Got some extra cash? Want to empower people through financing?

So I just made my first Kiva loans.
I figure…if I can afford to eat out as much as I do, and spend unnecessary (and sometimes copious) amounts on entertainment, drinks, and travel…I can afford to lend money to someone who needs it more than I do.

Enter Kiva.

I just lent money to 3 individual entrepreneurs from 3 different countries.
One sells books and comics in Ecuador.
One raises guinea pigs in Peru.
One farms bananas in the Philippines.

Over time, they will repay their loans.
I will then receive my initial investment back.
Then I will re-lend it to other entrepreneurs who need funding.

You may have some questions on how this whole operation works.
I can’t explain it like kiva.org can, so I’ve pulled some information from their website with links below.

I hope you’ll join the loaner movement.
[if you already aren't a part of it :)]

What is Kiva?

Kiva’s mission is to connect people, through lending, for the sake of alleviating poverty.
Kiva empowers individuals to lend to an entrepreneur across the globe. By combining microfinance with the internet, Kiva is creating a global community of people connected through lending.

Learn more

How Kiva Works:

1) Field partners approve and disperse a microloan to an entrepreneur in their community
2) The entrepreneur’s profile and story is uploaded onto kiva.org
3) Lenders (potentially you) browse through kiva.org and choose someone to lend to using paypal or a credit card
4) Kiva provides the loan to the field partners
5) The entrepreneur repays their loan over time
6) Lenders get their money back and can re-lend to another entrepreneur, donate their funds to Kiva (to cover operational expenses), or withdraw their funds to their PayPal accounts

Learn more

Location: Zuma Canyon, Malibu – Los Angeles, California

It’s a habit of mine to find horseback riding opportunities wherever I am – whether I’m in Cuba, Egypt, or Los Angeles. And if you’re traveling with me, I will try my best to convince you to join me. I always encourage people to try new things, especially things I love! :)

Malibu Riders provided us with some trusty steeds for our 3-mile ride through Zuma Canyon.

They have horses for all levels of riders from novice to advanced. I was assigned to a quick little bay mare named Honna (at least that’s how it was pronounced). My friend’s never been on a horse before so our guide gave him a really experienced gray mare, Nay-Nay.
Too bad she was the one horse who wanted to kick every other horse that tried to pass her that day (apparently she doesn’t usually do this). It’s a little scary trying to get your horse away from the one that kicks when you’re on a narrow mountain trail with a wall to your left and a cliff to your right. At least it made for an interesting ride.

Other than that, the ride went smoothly. Our guide made sure that the riders were doing okay during the entire ride and we got to do a little trot and canter at the end of it when everyone felt comfortable enough to try a faster pace. Oh, and the friend that’s never been on a horse before? He enjoyed it a lot! (I’d prefer he love it, but I won’t put words in his mouth)

• Don’t wear open-toed shoes.
• Don’t wear shorts. You can get saddle burn, and it ain’t pretty.
• Relax. Breathe. Try not to let fear or nerves get to you. Horses can feel if you’re tense through the saddle and may take advantage of this.
• Make sure your stirrups (the things you put your feet in) are even in length or you’ll feel lopsided and off-balance.
• Your horse WILL try to eat. Just pull your reins a bit and nudge your horse on by squeezing/kicking your legs.
• If your horse tries to kick another horse, nudge him on. When they’re moving, they can’t kick out as effectively.
• If another horse is going to kick yours, move your horse ASAP. You don’t want to be in the way of a kick because those suckers hurt!
• Don’t worry about steering too much. Trail horses are trained to follow each other – nose to tail – but never let go of your reins; you need them for control.
• You can always hold onto the pommel (front of the saddle) if you need something extra to grab.
• If you don’t want to go faster than a walk, make sure to let your guide know so s/he sets a comfortable pace for everyone.
• Relax, relax, and relax. Have fun!

Malibu Riders operates in Malibu (Zuma Canyon), and Agoura Hills (Paramount Ranch and Malibu Creek) in Los Angeles, CA. They also offer 2-person picnic rides and riding lessons.

Malibu Riders Promo Video:

Location: Teotihuacan Pyramids, Mexico (just a little outside of Mexico City)
Taken in July 2009

All my photos are taken with a regular digital camera. No fancy schmancy equipment was used (which is pretty obvious)

When I went to New York, my good friend took me to a chicken & rice cart. He told me that it was THE BEST chicken & rice cart in New York. I took it as an exaggeration – but I was wrong. It’s well-known. VERY well-known. You could even call it famous. If you Google “chicken & rice new york”, a map to the cart will show up on the results page.

