Bike & Build

This summer I am traveling cross-country with Bike and Build. Bike and Build is a non-profit that raises money for and spreads awareness of affordable housing efforts through cross-country cycling trips. From June 11 to August 24, I will be biking with 30 other riders from New Haven, Connecticut to Half Moon Bay, California for a total of 4,072 biking miles. Every morning, we will wake up ***flawless at 6 am. Chores, breakfast, a route meeting and time to tune our bikes follow. Then we will set off for the day in groups of three and four. Two of our leaders will drive a van, available to provide #support to anyone in need. In each town, we will meet with local residents about housing issues and ways they can become involved. On select days, we will work on affordable housing construction projects alongside organizations such as Habitat for Humanity.

WHY I RIDE

In 1966, my great uncle won a legal battle to drastically improve access to home ownership for African Americans. My relatives continue to work to ensure fair prices and processes for those in the Bay Area. I have contributed to our legacy in the past by working on construction projects, catering to the homeless, and improving the efficiency of homes. Now I am addressing affordability through Bike and Build as the first Black woman to do this route!

THE CAUSE

Affordable housing is a major concern in the United States. With a handful of exceptions, there is no county where even a one-bedroom unit at fair market rent is affordable to a full-time minimum wage worker. In 2012, 40.9 million households, totaling more than a third of families and individuals, paid excessive shares of income for housing. Not to mention that 636,000 Americans are homeless. Brooklyn and San Francisco currently have the least affordable housing. For more information, check out “Bike & Build: Why We Ride.”

#SUPPORT

I was awarded a scholarship which covers all of my expenses—bike, gear, etc., but it is my responsibility to raise at least $4500 in order to participate. The money will support affordable housing organizations in the US. I have about two months to reach my goal. This is much more than I have ever fundraised so I am enlisting the help of everyone I know. I donated $50 towards my trip and you can choose to sponsor me by mile, day or state (see donation guide). Please spread the word to avid bicyclists you may know or people who may be inspired by my journey. You can follow my journey here. Please comment with any questions! I hope to be in touch soon!

