Going Global With JennieV

Giving Thanks

2011-07-29T12:42:00.000-07:00

I am very grateful for the privileged lifestyle that I live here in Bolivia. I think of this sometimes when I am passing people on the streets in the city or when I am going out to a nice restaurant that I know many people around here would not be able to afford. I also recognize my status almost daily here at the compound. I am very fortunate to be receiving an education at Emory and although I am taking out incredible amounts of loans to pay for school, in theory they are covering our expenses for the summer. In part this means that they are paying for our food and lodging while we are staying here at the MAP compound in Chilimarca. From my understanding thus far, the money that the University is paying for us to stay here is actually a way for the organization to make money and so it doesn't just cover the expenses of our housing and our meals. I am not exactly sure how much is being paid but I imagine it to be roughly $250 a week which is a lot for being here in Bolivia and would be enough to live off in the States. I don't know how much the people that are helping us out make, but I am certain that it isn't much. A lot of the staff members come to help fix things in the house if there are any problems but there isn't anyone dedicated to maintenance up here. It is also a slow time of year for visitors so it seems like it isn't really necessary.

The biggest help that we get comes from the woman who cooks our lunches and dinners during the week, going shopping for our groceries, and cleans the house once a week. We have had two women that have been here throughout our two months here. At first Margarita was here because the main cook Mercedes was out of work because her son and husband had been in a terrible car accident. A couple of weeks later Dona Mechies (Mercedes) came back and Margarita was no longer with us. We got to know Mercedes fairly well and are always appreciative for the things that she does for us. Unfortunately it seems that her son's health has gone downhill again and he has been in and out of the hospital. Dona Mechies also had an accident in the kitchen and cut her right hand very badly and may have even cut a vein. She is out of work again and I am not exactly sure why. I also don't know if she has insurance for her son who is disabled, or if she gets any type of paid leave while she is gone. It is a very unfortunate situation. Since she has been gone I have been selfishly missing the fresh-squeezed orange juice that she had been making for me with greater frequency after she learned how much I loved it. Honestly though I could care less about my missing out and I just hope that she and her family are ok.

In the meantime Margarita is back with her. I am equally grateful for all of the things that the has been doing for me and my team from Emory. She is a great cook and always prepares lovely meals for us that include a soup and then a segundo or main course that usually entails fresh vegetables, cut cucumbers and tomatoes, a meat of some sort, and often time potatoes and/or rice and/or pasta. Before she leaves in the afternoon, often to go to her second job she leaves another course which could be lentils, lasagna, or a quiche for our dinner to go with the leftovers from lunch. Once a week she comes to clean the house and sweeps and mops, cleans the bathroom, and takes out the trash (including our toilet paper from the bathroom because you don't flush it here). We also pay her a couple of dollars extra to do our laundry once ever week or two and she seems very grateful for the extra income. Margarita has also been kind enough to share some of her culinary secrets with Betsy and I and we have begun learning how to cook like real Bolivians. A lot of the stuff is not that complicated but things are done a little differently here. What I still really want to learn is how to make the incredibly rich soups that we have everyday. They range from potato soups, to cream of peanut soup, to this pureed spinach soup that sounds disgusting but is absolutely delicious. Through conversations while cooking I have come to learn a lot more about Margarita and about the hard life that she lives. I still don't know how old she is and I think she only appears to be old because of her short round stature but I imagine she isn't much over thirty. She has three children aged 15, 10, and 8 and although she loves them, she is a single mom and has a very hard time taking care of everyone. She has told me that she wishes she could be like me and not have any children still. She works at least two jobs including her work here and also sells vegetables during the evening and I don't even know what else. It seems like she might pick up a few things for herself when she goes to the big market between 3 and 5 am on Wednesday and Saturday to pick things up for her other business and for our food here. It should also be mentioned that she carries all of this food on her shoulders and on her back to get through the market and then to get from wherever the bus drops her to here. I promise not to complain about carrying groceries from the car to the house ever again. I am also very thankful for supermarkets and for the baskets or buggies that we have in them. Margarita has lived a hard life and seems resigned to working hard and doing the kind of work that she does. She is a great cook and learned to cook when she was 13 and was working in the Taquina beer factory not far away preparing meals for the workers. When I asked if she was in school at the time, she explained to me that she grew up with her grandmother and that they didn't have any money for her to continue to go to school and that her grandmother was getting old and needed someone to support her so she went to work very young. I mentioned that the good thing about her having three children was that they would be able to take care of her as she got older and maybe she wouldn't have to work so much but she didn't seem very confident in that as a possibility. I know that her children are in school but I don't know how she manages to support all of them on what I imagine is a very very very modest salary to say the least. She is a good woman and makes me recognize and appreciate the position that I have in society, and helps me to remember that it is not something to be taken for granted and that I should be reminded to do good things for others or to leverage my position to make the world a little bit better of a place.

The Land Before Time

2011-07-26T07:23:00.000-07:00

Monday, July 25, 2011

After finishing the beast of a grant application that I had been working on all week long I left with the girls for a weekend trip to Toro Toro National Park in Potosi. I had NO idea what the trip would entail. After a lot of running around and asking for directions we arrived at the bus stop for the bus for Toro Toro. Fortunately, the hotel we were staying at had already purchased tickets for us and so we just had to arrive and get on the bus. We were running late so we hopped on the bus only to find out that we had gotten on the wrong bus and so we switched to the bus in front of it. Our departure was scheduled for 6:00 but the sun set and we continued to wait until nearly 8:00 before officially departing the area. Apparently it takes a while to secure things like bedframes, tables, chairs, and months worth of food rations to the top of a huge tourist bus. I prayed that we wouldn't be on a rough road and end up tipping the bus over from being top heavy. Although I was less than excited to be leaving so late, I was glad to be on the road none the less. We tumbled one a dirt and cobblestone path away from the city and down through riverbeds until we reached Toro Toro at roughly 2:00 am, a bit later than the scheduled 11:00 arrival I guess.

We checked into our lovely little ecofriendly hotel at the Villa Etelvina and promptly collapsed in the beds. The next morning the girls and I were up bright and early for a lovely breakfast with nice hot breads, fresh juice, real butter, and an overall beautiful setting at the foot of the mountains. I was surprised at how friendly and attentive the staff were, how clean the place was, and how beautiful the setting.

After breakfast we made our way to town to check into bus tickets (which was a hassle) and then find a guide for the day. The town was a simple Bolivian town with a colorful Potosi flair and a surprisingly well developed tourism industry despite the recent (4 years ago) arrival of electricity to the town.

In the tourist office we ended up adding a Peruvian and English couple to our group to split the cost of the guide and selected a trip to El Vergel for the day. We thought we would have a lovely and relaxing day down by the waterfalls but five hours, 10 K of rough terrain, and over 1600 steps in and out of a canyon we thought otherwise. The day was absolutely breathtaking but also absolutely exhausting. The scenery was so intense and rough and it was no challenge to imagine this as the land of the dinosaurs. Our guide Pablo did a wonderful job pointing out dinosaur footprints and other historic relics along our journey to El Vergel. There were easy casual parts and challenging parts that required a lot of lifting, pulling, and trekking. I was constantly amazed by the natural beauty of the adventure and delighted that we had the park all to ourselves until we arrived at the river in base of the canyon. For hours it was just our little group crossing natural bridges, climbing up rocks, and huffing and puffing down the side of the mountain. The water at the bottom was fun, but freezing and as we arrived relatively late we had limited time as the sun began to go down just over the walls of the canyon we prepared to leave and head back up the mountain. It was exhausting, exhilerating, and astonishing. Once we arrived back in town we returned to the hotel where I took a glorious hot shower with great water pressure. After everyone had freshened up we asked for an early dinner and had some pizza and beer, and LOTS of water along with a few rounds of rummy before turning in early from our tiring day.

