I Moved to Africa

How to Help Japan's Earthquake & Tsunami Victims

2011-03-23T18:18:00.001-04:00

If you want to help survivors in the aftermath of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, please consider giving locally.

A friend and fellow blogsherpa from Lonley Planet, Todd of Todds Wanderings, has put together a list of local Japanese organizations who are trustworthy, have English donation pages and are on the ground working right now. His list also includes globally known organizations like Oxfam and Habitat for Humanity.

Please vist Todd's page here and donate as you see fit...or pass it on to friends who may also be interested in giving even a small donation.

The Japanese people are facing a terrible crises, thanks in advance for any help you can afford.

Bret
& Todd

http://toddswanderings.com

Tear Gas & Corruption in Gabon?

2011-02-09T20:22:00.001-05:00

I have been out of Gabon for some time and I was just catching up on some recent news...

Police Use Tear Gas to Break up Gabon Protest
Gabon Opposition Leader Seeks UN Refuge

What? Are you kidding me???

Apparently, the man who placed 3rd in the 2009 Presidential election in Gabon, Andre Mba Obame, declared himself to be the "true" president of Gabon. He even announced a new cabinet. He did this on January 26, 2011, a year and 1/2 after Presidential elections.

Wait a minute, what/how?

He made the announcement from his privately owned TV station, after which he proceded to the UN for refuge. It has been reported that Mba Obame's intentions have been inspired by recent events in Tunisia and the Ivory Coast. Tunsia's President was recently ousted and the UN is currently guarding the internationally recognised president of Ivory Coast, Alassane Ouattara, whose rivals have refused to cede power after contentious elections.

The Gabonese elections in 2009 were under much scrutiny due to assumptions of corruption and rigging. This was further exacerbated by the fact that the current President, Ali Bongo Odimba succeeded his father, Omar Bongo, who ran the country for 42 years.

The results of the election were as follows:
Ali Bongo 41.79%
Pierre Mamboundou 25.66%
Andre Mba Obame 25.33%

Mba Obame had always claimed that he had lost the election due to rigging at the ballots. However, the elections had been monitored by international observers, including us at the US Embassy.

Here are my personal observations...

Was there ballot rigging? No. Is there political corruption? Yes, of course there is. Corruption exists at various levels in ALL countries, including western democracies.

After speaking with locals regarding the election in Aug 2009, it was apparent that all parties were out on the street buying votes; including Mba Obame's party. I don't think it would have made a difference, but clearly he didn't buy enough, or didn't have the prescience to combine his efforts with the 3rd political party.

Ali Bongo has already received broad international recognition as the President of Gabon and he has made a tremendous effort to clean up corruption.

During the election, I was cynical of the hundreds of posters and billboards advertising his campaign, but after the election, messaging on those same billboards were immediately changed to a note of thank you and a promise of change...I was very impressed.

After a few months in office, President Bongo cut the # of ministers in half. The assignment of ministries is an African syndrome. It's a simple way of rewarding supporters and appeasing opposition by "spreading the wealth", doleing out opportunities for power and a piece of the pie.

In the spirit of transparency, President Bongo also had the civil service audited. There was rumor that 3000 salaried "employees" were eliminated from the system since they had actually passed away years ago, b ut were still being paid.

He also continues to make in roads towards diversifying the economy and I applaud all of his efforts.

Mba Obame is apparently under investigation for violating the countries consititution and commiting acts of high treason...and of course his TV station is no longer broadcasting.

Spooky Stories

2010-10-22T09:30:00.000-04:00

Attached is another blog carnival by the Lonely Planet blogsherpas. This Carnival, Spooky Stories, is being hosted by Joe Tuck at Hello Pineapple.

Joe has gathered spooky, frightening and bone-chilling stories from blogsherpa's around the world...please click throuh the link have have soome fun.

My African Spider

2010-09-05T16:05:00.000-04:00

Are you afraid of spiders? I am...especially big, giant ones...here is my African spider story.

I was 'cat-sitting' for a friend on the embassy compound in Libreville. Her cat is small and fast, so it was important to enter/exit the apartment quickly in order to prevent her from running out. On the first day, when leaving the apt and locking the door, I noticed a large black spider to the left of the front door. I mean it was huge...it stood as large as a tennis ball...and it wasn't moving. Maybe I surprised it? I didn't notice it when I went in, but I was fumbling with the keys. Eeeww.

The next morning, there it was again. It was in the same area and I was looking around for a stick or something to poke it. It wasn't moving and I wanted to shoo it away. No such luck. When I left, sure enough, it was just standing there large and still. My friends' townhouse is not far from the front gate, so I decided to ask the local guard if he knew what kind of spider it was.

He came over to check it out with his boots on. I mention this because I wear flip flops and there is no way I am getting too close to that thing, it's so damn big. The guard slowly walks up to it. He bends down for a closer look and slowly puts his finger down towards it. He pokes at it. I am thinking, what is the RSO's (Regional Security Officer) number? This guard is going to get bit by some large poisonous spider and I am going to have to call for help. The guard picks up the spider to show it to me with a big smile on his face.

The townhouse next store is actually home to the RSO and his wife. They have two children and one of them is a four year old boy who likes plastic bugs. I was afraid of a plastic bug for two days.

