Showing posts with label matt omo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label matt omo. Show all posts

Sunday, March 30, 2008

The Six Foot Track Once Again

I just got back from spending Easter weekend on a hike in the Blue Mountains. We started in Katoomba and hiked three days to the Jenolan Caves. This trip was something I did 13 years ago when in Australia on an exchange program. However the guidance of my great friend Derek led us off the trail and into the middle of the bush where we spent six days trecking up rivers to find our way back. Aside from the eight foot monitor lizards, red belly black snakes, and brown snakes we managed to find our way back to civilization.

This time around it was much more mellow. Three days on the track without getting lost and we made it to the caves. It was a nice escape from the day to day things around Elvina Bay and camping always gets me back to the pace of nature. Enjoy the video with a groovy Jack Johnson tune, Breakdown.




Sorry it's a short blog, but I'm off to focus on my multi-million dollar screenplay and international best-selling novel before I have to help organize our engagement party for this weekend.

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Adjusting to Gongo La Mboto

After the short stay at the YMCA in Dar es Salaam, I was introduced to my home for the next two and half weeks. I had mentioned before that they didn't have any running water and the facilities were ... um... different from those that I have been accustom to in the states. The water had to be pulled from a well, which was shared by a few families around the area. It was lifted out of the twelve-foot hole with a bucket on a rope (which can be seen on my youtube video www.youtube.com/omovision). Once the water was taken from the well they had dozens of buckets to use for various things. A bucket by the sink to wash your hands, one for a shower, one to flush the toilet which was at ground level and opened directly to the septic tank, another few buckets were used in the kitchen. Water to drink or to brush teeth was boiled to kill all the bacteria. The use of water was one of the biggest things I had to get used to. It was as if I was camping, which I have done before so it wasn't that challenging. Another challenge was the mosquitoes. Coming from a very wet area in Indiana I know what it's like to have mosquitoes as a constant nuisance after sunset, however there is a high percent of the Tanzania mosquitoes that carry the malaria virus. Because of this my evening scent became, 100% deet. A few sprays of deet, a long sleeve shirt and a pair of pants, both of which stuck to me due to the humidity, I was mostly protected from the mosquitoes... or mozzies as they call them here in Australia.

The home was always full with three daughters two sons, the house girl, two grandkids, and various other guests who would pop in periodically. Privacy was not part of my vocabulary during my stay in Africa. The most bathrooms had stalls which would close but the restroom itself was open or beside an open shower. This was never an issue just something that I am accustomed to and normally take for granted in the US or Australia. The windows had only screens and protective bars to keep the outside out. With the houses closely packed together noise was always an issue. Especially since a bars were littered amongst the homes every few blocks with music pounding until midnight or sometimes later. We slept under mosquito nets and without AC or fans would usually sleep without any form of blanket or sheet. Outside my screen covered window was a bat, which sent out a high-pitched beep from about 10:30pm until 3 or 4am. It wasn't until the third night that I realized the earplugs from the plane would muffle this sound enough to allow me to sleep. However the morning came loud and fast with the crows, chickens, roosters and rush of people queuing up for the dala dala (bus) ride into town... first come first serve.

The school consisted of a dirt courtyard, and half a dozen classrooms. A nursery school meets five days a week and the older kids start at 8am and go until 9pm. With this lengthy schedule I was given 8 hrs of class work a day. 5 hrs of computer classes and 2 hrs of English classes. The computer lab looked more like a computer junkyard. Piles of old computers lined the sidewall with a mismatch of five or six stations that were functioning. PCs from the nineties which in computer time is ages ago were chugging along to pull up word, excel, publisher, typing tutors and one powerhouse of a machine was connected via a 28.8K modem to a mobile phone line in an attempt to bring internet to these kids. It was frustrating to try and explain what the Internet was about when most of the time was spent loading or crashing. The kids were very eager to learn everything they could from me. They wanted to know all about computers and I was surprised to see just how computer savvy they were. Unfortunately the technology wasn't available to them. Hopefully future donations and advancements in technology will give them the tools they need to tap into the vast amount of information on the Internet. If anyone reading this has connections/access to companies or individuals willing to donate up to date technology or at least technology a few years old they would benefit greatly by it. Please contact me, omovision@yahoo.com....

The kids quickly tested me with my knowledge of computers and English. They were really sharp and kept me after class numerous times with their questions. I wish I could have given more. It's sad because these are kids that don't have the money to pay for their education. They have the potential and the desire but not the opportunity. Ezra ministries does it's best to give this opportunity at a lower and sometimes free cost. The most disheartening thing is that the one year of school which they can't afford is under $1000 American. Some of them only have two or three years to complete and they will have gotten their diploma. For the cost of a laptop, a big screen TV, a washer and dryer you could send a kid to school for a year if not longer. How amazing would it be if those of us that have the extra money for the big screen, or state of the art laptop, or a better washer/dryer, or whatever the material thing it is, decided to channel it instead to these kids and sponsor them through school allowing them to get there diploma and be armed with a solid education allowing doors to open for them and one by one step out of the limited poverty ridden life they were born into? I'm not saying or asking for anyone to do this... but think about it... every little bit helps. There are many organizations bringing education to places like Gmboto... (here's one...http://www.justlikemychild.com/ ..... and another.... http://www.sos-usa.org/ ... I'm sure there are many more google it.... :)
what are you doing to help?

