Wow. Time has flown by since my last blog post. I can't believe it's Labor Day Weekend and summer is coming to an end. I guess it's flown by because I have been so busy. I didn't even realize I hadn't blogged about the Mediterranean vacation I took so here it goes...
At the end of May I went on a Mediterranean cruise with my mom. It was kind of a last minute decision but we got such a great deal that we couldn't pass it up. We flew Alitalia to Venice which was a big mistake. Maybe I'm spoiled when it comes to international flights but there was not one single thing that made this flight feel any different than a regular US flight except that we got meals. The plane was also incredibly hot and to top it all off I felt a cold coming on while on the plane. So needless to say by the time we got to Venice I was pretty miserable. When we got on the ship we found out that the shuttle which would normally take us from the ship to St. Mark's Square was not running until later that evening because the America's Cup Race was going on. As much as I wanted to get to Venice and see as much of the city as I could, I was a little happy because it gave me a chance to take some medicine and rest a bit before heading out. Once we got there I immediately understood why everyone falls in love with the city. It's beautiful! It was a little chilly when we were there and again I wasn't feeling that great so we didn't have too much time there but I can't wait to go back. It was also really cool to see the America's Cup setup and all the boats that were there for the race. I also had a chance to stop in a pharmacy and get some medicine that seemed to work wonders. God only knows what it is that I took!
We had two sea days after Venice which were also a huge help because by the time we got to Athens I was 100% better and ready to see the world. Our first stop was Athens Greece. I really was excited to go here but was quickly disappointed. The city is dirty, the people were only moderately friendly, and the traffic was horrendous. We went to the Acropolis and did a quick stop at the old olympic stadium then went to have lunch and do a bit of shopping. Athens was not my cup of tea and I have no desire to go back. I will say though that I met once of the nicest women ever at a shop there. She had beautiful jewelry and I saw a ring in the window that I fell in love with. When I asked her about it she showed me several other pieces that were similar and very pretty but I was sure I wanted the one in the window. She finally took it out & told me it was her favorite piece that she's ever done and she was reluctant to actually sell it. I tried it on and knew it was the one I wanted but wasn't sure I could get her to actually sell it to me so I tried a few others on and she finally agreed that the one I loved looked the best and that she would let me buy it from her. She asked me a gazillion questions about where I lived, where I would wear it, would I take care of it etc. then finally kissed it and put it in a bag for me. She then gave me a gift which was a bracelet she had made and wanted me to have. I had won her over. I truly feel like she was a little sad to let it go but felt like it was going to a good home. It's a unique piece and I love it even more because of the story.
Next up was Kusadasi, Turkey. This is one of the stops I didn't think I had an interest in but I was wrong. We toured Ephesus which was one of the coolest things I've ever seen. We had a wonderful private guide which helped bring the whole thing to life and I could truly imagine what it was like when it was an actual city. If you ever anywhere close to it I would highly recommend it. I was fascinated.
Next we went to Istanbul which I was looking forward to. My brother has been there several times and I was interested to see what it was like. I was surprised at how clean the city was but was overwhelmed with all the people selling things. We did the main tourist attractions like the Blue Mosque, the Underground Cistern, Aya Sophia, etc. We also went to the market which I ended up hating. I am not a haggler and you have to be one to shop there. I did want one of the beautiful bowls that they have everywhere so I knew I had to just pick my person and work a deal. I have no idea what kind of deal I ended up getting but I did get what I thought was a fair price and I was satisfied with that. Who knows...as I walked away they were probably saying "stupid American."
