Stephen Young

Krabi / Railay Beach, Thailand

2007-03-28T18:19:00.000+03:00

Yesterday I returned from Railay Beach in Thailand... possibly the best trip I've been on this term. We spent 6 days rock climbing, scuba diving, enjoying the beaches and meeting some cool local Thai people. Phil convinced me about two weeks ago to come climbing with him in Thailand, and proceeded to start me on a rigorous training program to get my skills up to speed (he's basically an expert... and I hadn't done it in years). We spent a few weeks in Singapore climbing at indoor gyms and outdoor articfical walls and then off to Thailand!

Krabi area is in south / central part of Thailand, just about the troubled regions in the far south, and includes famous destinations like Ko Phi Phi, Phuket, and the climbing areas at Railay and Ton Sai Beach. We stayed on Railey East Beach, the slightly cheaper side of the main beach area. The beaches are located on a peninsula which can only be accessed by "longtail boats" which ferry people back and forth between Krabi Town and the beaches. Phil and I arrived Tuesday night around 6PM on the mainland and took a longtail over. We explored for ahile and eventually found a pleasant budget hostel called "Rapela" with outdoor bungalows for 400baht ($18).

The next morning we got an early start on climbing, catching the morning shade from 7-10AM before stopping for breakfast. The first few days of climbing left me really tired and drained all over, especially since most of the climbing sites require a pretty serious hike just to get there. People from all over the world converge on this place to test their skills on the climbing wall. We met tons of people from Canada, US, Austria, England, New Zealand, and more. By the 4th and 5th day I started to adjust to the muscle soreness and really enjoy the challenge.

On Thursday Cat and Bernice arrived from Singapore and joined us in the same hostel. For the next few days they explored the island while Phil and I continued to climb . We met up for some good Thai food, breakfast, lunch and dinner.

On Saturday we took a break to go scuba diving. Phil, Bernice and Cat had all dived before on their trip to Vietnam last month, so I was the onloy beginner. Visibility on the dive wasn't great but it was still wicked to swim and float with the fish and coral reef. Seems like everyone accept me has done an official diving course, which certifies you to dive without a special intro course and at a reduced fee. Maybe I'll do one in Canada... supposedly the great lakes have good shipwreck sites to see!

That night Phil and I indulged in classic Thai massages - painful but relaxing. Funny to note, while Drew and I were travelling China we were often be offered masages while waking the street, but never even considered taking one. But these massages were usually sketchy... and often being profered by taxi drivers who promised to find us a "nice girl" for a "massage". In Krabi it was much more legitimate and very inexpensive at 200baht ($8). Later we also enjoyed a Thai boxing match and fireshow at the local bar/restaurant. We decided it was probably staged, but it was still pretty entertaining to watch. Thai boxing is similar to kickboxing and enjoys extreme popularity as a national sport.

Overall the area was amazing! Although full of tourists, the locals were still very friendly and helpful. Prices were high but not as bad as I feared and the atmosphere was very chill. Definitely one of the best trip I've had so far!

Unfortunately, my time in Singapore is coming to an end - with barely 3 weeks left. Only one last trip to go, one design project and exams! Better get back to work!

Cheers,
Steve

A Singaporean House and Dinner with Wine!

2007-03-19T14:50:00.000+03:00

This week I had the pleasure of visiting an actual Singaporean home belonging to Professor Beng Huat who teaches sociology at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and is a friend of my Aunt on my father's side.

They met while studying environmental science at York University in Toronto and my Aunt Andrea introduced us by email before I left for Singapore. Beng kindly invited both myself and Francie Gow for dinner. Francie is another friend of my aunt's who is studying law at McGill in Montreal and on currently on exchange at NUS. She works as a translator for the federal government, very exciting stuff especially as she is now studying law.

The invitation for dinner came as a welcome surprise and was my first and likely only visit to a Singaporean house. Singapore's dense population lives almost entirely in high-rise apartments, which are commonly subsidized by the government to reduce cost of living. Beng's house was an architectural wonder, including a small pond freely flowing from the outdoor patio area into the living room - and primarily ventilated by windows, doors and open walls which is especially uncommon in the air conditioned paradise of Singapore.

Dinner was as wonderful as the house, including fish, tofu, broccoli, braised beef and a wonderful South African wine! The first wine I've had since coming to Singapore and welcome treat! At dinner we met Beng's wife Evelyn who lived and studied in Toronto before returning to Singapore with Beng. Dinner conversation was fantastic, although I couldn't keep up with Beng's wide knowledge of current events, Singaporean and Canadian politics and general wit. Francie shared her photos of her recent trip to Cambodia and Angkor Wat where she stayed with friends from Canada who now live in Cambodia. She has been carefully selecting her travel destinations to make use of friends and family who'll provide that insider's perspective. A great idea!

The evening was extremely pleasant, leaving me satisfied, full and happy. Certainly a change of pace from campus life and food!

In other news.... after so many recommendations I've decided to visit the famous Angkor Wat Temples in Cambodia. These temples were left from the powerful Angkor kingdom which ruled over much of South East Asia hundreds of years ago. They're supposed to rival the Egyptian pyramids as archetectirual wonders of the world!

That's all for now! Thanks for reading and I'll be writing another post soon enough recounting our adventures in southern China after leaving Hong Kong.

Take care!
Steve

China trip part 1 - Hong Kong

2007-03-10T06:57:00.000+03:00

It's been almost a week since Andrew and I returned from our grand tour southern China and Hong Kong. By combining NTU's Chinese New Year and reading week break we were able to spend fully 20 days traveling! Here's a quick recap of our first stage in Hong Kong.

We left on Feb 13, flying from Singapore to Macau and arriving in the early morning on Feb 14. For some reason, I'd scheduled a phone interview for a summer co-op job for the night we arrived. So right after arriving we taxied to the nearest 7/11 where I picked up a local SIM card and promptly had an interview with TD Securities in Toronto. Certainly one of the strangest experiences ever... sitting on the streets in Macau just after 2AM talking on a cellphone to a banker back home in Toronto. The interview went so/so, with the noise and sleep deprivation, however I got a chance to speak to someone else the next day using Skype and that went much better and landed me a job for the summer! Finally I can stop worrying about co-op.

Anyway, back to Macau... after the interview we realized the ferries to Hong Kong didn't start running until 6AM and we had some time to kill. So, of course we decided to explore the mass of casinos all over the small island of Macau. Macau is essentially the Las Vegas of Asia. One of the only places in China allowed to have casinos, and a former porteguese colony with an interesting economic and naval history. It was colonzed by Portugeuse in the 1600s along with several other key trading ports in India (Goa) and Malaysia (Mellaca). It remained under Portugeuse control until 1974.

We spent about 3 hours in the infamous "Sands" casino, while away our time and money at the cheapest slot machinese we could find. Sands is actually owned by an american company "The Las Vegas Macau Corporation" and claims to be the world's largest casino with 740 table games, more than any other single casino in the world.

