Meine Erste Woche in Deutschland!

birchallemma1 — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:43:45 +0000

Wow what a week!!! I can't believe I'm saying this but at last I am in Germany und Ich liebe Deutschland. I can hardly believe that one week has already passed. It has gone by so quickly and I have loved every minute. On Tuesday 24th January I flew into Frankfurt where I was met by two lovely gentlemen called Herman and Martin who worked for experiment ev. We then had to wait on a girl from brazil called Melanie who actually turned out to be sharing my room when we got to the seminar in Weisbaden. I met so many people from all over the world and I know I have made some great friends for life. There were people from new Zealand, Colombia,Korea, brazil,USA and Italy and also another girl from Ireland. We had so much fun at this seminar. On the second day we were split into small groups and Herman was our team leader. In my group was Danna and Camilla from Colombia Joshua from the USA and Dohymund from Korea. Our task was to go out in Weisbaden and swap an egg for something better. We went all over the town into shops asked people on the street to swap with us. First we swaped the egg for a lighter then a bookmark then back to a lighter then on to flowers and finally some Christmas decorations. It was one of the best things I have ever done and it really relaxed me with speaking german. We had great fun but unfortunately my team did not win as one of the other teams got a working phone. On the last night in Weisbaden we had a talent show with each person doing something from playing the piano to making a human pyramid. I decided to do my Irish dancing and it went down a treat. After the talent show we had a mini disco and the guys and girls from Colombia showed us how to salsa!! I will never forget my time in Weisbaden it was amazing Es war Klasse!!! On Saturday I made the seven hour train journey to meine Gast Familie in Aurich. Die Reise war sehr sehr Lange!! I had stopovers in Mainz,Munster and Leer. When I got to my family I was so excited as they were amazing so lovely and I am having a great time with them. So far I have been on a pony, ice skating on a frozen lake and shopping. I also went to see my host brother in a soccer blitz and to gymnastics and every night we watch a film in german and this is really helping with my language skills. On Wednesday I had my first day at school and it was great. Ich bin auf dem 10 Klasse und Ich habe viele neue Freunden! Am Ersten Tag, Ich Lerne Sport,Mathe, und Kunst and sometimes I find it hard to understand the teachers as sie sprechen sehr schnell Deutsch aber meine neue Freunden hilfst Mir. Sie Sind sehr nett!!! I hope that in the coming weeks my german will continue to get bettered when I come back to Ireland I will be amazing!!!! Even in the last few days I am finding things are getting easier and that's only in one week imagine eight!!!!! Well that's all for now I promise to keep you updated with my further adventures in the coming weeks. Bid Bald Emma

Just before I go!!

birchallemma1 — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 18:56:31 +0000

Only one more day left and then I will be starting my adventures in Germany!! :D Im so excited, I cant wait! I have all my bags packed and Im ready to go. I still cant believe that I was lucky enough to recieve this scholarship from EIL. Its the trip of a lifetime and Im delighted that EIL have given me this opportunity and for that I would like to sincerely thank them. Zwei Monaten in Deutschland. Klasse!!

I will be staying with a host family in North Garmany for the duration of my trip and I am looking forward to getting to know so much more about them and their home country. Since I have recieved this scholarchip from EIL I have been in regular contact with the family. They have made me feel really welcome and I cant wait to finally meet them in person. However, before I meet the family that I will be staying with, I must go to an orintation course in Frankfurt. I am really looking forward to going there as I will get to meet some other students from around the world that will be doing the same thing as me.:)

A couple of months ago, I went to a pre-departure workshop with EIL and I got to meet loads of other students that were going all around the world. I was also lucky enough to meet Bríd, another girl that was going to Germany just like me. It was great to meet so many other people that were doing the same thing as me. The pre-departure workshop really helped me to realise that it was ok to be a little bit nervous about going to a new country for the first time. It also gave me great advice on what to do if I ever felt upset while over there.

Ich freue mich auf die Reise nach Deutschland und wenn die Schule beginnt!! I am really excited to meet lots of new people that I hope can become friends for life. I am also really looking forward to improving my German language skills. I have been learning German for three and a half years and I always wanted to be given the opportunity to do something like this, so once again Vielen Dank EIL!! :)

I will be posting blogs regularly to share all of my adventures from Germany and I will try to add as may photos as I can!! Ich hoffe meine Reise wird etwas das Ich nicht vergessen!! :D

Bis zum nähsten Mal

Emma <3

Continually thinking in German

Brid McConnell — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 18:26:04 +0000

I'm now back a month after spending two months in Germany as an exchange student. It was an amazing experience and I'd even go as far as saying the best two months of my life!. I had soooooo much fun. I made many friends who I hope to have for a long time (some are planning on visisting me in the summer hols), I got to experience another culture and have grown to love it, I've tried many new things, become more organised and independant and my German has improved immensly.

I'm now fairly fluent and confident at speaking the language and I can understand what people are saying quite easily. My goal for the two month was to improve my German so that I'd be able to have a normal conversation with natives, to get to know and appreciate the German culture and to make friends. I achieved what I wanted to and even more. I'm now in the process of reading my second book in German. That's something that would have been unimaginable 3 months ago. Some might think I'm weird but at the weekends, when I have time I even watch my favourite German T.V. programmes.

When I first came back, I was constantly thinking in German and spoke a few words here and there by accident! I was delighted to see my family and friends again but I really do miss my German family, my friends, the schoolsystem and the lifestyle in general. I found it quite easy to adjust to the German way of life and it was a pleasant experiece but when I returned I found it quite hard to get back to my old routine. The school in Germany started at 8 and finished at 1.15/3.15, there was no uniform, the schools were mixed and their was not as much emphasis on written homework. This meant that I had loads of time for hobbies in the afternoon, I could spend time with family and friends and just relax. As you can imagine, it was a lot different when I came home as school and schoolwork practically dominates the day. I also experienced culture shock for a while. I kept complaining about Ireland and comparing it to Germany and almost everything here seemed to frustrate me! Things are only getting back to normal in the last week

I've enjoyed sharing my stories and experiences with my classmates and friends. I even told them the stories where I made a complete and utter fool of myself trying to explain things without the propper words. We all had a laugh at my expense but they learned many "need to know" phrases :P People seem to be quite interested in hearing about my time in Germany and some of my classmates are even making the effort to speak to me in German outside of the classroom! After doing the exchange, I have more respect for Irish culture and realise that it is unique like every culture is, I've more respect for the German culture and every other culture in general. I'm more interested and passionate about learning languages (though especially German) Learning languages in my opinion is never boring, because no matter how much you know, there's always more to learn and there's always room for improvement. I'm even considering learning another language

After spending 2 months in Germany, I'm 99.9999% sure that I want to pursue a carrer in German. I plan to become an Irish/German teacher or become a translator.

I'd like to thank EIL for giving me the opportunity to participate in the "Secondary School Abroad Programme", my German teacher for telling me about the travel award and nominating me and also my school who allowed me to go to Germany for 2 months. It sounds a bit cliché but it was a dream come true!!!!

Bríd McConnell <3

Tralee Twins with Hong Kong!

Caitriona — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 13:31:13 +0000

In the month of March this year my Youthreach co-ordinator Margaret Culloty nominated me for a Travel Award to Hong Kong through the not-for-profit organisation EIL Intercultural Learning. I had never travelled anywhere abroad before apart from Britain so it was a huge opportunity for me. The trip was a youth exchange so we would be hosted by a group of young people from Hong Kong and then they would come to Ireland when we returned. I had to write an essay about why I would be worthy for the trip and after I got short- listed for an interview. There were 10 of us going for interview and everyone was really great so I wasn’t too confident about my chances of winning the award, however about 2 weeks later I got a phone call telling me I had been chosen to go to Hong Kong. I was so excited! A few months later we set off for Hong Kong.

I was one of 8 young people from around Ireland going on the trip. I was really worried about meeting the other people going, in case I didn’t get on with them, but by the time the 13 hour flight was over we were all great friends! Whilst in Hong Kong we did a huge amount of activities such as going to museums, theme parks and visiting the famous Hong Kong landmarks and markets. We stayed in a youth hostel on the outskirts of the city, it was a great hostel and we all loved staying there. We spent one night in a resort called the Noah’s Ark Resort; this was my favourite night in Hong Kong. There was a beach at the resort and all of the Irish group and the Hong Kong group stayed on the beach until about 3am playing games and talking. It was such a beautiful experience sitting on the beach and looking across at the lights of the city, and it was still boiling hot even at that early hour of the morning! Another one of my favourite experiences was going to visit The Peak, which is a famous building in Hong Kong. We took a tram up to the building and from there we saw the entire city, the view was amazing and there were lots of shops up there to buy souvenirs. We had dinner at The Peak that night in a Western style restaurant, which was a nice break from all of the Chinese food! Before I went to Hong Kong I was expecting a lot of differences between the young people there and the young people here but after getting to know them I realised that we are not that different at all! We all got on so well, we shared the same sense of humour and all had ambitions to go to university and start a career. The Hong Kong group were so welcoming and helped us so much when we were finding things hard. I found the food very challenging as it was so different from anything I had ever tried but the Hong Kong group were very patient and told me what everything was and didn’t get offended if I didn’t like something. They were especially patient with us all about the chop sticks, a lot of us found this very difficult to get the hang of in the beginning but they helped us a lot and found it all quite funny!

I loved every minute of being in Hong Kong and it has really made me want to do more travelling and see more of the world! To other young people reading this, I would really recommend them to travel at any opportunity. I can truly say that this has been one of the best experiences of my life and I am so thankful that I was given such a great opportunity. I have made great friends that I will remain in contact with both in Ireland and Hong Kong. It was so sad when we all had to say goodbye but I am hoping that one day I can go back to Hong Kong and see everyone again.
Rowena Mattock, Tralee Youthreach LCA

October in Germany! Oktober in Deutschland :D

Brid McConnell — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 08:57:30 +0000

Hey! Sorry it's so long since my last blog. I've been quite busy doing many different things. The first weekend in October was a long weekend, as Monday was a National Holiday (Tag des Deutsche Einheit/German Unity Day). On the Saturday we went to Bremen. On the train we met an Irish band called "Spellbound". It was the first time in 5 weeks that I got to speak English face to face with somebody. Surprisingly, I found it extremely difficult, as German words kept coming to mind. When we arrived in Bremen, we went to the "Universum" there. It was a really cool Science Museum, that had exhibits related to cosmos, the earth and people. Most of the things were pretty cool. There was a sitting room, and when you sat on the sofa, an earthquake from the past would occur eg. 1906 Sanfransisco Earthquake. It was so authentic. The pictures began to shake on the wall, the music on the radio cut out and there were even aftershocks. It mimicked the actual earthquake. Monday was German Unity Day, so we had no school. The weather was so nice 22 degrees that we had a barbeque

During the week, I made a powerpoint presentation about Ireland with the help of my host sister Jenny, and then on Friday I showed it to my class. I can't believe that I only realised after doing the presentation, that there are so many unique and interesting things about Ireland and our culture :O. My classmates found out that the majority of the Stereotypes of Irish people are false (not all of us have red hair, drink Guiness for breakfast and are drunk and lazy). When I first came to Germany, somebody actually asked me, were my ancestors originally from Ireland as I have brown hair :L Everyone found Gaelic Football, Hurling and Irish Dancing quite interesting as they had never seen anything like it before. Some described Gaelic as a mixture of basketball, volleyball, soccer and rugby and many said that hurling was like playing hockey in the air. I thought my classmates cupla focail and they quickly learned that it is a completly different language to English. Many of them were actually surprised to learn that the majority of Irish people don't speak Irish at home.

The next weekend I went to the Salt Museum in Lunenburg (a salt town about 15km from my German home). I was able to see many different types of salt crystals, the process of making salt. After that I went to a German 1960's house. My last school week in Germany, we had a project week. Every yeargroup were given different themes. My theme was from text to film. We were given 4 texts, we had to choose one text, interpret it and make a film from the text. After filming, we had to edit the scenes, add appropiate music to the background and add credits. It was soo fun and something that I had never done before. During the project week, my host sister went to Rome for the week with her Latin course, so things were quite different. On my last day of school, everyone presented their projects so the whole school and parents could see them. After school, I went to my friends house to celebrate her 15th birthday. It also turned out to be a goodbye party for me, because the next week most of my friends were going on holidays,. We made pizza's ourselves, watched two movies (shopoholic and Inception in German) and played many board games.It was very sad, when I had to leave, but they promised me they'd come to visit during the summer holidays

Last Sunday, I went to Neungamme Concentration Camp with my family. It was the one thing that I felt I had to do when I went to Germany. We learned about the Holocaust last year in History class, but I didn't hear about a lot of things that happened. It was so very interesting and educational but I found it unbelivably sad. I had a constant lump in my throat and when I read diaries of those who were in the concention camp, and stories of what had actually happend, the tears streamed down my face. It is something that I'll never forget but I'm glad I went there.

On thursday, I went to Hamburg, and did a bus tour of the city, so I could see everything. Friday night, was my last night in Germany. I stayed up till three O'clock with my family, playing kareoke, listening to music, talking about my time in Germany and their culture. They gave me a beautiful necklace, with a key. They told me that the key symolises the key of their house and that I'm welcome back whenever I want. My host sister is also welcome to come to Ireland whenever she wants, but first of all she has to do her German Leaving Cert.

Thanks sooooo much once again for the opportunity!

Brid <3

Eurocamp Naumburg 2011

LydiaFish — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 16:58:49 +0000

Eurocamp. If like me, you have no idea what this is, then you are exactly where I was back in May when I applied for the award. To this day, I never expected to win it and I really did not have much time to mull over what was in store for me. Essentially, it was a three week opportunity to make friends from all over Europe, to explore East Germany and generally to become aquainted with the whole concept of being "European".

My first contact with Eurocamp was when I started receiving e-mails from the organisation in Germany. Eurocamp started to feel a bit more “real” in the sense of the word and by the end of July, I was on a bus from Cork to Dublin to catch a flight to Germany.

It took me around eighteen hours of travel to get to Germany, so for me, Eurocamp is just twinned with travel forever in my mind! A mixture of bus, over-night stay in the airport, plane and train got me there and thankfully a very nice Team member from the organisation collected myself and others at similar times and drove us straight to the youth hostel.

My arrival is a bit of a blur, I just remember LOTS of people all coming in at once and having to introduce myself to everyone. We were ushered in, had our photos taken for the Eurocamp ID cards and were told to sign in. Unlike others who were a bit subdued, I could talk for Ireland so I was chattering away pretty much instantaneously. Without fail, most people could speak at least two languages. German was preferred by the organisers but in reality, a basic level of German would suffice so no worries here if you are still a beginner!

We were then shown to our rooms, introduced to our room-mates and told to go down to the main room to meet everyone. Accommodation wise, we were split into groups of four, for example, four girls or four guys to a room. I found the accommodation to be very nice (although things did get a bit messy with four girls sharing one small bathroom) and I was very pleased with the food we were provided!Meals were served three times a day which everyone took full use of because a combination of hard work and lack of sleep would make anyone very hungry! Mealtimes were held in a large room and there were many different areas in the hostel just to relax. There was also an internet cafe which was nearly always full! There were also cleaning supplies provided if you, like me, could not stand using the same bathroom for three weeks without some form of a good scrubbing! Clothes washing was only done once during the three week stay so I would advise to pack more than you need as some of my clothes also went missing somewhere along the journey from the washing machine to the hostel!

In total, there were around ninety members partaking in the camp, ranging from ages of eighteen to late twenties. It was an entirely international affair with representatives from countries such as Slovenia, Denmark, Finland, Bulgaria and Romania to name a few. Each representative country was asked to make a presentation about the country and it is through this that I learnt a lot. Although at times it did feel like a very “organised fun” affair, I think it was to be expected considering the nature of the programme. The three weeks consisted mainly of timetables involving your work-project, daytrips/activities and the theatre project in the second week.

The work project was the title given the volunteer work you would do during your stay. There were a number of different projects to choose from, which were all explained with the help of a presentation. For my project, I chose a primary school. My group had to sand and paint fences, build a summer house for the children and create a little garden. This meant a LOT of varnishing and sun-burning. In all honesty, I believe that my project was one of the more purposeful ones as many other groups ran out of work early on in the camp. If anything, it was our group organiser that made it all worthwhile. She was incredibly motivating and was quick to alter things for the enjoyment of the group. In the beginning, I was a little disappointed that our work, was perhaps, not as meaningful as I would have hoped it to be. However, by the end of the first week, the ability to work in shifts was a god-send as we could all catch a nap at some point of the morning!

I believe the purpose of the work project was more so about “unity” rather than the actual work we were doing. This whole experience was essentially an exercise in inter-personal and intercultural skills, for which I am most appreciative of. The work was hard-going at times as everyone was tired but it was worth it once we saw the end-product. Out of all of the projects, I feel like mine made the most sense as individuals in the other groups felt disillusioned by what they were actually volunteering for. However, personally, I do believe it is what you make of a situation that will decide whether you will enjoy an experience. I threw myself into the work project and got involved where I could. It's up to the individual to decide whether a project has a purpose or not. Thankfully, I was part of a very motivated group who all wanted to improve the local school and be able to enjoy a sense of achievement towards the end of the three weeks. So in that sense we succeeded in one of the goals of Eurocamp. We were an intercultural unit working together for the betterment of the local community!

Without a doubt, it is the individuals I met in Eurocamp that stand out to me the most. I realise that three weeks is a short period of time but I really got to know people and have been in constant contact since the end of Eurocamp. In some ways, I do feel that I have a greater connection to the idea of “Europe” through meeting like-minded people from countries such Iceland, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Malta. I feel like I have made friends for life and to me, that is worth far more than anything else.

Hence, I must thank Eurocamp for the activities they organised as it is through these experiences that I got to know these people. There was the tour of the town, daytrips to Leipzig and Magdeburg, a trip to the champagne factory, a town treasure hunt, lots of barbeques, movie nights, game nights and wall climbing. Some I liked, some I didn't but I think that is the same for anything in life! The organisers certainly kept us busy and one thing I had not accounted for were the amount of parties. Without fail, every night a majority stayed up till four in the morning dancing, singing and making merry. There were Balkan nights where we were taught traditional dances and everyone joined in. It was great fun and is probably one of the many reasons I decided to take it easy the last two months since Eurocamp! It certainly gave me enough “partying” to last me for a few more months!

There were also many opportunities to organise outings yourself as every Sunday was a designated as free-time. For example, myself and a group of girls went out in Halle one night and then partook in the organisers activities the next day, so everyone was happy!

There was also the main theatre project which took place during the second week. Again, we were divided into groups and given “props” and were instructed to debate their meaning. My group received a head scarf, a picture of a woman with a briefcase and a Turkish newspaper. As a group, we came to the conclusion that the topic we were dealing with centered around female emancipation and how we viewed the “headscarf”. Together, we worked together to put together a theatrical piece without words. This was then performed in a lovely little theatre in Naumburg. Personally, this was not my favourite aspect of the camp as I felt that our group had little say in the development of the piece. Theatre is a passion of mine, thus I was slightly disappointed by this thread of the programme as I expected some form of professional mentor-ship where we could aptly deal with the issues we were given. Yet on the other hand, for a newcomer to performing, this would have been very enjoyable. Having performed for years, I am just a little biased and I do not want to influence anyone in thoughts about Eurocamp! I enjoyed every other aspect of Eurocamp, this just wasn't my thing!

Eurocamp is also, in some sense, a politically driven affair. European Union style debates were held and many of the seemingly innocent games we played, would then be linked into current topics of European or national interest. Many of the people involved like myself in Eurocamp, were undertaking European Studies or politically driven courses as part of their degree. It was satisfying to see these said people defending policies as I believe they will do in their future careers. Now, have no fear if like me, you do have the same extent of passion for politics. I partook in these activities as a learning experience as in all honesty, I did not harbour interest in whether or not the European Parliament should only converse through three main languages. I enjoyed the cultural aspect of the camp, with a favourite moment being when myself and the other Irish representative performed a piece from “Translations” by Brian Friel. I want to stress that Eurocamp does have a greater meaning because although the experience was a nice get-away for me, there is a meaningful point for such a large group of Europeans to get together!

So in my evaluation of the project, I am just trying to be as honest as I can. If you love people, having the opportunity to speak three different languages in a day (mine were German, French and English) and want to make friends from all over Europe, this is the place for you. I surprised myself with how much I laughed and bonded with people I probably would have never met in my normal day-to-day life. I love traveling and now this experience has piqued my curiosity even more. There is so much to see out there in the world and you will surprise yourself with how easy it will be to make friends because, I guess, culture may represent a group but it does not represent the individual. In Eurocamp, we all came from very different cultural backgrounds but once we got to know each other as people, there were very little differences to speak of. The whole of Eurocamp was a boiling-pot for open-minded, well traveled personalities,with many having volunteered in other parts of Europe previously. So perhaps I was not completely enamoured with some parts of the programme and my political knowledge may have been a bit lackluster but this all greyed in comparison to the unadulterated fun and laughter that I shared with my friends in Eurocamp. I absolutely adored the experience and if like me, you like adventure, apply for this programme straight away! Have fun Eurocamp 2012!

Forming new friendships and the possibility of an excursion for the kids...

Steph Elliott — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 12:41:29 +0000

Hi everyone, so on Saturday evening Marieka, Jan and carsten arrived in Chilecito. They are the fresh new volunteers ready and waiting to begin their year’s stay here. I have to say I am a little jealous. As I live with Betty I never need to go very far for our volunteer meetings or parties and on Saturday evening we met for some sandwiches and ricotta cake. Seeing the guys takes me back to my first day in Chilecito. I was so scared and unsure about what to expect. I remember attending a similar party where I was the main focus of attention. Everyone was speaking in Spanish and I didn’t have a clue what they were saying to me. It feels like a million years ago. You really grow, mature and experience fantastic things in such a short space of time on an adventure such as this one. I am glad I can help the guys settle in here as I know exactly how they are feeling. We sat and talked about their first impressions of the town. I told them a little about the comedor and gave them the all important tour of Chilecito showing them the important places you crave when you first arrive, a phone shop, internet cafe, bank and post office.:) They seem really nice and I am looking forward to spending my last two weeks with them.

On Monday Jan,Marieke and I set out on our little journey to San Miguel. We left a little early so that we could stop and take in the surrounding mountains which I knew they would adore. The kids were very well behaved and quiet shy to begin with but within a half hour the hyper atmosphere of the comedor was restored and they even drew some pictures with the guys. At the moment I am teaching the kids the names of all the animals by drawing a picture and writing the Spanish and English translation. I have to say the Spanish /English dictionary that I brought here has been a life saver and we use it time and time again. The kids love the pictures. I am keeping all the pictures aside and when we have learnt most of the animals I will paint a zoo scene on the wall in the comedor so that the kids are reminded of the English translation every day. I have also begun to stick both the Spanish and English translation on all the items in the comedor this not only helps me to remember the name in Spanish but the kids are also reading the English words on a daily basis.

Having the guys in the comedor is great and with three people we are able to organise more games and English classes for the kids. I feel very confident that together we will generate a positive change in the comedor. I have really noticed a difference in the kids. There is a really nice energy and willingness to learn now. As Spanish is not our first language we meet before the kids arrive and organise our activities for the day. This helps us to be more confident when we are explaining the lessons to a group of 30 exited children. My ambitions for this project have defiantly changed dramatically from the ambitions I had before I left however this is not necessarily a bad thing. The comedor has so much potential and I truly believe we are on the right track to make it a very special place for the kids to grow and mature into young adults. However Rome wasn’t built in a day and patience is a must when one is trying to generate change.

Friday was a very special day; a group of children from a school in Buenos Aires who are vacationing in Samay Huasi came to visit us in the comedor and invited the kids for a game of football and volleyball. They even donated some caramels and lollipops which will come in handy as prizes for bingo. I should mention that we play bingo to help us teach the kids numbers in English. I take such pleasure in seeing the kids improve more and more every day. So back to Friday, Samay Huasi is this fantastic property about 2 km outside of Chilecito. This house belonged to JoaquinV. Gonzalez a fascinating man was an Argentine educator, political scientist, writer, magistrate, and politician. It is now a museum and people come from afar to visit this beautiful home and its breathtaking grounds. The boys played soccer and the girls played some volleyball. At half time, we were invited for some chocolate milk and cookies. The kids had so much fun and it was lovely to see them form friendships with these kids from Buenos Aires. We have arranged to return next week.

So I have mentioned in my title that we hope to bring the kids on a little day out. There is a circus in town and we are dying to bring the kids along for a fun day. I have written a letter to present to the owners of the circus. Hopefully they will be generous and give the kids the opportunity to experience a little excursion far from the comedor. We are very reliant on donations to help us take the kids on little adventures such as a trip to the circus. A circus only comes to Chilecito every few years so it would be great to be able to bring the kids.

Stephie x

1 month in Germany <3

Brid McConnell — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 15:14:36 +0000

Guten Tag! :D I find it hard to believe that I'm here 1 month. The time is flying and I'm enjoying every minute of my time here. I've really settled in with my family. I feel right at home to be honest. School is getting better and better by the day. 3 weeks ago I knew nobody, I could hardly understand a word my teachers were saying, I was unable to do my homework and I was almost afraid to speak incase I made a mistake. (stupid ehh?) I learned quickly that it's better to make mistakes and learn from them than being afraid to speak. What other way was I suppossed to learn. 3 weeks later, I have many new friends, I'm able to understand what my teachers are saying, I'm able to do most of my homework (well I try my best), I have the confidence to speak and am no longer afraid about making mistakes. When I dont know a word, I try my best to describe it. yesterday for eg. I hurt my toe. I didn't know the word for toe so I said "meine Füße Finger tut weh(my foot's finger hurts)!" It was quite funny and I made a fool of myself, but I learned the word for toe :P The school here is very different to my school at home but I like it.I love the way, school finishes early here (1.15/3.15). You have more time to relax, do hobbies and evern do homework and study. I've noticed that here in Germany, pupils don't get as much written homework as we do, and they don't have to learn as much off by heart. There is more emphasis on oral work (even in subjects like history, maths etc). The students rarely have to change classroom as the teachers come to us. We get regular breaks. There is a 5min. break between every class and a 15min break every 2nd class. At first I loved not having to wear a uniform, but the novelty is slowly wearing off. It's so hard to decide what to wear in the mornings :P. I find it really intersesting the way they learn English here.

People over here, have a genuine interest in the Irish culture. Some people seem to be surprised that not all Irish have red hair and drink Guinness for breakfast. My sister here, finds hurling pretty cool. I promised her that when she comes to visit me, she can join my local team. She's also interested in the Irish language, so I taught her´"cupla focail". She's a pure natural! In return for teaching her Irish, she taught me some German tongue twisters. Now I know the proper definition of tongue twisters, because they are litteraly IMPOSIBLE to say.

I don't know why, but many Irish people say that German food is disgusting, without evern tasting it. (I was once one of those people). I've tried so many new things since I arrived here and the only thing that I can say I don't like is...... The tea.

THe first weekend here with my family , we went to Cuxhaven by the North Sea. The tide was out sooo far, (3.5km) that we were able to take a horse and carraige to a nearby island (Insel Neuwerk). We did a tour of the island, and played in the sand. By evening time, the tide had come in, and the water level was soo high that we had to return to the mainland by ship. It was such an enjoyable day. The next weekend I went to "Hamburg-Theatre Nacht" with my sister and her friend. It was my first time in Hamburg, my first time at a ballet, my first time at an opera and my first time at an improvisation. It was a great experience and I'd love to do it again. That thursday, I went ´to the cinema (Kino) and saw Freunde mit Gewissen Vorzüge (I think friendships with benefits in English). Surprisingly I was able to understand it and it was soooo funny. Last Saturday I went to Hamburg again. This time, we went to Hamburg Hafen (the port) and did a boat tour of the port. NEVER in my life did I see so many different types of ships and so many big ships. Every ship I saw was bigger than the previous one. One ship, was over 400m long and could carry more than 12,000 containers :O after that we went to the Reeperbahn, where I got pretty cool souveniers, saw Hamburg's Rathaus, and then went to "Build a Bear" where I made a bear with a German football Jeresy. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow, as I'm going to my friends house

One of the most common questions people ask me is "do I feel homesick". I can honestly say, most of the time no, because I'm so busy doing things, having fun, enjoying the experience and I know that I'll get to see family and friends again. However, the day I got my Junior Cert Results I was quite homesick. My parents sounded so proud of me on the phone that it made me miss them and want to see them again. It also felt strange, that while I was at school doing Maths and Physics, the rest of my friends were celebrating. The next day results day was over, homesickness gone and everything back to normal. It was quite strange.

Last week I was talking to a girl who read my last Blog. She asked me what's it like to do an exchange as she's thinking about doing one. I can honestly say than in the past month, my German has come on leaps and bounds! I'm beginning to think in the language and sometimes I speak German (accidently) to my family at home.. I understand more than I ever could have imagined and am able to have a decent conversation with others. If you like/love the German language,want to improve your German or learn about the German culture, this programme (in my opinion) is the best way to go about it. You'll make many new friends, will always have contacts in Germany and it's DEADLY CRAIC!

I've done so much since my last blog, and find so many things about the Germany and the German culture great, that it's impossible to fit it all into a blog. I could almost write a book.

bis hoffentlich bald!

Brid :)

Last week all alone and creating a reading friendly environment in the comedor.......

Steph Elliott — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 09:49:29 +0000

After a beautiful relaxing weekend in Catamarca it was time for me once again to begin another week in the comedor. Time is genuinely going by so quickly here is Chilecito. This Saturday night I am meeting the next group of German volunteers who will be working in the comedor. I am very excited to tell the guys all I have learnt over the last few weeks. Betty and I are holding a little welcome party for the new volunteers which will be really nice. I have invited some of my friends along to help them realise that chilecito is a friendly fun place to be.

Sadly my Spanish lessons are coming to an end and I am finishing them this week. I have really enjoyed going to Esther’s house every evening and I will miss her a lot, however we have arranged to have coffee this Friday and I know we will keep in touch. Every evening I tell her all the news from the comedor, how many kids showed up? What I cooked for them? Were my games a success? After hearing so much about them she was dying to meet them in person and kindly offered to give me a helping hand on Wednesday. We drove to San Miguel together early in the morning (which was a nice treat). She donated two bags of clothes, lollipops and some fruit for the kids; it was such a lovely gesture I have to say a massive thank you to her. The kids also wrote a little letter to say thank you for all she did that day which was very sweet.

On Wednesday we read stories, sang songs and the kids taught me some fun games. I have realised that the real experts concerning games and activities are the kids themselves and sometimes I just need to kick back and watch them for a while. Honestly I have learnt so much from them. For me personally I thought I needed to know it all before I came here and to be honest it is the complete opposite, you learn everything when you arrive and I am sure what works in this project would not work in another but that is where the challenge and fun comes into play and it is really up to each and every volunteer to make their own experience one to remember. I enjoyed reading with the kids on Wednesday, so much so that it got me thinking...there should be more focus on reading in the comedor. There is a lack of comfy chairs for the kids to sit on while reading and also a lack of a safe place to put some new and second hand books (as the centro vicinal is also used by other groups and workshops). So a wish or idea I have for the comedor is to set up its very own library. On Wednesday night I got to work on this matter and with the help of my host mum Betty I wrote an article to the local newspaper in Chilecito. As this article was in Spanish it took me some time but I am very happy with the finished product. I explained a little about the project itself and how grateful we would be to receive donations to help make the comedor a reading happy environment. Hopefully it will be published soon as I would love to still be here to put this idea into place. Fingers crossed.

On Friday I explained to the kids that 2 new volunteers will be joining us in the comedor on Monday. It will be nice to have some cycling buddies and co-workers back however I have had an absolute blast working on my own with the kids and I feel I have made a really good connection with them.

My first week working alone...

Steph Elliott — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 09:42:00 +0000

So as you already know from my latest blog the other volunteer working in the comedor( Lea) has left this lovely country to return home to Germany which means I was working on my own this week. It felt a little strange at first because I am really used to having the guys with me in the comedor, but it was another little challenge for me to overcome here in Chilecito and I think I did ok.... If I do say so myself

I was very nervous last Monday morning, thinking of the prospect of cooking and preparing for all the kids while also planning some activities for them to play after lunch. However I had some great help from one of the mother’s who kindly helped me every morning this week preparing the ingredients for dinner. She is a great cook and gave me some great ideas for recipies I can use in coming weeks. I love seeing more and more kids coming to the comedor. On Monday 30 children arrived at the doors of the comedor and it is a day I will never forget. Thankfully I had plenty of food for everyone and they even stayed behind to play some volley ball and football which was a lot of fun.

On Wednesday I made spaghetti Bolognese which went down a treat with everyone, they have even asked for it again very soon which is always a good sign. Being in the comedor on my own no longer seems so scary and daunting. The kids are behaving so well and they have been very helpful this week especially with my Spanish if I can’t remember a Spanish word or if I am having difficulty explaining a game to them, they will all try their best to help me. Some of my activities and games that I have planned don’t work out according to plan, and I have learnt to except that and move on quickly to my next idea. It is all about trial and error in the comedor and I think that I am just coming into my stride. I have begun to sleep siesta now as I return home exhausted but satisfied.

On Friday I decided to celebrate my first week alone in the comedor by making pizza for all the kids. I cycled to San Miguel that morning with 9 pizza bases , ham, cheese and a lot of tomato sauce. The kids LOVE pizza and they were so excited to hear that I was making it. They all helped chop the eggs, onions and ham. I always enjoy seeing the kids getting involved preparing the food and it was especially easy when pizza was on the menu. The pizzas turned out delicious and every plate was cleared. I even helped myself to two slices. I finished the week by playing a really great English volcabulary game called ‘Action race’. This is a fun game using actions like jump, hop, clap and run. Each child learns what each action means and also how to describe the action in english as they need to act it out on my instruction. This game took some time to organise but when it works, it works very well as the kids are using some of that extra energy they tend to have on a Friday afternoon because they are acting out these actions numerous times.

On Saturday I travelled to Fiambala in the south west of Catamarca near the province of La Rioja. Fimbala is a fantastic place in the middle of the mountains where you can visit natural hot springs. We left early on Saturday morning and the landscape on the drive to Fiambala was out of this world. We visited a walnut farm on the way and I even got to help the farmer with his sheep and goats. We stopped off in the town Fiambala for some lunch before going to the springs themselves. It is so relaxing at the springs and I really enjoyed my weekend. I returned home to Chilecito late Sunday evening rested and ready for another week in the comedor

Back from Mexico

mark clarke — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 13:58:06 +0000

Well I've been back home a couple weeks now so this is my final blog. Its so hard trying to reflect back on everything that happened over the summer there was just so much. I'm home since the 14th of august and its just been all go as soon as I got home. Its such a change from the pace of life in Ventanilla, it was just so relaxed, I laughed when I read the handbook because it said there was no forms of stress in La Ventanilla but being back home seems so much more hectic here now. I arrived back and had two months of post to go through and god only knows how many forms and errands to do to get ready for college but I'm settled back in now. The summer just seems like a blur now it just went too fast it all seems so surreal now. I miss it but glad to be back with my family and friends, mexican food just didnt agree with me either. Theres alot of things I really miss like the people, Lalo, Carmelo and Trini I only felt like I was really getting to know the people and settling into their way of life and then it was time to go which was such a shame. I miss being able to just wear a pair of shorts day or night I forgot how cold and damp Ireland is, I dont miss the mosquitoes though ha!

Now I'm back home in Ireland, back to college, back to reality I really want to become fluent in spanish, I didnt think about the benefits of being multilingual before the travel award now I think its essential and I'm already planning my next adventure, this trip really gave me the travel bug, It was an amazing experience and I really think it has opened my eyes and changed me for the better.I am so grateful to EIL for giving me such a life changing oppertunity and I've been telling anyone who'll listen to me about it. Thanks alot EIL and for future travel award winners you'll love it, enjoy every minute of your trip as time is fleeting and you'll be home before you know it. Hasta luego

One week in Germany (eine Woche in Deutschland)

Brid McConnell — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 14:24:43 +0000

Grüße aus Deutschland! (Greetings from Germany)

I'm now here in Germany one week and I must say that I'm loving it! I flew into Frankfurt Airport (Flughafen Frankfurt) at 10.00 last Wednesday, and only then did it seem real that I'd be living here for 8 weeks :)I said in my last blog that I was nervous about travelling alone and afraid that something would go wrong. Everything went according to plan, and I now realise that there was nothing to worry about (even if something did go wrong). I was met at the airport by somebody from Experiment e.V. We waited for more exchange students to arrive and then we took the train to Mainz, where the orientation was being held.

The orientation was fantastic! We learned a lot about the German culture, way of life, which stereotypes of Germans are true/false, culture shock, how to use the transport system and how to deal with many difficult situations.There were exchange students from Brazil, Equador, Japan, Korea, Argentina and France. The whole lot of us mixed with each other and we had mad craic! We got up every morning at 7, had breakfast at 8, then played many games, did activities and learned a lot about Germany. Some of the activities we had to do were just CRAZY! One day, we were divided into small groups of five and were given a boiled egg. We had to go to the local park, and ask random people there, would the give us anything for our boiled egg (do a swap). Surprisingly most people actually listened to what we were saying and gave us something. we first exchanged the egg for a pear, then the pear for an apple, the apple for a pen, the pen for a packet of gummi-bears and finally the gummi-bears for a toy sheep. It seems really weird, but it was soooo much fun and we got to speak German! Another day, we went to Hauptbahnhof Mainz (train station) and were shown how to use the trains/ transport system. After that we were alowed to go shopping! :) Our last night in Mainz, we had a talentshow. Everyone had to do something, even if you didn't have a talent (LIKE ME! :P). It was actually really interesting. Most people did something from their country- the Japanese did oragami, the Koreans dressed in the traditional clothes and sang Korean songs, the Brazilians sang a Brazilian song, the Equadorians sang in Spanish and I sang our National Anthem.

On Saturday I took a train to Hamburg ( 6hrs) and I finally met my host family. It was a really exciting moment for me, as I was in regualr contact with them and was looking forward to meeting them. They welcomed me to there country/home, they are soooooooo nice and understanding and they make me feel right at home! They speak quite slow with me so I can understand, and if I don't understand something they are more than happy to explain it again. (so patient). When I arrived in Hamburg, we had a Bratwurst (German sausage) and it was lecker (tasty)

Sunday we did a tour of the village where I now live and they also brought me to Scharnebeck to see my school. It's soooo beautiful!It's Beside a river. there was also a fair/festival in the village to celebrate it's 850th year. It was really intersting as people dressed up in clothes from then. After that we went to Lüneburg and had something to eat.

Monday I started school here. It's quite different than the schools in Ireland but I like it. the schools here are mixed, we don't have to wear a uniform and most days I finish school 13.15! I could hardly understand anything in the History, Politics, German class, but I learned sooo many new words as I made a list of the words that I didn't know. As for the English class, I helped the others. I love to watch tv here. They have all the programmes and movies that we have in Ireland, except in German! Awesome! I can't speaK a lot of German, and sometimes I find it hard to understand people, but I find that with every day I understand more and more

bis hoffentlich bald

Brid

I Left My Heart in Tokyo....

Órlaith — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 15:35:03 +0000

As my overnight trip to Tokyo was so jam-packed and amazing, I thought it deserved a whole blog onto itself :P

On August 4th, along with my host mother and brother, I boarded a 2 and a half hour train to Tokyo (after first dipping our feet in the train station foot spa!). The view of the countryside from the train was gorgeous, and I was so excited!! We met my host mothers' sister in the city, with her cute 2 year old son. First activity was an open-topped bus tour of the city. As usual, it was very hot and we got to see some amazing sights. We saw the Emporers' Castle, Government buildings, the Rainbow bridge, Tokyo Tower and many more amazing streets. It was a great way to be introduced to Tokyo, as the city is huge!

