Archive for the ‘ TRAVEL ’ Category
While still working at World Vision USA a few members of my team had the opportunity to go over and meet my sponsored child. It was such a cool feeling to watch video footage of my team members interacting with him and his family. I hope I can make it over there some day and meet him personally.
Melbourne retailers have been complaining of slumping sales in the industry but that is probably because of the outrageous pricing of items here. (This post focuses on shoes but most clothing, apparel etc is too expensive…)
The internet is the great equalizer… You cant expect people to pay $200-250 for a pair of shoes that can be purchased online for less than half the cost. (yes shipping is $30 but you are still saving a lot of $$$)
So retailers, lower your prices. In the meantime, myself and friends will order our gear from Eastbay
Apologies for the off topic post but just wanted to get this out there.
It is official, I have accepted the role as Flash Developer for World Vision Australia and will be moving to Melbourne in the first week of January!!! I am very excited for this new role, the challenges/opportunities that it represents, and the chance to get to work with a team of really talented people that I have heard so much about.
It is fun to look back at my (almost) 5 years at World Vision US and some of the projects I had the opportunity to be a part of:
This wont be my first time in Melbourne as I had the chance to visit in 2004 when I was taking some time off after college to travel around the world. I fell in love with the city as soon as I arrived. The culture, the tastes, and the laid back vibe that permeated the place was exactly what I was hoping to find when I went to Australia. I remember thinking/feeling that when I left, I wasnt really leaving and would get to come back some day. I am so excited that I get to come back and work for an organization who’s vision and mission I strongly believe in.
You should donate to John’s project, providing a library to children in Cambodia, especially during this holiday season. What a great way to change lives in an area that needs it. Read more about John here and the non profit Room to Read.
Quintin wrote probably the best paragraph summarizing a typical day in Dar Es Salaam that I have read.
It doesnt seem possible that these two shops can be on the same street but here you have it.
The first mall in Tanzania:
The other side of the street:
Sidenote: They have a theater at the mall and it was really odd to see ‘The Kingdom‘ playing when a large part of the population here is Muslim…
There are many unpaved roads in Dar (read: dirt with hug dips and trenches in them that would excite even the most experienced 4×4 enthusiast). We took one home from White Sands a few weeks ago but had not taken that route home in our previous few visits. The combination of it being late at night, the lack of street lights and the condition of the road suggested that the taxi driver was taking me out to the middle of no where to kill me until I saw some kids running around the road and figured it was ok. Here is a picture of a road that is still well within the city limits of Dar.
And just to even things out, a sidewalk in Dar:
Yes that is a stump. And for the record, this side of the street has about a 6 inch curb while the other side is about one foot. There werent really any standards when this city was built. It seems that people just kinda did whatever they wanted to.
So I had the good fortune to go to church with a fellow employee the other day and man was it awesome! We got there by taking a short dirt road just off a street in town. The church is undergoing renovations so the back of it is missing at the moment. Church service started at 9am and we were a little bit late so when we walked in, you can imagine a lot of people’s surprise when I came in. Sitting down was difficult as well as there was only about 8 inches in between each of the benches. Sunday school is from 9-10am (in the same building as the main church) and from what I had translated to me, was about Samual chapter 7 and being a commando for Jesus. After that was the most rousing worship/singing service I have ever witnessed. People were singing and dancing and the energy! It was amazing! Of course I had to bust out the handy dandy canon and take some videos to capture it on digital memory which is much better than mine. (the vids will be uploaded as soon as i get somewhere with a decent internet connection) After the one and half hour worship session came a time where everyone was praying. And not ‘bow your head and close your eyes with no one looking around’ prayer… This was from the heart, emotion filled, honest and open, passionate prayer! Some people were shouting, some were (potentially) speaking in tongues, others seemed to be exhorting God for deliverance right there! It was incredible! Being a ‘blue’, I was nearly moved to tears; nearly.
This is the shop that we had to buy the correct adapters from for some of our equipment as it was sent with the wrong plugs. The shop was located in an alley between two buildings. The guys were very nice but shrewd negotiators. Next time I go buy something at Best Buy I may have to offer half the quoted price and see what the salesman does. 
I have found a great new picture spot at the hotel I am staying at… the roof. It is great… mostly unobstructed panoramic views of Dar. It came in especially handy last night when I kept hearing a bunch of explosions outside. I went up to the roof to investigate (camera in hand) and saw that there was a huge fireworks show going on. It was a cacophony of disorganized rockets and explosions that were intermingled with people blasting stuff off from most rooftops around Dar; I have to say I like their style. Come to find out that this was to celebrate Diwali.
Here is a sunset pic taken from the roof tonight.
And here is a fireworks picture taken last night.