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Tanzania Volunteer Project Beginning

I have just returned from a 2 week volunteer project in Tanzania. I spent the time teaching English and Computers to kids at the Ezra Ministries in Gongo la mboto a small village outside Dar Es Salaam. Unfortunately I was not able to update the blogs along the way since the interenet was hard to find and when it was found it was usually extremely slow... so... I'll use my journal to update my blogs.

I arrived in Dar es Salaam on August 31st. I didn't have a visa and was told by the immigration security to pay $50 US. Since I had been in Australia for the last 2 months I didn't have American money. To this they allowed me to duck the ropes to security, pass baggage claim and exit the airport to get cash. I then returned and they stamped my passport. Needless to say not the tightest of securities I have encountered. The first night was spent in the city centre under the YMCA's roof. If there was a star rating for this place it would most likely fall somewhere around one or two points of one star. However, this concrete floor, foam mattress, humid, screen covered window, rusted cold shower, mosquito ridden place would actually turn out to be quite luxurious compared to my host families home. Well at least as far as facilities, but definitely not in comparison to the love and laughter found every moment in my host faimlies house.

The next morning we had a brief orientation learning about safety while in Dar. Supposedly the night is very dangerous to travel alone for a Muzungu (white person). I was then taken to Ezra Ministries where I met Pastor Chi who gave me the details about my assignment. I was to be teaching computers, English and math to kids 14 years and older. Being that my math skills had been frozen in the back of my brain since college 12 years ago, my computer knowledge left in the cubical I worked in 5 years ago and my English.. well if you've read this far enough said, I was a bit worried at how I was going to teach these kids.

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

From Immigration to Terrorism to World Peace

I am currently in Sydney Australia with my girlfriend and slamming into the immigration laws. Being an old fart of 34, I am too old for a temporary work visa, available to anyone 18 to 30. I have a BS in Computer Engineering and a MA in Spiritual Psychology, not to mention 6 years massage therapist experience and 3 years management experience. The MA doesn't help with visa requirements at all. The Computer Engineering would have allowed me to obtain work rights if I was in the industry, but as my winding road of a life has taken me, I spent the last five years doing massage and management, which simply means my computer background is obsolete for visa purposes or simply the BS is just that BS. Bottom line, my work visa opportunities in Australia are confined to a student, employer sponsored, or spousal visa.

Let's start with the student... Even if I wanted to go back to school, I would have to come up with the extra money for the classes and be limited to part-time work of 20 hrs a week. I would however, have full time privileges during the holidays. Considering I will most likely head home to family over the holidays, full time work is not an option. I will end up spending the money I make at my part time work on the classes and still be holding a full load of school at the same time. Not a very viable option either.

This leads me to the employer sponsored visa option. Can you say catch twenty-two? Employers simply don't want to hire someone for work they can fill with any average Aussie bloke. This is completely understandable. Based on a resume and a few references on the other side of the world, the employer has no idea if this crazy American will hop on a plane next week to go home or not or even be able to perform to the level needed in the job. Why would they take a chance on that and spend the thousands of $$ to sponsor a foreigner? Umm, realistically they just won't. I actually had a recruiter hand back one of my resumes simply because I didn't have a work visa. He won't even consider spending time to find sponsorship for me. I can handle rejection, but five recruiters in a row did the exact same thing. I am healthy, willing and able to work yet can't because I don't have sponsorship.

Finally, the third option a spousal visa. I could pay the buck-toothed, ugh boot wearing, townie, ten grand to marry me, but I think I would get tired of britos by the barby everyday. Yes, I am here with my girlfriend, but do we want to rush a marriage just to get a visa after only 8 months? Talk about adding pressure to a relationship, as if the distance and culture shock isn't enough already. There is an option under the spousal visa called the de-facto that allows me to get a visa if I can prove we have been together for more than a year. Well, if I was able to live here for a year without working, sure no problem. But my savings aren’t opening that door very far.

Without a viable option before me, I kick back as big brother Australia comes to an end and ponder how ridiculous it is that I am unable to work in a country where millions of people watch these kids living in a house doing silly stunts all day. It seems the immigration is much easier if you are a hasty, uneducated kid than it is for someone with experience, education, maturity, and patience.

I can understand the reason for immigration laws being in place and greatly respect that, but I wonder what the world would be like if the separations of countries were to fall away. What if we could legally work in any country or travel to any country without limitation? The first thing that pops into my head is terrorism. Funny how that is at the forefront of my mind? Five to Ten years ago it would have only been used in a passing headline on the evening news. Now, not a day goes by that it doesn’t come up three or four times in various contexts.

