Dublin it's me, Caitlin Eileen

My ancestors thought it was about time I made an appearance to Ireland so they kindly made the flight out of Dublin, Ireland to Uganda $400 cheaper than coming from Madrid! That and I have GREAT friends who accompanied me to the airport so I wouldn't feel like I completed a marathon before getting on the flight! On the way TO their apartment with my luggage, the homeless men under the bridge clapped for me when I completed the walk down the stairs. I mean, a ROUND of applause. Laugh all you want, how many of you have gotten a rousing and supportive ROUND of applause from the homeless homies? Score. However, I have never seen anyone else voluntarily lug 2 pieces of luggage and one backpack down at least 8 separate flights of stairs so maybe their "support" was leaning more towards sympathy with the belief I will be joining them in a few days time...

A word of advice; put on your hiking backpack BEFORE you put things into it. Or, have friends (Daniel and Elaine pictured below with smiling faces, THANKS!) that do. I spent 15 minutes walking with my backpack full of heavy books and games feeling completely sure I had also brought along a stowaway friend for my trip.  Who would have thought the "sag your backpack as low as possible and by all means, DO NOT us the stomach straps!!"rule that is cool in 5th grade does NOT apply to hiking packs. That stomach squeezer makes your life change in an instant! 

My Irish luck followed me to the airport where I realized I was going to have to sweet-talk the world's stingiest and strictest airline (begins with an R, ends with YANAIR) to overlook their 15

kg rule by oh.....50 kilos! I came prepared and I have to admit, did a little bullshitting (hey it's

for a good cause!) I walked up to the check-in desk where I noticed the man lift his eyebrows when he saw that my two friends had stepped out of line and it was just me with the 3 pieces of luggage. I put on my "I love cheap airlines and their overworked staff!" face and introduce myself and my luggage. I try to act casual even though my face doesn't (completely red) when the first bag on the scale weighs 23 kilos. THE FIRST BAG. Did I mention the lightest bag? This is my life for the past year in 3 suitcases. One completely full of stuff I am leaving in Uganda, one with all my electronics, shower supplies, meds, bug spray, books, etc. and the other with clothes. Luckily, I also have my "this is a serious meeting at Chrysler" face in handy as I pull out my paperwork. "Hi, I spoke with someone when I purchased this ticket about Ryanair's policies and they informed me that it might be possible to make an exemption if I showed you all my paperwork informing you of where I am going and what I am doing. Of course, they told me they couldn't say for SURE but you would be able to at check-in." I said this as fast as possible like he already knew I was coming with enough weight to have my own personal plane. Seriously, I did feel a little bad because he looked stressed. Who wants to tell the volunteer she has to pay to give little kids with nothing some educational materials?!? After a "one moment please" followed by 5 minutes of me talking to Daniel and Elaine  with my fingers crossed, he was back. Annnnd....SUCCESS! NO extra costs. Those bags cost me 10 euros/each!! Had I had to follow their policy, I would have had to pay 200 euros more! Luck of the Irish :)

After waiting an hour to collect my luggage and one incorrect drop off by a not so fantastic bus driver later, I was headed in the right direction courtesy of the kind security guard at the 24 hour McDonald's who addressed my questions after controlling a drunken Irish brawl. Looking like I was moving into Abbey Court Hostal ("hi I am here for 3 nights even though it looks like I am staying 3 years" was met rather frostily)...Welcome to Dublin! 

A great surprise? My Irish boss from camp was in town visiting her brother and going to the U2 concert! With no obligation to be but as always, insanely nice, she invited me to have breakfast with her and her brother and then gave me a quick tour of the city followed by an amazing Thai food lunch. How do I meet people like this? The fun part is trying to return the favor; "Well Trisha, whenever you want to come visit the USA where a MUST-SEE is Michigan (right) and see the landmark sites like Eminem's 8 mile (ok) I will be happy to give you a tour! We are famous for our Coney Island and we drive on the opposite side of the road so you will have a blast! Miami? San Diego? Nah, it's too hot in winter. We get to wear boots and scrape our cars!" Lucky for me, I just have great friends who don't look for paybacks!

