Camino 2014: Day 0.3 Copenhagen, Denmark (Lanie)

Our plane landed in Denmark at around 1pm. I was extremely happy that I made it through that long flight. I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt and was absolutely freezing the whole way because they ran out of the blankets they were passing out. It worked out okay because as I flipped through the channels on the tiny tv screen, I came across the movie; The Great Gatsby, which I've never seen before. To anyone who hasn't seen it, IT HAS A TERRIBLE ENDING! Anyway, we got off and had our passports stamped for the very first time. We also got to say our first Danish word to the man who was stamping, Tak! (Thanks) 

We walked through this tunnel looking archway to a crowd of people waiting for their friends and family. We were greeted by Sahra, Kathrine (my family's former exchange student), and her friend. It was so cool to see her again after 10 years! They were waving little Danish flags with our names on them which was super cool also. Then we all hopped on a little train that took us to a downtown station. We were in the city of Copenhagen!!! It was crazy beautiful with all the tall old looking buildings. Sahra took us to her brothers apartment we would be staying in and made us a typical Danish lunch for the seven of us. I got to try a couple new things such as a spread they put on bread that was sort of a pâté which I didn't particularly like and hyldeblomst (elder flower) which is a drink that they water down with sparkling water because it's too strong. To me, it tasted like pickles, but it was still pretty good. Haha. 

After lunch, Kathrine asked me if she could take me around town and go on a boat tour. I of course couldn't pass that up. We walked all around while her and her friend talked about the history of almost every building. I took a bunch of pictures in the process. We got on the ferry after we walked around all of the buildings. I was very glad that the tour lady recited her little history lesson in English along with Danish and Russian throughout the ride. About fifteen minutes into the ride, the skies went gray and it started to pour down rain! I got soaked! Kathrine said "Denmark does this and then after ten minutes, the sun is out again." That reminded me of Oregon. Overall, I enjoyed the boat ride with them. We started walking back to apartment after and stopped at a very pretty tall tower called Doctrinamet Dirige. We walked all the way to the top to look at the amazing view. It was cool! 

They dropped me off at the apartment at 7pm and Emily and Mimi were passed out. I was also dead tired and wanted to take a nap, but March told me that it would be easier for me to adjust if I just stayed awake and waited for bedtime and be able to sleep all night. After a little while, we woke them up for dinner. Sahra made lasagna and it was awesome! After that, we went bike riding around town on some bikes that Sahra managed to get for us before we arrived. (Thank you Sahra!) It was very fun experience. We rode to the Little Mermaid statue by the water and took some group photos. We also saw some other statues and the Queen's house along with the other royal family houses. They were gorgeous. Fun fact: When the danish flag is up on top of the house, it means that one of the royal families is home. When the flag is not up, they are away. We were all curious to find out what they were doing inside. Haha! 

I was totally beat when we arrived back home. I got my teeth brushed and March had put in Napoleon Dynamite. I didn't even get to watch ten minutes of it before I slowly drifted off to sleep... 

Goodnight! 

Lanie 

Camino 2014: Day 0.2 New York (Mimi)

I learned quickly that airplanes do not suit me well.  Still recovering from yesterday's night flight and a nice nap after that, I still did not feel fully rested.  

Day two in New York City consisted of sleeping in until 10:30-ish and we took our showers before the long day began.  Breakfast was simply the stash of bagels and croissants Emily had bought in Portland airport.  With a hearty morning mid-day walk we headed to the pier to meet our destiny; the ferry boat tour of Manhattan.  

This boat ride was like no other. One, it was in New York, but also due to us being in NYC,  if you wanted to take a picture, expect twenty other people to be in it with you!  We had many many people in the tour who did not speak English which allowed us to enjoy the different dialogues that surrounded our booth.  

Traffic, immense traffic, surrounded us and I continuously was on my toes ready to dodge a speeding taxi.  We went to get Villa (Pizza) so Em could cross off her bucket list, 'eating pizza in New York' and spotted people walking with Coldstone IceCream, so guess where went next. 

Retreating with our ice cream, another tour bus came so we headed now to the southern part if Manhattan.  We have our bags the whole time so trying to learn how to walk with the bags for the entire day was interesting.  As we headed down to the southern region, our main goal was to see the Twin Towers Memorial.

