Spanish Fun

I apologize for not updating the blog for quite some time.  Ever since leaving Florence, it has been quite a busy trip, especially with the addition of Brian Botsford to Team America... who we met up with in milan and then headed to Ibiza.  The island of Ibiza is famous for its nightlife (clubbing) and great beaches.  We arrived in Ibiza late monday night and checked in at our hostel around 10 pm.  Hostal marino by far has been the greatest place to stay.  The rooms were really inexpensive but very comfortable and the hostal had a pool, ping pong table (which we played everyday on), great food (we had every meal there for the entire duration of our trip), and an amazing and friendly staff.  Even though we we quite tired monday night, we were told by everyone that it was a must to see Tiesto at Privilege.  For people who do not know who Tiesto is, he is the number one dj in the world and Privilege is the largest club in the world... with those two facts, we were expecting the greatest night in our entire lives.  Tiesto put on a great show but to what people talk about, it didnt live up to our expectations.


Tuesday- All day we were at the beach.  The water was really nice as well as the women who for some reason were not wearing their tops (love the spanish culture).  Hanging out at the beach all night caused us to be pretty wiped out so we decided to stay the night in to catch up on some sleep and get ready for the upcoming week... more importantly (Deadmaus on Thursday)


Wednesday-  Team America heard from the workers at our hostal that fishing was a great experience on the island.  We went to the docks and arranged to fish around the islands of Ibiza.   To our dismay, the only fish that we were catching were sardines and small brehm fish.  I caught a fish and did not realize that I had until I reeled it up on the boat.  We concluded though it was nice to get out on the water and check out the other islands.


Thursday- All day was dedicated to the pool and resting/preparing for the night of Deadmaus, who is a well known dj that is famous worldwide and quite a favorite to Americans.  Team America had an amazing night, but come Friday, we were ready to move on to more Spanish travels.  Bubba, Pat, and I flew to Barcelona for the night and the plan was to meet Likens in madrid then following day.  Even though we were only in Barcelona for two days and it pretty much rained/thunderstormed the whole time, the city was really neat, especially camino las rambles (pretty much the main street of the city).  We explored the marina and the beach and it was nice for us southern california boys to get a whiff of the ocean air again.... pretty much rejuvenated us.  


Saturday-Wednesday--- All members of Team America reunited in madrid and rented an apartment for a couple days.  Even though there were a lot of usd kids in the city, they are all required by the school to live at a host house, so we were not able to stay with them.  madrid was quite the city and it was amazing just to walk around.  Some of our favorite places were Plaza mayor, Puerta de Sol, and the retiro (park).  The retiro is a huge park in the city that has an amazing rose garden and even peacocks roam some of the areas.  I was fortunate one night to run into one of my older brother matts friend Brian Van Scoyk.  He met us at a bar called Fabrica in which you sit at a table that has a keg tap in the middle and you serve yourself and then pay at the end... pretty much the greatest idea ever but the most dangerous for Americans studying abroad.  


The highlight of madrid was going to the Sunday Bull Fight.  It was quite an intense show and they slayed about 5 bulls, but it was great to watch a part of Spanish culture and history.  The matadors had really neat and detailed outfits and were very serious about their bull fight performance.


The most impressive thing about madrid Team America concluded was how beautiful the local women were.  By the end of the trip, we were tired of seeing sooooo many of how potential wives that we were happy to get out of Spain and move on to Paris, France.  


I am beginning to really miss all my friends and family back in the states, but it has been great meeting new people from all around the world.


hope all is well,


Alex

“A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.” – John Steinbeck

Florence, Italy (September 9th to September 13th)

After Cinque Terra, Team America cruised back to ms. clio (our beautiful rental car) and headed off to firenze (florence), italy.  We have been staying at Anthony Pavlovic and Nick Agnellos apartment here (two of our LXA brothers from usd studying abroad out here.  Thursday and Friday entailed cruising around Florence checking out all the tourist sites and then going out to dinner with the usd crew and having  quite the night life with everyone.  We went to Dantes the first two nights which was a good italian restaurant, but the reason why we went because its all you can drink wine... and lets just say that there were  a lot of americans there.  Saturday was the most excited day because a large group from usd cruised with Team America for wine tasting in Chianti, Italy.  The day involved walking through the vineyards and olive fields of Chianti checking out the different types of grapes and olives to make wine and olive oil.   We had a afternoon feast trying out wines at an italian villa on one of the vineyards.  A little trivial about Chianti--- supposedly the background of the mona lisa is Chianti.