So at my 10 euros/night Hostal in the center of Dublin, life is good! I am in a room with 9 other girls from all over the world who are pretty interesting; 2 track and field college athletes from Minnesota State, 4 Australians (seriously, they are EVERYWHERE!) a Russian, and some spanish girls. All are friendly and besides the minor annoyance of one bathroom in the room for all of us, it's great! 

(below; Trisha, best D.O.S ever!)

¿En Ingles? Nooooooo

It has been a while since I posted my last note; to update everyone I left Valencia, Spain where I had been a basketball coach for an english summer camp to head to Gredos, Spain to be a teacher. Today was my last day of teaching and I have said it before but I will say it again: teaching 6 year olds ANYTHING much less a new language will either make you crazy or increase your level of patience (not to mention germ tolerance) to an all time high. 

A brief summary of a regular day at camp. Wake up and head to breakfast where all of my students will cheerfully say "Hello teacher!" to which I will (for my own amusement) respond with a myriad of greetings ranging from

 "What up girl" to "Hey heeey...I see you (fill in the kids name) holding down the breakfast line!" Sometimes they look

 thrilled, sometimes completely confused, and my favorite times are when their english

-programmed brains respond with the only thing they know; "I'm fine thank you and you??" Awesome.

Then comes class. I have a tendency to touch little kids on the head just because it seems to be at the same level as my hands so depending on the day, I will encounter the gum in little Alberto's hair that has been there since the first day of camp...2 weeks ago...as well as the haphazard braids Gema had her best friend put in her hair that make her already frizzy hair look like she just had the roughest night of her life. We start the class every morning with the "How are you feeling today?" chart where they get to place their name on 1 0f the 4  emotions they are learning. After the first day of almost all happys, 2 tireds, and 1 sad for homesick Jaime, I was a little disconcerted to find I had all sads and angrys on day 2. Then, I took stock of the situation; They loved putting their sticky-note name tags on tired face's eyes to make him "sleep" and we always follow with the song, "If you're happy and you know it" where the kids sing the verse that matches their emotion.  Whie tireds have a yawn, happys only clap (lame) and sads say "

boo-hoo," (boring) ANGRYS get to a) stomp their feet and b) have 

a serious staredown with me. For this reason, most days the angrys dominate my class even though I challenge you to find a happier bunch of "angry" 6 year olds.

Worksheet time follows because this camp doesn't joke. These kids go home with a what I think looks like a professional portfolio of crumpled papers neatly straightened and placed in plastic sleeves to show the parents how after 2 weeks of practice, their baby has 

finally learned that they are not actually "berry tee-red" but "very tired." I have a few kids 

who act like completing a worksheet might be the last straw in their difficult lives before they hit the breaking point and do something crazy like NEVER COLOR AGAIN! (A common threat) This is where stickers come in handy. Completed worksheets are met with a sticker next to their name which in order to understand this incredible accomplishment, imagine making the final round of American Idol or becoming the next contestant on the Price is Right. It's seriously that exciting. 

Of course there is a 15 minute break between class 1 and 2 which allows them just enough time to get cream filled cookies as snacks that they will try to sneak into my no food allowed classroom by shoving them into their pockets or crushing them into their balled up hands later used to make fantastic chocolate handprint art on m

y clothes. It also appears to be a camp rule to drink just enough water that after "bathroom break" time is finished, they will immediately declare they need to go to the bathroom and yes, it's an emergency upon returning to class.

 Break is gloriously followed by music or theatre where they will sing along to music by Danny, the English learning wondermusician in theatre or refuse to play cool instruments like the tambourine because they only want to play the drum in music. My job is to help out their teachers with discipline issues and with my age level kids, participate to show them how much FUN "take a step forward, a step backward and bounce, up and down" can be. Whatever. At least I have a good time and learn a couple cool new songs about how "I like ice cream and don't like peas."