Internet Connections

2010-08-21T11:17:00.000-04:00

It's time for another Lonely Planet blogsherpa carnival, this one hosted by Jason at Alpaca Suitcase. The carnival goes live on August 25th and the subject this time is fellow travelers' experiences with Internet Connections. The following is my submission from Libreville, Gabon on the west coast of Africa.

As someone who grew up in New York City, a decent internet connection is something you take for granted. If you're not paying for a high speed, broadband connection through your cable provider, you are "borrowing" one from your neighbor. Otherwise, you can just walk up the block to the Starbuck's or the Barnes & Noble...even Central Park was outfitted with free wi-fi before the recession. This is simply not the case in Libreville.

Internet access was achieved via two options, satellite or through the phone "system", there is no cable in Gabon. Satellite was certainly the least expensive, but since the connection is weak and greatly affected by the weather, a better option would have been to use a box of old newspapers and magazines for search and two tins cans and some string for email.

Achieving internet access through the phone lines was the best option. It worked 65% of the time and the connection was fast enough to bring up most websites. Although, if you wanted to view that 3 minute video that your friends were sending around, it could take 45 minutes to download. Of course, if you lost the connection in the middle, you would have to start the download all over again.

Electricity was another challenge. The U.S. Embassy compound where I lived had a large generator system. Whenever the electricity went out, which could be frequent, the generator would take less than 2 seconds to kick in. Of course, since our internet provider did not have a generator, the fact that our lights and A/C kept running had nothing to do with maintaining an internet connection...back to the tins cans and some string.

Everyone talks about how wonderful skype is, especially when traveling. Those people have never been to Gabon. The one time that I was able to connect, with both voice and video, the time delay was more than 4 minutes. Try talking to your parents with a 4 minute delay...not so wonderful.

Despite my complaining about the connection in Libreville, I was able to keep contact with friends at home, do research for work and maintain this blog. I suppose it's just like anything else, it takes a little getting used to.

Please visit Alpaca Suitcase on August 25th to check out all of the entries for the Lonely Planet blogsherpa Carnival, Internet Connections. Thanks

Summer in NYC, Fire Island

2010-08-03T11:26:00.000-04:00

I spent this weekend in Ocean Beach on Fire Island with a friend and his family. I forgot how much I love this place. There was a little drama, but I'll save that for the end, first an introduction...

Fire Island is about one hour outside of the city, followed by a 20 minute ferry ride to one of several villages on the island. Ocean Beach is the main village, which hosts more restaurants, bars and stores than any of the others.

Outside of a few full time residents, there are no cars on the island. You walk or bike and everyone lugs their stuff around in little red wagons. The island is 26 miles long, but less than 3 city blocks wide, with the ocean on one side and the bay on the other. This means that every home is really just a few steps from the water. The majority of the homes are small and cottage-like, close together and line broad sidewalks that go from bay to beach. There are no "streets".

A Fire Island distinction, one which I haven't noticed in any of the other beach communities that I may have visited, is the outdoor shower. Every home has one on their deck, surrounded by a wooden privacy screen. I suppose it was planned that way, to dissuade all of the sand from entering your house, but it is a distinction that is universally unique to Fire Island. I wonder why every beach house doesn't have one; rain or shine it's a wonderful experience.

The island is pleasantly casual. Since there are no cars, and you barely wear shoes, it is wonderfully difficult for anyone to be pretentious. It's all about the beach...and maybe a few cocktails.

Fire Island is not really set up for a day visit, most people rent a house for days, weeks or months. In Ocean Beach, there are a few small hotels with minimal services.

I have heard rumor of certain people complaining that there is not enough to do on Fire Island. These people just don't get it, all you need is a decent beach chair and a smile.

The Drama
Unfortunately, whenever I travel it incorporates a little drama.

I woke up on Saturday excited for the day. I was still tired, so I fell back into bed...unfortunately landing on the edge of the window sill and putting a 2 inch gash in the back of my head. Whoever told me that head injuries can produce a lot of blood wasn't lying. My friend said it looked like a crime scene.

They called the police. You could hear the alarm, which signifies that the volunteer paramedics should check in with the dispatcher. I had one alarm. When you hear 4 alarms, that's a real problem.

They bandaged me up, but insisted that I go to the hospital to get stitches to protect against any infection. I agreed. Now I'm packed into a local ambulance and they take me to the dock. At the dock, a police boat is waiting, along with a very large crowd of onlookers, to take me across the bay. Of course I feel foolish, but it's a nice ride and the normal 20-30 minute ferry ride is cut down to 7 minutes. On the other side, another ambulance is waiting to take me to a local hospital. A short ride and I'm admitted through emergency. Now I'm repeating my story for the 4th time, ugh. A few hours in the hospital, they do a cat scan and use 4 staples to close my gash. Everything is OK. I just wish I had my camera.

I stayed Monday to make up for the lost beach time.

Much love and thanks to my friends and their family. It was a great weekend, drama and all.

Paying the Bills

2010-07-25T10:57:00.000-04:00

Hi, if you follow my blog or visit often, you may have noticed the inclusion of AdSense on my blog. Adsense incorporates ads, hopefully targeted to my subject matter or your recent searches. If the advertising inclusion upsets you, I apologize, but someone has to pay the bills : ) If you see something that may interest you, please click through when appropriate...again, someone has to pay the bills : )

I hope you keep following my blog, I have many more stories & experiences to share.