Next stop was Kiddyland, the most famous toy shop in Japan and apparently a favourite of Angelina Jolie and Bradd Pitt's. The 3 story shop was filled with every sort of toy imaginable, and fun for people of all ages! There was a special Hello Kitty and Snoopy section! You could literally have stayed in there for hours (it was next to impossible to make my host brother leave!!). We wandered down the streets with all the expensive designer shops (buying loads, of course :P). I tried to take a picture of a man sitting with his monkey and got the fright of my life when he jumped at me, trying to hide his face and shouting at me (presumably to delete the photo!). Needless to say, I walked away quickly!!

After wandering around, exploring the city and popping in and out of various shops, we caught the metro to Shibuya, my favourite area of Tokyo. It's known as the cool place for young people to be, and the atmosphere is incredible!! It's full of teenagers and young adults, gorgeous fahion and quirky little shops. My host mother bought me a fabulous pair of lace-up gladiator wedges!! They are gorgeous (but caused my feet to die a slow and painful death the next day!). We had a gorgeous dinner in a little restaurant. We were given our own private little room, with a floor-level table, and the food was devine! We wandered around, and crossed the famous Shibuya crossing (so many people crossing the road in all different directions: I just stood in the middle and watched, which nearly got me knocked down!!).

We stayed in a hotel in a tatami room, and the hotel provided pyjama yukata (comfy kimono). It was waaay too hot to sleep in, and there was a little earthquake that night! We all got up really early, to make the most of the day in the city. First we headed to Asakusa, where there are a few temples and a big market. It was a great place to buy little souvenirs for my family and friends. It was a really nice place, so we spent the morning walking around and spending all my money!! :)

Afer lunch, we headed to Shijuku, another area with lovely shops and scenery. I tried a gorgeous traditional Japanese sweet black soy bean ice-cream! I chatted to a group of girls from Scotland, they were touring around Japan for a year and loving it. It's something I would love to do!!

We caught the train home to Suwa that night. I'd had a fantastic time! Tokyo is a city I would love to live in, it's so safe and modern, but still traditional Japanese. There is so much to do and see: it kept 2 women, a teenager, a child and a toddler entertained all at the same time! It was such an exciting place to be, so much going on. I can definetly say that my trip to Tokyo was one of the highlights of my trip to Japan :D .

Last few amazing weeks

Órlaith — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 14:03:07 +0000

I've been home from Japan about 2 weeks now, but I was so busy for my last few weeks there that I still have a few more blogs to update!!

On August 2nd, I was lucky enough to take part in a traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony! It was heald in a private tatami room of an old woman's house. She was very nice, dressed in a kimono. I was joined by my host mother and two local photographers. The ceremony was taken very seriously, but since I was a foreigner, the rules were a little relaxed. We had to kneel and perch on teeny weeny stools and first we were given some sweets to eat (I accidentally ate the wrapper of one of them, they were so elaborate!! ). We then sat in complete silence as the woman made the green tea. She prepared the water and the powder on a little stove in the corner of the room, and mixed it all in a certain way. It was so quiet and calming watching her. The Japanese believe that the ceremony is more than just about the tea, that it's a sort of meditation, and I could see what they mean. She then placed it in front of me, and I had to pick it up, turn it 180 degrees, repeat what the woman was saying, then finally take a sip. It was very bitter but I obviously told them it was gorgeous (they were all staring to catch my reaction, and it was very hard to keep a straight face! ). She then repeated the process for my host mother, then she allowed me to prepare a cup of tea myself! We ate more treats; cakes depicting stars and the milky way, and we chatted to the tea ceremony lady. She explained that everything in the room was authentic Japanese and chosen specifically for summer. There was a scroll hanging on the wall, which she had chosen especially for me! She had been practising the Tea Ceremony for over 50 years and still felt that she didn't understand it all, but still loved it just as much!! It was a really nice experience.

After the ceremony, we went to an English Garden for lunch. There was some Irish goods on sale in the gift shop (my host mother bought an apron from Ulster!) and there was many Guinness signs and some Irish Blessings! It was weird seeing things from home when I was so far away!!

With my Host Family, I spent a morning at a summer camp for kids with disabilities. I had so much fun!! We did parachute games. singing and dancing. A man did a comedy mime and I played my concertina for them all (they made me wear my leprachaun hat and there was yet another picture of me in the paper!). They were all fascinated by me and I was asked so many questions. The kids were all so cute and all had a ball!

During my stay, I also got 2 Japanese lessons from a teacher from the language school that helped to organise my trip. The woman came to my house for a couple of hours, and it was strictly Japanese only, no English allowed. I must say that those lessons were the most Japanese I had spoken druing my trip! We did oral work, listening and some exercises, and I'll admit that most of the time I had to translate everything we were discussing!! They were a good help though!

From August 1st onwards, there was fireworks everynight at 8:30 on Suwa Lake, right by my house. The displays were class, and either went down to the lake to watch or viewed them from the balcony. The display was different every night and lasted about 15 minutes. It was so pretty, with fireworks in the shapes of hearts and smiley faces, and all different colours!! Every night when the display finished, all the little neighbours would go outside and play with sparklers. There are so many different types, ones that shoot up like rockets and fly along the floor like mice. They were so much fun to play with, and I managed to sneak some home (illegally!!) in my suitcase :)

In Japan, I went to a couple of restaurants known as Self-Service Restaurants. Basically, you order your food and they serve it to you raw, then cook it on the big BBQ in the middle of your table!! It was really cool, except one person has to constantly be watching the food! Also, if you're starving, usually when the waiter brings your meal, you can dig in, but instead you have to wait for the food to be cooked! I had to try tripe and liver (never again!!) but everything else was gorgeous!! I think these restaurants are Korean style places. I really miss the Japanese food now that I'm home, but my host mum gave me some recipes and I swapped some with her (bacon and cabbage and Bailey's cake are favourites!).

August 6th was the anniversary of the World War 2 bombings of Hiroshima (Nagasaki was August 9th) so we watched a big memorial service from the city on television. Japan is the only country to have been devastated by an atomic bomb in war time, and the effects are still in place. It really made me see how much this country has been through, and how well they managed to cope.

I got to see the last Harry Potter movie in Japanese with my friends. It made everything so much funnier, so I couldn't even concentrate on what was actually going on!

The next day there was a little local festival where the soap I had made at the beginning of my trip was on sale. There was loads of food and a little market. It was boiling hot so the shaved ice was devoured!! I bumped into a lot of the children I had been teaching in Elementary School and chatted to a lot of people I knew. It was a lovely atmosphere, which was then ruined by a sudden downpour and thunderstorm!! Such random weather!!

On my last day, we had lunch with Sachiko and Miyoko, the main organisers of my trip in Japan. The food was delicious, and we had huge ice-cream sundaes for dessert :) It was sad saying goodbye as they had done so much for me, and I was so grateful! I promised that I would see them again, either in Japan or Ireland, they really were such nice people!

Unfortunately, my last day arrived all too soon :( I was collected by a mini bus at my house at around 2am. It was so upsetting leaving my Host Family, we had gotten so close and they had been so good to me!! After a 4 hour drive to Tokyo, I learned that my baggage was 7 kilos overweight (oops!). I didn't really understand why, but I was allowed to separate my check-in baggage into 2 bags and check them both in for free! I'd recommend ringing the airline to find out baggage restrictions, because it said nothing about that on the website!! The flight was fine, I watched millions of movies and chatted to the women next to me. I was still surrounded by Japanese people so the reality that I had left Japan did't hit me until I arrived in Germany. After being sent in the wrong direction, I managed to board the flight and arrived back in Dublin without a problem. I was sad to be home, it meant it really was over :(

I had the best time, met some amazing people, saw wonderful places, tasted delicious food and had unbleievable experience. I have vowed to return to Japan soon, it's such a brilliant country. I owe it all to EIL, I really cannot thank ye enough!! I was so lucky to be chosen, and I am telling everyone all about it in the hope that they will apply for next year. I know I have fantastic memories that will stay with me for life :)

Back in Ireland-goodbyes & hellos! My last EIL blog!

Mary Mc Donnell — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 12:57:13 +0000

Hello again! Well I am back in Ireland now! I think the last blog entry I wrote didn't appear at all, but it was just a little piece on my thoughts on leaving La Ventanilla for Ireland, and how I was feeling. I was sad that I would be leaving all the warm and wonderful people that I had met there, but I was also feeling excited about the return to Ireland. I was certainly looking forward to seeing all my family and friends again! I was hoping that I could really make the most of my last few days in that beautiful place. We finished painting the crocodile nursery to stop it from being eaten by termites. It is sad to see that for the baby crocodiles, it is the survival of the fittest-some of them are very small and thin compared to the others, and they probably won't last too long as they are not eating much. Some of the bigger ones have become quite confident though! They snarl fiercely at you when you try to move them! It is funny now as they are still too tiny to do any harm, but it is a reminder of the ferocious animals they will soon become!

The night before we left, one of the tour guides, Galo asked us to visit his house, where he is rearing up some land turtles for release at the lagoon next year. It is inspiring to hear him talking with such pride and devotion about the turtle patrol walks that he goes on almost every night. He showed us a picture of an absolutely massive turtle that he found laying eggs on the beach a few years ago! He also gave us lovely coconut milk to drink!

So I can tell you now that it was indeed, as I had expected, with a mixture of happiness and sadness that I left La Ventanilla on August 10th. Me and Mark had spent the morning saying goodbye to our friends, and taking lots of photos. I have to say that everybody there was so kind to us, Trinny from the restaurant even gave us a going-away present! I spent a little bit of time on the beach then also, soaking up the sun, and taking photos of the spectacular views for the last time. And then it was time to jump into a taxi and make our way to Pochutla for the 17-hour bus journey to Mexico City! 17 hours!! But actually, I didn't find it too bad, as the seats were comfortable, and there were some films. We stopped off once for a break.

We were met at the bus station in Mexico City by Cecilia from the host organsiation. It was really great to get such a warm welcome, and to meet Cecelia again. We had a lovely breakfast there before returning to the same hostel that we had stayed in when we had first arrived to Mexico City all those weeks before. It was time to prepare for our visit to the Irish embassy that afternoon! It was nice to have a hot shower at the hostel-the first hot one in a long time (although in La Ventanilla I was only glad that the showers were cold-they were so refreshing in the heat!). The embassy visit was a wonderful experience. Fernanda from P.E.I also came with us-it was great to see her again! We were warmly greeted at the embassy-and we were even served Barry's tea! It was very good to get the opportunity to explain to the ambassador the work of EIL in Mexico, and in particular the Travel Awards. We did a quick evaluation of the programme back at the office, and then we could relax for the evening.

The next day was time for getting a few last minute presents to bring home. We headed into the city centre on the subway. Well the city is certainly vast and vibrant! One thing I noticed is that each street seems to be dedicated to a particular type of merchandise. For example, we spent a long time walking down a very long street that had nothing but every type of fabric shop and art shop-my dream come true! I was only sad that it would be too heavy to bring home all the fabric I'd have liked to have bought! The city was full of noise and bustle, especially once all the stall-holders had taken their places, shouting over one another to get your attention as you walk by!

In the afternoon, I ventured to the National Museum of Anthropology. I had a map, but I didn't really know where I was going! I got to a really beautiful park that was full of squirrels, and eventually after a lot of walking, I did find the museum. It was exciting to think that I had actually managed to find it in such a big city! But unfortunately I didn't have much time there. It is huge, with whole rooms dedicated to every aspect of Mexican history.

After a last meeting and farewell with Cecilia and Fernanda, it was time to head back to the hostel, and get some rest before the journey back to Ireland in the morning.

Well, I was so excited on the plane! We got to fly into New York to change planes, and it was wonderful to fly over the city! I saw something that might have been the statue of liberty, but I am quite short-sighted, so I'm not sure. I definitely saw long Island though. By the time we finally got onto the flight for Dublin, I really was restless and just so excited that I would be seeing my family in just a few hours. When I arrived eventually home to my house in Tipperary, I was so delighted that my cousins were there to greet me aswell! It's funny, once I was home, it didn't seem that long at all that I had been away. I had plenty of cups of tea that day I can tell you!

Well I have been home for two weeks now. I thought i would freeze back in the Irish weather, after being in such a climate, but I don't find it cold at all-I'd say I'm just glad to have a break from the intense heat. But I do often think to myself-"I wonder what time it is now in La Ventanilla", and I think of what everybody would be doing over there at that time, and I think of the lovely sunny beach...and miss it all! But I know the memories will always be with me-and sure there is always email to check in on everyone at La Ventanilla, and my host family in Oaxaca too!

One of the best parts of the travel award is that you get to live for an extended period of time within a community, not just as a tourist, but as a volunteer, working with the community. That way, you do feel that you are eventually becoming part of that community. I won't say that it is all entirely plain sailing. There are of course ups and downs. In my case, it wasn't great when I felt quite sick, or when I got those strange blisters on my legs! Also, there were times when I felt far away from home. Sometimes I wasn't able to get to the internet for a while, and I worried about everyone at home. But all in all, anything like that was for me very minor. I was surrounded by such a beautiful places and by such friendly people that it was easier to be distracted from what might have been worrying me. I definitely think that if you are willing to work hard, if you have an open mind, and if you make an effort to befriend people, you do begin to find that you are becoming part of the community. I suppose that is all part of the challenge.

My Spanish did improve also-not terrifically, but by the end, I could understand it quite well, even if I still found it a bit hatd to reply. It has inspired me to keep practising it, as it certainly would be great to return there and to be able to speak very good Spanish! Or indeed if I was to travel to other Spanish-speaking countries it would be wonderful to have. .

Well perhaps some day I will return there. I think I must be turning everyone's ears red with all my tales of Mexico! It will be really good in September at the EIL welcome back day, to meet with all the others who have returned from their travel awards. I can't wait to hear about their experiences. I think that is a really good aspect of the award-the fact that it is not really all over when you return-you can still stay in touch with EIL, promote the travel awards, and take part perhaps in the selection process of award winners the following year.

I would say to anyone reading this that if you are thinking of applying for the Mexico Travel Award (or any of the travel awards)-definitely do! Go for it! It really is the experience of a lifetime, which sounds I know like a cliche, but it's true. It is an amazing opportunity, and you might have a far greater chance than you think of winning an award. I certainly did not expect at all that I would win when I applied. I was so surprised when I got that phone-call, but I am so glad now that I did apply!

Well I will sign off now. Thanks very much for reading, I hope it has been some bit informative. Thanks so very much to EIL for allowing me to so something so amazing! And the very best of luck if you are applying for a travel award! :)

Adios!

Mary

<3 Germany/Deutschland 2011 <3 Pre-Departure Blog

Brid McConnell — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 21:49:25 +0000

Only 4 more days here in Ireland and then I'm off to Germany for 59 days, where I''ll be living with a German family and attending a German Secondary school (Gymnasium). I actually can't wait. I'm as excited as a small child on Christmas Eve waiting for Santa to come with presents! Wie die Zeit vergeht! Nur noch vier Tage bis Deutschland! Ich kann kaum erwarten und ich bin total aufgeregt. :D Ich werde insgesamt 59 Tage in Deutschland verbringen.

Hoffentlich werde ich viel spass haben, mein Deutschkenntnisse verbessern, die Deutsche Kultur kennenlernen und naturlich viele Freundinnen winnen. Ich freue mich sehr darauf! Es wird eine tolle Erfahrung sein :) Vielen Dank EIL <3

I'm really looking forward to meeting my host family, starting my new school, improving my German and experiencing the German culture and way of life. I've been in regular contact with my host sister and although we havn't yet met in person, she has welcomed me to her family, she is really friendly and we actually have a good bit in common :O :D

I'm a bit nervous about travelling on my own for the first time but that's normal and is just part of the experience. Sure, if I get lost or need help, all I have to do is ask! I was also quite worried about not being able to communicate properly or people not being able to understand what I'm trying to tell them. But now, after the pre-departure workshop, I realise that nobody is going to expect me to speak perfect German at first and that I'll learn from the mistakes I'll make. Afterall, the first time I spoke to my host sister on the phone, my word order was messed up in places but she still managed to understand what I was trying to say. Since that phone call, we have been in touch via facebook/email and my German grammar has improved immensely and I've even learned a couple of new phrases along the way :) I cant imagine how much I'll improve when I'll be constantly exposed to the language.

I'd like to thank EIL for giving me the opportunity to take part in the Secondary School Abroad Programme. It's a chance of a lifetime and a dream come true!! I really love the German language and would go as far as saying that learning German is one of my favourtite passtimes. Since I began to learn the language 3 years ago, I've wanted to take part in a programme like this as I believe that there is only so much you can learn from books and that living with a German family is the best way for me to improve my fluency in the language. I'll be sure to make the most of the 8 weeks! :D

Bis hoffentlich bald,

Brid x <3

My experience so far in northwest Argentina

Steph Elliott — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 00:30:36 +0000

Chilecito is a small city with a main plaza. This plaza is where I hang out, drink coffee and meet with my friends. The plaza is only a 5 minute walk from my host house so I am in walking distance from the banks, shops and post office. The landscape is extremely dry here, with the only water supply coming from the Famatina Mountains. I feel very lucky to have been granted the individual travel award to volunteer in this beautiful place. Winning this award has given me the opportunity to travel to the northwest of Argentina an area less travelled by tourists, which is something that really appealed to me about this particular award. The idea of travelling on my own and spending a summer in a strange place did scare me a little at the beginning but this feeling has long left my thoughts. I travelled to Argentina on my own however once I arrived in Chilecito I was surrounded by friends and my new family. I am honestly taken back by how warm and welcoming the people in Chilecito are. My host mum Betty is like a second mother to me now and I really enjoy listening to her stories about her family and Argentina itself. My house is always busy with people coming and going, Betty also owns a little dog that is adorable and waits for me at the door every day. I attend Spanish lessons every evening for 2 hours. Esther has been very patient with me as it is my first time learning a different language with someone who doesn’t speak English. She greets me at the door every day with a warm smile and a big hug, and after our class we sit and drink mate and of course we eat some dulce de leche a delicious delicacy of Argentina. We have become really good friends and I know I will keep in touch with her when I return to Ireland.

Initially when I arrived everything felt strange and different. I didn’t know the language very well or what people were saying to me. I was adapting to a new country, customs and people.However now I can honestly say it feels like home here in Chilecito and I will truly miss the kids from the project and all my friends and host family.

I love waking up every morning and having the amazing view of the Famatina mountains, and soaking up the air and sunshine as I cycle to the neighbouring village San Miguel. San Miguel is a small little village outside chilecito situated in the province of La Rioja, at the foothills of the Andes in the northwest of Argentina and it is where I go to the soup kitchen to work Monday to Friday. I work in a neighbourhood centre where residents gather for classes or celebrating festivities. The centre is basically one big room. In this room we store a sink, cooker, fridge, cupboard for all our cutlery and some tables and chairs for the kids. A lot of work has been completed on the comedor over the past few years and this September the comedor will celebrate its 3rd birthday. Before the renovations began the walls were cold, grey and sad, the floor bumpy. There was only one fridge and two gas stoves; the remaining equipment was limited and very old. However now the walls are painted and new flooring has been put down.

The comedor (soup kitchen) project is named after the Quirquincho which is a regional term for the armadillo living in the province of La Rioja. This animal has a hard protective shell to protect itself from danger. The two girls who founded the project Caddy and Anita believed that the comedor should follow the same ethos, and become a safe and secure place for the kids to come after school, enjoy a hot nutritious meal , receive help with their homework and most importantly be given the opportunity to be kids, play and have fun. It was founded in 2008. When it began, the kids were aged between 6-9 years. However now the kids have grown up and their needs and wants have changed .A game of Ring a Ring o' Roses isn’t going to cut it with 12 and 13 year olds. However this is where the real fun begins. Like with most projects it is necessary to be adaptable and use some creative thinking to help generate an environment that these kids will enjoy and come back to every day.

When I arrived back in July two volunteers from Germany were working in the project for almost a year, so my first 2 weeks involved a lot of learning and work shadowing. The daily routine of the comedor begins when the kids arrive after school. Every day we are flooded with hugs and kisses. The comedor is run by us (the volunteers) and we hold full responsibility for what the kids will eat on a daily basis, the educational activities and games the kids will take part in along with buying the necessary ingredients for their meals. It is a lot of responsibility and a little daunting at the beginning, however I enjoy the challenge and I have learnt so much in such little time. I am glad that I have two great volunteers working by my side. However in a few weeks time the guys are returning home and I will be given the keys to the comedor. I have two weeks working on my own in the comedor before the new volunteers from Germany arrive.

We work hard to prepare a nice meal that the kids will enjoy. They love to play with cards, and really enjoy drawing or painting. They always ask us to draw pictures for them to colour, so my drawing skills have really been put to the test. A room full of kids is packed with noise and banter and every evening I return home exhausted. It is important for us that the kids respect both each other and us, so on a daily basis we teach the kids to respect the comedor by cleaning up after their meal, and ensuring they take responsibility for their things. When our day is over we clean the comedor and pack all the toys and games away for the next day.

So that is my life at the comedor in a nut shell. I have really enjoyed my experience so far and I look forward to putting some of my ideas and hopes for the comedor into action. Speak soon again

Steph

A reflection of my 57 days in Mexico

ley — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 18:41:39 +0000

57 days ago I arrived in Mexico with no clue of what I was to expect. Some people in Ireland got me very nervous when I told them I was coming to Mexico. There were mixed reactions from my friends ranging from "omg!! a girl alone in Mexico City?? you better be careful its a very dangerous City", " Stay away from the Volkswagen taxis" blah blah Some were like " wow Mexico City is amazing you will have a great time" I liked that comment as it made me relax a little. Funny enough since the day I arrived in Mexico City I fell in love with the place, I thought it was amazing in its own little ways. I being originally from Africa there were allot of things I could relate too. Some of the food ingredients, being squashed in them very slow pesera's at times, the relaxed attitude to time, but most of all the people. Mexico as a country may have its good and bads, but I must confess the Mexicans were amazing, very kind, welcoming, non-dismissive, as many others it takes a while to get used to differences, and Mexico City although it was not as culturally diverse as many European countries/cities there was no sense of feeling different nor, the casual weird looks just because I was African/looked different/ and worst spoke Spanglish. They welcomed me with open arms and wanted to know more about me, Ireland, and Africa. Which was amazing, in my years of travelling I have never felt so at home in a foreign land as I felt in Mexico.

Often in life we go through experiences without an once of reflexion of what we have done, what we have accomplished, and most of all what have we have learned from our experiences. 57 days ago all these lovely people, whom I now call friends and cried my eyes out at the airport saying goodbye to, were complete strangers and unknown to me. Now they are friends and almost family amazing isn't it? I feel like I have known them my whole life and they lived across the street from me, all we have to do is say hello, and once that's said and done a stranger is no longer a stranger, and the rest is history. I have meet incredibly resilient, hardworking people and I have learned allot from them. In Mexico its either you work hard to support your family, beg or steal to survive as the government does not have a social welfare system. So everybody has to find a way to get food on their tables some how. With all the hardships, not many I came across looked stressed, angry, vexed, nor rude. They all seemed to accept the issues at hand and were busy going about their business trying to make ends meet or finding ways to make it better. Not a complaint/moan in sight. Which made me wonder, when the recession hit Ireland it was all we could hear, recession this recession that........ Getting into a taxi was always a debatable issue as to if one should encourage the recession conversation or the bad weather? all we seemed to do is moan about something, and forgetting to realise how good we have it all. For many Mexicans when I mentioned how bad the economic situation was/perceived to be in Ireland they looked at me like I had a third eye on my forehead. Then one person from out of the blue would say "we have been living in the recession for the last 30years", or another would say "I was born in recession, not sure what you are on about exactly" and there is me with a face as tiny as a piriton pill going all red if I was of Caucasian origin. But this is when I thank God for my lovely brown color that is well able to hide them embarrassing moments. People in Mexico have accepted their economic situation and they are looking for ways forward to up their existence and I think we could learn a thing or two from them. That was lesson number one for me, and I am sure I was not the only one in that class. As the days wore off in Mexico my life class increased in knowledge of both the cultural differences and how to embress ones being, to "Digital Puncture" to knowing how to design and make my own dress but most of all I came home with a language under my belt I must confess I am not very fluent in Spanish yet but being there has definitely opened another door of opportunities. Who would have thought that?? definitely not me, and neither did my very nervous friends back in Ireland. I came home a different individual, I did not think I was going to change the world but I definitely thought I was going to give. However, I ended up receiving more than what I thought I could or even able to receive.

Anyway I thought this might be a good time to share with you guys some of the things I have learned like Digital Puncture, This was passed on to me from my very lovely host mother who showed me the way of getting rid of differnt body pains by pressing certain parts of your body. Crazy!! right? thought the samething when I first heard of it. Any way, she taught me that your hand is like your body. The thumb is your head, your middle fingers are your legs, and small and index fingers are your arms. So when you have a headache press the side of your thumb nail with the applied pressure you will feel the pain in the levels of your headache. The pressure helps release the headache. Sounds crazy right?? try it, it works. Let me know if it works anyone, than i will tell you guys more. i guess she wont mind if i passed on the healing message.

Greetings from Barra De Potosi

ley — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 18:41:37 +0000

Just got back from Visiting Jamie in Barra de Potosi. The place is very nice but very small. Jamie works in a small lovely library for kids. The kids were such a charm they were always happy, playful and most all very respectful. On arrival they had us working up a sweat as they were preparing for a presentation and had to get allot done. I was glad to be there and to able to do the little I could. Laura was amazing coordinating all the work and Jamie, Cecilia Fernanda all the volunteers and I got to do our bit.

After the presentation young amazing little ladies gave an introduction to the art work they had done around the library walls which was very nice. Got to know of all that they have done till date and what they are currently doing. Quite an experience the work they do out there is amazing and all the happy kids was the proof of it all.

While in Barra we went hill climbing that too was an experience. However, it had to be short lived as I lost the will to go to the top. To be honest I could not stand the slashing my poor hands were getting from the very long vegetation. That was me done for the day. The view from the third quarter of the hill which was what I did manage to get to was amazing. It felt really nice to be away from the big City, away from the traffic and hell!!! tranquility. Unfortunately the 17hr dose of AC left my badly impaired respiratory system with a minor complication. But with a few days bed rest coupled with a dose of antibiotics and anti-allergies I should be as good as new soon.

Got a week to go and these days are precious spending them in bed fighting an infection is definitely not what I had in mind. However, got to follow doctors orders and try get better. Jamie will be joining me in D.F (Mexico City) on Tuesday morning can`t wait. So I better mend soon.

Coming to the end of our South African experience

AislingEgan — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 12:46:55 +0000

As our final week here in South Africa looms, special moments and memories have already formed. After spending time with the NGO, we then moved on the HIV and AIDS Clinic, where we are volunteering now. This is a day hospital with a special ARV unit (the medication taken when you are HIV+ and your CD4 count is less than 250). The unit is divided into sections where there are doctors, counsellors, nutritionists and personal advocates. All of them are there to help and support clients who have contracted HIV. The South African health system is quite good and the government pays all medication expenses. There’s also a grant available to those who have a low CD4 count and are not earning sufficient funds to supply them with the proper foods like fruit, vegetables and porridge in order to make them strong and healthy again. Being white in the area we’re placed in, it’s automatically assumed you’re a medical student in the hospital and walking through many will greet you as ‘hey doctor!’. I was a little overwhelmed by this at first but then I was given the opportunity to work quite a bit with the counsellors. Here we’d take a pill count and make sure the client was taking the medication properly along with asking question about contraception, family planning and T.B. symptoms.

The day I found most rewarding was on Fridays as this is where paediatricians came in and let the day be solely designated to children. What I found difficult here was watching how the mothers felt about having to explain to their child that they were HIV+ as most of the children didn’t know what their medication was for. A lot of the mothers were afraid their child would tell others about their status and the stigma that is still in many places attached to the virus. A doctor from outside the clinic explained to me in the bigger hospitals they provide support groups so they have teenage groups where they find comfort in knowing they’re not alone to a women’s group where they take on crafts like beading etc. We also sat in on the maternity ward one week where we even got to see a baby been born! In the maternity ward, it’s the law that the mother must be tested for HIV when she first comes to the clinic and then when she is 32 weeks pregnant. In one case, the mother first came back negative and at 32 weeks she was positive. You could see the shock and disbelief in her face and it was times like these that I felt both compassion and helplessness to the cause. My time at this clinic has thought me more than I could ever have imagined about HIV and AIDS and for that I am grateful.

For Women’s Day, we gathered with the women from the support groups in our original project to celebrate. The women wore African dress and there was some song, dance and even some massages. It was a true reflection of the strength in women and how they are progressing in a country that is still very male dominant. We’ve even been given the opportunity to visit a juvenile prison on Tuesday evenings where a local church group visit these boys and give them hope. It’s a favourite part of our week as the group have everyone out by the end of it, singing and dancing. It’s a time when you see these young boys flourishing and the amount of positive potential they have within them. It’s moments like these that you discover how volunteering is the most gratifying, testing and stimulating experience. There are days when you question your role and the level of contribution you are making but then some little peak of goodness shines through and cancels out those doubts. Volunteering here in South Africa has opened my eyes in so many ways. I now feel as though I am a basket of knowledge when it comes to HIV and AIDS and I honestly look forward to going home and sharing this information with people in Ireland. From a personal point of view, volunteering has given me a clear focus and direction and I feel as though I’ve learnt a lot about myself along the way as well the cause.

Indian Fun

AshB — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 17:06:29 +0000

Well I have two weeks left and I feel like Ive literally just settled in!! Haha I haven't taken to the food here but I have fallen in love with the people! I am living in a nice area in Dehra Dun where the people are so welcoming and so inviting. I need a diary to plan the amount of dinners and eventsI have been invited to!! Its amazing. Indians have a fantastic sense of hospitality. It's a very inviting and friendly culture. They really enjoy entertaining and cooking for people which is so nice as you don't get that so much when you are at home in Ireland! Their spirit of relationships is fantastic, they really preach and practise relationships that, give and take. Indian's are very resilient and many are used to surviving in a struggle, I think I have learnt so much from the children I work with. I have definitely become more greatful for the simpler things in life. A wise Indian women told me 'without gratitute we are doomed!' and that is something that will stay with me forever!

The children I work with are gradually learning more English which is amazing, I love hearing them speak even a little. I have been doing body beats with them which is great fun! It involves using the body in order to creat rhythm and beats. The children love it. We have also devised a new curriculum with the children which means the children are getting used to a good structured routine! I am really proud of the children as they have come a long way. Independance day is coming next week!! Which I cannot wait for, as the children are taking part in a show to celebrate the day! I am teaching the younger children a short dance! I can't wait to see them I will be so proud!!!

Cordoba city

Steph Elliott — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 22:01:40 +0000

My volunteer placement means that I work Monday to Friday and I have every weekend off. I am using my spare time to travel around this beautiful country and this weekend I travelled to Cordoba which is the second biggest city in Argentina. You can travel all around Argentina by bus, the buses travel throughout the night which is nice. I got the bus Friday night and arrived in Cordoba Saturday morning which was great because I didn’t waste a full day travelling.

I arrived early in the morning and the streets were still full of life. The bus station is quiet big in Cordoba and extremely busy. Lots of cafes were still open so I decided to have a traditional Argentine breakfast of coffee and medialunas. I arrived at Hostel Babilonia which I would strongly recommend. It is really clean and the people are so welcoming. I went to sleep for a while to recuperate after my long bus journey. I was meeting with friends in Cordoba so we decided to stroll around and visit some of the must see tourist attractions in Cordoba.

The city was founded in 1573. It has a combination of Jesuit ruins and great colonial architecture. If you are interested in Colonial architecture head straight for the plaza Martin which is what we did and I have to say it is well worth the visit. In the square you can visit Argentina’s oldest cathedral Nuestra Señora de la Asunción (the Córdoba Cathedral).It is honestly magnificent I also visited the The Universidad Nacional de Córdoba which is the oldest university in Argentina. It was founded in 1613 by the Jesuit Order.

That night on returning from all our sightseeing, some of the guys from Mexico that were staying in the hostel cooked tacos so we all had dinner together and talked long into the night. They were such nice interesting people, I am really glad I met with them. We had an early start the following morning as we booked a full day of horseback riding. We were collected at the hostel and brought just outside Cordoba. Our tour guide was so lovely and we met with a great group of people on our trek. When we arrived to the ranch, we drank mate and ate some cookies. Then we each were given our horse that we would be riding for the day. My horse was so lovely but sadly I cannot remember her name. We were taught how to ride a horse the Argentine way, one hand on the reins and the other one free to work with. We trekked along the foothills of the Sierras Chicas, through rivers and even galloped along this fantastic little track. When we returned we were greeted with the fantastic smell of an asado. We ate lunch together, and then we discovered a zip wire or flying fox in the grounds of the ranch, a lot of fun!!!

We returned to the hostel late in the evening with very sore legs and tired hands. However there is no rest for the wicked and the following day we went for a walking trek in parque nacional Quebrada del condorito. I was lucky enough to see the very famous condor which is the world’s largest flying bird of prey. This park is also home to mammals like the puma and red fox and red-and-black-headed turkey vultures. Thankfully I didn’t see a puma but I was lucky enough to see a vulture which is a truly fantastic creature.

After our trek we returned to the hostel for a bags and went to catch the night bus to Chilecito.I have to say I missed Chilecito, I was really looking forward to see Betty and all the kids in the Comedor. So that’s all for another while... Chat soon again

Steph xx

57 Days in Mexico - Final count down

ley — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 04:34:22 +0000

Another lovely sun shining day in Mexico City, The weather is to die for, not too hot neither is it too cold. It rains in the evenings mostly which is lovely as it reduces the pollution in the air and the water cleans the streets. So people wake up to lovely clean streets kinda nice, but not all streets are like that though. My stay in Mexico City has been amazing and I want to take this opportunity to thank EIL for giving me this amazing opportunity to expand and share my knowledge. My time here is almost over, part of me is excited to go home but the other is sad and is not looking forward to saying good bye just yet.

I am volunteering with a Human Rights Organisation in Mexico City, The organisation deals with immigrants and migrants, refugees and asylum seekers here in Mexico, Previously, many of the arrivals used to be from Central America but currently there has been a flock of people from all over the place, like Africa, Haiti, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, China etc. This is a new experience for the country as Mexico has for long been a emigrant population for many the main destination has been the US and Canada. So the laws on Refugees and Immigrants are relatively new or non-existent. When the government receives certain individuals they are either sent to detention centres or some to the organisation I volunteer with. So you can imagine how it works, myself I am working on Integration and trying to sort of help frame an Integration policy. Its been an amazing experience as I have done allot of work on Immigrants, migrants and Refugees issues, So this is an amazing opportunity for me to share ideas and learn new ones in the process. After the Integration paper I might be moving on to a funding project, the organisation is trying to start some sort of a Micro Finance/Grant giving project for their clients to help by the government or on self referral they are given only three month support that is Rent, and other basic needs. When the three months elapse they are expected to have learned Spanish, or have enough to go by anyway, then fend for themselves. Mexico does not have a social welfare system like we do in Ireland so struggle for survival here is not without its difficulties. The projects are amazing and most of all the amount of work the organisation does without/with limited government funding, is incredible. Because my work here has been mainly research work I have had very little engagement with the clients or users of the organisation, hence I can not dwell too much on the current issues. I take Spanish classes with their clients in the mornings which is a bonus and boosted my communication skills and confidence to a certain degree. From the Spanish class I go to work till 5:30pm then try rush home to my host family before the rush hour starts, as it might take even two hours to get home during that time. I haven´t seen as much as I would like to but this is an experience in its self.

In the evenings on my way home I go through an area called La Condesa which is like the D4 version of Mexico City. I must say there are other South Side like places here which are amazing and even better. At Parke Mexico proud owners of pure breed dogs walk their prise possession, Dogs are as I can see the most popular pets here. Some are dressed in all sorts and you can definitely see the love. (If only they picked after their dogs though!!!) I would not mind seeing some love for the environment too. On the other side of the park builders going about their business with cans of cold beers. Its a lovely time to walk past as you see lots incredible and funny things as you walk past. Most parts of the City are kept very clean which is quite impressive. I have tried to squeeze my interactions with other things than the computer on my tiny desk at the office on weekends.

The Daughters of my host mother are amazing and so is she. They have been kind enough to show me around. We just got back from Taxco (The land of Silver as I like to call it) the views out there were to die for. The town is South of the big City about three hours from Mexico City, on my way there I got abit home sick as the green vegetation reminded me so much of Ireland but without the sheep's on the farms. Taxco is a City of the silver mines and its build on mountains so the roads are quite narrow and if you are not going up hill you are going down hill. I love spending time with my host mothers daughter Betty and her best friend Angel de Jesus (isn't that a cool name or what?). They have made my stay here a delight. The duo are amazing, they are always happy and smiling. So after a week of sitting in front of a computer coupled with crazy traffic a dose of Betty and Angel is just what I need. These guys have showed me the fun side of the City which has given me yet another introduction to the different part of this Linda Ciudad. There is so much to see and with amazing company who would want to go home??. Definitely not looking forward to saying goodbye as I am only just getting to know the City, the people and finally being able to construct a sentence en Español without my friends dieing of laughter then gently correcting me is something to be proud of. At first I used to feel uncomfortable but when some of the things got translated back to me I laughed too. At one time instead of telling this gentleman buenas dias I said "Bueno usted" I think it means good you. and the poor guy blushed as my friends died of laughter. Very embarrassing

I should apologise for not having pictures yet my memory card does not seem to be compatible with the computers I have access to but will try harder.

This weekend we are going to see Jamie, I am so excited as he has been an amazing friend and very supportive. For a person who was so nervous getting here he has been a rock. We have supported each other through homesick, culture shocks and constantly reminded ourselves of how lucky we were to be here. Being in the same country with someone you know was a real bonus as I can not imagine how it would have been without him. Thanks Jamie for the support.

I could write a book, but I guess I have to stop somewhere. Or I will soon not make any sense as I am trying to squeeze everything in one account.

