The Trip in Review: Part 1- Eastern Europe

The big voluntouring trip is officially done. We didn't post as much to this blog as we would've liked. From the sights we saw to the volunteer work we did, to the amazing people we met, it's hard to know where to begin. For now, I'll do a little trip overview using just a fraction of our zillions of pictures.

Our first stop was Prague. Prague seemed like it was straight out of a Disney movie. I'm sure Disney bases their movies on places like Prague, rather than the reverse but I saw Disney first so c'est la vie. Prague is an adorable city that is easy to get lost in. We never grew tired of making up stupid Czech puns. Czech me out. Czech mates. What's the Praguenosis.

Miles, a friend of Kristen's from SF, was on his own round the world adventure, and met us on our very first stop. Here's Miles and Kris taking in some of the tasty Czech beer, on a midday stop at a skate park.












After Prague, the three of us headed south to Cesky Krumlov, the cutest town on the planet. Ok, maybe that's extreme, but I recommend that everyone goes to CK if they get the chance. It's even more homey and beautiful and quaint than the name would suggest.





I'm sure that Slovakia is beautiful. Our experience of Slovakia was limited to a couple days in Bratislava. We stayed at an old dorm that is also used as a hostel in the summers. We found a certain sterility in Slovakia. This train, and Kristen's expression, sum it up.













People often ask what types of places we stayed in along the way. Because of our tight budget, some of the locations were less than stellar. This place in Lake Balatan, Hungary was pretty decent aside from the terrifying artwork.


We both loved Budapest despite getting unncessarily fined on the train, ripped off by a cab driver, and assaulted by a gypsy. The energy, architecture, and general vibe of the city made it a place I'd love to go back to. Budapest is where we met up with our fellow Habitat for Humanity volunteers. After a day in the big city, our group headed off to the HFH affiliate in the small town of Hajduboszormeny.

Our volunteer work involved a variety of tasks. Here's some of the crew working on the roof and insulation.













Much of the success of that experience can be attributed to the Habitat leadership. Here's Kris and I with Seth, the leader of our volunteer crew who's a staff member at HFH, and Pisti, who is the construction manager at the Hajdu HFH affiliate. Both of them are patient, hilarious, and generous beyond belief.














Throughout the two weeks, we became close with the other volunteers. One of our fellow volunteers, Danica, celebrated a birthday during our time in Hadju. Here's Danica and the vegan birthday feast that Robin so artistically arranged.














And, updates on the houses! In the few months since our group was in Hajdu, the houses have been finished, dedicated, and the families moved in! Here's the Toth family. The boys all look very intense here, but they're a happy, fun crew. Dani, the oldest son, is a senior in high school, and spent his entire summer working on site. Dani got to the work site at 7am every day and would be the last one working. Dani was a great teacher when it came to all things roofing. I'm so excited that he and his family have a home to call their own. I couldn't think of a more well deserving group of people.

And here's a look at the finished houses from the outside.


I can't talk about HFH Hajdu without a mention of Sandor, the Project Supervisor. Sandor was not only the supervisor of the worksite, he coordinated the volunteers and always made sure we had everything we needed. HFH Hajdu is really lucky to have him.





After we finished our work in Hajdu, we headed back to Budapest for a few days of touristy stuff. Here's the whole group.














The world is jam packed with interesting food, and new and interesting ways to prepare food. Unfortunately, I never got around to trying one of these giant tubes of bread stuffed with something or other, that we kept seeing in Budapest.













After a sad farewell to our new friends from HFH, Kris and I spent a couple more days in Budapest and then headed out to Turkey. It's hard to sum up Turkey. Istanbul is gigantic and overwhelming and fascinating. Us silly Americans think a house that is 100 years old is old. The Aya Sofya was built in 537. That's right, folks. 537.

Here's the world famous Blue Mosque.














Kris at the Spice Bazaar.


















Busy streets in Istanbul.














After a few days in Istanbul, we did a bit more touring in Western Turkey. First we headed off to the island of Bozcaada. Beautiful and relaxing. Thanks for the suggestion, Dinah!