Florence has been a great time and we thank the usd florence kids for taking us in and showing us a great time.  Nick Agnello, Anthony Pavlovic, Gino and Henry.... thanks for giving us a couch to pass out on.

Tomorrow, we are driving up to meet with Brian Botsford (our fourth member of Team America) in milan and then heading off to Ibiza for five days.... wish us luck

-Alex and Team America

No city should be too large for a man to walk out of in a morning.  ~Cyril Connolly (that one is for pat)

Cinque Terra, Italy

walking from monterosso

Team America finally left the great place they call Lugano and took ms. clio (the name we gave our rental car) down to Cinque Terra.  It was about a two hour drive which seemed pretty low key.  We are kinda winging it with the directions (which i am pretty famous for doing) but we have got to all our places pretty sufficiently.  Our phones all have google maps, which has been pretty clutch.  We arrived in Riomaggiore, the most southern city of cinque terra.  Parking was pretty tough and backing up the really steep hills with a manual rent a car was quite tough.  We paid for two nights at the hostel, which was quite pleasant. It was a two bedroom hostel apartment that could sleep about 8 people.  The first night in cinque terra involved taking the train up to monterosso for dinner.  We based dinner on Likens idea of walking up the street and hopefully running into a man who takes you up the hill and cooks an amazing dinner (which Likens did with his family about 4 years ago).   We actually/fortunately found the local italian man and had a fantastic dinner looking over the city in monterosso.

corniglia

The second day of Cinque Terra involved Team America trekking all five cities.  We once again took the train up to monterossa and walked all the back to Riomaggiore.  The hike was quite intense (lots of stairs), but it was amazing walking through all the cities along the mediterranean.  We passed by a lot of tourists and it was pretty funny how many renditions of hello we heard.  When we finally made it back to Riomaggiore, we were quite burned out and decided to go to a local market and picked up fettucini, pesto, and some cheese and wine and cooked dinner back at our hostel.  The cinque terra area is famous for its pesto... which was so dank.

Cinque Terra was definitely a touristy place, but each is fascinating to visit and a great trip if you have about 2 days to kill in Italy.

-Alex

Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time.  ~Steven Wright

map of cinque terra

Lugano, Switzerland

Likens posting on Louises balcony (Lake Lugano)

The first weekend of Europe has been such a great, relaxing, and eventful start for team america (Andrew Likens, Pat Driscoll, and I).  When I arrived into the milan malpensa airport, Likens and Driscoll where already there to pick me up in our rental car to cruise up to Lugano, Switzerland.  We have been staying with Louise Dunlea, my former baby sitter and still current neighbor from Altadena.  She works for Reef and Vans in Lugano and has quite a job.  Her apartment looks over Lake Lugano and monte bre, which is quite the location.  Our first night was pretty low key which was nice to cure Pat and Andrews jet lag......  we cruised out to downtown Lugano for some fine wine, great italian pasta, and some night caps at the local bars (Lugano is in Switzerland but being so close to the border to italy everyone speaks italian).  

Team America swimming in lake lugano

Saturday involved renting boats and cruising around Lake Lugano.  We were with a couple friends of Louise's, including my bud james petrie who I met when I came to visit Louise two years ago.  The lake water was absolutely amazing and it was really cool swimming around the lake drinking beers, eating dank sandwiches, and listing to some great music.  Later that night, our boating group took a train out to Locarno for a wine festival near one of the Swiss castles.  Our group consumed about 30 bottles of wine which led to a great night filled with great stories and lots of dancing.