Sports and lunch AKA teacher salvation leave enough time to grade papers, plan out afternoon projects and breathe before round 2, class 3 at 3:00. Only one hour long, I usually try games and songs and the Walls Talk project. For week one, my walls did a lot of talking. Each kid drew their own body and then had to label the different body parts. If you aren't sure who is artistic at a young age, try this project. While Maria may not know english, she is an incredible artist. Jaime A on the other hand seems to think a paper bigger than his body should be left 75% blank with his body drawn at an uncomfortable angle. Maybe to hold the crown he believed necessary to 

place on his head. Ok so game time... there are so many great games but unfortunately, not only did I have the little kids, I also had the not so well behaved little kids. It took ALL my energy to separate the wrestlers, emphasize cartwheels are not allowed in class, tie Diego's shoes, bring poor little Jorge back to planet earth and stop the kids from stealing paper from my desk to make comecocos. Comecocos are what I know as cootie catchers where you try to pick the right color to end up with what is of course, destined to be a quality in your future. With these kids you are aiming for beautiful or queen rather than ugly or stupid...hint: they don't change location and the kids don't catch on. I got beautiful every time, weird. The other reason to steal paper from my desk would be (duh) to make airplanes. I guess since I never went to English camp, my brothers never got gifts of not just a regular paper airplane but an entire FLEET of multi-colored airplanes some of their lucky siblings have coming to them.

Bathroom break and water time repeat before the final class allowing just ample time to get dirty enough outside to perfume the room with the popular children's B.O scent. This is a long day in a class for 6 year olds and if I were them, I'd be stir crazy too so usually class 4 is mainly games. One great game I took from another teacher (thanks Kelly!) involves fly swatters and a blackboard. Well, it DID involve fly swatters until 5 minutes in, the fly swatter used for the previous session of camp without incident was violently broken on a quest to encounter the English word for "lapiz." The kids have teams and one person on each team must find the correct work on the board for the spanish word I say and hit it with the swatter first. The winning team of course wins a sticker on the sticker chart. SUPER competitive and fun for everyone except Sofia, who regardless of what team she is on always wants to be on the other one.

At five minutes to 5, everyone lines up in "una fila" that with my craaaazy English accent always seems to be mistaken for "everybody clump around the door and complain that you are first in line!!"

That end a normal day. Some fun not normal things that also happened during my time at camp; the theatre presentation day where only one of my kids fell off the stage, half refused to wear their paper plate necklace props, and about 5 kids correctly sang the words to our favorite song, "happy and you know it" in front of the camp. Also, movie day which EVERY class at camp loves because you miss class to watch a cool movie EXCEPT for my class where Lucia L claimed she was bored, Sofia preferred her "castigado" sitting outside of the movie room telling me she didn't care if she was punished, Ignacio (or sometimes when he's happy you can call him Nacho) came close to a breakdown when he discovered the Disney movie CARS would be (gasp!) played in english AT ENGLISH CAMP and Gema and the other Lucia L (it's Spain, 5 out of 10 kids have the same name) wanted to put pigtails in my hair which I was too tired to refuse even though I was made aware of a lice outbreak. Really. You don't like movie time? How do I end up with the alien kids? Oh well, the camp was well organized, the other teachers were awesome, and I made the money I needed to volunteer! 

I leave for Dublin, Ireland at 10:00 on Sunday night where I will be for 2 days before heading from there on my 36 hour trip to Uganda. I will keep you posted! :)

"You are doing WHAT!?" The explanation.

This post will (hopefully) provide a brief rundown of how I got to this moment and why I am heading to Uganda. I usually have a great memory when it comes to faces and stories I hear but the difficulty lies in placing what story went to whom. If you know me well, you have probably had more than one experience where I excitedly recant a "story I've heard" only to realize I am actually telling you YOUR story. Seriously this happens. I also have this problem when talking about my own experiences. I forget who knows what and again, MANY times I have had to apologize to somebody for failing to inform them of something kind-of significant like, "oh, I am moving to a foreign country" whereas somebody else has had the misfortune of hearing the same thing numerous times. "Oh my gosh I really love this one restaurant named 100 Montaditos. They have great food, it's cheap and...oh, I told you that already? 3 times? Oh. Well I really like it!" Thank you sufferers for your attentiveness to my 10-year old enthusiasm for small things like this.

