Raleigh North Carolina Based Rock Climbing Guiding, Climbing Trips, Climbing Classes and Instruction » tanzania http://www.ascentadventure.com Website of North Carolina rock climbing guides and team building facilitators Ascent Adventure Consultants. We are the preferred guide service in the southeast United States, offering climbing trips (day and weekend trips) on the best routes and areas in NC, outdoor climbing instruction, and team building and leadership development programs. Make Ascent your guide service for 2009. Fri, 18 Mar 2011 10:17:40 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Pole Pole: The Mantra of Kilimanjaro http://www.ascentadventure.com/2010/02/pole-pole-the-mantra-of-kilimanjaro/ http://www.ascentadventure.com/2010/02/pole-pole-the-mantra-of-kilimanjaro/#comments Sat, 20 Feb 2010 12:40:54 +0000 brandon http://www.ascentadventure.com/?p=2003 One of the things that we heard over and over again on Kilimanjaro was the porters and guides saying “Pole Pole” (pronounced pole-ay pole-ay). The translation is “GO SLOWLY.” Not only was this applicable on the mountain, but in the rest of the Tanzanians lives. Of course on the mountain going slowly was key to acclimatizing as we rapidly gained altitude. However we quickly noticed that Tanzanians have a special gift to be able to live life “Pole Pole.” They recognize that life is too important to have each moment lost in the hustle and bustle. Rather, they take time to enjoy life, enjoy family, enjoy friends, and don’t occupy themselves with worry and stress. For example, we expected that every morning we would be getting up at 5:00am and quickly hitting the trail. But no…they wanted us to sleep until 7, then brought us hot water to wash our faces, made us tea and breakfast, and we hit the trail at 8:30am.

Of course, the reason our county is so progressive, and the reason that we have wealth etc. is because we have mastered the art of multi tasking, working non stop etc. I’m not advocating that we stop working hard by any means. That’s what makes our lives comfortable here. And it is also simply a cultural difference. But I am advocating that we all take time to see how much we miss out on life if we are not slowing down and stopping to enjoy life, family, friends, and leisure time as well.

]]> http://www.ascentadventure.com/2010/02/pole-pole-the-mantra-of-kilimanjaro/feed/ 0 Mount Kilimanjaro: The Roof of Africa is Reached! http://www.ascentadventure.com/2010/02/mount-kilimanjaro-the-roof-of-africa-is-reached/ http://www.ascentadventure.com/2010/02/mount-kilimanjaro-the-roof-of-africa-is-reached/#comments Thu, 18 Feb 2010 13:47:47 +0000 brandon http://www.ascentadventure.com/?p=1995 We have returned from Mount Kilimanjaro! Leading up to the trip, we knew that it would be a life changing experience for all of us. Little did we know how dramatically true that would be. From the friendships built, to the personal struggles overcome, we all walked down the mountain changed people. In the days that follow, I will be posting trip reports from all of 4 of us, photos, and amazing stories about the people and culture of Tanzania. It was a true honor to be part of this trip, and I can’t wait to relive it through the blog and photos! It is great to be home. Every one else got home a decent time…I had many flight cancellations and it took me 70 hours to get home!

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