From memory bank:
A day of hiking and soundscape!
Today was more of a hiking day, and the time when we were introduced to how soundscaping works. We hiked out to ... Bass trail and Laura introduced us to the art of... soundscape!
Each of us had a palm pilot to work on. Everyone had one partner, so only 5 PDAs were needed. Regardless of your visual impairment, everyone therefore still had to make handsigns up for the various sounds which you hear.
The PDA screen had buttons on it: Insect, bird, reptile, jet, helicopter, motorboat, water... both natural and non-natural sounds. The goal of soundscaping is to collect data about the land's sound levels and by doing this we help Laura create a report on how often non-natural sounds interfeer in the canyon. This is why sound pollution is also a form of pollution, and people should really think of it when they walk or drive around in natural areas...
Basically, if you hear an insect let's say, you signal your partner using the system you 2 created. Then, he/she taps it on the PDA. When the sound stops, you signal a stop sound and the signal you made for the sound. Then, your partner taps the button again which "turns off" the sound. On a graph, that records the duration. Me and Janelle were partners for soundscaping, and our insect signal happened to be dragging your fingers around your head in a circular fashion. To signal stop, you did a slashing motion around your throat and then repeated that sign.
This way, we had a wide array of signs. A jet was one finger up, the wind was moving your hand forward from the back of your head straight out in front of you... We tried to make signs which made sense, so that neither of us would be overwhelmed with memorizing.
We had snacks at Bass trail after our soundscape was finished.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
day #2!
from my own memory bank:
Day #2:
Today was time to work on the cabin! Our first task in the morning was to de-board the windows of the ranger cabin. This place has not been used for 30 years or more and our task was to first take the windows off. While previous groups have worked on the cabin in the past years, it was boarded up.
We unscrewed the windows, at least the ones we could reach, and then proceeded to pain them brown - which also made the place waterproof and sealed.
After one side of the windows were painted, we began working on making trails to the groover so that upcoming camps could use the trail without destroying the topsoil.
The topsoil is a layer of "living soil" where moss and other bacteria reside to keep the soil healthy and it is, in itself, an ecosystem. Our park service ranger Megan explaoined this very well. In order to conserve the desert, it's important NOT to step on the soil and thus our trails did not go through them. Lunch was pretty good - fahitas!
During dinner, bryan proceeded to give a few riddles. 4 is forever was one of them - so three is five, five is four and four is forever! Turns out, bryan has more riddles than I thought!
Day #2:
Today was time to work on the cabin! Our first task in the morning was to de-board the windows of the ranger cabin. This place has not been used for 30 years or more and our task was to first take the windows off. While previous groups have worked on the cabin in the past years, it was boarded up.
We unscrewed the windows, at least the ones we could reach, and then proceeded to pain them brown - which also made the place waterproof and sealed.
After one side of the windows were painted, we began working on making trails to the groover so that upcoming camps could use the trail without destroying the topsoil.
The topsoil is a layer of "living soil" where moss and other bacteria reside to keep the soil healthy and it is, in itself, an ecosystem. Our park service ranger Megan explaoined this very well. In order to conserve the desert, it's important NOT to step on the soil and thus our trails did not go through them. Lunch was pretty good - fahitas!
During dinner, bryan proceeded to give a few riddles. 4 is forever was one of them - so three is five, five is four and four is forever! Turns out, bryan has more riddles than I thought!
Day #1!
journal entry from 4 brailled notecards:
It has been less than 24 hours since we arrived at the canyon!
This place is amazing. Very quiet. There are no cars driving by, no... sounds of people. It is very peaceful and jets only fly by on occasion.
Today we talked about safety as well as our duties. 3 crews have been assigned: Groover, dish, and cook. Groover duty is responsible for cleaning the pee bucket (scattering the pee around the woods to minimize impact), as well as cleaning the seats to the pooper. Dish cook washes dishes in a line: 4 buckets. one has clean water, second one has ditergent, third bucket is normal water, and the last one has bleach. When on dish chrew, I guess each person of the team is assigned 1 or 2 buckets through which the dishes are washed. I was in a team with Matt and Janelle - and our first assignment is to be groover. I guess tomorrow we will work on being dish crew?