So now I don't have to remember who I told what to. READ IT. Or don't. But here it is!

About a year and a half ago, I was working for Chrysler with no idea of exactly what I wanted to do other than that I had a huge passion for traveling due to previous short trips abroad. I also realized that during these trips, my favorite moments were ones where I learned about the people of the country and saw places that were not always considered tourist hot-spots. For example, while I was not able to spend a semester abroad due to basketball, I was extremely fortunate to visit Lebanon with my Uncle, cousin and some extended family after my senior year of college. That visit had a profound affect on me. I got to experience the real Lebanon. We did not stay in a hotel or hang out at the clubs in Beirut. We stayed in a small village which on the day we arrived, was in mourning over a young soldier killed in a helicopter crash. Of course they were happy to see us but they also were living their lives. I loved not receiving the fake reception smile or the brochure display to guide you on "what to see." I also remember driving (and driving is a kind word for what we did. Some of my extended Lebanese family sincerely believe they are of the same caliber as Dale Earnhardt.) through the towns seeing the different political banners and signs of strongly divided beliefs. One day we even had to leave early from a day trip visiting ancient ruins due to a firefight not too far away. Basically, I saw a beautiful country with incredible people whose suffering was still very apparent from their occupation by Syria 15 years before and their current struggle with Hezbollah. And most prominent in my mind was watching the news the week we returned and seeing the Beirut airport engulfed in flames. It had been bombed to bits. It really angered me. So many good people having to live their lives in fear and worry trying to survive. They are the same as Americans; hoping to improve the lives of the next generation but facing setback after setback. I knew then that I had a more specific desire than just traveling. I wanted to travel to see the REAL issues and areas of the world. I wanted to learn about why people and areas are they way they are today. That or be the next Indiana Jones. Jury is still out.

Another passion that probably helped in this pursuit is my love of history. I was the nerdy girl in school reading the "We Were There" series. For those of you who don't know these books (so basically probably anyone who reads this as incredibly, cool people will still hang out with me) it's a series of stories about different defining moments in history where they stick to factual events but fictionalize the account using little kids as the main characters. I don't think you will ever meet someone who wanted to be little Suzie tending wounds to the poor dying soldiers at Gettysburg more than me. (Is that the sound of "unfriending" via Facebook I hear?) 

Regardless of my odd childhood aspirations, I think everyone can understand a lot about the current economic/global turmoil if you know a little bit about the history behind it. It's amazing that as insane or incomprehensible as some "reporters" (read: television personalities) like to claim situations and groups of people are, if you understand the road leading to some desperate acts of today, you begin to see that awful as they are, they are not all acts designed by people who just don't like McDonald's or bikinis on the beach. A "Let's kill 'em" mentality will not solve the problem. I could go on forever about this...

Ok. So I started to realize in order to work overseas and get the opportunity to travel, it just miiight be beneficial to know a little bit of another language. Profound, I know. I just didn't know HOW to do it. That brought me to how I ended up in Spain. I originally planned to make a quick stop here to get TEFL certified (TEFL stands for Teaching English as a Foreign Language) and then head to China to do 6 months-1 year as a teacher absorbing the culture and picking up some Mandarin. However, I also realized how important spanish will be/already is in the U.S AND I was able to find work in the summer right away. So with that, Madrid, Spain became my new home. 

The photos: Camp #1 in Cartagena, Spain. My friend Daniel as a "teacher" last year at a summer camp. This photo is NOT doctored or set-up. This is a true action shot of these kids at their feeding time like sharks around fish guts. Waiting to get into Terra Mitica, a theme park, they noticed he had galletas (cookies) and literally swarmed him. He just put up his arm with the cookie and the kids acted like he had Miley Cyrus tickets in his hands.