Thanks, Bret

Advertising in Gabon

2010-07-18T13:31:00.000-04:00

When I think back on my last year living in Gabon on the west coast of Africa, I wonder if I am in fact crazy. Not crazy for spending a year in a country I never heard of before, but about wanting to get back into my chosen career.

Now that I'm back in NYC, I am attempting to re-enter the workforce based on my experience as a media/marketing/advertising executive. It's what I've done for most of my career and I'm proud of some of the work that I've done.

While I was teaching English to Gabonese military personnel, some of the students wanted to know what I did back home. A discussion ensued and the subject of advertising came up. It has been the focus of my career for almost 20 years and they didn't understand what I was talking about. You do what, I don't understand?

Here in the US, we are overrun by messaging. In many ways, advertising shapes our culture.

In Gabon, advertising doesn't really exist. There are no commercials on local TV; none of the radio stations that I listened to had advertising, no magazines. The products people use are not necessarily based on choice, but on what's available...and of course affordability. Selection can be extremely limited. The two categories with the largest selection by far were beer and wine
Branding and signage was almost non existent in Gabon. Signs for local stores, bars and restaurants were very small, insignificant by US standards and easily blocked by foliage.

During the time that I lived in Sabliere, an upscale neighborhood in Libreville, two small beach front hotels went up. You didn't know they existed because there were no signs...no branding or advertising of any kind. I assume one of the hotels had a name, because it appeared to be open for business and two of my friends went there for drinks. How did they know about it? Someone told them about it. They said it was very nice, but they didn't know the name : )

The only "real"ads are on billboards along the boulevard. This was the one association that the English class understood...ah you do those billboards...why?

Most Expensive Cities to Live In 2010, Libreville # 13

2010-06-27T18:59:00.000-04:00

According to a recent survey by ECA International, which looks at the price of various items (rice, beer, lunch, etc.) compared to the US dollar, Libreville, Gabon comes in at #13; down a notch from 2009 when it was the 12th most expensive city to live in.

Interestingly, four of the top 20 most expensive cities are on the African continent:
# 3 Luanda, Angola
# 13 Libreville, Gabon
#17 Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire
# 19 Abuja, Nigeria

For comparison, Tokyo is # 1, Paris is #19 and NYC # 29. Think about all of the people on the contintent who can't afford $22 for lunch.

**as reported by Bloomberg/Businessweek

Rubber Stamp: My "Run-in" at the Airport Part 2

2010-06-18T10:53:00.000-04:00

Thanks for coming back…here is the 2nd half of the story. If you missed part 1, you can read it here.

These posts are contributing to another blog carnival by Lonely Planet Blogsherpa’s. The carnival is being hosted by GingerBeruit and her theme is Rubber Stamp – travelers’ stories of border crossings, passport nightmares, run-ins with the police, etc. The carnival goes live June 21.

When I left off in Part 1, I had “run-in” to the airport in Gabon and then I was being hassled by some punks in the parking lot.
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I was nervous and I was concentrating on avoiding further hassle. There is no one around and now I’m going to have to stop and deal with the toll gate.

Part 2

I stepped on the gas as I made a quick left hand turn towards the gate…the next thing I know, I am not in control. It is like a slow motion dream. I can hear the rev of the engine and the squeal of tires. There is a metal scrunching sound and I must have hit the brakes. When I come out of the dream, the front of the car is now up on top of those metal poles that stick out of the ground, several feet in the air. Pointing into the night sky. I thought I was screwed before, now I am totally f*&$’d.

I am in shock. What the hell did I just do? If I go forward, I will impale the car on the poles. If I reverse, I will rip the front of the car off. I want to leave my body and scream at myself…and it’s not my car. I also have a flight to catch.

Moments ago I felt completely alone, now that I’ve done something completely stupid, there is a crowd. Included in the crowd are several security guards from the airport…where the heck were you guys a few minutes ago? As far as the few punks who started this nightmare, they are mixed in the crowd and I can’t tell who is who.

Since I am part of the embassy community, I call our Regional Security Officer, Tom and attempt to explain what happened. He is on his way. I know the drill. Stay in the car, don’t go with the police if they come. How am I going to deal with this? I also call the general services officer to se if we have connections to someone with a towtruck. We don’t, but he’ll see what he can do.

Tom arrives and of course he can’t believe what he sees. The Gendarme also arrived and neither could they. After some discussion, they decide they need to take me in. Once you get taken in, you run the chance of never getting out. Court only convenes three or four times a year. Judges hear cases for a few weeks and then they go on hiatus again until the next time. I have heard stories from locals of cases never ever coming to trial. A life sentence for petty larceny.

Tom is cool, confident and adamant, “absolutely not, he is not going anywhere. He is a diplomat, it’s against the Geneva convention, that is not happening”. Music to my ears.

During this discussion, more people are gathering and one guy is organizing everyone to lift the front of the SUV off of the poles. Ten or fifteen people surround the front of the vehicle. I get in and put it in neutral. They literally lift the front of the car off of the poles and place it down on the ground. I am relieved and ecstatic and passing out $10,000 CFA notes to all who participated. It feels like a 4000lb SUV was just lifted off of my shoulders. Merci, merci.