We had a late start on Sunday, but was well needed.  Two friends of Louises from New York, michael and dawn, came on Saturday to stay with Louise and eventually became part of Team America.  We made breakfast burritos which was so clutch because I have not had mexican for about a month and lets just say, I creamed my burrito with guacamole.  In the afternoon, Louise drove Team America to one of the dams in Locarno, which they call the goldeneye dam because it was in one of the james bond movies.  There is a bungee jump there and it is the second largest in the world (around 700 feet).  just being on the bridge give us the creeps so ventured more into into the mountains and stopped at the river to go swimming.  The water was extremely cold, but it was very refreshing and really clear.  We also did a little cliff/rock jumping which ended to me jumping off a HUGE cobblestone bridge.  Dinner involved grabbing risotto in the mountains near the river.  Its hard to describe the atmosphere because it was so breathtaking, but we were in the high mountain above Locarno where everything was so green, the air was crisp and cold, and the food was so bomb.

Hope all is well, Team America cruises down to Cinque Terra next then off to Florence.

-Alex

I have found out that there ain't no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them.  ~Mark Twain

quick update

Hey team,


Just wanted to check in.  Can't download any photos from Victoria Falls because I am using the hotel's computers.  The falls can simply be summed up by calling them "God's creation"....simply wonderful.  The call the falls "smoke that thunders".  Yesterday Moffat and I went to Chobe National Park where we took a boat ride and land rover throughout the wetlands where we so close to bamboons, tons of elephants, crocodiles, water buffalo, zebras, wart hogs, giraffe, etc. 


Last day in Africa seems so weird to me.  I am going to miss the land, the people, and especially Moffat who was been my travelling buddy.  Getting to Switzerland is going to take about 26 hours, so I hope I can use my layover time wisely and not go crazy.


hope all is well,


Alex

“I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move.” -Robert Louis Stevenson

Last Day in Ndola

Where I have been staying

Last day in Ndola was quite peaceful.  Went to church with moffat and then came back to the flat to pack up and have a relaxing afternoon.  Laston, who I have been working with pretty much everyday, came by for one last good bye.  Yesterday, he gave me three of his authentic african t-shirts which was quite an honor and treat to have.  I am surely going to miss him and the team at Northrise.  I already know that I will  come back again visit, hopefully before the completion of the Northrise campus that should be finished in about 5-8 years (pending donations).  Tomorrow,  President moffat and I are off to Lusaka for a day to tour the city and then grabbing an afternoon flight to Livingston where we are staying at the Zambezi Sun Hotel  next to Victoria Falls ( one of the seven natural wonders of the world).

-Skeeter

The traveler sees what he sees.  The tourist sees what he has come to see.  ~G.K. Chesterton

banana sales

After an enduring two weeks of banana harvesting, I went out with the sales team, joseph and gift, early Saturday morning to hit up the local markets outside the city to sell as many banana crates as possible.  Our first stop was in a really rural township with chickens running in the streets and dirt roads with big potholes (not really good for the truck).  When we took the corner to arrive at the local selling spot, women dashed to our truck to pick out the best crates.  Everyone buys the bananas by the crates, which is about 30 kgs and 60,000 kuacha (around 12 bucks).  It was quite comical to see all the people inspecting each crate to try to get the best one.  Essentially each banana is bought at 500 kuacha and sold for a 1000, which is a difference of like 50 cents.  my biggest regret so far in Ndola was not bringing my camera on the sales trip... we cruised to a lot of cool markets and back roads filled with really funny kids and friendly people.  What I have enjoyed so much about this place is how safe it is.  Last night I walked back from the quick safe (where I grabbed dinner) and felt safe the entire time.

Friday was my last day on the farm and I finally got a chance to take photos with the farmers I have been hanging out with.

The banana farmers

monday, I am off to Lusaka (state capital of Zambia) for a day and then fly to Livingston for three days.

