Volunteers for Peace is an organization that connects American citizens with international non-profits that invite volunteers to travel to exotic locations to give their time. My first experience with VFP took me to Antwerp, Belgium where I joined a group of international volunteers to spend a summer rebuilding a school.

As volunteers, we were provided with housing and meals. We stayed in the school building, which is pictured above. The school building had a kitchen in it which was where we took shifts cooking group meals. We all slept in sleeping bags on the floor in one of better maintained classrooms.

As the school was located only fifteen minutes away from the center, we got to spend weekends exploring the heart of Antwerp. We sampled chocolates, ate Belgium waffles and admired the diamonds (Antwerp in the world’s diamond capitol).

Although we had a lot of fun, we had to work 8 hours almost every day. We had a few tasks to complete over the course of the summer which included building and polishing new desks and tables, cleaning the entire second floor of the school, and most importantly, preparing the ground for the new building. Over the course of our time in Antwerp, we removed over 10 feet of dirt and leveled the ground for the new building. Above you can see Andy and Shiori working.

For our last weekend in Belgium, the local community raised enough money to send us to see Bruges (Yes, the place from the movie In Bruges). The town is incredibly beautiful. Our weekend included a canal tour and a medieval times festival.

Besides providing the opportunity to travel, Volunteers for Peace brings people from every corner of the globe to live and work together. The highlight of my time in Antwerp was meeting the other volunteers and making friends from other countries. That summer our group included myself (an American), two girls from Japan, one German, one Serbian, a Croatian, and two volunteers from the Czech Republic. 

I had a fantastic experience with Volunteers for Peace that summer in Belgium. In fact, I have now participated in three work camps through VFP. Unlike some volunteer experiences I have had, I do feel like I made a significant difference for the children living near the school in Antwerp. I had the opportunity to live in a different country and meet people from all over the world. I’d recommend the experience for anybody.

Further links:

vfp.org

Lake Tahoe

It is so easy to forget that on the sunny, tropical island of Oahu lies the Pearl Harbor Navy Base, famous for the 1941 bombings that killed almost 2,500 people. When my friends and I decided to vacation in Hawaii, I know they had surfing, tanning, and swimming in the ocean on their minds. I, however, grabbed my diana f+ and booked a spot on a bus to take me to Pearl Harbor, where I had one of the most moving experiences of my life.

I booked a tour through “Discover Hawaii Tours.” For $30 dollars, they provided a shuttle service that brought me to and from Pearl Harbor, and then toured around the island pointing out historical sites like the home where Barack Obama grew up. The price also included a guided tour of the Pearl Harbor Museum, but I opted to grab an audio headset and walk around by myself.

The museum traces the beginning of Pearl Harbor and how it transformed over time leading up to the bombings that took place on December 17th, 1941. The exhibit follows a few navy personnel who were serving in Pearl Harbor on the day of the bombing. The personal stories helped me connect with navy men and women who were about my age and already serving their country.

After my audio tour ended, I jumped aboard the navy-operated power boat and we sped out towards the memorial that was built where the USS Arizona sunk. On the way, the boat passed by other naval ships that are still in service. I could see men and women dressed in uniforms scurrying around the top of the ship.

The boat stopped and we all got off on this floating white monument. Inside I saw this wall, which lists the names of all the navy men and women killed during the December 17th bombings. On man on my boat left a bouquet of flowers in front of a name on the wall.

Outside of the memorial, as I was boarding the ship, I smelled oil and looked down to see it leaking into the water. Since the USS Arizona has been left untouched since it sunk in 1941, oil is still leaking out of it at an estimated 2-9 quarts daily! I was able to snap a quick picture before our boat sped back to shore.

Both seeing and photographing Pearl Harbor moved me. I got to walk, breathe, and stand where brave men and woman stood before. The entire experience was easy to navigate, as the museum did a great job giving the history and the floating memorial made the bombing seem more real than watching “Pearl Harbor” did. I know Hawaii is mostly about relaxing on the beach, but during your next trip to Oahu, I really do suggest that you go see Pearl Harbor. Everything included, it cost me $30 plus the money I spent in the bookshop. I learned a lot about my country’s history and got some great pictures out of it too.

For more information visit:

http://www.discoverhawaiitours.com/oahu/pearlharborhistorichonolulu_3a.html

http://www.nps.gov/pwr/usar/

You don’t need a fancy, expensive camera to get great shots. In fact, sometimes a disposable camera can turn out more interesting pictures than a digital can. Here are some quick tips for taking great pictures with a disposable camera.

1. Take your pictures in good lighting. Although most disposable cameras have a flash option, they work best in lighting situations where you don’t need to use that. The more light the better. In this case, I pointed the camera almost directly at the sun.

2. Try different angles. Most people only to take a picture from eye level. Try taking pictures from hip level or, as I did in this picture, with the camera on the ground.

3. Take pictures with lots of color. Disposable cameras extenuate bright colors, which can make your disposable pictures even more exciting than the real life image.

4. Take pictures through different mediums. In these two pictures, I captured faces through glass and water. Instead of point the camera directly at the subject, take a picture with a medium in between to add another dimension to your picture. This method works best without the use of the flash, which can cause a glare.