It has been less than 24 hours since we arrived at the canyon!
This place is amazing. Very quiet. There are no cars driving by, no... sounds of people. It is very peaceful and jets only fly by on occasion.
Today we talked about safety as well as our duties. 3 crews have been assigned: Groover, dish, and cook. Groover duty is responsible for cleaning the pee bucket (scattering the pee around the woods to minimize impact), as well as cleaning the seats to the pooper. Dish cook washes dishes in a line: 4 buckets. one has clean water, second one has ditergent, third bucket is normal water, and the last one has bleach. When on dish chrew, I guess each person of the team is assigned 1 or 2 buckets through which the dishes are washed. I was in a team with Matt and Janelle - and our first assignment is to be groover. I guess tomorrow we will work on being dish crew?
The Grand Canyon Experience - Preface
Around the world, many wait lifetimes. Some are scared, while others are excited upon the arrival of the day - When they can finally visit the Grand Canyon.
The average visit to the canyon by tourists lasts for 3 hours. That is not a long time, compared to 2 weeks - and many wish that visitors would spend more time in the canyon, exploring and appreciating surroundings. Some might think 2 weeks in the canyon is a long long time, others would see it as a great opportunity for being away from society. In my trip, I actually perceived both sides of that coin.
I have had many chances to bail out of the trip, and I think when writing, I should be honest about some things: Yes, for a long time, I did not like being at the canyon. Too much work without motivation. For me, motivation is important in order to experience something - and at the South rim I did not receive that. This is why on the 6th day, I became very quiet and went into a mood of "I can't wait to go home!". I even counted down hours, minutes, and seconds until my return. I felt that 2 weeks is a long time. Not only this, I could not understand why these people care. "Why would they want me here? I don't make a difference!"
Then as the river trip progressed, this changed. I had so much fun on the river that by the time of our last day, I was simply sad to leave. It was too hard to leave the river, that natural disconnection from society. When I first stepped into the pizza place with our group, I felt like an immigrant who just entered this foreign society - a feeling I have not experienced since my come to America 6 years ago.
Looking back to the trip overall, it was a good experience. If you have watched the leading the way 2009 promo video (link on this blog), you will note that at some point, a guy says "there isn't one day that I don't think of my trip." and this is true. At the time when I first heard the video, I didn't understand why he'd say that. But now I can relate. And I can respond to his comment by making my own reflections upon this trip.
My goal, then, is to help you relate respond and reflect upon my experiences yourself. Although recordings of the trip might take some time to appear - since my voice recorder fell in the boat right on our 12th day - I can still write and write about how it felt to be in the canyon. My journal entries are also lost, since they were all recorded. So it will take time to publish those as well. This is why I have to write NOW, before the trip turns into one blob in my mind, one flowing river of experience. Right now I can still go back through the individual days I spent on the rim and on the river. With time this will fade.
At first, I will try to write a daily account of my experiences. But as we move further in the trip, you will notice how memories simply meld into one long timeline. So about the 5th day, I will simply write long posts on what we did on the river, instead of breaking it down. It is during the river where everything seems to be one long experience. Once you have read all of the posts, I would gracefully wish to ask that you reflect upon the ways I viewed the Grand Canyon and this trip and then comment at your will. In this way, we are also incorporating Global Explorers philosophies in this blog - the RRR (Relate, Respond, and reflect). Once recordings become available, I will post more so you can understand the trip in depth. Photos (or pictures) will also be available with time. If you are on my facebook friends list, check tagged photos of me regularly since I didn't take any actual pictures.