The Gendarmes could care less. They wave everybody off, they just want to take me in. One of our locally employed expeditors, Saibo, is now on the scene. Saibo spends much of his time at the airport expediting US staff and packages. He definitely knows the inns and outs of the airport. Tom gives the Gendarmes the bit again about the Geneva convention, its against the convention to contain a diplomat and since we’ve been with them so long he considers it containment. Now they want my paperwork. Tom takes my license and registration. He tells them that “he” will hold my paperwork. I will go back to the compound and then he and Saibo will go with them to the office. Saibo knows better, the airport office, not the police office. He will bring in airport officials and they can all deal with any insurance paperwork. Tom knows that I have to catch a flight and he waves me off, “have a safe flight.” Thank you Tom!

I made my flight. I dropped the car off back home. A quick change, an apple for dinner and a friend gave me a ride back to the airport. I was nervous that their would be cops waiting for me at the airport, but there weren't. The car was damaged and the AC was leaking. Unfortunately Candace had to deal with it in country. My bill so far is $1500, but I’m sitting in Central Park writing this post and not sitting on the floor in the Libreville jailhouse.

Please click through to read more rubber stamp stories by other Lonely Planet bloggers.

Subscribe to my blog.

Rubber Stamp: My "Run-in" at the Airport in Gabon

2010-06-17T12:20:00.002-04:00

This post is part of another blog carnival, several stories contributed by the Lonely Planet Blogsherpa’s. The carnival is being hosted this time by GingerBeruit and her theme is Rubber Stamp – travelers’ stories of border crossings, passport nightmares, run-ins with the police...the carnival goes live June 21.

My inclusion describes several “run-ins” that I had during my recent departure from Gabon…at the airport, with some punks, the local police, our US security officer…I hope you enjoy.

I was leaving Africa with a lot of luggage. Similar to other 3rd world countries, the Airport in Libreville, Gabon, on the west coast of Africa, leaves a lot to be desired. I lived close to the airport, so I figured I’d literally “run-in” early, when there weren’t any flights, check all of the luggage and then come back to the house for a quick shower and dinner before my long journey. Nice plan.

Checking baggage, with no one else at the airport, took 2 ½ hours. At the first security checkpoint they couldn’t understand why I was checking in so early. They didn’t want to let me in to ticketing. A little negotiating, a change of guards and viola I’m in. Next was the ticket agent who was very confused trying to figure out what to charge for the extra luggage. Then I had to go outside to an Air France office and pay the charge. Of course they couldn’t figure out how to enter it into the computer system. This took several conferences and a phone call. Lastly, I had to go back through the first security check point with my receipt for the paid luggage to pick up my ticket. They remembered me and just let me pass. Whew.

The airport in Libreville is one of the few places in Gabon where you get hassled by local punks. I understand, its about opportunity…lots of people, luggage, some tourists…the airport is a great place to pick up “tips”. Usually when leaving the airport, you walk straight ahead through the crowd, ignore the attempts, maybe give a stern “no” and avoid any hassle. It works.

When the airport is empty however, it’s a very different situation. Now there is no crowd to hide in, only me, and unfortunately, since I had to stop by the curb to pay for my parking stub, I obviously have cash in my pocket. Given that the internet is often down, and then my credit cards don’t work, I have a lot of cash in my pocket. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.

As expected, here they come. One guy is telling me that I have to come with him to see the security chief, “don’t worry” he says, “no problems, I can get you through.” It is evening and it’s already dark. I am ignoring them and walking briskly across the street to the small parking lot. As I look over my shoulder, I see more of them coming. I quickly get in the car and lock the doors.

Obviously I’m a little stressed, and although the doors are locked, I still don’t feel safe. No one is in the parking lot other than my "friends" who are now gathering around the car. I just want to zip out of the parking lot and get home. The lot is small and surrounded by a fence. There is one way out. In order to leave, you need to make a sharp left at the exit and go through a toll gate. At the toll, you insert your paid parking stub to open the gate. There is no manned booth. To prevent people from leaving without paying, the exit lane is lined with short, fat metal poles sticking out of the ground.

I was nervous and I was concentrating on avoiding further hassle. There is no one around and now I’m going to have to stop and deal with the toll gate...

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This is the end of Part 1 of my story. Please join me tomorrow to find out what happened and how I finally made my flight home. Thanks.

Puerto Rican Day Parade in NYC

2010-06-14T15:05:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was one of many parades in NYC honoring the diversity and cultural heritage of the city. For the many international readers, I didn’t have a camera, so you will have to visualize to get a better perspective.

They say there were two million people in attendance along the Fifth avenue route, most of who were of Puerto Rican decent. That’s a lot of Puerto Ricans. NYC has a larger population than San Juan.

On Saturday, before the parade, I was riding the subway into Brooklyn to meet friends for dinner. About half of the riders in my subway car were wearing the colors of the Puerto Rican flag. Everyone was celebrating their heritage and preparing for the upcoming parade. Riders were decked out in white, red and blue t-shirts, hats, necklaces, bracelets, I even saw sneakers with little flags sewn onto the part that sticks out above the laces. One lady had her baby’s stroller outfitted with Puerto Rican flags.

The flag is a big deal. Whoever sells those flags has got to be a millionaire by today. Everyone on the street is carrying and waving a Puerto Rican flag. Hundreds of cars have the flag hanging out the windows or emblazoned on the hood. People are literally wrapped in their flag.

Not to be confused with the West Indian Day parade in September, there is certainly a Caribbean element to the festivities, with several island cultures gathering together to support their Puerto Rican brethren. I overheard one mother telling her son with great pride that everyone their group was a “can”…Puerto Ri”can”, Dominican, even Jamaican. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that we were all Ameri”can”.

