Well, I was going to put this post on the IBM Website, but me trying to upload one picture from Africa apparently crashed the entire site. So, I'll post it here instead - you may see this again when the site is back up:
Miraculously, both me and my bags made it to Dar Es Salaam on time Friday night! Africa, I have to say, is incredible - I've learned so much in a matter of 24 hours that it's never going to fit into one blog.
Friday night was a blur of meeting my teammates finally and adjusting to the hotel. They both are great! I looked everywhere in my room for something that might make me uneasy - mosquito, spider, scorpion, etc and nothing - the room was incredibly clean, cute, and comfortable! We're lucky enough to be training at the Kickstart Headquarters off the bat, so they suggested we stay in a simple hotel right on the ocean. So, I really can't complain about the view from outside my door either. Internet is slow here, so I'll post images later!
We started the day with a trip to Kickstart to learn about what our work with them would entail. It boils down to "We need help making our sales", and we'll be helping them with sales training, a cell phone system, and a few other things to help get their "Super MoneyMaker Pump" and their new product, the "Hip Pump" to poor farmers who need it.
They, then, took us on a harrowing journey downtown to a market where three of their vendors sold their products. Ok, it wasn't the scariest car ride I've ever been in, but let's just suffice it to say that there are very few traffic signals, people drive aggressively, even the paved roads are bouncy, I can't count how many pedestrians and bicyclists we almost hit, and we already saw the aftermath of a Dala-Dala (small public mini-bus) accident. However, the drivers knew what they were doing - you have to be paying attention to get anywhere in Dar Es Salaam! Once there, the market was ok - crowded, but not to the point where you were bumping into people constantly and full of essential items - this was not a touristy place.
After we finished there, we went to a strip mall to a place called "Chicken Hut" (I kid you not) for chakula cha mchana (lunch). I had the Ugali Kuku (chicken ugali). Ugali is one of the staples of Tanzanian culinary life. It is a cornmeal mush that they usually eat with their hands, roll into a ball, and dip in various sauces. In this case, I had a red, curry sauce and some beans to dip mine in.
I actually really liked it (especially the red sauce). It's very, very filling, however. During lunch and dinner, I learned an important lesson - eating out in Tanzania is not a quick affair. It takes 2-3 hours. It's probably partly because Tanzanians like to use their mealtimes to converse, but in our case, it was because the food took forever to come out - both times. During lunch, the food came out to people, one at a time, over the course of an hour, with the hungriest person, Anil, who had suggested lunch over 2.5 hours before, getting his last.
All-in-all, I am very impressed with everything in Tanzania. You get used to putting on bug spray before leaving the house pretty quick, and although there are mosquitos out at night, I've avoided being bitten thus far. (The official kill/bite ratio is 2:0 - Amber, two kills, Mosquitos, zero bites). I look forward to having a free day today and to traveling to Arusha on Monday & Tuesday!
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Less Than Two Days
Finally, it's here! I leave in less than two days for Tanzania. I'm packed, everything fits, and I'm ready to get started on this adventure.
Work, however, is not ready for me to get started. Instead of winding down in a gentle, sloping manner, it seems to be ramping up - headed for the cliff of despair when I finally cut the cord and leave on Thursday. Our poor team has lost four people in the last few months - two of them left unexpectedly two weeks ago. Almost no amount of planning can prepare you for that, so we've been scrambling. Do I think the team will be fine...eventually? Of course, but right now it's pretty hectic.
That small bump aside, I plan to blog often when I'm in Tanzania. Although, I may do a bit more blogging on the external IBM Site, since that's what IBM wants. So, keep an eye on this blog and IBM's: https://www.adtech.internet.ibm.com/corporateservicecorps/countries/tanzania
Both should be exciting!
Work, however, is not ready for me to get started. Instead of winding down in a gentle, sloping manner, it seems to be ramping up - headed for the cliff of despair when I finally cut the cord and leave on Thursday. Our poor team has lost four people in the last few months - two of them left unexpectedly two weeks ago. Almost no amount of planning can prepare you for that, so we've been scrambling. Do I think the team will be fine...eventually? Of course, but right now it's pretty hectic.
That small bump aside, I plan to blog often when I'm in Tanzania. Although, I may do a bit more blogging on the external IBM Site, since that's what IBM wants. So, keep an eye on this blog and IBM's: https://www.adtech.internet.ibm.com/corporateservicecorps/countries/tanzania
Both should be exciting!
