You Only Live Once

Gallery: Safari #2

hnmenk — Sun, 5 Aug 2007 17:42:00 GMT

Ngorongoro

Gallery: Abayudayah

hnmenk — Sun, 5 Aug 2007 15:03:00 GMT

Jewish community of Uganda

Gallery: Uganda Misc.

hnmenk — Sun, 5 Aug 2007 14:29:00 GMT

Sippi, Rafting, etc.

Gallery: Sign Painting - -all hand done

hnmenk — Fri, 3 Aug 2007 23:10:00 GMT

this is how the bulk of advertising is done in east africa

Gallery: Tanzania Misc.

hnmenk — Fri, 3 Aug 2007 22:34:00 GMT

Arusha, Moshi, Carlyn & Freddy

Home -- Well sort of

hnmenk — Fri, 3 Aug 2007 17:50:00 GMT

Jon & I spent the last day in Kampala doing some last minute shopping and bargaining with the craft vendors behind the National Theater before picking our packs up from the Ethiopian Airlines office where we had stashed them so we didn't have to schlep them with us all day (brilliant idea Jon!). From there we made our way to the craziest taxi park I saw in all of Kenya, Tanz. & Uganda to board a Matatu to Entebbe. Minivan taxis as far as the eye can see and people selling anything and everything under the sun in amidst the chaos of it all. I had artfully held on to 3,500 Ug. Shillings (just over $2) and the transport to Entebbe cost 2,000. From Entebbe town we had to then negotiate a ride to the airport for 1,000 each when the normal rate for the taxi is 5,000. But, as we have learned, everything in Africa is negotiable -- so before we knew it we had made our way all the way to the airport and I still had 500 shillings burning a whole in my pocket. After a little incident checking in - when they people at the counter told me that my ticket didn't have the right slip in it - and therefore they couldn't check me in, we made it through ticketing and customs from there to Addis Ababa and then from Addis (with about 40+ Ethiopian immigrants) onto our plane bound for Tel Aviv. When we arrived yesterday at Ben Gurion at around 7am - Cultershock - was the understatement of the year. I can't tell you what it's like to go into a bathroom with a real toilet & toilet paper!!! and then the Nesher taxi home from the airport which is usually a painful experience for me was the smoothest, most luxurious, spacious ride I felt I had ever. And then the icing on the cake -- a hot shower with pressure that really I didn't not remember. Wrapping up the trip was a bit sad, but in all honestly -- afer 7 weeks on the move -- I was ready to be done. Now, I'm uploading all the amazing pictures that I wasn't able to get on the blog while I was on the road. Be patient with me, there are well over 700 files to sort through. I hope you enjoy putting some images to the stories & scenes that I've been describing.

Almost Done

hnmenk — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 23:17:00 GMT

Today is my last day in Nabugoye - and I'll be sad to go. While the week has not been so structured (nothing in africa really is) -- I have found a bunch of different ways to help out in the community. These included, but were not limited to, teaching art class in hebrew, fabricating ethernet wires and doing graphic design work for an aids testing clinic. random -- but true -- every word.

Tomorrow I'll head with Jon to Kampala to spend our last days there - do some shopping and catch our plane out of Entebbe. Hopefully we'll get a glimpse of the old airport. For anyone who is still reading this and is in Israel -- I'm really excited to see you soon!!! I'll be back Thurs. morning and I'll have the same phone #: 052-604-2780

Pls. be in touch - because something happened to my phone in africa and I no longer have any numbers saved.

Uganda -- Full of Waterfalls & Jews

hnmenk — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 22:35:00 GMT

We left Jinja and headed straight for Sipi Falls with a brief stop over in Mbale. Sipi might be the most beautiful place I've ever seen in my life. We stayed at a place called Twilight where we pitched our tent on a terrace over looking a valley and across from the largest water fall i've ever seen in person.

we hired a local guide to take us on a hike down to the bottom and then up through the three levels of falls. the hike took the better part of the day and at points was a little tough. a 14 year old kid named Roberts joined us for the hike and taking pity on me kept lending me a hand up and a steady hand to hold onto on the slippery parts. at the top of the falls we were able to dip our feet into the water where it was coming down from the slopes of Mt. Elgon. It was really such a breathtaking spot -- I wish we had given ourselves more time there.

The next morning (friday) the car that we had arranged to take us back to Mbale was a no show so we had to take public transport (read: the back of a pickup truch carrying a load of potatoes) back into town. From there we did a little shopping and then called the Chairman of the Abayudaya for directions to Nabugoye one of the four villages.

For those who don't know - the Abayudaya (Luganda for Tribe of Judah) are a goup of several hundred Jews who life in western uganda. I'm still piecing the history together - but apparently they converted to Judaism in the beginning of the 20th cen. Currently, their Rabbi - Rabbi Gershom - is studying at the University of Judaism in LA and will be ordained at the end of the coming school year. He will be the first formally trained rabbi that the community has had.