The cart owner’s name is Islam Elsayed and his cart is located at 53rd St. and 6th Ave., New York. (In front of the Hilton)

Ok, the Google map below is a bit off with it’s red ‘A’ label, as you can see when you click the pic to enlarge, but I’ve circled the correct intersection.

Click here for the google map.

The Toronto Star posted an article on Friday, March 19, 2010 about the “‘Halal cart guy’ a New York original”. It’s a good read, so check it out if you wanna know more about the Halal Cart Guy/Chicken & Rice Guy.

I was told to avoid the late-night after-party lineups since they’re about 10x longer than daytime ones, so I went during a Saturday to get my chicken & rice fix. There was still a line-up, and in my opinion, it was long. Imagine how the night line-ups are! Notice my “I hate line-ups” face.

To be honest, the line-up was worth it. I’ve had a lot of chicken in my life. And a lot more rice (insert Asian stereotype phrase here). And this combo was delicious! It must have been the special white sauce (not the kind dirty-birds think of) that does it, and also the hot sauce which gives it a kick.

It’s so good that I’d be willing to line-up again (this time, with my “the line-up is worth it” face). It was even worth it to sit outside in the February cold to eat it.

(Hmm, I just noticed that my “I hate line-ups” face and my “hungry, dying-to-eat” face are very similar. I gotta work on diversifying my faces!)

So if you like chicken and rice, and you’re in the Big Apple, go get some! You won’t be disappointed.

Location: Altadena area – Los Angeles, California

When you think Los Angeles, you think Hollywood. You think big city. You think sun, surf, sand, and superstars (of course!). Now add canyoneering to that list.

Canyoneering (or Canyoning) is traveling in canyons using a variety of techniques that may include walking, scrambling, climbing, jumping, abseiling/rappelling, and/or swimming.

Since we don’t have canyons close to Toronto, I figured I’d have to experience canyoneering on a trip – so why not in LA?

I signed my friends and I up for a Canyoneering adventure through Alpine Training Services via Kijubi.com (where there are plenty of activities and adventures to browse if you’re in California, Nevada, or Florida).

Our day started at 9am with a briefing and a drive to Rubio Canyon in Altadena where we packed up the necessary/provided gear (helmets, kids!) for the hike up the hills and the eventual descent by rope. At around 10am we started hiking some trails – flat ones to start off with, but the inclines started to get steeper (this is when one discovers how out-of-shape they are….).

After a mini training session where we rappelled down dirt inclines (for practice), we reached our first challenge – a 100-foot waterfall. Here’s where I got to test my new super cool shoes in water.

‘Super cool’ is my own personal opinion. I’ve received such comments as “omg those are so ugly” and “eew. wtf are those?”. I describe them as unconventional. Well, to each their own I guess!
Here, I present my Vibram FiveFingers SPRINT shoes which I purchased specifically for this canyoneering adventure. [Thanks to Off-track Backpacking's post for bringing these toe-shoes to my attention!]

Okay, so they look a little weird, but I choose function over fashion when partaking in activities that require good footing. I think our guide, Gavin, doubted my FiveFingers as he told me to bring along my spare set of runners (that I didn’t end up needing).

These toe-shoes are flexible and surprisingly comfortable. They form to your foot and you can definitely get a good feel of the surfaces you’re treading on (whether it be ground or wall). They were great on land and also in water (although the SPRINTs probably don’t keep you as warm as the FLOW model). My only regret is deciding to break them in on this trip – I should have followed the instructions/heeded the warnings on the box and done the breaking-in process beforehand. For hiking and canyoneering, I give them a thumbs-up.

So it took a while for everyone to make their way down the first waterfall but this wasn’t surprising since we were new at this – and a 100-foot drop is pretty intimidating. Our pace was slow and steady.

Walking backwards the entire time – thinking “right foot, left foot. right foot, left foot” .
Focused on being balanced. Putting equal weight on both legs. Maintaining a good angle from the wall.
Gushing water from above.
Mossy parts were to be avoided – because your foot could slip.
My foot slipped. I swung from side-to-side for a bit.
All I could do was try to find good footing and get back in position.
Compose myself. And keep going.
Until I felt flat ground beneath my feet.
(And then let out a huge sigh of relief).

After the first waterfall, the ones that followed were much easier – they were smaller and we were getting the hang of it.

An 8-hour day of Canyoneering is challenging, exciting, and tiring. We thought we would be able to rest for a couple hours after this adventure and do some evening activities – we were right and wrong.
Right, because we did end up going out. Wrong, because we were so exhausted from the days’ adventure that we didn’t enjoy ourselves as much as we should have.

