Intro to the Akilah Institute for Women

I mentioned that this trip would have a bit of a different flavor from the last. On this one, I've luckily stumbled into an opportunity to do some volunteering. The organization I'll be visiting is the Akilah Institute for Women (akilahinstitute.org), a college that trains women to be leaders in the tourism and hospitality sector in Rwanda. It is about three years old, and about to graduate its first class this coming August.

The school itself is a sight to behold, perched on a hillside in the neighborhood of Kibagabaga, a 20 minute drive from the center of Kigali. One main complex contains the three classrooms and teacher and administrative offices. The classrooms are painted Blue, Yellow, and Green - the three colors of the Rwandan flag. Students stay with their cohort, and likewise are the Blue, Yellow, or Green group.

S had met the founder last year at the Kennedy School when she gave a talk. Immediately S was interested, and converted that interest into a two week visit to provide some assistance on the development of the school's leadership curriculum. I have the good fortune to tag along. In addition, I'll be running some Math and IT workshops to help the students improve their skills in those areas.

I was greeted at the school with this awesome poster advertising my services. I adopted the name fully, and am known as Joseph among the students. It is much easier to say, especially for French speakers! After connecting with C, the Math / IT teacher, I learned the areas of focus are ratios and proportions, percentages, and interest rates. Should be a great two weeks of teaching and tutoring - and along the way getting to meet some pretty inspiring women!

We arrived on a unique day. That afternoon, the school was celebrating the engagement of the two co-founders, D and E. The students had prepared a Rwandese lunch (more on that in a separate post!) and a talent show to celebrate the work the founders had done on behalf of the school. The couple was dressed in local garb, then seated at a banquet table, where a variety of dances, songs, and skits were performed. Very cool!

30+ at 30

What a trip, man, what a trip. I would never have dreamed that it would turn out this way. 122 days of being on the road, of resting in one place for five nights, max, and then moving on. Throughout it all, I kept my sanity and I kept my thread. The great eats I had, and got to chronicle, provided an ever-changing yet still stable anchor for my time with no home.

And the adventures, well, they just piled up. A calm and tranquil temple garden in Kyoto. A sunrise, slow and steady, seen from a volcano top in Bali. A weekend trip to the birthplace of the Malaysian state, Melaka. A night on the open grasslands in Inner Mongolia, just me and Max and the sheep. A float in the magical and astringent Dead Sea. A fantastic, loving, and one-of-a-kind wedding in southern Turkey. A balloon ride to the heavens and back in Cappadocia. A trip to days of Jewishness past in Krakow and southern Poland. A celebration of sport and of beer and of the outdoors with 1,000 friends in Munich. A loss of sight to bring out a stronger sense of taste at a dunkelrestaurant in Berlin. A trip to a community striking out on its own in Christiania. A bike ride that couldn't be beat up and down the canals in Amsterdam. And a short but sweet exploration of Helsinki, land of so much reindeer meat.

And so we are here, blog post number three hundred and sixteen, the last of them for this grand adventure. The blog waxed and waned, with faulty Internet connections overcome throughout. China managed to put a three week delay on the blog that never went away, but that just adds to the nostalgia of each post, I think. Thanks so much to the people that hosted me, that gave me recommendations, that traveled with me. And thanks so much to all of you for reading and for sharing my trip with me.

Now, I managed, barely, to get past 30 countries visited just past the age of thirty (see full list below). However, I don't want to get so far behind, comparatively, next time.

So, time to plan the next trip! Where to?

