head." the pygmies get discriminated a lot. Some people expect them to be like 3 feet tall, unintelligent, and inhuman. i experienced a few comments like this at the party. one group though of UNICEF people were totally interested in PSA/HDI's work. really excited that people were working with them. They see how they have been so marginalized. The UNICEF group was working with gender based violence. Violence to women is an issue here. It was really good to hear about their work. It was actually really fun to hear about all the people's work. It was a party like i have never been to before... over the top for sure.. craziness.. ..humanitarians.

i left the party at like 3am..with my buddy cedy.. he got stopped at the gate..and searched. i did not. he told me after we left that the owner of the house thought his cell phone might have been stolen, so rwandans were being searched.

I parted from Cedy.. headed on a moto... in the black of the night.. back through kigali.. back to my bed. I just love motorcycle rides.. soo much. it was only about 2 dollar ride .. but i gave the driver 4 dollars as a big thank you for taking care of me (ie not crashing or running out of gas) and getting me home safely.

the party was just so ironic.. on so many levels.. to be a true humanitarian doesn't mean to work for some fancy place.. or do some fancy thing. it really does mean how you treat people everyday. always. whomever you come across. period. I really do enjoy my family and friends in Seattle a lot. i think they treat people pretty darn good.

Love you,
Lizzie

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i believe in love. i believe in life.

yup i think that sums it up. rwanda is this small little country. first off. the people are amazing. i love them. i love rwanda.. in that way you know .. where you see someone you know.. and run up behind them jump on their back.. and say hello i love you. :) well i want to do that to all of rwanda. it is small like me.. so i think i can.
well then rwanda also had 3ish months of hell on earth aka the genocide of 1994. going to the genocide memorial (which was very tasteful i thought and rad that they talked about all the genocides in the world)..said that before the 1890 (the dates are lose.. give or take 20 years)..before they were colonized and christianized they claimed that rwanda was one people. then the settlers came and declared that their were three main groups of people. they found irrational ways to seperate them. you know based on phenotypes...like tall and thin, or whatever.. so basically you get hutu, tutsi, twa (the pygmies). the tutsi's were about 15% of the population. the colonist thought they were inherently smarter and thus deserved more respect and more cows, blah blah. blah.. so then you know the rest.. resentment incurred. between the groups.. and hierarchy begins.. now did this happen before? who knows.. but it is credited with the settlement of rwanda this great divide.. so they have one genocide in like the 40's (?) and then again in 94..and guess what.. again in the congo from 99-2004 (i just read something today about this online-basically the tutsi's wanting revenge on the hutu that ran from the law after the genocide was over) ..

So what do we have here? we have people separated and divided based on irrational things. that i can not see. but wow is this still existing here. yes everyone here is now a rwandan. no classes. you can't talk about hutu and tutsi.. it is not socially acceptable. kinda rad actually.

So then why do we divide people? why do we think this is better then that? what is the purpose?


i get that i personally have a bunch of traits of characteristics of phenotypes of history of things that can identify me. but in no way am i defined by any of these things. I am not defined by my identity. My definition is that i am a living being. PERIOD. My identity can be a bunch of stuff.. like a live in cap hill. i have two sisters. i am born in oct. i am a woman. blah blah stuff.. you know. i like to drink fresh water. i like showers that are warm. i like it when it rains. i miss glassblowing. :)


anyway.. i am just over this notion of heirachy.. i can't find an example of where it does good. Discrimination is pointless human trait. i wish we evolved pass this. but we don't. i think it is way easier to pass judgement and to put in some sort of heirarchy and to make oneself feel supior. that is all easy stuff to do. we can base it on any irrational thing. even if it not rational to the person being judged. it is easy to do. too darn easy.

the hard things in life.. the really hard one: to look someone in the eyes..directly.. presently.. aware..and have that smile that originated in the gut of your belly coming up to your lips with the color of compassion.. illuminating.. and shake someones hand out of absolute respect, dignity, and love. no matter who they are. and then .. a hug. to reinforce the love of life.


my thoughts for the last few days. i hope you enjoyed.

love you lots,
Lizzie

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some more photos

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2092201&id=1257799378&l=1b637b3cc6

or click here

love you,
Lizzie

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