My experience in a HIV and AIDS clinic

Danielle-RP — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 08:27:23 +0000

Today felt like an “Irish Day” here in South Africa as the sky clouded over with grey mist and heavy rainfall. However, this rainfall was a blessing for the South Africans as it allowed the reservoirs and lakes to fill with fresh water to prepare for the annual drought of the Summer to follow. People seemed quite happy with the change in the weather pattern from the last month of blistering sun and dry earth to a more damp, wet and cold atmosphere. So, it was all raincoats, hats and scarves for Aisling and myself as we plodded our way through the puddle filled streets of Mitchels Plain, a small town on the outskirts of Cape Town. We have changed placements and for the last two weeks Aisling and I have been working in a HIV and AIDS clinic in a public hospital. The hospital lies in the centre of the town of Mitchels Plain and has a constant flow of patients, so the staff are always kept extremely busy. Due to the fact that it is a public hospital, the services are free to patients. One of the biggest squatter townships in South Africa, Kayalicha, is situated only a couple of kilometres from the hospital so the majority of the patients who attend the hospital are from this township, but many are from Mitchels Plain also. The HIV and AIDS clinic is funded and staffed by the NGO YMCA, a community development organisation. The clinic itself focuses on three area’s – HIV testing, counselling and medical treatment with the prescription of ARV’s (Anti Retro Virals – the prescription drugs which suppress HIV for a limited time depending on the patients health). The clinic caters for both adults and children. According to the doctors the majority of adult patients in the clinic are female rather than male as it is thought that the females are more willing to get tested and feel more comfortable to discuss their status. The number of children who attend the clinic are equally male and female. There are three testing rooms in the hospital, two in the clinic and one in the maternity ward. The rooms in the clinic are open to anyone who wishes to know their status, while the testing room in the maternity ward are for pregnant woman only who must take a HIV test before they receive their initial pregnancy medical check up from the maternity ward. Many of these woman have no idea they are HIV positive and would have never gone for the test had it not been the regulations of the ward to test all pregnant women who want to receive free maternity care. The clinic feels that this rule is one of the only ways many pregnant women will get tested for HIV and become aware of the fact that they must take the appropriate PMTCT (prevent mother to child transmission) treatment in order to stop HIV being passed on from mother to child during pregnancy if they test positive for the virus. The other two testing rooms in the hospital are open to anyone who wishes to get tested. There are many times when the counsellors who carry out the HIV testing would roam the corridors of the hospital asking random patients if they would like to avail of a free 10 minute HIV test. Some patients take advantage of the free test but there are still a lot of people who refuse as they feel the reality of knowing one’s status is a fearful thing. TB is rampant in the hospital as the majority of the patients come from extremely disadvantaged backgrounds where hygiene is very poor. This is incredibly dangerous for the HIV patients as the risk of contracting TB if one is HIV positive is very high. Therefore, all the staff and patients are required to wear a mask at all times to avoid passing on TB to others if infected and for those who aren’t they must wear the mask to avoid contracting it. In most cases it is TB that causes death to HIV patients. There is free treatment for TB in the hospital but at times the illness is so far gone without treatment there is little the doctors can do to cure it. It is since I have been working in the clinic that I have come to realise just how prevalent HIV is in South Africa. The Clinics waiting rooms and corridors are over crowded everyday as the patients wait from as early as 5am to receive their ARV medication and emotional support from the counsellors. The shocking thing is that this is just one clinic in one town. According to the national statistics, one in seven people live with HIV in South Africa. However, these are just the statistics based on those who get tested, if one were to include those who do not get tested and live with HIV unknowingly, the number would be more like one in four. The main way the virus is contracted with the patients in the clinic is through unprotected sexual intercourse. However, there are many patients who contract HIV with the sharing of needles through substance abuse, blood to blood contact through open wounds and many females become infected from being the victims of rape. Most of the children all contracted the virus from their mother during pregnancy or breastfeeding. Therefore, there are many instances where there is more than one family member living with the virus in one house as both parent and child are infected. While working in the clinic I have met many mothers who find the aspect of telling their child that they are HIV positive just as tragic as discovering their child’s status for the first time. One mother burst into tears today as she described that she had managed to distract her daughter from finding out she was HIV positive for as long as she could, but now that the child is ten years old, she has come to the age where she is beginning to question why she must take pills everyday and why she must visit the clinic with her mother every month. The mother explained to me that she was distraught when she found out her daughter was HIV positive, it took her a long time to come to terms with it. Now, she must go through the whole process again, as she this time it is the daughter who will go through the trauma of the discovery of her illness. Not only must she inform her daughter of the horrific implications of living with HIV, she must also explain to her how she contracted it, which can often cause rifts between parent and daughter as the child may blame them for her illness. She expressed the fear of letting others know of her daughter’s status as the stigma attached to HIV is awful and many fear being rejected by family and friends. The mother stated that she must emphasis to her daughter the importance of keeping her illness a secret, which is another strain for the daughter. This mothers pain and worries mirror many of the other parents hardship of raising a child who is HIV positive in South Africa.

Barra de Potosi: Aventura número dos

Jamie Kelly — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 19:19:02 +0000

Firstly I just want to apologise I haven´t been able to blog as much as I like which means I have to try cram everything into one blog, i´ve been trying to keep up with the blogs, loved reading Aisling the other travel award winners blogs, I am not able to blog so often as I have limited internet access but I will try get everything more or less that I have done so far,with great difficulty I am sure :P

Leaving Oaxaca was a rollercoaster ride in itself, I made so many lovely friends there, lots of different people with different stories and backgrounds, I have kept in contact with them so far and know I will for a long time, most of them I met were in my class in the Spanish school. It is amazing, lovely friendly teachers and a great atmosphere, cant say enough good things about there. It was lovely to have Leylah, another travel award winner with me too for them two weeks, we were a great support for each other and have got really close since we have been here in Mexico emailing when we can. My family were also amazing in Oaxaca and I found it really hard to leave them and the friends that I had made. I went from Oaxaca to Mexico city with Leylah where we departed, I went to the hostel and Leylah went to her host family in Mexico city. I was really glad to see Fernanda and David, two friends I had made in Mexico city through the programme, we went out for dinner with Fernanda family. It was nice to socialise before I set off for Barra de Potosi, I had so many mixed emotions about Barra, I was sad to leave Oaxaca, scared, but excited too.

The next morning Cecilia met me and came with me to the bus station where I got the bus from Mexico city to Zihuatenejo, 9 hours, it was really comfortable, surprisingly as I thought 9 hours on a bus was going to kill me but it was fine. I dont think I will ever forget getting off the bus in Zihuatenejo as the first thing I can remember is the heat literally hitting me in the face, I was amazed. Ive since got used to it but at the beginning it was tough. I was met at the bu station by Maggie one of the German volunteers who had been there nearly a year, also Anna luisa and Arturo came, they are two biologists studying the animals of Barra. They brought me to Casa del Encanta where I am living, Doña is an American woman and also the coordinator of the library project I am working with in Barra although when I arrived she wasnt back from the US yet, she arrived two days later. At first being totally honest I was think I was slightly in shock, coming from a city like Dublin and arriving from Oaxaca and Mexico City Barra was totally the opposite, it was small with very few people and a couple of shops, and an amazing beach. I was really in shock I think for the first day or two until I started to settle in a bit, my spanish had really come on before then but because there is a slightly different accent on the coast and they speak quicker I had to adjust to that too but all in good time. I remember the first day I came out of the bathroom and there was a crab on my net, I thought it was an alacran or scorpion in English and told Maggie and the others, she informed me they were dangerous and of course that made me be more nervous, being someone that is not a big animal person was so hard living in Barra at first, there are lots of dogs everywhere and often crabs, lizards and the occasional snake or manta rays in the water, the first week we also saw a small shark so that was and still takes some getting used to but I have got used to it slightly now. If it werent for Maggie and everone at first I think I would have went crazy.

The first week it was just Maggie and I as the other volunteer sophie was on vacation with her sister, we were in the library every day with the children, I got to meet them all, they are all amazing and full of energy and character, I have really got to know them now , at first it was difficult because although I have experience working with children its harder in Spanish. We done different activities including art, games, reading, competitions and I thought some english classes with Maggie, the children are on their summer holidays so the schedule is slightly more relaxed now. We also had a fiesta for Mia, one of the children, she was from America and had been in Barra for a month with her grandparents, she had attended the library for the month she had been there, the kids had a great time and everyone waved her goodbye.On the weekend we went to Zihuatenejo to look around, I enjoyed it, the Pasajero was an experience at first but now feels similiar to a Dublin bus. We come here to use the internet mostly which is why I havent been able to blog as often as I would like. After the weekend Sophie arrived with her sister from vacation, as Maggie had told me she was lovely and always so helpful, I also made really good friends with her sister, they have since left, this week for Germany, I was really sad to see them go as I had became really close but we will keep in touch. It was hard for them to say goodbye to everyone after a year but I am glad I could be part of their adventure. Last week we took the children on an excursion to the local Refugio it was really good, they all really enjoyed it, so many animals I had never saw, they also received a workshop on the animals in Barra. The other days in the library we had numerous different activites including preparing for another fiesta for Maggie and Sophies departure, it was a great event, we had cake and treats for the chilren and games , everyone had lots of fun. I dont think fiestas happen that often in the Library as it is run solely on donations by people , Mias party was donated by her grandparents.

Its frustrating trying to put everyhing into one blog as I have really done so much , I know when I press upload there is going to be things I forgot. Barra itself is amazing, the place is like a paradise and we go to the beach to swim or the lagoon almost every day , if we have time. I am on my own now for a few days until the two new German volunteers arrive on Tuesday, that is really exciting to meet more people, it is a boy and a girl, the first time the ibrary has had a boy for a year. The people in Barra are all so friendly and helpful, they have been great with me so far. The library itself is an amazing project, it is the centre of the community and so many children benefit from it, unfortunetly with the current economic climate the donations have slowed down a bit but they still plough on working with what they can, I am glad to be a part of it , helping as much as I can. The children are always so happy. I have come across some cultural differences which was inevitable but at first they are hard to distinguish, that has been a challenge at times.

Juani and her family are the host family in Barra, although I dont live with them I usually eat with them and have become really good friends with all the family, last week we went on a boat to a different beach to snorkel. la manzanilla, it was amazing, the water was turquoise and the sand white, it was beautiful, so hard to explain but it was breathtaking. Juani and her family are amzing, they are a real credit to the library programme and always patient with my Spanish. I am looking forward to the new volunteers coming , I know they will love Juani and her family Danya,Jorge,Ivan and Cocky, Juanis husband.

The library is closed for this week as we are concentrating on doing the gardening and cleaning inside, I never chopped down a tree with machete until I came here, yesterday we also painted sealer onto the amazing murel which maggie painted with the children as a project about the birds in La Barra, it is truly something. We are also repainting the windows inside the library at the moment. I am excited to see the new volunteers plans for the library and the projects that might happen. That is one thing that upsets me about being here for a short time, it is really hard to make a mark as such or have a big impact with the children, I am here in between volunteers and the outside work of the library so its tough to really try make a difference but I suppose just being here I am making a difference with lots of things.

I got some great news yesterday, Leylah, Cecilia and Fernanda are coming to visit next weekend just after the new volunteers arrive for a couple of days. I am really excited about them coming. This will be a busy week for us in the library preparing everything for the new arrivals, we plan to open before the new guys get here and have the children make them welcome notes, they also done this for me, it said bienvenidos Jamie, I was really touched so I know the new guys will love it too.

I have gone on and on and still have so much to talk about, I have honestly done so much and experience so much. I have met so many brilliant people. I never imagined all them months ago when I applied for the travel award that I would be sitting here writing this but I am extremely greatful to EIL for this opportunity and for seeing something in me to send me to this wonderful place and project here in Mexico.

So for now thats me but I will blog much sooner this time so I can put everything I left out of this one and all the new adventures I have had.

Hasta Luego

Jamie

From Touchdown to Today! Time is just flying on an amazing experience!!

Ceire — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 08:47:13 +0000

Apologies for my delay in this blog! It's all thanks to a dibble of malaria and 5 million lost blogs in one dodgy internet cafe!!

Landing in Lagos came as a thud of reality! All the preparation, the training days, the last minute scurring for the things you need (because you need 2 months supply of shampoo, Nigeria would never have that!), the goodbyes and that god forsaking packing of the 100 litre travel bag you invested in that certainly doesn’t hold 10 litres, let alone 100, is over and done with!! From getting the fantastic news that I was being given the chance to go on the EIL GAP 2011 HIV/AIDS Awareness Programme to Africa in May, up to that departure date of July 5th had all been a crazy blur and a furry of activity that I suppose I never thought would end! But it had, and here we were, slap bang in the middle of Lagos International Airport!! Bags, tired heads and pasty skin! No amount of San Tropez could disguise us now!!

Lagos at night would make Dublin’s M50 on a Friday evening look like paradise! The beeping of horns, the wafting smell of petrol and the literal bumper to bumper traffic greeted us at the arrivals door! It wasn’t difficult for our local coordinator to locate us among the crowd! All he had to was follow the looks, the whispers and the exaggerated Irish accents trying to say hello! As Ademola bundled us into the car there was certainly no going back now, we had landed! Excitement, nerves and the buzzing mosquitoes outside the window filled our heads for the night!

The following morning started our journey to Ibadan where we would stay till Sunday, giving the jet lag and the culture shock time to subside! The two hour drive to Ibadan gave me my first taste of African culture and way of life. The roadside markets, the children selling produce to passing cars, the women cooking the things that I would probably eat, try, like and pass on over the next 2 months. The heat and the humidity would give any ghd a run on its guarantee and ‘Sure’ deodorant most certainly lets you down in 30 degrees of heat! Ibadan greeted us like Lagos had, only this time we could see our surroundings!! The only way I can describe the traffic and driving in Nigeria is like an ultimate game of bumper cars at the funfair!! That feeling you get when you are in the bumper car with your brother and out of the corner of your eye you can see your Dad, hovering up the side, you close your eyes and tense, knowing what’s probably on the way! Put that scenario into reality and you have your guide to ‘Driving in Nigeria’.

Having read about the driving and bad road conditions in Nigeria before I left I thought I had myself prepared for the mayhem, but this was crazy! Indicators are only an extra commodity and mirrors only exist if the car carries its own supply of masking tape!! The NCT would clean up over here and the Garda Traffic Core have a field day! But for me it all added to the experience, the excitement and the new culture. But as we drove into Ibadan, home didn’t seem so far away anymore as to my left the Tipperary Jersey in its blue and gold beamed out at me! It made my day to know that even in Nigeria the Premier County was represented!

Our week in Ibadan involved orientation which gave us the chance to settle in, get to know their way of life, learn the currency and pick up some of the Yoruba language. It gave us a chance to learn about their culture, their political upheaval and corruption, both in the past and presently and the huge part which religion plays in their daily lives. Ibadan allowed us to sneak in some sight seeing of the Bower Tower, a view of the city and a look into the King’s Palace. We got the opportunity to visit a Mosque and for me to learn about different religions and peoples beliefs and ways of life which I found so intriguing. I got to experience my first African mass and it would make the most uptight Irish individual want to bust a move or two! The colours’ and the outfits, song and dance were amazing! Myself and Aine found a new friend in Mr. PI the Rat and laughed underneath the mosquito nets. I conquered my first ‘amhala’, and the spices had me ensuring that I didn’t return for seconds! Ibadan gave us time to adjust which was great. What I took most from my first few steps in Nigeria was the friendliness and the warmth of the people. The children ran to shake your hand or just touch your skin, many had never seen a white person before or an ‘Oyinbo’ as we are more often referred to! No matter the difficulties and problems that the communities and people were facing they still had a smile on their face for you, they still wanted to dance, sing and shake your hand and welcome you to their home. The pride in their culture and their want to share it and have you experience it was clear to be seen and felt. If Ireland could only adopt a fraction of this positive attitude, belief and warmth then we all might realise that we don’t have it anything as bad as we think we do.

Sunday morning, Munster Final day at home and time to head for Ilesha to begin with my new project! We were excited and apprehensive at the same time! Bags packed and the Tipperary jersey on, we hit the lunancy stream which Nigeria call ‘roads’. Arriving in Ilesha gave a some what sense of calm compared to Ibadan and by feeling this we knew we were settling into Nigerian culture. We met our host families and started to settle in to our environment for the next 7 weeks! My pastor host dad meant no escaping service every Sunday and my host mum a doctor meant no illness was a worry!! And their 3 little boys would keep me entertained and me to them with the bowling set I brought! I looked forward to getting to know them and spend the next 7 weeks soaking up every aspect of their life and culture.

Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, myself and Aine didn’t get to experience the new project together. Aine you are most certainly one of the most intelligent and inspiring people I have met and above everything it was a pleasure to get to know you over the time we had in Nigeria together! An individual that had so much to offer to this programme but whether it was to be here or in Dublin you will still give all you have. You took the Chinese Hamsters in your stride and for that I am ever so thankful! By the way Aine I located those Plantain Chips and because of you KLM better have two plane seats for me at the end of Aug! xxx

So it’s the beginning of week 5 already and the time in Ilesha is flying! The old saying certainly rings true at a time like this… ‘Time flies when your enjoying your experience and do a Cheryl Cole on it with a lash of malaria!!’ The work the organization is fantastic as well as that of their community partners which I have got to experience as my host family are the founders. The project I volunteer with is a non governmental organization founded in 1994. Their goal and vision is to provide holistic care and support for people living with HIV/AIDS and their families including vulnerable and orphaned children, and also to educate the community at large on the broader issues of HIV/AIDS and reproductive health in Nigeria. The organization also encorporates education and support on TB and malaria issues so prevalent to Nigeria and often detrimental to the life of a HIV client if contracted. It has 20 members of staff, 28 community care workers and 132 unpaid volunteers within various communities. They are an organization making a huge impact, striving for change and going from strength to strength. The executive director, Mrs Fakande is an amazing lady, an inspiration with the work she has done, is planning to do and in the huge level of respect and esteem in which she is held in by everyone. The staff here have been nothing more than amazing and taken me under their wing to allow me experience all I can and educate me on the issues gripping their nation.

To try and sum up everything I have so far experienced and witnessed would be impossible but one can only try. From speaking with people living with HIV, HIV testing and counseling, home visits of orphaned and vulnerable children (OVC), accompanying people to collect their drugs in Ibadan to eating goat, being the only white donkey trying to dance at a funeral and trying palm wine. I have had my challenges, my moments of debate and the times when I want to bang my head against a wall in frustration. I have seen the painful family and children situations and the ones where there is nothing I can do. I have cried and bitten my tongue in anger. It has just about killed me as a nurse to see hospitals on strike, lack of care, treatment and no medication. But these are the times then the training of EIL back in Cork rings true…… the need for adaptability. It may have seemed an understood characteristic to have when applying for such a programme but no one can every truly know how adaptable they are until it is put to the test.

I have taken it in my stride and adapted to many situations like no water, no electricity and the non existence of toilet paper!! There are other things that are much more difficult to even consider adapting too but these are often things in government and culture that the means of change are beyond my control. Unless they want to make me governor that is!!

But these experiences and challenges are what make us strive for better and aim to do all we can to help those that are less fortunate and I am most certainly a better person for experiencing them. My eyes have been opened to many things and difficult as they are, they have me made me appreciate what I have been blessed with and thankful for the ability to come and make a change, no matter how big or small it may be.

The stigma of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria has been evident since I came. Only recently when I travelled to Ibadan with the clients to collect their ART, I spoke to a lady who had come from Abuja, nearly 6 hours away, to Ilesha to get another 2 hour journey to collect her medication in Ibadan, just so her family and neighbours would not know her status. Police men who stop the bus wondering where we are going or what work we are doing, quickly wave us on when the words HIV/AIDS are mentioned. Stigma is the huge milestone that every nation will need to cross before HIV/AIDS can be adequately dealt with, treated and its prevalence minimized.

Being part of the OVC assessment programme was great to see their work but difficult on the heart strings. While people aim to do their best and the organization arrange support, there are still so many families not reached or worse yet refusing the help offered. Children are subject to difficult situations and hard work. Remember the time when you were 10 years old, what were we doing? On summer holidays probably, playing with our friends, going on trips, buying our new school books for Sept. Now be a 10 year old in Nigeria. Your lucky if you even go to school, your early mornings are on the farm trying to get enough produce to sell that day, just to make sure that you and your family can eat that night. The days are spent walking the streets trying to sell and make what you can and it all happens again the following morning. Life is one tough continuous circle for the majority of children in Nigeria. The divide between poverty and wealth is easy to see, and something which the government unfortunately brush under the carpet. Being at a party celebration and to look to your side and see about 10 children waiting to see what you would leave on your plate that they could fill their empty bellies with was heartbreaking, and often my rice and chicken was purposely not eaten, knowing that I could most certainly do without the extra calories, but for them they could not.

Witnessing a programme with the physically challenged was one of the hardest aspects so far for me. To see individuals without wheelchair’s, with simple minor deformities that surgery could easily correct and no choice only to sit and beg was heartbreaking. Physically or mentally challenged individuals in Nigeria are not automatically entitled to any benefits. No rehab, no physio, no assistance. For them it’s their own hard luck they were born this way and they need to survive how best they can. While NGO’S are working towards better care and opportunities for this group, there is still so much that can be done.

At present at the project, my university days of my final year project are coming back to haunt me for data collection and the combined efforts of the HIV department to submit a proposal to Sidaction to ensure funding for the project for the next 3 years for different programmes and projects. The dreaded days of objectives and methodology have come back to haunt me! Is great to be a part of the project to ensure that their great work can continue!

Being able to put some of my own ideas into play has been great and so many ideas and things I would love to do has me frustrated to pick the one that’s most achievable and beneficial. Being given the chance and the invite to attend Ilesha university to take part in a youth environmental campaign was great to witness the work in different areas by other groups. But I had one alterative motive in mind….. going on the project gave me access to the group head and a chance to arrange a sensitization programme on HIV/AIDS for university students! Bingo! And am now in the process of organizing same!

This week so far has allowed me to see the HIV/AIDS setup within Nigeria prison outreach and be involved in education of the sex workers within brothels. While my dream would be to empower them outside of this trade altogether, some refuse to leave, so empowering them to protect themselves and be aware of HIV at least leaves me with some satisfaction. I hope that I can leave my mark in Nigeria in some way and leave the project knowing that I have done my best, shared new ideas, worked hard, developed new projects and even made an impact in the lives of people.

Culturally the African food will ensure that the airline charges me for excess weight, and that certainly won’t be my bags! There isn’t anything I haven’t tried and as my motto goes, ‘try it once, if you don’t like it then don’t try it a second time!’ I have gotten to travel to Niger state, 12 hours journey on a bus bounding into potholes and stopping to change the burst tyre. Me and Cherly Cole now have something in common….. Malaria! Although I didn’t have Derek waiting for me at the end of it!! Walking down the street at any time, day or night, you feel like some sort of a celebrity with people calling ‘Oynibo’, waving and coming to shake your hand! Britney Spears eat your heart out!! Myself, a motorbike and a chicken have had a strange encounter! My flat Tipp/mix Cork accent has enlightened Nigerian Radio and my mug slapped across Nigeria’s Channel 5! Being the only white person within a good 500 mile radius makes attention unavoidable, aint no blending in here! I don’t know if the sun is making me blacker or if one told me I look like Eminem before, but being asked to be in two different Nigerian hip hop videos makes one question things!

While some things are hard and aspects frustrating, the experience for me so far has been amazing. I am thoroughly enjoying every aspect of life, culture and the work of the organization. It is certainly an experience of a lifetime and can only lead to better things and positive outcomes for the future. The knowledge and opportunities I have received have enlightened me in so many aspects that I will be forever grateful.

However, should I not return the end of August I urge everyone to keep an eye on MTV!!! Or else on the news, Nigeria International Bank was robbed today, bombing and all!! Crazy stuff but right up my alley!! This kinda stuff couldn’t be made up!!!

Ciara! xx

A very exciting week in La Ventanilla!

Mary Mc Donnell — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 18:59:10 +0000

Hola! Well it really has been a very exciting week! I´ve had to make out a list of all the things I want to mention in this blog so that I don´t forget anything! Well I will begin with the turtle liberation. Since we arrived in La Ventanilla, I had been waiting every day to hear if any baby turtles had been born.

Then, if you can believe this, the day that there were turtles born, I actually missed it! I went in to eat supper at 7, and Mark said "sorry"-he¨had just been walking on the beach, and they had released a group of them! Well, I was so disappointed I have to say! But I just hopd I would get to see another liberation, and sure enough, the very next day, there were more! So what happens at the liberations is that tourists and volunteers form a line on the beach, down near the shore. Then everybody is handed a little baby turtle! Now, as I said, I had been really looking forward to that moment, but when it actually happened, it was even more amazing than I had expected, to actually hold a tiny little turtle, and be the one to release him/her into the sea for the first time! So everyone let theirs go at about the same time, and we all cheered them on as they slowly got nearr and nearer the big ocean. The waves are very strong at La Ventanilla, and a couple of times, they were swept into the sea, and then right back out again, but eventually they all made it in safely! I see how important it is that the baby turtles are released under supervision, as there are many big vultures waiting around the beach always, ready to swoop down.

Well,as soon as the volunteers from France left, there were new volunteers to keep us company! This group is from England. They are a group of students who have just left school, and they are really friendly and fun. They have sort of adopted us as part of their group almost, including us in everything. One of the group´s leaders, Victoria, is actually from Northern Ireland! We have been working with them on different tasks all week. We cleaned the beach -Mark managed to fall into the wheelbarrow while doing this, we helped build a path of rocks over an area of the road that floods a lot, we helped to reinforce with wet sand the area where the turtle eggs are kept, and we also lifted some heavy logs, oh and we also transported the little baby crocodiles over to the island! The crocodile transportation was quite exciting, especially when one escaped! He didn´t get very far though thankfully! One evening, Llalo who works at La Ventanilla brought us all to search for coconuts (not very difficult as there are trees everywhere!). He climbed the tree with great skill! Mark is intent on learning how to do it before he leaves, he says! Then, we were shown how to cut the coconuts open with a machete. Inside is the coconut milk! It tastes sweet, and a little bit fizzy. It doesn´t really taste like the coconut milk from tins that you get at home. Then once you have drank all of that, you can cut it again, and scrape out the coconut flesh. That was really delicious and creamy.

We went the other day with the other volunteers on a boat trip where we searched for dolphins and turtles. We saw plenty of dolphins. It´s very hard to get a photo of one, though, because you don´t know where the next one will come from, and they are only out of the water for a couple of seconds. We were able to get into the sea and swim around with our life jackets on. That was great, especially as you could snorkel, and see the fish below you. The water is so lovely and warm even so far out in the sea!

I may have mentioned before that as well as it usually being incredibly hot and sunny here, there also are frequent thunderstorms. Mostly they happen at night, but this week has been a fantastic one for storms. There was one last weekend where the thunder was so loud, you could feel the cabana vibrating! I did a sound recording of it to bring home. I don´t think I will ever feel scared of thunder in Ireland again after hearing that storm. Then, the other evening, it began to rain. We were sitting on the porch of the cabana with the other volunteers, when suddenly, an actual bolt of lightening struck literally 3 metres away from us! It is hard to describ, but I suppose it was a bit like a firework-such bright white light near the ground. I jumped! It was lucky nobody had been running out to their tent!

There was another storm last night, but this time it was far away, but right over the sea, so that we could sit on the beach and watch the show! It was really beautiful. There was almost non-stop lightening, but you couldn´t hear the thunder. There were clouds, so somtimes you could just see flashes of light, but then the odd time, you could see a clear bolt of lightening, reflecting on the sea! Just to make the experience really perfect, there were also many shooting stars in the clear starry sky, just above the lightening!

Since I last wrote, I have been on two more turtle walks, this time actually at La Ventanilla. On the first walk, we didn´t come across anything, but the next night, we certainly did. It was very exciting altogether. Llalo was leading the tour with his daughter Noami, and myself and Victoria went along too.We had walked as far as the wreck of a plane that crashed on the beach six years ago-this is where we usually turn back. We took a break just beyond there for about twenty minutes. Then suddenly, me and Victoria saw a dark figure walking on the beach in front of us. They didn´t have a torch or anything, so it was kind of scary! But we told Llalo, and when he saw him, he said it was a poacher. He told us that the poachers are not violent, it is just a case that whoever gets to a nest of turtle eggs first, it is thirs. This is why it is so important for the staff at La Ventanilla to do two turtle walks almost every night-to make sure thy get there first! Well, we got up then, and started walking back, but if you can believe this, a turtle had just come onto the beach! The poacher had been frightened when he saw us-(he must have been-four silent figures staring at him in the dark!), so he had gone another way, so because of that, we got to the turtle first, luckily. It really was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen, to see the turtle digging up the sand, making space for the eggs. Llalo made another hole so that we could reach in and get the eggs as they were being laid. It is important to work quickly to get the eggs out before she starts covering them up with sand. We got 91 out. They are so warm when you lift them out. They look just like ping-pong balls, but they are quite soft, but not as fragile as you would think.

She was a very fast turtle. We had collected the eggs, and were waiting for her to finish covering the hole with sand, but when we looked around again, she was gon-and there she was just heading into the sea!! The track she made coming in and out of the sea is a very thick dark line in the sand. I see now why sometimes they don´t even use a torch when looking for the turtle track-there is no need-you could not miss it! So it was a thrilling night! I was so glad I went, as I almost didn´t go that night as I was feeling tired. Another thing that is amazing at night is that as you walk along the beach, if you look down at the sand, you can see lots of little luminous specks! They are micro-organisms that glow in the dark! It looks like you have magic footsteps! I´d have thought I was seeing things if we hadn´t been told what it was!

Well, I better run back for lunch-I always seem to be running back for food when I write these blogs! Well hope all is well at home! It won´t be long now until I am back. I am going to make the very best of this last week and a bit at La Ventanilla! I can´t get my photos and video uploaded today unfortunately as I have to use a borrowed laptop in a wifi cafe, as the internet cafes are closed as they can´t get a connection today. But hopefully next week. I will talk to you then!

Mary

Vacaciones del invierno en Chilecito

Steph Elliott — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 14:03:47 +0000

It is winter vacations here in Chilecito. The kids have been off from school for two weeks and as a result fewer kids have been coming to the comedor. It has been lovely to work with a small group of kids and I am getting to know their individual personalities more and more. My cooking is improving every day and I am really enjoying preparing the food for the kids. The kids love it when we cook pure de papa y huevos fritos (mashed potatoes and eggs).

My Spanish lessons are going really well and I enjoy going to my teachers house every evening for two hours. My Spanish is really improving and I am learning so much from her. My teacher arranged that I attend my first basketball training session here in Chilecito,It was a lot of fun and I am going again on Saturday.

One of my fears before coming to Chilecito was that I was going to be alone but it is really not the case in fact it is the complete opposite. I have a really busy schedule and I have made some great friends here. I find the Argentinean people so welcoming and nice and I am continuously overwhelmed by their generosity and openness to me. They are very inquisitive,passionate people and love to speak about politics and history. It has been very interesting for me to see the process of presidential elections here in Argentina and some provincial elections have taken place already. In Argentina everything is celebrated. They even have a day to celebrate your friends... what a lovely idea. On this day everyone receives messages and phone calls from their friends and they get together for coffee or dinner. I went to a friends house for an asado we played cards and ate dinner with friends. My host mum 'Betty' brought me to her nephews house for lunch on Sunday. I spent the majority of the day there listening to folklore music and chatting with the family. It was really nice.

I am just about to leave for the comedor now, It is a beautiful day here in Chilecito, the sun is shining and the sky is clear I am going to take more pictures of my route to San Miguel becasue it is really beautiful. I will update my next blog tomorrow. I have a lot to tell you as I recently ventured to Cordoba for a weekend and it was great.

Steph :) xxx

Time Flies..........

Órlaith — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 08:50:06 +0000

I thought I`d call this blog entry `Time Flies` because I literally cannot believe that I only have..what...11 days left in this country!!!! As usual, I`ve been kept very busy and have loads of stories to tell :)

First of all, I finished High School. It was hard to be too sad saying goodbye because I knew I still had loads of time in Japan and plenty chances to meet up with my new friends again. My second last day also happened to be the last day of the Canadian English teacher who had been in the school for 3 years, and also two students were soon setting off for a year in America so the English Club had a big party for us all. It was good fun, everyone brought some snacks and there was the usual thank you speeches and good lucks along with singing and just having fun. It seemed like I knew these people much longer than 2 weeks!

On July 23rd there was a Festival in Suwa City, where I`m staying. In the evening I got to dress up in my Host Mothers` Yukata (a casual kimono) and went to see all the locals dancing in the streets. It was a sort of dancing parade, all the different groups from the city (from the train drivers to kiddies gymnastics to the Red Cross Nurses) got dressed up and danced and sang. They were all being judged on their performance and there was a lovely live band, along with shamisen, playing the whole time (I couldn`t get the songs out of my head for days!). We tasted some gorgeous food and joined in the dancing. I kept bumping into people I knew (and also a lot of people that knew me but I didn`t know at all!!) and it made me realise that I have been here a good while and lots of people know me! After the dancing and many Mexican waves, my kimono was gone all wonky and a random stranger didn`t hesitate to stop me in my tracks and yank me this way and that until she was satisfied with the appearance, all the while teaching my host mother tricks on how to get the kimono into perfect proper position. The festival was lovely, the atmosphere was great and it was a good chance to meet up with all the friends I have made.

I really got to experience the kindness of the people here when I went to change money in the bank. It sounds simple, but God was it effort!! I cycled to the local bank and was off to a bad start when no one at all could speak English. I finally communicated that I wanted to exchange money and several minutes later I understood that it wasn`t possible there. A lovely old man gave me a map and tried to direct me to the City Office, where I presumed I could change the money. I went outside and started studying the map before I set off, and 2 women stopped to try give me some directions. After gettin lost and randomly coming upon the building, I arrived at the City Office. I went to Information, where I was sent to a woman, who sent me to a man and the man made a phone call and pointed me in the direction of a bank. After needing to ask for help (once again!) I located the bank, but it was tiny with only bank machines!! After fiddling around with them a little I realised that it wasn`t possible to change money on the machines, so I headed back to the man at the desk to inquire further. He then escorted me to a big bank (in the opposite direction I had gone before) and stayed with me to translate with the bank clerks. Finally I was told I could change the money and I thought it was all sorted but I was handed some forms to fill out and I hadn`t a clue of any of my details! I didn`t know my host family`s address and I had forgotten my mobile so I couldn`t give my Host Mother a ring, and I had no idea of the phone number. I thought I was going to have to cycle all the way back home and come back again when the nice little man decided that he would take responsibility for the details and filled in his address etc instead!! I eventually got the money and was so grateful to the nice little man! He escorted me back to my bike and made sure I knew how to find my way home. The Japanese are really just such nice people!!

I got to spend a day teaching in my Host Brothers` Elementary School and had a great time!! In the morning I showed my powerpoint presentation about Ireland to the 6th, then the 5th, classes, along with my concertina and the `Galway Girl`. They were all so jealous about our long summer holidays, because they only get about 3 weeks!! I got to do Japanese calligraphy, which I loved despite having no idea what I was writing! I spent one class in Senior Infants because they were learning Japanese characters and the principal thought that I could learn some too. It was bloody impossible!!! I had to kneel on the floor (japanese kids are really tiny and I couldnt fit my legs under the table!) and I had to copy off the little guy beside me! I did learn a little though, despite looking like a slow giant! I helped out with the English classes too, and all of the students were lovely and friendly.

My Host Family and I spent a morning on a farm with a group of people with disabilities. The man who runs the programme was at my Welcome Party and he had invited us. It was brilliant!! We met the group at a building in the countryside and we were introduced to everyone. They were all really eager to meet me and had millions of questions (from whether I like dinosaurs to who was my favourite Japanese artist!). After getting geared up, we piled into a minibus and headed for one of the many gardens that these people of all ages work in almost everyday. My job was to fertilise and pick zuchinnis (massive cucumbers). It was fun but everyone got tired quickly because of the heat!! Everyone was so helpful, showing me what to do and many spoke good English. One guy gave me a necklace which he had made himself. It took 3 hours and he was wearing the same one. I love it and was so touched!!! Another guy had brught his recorder so at every break we got to hear some of his music. 2 photographers joined us and asked the usual questions and took many photos so I was in the newspaper once again!! The same newspaper actually had an article about County Derry on the backpage!! After we had collected all the ripe zuchinni`s, we headed for lunch then went to a different garden to collect basil and pumkins. All the gardens were so cool and they had so much produce that everyone was given as many vegetables as they liked to take home. It was a really good morning!!

I spent 2 nights staying with a family that I had gotten to know on our camping trip. They have an autistic son too and the father works as a teacher in a foster home in the nearest big city. I spent a day in the school with him. We got up at 5:30 (oh the joys!) as the school is about an hour away. It`s a Foster Home for the most severely internally damaged kids that have been taken into foster care in the provence. There was about 13 kids in the Elementary School and maybe 15 in Junior High. The building was new and lovely and I spent the morning with the younger kids. They were all so cute! There was only 4 or 5 in each class so I got to know everyone really well. Because of their experiences, it is difficult for these kids to sit quietly and learn in a classroom so about 80% of their school day is fun based activities. We did arts and crafts and sports, and had story time (the old Japanese tale went along the same lines as Oisin i dTir nd nOg). The day I visited was also the day of a little school festival. The Junior High School students set up games (like archery, chopstick slingshots, target ring throwing and films) and the younger kids went around playing. If they hit targets, they won tokens and you could swap the tokens for amazing arts and crafts done by the older students. It was great fun and the Junior High students cooked food and baked cakes and everything!! Everyone had a great time! After lunch I helped the Junior High School students with some brief classes then they got a chance to play the games they had organised and win prizes themselves. It was a really good system and I couldn`t believe that they had made almost everything from scratch (the bow and arrow, targets, prizes, food, chopstick slingshots...). When school finished everyone went to the gymnasium to cheer on 4 young students who were going to be taking part in a big table tennis tournament. The kids were so happy and everyone was so proud of them. I could really see how much the teachers cared for the kids, and how much the kids admired them. I was really sad leaving. Even though I had a brilliant day, it was tough knowing that these wonderful children have had such a tough life. I have experienced more kindness in this country from strangers than these kids got from their own families, which made me feel really sad. It`s good to know though that there is such good people out there looking after kids like this.

This morning I had a professional Kimono Photoshoot as a present from my Host Family. It was great fun! First I got my hair done (very over the top and bordering on `My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding` style but cool!!) ,then make up. Actually putting on the Kimono took about 40 minutes! I was pulled and poked and prodded by this old lady. She obviously knew what she was doing, but everything had to be perfect so it took ages and was extremely painful!! It looked cool in the end though. The staff were so complimentary, it was the first time they had had a non-Japanese customer!! I thought I`d feel like an eejit posing for a camera but the woman was lovely, even with the language barrier I knew she was hilarious. We just spent the whole time laughing as I was moved around to different backdrops with different props and we managed to get some cool pictures. I chose one photo which they will professionally develope and I got a little booklet of some of the photos they took. It was such good craic!! I looked ridiculous walking around town with my hair and make-up all done up but sure everyone stares at me anyways!!

Next week we`re planning an overnight stay in Tokyo, which I am so excited about!!! I also get to go to a traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony and hopefully a visit to Mount Fuji!! I`ll be kept busy for my last 2 weeks anyways!!

Bai Bai!

Sun, Sand, Insects and French

mark clarke — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 18:50:49 +0000

Well due to technical difficulties with the internet cafe and the fact I didnt realise I saved my last blog just as a draft and the other one vanished without a trace while typing it I havent blogged for awhile. The internet connection here seems to be mas o menos, so so, on facebook it seems to randomly pick and choose which of my messages it sends anyway I suppose I´ll just start from when I arrived here in Ventanilla and what has happened up until now I´m here about four weeks so its gonna be a long blog folks.

When I first arrived here via a ten hour bus journey from Oaxaca city there was a bit of confusion of who me and ary were. Before we left Ireland there was slight problem with the itinerary there was a mix up with the dates between EIL and PEI it was sorted out between them by the time we arrived but I dont think they got word of it in Ventanilla. So Nacho and Trini the two contacts from the co-operative werent around when we arrived.Our Spanish was so bad at that stage we found it really hard to try explain who we were to the guides working that day because thy had no English. They thought we were just tourists, we kept saying we were volunteers with EIL/PEI but I could tell from the expressions on there faces they hadnt a clue what we were on about.I thought maybe we were in the wrong place or talking to the wrong people or something until I recognised one of the guides from Marie- Claires photos. The first night we stayed in these really nice rooms with ensuite showers and flushing toilets well the water wasnt working in my room so I had to go to the well outside to get a bucket of water to flush the toilet. All the flush night I kept thinking were staying in the wrong place its too luxurious its not like the cabins that had been described to us, they think were tourists. I was right the next day we met Nacho and trini and thy cleared up everything and we moved to the cabanas. The Cabanas are really nice but they have the showers outside and ecological toilets. I wasnt sure what to expect when I heard about he ecological toilets. They werent as bad as I thought they couldve been they´re grand. But I think the toilets in the city, where you cant flush the paper you just put it in the bin beside the bowel helped ease the transition from Irish plumbing to ecological toilets here in Ventanilla. The ecological toilets are basically a toilet on a raised platform, the bowel is split into two halves no for urine with a pipe that leads to god only knows where and the other side is open its jus a long drop and you throw a bit of sawdust down after it. Surprisingly the toilets dont smell too bad but just dont look down them it could be a quick way to lose your lunch.