After Macau we ferried over to Hong Kong Island, where we spent 6 days including the famous Chinese New Year celebrations. We stayed in Kownloon "the suberb" just north of Hong Kong Island. Our various hostels/guesthouses ranged in quality from very poor... to reasonable, and were certainly are most expensive accomodation for the trip. We explored Hong Kong extensively, including the surrounding islands of Lantau and the New Territories. In Lantau we passed by popular "Hong Kong Disney Land" - although didn't stop for a tour. We visited the famous large Buddha sculpture which claims to be the world's largest in bronze. We also visited most of the neighbourhoods on Hong Kong Island, including the popular Lan Kwai Fong entertainment area which is mainly populated by expats and tourists. Overall the development in Hong Kong was amazing. The city skyline was amazing to look at, easily overwhelming Toronto cityscape. On Sunday there was an impressive parade, with the streets of Kowloon becoming absolutely and completely full of people trying to find a good place to watch. Floats in the parage ranged from highly commercial advertisements for companies like Cathay Pacific to tradition Chinese dancing and costumes. The next day we met up with Annie (a classmate from Waterloo who is studying in Singapore at NUS). We visited a popular temple in the New Territories area of Hong Kong. Here we met Annie's older sister who is doing her PhD in Hong Kong, and Annie's grandmother who invited us to join them for a family dinner outing that night! What a rare treat! Drew and I had secretly hoped we would find a family willing to include us in their festivities, but we hadn't really expected. Between the family, Drew, me and Annie's sister's fiance, there were about 15 people all eating out a traditional Chinese restaurant. The food was amazing, but the family atmosphere was even better!

The next day we left for Shenzhen, the mainland China city which borders Hong Kong. More to come about this in my next post!

I've also uploaded a full album of Hong Kong /Macau pictures to Google's new PicasaWeb service. Check it out at: http://picasaweb.google.com/sry.young/HongKong

Cheers,
Steve

Thailand... China soon to come!

2007-03-04T16:17:00.000+03:00

Hello All! Sorry for the lack of updates over the past few weeks. I've been busy with a number of things, including finding a co-op job for the summer, traveling to Thailand, and most recently traveling through southern China and Hong Kong.

Since it's been such a while, I'm going do a quick recap of everything I've been up to in the two weeks leading up to my China trip and then write another post about China itself.

Hmm...where to start.... I guess I should describe our trip to Thailand. After much debating about what to do on the weekend of February 1st, Andrew and I decided to travel by bus all the way from Singapore, through Malaysia and into southern Thailand to attend the much-popular "Full Moon Party" monthly festival on Ko Pha Ngan island. In retrospect this probably wasn't the smartest idea as this part of Thailand is facing serious unrest and threat of civil war from religious minorites seeking an indepent state. Nonetheless, our journey was peaceful enough, albeit extremely tiring. It totaled over 30 hours each way and included: 12 hour bus to Malaysian/Thailand border, 8 hour train ride to Hat Yai in southern Thailand, 6 hour minibus ride to Surat Thani on the east coast of Thailand, and finally an overnight ferry to the destination island. All in we left Wednesday evening around 5PM and arrived Friday morning around 8AM.

As for the island itself, it is (or rather was) a beautiful green haven, sparsely populated by pleasant and laidback locals. Unfortunately the monthly full moon party has transformed the southern half of the small island (less than 1/2 the size of Singapore) into a massive tourist trap. Electric motor bikes are rented everywhere, most beaches are host to nightly parties and come evening time you're more likely to see a white skinned foreigner than a Thai local.

Friday morning Drew and I decided to rent a pair of small motor bikes to venture further inland in search of accomodation. After exploring the island for a few hours we located a group of small bungalows about 15 minutes from the ferry dock where the rest of our friends were staying. For about $14CDN we booked a small house in a peaceful pleasant location - and promptly settled in for an afternoon nap. Around 8PM we managed to pull ourselves out of bed and took a sensely dangerous motorbike trip into town near the main beach for the evening's festivities. The main beach called Hat Rin, is adorned with every type of commercial item for the wanting young tourist in search of a grand old party. Shops line the street vending sand buckets full of beer and other drinks. Restaurant serve pizza, pasta and various other western dishes - while playing Friends, Seinfeld and Family Guy. Real authenticity!

The party was certainly an interesting experience. If you can imagine... a massive nightclub, set on a beach and attended by over 5000 people from around the world. We explored on our own for a few hours, slowly taking in the sites and stopping off for food and a pretty good pan fried pizza. Later we bumped into the other NTU exchange students and spent the rest of the night with them and eventually made it back home around 6AM.

The next morning, slightly after 4PM, we checked out of our bungalow and returned to the ferry area. On the way we had to return our rented scooters, and this turned out to be quite an ordeal. We'd managed to slightly scratch one of the bikes on some gravel near our bungalow and the lady who rented them to use refused to return our passports unless we paid nearly $500CDN in so called damages. We spent almost 2 hours negotiating with her, asking locals what to do, and generally complaining before agree to pay her a reduced fee.

After that we got on the night ferry bound for Surat Thani and began our long journey home. Over all we traveled nearly 60 hours and spent nearly the equivalent of plane fare despite traveling by bus. Perhaps we got to see a little more of Thailand along the way, but nothing to justify the time. At least we can say we did it... and that's what counts.

That's all for now! Off to bed... and I promise to write about China in the next day or two.

Cheers,
Steve

Singapore - Getting Adjusted

2007-01-22T09:53:00.000+03:00

As of yesterday I have been in Singapore for two weeks; it's been a mix of tropical excitement, school administration and sunburns. After arriving from Tokyo I met up with Andrew D'Souza and taxied over my school (Nanyang Technological University) on the far west side of Singapore island - from one end to the other it's about a 45min trip. We spent the next week or so we moved into residence, met roommates, and spent ohh so much effort trying to get classes, schedules and credits sorted out. My roommate (who has actually just moved) out is a local Chinese Singaporean who studies electronics engineering. Most of the other exchange students are paired with exchange roommates, but I figured I see what it was like living with someone else. I was a bit nervous, but he turned out to be a really nice guy, and although he's moving back home (hopefully not because of me...) I think since I was living with a local student it's helped me to meet other local students who live nearby.

Singapore, a country barely the size of Toronto, is easy enough to travel through and site see. In our two weeks here, Bernice, Drew, Phil and I have seen most of the recommended places on the island, except for Sentosa - a man made beach just off Singapore's "coast". We tried to make take a trip down but it was raining. Food is generally fantastically inexpensive - in our canteen on campus an average meal costs about $2.50 Singapore dollars ($1CDN = $1.3SGD) and is a reasonable portion. Once you venture off campus everything gets a little more expensive, but it depends on the neighborhood.

Last Thursday our hall (residence) organized a trip out to a local nightclub called Ministry and Sound. It was a good time, starting off with a fashion show of all things. Generally speaking I'm the tallest person anywhere I go... but there are certainly exceptions. Drinks at bars and clubs are incredible expensive, ranging from $8 - $15 for a glass, especially when compared to food. I think the idea is to feed the population, but keep the sober : )

This past weekend the UW NTU SYDE team (me, Phil, Bernice, Drew) plus Cat (a civil engineering at NUS) went on a weekend trip to Malaysia. We bused up from Singapore, crossing the bridge which connects the two countries. Malaysia stretches north from Singapore meeting up with Thailand above. Our first stop was in a southern city called Melaka - a classical port town which was the centre of a trading hub during the days of England's East Indian Trading Company. The city was a nice introduction to a nice country. We walked through most of the city, which seemed to be quite a popular tourist area. We visited one interesting themed museum full of everything the Malaysia custom officials have confiscated from people smuggling over the border.

