Polo’s Bastards Top 10 Worst Destinations

by Adrienne Wilson on

With the current conflict going on between Ethiopia and Somalia, my mind immediately began to wonder what the writers at Polo’s Bastards had been up to and what dangerous lands they’ve been exploring. Last time I checked in they’d just posted a piece on Rio’s favelas. Since then North Korea and Chechnya have also made their blog pages.

To round off the year though, Lee Ridley spent a little bit of his Christmas day highlighting some of the world’s worst destinations in 2006. Iraq assumes the position of No. 1, which doesn’t come as a shocker at all. The conflict created by the Hezbollah kidnappings of Israeli soldiers earned Lebanon the No. 10 spot, and in the middle you’ll find Haiti, Afghanistan, the entire Horn of Africa (poor Eritrea), Nepal, Chad, Chechnya and North Korea. If you’ve been in the dark concerning the political climate of these particular areas, you might want to mosey over and see what the deal is. Otherwise, just be sure to proceed with caution in the upcoming year. It is a far, far more dangerous world out there.

Word for the Travel Wise (11/01/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

I’m on the run this evening so I’m hitting you with another Somali word to start the month. Hope this one comes in handy someday.

Today’s word is a Somali word used in Somalia:

magacaa – What is your name?

Since Somali isn’t spoken by a large population learning the language online for free will be a difficult task to accomplish. Start with this Fortunecity site. They offer a 600 word English to Somali dictionary and vice versa. You maybe able to find an exchange partner online at My Language Exchange, provided there are Somali speakers registered with the site. Your best bet would be travel within the country, finding a local tutor or purchasing language software from African Language dot com. Their CD-ROM is priced at $99 USD, so may wish to shop around before buying.

Past Somali words: maxaad shektay, qaalin, khapar, aabbe, waddan

Word for the Travel Wise (10/12/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

Occasionally for some of the harder languages to learn online, I try to go back and do some more site searching. It can be an exhausting task at times. Many sites are just dead ends to error messages or really aren’t worth visiting, but here is one for the Somali language I think will work great if you are interested! They have a list of some 600 English to Somali words which should put anyone off to an awesome start. I believe the site was started to help Somali speakers learn English, but really it should help anyone.

Today’s word is a Somali word used in Somalia:

waddan – country (also noted as “dal” in Somali)

Since Somali isn’t spoken by a large population learning the language online for free will be a difficult task to accomplish. Start with this Fortunecity site. They offer a 600 word English to Somali dictionary and vice versa. You maybe able to find an exchange partner online at My Language Exchange, provided there are Somali speakers registered with the site. Your best bet would be travel within the country, finding a local tutor or purchasing language software from African Language dot com. Their CD-ROM is priced at $99 USD, so may wish to shop around before buying.

Past Somali words: maxaad shektay, qaalin, khapar, aabbe

GADLING’S TAKE FIVE: Week of September 10

by Adrienne Wilson on

Kick back, relax and get ready for your weekly highlights of some Gadling’s favorites. There were dozens this week, but I managed to narrow it down to these five. Hope you enjoy!

5. BT Blogger Blab Post Mortem:
Sure this one isn’t really going to help you in making your next big trip plans, but I liked it. Our very own Erik Olsen had the opportunity to hang out and better yet be apart of a panel for the Budget Travel Blogger Conference. This posts highlights some of his thoughts and gives the low-down on the event. I just think it’s awesome that he went! Hi-five!

4. Theater: Dress Up (or Not):
Why something like this has never made the Gadling tops before I haven’t a clue, but I’m sure happy we have Iva writing pieces like this one. You’re on the road backpacking and all when you want to go some place fancy, like the theater. The questions now is to dress up or not? I’m with Iva on this one (dress it up a bit), but what’s your take?

3. I Eat Cannibals:
Cannibalism is beyond me. In fact, making plans to travel to places where the locals might be practicing such things blows me away, but would I be tempted. Heck yeah, so long as I’m not on the menu. Neil leads us to a fascinating find from the Smithsonian Magazine which follows Paul Raffaele in Indonesian New Guinea. Very cool read.

2. Burning Man Photo Results, Sort Of:
While it sadden me none of the Gadling readers were compelled to enter the Burning Man Photo Contest or just didn’t go I’m delighted to find these brilliant photos from elsewhere posted by Neil. I admit, I hope to head to Burning man one day and even if you think you don’t or won’t one look at these photos and I’m sure you’ll have a slight change of heart. They are…spectacular!

1. Reverse Culture Shock: Teaching the Somalians About America:
Every American should read this or maybe just everyone in general. This funny piece looks at the culture shock someone from let’s say Somalia might have when entering America and the classes they have to take before embarking into the “Promised Land.” It makes you think about how much we take for granted over here.

Reverse Culture Shock: Teaching the Somalians about America

by Neil Woodburn on

When traveling to poorer countries, one is often faced with culture shock over the wretched conditions, lack of sanitation, dismal food and extraordinarily poor quality of life.

But what happens when the opposite occurs? What happens when someone leaves their mud hut in Africa and travels to a place like America? Can you just imagine the culture shock one would experience under such circumstances?

Well, this is an everyday occurrence for many refugees who have been granted political asylum in the United States. Before arriving, however, they must first take a crash-course about their new home.

Edmund Sanders from the Los Angeles Times sat in on one of these three-day classes for Somalian refugees temporarily living in Kenya.

The “cultural orientation class” is taught by the International Organization for Migration thanks to funding from the U.S. State Department. It introduces students to the wonders and horrors they might expect to find in the United States.

The article is rather hilarious. So many things we take for granted have to be introduced for the very first time, such as flushing toilets, lighting a stove, buying bus tickets, flipping on light switches, and even working a door knob. And then there is snow. The concept of a white, very cold substance that falls from the sky is very difficult to grasp for those who have never felt temperatures drop below 50 degrees.

It so very strange to learn how much we take for granted here in the first world and how little of it is experienced in places like Africa. Reading the article is both fascinating and disheartening at the same time.

I do, however, have to point out the most hilarious quotes in the article. After learning about the 911 emergency hotline, one of the Somalian students responded, “So if anyone bothers me, I just call 911 and the police come and beat them?”

Oh yes indeed; America, the Promised Land.