The parade is very loud and colorful. Perhaps a little garish and gaudy, but that’s not necessarily Puerto Rican. The flashy aspect is unfortunately more American than anything else. That obsessive compulsion for emblazoned logos and putting everything out on the front lawn for all to see.

I think the Puerto Rican perspective is more about extreme pride and passion. Strong passion for music and food and, and an intense pride in celebrating Puerto Rican heritage.

Happy belated Puerto Rican Day.

My African Adventure

2010-06-12T11:40:00.000-04:00

This week I am guest posting for Anja Mutic at Ever the Nomad. Anja is a published travel writer and video host for Lonely Planet, Travel & Leisure, Rough Guides, Time Out, etc. Every Friday she hosts a guestpost from a different blogger. This week it's me and my African adventure, One Year in Gabon, please click the link to visit and read my post.

Equatorial Africa, France and Oil

2010-06-03T16:39:00.001-04:00

It's been too long since I posted. I wanted to bring you back in with a little history.

Gabon is the third largest provider of oil in Sub-Saharan Africa. Libreville, the capital, was once the capital of the French Congo, which covered the entire mid section of the African continent 100 years ago. Although now independent, Gabon still has a long-standing relationship with France.

Due to the oil, and every other natural resource that the country has been eating through (timber, gas, manganese, iron, gold, etc.), Gabon is considered one of the wealthiest countries on the continent. The former President, Omar Bongo, who ruled the country for 42 years, was considered one of the wealthiest men in the world before his death in 2009. Outside of 33+ luxury properties in France, and another $100+ million in banks in the US, his wealth has never really been accounted for. He was a genius at lining pockets, and not just his own. More than fifty political ministries were assigned to family and friends, as well as political opponents and rival ethnic tribes; obviously all became allies. French oil and timber companies held preferential status to development claims, in return for political and military protection from France, as well as an outlay of cash. This connection with French political power, essentially locked in his presidency for the long term. A purported quote from the former President reads as follows: ”Gabon without France is like a car without a driver, France without Gabon is like a car without fuel.”

Gabon has one of the highest GDP’s on the continent, but since the wealth hasn’t been distributed, the majority of the country lives close to poverty. This represents a double whammy for the population, since aide is severely restricted due to the high reported GDP. Everything is available, but the cost of living is very high.

The country is thick with jungle. So thick, that you can’t get from the capital to the major oil city, Port Gentil, by driving. Roads, if they exist, are uniformly poor. Instead or roads, they built a train that can take you from Libreville to Lope National Park, deep in the heart of the country, but this can take anywhere from 6-17 hours, depending on whether the train is running and on time.

Since I was living within the US Embassy community, I received a lot of access to interesting stories. One of the son’s of the former President wanted us to build him a karate school, where he promised to instruct the youth. This was his hobby; sounds like a good idea, why don’t you sell that $100k+ car you drive and build 4 schools?

Then there is the issue with police corruption and military rule. Police will pull you over in the hopes of finding a reason to extort money…do you have a health insurance certificate for your car? They don’t write tickets, they don’t even have tickets, they negotiate a price. Military rule means roads will be closed on a whim, especially if a senior official may be leaving his office soon.

This may all sound bad, but not really. Here is a major insight for fellow Americans: Corruption is a fact of life, get over it. It’s simply the way that business is done here, and if you think it doesn’t exist at home, you’re nuts. At least here, it’s open and out front. A friend from a local NGO was meeting a senior minister recently and offering access to an environmental training program, something to build a future on when the oil is depleted; the response she received…“how much will you pay us to take the training.” It’s better to just accept it and move on.

There are a lot of great things about Gabon. The new President, Ali Bongo, son of Omar Bongo, seems to be making a positive impression. He cut the number of ministers in half and he has audited the civil service system. Apparently, some 3000 people have been on the payroll well beyond their death.

He has also hired some young blood into his regime. They may not have much experience, but on a continent where corruption is a way of life, lack of experience is a very good thing.

Tourism, particularly ecotourism is a major opportunity for Gabon. The countryside is lush with bio-diversity and thick with wildlife. The former President, Omar Bongo, declared 11% of the country a national parks system, protecting them from poaching, logging and oil exploration. The coastline showcases some magnificent beaches untouched by human hands. There aren’t many places on earth where you can go on safari to spend the morning on a white sand beach and then go looking for Forest elephants in the afternoon; all just two hours outside of the capital city.

There are a reported 20,000 lowland gorillas and 60,000 forest elephants in this tiny country on the equator. The country is not very populated and it is relatively safe. There is no civil unrest. The average work ethic leaves a little less to be desired, but this can be a good thing. Outside of a few select neighborhoods, people can’t really be bothered with committing crime.

As you may surmise from previous posts, a visit to Gabon can be a very unique and rewarding experience. It certainly can be considered uncharted territory. If tourism is developed and managed properly, it promises to be that way for a long time to come.

Travel Safely

2010-05-21T11:46:00.000-04:00

If you plan on traveling abroad, and you expect to take the road less traveled, then you should consider some of the following tips on traveling safely.

A group of Lonely Planet bloggers are sharing their insights on traveling safely from different points around the globe and this is my inclusion.

