Back in the C.A. of Nada

This will be my last blog post (unless something drastic happens and I find myself if the jungles of Honduras). I've come full circle and am happily back on Canadian soil.

Its been a good ride and I've enjoyed blogging about it along the way. When I started I had no idea I would end up where I did, or learn what I have.

I have no regrets.

I'm dying to see my friends and family back in Manitoba but now that I'm back in the developed world it's business before pleasure. I'm working on finding a job and setting down a few roots, or at least having an answer to the question "so what are you going to do now?" because I know so many of you are going to ask that question, and right now it's a question that sends chills down my spine.

But, I'm young and I'm charming and I have a million-dollar-smile so I'm sure it won't be long before I can answer that question with confidence; "I'm marketing director of a multi-million dollar organization," or "I'm selling ice caps at Tim Hortons," or maybe somewhere in between.

Thanks for all of your love and support.


Britt.

Meanwhile, In Nairobi...

Boy, am I ever jealous of my better half's exploits in NYC. The best I've come close to re: chocolate and opulence has been the jar of Nuteez (chocolate and peanut butter - a sad imitation of our beloved Nutella) hidden in my homestay house room... ok, perhaps that's not exactly accurate - since arriving in Kenya last week I have been fed quite well by my host family, the Oumas, gone on two or three "lunch meetings", visited the ICANN conference several times to avail myself of the free dainties and internet and attended a Kenya ICT board "meet and greet" Friday breakfast meeting... so all in all, not bad. And, by the way, Paul Ouma, my "dad", comes from the same tribal area as Barack Obama's father... NYC eat your heart out.

So what am i doing in Kenya? I am interning with Digital Opportunity Trust, a social entrepreneurship modeled NGO, helping with preparing for a new round of youth training, doing research in the country on our target youth segment and, generally speaking, assisting in DOT's mission of "building capacity". For those of you familiar with development-speak (and those who aren't) BC basically means helping someone help themselves (not bullcrap as I've heard some disgruntled aid workers refer to it in the past).

What is Kenya like? Not too sure yet. I am based in Nairobi and haven't yet had too much of a chance to see the rest of the country... when i do, you'll know. But, in the meantime, what can I say about Kenya? It's hot and sunny for starters. It's also a relatively young country - nearly 60% of its population is below the age of 30. It also hosts some of the greatest runner-athletes the world's ever seen. You can in fact see "the big five" here - but you might have to shell out the sometimes exorbitant amount to go on a Kenyan Safari to do so (I'm working on that one). The time of year best to go is during the migration... not now however as I've heard. Just my luck.

Here are some other interesting details:
- being a British colony, they drive on the right/wrong side of the street... I have almost been hit several times because I've looked the wrong/right way before crossing the street.
- Another colonial legacy, light swtiches. I always turn lights off when i want them to come on.
- for whatever reason the power goes off on Sunday in the morning and doesn't come back on till sometime in the afternoon... despite the government being able to pay, with its own money, to keep them running.
- one of the better ways to understand Africa is to divide it into regions - countries just don't quite describe it.
- the "violence of 2007" was really something unique and rare in the eyes of most Kenyans I've met... keep in mind you could very well call my experience of the country so far very "sheltered"... although visiting Kawangare definitely wasn't sheltered (think give money to help this starving child kind of aid commercial's backgrounds).
- there is a high probability you will get mugged and/or kidnapped depending on where you go, at what times and with whom... honestly, I feel pretty safe.
- Africa needs more sidewalks outside of the city centre areas... pronto.
- I miss Britt.

I hope you are all doing well. hopefully you've enjoyed the blog posts thus far. I know I have (britt's got some talent for writing doesn't she?). I promise to post more pictures soon... internet is not as readily available or as cheap as it is back home - right now I am "borrowing" the ICANN conference's free wireless.

That's it for now!

Asante!

Steve

I *insert stupid little heart symbol here* New York!

There is such a thing as heaven. I've seen it with my own two eyes.

