one luv
nick
Thursday, May 28, 2009
waddup bretherin! sorry it took me so long to write on this u kno im a computer tard tho. alex finally just pulled up the page for me and here i am now writin u. so thats realy tight u met a friend down there have u met any other cool people? n wat knd of food have u been eating? r u still bein a vegan? that must b hard down there if u r. so im just sittin in a cafe in florida rite now, we got the fl flame, and have been skatin (me n ryan) n beachin it, u kno. but we gotta get like a big trip together when u get back campin or watever it doesnt really matter. so yea, keep holdin it down in africa dude, ur doin it big willie style
Thursday, May 21, 2009
The Irish Have Arrived
The last couple of weeks have been a real turning point during my trip. I had gotten these fleeting feelings of thinking I understood the country I am in and then feeling like that understanding was slipping through my fingers a couple of days later. You can call it culture shock, but more than anything it felt like trying to remember a good dream and finding yourself just shy of recalling the details to know why it was good. But, like I said, the last couple of weeks have been a real turning point. My feet are firmly planted in my own interpretation of Kenya. And, while it may be subjective in parts, it strives to be objective and I can now clearly see this country for what it is.
This understanding couldn't have come fast enough, since in the last week 32 Irishmen from a group called TARA Projects have arrived to help with the construction for the orphanage I've been working on and they are madmen. The first day we had a truck full of cinder bricks that got stuck on the path just outside the construction site about 70 yards from the foundation they needed to be laid on, largely on account of the fact that most Kenyans feel like they have to operate their vehicles like total assholes to be effective drivers, so me and a couple of other guys hopped on top of the load and pitched out 50 or 60 pound bricks into the yard. I nearly fell off at one point since the only decent way of going about throwing them was like a shotput and my footing was a little shaky, but we managed just as well. After the first day I was beat to hell and back, but got invited out to go have a night with the guys from TARA; twist my arm. We stayed up drinking, laughing, and playing cards and after I was through I was offered a spare bed in a room with a guy who had a bit of a snoring problem (yeah, even worse than mine) and I mustn't have gotten more than about 2 hours of sleep.
So, the next day was a little rough going at first, but then I reminded myself of all the all nighters I had pulled going through school and got over it quick. The next couple of days had gone the same, with drivers bringing more bricks in and apparently determined to get their dumb asses stuck at the gate at least once. More than anything, though, I have loved working with these guys. Being at the same work site for a month and digging out a road and some foundations with a pick and a shovel with two other Kenyan workers, we didn't see much progress, needless to say. But since these fellas got here we've nearly completed laying the bricks for the main building of the orphanage and can see huge amounts of progress everyday. I even got some compliments from a couple of guys for being a hard worker, and some fun to have a night out with. I'm pretty content with where I'm at and what I'm doing.
Having really found my bearings last week helped me to take stock of a couple of things: where I am, who I am, and what I miss, and I am very much looking forward to coming home. I miss you guys, but in a good way. I'm determined and happy about soaking up every bit of this experience while I'm here and doing the most and best work I can, but coming home is going to be a real trip. So without getting too corny, I do miss you guys a lot, some days more than others, and it'll be good to get home when it happens. Take care and write something soon. You schmucks are really slackin' on the posts lately.
Zachary
This understanding couldn't have come fast enough, since in the last week 32 Irishmen from a group called TARA Projects have arrived to help with the construction for the orphanage I've been working on and they are madmen. The first day we had a truck full of cinder bricks that got stuck on the path just outside the construction site about 70 yards from the foundation they needed to be laid on, largely on account of the fact that most Kenyans feel like they have to operate their vehicles like total assholes to be effective drivers, so me and a couple of other guys hopped on top of the load and pitched out 50 or 60 pound bricks into the yard. I nearly fell off at one point since the only decent way of going about throwing them was like a shotput and my footing was a little shaky, but we managed just as well. After the first day I was beat to hell and back, but got invited out to go have a night with the guys from TARA; twist my arm. We stayed up drinking, laughing, and playing cards and after I was through I was offered a spare bed in a room with a guy who had a bit of a snoring problem (yeah, even worse than mine) and I mustn't have gotten more than about 2 hours of sleep.
So, the next day was a little rough going at first, but then I reminded myself of all the all nighters I had pulled going through school and got over it quick. The next couple of days had gone the same, with drivers bringing more bricks in and apparently determined to get their dumb asses stuck at the gate at least once. More than anything, though, I have loved working with these guys. Being at the same work site for a month and digging out a road and some foundations with a pick and a shovel with two other Kenyan workers, we didn't see much progress, needless to say. But since these fellas got here we've nearly completed laying the bricks for the main building of the orphanage and can see huge amounts of progress everyday. I even got some compliments from a couple of guys for being a hard worker, and some fun to have a night out with. I'm pretty content with where I'm at and what I'm doing.