The next day we left Melaka in search of a nearby beach town called Tanjung Kling. Apparently in the high season (non-rainy season) it is a popular tourist destination, full of beachside resorts and eateries. This weekend we had the whole place to ourselves - plus the pleasant, laid back locals who spend the hot afternoons relaxing around town.

The beaches, although virtually empty, we very pleasant and we enjoyed a sunset like no other I've seen. The next day we headed off for Kuala Lumpur (the capital city of Malaysia). Malaysia is an interesting blend of old and modern, with palm trees and villages bordering new age skyscrapers and a booming economy.

Particularly impressive are the Petronas Towers - the tallest twin towers in the world. We tried to get a tour on the skylink connecting them on te 42nd floor, but tickets were sold out.

Sunday night we went out for dinner (on what happened to be my birthday!) at a very nice Chinese restaurant. The service, food and atmosphere was fantastic... and all for a cost less than $10 per person - definitely our most expensive meal. Afterwards we boarded a bus back for Singapore, arriving around 4AM and spent two hours learning to play majong and waiting for the subway to start running.

That's all for now! Next weekend promises to be another exciting trip somewhere (and a long weekend... since we have no classes on friday!).

Cheers,
Steve

Leaving Tokyo

2007-01-06T08:36:00.000+03:00

Today I leave Tokyo for Singapore! It's been an exciting three days wondering the streets and enjoying the sushi! Here's a quick summary of what I've been up to:

Thursday: Started the day off pretty early cause of jet lag. Left the hostel around 7Am wandered the streets in Asakusa for about 2 hours. There are two old style Buddist temples near our hostel which are popular visiting locations for both foreigners and Japanese.

When I was there in the morning people were burning incense outside the temple and bathing in the smoke. A tradition when visiting the temple.

After returning to the hostel I met up with Annie, Gary and Eugene and we went out for breakfast at a nearby restaurant. We went to an amazingly efficient little store which had machines in the front you ordered from before sitting down at the table where the cooks would take your ticket and bring you your food. The whole restaurant comfortable sat 25 people in a tiny little space.

After breakfast we visited the Imperial Palace and gardens in the heart of Tokyo. The palace is located outside Tokyo Station, which is the central subway/train station for the Tokyo system. The subway system is immense and complicated, but there is definitely a logic amidst the choas. The system uses a graduated fare, where you pay according to how far you want to travel from your starting station. There are about a dozen different lines and several of them are run by completely different companies. There is also a main rain system which forms a giant circle connecting all the key locations in Tokyo.

Afterwards we took the train just outside Tokyo to an area called Yokohoma, which is either the second largest city in Japan or a suburb of Tokyo, depending on who you talk to. We toured around the city, visited the "Landmark Tower" and enjoyed the view from the 69th floor observation deck. The view was amazing... a massive metropolis stretches out as far as the eye can see in every direction.

Friday: We woke up at 5AM to make it out to the famous Tokyo Fish Market, supposedly the largest in the world. Definitely a busy full of barely contained choas. Care must be taken to avoid being run over by the many motorized carts whipped around tranfering goods from here to there. Walking down the aisles we saw giant salmon, tuna, octopus, squid, everything imaginable and so many I couldn't identify.

In the later afternoon I explored the other neighbourhoods of Tokyo on my own. In Shibuya I saw "Tokyo Times Square" which is apparently the busiest intersection in the world. People cross in ever direction a literal see of bodies filling a giant square. I had never seen so many people at once. In the evening I met Jeff Wentworth for dinner and drinks at a good restaurant near Tokyo Station - the food was amazing. Jeff speaks Japanese so he was able to order the good stuff : )

Saturday: it's raining... and i'm going to the airport!

Cheers,
Steve

Tokyo!

2007-01-04T01:55:00.000+03:00

So I arrived last night in Tokyo where I'll be staying for a few days before heading off to Singapore on exchange. My flight arrived around 5PM local time over was my took a solid 13 hours and I managed to sleep for about 3, not bad I suppose, but considering I hadn't slept much the night before... in an effort to sleep more on the plane.... it wasn't great either. The whole flight I was worried I'd be exhausted when I arrived and end up getting lost someone inside Tokyo's massive and confusing subway / train system. Good guess....

Basically I had no idea where to go after leaving the airport, armed only with the name "Asakusa" and the direction west. After several wrong transfers and lots of confused conversations with locals, I bumped into a girl from Ontario who knew Tokyo and pointed me in the write direction. Around 8PM I finally arrived at the hostel I was aiming for in the Asakusa district, checked in and promptly fell asleep. Jet lag had definitely set in.

Asakusa is a nice area just on the outskirts of central Tokyo. It's has several famous temples and maintains an air of old Tokyo (or so I'm told). Today I plan on exploring this area, getting some food, practicing a little Japanese... and trying not to get lost.

Somewhat surprisingly, I found out Annie, Eugene and Gary (all from UW engineering and going to Singapore) are staying at the same hostel. We'll be travelling around together today as they're leaving tomorrow before me.

Cheers,
Steve

2006-09-16T18:24:00.001+03:00

2006-09-16T18:24:00.000+03:00

Euro Summary!

2006-09-12T17:33:00.000+03:00

Euro trip was pretty wicked. Landed in Ireland, quickly breezed through London, spent 4 days in Holland (Amsterdam is amazing! so much fun, so many bikes!). Amsterdam is jamed packed with museums, one of the best is the Rijkmuseum with tons of famous art.

Then we flew to Morocco for 6 days (rode some camels, hiked through the Atlas Mountains, got scammed and ripped off constantly), then took the ferry from Tangier, Morocco to Tarisha, Spain and found our way to the delightful midsized town of Sevilla (Spain's bullfighting and Flamenco dancing capital!), from there we decided to head north to Valencia and then to Bunol for the annual " La Tomatina" tomato throwing festival (imagine 20,000 people in a small city plaza and 100,000s of tomatoes dropped from trucks on top of them... madness), afterwards off to Barcelona for 2 days (Mark and I slept on the beach for 1 night, which we learnt later is incredibly dangerous and misguided... anyway all that happened is the cops woke us up!). Mark, Bernice and I then headed off towards southern France to stay with relatives of mine. On the way we stopped off in Figures, near the border of Spain/France, here we saw the Dhali Museum during a night showing from 11-1AM - Dhali is one crazy artist, and the entire building matched his style. From Figures we trudged on through several train connections and a delayed/missed train with 3X its capacity of people, to arrive in the French Riviera in St. Rapheal. We stayed 2 nights with my great uncle, who used to work in Singapore, first at a rubber plantation, and then as a senior guy in a headhunting firm. We relaxed by their pool, took a cruise on their yacht, and heard tales from his wife and her business adventures in Hong Kong. When it came time to depart, we took the TGV to paris and spent the better part of two days walking around the entire city - Eiffiel Tower at 1AM... very sparkly. We met up with Karen for an evening and she gave us the "local" tour. At the end of the night we stopped at crepe stand for dessert, the Tunisian guy cooking regaled us with tales of his opinions of people from around the world, including Canada as a wonderfully cosmopolitan country, and how beautiful Chinese people ( read girls) are. Then after getting up early to tour the Louvre (and actually not making it on time), we caught a (20euro) flight to Dublin where we spent a night at a wonderfully cheap (23E) and comfortable hostel... very cool city, modern/old/and in between. Bernice and I had dinner at a Temple Bar restaurant - delicious Boxty's (potato pancakes filled with steak and chicken), plus I enjoyed a few excellently poured Guinness pints. Bernice and I then left to head to Limerick in western Ireland, where we'd be catching our flight the next day. Along the way we stopped on in several small towns in search of an old family castle belonging to my mother's father's family. Alas the closest we came to finding "Castle Martin" was finding a sign on a wall that said "Castle Martin Stud Farm". In Limerick we stayed at a nice B&B run by an old lady who cooked an amazing "Full Irish Breakfast" consisting of sausage, egg, coffee, tea, toast, jam, cereal, beans, ohh so good! Then we flew home on a flight which was delayed, stoped in Iceland, threatened by lightnighing and generally harrassed to the tune of 5 hours, arriving at 8PM instead of 3.