The first full day in Ventanilla we got to ourselves just to look around and get familar with the place before we started the volunteer work. We dont have any set tasks we just do odd jobs about the place; painting, toileting plastic off the beach etc just general upkeep of the place. Its nothing overly strenuous but it can feel like an epic struggle in the midday heat. Luckily for the most part we dont work between 12 and 4 to avoid the worst of the sun. It averages around 28-30 degrees everyday but I´ve been abroad before in temperatures slightly higher than that but it feels so much hotter here I think its the humidity because we´re right next to the sea and swamp. The first two weeks I was just a puddle of sweat wrapped in a tee shirt, it was uncomfortably warm at night and hard to sleep. When ever I put on suncream I would just sweat it off in a couple hours and forget to reapply it and burn but I´ve seemed to acclimatised a bit as I dont burn anymore without any suncream and the heat isnt as exhausting. I still sweat an unnatural amount and have shocking tan lines from my shorts and sandals.

But occasionally it rains, really rains like the heavens just open. It rainy season here now and when it rains its alot heavier than it does be in Ireland but it only happens once every two weeks or so. Its strange in that its still warm even though your soaked not like at home. But apparently its only the rainy season that the mosquitos get bad, I´m like the elephant man at the moment I´ve so many lumps from bites, the repellent seems to do nothing I´m convinced it lures them they know theres fresh meat around when they smell deat ha. They dont seem to bother the locals at all they seem to find it rather amusing. But the variety of insects here is amazing and the amount of ones they enjoy biting me nearly everyday some new type of fly seems to bite and its always around my joints, wrists, ankles elbows etc. The ants are tiny bit give a particular nasty bite it doesnt mark the skin but feels like a pin prick. At night all manner of creepy crawlies come into the cabanas because theyre so open no windows or doors upstairs but theyre much cooler that way. A moth the size of my hand was in the room the other day its not a place for people who are screamish about bugs

My level of spanish is still pretty poor but its improving slowly, very slowly. Lalo one of the guides here has very good english and a little french all learnt just from chatting to the tourists and volunteers which I find pretty impressive. There seems to be quite alot of french speaking tourists around Ventanilla and Mazunte. Mazunte is the next town over from Ventanilla, its a forty minute walk or only five peso´s if you jump in one of the local buses. They´re not exactly buses theyre pick up trucks with a tarpallan cover over the back, they´re cheap, quick, fairly regular and the breeze is nice on a hot day. Anyway back to the French, a fairly large group came to stay for ten days. There was twelve teenagers and three youth leaders a few of them a few spoke english. I was kinda relieved that they spoke english as I had been sick when they first arrived and being sick in a foregin environment isnt a pleasant experience. All you want is something familar and struggling with a language didnt help. I had to get a dictionary and rehearse what to say to the doctor in Mazunte as he doesn´t speak english but he understood me. I had an ear infection and wasnt able to hear in my left ear for nearly a week a few tablets and drops and I was grand in a few days. That was the only real low point for me since I got here because I was so frustrated with not being able to communicate properly, I thought I had gotten worst at spanish since my classes in Oaxaca and I was sick I just wanted to go home. After I got better and having the french group to chat with quickly snapped me out of that. They were a group of teenagers from Paris on a similar trip to the travel award but on a much smaller time scale. A lively, outspoken group but one really stuck out, Munar. He speaks four languages and his only 17, that really put me to shame, me with just english. I dont think when your learning another language in school you realise the practicality of having other languages you just learn what you need for the exam and forgot it. The French group came to Ventanilla with a specfic project to do, build a new enclosure for Yupi. Yupi is a monkey on the island of Uma a small island in the laguana where rescued exotic animals are kept, theres some deer, a racoon, a flock of parakeets, crocodiles and these things calles caoati tejons i havent a clue what they are but they´ve a long snout and big claws and arent friendly at all. Only being here for ten days it was a bit of an ambitious task which hasnt got finished during their stay sadly. But it is a much needed structure as Yupi´s current homestead is pretty cramped. They got the whole project rolling but as with all work here in Ventanilla theres no rush, everything is done at a leisurely pace with lots of talking and joking. Theres no stress or deadlines here not for the locals at least but the french group leaders were a bit upset by the lack of progress. The french have just left and its still no where near completion. I enjoy working on the monkey house more than the other jobs because I think its more permanent, it´ll be here long after I´ve gone home and it feels like I´m leaving my mark here. Its pretty hard work though with basic tools as the generator they have for electricity on the island died after a couple of days all the cutting and drilling has to be done with hand tools. But for the most part I dont do the skilled work just the heavy lifting and carrying and thats earned me the nickname burro´or donkey its not meant in a derogative way I hope but just whenever anything heavy needs shifting I usually get nominated for the job but I enjoy a bit of hard work. Anyway I know I´ve left out loads but I´ll write another blog soon.

Big crocs, egg patrols, and a lovely monkey called Yuppi!

Mary Mc Donnell — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 18:45:29 +0000

Hola amigos!

Well, it is hard to believe I have been at La Ventanilla for almost four weeks! The time has been very quick in going, and has seemed to have even gone faster since I last wrote.

It has been a very exciting two weeks! We were joined in our volunteering work for 10 days by a group of French teenage students. They were very friendly. Their project was to build a new house for the monkey on Uma Island-a small island which is home to deer, a racoon, some very cute-looking but slightly viscious animals called Coyote on español, but I´m not sure what they are in English,a few young crocodiles and one big croc-and of course the lovely monkey...I will tell you more about him later!). Tourists are brought to the island as part of the lagoon tour.

I was very excited about going to the island to work on the monkey cage, not least because it would be the first time me or Mark had travelled up the lagoon. So, camera at the ready, we got into the boat! I dodn´t see any crocodiles that day, but on the several trips to and from the island since, we have come across many big crocodiles,some lurking in the water so that you just see the ridges of their backs protruding from the water, and others just hanging out onthe banks of rhe lagoon, taking in the sun, perfectly still and well camouflaged so that you have to look very hard to realise that it is a crocodile you are looking at and not a big log-or maybe that is just me with my short-sighted eyes! There are also many birds in and around the lagoon, including pelicans and herons which I have spotted. I am hoping to get to see a Kingfisher also.

So about that monkey! Well his name is Yuppi, and he´s 12 years old. He was rescued and beought to La Ventanilla, but he needs a bigger cage, and that is what he is getting-the new cage is going to be perfect for him-it is very big, complete with trees for hum to swing off. He is very friendly and affectionate, and incredibly cute! When you go over to his cage, he puts all his limbs out through the bars of the cage, and wraps them around you to hug you! He even puts his tail around you! Needless to say, I am mad about Yuppi, and any mention of a trip to the island has me hoping I can join in! I´m looking forward to seeing how much he loves his new cage. It should be finished soon.

The French students brought a volleyball net with them, and it has proved very popular with everyone, with nightly games once the sun begins to set. I think that time of the evening is one of my favourite times of the day here. It becomes nice and cool on the beach, and the sky always looks beautiful with orange, pink, blue and red as the sun goes down. The beach is usually fairly quiet then, so it is nice for a walk, but then again, there are often times of the day, especially on a Monday or Tuesday (the quiet days for tours), when you can almost have the whole beach to yourself!

One of the nights last week, myself and Maek went with one of the co-operative´s staff LLalo on a night-time lagoon tour and turtle egg patrol at a neighbouring co-operative project. It was really very exciting. We got onto the boat with a group of students from New Zealand. We moved along slowly through the lagoon, brushing past overhanging branches (one complete with a snake!), shining our torches in search of crocodiles. Finally there they were-two sets of eyes reflecting off rhe torch light! We didn´t find any turtles or eggs on the egg patrol unfortunately. You walk along the beach shining a red light, looking for the pattern in the sand that tells you that a turtle has made her way up the beach to lay eggs. If eggs are found, they are carefully removes and brought to a protected place to hatch. Even though we didn´t find any, it was beautiful all the same to walk under the star-lit sky! The sky always looks so beautiful here-very clear so that you can see every star, and speckled every so often by fire flies, which look from afar like moving stars!

I must head back for lunch now, but I hope to write again on Sunday, as I have lots more to tell-including the long awaited release of baby turtles into the sea!! I took a video so I´ll try to upload that then.

Talk to you soon! Mary

India is like a snake! One point is so far into the future and the other is so far behind!

AshB — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 16:11:32 +0000

Today I got great news! By the end of this weekend I’ll be moving in with an English girl! I am currently living with Mr & Ms Kumar, they are an amazing elderly couple. Although I have been missing the company of my own age!! I literally am so excited ha as I think it will be brilliant or I suppose we could kill each other! The room is tiny; it’s so small so we are definitely going to be living on top of each other!!! The house is situated in the wealthiest area of Dehradun, it is a residence that has been converted into a school for people with special needs! It will be interesting to see what they do there as well! They have an occupational therapy room as well, which is a fairly new medical therapy to India. It is here in Dehradun as an American runs the project! This will give me a lot more independence as the Kumar’s tend to arrange everything for me and being a western girl I prefer to do things on my own! In India families they do everything for girls, it is insane! One of the mothers I do aerobics with paid her daughter 5,000rupees (€78) to come to aerobics!!! Indian children are spoilt rotten in my opinion although most of them seem to be very studious and do well in life! This is because society puts pressure on young people to achieve academically and their parents ensure they marry into money! It is all part of their religious/caste system.

India is funny it is so advanced in so many ways, particularly academically! It probably has some of the best graduates in the world, it has English as its second language, it even has a space station but people live such backward peasant lifestyles here! The two types of lifestyles are so removed, it is crazy! I mean you literally have people starving on the streets, limbs removed, it is horrifying! Sometimes going out on the streets seeing this can be heart breaking! I saw some of the children from my project on the streets over the weekend; it was funny as lots of Indian boys came up to me and said ‘Don’t give these children any money! They might rob you if you stand beside them.’ I looked at them and said ‘I work with these children.’ They were completely taken aback! These children to me are just normal children, I don’t hear the difference in their accent and I have grown to love them so much! I’ve grown so close to them! It’s crazy because I barely speak Hindi and they barely speak English, but love is there!!

First three weeks!

Danielle-RP — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 07:35:21 +0000

It is hard to believe that three weeks has passed by already! While there are times when it feels like both Aisling and I have been here for much longer, there are other moments when it feels like each day passes us by so quickly.

For the past three weeks we have been working with an organisation called Sothemba AIDS Action, which focuses on raising awareness of HIV & AIDS in Cape Town. It is a small organisation based in the suburbs of Bellville just outside of the city in Cape Town. It consists of three full time staff and seven part time staff.

The areas that we have been working with Sothemba Aids Action are: local squatter townships, a nearby psychiatric hospital and local education programmes.

We work with both adults and youths in the local squatter townships. Each awareness programme is different as there are days when Sothemba AIDS Action would run awareness workshops for adults in the local crèche in the squatter township and then other days would consist of awareness games with the youths. The people who we have met in these town lands are all so welcoming and warm towards Aisling, and myself as they are all interested in where we are from and why we are in South Africa. The children are so enthusiastic and fun loving as they run towards us when we arrive, all eager to start playing games immediately! The main challenge we face in terms of the awareness workshops is that many people are disinterested in learning about HIV and AIDS. One woman replied to me when I asked her if she would like to come to an awareness workshop, “ It is better not to know about HIV and better not to know if you are infected”. This is a constant struggle for the organisation as even though they offer free awareness programmes they struggle to keep the numbers in attendance from the public. This has lead them to believe that they must offer a reward to those who do come to the workshops so as to keep the number of people involved as high as possible. Therefore, if people do come to the workshop, Sothemba AIDS Action will provide them with either a hot meal, sandwiches, fruit and a drink. There are times when this is the only reason why many people come to the workshops in the first place. However, there are a few who do come to the workshops to learn more about HIV and AIDS.

On Tuesday and Thursday mornings provide HIV and AIDS awareness talks to the patients of Stickland Psychiatric Hospital in Bellville. This is a free hospital service offered by the South African government, which aims to care for patients who suffer from various mental illnesses ranging from mild to severe depression, anxiety, schizophrenia and a range of other illnesses, which I have not been informed of. There are ten wards, which cater for different patients depending on the severity of there illness. Each talk we provide lasts for an hour and depending on the ward, it can be at times successful and at times not so much. The patients can be very nice but there are many who are so mentally ill that we must be careful how we approach them. Each ward consists of about 20+ patients with guards who keep all doors locked at all times. We are instructed by hospital staff not to allow the male patients to touch us in any way, as their personal hygiene is very poor. I find this very difficult to follow up as I feel extremely rude ignoring their welcoming gesture of a handshake or high five, but it is a rule that I must obey. We incorporate many songs and dances into each talk, which is always a great success with the patients as they are always so enthusiastic in partaking in any type of fun!

After-school awareness programmes are generally held in local libraries with local youths from the community. All these youths come from disadvantaged backgrounds and their age’s range from 3-16. The awareness programme consists of an educational drama or story, which incorporates the issues of HIV & AIDS, followed by various games and activities. The challenge of keeping interest towards the awareness of HIV & AIDS is evident here as well as the squatter town lands as many of the youths will not participate if there is no reward for their attendance at the end. Fruit, sandwiches and a drink are offered at the end of each programme to those who attend.

I am beginning to discover that raising awareness of HIV & AIDS in South Africa is not just as simple as providing more awareness workshops to the communities. While these workshops do provide some awareness to many people, there are also many people who refuse to listen or be educated about the issues. At times I feel that the importance of general health awareness is not a priority for many people also.

First three weeks!

Danielle-RP — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 07:35:16 +0000

The areas that we have been working with Sothemba Aids Action are: local squatter townships, a nearby psychiatric hospital and local education programmes.

Indian Reality - Street Smart

AshB — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 18:04:38 +0000

Working in my host organisation has been an incredible experience! It is tough challenging work as the children are not used to being told what to do! It is a day programme with approximately 25 students, who are all living on the streets of Dehradun. The children have tough lives, it took great effort to begin this project as the children’s parents expect them to beg all day everyday to provide for their families. The organisation provides jobs in block printing for about ten children, this ensures the children receive some kind of education and also learn about the satisfaction of earning your own wage. The children do block painting on notepads, gift wrap, cards, gift bags. These products will be sold all over America.

Today was such an exhausting day but it was a great day. The week has been going really well although when I get home sometimes I sleep for two hours as I am so tired!! I am growing so close to the children now where I'm working and if I’m travelling through Dehradun at night I always worry whether they are ok. India doesn’t have a big night life like Ireland so thankfully most people are at home in bed by 11 or 12pm which is a good thing for the children. Today I made masks with the children conveying emotions such as happy, angry, worried, crying and asleep. I played a game with them, they had to choose a mask and act it out for the children and teachers. This is a fast way for them to identify how to convey emotions in English. I also do a morning exercise with them which involves them acting out; being asleep, waking up in the morning, washing their face, brushing their teeth etc. They love this and think it is really funny; it’s also a great way to relax them as they often get quite hyper.

At the beginning I found it quite difficult to keep their attention but now I think I have the hang of it, which is quite a good feeling. They can tire you and exhaust you and sometimes it is overwhelming, you need a lot of patience, particularly when you don’t speak their language but I’m working on it! The children range from about two years of age to about 18, so you can imagine their level of education is so varied. Many of them are fast learners and want to learn (it is a dream working with them) although the younger children often get bored and resort to rolling around or play fighting. It is completely normal but you have to think of ways to hold all their attention. I find the most successful methods are through drama and art. Art completely relaxes them, it is when they are at their quietest and drama entertains them. They pick up English much faster when they identify with what they are doing so I try to make it as practical as possible.

There are many future plans to make the children fully independent by training them in beauty therapy, hairdressing, tailoring and servant training. The project is making every effort to ensure the children will eventually move off the streets permanently. Living on the streets is a tough life. The children are hated by Indian society, they are kicked and pushed while they beg, and there is very little protection around them. If they do not come home with a sufficient amount of money, which is about 200rupees, they are often beaten and shouted at.

The children have come on leaps and bounds since the beginning of the project. At first it took such a long time for the children to trust the project. They all expected everyone to give up on them within a week. The project began in January and since then we have developed a programme of education through art, drama, fun and love. One of the main focuses of the organisation is for the children to learn English, as this will help them secure future employment in life. The children are full of love they all want hugs and affection which they don’t find on the streets or even at home. When you arrive here you will be greeted by a dozen hugs at least. The children have so much love to give and despite everything they have had to overcome they are so strong and so loving. I feel the work with the children can only get better as we literally have so much fun with them!

57 Days/8 Weeks in Mexico

ley — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 21:57:41 +0000

Hola,

Buenos Dias,

Not sure where to start exactly as my experience here, has at times left my mouth wide open in amusement or literally made me feel like holding my heart in my hands with fear.

Mexico is an amazing place, the diversity here is a topic for another day. The people are amazing very welcoming, accommodating most especially for me with my limited Spanglish. Mexicans love for family is out of this world people here are very close to their families, some see each other every day. Indeed making me redefine the meaning of family unlike where we are from where people leave a few miles from their parents but hardly see them, respect them as much or for some even love them as much.

Mexico City can be overwhelming especially on arrival, the city is gigantic there is a road here called Insurgentes I think the Dublin version might be North/south Circular road only that it takes 3hours to go from the North to the South of the Insurgentes avenue, and that is only for the city centre. The traffic here is out of this world pedestrians might as well be non existent as is the green man, drivers pretty much do as they please. Indication is of a rare occurrence here, if you are not careful cars might take you with them while making corners, only that you will be on the bonnet of the car and they will probably demand damages. Being a passenger is just as scary on my first trip around town had to close my eyes to stop from screaming and saying ¨watch out¨ every other minute. Have been very nervous getting public transport on my own as it can be very confusing, but so far so good.

Yesterday i was in a Pesero (Mexican version of Dublin bus only that they are privately owned and are more like mini buses). The pesero got so full at one point there was guys literally hanging out the door. Still debating why they do not wait for the next one because they are paying their money but i guess the next one coming will be just as full. At one point i could not take it so i got off and walked the rest of the way. No day is the same here, most of all the pace is to die for no one rushes anywhere there is certain tranquility about time which makes everything seem calm even the crazy traffic.

Well thats me for now

Viva Mexico

Thoughts on leaving Ecuador :(

Damien Thomsondthomson-4@li — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 12:38:09 +0000

Hi everyone!

I got home from my 4 week trip to Ecuador a week ago now and I had the most amazing time! It has been a month of non-stop fun. I kept a journal and it's completely full now and it's so funny to look back at it and just laugh. I can't believe my journey is over. It flew by, but I definitely made the most of it. I have no regrets. I enjoyed every day.

While it's fresh in my memory I thought I'd write a bit about what I missed and things like that. It might be useful to future winners too.

What I missed most about Ireland:

I didn't actually miss much while I was away. It was almost like I had a completely different life over there, a blank sheet and I was a new person. I just tried to live the life of an Ecuadorian and I didn't miss too much really. I only rang home once, and it was really more for my Mom's sake! Ha!
During the last week was when I started missing things like; my family and friends, a good cuppa tea, my warm bed, some mashed potato (not puré de papas!), a hot shower, a piano, those little things that you don't realise you love so much until you don't have them!

What I miss most about Ecuador:

I'm only home a couple of days now and I really really miss Ecuador. It just seems like my kind of place, Riobamba in particular. The thing I miss most of all about Ecuador is definitely the people. I met some of the kindest, most interesting people I've ever met in my life. Everyone I met was so welcoming to me. During both my home stays (in Quito and Riobamba) I really did feel like an actuall member of the family. I was treated like a son and a brother rather than a guest so I really have 2 new families now!
I know it's not very Ecuadorian but I miss my group of American friends! We got on so well and had such a laugh. We learned so much from each other and got really close, so much so that we have arranged for a reunion in NYC in 3 years on the 4th of July! (And it will happen! )
I'm one for my cuppa tea but I loved all the crazy teas in Ecuador - Horchata, durazno, toronjil the list goes on.
The Fruit. Is. INCREDIBLE! They grow everything! Ecuador has so many different climates so they can grow what ever they like, so the fruit is so fresh and tasty. I tried to taste them all but there are a lot. Some interesting ones I came across were taxo, tomate de arbol, naranjilla, babaco and my personal favourite - Guanábana! NOM! They also have so many different types of bananas! Some specifically for frying and cooking. I had a red banana too! Chifles are little banana crisps and they are really popular. Since I've got home I've been looking everywhere for these fruits but I'm sure we will import them in the future!
The city of Riobamba itself. I found it a very personal little city and it really felt like a home. It was just a lovely place to be in.

Things I found useful:

A money belt is a good idea, not so much for the idea of the possibilty of getting robbed, but it's good to have everything close to you. I never really needed to bring too much money around with me, but I'd always keep around 10 dollars if I saw anything I liked (I'm an impulse buyer!) and some singles for the taxis.
I brought a copy of my passport with me and although I didn't find it essential, I think it's a good idea. I needed to present it at the bank when I was taking out money and at La Nariz del Diablo (for some unknown reason) to board the train. I just preferred giving a copy of my passport instead of bringing the real one around with me.
Although Ecuador sounds like such a hot country...it rains, but there are "Ponchos de Aguas" that you can buy all around Ecuador and they are very handy to have in your bag on a day out. It's a plastic poncho, like a light rain jacket. It may not be the most fashionable but it definitely works!
Around 2 pairs of old clothes that you don't mind destroying. I knew I was going to be painting a playschool one day but even besides that, activities such as horse riding, mountain climbing and trekking really ruin your clothes so I would advise bringing enough clothes that you don't care too much about!
After shopping in Ecuador, you will come home with a lot of "Funditas". They're little, black plastic bags. My suitcase was full of them coming home because everything that is bought is put into a fundita. I always brought a few around with me on excursions. I found them handy for putting wet clothes in or if you need to carry anything extra.
One of the best things I brought was my journal and I would definitely recommend writing up a journal for future winner. Reading back on it now has me in stitches! And I'm delightes that I wrote so much and will be able to remember my fantastic time in Ecuador with great detail.
A light hoodie is necessary in the evenings because it does get quite chilly when the sun goes down at around 7pm.
A good idea (something I didn't do) is to bring a map/atlas. A lot of the people don't know much about Europe but could be very interested. I was always asked where Ireland is on the world, so I think a map or an atlas would be helpful.

Things I didn't need to bring:

I brought bug spray and mosquito repellent in-case of any biting insects but I didn't need it at all when I was in Quito or Riobamba. The mountains are so high up that mosquitoes can't survive and there isn't much to bite you!
I brought far too many phrase books and Spanish school books. I thought I would be dependent on them and I barely touched them throughout the 4 weeks. They added a lot of unnecessary weight to my suitcase. Most of the Spanish I learnt was just through basic conversation.
Shorts. Once again, me thinking I was going to the Equator -> sun sun sun....IT RAINED! The weather is so unpredictable and I think I only wore a pair of shorts once in the whole month. They don't really have seasons the way we do, but people living in the Sierra (the spinal mountain range) wouldn't wear shorts very often.

What I enjoyed most:

As I mentioned before, it was the people I met that made my whole trip for me. Ecuador is such an great nation! The people have a warm and welcoming quality and have much respect for others, something which I really appreciate. I expected this because the majority of South American people I have met before my journey were so kind and approachable. My expectations were met and exceeded. I was looked after so well yet also given a lot of independence and respect. The people I were with, especially my host families, went to great deals to create an enjoyable, Ecuadorian experience for me and I can't thank them enough for all their effort.
I really enjoyed all the activities. Everyday was a new day and a new opportunity. Thinking back on what I have done, I actually amaze myself. I still can't believe that I have been to the Amazon rain forest, climbed a volcano and even held a snake! The activities and days out organized were exceptional and it really showed off how diverse and beautiful Ecuador is.

I'm trying to think of ways now of how I could go back to Ecuador. I'm thinking of a summer in collge. It's a kind of place where you go to, fall in love with and spend the rest of your life trying to get back in! I was really sad for the first few days back in Ireland. I just didn't feel like I should have been home at all, but I've settled back in now. It felt like one of the quickest months of my life. I guess it was because I was doing so much and never and enjoying the whole thing so much that I just didn't keep track of the time. I have many more blogs to write still because I have some catching up to do! I'm going to talk about Chimborazo, My Community placement and the Amazon!

Thanks for reading!

Kyoto :)

Órlaith — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 03:16:52 +0000

Wow what a crazy busy week I`ve had!! Thank God I`m keeping a diary or I`d never be able to remember everything!! Last week I got to meet the city`s Mayor, which was nice. We chatted for a bit about Ireland and Japan, and he gave me presents (a book voucher and a clock that allows you to figure out the time in every time zone: pretty cool!).

I played my concertina for him (and there was a picture of me banging out a tune in the paper the next day!) and he seemed to really like the Irish music. There was a group of people in the city on holidays from the area worst affected by the tsunami and he asked me if I would play music to try and cheer them up. Their lives have been pretty tough lately, as you can imagine, so the mayor wanted them to have a really good stay in Suwa so he arranged for me to play for them that evening. While they had tea, I sang and talked about Ireland and played a few tunes. They were all lovely, a mostly elderly group. One couple even had a daughter living in Ireland as a professional singer!!

In English class in school the teacher got me to teach some basic Irish to the class. They got their `Dia Dhuit`s and `Conas ata tu?`s but then it got complicated as the teacher started to simultaneously teach them Russian, as she had lived in Moscow while working with a company through Shannon Airport. The board became a mess of English, Irish, Russian and Japanese and left everyone confused but it was good fun! Some people were really interested in Irish and now when anything funny happens, they all tell me that it was `gas craic`!!!

I got to experience Japanese karaoke last week! After school I went with my friends and we got a little private room. It was so much fun!! There was loads of songs I knew so we spent a few hours belting out Lady GaGa, Katy Perry and even some U2 (all out of tune of course!). They tried to get me to join in on some Japanese songs but I couldn`t read the lyrics fast enough and I had no idea of the tune so I settled for air guitar instead! :P

My host mother bought Guinness for our dinner the other night! The curry we were having was insanely spicy so it didn`t last too long! While we ate there was a little earthquake (which I`m sure we felt all the more dramatically after the Guinness!!). We also watched `P.S. I Love You`, which my host mother really enjoyed and now more than ever she wants to come to Ireland. I have been singing the `Galway Girl` a lot over here (I can disguise my croaky voice with some intervals on the concertina, Sharon Shannon style :P) and watching it done properly in the film really put me to shame!!

I was in a bookstore at the weekend spending my voucher from the mayor and I was randomly flicking through a magazine when there was a big article about an Irish pub in the mountains not too far from where I`m staying!! It looked just like an old Irish country pub, complete with old Guinness posters and all!! They serve `Irish food` (or what they think we eat in Ireland!!) and celebrate Paddy`s Day. My Host Mother got really excited so maybe we might visit it someday.

This weekend was a Bank Holiday weekend so we headed down to Kyoto, a big city about 4 hours drive away, for a big festival called Gion Matsuri. It was brilliant! There was so many people in the city and we got to see many parades with traditional Japanese costumes and floats. We also visited some shrines (including one made of gold!) and a bamboo forest (which was really amazing but there was signs everywhere to beware of the wild monkeys: AAAGH!). We walked through the Gion area on the lookout for Geisha and we managed to spot 2!!! For the festival many people were wearing the traditional Japanese clothes, like kimono, but the Geisha were wearing the full make-up and hair. It was cool to see them because I didn`t really know that there was still real Geisha. They were really hard to spot though, by the time you noticed them walking past they were almost gone, and you could only get a photo of their backs. We also passed a Geisha school and saw some girls praciticing some form of dancing (of course we did not sneak in to secretly take a picture!). In Kyoto, the Geisha are called Gayko or Maiko (depending on whether or not they are a virgin) and their clothes and make-up are stunning!

In Kyoto I tried some Japanese food, especially desserts! Black sesame ice-cream is divine, as is lemon sherbet sorbet but I`m not the biggest fan of tofu ice-cream (it`s just weird!) or wasabi peanuts (they burned the mouth off of me!)! Japan won the womens` soccer world cup against America while we were in Kyoto so there was big celebrations going on! The shopping in the city was great and there was some really nice indoor Japanese markets (ingore the smell and the atmospere is incredible!). We walked through the little side-streets at night time and they were amazing. They were lined with restaurants and little boutique shops and there was lanterns everywhere and it was just so Japanese and lovely! Something very rare happened for one of the days in Kyoto: it rained all day! It was a nice break from the sweltering sun but somehow it still managed to be roasting!! It is monsoon season here, so it`s common for there to be thunderstorms in the evenings but it`s unusual for there to be a full day of rain. They all said that I had brouight the Irish weather with me! There was a lot more non-Asian people also, and it was really weird hearing people speaking English in the different accents. I have only seen a handful of Westerners in the city I`m staying in.

I have only 3 more days of High School left :( but I have a busy schedule for my last 3 weeks. I will be teaching in the Elementary School for 2 days and we`ve got loads od activities and visits planned! It all sounds so good, and I`m having a great time!

I must go, I`m in computer class and it`s almost lunchtime. More news soon......

crabs, lizards, insects...and scones!

Mary Mc Donnell — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 17:54:58 +0000

Another week has passed very quickly for me in La Ventanilla. There is a lot of heavy rain at the moment, although it appears to be brightening up today. There are so many new animals here. For a start, the sight of lizards darting about in the grass, or climbing the walls in the cabana has become an everyday occurance. They are mostly very small, and a very light, almost see-through green.

The crabs were also something very new to me. When I first arrived to La Ventanilla, I was amused watching tiny crabs hopping swiftly into holes in the sand as I approached. But then one evening last week, there were suddenly hundreds of bigger crabs everywhere! It is no exaggeration to say that everywhere you looked, you saw a crab! They were on the road, in the cabana, in the showers...everywhere! In my room, I lifted up a piece of cloth that had fallen on the ground, and there were about 8 of them all huddled together under it! I felt sorry for them because they looked really lost, just trying to hide! I don´t know where they all went but they were gone after a few days. Mark saw a big line of them walking off together, so hopefully they got organised and decided on a plan of action away from the dangerous road and people!

There is an iguana that hangs out in the reception area, he is really cute.He´s very tame, and will let you pick him up! There are also more insects than I have ever seen before! I think it as a grasshopper that I saw the other day-one of the biggest insects that I have seen. Oh yes, there was even a very small snake one night. It didn´t look very dangerous though, and it had no interest in people, so we just let it go on it´s way!

I made some scones here the other day with Trinny at the restaurant. We cooked them in the wood-fired oven. They came out well, and it was lovely to eat them while looking out at the sea-the restaurant has the most amazing view! I hope to try out some Mexican recipes when I get home, I have come across a few delicious ones!

Well, it is just a short blog today, I hope everyone is keeping very well at home! Well I will say bye for now, talk soon!

Mary

My First Week in Chilecito

Steph Elliott — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 21:40:50 +0000

Sorry about the delay in getting my blog up for everyone but time is flying by very quickly here in Chilecito and I honestly can’t believe my first week is over already. I have already fallen in love with everything here the people, the food (Dulce de leche... Nina you were right very addictive) and my project. I arrived in Chilecito at 9.00 am Friday the 1st of July. The landscape here is so vast and breathtaking, I have probably taken 100 photos of the Famatina mountains already they are honestly so beautiful.

Betty was at the station to greet me when I arrived, it was so lovely to see a friendly face after my 17hr bus journey (which flew by as I was travelling at night so I slept ALOT). There were toilets on the bus, but some warning for future travellers bring some food, water and tissue paper. Betty brought me to her house by taxi. My room is very nice and I am not sharing with anyone as Betty lives alone. On Friday evening the other volunteers working in the comedor came to meet me at my host house and brought me around Chilecito for the first time. They are both great and I feel so lucky to have their company for a short while.

On Saturday morning I went to the local market with Lea and Leo to ask for some donations for the comedor. The people were very generous and we received a lot of food which will help us to cook some nice meals for the kids. On Sunday I atteneded my first asado at Leo’s host house. I adore the way people here appreciate the importance of the family unit, they welcome everyone into their homes with open arms, and they made me feel right at home!!!After our food settled we played a game of basketball with some friends which was a lot of fun.

My first week of working in the comedor with the kids has been wonderful. They are so kind helping me to learn new Spanish words every day. During the week I was even thought the alphabet by 3 young boys who I truly believe would make great teachers in the future!!! The kids are even writing down new words for me to learn in my little notebook which is really kind. When I arrived I gave them some small gifts of footballs, cards, colouring pencils and coloured paper. It is great to see the walls becoming more and more packed with paintings and pictures every day.I have learnt some great new card games which I cant wait to play when I return home as I think I will be a bit of a pro before my ten weeks are up . On Thursady we had a little party in the comedor as one of the other volunteers Leo is sadly leaving us next week. We ate empanada’s and fruit which all went down a treat with the kids. Every evening when I return home from the comedor I go to my Spanish lessons, my teacher is really nice and patient with me. My spanish lessons will continue for 3-4 weeks.

On Saturday I went on my first excursion in Chilecito. We walked up to the 2nd cable car station....which was pretty amazing. The day was so beautiful we all chilled out when we reached the... and took in the amazing scenery. We all met up on Sunday again to play basket ball which was lovely I am starting to get some of my skills back!!!! :)

I am making the most of my short stay in this beautiful region and I am hoping to travel to Cordobar this weekend and maybe even get in some horse back riding.. I will keep u all posted..

I know it is a very quick synopsis of my first week here but I truly hope it paints a clear picture of how amazing my time has been so far ... speak soon again Steph xxx

Indian Reality- Here we go!

AshB — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 13:18:46 +0000

Wow I have learnt so much already! It has been an incredible opportunity! The Hindu religion is fascinating and inspiring, it is a peaceful religion. I find the emphasis they place on family is something us westerns should learn from. Being in India has made me realise the importance of family, taking care of each other and helping each other. I don’t think Western society value family enough. I don’t think we are told enough to continue to work at our relationships, to do everything in your power to try make a family work. Indian humour is hilarious, it’s self deprecating and it is common for family members to joke about each other. Indians tend to stare at me a lot, which is due to the fact they are not used to seeing Caucasian people and they are also quite obsessive about pale skin tones.

In Dehradun life is very laid back, people are relaxed and friendly! Delhi is a different world all together. Delhi is very crowded and people tend to approach you constantly asking you to buy their products. Girls and women of my age can pretty much wear anything in Delhi, in Dehra dun, being a country place, people are more conservative and expect you to cover up. You cannot expose your shoulders, the top half of your legs and your clothes cannot be suggestive. This is because sexuality is very much an unspoken subject. Women do not ‘flaunt’ what they have- it is seen as unladylike.

I have been fortunate enough to attend two Indian weddings, they are amazing! A spectacle of colour and lights. Indians wear their traditional clothes (Saris, suits, lehanja?)! Indian weddings are celebrated over about 3-4days. Most marriages today are formed by mutual agreement of children and the parents. People are now getting married later in life as education is very important. Indians have big weddings, they invite family, friends, work colleagues, neighbours (if anyone is staying with a neighbour they are invited along). Indian weddings tend to have buffets, so its laid back and relaxed and there is lots of dancing. They are really genuine friendly people! Some of the nicest people I have ever met. They are very fun loving and like to have a good time. Their traditions are fascinating! I have learnt so much about myself and I have even managed to pick up a few Hindi words. Ive started working in 'street smart' so I shall keep you posted next time on my work there!!

Aisling

Mashed Potatoes :]

Órlaith — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 09:52:48 +0000

Today I cycled home from school as usual, got stuck in a thunderstorm and was soaking wet. There was no one home but on the table there was a big bowl of mashed potatoes that my host mother made for me and a note saying `enjoy`!! I`ve turned them Irish already :P

I started High School on Thursday and it`s been really good. The classes are fairly boring as I havn`t a clue what`s going on so I mostly just sit and read (or sleep!! :P). I love the art class, and there`s English club at lunchtime and after school every Tuesday and Thursday so I help out.

I`ve made some really nice friends: some girls who have spent a year in America, my host student and some of her friends. They brought me to Purikura the other day: photo booths where you take funny pictures and design them!! They get printed as tiny little stickers and they are so funny!! On Wednesday they are bringing me to Japanese Karaoke and for a Japanese sleepover....should be good!! :] They have a mission to make sure I try every single Japanese sweet and pastry they can find so I can decide which ones I love the most!! Every day after school I get to try the most delicious choloate and cakes :) They know me so well already :P

On Saturday morning we went to my host brothers` Elementary School for a soap making workshop. It was good fun, but envolved a lot of shaking and gave me a dead arm!! We must wait a week for the soap to set so I`ll let you know how it turns out, and we`ll be selling it to raise funds for the Elementary Schools affected by the tsunami. After we made the soap, I had a table tennis contest with all the young boys (and lost miserably!) then everyone filled loads of helium balloons and released them into the sky together! It was pretty cool :]

That evening we had my Welcome Party at the language school that organised my trip. They went to so much effort and it was lovely!! The room was decorated with Irish posters and there was loads of yummy food :] ! Teachers and students of the language school (many who had been to Ireland) along with my host family and host student were there. I talked a bit about Ireland and played my concertina. One man invited me to talk on his radio show if I improve my Japanese (drastically!!) and another invited me to spend a day working on his farm. He runs a project for people with disabilities to do work around his farm. I will be going at the end of the month and Im really looking forward to it!! There was a picture of me from the paper hanging on the wall!!!!

On Friday in English class, I did a presentation about Ireland and the students asked me questions, and there was a man with a camera snapping away the whole time!! I thought it was for a school newsletter or something, but it was in the city`s newspaper!!!! I didn`t think it was much of a big deal but the other students in the photo said it was their first time ever being in a newspaper and some people have been coming up to me randomly in the street to say it to me!! My host mother was at the hairdressers and the stylist started telling her that there was an Irish girl in town while she was cutting her hair!! Everyone seems to know me now!

On Sunday we went on a trip to Matsumoto castle, a big Japanese castle not too far away. It was really nice and so different to Irish stone castles. Its not difficult to see which culture was more advanced and more appreciative of beauty....:P That evening I had dinner at my host mothers` sisters house, as she wanted me to meet her friends. She is really nice and her friend was really interested in history so I explained all about Northern Ireland and Irish history. I also got to see my house on Google Maps!!

Tomorrow I will be meeting the towns` Mayor, which should be nice but I`m not sure what I`ll be doing with him!!

Everyone here is obsessed with my height (I have to estimate!) my blood type (don`t have a clue!) and my favourite Japanese word (which changes every time :P) ! They really do ask the weirdest questions....:D

I`ll try get some more photos up soon, but I really am technically challenged (especially when all the instructions are in Japanese!) so it`s a slow process!!

Jamata :P

La Ventanilla-What a place!

Mary Mc Donnell — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 19:35:03 +0000

Hola mis amigos! Que tal? Well, here I am in La Ventanilla! Well, I´m actually up the road in the nearest town, Mazunte at the moment, as that´s where the Internet is.

So anyway, Mark and I arrived here last Sunday morning early. We left Oaxaca City by bus the night before at 11pm. and set off on the 9 hour journey! I have to say, I really was sad to be leaving my host family-Oliva and her two lovely dogs-Bibi and Sam. I had such a lovely stay. Oliva was so welcoming, and so good to me. On the Saturday morning before I left, she brought me on a walk up to the bog auditorium that overlooks the city.It is set high up on a hill, and the view from there is amazing! It is a great place for joggers, as there are steps which lead from the coty centre right up to the auditorium, so that would be very good exercise! It is there in a couple of weeks that Guelaguetza will be held. This is a huge celebration of the various communities in Oaxaca, their traditions and culture. There will be lots and lots of dancing, Oliva assured me! It sounds great-maybe I will return to see it some year soon! I also got to see Monte Alban that day too. It is such an fascinating place-the remains of an ancient city, high up on a mountain!

