Career Decision
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- moth0
Don't get shot.
- moth0
Fuck me wolf. That might be the most living you'll ever get to do.
You really want to intern? You don't want to go and do it again?
- dMullins0
I would do B in any and all cases given that I had the opportunity.
- capn_ron0
That just made my day! way to go. It is amazing how everything worked out just perfect. Enjoy the trip and write/shoot/explore everything.
- whitewolf0
I have tons of stories, look for this thread to be hit for the next six months i'm still processing the trip.
We lived in a village 20 miles south of Yei, that means 20 miles south of electricity.
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=3.…
Since I was the media guy, I lucked out and got to visit Yei at least once every 2 weeks to dump all of my footage and re-charge everything. So I also was in charge of keeping in touch with people at home.
Once, while in Yei, I was riding on the back of a dirtbike taxi "bota bota" and we're going about 25 mph through town when a herd of cattle crosses the road. He slows down and then sees a break in the herd and guns it. This makes me real nervous so I bail (prob about 10 mph now, but he's getting faster) as soon as I slide in the dirt I look up to see the break in the herd close. A huge bull mounted a cow right in front of the driver. He hits the bull at about 25 mph. Knocks the half ton beast off (and out) of the cow on it's side. The whole town, including an armed military convoy (SPLM) erupts in cheers and laughter. Dude's bike was pretty messed up. WHEW!!!
And we're not talking your normal cows here:
We basically camped out for a month while we built a house. Lived with the locals for over two months. Contracted two wells to be dug in the village when we budgeted for one. Bought and trained the village on brick press to build their schools. Saw nine deaths in the village while we were there. Heard war stories every night. Saw crazy crazy spiritual stuff--the villagers told us that us showing up fulfilled a prophecy spoken in 1991 about white brothers and sisters living under this mango tree bringing water of life etc.
Oh and we ate a baby python.
- o_0
well that beats the shit out of any stories i have to tell.bigtrick - cowtus interruptus via motorcycleus?TheBlueOne
- what the hell? mediaguy? who did you work for?freitag
- oh i see: a dear friend's humanitarian non-profitfreitag
- o_0
- baseline_shift0
^^ wow man. fantastic.
- lobstarr0
qbn mvp of the year.
- spendogg0
Wow. Amazing.
- bigtrick0
how is it that you didn't get shot up, whitewolf? last i heard, southern sudan was a hella violent place...
- harlequino0
He should leave his job and accept a position at Starbucks with a bunch of teenagers. He rebels against his newfound lot in life by doing a shitty job and playing practical jokes on the customers, who are all assholes. However, eventually, through bonding with his coworkers, he discovers love and the true meaning of friendship.
- mcLeod0
B without question whether this person is young or old. how many people get an opportunity to expand their horizons? Jobs will still be available when this person gets back.
- lobstarr0
also was it the group you were involved with that was shooting the video or was it yourself? either way, looks awesome.. also, what kind of camera were they/you using?
- whitewolf0
Yeah, i'm working on updating my porfolio site now. I basically only have student work on there, I gotta put up the stuff from the Design firm I worked at and this non-profit stuff i'm working on
You guys are going to hate me for this...
did I ever tell you about when I went to Tibet 4 years ago?
- BIGGESTDOGINTHEWORLD0
_____
"Leave at the 8 month mark, and cash in on the opportunity to live in Southern Sudan/ Northern Uganda and work with a dear friend's humanitarian non-profit. "
In the current job climate this sounds like a dumb idea, at least you getting paid at the minute, there might not be a job you can come back to after that.- lol should read the whole thread, good luck with the job hunt I guessBIGGESTDOGINTHEWORLD
- hahajimzyk
- herzo0
Fucking awesome thread.
One of my friends works in the boulder office, she is a strategist.
- scarabin_net0
do the 8 month thing and take off to uganda. if you don't you will regret it for the rest of your life.when you come back put "1 year" on your resume instead of 8 months.
win/win.
you're welcome.
- whitewolf0
big trick, to answer your question--
I honestly believe our safety was a result of Divine intervention, but i'm not a preacher so one could message me about that, or get a beer.
About a month into it I got comfortable. I wasn't scared, I was nervous around military personnel. It is widely known that "photography" is illegal in Sudan. So every checkpoint we went through I was the guy with a bag full of cameras. But the more you realized that these grown men in military garb were just that same as the little kids looking for attention. You took the time to ask the soldier how long they have been in service, what their name was, what's their story and they melt. They would get all excited to show you their weapons, tell you embellished stories of how they almost died.
Seriously. A white person is huge thing of interest, and from the United States? "Wow Geroge Bush! He killed everyone in Iraq and Iran! He went crazy! We thought he was great when he liberated Kuwait because that meant we are next, liberating innoncence from Islamic extremist wanting oil! Thats US! but then Bush snapped and Killed everyone in Iraq"
"But that was George Senior.."
But yes, we saw very little violence. Most violence is inter-tribal conflict. As far as the political stuff Southern Sudan in under a cease-fire until 2011. The SPLM is an organized rebel movement, not a real government, but they are for the most part peaceful. Had once instance where the disabled soldiers shut down roads to Yei because they weren't given their pension in over six months, but that was right before we arrived.
The only real scary thing to worry about was the rebel groups, specifically the Lord Resistance Army, and land mines in some of the remote roads.
We didn't run into either, but heard many stories about people running into the LRA.
"They ask you two questions: Do you want to be Loved or Annyoed?
You say Loved, they let you go, but they cut your lips off so everyone knows who we are and that you are always smiling--spreading the love
You say Annoyed, and they drill a hole in your gums above and below your teeth, put a pad lock on your jaw and pack your nose with mud until you suffocate."
"Whoa! what about if we ran into them, what would they do to us?"
"You are white so they would want money and thats about it, but you are American so they probably wouldn't even bother with you, b/c they fear George Bush so much because he has killed everyone in Iraq they wouldn't want to chance messing with political stuff"
So yeah, George Bush was a friend to us over there, fancy that.
As soon I was on the plane ride home it hit me at how crazy this whole thing was. How stupid we "kids" were. I had an awesome emergency insurance plan and everything. But say if I had cut my leg real bad while working, it would be a good hour 1/2 for me to get to Yei, only to see if there is an available nurse on staff at one of the many NGO's stationed there, and hopefully they would have adequate supplies to prevent infection. Sure I had the coverage to send an emergency plane, but it would take alot of time.
- duckofrubber0
B. No question. Your "friend" will appreciate the personal growth that will come through world experience.
- freitag0
^ wow, there's a man who worked a bit outside a cubicle....
- Nairn0
You can't expect an absolute answer either way from anyone who doesn't intimately understand your situation, so I humbly offer you the only absolute answer I can - 'follow your heart'. Everything else is secondary.