Jonathan's Travels

Iraq 2008: Riding the Rhino in Baghdad

2008-08-16T10:23:12Z

How I ended up with a one way ticket to Ride the Rhino in Baghdad I didn't want to worry anyone more than by already going to Iraq, so I left out the full details of the last leg of my summer tour... Before I left, I decided that while I was in Iraq, I wanted to test the waters of my photojournalism ambitions with a military embed in Northern Iraq. I figured that since I was already in Sulimaniyah it would be a pretty easy to jump over to a military installation in the region without ever having to enter central Iraq... Well after two months of working with the military to arrange my embed, I found out four days before I was set to depart to Kirkuk that I was wrong about the ease of the process and that the planning phase had failed to shed light on the fact that I needed to make a stopover in Baghdad to get credentialed... Since most embeds usually fly to Kuwait and then get transported into Iraq by the military, this was easier said than done. I instead would be flying a commercial flight from Suly to Baghdad International (BIAP) and then would have to get to the Military side of the airport on my own before getting taken to the International Zone (the Green Zone)! In the somewhat confusing words of the first person that described the process: he will have to catch the shuttle to the Mil side for transport to Styker Stable and then take the Rhino to the IZ. Upon requesting further information, I received this response from another officer: There is no shuttle. You will need to pay for a taxi and then you will have to walk the rest of the way to the airport gate. Please be advised that this process is very dangerous. At this point I was having serious second thoughts...... Finally, I received one final email from a Marine Corps Lieutenant that reassured me on the safety level of the process and set up a meeting point at one of the control gates within the airport. I did still have to catch a cab on my own from the commercial side of BIAP to get there though which was an nerve-racking 15 minutes thinking that I had just paid $20 to get kidnapped! Striker Stables and the IZ Striker Stables is the name of the transient holding area on the military side of BIAP. As you can imagine, a lot of people pass through there everyday... And there are some amazing facilities to meet the need. The chow hall is immense with several types of meats and side dishes, philly cheesesteaks, mexican, chinese, you name it. And the BX/PX (basically the general store on a base) is more like walking into a Target - with everything from clothes to food to video games to military supplies for sale. The Rhino ride to the IZ is the name for the heavily armored bus that transports several dozen people to the green zone at some point between Midnight and 4am - the exact time varies daily for security reasons and no one knows for sure when it will be until the Rhinos arrive. The IZ is an immense area of former Saddam palaces turned embassies and government buildings. The zone is completely secured with no entry unless authorized. I didn't get a chance to get around at all, but I hear the US embassy complex is amazing and has one of the best pools in Iraq. Catch a Blackhawk to the Shinook After getting credentialed at CPIC (Combined Press Information Center - welcome to the world of military acronyms), I caught a lift from a Blackhawk helicopter back to LZ Washington (Striker Stables). The helicopter ride was simultaneously one of the coolest and most unpleasant experiences of my entire life. My seat was the back row window seat facing forward, which meant that without windows my face absorbed the punch of all of the backdraft from the propellers... It was pretty miserable but only lasted about 10 minutes. From LZ Washington, a fellow journalist and I caught a flight to Speicher, a common flight hub airbase in Tikrit, on a Shinook. For those of you that don't know what a shinook is - and I was one of those people about a week ago - it's the name for that giant two propeller transporter helicopter that you see flying over LA every once in awhile and in movies. This ride was a lot more comfortable and since we dropped of all but 4 passengers at a close by base we spent the rest of the hour long flight in spacious "luxury." Speicher was a pretty bad dust hole where I ended up stuck waiting for a flight to Kirkuk for two days... Basically the way military flights work, is that you fill out an Air Movement Request (AMR) three days in advance to ensure space on a flight. If however, you do not get this form submitted on time, you can fly Space "A" aka Space Available... Similar to flying standby only your spot is literally not guaranteed until you are in the helicopter and it has left the ground. Cool thing is is that it is first come first serve with everyone being equal - I ended up getting on the flight to Speicher when a Major got bumped. Going Outside the Wire The phrase "going outside the wire" is used to describe leaving the base. Well on my first day at FOB Warrior in Kirkuk they decided to throw me right into the fire and send me outside the wire with the first patrol into the city. I spent the day visiting local police and government officials as well as just walking around the market and driving through the city. The first intense moment I have had in Iraq that got my heart pumping a little bit was in the market when a kid came over and warned us of a car that drove into an alley with a man holding a sniper rifle. You could immediately see the patrol take concealed positions throughout the market as they scanned the local rooftops for a possible sniper. The car was spotted again however, and the troops sent the local Iraqi Police that accompany the patrol to check it out. Nothing bad came from the event luckily, but it definitely was one of my first adrenaline rushes since being in Iraq. Later on in the patrol, we stopped to bring down an antenna from our vehicle when a couple of women quickly opened and closed the gate to their house in what looked like fear... A second later however, they emerged again with fresh bread for myself and the troops! It was one of the nicest moments of the day and one that made me feel like whether or not we are doing the right thing for the future of America by being here, we are definitely doing the right thing as human beings by being here helping a less fortunate group people that need someone to look out for them. In total, I went outside the wire five times. Three of the times were patrols around the city which included raids on several house of assumed "bad guys." And two trips were about an hour outside of the city, one to visit a local Arab village's Sheik's house and the other for an opening of an Iraqi Police station in what was previously a hot zone of the province. My Thoughts on the War The war we are fighting in Iraq is not a war of ideology, so much as a war of economics. The only way we are going to be successful in Iraq is to help create a society in which the poor can rise out of poverty and provide for their family. This was one of the motivations for the Sons of Iraq program -- the program that is generally characterized in America as the US paying insurgents not to shoot at us... In reality, it is providing jobs for the less well off - the same people that are likely to take $50 to setup an IED and blow up a military convoy. Instead of doing that however, they are getting an honest wage and taking responsibility for the safety of their own city. This program is actually getting phased out though and a new Civil Service program (much like depression era Works Progress program in the US) is being put in place to help with job creation. The US had no idea what it was getting itself into in regards to the culture of the Middle East. I was at a meeting with a US Army Major, Captain, and a Sheik of an Arab village, and I literally watched them practice soccer ball diplomacy - offering to provide soccer balls and schoolbooks to the kids and rice and cooking oil to the poorer families of the village. All as a result of troops having to be pulled out of their region and promised projects delayed. Over the last few weeks, I have also had many talks with locals and foreigners about the war in Iraq. Having been here and experienced life in Iraq both locally and through the military, I can honestly say that what America did - removing a dictator - was a good thing. And while I still hold true to my beliefs that we went in for the wrong motives - at least the public ones that were told to the American people - I do feel that we can not just pull out our troops. By invading Iraq, we have a responsibility to finish what we started. And contrary to popular belief it is getting better. The last surge of military force has drastically reduced violence in the country. And economic development - especially in the north - is happening at a rapid pace. Now we just have to start worrying about Iran and Russia blowing up the world...

Iraq 2008: The wild, wild west

2008-08-01T13:28:22Z

Iraq: the wild, wild west - There are very few rules and a lot of people carry guns.

-- View Photo Gallery --

Arabization: The term Iraqi Kurds use for the influx of Arabs into places like Kirkut, often displacing Kurds and their culture. Similar to westernazation, but on a more micro scale.

Getting In:

The trip to Suli weny relatively smoothly, in large part due to the fixer that we hired in Diyarbakir who got us out of a couple close calls. These "close calls" primarily related to Chris' desire to take photos / video of anything that he is not supposed to... After the third time getting busted for taking photos of the military (this time resulting in us being detained and questioned for twenty minutes) he finally vowed to stop :-)

We made it to Suli on day three of our venture into Iraq after a quick stop at a Syrian Kurd refugee camp near Dohuk and a day in Erbil. Erbil may or may not prove to be useful, as somehow we ended up leaving the city with a 30 day work permit recognizing us as journalists in Iraqi Kurdistan... Not sure how it happened - and the papers actually seem to cause more headaches when we show them - but hey it might come in handy at some point!

Living off the kindness of strangers:

In true American fashion, I came to Iraq without enough money to last my stay and with no real exit strategy. None of the banks here are connected with the outside world and - while one of them claims to be a branch of Western Union - my transactions were repeatedly canceled before the funds were able to make it as far as Iraq. When I called to find out the

reason I was told that I had to submit my request for the information in writing to the home office in the United States... I have since opened up an account at the newly founded Bank of Michael and Bob, two American friends that I have met here in Suli.

The banks here are absolutely crazy though... Hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of dollars (if not well over a million) just sitting in blocks on tables; some being counted, some being stuffed into giant white Santa sacks, some behind a waist high wall, some already on the other side of this wall being signed for by random costumers. Pallets of money are offloaded outside the bank from the back of pickup trucks and the "armored car" has a hand painted Visa logo on it. Wild, wild west.