The average visit to the canyon by tourists lasts for 3 hours. That is not a long time, compared to 2 weeks - and many wish that visitors would spend more time in the canyon, exploring and appreciating surroundings. Some might think 2 weeks in the canyon is a long long time, others would see it as a great opportunity for being away from society. In my trip, I actually perceived both sides of that coin.
I have had many chances to bail out of the trip, and I think when writing, I should be honest about some things: Yes, for a long time, I did not like being at the canyon. Too much work without motivation. For me, motivation is important in order to experience something - and at the South rim I did not receive that. This is why on the 6th day, I became very quiet and went into a mood of "I can't wait to go home!". I even counted down hours, minutes, and seconds until my return. I felt that 2 weeks is a long time. Not only this, I could not understand why these people care. "Why would they want me here? I don't make a difference!"
Then as the river trip progressed, this changed. I had so much fun on the river that by the time of our last day, I was simply sad to leave. It was too hard to leave the river, that natural disconnection from society. When I first stepped into the pizza place with our group, I felt like an immigrant who just entered this foreign society - a feeling I have not experienced since my come to America 6 years ago.
Looking back to the trip overall, it was a good experience. If you have watched the leading the way 2009 promo video (link on this blog), you will note that at some point, a guy says "there isn't one day that I don't think of my trip." and this is true. At the time when I first heard the video, I didn't understand why he'd say that. But now I can relate. And I can respond to his comment by making my own reflections upon this trip.
My goal, then, is to help you relate respond and reflect upon my experiences yourself. Although recordings of the trip might take some time to appear - since my voice recorder fell in the boat right on our 12th day - I can still write and write about how it felt to be in the canyon. My journal entries are also lost, since they were all recorded. So it will take time to publish those as well. This is why I have to write NOW, before the trip turns into one blob in my mind, one flowing river of experience. Right now I can still go back through the individual days I spent on the rim and on the river. With time this will fade.
At first, I will try to write a daily account of my experiences. But as we move further in the trip, you will notice how memories simply meld into one long timeline. So about the 5th day, I will simply write long posts on what we did on the river, instead of breaking it down. It is during the river where everything seems to be one long experience. Once you have read all of the posts, I would gracefully wish to ask that you reflect upon the ways I viewed the Grand Canyon and this trip and then comment at your will. In this way, we are also incorporating Global Explorers philosophies in this blog - the RRR (Relate, Respond, and reflect). Once recordings become available, I will post more so you can understand the trip in depth. Photos (or pictures) will also be available with time. If you are on my facebook friends list, check tagged photos of me regularly since I didn't take any actual pictures.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Ready for takeoff!
Three hours and my flight is on it's way to Flagstaff Arizona!!!
Exciting! Yet I want to make a final post on this blog before my leave, mainly to help you know more of the trip and how things will be. Yes, there are a few more pieces to fill out..
My plain leaves at 6:35. I have a layover in Chicago (which won't be long at all!) and will be in Flagstaff no time. This will be followed by us waiting in the terminals for everyone's arrival. So this beginning process is similar to the one on the retreat.
I am kind of sad that Shannon and Trish (shannon is the leading the way fellow while trish is an intern) are not going to be on this trip with us, and if they happen to be reading I do wish their safety and are all eager to share with them the fun experiences on this trip.
Bryan will be there, the same laid back goofy and relaxed guy who was at the retreat. So will several guides who are on the rafting and some are from the park service while others from GCY (Grand Canyon Youth).
Alright. I believe the first night will be spent in a hotel. I am unsure if we're getting room mates here yet, but I will probably have cellphone access that night, if anyone has final words to text or call. So that is good :) But starting the 7th, it's bye-bye electronics time.
Which is quite sad. I will miss every single one of my friends. I care for everyone a lot and not knowing how friends are doing will probably worry me to death during this trip. However I recognize the service aspect of the trip and thus will have as much fun as I can. :)
I know I have said 7 days on the rim and 9 on the river, but it's actually... 5 days on the rim and 9 on the river. So I might be a bit overpacked with having 12 underwear, 5 t-shirts and 3 long-underwear and 3 pants (an extra jean/2 longer pants). Ah well. After the rim portion is over, we will be able to ship items we don't need back to Grand Canyon Youth (in Flagstaff, the place we arrive at first), so it won't be a big deal, just as long as I save 2 long t-shirt and a few more things for the river.