After Turkey we made a stop in Mykonos, Greece. I cannot say enough about this town. I fell in love the minute we got there. It's everything you think of when you think of Greece. The beautiful white buildings with the blue rooftops, the bluest water you've ever seen, the nicest people everywhere...I could go on and on. What a difference between this city and Athens. Mykonos is filled with little shops and restaurants and there is jewelry everywhere (my weakness if you couldn't tell.) The tiny little streets are perfect for just wandering around which is what we did. Toward the beginning of the day I stumbled upon this little art studio where they had the most gorgeous and unique rings I've ever seen. They were all pretty big and each had a large stone that was set in some artistic way. I was admiring the case thinking that they were going to be outrageously expensive and this older man came up and started talking to me. He opened the case and started telling me about each of the rings and having me try them on. Turns out he was the artist that made all of them. Of course I was in love. There was one that I put on that was so unique and special that I didn't want to take it off. I'm pretty knowledgeable about different stones and such because I have bought jewelry for a store before but this one I wasn't sure about. I asked him what it was and it turns out that it was a ruby but the ruby then had a faceted crystal placed on top of it so it altered the look of the stone. He only had 3 rings that he had done this technique with, each a different color. I looked at the others but knew that the ruby was the one for me. I was scared to ask him how much it was but I finally did. I was surprised by his answer and ended up buying it. It was still in the 3 digits but what I paid for this ring was considerably less than what I ever would have paid for it in the States. It's a one of a kind design and I got to meet the artist. These are the things I love to buy when I'm on vacation. It means so much more than a coffee mug or a t-shirt which I would pay a lot less for but that I'll easily discard by the next year. This is something I will have forever and that can't be purchased anywhere else. I also had the absolute best greek meal at a restaurant on the water and some pretty tasty gelato. I want to go back to Mykonos soon!
After another day at sea we headed to Italy. First stop: Naples. Now everyone told me Naples was going to be dirty and to go elsewhere which is what we did but there was a really cool food tour in Naples I wanted to do. If I ever go back I'm doing that tour for sure. (Plus getting pizza at da michele!) So instead of staying in Naples we decided to drive the Amalfi Coast w/ a few other people. We hired a private driver and made stops along the way. The roads are super scary but it was a beautiful drive. We had lunch at a lovely little family restaurant in Positano and the food was fantastic. We had several appetizers that were wonderful and one of the guys thought it was the actual meal so when the pasta dishes started coming out he was surprised! Then came plates of desserts and a huge bowl of cherries (which by the way were the reddest most delicious cherries I've ever had.) And last but not least...limoncello. Everything was fantastic! We also stopped at Pompeii and did the tour there. I liked Ephesus more but Pompeii was cool too.
After Naples we went to Rome. This was the only day it rained on our whole cruise (well technically it rained for about 10 minutes in Ravello but that was nothing.) Luckily in Rome our first stop was the Vatican tour so we were inside all morning. We had a fantastic private guide and it was so interesting to hear the stories and especially to see St. Peter's and how huge that thing actually really is. We had our driver take us to a restaurant where locals go and had another fabulous meal (can you have a bad meal in Italy? I don't know if that's possible.) Then we went to the Trevi Fountain, the Colliseum, etc. At the end of the day we had our driver take us to his favorite gelato spot which again was off the beaten path and was fantastic. Pistachio is the way to go in Italy. It didn't let me down once.
From Rome we went to Pisa where we took pics at the leaning Tower and then headed to Florence. We did a quick overview of the city of Florence but then went to San Gimignano which is a small medieval town in Tuscany. Don't get me wrong I love the big popular cities but I love the small towns even more. I just feel like they are so much more interesting. I don't want to shop at the H&M just because its on the Ponte Vecchio. It's still the same thing I can go to everyday. I want to go to the small stores and talk to the local business owners and see what they have and what they've made and hear their stories. That's one of the best things about traveling and I feel bad for people that don't take the time to do that. Sometimes seeing the major sites just isn't what it's cracked up to be. The best time I had in Ireland was sitting with two old Irish men at a bar trying to decipher what the hell they were saying even though they were speaking English. Seeing the world isn't just about seeing the major attractions. It's about experiencing the small things. And not only that, San Gimignano is home of the World's Best Gelato...and let me tell you...it did not disappoint. I also bought some of the best olive oil I've ever had there.
After Italy we headed to Monte Carlo where the Grand Prix had just ended 2 days prior to our visit. We got to see the race track which was kind of cool to see but other than that Monte Carlo doesn't have much to offer. So we headed up the French Riviera to Eze, France which has the most spectacular views of the French Riviera...supposedly....the minute we made it to the top (which was no small feat mind you) a huge fog rolled in so we only got to see the view for about 3 seconds. It was still pretty and the town is nice but on a clear day you are supposed to be able to see all the way to San Tropez.