Instead of writing about the dangers of malaria or a run-in the local Gendarme in Gabon, the following are just some basic tips from me as a New Yorker…

You don’t seriously keep money in your wallet, do you? Then you probably keep all of your money in there, and every single one of your credit cards with you as well, huh? Well what happens if you're robbed on the road?

Keep two pockets of money. In one pocket is the cash that you’d give up if you were robbed; in the other pocket is what you’ll use on the rest of your trip.

Keep at least one credit card separate from the rest. In my third world country, there is no American Express office (or fed-ex, or ups or even a bank that speaks English), so a replacement card is not easy to achieve. If you are robbed, you are literally shit out of luck.

While you’re at it, leave your passport locked away in your room. Carry a photocopy of the information page and your travel visa with you – stolen passports are big money.

American citizens traveling abroad are encouraged by the State Department to register with the Embassy at their location. This allows the Embassy to know the number and location of US citizens should an emergency occur. There is an internet based registration service, but I would recommend that you go visit the Embassy in person…if you speak up and smile, you may get invited to a party or event during your stay in-country and then you'll have the chance to meet some interesting people.

For country specific travel information, including the location of the US embassy, unusual immigration policies, entry regulations, crime and security info, etc.; the following gov travelsite is very helpful.

See what some of the other Lonely Planet bloggers are sharing about traveling safely around the world.

Happy Travels!

...and then I Moved Back to NYC

2010-05-16T15:37:00.002-04:00

This last year has been an unbelievable, life changing experience for me. I had the chance to live in a country I’ve never heard of before, meet new people, learn new perspectives and enjoy a foreign culture in a foreign language. It was probably one of the greatest opportunities of my life and I’m glad that I was able to take advantage.

I made some great new friends. I traveled a bit through the country-side and saw sights that I had only imagined – wild beaches, thick tropical jungle, open savannahs - elephants, buffalo, cheetah - rhino, giraffe and zebra. I saw immeasurable wealth and witnessed extreme poverty.

I had the great privilege of living in a diplomatic community and to experience life from within the walls of a US Embassy, something I learned a great deal from.

I observed a foreign presidential election, witnessed military rule, and I now understand corruption simply as a way of life…it’s just the way it is and not something easily changed.

While in Gabon, I introduced marketing strategy to places it hadn’t been considered before. I taught English classes, started a donation program to support a local orphanage and helped introduce US culture to foreign diplomats and military personnel. I saved a life, cooked a lot of American fare for many expat friends, including a traditional Thanksgiving dinner from scratch; I even made pressure-washing the pool at the US compound my personal task (someone had to do it). It was all part of a fantastic experience and I am happy to have contributed in any way. I even became closer to my brother who was half a world away.

If you were following me from the beginning, you know that I came here for love. I had the great fortune to meet an intelligent, kind and beautiful woman during a difficult period in my life. I loved her passionately and I learned some tremendous things from her, both about the world we live in and more importantly, about myself. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out. In the end, we were just too different to be compatible. I will miss her dearly and I wish her much success in life and love, however she decides to measure it. I owe her a great deal for enriching my life with so many new experiences.

I am writing this blog from the entrance to Central Park at 90th street and 5th avenue. I still have many more stories to share about my life in Equatorial Africa and I hope that you will continue to follow me. I will also have many new subjects to cover, from searching for a new job in the advertising/marketing world to new happenings in my birthplace, the center of the universe, NYC.

Subscribe to this blog via one of the links along the right. Thanks for staying with me.

Those Beach Pictures I Promised

2010-05-12T19:44:00.007-04:00

If you frequent my blog, you know that I absolutely love the beach. The beaches here, can be very beautiful…depending on tides and storms. High tide and heavy rain usually result in a flow of “stuff”, both natural and unnatural, washed up on the beach. This time we were fortunate to have neither.

This beach is close, just outside the city, north of Libreville. If I could count on a consistent low tide, it’s probably closer to walk along the shore rather than drive.

The water is always warm and the sand is smooth. It’s not Caribbean blue, but the sand is clean and free of rocks all the way out.

Gabon is one of the greenest countries on the planet. You have to love the palm trees and thick brush so close to shore.

As a country that relies on exporting all of its resources, logs on the beach is a natural occurrence (excuse the pun).

This building is a radar repeater for the airport. Obviously Gabon has the most progressive technology.

World Travel with Lonely Planet

2010-05-09T17:54:00.001-04:00

A few months ago my blog was selected by Lonely Planet’s Blogsherpa program. It’s a hand picked list of travel bloggers whose posts are linked to world travel content on Lonely Planet’s site. If you go to LP’s info on Gabon, post’s from my blog are syndicated into their content. Pretty cool, maybe I’ll get a book dealJ

I have been working with many of my new World Traveler friends and linking our sites with each other. We have also aggregated our links to a single to a page on Squidoo. If you are interested in traveling the world, or just wondering what life is like traveling in different parts of the world, please check out this World Travel link.

There are roughly 50 bloggers in the program from all around the world with some really interesting articles (including mine).

A Brief Pictorial, What a Difference 15 Minutes Makes

2010-05-06T16:29:00.000-04:00

I wanted to show you how the country changes during a 15 minute drive from the middle of Libreville up north along L101. The change is dramatic recognizing that while Gabon is the #2 or #3 richest country on the continent, very little gets spent beyond the capital. Some visiting military officers from Senegal and Cameroon pointed this out to me a few weeks ago. They were enlisted in a military exchange program here and were remarking that while their countries are poor, at least they have roads.