The Power of Power:

So electricity is still a major problem here with several hours a day being completely dark - so to speak. There are three types of power that comprise your day: City power, neighborhood power, and generator power. Since we dont have our own running generator at the house we are living in, we are forced to rely on only the first two.

So far we have laid out the schedule of power as follows: City (C) vs. Neighborhood (N)

C: 12:30AM - 6:30AM
N: 7:00AM - 8:30AM
C: 8:30AM - 10:30AM OR 10:30AM - 12:30PM
N: 12:30PM - 2:30PM (sometimes)
C: 2:30PM - 4:00PM, 5:30PM, or 6:30PM OR 2:30PM - 4:00PM and 4:30PM - 6:30PM
N: 6:30PM - ?
C: 8:30PM - 9:30PM
N: 9:30PM - 12:30AM

And Friday's the schedule seems to get thrown out the window completely.

Keep in mind also, that neighborhood power is only for the bare essentials. We are able to run a few lights, fans, the fridge, and charge a few electronics... However, the city power is the one that provides us with air conditioning (it is usually around 120+ F here during the day), internet, washing machines, etc.

It is amazing how fast you start to schedule your life around power. I have started taking more naps during the day and going to sleep earlier so that I can wake up at 1am to use some semi-reliable internet, then sleeping until the A/C turns off and the heat sets in, then starting the whole thing over again with the 8:30am burst of internet and A/C followed by the intense heat of the afternoon. It is really hard to motivate yourself to leave the house when - at night - it might cool down to a chilling 100 degrees!

My time in Suli so far:

I spent my Birthday eating "Kantagi" fried chicken and Go Kart Racing at the Sulimany Speed Center... The following night, we visited the Bowling alley in town which is actually a three story complex of bowling, video games, and restaurants! None of which I would ever have imagined doing during my time in Iraq!

The Tiziano project work is going really well, we have six students now that are all really excited about learning multimedia and storytelling. They have come up with all sorts of great ideas that we are working with them to produce, including a story on child labor, one on the Chaikhana (a local chai cafe primarily for intellectuals to get together and discuss politics, religion, philosophy, etc.), and one that involves Dave and I trying out a local dish called Serape (sheep brain stew).... I'll let you all know how that last one goes... We have also managed to throw in a little fun by introducing Guitar Hero III to Suli!

My religious awakening:

I don't consider myself a particularly religious person, due in part to being raised more spiritual than anything else, but over the last month between Turkey and Iraq I have found myself completely immersed and overwhelmed by the generosity and concern for humanity from followers of both Islam and Christianity. During the last three weeks of my stay in Turkey almost everything was made possible by followers of the Gulen Movement. The Gülen Movement was started by a man named Fethullah Gülen who is a forward thinking Muslim that encourages his followers to donate to education rather than to mosques. The core principles of the movement involve education as a means for bettering people's lives, inspiring inter-faith and inter-cultural dialogues, and bringing people from all walks of earth together which has inspired many people to help build schools and improve education across the world. While the movement is described as faith-based but not faith-limited, it is primarily made up of devout Muslims.

In Sulaimaniyah, I have again found myself involved with a group of individuals with largely the same goals of promoting education around the world, however these individuals all represent various Christian organizations back in the States. Both groups have welcomed me into their homes, shared their knowledge with me, opened my eyes to their religions, and in general have helped make me a better person. And I am extremely grateful.

Two last Turkey stories from Mehmet:

1) In Turkey they often do not wear their seat belts, because they believe that wearing them serves as a red flag to police that you are doing something wrong!

2) People prank call 911 (in Turkey 112) from there cellphones and then taking out the SIM card so they cannot be traced. When legislatures tried to pass a law to block problem numbers from calling 911 after completing prank phone calls, the law did not pass because legislatures said that the people then no longer be able to call 911 for an emergency!

Oh an the final broken arm count during the last three weeks in Turkey was an astounding 75!

Hope all is well,

Jon

Turkey 2008: Kısmet

2008-07-20T23:52:40Z

- View Photo Gallery - Kısmet is the Turkish word for fate or destiny. First off, I dont remember where I left you in the last update, but from Istanbul, Chris and I took the Eastern path through Turkey - going through Trabzone, Doğubayazıt, and Van. Trabzone was a little lack luster - although for anyone interested in going, I would definitely recommend renting a car a driving the Black Sea Coast - amazing views. Doğubeyazit is know for Mt. Ararat where the mythical Noah's Arc is said to have met it's final resting place. And, having seen it and read some of the evidence for myself (albeit briefly), it does seem somewhat plausible complete with extremely accurate Biblical descriptions correlating to the existing remains... Van is where the first random incident of kısmet comes into play. Chris and I were walking back from the citadel and ended up hitching a ride from a guy driving by. After a few minutes of broken Turkish conversation I discover that he is a photojournalist in Van for one of the largest agencies in Turkey! Upon telling him that I am also a photojournalist trying to work in the region, he proceeds to give me contact info for his friends in Ankara, Istanbul, and Iraq! Kısmet. Next we headed to Diyarbakir. Ah good old Diyarbakir... Although wait, maybe Diyarbakir isn't so old... My Turkish teacher Tezcan, who Sara and I went on the tour with, set me up with a friend of his in the city. Upon hearing about the project we will be working on in Iraq, his friend proceeded to provide us VIP treatment in Diyarbakir taking us to schools, the Minister of Education, and is potentially going to get us an article in the Zaman - one of the biggest papers in Turkey! Kısmet. Our new friend, Mehmet, also showed me a side of Diyarbakir that I had never really experienced. The modern side. We always knew about the one Burger King - which has helped us through many of rough mornings on our days off - but I had no idea about the shopping malls, two McDonald's, or even the other two Burger Kings hidden throughout the city. Diyarbakir is expanding rapidly but is a unique and wonderful mix of old and new. With schools containing technology that rivals High Schools in the US to 5,000 year old city walls spanning five kilometers. In Diyarbakir, I also met up with a young photojournalist, Andrew, that had emailed me months ago about information on the region. We have spent the last couple days together visiting Mehmet's family's summer home at Lake Hazzar and wandering around the city streets of Diyarbakir. Andrew ended up introducing us to a fixer he used in Iraq who is now going to help Chris and I out for a few days once we cross the border. This will make logistics, safety, and a couple of my story ideas musch easier as we head to Sulimaniyah. Kısmet. And finally, just today Andrew and I visited Bismil together so that I could say goodbye to a few of my friends. After having çay with my friend Bariş, an archaeologist from Kenan Tepe, we headed over to my old professor's babysitter's house to drop off a gift of Backlava. No sooner than we got there did we realize that there was a huge party going on... Going through the gate I found out that the elder babysitter had gotten engaged and this was her engagement party! We became instant celebrities, being invited in with not just open arms, but the arms of friends that were both surprised and thrilled to see me at one of their most special occasions. We stayed for hours taking photos before being invited back to a village of just twelve families for dinner. After which we proceeded to get a ride home to Diyarbakir in the back of a cargo van listening as a family of new friends sang traditional Kurdish folk music. Kısmet. Some descriptions of Turkey as experienced by Sara and Chris: Sara's thoughts on the Blue Mosque: Upon entering, I simultaneously felt amazed, ignorant, slightly unsettled, and comforted. The emotional and spiritual moment is only broken by the unbelievable smell of feet. Sara's experience bartering in Turkey with our Turkish cameraman, Marco: I accidentally mentioned to Marco that I was interested in a souvenir, again I must stress, when around Turks be careful what you wish for. Marco went up to defenseless elderly village women and proceeded to 'barter' on my behalf. Now I have bartered in many countries, it is expected and can be kind of fun, and generally goes as follows; they name a price, you name a lower price, and they meet you in the middle. Bartering with Marco consists of him giving an old lady 5 lira (about $4) and taking whatever he wants. This method was new not only to me, but also to the angry women. Unfortunately, I did not see how things ended because he threw the souvenirs in my hands and said "run Sara run!" And when Marco says run, you run. Chris on his first experience in a dolmesh: A Dolmesh is basically like a mini van that runs on no time schedule, no price average, no regard for safety, and unexpected surprises. Sara on Turkey in general: Jonathan has been telling me for years how giving and hospitable these people are, but there is no way to express the degree to which they go to welcome not only into their country, but into their hearts; this love and generosity is something I hope each of you will experience. And in Steve Jobs fashion, there is one more thing: Bus by Jane Varley We floated in the sea, bodies up in the salty lift. We ate on terraces of green rivers, picking fishbones like little bad wishes. We drank cay with the Turks and spoke of hearts and hearts and ideas, and when they offered more, we said yes and thank you like saying to sugar a dream. There was following the man with the camera, who summoned with small words we would know, no problem, let's go, up and down the stones of centuries, and we counted broken arms. We eat, ride, pray, laugh, and rest, speak aloud and whisper. Alone, we close our eyes, and count the stars of our minds.

