Global Exchange Reality Tours

Some of you have asked what tour company I went to North Korea (and Iran, Afghanistan, Palestine...) with.  The company name is Global Exchange and they run a series of Reality Tours that take people all over the world.

 "The idea that travel can be educational and positively influence international affairs motivated the first Reality Tour in 1988.  Global Exchange's Reality Tours are not designed to provide immediate solutions or remedies to the world’s most intractable problems, nor are they simply a kind of voyeurism. Rather, Reality Tours are meant to educate people about how we, individually and collectively, contribute to global problems, and, then, to suggest ways in which we can contribute to positive change locally and internationally.

Reality Tours offer participants an opportunity to journey to other countries to examine a situation first-hand, to see beyond what is communicated by the mass media. By joining us on one of these delegations, participants have the chance to learn about unfamiliar cultures, meet with people from all walks of life, and establish meaningful relationships with people from other countries."

Check out there website and find a tour for your next trip!

Photos from North Korea

Propaganda is the backdrop throughout North Korea

Taking a ride in the subway

Slideshow of North Korea Photos (Click this link)

Meeting the President of Guinea during UN General Assembly Week in NY

Suzanne and I get to meet Alpha Conde, the President of Guinea

Lots of you know that my favorite NY event of the year is the UN General Assembly. 193 world leaders came to town this year and I did my annual session of stalking. This year I did really well!

Somehow I befriended some Guinean's in the Waldorf lobby and told them I'd love to meet their new President. An hour later I managed to join a crowd of 25 prominent Guinean's from DC, Boston and NY up in the country's suite and was part of a surreal time mixed with referential treatment, lots of Islamic prayers and genuine love of their country all in a language I didn't speak. And mixed in all that was real pleasure that my friend and I cared about their country.

I get a kick when I find that people have used my photos on websites!

My first Dutch website with a picture of Benin.

http://www.naturescanner.nl/afrika/benin

Link to My Kenya Photo Album

Click here to get to my Kenya photo album

Link to My wildlife photos from Kenya

Click here to link to my wildlife photos from Kenya

Link to My Ethiopia Photo Album

Click this link to see my full Ethiopian photo album

Photos from Lalibela, Ethiopia

Lalibela, a World Heritage site, undoubtedly ranks among the greatest religious-h­istorical sites in the Christian world.

An ancient world, including 11 magnificent, medieval, rock-hewn churches, dimly lit passageways, hidden crypts and grottoes, was carved into the red volcanic rock underlying this remote Ethiopian town almost a millennia ago by the Zagwe dynasty. Today that world remains, frozen in stone. -Lonely Planet

Is There a Right Way to Spend Money When Traveling?

This is an interesting article for travelers. Going to Ethiopia really tested a lot of my travel rules of not giving money to people on the street... but I definitely followed a lot of these rules and have a whole second suitcase to prove that I supported local merchants and even wiped my brow today with my new handkerchief that I bought out of the minibus window yesterday. I also tried to buy some really cute socks,but they were for little kids. :(

http://travel.nytimes.com/2011/03/13/travel/13prac.html

Ethiopian Coffee

Ok, so one of the downsides of Ghana was the complete lack of coffee. For those of you that know me these days, you know my afternoon coffee is like a shot of happy juice in my day. While I tend to run pretty well on adrenaline on these trips I still missed coffee. So arriving in Ethiopia was a wonderful next step. Here everyone drinks these little macchiatos. For those of you that don’t know that is an espresso with milk and lots of foam. Plus here there is an added bonus, the milk is thicker and creamier and just better! They are so good that I have been stopping more than once a day. It’s a fun place to sit in the sidewalk cafes amongst all the men. I think they just look at me like another crazy “ferengi” (foreigner) since there are very few other women around. Also there seems to be a middle class growing "Starbucks" cafe culture. Check out the impostor.

Reflections on traveling to Africa for work

Writing about the countries I visit in Africa is so much harder than other places I have been. First off, my visits are pretty packed with Princeton in Africa partner site visits, time with current and past Fellows and trying to keep up with emails and Princeton in Africa work from the US versus trips to the various tourist sites. What that tends to mean is that I don’t have a lot of extra time to sit back and think about what I am seeing. Usually when I travel for pleasure, I try to read both fiction and non-fiction books about the country I am traveling in. I try to read the local paper every day and get a sense about the current state of affairs of the country I’m in. Unfortunately on my work trips I don’t always get a chance to do this. Traveling to 3 or 5 countries in 5 weeks each year usually means I hardly know what is really going on and instead just get a chance to dig deep into a particular issue by hearing one of my Fellows daily experiences at work or visiting an organization that Princeton in Africa partners with. I’ve gotten to learn lots about the treatment of HIV, particularly in youth, issues in Africa education in a few countries, issues concerning drought and successful strategies to handle it like building rainwater harvesting systems or developing better local solutions for filtering existing water sources and I’ve certainly gotten to hear a lot about humanitarian aid and food security.

Photos from Ethiopia

The Joys of Cross Cultural Communication

One of the things I really love about traveling is getting to meet people from so many different countries. While I do love meeting locals from the places I am traveling too, I actually am talking about all the other expats and tourists I meet along the way. Traveling for Princeton in Africa opens me up to a whole new set of expats who work in Africa. I love sitting in on a meeting with a group of people from all different places and listening to the accents, watching the different cultural responses and often feeling very comforted by the other American in the room if there is one. It’s another reminder of how diverse the world is and another place where I can find my inner American and feel that deep sense of connection and comfort.

Link to My Ghana Photo Album

Click here to go to Facebook and see my Ghana photos

Photos from Ghana

Awaiting an incoming fishing boat at Krokrobite Beach in Ghana



The fisherman's beach in Cape Coast
It was an amazing hive of activity
Faces at Anamabo Beach

Accra, Ghana
Project Mercy, Yetebon, Ethiopia

My 2010 Holiday Letter

I definitely like the idea of a holiday letter because it gives me a chance to think about what I’ve been doing all year. Sometimes I get bogged down with the routine of life and think that I need some change, but then I think about all the things I’ve done and seen and realize life is pretty good the way it is.

Quick highlights:

I discovered more of the world with travel to Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Colombia, Senegal, South Africa and domestically in Chicago, Iowa for the great state fair and San Francisco, where as always I got to learn more about the diversity of my own country. I had a solid month of World Cup madness watching Africa shine! I continue to explore New York and my highlight this year was a tour of the East Side Access tunnels that are being dug deep below Grand Central Station. I'm still working hard at Princeton in Africa. This year we sent another 26 Princeton in Africa Fellows to work in 18 countries in Africa and hopefully have changed their lives. And then of course, I've had plenty of time with friends and family and lots of lazy summer days floating in Long Island Sound.

I hope your year was filled with adventure, new knowledge and community.

xoxo
Cordelia

Photos from Colombia

Photos from my Colombia trip (Click here)

Mural and Graffiti in Colombia

Click here for my photo album

My Trip to Colombia