Our port city at the end of our cruise was Barcelona. We had decided to stay an extra day there because I was dying to see it. I wish I would've stayed another week. Barcelona is fantastic. I'm a huge architecture fan and this city has so much to see. I have always been interested in Gaudi so I was so ecstatic that I was actually going to see his work in person. First we checked into our hotel and then had a cab take us to Hospital de Sant Pau. No I was not sick but this hospital has to be one of the most beautiful in the world. It's no longer a functioning hospital but they are working to restore it. Unfortunately we couldn't tour the inside but the outside was gorgeous.
Our next stop was the La Sagrada Familia. I can't even begin to go into any of Gaudi's work. Maybe I'll do a blog just for that. But just know that if you go to Barcelona, La Sagrada Familia should be at the top of your list. It's breathtaking. And do the inside tour! It's not to be missed.
After that we headed over to what is known as the Block of Discord. Four of Barcelona's most prominent architects have building close by. All are different styles and somewhat clash with each other. Two of Gaudi's buildings are available to tour. We stopped by the first one, Casa Mila but the line was long and we had not prebought our tickets so we decided to walk down to the 2nd one, Casa Batllo which is nicknamed the house of bones. We did tour that one which was completely amazing. I seriously just need to do a post on Gaudi.
After that we walked around Las Ramblas which is where our hotel was located. Lots of interesting people watching in that area. We went to a farmers market near our hotel which had the most beautiful fruits and vegetables I've ever seen. I could've eaten dinner right there but we had reservations at a place I had been waiting months to go to.
After we planned this trip and knew we were staying in Barcelona for an extra day, I started researching things to do, places to eat, etc. I stumbled upon the greatest find. Ferran & Albert Adria, of El Bulli fame, opened a tapas restaurant in Barcelona called Tickets when El Bulli closed. Some of the same concepts used at El Bulli are being used at Tickets. I wanted to go. However I thought it might be impossible. Luck was on my side as I discovered that reservations go up on their website at midnight 2 months in advance. Lucky for me midnight in Barcelona is 5 pm here. I set up an alert on my calendar and hoped for the best. At 5 pm 2 months before I was going to be there I secured my reservation. This was seriously the highlight of my trip. The restaurant feels a little magical when you walk in. It has a bit of a circus theme and everyone is very friendly. On top of getting lucky with our reservation, we got lucky in our seats. We were seated at the long bar overlooking the kitchen. I got to see Albert Adria taste every single dish that came out of that kitchen before it was served. So awesome. Our waitress didn't speak much English and I kind of let her take the reins in serving us because I wanted to taste the best and most popular dishes.What we got was a fantastic array of delightful dishes. From the first dish of watermelon sangria to the famous El Bulli Olives to the crazy little desserts everything was fantastic. I also had the best mojito I've ever had there. And to top it off our bill was not crazy expensive as you would expect it to be. When I go back to Barcelona this will be on my list of things to do again for sure. Oh and Ferran was also there that night so the fact that I got to see both Adria brothers was a highlight of my trip.
I was sad to leave Barcelona and know for sure I will go back there some day. I don't like to go back to the same place twice because there is a huge world out there and I want to see it. The only exceptions I've made for international destinations is Edinburgh, Scotland because I love it there so much and Tanzania, Africa because I love the kids there but Barcelona is worth more than 24 hours.
So that's my little (long) recap of my vacation. I still have more posts to come on Costa Rica and summer in general. I'll try to get those up later this weekend. Thanks for reading!
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Day 8/9/10
Day 8/9/10
Kigoma-Mwanza-Dar-Nairobi-Zuruch-JFK-STL
I can't believe it's our last day!! It went by so fast this time. Is was an amazing group of people & I look forward to staying in touch with them & continuing to get to know each & every one.
Today Katie & I got up early to go distribute books to a school we visited last time. While everyone else had breakfast we took a taxi to Mwocachi School to meet with the teachers & present them with $6000 worth of school books. Two of our guides went with us. The teachers were so happy to see us & were even more happy when they found out what we were giving them.
After we presented the books, they took us to see the water we also got for them. It was very cool to see water in a place that had none before.