I could write (and probably will) pages and pages about what it's like there. But for now, and because I'm short on time - I'll write a little about shabbat. We arrived on a very busy week. Besides a group of about AJWS volunteers visiting there were also representatives from an organization in San Francisco as well as from the JDC. It was also the celebration of the Rabbi's son Yigal's Bar Mitzvah. The whole of shabbat was really out of another world. The best way I can describe it is 1 part summer camp, 1 part shtetl & 1 part africa.

I promise to write more later.

I Lived to Tell the Tale

hnmenk — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 17:42:00 GMT

I'm recovering, enjoing a slow morning, after a full day of rafting (approx 30km) down the Nile river. We hit 12 groups of rapids all together including 5 grade 5 rapids. I've NEVER seen water like this...it was crazy!!! At one point when i was in the front I think I took in at least a gallon of water in through my nose. It was really a great time, except for the 20 seconds or so I spent trapped under the boat after we flipped and then ran into another set of rapids.

Parents, don't freak out -- the company (run by autralians) is very reputable and saftey precautions were well above anything I've ever seen done while rafting in P.A. Most impressive were the guides (one in each boat) who pretty much steered us the whole way and kept us alive. There was also a team of kyakers to pluck us out of the rapids once we were tossed out of the boat. And -- for the record -- everyone wore helmets.

After rafting they loaded us on vans & trucks (after we grabbed as many free beers as we could carry) and carted us back to the campsite. It was kind of crowded but we managed to find a place for our tent, even if it was on a 65 degree incline.

So, from here we'll figure out how to get to Mbale and then onto Sipi Falls after which we'll head to spend shabbat with the Abayudaya.

Uganda Bound

hnmenk — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 19:14:00 GMT

So, it's been well over a week since I wrote -- and it's not because nothing interesting has happened. To the contrary, we had a great week on the main land in Tanzania visiting with Chaim's cousin Carolyn & her family and we even squeezed in a two day safari to Lake Manyara & the Ngorongoro Crater.

Backtracking a little....

Last sat night we grabbed the night time ferry from Zanzibar back to Dar Es Salam. After a night sleeping on the boat, we arrived in time for customs on the main land to open at 6am. From there it was straight to the bus station where, after a very confusing financial transaction - in which we found ourselves short on shillings, we boarded a very uncomfortable bus (last row of course) for the 9 hour trip to Arusha.

We arrived in Arusha around 6ish and Carolyn, Freddy & their kids picked us up from the bus station. They are both from Canada - but Freddy's dad is from Tanzania and they've decided to raise their family there. Freddy has been working as an atorney for the UN on the Rawandan War Crimes Tribunal and Carolyn is home schooling their 4 very smart, cute & funny kids (ages 7 to 1yr). I can't tell you what a treat it was for us to spend a couple of days in a nice clean house with nice clean bathrooms & kitchen. While their house is crowded (six of them in two bedrooms) they were nice enough to let us set out tent up in their back yard where we slept for the better part of the week. I can't say enough about how welcoming they were to us and how at home we felt.

From Arusha we arranged a two day safari -- the highlights of which were (#1)Jon getting to see these amazing animals for the first time, and (#2)for me & Chaim who had already done three days in Kenya the big difference was that this time we saw a pride of Lions chowing down on a Wildebeast that they had just killed while a Jackal waited in the background for a chance at the carcas after the lions were finished. It was amazing -- if not a little gross to see in action. I almost threw up on a couple of different occasions.

So, then we came to Moshi -- where we are now and we'll catch a bus from here in a couple of hours to Uganda. The trip will take us through Kenya (crossing two boarders in under 24 hrs.). I hope it won't be too painful! Our first stop there will be Jinja where we're planning to go rafting (class 5 rapids the whole way) and then from there to the Abuyadaya in time to spend shabbat & tisha b'av with them.

I'll check back in once we've gotten our barrings in Uganda.

>hillary

Beached & Braided

hnmenk — Fri, 6 Jul 2007 21:12:00 GMT

So we're back in Stonetown for another day in a half or so before heading back on the overnight ferry to Dar Es Salam. We spent the better part of three days in Jambiani which is on the east coast of Zanzibar. Its a sleepy little beach town with a little bit of tourism which revolves around a couple guest houses & hotels (only two or three of which are actually proper hotels) and various activities (read: taking a sailboat out and going snorkeling around the coral reef).

We spent one day snorkeling and it was really a great time. They take you out in a traditional Dhow sailboat which is a skinny little canoe-like carved boat with two stabilizing balancers on either side. The sail is made out of old, sown together corn and flour sacks. It's was so beautiful and a lot of fun.