-alex

You don't want your credibility banana to turn brown, but you do want to speak out about what you believe in. -Bradley Whitford 

News update

fishing for dinner

Sorry for the delay... this week once again has been pretty busy harvesting bananas on the farm. No big spider spotting in awhile, but have encountered frogs, chameleons, huge wasps, lots of tiny spiders all in the banana branches.  Still researching and figuring out better farming techniques for the farm.  This is their second year in production with the 4 acre plot they have so far... the biggest hardship for banana farming is not allowing the bananas to bruise throughout the harvesting/packaging process.  Bananas are pretty much the most sensitive fruit there is... even one dent to them in the early stages will cause them to bruise.  I cant believe that the bananas in california/us (which mostly come if not all from south america and take about two weeks of distribution) are perfectly yellow.

Last weekend consisted of going fishing at a couple ponds outside the city with a worker from Northrise and his buddy.  We actually caught some fish, but they were not big to be proud of or to even eat, but it was an enjoyable excursion.  After fishing, we cruised to the Ndola boating club and saw New Zealand beat South Africa in the Absa Currie Rugby Cup qualifier.   


just booked my flight down to Livingston next week to check out Victoria Falls and going on a one day safari at chobe national park with President moffat.  maybe get a bungee jump adventure off the victoria falls bridge!













miss you all!


-Alex


 I travel a lot; I hate having my life disrupted by routine.  ~Caskie Stinnett

Banana Harvesting

Bob pointing out the banana spider

So this week so far has been pretty routine.  Waking up early in the morning and driving out to the Northrise farm to harvest bananas for about 3-4 hours, and then coming back to the Northrise Caravelle house to eat lunch.  So far it has been great everyday.  It has just been farmer Bob and a couple of the local workers, who I have been having a lot of fun with.  We both ask a lot of questions to each other... mostly them asking me about California, the ocean (which they have never seen), and how much everything is in Kuacha (the Zambian currency.) They are teaching me the local Bimba language, which I am getting pretty good at.  The farm is out of the city where it is more quit and breezy.  The harvesting has been different this week because the air has been dryer because it is there winter time, which is causing the bananas to ripen on the tree.  Instead of the regular harvesting routine (which is cutting down the bananas and packing them in the crates right in the fields), we have to walk around the fields looking for the ripened banana trees and taking them back to the farm house to quickly cut them up, dip them in ripening solution, and throw them in the refrigerated container.

No spotting of any black mambas yet, but we found a large tarantula looking spider hiding in one of the banana branches.  Bob and I were taking some photos of it and eventually killed it.  He didnt know what it was, so I researched it and found that it was a Brazillian traveling banana spider, which I guess is pretty gnarly. 

Chima has been made for the workers and I this week, which is similiar to corn meal.  You have a plate of that and then a plate of sauce, vegetables, and some sort of meat such as fish heads or chicken.  I actually got laughed at for eating the chima with a fork.....  supposedly its custom to eat the chima with your hands by rolling it up with your fingers and dipping it the sauce (a mans dream come true).




This weekend should entail cruising out the one of the lakes a little ways away to fish and hopefully another round of golf.

chopping bananas with my machete

I hope everyone is doing well and miss you all.

-Alex

“Too often. . .I would hear men boast of the miles covered that day, rarely of what they had seen.” – Louis L’Amour

A relaxing weekend

caddy william and I 

After such a busy week, this weekend has been very relaxing and the weather couldntbe any better.  Saturday comprised of President moffat once again taking me to the Vanilla Bread restaurant for cappuccinos and lunch.  Kevin, who runs an NGO for an elementary school, picked me up from the restaurant and we cruised over to the Ndola Golf Course.  Golfing was a wonderful experience and the first non-work fun event I have done on the trip.  Kevin just walked while I played because he is too tall for any of the rentals.  Fortunately moffat was given old Ben Hogans as a gift from a person back in the states (Pasadena actual).  Because there are mostly European standards out here... I had to have a caddy as a walked nine holes.  The course was in okay shape, but it was quite challenging because there were historic ant hills all around the course which were unforgiving.  