Turkey 2008: You will understand Turkey when...

2008-07-14T14:12:33Z

You will understand Turkey when you understand that Turkey is not to be understood. ~ Sara Vidar - View Photo Gallery - So any of you that have followed along with my travels for the last several years know that I am pretty obsessive about sending out email updates... I realize that during the last couple of trips though I have been getting pretty lax about this habit and am going to try to fill you in with a cliff notes version of my summer so far... The Big Dig The Kenan Tepe excavation came and went pretty fast this year. Since the actual excavation is done, we are now just spending the next several summers studying the finds that we have uncovered. My role is to photograph all of the small finds, groundstone, pottery, etc... This summer I shot over 4,000 photos of artifacts! We had a fun time as always during the month with the UTARP group. We had several late nights that consisted of one two many Efes' (the local Turkish beer) and the Dieing Goats crew took it to a whole new level with both Dave and Jason there in addition to me and Bradley. We also took a couple days off to go to Urfa - a beautiful city in Southeast Turkey that is full of history. It really is amazing sitting in a restaurant overlooking a citadel cnstructed in 242 B.C. that is filled with stories of King Nemrut and the Prophet Abraham. The Never Stopping Tour The next stop in my summer was to meet my sister, Sara, in Istanbul and join a two week tour of Turkey as the photographer. Sara had a great time during her first trip to Turkey and my next post will include some excerpts from her emails home. The tour was amazing and nothing of what I expected. Normal tours (the kind I avoid like the plaque) seem to be filled with obnoxious tourists that are only interested in the next photo op and care very little about learning about and experiencing a new culture. This trip could not have been farther from the sort. It was sponsored by the Pacifica Institute, the organization from which I am learning Turkish in the United States, whose main goal is to promote interfaith and multicultural dialogues. So not only were we regularly visiting the historical sites of Turkey with excellent guides, but we were also visiting schools, TV stations, newspapers, interspersed with home-stays with local families and meals with sponsors from the organization. Rarely did we encounter a day that lasted less than 14 hours and some even involved flights in both morning and the evening. A few things that I have already known about Turkey and a few things that came to light on this tour: 1. Turkish people are some of the most openhearted, caring, real people that you will ever meet. They prioritize family and life, while work is only as a means to promote what is really important. On every trip I have taken here, I have been welcomed into people's homes with open arms and this has never been so present as during this tour. One of the sponsors threw a 50 person party for us complete with musical performances, dancing, art lessons, a traditional wedding ceremony, and fireworks to celebrate our 4th of July! It was trully amazing not just in the efforts that were gone to for the party, but also in how at home and welcomed they made us feel. During probably the 4th round of gift giving at this party, we all said a little something on what Turkey has meant to us and, being the only non-turk to have been to Turkey four times, I started tearing up a little as I was describing my thoughts on the culture. This in turn led to my sister full on crying as she explained how much the people of this country has affected her. It culminated in our host saying that he wished he could share in the tears and Sara coalescing by wiping a tear from her face onto his. 2. Never tell a Turk something cannot be done or that you would like something. The first statement will result in a conference between a minimum of three turks to figure out a solution (an act that I have now found myself more and more a part of). The solution might not always be the best, and it might not alway be the safest, but it usually works.... in an odd way. But I do think there is a correlation between this attitude towards being able to fix anything and the fact that there are so many Turkish engineers in the United States. As for the second statement - telling a Turk that you would like something - I will leave that one for my next post which will include an excerpt from Sara on how Turkish bargaining goes with our friend Marco, who she pretty accurately describes as a cross between a Turkish Silvester Stalone and Sonic the Hedgehog (I might add the Tasmanian Devil as well). 3. I think that this might be a side effect of number two, but there are a lot of broken arms in Turkey! In the 12 days of the tour we counted 50 exactly, with one guy having both arms broken! And since the tour has ended, we have added 18 more to the count. Side note on Turkish Politics and the Religion of Islam This tour also opened my eyes to the political and religious dichotomy within Turkey. The current situation was best described to me as follows: In America, we have freedom OF religion, in Turkey there is freedom FROM religion. I'm not sure how many of you have been following Turkish politics, but recently the issue of headscarves in schools and public offices has come to a head. As the law stands, headscarves are banned from both areas. This means that any woman in Turkey that choses to adhere to her religious ideals and wear a headscarf is not able to attend college or work in a government job. The party currently in power, the AK Party, just passed a law that would overturn this existing rule and open schools to women with headscarves. The opposing party however, the CHP who are in control of the judicial system, overturned this new law claiming that it would lead to a Islamic state. On this tour I met an amazing couple. Both of which met in school while studying to be cardiologists. The husband readily stated that his wife was better and smarter than he and that she always had the highest scores on all her exams and he regularly came in second. During the time they were in school however, the government cracked down on the headscarf law and she was forced to choose between her religious beliefs and her education. Her husband said that he would support her no matter what her choice. In the end she refused to give up her beliefs and became the only women in the program to not remove the headscarf in order to continue her education. She went on to be a housewife for three years and then got a job working in a research lab as she could keep her head covered with a lab cap. Reflecting on this political battle in the context of this amazing couple really put things in perspective for me and showed that it is not the religion that is oppressive, it is not the headscarf that is oppressive, it is not the men that are oppressive, it is an archaic out-of-date system that is holding back the the religious sector of women in this country. Now as a disclaimer, I am not saying that there are not religious fundamentalists in Islam and Turkey, but these fundamentalists exist in every country and in every religion. The vast majority of women that I have met her do not feel oppressed by there religion, but rather liberated and again I really feel that we have a lot to learn from the caring-ness and openhearted-ness of this culture that, not all of which but definitely part of which, stems from their religious beliefs and values. Current Location: Chris got in about a week ago and I spent the first few days taking him around to the main spots of Istanbul. I was actually starting to feel like a local as I took him to, not only the tourist spots, but also some of my favorite Turkish hangouts of Istanbul and even the Galatasaray Adesi (a man made floating island beach club for the Galatasaray Football Club - which we were supposed to pay an arm and a leg for, but in typical Jon and Chris fashion just walked right in). And it probably comes as no surprise, but we didn't really have a plan for what to do after Istanbul and decided relatively last minute to opt out of the touristy west coast of Turkey and instead travel along the Black Sea to Trabzone, then head to Mt. Ararat (one of the locations thought to be the final resting place for the fabled Noah's Arc), and then to Lake Van. We currently just got into Van after seeing a couple surprisingly interesting sites including a Monastery high up in the mountains outside of Trabzone and the final resting spot of Noah's Arc which is actually quite a believable story in person. I especially like the old man that lives at the site and his self-proclaimed title of "Guardian of the Arc." We'll probably stay here in Van for a couple nights and then head back to the good old Diyarbakir area for a little bit before heading to Iraq. I'll keep you all posted. Hope all is well! Jon

