January 29, 2011- Some were in mild shock and others triumphant, but over a dozen people braved the grasp of old man winter and took to the icy cold waters of the Trent River in Campbellford this past Saturday. The 19th Annual Polar Plunge helped to raise money to assist in covering the cost of new hospital equipment.

Inside out

Some photos takin' out the window of different vehicles

One thing that is for certain is that we spent a nice chunk of time sitting in some sort of transportation. Bus, car, taxi, truck, plane... everything but a boat. Here's a little look out at some of what I saw as I passed on through.

I visited several Mosques in the Khan el-khalili market, downtown Cairo. They were as visually appealing as they were a treat to the ears. Sitting on the floor, eyes closed, you could feel the energy of the rooms. Men and women separated, head covered in respect and shoes left at the door. I could have done it all night. Feelings of peace and ease.

Hello Cairo

I have been mulling over in my head now for a while just how I'm going to blog about my trip. People keep asking what was my favorite, and it's difficult to answer because I enjoyed so much for so many different reasons. From portraits along dusty roads to camels along sand dunes, mango lassies on cushions alongside the red sea, to nights under the starlit sky. It was the perfect little get away and allowed me a lot of time to think, even in the hectic scatter of 35 million people and 8 hour bus rides into the dark.

After many long hours snowed into airports and a few hours of Polish Żubrówka, a delicious herb flavored vodka made from bison grass, we were in Cairo. A half dozen years to the exact date, and I was back in Africa again. Completely different Africa in a lot of ways but yet it carried so much of the same vibe. I liked it.


My first observations were that Cairo = craziness.

With an estimated 25 million and an additional 9 million that commute in each day, the place was pretty sogged, especially the roads downtown in late afternoon. You can expect to wait quite awhile, and did we ever. A lot of my first taste was spent in a car/bus commuting, it's not an easy place to maneuver and you can forget about any sort of road rules. If there's a free space you fill it otherwise you're fuckin' things up, and if you have a horn, for some reason you need to continually lay on it.

Advertisements are everywhere, tons of bazaars all sell virtually the same thing and each rip you off by at least 50%, but the bargaining is super fun! Brightly colored materials hang to dry from high-rise balconies and fresh, clean looking buildings are scattered among the rubble and half built dreams of the city.  People live stacked upon each other, with half started/finished structures that make the already decaying buildings look like unwelcoming pin cushions. In most places the smog hung thick, an unhealthy spew over vibrant and breathtaking ancient landscapes.

There's people everywhere and everywhere there's people trying' to sell you something (or marry you.) Kids are brilliant little entrepreneurs, some wild some mimic various accents in their English, and so many of them good with a camera! The people were friendly and although a lot of things were left unspoken, it was perfectly OK. Aside from that, I noticed mosques towered and were magnificent in design, monstrous over the debris around them, I had the best rice pudding I’ve ever tasted in my life and women were far from a majority. I could have Bedouin tea and baklava for breakfast every day and am not at all opposed to bug nets or bug bites.

Oh and satellite dishes – I'm pretty sure everyone has one.

Enjoy my take on Egypt.

 

So, on December 11th I hopped on a plane and headed to Germany for a few days before departing for Egypt. It was nice to drink in some Christmas spirit. This is one of the many Christmas Markets in Berlin. The roasted hot nuts and gluhwein sold it for me!

BELLEVILLE, ON (20/01/11) - John Milloy, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, visits Loyalist College to discuss a recent announcement of changes to the Ontario Student Assistance Plan.


So this was my 'breaking news' assignment. Four shooters were sent to cover this little conference when a couple of Government officials swung by the school. Another photo from the hallway was used as it was clearly more news-ish. I found his facial expressions and inability to sit still quite amusing and used the time to try and get him looking awkward.
Accomplished.

BELLEVILLE, ON (19/01/11) (TOP) Loyalist Lancer's Power, Joanne Laton, serves the ball in the second set.
(BELOW) Leighann Bishop (14) and Averil Luck (3), jump for the block during the second set of Wednesday night's game. The Lancers won the match 3-0.

Well, after almost six weeks of being out of North America, I am back. With school only hours after having landed, culture shock in full swing and jet-legged like a mother... this was a nice ease back assignment. This semester we work on the schools online paper and this shoot was for the sports page. Tomorrow, politicians. Welcome back.