Chocolate is served to you in unlimited quantities by cute buys in tuxedos. Wine from every grape is lined up for you to sample. Your own personal wait staff of beauticians, hairstylists and masseurs are lined up to wait on you and tell you how wonderful you are. Every one makes polite chit chat, eats and drinks, while a tiny girl in the corner strums the acoustic guitar and sings pretty little songs.

The other day my mother and I had the good fortune of stumbling upon the aforementioned place and it was all for free. Some sort of promotional even put on by Dove Chocolate. Chalk it up to fate, dumb luck, or just being in the right place at the right time. Whatever you call it, or however you see it, I know that deep inside you're burning with jealousy. I even got a free little feathered headband :P

Anyway, after my little visit to cloud nine, I suppose it's only right that I was subjected to the other end of the spectrum. I woke up bright and early for a Bikram class. I don't remember it being so hot, or so painful... I knew what I was getting myself into, I used to do that every day, and I used to look forward to it. Which makes me wonder, what was wrong with me? No, no, I still love it. I'm sure tomorrow won't be as bad... I hope.

I also saw the Statue of Liberty today. I liked her hat.

And the Award Goes to...

This is just a quick shout out to all those who have been reading our blog! Thanks for sticking with us even in spite of the lack of pics.

I'd also like to make a quick extra thanks to our number 1 fan who, if the record is correct, has commented on every single one of our posts... Marg in the Peg (aka My Mom)!!!

The sun is shining and it's getting above 20 degrees here in Nairobi. What's it like where you are?

Steve

Blogging in Kenya and Loving it!

Britt in New York. Steve in Kenya. Worlds apart. Yet still a couple connected. The post below originally comes from an email I just sent her earlier today. I share it with you now in place of writing something new - enjoy!

By the way, I "accidentally" included Britt's and my correspondence - it's not too revealing and shows you a side of couple-travel that doesn't usually come up in the guidebooks.

On Wed, Mar 4, 2010 at 11:01 AM, Steven Synyshyn <steven.synyshyn@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi,

What a girlfriend you are! Thank you for your email. Please know I take your feelings and thoughts very seriously when deciding something this big. I realize it’s only a month (not like a year or two), however it’s time away and that matters to me. I’ll do as you say and let you know how things turn out.

My “first day” was pretty packed. Started off with finding out that my stay will be better planned than I thought – DOT will likely pay my accommodations, mobile access to internet (i.e., USB modem) and for other necessary expenses including buying a SIM card for my phone. There’s a call happening later today where we will discuss in more depth the proposals I will be doing research for.

Right around lunch time I headed out with the Intern Support Manager (I’ll explain more what DOT does when we talk next I guess) for a graduation ceremony to Uplands, Kenya, one of the communities DOT has a partnership in. About 25 young people (late teen's to early 20s) had gone through a month-long training involving life skills (job searching, CV writing, marketing oneself) and developing business ideas (such as a salon and a computer technical college). Nearly 60% of Kenya’s population is under the age of 30 (or something like that). Just envisioning what that percentage translates into in people helps you understand why DOT has chosen to focus on young people.

In fact, the graduation was more of an experience than I bargained for. Without knowing it, I was included on the agenda under the “speeches” section. Yep. I can now say I have spoken at a graduation ceremony – something I’ve never done before. For your info, I had a quick one minute address which included two pieces of advice – don’t be afraid to fail and don’t hesitate to kick the proverbial “door” the rest of the way open (these two pieces were given to me at one of my graduations (three in total) so they seemed fitting and not overly disconnected from the context i was speaking in). After that, I was again surprised by being told I would be handing out several of the certificates. It felt strange and a little “why am I the one doing this?” but nevertheless good, in a way, to present a certificate to someone who has never received one before. Moreover, my presence there made me think that it might have really made it all seem more “real”. To have someone you've never seen before show up from an organization that made your training funded could have resonated... Likely you're rolling your eyes at this point, haha - just understand it was something different.