Brasil 2008: Oh ya, I went to Brasil

2008-05-12T07:52:26Z

Catching Up: Ok so back in February I went down to Brasil for a couple weeks to visit my friends Isabella and Luciana in Curitiba. If you guys remember the story from last year of a group of Brazilians that convinced Ian and I to stay in Uruguay for New Years, well these are those two sisters... And Isabella was graduating from college and I figured it was as good a time to go to Brasil as any! So the trip ended up being a week in Curitiba and a week in the Amazon... Myths Debunked: So first off a couple of myths that I have had to shoot down for everyone since I have been back. 1) Every woman in Brasil in not drop dead gorgeous, half naked, and wearing feathers on their head. Don't get me wrong though, there are many, many beautiful woman in Brasil - it's just not Carnival everyday of the year :-) 2) While on a boat going down the Amazon, Monkeys will not be swinging across the river on vines and snakes will not be falling into the boat from low hanging tree branches. The Amazon river is actually very, very wide... Other observations about Brasil: Brasilians love to eat. And they eat amazing meat! There is a type of restaurant called a churrascaria, which involves about 20 waiters constantly rotating the room with different types of meat and their main goal is to keep your plate full at all times. Brasilians love to party. The bars and clubs are tons of fun and stay open till the early hours of the morning. The only interesting thing is how they take care of tabs... You get a piece of paper when you first enter and the bartenders simply mark off drinks as you go throughout the night. Then, at the end of the evening, there is a mad rush of people trying to push their way to the cashier to pay off their tab to get past the bouncer at the door... It's not the most efficient system... Brasilians love their football. I was lucky enough to attend one Atletico match while I was in Curitiba and it was intense! I am definitely a fan. All in all, I had a great time in Curitiba. Luciana became my tour guide, as Isabella had to work during the day, and I managed to see everything in the city and even make a day trip with Luciana and her father to Morretes - a relaxing river town about an hour outside of Curitiba. My Amazon Adventure: The Amazon was definitely not what I had in my mind when I headed down to Brasil (See myth #2). The capital of the Amazon, Manaus, is basically a big, dirty, two million person city in the middle of the rain forrest -- and the only way you really even know your in the rain forrest is the heat, the incredible humidity, and the daily downpour around 2pm. I was taking about two showers a day just because you would either return drenched in sweat or rain every time you came home. I did meet some really amazing people while up there though -- the main reason why I still stayed in this city for a whole four days -- and also saw some pretty cool things. Namely the meeting of the two waters, where the black water of the Rio Negro meets the brown, merky water of the Rio Amazonas. When I finally decided that it was time to pack up my bags and head down the river, I booked a two day boat ride to a city called Santarem. The Ferry boats of the Amazon are a very interesting experience... Being the main means of transportation for locals, I was basically smack in the middle of a room of 600+ people - hanging up on a green hammock that I had purchased in Manaus. Only about a dozen were tourists, the rest primarily locals and families. The colorful scene of hundreds of bright and unique hammocks made for a beautiful sight and some great photos. Santarem ended up being another dirty city, but a 30 minute bus ride out of town took me and a few other travelers to a forrest oasis called Alter Do Chao. For the first time, I felt like I was in the amazon. I was surrounded by forrest and could hear hundreds of birds and animals of all kinds. To top it all off though, was a beautiful lake with a sandy island in the middle that mad for a relaxing afternoon of eating fresh fish and swimming in some of the warmest natural water I have ever experienced. On to the future: So the secondary motive for sending out this email is to fill you in on my upcoming travel plans... In about two weeks, I will be heading to Turkey for my usual summer vacation home in the beautiful town of rural Bismil, Turkey. But in traditional fashion, I cant limit myself to one location for all of summer so I have added on several other projects that I will be working on... After the dig, if everything works out, I will be on a tour with the Pacifica Institute - a cultural institute in Los Angeles where I have been taking Turkish Language classes - providing photography for a two week educational trip around Turkey for educators, politicians, and foreign diplomats. From there, I will be working on my own personal Kurdish Life photo project with the help of my friend Tezcan from the Pacifica Institute. Then on to the segment that might turn a few heads... Northern Iraq. I will be working with a couple of other people to bring the Tiziano Project - the empowerment journalism project that sent me to Rwanda last summer - to the Kurdish region of Iraq. Luckily, one of my good friends set me up with a former trojan that had been working with a high school in the town of Suliymaniah near the Iran border, so we already have some great connections. And just to reassure any concerns, the northern region of Iraq has been extremely stable and actually very safe. I will either be crossing the border from Turkey by land or flying directly into the town of Suli. Either way, I will have email access and will be keeping you all posted on my status. And finally, I am flying home from Dubai and planning to get in a couple days before my flight out to get a taste for one of the richest cities in the world. Hope all is well with everyone and if you have any advice let me know! Jon

Rwanda 2007: Shady Dealings, New Friends, and Free Safaris

2007-07-25T16:08:18Z

-- View Photos from this Trip --

// 1 Million Francs Please. Wait you want a contract? //

A large part of my time in Rwanda was actually spent helping to look for a house to rent in Kigali for the project. Well let me rephrase that - a large part of my time was actually spent waiting around to help look for a house to rent here in Kigali for the project...

Soon after arriving, I rapidly realized that nothing moves fast in Rwanda and that the actual hours of the day had been replaced with arbitrary assignments of words like "midday" that don't in actuality correlate with anything at all. The worst example of this was when we were supposed to finalize a deal on a house and meet the owner around a mysterious time known as "midday." Well noon rolled around and we met up with our friend that was working out the details for us, but instead of going to the house, he decided that we should get lunch. Fair enough... Well lunch was done a couple hours later, but when we called the owner we were told he was in an important meeting and to call back. At this point, we were informed that the owner was actually the Speaker of the Rwandan Parliament! Alright, well at least you would assume that would lend some legitimacy to the process... But, no.

So the hours kept passing, and we kept waiting... Basically killing time on the internet (when the connection was working) and drinking coffee at our favorite LA-esque coffee shop - Bourbon. Finally, "midday" - meaning Seven o'clock in the evening - finally rolled around and we were told that the Speaker's Assistant was going to meet us at the house to make the deal. We headed over to the house - errr, I mean the small convenience store near the house - to wait another hour or so before the assistant (now being referred to as "the Lieutenant") finally showed up. We all sat down at the little neighborhood store and were told that we needed to pay the first five months in advance (something that is actually not uncommon here and we had brought the money expecting to do so) and that we could have the key tonight and move in tomorrow. We were fine with that, however the next step was where the fun began... The Lieutenant wanted the One Million francs right then without any official contract, but told us to go ahead and write out our own contract and sign it ourselves and he would bring a real one the following day. So basically, he wanted the money, leaving us with only a handwritten contract signed solely by us... Everything seemed a little fishy and we soon retreated and decided to take care of it another day when the owner was around and/or there was a real contract to sign.

We later asked another friend of ours, William, if he recognized the name of the owner of the house. The story did pan out that he was the Speaker of the Parliament, however, he was also an advocate of the Genocide back in the early 90's and worked for the infamous Radio des Milles Colleens - the main radio station responsible for spreading propaganda and instructions during the Genocide. We are not sure the full story of the house, but apparently a lot of the people responsible for the Genocide that are still exiles living in other countries are trying to rent their houses through family / friends... There is a good possibility that this is one of those houses - so needless to say - we decided to pass...

Tom spent another three hours the other day trying to look at another house that the owner again failed to show up to... And we went to look at yet another shortly after with no luck... This last time we even picked the "Broker" up on the way, only to find out that she not only didn't have the keys, but didn't even know who the owner was when we got there! After about an hour we gave up and headed home actually quite proud of ourselves that we streamlined the process of failing to get a house down from 9+ Hours to only one! Not too bad for Rwanda...

// "I worry more about that damn dog than I do my own kids!" //

As you guys know, I have been over here in Rwanda doing work for a friend's organization that is teaching photography / journalism to school kids and orphans. Well somewhere in the process, we signed up a 34 year old man named William to our newly formed "Mentorship Innitiative" and he quickly became one of our star pupils. He is former RPF military who from age 17 fought to free Rwanda and was among the force that is responsible for ending the genocide in 1994. Needless to say he has his stories. But I'll get to some of those in a bit...

Before that though, I have to talk about his former boss of 7 years - John. John is a returnee (someone who left Rwanda before or during the Genocide but has since returned) who runs a local tour agency. William took us over to his shop one day to introduce us and we started talking about photography. He said that he needed some high quality photos for marketing material and said he might be able to send us around Rwanda to take some photos for him. He told us to come over the following day to his house for beer and we would discuss it more...

Well beer really involved just listening to his stories and cracking up over some of his one liners... Among them... When we met his two year old daughter and were telling him how cute she was, he proceeded to let us know that: "She is very spoiled. She loves her beer!" Then, when we met his dog, who turned out to be a personal gift from the President of Rwanda, he told us: "I worry more about that damn dog than I do my own kids!" He really is a great guy and a hilarious story teller. We finalized the plans that night and worked out two days worth of traveling around Rwanda in a private car with a driver in exchange for high quality photos for his marketing material. Sometimes it pays to be a photographer...

As for William... Here is the best story I heard from John about him... A couple years ago, four police men showed up at his doorstep around five in the morning. They started harassing him and telling him he needed to come to the station with them, but they wouldn't say what he was being accused of... He started arguing with them and finally got a kick to the leg by one of the officers. Now William is a tall, kinda skinny, quiet man that you couldn't really picture hurting a fly... However, the kick to the leg brought out the former military in him and he immediately went for the one officer with a gun - quickly unarmed him - and then single-handidly took out the other three. He then escorted them at the point of their own gun back to the police station, reported them to their commanding officer, and then turned himself in! He was released shortly thereafter to John and the Police Chief couldn't stop saying how much he wished he had 4 Williams on his force! Apparently now William and the four police officers are all pretty good friends...

// My First Safari //

Our two day trip around Rwanda was pretty fun. From Kigali, you can basically get anywhere in the country in about 2 hours, so we covered quite a bit of ground. The first day, we went up north, stopping at a local village market on the way. The colors and energy of the market was absolutely insane, and as we were driving down the road, you knew there was a market nearby from miles out because of the long line of people with random good precariously perched on their heads walking along the side of the road. One of the people caring sugar canes managed to turn right as we were passing and nailed our side view mirror... Here in Rwanda, a $10 fix where they just swapped out the glass - in LA, a $600 fix where they replace all but the door itself.

The rest of the first day was spent visiting some scenic lake views to take pictures and going to the border crossing between Rwanda and Congo. I wanted to cross over, but we decided that the $65 visa wasn't worth having lunch in Congo for an hour.