The other really cool thing about Jambiani that I think is worth mentioning is the way the women of the village harvest the seaweed. When the tide goes out (way far out -- to the reef) every morning around 10 am, the women go out to the sites where they have tied these strings btw. stakes which are planted into the sand. The strings catch the seaweed as the tide goes in and out and when it is out (the better part of the day) the women go out and gather what has been caught on the strings. The collect the seaweed in bags and then dry it in piles all over the beach. Then, according to who you ask, they come from China or Singapore to buy the seaweed.

So, while we were relaxing in Jambiani, we stayed at this guest house which is run by these rasta guys. There are about 8 of them who live there and run the guest house/resturaunt/bar. It's really chill and every night they have a drum circle around a camp fire. It's a great sceene. We also happened upon a school and they let us come and visit and see the classes.

All in all -- it was a relaxing couple of days. I got my hair braided by one of the women on the beach. My pictures of these beaches (and my braids) -- you will not believe! But you'll have to - because Chaim jumped into a swimming pool with his camera and we're not sure if it will ever work again.

A note on Pictures

hnmenk — Tue, 3 Jul 2007 04:13:00 GMT

so i tried again -- unsuccessfully -- to upload pictures. the frustration is about more than i can bare, so i'm going to give up for now and wait until i get back to Israel to upload. I hope you'll still keep reading a commenting even without the visual aids.

-hillary

Zanzibar-a-licious

hnmenk — Tue, 3 Jul 2007 03:36:00 GMT

So, we made it to Zanzibar yesterday. Just a three hour ferry ride from Dar Es Salam and I'm in LOVE with it here. It might as well be a whole seperate country from Tanznia - or a whole seperate continent, because it's that different.

It's amaizngly beautiful -- blue/green water, white sand, georgeous architecture with heavy islamic influences. Beautiful details - my favorite are these intricately carved wooden doors. Walking around on the narrow streets here reminds me a lot more of walking in the old city in jerusalem then it does anywhere else in Africa that I've been so far. The place is alive with activity - especially along the water in the evening where street vendors set up shop sell/cooking everything and anything you can imagine (and maybe somethings you don't want to imagine). We found a guy who only does vegetarian food -- so we've been eating real meals for the first time in about three weeks.

Lucky for us - this week happened to be the kick off of the Zanzibar International film festival. For 5,000 Tanzanian Shillings (read: less than five dollars) we got admission to two movie screenings (one of which was really good) and a whole night worth of live music. It also means that the whole town is hopping with tourists -- and for the first time since we left Israel, we're not the only white people around. I thought that this might be a negative, but it's been fine and interesting to meet other foreigners, most of whom are either travellers or volunteers in Africa.

Today during the day we went on the famous Spice Tour. Basically it involves getting carted around in a minivan to different people's homes gardens & farms to see how/where we get spices from (cinamon, vanilla, cloves, tumeric, cardomon, etc) We also got to sample a whole slew of different fruits that they grow here -- some of which i've never seen or heard of before. We're getting ready to head out of Zanzibar Town (sStone Town) to the beaches tomorrow. Not sure if there will be internet out there (probably not) so I'll check in when we get back to the main land.

Speak to you then,

Hillary

Gallery: Zanzibar

hnmenk — Tue, 3 Jul 2007 02:42:00 GMT

the best place ever

Say Goodbye Kenya -- Hello Jon!

hnmenk — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 15:33:00 GMT

Three days and we covered a lot of ground. 6 hours out of Nairobi into the Maasi Mara. Imagine driving 6 hours where the major obsticle in the road is the road itself. I'm not kidding. we drove at least half of the way out there on the dirt shoulder of a highway that is riddled with holes and pretty much impassable.

We arrived on monday in time for an evening game drive. this was really just getting our feet wet (wet with zebras, cheetas & wildebeasts, etc). The next day we had a full day in the reserve - i can't begin to describe how many animals we saw and how unbelievable it was to see them up close and in the wild. Pictures to come. (I know I keep saying that - but i am trying -- technology is lacking a little around these parts, so pls. bare with me).

Anyway, following a fabulous 3 days, we trecked back to Nairobi for one night and headed out early yesterday on what was scheduled to be a 10-12 hr. bus ride (but in actuality was a 16 hr. trip) south to Tanzania. We arrived around 11pm and met up with Jon with no problems at all.

So now all the gang's all together. We'll be around Dar Es Salam for the weekend and then we'll head to Zanzibar for about a week on Sunday.

Can't wait! It's been what I've been looking forward to the most.