We started the day with a hike to the Ciudad de Itas (Rock City in Quechua) which was really all about the hike to get there rather than the actual rock arches. Before we even reached the starting point by car I could feeling the heaviness in my lungs from the altitude. It was hard going but incredibly rewarding. Don't get me wrong, they were really lovely but the feeling of being on top of the world and all of the beautiful mountain views along the way were just awe inspiring. Again we had the park almost entirely to ourselves and only once saw a group far below us and then passed a small group right as we were leaving the area. Everything was really enjoyable and lovely except for the part where we had to climb up a cliff with a rope to hold onto but no harness. I was pretty scared and had to seriously strategize about the safest way to get up and although our guide was really great, I still didn't entirely trust the system and being right on the edge of an enormous cliff didn't help at all. Unfortunately, a lot of those photos are on another camera and you won't be able to see them until I come home. Anyway, it was just beautiful and brought so many emotions to me including excitement after conquering, awe at the scenery, peace when just reflecting on a mountaintop for a bit, adrenaline rushes and energy as we continues to climb, and relief after making it back.

There were many similar emotions in the huge cave of Umajulanta that we went to next but I have to say that the repelling and climbing were easier there when it required any kind of equipment. I suppose it also helps when it is dark and you don't quite know how close you are to the edge. There were quite a few times that I did see the edges and cliffs in the cave and was a little less than comfortable but knew that I could make it through everything. It was exhausting and thrilling, terrifying and beautiful. Once again the group and I were beat as we emerged from the cave and ready for the view on the hike back but dreading the climb to get there. I know someone who would be very proud of me though because I made it out of the cave as the cleanest of everyone...by far! I wish I could explain it better and although I do have some nice pictures, it is still really hard to illustrate. Overall it was just amazing.

Sadly we had to return today and barely got tickets on the bus. Please note that I said tickets here, not seats, as we had to sit in the floor in various capacities as we rumbled back through the rough road on our five hour return trip. It was so worth it though and I would go back in a heartbeat.

The morning

2011-07-26T07:18:00.000-07:00

Friday June 22, 2011

I know that things have been quiet the last couple of weeks but I have been swamped at work with a grant for the European Commission. I was working with the Health Communities team to try and get a huge grant together and we were attempting to do the impossible, complete this grant application in one week whereas it usually takes professional months of work to get the grant together. It was a lot of work but I think it all worked out as best it could and we did have a finished product to turn in.

Throughout the week it took a lot of concentration to separate my thoughts from the grant process and all of the stuff we were working on when I was at home. Thanks to barking dogs, racing thoughts, and one of the higher stress times while I was here I was having trouble sleeping and waking up quite early. Here is a thought from Friday morning when I woke up. .

When I left the house this morning to go make myself a cup of tea and a piece of toast I noticed that it had rained last night. This is only the second time that it has rained since my arrival here in Cochabamba and coincidentally both rains coincide with our travel weekends. I just pray that the rain doesn't follow us to Toro Toro. The ground was softened by the rain and the dirt look more familiar to me than the dessert like dust that I usually kick up on my way to the kitchen. The air smelled sweeet and spicy, hard to pinpoint but somehow almost like an Indian restaurant. The air I have become accustomed to smells like hay as we are in the dry season and all of the tall grasses are dry and ready for the cows. I looked up the hill on my way out the door and saw that the cows were indeed doing their job and were now grazing closer to our home and approaching the end of the tall grasses. The moisture from the soft rains still hung in the air, soon to be eliminated by the rising sun. Although any rain during this time of the year is almost unheard of, I am grateful for these showers and I just hope that the farmers are grateful as well and that these strange rains have not brought any undo troubles to their fields or their harvests.

From the Amazon Basin to the snow covered peaks

2011-07-03T08:44:00.000-07:00

What a trip! We set out from CUBE just before noon on Friday. We had worked the previous Saturday so we thought it would be reasonable to take off a couple of hours early to catch our bus to Villa Tunari, a much needed tropical retreat. After our names were called at the trufi taxi station for Chapare Region we paid our $25 Bolivianos and loaded in the van. Fortunately we had the middle section all to ourselves but the children sitting in the back were continually leaning up, putting an elbow on my hair, and burping in our ears which made the trip a bit less comfortable. As soon as we left the city we hit rain and it continued to rain and be extremely misty on our whole trip but we imagined that it would let up once we arrived in Tunari. Our driver passed every large truck and other taxi on the winding mountain roads that he possibly could and I mean EVERY one possible. There were more than a few times that we had no idea how we would cut in front of the other cars before the oncoming vehicles smashed into us and sometimes we even had to slide back into our previous position when there wasn't enough room. It was a bit hectic to say the least but despite the eradic driving and unstable zones that weren't paved we were all enjoying the change of scenery. Visibility was very limited due to the fog and the rain but what we could see was an incredible transition from dry grasses to lush large leafed tropical vegetation. Around each corner we saw new darker more tropical plants and before we knew it we were deep in the Selva, surrounded by the jungle.

After the three hour rollercoaster ride we arrived in Tunari, a strip of dumpy tourist spots alongside the roadside and our driver dropped us off a the taxi station so we could get a ride to our hotel. A few kilometers of bumpy cobblestones, dirt paths, and mudholes later we arrived at the incredibly secluded Hotel Selva El Puente. Upon check-in we learned that we would be the only guests in this lovely little place. It seems that the cold front that would be around for roughly a week kept anybody in their right mind out of town. Despite our disappointment with the weather we decided to make the best of it enjoy having the property all to ourselves. It didn't look like we would be swimming in the pozas or the pool like we had envisioned, but at least we could have a nice drink and a decent meal, right?

After putting our things down it was time to explore and as Betsy wasn't feeling too well in the stomach, Lise and I decided to take the path down to the pozas ourselves and do some exploring. We made it down the slippery path down the mountain fairly easily and when we arrived at the bottom it was again not quite what we had envisioned but pleasant none the less. Essentially it was just a river coming through the woods with a rather deep and calm part; not much for where I come from but apparently a lovely destination for Bolivia. I played with the rocks and just sat by the river with Lise for a while before we went back up to the top. In exploring the property we saw lovely plants and trees and even spotted a crazy electronic sounding bird that only chirps once it sticks its hindfeathers up in the air.

Soon enough we were back in the room checking on the increasingly sickly companera and getting ready for dinner. We went up to the restaurant and ordered a drink and got a fire started for us in the chimney while we looked over the menu. The food was rather pricy for Bolivia but we figured it would be pretty nice. Apparently the staff had to go out to kill the cow, and catch the fish for our dinner because it took an impressively long time for dinner to be prepared. Meanwhile we were warming up and getting hungry but at least one of the maids had taken some warmer blankets to our room.

Once the food finally arrived it was again quite different than what we had hoped for. Lise's garlic Surubi was mediocre at best and my meat and cheese sandwich reminded me of street vendor food here in the city but the greasy french fries weren't too bad, and somehow had less grease on them than the fried yucca. I guess I can't complain too much because poor sick Betsy had asked for some spaghetti pomodoro with the sauce on the side and when it arrived not only was it on top of the pasta, but it was a pomodoro sauce with chunks of meat, not really the best for a vegetarian. We ate for a bit and tried to find some humor in the experience and make the most of the private lodge type atmosphere right by the fire but soon it was just too much for Betsy and she was back in the room. Lise and I turned ourselves toward the fire and sat our feet right on the edge of the chiminea to warm our toes and actually had a really nice conversation about life experiences and we were just really starting to talk about Kids4Peace when we were interrupted by an old man from the hotel who told us he would be leaving us for a soccer game. He hadn't been gone for a minute before he came back and began serenading us with his guitar songs, leaving for a couple of minutes and then returning with another song. After a few Bolivian songs, and even one he had written about his home in the Yungas his soccer game must have started...thankfully.

We hung around for a a few minutes longer as the fire died down and then made it back to the room with a piece of bread and a bottle of water for Betsy. Unfortunately when we got there all of our thoughts were confirmed and she was far beyond having a stomach ache, it was clearly what I came down with a couple of weeks ago. We did what we could to make her comfortable and then began to plan our getaway for the next day. It was also at this time that another worry of mine appeared to be confirmed. I checked my funds and it looked like I was missing a couple hundred Bolivianos and I am pretty sure that the lady who brought our blankets took the liberty of going through our things and found our money. I of course questioned myself and thought maybe I was wrong but as I am writing this we have pretty much figured it all out.