We saw very impressive ruins in Bergama. Here's the Acropolis.














Then to Pamukkale, home of these crazy calcium deposits and thermal waters. It was a ridiculously hot day so I attempted to cool off in the waters. It was probably heat stroke at work.


















I leave you with this important message from this gentleman we saw at the Ephesus ruins.

















Stay tuned for Part 2: Southeast Asia.

Habitat for Humanity in Tanzania

Here's a video of a Habitat for Humanity's volunteer experience in Tanzania. It reminds me a lot of my own experience there. This guy did an amazing job putting this video together. Very inspiring. Plus, he's hilarious. Check it out.

HFH trip to Tanzania: July 1998

This was part of a letter I sent to people that donated to my Habitat for Humanity trip to Tanzania. It includes an overview of the work we did there.

After spending two days in the city of Arusha, the group of 18 Habitat volunteers headed to the very small village of Nkinga. When I say “headed” I mean we flew in on tiny planes (we had to weigh ourselves and our luggage before getting on the plane and because I was in the front seat, I had the opportunity to steer for a bit) and upon landing we were surrounded by a large portion of the 5000 Nkinga residents. Talk about a warm welcome. Exactly 3 people in our group spoke Swahili and about 6 people in the village spoke English. This of course made communication quite an adventure.

The work days began at about 8am. We would then be given our assignment for the day and split off into different groups. The lack of electricity puts a whole different twist on house building. Everything was made from scratch. The houses were very simple- brick walls and tiles roofs. Ask 12 different people what the correct mix was for bricks and you’re sure to get 12 different answers. Each group was led by a “fundi” or skilled worker. At about 10:30am each morning, we would take a “chai” break. The future homeowner would provide tea and a snack for everyone who was working at the site. The snack was usually a big ‘ol sweet potato, some roasted peanuts, or papaya. Then it was back to the grind. We’d break for lunch at about 12:30, at which point I’d usually head back to my little room, and nap under the mosquito netting. Then it was back to work from 2:30 to 5pm.

During breaks from work, we’d often play with the children who liked to hang out at the worksite. They’re all great at playing soccer, but teaching them stick ball was quite the process. Children were also very impressed with blowing bubbles. I learned basic Swahili counting from a group of kids who would write a number in the sand and then say the Swahili word for me.

While we were in Nkinga, we were able to finish two houses and begin three other houses. Plus we were able to make a large donation to the local HFH affiliate. But the experience wound up involving so much more than just building. From eating chipati and ugi, to watching a traditional dance competition, to teaching hundreds of Swahili speaking children the hokey pokey, to dressing up in katenges (the skirts and headdresses that the women wear) and trading recipes and cooking dinner with the women, to getting used to the lack of plumbing and electricity, to learning to greet the lizards and large nameless bugs with a smile, to sharpening my charade skills in order to communicate things like “how much cement should be in this mixture of spackle?”, the trip was a huge learning experience. Everyone we met was extremely friendly. Most of the people seemed very happy except the poverty was very extreme. The schools were in bad conditions and lacked teaching materials as well as a sufficient number of desks and chairs. One man said to me, “Oh…social worker Mary….please tell your friends in America what you saw here. We are very happy but we need help. We do not have the resources that you do in America. So we appreciate everything that your group has done for us.”

Getting to know my fellow American Habitat volunteers was a whole separate learning experience. We ranged in age from 15 to 78. There was a father/daughter pair. A brother/sister duo. A newlywed pair who made the Habitat experience a stop on their honeymoon trip around the world. Then we had Olive, the 78 year old woman who could lift rocks that were about 3 times her weight. Olive also recently went to clown school and brought her costume and did a show for the kids.

I could go on and on but I’ll stop now. The bottom line is that I am so thankful for each of you for helping to make this trip possible for me. Not only did you do a great service for the people of Nkinga and Habitat for Humanity, but you played a very important part in what was definitely one of the best experiences of my life.