I really loved Oaxaca City, it is a bustling place full of colourful sights and sounds, with beautiful weather also! But as much as I knew I´d miss the city, I also just couldn´t wait to get to La Ventanilla at last! Well the journey was one with many a winding road, but although U had been warned about this by my friends in Oaxaca, I actually didn´t find it too bad. We arrived to Pochutla at about 8am, and took a taxi to Ventanilla.

Well! La Ventanilla-what a beaotiful place! I don´t know how else to describe it, except to say-think of one of those pictures of the ideal beach-palm trees, coconuts, golden sand, blue sea, sun...I don´t think I believed such a place really existed!

One of the very first things we saw there, apart from the beach, were the tubs of baby crocodiles! They are so cute! They lie so still in the water-you would think they weren´t even alive-until the sharp blink of an eye! They are about 5 inches long.

We didn´t have any work to do that day-just to get settled into our rooms, and to get to know the place!

On Monday early, we began our volunteer work. We started with doing some painting. Wow, it is hot here! I´m not sure what the actual temperature is, but all I know is that I am constantly roasting, even at night! But anyway, I think that first morning in the heat was a but of a shock to the system. Hopefully we will acclimatise soon!

Anyway, this week, we have been doing a lot of painting, weeding and collecting rubbish and debris from the beach. It is amazing to me the amount of plastic hair combs we have found on the beach! I have lost count of them! We have also helped to clean out the baby crocodiles´ tubs, and we helped a little at the co-operative restaurant too. I´ve never worked in a restaurant before, but I found myself this morning serving a few tables, which was great! Everyone has been very friendly to us, making a real effort to try to talk to us, even though I for one can´t yet say an awful lot in Spanish , but I think it is improving little by little!

The definite highlight of the week so far for me happened on Wednesday evening. We were walking along the beach when we met one of the lagoon tour guides. He told us that a turtle had come ashore! And sure enough, further on, there was a big crowd of tourists-gathered around the most beautiful turtle -and she was about to lay eggs! It was such a wonderful thung to have witnessed. After she had laid her eggs-I think there were about 75, she returned to the sea. Her eggs were carefully buried in the turtle camp, where all the eggs are kept safe from harm until they hatch. There are eggs in the camp already that are due to hatch around the 17th of this month-I can´t wait to see that!

Now, in the midst of all the happenings this week, I discovered that the mosquitos seemed to be giving me a very hard time-this time with bites that turned into big blisters! They weren´t too sore , just itchy and unsightly, so I didn´t take too much notice-that is until Trinny, who runs the restaurant took one look and said they were no insect bites! So I went to the doctor in Mazunte, and sure enough, they are nothing of the sort, but a strange skin thing! I´ve got cream for it now, so they are improving, but it is a good thing that it was caught on time, as they had began to spread quite a bit! No shorts for me for a while. I don´t think it is travel related, I could have got it at home, but perhaps the heat flared it up or something! Anyway, I´m glad it is going away, it didn´t look very nice-the children here were coming up to me and asking what happened to my legs! If you have seen the film "The Fly", well they remind me a bit of that! Well hopefully they will be gone by the time I get home-but if not, on the positive site, they make a great halloween costume!!

So that is it for the moment, hope all is well at home and that the weather is good! Oh, also, I love the food here. I had such a nice omelette the other day-with strips of potato and carrot in it! Mmm! Well adios for now, talk soon!

P.S-still hard to believe I am here in such a paradise of a place!!

Mexico- My journey so far!

Jamie Kelly — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 04:57:01 +0000

Hey everybody, apologies for taking so long to post my second blog, I don't know where to start because I could probably write a book on what I have done so far, i'll try start from the beginning. I can't believe its been just over a week since I am here, just before I left I was having so many second thoughts, I can safely say its been the best experience ever so far , all my friends and family told me that I would love it here and I do!

So I flew from Dublin to Atlanta last Friday, the pre US clearance etc was a little daunting plus the fact I was really nervous etc didnt help so I spent the whole 9 hours to atlana wanting to turn around and just go home, I think because I travelled alone didnt help, having nobody to talk to gave me too much time to think. The flight was great, there was films and lots of food and drink. When I got to Atlanta I introduced myself to four girls I saw in Dublin airport that I had overheard were travelling to Mexico city, they were lovely, four teachers going travelling from Clare and Monaghan. I spent the 5 hour wait in Atlanta with them and the plane to mexico city, thank you so much if you guys ever read this, they made me feel so much better and I actually began to get excited, the nerves and thoughts of homesickness were a bit better having them there with me, when I arrived in Mexico city I said my goodbyes to them and met cecilia from the host organisation the airport, she was amazing from the time I met her and always answered any questions, no matter how stupid,I felt better again after talking to her, she took me to the hostel in Mexico city where I stayed for 2 nights before taking a bus to Oaxaca for spanish school. The hostel was really comfortable. The next day I took a visit to the host organisation's office and afterwards a tour of mexico city thanks to David :) Big thanks to you for your patience and friendliness, I spoke practically no Spanish then so well done for putting up with me! The following day I met cecilia early and also Leylah, a friend and another travel award winner , I was delighted to see her, they brought me to the bus station and waved me off for Oaxaca, Leylah followed me there the next day.

The bus to Oaxaca was great, it was really comfortable and the scenery was amazing, I didnt know what to expect at all when I got here but I can honestly say I have fell in love with Oaxaca. My host family are great, there is Rene and Rita the mother and father, their son marrisio who lives here too and young rene who lives next door, their other daughter Lidia owns the house next door, they have been amazing from the time I got here, always patient and willing to help, so friendly and welcoming. They also have a huge dog called maximo, anyone that knows me knows that I am terrified of dogs, they even come out and let me in regardless of the time just because I am afraid, they are all brilliant! I also have another housemate Kelly from Texas in America, she is amazing too, we are in the same class at school and shes always there for support when you need her.We have so many preconceptions and stereotypes of places due to the Media etc but I can say from experience that any ideas I had about Mexico were totally wrong, it has been amazing from the time I got here, the people are all so friendly. The Spanish school in Oaxaca is amazing, I absolutely love it, our teacher is amazing and I have learned so much Spanish I can hold a proper conversation and get by comfortably after a week. I have made so many new friends here, mostly american but also lots of mexicans, when I leave for Barra de Potosi on friday coming I can genuinely say I will be devastated leaving them but wil definitely keep in touch with all of them! Thank god for the internet. Mostly a typical day is 9am school until 1am, then this week I had alebrique workshops its like tiny wooden carved animals that you paint, its great, I will upload a picture to show you all!, thats from 3-5, I then have an intercombio session for an hour with a local boy called francisco, hes learning english so I speak spanish and he speaks english its really helpful! In the evenings we do different things, I go to the local markets with friends or walk around and explore some more of Oaxaca.

Today I went to Monte Alban it was amazing, its a huge area of land that was a settlement thousands of years ago by the largest indiginous people in Mexico, the zapotecs, it was breathtaking, afterwards we visited a local village and saw how pottery was made and got a chance to buy some pieces from local families. My brain is on overdrive from the amount of spanish, I think the fact Oaxaca is about 4500 feet makes you tired too, the heat also makes you more tired!!

I have done about 50 more things and want to write so much more but I think I have probably went on a bit much already. I cant believe how settled I am already, I miss home and my family and friends but I love Oaxaca, I am excited about going to Barra de Potosi and meeting everyone next week but will be sad to leave Oaxaca, I will definitely come back in the future!! If you had of told me I would be writing all that about a week ago or just before I came I would have never believed it, this is the first time I have ever been this far away from home so I had so many second thoughts about coming, I was contemplating telling EIL they had made a mistake picking me but I can 100% say that I am so greatful for everything they have done for me so far, I will defintely be using my "gift of the gab" as they say when I get back to make sure so much more people know about the travel awards.

So for now I say goobye, thanks to EIL, the host organisation, cecillia, david ,fernanda, my host family, all the amazing people and amazing friends I have made here in Oaxaca and mexico city. I will blog soon and post pictures soon. Having the time of my life here in Mexico so far so hopefully it continues that way.

Oops, forgot to say how interesting I am finding the animals in Oaxaca, my Mexican and American friends find it hilarious that we don't have snakes or lizards or giant beetles in Ireland.

Hasta luego!

Jamie

So its the final countdown, getting ready for Global Awareness Programme 2011!

Ceire — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 10:12:34 +0000

We are on the final countdown before the 5th July and an adventure and great educational opportunity begins! My name is Ciara O Meara and I am fortunate enough to be one of the people picked on the EIL Global Awareness Travel Awared Programme to Nigeria. The programme is centered on HIV and AIDS awareness and will allow us the opportunity to travel to Ilesha, a community in Nigeria for 8 weeks. The programme will allow us not only to contribute our own ideas, knowledge and experiences to the project but will result in us taking home much more skills and understanding on HIV and AIDS than we had imagined and allow us to be more confident and aware when tackling this subect at home in Ireland!

Getting the opportunity to travel on this project is a dream come true and from my own nursing perspective, will allow me to be more confident in delivering care and education to patients in Ireland and a better awareness of the needs of people living with HIV and AIDS in Ireland. Like every trip one takes there are fears, excitement, nerves, worries, we are nearly like new born puppies in a way! We will be taken out of our home comforts, away from the culture and ways we know and landed to a place of new beginnings, new experiences and new ways of life! But as a new puppy takes to a new family I can safely say I am sure that we too will be wagging our tails on arrival to Nigeria and estatic to get to work!!!

Despite being a nurse my knowledge on HIV and AIDS is very minimal, a small basis of a 40 min lecture! Before we depart the preparation and opportunties we have been given have been amazing and will be so beneficial to our work here. Our weekend on HIV and AIDS awareness in Kimmage Manor Dublin was extremelly informative. A combination of debates, group work, role plays and discussions got the wheels ticking and the brain into overdive on the huge issue which HIV and AIDS is, the reasonings for this and the things we can do to not only counteract the problem but to raise awareness. The theme which I took from the weekend is that education is the key, education can have a ripple effect and travel from person to person, community to community once the right information is had and delivered in a suitable way.

Unfortunaly a dodgy train station in Cork prevented me from making it to Open House with the rest of the Volunteers but reading up on the fantastic work which Open Heart House do and the benefit and new opportunities they give to people just made me more eager to get to work and start both learning and educating, both myself and others! Open Heart House are a fantastic organisation which I will certainly visit on my return.

I am hoping that this trip me benefit me on a number of levels, personally, professionally and as a community member in raising awareness and education on such a huge and globally devastating issue. Nigeria will probably teach us much more than we can ever give them but bringing what we experienced and learnt to Ireland will benefit us all and contribute to this multicultural approach in tackling a global issue.

Will keep you all posted on the adventures and experiences that await us!! Ciara! x

Week One: Orientation in Ibadan

Aine Carroll — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 09:45:51 +0000

Hi folks, just wanted to give a quick update on how myself and Ciara are getting on in Nigeria, almost a week in. We have just finished orientation with SYTO Nigeria in Ibadan and we have settled in nicely to the pace of life here. So much to see and do and think about - Nigeria is an unbelievably diverse, complex and friendly place. Yesterday we were taken to the mosque by our guide who is a Muslim and we prayed with the congregation, having done the ritual washing before we entered the place of worship. It was a fabulous experience covering my head and body for a little while and a window onto another world. A really stunning experience. The Imam even gave us a translated copy of the Koran to compare with the Bible! People here are very kind and will always find a way to help you if they can. Everywhere we go people are interested to talk to us and find out what we are doing here and when we mention that we are volunteers working on a HIV & AIDS project we have so far gotten a positive response. There is a lot of awareness raising done here in Nigeria with billboards and posters warning people of the dangers of unprotected sex, with a strong emphasis on abstaining from sex before marriage. I am learning that they place a lot of value on religion, marriage and children here which is good to know before we start working on placement in Living Hope Care.Its still the first week so Im sure there will be plenty more to learn over the next seven weeks, and I will be sure to keep you all updated. Looking forward to getting stuck into work at Ilesha. You'll be hearing more from me soon...Aine

Junior High School

Órlaith — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 09:28:31 +0000

Well I just finished my 3 days of Junior High School and it was brilliant!! It was my first taste of school in Japan, and it really is so different to Irish school!! First of all, right beside the school is a gorgeous Japanese shrine. It felt like the school was in the gardens of Blarney Castle or something!!

The Japanese schools follow roughly the American education system, but some things were completely Japanese.The students eat at school but there is no cafeteria. Instead, at lunchtime, every classroom gets transformed into a dining room. Desks are moved around, napkins and cutlery placed on the tables and the students hand out the meal, while messages and classical music is played over the intercom.Its very efficient and clean!! However, they eat very fast (many people have acquired the nickname Hoover :P!) and when they started to clean up on the first day I was only half way through my meal as Im VERY slow with the chopsticks. It was a relief to see a fork on my plate the next day, as I hate throwing food away!!

The students have P.E. every day and its good fun but Ive bruises on my arms from the volleyballs!! There are no dressing rooms, so the students just strip off in the classroom. It is normal for the boys to be walking around in just their boxers, but the girls are much more modest!!

The teachers have way less control here than in Ireland. The students can arrive late, spend the class talking or not paying attention, and many sleep if theyre tired!! I thought it was crazy at first but I do love having a little nap every now and again when the class gets boring....:P

I spent a lot of time at Junior High helping the English teachers with their classes, it was hilarious! The questions they asked me were comical!! Ireland isnt very well known over here, no one knows exactly where it is!! Most people think its in England or America because of the language.`Ask Orlaith` became the favourite game and the boys loved asking extremely personal questions :P

I had expected everyone to be shy but they were all so friendly and everyone made an effort to talk to me. Everytime I walked down the hall I got a chorus of `Helloooooo` or ` Orlaith Meaney san!` or even sometimes `I love you`!!!On Tuesday morning I had to make a big presentation to the whole school about Ireland. I had a powerpoint presentation and a speech in Japanese prepared. I also played my concertina and sang the Galway Girl. Anyone that knows me is aware that I am not a singer but no one ran frm the gym screaming anyways!!!

They all seemed so sad when I was leaving and I had to hand out my e-mail address to almost everyone and promise to send them news from Ireland before they would let me go!! I will miss Junior High, but it will be nice to be with students my own age again in High School from tomorrow!!

On Monday morning I left Junior High for about an hour to play the concertina at the High School. They were in the middle of a festival and there was some sort of music display going on which they wanted me to take part in. It was only when I arrived that I realised that it was a big competition on a stage in front of the whole school :O I blasted out a few tunes, knowing that no matter how bad I was they would never know, having never seen a concertina before!!! It all went grand anyway, and they seemed to enjoy it!! That night we attended the last part of the High School Festival. It was absolutely crazy!! The students danced around a big bonfire in the dark and rain while firemen sprayed them with their fire hoses!!!! There was awesome fireworks too, the atmosphere was incredible!! It was mental but great fun :)

I will now be going to High School for about 2 weeks, which leaves me with a couple of weeks at the end of my trip for sightseeing :) We have already planned a trip to Mt. Fuji and an overnight stay in Kyoto :D This weekend I also have my Welcome party :D :D

Everthing is amazing here! More news soon.............one photo uploaded so far but I promise more to come :D

La Nariz del Diablo and my experience so far

Damien Thomsondthomson-4@li — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 17:01:08 +0000

I'm half way through my stay here in Ecuador now. It flew by! I hope the next two weeks drag out! I really don't want to go home now!

On Thursday, I went to The Nariz del Diablo with my German friend Valerie. It is a train that goes down a mountain and there is amazing scenery all around. I study Geography in school so it was really fascinating seeing all the different land formations. We were given a free lunch half way through the train journey. Afterwards we went back to the train platform and there were a group of indigenous people dancing. Withing seconds Valerie and I where thrown a bowler hat and a poncho and swooped into the circle of dancers. Now I have two different types of Ecuadorian dance under my belt!

LOOK AT ME GO! Wooo! You don't realise how fun it is to dance wearing a poncho!

I've had a lot of family time here in Riobamba. I've been able to experience normal family living. One thing I love in Ecuadorian culture (and in most Hispanic cultures) is the physical closeness between people. Greetings always include besos (on kiss on the cheek here in Ecuador) or a handshake, even if you have never met the person before and in conversation people put their hands on each other. I think it's something we lack in Ireland. We're too afraid of getting close to each other!

Family is really important here too. I found the same kind of thing that Órlaith found in Japan. All the family relatives live beside each other. I think that's really nice. Families are really close here. They do everything together. Sunday dinner includes all the extended family, aunties, uncles and grand parents.

When I applied for the travel awards, I mentioned that I wanted to observe the religious culture here. I have always thought of Ecuador (and South America in general) as a really religious place so I wanted to see if they have any different thoughts on religion. I asked my host mother if we could go to mass on Sunday so I could see if it's any different. It's actually common to not go to mass here, like in Ireland too. My preconceptions were that everyone attended mass on Sunday here. The church was relatively full. I was so surprised at the discipline of the children. I'm so used to seeing children running around, talking and messing during mass but here I found that they all closed their eyes and prayed. Even the really small children! At the sign of peace they all ran up to give the priest a handshake. People give kisses and handshakes at the sign of peace too. It seemed a lot more genuine. It was a really nice experience.

I've been in Riobamba a week now and I really like the city. It was designed by 2 Italian architects so there is a big Italian influence with the fountains, parks, balconies and cobble-stone streets. It's really easy to get around Riobamba. All the roads are straight and I live in the centre of the town. One thing I love in Ecuador is the graffiti. It's so artistic and it's everywhere here! There are also lots of sculptures at roundabout too and different types of art speckled around the cities.

I'll try to keep my blogs short and sweet but I have so much to talk about! I really love this place! I'll keep yopu updated.

Hasta luego!

camping: japanese style :]

Órlaith — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 06:35:27 +0000

as i`ve been experiencing so much of the japanese culture, i decided it was time to give my host family a taste (literally!) of my own irish culture by making some irish food. as anyone that knows me is aware, i am no talented chef but my host mother had told me that she loved baking before i came to japan so i brought an irish cookbook as a present and she was really taken by the look of the potatoe pancakes, or hash browns. my host mother is very talented in the kitchen but couldn`t really understand the recipe and the steps were foreign to her ,so that left it up to me....uh-oh!! the mashing and the mixing all went fine, it was just the frying that posed a problem. i couldn`t manage to cook one potatoe pancake fully without burning it. after a few attempts it came down to the choice between serving it black or raw-ish (raw-ish usually won out!!!). suprisingly, they loved them! i must admit they didn`t taste half bad, though the irregular shaped scraggely pancakes looked nothing like the perfect triangular ones in the cookbook! nonetheless, they were scoffed down and my host family are now intrigued by irish food :]

this weekend we went camping up the mountains in the middle of the forset. it was with the local autism group, as my host brother is autistic. it was great craic!! the group of around 50 was made up of volunteers, children with autism, and their families. we stayed in lovely wooden cabins and every volunteer was paired with an autistic child (to give the parents a small break) or a sibling of an autistic child (so that the parents could give their full attention that weekend to their kid with autism). i was paired with the cutest 3 year old girl, mizuki, who`s big sister has autism. for the two days we did arts and crafts, all sorts of games (from baloon to melon pinata)and explored the forest. everyone had a great time!

i also got to get the experience of going to a japanese bath. while at the camp, everyone got very dirty and dusty from spending the day outside so i was relieved when shower time was called. i grabbed my towels and my swimming togs, as i didnt really understand whether it was showers or a swimming pool we were going to. the washing area was divided between the sexes, which didn`t strike me as too unusual. it was when we got into the changing room and everyone, toddlers to eldery women alike, began stripping off right infront of me that i got confused!! it was only then did i realise that it was a japanese bathing room (aka you wash thoroughly in a shower and then enter a communal bath, all the while completely naked!). i hesitated for a moment, even contemplated going inside in my swimming togs but after a moments thought, i said sure what the hell, when in rome and all that.....and it really wasn`t so bad, but the baths were absolutely roasting so i couldn`t stick it for too long!

at the camp, i also got the nicest chinese hand massage ever! after spending most of the time running around after children, it was lovely to lay down in a room of tatami mats and soothing music. the message focused on pressure points first (OWWW!) but then got more gentle and nearly made me fall asleep it was so relaxing!

tomorrow i start junior high. i must make a presentation about ireland (in japanese uh-oh!) along with singing, dancing, a few tunes on the concertina and a powerpoint presentation. hopefully they will get the gist of what ireland is like anyways!! at lunchtime i will be making a quick visit to the high school i will attend later in the week. the high school is in the middle of a festival, and there is some kind of music performance going on and they want me to play the concertina for them. better get practising then :P !

sorry to rub it in your faces (again :) ) but the heat here is still unbelieveable!!! and thats not just the irish person who is used to clouds and rain talking, there are news adverts every evening with tips on how to avoid heatstroke. its hot, even for them!!! having an amazing time, cant believe im here only 6 odd days!!!

jaane..:D

Indian Reality

AshB — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 15:24:34 +0000

Well it's two days to go and boy am I excited! I decided to call this blog 'Indian Reality' as I have always dreamt of going to India, I'm a dreamer in life and it's amazing to see so many come true! I think all the fear has evaporated as I am so curious to get going!! I have done alot of research on India!! I am going to Dehradun the capital city,in the northern state of Uttarakhand. Dehradun is renowned for its prestigious elite education institutions, Basmati Rice and it's natural resources. The Shivalik ranges at the foot of the Himalays is one of the most beautiful and picturesque parts of Dehradun and I hope to see it. Indian people from what I gather have strong traditional family values, it is common for men and women to enter into arranged marriages by their parents which is a completely different culture to our various forms of relationships. The issue that is worrying me most is modesty, I have been really careful choosing the clothes I am bringing with me as I know that in India women cover themselves and wear loose fitted Saris. I'm a student who lives in skinny jeans, tops of all kinds (I now realise, more than ever, show a good bit of skin) and jackets. When I go out I tend to wear short dresses, so this will most definitely be a fashion culture shock!!!

From the research I did, it seems the elite educational institutions is reflected in their local culture as alot of famous Indian artists, writers and intellects live in Dehradun, this will be interesting to observe as I will be living with a doctor. I am guessing it is a medical doctor but you never know! I can't wait to get going, my case weighs a tonne so I'm praying its not over the 20kg limit! I'd better go check! Ill be back blogging very soon with the beginning of my Indian reality!!!!:)

1) Pre-Departure - GAP volunteer: Aisling Egan

AislingEgan — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 14:36:56 +0000

I still find it crazy to think I am one of the four taking part in the Global Awareness Programme yet here I am packing the last of my bits and pieces and saying goodbyes. Winning this award has already had such an amazing positive impact on me. Danielle and I are going to South Africa while Aine and Ciara will be taking on Nigeria.

In the first leg of the programme, EIL prepared us for what was ahead. We had a wonderfully informative time at the Dtalk on Understanding HIV in Development and Community Responses to HIV. This was a massive aid to me as entering in on the programme, I had very little comprehension on HIV and AIDS and here we were given the opportunity to hear first hand experience and a time where people could share their stories. Next came our time in Comhlamh where we got to learn the importance of raising awareness and ways to campaign and approach the media. This generated much ideas and started to get us thinking how each one of us could try make even the smallest bit of a difference in our campaign. After this, we had what I found to be the most moving part of in the start of our journey and that was getting to visit Open Heart House. I actually can't praise this establishment enough, each person we came across was an inspiration and so willing to share. It made everything more real and opened us up to really consider each of the 6900 people living with HIV in Ireland. Then we joined other volunteers for a pre-departure workshop where EIL members gave us an insight on what to expect, how to deal with culture shock and useful things like that. It was lovely to meet other volunteers with similar interests and get to know them through role plays and other team exercises that EIL had laid out for us.
I haven't even left yet and I already feel like I am after getting so much out of this. To anyone considering volunteering, or applying for a travel award, I can't stress enough how much you should just go for it with a "carpe diem" attitude. I am a litttle nervous but incredibly excited as to what South Africa has in store for me but one thing is for sure and that's how much I will be making the most of each day during my two months over there.
Totsiens,

Aisling

first few days :]

Órlaith — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 06:10:36 +0000

well i`m here in suwa a couple of days now so i thought id give an update. i`m not starting school until monday so since i have arrived i`ve had the chance to ease slowly into life in japan :]

first of all, there was an earthquake on my second morning here!!!! i was in the kitchen with my host mother when her phone started beeping. i presumed it was just a text message but my host mother looked terrified, frantically switching on the television news channel and speaking very fast japanese. i sat there confused in the middle of eating my breakfast, getting worried. my host mother kept repeating a word and eventually i understood: earthquake!! we both dived under the table and waited. the tremor was only minor, not like i expected at all: nothing fell off shelves or smashed to the floor. the news channel was already covering the story, and the tremors had been much worse in nearby areas but nothing fatal. everyone was well prepared: people can get earthquake warnings on their phones and there are speakers everywhere that blare out warnings through the streets.since the disaster a few months ago, everyone is terrified by the mention of the word earthquake, but my first experience was quite exciting. then again, i`d rather i didn`t feel one again any time soon!!

yesterday i went to the high school to meet with the principal, vice-principal, my class buddie and my home room teacher. i got a tour and noticed that though many students were interested to see a foreign student, most were too shy to even say hello. as we were leaving, i bumped into a girl who had just gotten back from spending a year in america. her english was amazing and she was so excited to have someone to talk to in english again. we went to lunch together and promised to meet up soon. though i am struggling with my little japanese, i really want to improve my standard and try to use it whenever i can. however it was nice just to speak in english and have the person understand you straight away. due to the language barrier, it is sometimes difficult to always say exactly what you mean so it was a nice break to have a proper conversation!

the food here is nice but extremely different!! its weird eating soup and rice for breakfast! i have to eat very slowly as my coordination with the chopsticks is a bit challenged! the family gave me a thing that helps to hold the chopsticks in place, usually used for little kids :] it made things so much easier but i am still no master!!

suwa, where im situated, is located in an area known as the japanese alps. if i look out any window of the house i see forest covered mountains. therefore, the town has lots of hills. i went for a cycle with my host mother thismorning and nearly died afterwards!! i will be cycling to school every morning, which is up a hill ,so i expect to arrive every morning puffed and sweaty! i have also arranged a bike trip with my school buddy so hopefully she will take me on the flat track around the lake rather than up the mountains!! its very hard to appreciate the amazing scenery when you feel like your about to collapse!

i have noticed that my host parents are very close to their families. my host mothers` brother lives next door with his family and her parents live beside them. her 2 sisters also live nearby and she sees them often. i have already been introduced to them all. it was hilarious when we were at one of the sisters` house as the dog would not stop licking me: apparently my suncream tastes nice!! my host parents said that usually japanese people try to live close to their family and keep in good contact, as the family relationship is very important to them. my host mother looks to her sisters as her best friends. there is such a big focus on family here, much stronger than in ireland.

i`m really enjoying everything here, despite the constant heat and i am still tired from the drastic change of time zone. i cannot wait to spend over 5 more weeks here!! more crazy news soon, i`m sure :]

bai bai :]

El Dia de San Pedro

Damien Thomsondthomson-4@li — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 22:50:39 +0000

I arrived in Riobamba on Monday. It was sad saying buy to my Quiteña familia but I'm sure I'll see them again. I would have loved to have seen more of Quito, but my stay there was so much fun. I'll never forget it, and I know I'll be going back there soon! (besides when I'm staying the night there before I fly home!) My family in Riobamba are so nice! I'm really loving this place! It's quite a personal city, not too big but it has everything you need.

The first day, a German student called Anikah showed me around the city. A group of Germans my age came here for a year (some with no Spanish at all) and now they are all fluent!

Wednesday was the day of San Pedro, and on Tuesday night there was a big ritual on the streets of Riobamba. San Pedro is the patron saint of Riobamba. The full name of the city is San Pedro de Riobamba, so the festivals are particularly big here.

Eucalyptus branches and leaves are put in a big pile on the street and set alight. Lost of people from the town gather on the streets and there is a brass band and music playing. There is free drinks for everyone too. Then the jumping begins!

You're supposed to jump over the main bonfire 3 times and make a wish! The heat from it is extreme but it's completely harmless if you jump through it (except if you have hairspray on, which i wouldn't recommend!)

So I got myself together and I did it! First while it was small, but then i got brave! I ended up jumping more than 3 times! I hope that doesn't cancel out my wish!

After the bonfire jumping, the ceremony begins! A man in a poncho (yes, some people do actually wear ponchos here!) and hairy pants began the ritual by explaining the symbolism of the ceremony. The fire represents the fire in our hearts. (Couldn't really follow the rest to be honest!) Then there is a little performance of a man on stilts and a few dancers acting out the ritual. It was so interesting. Very well done.

After the ritual, there are more bonfires lite and everyone jumps! Then there is more music and all the people start dancing on the streets! Samba style! I even learned a few moves! There was also a Conga train to top it all off!

Before the whole ceremony, I was having a coffee with my host mother, and I man came up to us and asked where we were from. It turned out that he was from Coolock in Dublin! I couldn't believe it! What are the odds of finding someone else from my own city in Riobamba! He was travelling the Pacific coast on his motorbike.

Great night all together! You can kind of make me out jumping through the bonfire here! Don't worry though, it's actually not as dangerous as it looks!

Adios!

Pre-Departure Thoughts

Danielle-RP — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 09:05:26 +0000

In two days time I will leave for South Africa to volunteer with EIL as part of their Global Awareness Programme in Cape Town. I am extremely humbled by the fact that EIL Ireland offered me the opportunity to work with their partner organisations in South Africa who aim to raise awareness of HIV & AIDS with both youths and adults. I am really looking forward to working with these organisations and I am also very enthusiastic at the prospect of being able to learn more about the issues of HIV & AIDS in South Africa and in Ireland also.

As part of the programme I will be working with three other Volunteers, two will work in Nigeria - Ciara and Áine, and I will be working with one other volunteer in South Africa -Aisling. Meeting these other volunteers gave me great confidence in this year's programme. I know that with their determination, diligence and enthusiasm, together we can work successfully with EIL's Partner organistions in raising Awareness of HIV & AIDS while on placement, while also creating an effective awareness campaign surrounding the issues when on our return to Ireland.

The training and support provided by EIL thus far has been constant from the beginning. We have had seminars and training days surrounding the global issues of HIV & AIDS over the last two months with various groups and speakers. The Issues of HIV & AIDS in the Community setting run by D-Talk was an incredibly awakening experience as this was my initial introduction to the actual impact of HIV & AIDS in the world. I left this training day with a lot of my questions answered but also left with many questions raised as I began to come to terms with the fact that the issue of HIV & AIDS was much more complex than I had imagined. This provided me with the yearning to research and learn more about the issues raised as I became increasingly aware of my own lack of knowledge, and perhaps ignorance, of HIV & AIDS.

We also had seminar with Cómhlámh in Dublin which provided some insight to into effective campaign plans. The most memorable aspect of my training was our visit to the Open Heart House in Dublin. It was here that I was welcomed to meet those living with HIV & AIDS in Ireland. This awakened my senses in a way that allowed me the insight and understanding of the strength, determination, love, warmth and pure acceptance that goes with the suffering of living with HIV & AIDS.

Tomorrow I will pack my bags and Leave for the first leg of my journey to South Africa. I am excited, eager, nervous, determined and confident all at the same time. I feel very passionate about this programme and I look forward to working with it in South Africa.

A full days travelling! El Mercado!

Damien Thomsondthomson-4@li — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 20:49:21 +0000

Well, I have so much to catch up on. So much has happened!

On Saturday, my host family was getting another student, Brianna. She was from the Pennsylvania and she was staying in Quito for 5 weeks teaching English. It was actually strange speaking English again. We kept getting so confused!

After picking her up from the airport, we went straight to my host mother's parents house for a big family meal. (I had 2 host mothers in Quito, they're sisters.) We met all the extended family and we had a really nice dinner together. We were really immersed in normal Ecuadorian way of life. It was a really enjoyable night and the food was delicious!

The next day, we had organised to drive to some of the quaint towns in the north of the country. We got up early in the morning to spend the whole day there. There were 2 cars going and 12 people, so Brianna and I decided to go on the back of the camioneta (a truck-like car.) It was amazing! We drove for hours and there were some of the most incredible views I've ever seen. Some of the landscape is quite like the west of Ireland actually.

The two of us couldn't stop looking around - the mountains are so dramatic here, and the clouds creep over them like smothering blankets. It's breath-taking. The sun was shining and there was a breeze that was sure to keep you awake! We had our cameras out the whole time trying to capture as much as we could!

We stopped in a town called San Pedro to have breakfast, and also another viewing point where we could get some photos with a lama! We then continued on to Otavalo where the big market is. This was the best part! We walked around this huge market where they were selling all things Ecuadorian! I finally learned the art of haggling! For all of you who need some help, follow my tips!

1. Pick up object and ask how much it is.

2. Act extremely surprised and put down object.

3. (They might ask you how much you think you should pay) then say a price that's reasonably lower.

4. They'll pick a number inbetween. Act uninterested.

5. Say "No gracias" and start to leave. Then they will come after you with the object you want and the price you chose!

SIMPLES!!! You won't believe some of the stuff I came back with! The only problem now is fitting it all in my suitcase!

After the market, we stopped at an aquatic centre where we went swimming and down the water slides! Great craic altogether! On the way home we went to Mr. Chancho's for a bite to eat and got home and fell fast asleep. What a day!

I'm in Ecuador a week now, and there is not one second I didn't enjoy. If only I could stay longer! But I have 3 full weeks ahead!

Adios!

First stop.... Buenos Aires

Steph Elliott — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 11:25:42 +0000

Saludos desde Buenos Aires

So as you have probably guessed I have landed safe and sound in Buenos Aires but before I fill you in about my stay here so far let me first speak about my last few days at home before I set out on this little adventure. I met with all the other volunteers at the pre-departure workshop that was held in Cork. It was so lovely to meet everyone and to hear about their fears and expectations. The workshop was really informative and I was especially grateful of Aislinn (the volunteer from last year) telling me about her experience in Chilecito and answering my hundreds of questions. After this day my emotions were up and down as it really hit me that I was actually leaving in 2 weeks (sounds silly I know). My last 2 weeks at home flew by, I was busy with Spanish, vaccines and buying essentials such as adapters, medicines and some extra warm clothes. I was really lucky to get in touch with Leo the volunteer from Germany who has been volunteering in Chilecito for nearly a year . He gave me some great tips about presents for the kids so I hope they like them!

At the orientation day I was given a pack with all my essential information and also a description of the host family. I will be staying with a woman called Betty (my own mam's name also) who is also the local co-ordinater in Chilecito so I don't need to go very far if I need questions answered. I have been told that Betty is very active and her house is always filled with people and friends. I am really looking forward to meeting her on Friday.

So I said my goodbyes to all my friends and family on Sunday the 26th of June and I must say there were tears (happy tears). Benny drove me to the airport early on Monday morning and my dad Eamonn came along also. It was really tough to say goodbye to everyone but this trip is going to be a once in a lifetime opportunity. I left Dublin Airport at 6.10pm the flight was an hour and a half. When I landed in Frankfurt I got a drink and some nibbles before I got on my 14hr flight to Buenos Aires. I got a window seat which was a bad idea considering the size of my bladder!!! The flight went by very quickly and the drops that mam bought me really helped me ( thanks mam!) I landed in Buenos Aires at 8.30 am on Tuesday the 28th of June. I filled out my landing card before I got off the plane and made my way to immigrations then customs then to the bagging area. When I got to the arrivals area there was a guy with a sign saying"STEPHANIE ELLIOTT" he directed me to a currency exchange office where I changed US Dollars to Peso as I was unable to get it back home in Ireland as it is a closed currency. I then got a taxi to the hotel Reina. The taxi was organised by the office in Argentina and it is chipped so they knew exactly where you are once you are in the car.

I got to the hotel at 10pm dropped my bags and made my way to a Locotorioto call home and let them know I landed safely. Wonda called the hotel and gave me directions to the experiment officina. I got a little lost on my way to the office but the people here are so friendly and helpful. When I arrived I was greeted with hugs and kisses. Daniel a member of staff preapred a tradional meal called "Empanadas” which were very tasty. They had so much food preapared for me and made me feel very at home. Nina gave me my orientation and I left the office at 3pm.The girls in the office arranged I spend the following day sight seeing with a group of American students who were also taking part in the experiment programme.Nina a volunteer from Germany offered to meet with me my first night in Buenos which was so lovely I was so happy to have plans for the evening. I returned to the Hotel and got ready for my first night in Buenos Aires.Nina and I went for a long walk aorund Buenos Aires and she brought me to Sante fe. We ate in a really nice restaurant called Camana she is so lovely I am even planning on visiting her when I return to Buenos Aires in September

On Wednesday I set off sightseeing.Martin was our tour guide for the day and told us a great deal of history which was really interesting. We went to La Boca which is a neighbourhood or barrio in Buenos Aires and well worth the visit. We also went to the Casa Rosada or the pink house(offices of the president in Argentina).. I returned to the hotel after a long day and relaxed for the evening. The hotel I stayed in has wifi on the first floor which was great as I was on facebook and skype to my friends and family on Wednesday evening. I have four hours to myself tomorrow before Carola a girl from the experiment office comes to pick me up at the hotel and bring me to the bus station. I cant wait to meet everyone and finally arrive in Chilecito. I will speak to you all soon when I land in Chilecito xxx

Japan: setting off :]

Órlaith — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 08:41:49 +0000

I am very excited to be starting my travel blog as it wasnt so long ago when i was reading the blogs of previous winners and dreaming of getting an award!! i had meant to begin this blog before i left for japan, but i am fairly technically challenged and couldnt quite get the hang of it!!

i am writing this from the home of my host family (who are so lovely!!) and the temperature outside is about 35 degrees. after catching 2 planes, 2 buses and a train, i have finally arrived!!

first impression: i am going to love it here!! the poople are all so friendly ( on the bus journey the random old ladies kept pointing at the sights of tokyo and the countryside out the window just in case i might miss an eyeful of their wonderful country!), the food is yummy (so far!) and my schedule seems brilliant. i will be starting high school on monday and i will be spending this weekend camping with my host family and about 50 other people. i will also be visiting junior high and elementary schools, meeting the mayor and visiting the sights!!

i will update with more news soon, and hopefully some pictures!! no matter how much i write, i dont think i can properly relay just how awesome it is here!!

jamata for now :]

Hello again!

Mary Mc Donnell — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 23:41:33 +0000

Hola! Well it is my second week here in Oaxaca and I do feel more like I am begining to settle in! I{ve been getting to know the city a bit more, and went tosome very interesting places.