The night was long and the music from some drunken party that the staff was having was loud but we survived. Our breakfast on the patio was actually quite nice and I even had some watermelon in honor of the fourth of July coming up. Soon enough we were packing our things and had a taxi called to get us out of there. Getting a trufi taxi from the bus station was easy and we were packed in and headed on another rollercoaster exursion within minutes. I think our prayers and concerns were much more on Betsy and getting her back in one piece than the crazy ride, and in some ways it was nice to be back as quickly as possible. The view was actually much better on the way back because the fog had lifted in some areas and we could see the incredible tropical mountains and the lush vegetation.

Three hours and a handful of near misses later we were back in the city and jumping into a cab to Chilimarca. We made it back and walked straight into the clinic but unfortunately could only get some Ibuprofen for Betsy until tomorrow when Teo comes back in. We came up and got Betsy into bed and then I went to make a tomato sandwich for lunch, buy some powerade, and borrow some movies and now I am just relaxing, not at all upset about leaving Tunari early.

Final report- highlight=chatting with Lise by the fire, sitting by the river, and the vegetation. Lowlight=being robbed, but at least I don't have parasites anymore.

Hmmmm

2011-06-29T14:50:00.000-07:00

June 27, 2011

My blog and my friends have heard little from me this week for two reasons. The first rather insignificant reason is that there were two national holidays this week, meaning that most things shut down including the offices and the internet. The real reason is so small that it would seem insignificant but is actually quite the terror on the system. It seems that I have come down with some parasites so I have hardly been able to function as a normal human being, much less work and update everyone. It has not been a very exciting week at all and things seem to be turning up just a bit but I think it might still be a long road to recovery. I think once I can finally sleep through the night I will feel much better.

However, this week has given me a ton of time to think and although it has been hard to record many of my thoughts, there are some that have stuck with me. Inspired by a recent email from a classmate I decided to take note of some of things that just don't make much sense and i can't quite figure out why in the world these things are the way that they are.

So...why in the world is our shower on the same level as the rest of our bathroom without any kind of ledge or barrier? When we shower the water gets all over the floor and the entire bathroom is soaked. It seems like it might make more sense to put it down in a whole or to build a ledge up around where the water falls. It might also make sense to put a curtain in so that the toilet doesn't get soaked. I guess if you want to be able to use the bathroom and shower at the same time then this arrangement makes perfect sense. I guess we'll just keep squeegying the floor after our showers so nobody slips in the pools of water.

Why in the world are there so many wild dogs? Fortunately, it is fairly well known and they even put green strings on the necks of those that have had rabies vaccines but we have a few that stay here inside our compound and it is not unusual to see these grimy mutts inside a dining room or even under your chair in the computer lab.

Why in the world did people ever think it was a good idea to cross and orange and a lemon to make a lima? It didn't come out well and it is just like a weak version of a lemon and an orange with a funky bitter aftertaste. Not something to get excited about, and no, it is not a lime.

Why in the world would you tell someone you had just been in prison for two years for being falsely accused of drug trafficking if you are trying to get money from Americans? There was a man who followed us and told us in English about the time he had lived in Texas only to ruin any chance he had of maybe getting a Bolivian out of us with the prison talk. Good thing I was quick thinking and used the excuse of having to track all of our expenses.

Why in the world is Nescafe so popular? Bolivia could be and in some places is great for cultivating coffee but this ridiculous Nestle company has the most serious kind of monopoly going on here. At the same time, why in the world does Betsy love it so much?

Why in the world do none of the doors seems to fit right? With a little proper hanging they wouldn't be scraping the ground when you try to close them or if you shaved the bottoms they would stop doing it and making that terrible sound. I also don't understand the cracks in all of the doors, it lets the cold night air right in.

Hace frio en los Andes

2011-06-20T13:39:00.000-07:00

June 16, 2011

Today was the best day so far. First let me say mountains. Now let me explain. We left the center this morning before 5:00 and began our trip out way past Morochata through the National Park of Tunari into a 100% AmerIndian village where all spoke Quechua or Quechuanol. It was still dark for a few hours after we got on the bus to the mountains but I just couldn’t sleep. As we began our ascent into the mountains I was so anxious for the sun to come up that I couldn’t go to sleep. I was also FREEZING and couldn’t have gotten warm enough to sleep if I did want to. I was enthralled by the journey that I couldn’t take my eyes away from the windows because with every hairpin turn and bump along the dirt road the scenery continued to change. The mountains got taller, more rigid, and more beautiful as we progressed. Eventually we crested the mountains and throughout our decent we were watching as we passed the llamas on one side and saw the clouds below us on the other. We continued to twist and to turn for hours until we finally arrived at our destination just as the sun was warming the entire mountainside, a very welcome visitor.
We arrived at the house of Asunta, one of the most well known and well respected health promoters that MAP has trained. She has been working as a volunteer health promoter for nearly 20 years now and has seen some very serious transformations in her village. Asunta never did marry much to the dismay of her family originally but now her father, who only speaks Quechua recognizes the incredible wisdom that she has. She attributes much of her dedication to a spiritual calling from God to serve others in the work that she does. She also carries a great deal of pride for her village and her traditional way of life and hopes that people can learn to celebrate the traditional way of life. There are many people that are migrating out of the villages and usually when people receive training they leave the village for a better job in the city.

There is really incredible work being done in these places and I am happy to be a part of it. Of course there are frustrating times and challenges but for the most part I am very thankful.

A picture story of sorts

2011-06-13T13:51:00.000-07:00

Please note that some of my favorite photos are being omitted based on the guide and requests from MAP Bolivia

Understanding the organization

2011-06-13T11:57:00.000-07:00

Monday June 13, 2011

Today was a really wonderful opportunity to see where the theory meets the action and the operation of the organization. I have been working a lot with the theoretical foundations of the organization and I was really questioning and being very critical of some of the things that I was being told. However, based on something that came up during the team meeting and the way that the situation was handled and discussed I was able to understand much better that way that the team structure works, the value of each person as part of the organization, the understanding of the Christian identity, and how the organization perceives more of gender relations and identity.

We the Emory students went to the weekly team meeting at nine this morning in the back of the clinic. The meeting didn’t start on time because we were waiting on more people to show up even though we knew that a lot of people weren’t going to show up because of the transportation strike that is happening in the city right now. Last week it was the post office and now it is the transportation, there are roadblocks all over the city. It wasn’t bad for us because we live where we work essentially but other people couldn’t get it and it was a bear to get the professors that are visiting from Drexel from the airport this morning. On that note, there are professors visiting right now so Betsy, Lise, and I are sharing a room for the week which isn’t too bad except that I am not sleeping as well and I am on the top bunk. I also woke up this morning with swollen eyes because of allergies and a nasty bugbite on my right eye. I feel like all of this is just silly whining though and I really shouldn’t have any complaints compared to some of the things that the team members are facing.

Once we finally began this meeting this morning we started with singing a few songs from the songbook and reflecting on the songs as people continued to trickle in until we had roughly 20 people. Jose Miguel wasn’t there at first and everyone else seemed to do well taking initiative and starting the meeting and it gave everyone a chance to speak and for us to hear them say stuff when he is out of the room as well, as a way to confirm the things that we were hearing when he was around.

Eventually he did come in and others as well and when we were commenting on a song one of the team members started with what seemed like a normal comment but ended up telling us how their cousin was murdered this past weekend. It seems like his mother is very very ill and people aren’t even sure how to tell her. It also sounds like it was a hate crime and he was killed by one of his best friends for supposedly being homosexual. Everyone in the room was really shocked and it was obvious that everyone’s hearts really went out to this person.