The following day was the Safari in Akegera National Park in Eastern Rwanda. Other than the dragon fly that nailed me in the forehead as we were driving through the Savannah it was pretty fun! We saw giraffes, zebras, caribou, hippos, baboons, birds, warthogs and random other critters here and there. Unfortunately, we weren't able to find the elephants... The giraffes were really cool though and let us get pretty close for some good shots.

// Random Musings //

The ingredients for Zesta Chilli Sauce in Rwanda: "Chillies, Sugar, Salt, Edible, Starch, Vinegar." Do you think "Edible" grows on trees or is it some sort of extract?

A common Kinyarwandan greeting:

"Cows?"

"Heffers!"

Rwanda 2007: Electric Water, celebrities, and how to win a cow

2007-07-08T16:31:01Z

-- View Photos from this Trip --

// Everyone has a cause //

I have never had quite the same experience flying to a country before. Every single person that I talked to seemed to be coming to Rwanda specifically to work for a non-profit. Now, I realize that Rwanda is not the first choice tourist destination, but it was still weird not meeting one backpacker or someone just going to see the gorillas or something - anything... It actually became like a story trading session of who's non-profit is more important or who is more involved... It was strange.

// National Cleaning Day //

The first thing I noticed when I actually got to Rwanda, was that there were no cars on the road and a ton of Police checkpoints that we had to pass through to get to my hotel. My first instinct was that this couldn't be good... Especially since I had just read online at the airport in Istanbul that a verdict had come down in the trial against the general that murdered the Belgian peacekeepers right before the Genocide... We asked the driver what was going on and he said that it was "cleaning day." Apparently, on the last Saturday of every month (last month was a Holiday so it got pushed back to this weekend), there is a mandatory nationwide cleaning session until 11AM! During this time, EVERYONE is required to go out side and clean the city! I suddenly started noticing that there were actually a ton of people on the sides of the road sweeping and/or picking up trash and/or cutting back plants. Apparently it is the reason why Kigali is actually considered one of the cleanest cities on the continent.

// Just drop this electrical appliance into the water //

The next interesting T.I.A. (This is Africa) experience was learning how to take a hot shower at my hotel. Since there technically is no hot water, it is a very interesting process. First they provide you with three buckets of various sizes. The smallest is used to pour water over yourself - the "shower." The largest one is used to mix hot and cold water to get the desired temperature and necessary amount of water for the whole shower. Then the medium one - now this is where it gets interesting - gets filled with regular water and you drop an electric metal heating rod plugged into the wall into the bucket of water! I don't know if they have ever seen a movie where a hair dryer is thrown into a bathtub, but this just doesn't seem like a good idea to me... Anyways, you heat the medium bucket of water, mix it with room temperature water in the large bucket, and then proceed to shower using the small bucket. T.I.A.

// Am I sure that I'm not in LA? //

So my friend Tom, who was sent out to do the ground work in getting the Tiziano Project started up here in Kigali, took me to his local haunt for lunch. A starbucks / coffee bean-esque coffee shop that just opened three months ago. I guess the western feel mixed with the free wireless has really drawn the NGO crowd of volunteers to frequent the locale - it was packed with international faces from all over and working for all sorts of causes. Everyone seems to get to know each other real fast here though, as Tom already looked around the room and could point out who most people were and what organization they worked for.

We soon noticed some filming going on on the outside patio, followed by several people taking photos. I saw that most of the people in the group were wearing "Long Way Down 2007" tee-shirts, so I did a quick google search on the free coffee shop wireless and the results were filled with references to Ewan McGregor. I looked back at the group of people standing right next to me... And on the guy's shirt with his back to me - just like a team jersey - "McGREGOR." Bear in mind, I had only been in Kigali for about 4 hours at this point and I found myself in this weird replication of Los Angeles - celebrities, et al... And I cant help but think that I am going to have to go back to my hotel room and heat my shower by dropping an electrical appliance into a bucket of water. T.I.A.

// Getting Ripped off by the US Embassy //

After our Hollywood experience, we decided it just wasn't enough and set off for US soil - a belated 4th of July bar-b-q we had been invited to at the US Embassy. We figured that our tax dollars might as well get us a free burger and some beer. Unfortunately, when we got there we found out that we not only had to pay, but we had to pay A LOT! Everything was way more than it should cost here in Rwanda and it normally wouldn't have been a problem, but because of the National Cleaning Day the banks weren't open and we were basically out of money... Plus with it being Saturday, the banks for sure wouldn't be open on Sunday, so we were really worried that we were going to spend my first two days in Rwanda penniless... Luckily, we eventually found an open bank, but gave up on going back to the Embassy and paying for overpriced american beer and Corona's.

// Partying at the Original Hotel Rwanda //

Despite being completely exhausted from the two days of travel from Turkey, I couldn't refuse an invitation to see a new friend's band play at the original Hotel Rwanda. And it just became yet another interesting experience... The band consisted of three singers and a keyboardist / electronic DJ. But the whole performance felt more like a karaoke night, as the three singers kind of just traded off and mixed and matched for songs they felt like singing and when they weren't on stage, they were just hanging out in the bar with their friends... I kind of felt like getting up on stage when they broke out with La Bamba!

// So I'm bringing home a cow! //

... that is if I win the contest sponsored by the local beer - Primus. I still have to get the details, but I saw a poster today that said if you buy two Large bottles of Primus, you will receive a raffle ticket to win one of thousands of prizes... The grand prize however - A LIVE COW! As if we needed one, my friend and I found a reason to buy some beer tonight...

Hope all is well,

Jon

Turkey 2007: Grandma Burnt the House Down Again

2007-07-04T20:14:07Z

-- Click on the View Photo Gallery on the right to see photos from this trip --

// Grandma Burnt the House Down Again //

So my trench on the site hit the absolute jackpot in archaeology: A burned down, collapsed house with perfectly preserved artifacts. We literally doubled, if not tripled the number of small finds we had for this period from the last six years of excavating just from this collapse!

Digging a mud brick site is hard, so this was pretty incredible... Normally, if you get 20 - 30 cm preservation for the height of a 6500 year old mud brick wall, it's not bad. With the house in my trench, we had a meter and a half preserved... Complete with a window! Of course, there is a good chance it was actually a crawl space into a storage chamber, but I like calling it a window!

Archaeology is like revealing a 3D jigsaw puzzle out of the sand... The puzzle is the aspect that I really love. This house was amazing because as we were digging, I was able to make theories about things ranging from how the house actually collapsed -- from the way the architectural components came up, it was clear that the roof caved in then the walls collapsed on top -- to which room the fire started in -- I believe it started in the small chamber room that the "window" led to based on just how charred the floor and walls were in that room. I can go into way more detail about how I think everything came down, but it would need a diagram ;-)

Anyways though, this looks like it will be the last actual "dig" season for the project - with the next couple years being spent as study seasons - so it was nice that the site gave us a little going away present before we left.

// Hello Donkey - Money, Money //

So here in Bismil, most of the families sleep on their roofs during summer because it is so hot inside. Well the other night we decided to have a movie night on our roof since it was the last day of digging and we could actually sleep in past 4:30am. Well we ended up having quite a few beers while enjoying the political incorrectness of Aladdin. By the end of the movie, we were definitely feeling the beers and the director of the dig started a massive dog pile on our roof. Well, the commotion that ensued for the next 10 minutes ended up being the talk of the town the next day, with a couple of our neighborhood friends telling us that they heard us at their house two blocks away!

The neighborhood has actually been pretty cool this year, because we finally made friends with our neighbors for the first time since I have been here... My professor from SC has her daughter with her, and she is now old enough to run around and play with the local kids. This and the fact that I have been taking photos of all the kids and families for them has gone a long way in fostering relations. To give you an idea, when walking back to the house from anywhere in town in the past, we used to have rocks thrown at us and the sound of "Hello Donkey" and "Money, money" would go around the hoards of children in a chorus. Now however, I am greeted with "Canoabi, Canoabi" (pronounced Jono-abi and basically meaning Jon, big brother) and fresh cooked bread from the street side Tandir ovens. It makes a huge difference for sure!

// Headed to Rwanda //

Sadly though, my stay here in Turkey is almost over and it's about time to begin the second leg of my summer adventure: Rwanda. When I told a coworker, that I was headed to Turkey and Rwanda this summer, their first reaction was, "What, are you studying - genocide?" Well no, I am actually going to Rwanda to do some work for my friend's non-profit. The Tiziano Project is working hard to give people in some of the more forgotten regions of Africa a voice through photography and the internet. Right now the project is centered in Kigali, Rwanda, but they hope to expand to other cities soon. Check out their website: tizianoproject.org.

I arrive in Kigali on the 7th and will send out and update to let you all know how things are going...

Hoe all is well with you!