The second photo is camp #2 in Leon, Spain. As teachers, this was part of our required attire when we took the kids on a main road to the craft center (read; Local bar...I'm not kidding.) To my right are 2 other teachers, Amy and Sara. Sara and I clearly have different opinions when it comes to camp uniform...

The experience teaching here has allowed me to add another thing to my list of jobs I believe everybody should experience at one time in their lives. Teaching kids. When I say teaching kids

I don't mean play with kids or babysit them. I mean, put them in a classroom with all their boogers, pockets stuffed with "secret snacks" and cooties and try to teach them something. Something is really generic. That is on purpose. Try to teach them anything, anything at all. The best part? Just for fun, add to the mix that you can't understand a word they say...and vice versa. This is how I started my life in Spain. 

This is not for the weak-hearted. If I was completely unconcerned about becoming a social pariah, I would go up to any teacher I saw for children ages 4-8, put my arm on theirs and say, "Bless You" and walk away. I have only decided against this because I manage to put myself in enough awkward situations as it is without planning them.

While this "work" thing took up most of my time in Spain, I can't complain as it was completely my choice. You can absolutely make a living as a teacher and live rather comfortably doing a lot less but I knew I wanted to do some volunteer work and this costs money. Again, through hours of research I was quickly frustrated to find how expensive it is to be a volunteer. I felt extremely skeptical and realized I was really going to have to investigate to find a company or opportunity that had the right intentions. I also made the decision I did not want to go with a group which had a religious or spiritual agenda. Nothing against this type of work, I actually have several family members who have done things like this. However, I felt it was important for me to have no agenda whatsoever other than to do what would best help already active operations. I will be a blip in these people's lives and so I wanted to contribute to sustainable and ongoing processes without trying to introduce my own. I think if someone comes in with an education and relatively speaking, a lot of money, people will tend to agree or support whatever endeavors are attempted regardless of the effectiveness or long-term feasibility.

This is where GVN, Global Volunteer Network entered my life. www.volunteer.org.nz -check it out! Right away, they stood out. This was the only company I saw with a security deposit they were willing to pay back in full should you choose to cancel. They had a very easy to navigate webpage and they are endorsed by one of the greatest philanthropists in the world, Bill Gates. BGates? I was hooked. I sent a few questions in an email and the next day got a response. I started to get more excited and got serious about looking at their programs. There were a few things I was looking for specifically. I knew I wanted to work with people and I also wanted to go somewhere different and difficult. A lot of people have raised a GREAT point about how there are countless opportunities to volunteer in my own neighborhood. Detroit area? Really? I don't know guys, rumor has it that it's America's secret paradise... RIGHT so to that voice of reason I say I completely agree. I think it's essential to be supportive of your community and I think it is no more or less important what you do if you are doing something. However, not many people have the time or ability to go far. Things like mortgages, car payments, pets, children, or pets you treat as children sometimes make it much more convenient and practical to help out only in the neighborhood and do something like coach a youth team or have a recycle day. Or, one I hold in high regard and wish more people volunteered to do; picking up the dog poop (or bowel movements if you are Kirk Goddard)  left on the sidewalks by bad owners. That is truly an act of valor, ugh. 

For me, I think I am in a unique position where with my background in teaching and my willingness to adjust with frequent changes, I can hopefully make a positive impact during my experience in Africa. I am not naive enough to believe my being there will solve the problems of Uganda or perhaps even make a dent...right away. I believe the important thing is to do everything and anything I can while I am there to help. More importantly will be educating myself and others on the situation and perhaps get some ideas on igniting and bringing about change. By relaying the information back to the incredible people who will (hopefully!!) have a greater interest, I think it will encourage others to become aware of issues outside of previous knowledge learned from watching Amazing Race or Survivor. (I am pretty sure there are no hidden immunity idols but I will definitely let you know) THAT will be the difference. And finally, I am confident my home city of Royal Oak and the city of Detroit will be able to drastically improve because of the incredible people inside their city limits. There are enough incredible people who care and will provide verbal and financial support to bring about positive change. Luckily for me, I even know some of these people personally who have already made some incredible efforts and have inpired me! However, I am not so sure about the Wasiki District in Uganda. There financial resources and educational access are severely limited. Somebody may need to give them a little help and that's where I hope to help!