Life Is But A Dream 10.20.13

I am nudged awake by a flight attendant offering lunch. Hugh Masekala's lively trumpet in "Johannesburg" is playing. Still full from my eggplant parmesan and tomato tart, carrot, olive and hummus salad and fresh pressed carrot juice, I give the lunch back and look outside instead. A view of the Moroccan coast greets me and I am reminded that I will finally be able to swim in the ocean that I see. I am overwhelmed with how happy this revelation makes me. In my mind, I am already swimming. The sky is relatively clear, the sun blaring at me for the first time in 6 days. It was the most sunlight that I'd seen since I left my beloved California summer. Might I add that I am experiencing an endless summer, which is all I ever want in life. I get my first glimpses of Morocco and I love it. Square buildings are spaced out among trees, farmland, rivers and dirt. I can see minuscule cars and donkey-pulled carts. Tiny container ships are moving in all directions on the Atlantic and the beach is so much like a painting that it cant be real. But it is. Dang I missed the coast. We see slums in some parts and huge identical developments in other areas. All of a sudden the city comes into view. Just a sea of browns, reds, golds with sprinklings of green provided by the palm trees and other foliage. Such a nice color palette. Passport control is a breeze. Somehow I end up talking with my teacher, Paddy about how large my family is. He says its very Irish in its size, fervor for the holidays and the pride we have for our home. We wait for a long time in the baggage claim because several bags are missing-not mine though #blessed. I am further reminded of home when we finally step outside. Everyone is loving the dry heat, the manicured foliage and the white facade of the airport. The hotel (and the city) are surprisingly close to the airport. Our hotel is beautiful. Tiled patterns line the walls and the floor giving it an extremely comfortable feel. Didn't care for the cigarette smell but nothing is perfect. We quickly set our belongings in our cramped, four person room and head downstairs for lunch. Lunch is at the Center for Cross Cultural Learning. To get there, we walk no more than five minutes through the Medina-a 17th century gated neighborhood where we will all be home staying!! It's a giant maze, quiet and full of secrets. The CCCL is GORGEOUS. There are two floors, tiled patterns lining the floors and walls. The building is very open. There is a sun roof that lights the indoor courtyard in the middle of the building. The courtyard is surrounded by two floors of offices and classrooms, also tiled. There are columns at each corner and archways shaped like the top of mosques. Blues, greens, yellows, whites. Comfy chairs, lots of windows, natural lighting. HOW CAN THIS BE OUR SCHOOL!?!? We are all exclaiming, our breath taken away by the beauty of this place that we will call home for the next 28 days. It doesn't seem to be long enough. One girl is crying she is so happy. Most of us are close to tears or something. Maybe the two days of travel is getting to us. Maybe this is just culture shock. Maybe this is what true gratitude looks like when exercised in tandem by 30 people. Whatever it is, the energy is palpable, smiles all around. So much love. We walk upstairs and we smell lunch before we see it. The most tender beef ever, perfectly seasoned rice, Greek tomato and cucumber salad, banana, eggplant heaven, and the absolute best most tender and well seasoned zucchini ever encountered by man/woman/android/etc. I ate it all, profusely expressing my thanks and approval. I then downed four glasses of water, #parched. So satisfied, I wandered to the roof and my day got even better. There was an indoor glass lounge, an outdoor tented seating area and a deck overlooking the city. What seeing? Buildings on all sides, beach views, river views, boats, cats, roosters, surf boards, mosques, hanging laundry, palm trees, cemeteries. One of five daily prayers is blaring from mosques all around. Every few minutes we all stop to look at each other, smile and say wow one more time. We go back to the hotel to rest and prepare for the beach. 6 of us set out to swim, the closest beach a mere 5 minute walk. The whole time I am wondering how I ended up in such a beautiful place with such good friends, studying something that I love. I really could not imagine doing anything better. The Atlantic Ocean is fierce. Waves crash with a vengeance. There is a rock outcropping that considerably settles the waves down in one area. We chose this spot, Leah and I slightly nervous about being the only females on the beach. Can we wear bikinis? Can we even swim here? There is no one setting an example. We go for it, Matt joins us. The water seems cold at first touch but once you're in, it's perfect. There is some litter in the water but besides that it's great. The current is strong and pulls us closer and closer to the rocks. I am back in my element, in the water, sandy soil beneath my toes.   Surfing on my left, volleyball in front of me, fishing on my right. I want to be a part of this world. We play for a while and then get dressed to watch the sunset. We are literally standing in a postcard. We are situated on the rock outcropping. The beach is on our left, a lighthouse right on the coast. Big, powerful waves crash menacingly on the beach, seagulls fly, locals fish, the sun sets right in the middle of the scene and the biggest waves break right next to the lighthouse, spouting tall jets of water every few minutes. We walk home, musing at the crowded cemetery with coffins all pointing towards Mecca, overlooking the water. Shower and dinner follow to round off the night. The evening was a bit rough as I was essentially walking dead by then. So very tired. We walk through the market, clothes, shoes and accessories laid out on tarps on the ground. Some guys were pushing a motorcycle attached to a cart and they pushed it right into me as I tried to dodge it. I then was hit in the head by a volleyball further down the street. No day is perfect. I was too tired to eat much of the food, still full from lunch. I fell asleep at the table in between courses as did everyone else. We turned in around 10, wanting to be ready for our first day of classes in this wonderland. So grateful so thankful so happy so blessed so good