After a walk back to a waiting Mutatu, picking up a half-dozen bananas for 30 cents CAD along the way, I was transported back to Nairobi all the while surveying the slums that I passed by. To be honest, I wasn’t so much struck by the poverty and squalor as I was by my first reaction to all of it, “where do we start?” (as in where do we start rebuilding or building, should sanitation or infrastructure be the priority? and so on) There were a few moments there where I felt like committing to another 5 years in University to get a degree in urban (well, inasmuch as you can call slums “urban”) planning. However, a thought or two later and you realize this is the million dollar question in development we’ve been asking ourselves since setting up an organized, international effort to alleviate poverty. So where do we start? I’ll let you know if I figure it out before I leave here.

I promise not to get kidnapped. You promise too – New York isn’t exactly a walk in Nairobi’s beautiful National Park.

Take care. Talk soon.

Steve

From: Britt Novakowski [mailto:britt.novakowski@gmail.com]
Sent: March-03-10 7:03 AM
To: Steven Synyshyn
Subject: Re: Why?

Steve you're probably only going to be in Kenya once and this is something that's really important to you and that you've commited a lot of time and energy towards. If you think you're going to get a lot more out of being there for two months and that it's improtant for you to stay that long, and if it's okay with Grant and the people in Ottawa... then I'll know you're making the right decision if you choose to stay and I'll support that decision.

I anything but love the idea of being away from you for so long, but it will give me a bit more time to figure out what I'm doing as well.

Give it some serious thought (and maybe a few more days), talk about it with DOT and Grant and let me know when you're relatively certain that you've made a decision.

Okay?

In th mean time, do your best to stay unkidnapped.

On Wed, Mar 3, 2010 at 10:01 AM, Steven Synyshyn <steven.synyshyn@gmail.com> wrote:

I just read your email from Kenya. You’re my first reply. Love you.

How mad would you be if I stayed here for two months?

Steve

From: Britt Novakowski [mailto:britt.novakowski@gmail.com]
Sent: March-02-10 9:23 AM
To: Steven Synyshyn
Subject: Re: Why?

You're reading this from KENYA!!!!

I miss you. I made myself take the stairs last night after you left so that I would be too winded to cry. Drinking coffee this morning without you wasn't fun at all. You'll be happy to find out, as was I, that men here don't hassle me as much when you aren't around. Either that or I'm just having an ugly day... I don't think so though. I showered this morning and I'm wearing clean clothes. Maybe it's national "don't bother the blondes" day.

I want you to know that I'm okay and that I'm proud of you.

From your text it sounds like everything is going to work out really well with the DOT people. Having a homestay arranged for you will make things so much easier, and potntially save you money (?).

Still no idea what I'm doing so I guess you'll have to wait for tomorrow's email to find out about that one.

Have fun, be safe and make sure you tell everyone how wonderful your girlfriend is.

Love,

Britt (les)

I meant New Delhi not New York!

The copious amounts of unwanted male attention I'd been reciveing lately was wearing me down. Tiredly, and somewhat desprately, I scoured the internet for seat sales that would take me as far away from Egyptian mariage proposals as I could get.

click, click, click, Autsralia. Too expensive.

click, click, click, London. Been there.

click, click, click, New York. Hmmm.... click, click, whoops!

Where the "confirm book now" page was supposed to be, it wasn't and with one click too many I was scheduled to leave for New York in forty eight hours time.

I was strongly leaning towards India and had been eyeing flights to New Delhi and in contact with several Ashrams in Goa before the fatal click, but now that I'm scheduled for New York, I'm not at all sad that I won't be paying my respects to the Dalai Lama (at least not on this trip).

Steve sends his regards for Kenya where he has arrived safely. DOT has set him up with a homestay complete with maid service and cook. Lucky boy. He's already considering extending his stay for an extra month. If had someone to cook for me and clean up after me, I probably would want to stay loger too.

More importantly, he has not been kidnapped and promises to post a picture of a hippo soon.