To summarize if you don't feel like reading the whole post, I challenge you to find someone who does not come away with a feeling of self-worth or gratefulness after doing any type of volunteer work. I have honestly never met someone in my life who walks away thinking, "well that was a waste of time I could have spent with my Wii." I am going about the volunteer route perhaps a little differently but with the same objectives as the volunteer collective. I hope to help others, help myself,  and in turn, pull the whole 6-degrees of Kevin Bacon thing where I know somebody who knows somebody and good acts contribute to more good acts...Since that explanation was terrible, I am posting this video that shows exactly what I hope to be a part of but does it a lot better than my own words.

Yeah. It's awesome. 

You know we are still in "La Crisis" when...

After arriving back to Madrid on Saturday night, I was completely moved out of my apartment by 2:00pm Sunday afternoon and on a train to Valencia with the world's largest suitcase of clothes summing up my last year of life.

Before I get into the title of this blog, I have to describe the life of a Spaniard. Now everyday, just like in the U.S, there are huge articles in the paper about the poor economy. Although I don't watch it, I believe it is a safe assumption to believe it's an important topic on the T.V. People are REALLY hurting here and there is a lot problems especially in the construction business, previously Spain's lucrative sector. However, if you were a tourist that decided to only check out the night life in a major city or actually, ANY city at all, you would never know there was a crisis hitting the world. Tapas and beer are what Coke and pizza are to an American; when all else fails, you don't give that up. The streets are always crowded with people and life is good. Sights like these lead me to my reoccurring thoughts of, "how do they afford this? Where are they cutting back?" Well, I have found the answer.

Back to my trip to Valencia. I took the Renfe which is the longer distance train service out of Madrid.  I can't remember the last time I was on a long train ride and I really liked it. There is a restaurant in the train where you can go and read the paper, order food and drinks, and talk with other people at the bar, charming. Now everyone is likely familiar with the massive cuts made in air-transit i.e paying for your softdrinks and even perhaps the little pack of peanuts! And of course, the brilliant executive from I believe Ryannair who wants to have pay-to-use toilets. Right. Clearly crisis mode. Keeping this is mind, I found it absolutely amazing as well as a clear indication of our current situation when near the end of the trip having been provided nothing for free, I see a train attendant (uh is that correct, an attendant?) with a big smile coming up the aisle with a basket in his hand. Awesome. I am hoping its a bag of pretzels and literally everyone is awake and waiting in the cabin. I see him handing out small gray packets that MUST be a chocolate or a mint since they are so tiny. Oh if we were only so lucky. This man has the audacity to pass out A (please annunciate the singular "A") jellybean. A jellybean. One. In plastic wrap. I also think it is important to note that this was not a large bean NOR an exclusive brandname like JellyBelly. No this was A (again, please emphasize the "A" to get the full effect) generic brand jellybean. It had to cost more to package them than the actual making of the bean. I attached a picture just so you can see what the crisis has done to the poor public transit system of Spain. Clearly, they are in a tough spot.

Anyways, arriving in Valencia was great. Currently I am working as a basketball coach for children at an English camp. Suffice it to say, this is the most fun and easiest work I have had in well, forever! I love it and I get the weekends off! This is also a great way to save up for my trip because included in this job is free room and board. I don't make a lot of money but all the money I make essentially can go towards things I need like oh...life-saving vaccinations for myself (still need the rabies shot) and contributions to enhance the lives of the people I will be working with. I am thankfully able to spend a little time now organizing and reading ahead for what I will be doing/experiencing and all I can say is, I continue to feel so fortunate to have the things I do. Even more importantly, the supportive people! There is a really incredible video online passed along to me by several people and I want to attach it as well. It's about empowering one girl and the effects it can have on an entire village and maybe even a greater area. Girls have proven to be the most powerful agents of change in the developing world if given a chance to receive an education. If you have a few minutes, it is definitely worth watching!