It may be a bit far-fetched and possibly extreme, but I feel that there is a correlation between immigration laws and terrorism. Are not immigration laws results of separate governments? Are they not self-imposed boundaries? Am I the only one who thinks that it’s odd that I can work on one side of the planet without an issue, but can’t on the other side? Of course that doesn’t make me want to go crash planes into the Sydney Harbor Bridge or Opera House for that matter, but what if it wasn’t just my work privileges that were being restricted.

What if it was my freedom to travel, or my freedom to worship spirit, or my freedom to love, or any freedom a human being should be granted? Would that push me to lash out at the imposed boundaries and societies that create them? Perhaps.

What if these boundaries and laws created harsh living conditions and brought death and destruction at my doorstep? What if I was a child trying to survive in these wars of divided sides? Would that push me to rebel? I would say most definitely. I was one to rebel against my parents and my school, would I not be one to rebel against governments imposing boundaries and laws? Of course I would.

Is that not what a terrorist is doing? Are they not fighting for what they believe and so divided that they forget how we are all one race, one society of human beings? And who created that perception? You may argue they did, it was there choice. Of course it was, but was it not the conditions they were raised, or perhaps the environment they were taught that helped formulate the mind set of terrorism? Is it not the division, the separations, and the differences that are creating the boundaries? Is it not the very structure we hold on to for control, order and justice that creates separation?

So what should we do? I believe our world needs a restructuring. I believe our world is an obsolete model of imposed segregation inherited from fear-based beliefs held in the past. I believe we need to look at how technology is evolving and model our world after it… That’s right model a new world around the Internet.

Does it have borders? Does it have judgments about what sites are allowed and what aren’t? Does it discriminate or segregate? No, it is all just blips of data streaming together. Are there wars on the Internet? Is there terrorism on the Internet? It may be utilized by terrorism, but the human imposes that, living in the border filled world… not the Internet itself.

Well. I do believe I have segued a bit too far from my original subject. So… while I sit here searching for a way to make some money without my an Australian work visa, perhaps I will delve into this terrorist/immigration correlation and find way to create peace on earth… yeah right…

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

Adaptation Leading to Acceptance (week 2)

The second week was very similar to the first week. We worked around the project knocking down corn, moving roof tiles, bleeding the irrigation lines for the strawberries and whatever else needed to be done around the property in the mornings. The afternoons were spent developing plans for the things we would teach the kids and then of course the 2 hr classes. This week I was mostly in charge of the English classes. For the younger kids we did fruits, animals, and colors on monday, tuesday was using those words in simple sentences, and wednesday we did a word puzzle first translating from Spanish to English then finding the English words in the puzzle. For the older kids we did simple sentences on Monday, then Days of the week on Tuesday then a word puzzle using common verbs.. from Spanish to English. Thursday was Sports day, much of this day can be found on my Kids of Cai Cay video. http://www.youtube.com/omovision And Friday my last day was movie day. The kids all watched Happy Feet in Spanish. Which by the way is not the best of movies.

As I finished out the week, I noticed how routine things got. The little things didn't bother me as much as the first week. I was able to sleep better in my unsupportive bed, partially due to extra blankets I stuffed in the middle. Although Thursday I was up most of the night with stomach issues and a major case of diarrhea, every hour I was running out the door, literally. The meals became tasty and I found the little positives about eating the same thing for two weeks. Going to bed early and getting up early became customary. Laundry by hand wasn't such a chore. The dirt under my nails wasn't so uncomfortable it just was the way things were. The dusty taste in my mouth from the dirt roads and adobe houses wasn't something I focused on. The open shower and camping towel felt soothing instead of cold and miserable. It was amazing to me how quickly I was able to adapt to the environment.

I discovered what I had first perceived as a struggle and below standard living conditions was actually just another way to live. It became more about embracing the environment instead of imposing my American standard upon the way of life in Cai Cay. Who's to say what is the "right" way to live? I believe choice is important and with a better education as well as the improved economics of the area we live, the amount of choice we have is increased. We all have choice some more than others, but more important is acceptance of what is. I'm not saying that the people of Cai Cay, especially the kids would choose to live in the conditions they are living if they had all the resources available to change. All I am saying is that from my Americanized way or my American-eyes I felt sorry for the people in Cai Cay when I first arrived. By the end I still empathized with the way they lived but also understood it wasn't wrong or bad so to speak it was just the way things were. I'm not saying don't help these people or that these people don't need support and help. What I"m saying is be aware of what kind of help we are giving. Are we giving from a place of sympathy or are we giving from a place of love. Do you see the difference? For me sympathy is about one way being better than another and love is about meeting another human being heart to heart.. eye to eye... hand in hand.

Perhaps the separations we see around the world are due to our limitation of thought and nothing more.... what would the world look like if we took those biases, judgements, and boundaries we impose on others out of our consciousness? Is that even possible? Perhaps just having an awareness of that would be the first step to creating a world in which we are all united?