After the person was finished telling their story Jose Miguel told her that if she needed to leave she was free to and to take as much time as she needed and take the whole week or whatever felt right to her. I don’t think it will even count as vacation or personal days but I am not entirely sure. Based on the team structure that exists it looks like everyone will know just where to pickup and how to work without the person being present. This person has a lot of responsibilities but does not have to delegate down to lower levels based on the way that the system is organized.

The responses from the team also showed how much they care about each person that is there and are willing to step in when they know that other people really need their help and I am sure they are only acting as they would want someone to act if they were in this kind of situation. In MAP Bolivia, it is recognized that people do have personal lives and have lives outside of the organization that cannot be separated and entirely and that people can’t just leave things at the door, either here or at their home. It was helpful to hear people further discuss how they felt that they really count as a part of the organization and that they can look to their co-workers to find support.

Further, it was fascinating to see a very serious issue surface in this way. I had been thinking a lot about how the organization perceived homosexuality and what their response would be to having a person on staff or just people in general in their programs. It was interesting to hear the denunciation of crimes and intolerance against people of different sexual orientations. They talked about how so many churches are rallying against people or how they will welcome people as long as they recognize their sins as soon as they come in. This was yet another moment where I thought about how nice it has been to know a church that is welcoming to people from many different walks of life and even accepts people into positions of leadership despite gender or sexual orientation. I wanted to pipe up and say wait, wait, do you guys know that Episcopalians now allow you to lead regardless of orientation or gender? It is so relieving to see a group that isn’t trying to put people in their boxes and label them as one thing or another and allows people to be as they are. I think it is critical to recognize that we may all have our own opinions or values but that it is not our place to be judging others, as long as it is not harming others. For my experience with MAP, it was helpful to see this part of their Christian identity exposed in such a way that encourages tolerance.

I know it is very early in the journey yet but I feel like I am learning so much. I am learning just as much about the organization and international development as I am about myself. I feel that my routine of yoga in the morning, breakfast outside, time with work and the school and then a quiet night at home has been really healthy and helpful. I have been to the city a couple of times, which has been really enjoyable but I think the quiet time up in the mountains has been even better. In peace.

The first week or so in Bolivia- MAP International

2011-06-13T11:48:00.000-07:00

June 3, 2011

I can’t quite decide whether to keep my journal in English or Spanish or whether to handwrite it or type it but I figure for the sake of sharing it with the people I love most it will be more helpful to type it up.

I have just spent my first day in Cochabamba, Bolivia, where I will be for 78 days according to what I told the guy at customs, and I think it is right. I am totally exhausted and don’t think that I have had more than two hours of sleep since yesterday so I don’t know how long I will last. Today was a beautiful day and when I stepped of the plane in Cochabamba it hit me. I felt a rush of excitement and a relief for having finally arrived. It was a crisp morning and the sun was shining. Once I walked down the stairs and off of the plane I went to baggage claim with my companeras Betsy and Lise. It took a while to get our bags but was quite entertaining as the woman on the loud speaker announced flights with an incredible liturgical incantation. Luz Stella was waiting for us outside of the airport and it showed us to her old school colorful land cruiser that would be our ride home. We passed through crazy bustling streets but I didn’t pay much attention to the city because I was paying close attention to every word she said about MAP and their programs. By this point it was all Spanish so it required a good bit more attention than English. We made a quick stop at a roadside vendor for plantains and oranges and a few minutes later we were headed up the stone road to Chilimarca, hearing stories of the adobe houses and dirt roads that have now been destroyed as people have come in housing developments are occurring in the area. We passed by the library, health clinic, and school before reaching the adjoining lot where the guesthouses have been built. A dog greeted us at the gate and a few more followed as we were quickly oriented to the property and walked into our house to drop our bags before breakfast.

After a light breakfast of eggs and fruit with Luz Stella and the students from Eastern (not great Spanish speakers) we returned to our rooms for a quick powernap and then were back in action, learning about programs, visiting all of the MAP facilities and watching the children’s productions for teacher’s day. To honor their teachers they put on a couple of hours of beautiful dances for their teachers. From Kindergarten to high school the children performed various traditional dances and a few groups even threw in some modern reggaeton type dances. This was a true highlight of the day for me because I got to meet some of the children and get a good look into the day to day life of the kids and the energy that is behind the school. The children ran right up to me and hugged me and asked lots of questions, they are just adorable. Some were dressed in the most entertaining little outfits that mixed traditional clothes with more western styles. Spider Man was the only brand I recognized today, besides the harrah’s hat that a mother was wearing when she game to pick up her child. There are over 200 children at the school and they are responsible for their own education and are taught self-agency in a truly innovative Montessori type style. It is quite chaotic compared to traditional schools but I see how it could work well for children. I just don’t know that I could do it everyday. There are many things here that don’t seem quite as neat or tidy as I would have them but they are coming together and I am trying to just go with the flow. Things are relatively simple but far more here than most people in the community have. Hopefully photos will help illustrate my physical setting.

If I could wrap up the day in a sentence I would say that I ate, I met a lot of people, I listened, and I was super tired. On that note, I sleep.

**I am thankful for electric and running water, I am comfortable, I am tired, I miss Franklin a bit.

June 4, 2011

Today is Saturday, ie market day. This morning we woke up at seven and I tried to shower but the water was too cold for me to wash my hair so I decided to stick to washing the body for now. We later got the water problem resolved, I hope. I then went and drank some coca tea and had a piece of fruit before we went to the market with the whole group. We took a bus that was rented privately for our group but usually runs between the center of the city and here in Chilimarca. We spoke English much of the time because the group of students from Eastern University don’t speak much Spanish. Along with other students we were accompanied by Luz Stella and her daughters Navy and Marta.

As we entered the market we had two main missions. Our first was to try the typical breakfast of fried corn and a purple corn drink. The pastel tasted like a funnel cake with queso fresco inside of it whereas the drink was unlike anything I had ever had before. Served hot, it was like drinking water down sweet grits, but tasted much better than that sounds. We all sat in a group and ate the breakfast hot off of the press.

Our next mission was to buy things for the week ahead. There was a terrible accident yesterday involving the husband and the son of the cook at the MAP center. Therefore, the duties of preparing food have been handed off to Luz Stella for the next few days. We roamed the market and helped her to find all kinds of fresh produce, meats, cheese, and dried goods. Our only non-food purchase was the toilet paper. The market was rather calm and well organized which made the entire experience much more pleasant for me.

Upon our return around noon we began preparing for the barbecue. We cooked a ton of food and I was in charge of the potato salad, which I made like a good southern girl and others pitched in where they could. We grilled out under a tree and the MAP family and the students all shared the meal we had prepared together. The whole undertaking took a few hours and it was four o’clock before everything was said and done but overall really pleasant and enjoyable.

After cleanup the Emory group attempted to head to the library to use the internet but to no avail. Thus, it will be a while longer before I can update the world. After swinging for a while on the school playground we returned to our house for a while before our meeting with Jose Miguel and Luz Stella, and here I am, writing, a bit tired, and ready to just relax for a while.

**I am still thinking a great deal about Franklin, and about the relationship that we have. I think we can do this really, and I am coming to realize more each day how wonderful it is to be around him. I love the man, I really do. I think it will be important for me to continue on my adventures and keep doing all of these things that I find important, and I have faith that it will all work out for us, just as it should.

June 5, 2011-Sunday

Today has been a rather calm and peaceful day thus far. Betsy and I started our day with a little yoga and sun salutations in our dining room before showering and going to make tea (mate de coca) that we took to the open chapel as we watched the sun come up behind the mountains. We sat very peacefully listening to the birds chirp and watching little animals playing in the tall grasses beyond where we sat.

We next went to the school and found that the internet was open for us and used that for a bit before going down to the festival at the school. It was used as a type of fundraiser for the school and the were probably around a hundred people there or more. The children put on some dances similar to the ones they had done on Friday and there were also traditional bands and singers providing entertainment while everyone ate at the different food stations set up by parents from the school. I had the opportunity to try the sopa de mani, or peanut soup. It was different than I had expected and contained a lot more cream and even noodles which surprised me. I sat at the tables under the tent at my station but admittedly didn’t talk much or try to meet new people and instead focused on the entertainment and took a few photos. After eating I roamed around a bit to take photos and then went to sit in the shade near the MAP folks and the Americans. I enjoyed the company of a few of the school children and then went to play with them on the playground and had fun swinging and playing house.