This historic spot, the Twin Towers Historical Site, held great meaning to March, but I was only five when the Towers were hit.  As he walked ahead to take in the historic values of the site, we held back, giving him space, staring down into the 30 ft fountain.  Real quick fact, the new World Trade Center is 1,776 ft tall.

As I saw all these people there was a quiet sense of sadness and mourning, but barely 20 yards from the North Tower stood the new World Trade Center.  The somber aura was quickly covered by hope and I realized something.  Despite, me barely knowing the history of the Twin Towers, as I was only five years old at the time, this was one of the events that was supposed to divide our country, but it didn't. "E Pluribus Unum"  

So we had barely an hour before we needed to get to the airport to head to Copenhagen, so we were going to take a bus, funny thing is, we couldn't find one that we to Central Park in our allotted hour.  We unfortunately returned to the tour bus and made it to Central Park to get a picture! 

And let us end the day with a grand recognition of the next six to seven hour plane ride. I will tell of how terribly fun we had walking again through security this time hoping our bags were light enough and stressing about our passport legitimacy. So lights out was at midnight- thirty after we boarded our plane 45 minutes late and had a wonderful take-off that accelerated us up to 41,000 ft (12,476 km) over the Atlantic Ocean.

Off to Denmark!

Mimi

Camino 2014: Day 0.1 Portland to New York

The epic, sheer wattage of Times Square is enough to impress anyone, even the travel weary, eyelid heavy kids I loaded onto a double-decker bus for a night tour of Manhattan.  Lanie, Emily, and Mimi survived the twelve plus hours of airline travel, layovers, and delays starting Portland the night before only to succumb to a deep nap in the middle of what was supposed to be a full day of New York City sightseeing.  We were able to get some food from a pizzeria, but by the time 3pm rolled around, all we could think about was that nap.  Time changes can disrupt even the most enthusiastic of travelers.  However, the power nap worked and with showers all around we set out for a night tour of Manhattan.  I had done these tours in South Africa and loved them so when I knew we would get the opportunity to do one in New York, I couldn't pass it up.  Luckily we have a really supportive Boosters Club at our school and they agreed to cover the costs of the tickets for us.  Thanks!  And the tour didn't disappoint either.  Our guide was funny, insightful, and involved our kids several times on the ride.  We laughed, saw beautiful buildings and bridges, and by nightfall rounded a street corner to the fully decked out, lit up wonder world of Times Square, equal in its ability to both inspire awe and overwhelming commercial revulsion all at the same time.  You couldn't help but smile, though.  We even continued to smile, chuckle I dare say, as it began to rain quite heavily and persistently right at the end of our tour.  Emily spotted a Disney store through the sheets of rain and made it very clear that it would be nice to go inside.  We sliced and diced through the throngs of people, avoiding only the largest of the puddles to the entrance.  It continued to rain as we left, now looking for a dinner of some sorts.  A suitable place which allowed us to grab what we wanted cafeteria style and pay by the pound appears in front of us and we dig in and again, smiles abound.  It's really nice to know that even after a long long day of travel, these three kids can muster enough to go out and experience new things.  For what I know about the journey they will  take on the Camino, this bodes well.

We are currently sitting in our room, making phone calls home to family and friends, journaling, and trying to sort out what tomorrow has in store.  All we know are the "musts."  We must check out of the hotel by noon and we must be at JFK early for a flight to Denmark and 6 more hours ahead in time change.  Other than that, we have a lot of time and a really big and interesting city to further explore.

Tomorrow, I pass the journaling on to the students to reflect in their own words their thoughts, experiences, wise musings and other such notable things.  I hope you enjoy!

Buen Camino,

James

Click on the Facebook link for additional photos!

One More Month! Get Involved!

It's crunch time here in Springfield, Oregon.  Flights, lodging, and other logistics are being finalized as the students make one last push on fundraising.  Whether cleaning houses, doing yard work, or auctioning off beautifully crafted items, the kids have been busy working and collecting donations from friends, family, and anyone else simply inspired by their adventure.  At the same time, not only do these kids have to fundraise to fulfill the financial side of this journey, but they also have to physically prepare themselves.  Just this weekend we did a quick gear test and hike up along the Mckenzie River.  Shoes held up, packs were adjusted, and smiles were shared.  I can't wait for this adventure to begin!
If you are reading this and looking forward to the kid's daily updates and pictures, please take the time to consider how you may support their journey.