Canyoneering takes a lot out of you, but if you’re looking to hike, take in some great views, and do something out-of-the-ordinary, it’s definitely a fun activity you’ll want to consider.

Our guides, Gavin, Travis, and Laura, have an obvious love for it and they were great at explaining the procedures for rappelling while making sure we were safe and aware of everything around us (those loose falling rocks can definitely hurt). You can check out their photos of our adventure here.

I rarely publish any links, references, or posts about religion. Why? Because it is one of the most controversial subjects one can discuss. Religion unites and divides. It brings people together and tears them apart. It is seen as both good and bad, depending on who you ask. But is organized-faith really a problem? Or are we the problem?

“…no religion is the problem – it’s human beings who twist a message and create havoc from it…”

I won’t go into my views, as they surely differ from yours, but I recently came across an article that focuses on the positives of religion and thought I’d share.
It’s about faith, peace, respect, religion, spirituality, multiculturalism, acceptance, positivity, and love.
(Click on the title for linkage)

I will…

Starting October 8, 2009, MANGO released a second edition of Paulo Coelho’s solidarity T-shirts in 90 countries.

Paulo Coelho is a Brazilian novelist most known for his book The Alchemist, and in September 2007, he was named a Messenger of Peace to the United Nations.

Although the shirts were out in October, I was late to purchase them since I like to wait until I have list of things to buy before hitting the mall. I’m not the kind of person to shop for a couple of shirts one day and go back the next weekend to pick up a pair of jeans….I’ve left my mall-rat days behind!

Well, I finally braved the mall (during the Christmas shopping season, which probably isn’t the best idea I’ve had) and found what I was looking for.

Coelho’s messages are uplifting and inspiring, and I am a believer in the words printed on these t-shirts (even if they are hard to believe during difficult times).

Another great thing about these shirts? Coelho’s t-shirt revenues (close to 40% of the retail price), will go to the Paulo Coelho Institute, which takes care of 430 children in Rio de Janeiro, among other projects. The Institute is a non-profit-making institution financed exclusively by the author’s royalties.

I’m a sucker for inspirational messages and companies/products that give a portion of revenues to non-profit causes. But I don’t think that it’s a bad thing. :)

Links:
Paulo Coelho’s blog entry on his MANGO shirts
MANGO’s blog entry on their Paulo Coelho shirts
Follow Paulo Coelho on Twitter

This post is in response to Alkarim’s comments on Shukran (Thanks).

Q: Were the people friendly to foreigners?
A: Yes, in general they were really nice. Some people just wanted to talk/find out about you and where you were from – out of curiosity. Then there were people who wanted to chat you up so that they could try and sell you something (especially if you were near a bazaar or store-fronts).
I guess I should also mention that some guys could definitely get a bit aggressive if you were a female foreigner…it was actually sort of creepy!

Q: Did they speak English in small towns?
A: A little, but not much. We spent more time in big cities (Cairo, Luxor, Aswan), but when we were in small towns, our guide did most of the talking as English isn’t widely/fluently spoken. Our Bedouin guides and Nubian guides did speak some English – they pick it up from all the tours they are a part of.

Q: Were things expensive?
A: In my opinion, not really. [note: when I was in Egypt, $1 CDN = 5 LE (Egyptian pounds)]
Anything you bought from a market was pretty cheap if you could bargain – and if you were willing to walk away from anything and everything. I bought all my souvenirs for under $20 CDN.
Food-wise, it was pretty cheap if you ate local and avoided the tourist areas. Potential problem: not many locals speak English well…so you might end up being better off in the tourist areas in order to get what you really want. The cheapest meal I ate was 8 LE ($1.60) for shawarma from a take-out place in Cairo. In Khan al-Khalili market, one of the biggest tourist areas in Cairo, you can get the same thing plus some rice & veggies for 90 LE ($18). Okay, so $18 isn’t crazy-expensive for a meal, but when you compare it to what you could’ve had instead (at the cheaper price), it seems a tad pricey (read: rip-off).

Q: Was the night life similar to what we have here?
A: Unfortunately I didn’t get to experience the night life too much, so I can’t really give an accurate description. When we did go out, it was usually to a bar, and that scene is similar to what it’s like in Toronto.
The one time that I experienced a club-like atmosphere was in Dahab, and it was also pretty similar to what we have here – except they like their dance/euro more than I do!
I’ve heard amazing reviews of the Ministry of Sound clubs they have in Egypt. These are located in Hurghada and Sharm El Sheikh – which I unfortunately did not have a chance to go to :(
Beach-side clubs…how could they not be great?

Q: Any thoughts on your next destination?
A: Peru (Machu Picchu, specifically). Here’s hoping my plans work out :)