Since then I have just had a quiet and relaxing afternoon reading outside in the sunshine and enjoying a day of rest.

June 6, 2011

I am having a really interesting time. For the most part I am glad that I am living in such a peaceful place and that I get to see the mountains all the time but I think it might get a little boring so I will surely be in need of some traveling. Today was really interesting at my first day of work and we had a meeting all morning long to learn about the team based system that they have here but it also involved a lot of praying and singing hymns and stuff which was a little strange but most everyone had really important things to say and seem to have a really dedication to the work that they are doing and care so much about the people that they help. This afternoon we had a long presentation on how the organization thinks about children and about teaching versus facilitating in the process of learning. Most things I tended to agree with but it was very very heavily theological and there were some points of contention for me or things that I wasn't really convinced about and felt like I was being preached to a little bit. They talk about the ability of children to discover things for themselves and explore but it seems like their explorations are still supposed to lead them to Jesus so I have a lot of questions to ask. Jose Miguel and Luz Stella seem to be very open to questions though which is great. Anyway, things overall are going really well and I am sure that this is going to be a good learning experience.

June 7, 2011

Overall I would say that, today has been a pretty good day. Lunch was a little oily because we ate at the school but I told them I was a vegetarian so I didn't have to eat the sardines and I got a deep fried egg instead. I am thinking about being a vegetarian while I am here and maybe eating a little bit every now and then but it looks like it is going to be a lot of chicken feet and whatnot if we are eating with the kids in the school so it might be much more pleasant to pass and get extra vegetables and some beans or an egg.

The school is really sweet and they are apparently doing some pretty radical things for here but it seems a lot like the school that I worked at back home, especially when I was with the kindergarten kids using a lot of manipulatives and hands on materials, and teaching a lot about how to be healthy including healthy foods, healthy habits like brushing your teeth, and healthy behavior. It is a little bit strange to me at times that they are talking so much about diversity and being open to so many different people and allowing children to discover their own spirituality but they still say the lord's prayer at lunch. On a really positive note, the kids are so cute that I can hardly stand it. They are really sweet and friendly, they come up to give hugs, talk, and tell me all about what they are learning. I haven't done much with the higher grades yet but the younger ones are rocking my world and appear to be really smart and know a lot. Today I did some observations from age 1 until grade three and they were all super sweet. Some classrooms are MUCH cleaner than others but it more of less functions well. I also spent a couple of hours in a presentation today that didn't really tell me that much that I hadn't already been told by the director but it was interesting to see how everyone is saying the same things essentially.

I am not exactly sure how it came to be or how this information was created but in many ways it seems like they all supporting the same ideas, theories, and methodologies and it seems to be really positive and helpful.

Everyone seems really invested in the work that they are doing here and they seem to care tremendously about the children that they are working with and working for.

I spent the afternoon writing some commentaries about the work that they are doing here and some of the materials that they have shared with us this far and had us read. It was nice to be able to sit at my house and do my work and then go out to the open chapel and enjoying reading for a bit in the sun. I am having a nice little break now until I have my first Quechua lesson at 6:30. I hope all goes well.

Yesterday was really beautiful and interesting as well because I was at the center for the abused kids and we didn't really see kids much but we talked a lot with lawyers and coordinators about all of the work that they are doing. It was also great because I felt really really comfortable for one of the first times and I got to spend a while with some other employees of MAP. Cube is a lot closer to the city center so we went down to the plaza and I got to walk the streets, feed the birds, try some chicha, and experience a lot more. We walked through some of the very small market stalls in the area where they sell a lot of books and jewelry and handicrafts. I even saw a couple of places where they do nose piercings but they weren’t using the right kind of needle so I will have to keep looking and have to make sure I feel comfortable with it. I spoke so much more Spanish and I think a lot of that was because I felt so comfortable and was able to relax.

Across from the plaza de 14 de Septiembre is the big old catholic church of the conquest and we went in to visit and it actually made me miss St.David's. I spoke to Julia who was showing us around and I told her how different and how beautiful that little church is at home. I have never been anywhere quite like it and if I ever live in the area any time soon I think that will be my church. I explained what the services are like, the size of the church, and the sense of community that I feel there. I also tried to explain how simple, kind, and sharing everyone is. I think it is in many ways the same type of story that I tell to people in the United States that seems just as unusual to them, that you leave church and have to take some vegetables, flowers, or garlic from the bench that Chad has filled with stuff from his garden. I tell them about the homemade bread and the soups and dinners that are really made with love with food from people’s gardens at home. Of course the list goes on with Michael’s songs, recognizable voices when we are singing, the sense of calm and peace that is in there, etc. but I usually don’t have time to explain all of the little things but I think I get the message across. Maybe it serves more as a way to get the message across to myself. I think this is appropriate space and time to reflect some on spiritual and religious issues given the setting that I am in, it only seems appropriate.

Now, back to Cochabamba. I also had a great Indian/Bolivian vegetarian lunch buffet that was full of delicious vegetables. It was a really great day and I can't wait to go back to that area and see more. I hope that I get to do some more work with CUBE and to know that part of Cochabamba better. A ver.

Today was also a really wonderful day and I went to one of the more rural areas called Molinos that isn't actually far from here at all but you can see a major difference in the town and also in the school and in the children. We went with a nurse from the clinic to do a checkup that they do every few months to check from mal or undernutrition. Most had a really good weight today but some were pretty short and there is one that we think might have Kwashiorkor. I spent my morning weighing, measuring, and giving vitamins to little kids. I tried to talk to the mothers that brought their children with them but it was really difficult with some because they didn't speak castellano (Spanish), they only spoke Quechua. I am learning, but there is only so much that I can do. The nurse spoke a lot in Quechua and that made everything run smoothly.(See facebook for more information) :-)

rounding out the first week

2008-01-14T21:52:00.000-08:00

School is going really wonderfully. I am back to the same predicaments as I had before though… at school we lost power yesterday morning and they just got it back about 5 minutes ago. I didn't have water at my house this morning so that kind of throws out running. I am not feeling super hot but I think that may just be nerves and stuff. Other than that things are great here. It has been super windy and I am running out of warm clothes. I should have just brought a fall wardrobe but it is all good because it should warm up soon. I have been at school most of the time but outside of that I have had the chance to walk around town a little bit and explore. Today we get out of school early and I am going to hang around for a little while and then make the hour long hike home down the mountain, it is really pretty that way. Today my friends from Samford are going with me so that will be exciting. Things are going really well.

As for my family, it is a little bit different than most other peoples because it is pretty much rosa and I in the house and she never eats with me or anything which is weird and if she does she just turns on the tv so it is she and I in the kitchen watching tv for breakfast and dinner. The only thing I don't like is the juice that my mom gives me in the morning, it is like a bad version f sunny delight, yuck. Otherwise, lots of fruits, veggies, beans, meats, and of course rice. Anyway, her son is staying at the house but I have only seen him a couple times and he doesn't really say much. Good thing that I can entertain myself. When Francella gets back from visiting her grandfather I am sure she will keep me good company. I might look into staying up here at school for my last month though because it is sooooo beautiful up here. The house with dorms is really amazing and I think it would be really nice but I don't know if there is a price difference. And if there is I don't know if my scholarship will pay for it, I will have to check it out.

I am sitting outside by the pool right now and it is incredible, I will put more pictures up when I can.

I am sure there is more good stuff to tell you but I can't think of it right now, my brain hurts. I love you all sooooo much!!!