Turkey 2007: Burned Houses and Gas Station Weddings

2007-06-18T18:50:04Z

// Dig Update //

Well sweet things are finally happening in my trench now that we are pushing the end of the season. I am in the process of excavating a collapsed house that burned down in the Ubaid period (about 6500 years ago). It is incredible, as the fire that destroyed the house left everything almost perfectly preserved. Through the material we have already excavated, we have been able to determine the order of collapse from roof caving in, to walls collapsing. We are just now getting through the collapse layer, so we should be getting some really cools stuff coming out within the next few days.

Last weekend we had our annual trip to Hassankeyf - a kurdish town that is going to be completely submerged by the Tigris when Turkey builds a dam that it has been discussing for years. The trip was very relaxing as usual and we found a new hidden jewel this year... We usually just hang out in the cabanas in / on the water, however the flash floods this past winter had actually washed them all away! They were in the process of rebuilding, but instead we found this awesome cave restaurant and just lounged around drinking beer, smoking hookah, and eating all day. It was great...

I also purchased another carpet while in Hassankeyf that I have to figure out how to get home... And one the babysitters for my professor's daughter had recently taken me to a carpet making factory where she used to work in Bismil (the town I live in) and so I asked her if she could make me one also... Well today, I see her and her sister and they give me an awesome carpet that, while she hadn't made it herself, was nonetheless made here in town by one of her friends! So now I have two carpets to figure out how to get home!

// Kurdish Living //

One of my main goals for this season was to capture the Kurdish style of life in the region through photography. The exhibit that I am going to produce has already take wings, with four potential galleries wanting to show it spanning Los Angeles, San Fransisco, Utah, and New York. The director of the excavation has also already agreed to give an adjoining lecture in at least one of the locations and I am hoping to put together a panel to discuss the relationship between Tukey and it's Kurdish population.

Since all of our workmen are from the various surrounding villages, I am lucky enough to have some great access to the region as well as guides... It has been a very interesting experience being welcomed into the homes and lives of these villages. If you're interested, here are some of the highlights...

Men vs. Women:

First off the villages are still very firmly rooted in "traditional" roles for men and women. Pretty much every house I visited, the men hung out in one room while the women cooked / did their own thing in their own part of the house. For one meal, we (the men) actually hung out in one room and came out to a perfectly prepared meal awaiting us on the floor (yes they eat on the floor in the villages - it is actually pretty comfortable) without anyone around. After the meal we went back in to other room while the women came in and cleaned up. I screwed things up for them though when I went back through to go to the bathroom and they immediately put their heads down and started scurrying into a side room. That was probably the most traditional of the villages I visited though - Eski (old) Choletepe as it is called. This is part of the main village of Choletepe, a village that consists of about 80 families. I also visited, Sari Koy a village of 12 families and Kenan Koy, one made up of about 8.

Each household I visited in the villages had a different feel however. While I already described one in Eski Choletepe, a house I had dinner at in Yeni (New) Choletepe was far different. The women still did the cooking and the meal prep, however they were much more present throughout and I felt comfortable enough here to ask to go take photos of the one woman preparing dinner. In general I felt much more relaxed. That was until the father of the household came home... At that point, the joking stopped, the 3 year old daughter was put into a nice dress, and the formal speak came out.

Chok (a lot of) Children:

One of the biggest problems in the Kurdish lifestyle is the large population of children. Each family - on average - has about 10 kids. One of the really interesting things I have observed is the relationship between adults and their children. First off, every man I talked to told me how much of a problem the number of kids running around was, however, each one still answered yes when I asked if they wanted to have ten kids. When I asked why, I would get varying responses such as "We need soldiers" or "there is a lot of work." The men also treated the kids like any other bothersome animal in the village - they would throw rocks at them or make noises to get them to go away. But at the same time, the men used any young boy around as a virtual on-demand servant to get tea or snacks on a moments notice. Overall, the men are very cold towards the children, especially the young boys and definitely do not welcome them to the mens club. The women are a lot different with their children however. First of all, they are incredibly proud of their babies and it shows. Second, they are much more welcoming to the young girls. They still have to act as servants when the women need something, however I have noticed more of an inclusive attitude towards them being welcomed as part of the group and even treated as a young friend.

Women still doing the work:

Work in the villages is pretty interesting. Apparently there is very little of it to go around for the men, and they generally end up leaving to go work in larger cities in Turkey. Women once again however do most of the work. Young teenage girls are transported by the tractor load everyday to work the fields. One of the men that runs one of these crews was a workman of mine a few years back and was happy to see me when I stopped by. He let me hang out for an afternoon and ride back to town with the tractor and crew. I've gone out to the fields a couple times now so I have become a familiar face, as the women - actually both young and old - do their backbreaking work for a mere 14 Lira - $10 USD / day.

My first Turkish wedding happened to be in a gas station:

Weddings here are a three day long party and last night I got to go to one of the villagers receptions for his wedding. It was kind of funny because all the "Salons" or reception halls around here seem to be connected to a gas station, so when I was first invited I was really confused when I was told to go to the Petrol Ofisi! It was pretty fun though and it was nice to be welcomed by more villagers than just our workmen since I have now been getting to know various people throughout the community.

Most of all, I was just overwhelmed by the level of hospitality I experienced in the villages. Everyone welcomed me in and I probably had 20 glasses of tea in the two or three day I have spent traveling around. One of the coolest things about working on excavations like this is knowing that I can come back in 10 or 20 years, and (if the villages are even still there) walk into a little village in Southeast Turkey and be welcomed with open arms.

Anyways, more later... I have to get some sleep... I have a house to excavate tomorrow! Check out the new photos I put up by clicking on the photo gallery link on the right hand side of the page...

Hope all is well!

Jon (aka Cano)

Turkey 2007: Iraq Mobilization & Malaria Dreaming

2007-06-05T17:14:26Z

// The trip over //

I made it into Turkey alright with only a few minor snags. One being that I didn't know about the new policy at London Heathrow that they only allow one carry-on bag now and British Airways only allows two checked bags... I had 4 bags total, so to solve this problem, I had to make a "quick" stop at a luggage store in LAX and buy a giant duffle bag and repack everything in the airport. It had to have been a pretty amusing site watching as all my stuff was spread out across the floor waiting to be repacked!

I met my former professor and one of her new undergrads during a layover in London and we headed to Istanbul together. We arrived there late and had an early flight out the next morning. While I had fully planned on just sleeping at the airport, my prof had actually bought a room for all of us at the airport Radisson. Of course, by the time we got there, we had less than 3 hours before we had to leave to catch our next flight. We all got nice showers, but none of us slept a wink.

// The Dig thus far //

The dighouse and Bismil haven't changed much, but it is an almost entirely new crew this year. It's kinda strange being one of the three senior members on the site. What has been really nice though is realizing just how much I am able to communicate in Turkish finally. I still cant have any level of in depth conversation, but I am able to spend 8 hours a day talking, joking, and leading 4 turkish workmen in a trench by myself. A long stretch from where I first started three years ago...

We have been having a lot of fun so far. I got my same workmen from two years ago and by now we feel like old friends. I have also started a photography project with the plan of developing a traveling photo exhibit on Kurdish culture. I already have three places that are interested in showing it in conjunction with a lecture from the director of the project. The idea has allowed me to do some pretty cool things already, like hanging out in the center of a local herd of goats, going into the fields and meeting the ladies that work them all day, and on Saturday I am planning on spending the afternoon touring a few of the local villages with a couple of my workmen. I might even end up spending the night. And I've only been here three days! It's going to be a fun summer...

// Turkish Military Heading to Iraq //

So on the site the other day, I see a train coming off in the distance. I immediately take note, because I couldn't remember if I had ever seen one using the nearby tracks... Well as it came closer, I was able to get a good look at it's cargo -- It was definitely no ordinary cargo train... No, this train was carrying a dozen Turkish military tanks headed to the border with Iraq... I don't know if it is getting much coverage in the US, but Turkey is dangerously close to invading Norther Iraq to go after Kurdish rebels that might be taking sanctuary there. This could potentially be very bad, because it could cause the whole area to flare up again much like it did back during the PKK rebellion in the 90's. The Kurds however believe that the US is on their side and I see them thinking that this might be a good time to make a play for their own sovereign nation. It will be interesting to see what transpires in the near future. It's a little difficult to see when small, but the photo above shows the tank train passing a small Kurdish village with the inhabitants farming the land.

// Malaria Induced Dreaming //

Anyway, here is a funny story... I'm taking a new kind of Malaria medicine this year and I am actually seeing some of the side effects that I have always heard were somewhat common. I took a dose the other night right before I went to sleep -- probably not the smartest idea... One of the side effects of the medication are night terrors, well... I woke in the middle of the night having some pretty interesting dreams. I don't remember the details, but I do distinctly remember it having something to do with Henry VIII's second wife, Anne Boylen. My roommate confirmed that he heard me saying her name and something about screaming "Stay Away!" over and over... Not sure what any of it means or how the storyline went down in my head, but I'm sure it's all because I started watching the new HBO show the Tudors right before I left....