There are many ways to contribute to their trip:

1.  If you know one of the students directly, consider providing a donation straight to them.  Each kid has a journal where they are recording mile sponsorships ($1 per mile) and day sponsorships ($50 per day).  They will thank you directly on the blog when those miles and days are completed on the journey.

2.  If you don't know these kids, but have heard of or followed one of our trips in the past, you may also donate to our club account.  The Adventure/Cycling club at Springfield High is where we are keeping our communal funds.  We will use this to help pay for lodging in the cities we will visit both before and after the trip.  All funds from this go to the kids lodging, not for me or Sahra, so your tax-deductible donation will go directly to the kids.

3. If you have hiked the Camino in the past, or have done some other similar journey and want to share your thoughts/advice with the kids, please email me at james.march@springfield.k12.or.us

4. If you like this blog, please share it!  It just takes a click and these kids reach a whole new audience of people who may feel inclined to help them out.

Buen Camino!
James

Return to Santiago: Planning For a 2014 Camino Hike Underway!

2014 has arrived and with a new year brings new adventures.  The mere thought of summer vacation has always acted as a mental refuge of sorts for me the past few years.  I tend to let the fall months slide by with open ended daydreams.  Filled with possibilities and an endless array of potential itineraries, each more fantastical than the last, I eventually zero in and begin the arduous task of creating a plan that  might resemble something that might actually work.  Whether it is hiking, biking, foreign travel, or a mixture of all three, perhaps, once the whimsical side of your brain enthusiastically says "yes!" to an adventure, the analytical side sooner or later has to front load a lot of the work. 

However, this year has been a bit different.  For starters, I'm married now.  And that story may just explain the title of this post and why I feel the need to "Return to Santiago" and retread a familiar path.  I, in the summer of 2011, along with another teacher and a couple of students, completed the Camino de Santiago, a 500 mile pilgrimage route in Spain.  Near the end of our journey, I met a beautiful Danish woman named Sahra.  She too was walking the route, big red backpack and all.  When we arrived in Santiago, Sahra informed me she was traveling to New York in a couple of months and that it would be her first visit to the United States.  I told her it was a ridiculous idea to visit dirty, grey New York City for 10 days and return home without seeing beautiful, green Oregon as well.  Much to both our happiness, she did.  That was over two years ago.  Long story short, now we are married.

The thing is, I hold the Camino very close to my heart.  I know Sahra does, too.  So isn't it funny we haven't really walked much of it together?  We are going to fix that this summer.  At the same time, while I thoroughly enjoyed my travels throughout much of South and East Africa, it is time for me to return the favor and give back a bit.  In 2011, I did the Camino with 2 amazing students and I can't imagine doing it without enthusiastic and curious learners like Auna and Deija.  They have moved on to the college adventures leaving me and Sahra to find new members to join our "camino familia" to share in whatever this journey gifts.  Luckily, we didn't have to look very far or very hard.  In fact, I think I had two of these kids in the back of my mind the whole time, just waiting for an appropriate adventure.  The third, well, she just straight out demanded to go.  And yes, she said this right after I told her we would be walking 500 miles.  

Travel details are to be determined and will be posted when they become more concrete.  Getting passports in order and beginning fundraising is the first order of business.  You will get to know these travelers this summer as they will author the vast majority of the daily updates to the blog, but in the meantime, let me introduce you all to 'Las Peregrinas' in their own words:

    Mimi

Hi! My name is Mimi Schiffer.  I am a junior attending Springfield High School.  I play soccer, run track, enjoy hiking and spending time with others.  When I get older I want to study linguistics or become an architectural engineer.   I want to use these fields as an outlet to bless others through helping nationally.  I was blessed to get the opportunity to go on an adventure along a trail called, “El Camino de Santiago.”  I will learn to live on less while carrying all of my belongings on my back the entire way.