But first, before it has gone on too long, I must recap on my journey here! It was a very new experience for me, going on an international flight. I hadreally underestimated what would be involved at the airport, in terms of security, etc, especially because we were stopping off in Atlanta for a few hours. So all was going pretty much according to plan, and I got the train up to Dublin with my mother and my gran-aunt Nora. It was on the bus to the airport that things got a bit confused as Mark text me to ask me had I filled out my ESTA form! I had never heard of such a thing before. It is a sort of visa waiver for entering the United States. You can´t even check in without it! So I got a fright but it was very good that Mark had text me because at least when I got to the airport, I was able to ask how to do the form instead of queing up to check in, oblivious. So I filled it out online, and with much help from my relations at home (thank you very very much) on the phone-giving me a credit card number to use, as it had to be a visa card. It said eventually that it was approved. About a half hour had gone by at thiis stage, so there was still plenty of time, but then-ah! When I got to the top of the long queue, I was told that it had not in fact been authorised-I had only put in the numbers from my passport, and not the two letters at the start! Panic was begining to set in just a bit at this stage, as they said I´d just have to do it all over again! And they seemed pretty doubtful that I´d make the flight, but there was nothing they could do. Well...I filled out the form again, and thankfully the airport staff called me up immediately to the check in, without having to queue. They also rang the people taking care of the flight, and told them I´d be speeding up to them. And that I did! I got my exercise in for a good while. I thought it was all done once I had got past security, but alas there was then a thing called U.S pre-clearance! There was a big queue there too! I was really worried but then someone came out and asked if anyone in the queue was for Atlanta-and about a third of us were! So that was a massive relief, as I knew they would wait. So then it was plane sailing!! I was never so happy to be in an aeroplane, I can tell you! After that, taking off was really not scary at all! It was wonderful the amount of food and tea and water that you could get on the flight! At the start, they announced the schedule of food for the flight. It went a bit like this: tea or coffee, then rest, then lunch, then I think tea, coffee again, rest for a while, then I think a snack and a drink, rest, and then pizza and ice cream! I was very impressed I must say with how nice the food was! It must be such a big operation to have fed us all-Í´d also never been in such a big plane! So after a stop-over in Atlanta-(I´ve never seen so many planes taking off!), we continued to Mexico City. The second plane had lovely cosy blankets!

We were met by Cecilia who works with a partner organisation of EIL, and we were given a very warm welcome. We went straight to the hostel as it was about 11.30pm there, but 5.30am in Irish time, so we were a bit tired to say the least!

The next day, we went on a lovely tour of Mexico City with Fernanda who works with Cecillia, and her mother. It is such a big place. It has beautiful old buildings, and big skyscrapers too! We had a really lovely lunch also! We saw the House of Tiles, and the fine arts palace amongst other sights. Oh, we also went on the subway, which was a great experience! It is so busy, and it goes so fast! It is very efficient, if you miss one, another is not far behind. It was a bit like the Luas I suppose, only underground!

So after one more night In Mexico City, we continued by bus to Oaxaca City-I think I have brought you up to the present day!

Oh, I have got a touch of Montezuma´s Revenge-travel sickness native to Mexico! But I was at the doctor today, and I got some medicine, so all is well, and begining to feel much better already! We were told before we went that it would be very likely that we´d get some form of this, so it was no surprise, and I think it could be a lot worse, so I´m lucky!

Oh, so to the markets! Thes mercados! I went on Friday afternoon with Oliva from my home-stay. What an experience! Certainly I was surrounded with new smells and sights and sounds! The markets are outdoors and indoors, but the ones we went to on Friday were indoors-and they are vast! Everything from shoe (handmade), to clothing (also handmade and beautifully embroidered), to meat, to vegetables, to pastries, to wooden animals, to ....well, most thing you could want! Including the local speciality-fried grass-hopper! I love the embroidered dresses!

On Saturday, I went to Teotitlan, a nearby town. The trip was with a not for profit group based here in Oaxaca. What they do is, they use the money they raise from the fee for the trip, to provide interest-free loans for women in the town soo that they can set up, or continue a business. What a wonderful idea! We visited the homes of some of the women to learn about their business plans, and we also got a weaving demonstration! There is a beautiful church there, and many great murals on the walls!

So then on Sunday, I was delighted as Oliva brought me on a surprise trip to El Tulle, a 2000 year old tree! It is so big! It is amazing to think of all that it has seen! I also saw a huge butterfly there!

So I´m having such a wonderful time, and I´m heading to La Ventanilla on Saturday night! I can´t wait, although I really love the city here too. Well I must head back for supper! I hear tell of a mini heat-wave in Ireland! Hope so, and hope you are all enjoying it! Talk soon!

Mary

Global Awareness Pre Departure: why I can't stop pinching myself...

Aine Carroll — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 11:40:17 +0000

This is my first blogpost ever, one of the many new things I am learning thanks to winning a travel award from EIL. Just one more week now before I depart for Nigeria to complete the second leg of the programme, having just completed the first. I am nervous and excited in equally healthy doses and can't help but feel compelled and inspired by the work that EIL have put into developing this incredible programme - the Global Awareness Programme. Myself, Ciara, Aisling and Danielle are the lucky Global Awareness volunteers 2011 and I'm delighted to be sharing this experience with these enthusiastic, interesting, and kind people. The training period was a great way of getting to know each other and of getting to know the issues around HIV & AIDS. The quality of the training and facilitation throughout the whole process has been outstanding - from the pre-departure workshop, to the media and awareness training at Comhlamh, to the introduction to HIV & AIDS in Development with Dtalk, and the half-day training at Open Heart House, each component has shown a different dimension to the causes, outcomes, and possible solution options around HIV & AIDS. The pre-departure workshop was great craic and really informative. Meeting people like us who were heading off on their travels and returned volunteers was a great opportunity to dispel any nerves and to ask any lurking silly questions that we might have about our unfamiliar destinations. Comhlamh aswell was a window onto the campaigning world and an opportunity to see that when people are well-organised, committed and supportive of each other, anything can happen. I now know that awareness raising is an essential tool for inspiring popular support for political action, which is ultimately what I believe achieving equality is all about.

At Dtalk, we learned about some important nuances that can affect the spread and impact of the disease including gender, development, poverty, sexuality & drug use. We also learned that some sub-Saharan states (e.g. Zambia and Uganda) are 'mainstreaming' gender and HIV & AIDS, meaning that these issues are currently being woven into every aspect of governmental policy and activity, which I found very encouraging. What stood out for me though was how stigma can add unnecessary suffering to a person's life. It's funny how little we question our own prejudices that pop in to the mind unannounced at various stages throughout a persons life, or even just throughout their day. Judging people it seems is a way of life, an instinct, a reflex, and reflexes can be hard to unlearn. Dtalk provided us with the opportunity to begin to unravel our own prejudices, to recognise them, to question them, and ultimately to discard them.

And for anybody interested, the global meets the local at the top of Parnell Square, St. Mary's Place, Dublin 2. Here at Open Heart House, we learned some of the more human and moving dimensions of living with the disease including hope, solidarity, wamth, welcome and acceptance. It sort of knocked my understanding of HIV & AIDS out of it's comfort zone as I am beginning to recognise it as not just something that governments and NGOs talk about, nor is it specifically a problem in a 'development' context either: it is something that affects people's lives in multiple ways on a daily basis right here Ireland, probably in your neighbourhood, or else not too far from that. It is organisations like Open Heart House that provide essential, frontline support to people affected by the disease and I was blown away by the kindness and sensitivity I found there. I will carry this feeling of warmt, welcome and acceptance on my journey with me to Nigeria and beyond.

I have a suspicion that the training was carefully organised to deliver just this precise impact, another reason why I can't recommend EIL highly enough. They haven't asked me to say any of this, but so far every aspect of the programme has been absolutely spot on. It is not only a fantastic opportunity or an amazing experience, but a privilege to be taking part. If you feel you have something to learn and something to contribute, and if you are reading this and wondering whether or not to apply for the Global Awarenss Programme, or any other EIL opportunity, DO IT.

You'll be hearing more from the Global Awareness Team 2011 in the future, wish us
luck!

Áine

blog 2

mark clarke — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 22:22:55 +0000

Well I´m just about finished my first week in Mexico. Its my 5th day in Oaxaca and I´m finished school for the weekend. Myself and Mary have spanish classes monday to friday in a language school here. Its a beautiful little school with palm trees, mango trees, its very scenic but then you go outside the gates into the middle of a busy intersection, the traffic is hectic here following traffic signals seems optional. The classes are really relaxed and small numbers. The teacher is extremely patient thankfully as i´m still struggling with the basics but it´ll all sink in eventually, not so sure about the salsa classes I´m doing in the evening though, I´m shocking at that ha.

Its alot to take in but its an amazing place the people are so friendly and so many strange insects, foods and festivals. There seems to be some sort of religious festival nearly everyday. The weather seems to be a bit bi-polar one minute theres a scorching heat the next there a roar of thunder and the heavens just open and it lashes rain for an hour then back to being sunny. But its the rainy season here til september so thats the norm.

The locals eat so much fresh fruit and veg compared to back home. Most of which i´ve never seen before but its all pretty tastey. Theres 3 local tradional Oaxacan foods I plan on trying before I leave here next week, one I have tasted already, jamica, pronounced ha-make-ca its a drink made from a type of red flower its pretty good. The other two are a bit more exotic, chupalinas, theyre a type of grasshopper that is grilled and supposed to be crispy and sour but very tastey the other one is a sweet sauce thats made from the thorax of large flying ants, I saw people colecting the ants in the park yesterday morning so I´m eager to give that a taste Anyway gotta go hasta luego

I´m here! My first day in Quito.

Damien Thomsondthomson-4@li — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 17:57:38 +0000

I´m here! Finally! It took a whole day of travelling. Well worth it though!

I had 3 planes to get. And I didn´t go to sleep at all the night before I left. I knew I´d be too excited,and I was still packing my bags! (I only got my suitcase the day before!) So I was shattered by the time I got to Dublin Airport. My Aerlingus flight was grand, but it got a bit complicated in Amsterdam!

I went straight to the departure gate when I got to Amsterdam. They give you a quick interegation before you can sit down. I went to check in and I was told that I can´t fly to Atlanta! Apparently, you now need an ESTA form (a type of visa) if you are even going to an airport in the U.S. It is only a new procedure and I hadn´t heard of it before.

So I had to go buy an ESTA form on the Internet, and I needed a credit card to do so. Typically of me, I had no credit. (I really should have got some before I left!) I tried using a payphone but it wouldn´t work. What to do! I sent my Mam a ring me and she came to the rescue! She rang me straight away and left me with her credit card details and also informed EIL of my situation. She also topped up my credit online. What would I do without her!

I ran around Schipol airport like a headless chicken looking for a computer, but of course, I couldn´t find one. At this stage I had an hour until departure. I approached one of the KLM air hostesses and she saved me! She brought me into the back offices and we filled out the form with me. (which took a long time. ) The 2 of us then sprinted back to my departure gate with around 10 minuted to spare. I would still be in Schipol if it weren´t for her. I met a lovely American family from South Carolina on the queue for security check. They stayed with me until I got through Atlanta airport.

I learned a lot about travelling. I learned that you need to be pushy if you want to get to your destination. Don´t let people mess with you and play the sympathy card . I went up to the KLM woman and just said ´I´m only 16 and I need help .´ It worked!

I arrived in Quito and found my host mother and brother in the airport. My family are really nice. I really enjoy their company. I´ll be staying with them until Monday and then I´m off to Riobamba.

I did something brave yesterday, I had eggs for breakfast! Even at the EIL pre-departure workshop, we had to say one thing that we didn´t like and I said eggs. But the funny thing was...that it was actually really good! Ha! I´m not converted yet thought! The food is really nice here. The biggest meal is lunch at around one. There is always soup to start with and then something else. Then we have tea and something small later on.

I really like the city of Quito. It is hilly and there are huge mountains everywhere. It´s incredible. My host mother walked me to the EIL headquarters, only 5 minutes away. I have already experienced the relaxed lifestyle here, as I was 15 minutes late and I still had time to spare. I like that about Ecuador, everything is relaxed. I had a quick tour of the building and an orientation. I was told about living in Ecuador, the Do´s and Don´t´s.

After that, I went to the market with Andrea, one of the EIL staff. We went to see all the different fruit and vegetables. The food here is so fresh, and there are so many different types of things. We bought loads of strange, delicious fruit for less than 5 dollars! There are red and purple bananas too. They´re really sugary !

I then had my first Spanish lesson here after I had lunch. It was really relaxed and fun and I learned so much. I came home and stayed with my host family until I went to bed. We were chatting and having tea. They´re really friendly. I got a good, badly needed 12 hour sleep, last night so I´m ready for the rest of my trip now! I´m really enjoying Quito, I´m definitely experiencing the honeymoon phase right now. The keyboards here are confusing but I´ll keep you updated!

I have to go. Lunch time now. YAY!

Ciao!

I'm here in beautiful Oaxaca City!

Mary Mc Donnell — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 23:57:36 +0000

Hola! Hello! Well...I am in Oaxaca City! So far, everything has been so exciting. Where to begin! Well, I've been taking Spanish classes since Monday, and I am staying with a family in a beautiful casa (house), along with two very cute dogs, which suits me down to the ground. I have been welcomed far beyond my expectations! I really love the food-breakfast is my favourite-lots of fresh fruit! I am very well looked after. There is no fear of me! If anything there is too much food and comfort in the house-at night I have been going into my room to study, but I have ended up falling asleep, it is so cosy in there! So Oliva in my house now asks me if I am off to "study" (in inverted commas) after the supper!! The weather has been mostly sunny, with a few thunder-storms for variation! In the afternoons I do a cooking class at the language school. I am begining to find it a bit easier to understand Spanish when I hear it, but of course, I have a very long way to go!

The mosquitos are very glad that I have come to Mexico, they have tucked in! It just seems to be me-no one else in the language school has been bitten much! We have language exchanges with local people in Oaxaca. It´s called "intercombio". My intercombio friend Lucelle says that the mosquitos love tourists! I went on a tour of Oaxaca with her today. It was a great way to begin to find my way around the city, while also picking up some new words. The city is very colourful. Many of the buildings are painted orange or blue, or they are built with a soft orange brick. There are lots of flowers and plants as well, and big mountains surrounding the city, often with a little bit of mist on them-they really look lovely! There are a huge amount of markets here. Tomorrow I have a free afternoon, so I´m hoping to take a wander around. I will fill you in on the bargains to be had!

Oh here is the rain outside now! When it rains, it does rain a lot, but it is ok because you know that very soon it will be dry and sunny again! I have to head back to my house now for the supper, but I will continue soon with my updates. There is so much to tell already-from getting the plane (just about!), to our stay in Mexico City! So I will continue soon!

Hope everyone at home is very well, I will talk to you soon.

Mary

Mexico

mark clarke — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 20:50:15 +0000

I probably shouldve started a blog before I left but better late than never, I guess I have already started picking up the Mexican mindset of theres no rush theres alway "manana" or tomorrow.

Well as you probably guessed the travel award I won is to Mexico to work on an eco-tourism in La Ventanilla. Its an 8 week programme the first two weeks are in a homestay with language classes because right now my spanish skills are non existent at the moment so that suits me. Then the following 6 weeks in La Ventanilla, its a small co-op community on the coas. There is another travel award winner with me, its been great having a travelling companion for the long trek here.

So lets get you up to speed with what I have been up to so far. Its only the third day of my Mexican adventure so far. I have just arrived in Oaxaca to my host family house, Oaxaca is pronounced wa-hac-a. It is a beautiful house just of the main street. I have a huge room to myself, kind of theres two geckos i think? that run up and down my wall they were there first so I guess I will just leave them there.

I have so much more I should say here but I have to run I will blog again soon although before i go i have to say not flushing used toilet paper down the toilet just putting it in the bin is gonna take some getting used to. Hasta Luego

Nos Vamos! Ecuador in 3 hours time! This is it! :)

Damien Thomsondthomson-4@li — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 17:09:20 +0000

Hi everyone! I'm Damien and I'm off to Ecuador in approximately ... 3 hours! The excitement! I'm flying to Quito to stay with my host family there for around 5 days before I go to my main homestay in the city of Riobamba, just south of Quito.

Quito is the second highest capital in the world and seems so interesting. It's high up in the Andes Mountains with a mix of the Inca and Spanish culture. I'm really looking forward to seeing what that is like. Riobamba is in the heart of Ecuador. This is the place where I hope to experience real Ecuadorian lifestyle and culture at its best.

I have some great activities lined up including an excursion on Chimborazo (The mountain with the peak that is farthest from the earth's centre,) seeing the waterfalls of Baños and a trip to La Nariz del Diablo (the Devil's nose! - scary right! check it out on YouTube! )

I have a long day ahead of me! I'm flying to Amsterdam, Atlanta then Quito, and on my return I'm stopping off on a tiny little island north of Venezuela called Bonaire (I discovered that almost half of the island is the airport itself!) I've just finished packing and I'm staying up all night so that I can sleep on the plane and because my flight is so early in the morning.

I found out about EIL from a poster that was put up in my school. I was instantly intrigued! I love travelling and learning about other cultures and customs. I told my family I was entering a competition to be an ambassador for Ireland in Ecuador and I got a tepid response. I too at the time didn't realise how incredible it actually is! Then came the interview. This opened my eyes to how much I wanted to do this. The interviews were done so well. It was such a relaxed atmosphere and it was great fun. Just talking to Gary and Ryan, past winners, just made me so excited! It felt like a trip that was made for me - speaking Spanish, living with locals, seeing wildlife and experiencing a different culture, It's right up my ally.

After around a week and half of nail biting and "maybe it could be me's" came the phone call. I remember shrieking down the phone to poor Marian on the other line. I couldn't stop smiling for a long time after that. It took weeks for me to come to terms with it, that I would actually be going. For some reason, it was surreal, I couldn't imagine it being true. Every time I'd say to myself "Damien, you've won, you're going to Ecuador" I'd get the same shock i got when I was first told.

Since then, I have spent my time Googling "Ecuador" and keeping my Spanish up. (It wasn't until after I won that I realised it was spelt "Ecuador". I fell for the common mistake of using a Q instead of a C - Equador! Woops!) I really enjoy Spanish, and one thing I'm particularly looking forward to is being in a position where I have to speak Spanish. I know it doesn't seem appealing but I get a great kick out of it! I'm delighted that I'll be staying with families. It gives a real insight to their lifestyle and I'll have a

My only main concern is getting around the airport. Everything else has me even more excited. My goals are to experience Ecuadorian lifestyle and understand their culture, represent Ireland well, become more adventurous, make new friends and to enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It will be interesting to see how I feel I have done by the time I'm back. I'm going to give this trip my all and try to do my best in every aspect. Venga lo que venga! :)

I'll blog soon and take lots of photos :D Finally I'd like to give a big big big thank you to Marian, Gary, Ryan and EIL.

Hasta luego!

EIL Features on Newstalk's Global Village

Kevin Hickey — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 08:47:48 +0000

Well done to Aine Carroll, Ciara O'Meara and James O'Connor of Open Heart House who were interviewed on Newstalk's "Global Village" about the work of the EIL Global Awareness Programme and of Open Heart House in Dublin. A really great listen... provides some fantastic information and perspective. Brilliant job guys! You can listen in here, the interview is at the start of Part 2.

Just hours to go before setting off! Yippee! :)

Mary Mc Donnell — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 23:36:53 +0000

Hello! My name is Mary Mc Donnell, and I am the very delighted, excited winner of the Mexico Travel Award. I am setting off tomorrow morning (or in fact, should I say this morning, looking at the time with shock-after midnight!). I'm travelling with another award winner, Mark.

It was the second year that I had applied for an EIL Ireland travel award, and I was thrilled to have got as far as the interview. The interview day was actually very fun in itself. It really was unlike other interviews, in that it was organised that you did fun group games to begin with, so that you got to chat with and get to know the other entrants, and the people on the interview panel. In this way, by the time it came around to the individual interviews, I wasn't half as nervous as I usually would be at an interview. I have to say that everyone in my group was very lovely, and it was a very enjoyable day.

But when I got the phone-call to say that I was the winner, I really, really could not believe it. It took a long while for it to sink in that I would actually be travelling to Mexico, and spending the summer there, volunteering at La Ventanilla, on such an interesting eco-tourism project, working with baby turtles, baby crocodiles and iguanas, and other animals too! I'm also really looking forward to helping out at the restaurant there, as I love baking and cooking-I'm also looking forward to tasting Mexican food! Showing tourists around La Ventanilla also sounds great.

The first two weeks will be spent in Oaxaca City, attending Spanish lessons. Here, I will be staying with a family, so that is very exciting too, to experience family life in Oaxaca! So many things to look forward to!

We had the pre-departure workshop in Cork last Monday. It was great to meet all the other winners, and hear about their projects and destinations. We also got to meet past winners, which was just fantastic, as we could hear first-hand about their experiences. It was lots of fun, and it was very reassuring to be able to discuss things face-to-face with the lovely EIL Ireland staff.

It will be wonderful to be able to share my experiences here with you over the next two months. I'm bringing over my sound recorder, so I hope to maybe do a couple of interviews, and record the sounds of life in the parts of Mexico that I visit. I also hope to upload here some pictures and mini-movies of the trip.

Well as I am writing now, I am finally finishing my packing, and wondering what the chances are that I haven't forgotten something! My train will be leaving at 6.10am tomorrow to bring me to Dublin. My mother and my gran-aunt are going to come along too, so it will really feel like the start of an adventure! I'm a little bit scared of flying, but I also love it-I can't wait to be flying over Ireland-I've never seen it really from the air as any flights I've taken so far have been out over the Irish Sea. And the excitement of flying into Mexico City....I will tell you all in my next post!

Ok, well I better go and check that I have everything, and head off to bed! I look forward to keeping in touch through the blog! Adios! Thanks for reading!

Mary

Global Awareness Programme: my experience

Gill Carter — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 17:17:55 +0000

I was delighted when I found out that I had successfully secured a position on the Global Awareness Programme with EIL. It was the only travel award that I had applied to and had felt really passionate about all the component of the award. I was excited about going away for eight weeks to South Africa and I knew working in a HIV respite centre and living in a township would open my eyes to various issues and allow me too consider a new culture and way of living. I was apprehensive about a number of things, and my emotions were spontaneous varying from excitement to anxiety of the unknown. It was a thrill to feel I was entering the unknown and to learn about issues and topic I had never before even considered. My eight weeks in South Africa were truly eye opening; I realized what a beautiful country it was, in both the sense of geography, culture and society. I was working in a respite centre and my duties varied from day to day. Some days I was helping the patients, attending support groups, visiting hospitals and clinics, liaising with NGO’s or organising HIV awareness presentations and more! Every day was different and every day was new. The training and information given to me by EIL before my departure was great and really informed me on important issues so I felt reassured and relatively knowledgeable for when I arrived.

The beautiful thing about the Global Awareness Programme is that when you come home your experience does not end, the campaign that is attached to this travel award is great. It really allowed me to get thinking about what I wanted to convey to the Irish public and what I wanted to share about my trip abroad. As part of the campaign I have done a wide range of things varying from writing articles for my University magazine to making an awareness video. As part of the campaign, the four Global Awareness Participants have collected their photos together and made a photo exhibition which has toured the country at this stage! I have also tried to make HIV an important issue on campus in my university, and so; I put together ‘UCC HIV Awareness Week’. For the Awareness week I collaborated with various other related societies such as; SUAS, Atheist Society, Microbiology Society, Film Society and Slainte to hold a rang of talks, information stalls and fundraisers such ‘UCC’s Got Talent’ which was held on World AID’s Day in December and which raised just under €1,000 for two HIV related charities. My awareness campaign is not over yet! I still plan on visiting some secondary schools to give some presentations on my experience and I’m very keen to get involved in more work with EIL in the future!

EIL Travel Awards 2011

Piers Meynell — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 15:47:05 +0000

If you are a young person or student who has an active interest in world affairs and think that you would benefit from a challenging adventure in another culture then one of these awards could be for you. This year we are offering around 14 fully funded awards where EIL covers all the programme costs and 8 partially funded awards where most of the programme costs are funded by EIL.

What Travel Awards are available?

Individual awards (fully funded)

 (Age 16-18): 6 weeks in Japan; 4 weeks in Ecuador.
 (Age 18+): 6 weeks in Mexico; 10 weeks in Argentina.

Group Awards

 (Age 17-22): 9 days in Hong Kong as a member of the Ireland-Hong Kong youth exchange (partial funding for 4 participants) .

Other Awards

 DEIS or Youthreach students: 4 fully funded places to join the Hong Kong exchange group.
 ACCESS students: 3 fully funded places for young ACCESS students and 1 fully funded place for a mature ACCESS student on a 2 month Volunteer Abroad programme.
 Secondary School in Germany Scholarship: 2 fully founded scholarships to live with a host family and go to school in Germany from a semester to a full academic year.
Global Awareness Programme: 4 partially funded places for  8 weeks volunteering in South Africa or Nigeria coupled with training and awareness raising here in Ireland.

Additional Travel Awards may be announced through the year, please keep an eye on the Travel Award section of our website, our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter for details.

How do I apply?

Visit the Travel Award's web page and follow the instructions: typically you just need to download and complete a short application form and write a short essay before posting both to EIL. You can apply for as many Awards as you wish: though you do need to make a separate application for each one e.g. you could apply for two travel awards by completing two application forms and writing an essay for each.

A few of the Travel Awards require you to be nominated for the award by a teacher or Access Programme Administrator rather than applying directly, the forms for this and instructions on what is required are available on the relevant award's page.

When is the closing date?

The dealine for application and nominations for the majority of the Travel Awards is 5pm on 25th March 2011. The closing date for the Hong Kong and DEIS / Youthreach Awards is 5pm on 30th April 2011.

Who are EIL looking for?

What is EIL looking for?

In assessing the applications we receive, volunteer or other community involvement as well as leadership potential will take priority over academic capacity. The Awards are open to a range of different age categories starting from 16 years old and successful applicants need to be available to travel during the summer months.

Previous experience abroad is not a factor, indeed an objective of the awards is open up participation in our programmes to people who might not otherwise be able to take part in our programmes, nor have had similar experiences.

Who/what is EIL?

EIL Intercultural Learning is an Irish "not for profit" organisation which provides intercultural learning opportunities through a range of programmes including study abroad, volunteer abroad, development education, group educational travel programmes and other cultural immersion activities for about 2,000 people every year. EIL is a member of the oldest education exchange organisation in the world and the Irish office is based in Cork city. The umbrella organisation we're part of has gone on to inspire such things are the Peace Corps and the work of EIL itself has been recognized by the UN. For more information about EIL Intercultural Learning please see our website.

Why is EIL offering these Travel Awards?

EIL Intercultural Learning is a not-for-profit organisation, we have no shareholders nor offer any dividends, instead all funds raised through our activities are ploughed back into the organisation and our ethos. Running these Travel Awards, enabling people to take part in our programmes who otherwise wouldn't not be able to do so, is one of the means in which we do this.

Ecuador 2010. The Experience of a Lifetime.

Brendan Kelleher — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 15:29:58 +0000

Ryan McMahon, winner of the 2010 Travel Award to Ecuador reflects on his experience ...... "Applying for this travel award all those months ago I had high expectations of this trip and I’m glad to say they were exceeded. My time in Ecuador was exciting, challenging and rewarding. Although I was involved in several volunteer projects along with other international participants much of my time was left free. With this time I was able to truly experience the Ecuadorian life and culture through my host family and their friends. It was this immersion in culture and my experience of a genuine Ecuador that separated this trip from a ‘holiday’. It was so much better.

My first few days in Ecuador were spent with a very welcoming family in the capital city of Quito. My new host mother greeted me with “Como estas?” and I could only stare blankly back in bewilderment. Giving an indication of how little Spanish I knew on arrival. Surprisingly, by the time I left Ecuador I had picked up a lot and could follow a basic conversation. To this end I had Spanish lessons which really enhanced my time in South America it allowed me to make friends and to participate fully in my family’s day to day life.

A few days after my arrival I accompanied some American teenagers to the Mindos cloud forest. Described to me as a ‘mini rainforest’ it was visually stunning just as I had anticipated. The Ecuadorian landscape is very different from that of Ireland or anywhere else I’ve ever been. It has mountainous regions, rainforest and an impressive coast and it’s this along with staggering biodiversity and vibrant culture that Ecuador has become known for. In Mindos I was glad to talk with some fluent English speakers and was able to visit an amazing butterfly farm and travel down a tributary of the Amazon in a rubber ring!

Almost as soon as I’d arrived in Quito it was time for me to leave again to start my main home stay in Riobamba. This was a smaller city in the Andes and it had a very different atmosphere to the hectic capital. With a quiet pace of life it was more relaxed even when in the centre of the city where I was very fortunate to be living.

My host family really were fantastic and put a lot of effort into making me feel at home in Ecuador. The mother is actually Riobamba´s Eil rep and has very good English, the children spoke some too which was a relief; it definitely made it easier to get to know them. They were all really welcoming as were their friends, always taking me along to social events and fiestas. My host siblings had so many amigos so the house was always busy which was great. Although at the beginning it could be frustrating not to be able to talk to people my Spanish improved steadily throughout my stay and talking to people in a new language became very satisfying. Riobamba was a really nice place to live and my location on the main street was perfect for socialising and getting to know the new city and its new people.

The last 3 weeks in Ecuador were a whirlwind of activity and time really did fly by. I travelled to a beautiful city called Banos where my host brother and I climbed right up underneath a huge water fall. We got absolutely drenched but it was probably the most exciting thing I’ve ever had the opportunity to do. The sheer force of the waterfall was mind-blowing and the ice cold spray was exhilarating. I also joined a group of America teenagers to hike Mt. Chimborazo. The summit of which is the closest point on earth to the moon and the furthest point from the core. Although I declined the extreme 10 hour climb to the top, I did climb above the ‘roof’ of Europe. The hike was incredibly difficult due to the freezing cold and the thin oxygen as a result of the altitude. A few of the group didn’t make it to the check point but thankfully the altitude didn’t give me any problems although every movement seemed exhausting. This was my first time meeting the Americans who would become brilliant friends to me during my time in Riobamba.

After the hike we cycled 30 miles for a late lunch. Although down hill much of it was in the blinding hail and snow, so quite difficult and it really was very cold. We started out biking in the snow and then as we got further down the mountain reached the dry roads. From there we just rolled, frighteningly quickly, down miles and miles of smooth wide mountain roads. It was difficult to judge the speed but the group snaked past some trucks and busses so we must have been going quite fast. As we moved lower the landscape changed and we took a dirt path for a few miles which was really difficult as much of it was uphill and we had to navigate past some angry dogs!

Although I loved my new Ecuadorian friends it was great to talk to people who were in the same situation as me. So I was very glad to be introduced to the American teenagers who had also won scholarships or travel awards. I became good friends with all the Americans through our shared experiences and I really hope to meet them again someday. My American friends and I were really able to live the high life in Ecuador seeing as a 3 course meal in a nice restaurant cost only two dollars! My volunteer project in Ecuador was based between a local playschool and local orphanage. The two were very different. Our work in the playschool was simply painting it and although it was big with all of us working together we finished it in 3 days. At the orphanage the conditions were awful. Many of the children were victims of various forms of abuse often at the hands of their parents. They had no socks or shoes, basic food and all slept in one big room. The children there were somewhat neglected and in desperate need of affection. They would jump up and try to hug us as soon as myself and the other volunteers would walk in the door. The fact they were so excited to see us coming and so sad to see us leave showed how much they valued the attention of which they were deprived. The orphanage represented one of the major problems with Ecuadorian society; the exploitation of children. In Ecuador children can be very profitable and are often more successful at begging and roadside selling than their parents would be. Some of the children had been living on the streets before coming to the orphanage. It was working here that had the most profound impact on me and I hope to take a year out in order to volunteer in an orphanage abroad before I attend University. Although it’s great to see my friends and family again I genuinely miss Ecuador and all the amazing people I met there. For me that was the best part. The country itself is amazing; the landscape, the climate, the wildlife and the culture. But what really interested me most were the people. In Ecuador I made friends from all over the world and many visits to and from Ireland have already been planned!"

Ecuador 2010. The Experience of a Lifetime.

Brendan Kelleher — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 15:25:36 +0000

Applying for this travel award all those months ago I had high expectations of this trip and I’m glad to say they were exceeded. My time in Ecuador was exciting, challenging and rewarding. Although I was involved in several volunteer projects along with other international participants much of my time was left free. With this time I was able to truly experience the Ecuadorian life and culture through my host family and their friends. It was this immersion in culture and my experience of a genuine Ecuador that separated this trip from a ‘holiday’. It was so much better.

Photivation, human rights captured

Caterina Totaro — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 12:02:51 +0000

Photivation, human rights captured

EIL launches today its first photo competition! Photivation, human rights captured aims at raising awareness of human rights through photography and challenging stereotypes.The winner of the competition will have their photo published in the Irish Times and take part in a workshop with a professional photographer, Edmund Ross, shadowing the work of his studio and also have their portrait taken by him. Read here more details

Hong Kong 2010

Sarah Brazil — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 12:46:24 +0000

To say an experience was life changing would most definitely be an understatement to my experiences this Summer. On the 10th of August I was one of 12 lucky Irish students to travel to the other side of the world, Hong Kong. Without EIL Ireland giving me this opportunity I don’t think I would have ever imagined a trip to Asia before I was 20! Personally, after the long flight from Amsterdam and the collection of the bags from the belt, I was so nervous to meet our Hong Kong delegates. I had no idea what to expect, I actually had butterflies! Although, as we walked out into the large hall and saw a group of people with signs and little flags (and even identity cards☺ ) my nerves totally left me. We were friends from the moment we introduced ourselves, their friendly smiles lifted our tired spirits as we walked out of the airport and into the concrete jungle that is HK. As we stared out the windows of our coach into the alien city, tall skyscrapers, busy markets and crowded streets passed our gaze. I have never felt more like a tourist in my life. Even the scaffolding had us talking! Bamboo?! We went to a restaurant and attempted to eat dinner. Back then I hadn’t yet mastered the art of chopsticks...sometimes I felt like just digging them into the food like a fork, but that was kind of defeating the purpose. Now though, I’m quite the professional with them! ☺ Over the course of the trip we were brought to so many amazing places, from Temples and centres to the Fun park and markets! Though, my experience differed from the rest of the groups’. I had a little tour of Hong Kong’s health system too! ☺Unfortunately, I became....immobile for part of the trip, which as my mam said ‘sure if you’re sick, where better to be sick than in Hong Kong!’ The care I received was brilliant and the Hong Kong delegates were always checking on me and forcing me to take medicine... I also was given a wheelchair and repeatedly forced to be in it, I had some very dodgy drivers but everyone was so nice and offering to push me around! I’m so grateful to everyone for all their help and support! ☺ The wheelchair I admit was quite fun! If I spoke in detail about everything we did in HK I’d be here for hours, so I’ll try to keep it short! One of the most beautiful places we went to was definitely our trip to see the Symphony of Light. Something that would put the lights of Dublin to shame, we stared in awe, as across the water the countless story high skyscrapers glistened and occasionally shot laser beamed lights into the night. When we visited the peak, we also witnessed the beauty of the city both in light and darkness again. The Peak was no doubt one of my favourite parts of the trip. Our visit to the Noah’s Ark resort was a great experience. Something so random and so impressive at the same time! Staying in the hostel with the HK guys that night was great fun too. The trip to Ocean Park was also a favourite of mine, especially since I am quite the rollercoaster junkie. I absolutely loved it! And even saw some gorgeous animals too! Now, I can’t speak about going to Asia without talking about the food! It’s fair to say that the Hong Kong cusine is very different to the chicken and spuds we have at home... I tried to be as open minded as I could, tasting all types of food that I wouldn’t normally have. I loved them all actually too! Although, I wasn’t as brave as some people, (tasting Duck feet...quite the experience in itself I’m sure ☺) The food was definitely an interesting aspect of the trip. Oh! And the birthday cake too! Was unreal! No doubt, one of my most memorable moments of this trip was the Home visit. One night, all of us Irish were put into 3 groups to go to one of 3 HK homes. I went to Hei Mans home along with Donal and Theresa. Now, naturally we brought the Trad instruments with us and Donal even graced us by wearing his Kerry jersey! ☺ We were all set (since I was still wheelchair- bound) we walked/rolled to the train. Even on our journey to Hei Mans house we had such a laugh, you can only imagine the faces of the people in the train station as I randomly hopped out of my wheelchair as if by miracle to use the escalator. Was gas! As we came into Hei Mans apartment building I couldn’t wait to see what his home and family were like! We took the lift to floor 16 and came to his door. His mother and father were there to greet us with open arms and I immediately felt at home. At Hei Mans house we had a gorgeous dinner (possibly the nicest sweet and sour chicken I’ve had and will ever have) and loads of other food......steamed egg was also one of my favourites! And then after dinner we had a little music session. Hei Man had failed to inform us he was a master with the piano so we were quite shocked when he first began playing (showing off :P) his piano skills! ☺ I also was given a chance to root through his tutorial books and get an insight into his school course. Soon after, we started a little jam session in Hei Mans apartment, with Theresa and Hei Mans parents as our audience. We even had Theresa showing off some impressive Irish dancing skills. It was an absolutely brilliant night and I think we all agree on that! I’m so thankful still to Hei Man and his family for opening up their lovely home to us! I miss everything about Hong Kong from our late night Trad sessions in the hostel, to our adventures around the beautiful city with our new great friends. My experience in Hong Kong was more than I could have imagined, it taught me so much about myself as well as others and the world around me. I met amazing friends, saw incredible sights and all with the added sense of magic in the air. I just hope that the Hong Kong guys enjoyed Ireland as much as I did HK. ☺ Thank you again to EIL for making my journey possible! Sarah....x

When Are You Coming Back

Paul Q — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 16:50:42 +0000

After what was an incredible weekend we came back to the office on Monday for our last week, but there was zero time to get nostalgic about anything. My card teacher’s condition had deteriorated a lot over the weekend and his infection was getting worse, so he was sent to hospital again. But later on, the other client who had been catatonically depressed and hospitalised the week before, walked in with a big smile on his face. The turn around period for some people is quick. A lot of the clients made leaps and bounds in their health during my time at the project.

Most of the week was spent wrapping up the work that we had been doing. Gill and I made an emergency contacts poster, with a list of all the NGOs and services available for people looking for help in Kayamandi. It had names and contact details and other relevant information so we brought copies to all the schools so ‘Life Orientation’ teachers would know what to do and who to go to if they are approached by students like ‘Mary’. We gave them to the other NGO’s as well so they would know who to contact, where to send people and what the other organisations were doing.

Unfortunately during the week we got news from the hospital that one of the clients our ‘cards teacher’ who had come to the respite centre the day I started had died. The support group for people living with HIV in the community that week was particularly sombre, people had lost a friend, and you could see how HIV doesn’t just affect one person but a whole community. Despite that the entire group sang and danced as usual and even did an extra request for me and gill considering it was our last day on the project.

After support group we went to Inkanini, an area of Kayamandi, on home visits. Inkanini is an illegal settlement entirely composed of unofficial dwellings (shacks) where kayamandi spilled over onto private land, there is no electricity, no sanitation, or no running water, but, it could well be the most densely populated part of the township. We visited a lady who Gill has spoken about in her blogs. She had been very ill and her children were taken into care but when we arrived at their home we met a group of health happy kids running around and the lady herself, in good health and clearly doing much better.

The boys I taught English to moved onto book number 3 this week... so they are doing great.

On my last morning in Kayamandi when I was saying goodbye to my family, my host brother asked ‘when are you coming back?’, it was an easy answer though ‘as soon as I can’.

Kayamandi has been amazing my host family, the people, the culture, the food, the other volunteers, everything. It has been a great experience.

Xolisa

Read here Paul's previous blog

Street Party The Township And Petted A Cheetah… What!

Paul Q — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 16:48:37 +0000

This week started by travelling to a town 2 hours away for a talk on ‘sexual violence’. It was really interesting and there were people from all over the world at it. One of the guys had written a book about HIV and Stigma so he gave both myself and Gill a signed copy which was nice. What was bizarre however was the venue. There were goats, impala, horses and a pot belly pig strolling around the grounds outside, in the car park, on the lawns; everywhere … I kid you not! Bizarre!

A new client arrived, a young guy probably in his early 30’s, he couldn’t speak, stand, move on his own, he was catatonically depressed and the entire back of his body was covered in open bed sores. Although he had been staying with family they didn’t know what to do with him. He was in such a bad way that he had to be transferred to hospital straight away. It was really difficult to see.