A few kids were wandering about & I noticed one boy with the shoes we gave out last time. I took his picture & he smiled so big! It was great to see that he still had his shoes.
After that Katie & I returned to have a quick breakfast before heading to the market with everyone else. It was sad to say goodbye to the hotel staff. They are all so awesome! We ended up at the same market stall as last time & the lady was so happy to see us. We all bought tons of stuff! I had to pay with US dollars because I was out of shillings & the lady didn't have change for me. I told her she could just keep the extra & she smiled so big & told me I was her bestest friend! After the market we headed to the airport.
We didn't have too long of a wait at Kigoma airport. Just enough time for everyone to get through & eat a little boxed lunch. We also said goodbye to our guide Badi. He told us some stories which were very entertaining. I had given him all of my leftover candy that I had brought on the trip because he loves chocolate. I told him next time I would bring more & he said to bring a whole box! Ha!
From Kigoma we had a brief stop in Mwanza & then it was on to Dar Es Salaam. We got to Dar quite early & had a 7 hour layover. The gate to check in wasn't open yet so we had to wait in the Flamingo Cafe. We all piled our luggage in, rounded up several tables & ordered food. Once we were all full & had some drinks in us things started to get a little crazy. When you get 18 people in an airport cafe w/ nothing to do it gets interesting. When we came in they were playing this song that we had all heard at dinner one night. It's the Jambo song. Gil was kind of dancing to it & the guy running the music realized we all liked it so he ended up putting it in repeat. We heard it about a hundred times over & over. We were all cracking up.
At some point someone (I'm pretty sure Gil) thought we should do a Conga line. Several people had bought maracas from the market & Katie had purchased a drum so we pulled those out & started going through the restaurant. It was super funny until the manger came & told us to stop. Oh well so much for that!
I'm not even sure how we managed to waste so much time but it actually didn't feel that long. I think we were all hot, sleep deprived, & sad our trip was coming to an end. The flight from Dar to Zurich was good. I slept most of the time. At Zurich we had a 2 hour layover which Nora said was not enough. She thought we needed to hurry! Ha! We were all dying for the chocolate shop to open because we wanted to buy stuff to bring back. It was closed but Nora kept telling us it was going to open at 8. She had no idea but she was just positive thinking! Sure enough the lady showed up about 20 til & Nora stalked her until she opened. I'm sure our group looked like a crazy mess in Zurich. It was like 6:30 am & we were eating sandwiches, BBQ chips, drinking soda, & eating chocolate! We all bought some stuff & then it was time to head home. We were all very sad to be leaving but I know we'll all stay in touch. It was a great group & I'm so happy I went back!
Kigoma-Mwanza-Dar-Nairobi-Zuruch-JFK-STL
I can't believe it's our last day!! It went by so fast this time. Is was an amazing group of people & I look forward to staying in touch with them & continuing to get to know each & every one.
Today Katie & I got up early to go distribute books to a school we visited last time. While everyone else had breakfast we took a taxi to Mwocachi School to meet with the teachers & present them with $6000 worth of school books. Two of our guides went with us. The teachers were so happy to see us & were even more happy when they found out what we were giving them.
After we presented the books, they took us to see the water we also got for them. It was very cool to see water in a place that had none before.
A few kids were wandering about & I noticed one boy with the shoes we gave out last time. I took his picture & he smiled so big! It was great to see that he still had his shoes.
After that Katie & I returned to have a quick breakfast before heading to the market with everyone else. It was sad to say goodbye to the hotel staff. They are all so awesome! We ended up at the same market stall as last time & the lady was so happy to see us. We all bought tons of stuff! I had to pay with US dollars because I was out of shillings & the lady didn't have change for me. I told her she could just keep the extra & she smiled so big & told me I was her bestest friend! After the market we headed to the airport.
We didn't have too long of a wait at Kigoma airport. Just enough time for everyone to get through & eat a little boxed lunch. We also said goodbye to our guide Badi. He told us some stories which were very entertaining. I had given him all of my leftover candy that I had brought on the trip because he loves chocolate. I told him next time I would bring more & he said to bring a whole box! Ha!