Today (Sunday) was quite a relaxing day.  moffat and I went to Baptist Church for the morning service.  Church here involves a lot more signing and praying which makes it quite more spiritual and worthwhile.  After church, moffat took me back to his house (which is so beautiful) where we had a amazing brunch cooked by his wife Doreen and then we lounged out by his garden under the wonderful sun and his new kittens.  It has been an interesting experience living on my own in the guest flat this past weekend, but I am quite proud of myself to not be spooked out being alone at the school.  I hope I can keep it up!


TIA


Alex

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."
Deuteronomy 31:6

media team week

This week has been very busy and full of wonderful experiences.  The media team of Northrise came out to Ndola and stayed at the Northrise guest flat with Adam Sallee and I, which turned out to be a great time.  The media team consisted of Dave Cheatham, Danny Ortega, Paige Fullmer, Sabra Gertsch, Tony Elliot, and justin Clark.  Their main purpose was to visit and interview Northrise alumni who have made a strong impact the local community.  There was also some Northrise students who followed the team around to learn about photography.



On monday, we visited an alumni named joyce who runs Arising Life ministry in mushili, Ndola who helps educate children who have been abandoned by their parents and/or have not been able to get a proper education.  The looks to improve their facility by hopefully getting electricity in the near furture.  Recently, Seeds of Life put in a water pump to get the kids and the rest of the community fresh water.

Student at the mapalo glory academy

On Tuesday, the media team and I went to the mapalo glory academy to visit an alumni named Emil Mukaka.  Visiting the school was my favorite day of the week.  We visited the various classrooms in which the young students sang us songs and showed us their writing talents.  We then met with the two cooks who explained to us that the lunch provided at that school is usually the only meal the kids get each day.  Lunch that day was chuma (similar to dryer corn meal which is a common favorite of the locals) and carpenda fish (pretty much sardines) The school is located outside the city in a village where there is no running water.  Principal mukaka wanted to start the school in order to educate local kids in order for them to have a brighter future.   The highlight of the day was playing soccer with some of the younger boy students.  After visiting the school, the media team and I went to the quicksave for lunch, which has been the go to place to grub.  

student at the mapalo glory academy

child patient waiting for medical treatment

WEDNESDAY-  The morning trip was to the Arthur Davison Childrens Hospital, which was a sobering experience.  President moffat of Northrise presented medical supplies donated by some generous donors from usa to the executive director of the hospital, Dr Sam Phiri, who allowed us to get a quick tour of the hospital.  The hospital, like every building in Ndola, has not been expanded or renovated since the English left in 60s.  The hospital beds, machines, accessories, etc. have not changed since for more than fifty years.  One floor was composed of children to designated rooms depending on the type of sickness they had, for example, malaria and tubercleosis.  There were two sections on one of the floors of the hospital, the High Cost section where it costs $30 dollars a day to stay and the low cost which speaks for itself.  The difference in cleanliness and provided ammenities was ridiculous between the sections.  AND there was one kid in the high cost section and about 40-50 children in the low cost ward.  After interviewing doctors and the nurses, the assistant director showed us the ART building which was detached from the main hospital.  The media team and I walked into the building and it seemed like an ER room because there were so many people waiting in the room.  We then were explained that the room was full of people who have AIDs and that they were waiting for treatment... talk about an eye opener.


Lunch was at Vanilla Bread, which is a great lunch spot owned by an Italian (which means the food is really bomb).  In the afternoon, we cruised to the Northrise farm to interview Farmer Bob who harvests the bananas and takes care of the chickens (I will be working with him next week on the farm)


Thursday---- consisted of interviewing Northrise students about how the university has given them a great education and an opportunity to succeed in life.


Today (Friday), the media team sadly left to Cape Town.  I have had a great time this week and I will miss them dearly, but I am glad to have made to long lasting relationships.
check out the media teams blog which further explain in detail out week.
http://zambition.info/



A great thanks to Adam Sallee for picking me up from the airport and helping me transition into the Northrise community.


I hope all is well.