Interview with a Homeless

2006-09-12T04:49:00.000+03:00

Questions

1. How much money would you need to be happy?
2. Why are you on the street?

More...

EUROPE 2006 - Chapter 1 - Toronto to Amsterdam!

2006-08-22T00:02:00.000+03:00

Last Thursday, Bernice and I left Pearson Airport in Toronto around 10PM, bound for Ireland!

We booked the cheapest flight we could, which happened to land in Shannon - in the south of Ireland. Strangely enough, the flight actually landed in Dublin (west Ireland) first, and then after quite the wait for refueling, we headed off to Shannon. Our flight was scheduled to land at 11:00AM, and we had booked another connecting flight in to London at 1PM... little did we know that our flight wouldn't actually land until 12:30PM...

It went down like this: 12:30 land, 12:35 waiting for luggage, 12:45 still waiting for luggage - Steve runs to checkin area to get boarding passes, 12:47 steve is in wrong line, 1:00PM Bernice finds luggage, 1:05PM gate has closed.... we missed our flight!

After recovering from the shock Bernice and I went back to the Ryanair (a discount airliner) counter and asked about other flight options. Interestingly, west Irish accents are really really heavy and I had a pretty hard time understanding anything that was being said... especially on the loudspeaker. Very polite lady, with a heavy accent told us that the next flight would be to London Stanstead at 4PM and would cost us another 60 euros. So we took a nice knap outside and waited.

We arrived in London at 5:30ish at located a shuttle into town - Stanstead (spelling?) is well outside the city. Around 8PM we were passing through the city on the shuttle. A nice older gentleman provided commentary to all the sites and pictures we were taking. We arrived at Victoria Coach station around 8:30PM, explored Buckingham Palace in the dark, and then met up with Kristen, Mark, Simon and Shruthi.

At 10PM we got on an overnight bus bound for Amsterdam.

So ends chapter 1.

More to come! I'll try to put up some pictures soon... although I'm not sure if I can.

Take it easy,
Steve

2006-08-06T22:01:00.000+03:00

Random websites:

http://pactprogram.ca
http://resiliencecanada.ca
http://kiwanisfoundationcanada.org

-Steve

Companies I might want to work for:

2006-08-06T21:30:00.000+03:00

So next summer I'll be looking for a job... so I wanted to write out companies I might want to work for... and what better place then in a blog no one looks at!

List:

SNC Lavalin
Bridgespan
Mckinsey & Co.
TD Securities
Apple
BMO
Bain

Ta da.

-steve

Ben in Ghana

2006-07-30T20:23:00.000+03:00

I was reading the blog of my friend Ben Best, who is currently working in northern Ghana as a EWB voluneer. He posts regularly to his blog at http://ben-in-ghaha.blogspot.com - some really intersting comments on development and westerners role in development. I've taken a quote from his latest post talking about an area he visited for just one week and how he felt like just one more western tourist visiting. Check it out:

"The second reason I was so frustrated was the fact that I was only there for a week. I was really just another short time visitor that came to Nwodua just leave without really contributing. I was talking to a group of the youth one evening about this and they definitely felt the same way. The told me that so many people from all around the world had come to visit Nwodua to learn from them but not once had anyone from Nwodua ever traveled outside of their country. Their request to me was to find someway to raise the funds to give one of them the chance to travel. It was tough to explain that I am student still trying to pay for school, while at the same time I couldn’t deny that I was there, there was money somewhere that paid for my trip, but no money to pay for theirs. Here was a community that was working so hard for its own development, and here I was, another Western coming to take away what I could without having anything to offer in return."

-Ben Best, UWaterloo EWB Junior Fellow (overseas volunteer) in Ghana

PS. I'm going to Europe soon! Amsterdam, France

THE COOP 0.7% PLEDGE

2006-02-20T01:13:00.000+03:00

Here's my latest wacky idea! It's a cool new fundraising strategy for EWB Waterloo! Since we are promoting the .7 Pledge to students at UW, why not also approach coop students to donate 0.7% of their paychecks to EWB. If we can do it then Canada can do it! "Be the Change, Donate the Change." From some rough math, if we get 3% of all current coop students to participate we could pull in about $2000 a term. Hopefully this would also create a regular flow of funds for future years. It would also be a great segway for the more structured corporate fundraising strategy Wayne is developing.

What do you think?

I'm going to try this out by:

1) Getting feedback from EWB UW fundraising team (Wayne and Co.)

2) Asking the National Office to set up an online donation on CanadaHelps.org for UW. This will allow people to automatically donate a monthly amount from a credit card.

3) Setting up my own 0.7% donation

4) Convincing my company to match all coop and employee donations

5) Thinking of ways to promote this to the student body

Just wanted to get that down on "paper". Hopefully it'll work!

Cheers.

-SY
test

Instant Messaging bridging languages

2006-01-29T22:56:00.000+03:00

I just thought of really cool idea! What if MSN, or AIM, or Google Talk or whatever could automatically translate what you type into another language!! The implications and new opportunities for international communication would be amazing. Especially in developing countries which are relying so heavily on foreign aid. Lacking effective communication skills in English or Dutch or French weakens the confidence of development professionals in Tanzania. The possibility of being able to communicate with a supporting organisation in their native language would be awesome.

-S

EWB @ Waterloo

2006-01-24T23:30:00.000+03:00

So now I'm back at school and Engineers Without Borders is going better than ever!

Here's a quick update and window into my world of EWB. The Fall has been full of awesome events, accomplisments and challenges. Looking back the highlights include a wide ranging list, starting with "EWB Goes Classy: Wine and Cheese Gala", and then to some wicked "Water for the World" highschool presentations, a strong showing at UW Homecoming, and the first ever fantastic "Live 8 @ UW" band night at the Bombershelter Pub.

Currently I'm working at a new coop job - designing hardware for the video industry. Hopefully this term will allow for new inroads into EWB corporate fundraising utilizing the coop program. I'm also excited to be attending my first ever EWB National Conference in Ottawa. I'm super excited to be meeting other young people from across the country and learning more about development. Hopefully the experience will help me process my thoughts on my wonderful time in Tanzania.

In the summer I will be returning to school to begin my third year. Also, I'm very excited to be taking on the role of President for the EWB Waterloo Chapter! Big shoes to fill - I'm looking forward to the challenge.

That's all I've got for now. Take care.

Yours truly,
Stephen

First Class Lounge!

2005-08-28T23:31:00.000+03:00

Currently I am sitting in the in the London Airport Air Canada Executive Lounge drinking white wine and eating olives. Our tickets from London to Toronto magically got upgraded from Economy Class to Executive which means we get to eat all the free food and drinks we can manage. Jane, myself, Steph, and Danny all met up in Nairobe after coming through Entebbe and Dar es Salaam respectively.