This trek will be a great experience for me because not only will I explore Spain and other parts of Europe, but I not only get the chance to learn about the Spanish culture, but I get to become a part of it.  This will be rigorous, life-changing and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.  This trip is not a vacation but a time for transformation as I learn who I truly am.

 Emily

My name is Emily Anderson. I am a junior at Springfield High School, I play on the girls varsity soccer team,  run track, and I ended my first quarter with a 4.0. After high school my goal is to go to Oregon Institute of Technology to become an Ultrasound Technician. Another goal and dream of mine has always been to travel. I never imagined having the opportunity while in high school though. This isn't just some vacation, but it is an incredible learning experience. I will be living out of a backpack for over a month, and be without my electronics. I think this trip will show me that even though we base our lives around the materialistic things, we don't really need them, and they're not what's important in life.

 Lanie

Hey!  My name is Lanie Harmon and I am a sophomore at Springfield High.  I have played volleyball for 5 years now and I absolutely love it.  I enjoy painting, writing, and hanging out with friends.  I have always had a heart for travel and it has been a dream of mine to travel to Europe for as long as I can remember.  After I graduate with the class of 2016, I am hoping to attend the University of Oregon, play volleyball, and become an elementary school teacher.  We all hope you will follow us on our journey to Santiago and all of the other wonderful places we will visit! 

Summer In Africa 2013: Tanzania and Kenya

Apparently I'm not good at keeping this updated.  I had every intention of writing this last blog for Africa the second I returned home, but there always seemed to be some sort of task, laundry for instance, or washing the hardwood floors as a stretch, I could use to delay the inevitable.  I think at one point I even rationalized that my time would be best be utilized by thinking about the blog instead of writing it. 

Anyway, summer quickly evaporated like they always do and school weaseled its way in.  It's easier to put off the blog when you are desperately trying to put off grading at the same time.  However, with school comes eager students and a few special ones that inspire you to start dreaming of new adventures and how you might be able to include them on said adventures.  I guess this is what is prompting me to finish up the Africa blog.  I need to start on a new adventure blog for 2014!  

More on this later:)

For now, let's go back to Africa.

My experiences in Kigali left a deep impression.  Trying to reconcile something I taught in an academic setting and then bearing witness to the actual locations and remnants of what happened in 1994 is something I am still wading through.  I went on a reading binge shortly after leaving Kigali.  I think despite knowing the story quite well, I still desperately cling to some vain hope that knowing just a few more facts will help me understand that big red stain on the wall of the Sunday school at Ntarama.

Unfortunately, clarity on this has so far eluded me.  

We took off from Kigali early morning without incident and arrived in Dar Es Salaam a few hours later after routing through Nairobi.  A beautiful view of Kilimanjaro was about the only highlight of the day.  Dar Es Salaam was unpleasant.  Traffic was pretty bad through the city and I was ripped off by the cab driver, which was compounded by the near death experiences along the way.  Unfortunately, this would be emblematic of my experiences for the rest of the trip.  Prices would ultimately always be higher than quoted.  We learned to ask for a price, then ask, "Really, though?  So at the end of the drive, it will be this?" Holding up the exact cash just to announce that we had already been ripped off and had no intention of doing it again helped out, too.  Luckily, Dar was not our destination and really just a jump off point to get out to Zanzibar, the former slave trade, cultural melting pot, spice island, aqua blue water tourist hotspot.  We took the two hour ferry on smooth seas to the beautiful island and in no less than 15 minutes had us lost in its labyrinth like maze of streets looking for out hotel.  I eventually let one of street guys who gives "tours" help me find the spot.  After paying him for the help, I spent the next two days avoiding him at all costs so as not to get the hard sell on why I needed to book a tour with him.  

Zanzibar was pretty cool, despite the constant pressure of sales and tours.  It was a bit weary to constantly have to ward off aggressive sellers, but overall, the architecture, food, and history of the place was enough to keep my mind busy. Catching a sunset on top of one the many rooftop restaurants, or sharing wine with a couple from New Zealand at tables set up on the beach provided ample time for reflection.  I felt like we had to do some sort of tour while we were there so we decided to do a Spice Tour.  Since Morberg can't smell, I was put on the spot more than I like and was embarrassed not to be able to recognize all the spices we use so often in the wild.  Even when the guy cut some root off of some seemingly random green plant growing along the path and shoved it in my face, I was unable to identify it as ginger.  It was pretty cool to see where pepper, vanilla, cinnamon, and many other common spices, actually came from.  