On a lighter note, we finally got a venue for our workshop though. Another NGO in the township has an afterschool project with 75 teenagers and asked us if we would do the workshop with them on Friday, clearly we jumped at the chance. It went really well, the group got involved plus we had sweets as incentives which definitely helped participation! It ended up being a long session we were over there from 3 to 8 with organisation and everything, but it went well. It covered everything, we did a power point presentation, activities, a condom demonstration, even how the HIV prick test works.

From there we went directly to an engagement party. There was a huge celebration. We started with a meal, then we moved to another part of the township for the rest of the party and stayed out talking to everyone and dancing in the street with half of Kayamandi until 5.30 in the morning. It was incredible! Half way through the night myself and some of the other volunteers had what we call a ‘make a memory’ moment. We are not only in Africa; we are in a township in Africa. We’re at a street party and its three o clock in the morning!

The next day a group of us went for dinner at a nearby vineyard, we were brought to our table which was in a tree house! (as you do) and later on, I got to visit and pet the Cheetahs on the reserve. I should probably add at this point that they are hand reared and I don’t just go around Africa randomly petting wild animals!!

In other news the exam results from the HIV course at the university are out. I got the second highest result in the class… whoop whoop!! Delighted.

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Still Striking... Nooo

Paul Q — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 16:46:17 +0000

Because of the HIV workshop hiatus, myself and Gill have been meeting with some other organisations in Kayamandi this week. There is one that do fairly large scale testing, they went to section J of Kayamandi last week so we just missed out on that, but they’ve asked us to join them on another testing programme next week.

We were talking to them about our own programme for a while and talking about stigma, discrimination and other issues surrounding HIV. You can see how frustrating it must be for them. There is this great free HIV testing and free medication scheme available to everyone. But, a lot of people wont get tested in case somebody sees them and then tells others that they are HIV+, or, because they are afraid that if they start taking medication people will see them at the clinic and know their status. How can the HIV pandemic be tackled if people won’t get tested or won’t start taking ARVs after they find out their status. The fear around HIV is just incredible. At the same time you have got to put yourself in other people shoes. Imagine if you tested positive for HIV, how would you react? It’s an impossible question to answer.

So yea, the strike escalated a bit this week! There were marches and stuff around the township so the staff who continued working at the clinic in the township had to keep their cars on the grounds of our organisation. They put a big cross on the wall outside as well to show that the organisation has some religious affiliation as well and that they weren’t really public sector workers.

My ‘cards teacher’ was moved into hospital as well. It looks like he is developing an infection after his amputation. On top of that the sarcoma is spreading onto the other leg and he has reacted badly to his pain relief medication... its not good. Myself and Gill got the chance to visit him for a while which was great he was delighted to see us. As it turns out he was discharged later that day so he was only kept in hospital for three days. When he arrived back he seemed to be in much better spirits, back to his old self.

Also, just when you think you know someone, I found out that Gill has never had a Mc Donald's apple pie (random point of information I know).

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His Name Is Xolisa, Don’t Call Him Paul

Paul Q — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 16:37:47 +0000

A national public sector strike has been announced over the weekend, doctors, nurses, teachers, guards… everyone is on strike. So needless to say the workshops have been put on hiatus for the time being.

I’ve been in the office a lot more this week just helping out with anything and everything that needs to be done in the respite centre. I’ve become friends with one of the clients, he’s been teaching me more Xhosa and every lunch time I’ve been learning new card games. I still can’t shuffle though… my hands just don’t work that fast!! The food we get for lunch here is amazing. It’s all African dishes, not quite as exotic as ‘Smiley’ thankfully!! Mealie Pap, Boerewers, Shishebo (Gills favourite!!), Samp and beans (my favourite!) and Chakalaka... its great, I’ve got to find somewhere at home that does all this stuff now.

I was given a Xhosa name this week by the people at work. Its Xolisa (pronounced C – click – o – lisa), it means peacemaker which is nice. Gill is now called Khutala, pronounced as it reads, meaning busy one. So we’re bona fide Xhosa people now. I might not even come home at this rate!! Joking! But yea, the Xhosa names have completely caught on. My host family now call me Xolisa, kids at the after school, and all the staff at work. Someone missed a few days and called me Paul when they got back, the word had literally just come out of their mouth when three people in the room shouted his name is Xolisa, it was hilarious.

I was able go on some home visits this week. Its basically a way of making sure that people who had been in the centre are in good health, are taking their medications, maintaining a support network for them and that sort of thing. Home visits definitely give you an idea of the size and layout of Kayamandi… huge and erratic! Going between the shacks is outrageous you get the impression that you could get lost in there forever! Luckily I didn’t!! Something I didn’t expect though was the difference in living conditions between people who live in informal dwellings (shacks). Some people have a bed, a mattress that the children share, a couch, a television, some other furniture and maybe even a car. While others just have a one bed/mattress and you wonder where everyone that lives there sleeps. For some reason I hadn’t really thought about the different levels of poverty before. I know South Africa has an unemployment rate of 24% with an estimated 50% of the population living below the poverty line, but even then I hadn’t considered how people’s basic living conditions could vary so much in that situation.

‘Mary’ also visited us at the organisation this week. As it turns out there are a lot more problems there that need to be addressed then we thought before. She was raped when she was a child by a man who was not convicted and still lives in the area, so she sees him from time to time. On top of that there seems to be some domestic abuse as well, although that could be as a result of HIV dementia which makes the situation even more difficult. This girl is amazing, she arrived with a beaming smile on her face, we know that she’s doing great at school, has lots of friends and has the gift of the gab, but she’s going through more then most people could ever even relate to. She has been introduced to all the staff here at the organisation, who’ll give her support, we’ve made an appointment for her to see a rape crisis counsellor, and we’re getting in contact with all the other NGO’s and safe houses in the area to create a wider support network for her as well. Hopefully there’ll be a positive outcome for her.

We finished up the final three days of the HIV course at the university over the weekend. It was really weird leaving, it was an intense couple of days and we had gotten to know a lot of people. They really integrated us into the group which was phenomenal so yea ill miss them. We do still have to sit an exam for the course so I have to get my head in the books over the next week to prepare for that.

Oh, and a group of the volunteers went to ‘Corridor’ the nightclub in the township again, it never fails. And yes, people are still trying to teach me how to dance South African style!!

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Its All Business Here

Paul Q — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 16:31:33 +0000

So, refreshed from the course at the weekend, we started this week by making a pitch to the ‘Life Orientation’ teachers at the high school, about HIV/AIDS workshops in the school. Thankfully it went well and they’ve asked us to come back next week and do at least six workshops with the older groups, possibly a second session as well. So yea, this week has been spent running around like mad trying to get all the prep work done.

While we were at the school one of the teachers approached us. She started by telling us what a big problem HIV is in Kayamandi and then told us that one of her students, we’ll call her ‘Mary’, a 16 year old girl, had come to her and told her that she was really worried what would happen to her. She’s an only child being brought up by her mother, a woman living with HIV. ‘Mary’ wanted to know what options would be open to her if her mum died, she has some extended family but they had severed all ties since they discovered her mothers HIV status. Not the normal worries a 16 year old should have. Anyway, just as we were sitting there the teacher shouted out the window and told some students to get ‘Mary’ to come to the office. Honestly I had no idea what to do. ‘Mary’ arrived and explained her situation, and all I could say was that I would go back to our organisation and see what we could do to help. I’m not going to lie, it didn’t feel great. Here was a young girl, with serious worries, telling us intensely person stuff and I just didn’t know what we could say or do.

We got back to the organisation and told them about it, so we are in the process of trying to set up a ‘support network’ for her. We’ve made an appointment for her to come to the organisation next week so I’ll keep you updated on what’s going on.

I forgot to tell you in the last blog that myself and Gill were invited (slash invited ourselves!) to join the university’s HIV outreach team in Kayamandi. It’s a project called ‘Vision K’ or ‘Vision Kayamandi’, basically we meet every Tuesday evening after work with a group of teenagers from the township and do activities that get them talking, asking questions and hopefully challenge their ideas about HIV. This week there was a vote with your feet exercise, a controversial statement was read out and the kids had to say whether the agreed, disagreed or were unsure, and explain their reason for standing on each side of the debate, its was great they got involved and were really passionate about it as well!

Kayamandi is amazing; I think everyone should come here. My host family are brilliant; I’ve been designated homework corrector which is funny! I’m getting to learn a lot more Xhosa… and finally after a few weeks practicing I can finally say the name of the language… progress!!! (Xhosa is pronounced C - click - osa).

It is definitely strange to walk out of my house in the morning when there are rows of shacks (informal dwellings) made of wood and corrugated iron right outside my front door. It’s not something I can see myself getting used to any time soon, but the people are great. Everyone and I mean everyone says hello (‘Molo’) and chat to you as you walk around. It does mean that you need to leave 30 minutes to do a 5 minute journey… but its ‘Africa Time’!! I love it. I end up having little conversations loads of people a bit in Xhosa and a bit in English. They laugh a lot when I speak Xhosa so I know it’s not up to scratch just yet, but like I said I’ve got the click down now so I think I’m on my way now!

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Memorias de Ayer - In Ireland 2 months on

JamieKeating — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 16:17:49 +0000

Hi Everyone. Ok so I know I am back in Ireland already and as great as Dublin is, I am sure I won't be able to top my stories from Ecuador. But, I wanted to post one more time on this journey. I wanted to make a point of saying that in winning the travel award, I was not only lucky enough to see a new part of the world but I was able to create a HUGE change in my life. Something I have noticed more recently. I called the blog post 'Memorias de Ayer' for a few reasons. Firstly, to try and be dramatic and try and get you to read this :) . But secondly it is a really good Spanish song I know ;). Which, by the way, I now understand since I started learning Spanish in Ecuador! I suppose another reason is to make a point that my journey with Puerto Quito hasn't ended since I got back to Ireland. I think this is quite important to let people know. As I myself hadn't expected it. While I knew that I wasn't going to Ecuador for a standard holiday, I didn't expect that I could stay in regular contact with the people I met when I returned. But yesterday I got an email from one of my students. Which was great! Unfortuneately it wasn't a question about English. He asked me to fix his facebook account because he didn't know how :D It is nice to know that I wasn't immediately forgotten! I have also been in regular contact with my host mother in Quito. She often sends me articles about science because it's what I study.

Aside from this, some of you may have seen the problems in Quito at the time of writing. It was very strange to see the riots on the T.V. in areas where I was, merely weeks ago! I have friends in Quito and it has made me feel quite nervous watching the images. It is very strange to see such a scene, one that is shown on the news from so many countries around the world, but to have some sort of connection. Since I returned to Ireland, I have joined the Development Education Commitee in EIL Ireland and we were discussing how images portray development in the world. In this respect, it couldn't have been more fitting for me to have seen these images. I felt alot stronger about what I was seeing as I have a connection there. It is a small bit of a tangent but I think it is a good example of how the trip has impacted upon me.

This post is quite a bit shorter than the rest but as I said, Im not going to be able to top my other stories! So, I won't try... :)

El Regreso - Back to Ireland!

aislinn — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 13:46:47 +0000

Hi everybody! I'm back from Argentina about 3 weeks now and I'm already finding it hard to believe that I was really there! It turns out coming home is almost as hard as leaving in the first place. I'll tell you all a bit about my last few days in Chilecito, the journey home and what its like to be home!

My last few days working at the project were very busy as we had loads more food thanks to a donation from a local catering service. This meant that we were able to cook meals for the children everyday. On my last day in the comedor, we had a party for the other volunteer's birthday and my going away. Some of the local women cooked chicken on the asado (barbeque) and Reina, who helps us in the comedor baked two cakes! It was really great to have such a nice meal with all the children before I left. It was difficult saying goodbye to the kids. It must be hard for them because they are constantly getting to know new volunteers then having to say goodbye to them. I left something to remember me by, a green leprechaun pencil each and some new paints and games!

After I finished work in the comedor, I had the weekend to pack up and say goodbye to my host family, coordinator, the other volunteers and friends. My host family brought me out for a meal and I was overloaded with gifts and cards from all my friends in Chilecito. I was touched that they went to such effort even though I was only there for a relatively short time! Lots of people turned up to see me off at the bus station which was so kind of them! Saying goodbye was hard, but I hope that I can come back to Argentina some day. When I come back, the first place on my list to visit will be Chilecito. Its a small town, with a lot of poverty and located in a province that few foreign tourists visit, but the people there are the some of the kindest and most welcoming I have met anywhere. Before I left I had myself prepared for the fact that I might feel lonely or excluded during my stay, I never imagined that I would feel so welcome.

When I got back to Buenos Aires, I realised how far my Spanish had come. I saw it in small things like 18 hour journey back, I knew when it was safe to get off the bus for a sandwich without being left behind, because I could understand the conductor's announcement. On my last night in Argentina, I stayed in the same hotel in Buenos Aires as my first night. I remember talking to the lady at reception on my first day with a bit of "Spanglish" and lots of hand gestures. On my return I was able to have chats with the same lady with few problems!

It was great to get home and see my family after my long journey, but I also found it more difficult than I thought to settle back into Irish life. I miss my friends in Argentina, but luckily Skype and Facebook make the distance between us seem a little less! I also find it challenging to explain the whole journey to my friends and family here. I guess some of it just can't be told as a story, it has to be experienced!! All I can say is that I have learned so much from my trip, possibly more than in a year in university! I've gained a new language, I feel more independent and I have a fresh perspective of life in Ireland. I attended the EIL Welcome Back Day in Dublin last Saturday which was fantastic. I got to meet other people returning from volunteering around the the world which was great because even though they were in different places to be they understood what it was like to come home after being a volunteer abroad. It was a great day and I would recommend future volunteers to attend.

Thats it from me for now I'd like to finish up this blog by thanking EIL for the Travel Award that made my incredible experience in Argentina this summer possible! :)

A close-up perspective on Aids in Nigeria

Caterina Totaro — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 13:34:27 +0000

On September 24th, 2010 The Clare Champion covered Emily Price's story. See the article.

It is a fairly common experience for teachers in Ennis to have children in their class from Nigeria and other Sub-Saharan African countries. When I heard I had won a travel award to visit Nigeria, I was pleased to get the opportunity to learn more about the life experiences of some of my pupils. EIL Intercultural Learning, the organisation who gave me the award, is an Irish not for profit organisation, which provides intercultural learning opportunities for about 2,000 people annually.
I set off for Nigeria with very little idea of what to expect. Like most people in Ireland, I was aware of the unrest in Nigeria and my perception was that it could be a dangerous country but nothing could have prepared me for the wonderful warm welcome I received. I was immediately stuck by the eagerness of everyone I met to make my stay in Nigeria worthwhile.
Almost everybody in the country speaks English but Yoruba is the tribal language spoken in the south-west where I stayed. An aspect of Nigerian life, which took some getting used to, is the passion that people display when they communicate. In most conversations people would greet each other warmly, shout at one another, talk animatedly and laugh.
I travelled extensively in the south-west and with other volunteers to Kano in the north of the country. The transport consists of okadas (Chinese-made mixtures of scooters and scramblers that are as noisy as vuvuzelas) and minibuses that are so riddled with rust that a heavy rain may cause them to melt into the mud below. The only time I felt unsafe throughout my visit was when these vehicles danced dangerously around oncoming traffic due to the potholes that engulf half of the road. Believe me, it puts a whole new perspective on complaining about the state of Irish roads.
Since Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, with a population of 154.7 million (UN, 2009), it is an extremely diverse country. The people identify themselves primarily through their tribe, rather than nationality. It is a bit like Irish people closely identifying with their county but on a much larger scale. Ireland’s presence in Nigeria is unmistakable, from the GAA tops donated by Irish charities that adorn the children on the street to the newly constructed HIV/Aids clinics and orphanages and, of course, the Guinness signs which are seen everywhere.
I worked with Living Hope Care, an organisation that provides care and support for people living with HIV and Aids and orphaned and vulnerable children. There were 33.4 million people living with HIV at the end of 2008 (UNAIDS). EIL provided me with training before I travelled, during which time I learnt that being HIV positive, or having HIV disease, is not the same as having AIDS. Many people are HIV positive but don’t get sick for many years. As the HIV disease continues, it slowly wears down the immune system. Without treatment, two-thirds of adults infected with HIV are likely to develop Aids within 10 years of being exposed to HIV. Unfortunately, in Nigeria this period is much shorter, as people are exposed to tuberculosis and parasitic diseases such as malaria.
Antiretroviral (ARV) medication can prolong the time between HIV infection and the onset of Aids. Unfortunately, as I learned in Nigeria, these medicines are not widely available in poorer countries around the world and millions of people who cannot access the medication continue to die. The clear message from the training is as relevant to people in Ireland as those in Nigeria. It is important for people to know their HIV status and to protect themselves and others from this virus. The only reliable way to discover if you are HIV positive is to get a blood test, which can detect infection from a few weeks after the virus first entered the body.
Those of us who have access to information regarding HIV/Aids have a duty to use this information in order to reduce the spread of the disease in Ireland.
This can be such a simple task for Irish people when compared to the experience of Shaio, an amazing volunteer with Living Hope Care. She herself was living positively with HIV and had suffered unbelievable prejudice from the community as a result. When she was pregnant, she was aware of her HIV status and was determined to take precautions to protect her unborn baby from contracting the virus. However, when she was in labour she was refused entry to a maternity clinic because they were aware of her status. She then travelled to another clinic and in order to save her baby’s life, she withheld her status from the mid-wife. Throughout the labour she ensured that the mid-wife took all the necessary precautions to protect herself and the baby. The delivery was successful and a few hours after giving birth, Shaio washed all the surfaces and the bed and equipment with the bleach she had brought in order to protect others from the virus. She later ensured that the midwife received training from Living Hope Care on HIV and Aids.
Others I met travel over an hour, crammed into old buses on treacherous roads, to receive their ARVs, check-ups and to have secondary infections, such as TB, treated, as there is nowhere in their state that provides the drugs. At the hospital, those with TB and other air-borne diseases are required to wait outside in the unbearable heat.
Once, at night, we had to rush to the hospital where a mother lay exhausted, malnourished and frantic for her baby to receive the drugs, which are more effective the sooner they are administered. The baby had been born a few weeks premature and because of the poor conditions of the maternity clinic, was going to have to vacate the bed and building within a few hours.
Another experience that will always stay with me is the time I had to rush to a run-down maternity health clinic to administer drugs to a baby born to a mother who was HIV positive. These drugs are ARV prophylaxis drugs, which means that they attempt to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV. The reason our NGO had to deliver this treatment was that the maternity clinics did not have access to the drugs, as they are not provided by the State. Therefore, it was necessary to travel to a hospital in a neighbouring state to register during pregnancy to receive the drugs. Our NGO kept the drugs until the baby was delivered, as they must be stored in a fridge, something most our clients did not otherwise have access to. In Ireland, this baby would have been in an incubator. However, in Nigeria it was sent away from the overcrowded and understaffed maternity clinic despite its vulnerability.
This experience brought home to me in a very real way the inequalities of access to healthcare. Poor people receive poor treatment. In the Global South, one-third of women have HIV positive babies (UNAIDS). Sadly, it has been recorded that “An estimated 500,000 mothers die from pregnancy-related causes each year; at least eight million suffer life-long health problems linked to pregnancy and childbirth”.
Every two weeks, regardless of how sick our clients were, it was necessary for them to spend an entire day travelling and waiting at the state hospital in the city of Ibadon to receive their drugs. While waiting to see the doctor, I asked a woman if I could take her photograph, after she had spoken to me about her life story.
“Once she said I could, I took my camera out of my bag and immediately chaos ensued as the group of about 30 people sitting with us jumped up and ran out of view. I reassured the group that I would not take any photographs, as aside from this woman, nobody else wanted anyone to learn of their HIV status. This fear was a result of living in a community and a world, which stigmatises those living with HIV/Aids.
Nelson Mandela said, “Many people suffering from Aids are not killed by the disease itself. They are killed by the stigma and discrimination surrounding everybody who has HIV and Aids.”

Emily recommends that anyone interested in overseas voluntary work should check EIL’s website at www.eilireland.org/.

Access to antiretroviral medication: the hard reality

emily_pemily7 — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 14:02:26 +0000

Prior to my departure I felt that I was very well prepared for working on a HIV and AIDS project, due to support and training given by EIL.

To prepare for volunteering in a local project in Nigeria, I attended training on "Understanding HIV in development and community responses" which gave me an interesting overview into the AIDS epidemic. I learned that HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency and is a virus that results in the progressive deterioration of the immune system. AIDS stands for Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome. A person is diagnosed with AIDS when their immune system is too weak to fight off infections. Being HIV-positive, or having HIV disease, is not the same as having AIDS. Many people are HIV-positive but don't get sick for many years. As HIV disease continues, it slowly wears down the immune system.

Without treatment, two-thirds of adults infected with HIV are likely to develop AIDS within ten years of being exposed to HIV. Unfortunately, in Nigeria this period is much shorter as people are exposed to tuberculosis and parasitic diseases such as malaria. Sadly, it also takes HIV to develop to AIDS is also shorter for children born with the virus.

HIV is found in many body fluids, including blood, semen, vaginal fluids (including menstrual blood) and breast milk. HIV transmission occurs when a sufficient quantity of these fluids get into someone else’s bloodstream. There are various ways a person can become infected with HIV. It is vital that everyone takes precautions to know their HIV status and to protect themselves and others from this virus. The only reliable way to discover if you are HIV positive is to get a blood test which can detect infection from a few weeks after the virus first entered the body.

Antiretroviral medication (ARV) medication can prolong the time between HIV infection and the onset of AIDS. Unfortunately as I learned in Nigeria, these medicines are not widely available in poorer countries around the world, and millions of people who cannot access medication continue to die. I was given an opportunity to accompany some of the Living Hope Care, care receivers to a hospital an hours drive away for them to receive their ARVs, to receive check-ups and to have secondary infections such as TB treated.

On this particular day I learned the patience, strength and stamina required to access the ARVs for these people. It was necessary to travel over an hour, crammed into an old bus on treacherous roads, to reach these free services (as there was nowhere in their State which provided the drugs). Upon arriving at the hospital those with TB and other air-borne diseases were required to wait outside in the unbearable heat. While others could go inside and receive some relief from electrics fans while there was intermittent electricity. Once you begin taking ARVs it is more detrimental to your health to stop taking them, then never to take them at all.

Therefore every two weeks, regardless of how sick our clients were or other plans they had, it was necessary for them to spend an entire day travelling and waiting at the state hospital in the city of Ibadon to receive their drugs. While waiting to see the doctor, I asked a friend if I could take her photograph, after she had spoken to me about her life story. Once she said I could I took my camera out of my bag, and immediately chaos ensued. As the group of about thirty people sitting with us jumped up and ran out of view. I reassured the group that I would not take any photographs, as aside from my friend, nobody else wanted anyone to learn of their HIV status. This fear was a result of living in a community and a world, which stigmatizes those living with HIV/AIDS. This experience really struck me as a concrete example of the reluctance of people to associate themselves with HIV and AIDS due to the stigmatization and discrimination they would meet from others in their community.

Within my first week in Nigeria I rushed to a run-down maternity health clinic to administer drugs to a baby born to a mother who was HIV+. These drugs are ARV prophylaxis drugs, which means that they attempt to prevent mother to child transmission of HIV. The reason our NGO had to deliver this treatment was that the maternity clinics did not have access to the drugs as they are not provided by the State.

Therefore it was necessary to travel to a hospital in a neighbouring state to register during pregnancy to receive the drugs. Our NGO kept the drugs until the baby was delivered, as they must be stored in a fridge, something most our clients did not otherwise have access to. Therefore at nine o’clock, in the pitch black, we rushed to the hospital where a mother lay exhausted, malnourished and frantic for her baby to receive the drugs which are more effective the sooner administered. The baby had been born a few weeks premature and because of the poor conditions of the maternity clinic, was going to have to vacate the bed and building within a few hours. In Ireland, this baby would have been in an incubator, however in Nigeria it was sent away from the overcrowded and understaffed maternity clinic despite the vulnerability of this tiny premature baby.

This horrifying experience taught me that poverty leads some people to receive poor health care. I was forced to recognise that in the Global South one-third of women have HIV+ babies (UNAIDS). Sadly, it has been recorded that “An estimated one-half million mothers die from pregnancy-related causes each year; at least 8 million suffer life long health problems linked to pregnancy and childbirth.”

Worldwide it is estimated that 15 million children under 18 have been orphaned as a result of AIDS. Around 11.6 million of these children live in sub-Saharan Africa. (Population Bulletin, 2005) In Nigeria alone there were 1,200,000 children who were orphaned due to AIDS in 2007. I was given many opportunities to provide vital services to such children and of these services a ‘teens camp’ was organised to provide four days of activities, meals and accommodation to over sixty children registered with the organisation. Sadly these children need special care which is not always provided as many had limited access to education, many were being abused and or suffered psychological trauma as a result of their experience of being orphaned.

My Nigerian Experience

maevegalvin — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 09:36:55 +0000

One of the greatest and most unexpected pleasures that I have derived from my Nigerian experience has been annihilating the misguided myths that people have about the country. At the beginning of June when I told people that I was going to spend two months working on a HIV/AIDS project in Nigeria the reaction was often one of misguided admiration, why would I want to go to such a place? Jokes were made about my alleged saintly nature, concerns were raised about my safety. One rather direct friend said: “God, that sounds horrible”. Phrases such as “Most corrupt country in the world”, “kidnappings” “tribal conflicts”, “HIV pandemic” “hotbed for malaria” were frequently thrown in my direction. In all honesty I wasn’t immune to this kind of thinking. I remained driven and focused, thinking that it would serve as a productive learning experience and that it would be an endurance test, something that I had to do rather than something that I might actually enjoy. No one was more surprised than me that Nigeria turned out to be the greatest adventure and most intoxicating experience that I have had in my life to date and I have relished in telling this to anyone who will listen. I feel that I owe it to the numerous of wonderful Nigerians I met to try and bolster the purely negative image that people have about their country. All of the phrases that were thrown at me were of course true, the progress of the Nigerian people has been hampered incalculably by corruption, tribal strife, HIV/AIDS and diseases that we in the West hardly need to consider such as malaria. But this is just one part of the incredible story that is Nigeria, a story that in my short time there I barely scratched the surface of but its impact is heavily imprinted nonetheless.

Genuine adventure is something that the human soul craves. It is the reason many people read books, watch films and even play video games. As Irish people, thousands upon thousands of us, go travelling every year bankrupting ourselves on a quest to achieve that specific sense of really living rather than simply existing. I can count myself fortunate enough to have really lived in spades in the nine weeks I spent in Ilesa, South-West Nigeria volunteering for the HIV/AIDS NGO, Living Hope Care. Every day was absolutely an adventure and horrendous injustices and frustrations were an integral part of that. But so too were rich traditions, diverse cultural values, a striking green landscape and most importantly some of the most beautiful (in every respect) people I have ever been privileged to encounter.

I was an exceptionally fortunate recipient of Nigerian hospitality given that the family I was placed with genuinely treated me as one of their own. My wonderful young host mother and the remarkable nine year-old boy she takes care of provided me not just with accommodation but with a home and that made the experience all the more special for me.

The sense of community that Irish people of a certain age mourn the loss of is alive and well in Nigeria. Strangers greet each other on the street, invitations to events such as weddings and funerals are extended to even the most distant acquaintances, one could never be short of people willing to give them directions and as a foreigner, a hero’s welcome is extended to you. Colourful traditional wear, music, dancing, rich food and traffic chaos that beggars belief are all a part of everyday life in Nigeria. However, so too is crippling poverty. The sense that it is by sheer accident of birth that we are born in a western democratic developed country has never been more acute in me than it was seeing the impoverished family home of one Nigerian in particular who came to mean a great deal to me. The lack of dignity afforded to these people by their living conditions was appalling to me and yet these warm people who welcomed me as a foreign stranger into their home were shielded from the harsh reality of their situation by not knowing any alternative to their meagre living conditions.

I also had a heightened sense of the vulnerability of women. I was fortunate enough to meet a handful of formidable Nigerian women who would prove a force to be reckoned with in any cultural context. But these were genuine mavericks in a massively patriarchal society. In the HIV/AIDS context, by the sheer biology of the infection, women are three times more susceptible to it, added to that is their additional vulnerability due to lack of education, lack of economic security and greater acceptance of infidelity than in more developed countries.

A large proportion of my work in Nigeria was with female sex workers. In the Nigerian context, HIV is mostly spread through heterosexual sex thus female sex workers are the most high risk group for HIV and they are a colossal source of the virus being spread. Barefaced poverty is the fuel for Nigeria’s sex industry. The country’s unemployment rate is officially set at 20% but this figure, like most data supplied by the often corrupt government is massively disputed and understood to be around half of the real figure. Thus, the cycle of HIV is invigorated by a situation whereby a massively young population (the life expectancy in Nigeria is 57 years-old) is without work, thus young women are drawn into sex work to support themselves and have little chance of alternative employment. Young men who are idle are enticed to use sex workers who are relatively inexpensive. The average Nigerian sex worker is 26 and has a secondary school education. Of the many brothel clients I came into contact with, the majority were in their early twenties and married.

Watching a young sex worker test positive for HIV and accompanying her on the journey to wait another six or so hours for her to register as a HIV patient was excruciating. Favour was her name. Many female sex workers gave us English names which had a Christian resonance such named Blessing, Favour and Joy. Favour was every inch kindly natured and graceful, a year older than me but she had a real placid, childlike quality about her. In such circumstances you can say kind things, you can give her food and try and make her comfortable, you can give her as much information about “positive living” as possible but nothing you do can alleviate the fact that her struggle has been multiplied, she is going through the worst ordeal of an already hideous life and she has to come to terms with the fact that her existence has been dramatically cut short even by the most optimistic estimates.

Favour and I waited at the clinic outside in the clammy heat on a bench with dozens of other patients, many of which were relying solely on our NGO to provide the transport they couldn’t afford to make the two hour journey to get their drugs. As we waited she was strained and non-communicative and I made pathetic attempts at small-talk. One boy was truly frightening ill and vomiting beside us, he was so emaciated he genuinely didn’t look like a real person. The closest physical resemblance I can make is that he looked a little bit like E.T with his head too big for his tiny body to handle. He was just a limp creature waiting for his body to cave in completely. A doctor told me that the boy, who was 18 years-old had a CD4 count of just 45. A person is classed as having developed AIDS once it reaches under 200. His mother had died soon after his birth and the boy had presumably become infected at birth. People in his remote village had rejected conventional medicine, treating him only with traditional remedies. The day I saw him was his first time receiving treatment in a hospital. He had skipped the HIV diagnosis process entirely, it was too late for him to begin anti-retroviral drugs to prolong his life, he was now dying of AIDS. Looking at a person in so much obvious pain almost induces you to physically aching with shock and sympathy. The enormity of the situation is beyond the capacity of mere words. Other patients at the clinic couldn’t help but stare at him fearing that he was an indicator of their own future. Favour was incredibly shaken by him. She stared at him in horror. “Is that boy going to make it?” she asked me. What could I do? I had to tell her that no, he wasn’t.

That same day, one of my most vivid in Nigeria in the midst of tragic circumstances, I also saw a real sense of the human spirit at its best. Myself and Favour and twenty of the other PLWHA (people living with HIV/AIDS) all cramped into the NGO van that could only accommodate 16 people for our two hour journey back to Ilesa after a harrowing day spent at the clinic. Like true satirists they developed a game where we each took bets on how many police checkpoints we would encounter in our journey. In an indicator of the corruption which hampers the nation’s progress, police check points in Nigeria regularly stop and bribe motorists intimidating them with their ever-present AK 47s. But that particular day it was genuinely great fun. We laughed and mocked them incalculably. Blatant abuse of power by authorities was made a source of amusement and generated a camaraderie for a group of remarkable Nigerians who refused to be made world-weary by their unfortunate circumstances.

Mirth within misery, contrasts, contradictions and even hypocrisy were dominant themes of my experience. In the midst of extreme poverty, I also witnessed great wealth and excess in Nigeria. I spent time in a family home of a chief that can best be described as palatial and was situated on a street in the midst of other family homes which can only be described as wooden shacks. I attended an elaborate celebration put on by the state government to empower people with HIV and children orphaned and vulnerable through HIV where the elites including those of us who were white were deliberately offered better quality food than those being honoured. In the same week of witnessing an 18 year old HIV positive mother not being able to afford to buy formula for her new born baby to save her from becoming infected I was brought by speedboat to a luxury house on private beach with the young Nigerian glitterati.

There were days when I felt glaringly, painstakingly white. During the British colonisation, strikingly few Europeans resettled into Nigeria and the tourism industry is virtually non-existent outside of the main cities. A white person, especially within the rural area where I worked is genuinely shocking to see. Certainly there were times when my skin colour was valued much higher than any skills or knowledge I may have and I found myself a white novelty item more times than I care to remember. However, like most things incurred by this experience, you can choose to embrace or resist the pale-faced predicament. I like to think that myself and fellow oyinbos (the Nigerian term for white person) chose the former. If it meant that necessary work could be quickened or a vulnerable person could be helped than we used the bizarre attention created by our colour-challenged coating to our advantage.

There were no average days in Nigeria. One day I could be demonstrating to policemen how to use a female condom, the next I might end up teaching orphaned children how to Irish dance, the day after that I could be trying to convince the state government to give our NGO HIV testing kits. Yet I woke up every morning feeling exhilarated and downright privileged to be there. The people who welcomed me, taught me about their culture and shared their stories with me made my experience.

When a plane touches down in Nigeria’s capital Lagos, visitors are instantly met with a billboard stating “Welcome to Nigeria, the Land of Passionate People”. This is your first impression of the country and it is also the last sign you see when leaving. In the interim, you will find time and time again that in a country which is as unpredictable and contradictory as they come this declaration is a rare constant. I am humbled, honoured and incredibly grateful to EIL to have been given this exceptional opportunity. Thank you.

Last Blog

Oksana — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 14:33:52 +0000

Hi all! I came back home more than three weeks ago but it still feels that I’ve been dreaming. I could never imagine that I will miss Ghana, new friends and African way of living so much... Actually, I’ve experienced cultural shock coming back to Ireland. I don’t even know why but something has changed... maybe the environment has changed or I have changed... I think it is a bit of both! It is still very hard to stick back to routine and I still live by Ghanaian time, e.g. I am always lateJ

As this is my last blog I suppose to write a reflection piece about the overall experience and what I have learned. Being perfectly honest, I can claim that I have done some mistakes (e.g. I should have taken better photos), missed few opportunities and could have explored much more during my short stay. However, I can claim that I would never ever change this adventure to anything in the world.

I was able to reach my main goal – to test my personal values and professional skills as well as change some personality traits. I became more empathetic not only to African immigrants in Ireland but also to all people in general. I am able to understand what it feels like to look different! Different is neither better nor worse – it is just different!!! It doesn’t matter how you are and how you look like, most important point is that you accept and respect people around you.

I’ve experienced some cultural shock back home partially because many people in Ireland are a bit down right now, due to economic circumstances. Unfortunately, the pessimistic attitude and negative thoughts spread very quickly among people. It is my personal experience, as I was exposed to it too. However, I always remember about my director in the orphanage, who is one hundred percent dedicated to children. She is the best role model, as she always tries to focus only on positive side and move on. For example, the orphanage was very low on food for children, so she made best effort and found money to buy it. She is the best role model I can have! That is why I am trying to be positive and smile!!!

It is so simple to give a little smile to a random person on the street or share a cup of tea with the neighbour. It helps our community to remain strong and united! It indicates that Irish people are still the friendliest people in the world and are able to accept and welcome every individual.

For the conclusion I can say that I’m lucky person for two main reasons. First of all, I am lucky because the EIL gave me an opportunity to find my African home. Secondly, I am glad that I can call Ireland my home .

School talk about HIV and AIDS

emily_pemily7 — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 15:25:20 +0000

Hey all,

I called in to my old secondary school last week and asked if it would be possible to talk to the transition year group about HIV and AIDS with reference to my recent trip to Nigeria. The school were really supportive and organised for me to talk to alll three of the transition year groups the following week, 61 students in total. So I designed a power-point presentation (being conscious of death by power-point), gathered leaflets, posters and my materials and organised statements for a game.

I must admit that it was a bit wierd going back to my old secondary school, but the staff were so supportive and seemed delighted for me to have returned. I'd really reccommend this as a really effective way of being able to reach teeneagers. They were all given opportunities to ask questions and through our 'walking debate' the group engaged in a brief discussion about HIV and AIDS.

I felt that the talks were very successfull and that the teenagers knowledge of HIV and AIDS really increased and their awareness of how this affects some people inernationally and in Ireland really increased. I was really impressed by how receptive the students were to talking about HIV and AIDS. I felt that I had pitched the content of the workshop at a level which engaged them without overwhealming them.

By reccommending different websites where they can get more information I felt that I supported future learning. I felt that this was a really effective way of reaching teenagers in my community and was so touched by how attentive the students wee throughout my talk. It turned out to that the whole experience worked really well and would fully reccommend school talks as a way of reaching teenagers!

Reflections on my Travel Award experience

Catherine Anderson — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 22:49:33 +0000

I've been back on home turf nearly three weeks now and have well and truely slotted back into my life here; albeit with a new sense of self, a fresh perspective on situations and circumstances, and a whirlwind of memories of Guatemala accompanying me as I go. My first few days back in Ireland were filled with mixed feelings. It was lovely to see friends and family again, to be in familiar surroundings where I know how most things work and to be able to communicate in my native tongue and articulate whatever I wanted to say without the challenge of a foreign langauge. It was strange being back though-everything was just so 'normal', it almost felt like I had never left! Its an odd thing to go somewhere so totally different from everything you know, live an intense variety of new experiences over a short period of time, and then slip back into the world as you knew it before. Odd but enriching.

I thought that I would talk people into the ground about my experiences away, but while a conversation rarely goes by without some mention of a person, or a place or a lesson learnt while in Guatemala, I do notice that I haven't given as many elaborate accounts of my experience as I thought I would. It didn't take me long to realise that this is because it is incredibly difficult to explain some of the experiences I had in Guatemala to people back here in Ireland-simply because alot of things just don't translate from that world into this one. Sometimes I can't help but feel like the two months I spent in Guatmala were just a vivid dream, but then I look at the changes that have come about in my mindset, and I think of all the beautiful people and places that will remain in my mind for a long time to come and I say cop on girl, what could have been more real!

Throughout my blogs I have described my time in Guatemala as an intense learning experience, and that it was! I have learnt so many things that I know will stand to me long into the future. I came to see some of my greatest strengths and biggest weaknesses of both body and character, and I learned how to accept them, or change them for the better. I feel very lucky to have had the oportunity to gain so much experinece in such a short period of time at such a young age. Here I must thank EIL for giving me this opportunity in the form of a travel award. I consider myself quite a proactive person who generally likes to explore new things and uncover hidden possibilities, but I certainly don't think that I would have made it as far as Guatemala in my summer holidays this year without the help of EIL! EIL provided me with the funding, support and pre-departure preparation that allowed me to do something that I had always wanted to do.

Travelling to Guatemala made me see how big yet how small the world is, and how diverse yet how similar us humans are. There were times when I was amazed at how much I could communicate with people who spoke not a word of my language, nor I of theirs, and there were times when I was astounded at the major differneces between mentalities and ways of life of people I met and people I know here. I came to realise that away from our support structures and familiar distractions, emotions can be so much rawer. I experienced times when I was just so frustrated by any and every little thing around me: the attention, the lack of it, the weather, the transport-the lot! And times when I was floating about on a delariously happy cloud and found something to smile about on every glance I took. I find some of the biggest changes in me since returning from Guatemala are my more stable confidence, and my new found ability to recognise when a 'problem' is really not a problem at all. We live in a very priviledged world but boy do we know how to tangle ourselves up in complications! I think my travel award to Guatemala has left me a much more aware citizen of the world.