From Kigoma we had a brief stop in Mwanza & then it was on to Dar Es Salaam. We got to Dar quite early & had a 7 hour layover. The gate to check in wasn't open yet so we had to wait in the Flamingo Cafe. We all piled our luggage in, rounded up several tables & ordered food. Once we were all full & had some drinks in us things started to get a little crazy. When you get 18 people in an airport cafe w/ nothing to do it gets interesting. When we came in they were playing this song that we had all heard at dinner one night. It's the Jambo song. Gil was kind of dancing to it & the guy running the music realized we all liked it so he ended up putting it in repeat. We heard it about a hundred times over & over. We were all cracking up.
At some point someone (I'm pretty sure Gil) thought we should do a Conga line. Several people had bought maracas from the market & Katie had purchased a drum so we pulled those out & started going through the restaurant. It was super funny until the manger came & told us to stop. Oh well so much for that!
I'm not even sure how we managed to waste so much time but it actually didn't feel that long. I think we were all hot, sleep deprived, & sad our trip was coming to an end. The flight from Dar to Zurich was good. I slept most of the time. At Zurich we had a 2 hour layover which Nora said was not enough. She thought we needed to hurry! Ha! We were all dying for the chocolate shop to open because we wanted to buy stuff to bring back. It was closed but Nora kept telling us it was going to open at 8. She had no idea but she was just positive thinking! Sure enough the lady showed up about 20 til & Nora stalked her until she opened. I'm sure our group looked like a crazy mess in Zurich. It was like 6:30 am & we were eating sandwiches, BBQ chips, drinking soda, & eating chocolate! We all bought some stuff & then it was time to head home. We were all very sad to be leaving but I know we'll all stay in touch. It was a great group & I'm so happy I went back!
Day 7
Day 7
Gombe
Chimpanzee trekking day! I'm trying to pretend like I'm excited about it but you all know how I felt last time. This time I decided to go in the slow group because I thought it would be easier. Umm no...not easier just more breaks.
We had breakfast & went down to the lake to get on the boats. We only took one boat this time & it was the speed boat so we got there in about 45 minutes. We divided up in our groups & off we went. I was in a group w/ Rick, Ellen, Linda, and Gene. It seemed much hotter this time than it did last time & the trail we took had more sun. We walked along the beach & then started up a winding "path." They say there are trails but if I had to find my way back I couldn't do it. This is probably the most clear path we had and as you can see it's pretty narrow & you could easily wander off of it.
We got about 1/2 an hour in & everyone was soaking wet with sweat, breathing hard & hearts were racing. This is not an easy climb. You are going up the side of a mountain & sometimes you only have enough room to out one foot in front of the other.
After several breaks and what seemed like forever Rick started feeling really bad so we decided it was in our best interest to turn around & go back. It was just too tough & too hot. Gene & Linda went ahead w/ one of our guides and the rest of us turned back. On our way back we got in the lake to cool off & it felt amazing! The water is really really clear here.
We started back toward the boat & ran into a troop of baboons so we took several pics.
That was enough for me. It is seriously hard to do! We waited for the rest of the groups and after a little while Laurie, Sasha, Karen, & Jeanae made it back. They were exhausted and said it was much tougher than they thought. They only got to see 2 chimps so I'm glad we didn't keep going. It was great to do it once in my life and if I ever go back I'm going to go into serious training mode with the treadmill on the steepest incline because that's basically what you're doing. It's also really hard because of the altitude so you can't catch your breath. Bottom line is it pretty much sucks. But if you see the chimps it's worth it. All the groups finally made their way back..Katie agreed that it was tougher than last time..and we all headed to lunch. Never mind the fact that it was by now 3 pm. So needless to say we were all hot, tired, & hungry. We had a quick lunch (spring rolls, chicken, rice) & some cider which was much needed!
Then we got back on the boat & headed toward our hotel. We were supposed to have our farewell dinner at 7 so we didn't have much time to clean up. They did push it back to 7:30 but it was still tough to get ready in time.