Feliz Ano Nuevo

2008-01-01T21:49:00.000-08:00

Feliz Ano a todos!! Happy new year to all. Wow, what a great way to start my year. I had class yesterday and I really enjoyed it. It was kind of an easy day because it was the first day of classes and we had introductions and placement tests etcetera. Then we got into our classes after a coffee break and I was put in a class of two, myself and Jerri. Our teacher Amira is really great and I felt dumb like I had forgotten a lot of Spanish but it was fine. I will pick things up in a few days. The campus is absolutely amazing. It is just a bunch of little cabins up in the mountainside and the views are great.!!! There are so many flowers and trees and trails everywhere. The food is great there also. We get a coffee break in the morning with fruits and then a big lunch of Costa Rican goodness. It is going to be great. There are a bunch of people here from Samford University in Birmingham but they are only here for a month. I met one girl of the thirty in the group from Shelby and I was surprised how close that was to home and we were talking about some of the same people that we know. Believe it or not… I was amazed to find out that there is a girl from Franklin at my school!!! It is sooo crazy. We only went to school together for a year because she is younger than me and went to Trimont but it was amazing to learn that her family is there and that she lives on Iotla Church Road. Isn't that crazy? I am really starting to believe in the whole 6 degrees of seperation/small world thing these days. I was also on the plane with my school director but I thought that couldn't be him and I was just crazy because he would be on a plane from Charlotte, what are the chances? Anyway, there are a lot of fun people at the school but I am the only one here for three months. I have a few people to climb with and run with already which is exciting. So, soon enough the day was over and I was back down the mountain in town.

I came home and met Francella, the eight year old granddaughter or my host mom. She is really great and we all went to get ice cream together. The people here are so awesome and they remind me a lot of the Italians, especially the children. After helado we came back to the house and Francella and I hung out for a while and got to know each other. We played on my computer for a little while and listened to high school musical stuff and played on Barbie.com. It was really cool and I wouldn't have known about any of it without Tabitha. Soon Joe contacted me and told me that he and Andrea would be by soon to pick me up for New Year's. He was here about 8 and then we were off to his house. It is a really nice house where he lives with his Aunt, Uncle, and cousin in Alajuela. Beautiful place actually, I felt really comfortable there. I really got to try my hand at Spanish but that is what this is all about Sometimes when I get stuck Joe helps me out and explains things for me. Yea, so, we went to their house and then everyone got ready for the big fiesta with his Uncles side of the family. We dropped by the store to get some coke on our way. It was totally ridiculous because it was bigger than stores at home and there were so many American products. I am amazed at how many American goods there are and as I have now found out even American television. It is interesting. Things are a lot easier here.

After the store we pulled into this field behind a big stucco wall and there was a big pavilion for dancing and congregating. There were great Latin tunes playing and everyone was having a good time. Everything was really nice and there were great lights and decorations all over. Not to mention, the fantastic food. I have tried so many delicious things over the past few days that I really really love. Mama Rosa makes great food for me and Joes family fed me great food nonstop also. I have had tamales, picadillos, papas, carne asada and oh man I can't even tell you all the good stuff. To make a long story short we all talked, ate, and danced for a few hours until midnight and then we ran to the top of the field for fireworks after throwing confetti everywhere and all over each other. We watched fireworks in our yard and all over the city for about an hour. Then we went home and just relaxed for a while longer. Joe's family was nice enough to let me stay there and he was nice enough to let me sleep in his bed while he slept on the couch. Great family, great friends.

This morning I had fabulous coffee, just had to throw that in… sorry. We had a relaxing laid back morning and then this afternoon it was time for another family fiesta over at their other sons house. We were able to walk there from the house and it was again a great time of eating, drinking (just one) and dancing. The family was so inviting and so welcoming to me. They knew my English was rough but they did what they could to help me learn and practice and feel comfortable with them. I got to show them some silly American dances that they didn't know and they taught me some Latin moves. They are all very family oriented and it is fantastic. Again I love the children just like I did in Ghana, I also think it is because it is easy for me to talk to them.

Now I am back in my room working on my homework for tomorrow. I will probably go to bed soon because I am getting up really early to run with Anna. Thanks for all your love and support.

2007-12-31T21:52:00.000-08:00

I just found out that my internet works, it don't know if it is supposed to or not but I am not complaining. Mama Rosa is downstairs fixing me dinner right now. My original family is going to be out of town or something so they changed me which is fine, it all works out. I don't have a pool but I do have a private bath and I have a pool at school so it's all good. It is my first night here and oh my god it is amazing. I am going to love this place so much. It is really beautiful and I think that I am going to be very happy and content living here. Mama Rosa is great. It is just us in the house but all is well with that. Paul and Joe are coming over soon to get me and I am really excited about that. I think things will be much easier having Joe around the area in case my brain starts hurting and I just need a break. Paul and Joe were just here visiting. It was great to see them and to speak english for a little bit. This has already been so much easier than Ghana. It is kind of strange though because there are a lot more American things like Pizza Hut, Denny's, and a Best Western. There is quite a bit of English also and many people are able to speak English. I am glad that I will only be speaking Spanish in the home. Our conversations have been basic and limited but I am sure that they will get better with time. I am sooooooo happy. Did I mention that I am happy to be here? I am in a real home with a lot of character. My mom is an older lady with grandchildren my age. She reminds me of my Nanny in a lot of ways because of the way she loves the kitchen and was putting food in front of me as soon as I walked in and many of our conversations have revolved around food so far. The house is still decorated to the hills in Christmas stuff, it looks just like an American home, well, one of those homes where they really really overdo stuff and have a few nativity scenes, candles, santas, placemats, you name it. I wonder what this house will look like when they are gone. So yea, I got to the airport, did the basic stuff, and walked out into the beautiful sunshine of a day. It is so georgeous. Aghhhhhhhhh. Stick a fork in me, I am done. So tomorrow I start school, I have been told that it is even more beautiful up the hill at school. I can't wait!!!
I love you guys soooooo much!!!!

2007-12-29T17:15:00.000-08:00

Aburi

2007-12-29T16:54:00.000-08:00

Bosumtwi

2007-12-29T16:30:00.000-08:00

Photos from Lake bosumtwi

2007-12-29T16:11:00.000-08:00

My trip to Butre beach in photos, I love the children!!!

from e-mails- Cote d'Ivoire end of Oct.

2007-11-05T01:54:00.000-08:00

So I just got back from Cote d’Ivoire and it was amazing!!! I have to say that it was one of the best trips of my life and I feel like I had such a unique experience being one of the only tourists in a post-conflict zone. I was traveling in a group of six girls from the University, 3 Americans and 3 Canadians. I think that our group dynamic was very advantageous to us in the long run. The location was incredible because Abidjan rivals any big American city in terms of development but the streets are empty. In many of the hotels that we stayed in we were the only ones there, the only ones eating at restaurants, the only ones at night clubs. Even more amazing was being the only people at The Basilique Notre Dame de la paix. It was being at St.Peter’s and being the only people there. It was the most bizarre experience of my life. A huge basilica replicating the Vatican in size and structure plopped down in the middle of an African village. The entire thing was so surreal. Yamassoukro is strange because there are 6 lane highways running through the city that used to be the ex-presidents village of 500 people and there are no cars on the highway. You can easily walk across the whole thing. Down by the Basilica you can lay in the middle of the road, it is a ghost town. Very eerie, almost impossible. I felt like I was seeing a desert mirage, I still can’t believe everything that happened. There were tons of police checkpoints and we got stopped 25 times on Halloween trying to make it back into Ghana. Ridiculous! I guess it is better than letting rebel forces get through. I have to say that overall I felt very safe; more safe than I usually do in Ghana. I think a lot of that had to do with the lack of people, in Abidjan I was walking the skyscraper lined city streets and there was nobody hounding me, harassing me, asking for money, or trying to steal things so I actually had the chance to look around and enjoy my surroundings. In Ghana I am often paranoid about all of the things going on around me and I get easily stressed out but this was just a place to roam freely. There was an amazing amount of diversity in Cote d’Ivoire as well. Many Lebanese, Malians, Burkinabe, and mixed French Ivorians. I met so many different and wonderful people on the trip and I feel so great right now. The food was awesome. Street side open air coffee bars line the neighborhoods and at any hour of the day you can find men sitting and sipping a Nescafe or espresso served with crisp delicious baguettes. There is yummy couscous type cassava, stews, futuo, and the usual African street food. Sandwiches are a riot, they have street ladies who have about 10 pots of boiled food including spaghetti, potatoes, beans, peas, beef heart, eggs, avocado stew, omlettes, chicken, and fish and all of it is served on a baguette. There is no sandwich combination that can surprise me now. There is also a ton of French food like croissants, Lebanese falafel and hummus, and rocking chwarmas.
The shoes were really funny as well. Most of the men wore Jellies, the little sparkly shoes that 3 year old girls wear at home. I think Tabitha had a pink pair when she was maybe two. They are soccer shoes in Cote d’Ivoire and at a dollar a pair they are a much more reasonable option for the children playing soccer in the streets. The neighborhoods in Abidjan varied a great bit because the Plateau was the city center and was very upscale, or was in 1983. The whole city was like a time capsule from 1983, you could imagine it in its height, the glitz and glamour of a modern 80s city. La Deux plateau was my favorite area and had a great fun and young feel to it. It was filled with light skinned immigrant people while Treichville was more of an African immigrant population and was a great area with a fun but not overwhelming market. I can’t say enough good things about my experience, it was beautiful and amazing and I am so happy that I didn’t chicken out at the last minute and decide not to go, I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Busua- mid october

