Lesliesgoneagain

Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013 - Trivandrum We enjoyed our visit to Amritsar. The hotel was quiet, clean and all food is room service. There is no restaurant. The hotel's clientele come mainly from Sikh pilgrims. The shower had sufficient hot water and staff were extremely polite and considerate. Our local guide, Rinku, is a 26-year-old Sikh, who elects to cut his hair and beard and looks like any other 26-year-old hip Indian man. He turned out to be the polar opposite of our Agra guide, not bringing us to any restaurants, shops or factories and soliciting our opinions on what we wanted to do. He gave us a thorough and intimate tour of the Golden Temple. We learned that the Sikh religion is based on kindness to all living things, vegetarianism, and charity to the poor. ... read more

(Written Tuesday, Nov. 20) Judy and I are relaxing in our hotel room near the domestic airport in Buenos Aires. It's required some effort to get here. First, my initial flight out of SFO was delayed because of a "security breach" which closed down Terminal 3 and set back most flights by at least one hour. I had a 2 hr 22 min. Window to make my Newark to Buenos Aires flight, so things got a little hairy and the stress level began to build. My flight was more than an hour late, but we picked up a tailwind which got me to Newark with about an hour before the next scheduled takeoff. I met up with Judy who had been whiling away the time at the United Club Lounge. This flight was complicated by a ... read more

Nov. 3 A little info about our accommodation in Addis. The Wabe Shebelle Hotel, where the team is staying, is a long established hotel, probably formerly posh, where many visiting groups stay. Presently, we are sharing the facility with a medical volunteer team from Seattle, who are involved in training staff at a local hospital, 180 newly minted Ethiopian doctors, who are in training before they are dispersed to complete their 5-year term of required service to repay the cost of their education; a male athletic team of some sort and various tour groups and individuals. The hotel is a bit shabby and was recently returned by the government to the grandson of Haile Selassie. Perhaps it will be restored to its prior grandeur. It appears that locals are subject to frisking and bag searches, regardless ... read more

Oakland, CA: Tomorrow I begin my journey to Ethiopia for another Habitat for Humanity Global Village build. First leg will be flying from San Francisco to Amsterdam on KLM. There I will run, run, run through Schiphol to catch the next flight to Addis Ababa. I have only a 55 minute gap between arrival and departure. Fortunately, Boots and Ramsay will be on the 2nd flight, so maybe they can hold the plane for me! In addition to my personal luggage, which includes tools for the build, food to snack on, innumerable electronics (and their accompanying adapter/chargers) and toys for kids, I've packed a medium sized duffle bag filled with school supplies, some toys and diapers to donate to the Children's Home Society and Family Services in Addis. This is the agency through which my cousin ... read more

Sunday - april 10 Up early and head to Tashi Ling Tibetan Village to attend a morning service at the village temple. We tiptoe into the small temple and settle on the floor as the chanting continues. There are about 10 young monks in two rows on either side of the room. One adult monk sits on a raised platform beside the entrance. After some time he just got up ad left. Four older monks closest to the altar appear to lead the chanting and at certain points ring bells, move kernels of rice and make meaningful hand gestures. As each verse appears to be coming to an end one of the older monks revs up the next stanza. The littlest monk leaves and returns with salt tea for everyone. The chanting is hypnotic and familiar ... read more