I'm back!

After a lengthy break from my travel blog, I decided to come back for my upcoming journey to Nicaragua and Guatemala. I will be traveling there to work with Medical Teams International on a trip supporting dental services to rural areas in the northern part of Nicaragua. I will be mostly translating for the dental team, but I will also clean some teeth I hope!

Stay tuned!

Aloha from Oahu.

Wrapping up...

Hello from Corvallis.

I cannot believe all the great adventures and experiences that happened this summer have finally come to a close. It had been a dream to go to Tanzania for me for so many years, and actually going there to not only help others, but to go on Safari is one of the experiences I will not forget.

I am excited to use my research from my Tanzanian trip to continue to expand the sewing program and also to share my story with as many people who are willing to listen. I have posted the rest of my pictures on facebook, so comment away!

I have been so blessed with everything and I can't wait to travel again. Keep posted here for more travel stories

Cheers,

Stephen

Hello from Tanzania!

Hello all,

First of all, Tanzania has been one of the most incredible and different experiences of my entire life. It has opened my eyes to how most the world lives. I am in good physical health, and I have one more day until I go on Safari!

Don, Jenny, Carol and I have been traveling to local markets and micro-enterprises to research how business functions here. We have visited the country-side, local markets, and have met many many "Rafiki" who have introduced themselves as "Jambo Mzungu!" It is amazing to see the culture mixing between European influence, tribal influence, and pan-African influence.

It is hard to put into words what I have experienced here in Tanzania. I cannot wait to come home and show pictures to everybody. Our project research is progressing well, and we will have lots of time to digest what we have seen while we are on Safari.

I miss you all, and I look forward to seeing everyone when I come home this September.

Peace and love!

Stephen

It may be awhile...

It may be a few weeks before I write in this again...

Italy has been amazing, but my feet hurt so much from walking. I have massive blisters, but I have met some awesome people here and now I have some new facebook friends!

Amsterdam is my next stop tomorrow, but their internet is about 6€ per hour...then internet in Tanzania can be come and go so I will update again when I can.

I will see everyone in Oregon VERY soon :-)

-Stephen

Update!

Update from Italy...

I am sitting here in the most active and social hostel in the world in Florence, Italy. Rome was AMAZING and I saw everything. The highlights were the Pantheon, the Vatican, the Forum and all of Ancient Rome, and going to a small part of Malta in downtown. I met lots of cool people and went on a pub crawl and had a great time practicing my spanish, german, and even french! How crazy...

So now in Florence, I walked so much that I blistered my feet...but it was worth it, this place is totally awesome! I am going to the Cinque Terre tomorrow for some swimming, eating and just overall intake of the natural beauty of the place. After that, I am going to meet with some friends in Rimini then go to San Marino!

Then Amsterdam

Then TAZANIA!!!!!!

w00t,

Stephen

Auf Wiedersehen Deutschland

Danke für viele großen sachen...

Tomorrow morning at 11am, I will leave Germany for an amazing Italian holiday in Rome (Aug 12-13,) Florence (14th,) Cinque Terre (15th,) Pisa (15th,) Bologna (16th,) Rimini (16th) and San Marino (16th.) I will be leaving one of my favorite places in the world, with no plans on returning any time soon.

I always knew after my past trips to Europe that I would always go back to Germany, at least for a few weeks. It is weird thinking that I have no solid plans to return. As my life permits less traveling, it will be harder to come back and live like I am now in this place. I have met so many amazing people and I will miss them all.

Thank you Germany for everything. Bis Bald.

PS, Venice was amazing, please check facebook for pictures! I walked around, met some cool people, paid too much for food, saw some amazing colors on churches and with the sunlight on the water, and of course went on a Gondola ride...

The links to my facebook pictures are in the previous post...

I will be away from the internet while I am in Italy. I will try to answer emails when I get the chance to, but it is possible that you will not hear from me until Sept. 2nd when I am back from Africa in the USA. My time in Italy ends on Aug. 17th when I fly to Amsterdam, then I fly on the 19th to Arusha, Tanzania via Kilimanjaro International Airport. 5 days of work, 6 days of Safari, then 2 days of wrap-up in Africa will put me back in the US on the 2nd...That's if I survive the 20 hours of travel on the way home :-)

Much love,
Stephen

On the road again!

Hey all,

I will be away from the internet from Thursday morning until Sunday evening. I might go to an internet cafe while I am away...so leave me comments here, on facebook or via email (stephenmhodges@gmail.com)

During this time, I will be first traveling to Lichtenstein for an afternoon...then to Venice. I will spent Friday-Sunday in Venice exploring and relaxing. It should be nice weather and we have a native Italian going with us...so we are bound to not die! We get to take the CLS the whole way through some nice Swiss roads, and I get to drive too :-)

Venice is going to be great! After Venice, I come back to Karlsruhe for Sunday night and Monday; then leave Tuesday morning for Rome...

I get to see some friends who are coming to visit me before I leave Germany for good. It is strange knowing I have no future plans to come back (at least for a few years.) For the past 3 years I have always known I was going to be in Germany soon. Now that I am leaving, I am not sure when I will be coming back here to see my friends I have met here. The hardest part about this whole trip is saying goodbye to all my coworkers and friends I have met. Its awesome to meet people and revisit them, even if you only get to meet them a few times, but it is always hard to say "see you later this decade." Germany has been a very good place to me, and Karlsruhe finally feels like home. I know the streets, where good bars are, where to eat, etc.

Germany, I think you are amazing. I will miss you.

I miss my friends in Oregon too. But Germany will always have a special place in my heart.

Auf Wiedersehen,

Stephen

PS For photos, here are the links to my facebook albums. You do not need an account to view them:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2139238&l=f1902&id=19711067

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2134545&l=369e8&id=19711067