-----------------------------------------

Before the trip

USA

Canada

Mexico

Nicaragua

Chile

Argentina

Cuba

Aruba

Spain

France

England

Ireland

Germany

Switzerland

Italy

India

Sri Lanka

Thailand

Vietnam

Singapore

Cambodia

Hong Kong

On this trip

Japan

Indonesia

Singapore (again)

Malaysia

China

Turkey

Israel

Germany (again)

Poland

Czech Republic

Denmark

The Netherlands

Finland

---------------------------------------

Do widzenia, Auf Wiedersehen, Farvel, Tot ziens, and Näkemiin, Europe: Some thoughts on my time in Central and Northern European cities

The month in Europe has had a different flow from that of the first three in Asia and the Middle East. Instead of two to three weeks in a place, it was more like four to seven days. So my reflections are a bit more numerous and pull from aspects seen in some, but not all, of the places I was in July.

The food can be quite tasty but it can also be wretched: My European destinations were, to put it nicely, not well known for being culinary destinations. But I had some great meals over the course of the month! For example, really tasty German food that was hearty and fresh at the same time (I'm looking at you, Gugelhof). And most of the meals didn't suck. But there were a couple that did (stop feeding me, you bad bad restaurant of U Babci Maliny!)

Lots of the good food has been imported: The flip side of shaky food cultures is that there's room for more. And, with centuries of exploration and contact beyond Central Europe under their respective belts, these places had managed to import some decent food. The Turkish food in Berlin, ah, I would love more doner kebab in my life. The Surinamese food in Amsterdam, a new treat that would get even better the more it was explored. And the list goes on.

World War II has left many scars and they're everywhere: Though I purposely went to Hiroshima at the beginning of my trip, I wasn't expecting World War II to be such a present theme. Yet it was. The unmistakable absence of Jews in Krakow. The horrible terror at Auschwitz. The memorials, some very recent, in Berlin, Prague, and Munich. Even in Amsterdam, where Anne Frank's house serves as a daily reminder to those bicycling the canals.

Cities so livable it hurts: In many ways it was a very urban month. Yet I didn't get any asphalt dreariness. A big part of that comes from the fact that these cities were just so nice to be in. Berlin and Amsterdam, in particular, bring well-rounded places just dying to be explored in depth. I won't soon forget the joys of bicycling Amsterdam. Or the ease of doing so in Copenhagen. These places have put effort into making the human scale the right scale for life in the city and it shows.

The roots of the English language become more clear: Knowing only a bit of Spanish in addition to English, I've been confused before as to the origin of much of English. Sure, some come from Romance languages, but others...? Now it is much more clear, having been exposed to German and Dutch especially. Even when it doesn't look like it, it sounds like, just with a very strange accent and some awfully unfamiliar words in between.

One evening to get to know Helsinki

A quirk of my plane ticket has taken me to Finland. Helsinki, more precisely, in which I have 18 hours to see the city. And to sleep as well.

Arrival, baggage, transportation, and hotel suck up some of the time. Finally, I am oriented and I am ready to tackle this town. I head out. It is 5:55pm on Saturday night.

Except, it turns out, that all the stores close at 6pm. All of them, except perhaps for some convenience stores. I guess this means I won't do any shopping in the Design District!

I head north in a very random walk.

This statue is the first picture-worthy sight I encounter. I am not sure what it celebrates, but the contrast of the three figures is delightful. As is the weathered green look.

While I don't shop, I do window shop, a bit. One intriguing item is this face that is actually a chair (you sit on the other side). Intriguing, that is, until I see the price tag: 1,019 euros! Whoa...

I had heard about the Nepalese food in Helsinki. Apparently, Nepalese is the stand-in word for typically North Indian food. However, I am not sure what exactly authentic Nepalese fantasies of the culinary sort would be.

More design, this time of of the clothing variety. Looks like she got tangled up in a fisherman's net.

A glass building that tapers on the far side from a normal rectangular building to this cylindrical glass end.

And the first top 10 sight! The Rock Church is a church built into the rock. It was hard to find a good angle from which to photograph this, but it was pretty neat in person. They seem to have concerts every now and then as well, but not tonight.

Up in the northwest part of town, the Sibelius Park contains the Sibelius Monument, dedicated to world-famous composer Jean Sibelius. It is the first time I've heard of him / her.