-plumbskeet out

Arising Life Orphanage

monday was a great start to the week and one of the first busier days so far in Ndola.  The Northrise media team flew out from Arizona/California to shoot videos for Northrise for the week.  Their focus for is to interview, video, and shoot photos of the orphanages and schools that have been started by Northrise graduates.  We went to the Arising Life orphanage in the afternoon where the kids sang for us and showed us their artwork.  The official language of Zambia is English, which has made communication with the locals quite convenient.  The visit at the orphanage had quite the impact on me because most of these kids have either been abused, abandoned, and/or have lost their parents to HIV.  The children were very shy in the beginning, but became very photogenic and friendly after I started playing with them.  I made one friend name Dan who was seven years old who did not leave my side until the team went back to Northrise.

put your hands up in the air!!

It has been difficult loading photos for the blog, but it has been easy to upload them on my facebook if you want to check it out.  I will try to keep up with the updates, but this week will be quite busy.

TIA (This Is Africa!!)

Alex





“A nation's culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people.” - Ghandi

Weekend update

Northrise Farm

Its been a quiet weekend so far in Ndola... been chillin mostly at the downtown Northrise building and eating around the city.  Yesterday I toured the farmland where they harvest bananas and where the future campus of Northrise will be.  To sum up the property... a lot of ancient ant hills.  I saw the brand new Kuhula House Business building, which was quite impressive.  I met with farmer Bob at the banana farm and learned everything one needs to know about bananas.  Next week I will be working with him to finish harvesting the bananas so we can sell them to the local markets.   I have always wanted to harvest my favorite fruit in the entire world and I hope to can some significant knowledge about banana farming in case I want to pursue my dream of owning a banana plantation down in Costa Rica.  I finally learned why it has been so smoky in the local area... impoverished Africans from the east actually light fires in order to catch the field mice and eat them because of supposed healing powers from the meat.  The local Zambians are frustrated with these immigrants because of the unlawful burning of the land.  hope all is well back in the states!

To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries. Aldous Huxley 

Save travels in Ndola

Finally arrived into Ndola, Zambia.  It took two days to get out here because I had to stay overnight in johannesburg.  You can really see a lot of development and significant changes in joburg from the world cup.  Adam Sallee, who helps with the marketing of Northrise from Houston, is out here and was kind enough to pick me up from the airport.  Ndola so far is a wonderful place and everyone here is so kind and polite.  The only minor problem here is that it is quite smoky right now because they are burning the fields in order to get ready for the farming.  I had dinner with the Dean of Academics named Chialo at his house and had a wonderful time talking about politics and the local culture.  Tomorrow I am touring the city and the Northrise farm where they harvest bananas and raise chickens.  Hope all is well and I will be able to talk much more about the local area tomorrow.


 “All travel has its advantages. If the passenger visits better countries, he may learn to improve his own. And if fortune carries him to worse, he may learn to enjoy it.” – Samuel Johnson

Prelude to the my travels

The night before another "trip of a lifetime."  I am kind of disappointed this is the first time I have done a blog for my travels, but I am looking forward to sharing my experiences.  The next month I will be in Ndola, Africa working/volunteering for President Moffat at Northrise University.  So far, my volunteer work will consist of working on the farm at the university, tutoring business students, and helping out at the local orphanage.  The last week will consist of Moffat and I exploring the city of Livingston and going to a small safari in the African "bush".  

Volunteering in Africa is going to be an amazing and life changing experience.  After finishing my Africa adventure, my itinerary continues on to Europe where I will be backpacking with Patrick Driscoll, Andrew Likens, and so far, Bubba Botsford.  Our "graduation" trip is still in the making, but adventures include renting a car in Italy for a week, exploring the island of Ibiza, visiting friends in Madrid and Paris, and then off to Prague and Amsterdam before capping it off at Oktoberfest.  Its going to be much harder to communicate then because of the consistent traveling, but I hope through this blog that I am able to keep in touch with friends and family!

"The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page."  ~St. Augustine