The Course Of Understanding: "To The West" trip, By the Numbers

Thursday, January 6, 2011

"To The West" trip, By the Numbers

- 22 days, 3 countries, 13 different beds, approx 4500 km (2800 miles) covered.

- Over 100 hours on buses, trucks, and motorcycles.

- Over 45 hours spent on boats of various sizes.

- 250 meters (820 feet): free-fall height of Kalambo Falls

- 250,000: number of victims buried at the Kigali's Genocide Memorial.

- 500 km (310 mile): length of Tanzanian section of Lake Tanganyika, the longest lake in the world.

- Rwandan caves explored (by candle-light): 6 (out of 35)

- Most expensive lodging: $20, Kigali, Rwanda. Cheapest lodging: $2, Kibondo, Tanzania.

- $500/ 1hr: price of chilling with the mountain gorillas... didn't go.

- Price of one large beer at Hotel des milles collins (Hotel Rwanda): $6

- Price of same beer at local restaurant: $1

- 10: types of African beer tested

- Total price of trip $750

3 comments:

DadJanuary 7, 2011 at 12:22 AM
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DadJanuary 7, 2011 at 12:25 AM
Delete the prior post (wrong url)
You said it was expensive. $20 for a night in a hotel. Oh you big spender!!
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AnonymousJanuary 14, 2011 at 2:50 PM
Total price of trip - priceless!
Mom
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Welcome!

Welcome! Vítám vás! Yokoso! Karibu! And... whatever it is in Hindi. If you're even a little interested in travel, culture, language, living abroad, philosophy, and understanding the world and yourself a little better, then you've come to the right place! The text below, "Beginnings," will get you started on the concept of this site. Enjoy looking around, and take a moment to consider what you find here! All the writing is my own, unless in quotation marks, and I've taken all the photographs, unless noted. I'd be honored if you want to use some material on this site, so just ask! I'm an aspiring writer and aspiring photographer, so remember that using material without permission is stealing a little bit of my future! I welcome your thoughts, questions, and ideas, so please comment or contact me on email. Thanks for visiting! -caleb

The Beginning

It all started on a wintry day in 2006 when my life-long friend Bethany and I unfolded a world map on the floor of my flat in Prague. We’d been raised in northern California, but now I was in my third year in the Czech Republic, Bethany was spending a year in Lithuania, and filled with the youthful sensation of unlimited possibility, we fell to listing all the countries we wanted to live in someday. My foray into Central Europe had sparked my interest in culture, and so I mocked up a list of countries that I now call “The Course of Understanding Tour,” consisting of 4-5 countries in Asia, Africa, and South America. It was several months before I actually thought about it seriously... I remember over a decade ago when my grandmother came back from a trip to Kenya, and told me that “the culture is so different, but I’ve found that wherever you go, people are people.” Years later my cultural anthropology professor told us stories about throwing up over the mere sight of dinner in an African jungle: “Culture is not a ‘mind over matter’ kind of thing; differences can provoke an innate and uncontrollable physical reaction.” Where’s the common ground between these statements? When you strip away all the differences between us that cause discomfort, fear, or vomit, what “people are people” elements are you left with?... I’m now halfway through a year in a Japanese village. Next I’ll be spending six months in India, and then six months in a Kenyan orphanage. The culture shock I most fear is one day returning to America. This blog is to bring you along with me as I experience many of those vomit-inducing differences, and slowly try to piece together an understanding of what makes us all members of the human race anyway.
February 2008