Back to the sound testing project a bit though. I have mentioned that several times. It will be taking place both on the rim and the river. The goal being to test the park's sound pollution level. As I have said in previous posts, people only think of air/water/land pollution when they say 'pollution". not sound! Yet when I tried to sleep outside under the stars in the woods around my house the other night, I could not sleep because of too many aircraft ahead flying. So... Go green and illiminating sound pollution! (though, making quiet cars can be a potential hazzard for the blind since we don't hear a car when crossing...)
We will partner up with another person and using a PDA, record times and data about the current sounds around. Fun!
Alright... I think I covered most things. No, Eric, the blind mountain climber, won't be on our trip, good question. Yes, we will eat and prepare foods, this will be also done on a switch basis - rotating positions. I won't take many showers, nor will I shave, so when I return I will probably have a big moustache and facial hair, but hey it's a neat experience, isn't it? :P
Alright... Time to hike and raft and ... miss everyone. :(
:)
With all due respect:
Tomi
Exciting! Yet I want to make a final post on this blog before my leave, mainly to help you know more of the trip and how things will be. Yes, there are a few more pieces to fill out..
My plain leaves at 6:35. I have a layover in Chicago (which won't be long at all!) and will be in Flagstaff no time. This will be followed by us waiting in the terminals for everyone's arrival. So this beginning process is similar to the one on the retreat.
I am kind of sad that Shannon and Trish (shannon is the leading the way fellow while trish is an intern) are not going to be on this trip with us, and if they happen to be reading I do wish their safety and are all eager to share with them the fun experiences on this trip.
Bryan will be there, the same laid back goofy and relaxed guy who was at the retreat. So will several guides who are on the rafting and some are from the park service while others from GCY (Grand Canyon Youth).
Alright. I believe the first night will be spent in a hotel. I am unsure if we're getting room mates here yet, but I will probably have cellphone access that night, if anyone has final words to text or call. So that is good :) But starting the 7th, it's bye-bye electronics time.
Which is quite sad. I will miss every single one of my friends. I care for everyone a lot and not knowing how friends are doing will probably worry me to death during this trip. However I recognize the service aspect of the trip and thus will have as much fun as I can. :)
I know I have said 7 days on the rim and 9 on the river, but it's actually... 5 days on the rim and 9 on the river. So I might be a bit overpacked with having 12 underwear, 5 t-shirts and 3 long-underwear and 3 pants (an extra jean/2 longer pants). Ah well. After the rim portion is over, we will be able to ship items we don't need back to Grand Canyon Youth (in Flagstaff, the place we arrive at first), so it won't be a big deal, just as long as I save 2 long t-shirt and a few more things for the river.
Back to the sound testing project a bit though. I have mentioned that several times. It will be taking place both on the rim and the river. The goal being to test the park's sound pollution level. As I have said in previous posts, people only think of air/water/land pollution when they say 'pollution". not sound! Yet when I tried to sleep outside under the stars in the woods around my house the other night, I could not sleep because of too many aircraft ahead flying. So... Go green and illiminating sound pollution! (though, making quiet cars can be a potential hazzard for the blind since we don't hear a car when crossing...)
We will partner up with another person and using a PDA, record times and data about the current sounds around. Fun!
Alright... I think I covered most things. No, Eric, the blind mountain climber, won't be on our trip, good question. Yes, we will eat and prepare foods, this will be also done on a switch basis - rotating positions. I won't take many showers, nor will I shave, so when I return I will probably have a big moustache and facial hair, but hey it's a neat experience, isn't it? :P
Alright... Time to hike and raft and ... miss everyone. :(
:)
With all due respect:
Tomi
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