One Year In An Amazing Continent

On Sunday December 15th 2002, I set off on a journey. It would become my first real journey in my life. I was leaving my home, my town, my country, my continent, crossing a sea and embarking on another continent: Africa.

A bit less than six months before I had finished my secondary school. While closing the school gate behind me I had a great plan in mind: I would go to Africa, and no one or nothing would stop me. Differently from most students, I wasn't planning to join any high school or university. I first wanted to do something else. I wanted to live out the restlessness I had felt during those often boring years at school.

Yes, Africa was definitely my plan!

I needed some money to realize my plan. So the months before my departure I spent working in factories. Initially I worked in a factory processing animal fodder. I remember one very funny moment during my time there.

At a given moment I had told my colleagues that I was planning to travel to Ethiopia, to which one of them replied in his coarse Flemish dialect ''you poor lad, you will be the fattest over there!'' It was a spontaneous and humorous reaction that brought about a lot of great merriment. During my long stay in Africa I often remembered that quote.

Later I worked in a pork factory, a very unpleasant job, but I was only interested in the money. The evening I quit, a colleague was teasing me about me missing the factory soon and weeping because of homesickness. It made me laugh heartily. I couldn't imagine that I would miss a factory or that I would miss Belgium.

The days and weeks and months went by. Finally there was that Sunday the 15th of December, the day of departure, an emotional goodbye for my parents and myself at the airport. That day I took a plane. My destination was Nairobi. It was the very beginning of my one-year journey in Africa.

Now, more then one year later I have returned to my home, my town, my country and to my continent. I don't know yet how much this journey will have changed my life. I don't know yet how much it has changed me.

But I do know I will never ever regret it. Not even a fraction of a second. I will always cherish my memories and they will be always a part of me.

Deep in my heart I wish I were still there. I hope it won't run away, Africa. If all is well...one day I will go back.

About the Author

Maarten De Boeck documents his breathtaking one year adventure with vivid stories and excellent pictures in his websites- http://www.OneYearAfrica.com and the latest journey- http://www.TravelDocumentAfrica.com He now knows a lot about African people and culture. He can be contacted at- maarten@OneYearAfrica.com if you want stories or excellent pictures about Africa.

Hammered Copper Sinks Artisan Treasures From Mexico

Traveling the world will take you to many places and in some of them you may even find treasures. But treasures are not always made of gold or diamonds. Treasures are also made of copper. And in Santa Clara del Cobre in the Mexican state of Michoacn you will understand why treasures are also made of this modest and noble metal.

Copper, the 29th element, is believed to have been mined for about 5000 years now accompanying humanity and civilization through most of his great technological accomplishments. In modern times copper is an ever present element in the electrical and electronic industry. But that\'s not the only area of our modern lives where copper is present. Since ancient times Mexican artisans have used copper as a valuable material to fabricate beautiful and intrincate artisan works, among them there is one branch of artisans that combine practicality and art in their work. They are those dedicated to fabricate beautiful raw copper sinks in Santa Clara del Cobre.

These sinks are fabricated entirely by hand using the same ancient techniques of their indigenous ancestors. Even gas is forbidden to heat and soften the metal, they use only charcoal in small fires in the shops and helped by their inseparable hammer artisans give life and form to the copper plates placed into the fire. But this is not all, after getting the desired shape, the sinks surface has to be treated so that they will last and look like new for many years. For this they use a process called \patination\ which is done under heat and that gives the surface of the copper sinks its characteristic color and durability.

Many people may think that copper sinks are soft or fragile but that\'s not so. They are sturdy enough to substitute a regular, series made, stainless steel sink. It is sturdy enough that even bathtubs are fabricated entirely on copper. And due to the \patination\ process they won\'t acquire a greenish color or get rusty as those old pennies that didn\'t have the luck of being \patinated\.

The charming town of Santa Clara is full of shops that work day after day to bring to life this wonderful pieces that are considered a national art. They are so proud of their skills that every corner is adorned with copper, even street lamps have their share of this noble metal. If you ever have the chance to visit Mexico, make plans and include Santa Clara del Cobre in your schedule. Who knows and you may even end cooking in a copper pan and relaxing in your own copper tub while your dinner is being cooked under a copper kitchen hood.

Omar Ferro is a freelance writer and webprenur who lives part-time in Mexico and the United States.

http://www.copper-sinks-mexico.com