Looking out on the axis of evil from a rogue state

Tonight Shawna and I climbed to the top of a hill and watched the sun set from a castle in Palmyra, Syria. The locals told us the border of Iraq was just 400 km away. For a photo click here.

17 things we love about Syria

I haven’t had too much time online since traveling through Turkey and now Syria. I hope everyone has been following my updates on Twitter because that is where I am posting every time I get online. I figure 160 characters is better than nothing, right?

For now let me just say that Shawna and I are alive and well and loving Syria. Shawna made a list of things we love about Syria. We have only been here 24 hours so the list is sure to grow. Here are the top 17 from her list  that are most appropriate for the blogosphere.

I promise to write a post myself as soon as I can.

1. Two words: Free kinafa.

2. For less than ten dollars you can eat: 2 bowls of soup, 2 salads, baba ghanoush, a plate of meat with bread, a giant plate of rice, two diet cokes and a large water. And it’s all delicious.

3. UNIBROWS.

4. In less than 24 hours, we have received 5 dinner invitations to peoples’ homes.

5. Everything, even buying lotion at a pharmacy, results in free drinks and hours of conversation.
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A trip home I will never forget

I never thought it would take four days to get home from Chicago. Turns out, mother nature thought otherwise. 

My first attempt to leave Chicago was on Wednesday, Dec. 17. I thought I would be just fine as the weather in Chicago was cooperating, the sun was even poking through the clouds. Little did I know my layover was in Las Vegas and they were in the middle of a blizzard. 12 hours of snow in the desert. I heard a rumor their airport doesn’t even own snow plows. Needless to say, my flight was cancelled. Having missed every other flight for the day that would get me closer to home, I had to pick up my bags (four in total!) and return home.

I was lucky enough to make it out of Chicago on Thursday. The winter storm warning went into effect at 3 p.m., my flight left at 1 p.m. By the time I had made it to Denver most flights into and out of Chicago were cancelled. 

My final destination, Spokane, Wash., had record-setting snow fall the day I was trying to fly in–17 inches in 24 hours. I made it as far as Seattle on Thursday, which was my goal, as my sister and brother-in-law live there. I knew I wouldn’t make it all the way home so Seattle was my best option. 

My time in Seattle was going just great (Christmas shopping with my brother in law, good food, wandering Pikes Market) until we awoke to a fire in the apartment building at 3:30 a.m. Saturday. I woke to the fire alarm blaring and people screaming as they evacuated the apartment complex. We walked outside in nothing more than pajamas and slippers with Biscuit the dog in tow, and saw flames shooting out of the windows. (See my brother-in-law Bryce’s video of what we saw as we walked outside that morning here). 

It was at this point I realized the world was against me ever getting home for Christmas.
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My (rough) itinerary

Tomorrow I leave Chicago, my home for the past fifteen months, and begin what could possibly be one of the biggest adventures of my life. I am heading home for the holidays and to Seattle for New Years to spend time with my loved ones and say goodbye.  

January 4th I fly from Seattle to Istanbul, Turkey. I will meet my good friend Shawna Ohm there. From there my travels look a little something like this:

January 5 to 11 in Turkey (Ankara, Cappadocia, Antakya and maybe more)

January 11 to 17 in Syria (Aleppo, Damascus, Palmyra) and a side trip to Beirut, Lebanon

January 17 to 26 in Jordan (Amman, Petra!, Aqaba) and Israel

I leave Shawna and fly to India on January 26. I will be spending time in Delhi and Agra (Taj Mahal) and will possibly make it to Dharmshalla and Varanasi. 

I fly to Hong Kong on February 12 where I will be moving into my 180 square ft. apartment in Causeway Bay. I will take a quick trip to Macau my first weekend there. This trip is required to make my training visa valid, but I am pretty excited about seeing the “Vegas of Asia.” 

Follow my adventures here. I will write as often as I can.

A new look

As you may have noticed kaylawebley.com is looking a little different these days. It isn’t perfect yet. I still have a lot of work to do, but it is a start. kaylawebley.com will now be my personal Web site. 

On the homepage I will blog about my travels, interesting articles I find and whatever else I feel compelled to share with the blogosphere. Under “Published work” you will find an archive of my stories, from the very first story I wrote for my college newspaper up to when I started at Medill. I plan to post everything I have written in graduate school as soon as possible. Under “My clips” you will find the best of my work samples including new media and design work, radio stories and highlights from my written work. If you want to know more about me, I suggest reading my resume and About me sections. You can also find me on Flickr, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Thank you for visiting.