That's All Folks 10.18.13

It is finally time to move on to Morocco and I am so ready. We had our Vietnam evaluation and debrief in the morning then I and a few other students gave a presentation about Morocco that hyped everybody for life in Rabat. Our farewell dinner that night was a lot of fun. We made some spring rolls then had a delicious buffet. There was a bit of karaoke afterwards. I am still shocked that there is no Beyonce or Destiny's Child in any of the karaoke spots. I finished my essay afterwards and then went to club Lift with most of the students. We wanted to do it big for our last night. The club was on the 11th floor and most people were standing around tables or sitting on couches with drinks and fruit. I went there for one reason and one reason only, to dance. I didn't take a break for the full two hours that we were there. I broke my new overalls in nicely, dancing with my friends and the some of the Vietnamese girls that were there. Some of the students who weren't dancing met a young billionaire who took them to an after party at another club when Lift closed. I missed the cab though and ended up riding back to the hotel to walk around with Matt and John for a while. Then we headed up to our hotel balcony to watch the stars with Meron joining us later. It was the perfect way to end our month.

Notes/Observations/Reflections

Life in Hanoi is much different from Can Tho. It is a tourist city. Therefore, it is more expensive, there is more variety of food options, and there is plenty of shopping. I wasn't interested in buying much until I learned that we could have clothing made. I had a silk robe, night dress, pillowcase and linen overalls made. I've been getting some exercise, mainly from swimming. I also went running around the lake one morning. I miss my bike. We are all tired of Vietnamese food. Therefore, we go out for Western food as much as possible. My favorite restaurant is the Good Day Cafe. I always get a grilled vegetable sandwich with goat cheese and balsamic dressing, and a mixed vegetable soup. I also visit a grilled pizza place often and Matcha Paradise almost everyday. I either get a green tea or a mango smoothie. The trees are beautiful here. They look like an amalgamation of several thin trunks. Incredibly, they all belong to one tree. The branches hang all the way down to the ground. General Giap died last week. He was much loved by the people. So much so that locals queued up to pay their respects at his home the day before his funeral. It was the longest line any of us had ever seen. It stretched back several kilometers. The folks in the back had probably waited all day long to drop their flowers and send a prayer. I've been drinking a lot of water. Up to 7 liters on some days. I'm not sure why I am so thirsty but I feel great. We have plates full of fruits at every meal and only a couple of people have been sick so far. We had our first female lecturers of the entire program two days before leaving the country. The only women we hear from are translators. When there are multiple people who can translate, the men are always the first choice, even when it is clear that the women speak better English. 