2007-11-05T01:53:00.001-08:00

No school today! Apparently it is common knowledge among students but it isn't on the academic calendar or anything. I guess they announced it on the radio and tv but 1, I don't have a tv, and 2, the radio announcements are always in Twi and I don't speak twi well enough to understand that part yet. I just went to Busua to the beach for the weekend and I had a really great time. The biggest storm in the past century had just come through and wiped out a few houses and stuff so we helped a guy clean up for a while and explored the town and relaxed because there was really no beach left. I planned to surf but even the experienced guys couldn't go out so I decided that was a terrible idea. I had some great moments to myself just sitting by the ocean though and reflecting on life. Saturday I stayed at Butre beach at a private resort that we had to hike a couple of hours down the beach, over a mountain, and the across a long footbridge at the estuary to get to. The little fishing village nearest to it was incredible and I spent a few hours playing with the beautiful little children. The night was really nice. I sat around having a few drinks with friends and then they started a bonfire right at the edge of the water because there really wasn't much beach left at all and these amazing rastamen played their drums and sang until the rain came. The storm was so intense and incredible, I was mesmerized by it really. Good weekend overall I must say because the next morning I had a couple of hours to just sip on my tea and write in my journal in a little hut on the water. Most everything has gone into my journal, hence this online thing has gotten very little attention

little basic things- end of sept.

2007-11-05T01:50:00.000-08:00

we got a washer and dryer in my buidling yesterday so I think I might take my laundry and have it done! That is really exciting for me because i have been hand washing everything and that is a lot of work and you have to do it all the time here because things get so stinking nasty ass dirty and there is no way to avoid it. I also have a mold problem where things mold in my closet very easily, especially if they are dirty in any way... it is strange. Basic things like water, washing, and power are so different here. I am going to be so thankful for warm showers, good internet, power, and clean drinking water and outdoors. I am also going to be excited for food at home. I feel like a fool but I want fruity pebbles and mcdonald's as my junk foods when I get home. There is so much really heavy starch in everything that you eat here, it even makes me miss campus food. Einstein's would rock my world right now, no lie.

from e-mails- Togo late Sept

2007-11-05T01:48:00.000-08:00

I just spent the weekend in Togo and it was crazy. There are moments of frustration here and being in a French speaking country was a bit difficult as well but the food there was amazing, the people were beautifully and so much more what I thought they would be like than they are in Ghana. I spent a day in Lome and rode around on the motorcycle taxis and had a blast. We also went to togoville and stayed at this Catholic monestary and school with this awesome old man who made us dinner and breakfast at his house for free and took great care of us. It was so random but worked out really well. To get to togoville was the best part because we had to ride across the lake in banana boats for about 30 minutes just paddling over. I also went up to Kpalime but it didn't turn out as nice as we had hoped. As always, it took a million years to get anything done so really sunday didn't include but one little half hour hike and the rest of the time was navigating, negotiating, and border crossing and then coming home in a cramped tro tro for about 5 hours. The ride to the border on the long dirt road through the jungle and down the mountain for an hour was really beautiful though. There are a strange variety of mix moments of absolute bliss and total frustration. All in all I had a really great time but I was so happy to get back to my room last night and crash. These are the life adventures though. I must admit, i miss mountain air and mountain life and i can't wait to come back for it.

from e-mails- missing fall mid september

2007-11-05T01:41:00.000-08:00

I miss fall right now... all the little things. i went to a sports bar last night and we watched the arizona baltimore game. we had the smaller tv and couldn't hear the game because they were also playing soccer on the biggest screen and most of the people in this country would much rather watch that. it was nice though, it made me miss stupid little things of home though and my dad. not that i have ever been one to watch a lot of football on tv but last night really made me think of home and how football is just there and a part of life and when i am home on sundays doing laundry a game is on. aly said it is starting to smell like fall, i miss that smell. i am not homesick or anything, just little things about home i have been thinking about. i think mountain heritage day was this weekend as well. i am such a mountain girl hehehe.
things are great here though, reall really frickin hot but good. i went up to kakum this weekend to the rain forrest and i had a blast. we went camping in the park and had the whole place to ourselves. that night we had to walk half an hour to the next village for food and we played with the kids (about 40) for a couple of hours until the sun went down and we were lead to a little guesthouse where ms.gina made us dinner and we visited with all of her family. i think michael will put up photos from that soon. the next morning our guide sampson came and got up from our campsite at 5 in the morning and we started our hike. we hiked over to the canopy walk and got to watch the sunrise from about 100 feet up or so on rope bridges and tree platforms, it was sooo beautiful. then we just hiked the ebony trail, and overall, it was awesome. then we went and saw the slave castles of cape coast and elimina. it was a very eerie experience and i really learned a lot from it. yesterday was a pretty chill day with a lot of card playing, shopping (tons of yummy fresh food now), and then the game last night followed by movie night at that restaurant where they showed knocked up.
so this morning we went for our run at 630 and it was already super hot but i had a good run. 50 spf sunblock all over already and it is only 830. i am doing some homework here on the computer and stuff and then i have dance class followed by laundry time. after that i am going to my conflicts in african states class and then we are making dinner.
oh yea, and i went to church yesterday morning because i am trying that as part of my cultural experience here. i have to say, it was nuts. it was a new pentecost church and they were just yelling and screaming and talking about god is gonna make you rich and strange stuff, it made me appreciate some of the churches at home and around school that still understand that christianity isn't about money. it was totally evangelical and all about asking new members to put a lot of money into the offering and support all of these rural evangelical projects that they were doing but i really didn't agree with anything they wanted to do. part of the service was in twi and the other part was totally like american contemporary stuff... just strange to me.

from e-mails- Volta Region Sept. week 1

2007-11-05T01:38:00.000-08:00

well africa is africa which means internet, electricity, and running water are suprisingly hard to come by. It usually takes a long time to respond to anything. things are really great here though and i have been traveling a ton and experiencing some amazing things.
so this past weekend was absolutely amazing!!! We went to the volta region and climbed amedzofe which is the mountain above the highest town in the country. It is where the missionaries first settled because of the cool climate, it felt just like home. The place was so foggy and mountainous, it was late september in Appalachia for a brief moment in time. This area was part of German Togoland and so you can see the influence and I spent a few hours with a village elder on Friday night, so I learned about all of this. It was so cool to have this 90 year old man telling me about everything he had been through with the area being under league of nations, un protection, and all of these other things before it became part of ghana. The most bizarre part of the night was when a funeral procession came by with the ambulance bringing the corpse back to the town. It was insane, people were dancing and singing in the dark of the night and the only lights were from the ambulance and hte party bus in front of it. All of the power had been turned off so we were meeting with Mr.Datsa in candlelight when the group came by. There was a drumline in the front and everyone was dressed in black and red. The next day I got to go to a real funeral a few villages over, it was so great. I got to dance in the funeral circle which is a big drum circle in the middle with a group of men in the first ring and then women dancing around on the outside with death rags of black and red. I learned a lot. It is also awesome because they feed you tons of food and make you drink a lot as well. Sooooo different from home. But yea, the rest of the weekend was spent hiking the tallest mountain in Ghana, playing in waterfalls, and playing iwth monkeys. the waterfall was more like a hurricane though, it was the strongest thing i have ever been near and I felt insane going close to it. i have no words to describe the awesome power of that thing. but the hike was nice, i wanted to just hike right into togo which was the next mountain over but there is one girl in the group who had never hiked before and was an hour behind the rest of us so that wasn't really an option. so yea, the best time i have had yet... by far.

