Travel The World

Last week, the embassy staff held a 'goodbye' luncheon for me and another staffer who was leaving soon. We ate at a Vietnamese restaurant here in Djibouti which was creatively called 'The Vietnamese Restaurant.' The food was actually quite good maybe because it was free! I had chicken and cashews which is similar to a Thai dish I've eaten before. Anyway, the best part was the gifts. I got a certificate of appreciation from the State Department and a clay plate with a map of Djibouti on it. I also got a cap, coffee mug, and shirt all Djibouti-related. The shirt had writing on it that said, "Property of Djibouti." Those of you who have lived here can appreciate the humor/horror in that statement. I continue to take pictures of Djibouti but will not post any more travelogues of Djibouti till I return to the US in three weeks. I'm just too busy right now. Of course, I'll continue to post TLs that were previously written such as the Slovakia o...

Written on October 6, 2006 Well, last weekend I went to an area called Pieniny to go rafting. The town is on the Slovak/Polish border and is idyllic as are so many other places here. We missed the rafts at 11am so we had some time to explore the area by foot. Finally, at 1245, we were able to board a raft and ride down the river for about two hours. It was much less demanding than the death-defying feat I did the week before. When we finished the raft trip, we had a choice of riding the bus back to our original location or renting bikes and biking back. We chose the latter and I'm so happy we did. We were able to follow a bike trail back and stop and enjoy nature whenever we wanted. It was really a great day. Please see descriptions of the pictures below. http://picasaweb.google.com/mccoy4984/TravelogueSlovakia9ThePinenyRegion #1 Here is the 'river.' On the right is Slovakia and on the left is Poland. #2 The bridge to Poland. #3 On the water. #4 Our navigator. He spent the ...

Whenever I've traveled/lived in a foreign country, I've always tried to be culturally sensitive to the practices/beliefs of said country. I'm not a big fan of the relativist argument, but I also don't believe that one culture is inherently superior to another. I guess I try to take the middle road for the most part. Still, having lived in Djibouti for several months now, I'm starting to view 'culture' differently than I ever did before. I will use the example of foreign aid and how it's affected the culture to illustrate this new perspective. Here in Djibouti, there seems to be a certain 'dependency' on outside assistance that has developed at all levels and this dependency is stifling any solutions to the real problems that continue to exist. In essence, the dependency has become a part of the culture to the point that there is an entitlement mentality permeating society. I see it every day and it has become very tiresome!! Am I viewing this t...

A few days ago, I took my usual stroll downtown. It was about 6pm and something seemed out of place. Restaurants that were usually empty or had very few customers were packed. I had never seen so many Djiboutians eating out before. Because of the cost, most Djiboutians prefer to eat at home. Anyway, the difference was big enough for me to take notice and mention it at work the next day. Well, there was definitely something to what I saw. It seems that that day, the airplane responsible for bringing 'Khat' from Ethiopia had had mechanical problems. Therefore, no fresh Khat was delivered! I thought there would be other planes, but apparently, only one plane is dedicated to bringing the supply in every day. To provide an analogy, it's like all the planes, ships, and other vehicles that bring drugs into the US were somehow stopped. Can you imagine the commotion? Anyway, the custom when the Khat is not delivered is to eat out at a restaurant with your friends. It...

Taken on September 9, 2006 Here are the last pictures from my Mt. Rysy climb. It hurt terribly to climb it, but I gained some wonderful memories in the process. http://picasaweb.google.com/mccoy4984/TravelogueSlovakia8MtRysyPart3 #1 The view was beautiful but I really wasn't admiring it at the time. Honestly, I was looking for a place to be buried!! #2 At the summit! I didn't realize at that moment that the worst was yet to come. #3 My blood brother (because we sweated so much together that day) 'Palo' at the summit. He had me by 15 years! He's a helicopter pilot and I was wondering why he didn't bring it that day. Oh, be sure to check out the beautiful lakes below him. #4 Here, we were coming down and my body was really aching from all the pounding. #5 About halfway up or down, you have to use chains to navigate the mountain. I felt like I was the weakest link at this point. What a wonderful adventure! I honestly want to climb this mountain again some day. Next...