From Zanzibar we had to brave a bit of a choppier ferry ride back to Dar Es Salaam and then brave the choppy taxi ride to the airport before we were able to head to our last destination, Kenya.  

Once we arrived in Nairobi, we both slumped down in the hotel tired and a bit travel weary.  We had boarded some dozen different flights in the previous three weeks and it was beginning to show.  We didn't have the exploratory, itchy feet we had in Cape Town, and were more prone to find some pizza and retire to the room for a movie, or two, or three.  Nevertheless, we did venture out.  We made a trip out to a wonderful museum and reptile center that involved a walk across the city and we even tried one last time to see a lion out in one of the parks just outside of the city.  No luck.  I just have to accept that the mighty lion and I will have to meet some time in the future.  On the last day, we checked out of the hotel early in the day and needed an activity to keep us occupied before catching a night flight to Switzerland and eventually back to the States.  My suggestion was to take a bit of a walk and head towards the Westgate Mall, where we could catch a movie.  Of course, what was a stupid excuse to hang out in air conditioned buildings and watch western movies, a terrible one at that, is overshadowed by the events that happened at that mall a month or so after we were there.  Apparently the terrorists rented a shop there where they smuggled weapons and posed as businessmen.  Not sure if we walked past that store, but we could have.  Quite honestly, it is a bit chilling and really quite sad considering the vast majority of Kenyans we talked to were excited about the ever increasing opportunities in Kenya, the relative peace, and how they are starting to feel as though they have a hand in their own destiny. 

And that was that.  We had spent nearly a month in Africa, but really it seemed like much longer.  Like any good trip, your everyday experiences, even the mundane, take on extraordinary characteristics and leave indelible marks on your memory.  But I must say, this trip was filled with activities that went far beyond the mundane.  How about a short list:  I pet a cheetah, hung on an elephant's tusk, visited Mandela's prison cell, met kids at school in a township, got sprayed with mist from Victoria Falls, ran off a baboon, biked to the Cape of Good Hope, talked politics with Zambians, cruised the Zambezi, watched a sunset over Zanzibar, and witnessed the beauty of Rwanda and its people, and saw the potential evil that resides in us all.  It would be easy to say that I need to travel back to Africa to see that lion that never appeared for me, but really, it will be the beautiful people, the multitude and diversity of cultures and languages, the varied landscapes across the countries and ultimately that sunset that truly doesn't look like anything else out there that will pull me back.  I can't wait!

Summer in Africa 2013: Kigali, Rwanda

Kigali, Rwanda

Our flight out of Lusaka was uneventful, though a bit surprising to land in Zimbabwe really quickly before heading north to Nairobi and then over to Kigali.  I was also a bit surprised to find a guy standing there with my name on it after making our way through passport control.  I completely forgot that I arranged for airport pickup for our lodging at Heaven Hotel and Restaurant.

We only had a couple of days in Kigali, but there really was only one reason why I wanted to stop here.  I teach about international intervention and humanitarian issues and the 1994 Rwandan Genocide is one of the case studies we use heavily in class.   I wanted to see if my experiences visiting the country would alter the way I taught the course. 

 Just a short taxi ride away from our lodging was Genocide Memorial and museum.  Clark and I went straight over after dropping off our bags.  The museum was very well done, informational, and emotionally engaging.  After going through the building you end up outside peering over a series of concrete slabs cut into the hillside.  Though unassuming, these slabs mark the mass graves where over 250,000 people are now buried.  As emotionally draining as this museum visit was, it paled in comparison to what I saw on the second day.

About 45 minutes outside of urbanized Kigali are the towns of Nyamata and Ntarama. Both were traditionally heavy Tutsi minority villages and consequently  the sites of horrific massacres that took place at Catholic churches.  Both sites have restrictions on pictures so I didn't take any.  I don't think I would have anyway.  I will describe what I saw and the stories I heard, but it is a bit graphic sooooooooooooo.......you have been warned.  One can easily google the churches for official pictures.