Approaching Louis on the Boulevard de Board du Mer… stores, signs, cars and concrete.

Swerving north along the blvd…a two lane highway with lanes and street lights.

We are still on the same “highway”. The road is paved, but no markings and no lights. Watch the storm cloud up ahead and see how quickly the weather changes here.

'The end of the road' not really, just an end to the pavement, which was probably laid down by loggers years ago. Obviously, they finished what they were doing and moved elsewhere.

Just a few minutes have past and clear blue skies; some ladies walking along road L101.

A local home 20 minutes out side of the city. The electricity, water, sewage, etc. does not come out here.

A grouping of some local homes up ahead.

A “store” attempting to sell local produce to passers by.

This is here we pull off of the “road” and go over to the beach, which is beautiful...come back and see that later.

No Matter Where You Are in the World, Boys Will Be Boys

2010-04-30T08:59:00.002-04:00

I started a donation program for a local orphanage here in Libreville. The orphanage, Arc en Ceil, takes care of boys & girls, many of whom are victims of human trafficking, which is a major concern here in Western and Central Africa.

The program was successful because of its simplicity: a few pictures, facebook, simple instructions, generous friends and a US address (fortunately, we can receive some US mail here).

After waiting several weeks for the mail to arrive, we finally got to deliver some goods to the boys camp yesterday; several boxes of clothing, some toys and a lot of “US” snacks. The kids were very happy and helped us bring in the boxes, which we left with Sister Cova. But they were much more excited just because we were there. They like the company, they enjoy visitors coming to see them and play with them. It can be a bit overwhelming; you are surrounded, everyone is hanging on to you and everybody wants your attention at the same time, but even in a different language, I really enjoy all of the smiles.

It's amazing to me that wherever you are in the world, the actions of boys are noticeably similar. Once you take out anything electronic (camera, phone, the car keys), everyone wants a chance to touch it and hold it. Once you start taking pictures, everybody wants to take one with their “tough guy” pose (all of the different flashing finger signs come from American movies). Once they notice that two of you have a car, everyone wants to know whose is better/faster/stronger, the Colonel’s or mine. Boys will be boys. The only major difference is soccer, everyone plays here, even the girls.

The difficult part of the visit was seeing Jean Christian who I remember from our last visit. Apparently he was running away and now he is no longer allowed in the orphanage (he is outside the fence). He is a local boy and his parents couldn’t afford to keep him. Now that they can, he runs away from them as well. He lives on the beach and he waited by my car to ask if I could take him home for the night. I can’t do that. Ugh.

The program will continue and I have to get donors to focus on sneakers, too many bare-feet running around.

Many thanks to Commander ‘Sarah’ and Lt. Colonel ‘Jack’ for helping me make the deliveries, and of course Sister Covedonga Orejas for everything that she does.

OK, Another Local Issue...

2010-04-28T16:29:00.001-04:00

I’ll start with a few facts: Gabon is small and Libreville is a small city. At night, it gets very dark. Sure, it gets dark everywhere at night, but here, it’s pitch black. There are some streetlights, but still, it’s friggin’ dark. Comparatively speaking, NYC doesn’t really get “dark” at night; there are so many streetlights, open businesses and car traffic that you can still see where you are going well into the early morning hours.
(a pic over the wall from my friends house, pitch black)

I drove to a friend’s house for dinner a few nights ago, after sunset, in the dark. They only live a few miles from my house and it’s quickest to take some of the back roads to get there.

More facts: People walk here. Even when you take a taxi, you usually have to walk a bit because taxis don’t go all the way into a neighborhood; they stay to the main roads. The main roads are narrow and the side roads are even narrower and they don't have markings. There are no sidewalks in Libreville.

Last set of facts: This is Africa. In Gabon, there are a few French citizens and French military, but 98% of the people are black.

The issue that I have is people walking in the middle of the street, at night, in the pitch-black darkness, wearing head to toe black clothing.

On the way to my friend’s house for dinner the other night, I almost hit 2 people. Seriously. One was a woman who was walking with traffic along the road in a long black dress with no detail. Fortunately, I noticed her at the last minute because she was wearing an ankle bracelet which reflected against my headlights. The other near tragedy was a teenager, running across the street as I came around a corner, wearing dark jeans and a black t-shirt. I hardly noticed him. I almost hit him.

I don’t like driving at night, I'll stick with the sun.

Meet the Boys...and Stop With the Trash Already

2010-04-27T15:21:00.001-04:00

These are the boys, my buddies Toby and Blackie; and this is the back entrance to the compound where we live. As you can see, the compound backs onto a beach and the boys love it. The area has been cleared of all brush and the back wall does not go all the way to the shoreline like on other properties. This sandy area is outfitted with two concrete benches and since logs regularly wash up onshore, additional “seating” is arranged by visitors; makeshift “beach furniture”.

This clearing was probably a nice concept when the compound was built, however, the clearing is way too inviting to locals for my taste…

Uh oh, he’s complaining again.

Listen, I actually like the people here and I appreciate the local culture, but everyone who comes to the beach that backs our compound brings food & drink…and then they leave all of their garbage behind. Kids are on the beach every afternoon after school. On the weekend, entire families congregate; some bring BBQ grills, grandma and even their hooka’s.