Having really found my bearings last week helped me to take stock of a couple of things: where I am, who I am, and what I miss, and I am very much looking forward to coming home. I miss you guys, but in a good way. I'm determined and happy about soaking up every bit of this experience while I'm here and doing the most and best work I can, but coming home is going to be a real trip. So without getting too corny, I do miss you guys a lot, some days more than others, and it'll be good to get home when it happens. Take care and write something soon. You schmucks are really slackin' on the posts lately.
Zachary
Sunday, May 10, 2009
:(
I really miss you lately. A lot.
I'll post a more substantial update soon. I hope you're doing extraordinarily well. And that your head's not too sunburned.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
On a Personal Note...
So, it occurred to me the other day that I have been writing almost exclusively about my day-to-day here in Kenya, effectively writing 'at' you all instead of 'to' you. While I want to continue to describe my experience here, and in good detail, it wouldn't kill me to develop more of a personal touch in doing so. I would now like to take a moment to write 'to' each of you, individually, similar to the letter that Alex left her friends and family when she left for Germany...
Mom - I find myself on another continent, working as hard as you taught me how to improve some small pocket of the world with what I have learned from you, from life, from the education that you saw fit to sacrifice for so that I could have. I love you so much and gain more respect for you day by day. I cannot even begin to thank you for everything that you have taken, given, and received during the course of my upbringing, as well as during my adulthood; it seems only fit to use what you have given me everyday of my life, and what you have given me is serving me well. I am, very much, your son.
Alex - I attribute as much of my current disposition to my own want as to the example you set for me growing up. I became vegetarian, twice, and eventually vegan because you did first, and educated me on the advantages to both humans and animals. I attended Webster University, a school that taught me to think of myself as a global citizen instead of entering into the post-youth mentality some pathetic souls die with of only considering themselves. You have been an incredible older sibling and have helped to guide me in some of the most important and simultaneously confusing points in my life. You are my best friend, the one person that I have related to consistently my entire existence. I miss you.
Nick - I don't think there are things in this world stronger than a brother's love, especially when its an older brother to a younger brother. You are incredible, man. While we butted heads on occasion at the house this past year, you also taught me a lot about myself and my capacity to adapt, which at the time was limited at best. Alex and I often called you the smartest of the three of us and, while I've put that debate to rest in my own mind as that all three of us are equal people with different talents, I want you to know that I think you're brilliant. You have a depth that I have been privileged to learn about, especially in living with you during the past year, and I want to acknowledge you for it. I love you, little bro.
Deej - I think of anyone else that I am writing to on this page, our friendship has developed the most over the past few years. On that note, I have developed a respect for you that I have never deliberately told you about, but one that I hope I exude. You may not talk as much as some, but you don't have to; you choose your words wisely, and when none need to be spoken then you are silent. Not to mention, you're like a rock in your family. You have made decisions to become involved with things like veganism and environmental conservatism that reflect how thoughtful you are, and you give me just as great an example to live parts of my life by as my mom and Alex do. Oh, and the gift you gave me before my departure, The Motorcycle Diaries, has been like seeing this part of my life lived by someone else, in a different place at a different time; a road map to a new mentality, you could say. You're wise as hell and, even though it's a small reflection of it, I want you to know that the book has provided a lot of utility out here 'in the bush'.
Mark - It has been great getting to know you over the past years, and I want to thank you for all that you've done for my mom, my family, and myself. You are a genuinely good person. And, when I say that, I mean that you are able to retain a decent amount of cynicism about those things that need to be taken with a grain of salt, but without letting it wear on you. There have been few times that I have seen you without a smile on your face. Thank you, and your family, for helping to make this trip possible and, more than anything, believing in me. My mom has told me a number of times what esteem you hold Alex, Nick, and I in and I want you to know that I feel the same way.
Justin & Kegan - My brothers from another mother. While I am enjoying my life in Kenya very much at the present moment, I miss hanging out with you guys a lot sometimes. From time to time, when there's nothing to do, I picture myself with you guys doing the stuff that we'd do: climbing the bluff, drinking at Friday's for Stag Monday, driving around with either 3OH!3 or German rap playing at an obnoxious level... This summer's going to be great. I miss you guys, and am very much looking forward to continuing in the nature of a true 20-something when I return home, tearin' shit up and what-not.