This time we had our farewell dinner by the pool. We all gathered for a group photo & then had a huge BBQ. The meat was really good & luckily no plantains this time! Dessert was ice cream & we also had lots of wine. After dinner we gathered around to debrief about the trip. We all went around saying one thing that was memorable & what we would take with us. I love this part because you get to hear about special connections everyone had that you may not have known about otherwise. Most everyone agreed that we would all be less likely to let the small things bother us. It's hard to come home & not be completely appreciative of what you have. Last time it made me think so much about if I really needed stuff I wanted to buy & it would bother me when I would see people just blowing money on things they didn't need. I have since learned that I can't live like that but it will still always be there with me. After our debriefing we all went back to our rooms to pack & get ready to leave. :-(
Gombe
Chimpanzee trekking day! I'm trying to pretend like I'm excited about it but you all know how I felt last time. This time I decided to go in the slow group because I thought it would be easier. Umm no...not easier just more breaks.
We had breakfast & went down to the lake to get on the boats. We only took one boat this time & it was the speed boat so we got there in about 45 minutes. We divided up in our groups & off we went. I was in a group w/ Rick, Ellen, Linda, and Gene. It seemed much hotter this time than it did last time & the trail we took had more sun. We walked along the beach & then started up a winding "path." They say there are trails but if I had to find my way back I couldn't do it. This is probably the most clear path we had and as you can see it's pretty narrow & you could easily wander off of it.
We got about 1/2 an hour in & everyone was soaking wet with sweat, breathing hard & hearts were racing. This is not an easy climb. You are going up the side of a mountain & sometimes you only have enough room to out one foot in front of the other.
After several breaks and what seemed like forever Rick started feeling really bad so we decided it was in our best interest to turn around & go back. It was just too tough & too hot. Gene & Linda went ahead w/ one of our guides and the rest of us turned back. On our way back we got in the lake to cool off & it felt amazing! The water is really really clear here.
We started back toward the boat & ran into a troop of baboons so we took several pics.
That was enough for me. It is seriously hard to do! We waited for the rest of the groups and after a little while Laurie, Sasha, Karen, & Jeanae made it back. They were exhausted and said it was much tougher than they thought. They only got to see 2 chimps so I'm glad we didn't keep going. It was great to do it once in my life and if I ever go back I'm going to go into serious training mode with the treadmill on the steepest incline because that's basically what you're doing. It's also really hard because of the altitude so you can't catch your breath. Bottom line is it pretty much sucks. But if you see the chimps it's worth it. All the groups finally made their way back..Katie agreed that it was tougher than last time..and we all headed to lunch. Never mind the fact that it was by now 3 pm. So needless to say we were all hot, tired, & hungry. We had a quick lunch (spring rolls, chicken, rice) & some cider which was much needed!
Then we got back on the boat & headed toward our hotel. We were supposed to have our farewell dinner at 7 so we didn't have much time to clean up. They did push it back to 7:30 but it was still tough to get ready in time.
This time we had our farewell dinner by the pool. We all gathered for a group photo & then had a huge BBQ. The meat was really good & luckily no plantains this time! Dessert was ice cream & we also had lots of wine. After dinner we gathered around to debrief about the trip. We all went around saying one thing that was memorable & what we would take with us. I love this part because you get to hear about special connections everyone had that you may not have known about otherwise. Most everyone agreed that we would all be less likely to let the small things bother us. It's hard to come home & not be completely appreciative of what you have. Last time it made me think so much about if I really needed stuff I wanted to buy & it would bother me when I would see people just blowing money on things they didn't need. I have since learned that I can't live like that but it will still always be there with me. After our debriefing we all went back to our rooms to pack & get ready to leave. :-(
Day 6
Day 6
Kigoma
Today started with breakfast at 7:30 like usual. Breakfast was pretty much the same although we have now been getting fresh squeezed guava juice every morning. It's amazing! After breakfast we went to Mr Sheyni's school AIC. Mr. Sheyni is the person who owns the hotel we stay in and pretty much everything else around Kigoma. He started a school which is very very nice compared to the other schools we visit. They have computers, chemistry labs, and fiction books to read. The classrooms are nicer than some of the American classrooms I've been in.