culinary frustrations

2007-08-20T05:18:00.000-07:00

so last night was rough for me. i went to the atm and i couldn't get any money out so i was freaking out but i got some this morning and things are fine. I also tried fufu last night and it was so bad. i didn't even get a quarter of the way through because my gag reflex wouldn't let me. it tasted like i was eating spicy slimy cornstarch balls. then i tried roasted corn, no luck there either because it was dry and tasted like chicken feed. i didn't eat much of that either. other than an egg sandwich in the morning, this was the extent of my food. it was malaria medicine night as well. i was feeling like a drunk idiot because i didn't have enough food in my stomach and everything is closed on sundays. tanisha saved me with a piece of pizza. i have decided that tuesday night is pizza night and that is all there is to it.call me an obruni if you want and criticize me for eating american food, i don't care! over at the pizza inn, which is a rather expensive option they have buy one get one free night. two large pizzas for 7.40. sounds like a deal to me. i love rice, but i love everything else as well. the food is getting old very fast and i am realizing how important it is to take my vitamins. there are no vegetables here, just meat, starch, and the ocassional bean. no dairy here, so calcium is good. no vegetables, which sucks. i am not much of a meat person, and i am supposed to stay away from chicken but that is totally impossible. i would be nothing if i did that. so i may have to spend more on food to get adequate nutrition. i don't care though. sorry, just had to vent a little. i just want home food so much right now. eat some yummy stuff for me.

2007-08-16T06:39:00.000-07:00

Well I am now sure how much to say but I am getting the swing of things around here. I have registered for my classes and I am super excited. Apparently the first couple of weeks nothing really happens but I am going to try and go anyway. Most of the departments haven't put up timetables yet so I still don't know what time my classes are being offered. I also am going to have to drop a class or two but that is ok. I will wait and see on the times and if I can understand the professors or not. So far I only know that I have Conflicts in African States on Mondays from 3:30 to 5:30. I am also registered for Sociology of African Religion, History of Africa to 1500, Early Modern European History, The Black Diaspora, an introductory Twi class, Obruni Drumming, and Obruni Dancing. I am so excited about classes actually. I really want to take all of them. It is just so different from the states where everything is set when you register six months ahead of time. There is a lot of standing in line and going to various departments and then going again but that is ok.
Besides that I am just experiencing life here. I am eating a lot of really interesting foods and trying other parts of the culture out as well. Things are looking good!

Alive and well

2007-08-12T06:46:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, I just wanted to let you know that I am here in Ghana and doing fine. Thank you to everyone who helped me get here. I couldn't have done it alone, that is for sure. When I first got here I was all by myself and being asked on dates by immigration officers and had strangers trying to trick me. I soon met Mr.Passah and Dr.Akotia and they have helped me so much. I am very luck to be in such a good program. Things are soooo very different here and I don't even know where to begin. I don't have electricity or water right now but I have been managing just fine. I feel like I have really gone back in time, like to my grandmother's generation. I have to go fetch water from the yard to bathe, but it is fine. It is the roughest place I have ever lived in but it is the best accommodation around. It is very simple and safe though. Most people are very very poor, and at the arts center market yesterday I wandered into the back and found where all of the people lived. I think I am really learning to appreciate so many of the things that I take for granted at home. The people here are really nice! It is strange though because everyone can speak English but they usually speak twi, efe, or some other language with each other. I have been into the city and into the market and even tried my hand at bartering, how bizarre! The market can be intense because everyone is asking you to buy stuff but with time I think it will be easier. I found an awesome market on campus today.. .the Bush Canteen, I know it will be cool during the week, but it is unlike anything I have ever seen in the States. I am kind of outside of the main strip on campus but it is nice. There are horses right across the yard. The horses and monkeys are tied to the trees but the dogs, chickens, and sheep roam free. There are so many dirt roads here, it is incredible. Red clay paths are a main way to get around. The land is filled with beautiful grasses, trees, and flowers. Of course I am not much of a city girl so the buildings are a total turn off and don't impress me at all. That is usually the story though. The people are really the most interesting. There are so many beautiful faces, and they are so unfamiliar to me. The women have beautiful dresses. I can't wait to have dresses made. Sorry this is so long but I feel like there is so much to say. I am keeping an extensive journal though, so I will be able to tell tons of stories and share that when I come home. If anybody has any questions of wants to know anything please send me an e-mail or reply to this. messages are always welcome. Thanks again for all of the love, support, and help.
Love and Peace
JennieV.

2007-05-30T17:28:00.000-07:00

wow. I am sitting in my room right now looking at potential graduate school fellowships (mostly foreign affairs) before I write out a couple of assignments for work tomorow to contribute to la vida montanera and the mountain laurel. A moment ago I just took a second to take it all in. I looked up from my computer screen and this is what I saw... a pile of books in my reading corner in which my current books sit between my two mexican carvings. I could see The Global Struggle for Human Rights, The GRE Test, 'Tis, The Clash of Civilizations, and A People's History of the United States. I could also see the maps of Central America and Europe on my wall in the same line as the green rolling mountains outside my window. The last thing in sight was my suitcase for the conference I head to tomorrow. I am so excited about it. I love going to conferences! I love the feel of a true business environment and I love meeting people, and being involved with so many people with common interests. This weekend the office is heading to Chapel Hill for the Immigrant Right and Refugee Training Institute at the Law School of Chapel Hill. How exciting! I know the three of us are going to learn so much, though our applications of the material will inevitably be different.

On another note... I had the chance to speak at Franklin Daybreak Rotary, my sponsoring club, and it was so excellent. I just really love how supportive that club is of me in everything I do. The people there have really helped me to realize my dreams and move me towards the direction of them. Anyway, I am such a lucky person to have them behind me, if it wasn't for them, who knows where I would be.
Ciao for now

paperwork, paperwork, paperwork

2007-05-21T19:04:00.000-07:00

So... school has ended and I am living at home again. I am doing a lot of really fun things and enjoying myself but I feel inundated with paperwork. I just want to go all ready but there is always another form to fill out for someone along the way which can be frustrating because many of these forms have to be filled out by other people and nobody will help me out. I just get annoyed with calling professors and sending e-mails and still hearing nothing. Hopefully I will begin making progress soon.
Right now I am just working a couple of days a week and then studying for the GRE and trying to enjoy myself a bit other than that. Aly and I went and studied under the biggest poplar in the U.S. today. It is nice to be able to do something that I enjoy while I am studying. I feel like there is a bunch of stuff to be done but I don't have the structure to be doing it in. Kind of crazy.
Also, I am in the great search for graduate programs. I know I want to go into a graduate program right after my undergraduate work but I think the battle will be to convince the programs that it is a good idea. After being away for a year I will be ready to come back and jump into an awesome new educational experiences in the states for a couple of years. I just feel like I have more to learn and more skills to gain in the classroom before I get into my career.
Wish me luck!

and we're off

2007-04-03T14:33:00.000-07:00

Let the journey begin!
For a bit I will mostly be explaining my predeparture process and emotions. Many exciting things are happening though... and there are so many more to come!
For the record... here is my official plan:
University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana- Fall 2007
Centro Linguistico Conversa, San Jose, Costa Rica- Spring 2008
wish me luck