Our drive from Karagwe to Uganda was slow, but sure - except for the final stage were the car's differential fell off and Joseph (man of all trades) had to pull under the car and fix it up. This happened conviently at 1AM on the road from Kampala to Entebbe.

Saying goodbye to everyone in TZ was abrupt, but I hope we left everyone on good terms. Mama Comboni, Anna and Comboni all gave us warm goodbyes along with our good friends from next door. I will miss fetching water and practicing Swahili with with.

In Uganda we had to continually remind people that Jane and I didn't have a lot of money to spend. We discouraged visits to the fancy resorts, of which there are so many in Entebbe, although jane and I did go to visit a few on our own just to see how extravagant they were.

All in all the summer has been a wicked experience full of learning, challenges and new friends. I will miss the unique environement and the many people I come to know. I only hope I can make good on my promise to return some day.

Cheers,
Steve

2005-07-11T21:20:00.000+03:00

Jane helps to measure sample areas

2005-07-11T21:19:00.000+03:00

Inside a banana plantation

2005-07-11T21:17:00.000+03:00

Comboni finds photo negatives

2005-07-08T08:58:00.000+03:00

Our first ICT training session - targeted at NGO and development workers

2005-07-08T08:57:00.000+03:00

Karagwe Secondary School teacher learning Mircosoft Word

2005-07-08T08:56:00.000+03:00

Me trying to explain the concept of "username"

Safari Mbaya

2005-07-07T16:43:00.000+03:00

This past Tuesday Jane and I returned from Bukoba, which is approximately 100km from our home in Kayanga. Normally the trip takes two hours - yesterday however the trip took just under seven!

Leaving Kayanga Saturday afternoon, Jane and I traveled using a small coach to Bukoba for the weekend. We had planned a mini EWB retreat as a substitute for cancelling our trip to Dar es Salaam. In an effort to lower the bird population of TZ, Sekiku also asked us to purchase some items for the construction of the new building - wiring and plumbing supplies. The trip was very pleasant and provided me with some quiet time away from watu wengi sana (so many people). As a wonderful bonus I had a chance to do some serious swahili reading and learning. I now understand much better the 15 noun classes in swahili that make the language so wonderfully confusing!

We stayed in a small hotel/guesthouse which is quite nice and very affordable. The guesthouse is right on Lake Victoria and the view is spectacular (I'll post some pictures). Bukoba is the capital of the Kagera region (one of 22 regions in TZ) and is quite a bit larger than Kayanga. In town we were able to buy duracell batteries for my camera - these ones won't die after two flashes. Also Jane and I seriously endulged and managed to eat several small pizzas, 1 hamburger, and real coffee!

When in Bukoba I took the opportunity to visit a fancy touristy hotel which had a swimming pool. I endulged once again and snuck in a couple hours of swimming – I love swimming. At the pool there were a number of foreigners and white westerners. Several of them turned out to be native Zimbabweans and another bunch were rich Tanzanians of Arabic descent, but that’s not the point. The point is there were bikini clad dutch medical students - wait, that's not the point either. Consisely put, I didn’t like the feeling I got from grouping myself with tourists and rich people. Secondary students from a nearby school came to visit the swimming pool and I could feel their thoughts about this luxurious environment filled with people who weren’t like them. It made me feel awfully uncomfortable and want to return to my home community.

Now for the really exciting part. John, Samuel and a mechanic named Madi came to pick us up on their way back from Uganda with Mr. Sekiku's other pickup truck. The truck allowed us to transport the toilet and other supplies we'd purchased. For a quick digression, the truck in question had been in a serious accident just prior to Jane and I arriving in TZ. The chasis had been badly damaged and the engine was barely function, so it had been sent to Uganda to be repaired. When John arrived in Bukoba he mentioned that the car was running a little strangely, but he failed to elaborate in any detail. Jane suggested we stay in town for the night because it was getting late and the car was under question. John, however, was confident we'd make it home with out any trouble... so off we went. About 15 minutes outside of town the car starts wheezing on its was up a hill. Barely crested the top of the hill, Sam pulls over to the side and we all pile out quick quick. There's steam pouring out from under the hood, and it turns out the radiator is leaking badly and the engine is overheating. After doucing it with water we eventually get back under way... but this is not end of out problems. As it starts to get dark the car loses power again and we coast to a stop in the middle of the road (a 2-way road about as wide a single 401 lane). This process of stopping and going continues for about half an hour, as creeping along for about 5km and then stalling for 15 minutes. One of the times we just can't get the car going again - Sam suspects it is because the drive is stuck in 4-wheel mode, but this theory is later disproved. As we're struggling to push the engine to a start, a group of voices can be heard approaching. John starts making ominious comments about how we're going to be attacked and I'm getting a little scared. The men who appear actually agree to help us with a push - and the engine takes off. Still, as we pull away they chase the car asking us for money and I have to run to hope into a moving door!

Suffice to say the car did not work properly at all that night. We averaged about 15km/h and spent as much time behind pushing as riding in the cabin on in the back. The last 10km into Kayanga are strongly uphill. The only way we manged to get the car moving was to hop out and push until the engine took. The Sam would drive for as far as possible and we'd run to catch up. Climbing that hill around 1AM was some seriously exhusting excercise. Despite all odds, and multiple suggestions to stop and camp in the woods, we did arrive safely. I will certainly not soon foget that evening. The it was discovered the garage Mr. Sekiku hired to do the work in Kampala installed a used raditor and generally wasted his money - there was much yelling over the phone.

Today (Monday) we left Kayanga at 6AM to travel to nearby villages to help perform data collection for agricultural research being done by a Masters student from Makerere University. Helping set boundaries and work with famers was a pleasant change from the work at the compound. The student, a girl named Gaudin, is studying why certain bannana varieties are planted in various different locations throughout a farmers land. The planting tendencies of farmers will be analyzed and recommendations will be made about the use of different varieties of crop in different land conditions. The information will eventually be published and distributed through the government to agricultural extension workers to help inform farmers in different areas about suggested best practices.

Joseph also showed us some of the farmers he works with for solar drying and bee keeping. Joseph has helped farmers set up small bee hives which can be maintained cheaply and harvested as an extra source of income. Mr. Sekiku purchases the honey and sells it under the brand name "Rift Valley Foods". I'm getting really excited about solar drying these days. In about a weeks time we will be travelling to Nyakasimbi to work intensively on the construction of the centre and also hopefully to construct additionally solar dryers. Joseph refers to these dryers as "commercial", as they are permenent structures and have a much higher capacity. A single dryer can produce 100kg of dried fruit in a two day cycle. Currently FADECO only has two of these dryers, but they've just recieved a investment loan to increase their capacity significantly. This is very exciting... and Joseph is looking for ways he can improve the dryer design to increase efficiency and capacity. As a side note, I worry that centralized drying equipment shifts the focus of the solar drying program away from famers and more onto a revenue generator for FADECO.

Well that was quite a lot of words... hope you manged to get through it alright!

Cheers, Steve

2005-06-30T00:03:00.000+03:00

do we look alike?

2005-06-29T23:54:00.000+03:00

The road to Comboni

2005-06-29T23:53:00.000+03:00

Ron from the British Tanzanian Society (well his back)

2005-06-29T23:48:00.000+03:00

Sekiku and Liz from the British Tanzanian Society

2005-06-29T23:44:00.000+03:00

A view of the Comboni training center under construction plus BTS visitors

2005-06-29T23:43:00.001+03:00

A post card from the village (plus 1 finger..)