The first stop was at the large church in Nyamata.  About a week after the massacres started in April 1994, over 10,000 Rwandans took refuge inside and around the St. Francois-Xavier Catholic church in Nyamata.  There was precedence to this as Tutsis found safety in the churches during similar attacks against them in 1992.  They thought no one would harm them in a "house of God."  When Hutu militias arrived, they threw grenades at the doors and inside the windows.  The metal doors were twisted from the explosions and light seeps through the roof where there are holes from the shrapnel.  Gunfire followed the grenades and the militiamen then used machetes and any other weapons at their disposal to kill off anyone in the church that survived the initial assault.

  

When you walk inside, the first thing the guide points out are the bullet and shrapnel holes in the ceiling, but your eyes immediately catch sight of the clothes.  There was a musty smell from the piles and piles of dirty, blood soaked clothes that were seemingly everywhere, the floor, the pews, on the alter.  I thought about all the Catholic churches I spent time in during my trip across Spain two summers ago.  You couldn't help but be inspired by their beauty.  Here in Nyamata, there is a machete lying on the alter, the stained glass windows are shattered, and the holy water font has been cracked from a grenade.  

Behind the church is the mass grave and I was invited down into the crypt where to this day, they're still collecting bones.  In all, there are 40,000 people here waiting to be buried.  As you descend the steep stairs, you are confronted with rows and rows of skulls.  After the initial shock of the sheer number, you inevitably start looking at them individually.  It is then you realize that you don't need to be a forensic scientist to see how these people died.  Bullet holes, machete marks, crushed craniums are all visible.  The small skulls are obviously children.

I was next shown a casket that held the body of a 28 year old woman who was allegedly the last person killed.  The militiamen subjected her to repeated sexual assaults and the used a sharpened stick to impale her through her body and out through her head.  Her body was found like that and apparently this was not an isolated incident.  

Despite the absolutely horrific nature of the stories and the sheer gravity of being in the spot where it happened, I held myself together pretty well.  However, I was only halfway done with the visit as I had one more church to see.

The next stop was the Catholic church in Ntarama, where a similar tale emerged.  5,000 sought refuge at the church and were eventually slaughtered. The church here has a huge metal roof over the site preserving what is left of the church that is barely standing.  The grenade attack by the Hutu militia weakened the walls and allowed the killers to get inside.  This church is much smaller and consequently all of the clothes and materials left in the church are hanging from the rafters and the caskets filled with bones line the pews.  The guide took me over to the alter where there were stacks of household items and even a big bag of beans.  It was obvious the people arrived here bringing stuff they would need to survive a few weeks.  All this was piled next to weapons used in the killing.  I must admit, it was chilling to be in this church alone with a Rwandan guide as he picked up a machete to show me what the killers did.  I was happy to drop the weapon and head outside to the fresh air, but we immediately went into another building, and it's here that I nearly lost it.  The room, probably 25'x25', was a Sunday School for small children.  The guide led me to a huge spot on the wall in the front of the room and very quietly told me it was the blood and brain stained spot where the babies and children were swung by their feet and smashed up against the wall.  It was a bit much to handle and I didn't complain when we didn't linger.  

I returned to the hotel thoroughly exhausted, but really glad I was able to see and experience those places.  As horrible as they were, I couldn't help but notice the birds chirping and the laughter of kids playing in the schoolyards during recess just across the street from the massacre sites.  According what I know about the genocide, Rwanda should be in shambles still.  But the opposite is true.  People are friendly, the streets are clean and safe, and everyone is eager to show a new Rwanda while openly acknowledging the past.  

I can't say for sure how I will alter what I do in the classroom based upon my experiences here.  I for sure want to include more on reconciliation efforts and the post genocide recovery, but at the bare minimum I want to frame the unit around the quote that I saw on a banner near the alter at Ntarama.  

It reads:

"Iyo umenya nawe ukimenya ntuba waranyishe"

"If you knew me and you really knew yourself, you would not have killed me."

Up next on our journey is a flight from Kigali to Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania.  We will only be in Dar for one day and the we will catch the ferry over to Zanzibar.  Unfortunately we only have a couple of days in this place, but hopefully we can catch a spice tour and run around the narrow alleys of Stone Town, with it's mixture of Arab, African, and European influences.  Take care!