Hong Kong - Mist, Sun & Sight

Dara McMahon — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 13:26:30 +0000

Through sweet smoke we walked through the Man mo temple, where the fates could be questioned and the future known...
Into the darkness of the blind, led by one who knows it well, seeing the world as she does; touching, smelling, tasting, hearing...
Climbing the long staircase we look for a statue veiled in mist, where silence is sought away from cities and close to the sky...
Skipping over waves in search of Dolphins, We walked through thronged streets of a Venice far from the grandeur of Italy...

The experiences and sights were astounding, emphasized and deepened by our companions, who stood with us like guarding angels. Kind and considerate, loving and caring, they guided us in a city where one false step could have seen us lost and alone. They amused and entertained, informed and listened. This short passage is here to give my heart and soul felt thanks to the Hong Kong delegates.

Chopsticks mastered, we set about the culture with vigour. We went to the temple of Man and Mo, the Gods of Wisdom and War. We saw the incense coils smouldering as they hung from the ceiling, lending a heat to the place only equalled by the pressure cooker heat of the outdoors. We asked the fortune tellers what lay ahead of us, or simply used the fortune sticks to shake an answer out of the ether. Whisked away from this we were marched across the city to an exhibition profound and revealing: Dialogue in the Dark. Here, we learned how it was to have the most fundamental of our senses taken from us: Sight. We were guided through this darkness by Eunice, who knew the darkness well. She led us with humour and kindness, as we learned that without sight Hearing, smell, touch and taste must come to the fore. We felt the anxiety that even simply crossing a street can stir when the cars are only passing sound. The trust we had to lend to our guide, to each other, to sounds.

My heart still reverberates to Eunice's phrase that signalled the end of the guide: ‘Now I shall bring you back to the light.’ I hope one day Eunice can be brought back to the light.....From this we went to a Hong Kong style barbeque, where we sat and talked for hours, watching our food intently lest it burn.

The next day, we went to the Po Lin monastery, the home of Tian Tan, the Big Buddha. A bus took us most of the way up that mountain, but the last part had to be done on foot. From a plaza of stone we looked up the staircase. Mist was thick that day, and obscured everything. Only an outline gave us a clue to its size. The stairs, we had been told, had more than 250 steps. As we reached halfway the big Buddha was still only a darker shape in the fog. But details began to develop. At the top, as if controlled by a special effects specialist, the mist rose and we could see Tian Tan. And the surrounding countryside: It was spectacular, as if taken directly from a photographer’s most detailed dream....From here we came down the steps again to a vegetarian restaurant. It was probably just as well: the roar of stomachs could be heard from the top of Tian Tan all the way to our next destination: Tai O. On the way to the bus from Tian Tan, we saw something that simply could not be ignored: Conical straw hats. Four of us bought them.

Tai O was wonderfully different. Up until now we had seen the skyscrapers of the city, its highly developed style evident wherever you went. Tai O was not like this. It was described to me as ‘The Venice of the orient’. Such a nickname is well deserved: This fishing village did not let the rivers bank impede expansion, instead using stilts to keep their homes out of the tide. They were built out of any material that could be found, from corrugated iron sheets to wooden planks, but it was evident that the people of the village were wonderfully inventive. Some houses were held up by wooden struts, while others were made from solid concrete, but I remember smiling at pillars made from welded oil barrels filled with concrete and stone. We went out on a speed boat, which led us around the bay in search of Pink Dolphins, although none graced us with their presence. Walking through the streets like alleys showed us the wide variety of things for sale: Conical straw hats as we had bought previously (known as fishermen’s hats), a drink made from something unnamed and pinkish purple, and fish. All manner of fish. We were brought by our guide to a house, where we learned how to prepare salted egg yolks. For some though, the house was of more interest. The floor was made from wooden planking with gaps everywhere, showing us that the floor was not on the ground, but suspended like the rest of the house. It seemed as though we were in a cabin, never intended for human residence. Some of us were horrified, others made aware of the conveniences we take for granted. To me though, only one fact is truly important: The owners seemed happy. A curious factor was technology in the home: they had at least 2 TVs, several fans, a washing machine and dryer. It was like looking at a Vincent Van Gogh and noticing an Iphone in the subject’s hand.

We went back to the bus, knowing that we had still so much more to do in our trip, and so much done. What could this Island have in store for us next?

Post by Catherine Anderson - Volunteer Guatemala

Catherine Anderson — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 15:09:47 +0000

We pray for children
who love to laugh and be tickled,
who stomp in puddles wearing new wellies,
who enjoy a sweet from grandma's special jar,
who sit on father's knee and listen to a story.

We pray for those
who stare blankly at a confused world,
who never play 'pirates' or 'donkey' or 'count potatoes',
who never skip or have fun...
too captured by the hurt and pain around them.

We pray for the children who bring us sticky kisses
and put their sticky chocolate fingers everywhere,
whose home is full of toys
who own a dog, a pony, a hamster;
who hug in a hurry and never know which clothes to wear.

We pray for those who never get ice cream,
who have no cuddly toy to comfort them:
who watch their parents die in grimy, airless rooms;
whose relatives discard them...
whose monsters are real.

We pray for teenagers
who spend all their allowance before Tuesday
and get more to go clubbing on Thursday,
who pick at their food to keep slim
and throw a tantrum if things don't go their way,
whose rooms are a mess-only the mirror is clear.

WE pray for those who go to bed hungry,
who sleep on a rush mat on a draughty floor,
but whose real nightmares come in the daytime..
who will eat anything, who communicate little,
who live and move but have no being.

We pray for those who don't know which choice to make
and for those who have none:
for those who can try again
and for those who don't get a second chance:
for those we smother...
and for those who will grab the hand of anyone kind enough to offer it.
We pray, dear Lord, for children.

-Adapted from Ina J Hughes

31/08/2010 - Roll the credits - Marie-Claire Walsh

Marie-Claire Walsh — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 21:23:24 +0000

Bare with me here folks, somehow I have to do a final blog which draws a conclusion on my Mexican adventure...but first the final weeks of my time there have to get a mention, some highlights included me discovering Susana the 3 meter crocodile had escaped from her pen, the same morning a deer escaped, all ended well though, only 1 casualty (the fence she bit through!!)...Starring as “the tourist” in a film about the wildlife of the lagoon (this involved looking through binoculars, pointing at animals, taking pretend photos and generally making touristy movements), I’m already looking at dresses for the Oscars...Feeling like my English classes made a difference and were even better when explaining hurling (yes it is a word you need to learn, life skills, life skills!!).

It was hard to say goodbye to the community of La Ventanilla. The daily life of people there is only seen at the surface by the tourists who come and visit, I had the unique opportunity to live and breathe La Ventanilla this summer and it is one that I will never forget. There is a really important point here, when you are a tourist you see a place and the people who live there as another stop on your holiday. However getting the opportunity to be a part of that community and help out in whatever why you can shows you the true experience. It’s like everything l suppose, getting involved in something instead of looking at it from the distance gives you a deeper understanding and ultimately deeper respect for it.

Like others have said it is very hard to explain fully your time on the Travel Awards. Everyone’s experience is unique, future volunteers will have a different experience to past volunteers, building on the wisdom of those gone before while at the same time creating new opportunities. What I can only do is realise that this experience, my experience, is something that I will remember for the rest of my life and one which has cemented my interest in the issues which challenge the daily life of so many people around the world. The people of the co-operative of La Ventanilla live their life in a world so different to that which we are used to. The complexities of a co-operative combined with the challenges of the tourism industry mean that money is a bonus, not a given. This reality, combined with the tireless conservation work they do means that they face a life which is a struggle but one which they meet head on. Many of the tourists who visit are not aware that the community receives no money from the government and relies solely on tourism for income. One example is the fact that they used to tag all the turtles that came to lay eggs on the beach but at the moment they don’t have enough money to do that. What is special about the people of La Ventanilla is the fact that they have dedicated their lives to building this community, which in turn has built a community of wildlife to live in, learn from and preserve for future generations.

I have been very fortunate to have been chosen by EIL to go and volunteer in this community and share my random ramblings with all of you on the ups and downs of the rollercoaster that is living in another culture, country and circumstance. I cannot thank the wonderful people at EIL and PEI enough for giving me this opportunity and helping me along the way. There are so many ways for people to give their time these days, so many worthy causes, but when you find organisations like these who are doing it so well you have to applaud and support them.

Now back to Ireland I am cold, without coconuts and not a crocodile in sight on the plains of Kildare (maybe we need a new pet!!). However I have the memories of a once in a lifetime experience, have met great people doing great things from Cork all the way to La Ventanilla on the other side of the world and feel that I have done a bit to help too! Not to mention training future Mexican GAA stars - sport is such an easy thing to bring to the other side of the world and make friends even when asked "what are you doing with those wooden sticks?" So that’s it folks, I know that I could only provide a small insight into my experience through this blog but I hope you have enjoyed the ride!

p.s techy issues with my videos, hopefully fixed soon!

Take care,

Back to reality

JamieKeating — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 19:27:02 +0000

Hi Everyone,

So I have made it back to Ireland after a fantastic two months in Ecuador. I have to say this is the post I was looking forward to writing the least because it means I am out of Ecuador. While I am glad to be home I have definitely noticed a change in myself. I think I had gotten very used to the relaxed atmosphere, coming back to my work and study and everything else moving at 100 mph was a bit of a shock to the system. Although now that I am back I want to fill you in on the last and possibly best moments of my time in Ecuador.

My last week in the Colegio Tecnico Puerto Quito ended with the school sports teams celebrating the individual victories over the course of the sports week in the school. I had very little time to say my goodbyes to the friends I had made, both students and teachers. It was WAY more difficult than I thought it would be :) I had not expected to become so attached to the people and the place in such a short amount of time. Although, it was the students in the night school that were the people I knew best from my time in Puerto Quito. The classes were longer, smaller and daily so I felt like I had really become friends with these people. To be honest if I was uncomfortable saying goodbye to the students in the school I knew the night school would be worse. Two students threw a party for me the night before I left, everyone and more went (of course, it was a fiesta). Infact of the 15 students I had, about 25 turned up ;). The night was English themed with party games organized to test everyones English and my Spanish. I held my own and I think if my Spanish teacher had of heard me she would have been happy enough. No different to the other times there was a get together there was music, food and the other two volunteers and myself were able to fit in some embarassing dancing again. But seeing as it was my last night I was actually taught a few moves. I learned to dance (some) Salsa and Bachata. Really cool! It was definitely one of the best moments of my stay in the small town, I got to know the people better and have a few laughs outside of the class room. Of course though, the night had to end and after a few words of goodbye we all went our seperate ways.

I was told before I left for Ecuador that one volunteer cannot make a dramatic difference to the situation effecting a poor country. For this reason I had went expecting to leave with a sense of good will and the experience of having travelled in Ecuador. However, I now think differently. While I know my time in Ecuador won't start an economic revolution :) I think I really have had an imapct, albeit small, on the people I met. In exchange, they couldn't have had a bigger impact on me! I know that if I was to go back there in a few years, they won't have forgotten me... well at least I hope not haha. I really would like to go back to visit to area in the future and I would like to bring friends. It is strange to have a personal interest in something that happened so quickly. The worst part of it is I know I only touched the surface of the true Ecuador. There is alot more to know, alot more to see and loads more people to meet!

I made a point of speaking to as many people as I had a chance while I was there to see there views on different things from religion to science. From this I heard alot of opinions some informed and others, well, not at all informed. There is alot of prejudice in rural Ecuador, towards nationals as well as non-nationals for so many different things I couldn't even try to list them. This is something that I would like to see change. Although saying that, from the people I spoke to, the younger generations are moving away from the old views and adopting a proactive approach to change the country. And while this will take time, at least it is happening.

So, my time in Puerto Quito was at an end and I returned to Quito to visit my old host mother. I gave her my farewell present and in return I was invited to sit in on her Womens Association bible meeting. Not the way I thought I would end my visit but as they say, ah why not.

The night of my departure I had one more task to do and this was to meet the incoming volunteer from Germany who was to stay in my host mother's house. As I was talking to him I found out that he was going to be placed in Puerto Quito too. And he too would be teaching. I'm not sure with whom he will live or where he will teach but it is entirely possible he will stay and teach where I did. Of course as you can imagine it was very hard not to feel like another link in the chain at this point. I don't think that would have been a good thing to think in my final moments in Ecuador haha. However, in hindsight it is true that Ecuador (as other countries) has had volunteers before me and I hope it will continue to have them as long as they need them. But I dont see this as a bad thing at all. As I said I never expected my time there to change anything big but I was able to get to know new people that I hope to stay in contact with in the future. And while on the grand scheme of things I was another volunteer, on a local level I feel I have spent my time well there. Since leaving I have recieved emails from my students, in English might I add ;), so I must have been doing something right.

Despite the hard times I had in my time in Ecuador I thouroughly enjoyed being there, I wouldn't change my decision if I could! I met a fellow EIL award winner on the place home from Chicago to Dublin. We agreed the hardest part of the trip will be trying to tell other people about it. Even on the plane we had no idea where to start. While I have done my best in these blogs to let you know, nothing can inform you like actually doing it. I really do recommend this experience to anybody and if you are reading this, thinking of applying for the travel award or even sending yourself my advice would be to DO IT!!!! I am already planning my next visit!

There are no innocent victims of HIV and AIDS.

emily_pemily7 — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 09:22:42 +0000

I once read that "there are no innocent victims of HIV and AIDS because there are no guilty ones"(Personally Speaking, 2007). I have safely returned to Ireland- despite being heartbroken leaving the beautiful Nigeria. HIV and AIDS was at the heart of all of my experiences in Nigeria, in terms of the focus of my work for the NGO, Living Hope Care and most of my discussions with friends. However, as I reflect on these experiences I am struck by the vulnerability of certain groups in our society. From my limited experience in Nigeria and my upbringing in Ireland, I believe that women and young girls are most susceptible to discrimination, violence and poverty. I feel that this is as a result of gender stereotyping, expectation and discrimination which favours neither sex.

It is only while reflecting on some of my experiences with friends and family that I am struck by some of the harsh realties of the detrimental effects of poverty, abuse and gender based discrimination. On examination of the core of many global issues I believe that we can always find common issues which we need to tackle together.

Each person living with HIV also has to cope with the harshness of the stigma associated with this virus. I believe that HIV related stigma emerges from a fear and lack of education regarding HIV/AIDS. I feel that whoever has access to information should use and access it wisely, in order to learn how people can protect themselves and live positively. Through education fear and consequently stigmatization will be reduced. It is vital that we recognize our position of privilege in an unequal world and become informed about this devastating epidemic and that we learn our HIV status. In the global community there are over 39.5 million people living with HIV.

I recognise that HIV related stigma is manifested in different ways, such as rejection by family members, difficulties developing and maintaining relationships, maintaining employment, managing health or financial services, and also gender based violence. I accept as true, the argument that stigmatization and discrimination emerge from the fear of individuals. To quote the powerful words of Father Michael Kelly, the former Professor of Education of the University of Zambia, ‘HIV and AIDS do not stigmatize. People do. It is an assault on human dignity and worth.’

From my amazing, life-changing experiences in Nigeria I am eager to become involved in the struggle to break the silence on HIV related stigma. I urge anyone who takes the times to read this to please take the time to further your understanding of HIV/AIDS in order to protect yourself and those around you.

I will always be grateful to EIL and the wonderful people I met throughout my stay in Nigeria, for enriching my life experience. I was so privileged to have been welcomed and allowed to share laughter and the challenge of the work with some of the most committed people I have ever met.

Mighty Craic in Asia - Hong Kong 2010

Donie — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 08:49:35 +0000

Next time you find yourself in Asia don't be too taken aback if you are asked by one of the indigenous people, "Whats the craic?", or "How's the form?" - because thanks to the EIL Hong Kong Youth Exchange Programme at least twelve Hong Kongers are now well accustomed to using these distinctively Irish greetings – your expected response will of course be, "the craic is mighty".

Seldom could a group of twenty four young people (12 Irish and 12 Hong Kong) be found with such a fantastic dynamic between them all. Every moment, from the time we walked through the arrivals gate in Hong Kong airport and met our twelve wonderful new friends to the emotional farewell in the departure lounge, was filled with interesting conversation, laughter, singing and learning. There was never a dull moment in Hong Kong, a city whose capability to inspire is only surpassed by the people who inhabit it.

Coming to terms with the heat and humidity was one thing, navigating two chopsticks was another. But as the days past, more and more food began making its way to our mouths, and not the floor as had been the case earlier in the week. The Hong Kong delegates were eager for us to try everything, even the more dubious looking dishes that were served to our tables. Most of the Irish delegates enjoyed sampling the new foods while others remained content with rice and the occasional spring roll – the most adventurous of the group sampling Shark's fin – a very expensive dish in Hong Kong. Tofu, I will admit was a challenge for many of us, particularly for one Irish delegate who was unable to control his facial expression after sampling some in a Shanghai style restaurant.

Music was a prominent feature of the visit, with several of the Irish cohort bringing along musical instruments including the fiddle, the tin whistle, the recorder and one of the female Irish delegates brought with her an amazing voice. Sarah Brazil had everybody's hairs standing on the back of their necks with her powerful rendition of the Cranberries song, Zombie. There is normally a decent singer in any sizable group of Irish people but Sarah was an exception, her voice was the only thing that was truly able to stop both delegations from talking for a few moments over the ten day trip – we just hope she will remember us when she makes it big.

Just over half way through the adventure we were all given the opportunity to visit one of the Hong Kong delegates homes, an aspect of the trip which excited us all. I visited Sohail's house in an area of Hong Kong called the New Territories. Sohail is a Muslim whose family are originally from Pakistan, so we were treated to a traditional Pakistani meal when we visited his home – Irish people enjoying a Pakistani meal in a Muslim Household in Hong Kong, truly an international experience. We all sat on the floor of the living room in his apartment and shared with him and his brothers some of the best food I have ever tasted.

Hong Kong was an incredible experience. Before traveling I had expected it to be an amazing trip, but it did surpass everyone's expectations and turned out to be a genuine experience of a lifetime. Sure some of us may travel to Asia again and visit, maybe even live in Hong Kong, but to be shown the city by Hong Kong people our own age was a truly unique and unrepeatable occurrence. The Hong Kong delegation were the most friendly and most generous group of people I have ever encountered, they were by our side for the entire duration of the trip always willing to answer our questions, help us in any way and of course to have some fun. And fun we did have, from our attempts to pronounce words in Mandarin and Cantonese and the lessons we gave to the Hong Kong delegates in the vernacular of Ireland to the comic genius that is Donal Cullinane, I have never laughed so much in my life.

As we gazed through the windows of our homebound plane, taking one final glance over the dazzling lights of Hong Kong we all wished we could relive the amazing trip we had just experienced – many of us I'm sure will return again some day to visit our twelve new friends in the city where East really does meet West!

Mastering the Chopstick

Donie — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 08:43:58 +0000

After an eventful twenty hours of travelling, which included a mad dash through Amsterdam Airport that resulted in a broken flip flop and some memorable encounters with Airplane cuisine, we finally arrived in Hong Kong.We were given a warm welcome by the Hong Kong delegates, almost as warm as the heat that embraced us on leaving the Airport terminal. After checking into the magnificent Y-Loft on Hong Kong Island the delegates brought us to a restaurant where we sampled our first piece of Asian cuisine, and which was of course the beginning of our ongoing battle with the notorious chopstick. Food fell onto the table, our laps and onto the floor, little of it made it to our mouths, but the bit that did was …. interesting. We then haggled (or at least attempted to) our way through the night at Hong Kong’s most famous shopping market on Temple Street.

After a much needed sleep we headed to the Hong Kong Jockey Club Drug Information Centre. There we learned how similar to Ireland more and more young people in Hong Kong are turning to drugs in order to cope with life in modern day society. We then took a group photo, a feature of the trip which would soon become a most notable one - standing in 100% humidity we stand for almost thirty photos - each delegate giving their camera to their respective leader - with so many photos to upload on the internet we expect to bankrupt Facebook. Round two of our battle with chopsticks commenced at a Shanghai style restaurant that evening. All of us were intrigued to learn that different types of Chinese food are associated with different regions, for example traditional Hong Kong food is much different to traditional Shanghai food. Before crossing Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour on the iconic Star Ferry, we experienced the “Symphony of Light”. This was a spectacular light show which expanded across the water front as we walked along “Star Avenue”, the Hong Kong equivalent to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, with little knowledge of International Cinema within the Irish delegation, the only names we recognised were Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee Day three was the most hectic, with visits to the Hong Kong Coastal Defence Museum, the Hong Kong Legislative Council and an amazing trip to the Peak, the highest point in the city with fantastic views all across the unique region. With a Western style meal being served we used a fork and a knife, two items we had begun to think did not exist in this part of the world.Our journey continues in this bustling city tomorrow, as does our mastering of the chopstick!

Last Day

Oksana — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 17:36:53 +0000

Well! Today is my last day in Ghana, this time tomorrow I’ll be checking in at Accra airport. What can I say? I don’t want to go back! I think it will take me a while to readapt… I’m so into Ghanaian way of living, so that many people may not understand.

It is not to say that I adore everything in Ghana. No, not at all…I hate Ghanaian time keeping, which is ten times worst than Irish one. At the beginning it irritated me a lot that people, transport; meetings and so on are constantly late. Now I am so Ghanaian and always late. For example I may say ‘meet you at 4 o’clock Ghana time’, it means that I will come around 5.30-6 o’clockJ

Another thing that still irritates me is that people are still pointing at me on the streets and calling ‘jawu’ (white). For example, today I attended morning mass and children were staring and pointing at me. My host mother had to approach them and ask did they come to worship God or stare at ‘jawu’.

There are many things that I am not able to change, only accept them. However, there are many people I’m going to miss. What am I going to do without my children in Missahoe charity home? What am I going to do without this place? How can I go back to ‘normal’ life, when I do not perceive it as normal!?!

The positive thing is that there are many things I can change! Children need new home, more close and food. They education fees need also to be paid. So I will have to be very active in Ireland, so that I can continue to support them.

I really have to finish my blog, as we are taking children out tonight to play spot stadium. Also I will do my first and last sleepover in the orphanage, so that I can have some extra time with them.

El Zonda and el Jefe del Comedor!

aislinn — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 11:51:20 +0000

¡Hola!

Apologies again for the delay between my posts. My only excuse is that I have been so busy, I haven't noticed the time passing! Hard to believe it, but I am now in my second last week in Argentina.

One thing that has changed A LOT since my last post is the weather. A few weeks ago, it was snowing and now Spring has sprung in Chilecito to the tune of and Irish heatwave!! Its been about 25º here for the past few days. As far as I can tell its all to do with the zonda, a wind that comes in August from the mountains in the north, bringing a quick change in the weather. I have to resist the urge to take out my shorts and tshirts though. I'd get funny looks as 20º+ is still cold for people here. Fair enough I suppose as they're used to 45º summers! Another effect of the zonda is there's so much dust in the air you can't see the mountains anymore and everyone is complaining of sore throats, coughs and dry skin! Apparently it can affect behaviour to so if the kids in the Casita de Quirquincho have been acting up more than usual that's why!!

Well enough about the weather, that's not the only thing that has changed in Chilecito. One of my fellow volunteers left to go home to Germany after a year here! We combined his going away with El Dia del Niño (Children's Day) to have one big fiesta in the comedor. Reina, who lives near the comedor in San Miguel and helps us out lots, cooked a feast of empanadas, soup and lots of cake for dessert. We decorated the comedor with balloons and streamers and invited our local coordinator, friends and host families to come along! It was a really nice party, I think the kids enjoyed it!

So of the 2 other volunteers, 1 left and 1 went on holidays this week, leaving me in charge and to welcome a new volunteer from Germany! Everyone was joking saying I'm now "el jefe", the chief of the comedor! To be honest, it wasn't really difficult, the new guy learned fast how things work so I had lots of help! But he was sick on Friday, so I am proud to say I manged La Casita on my own for the day, cooked fried eggs and potatoes for all the kids without any major mishaps!!

One more thing. I was talking to my sister and she told me that from my blog it sounds like I am almost having to much fun and don't miss home at all! So a shout out to my family, if your reading this, although I'll be sad to leave Argentina, I'm looking forward to seeing you all! A special hello to my youngest sister Alanna, and sorry I won't be there to see you of on your first day of secondary school!!

That's all my news for now. I'm intending on having a great last week and a bit here, the anxiety over leaving is starting to set in!! There will be far to many goodbyes for my liking! But I know that if I am so sad to leave it shows what a great experience I have had here and I have EIL to thank for it!

Will post again soon with more news

Hasta luego! :)

Summer school

Oksana — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 18:16:27 +0000

Here we are and I am in last week in Ghana. I don’t want to talk about my feelings about how difficult it is to leave Ghana. Simply I try not to think about it and enjoy that little time I have left.

I have some news. First of all I have a new colleague and we’ve started running summer school. Last three weeks were quiet busy. I’ve been occupied with organizing and planning lessons, teaching and performing my usual duties. Especially planning requires a lot of effort - you constantly have to find something new for children, as they get bored so quickly. The books and my experience in creative studies help me a lot. Especially art is useful as we have few children with special needs, and art helps them to participate equally. I can conclude that including children with special needs is most challenging task I have faced so far.

We have one HIV positive girl in our summer school and other children tend to avoid her. They are unwilling to share toys or sit beside her. I am trying hard to be positive role model and give the girl extra hug or just spend some time with her. Spending time only with her actually brought another issue, as her best friend the girl with physical disability got jealous. She demanded her friend to leave the classroom, other wise she would leave it herself. I was able to resolve the issue by simply reminding that everyone is welcome take some time out and leave classroom, and come back when they are ready. She didn’t want to leave. Time out technique is the best technique ever!!! We use it a lot and it always works.

The experience helped me to change my approach to child welfare and work with children all together. As part of my college work, I had to prepare and deliver art project in one of local schools. I didn’t do too well. My tutor said that sometimes I need to be strict and manage challenging behaviour in more appropriate terms. Back than I had no idea what she is talking about, now I realize how permissive I was! Now I understand that there is huge difference between discipline and child abuse! Discipline involves establishing the rules and fallowing them, while child abuse is exploitation of one’s power over the child. The discipline always gives many chances to improve, while child abuse is perceiving child as incapable of personal growth and ‘bold’ anyway. The discipline provides plenty of positive reinforcement for good behaviour and effort, while child abuse is only about punishing any behaviour.

These new realizations helped my to change some of my personality traits as well as understand what ‘authoritative parenting’ means.

Sports, Monkeys and Earthquakes!!!

JamieKeating — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 18:37:13 +0000

Well as I mentioned in my last post it was sports week this week in my school here in Puerto Quito. Which as you can imagine is exactly what it says. But of course it just wouldn't be Ecuador with out a bit of a show. On the first day the students had a parade around the town dressed in the uniform of their chosen sports team. I was on the teachers side and we were wearing a not so ligitimate Brazil football kit. But first, as I mentioned in my last post I was asked to be 'El Padrino' or 'El Cabellero' for one of the sports teams. Naturally I said yes without the faintest idea of what this meant. Well in the end it meant I had to accompany the class 'Madrina' or sports queen, around the town in the parade.... hmmmm. As it turned out it was a good laugh! Volunteers are a bit of a novelty here and for this the students thought it was absolutely hilarious a foriegner was not only going to take part, but was willing parade around the town too. As well as all that, all of the teams had mascots. You know, a pet of one of the team members. But again, it just wouldn't be Ecuador if they had dogs and cats. No, our mascot was a parrot. Other teams had monkeys and various tropical birds. I have little recollection of my sports days in school, and it because they were nothing like this! The inaugration ceremony ended in the school when the olympic style torch was used to light the fireworks. Let the games begin!

There were only three events football, basketball and volleyball but seeing as every class had to play every other it was a very busy few days. I have no idea how the organisation system works here but some how people were able to follow who was winning and who has to play who without a scrap of paper in sight. In the meantime I was probably in the shade somewhere drinking gallons of water and trying not to die from the heat :) But everybody took the games quite seriously and I was not going to disappoint! The teachers team won alot of the games with help from the overly stereotypical P.E. teacher! It was definitely a new experience playing sports speaking another language, you have no time to think.

Anyway, the week went on and it was great to have a chance to get to know my students better and to finish my stay here with a good and light-hearted atmosphere. I have no idea who won in the end, I doubt anyone does but the point is it was a refreshing change of pace. For the last day of the week the school administration seem to have decided that everyone can have a day off. I asked why but for the three times I asked I have three different reasons. While this type of thing has been a source of frustration at times for me here, it is also part of Ecuador's charm. Mañana será otro dia.

On an entirely different note, I have now had my first earthquake experience. An earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale hit Ecuador on the morning of my last day in the school. Luckily, from what I hear there was no major damage. But when your just standing in your room getting ready for school, minding your own business, and the wall moves and hits you in the head... well it isnt a great start to the day now is it :)

So I have come to my last days in Ecuador I leave in three days but I have been told I will not be allowed to leave without having at least one goodbye party. Of course, I will not be told whats going to happen, haha, but these are the sort of surprises I like! I expect there will be alot of Salsa, Bachata and of course Reggaeton. I'll let you know how it goes!

Ciao!

Count down

emily_pemily7 — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 08:55:48 +0000

Hi everyone! Hope you are all well! Nigeria is still a delightful muddle to me:) I feel like a count down has begun today as I was reminded of the date by one of the students in my computer class. Up until now I have been concentrating on the days of the week to forget the return to Ireland. Work is still so interesting!

In the past few weeks I feel that I have been given a few opportunities to see the treatment offered to some of the most vulnerable people in the area who are affected by HIV/AIDS.
I went to a city, Ibadan, about an hours drive away with people who were going to receive treatments or routine check ups. At the hospital I was taught how to carry out HIV tests, I learned the counseling service that is provided and I got a general insight into the care offered. I also went to visit the home of a patient with an psychiatric disability. This woman is being provided care by Living Hope Care (LIHOC) as she was raped and now has a very young baby. While some of these experiences sound harrowing, they are all set against the background of beautiful Nigerian mountains and the cahotic welcoming society.

So far I have been most struck by the difficulties faced by women who are positive and are pregnant. I have very privileged to have struck up a friendship with a young woman who recently gave birth to a beautiful little girl. From talking with this woman I have gained an insight into the economic difficullties which she faces. I have also been horrified by the stigmatization faced by peolpe living with HIV/AIDs, in this case, the stigmatization and abuse delivered by family members. It has been very frustrating to have to see a vulnerable new born baby be faced with the prospect of becoming infected because the cost of baby formula is too much. It is nothing short of a tragedy that ALL the donars donating baby formula to the state hospital in Ibadan have cut all funding for the project. There was no explanation given for this cutting of funds and the small stock the hospital had is quickly diminishing. It is so sad to witness how vulnerable babies are not afforded the 'luxury' of baby formula simply because they live in sub Saharan Africa. If a pregnant woman decides to breast feed her baby there, without taking ARV's correctly or at all, there is a one in three chance that the baby will transmit the virus. Even if she takes the ARV's the liklihood can be increased greatly if her nipples become cracked or infected. Without education on how to breast feed correctly this is very likely to occur.

Furthermore, having visited state hospitals and maternity clinics (free of charge) to deliver ARV's to new born babies and their mothers, I have seen some atrocious conditions in which some people have to accept medical care. I have really struggled with seeing these conditions and been overwhelmed by the personal stories of those who are delivering care- despite the enormous obstacles they face.

I have begun working on a training, that I will deliver early next week, on Child's Rights. This will be delivered to field officers and volunteers who work directly with children and will hopefull enable them to utilise more effective strategies to correct a child's behaviour rather than physically abusing children.

From these experiences I have learned that having access to information and education is an amazing gift (such teacher talk) and that we should never take this for granted. I am urging everyone to learn their HIV status and become educated on how they can either begin living positively (through diet, deciding whether or not to take ARV's) or protect themselves in order to remain negative. By becoming educating we are reducing the stigma attached to HIV/AIDs. This is the most disabling aspect of the virus and leaves the most vulnerable people in society even more vulnerable. This is true in Nigeria and from my brief introduction to HIV/AIDs in Ireland it is unfortunately true there too.

Before I begin the journey home I have (as usual) a million projects on the go. One of these is an information pamphlet for women who are positive and prgenant. Another is a very exciting vacation camp for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC's). This camp will be on for four days and there will be sixty teenagers attending. We are all going to be staying at a Church nearby and we've got loads of activites! Wohoo! Fingers crossed that it all works out really well.

Hope that you are all really well. I'm sorry for the lack of contact- my mobile phone is broken and internet access is a luxury and a test of patience. It will (brace yourselves) mean that I will be bombarding you all with a million and one stories of this adventure of a lifetime when I return.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank EIL for this amazing experience. I feel so honored to have been given the chance to have travelled all the way to Nigeria and to have been trusted by them to have worked in this dynamic and challenging setting.

Le gach dea-ghuí,

Emily

A mind once exposed to a new idea never returns to its original dimensions!

Catherine Anderson — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 20:21:52 +0000

Well its been a while! Its very very overwhelming sitting here right now trying to think how on earth I am ever going to be able to explain my experiences of Guatemala and please know that it is simply impossible for me to say all that has happened here, even if I spent the whole night writing! To explain all the cultural differences that I have come across during my experiences here would take a book in itself, as would to explain the emotional cycles I have been through. Of course everything that I see, do and feel is intertwined, but it can be suprisingly difficult to see how all of the things going on inside and outside of me connect up sometimes!

I am on my final week here in Guatemala at the moment. I can well and truely say that I've settled into 'Guatemalan time' at this stage, so where the Irish part of me is getting sad that I have only five days left in my intensely diverse and interesting world of Guatemala, the new found Guatemalan-style me is as relaxed as can be, and is thinking of all the wonderful things that are still ahead of me before I set off on my 20 odd our trip back to my homeland! For those of you who are not familiar with this 'Guatemalan time' that I refer too, it may be a tad difficult to understand. Being punctual is just not part of the culture! If somebody arranges to meet you at 7am, there is a 95% chance that you will not see that face before 8 and thats on a good day! There is another aspect to 'Guatemalan time' aswell, in that the the hours in the days are actually longer here. It sounds completely and utterly crazy but its true! I don't think I have ever done or seen as much in any one day in Ireland as I have done in my days here. Yes that could also have something to do with the fact that I am just 'un poco loca' and at times say yes to doing every single thing under the sun and moon, but despite this, I do truely believe that time moves by much slower here.

My time in Guatemala has been one that I will never forget. To echo my last blog, I will say that it certianly has not all been fun or easy, but it really has been such an incredible learning experience.

In a way, the experience I have had here could not have been any more different from my initial idea of what it would be like, but one of the biggest realisations I have had throughout my time here is that everything does happen for a reason. No joke, I have been stretched and pulled and pushed and shoved above and beyond my comfort zone, (both physically and mentally), and no it didn't always feel good at the time, but I can now say with the truth of my heart that I am a better person because of it! I feel that I am going home with a new appreciation for myself and for the people and the things that await me back on the other side of the world. I have also developed a deep interest and appreciation for the peoples and the cultures that I have encountered here in Guatemala, and feel that while technically my journey is nearing its end, in reality that end will never really come as it is true that a mind once exposed to a new idea never returns to its original dimensions.

Drumming, dancing and some more...

Oksana — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 18:06:24 +0000

Hi! Going through everything I have written, I realize that I describe Ghana in very general terms. The main point is missing – Ghanaian Spirit!!!Ghanaians are famous for their drumming but they are also very good dancers and singers. These three components are present in any public event or celebration, such as weddings, birthday parties, church service and funeral.

My neighbours gather every Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday and practice for Sunday’s church service. Basically, they bring their drums, sing and dance. As our house walls are tick as paper and our neighbours sit just outside our fence, we have the best Dolby Surround sound you can imagine. I like those evenings because songs are very beautiful, rhythm catchy and dancing is great performance itself.

Last week our neighbours were having funeral party. Again they had drumming, dancing, singing and loads of food! Women were dressed in gorgeous black and white, black and red or just black African dresses. It was nothing alike western funeral! No one was crying and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. This maybe due to the fact that our neighbour was buried last month and his family had some time to grieve. In general, Ghanaian funerals are for the community not for a grieving family or a person who passed away. The family has to provide food, drinks and accommodation for everyone willing to attend funeral. So it is quiet expensive and stressful event.

The main point of this update is to highlight that Ghanaians really know how to enjoy themselves! They do not even need to drink much. I mean comparing to Irish night out, Ghanaian night out may involve one drink and best time ever. No one drinks much but everyone is dancing and singing. I like Ghanaian music and know almost all popular songs. Last time I went out everyone was so surprised to see ‘jawu’ who knows words of all popular songs. I actually received many compliments that described my as Ghanaian or African. It’s great!!! It really means that I was able to adopt.

Words Don't Do It Justice- Gary Cooks- My Vermont Experience 2010

sarahoshea — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 14:38:40 +0000

I am not sure I can put this experience into words that will give it any justification. A few days later after returning home to rain and wind it still gives me a smile just thinking back to an adventure which I will number as one of my best experiences in my life so far. The people I met there and worked with have left an unbelievable impact on my life, my way of thinking and my understanding of the world around us.

I learned mostly about American culture and small differences we have that lead to very funny mistakes. I learned to channel myself to attempt, and be part of, new things.

We had a mock congress which was very interesting with all the staff taking on roles and dressing us for the occasion. I learned lots that night and got to know a few more names. Over the next few days we had many speeches, issue groups, workshops and presentations. I joined the leadership issue group with Ken Williams which to me seamed to be the most useful for me in my life. They were all good choices and I would of love to have done them all. I learned lots from Ken but we got sidetracked a lot. The main thing he taught me was to always think about things a different way and to always question why I think of something a certain way. One of his many catch phrases was “the absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence”, which we continually implied in all our discussions as we had to back up any points we made. I learned lots from him and his alternative manner of approaching topics. I can only wish we had more time to complete all the aims he set out in the first session. Thanks to him my perception on the world has changed greatly.

Also on this second day, we got our first session of hilltop time. It was a truly wholesome experience in which musicians played music inviting us to join in as the sun set behind the hill. The view is spectacular looking over an idealistic Vermont landscape

On Thursday we started up our forum theatre, groups we would be with for the next two weeks. I was torn between doing gardening and puppetry. I chose puppetry as it was not something I would ordinarily do so I choose that. We had a hand drumming workshop. It was a very interesting experience.

The parade was an out of this world experience. Throughout the parade we chanted various slogans each with their own political message such as, “Ain’t no power like the power of the people because the power of the people don’t stop! Say what?” This was a truly enjoyable event.The event I enjoy most was the mock UN simulation we were involved in discussing the issue in Zimbabwe. It was a fun simulation and showed us just how hard it is to get people to agree on important issues without bringing in their personal agendas.

We had an Irish presentation on the Thursday in which the whole camp attended to hear our small bit about some aspect of Irish culture. TThere were many questions showing that people were truly interested in what we were saying.

On the Friday we had a closing banquet which had the dinning room we use all done up spectacularly. Then afterwards there was a good few speeches including one from me from the Irish delegation which I thanked everyone for the wonderful experience. Then when the meal was done we started the open mike night in El Café. It was more a talent show with acts from all walks of life. The staff performances were the funniest and I discovered how talented my fellow participants were. I sung, with a few others, a rendition of “Oh Danny boy”.

The final day was hard but we still had plenty of fun especially with the performance of our forum theatres. First, we saw what the trash and gardening had done and then each of the other theatres preformed their work. It was very exciting how each group portray the various topics.The good-byes were hard, but we knew at least we could still talk on facebook to each other. Over the next few days the Irish and the Turkish participants got to go to a ropes course which was fun and a drive-in movie. It was really interesting to see these aspects of American culture.I finally just want to say this was a truly great experience I wouldn’t swap for anything. I want to thank EIL so much for giving me this great life changing opportunity for which I will be eternally grateful.