2005-06-29T23:42:00.000+03:00

our visitors from the British Tanzanian Society

2005-06-29T23:41:00.001+03:00

Jane looking as if she'd done work!

2005-06-29T23:40:00.000+03:00

it's just so green, i couldn't resist. that's comboni underneath

2005-06-29T23:39:00.001+03:00

The south-west of kayanga

2005-06-29T23:39:00.000+03:00

giant catholic church under construction !

2005-06-29T23:38:00.000+03:00

Bird's eye view of our office

Another post - so soon!

2005-06-29T22:51:00.000+03:00

Kayanga is a wonderful place, situated in the north west of tanzania it is a nice blend of rural and urban life. During the past three weeks I have really started to feel the burn of so much to do here at FADECO. The problems that Jane and I are facing are a lack of time and a lack of structure. I feel there are so many little projects I can help with, but there is no one to tell me which to focus on or what's important... or when to do it by... or how much planning is required or a pile of other issues I don't even recognize.

We were without power for most of Sunday, Monday and some of Tuesday - and of course it happened right when we really wanted to start working on some computer stuff with John. Suffice to say, Jane and I were annoyed. Ultimately, the placement has and will continue to be a challenge of self-motivation and cultural observation. I can easily spend the better part of each day reading in the sun and eating out at the local cafes (I try not to). I could also finish the summer ignorant of so many small cultural differences that make talking, working, eating, socializing and generally living altogether different. It is easy not to change. The people I live hand work with are so accommodating that they won't mind if I continue to act like my old self and ignore the subtleties of interaction and custom. It is really important to me to not ignore these things, but it is also very difficult. As for myself, I think the slow paced life style here has a wonderful but potentially negative effect on me. It is far to easy to relax. Here in TZ they like to say "hamna shida" , which means "no problem". Ever time something doesn't work or we
don't get around to finishing our work John will say no problem, we can do it later. When you say it enough you start to believe it, and then nothing gets done...

In other news, the trip we had planned to Dar es Salaam for a Canada Day has been cancelled. We were hoping to see life in the big city and how it differs from the small town semi-rural life in Kayanga. Alas the cost was too much and we are too busy here - as well we're supposed to be integrating into our communities to site-seeing. Next week, we'll be working extensively in Mr. Sekiku's home village where we FADECO is constructing a training center as an alternative to secondary school. We'll be helping to supervise construction, plan the layout, and acquire supplies teachers, etc.

One of the things Mr. Sekiku wants us to do is think about is buildings from around the world which can be incorporated into the center. For example, we are thinking that each of the teachers residences can resemble a dwelling from a different part of the world. Sekiku really values the knowledge he's gained by traveling - he wants to share these ideas and concepts with his fellow Tanzanian - he wants to show them more than what is beyond their doorstep. Keep in mind this is not about changing people away from their native ways, but about giving them more knowledge. On that note, if you or anyone else has suggestions for cool international buildings we'd really appreciate them.

On a totally different note, I've been talking with John and Jane about different ways that FADECO can get computer equipment which they can use to promote ICT use and training within classrooms, hospitals, and offices. FADECO, through the networking skills of Mr. Sekiku, is very highly connected in the community. This includes other NGOs, hospitals, secondary schools, post office, and the district government. FADECO has already developed a reputation as being a catalyst for helping organizations and people get access to the technology and knowledge they need for their work. There is a real opportunity for FADECO to act as a broker for technology and computer resources to the community. We have seen first hand the demand for organizations to utilize certain technologies to improve their productivity and increase their impact on the community. This is a very real impact. For example, we are working with secondary schools and hospitals, both of which have an immediate and ongoing opportunity to improve people's lives.

That's all for now!

Cheers,
Steve

Living, Language and Lots more

2005-06-25T20:17:00.000+03:00

Hello all. It's been quite some time since I was last on here - I guess things got a little more busy. Hopefully, from now on I will post shorter more regular updates.

So much has happened over the past three weeks I don't even know where to begin. Lately I find myself really wanting to be able to speak swahili. It really is disabling not to be able to properly converse with visitors to FADECO. About three weeks ago we were given a really good swahili course book from a volunteer from The Netherlands who is working for an NGO called Karadea. Sasa, I have two books and a set of audio files on Jane's computer which I can use to learn - the problem is making time for it.

Each week I have a different thought process about communicating with people. When I first arrived I expected people to greet me with swahili, and then not mind when I butcher the response. At first when I was introduced to people I think they would use swahili because they wanted to show me the greetings. When they would continue to speak full sentences of swahili I would assume they wouldn't mind when I shake my head in confusion. As time goes on, I've really started to notice people making an effort to speak to me in english, especially greetings. Until recently the only phrases I felt comfortable saying were greetings and it bothered me that people would use english on me even if I tried swahili. More recently my biggest challenge is processing what people are saying, even if I know the words they're saying I can't recognize them fast enough to respond. While I'm thinking, someone else will usually translate for me.

I do miss certain things, like chocolate, pizza, tap water, showering, tuna, other sources of protein, movies, peace and quite, personal space, etc. But on average at the end of the day when I am brushing my teeth and looking up at the clear sky with all those vibrant stars, I realize how relaxed I am. Sometimes I feel like yelling or hiding in my bed for a week - but usually I'm just thinking to myself : wow this is a lot better than an office job in TO. That's not really the way I view my time here, but often I can't help but compare it.

Steve

2005-05-26T19:37:00.000+03:00

pretty colours....

2005-05-26T19:36:00.001+03:00

houses taken from high up

2005-05-26T19:35:00.001+03:00

i love the sky

2005-05-26T19:35:00.000+03:00

this is bad weather

2005-05-26T19:33:00.000+03:00

rolling hills

2005-05-26T19:32:00.000+03:00

simon, devid and comboni

2005-05-26T19:31:00.000+03:00

brothers devid and comboni

2005-05-26T19:30:00.000+03:00

the neighbourhood gang...

2005-05-26T19:08:00.000+03:00

up on the roof top - the new building we are designing

Things get busy

2005-05-26T18:53:00.002+03:00

Everything pretty sweet here. My biggest concern is probably that I'm living too much of the "good life". I would say I'm getting along well with my coworkers (all three of them) and the family - although my limited swahili makes are conversations short and boring to them. That said, I'm trying to learn a little more each day (a verb a day) and Mama Comboni helps me out during breakfast!

So you ask.. "You still staying STRONG and HEALTHY? " .... well...yes and no.. So, I'm trying to eat well, but our meals are primarily spaghetti, rice and potatoes. I mean the meals are really good, but there aren't a lot of vegetables. There are pineapples and oranges which are wicked cheap (300 shillings = 30cents for a pineapple!!!) and so good. I've got a bit of a cold and I'm using organges to combat it. The problem here is that every small feeling of sickness I have makes me think "malaria!" , which is totally not true especially because we have barely been here long enough to develop it.

