To Roam the Roads of Lands Remote: Culture

Showing posts with label Culture. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Visiting Kenyan Dignitaries

In 2010, the country of Kenya (eastern Africa) wrote a new constitution to restructure its government for the sake of efficiency. Despite Swahili and English as common economic and political languages, this country of 580,367 square kilometers experiences significant cultural, ethnic, and linguistic diversity. Since gaining independence from the United Kingdom in 1963, Kenya has experienced less cultural conflict than many other African countries. Yet, a country with such diversity of peoples often had difficulty of fully meeting the needs of such a diverse population. Thus, the new constitution created a system of federalism (similar to the United States) in which the national government would share power and responsibilities with 47 county governments (comparable to the 50 U.S. states).

With not having had a background in federalism, various international leaders, including my friend Jerry Regier, have been invited by the Kenyan government to lead seminars the political ethics involved within democratic federalism. Kenyan leaders have also made a variety of study tours within the United States. One such study tour has brought a delegation of Kenyan Governors to Oklahoma.

Tonight, I had the opportunity attend a reception held at Express Ranch (home of Bob Funk) and sponsored by Water4 in honor of this Kenyan delegation. It was an honor to meet:

Wycliffe Oparanya Ambesta, Governor of Kakamega

Peter Munya, Governor of Meru

Mohamad Ahmed Abdulahi, Governor of Wajir

Joshua Irungu Wakahora, Governor of Laikipia

Rutto Isaac Kiprono, Governor of Bomet

Johnathan Mueke, Deputy Governor of Nairobi

Evelyne Aruasa, Deputy Governor of Narok

and their associates holding other governmental offices

This delegation arrived Sunday evening. They then spent Monday touring agricultural sights and the Water4 production facilities. Today they met with several Oklahoma government officials at the Capitol and will meet with others, including Lt. Governor Todd Lamb, tomorrow. Jerry Regier has facilitated their visit to Oklahoma and is already planning a return trip to Kenya in hopes of taking some other Oklahoma leaders with him.

Personally, it was great to visit in-depth with a couple of these delegates and share my own experiences of having visited Kenya in 2001 and 2002. I've been invited back...so perhaps that can happen sooner than later.

pavilion at Express Ranch

His Excellency Wycliffe Oparanya Ambetsa,
Governor of Kakamega & Delegation Head,
presents formal greetings on behalf of the delegations

Friday, July 26, 2013

Chichen Itza, not Chicken Pizza

Every time I head the name of the Mayan city of Chichen Itza my mind kept thinking about Chicken Pizza and I'd get hungry...anyway...

Built earlier than the coastal city of Tulum, Chichen Itza is another prominent Mayan city. Its central location allowed it to become one of the most significant economic, political, and religious centers within the height of the Mayan civilization/empire. Artifacts founded within the complex indicate an extensive trade network encompassing most of Central America (not simply eastern Mexico).

map of Chichen Itza from its wikipedia.org page

Castillo

Platforma de Venus

top of stairs at Plataforma de Venus

Cenote Segrado (alleged location of human sacrifices)

Templo de los Guerreros

idol at top of stairs in Templo de los Guerreros

Columnata Oeste

blocked tunnel at Columnata Norte

Mercado

side wall of Plataforma Aguilas y Tigres

Juego de Pelota

Chichen Itza (not Chicken Pizza)

Tulum in Full Bloom

Tulum, located just south of Cancun and the Riviera Maya, is a pre-Colombian walled city from the Maya civilization. It's coastal location made it an ideal location for both land and sea based trade within the larger Yucatan Peninsula, especially for obsidian (volcanic glass or "lava rock"). It is believed, based upon murals and structures at the site, that Tulum was a central location for the worship of the Mayan "Diving" or Descending God.

map of Tulum from its wikipedia.org page

north west gate

the surrounding wall

Temple of the Frescos

the main (west) gate

El Castillo

the Great Platform

turtle egg nests

north east gate

stairs to the beach

view of the Caribbean Sea

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Wheels Up, Yes Again

I'm currently sitting in the Dallas/Ft. Worth Airport waiting with my friends Liz and Jack for our flight to Cancun. We'll be meeting up with Jack' sister and brother-in-law (great people!!!) and a friend of theirs. We began talking about this trip back in the Fall and made it official in January when we bought the tickets. This was all before I even applied for the Korea trip; I'm super glad that both were able to be worked out.

I'm sure I'll post news of my adventures, along with pictures, especially when we go to see the Mayan ruins...yes I want to absorb some culture and history along side the sunshine's rays.

Previously may only adventure to Mexico was when I was a child (single digits age) when my family took a Spring Break trip through southern Texas. One afternoon we did cross the border at Brownsville, TX and explored a little bit of Matamoros. While I remember my father haggling with the market venders to get my poncho (still have) and my donkey piñata (fell about years ago), I don't remember much else abut that experience. While I know this visit will be ENTIRELY different, it is nice to be returning to the land of our southern neighbor.

I hope this proves to be another fruitful time of roaming the roads of lands remote!!

Monday, July 15, 2013

Food, Glorious Food

Here are some images of the various foods I enjoyed (or at least tasted) while in Korea. In all honesty, while there were some dishes that I'd rather never have again most of the foods I ate I did truly enjoy.

Tuesday, June 25, 2013