Hope all is well,

Jon

Turkey & Rwanda 2007: Summer Plans and New Website

2007-05-21T23:04:06Z

Hi guys!

Just wanted to let everyone know what I'm up to this summer... The plans have finally solidified... I leave May 31st and it's going to be about 5 weeks in Turkey and 2 weeks in Rwanda!

Turkey is my usual gig on the Kenan Tepe Excavation in Bismil. And luckily, some last minute funding came through so we will actually be digging this year! I'm also going to be focused on Multimedia, doing all the photography for the site again, but also some video projects and various other things we've been talking about all year.

Rwanda is for a non-profit called the Tiziano Project. This is an organization that stemmed from an idea a friend of mine at USC came up with where we will basically be teaching and facilitating community journalism to youth in the region. We're going to begin by providing laptops, digital cameras, and instruction to the kids at an orphanage in Kigali. I originally got involved with the project when my friend Andrew recruited me to build a dynamic website that will allow the kids to upload photos and create stories. This task soon evolved into my tagging along to help train kids on the system and help make any changes that may arise while in the field.

I am really excited about this project and if you get a chance, you should definitely check out the organization's site at:

http://www.tizianoproject.org/

They also have a fundraiser charity event scheduled for June 16th in Los Angeles that you should definitely check out if you are around over summer. Details and tickets are available on their website.

In other news, I finally have a working version 2.0 of JonathansTravels.com! This site is a much more full featured / functional site than my old .mac website... And assuming everything works out with using the site overseas, I will probably be posting new blog entries and photos throughout this trip rather than sending out these mass emails... You should all be set to receive an email update anytime a new blog is posted with a link to the full story.

I have also added "new" photos and stories dating all the way back to my first trip to Europe back in 2002! It was a crazy blast from the past reading through all the emails I sent out and remembering all the things we did back then...

Anyways, check out the site and let me know what you think!

http://www.jonathanstravels.com

Hope you are all doing well!

Jon

South America 2007: The Last Days

2007-01-23T20:00:00Z

So we made it home in one piece having an adventure all the way till the end...

We made it to Machu Picchu the day after my last email, but unfortunately the site was completely fogged over and it ended up pouring rain all morning. We took solace under a reconstructed house with a group of other tourists, but eventually headed for the snack bar and some hot chocolate. Luckily the weather started clearing up by around noon and we had a few good hours at the site. We never made it back to the first mountain that kicked our A$#, but we did climb Wynapicchu Mountain within the site and still had an amazing view of Machu Picchu from above.

That afternoon, we headed back to Cuzco for one last night and had a pretty great time. We started the evening with a nice dinner consisting of beef, Llama, and Guinea Pig (yes Guinea Pig). Apparently, the latter is a real delicacy in the region, so we decided to try it... It came on a platter of other meats, but it was completely whole when they served it. We didn’t know quite what to do with it, so our waitress ended up taking it back to the kitchen and cutting it into four for us. All in all, I’m glad I tried it once, but I would probably never try it again... There wasn’t much meat on it and it was just a little weird knowing that you were eating a guinea pig. That night was our last big night, and, in typical South America fashion, we did not get home until well after the sun came up.

We spent the day exploring Cuzco, before hopping on a plane to Lima. It ended up being perfect timing for visiting this city, as January 18th is actually the equivalent of their 4th of July. After an intricate changing of the guards ceremony in the afternoon, we found ourselves at a traditional food festival as part of the days celebration. We were also the ONLY tourists there and definitely stood out... It was one of the first times that this actually worked to our advantage though, when an elderly woman grabbed us and ushered us past two lines so that we could get our food and learn a little about it in the process. She kept telling everyone that we were tourists and guests to the country and that we should not have to wait in line. It was pretty confusing at the time but we were definitely appreciative and the food she recommended for us was amazing!

That night, we went for one last dinner and headed to the airport... Another trip, another continent...

South America 2007: No plans, great people, and a lot of luck...

2007-01-15T20:00:00Z

Hey guys...

Sorry I've been M.I.A. for awhile, we've been traveling pretty fast and the Internet has been pretty shoddy if not nonexistent. In Iguassu Falls for example, the Internet actually went down in the entire town for a solid two days. They wouldn't even let us book a bus ticket out of the town until we convinced them to call Buenos Aires and book it over the phone for us on the second day.

So let's see... Where to begin? So much has happened in the last two weeks. We basically decided to travel across the continent, diagonally by bus... It probably wasn't the smartest idea, but it has definitely been fun... We have see some amazing natural wonders and met some even cooler people. So here is the rough outline of where and what we've done, but there is way more to say than I can ever write in an email (even one as long as this). But here goes...

// Argentina //

In what quickly became the theme of this trip, we ended up changing another one of our pre-purchased tickets... This time the one from Buenos Aires to Iguassu Falls in order to stay in BA to watch the Rose Bowl with our new Brazilian friends (the ones from the last email who convinced us to stay in Montivideo for New Years). I found this awesome American sports bar on the Internet called Shoeless Joe's and there ended up being about 30 Trojans, 5 Michigan fans, and one random bruin that was there with her Trojan husband. It was pretty awesome and we all did a huge So Cal spell out at the end to let the bar know that SC was in town. The best part though was probably the 4 Liter pitchers (buckets) of beer. It was definitely a great introduction for our Brazilian friends to USC football! Viva COXA!

When we finally left BA, we headed for Iguassu Falls (giant water falls on the border of Argentina and Brazil that are not to be missed). They were truly one of the most impressive natural wonders that I have ever seen. The first day that we headed out it was pouring rain, so we basically had the park to ourselves. There were three circuits to follow, each with a ton of falls, and by the time we got to the last one the weather had cleared up. It didn't really matter though... The last circuit was the big one - Devil's Throat - and it was so big that just standing on the platform over looking the falls drenched everyone with it's mist. The next day, we did a 6km hike through the forrest to get to a secluded waterfall that you could actually swim around in and climb under. It was an amazing feeling being under this flood of water. We were also in town at the perfect time because it was the full moon and they have a special nighttime viewing of the Devil's Throat. I got really lucky on the way and met a professional photographer from South Africa who let me share his tripod and gave me some good tips for night photography. I think I got some amazing shots... I'll put them up on my site when I get back.

From Iguassu, we finally made up our minds to head to Bolivia with a quick stop in Salta (a Northern province in Argentina). On the way, we ended up meeting two Norwegian girls that were headed the same way and a lot of fun. So for the next few days, we ended up traveling with them... In Salta, Ian spent the whole time recovering from a bad Empinada while I hung out with the two Norwegians, a brother and sister from Argentina, and a random swiss guy. The town itself was pleasant... Small, but with a bustling plaza in the center, and an active nightlife... Of which our hostel ended up being one of the main spots... The reception itself was set way back and the front of the building was one of the main bars in the bar district. It was absolutely packed and a ton of fun! Too bad Ian was sick the whole time...

// Bolivia //

So the Norwegians, Ian, and I headed to Bolivia together on a rather bumpy trip (literally)... There are very few paved roads or highways in Bolivia and the trip up from the south is really just driving through rough desert terrain following tire tracks in the sand and crossing rivers at the lowest point (usually not that low). Two things happened to us that were pretty lucky though... One, we were going to try to rent a car in Salta and drive up on our own... They were going to rent us a VW Golf, which would A) have been submerged under water at any of several points, and B) would have popped every tire on the way... Luckily, in Argentina they wouldn't rent it to us due to restrictions for driving out of the country... The second piece of luck was when we got past the border town and hit a bigger "city" called Tupiza. From there, we were supposed to be able to catch a bus to Uyuni (a town built because of the giant salt flats in the nearby area that were the whole point of our visit). However, when we got there the bus was full and there were no more until the next day... Well at this point, there where the four of us including the Norwegians and five with a random german guy that didn't speak much english, but we decided just to hire a driver with a Land Cruiser to take us. This ended up being absolutely awesome because we were able to stop whenever we wanted, we had a tour guide, and most importantly we didn't have to be crammed in a bumpy bus for 7 hours! Our driver also ended up being something like the resident mechanic, because every time we passed a broken down car (which was quite often) the drivers were all extremely happy to see him, and he always got their cars to work again... I have no idea how... One involved putting two wires together and wetting them with his fingers... Another involved a push start... And on others many parts were exchanged between vehicles...

The salt flats were absolutely surreal and totally worth the trip. As has been our luck, when we arrived in Uyuni it was pouring rain... However, by the next afternoon it had cleared up and Ian and I ended up hiring another solo land cruiser to drive us around for the afternoon (the Norwegians ended up taking a three day tour which we didn't have time for). Because of the rain, the salt flats were a completely different experience. The whole plain was covered with about two inches of water and, as a result, the experience really can't be put into words... It was almost as if you were standing in the middle of a lake that stretched as far as the eyes could see, but even then, the horizon was completely blurred because of the reflection on the water covered salt. You really couldn't tell were the land ended and the sky began. Again, it was amazing... And because we had our own car, we weren't rushed through like the tours... We ended up sitting at a desolate hotel made of Salt in the middle of nowhere and enjoyed a couple Cervezas starring off into oblivion.