Monday, August 11, 2008
Glacier - Take Six
As promised, I owe you a Glacier trip report. This was my sixth trip to Glacier National Park in four years and it was my favorite trip yet. A simple report on a place like Glacier just couldn't do it justice, so I'm going to let my pictures do most of the talking:
Day 1-2: I took the Empire Builder (24-hour train trip) out to East Glacier this time, met Nathan, and stopped at Johnson's for dinner. July 19th was a special day as it was our Pi Anniversary and we celebrated with some delicious Huckleberry Ice Cream Pie. The next day, I decided to start off easy with a 7-mile hike to Rockwell Falls in Two Medicine. About 5 minutes into my hike we saw a moose with two calves. My trip could have ended there and I would have been happy:
Day 3: Nathan had 3.5 days off starting today, which is not normal, but was great! We started off hiking the 10.5-mile Ptarmigan Tunnel trail near Many Glacier. It's been on my list for a while and didn't disappoint!
Day 4: Nathan, his friend Matt, and I went up to Waterton (Canada) to do the Carthew-Alderson trail. I'm not sure if I dare say it was the best trail I've done in both Glacier & Waterton so far, but I think it was my favorite. The first part is through a lush, green forest with beautiful views up to a mountain pass. Then you descend onto three lakes that look like they were stolen from the cliffs of Ireland.
Day 5: Nathan and I decided to venture into the North Fork region of the park, the seldomly-visited NW corner of the park. On the way we stopped at the delicious Polebridge Bakery and then relaxed on the beach of Bowman Lake all afternoon.
Day 6: Nathan had a half-day off, so we did his favorite trail, the Beaver Pond loop. I've never seen it so full of flowers and we found some of the earliest strawberries were ripe - they were so delicious that they actually made up for the huckleberries not being ready yet!
Day 7: Nathan happened to be leading a group on the Highline Trail, the nation's 10th best trail according to backpacker magazine in 2005. I'd never done the whole thing and I added on a grueling vertical climb up to Grinnell Overlook, which I'm really glad I did! I have to say, the whole thing really did live up to the hype.
It was a fantastic trip and I was especially sad to leave. The next time I'll see Nathan we'll both be in Tanzania!
Day 1-2: I took the Empire Builder (24-hour train trip) out to East Glacier this time, met Nathan, and stopped at Johnson's for dinner. July 19th was a special day as it was our Pi Anniversary and we celebrated with some delicious Huckleberry Ice Cream Pie. The next day, I decided to start off easy with a 7-mile hike to Rockwell Falls in Two Medicine. About 5 minutes into my hike we saw a moose with two calves. My trip could have ended there and I would have been happy:
Day 3: Nathan had 3.5 days off starting today, which is not normal, but was great! We started off hiking the 10.5-mile Ptarmigan Tunnel trail near Many Glacier. It's been on my list for a while and didn't disappoint!
Day 4: Nathan, his friend Matt, and I went up to Waterton (Canada) to do the Carthew-Alderson trail. I'm not sure if I dare say it was the best trail I've done in both Glacier & Waterton so far, but I think it was my favorite. The first part is through a lush, green forest with beautiful views up to a mountain pass. Then you descend onto three lakes that look like they were stolen from the cliffs of Ireland.
Day 5: Nathan and I decided to venture into the North Fork region of the park, the seldomly-visited NW corner of the park. On the way we stopped at the delicious Polebridge Bakery and then relaxed on the beach of Bowman Lake all afternoon.
Day 6: Nathan had a half-day off, so we did his favorite trail, the Beaver Pond loop. I've never seen it so full of flowers and we found some of the earliest strawberries were ripe - they were so delicious that they actually made up for the huckleberries not being ready yet!
Day 7: Nathan happened to be leading a group on the Highline Trail, the nation's 10th best trail according to backpacker magazine in 2005. I'd never done the whole thing and I added on a grueling vertical climb up to Grinnell Overlook, which I'm really glad I did! I have to say, the whole thing really did live up to the hype.
It was a fantastic trip and I was especially sad to leave. The next time I'll see Nathan we'll both be in Tanzania!
Friday, August 1, 2008
African Wildlife Foundation
I haven't written in a while and that's because I just got back from visiting Nathan in Glacier National Park. More to come on that in a later post.
For now, I just have to say that I have LESS THAN THREE WEEKS left before I head out to Tanzania. I officially got word while I was away that I will be primarily assigned to work with the African Wildlife Foundation. Our project will consist of working with community leaders to do a comprehensive market assessment and help AWF develop plans for investment and land use. We will be concentrating on two pieces of land, the Manyara Ranch and the West Kilimanjaro Ranch. What I'm most excited about is that AWF is not just trying to conserve this land, they're also looking for ways to develop it in such a way that the local population will be able to make money and live in harmony with the conservation efforts made. A win-win-win situation (third win is for me and my team of three that get to concentrate on the project:). I absolutely cannot wait to get started!!