Joseph has discussed lots of projects with us - some he is already working on and some he wants to start, but it's difficult to start working on something when all you have is high level information. Now that Joseph has returned from his trip to Nairobi he's helped (pushed) us to get started working - which is super cool! Today we wrote up invitations for ICT training courses which Jane and I will be helping to deliver in June. ICT (information and communication technologies) is the favoured buzzword to describe computers, email and the internet. Somehow this doesn't surprise me - travel half way around the world and i'm still working in the world of computers. Hush. The courses are actually really cool and can potentially impact a large portion of Karagwe community! They're being delivered to community groups - medical staff, secondary school teachers, nonprofit organizations, and civil servants. The goal is to enhance the productivity of these key community members in order for them to better serve the community. After the training, we will be hopefully visiting some of the offices, school and hospitals to help people implement the skills we're trying to give them.

In my mind the biggest challenge with this type of training is the "culture of dependence" it may substantiate within the community. John and Joseph are really very compent people in so many different areas. Still, John sometimes asks for my advice on topics he knows better than me. I would say this is 50/50 in my head and real. They really just want to do things as efficiently as possible, but it's weird to have your opinion so respected. Joseph is trying to hype up training by advertising us as "experts from canada" - I don't know how to react to this. His goal is just to encourage people to come, but maybe he's reinforcing the idea that foreign help is necessary.

Another "project" we're doing is construction of a new building for the FADECO compound. Strangely, it seems that Jane and I will be moving into this building if we complete the interior quickly enough. The building will also be the site of computer training and an expanded internet resource centre. Jane and I will be drawing up a plan for the two floors - which are currently just large rooms of concrete. We will also get to help with the purchasing of supplies and hiring of workers. Jane and I both have some reservations about working on a project to create nicer rooms for ourselves - ie. how does this help Dorothy?

Recently, the three hundred (seven) kids who were living with us have returned to boarding school for the term and we won't get to see them again. The kids were hyperactive and some what pushy, but they were still friendly and served as a nice ice-breaking into the family. Jeff, who is 7 going on 15, spoke English and Swahili really well and was really helping me learn! So suffice to say I have mixed feelings about their departure. Actually... there is one left. Daniel, whose real (swahili) name is Comboni. He's still here and as hyperactive and jibberishish as ever.

Sadly, my mum's mother passed away two days ago. She was a wonderful woman and was troubled in her last month by the death of my great uncle. She had ovarian cancer, but as of yet I don't know exactly what caused her death. I will miss her dearly and I regret ever so much not talking to her more this past year. She travelled a great deal with my grandfather and I know she would have liked a postcard from me here in Africa. I wish there was a way to appreciate how final death is without anyone dying. It truly makes you realize how precious your family is. I will try to remember this lesson for the rest of my life.

2005-05-19T19:51:00.000+03:00

Smile!

2005-05-19T19:38:00.000+03:00

Pestle and mortar..

2005-05-19T19:07:00.000+03:00

Making peanut butter!

2005-05-19T18:57:00.000+03:00

The next door neighbours

2005-05-17T20:28:00.000+03:00

Honey i shrunk the kids...

2005-05-17T20:22:00.000+03:00

John and Sean Paul...

2005-05-17T20:21:00.000+03:00

Ellieth and Annastacia after dinner..

2005-05-17T20:13:00.000+03:00

Jane being altogether too happy about laundry...

2005-05-17T20:09:00.000+03:00

Daniel fixing a computer...

2005-05-16T02:21:00.000+03:00

Jane @ the equator

Day six: easy as pie

2005-05-16T01:33:00.000+03:00

Turns out it’s a lot like Canada here... only hotter. Once again we enjoyed a lovely dinner today while watching BBC, soccer and music videos. The Sekikus have a TV and get cable from a wealthy nearby family. The TV comes in on a satellite and the family distributes it, at a cost, to the rest of the community. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Speaking of food, I have some wonderful things to say about Tanzania "chakula" - Swahili for food. Mama Elliot prepares three meals each day. Staple for breakfast is white bread, coffee or tea, margarine, home grown honey, and today a special treat of eggs! Staple for lunch is cabbage, spaghetti, beef or goat meat, beans, and sometimes pineapple (oh how I love pineapple!!). Staple for dinner is spaghetti or rice, cabbage or peas, and a goat meat. The meals usually have one or two dishes which contain sauce and a white starch. The sauce found on the meat or sometimes cabbage, is very flavourful, salty and not too spicy. Each meal in itself is a delight.

That said, I do have some unreasonable complaints about my diet - I've developed a disturbing longing for meat and a craving for variety. We have goat or cow at most lunches or dinner, but there isn't much and I feel bad for taking more. Oh well, life goes on. I also fear that the lack of variety will get to me. "Staple, staple, staple" is no exaggeration - truly these are the only foods we've eaten since arriving (plus peanuts, bananas, oranges, soda, and some exotic new beers... okay I lied). True enough, this doesn't really seem like a problem with so many foods, but I fear as the weeks roll on I will slowly go insane. I have my overly varied eating habits to thank for this. I guess this serves to remind me of the abundance of choice we have in Canada - especially with food! Complain all you want, but most of us have it pretty good - Chinese, Italian, idiom, Vietnamese, Japanese, American, Canadian.... so many foods to choose from.

Today was a day of rest. Yes it was Sunday, but we also had very little work to do. We filled the time doing laundry - by hand!... shocking but true! Even with a machine, I have a hard time doing laundry, so you can imagine the difficulty. I started off on my own, using liquid soap and a technique of my own invention. After 10 minutes I obviously wasn't getting anywhere, and needed expert help. John, the ever helpful second-in-command at FADECO, showed me how to make some serious suds and to scrub vigorously using the palm of my hands (think wash board).

After the day's chores, Jane, John, Daniel, and I all went for a pleasant afternoon walk. Once again I am surprised by the hills of Karagwe (and all of Tanzania I am told). Looking in every direction you see lush rolling hills covered with shrubs and scattered houses. Truly there is more green here than I ever imagined. Joseph and John say that the hills are bare compared long ago, before the clear-cutting began. These days, erosion is a serious problem which FADECO's agro-forestry program is targeting. During our walk I tried twice to make purchases. First from a bar where my inquiry was greeted with a long blank stare and then at a roadside stand with a small smile. Asking "bia gani?" means "Which beers?", asking "bei gani?" means "how much?". You can imagine my difficulty.

Apparently I am becoming a football (soccer) fan, because everyday during and after dinner we see a match. Today after a dinner of rice, peas, and beef (okay, it was really good!), we watched Manchester united play South Hampton. I'm told it was very exciting...!

That's all for now… keep it real.
-Steve

PS. Check out the cool pictures below!

2005-05-16T01:25:00.001+03:00

WHO IS THIS!!!!!

2005-05-16T01:25:00.000+03:00

Daniel and his girlfriend Tina.... : )

2005-05-16T01:24:00.001+03:00

The Sekiku residence in kayenga

2005-05-16T01:24:00.000+03:00

future office building of FADECO

2005-05-16T01:22:00.000+03:00

John, Simon, and Daniel

2005-05-16T01:21:00.000+03:00

wise words from a primary school in uganda

2005-05-16T01:19:00.000+03:00

our guest room in uganda... on route to tanzania

2005-05-16T01:18:00.000+03:00

@ the equator

2005-05-16T00:39:00.000+03:00

Russ Groves, Director Overseas Operations ( Trainer Extraordinaire)

2005-05-16T00:34:00.000+03:00

Huge freakin building in London... (parliment)

2005-05-16T00:11:00.000+03:00

Westminster Abbey ( i think...)

2005-05-16T00:09:00.000+03:00

Westminster Parliment in London

2005-05-15T23:58:00.000+03:00

Daniel's acrobatics

Jane and Steph in a cool london bus!