From Uyuni, we headed to Lake Titicaca and the Isle del Sol on the Bolivian side. This bus trip was an interesting experience... They loaded us on, drove to get gas, brought us back to the main office, served a three course meal, put on a movie, and passed out blankets and pillows all before we even departed! We were sitting on the bus for almost two hours before we even started moving! Now that is the essence of Bolivia.... Throughout South America, we have had to master the word "patience."

Our next destination, the Isle del Sol, is the island were, according to Incan mythology, both the sun and the first Incan were born. However, when I went, I felt like I was going to die. From where the boat docks, you have to climb 240 steps. Now that doesn't seem that bad, but keep in mind that this is at an altitude of 4,086 meters (almost 12,000 ft) and we had all of our bags on us. Now, I know Ian and I may not be in the best shape, but watching the little kids from the island run up and down while we were out of breath and taking a break every other minute was just embarrassing.... Fortunately, pretty much everyone visiting the island was in the exact same shoes... I have never passed so many people out of breath and panting by the side of a road. The view from the top was worth it though. It actually felt just like we were in the greek islands. The next day we hiked down to the Temple of the Sun and then headed back to the coast city of Copacabana for one night.

// Peru //

Getting across the border into Peru was interesting... For some reason, the immigration officer didn't want to give us the forms needed to enter the country claiming that the bus company should have provided them and that he didn't want to waist his. Well this fight went on for quite some time until our bus driver finally convinced him to let us have some from the giant stack sitting on his desk... Ahhh South America....

The bus was also an interesting experience... The "Direct" bus arriving at 7pm in Cuzco arrived an hour late and actually stopped in Puno for an hour and a half layover / bus change and didn't arrive in Cuzco until around 11pm. Although, that doesn't surprise me since every bus arrives about 2 hours after the scheduled arrival time. What really sucked about the second bus though was that our seats were among the 75% of broken ones, while the two people in front of us felt the need to progressively recline further an further back throughout the night until their heads where literally in our laps... That was probably the worst bus trip we have taken in South America... And so far we have about 90 hours of total bus time to date on this trip...

We arrived in Cuzco yesterday, and had another act of luck this morning. We weren't able to book the train ticket to Machu Picchu online, so we went first thing in the morning to the ticket office... They didn't have any tickets available from Cuzco, but if we took a taxi to a town/site called Oyllantambo we could pick it up there and spend the night in Aguas Callientes (a little town right next to Machu Picchu). We decided to take advantage of this since we wanted to see Oyllantambo anyways, and we ended up meeting a German/Swedish couple that were in the same boat, so we split a cab. The man ended up being a huge Mac / BMW fanatic, so we ended up having a great conversation that I think his wife and Ian just tuned out of... He ended up footing the bill for the cab and we all spent the morning together in Oyllantambo. The town itself was a quaint little village built right up against a major Incan site, one of the last strongholds that temporarily held up to the spanish conquistadors. A peruvian caretaker of the site ended up latching onto us since we were the first ones there and we actually ended up getting a pretty nice tour.

We are currently in Aguas Callientes, where a mountain hike just completely kicked our A$#... It is a two hour each way hike straight up the mountain directly across from Macchu Picchu and it is supposed to have a spectacular view. Unfortunately, we started hiking it around 4pm even though it gets dark here around 6pm. It was kind of a spontaneous move and we didn't even bring water. We made it about half way, past 4 of 5 ladder passes (one of which was maybe 80 feet high) and then it started to rain... At that point we evaluated our options... Keep going, and come down in the dark / rain... Or, go down then, while it may be raining, but we could at least see to get down the completely vertical ladder passes. We chose the second option. One of the funniest moments happened on the way down, we were about 50 feet up on one of the ladders, when we saw what appeared to be an unopened bottle of water of to the side in a bush. Well, Ian had a walking stick strapped to his back, so we each wrapped one arm around the ladder and I attempted to bat the water towards him with the walking stick... As if from out of a movie, it just missed his outstretched hand and we looked down and watched as it fell in slow motion 50 feet down to the next summit. We used it as motivation, and when we finally got back down we grabbed it, cracked the seal, and enjoyed some much needed water. Unfortunately, when we finally made it back down the ladder passes, and the rocky / now slippery ledges to the bottom we regretted turning around. So now we have decided to get up at 5am to see Machu Picchu and then go back and beat the mountain, rain or shine, before we have to catch our train back to Cuzco in the afternoon. Wish us luck...

// The End is Near //

Needless to say, we canceled our original flight from Buenos Aires to Lima, since we opted to bus it across the continent. But now we have a plane ticket from Cuzco to Lima on the 18th... We might try to push it up one day to the 17th though so that we can have one night in Lima, but that is still to be determined. Either way, we fly home on the 19th so we will be back in the States soon.

Hope all is well with everyone... And talk to you soon!

Jon

South America 2007: Where did the time go?

2006-12-31T20:00:00Z

Hey Guys!

I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year and let you all know that I am alive... We never did end up making it to Brazil, even the embassy in Buenos Aires wouldn't get us a visa until Jan 4th...

So instead, we spent a couple days in Buenos Aires when we first got here and then headed to Montivideo, Uruguay for what we had planned to be a short two days / one night trip. However, when we got here, we ended up meeting a great group of brazilians that were a ton of fun and decided to change our return ferry tickets to Buenos Aires until Jan 1st and to just stay here for the New Year. This would have been a fine idea... Had we not left our bags in a Buenos Aires Hostel expecting to be back the next day! We decided to stay anyways though and ended up buying some tacky Montivideo tourists tshirts since we had no other clean clothes with us! We really wanted a "I <3 Uruguay" Tshirt but couldn't find one.

The trip has been pretty fun so far. Everyone in South America seems to be pretty geared up for new years... And we are not sure how much of the lifestyle we are experiencing relates to that or if to a large extent it is just the way people live here. To give you and idea, we have been here for 4 days / nights... During this time, we have not gone to sleep before 6 am once (if at all) and we usually eat dinner around midnight with another big meal just after sunrise. Then we either go to sleep for a couple hours before we need to get up to do something, or, in the case of the other night, we hop in a taxi and head straight to the ferry for another country. There have been a couple days where we were able to sleep for a little bit, but overall, it seems like people approach sleep differently here. Instead of sleep 8 hours, up for 16 hours... The general operating practice is sleep 2-3 hours at night (really, early morning), wake up around 9 or 10 and start drinking Matte (a highly concentrated tea that people carry around with them all day), work or do stuff until around 2 or 3 at which point everyone goes to sleep again until around 7 and then the night begins all over. It is a really interesting lifestyle... One that would take A LOT of getting used to.

They also lack the any concept of the "importance of time." When we got our ferry tickets changed to go back to Buenos Aires on the first for example, we went to the port at 9 and were told that it wouldn't open until 10. When we went back at 10, the opening time had changed to "eh 10 or 11." And we have never once gotten a straight answer regarding times that things will occur or anything involving planning. It has taken a lot of patience...

So from here, we will return to Buenos Aires tomorrow, but only for a few hours. We have a night bus scheduled to head to Iguassu Falls (some amazing water falls on the border between Argentina and Brazil) on the night of the first. And After that, we have no plans! Having not gone to brazil, we have a lot of time to kill before Peru. We are still thinking about heading down south in Argetina, but we have also heard a lot of really good things about Bolivia. I'll keep you posted.

Hope all is well with everyone, and have a great New Years! Oh, and Fight On SC in the Rose Bowl!

Talk to you soon,

Jon

South America 2007: I'm off to Brazil... errr Argentina!

2006-12-25T20:00:00Z

Hey Everyone,

Just wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas and let you all know that I'm starting my next trip tomorrow! I'm headed down to South America, which will mark my 6th continent!

Of course, I still managed to start this one off with a hitch. The plan has always been to go down to Brazil and spend New Years in Rio... And that is where our tickets have us going, well Sao Paolo anyways... Unfortunately, we just found out that in order to get into Brazil, you need to procure a Visa in advance! And apparently without it, they will put us on the next flight back to LA! So now we are headed straight to Argentina, where we might try to get a visa to go back to Brazil... But really it's all up in the air right now.

So far the talks include either trying to get back to Brazil, trying to get down to Antarctica, or hanging out in Argentina and possibly Chile. On the way back though, we have a 6 day stopover in Peru, where we will for sure stay in Lima and go see Machu Picchu.

Anyway, as usual, I am putting this email list together at the last minute... Email me if there is anyone that I have forgotten or that might want to hear about the newest adventure...

Have a happy holiday season and a great new year!

Jon