For more information on the AWF, check out their website: African Wildlife Foundation.
For now, I just have to say that I have LESS THAN THREE WEEKS left before I head out to Tanzania. I officially got word while I was away that I will be primarily assigned to work with the African Wildlife Foundation. Our project will consist of working with community leaders to do a comprehensive market assessment and help AWF develop plans for investment and land use. We will be concentrating on two pieces of land, the Manyara Ranch and the West Kilimanjaro Ranch. What I'm most excited about is that AWF is not just trying to conserve this land, they're also looking for ways to develop it in such a way that the local population will be able to make money and live in harmony with the conservation efforts made. A win-win-win situation (third win is for me and my team of three that get to concentrate on the project:). I absolutely cannot wait to get started!!
For more information on the AWF, check out their website: African Wildlife Foundation.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Matt Harding is one of my new heroes. Software engineer who decided to quit and travel the world instead. Had a weird idea and is now getting paid by Stride gum to travel the world.
Here's his website in case you're curious.
Reminds me a little of Aron Ralston who is now famous for being forced to cut off his own arm after he decided to go hiking without telling anyone where he was or when he'd be back and got lodged literally Between a Rock and a Hard Place. (Not smart, but maybe the fact that he also quit his engineering job at Intel to do the things he really loved was.)
Here's his website in case you're curious.
Reminds me a little of Aron Ralston who is now famous for being forced to cut off his own arm after he decided to go hiking without telling anyone where he was or when he'd be back and got lodged literally Between a Rock and a Hard Place. (Not smart, but maybe the fact that he also quit his engineering job at Intel to do the things he really loved was.)
Thursday, July 10, 2008
CSC External IBM Site
Although I'll be posting a lot on my blog while I'm in Tanzania, I will also be posting on the external Corporate Services Corps IBM site, along with my teammates. The first three teams have just left for their countries, so there will be some interesting stuff going up there in the next few days.
Definitely bookmark this site: https://www.adtech.internet.ibm.com/corporateservicecorps/
Definitely bookmark this site: https://www.adtech.internet.ibm.com/corporateservicecorps/
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Time Travel
There are 13 days left until my trip to Glacier & 46 days left until Tanzania. How the heck is it July 6th already? Before I head off to Tanzania, I still have a long list of to-dos, some of which are finish several articles, read five books and take about that many classes, learn Swahili, figure out what to bring, transition fully into my new position at work, figure out who will back me up when, finish off the Intern/Co-op Mentor Program, figure out who will mow my lawn and water my plants, and finish all of my normal work on-time. It's going to be a rough couple of months, but totally and completely worth it.
This weekend, my parents came to visit (which was fun) and we ended up going to Lanesboro, MN to hike on the Root River Trail. Lanesboro is a really cute town with an olde time downtown and lots to do (biking, canoeing, tubing, etc). Nice place to get away from la vida loca.
The weekend before that was my grandparents' 50th anniversary celebration. Congratulations, Grandma & Grandpa!! It was really nice to see everyone, especially my aunt, uncle, and cousins from New York who we hardly ever get to see.
There were some sad things to face. My 16-year-old cousin got a 15-year-old pregnant and they have an 8-month-old. It is the cutest baby ever, but her parents fight, my cousin is playing baseball this summer instead of supporting his family, and though she gets a lot of love and attention from the rest of the family, she deserves a better immediate family situation. Best of luck to my cousin, who I'm sure will do what's best for the baby in the long run.
This weekend, my parents came to visit (which was fun) and we ended up going to Lanesboro, MN to hike on the Root River Trail. Lanesboro is a really cute town with an olde time downtown and lots to do (biking, canoeing, tubing, etc). Nice place to get away from la vida loca.
The weekend before that was my grandparents' 50th anniversary celebration. Congratulations, Grandma & Grandpa!! It was really nice to see everyone, especially my aunt, uncle, and cousins from New York who we hardly ever get to see.
There were some sad things to face. My 16-year-old cousin got a 15-year-old pregnant and they have an 8-month-old. It is the cutest baby ever, but her parents fight, my cousin is playing baseball this summer instead of supporting his family, and though she gets a lot of love and attention from the rest of the family, she deserves a better immediate family situation. Best of luck to my cousin, who I'm sure will do what's best for the baby in the long run.
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