Kinyani Returns to Her Elements 10.11.13-10.14.13

This weekend was by far the best in Vietnam. We spent Friday in Ha Long Bay, a world heritage site featuring about 2000 limestone islands. We took a boat around the islands for a few hours and had a delicious seafood lunch. The crab cakes were my favorite, they were baked in the shell. We took a break at a small floating village and kayaked into the surrounding lagoons. Of course we all got out of the kayaks and swam. We also visited a huge cave on one of the islands. This was the first time I'd seen colored lights inside of a cave. The next day, we had a lecture about the Hoa Binh Hydropower Dam and the problems that dams present in general. Vietnam has plans to build more and more dams, threatening the fish population and the extent of the delta. After the lecture, Laura and I took a cab to West Lake with the intention of sneaking into the Sheraton to swim. West Lake is much bigger than the Lake by our house. It is the wealthy part of the city and there are several resorts and modern homes on the water. We found a delicious French cafe. I had a chicken sandwich, a carrot, celery smoothie and pineapple upside cake. The food was so good that we brought some with us for dinner later. Getting into the Sheraton was a breeze. We swam for a little while then hung out poolside. Back at the hotel, we did some homework and then brought our dinner downstairs to warm up. We came down in our bathrobes because we only planned to use the microwave. The staff wasn't having that though. They stopped the dinner they were having, warmed up our food, served us and turned on music. It was great. My pot pie was delicious and I was so comfortable in my bathrobe and my slippers. I felt like my sister. John came downstairs mid-meal, laughed us and then joined us for a while. The next day, we headed out to spend one night out west, closer to the dam we had learned about. On our way, we stopped at an "authentic" village. The village is a popular stop for ecotourists. The people living there charge a fee for foreigners to witness them and their traditional lifestyle.  It was strange. They offered us tea, rice liquor, and the best bananas in the world. We talked to them about how they live their lives for show and if they were affected by the nearby dam at all. Next, we went to the place that we were stay for the night. We arrived in another village expecting to check into a hotel. Instead, we boarded a boat and went to a beautiful island. There were only about 10 other people on the island and two litters of puppies. We put our things in the large room that we were all to sleep in and explored a bit. There were all kinds of trees, huge spiders and a windmill with a brick base. We had a community building session in which we finally discussed the Vietnam War. We finished the afternoon with a boat ride, hike and swim at a small waterfall. I was happy to be swimming for the third day in a row. That evening we had a bonfire and drifted off to bed one by one. I lasted until about 11 o'clock but some stayed up to 4. We saw the dam in the morning. The experts there were convinced that hydropower is an absolute renewable energy. They also mentioned that nuclear power is the future of energy in Vietnam. We learned that the island we were living on was formally a mountain surrounded by a valley. The valley had been full of a thriving community of thousands of people who were all menially compensated to move out due to the dam construction. The electricity produced by the power plant hardly reaches those in the surrounding area because they cannot afford it. As I mentioned before, Vietnam and the surrounding countries plan to continue building dams upstream. Eventually this will lead to the dams downstream drying up. For this reason, the system does not have longevity. There was less opposition to this dam because Ho Chi Minh pushed for it personally. There is a large statue of him on a hill overlooking the plant. When it was built, the engineers put plans for future repairs into a time capsule that is to be opened on the 100th anniversary of the dam. This is also when the dam is expected to expire. The experts at the plant said they are not developing any strategy for addressing climate change or the effect of dams upstream. All of their hope is in the time capsule. This was unsettling to say the least.

From Can Tho to Hanoi 10.9.13

I am sad to leave our family in Can Tho. They were the greatest. So attentive, fun and gracious. However, I am hoping for less of a focus on farming in the North and am excited to finally learn something about energy. The good thing about living in a hotel is that we can spend our free time doing us rather than speaking broken English with our family. It was fun while it lasted though. They wanted to have a farewell breakfast at 6:15. I was not pleased to be up so early, but it was nice. We flew to Hanoi and arrived to a much more Western/Modern Metropolis. There's actually freeways here and murals and manicured foliage and unfortunately, tourists. They are basically all overweight and European. Most of the tourists ride around the city in these ridiculous carts hooked onto bicycles. They move slower then walking and constantly hold up traffic. So lazy. We were repeatedly told by everyone in Can Tho that it would be cold in Hanoi and that the flooding is worse there. I was surprised and immensely confused to experience 90+ degrees of dry heat. I thought I was home at the height of our Indian Summer for a moment. It isn't supposed to rain here for another week. Our hotel is upscale, but there are hardly any windows because all city buildings are connected to each other. Our room is spacious, there are complimentary bathrooms and slippers. It was yet another upgrade. By the time we settled in, it was about 3 pm. Breakfast was at 6:15 and I skipped the questionable airplane lunch so I was ravenous. Some of us walked to a Mexican restaurant and ate on a balcony overlooking an alleyway. The homemade chips and guacamole were on point but the burrito was pretty basic. We walked around the lake afterwards. It's situated one block from our hotel and is reminiscent of Boston Commons. There is a theater in the middle for water puppet shows. Laura and I want to go at some point. The lake is a well used public space. There is gym equipment at one spot that anyone can use. However, I did not see any females. I plan to return on one of the mornings to run. Laura and I did some work at the hotel afterwards and watched the Parent Trap on HBO. That night, we went to an Indian restaurant with Matt. It was a highly rated place and the food was delicious. We took another walk around the lake before bed and there were colored lights shining everywhere. It was great first day in Hanoi. 