Shortly, I come to a little cafe, perched on the waterfront. This looks to be a popular little wharf. I have a cup of famous Finnish coffee and a cinnamon bun. I gaze out over the water.

Not a bad respite.

Not sure what happens inside the Biomedicum Helsinki, but the exterior was pretty neat.

I've been navigating long enough now to notice that every street has two names. And those two names are posted at all intersections. My only guess as to what this could be is Finnish on top, Swedish on the bottom. Anybody else know?

Speaking of Finnish, this was the longest word I saw on my walk. It is 24 letters long. I have no idea what it says.

The Olympic complex! The Finns were hosts back in 1952 and have a massive sporting structure to show for it. There's also a hostel onsite, a cheap and easy way to stay in an Olympic village.

I come to the Korjaamo Cultural Center, a refurbished tram station that has been made into an arts center. This would be a good place to come back to during the day.

Public WCs! And, my choice of a pay full toilet or a free "pissoir". The pissoir is, amazingly, unisex. And a steal.

Right at the end of my now-4-hour walk, I am startled when I peer through a window. Psychedelic dinosaur bones all lit up? I hope this is a natural history museum...and not the Finnish version of Jurassic Park!

Such a joy: bicycling in Amsterdam

So it may seem that in Amsterdam I didn't do so much. That's only half true. It turns out the most fabulous thing of any thing to do in Amsterdam is to ride a bicycle. The city begs for it.

First, there are bike lanes everywhere and cars are quite respectful of them and of bikers. Second, it's a very flat place. Third, and most importantly, it is beautiful and perfectly sized for bike sightseeing.

The canals, oh the canals! These red-brick lined canals are perfect for encircling the city on your bike, and then going right back the way you came. Their not set up to carry car traffic, so they don't do it very well. Plus, at every intersection, the street rises a little bit to allow boats to pass underneath. Once you get to the other side, it's a very pleasant whoosh as you accelerate down the hill. Preeta, Patrik, and I literally spent hours doing this, at all times of day and night. In fact, our favorite time was in the late evening, around midnight or 1am, when all was quiet. Unbelievably exceptional. Riding a bicycle around Amsterdam can make you fall in love with the place.

It's just a great way to get around and explore, too, getting to places I'd otherwise never see.

Ridiculous beauty as the sun glances down off the canal.

A very friendly duck at a random park I found while bicycling.

A redeveloped part of town that converted entrepots into housing and work space, with great red brick facades and huge windows.

Some houses on an island that were developed all with a dash of whimsy.

And a building with some bold pastels to sing out into the day.

Plus, while you're biking, you are more apt to live up to this poem that I found, inscribed on the side of a building in 10 languages.

The bicycle and Amsterdam, a match made in heaven.

(Thanks to Patrik's friend for the route recommendations!)

Late night Amsterdam cuisine

My last night in Amsterdam and it was getting late. Time to hit up some quick late night eats!

Maoz Vegetarian is a local chain with a slew of very brightly lit falafel restaurants.

Upon ordering a falafel, I was given free reign at the salad bar, able to fill my falafel with marinated carrots, cabbage salad, hummus, or any other of about 20 ingredients. I loaded up.

And the falafel was pretty good! The chickpea balls themselves were well-composed and well-fried, tasting very fresh and very warm. The yogurt sauce from the salad bar was to die for. I have a feeling that mastering the art of which condiments, where placed, and how much takes some time...

To chase my falafel, I went to the fry stand.

Vlaamse frites are really just a bunch of french fries in a cone-shaped piece of paper. The coup, though, is that there are 15+ sauces to choose from, of the ketchup, mayo, and mustard variety. I went for the garlic mayo and the curry ketchup, a pretty tasty combination.

Finally, there was Febo. I could not bring myself to eat what they were selling...

...because they were selling fried foods out of vending machines. That's right: fried foods, that come from a vending machine. Eeewww. No way could that taste good or provide any nutrients of value whatsoever.

To "The Movies"!

