Traveling to Africa is apparently all about timing. From January to March the political climate in Kenya has gone from bad to worse to ok again...Unfortunately the uncertainty has created enough significant questions about safe travel, that Rotary International has chosen to send our group study exchange team to Uganda instead. So we will now be traveling to Uganda for two weeks and Ethiopia for two weeks. Itinerary details have not yet been released, and all we know is we will be staying with host families in both of these countries.
I look forward to getting know some African citizens and appreciate the opportunity to 'hear' about life in Africa firsthand. It is one thing to try and interpret the multitude of media spun information directed our way, and another to talk directly with people that live there. I am reminded of my visit to Belfast, Ireland in 2000. The anxiety my brother and I felt as we anticipated rolling into a city with 'regular bombings' quickly diminished as we admired the architecture and local culture. We even found some Indianapolis flavor in Belfast (see picture)! The fellow travelers we had met from Belfast (while in Australia) repeatedly encouraged our visit to their home city and assured us the media hype was just that.
Sometimes it seems like the only worthy new stories involve terrorist activity, and US air strikes. The news today from Somalia (neighbor of Ethiopia) was about US air strikes at suspected al-Qaida targets. Is this one of the many seemingly regular activities our DOD participates in, or the start of something more?
For now, my team will continue our planning and prepartions. Most of us have now received the bulk of the many vaccinations that are recommended for our visist including yellow fever, and typhoid. We have read many books, watched movies, and attemped to educate ourselves about our host countries and what we should expect. I expect, that like my past travel experiences, we will be shown a land and culture that surprises us and does not fit within the parameters we have already established. Tentatively, we leave on April 6, and I hope to make farily regular posts during our one month stay- please check back!
Greg
I look forward to getting know some African citizens and appreciate the opportunity to 'hear' about life in Africa firsthand. It is one thing to try and interpret the multitude of media spun information directed our way, and another to talk directly with people that live there. I am reminded of my visit to Belfast, Ireland in 2000. The anxiety my brother and I felt as we anticipated rolling into a city with 'regular bombings' quickly diminished as we admired the architecture and local culture. We even found some Indianapolis flavor in Belfast (see picture)! The fellow travelers we had met from Belfast (while in Australia) repeatedly encouraged our visit to their home city and assured us the media hype was just that.
Sometimes it seems like the only worthy new stories involve terrorist activity, and US air strikes. The news today from Somalia (neighbor of Ethiopia) was about US air strikes at suspected al-Qaida targets. Is this one of the many seemingly regular activities our DOD participates in, or the start of something more?
For now, my team will continue our planning and prepartions. Most of us have now received the bulk of the many vaccinations that are recommended for our visist including yellow fever, and typhoid. We have read many books, watched movies, and attemped to educate ourselves about our host countries and what we should expect. I expect, that like my past travel experiences, we will be shown a land and culture that surprises us and does not fit within the parameters we have already established. Tentatively, we leave on April 6, and I hope to make farily regular posts during our one month stay- please check back!
Greg
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