2005-05-15T23:57:00.000+03:00

Jane and Steph in a cool london bus!

2005-05-15T23:41:00.000+03:00

Steve and Daniel

Day four draws to a close...

2005-05-13T20:17:00.000+03:00

So. I've been here for a few more days and I'm starting to get a better sense of the way things work. Unfortunately a combination of late nights, early mornings, incessant children, and fast spoken Swahili is draining me.

Today we met with our director and friend, Joseph, to discuss a timeline for the summer. It's exciting and scary how much he hopes to accomplish with us this summer. Our discussions are slow moving and meander from topic to topic, but Joseph gets his point across and is careful to stick to a general schedule. We identified general tasks we'll have for the summer: developing computer and soft skills training, designing the layout and curriculum for a vocational training center, and streamlining the operation of Rift Valley Foods (a supporting business venture of FADECO). Exciting but still quite vague...

Joseph's family is really very nice. We live in a compound that contains offices and homes and is currently under construction. This is one of the two places we're living, they other we'll be visiting tomorrow. At each place there is essentially an entire family we live with.

I'm not a stickler for structure and organization, but living and working at the same place with a new set people is difficult. The two staff we work with, Joseph and John, are hard working and enthusiastic - they generally work from before 9 to after 10. Yesterday we had dinner after 11PM. Surprisingly, I don't think the hunger or the long day really tires me, its rather more that we don't fit in yet and there is no easy way for us to escape. The kids come and climb on me while I'm typing... in fact Jeff is here right now! It feels strange to complain about these things. My parents both often work at home, in the evenings, and on weekends. Plus I've got those younger brothers (hello!) and work with children often. Again I think it comes from this new way of life and new language. I guess the similarities only make the difference more stark.

A little more info about FADECO. The organization has been around unofficially since '92 and officially since '95. I would describe Joseph Sekiku as a development entrepreneur - and new blend of business and development (my terminology). His mandate of "sustainable development" has taken on a whole new meaning for me. For example, FADECO has designed and sold solar food dryers to farmers in order to reduce wasted harvest (previously up to 30%). An offshoot of dried food is a new marketable product. Joseph's entrepreneurial skills shine brightly here - he effectively created a entirely new market for dried bananas, mangos, and tomatoes, despite total disbelief from farmers. Literally no one in the Karagwe district sold dried fruit previously. Creating this opportunity gets farmers more bang for their buck from bananas (bbb...). To the point, the is now a viable business... with small profit margins and ad-hoc operations... but still a reliable source of operating income for FADECO.

Day 2 complete

2005-05-12T00:09:00.000+03:00

Karagwe, Tanzania - I've moved in with my host family and begun life in Africa. The world here is shockingly different but surprisingly similar. The eldest son of my family has malaria and vomited several times today, blood as well. Afterwards during dinner, we watched CNN and BBC describe the "close call" the White House had with a plane. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

My family's father, Joseph Sekiku, is the founder and director of FADECO (www.fadeco.org) - which is the organization I'm working with . Although we are still planning the details of my work I will offer the information I have so far. I will be splitting my time between two towns - Kayange and Nyansanki. In Kayange I'll be working and sleeping in a small (3 rooms) home/office where I'll be doing project planning, writing proposals, helping with building and construction, and working with the team to improve a computer training center. In the other city, FADECO is opening a skills training center (vocational training). The center is currently being constructed; started but not finished. Although vague, our role will be in planning the layout of the center as well as equipping the rooms with electricity and supplies. Possibly we'll also influence the design and construction of the building. Our director wants the building to be unique and stand out and he's left this responsibility to us.

Tomorrow we learn about past and present projects FADECO has run. Additionally we'll hammer out the details of our involvement. Determining how we can contribute will be key... I fear Joseph assumes we are more qualified then we truly are. This is scary. Alas, fear leads to action, and action leads to learning, and something eventually leads to success.

Three and a half months doesn't really seem like a long time when you think about it all together. At waterloo we do it all the time. Still I don't know how this summer will feel. Quick like last term? or slow and painful? At least it will be educational and I will hopefully (not) get malaria.

Throughout this note we refers to myself and my volunteer partner, Jane http://umanitoba.ewb.ca/jane_tanzania

Best wishes to all of you at home and around the world!

Cheers,
Steve

2005-05-07T22:31:00.000+03:00

Today is May 7. My flight to Tanzania leaves at 6:15.

I'll be flying from Toronto to London. Then to Nyrobe, Kenya and then to Entaibe, Uganda. From there I'll be driving to Tanzania.

I'm very excited and very scared.

!!!!!

Tanzania!

2005-04-25T18:59:00.000+03:00

Today is April 25. In just under two weeks I will be leaving for Africa.

The background info....
For my summer 2005 coop workterm, I will be living and working in north west Tanzania. I will be volunteering for the canadian organization Engineers Without Borders. I will be working as an EWB short term (under a year) overseas "Operation 21" volunteer. Operation 21 is an EWB program to send volunteer interns from each of the 21 [now 22] Canadian unverisites with EWB chapters to a developing countries around the world (primarily focusing on Africa).

The future info....
As for what I will be doing in Tanzania, right now I still have very little information. EWB standard MO is to partner overseas interns with established local NGOs. In my case I'll be working for/with FADECO , a growing family based organization that focusing some of its work on developing appropriate rural technologies. Supposedly, I'll be working in the agricultual and food-processing areas.

Bridge Project

2005-03-29T00:23:00.000+03:00

Finished constructing our bridge yesterday! Sweet sweet god how it has taken its toll on me....

Originally, we predicted it would hold 605lbs. After decided to reduce the load by a "reality factor" of 5%, we officially predicted 588lbs. [The bridge held 595...! only seven pounds off]

Here's a picture of the bridge....

Basically our design was a modified I-beam. The top of the beam was approximately five times thicker than the bottom. The beam was non-prismatic - with an increased number of layers in the middle section of the bridge (on the top). Although allowing us to save material, the changing height of the top flange did not provide a clear benefit to justify the difficulty of construction and analysis.

The Hungry Student

2004-12-24T19:15:00.000+03:00

Waterloo, Decemeber 24, 2004 - A new site for cash strapped students is being launched in the Waterloo area. The site (http://hungrystudent.ca) will help students located deals on quality food in their area. The site specializes in restaurants within the Waterloo area, and is targetted at students.

Natural Language Search Engine

2004-12-06T05:26:00.001+03:00

The key would be not developing the search engine (use google) and not developing the language parser (use whatever), but the key would be in integrating the two of them. Creating the interface from the output of the language parser (lp) to the search enginer (se). You could capitilize on the power of an existing se using a proper sentence: "Give me all the software title published this year".

To actually implement, perhaps you could derive multiple queries from a sentence and then run them in sequence. 1) All of the software titles 2) All of those results published this year

Just thinking

J2ME - Wireles java stuff

2004-09-16T16:39:00.000+03:00

Looks like my big project this term might be working with J2Me. i'd be developing java applications that would be accessed from blackberries.

that would be super cool, but there are a couple problems.

first, i barely know any java....
second, i've never used a blackberry
third, the project is not definite.

more to come....

A9

2004-09-14T23:46:00.000+03:00

I found a new search engine called a9.com.

it is some how connected with amazon.com. they have a search feature that lets you search inside books, which you can view if you are an amazon member. kinda cool