Time for some nighttime culture, time for the movies. Or, should I say, The Movies.

Upon entering I scanned the playlist and queried the ticket seller to learn which movies might have some English to them.

I was directed to Fish Tank, "one of the Netherlands Top 10 movies in 2009." Excellent...but it turned out Fish Tank was a UK film. It was still quite good, if depressing. The story of a teenage girl in a bad neighborhood with a crap mom and no dad. And of the pitfalls she encounters along the way. Well done and not without any semblance of hope, but still pretty bleak.

I was very glad the theater also served beer, and that I could take it into the screening with me.

A long time to hide in a little place

The other "must-do" tourist item on my list was the Anne Frank House. The actual house in which she and her family hid during the war, now converted into a museum. It was a really well done museum, incredibly minimalist. Essentially, you get the background in the first couple of rooms, and then head upstairs to where the eight people hid. It was a very little space, made even more dreary by the fact that they couldn't open the shades for risk of being seen. Several, but not many, artifacts of Anne and the family's time were scattered around the rooms. In addition, quotes from her diary had been blown up and plastered on the walls.

And of the eight, only one, Otto Frank, her dad, survived. To this day they aren't sure how they got found out. But then, they did, and they were scattered to a number of the Nazi's concentration camps.

The place ends hopefully, with Otto Frank's plea for more understanding and tolerance. Interestingly, they had a poll set up on a hot topic. When I was there, the question of whether headscarves for Muslim girls should be banned in schools was raised. Everyone could watch a short video and then vote with handheld buttons. I'm not sure it really worked, but a nice attempt nonetheless.

One artist, one museum

We had heard great things about the Van Gogh Museum. Those things were even good enough that we were willing to brave a line that ran down the block. Thankfully, it moved quickly and we were soon inside.

No photos allowed inside. I can say, though, that Van Gogh really had an eye for color. His paintings were incredibly vibrant, popping off of the canvas. I especially liked a series he did to convince Gauguin to come and paint with him at a villa in France. "Gauguin's Chair" was the best of this lot. Another remarkable element of his paintings was the deliberate lack of proper perspective, with windows askew and things going this way and that.

They also had a step by step overview of what they do when they restore a painting. currently, they're doing so to the famous "Bedroom" painting. Apparently, customs have changed over time and now the point is to restore the work to its current moment, not to what it looked like when it was first painted. It is hoped that the restoration helps the painting sustain itself for more time. Also, the paints used to restore have a special solvency that allows them to be removed at any point in the future.

Additionally, what a life. He only produced paintings for 10 years, from 1880-1890, before committing suicide in 1890. He was prolific during that time, though, and steadily got better and better. It would be amazing to see what he would have produced had he lived past 37.

Trees, plants, bushes, shrubs, flowers, and more, of all types

We soon found ourselves at the Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam.

That's right, another botanical garden! At least my third of the trip, following Singapore and Copenhagen. They're just such pleasant places to walk around. And this was no exception.

First up was a butterfly garden. The greenhouse in which they were housed was fantastically hot and humid, overwhelming both my glasses and my camera lens. But, truly, there is a butterfly behind the fog.

Next we found a cactus garden that had a special installation. A sound system had been put in place such that the sounds emanating from the speakers were influenced by visitors' movements. This caused us no end of fun, jumping around trying to get it to play to our beat.

In the same space, a clever exhibit demonstrated that plants feed into a lot of the products in our lives (especially, it turns out, processed food).

Some carnivorous plants, always worth a peek. But don't get too close...

And keeping the ecosystem humming was a big bunch of bees. Patrik, brave soul, ventured very close to the boxes.

They were too big for me to get near.

Later, outdoors, we found a real butterfly that could really get captured by my real camera.

As well as an impressive spread of cacti.

And the largest lilipads I have ever seen, nearly covering a pond entirely.

Though it was the only botanical garden of the three to charge, it was worth it. A wide variety of plants to view, some of their animal companions, and a great little walk around.