Last Days in the South

10.4.13-10.6.13
We spent the weekend in An Giang. Initially, we were excited to get a break from the constant responsibilities of living in a homestay. However, the weekend wasn't my favorite. We started off driving in the opposite direction of our final destination. 3 hours later, we arrived at a shrimp farm in Soc Trang. It was a beautiful landscape but we couldn't even see the fish. Also, we were 15 km from the beach and the mangroves but didn't go. After 45 minutes, we turned around and drove another 6 or 7 hours to An Giang. The next day, we drove pretty far into a rural area to visit a snakehead farm and then even further to visit a catfish farm. Again, it was a lot of driving for not much information. I'm not doing anything with food for my research project so I didn't get too much out of it. The next day was fun though. We went to the Melaleuca Forest which is a preserved area close to the Cambodia border and the mountains. Melaleuca is the tree that's used to construct homes on the water. The roots of the tree are underground so the forest is like a lake full of floating trees. The tiny lime green leaves line the water creating a magical effect. There are birds everywhere of all different species. We took a boat to the middle of the preserve for lunch. There was a space with caged pythons, deer, tortoises and more. They had all been rescued and are being prepped to be released into the forest to restore the biodiversity. We walked up to a view point and could see the whole forest and the mountains. It was beautiful. It was raining the whole time so we were all in silly multi-colored ponchos. We planned to climb a mountain afterwards but we had government officials with us, making sure we didn't sneak in Cambodia and they did not let us go. We went straight back to Can Tho instead and Laura and I were so happy to be back with our family. They welcomed us back with another delicious dinner. We spent the night playing with our cousins again. 

10.7.13
Laura and I had two lunches today. We rode our bikes to market to finally get some Western food. I had tacos and she had pizza. The tacos were nothing like home but it was nice to not have rice or noodles or soy sauce. We did some shopping for loose pants and for the secret admirer game everyone is playing. Then we went back home for sweet potato chicken curry. In the evening, our host parents had a farewell BBQ for us and it was incredible. They made the pork fresh roll station that Laura and I are so fond of. The Thai student was there again and we had a lively conversation while the men drank a bunch of rice liquor. Their rule is one bowl of rice for every three shots. Our mom's extended family from the wedding was there too. I almost didn't recognize the bride without the excessive amount of white foundation missing from her face. After dinner, Ai asked me to pull up videos from my past performances. I should him my first Mande Dansa performance from freshman year. We all laughed at how exhausted I looked. They enjoyed seeing my hair in a different style. I also showed them my choir's performance of Oh Happy Day.

10.8.13
This afternoon was dedicated to self care. We had a morning class and then the rest of the day free. Laura and I took Leah and Meron to our favorite fresh roll restaurant. Leah and Meron don't have bikes so we tried to fit them on the back of ours. It did not go well. We struggled to get moving for about 10 minutes, falling down with every attempt. The University students watching got a kick out of it. Lunch was the best, as expected. Afterwards, Laura and I headed back to the spa. We ran into our teachers and our traveling fellow and had a great time together. I had a reflexology package including a foot, full body and scalp massage. It lasted almost 3 hours. Somehow, I felt even better afterwards than I did the first time. Laura and I went to the nail salon afterwards and ran into some of our classmates. That evening, we had a farewell dinner at the Asia Hotel with all of the students, teachers and homestay parents. There was an awkward bit of karaoke afterwards in which the boys did a lame version of "Bye Bye Bye" and the girls did a much better rendition of "Creep." Laura and I presented our family with their gifts once we got back home. Our mother absolutely loved the gold bangle I gave her. She ran upstairs and grabbed bracelets for us and well as a souvenir magnet. Our host dad placed the San Francisco Giants pin in a case on the wall with our knick knacks from former students. We also FaceTimed my family. The highlight of the conversation was when my host dad misunderstood my father's phrase "fish to fry." After the gift giving and conversation, we played with the kids one last time and packed our bags for Hanoi.