The trash that is left behind is obscene. Locals have the perspective that someone else will take care of it. This is of particular note since much of the crowd is repeat visitors…and they never pick up after themselves.

This is largely upsetting because you can only get to the beach via car. This means that everything you brought with you can easily be taken back with you. No one does. Garbage is left to rot and plastic bottles, cups, paper plates, etc. and left for high tide to wash away.

And then there are my boys. They love the beach. They can run and play…and scavenge for all the friggin’ bits and pieces left behind. I often get more exercise chasing them down to take back that found chicken bone.

Signs to pick up after yourself are posted, but to no avail.

My solution is simple. Whenever there is an unusually high tide, I try and push some of the “beach furniture” into the waves so it gets washed away, hopefully making it a little less comfortable to bring grandma for a seven course meal.

There goes another dinner table.

A Local Military Picnic

2010-04-27T07:50:00.000-04:00

The English Lab, run by the Gabonese military and supported by the US military had their annual picnic on Sunday. It was a lot of fun. A few of us were on site to help manage English word games, i.e. hangman, tongue twisters, sentence building, etc.

It feels good to do what you can to help out and be supportive. Those who I have met before refer to me as “New York”. The event was mixed, with varying degrees of ability and understanding, so some students are very English literate while others have great difficulty.

I am impressed that most students really participate and try hard. It was a picnic, so alcohol was served, but most students only drank soda during the games…try serving alcohol to US students and see if you can insight learning at the same time J

The main cultural challenge for me was scheduled timing. I was out to dinner the evening before and perhaps had a bit too much wine. The Picnic was called for 9:30A on Sunday and after a few aspirin and much rushing, I got there just in the nick of time. Unfortunately, I forgot that in Gabon, 9:30 really means around 11:00. Luckily, there were some chairs, so I could grab a spot under the shade of a tree and chat with the Director for a bit...tables didn’t even arrive until 10:30 or 11…c'est la vie.

FYI, the food was fantastic...fried and then BBQ'd beef (necessary, because otherwise the beef is very tough, but yum), Ham Hocks (feet and legs of pork) and whole chickens, chopped up and BBQ'd. Sides are couscous, beets and cassava, a local starch, which is an "acquired" taste...I won't be here long enough to acquire that taste.

The guys in the pic above are so young, all airmen, although they don't fly planes; I'm not sure if the military has any planes.

NCO housing. A little run down, but it is on the beach. The house behind is an officers house.

The party winding down.

A Few Pictures from Libreville

2010-04-25T11:52:00.001-04:00

It was a beautiful day on Friday, even though we didn’t have internetJ; sunny, low”er” humidity, a high sky and a light breeze. It’s amazing what a different mindset you get when it’s not stifling…you can easily forget about the negatives (like corruption, the pathetic lack of infrastructure for an oil rich country, no work ethic, traffic, pollution, military stops, unreasonable cost of living, etc.) and focus on just how lucky I am to be here and experience all the positives…the ocean, the smiles, the sun and the sky.

I went for a drive to go food shopping and I couldn’t help but just snap pictures while I drove, which of course is not illegal if no one sees you do it (everyone is a spy to the local military - several friends have been brought in to delete pictures in front of an officer).

It was just gorgeous…more Caribbean than African.

A little afternoon traffic in Centerville

Schoolgirls in blue

Lots of unfinished construction in Libreville

My favorite veggie market

Finally, American TV

2010-04-18T15:59:00.000-04:00

Woo hoo, we're finally hooked up to the American Armed Forces Network in our home. AFN is broadcast via satellite to military bases, embassies and navy ships around the world. Obviously, everything is in English and much of the programming is broadcast within 24 hours of original broadcast in the US.

The advertising guy in me notices an unheard of mixture of cross-network programming, i.e. the Saturday morning Today Show (NBC) is broadcast on a Sunday and is immediately followed by the show Sunday Morning, which is CBS. In addition, the programming does not appear to be as "managed" as it probably once was...apparently the news channel only used to broadcast FOX News, now the channel regularly switches between FOX, CNN and MSNBC throughout the day.

Since channel access is dependent on where you are in the world, the big military bases like Ramenstein AFB in Germany get 8 channels, while ships in the Atlantic get only 3 channels. Since we are in the armpit of Africa, we get the Navy access “Shore-to-Ship” programming; only 3 channels, but it’s better than nothing.

The Arab channels that we normally get on the local system here in Gabon, broadcast programming based on whenever the hell the last program ended (i.e. 7:12PM, 9:43PM, etc.). On AFN, time is managed so programming airs on the hour/half hour. Hello appointment viewing TV.

There are no commercials on AFN. Instead, the commercial time is used for short segments providing regional command information, pride in service spots and lots of target appropriate public service announcements like managing your military benefits, public safety and anti-terrorism messaging. As an ad exec, what surprises me is the production value of these segments, they are excellent; local news producers across the US should watch AFN…the segments effectively communicate information employing that local community feel while instilling a fantastic combination of warmth and credibility.

Since I have no former experience with the military, the command information segments are very interesting to me as a "regular guy".

In addition, the public service announcements effectively recognize their audience and take a very positive approach. hey cover everything from protecting your identity to using sun screen to dealing with stress. The alcohol abuse spots aren't telling you not to drink, instead, they provide a positive perspective, instructing you to eat a full meal, stay to one drink per hour, and meet every drink with a non alcoholic drink. I should do that.