Diesel Fumes Pose Dangerous Health Risks, Study Shows

Photo by Kayla Webley

By Kayla Webley
Medill News Service
April 6, 2008

How many times a day do you smell diesel exhaust?

On a random Tuesday a reporter counted five instances where the odor of diesel was unmistakable.
The first time was near a construction site for a new hospital, and the next two times were by road construction sites.The fourth time occurred  while riding a shuttle bus.  And a fifth time happened when a driver revved up his  diesel truck.

While such minimal exposure is not likely harmful, those who work as truck drivers, bridge and tunnel workers, mine workers, farm workers, forklift drivers, railroad and dock workers, construction workers and garage workers may be at risk of developing significant health problems.

“If you’re on an interstate going through the middle of Chicago – good God – every other car is a diesel powered semi-trailer truck,” said Michael Mark, executive director of the American Lung Association of Greater Chicago. “That exposure, over a long period of time, is detrimental to those individuals.”

Studies of  those  constantly exposed  to diesel exhaust found their risk of lung cancer increased by up to 50 percent, said Michael Thun, chief epidemiologist for the American Cancer Society, on the organization’s Web site.
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Is Faith a Factor?

By Kayla Webley
Medill News Service
January 23, 2008

At age 26, Debra Barford confronted the sudden reality of her own death.

Her doctors diagnosed her with lupus and she faced kidney failure. In treatment, Barford said she struggled with how to move forward with her life rather than dwell on the past.

After a few years, and some additional medical setbacks, she turned to St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Chicago to help take control of her life and her illness.

“I met my illness in the same context as my religion,” she said. “What is God telling me? What is my illness telling me? What are the things I need to look at and transform?”

Almost 30 years later, at age 54, Barford is the healthiest she has ever been – and she credits her faith.

“I wouldn’t have learned any of this without reorienting my life,” she said. “It taught me to not try and control my circumstances, but to develop an active listening and discernment process.”

Barford is one of many churchgoers, religious leaders and doctors who think faith is a factor in the healing process. Though different religions have varying ideas about healing, many faithful feel it is important to use spiritual teachings to show people that illness is not punishment – that, unfortunately, bad things happen to good people.
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Students Bring Newark’s Murder Toll to 60 in 2007

By Kayla Webley
NPR

Billboards in Newark, N.J., read, “HELP WANTED: Stop the Killings in Newark Now!”

The new mayor, elected last year, ran on a campaign promise of reducing crime. Still, gun violence has become an all too common part of daily life.

Last weekend, four young adults, friends who were headed to college together in a few days, were shot at close range, killing three and critically wounding the fourth.

The brutal killings, along with another unrelated shooting over the weekend, brought Newark’s murder total to 60 in 2007. That is three fewer than for the same period in 2006. The count is lower, but statistics show that 17 people have been killed in the city in the past eight weeks – a rate that, if it continues, would surpass 2006’s total of 106 murders for the calendar year.

A month ago, Newark’s mayor, Cory Booker, announced that crime in the city had fallen by 20 percent in the first six months of 2007, compared with the year before. The number of rapes, aggravated assaults and robberies has fallen. But shootings continue unabated. The murder rate is up 50 percent since 1998.
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List of Problem Chinese Imports Grows

by Kayla Webley

NPR.org, July 2, 2007 ·

Contaminated foods and other dangerous items continue to build an ever-growing list of unsafe products imported from China by the United States.

Chinese-made products have accounted for 60 percent of recalls this year, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

For the most part, the businesses responsible for the faulty products and bad food have denied the problems, saying their products are safe.

In an effort to quell international fears over tainted and defective exports, Chinese officials have insisted that the safety of the country’s products is “guaranteed.” Chinese officials aim to downplay the safety and health problems before the 2008 summer Olympics, to be held in Beijing.

At the same time, officials in Beijing are attempting to clean up the problems. Earlier this week, inspectors announced they had closed 180 food factories in China in the first half of this year, and that they seized tons of candy, pickles, crackers and seafood tainted with formaldehyde, illegal dyes and industrial wax.
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Bald Eagle Leaves Endangered Species List

NPR.org, June 28, 2007 · The Interior Department said Thursday that it is removing the American bald eagle from protection under the Endangered Species Act.

The announcement by Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne caps a four-decade struggle to help the national symbol recover.

Once almost wiped out by hunters and DDT poisoning, the eagle not only has survived but is thriving.

Government biologists have counted nearly 10,000 mating pairs of bald eagles, with at least one pair in each of the lower 48 states.

“The rescue of the bald eagle … ranks among the greatest victories of American conservation,” said John Flicker, president of the National Audubon Society.
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