Warmly,
Zachary
Mom - I find myself on another continent, working as hard as you taught me how to improve some small pocket of the world with what I have learned from you, from life, from the education that you saw fit to sacrifice for so that I could have. I love you so much and gain more respect for you day by day. I cannot even begin to thank you for everything that you have taken, given, and received during the course of my upbringing, as well as during my adulthood; it seems only fit to use what you have given me everyday of my life, and what you have given me is serving me well. I am, very much, your son.
Alex - I attribute as much of my current disposition to my own want as to the example you set for me growing up. I became vegetarian, twice, and eventually vegan because you did first, and educated me on the advantages to both humans and animals. I attended Webster University, a school that taught me to think of myself as a global citizen instead of entering into the post-youth mentality some pathetic souls die with of only considering themselves. You have been an incredible older sibling and have helped to guide me in some of the most important and simultaneously confusing points in my life. You are my best friend, the one person that I have related to consistently my entire existence. I miss you.
Nick - I don't think there are things in this world stronger than a brother's love, especially when its an older brother to a younger brother. You are incredible, man. While we butted heads on occasion at the house this past year, you also taught me a lot about myself and my capacity to adapt, which at the time was limited at best. Alex and I often called you the smartest of the three of us and, while I've put that debate to rest in my own mind as that all three of us are equal people with different talents, I want you to know that I think you're brilliant. You have a depth that I have been privileged to learn about, especially in living with you during the past year, and I want to acknowledge you for it. I love you, little bro.
Deej - I think of anyone else that I am writing to on this page, our friendship has developed the most over the past few years. On that note, I have developed a respect for you that I have never deliberately told you about, but one that I hope I exude. You may not talk as much as some, but you don't have to; you choose your words wisely, and when none need to be spoken then you are silent. Not to mention, you're like a rock in your family. You have made decisions to become involved with things like veganism and environmental conservatism that reflect how thoughtful you are, and you give me just as great an example to live parts of my life by as my mom and Alex do. Oh, and the gift you gave me before my departure, The Motorcycle Diaries, has been like seeing this part of my life lived by someone else, in a different place at a different time; a road map to a new mentality, you could say. You're wise as hell and, even though it's a small reflection of it, I want you to know that the book has provided a lot of utility out here 'in the bush'.
Mark - It has been great getting to know you over the past years, and I want to thank you for all that you've done for my mom, my family, and myself. You are a genuinely good person. And, when I say that, I mean that you are able to retain a decent amount of cynicism about those things that need to be taken with a grain of salt, but without letting it wear on you. There have been few times that I have seen you without a smile on your face. Thank you, and your family, for helping to make this trip possible and, more than anything, believing in me. My mom has told me a number of times what esteem you hold Alex, Nick, and I in and I want you to know that I feel the same way.
Justin & Kegan - My brothers from another mother. While I am enjoying my life in Kenya very much at the present moment, I miss hanging out with you guys a lot sometimes. From time to time, when there's nothing to do, I picture myself with you guys doing the stuff that we'd do: climbing the bluff, drinking at Friday's for Stag Monday, driving around with either 3OH!3 or German rap playing at an obnoxious level... This summer's going to be great. I miss you guys, and am very much looking forward to continuing in the nature of a true 20-something when I return home, tearin' shit up and what-not.
Warmly,
Zachary
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Zack, how ya doing, man? Alex and I have got FNB STL going again and it looks to be super-powered this time around. Well, possibly. Can't promise anything. Did you know that Nairobi has a Food Not Bombs chapter?
I've made Alex and me a batch of brownies a week for he past two weeks and we scarf 'em down like hound dogs.
I'm about finished with this semester of school. That's pretty exciting. Just maybe comparable to you seeing a leopard, huh?.....PSYCH! Seeing a leopard or any animal is more exciting than STLCC. Man, a real safari would be bad-ass like Bruce. I know what you're thinking. Bruce who? Go ahead and pick one. Bruce Willis, Bruce Lee, Bruce Campbell, Bruce Wayne, or Bruce Springsteen (the working-man's badass). I think in a Royal Rumble of Bruces, it would be a toss-up between Bruce Willis and Bruce Lee. But Lee would finish with a fatality, fo sho. Bruce Lee forever, Zack.
Love, D.J.
P.S. I guess you're wondering why Bruce Wayne wouldn't be included in the top two Bruces. That's because the Bruce Wayne mentioned in this Royal Rumble is being played by Michael Keaton. Definitely not bad-assed enough to take on Willis...or maybe even Springsteen.
*This post edited (with love and, of course) by Alex.
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