Gallery: Kenya Misc

hnmenk — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 02:25:00 GMT

first two weeks

Gallery: Safari

hnmenk — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 23:21:00 GMT

Masai Mara

Shabbat., Tea, a Tarp & Safari

hnmenk — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:35:00 GMT

So Shabbat worked out really nicely. We set our tent up - and somehow rigged up our new (read - new to us but defintely used by someone before) tarp as a fly. We were glad to have it cause it rained most of friday night and we stayed dry!

Sat during the day we went on a pre-arranged tour of the tea plantation surrounding the property of the hotel. we learned all about kenyan tea production - pretty interesting. Then our guide took us down to see the river that cuts through the plantation. He called it a "stream" but I feel confident calling it a river. he took us on a bit of an unorthodox route which involved leaping over big marshy/muddy areas and sneaking through a barbed wire fence -- all in all a good time.

The rest of the time we just enjoyed the amentities of the hotel including their swimming pool. The whole place was really kind of funny - picture a cross between an English Manor Home and a Catskills resort from the 60's which hasn't undergone renovations since. So, it was fancy and quirky and slightly dillapitated.

Yesterday we took a bus from Kericho back to Nairobi. We decided to travel in style -- Bus! This time we went with a much more reputable company called Easy Coach. Assigned seats and all! So - our scheduled 10:30 bus got took off at 12:30pm (that's what they call Africa time). It worked out well though. Our bags were stored securely below so we were much more comfortable for teh 5+ hour ride and we were only moderately concerned with someone stealing them.

Somewhere on the busride I realized that we had left our "new" tarp at the station in Kericho. So, in line with everything that makes absolutely no sense to our north american concept of reality - we were able to have someone call the kericho office for us - who then put our tarp on the next nairobi bound bus. then we got a text msg. last night to tell us that it arrived. we picked it up at 7:30 this morning. As crazy as this place is, they take their "customer care" pretty seriously - which is additoinally amuzing to us after a year in Israel where there is no suc thing.

So now we're in Nairobi were we will take off on our safari for the next three days. So, I'll have lot's to share next time I get to a computer.

And, I promise - pictures next time (i just keep forgetting my cord).

2 for 2

hnmenk — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 20:36:00 GMT

We arrived in Kericho a couple of hours ago. It's a community that basically revolves around these huge tea plantations. It's absolutely beautiful ... imagine rolling hills of finely manicured tea fields as far as you can see. We're camping at a place called the Tea Hotel - which is actually a really fancy place (swimming pool and all). Word has it that it rains almst every day around 3 o'clock for maybe an hour, and that's it. Sounds kind of like Camelot, no? Following last weekend's example at Thompson's Falls Lodge, we figured if we could find fancy hotels that allow camping on their grounds - it makes for a really nice (kind of cushy) shabbat. So, I think we have lucked out again. Let's hope it doesn't rain this time!

trains, planes & automobiles

hnmenk — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 18:10:00 GMT

Transportation around africa is a completely unique adventure -- and often, we spend an entire day just getting from one place to another.

Here are some new modes of transportation that we've encountered over the past week:

Matatu -

These are shared taxis. for those of you who are familiar with the sherut in israel, that's the closest thing I can think of to compare. the only difference is, that not only does the driver wait until the van is full to move, but they also cram as many people as possible in at one time. (parents - don't worry - there are seatbelts, and the authorities are sticklers about them - but seemingly not about passenger limits in vehicles). Just to give you an idea, on any given ride, you can have 25 people squeezed into a 14 passenger van.

Boda Boda --

These are bicycles with padded seats on top of the rack on the back of the bike. young men make a living giving rides around town to business people, older women, and tourists. the best ride that we took so far on the boda bodas was in Kakamega Forrest. three guys picked us up -- one for me, one for Chaim, & one for our packs. They rode us out of the forrest to the town of khayega about a 50 min. ride in total (from where we immediately hopped into a matatu headed to Kisumu).

Buses -

Yesterday we tried out our first bus. We thought that it might be a good move because by and large, the roads all around Kenya are in horrible shape and any trip over an hour is quite a bumpy, uncomfortable experience. the logic was, with the bus so much higher off the ground and all the potholes, might cusion the blow of each bump. we were wrong. plus, the three hour bus ride from kisumu to homa bay (where we are now) stopped approx. every 7.5 min. to pick up/drop off passengers in these tiny back water towns along the coast of Lake Victoria. along with multiple passengers (way more than there were seats) we were also constantly picking up and dropping off belongings. Items included furniture, crops, goats (no joke - 3 of them in the boot of the bus!), luggage and anything else you can think of.

Taxis -

There are also these funny little taxis - more like go-carts with three wheels. they are a quick way to get around a city onve you've arrived. the only one we've ridden so far has been when we arrived in kisumu and were so overwhelmed with all the people that were jumping to help take our bags and maybe us - that we figured it was a safe move to just jump in the taxi and high tail it out of there.