Although the school is nice, the kids are still in need. Many of them have sponsors which enable them to attend this school and some of them board here as well. Mr. Sheyni also sponsors several of the children. Last time we were here we provided shoes to older kids & this time we did the kindergarten classes. The distribution went well. Everyone seems to have gotten it down. I was a sizer again along with Jessica. Two little boys came through our lines with Obama belts on. We gave all the kids big sparkly rings as they came through....even the boys loved them! The teachers did too!
After we gave out the shoes we played with the little kids for awhile & I handed out more sunglasses. Laurie brought big red clown noses for the kids so they looked adorable with their noses & sunglasses on & they loved it. Apparently our group did too as they all hijacked the noses for a group photo!
We took a group photo w/ the kids & then asked if we could play w/ the older kids. A bunch of people played soccer, some people jumped rope & everyone handed out gifts. I handed out pop rocks & it was funny to see the kids figuring out what was going on but they loved it! Gil would take some to show them what would happen and then he tried to video them doing them. It was pretty funny. They kept lining up to get more.
The only bad part was that the kids threw the wrappers on the ground but thanks to Laurie they all got picked up! She had started going around w/ a bag putting the wrappers inside & all the kids thought she was giving away something so they ran over to her. She somehow managed to get them excited about running around the school picking up trash!
Once we were done playing we ate lunch in their dining hall. We had chicken & rice & an apple which I was pretty excited about. If I don't see another banana for awhile I'll be ok with that.
After lunch we said our goodbyes & headed to Hope of the Nations...our last school for this trip. This was a favorite from last time so I was excited to get back. It was the first day of school for the kids so they tried to sing for us but some had forgotten the words.
Last time we were here we did not give out shoes but this time we were able to. The kids loved them. I also handed out the rest of my sunglasses. Because this was the last school everyone was giving away a lot of stuff so the kids were very happy. One of the best things about this school is the staff. This school was started by an American couple who we got to meet last time. This time they had returned to America & left the school in the hands of Happiness. This school has a micro business program & teaches the mothers of the children how to make & sell things. Happiness started out as a mother coming to this program & is now the director so she has an amazing story. Her name also fits her because she smiles all the time! Not only is she now the director of the school but she also has 6 orphaned children living with her! She is truly an inspiration for everyone. We were also able to purchase things from the mothers & everyone really loved that. I bought several aprons, bags, necklaces & some really cool pants that Nora is making me wear in Vegas! She bought a dress so we'll be representing Kigoma at the shoe show! A little bit before we were getting ready to leave I ran back in the room where they were selling everything to see if I could find one more bag. I found one I loved & when I said I was going to buy it the lady yelled "yes" & pumped her fist. My $20 bag will feed her & her family for awhile so that is how much that money means to them.
After the distribution we went back to the hotel so everyone could get ready for dinner. Everyone that is except Katie & I. We went to buy books for one of the schools we visited last time & that our group had raised money for. Remind me to skip this part should the opportunity ever arise again! I won't go into all the details but lets just say buying that many school books in Kigoma is not an easy task. The book stall was tiny, it was super hot, we were in direct sun & we'd already had a long day. Next time I'm skipping out! But we did manage to get them so hooray for us!! That's the stall and Katie w/ the owner of the book shop below.
After getting the books we stopped to buy wine for tomorrow nights farewell dinner. Another task that took longer than it should have. We actually managed to get some decent wine even though we were just picking by label color. Ha!
We went back to the hotel & met for dinner later. When I got to the pavillion the wait staff was there to greet me as usual but this time two of them said "what's up?" Somehow they knew that phrase but didn't know how to respond so I taught them to say "not much." they thought that was awesome. All night we kept saying to each other "what's up""not much". There was also an amazing sunset! Dinner was about the same as every other night but dessert was ice cream & fruit.
After dinner several of us stayed down at the table & sat around & talked. I learned two valuable lessons one, if you hold your iPad close to your face in Africa it gets a stronger connection per Amber (as shown below). Or maybe it's just Amber's face. Two, if you hold your car alarm up to your chin you get a longer range of service via Laurie. Yes these are the kinds of conversations you have when you are dead tired. They were super funny though and I don't think I have ever laughed so hard but clearly it's time to go to bed!
Kigoma
Today started with breakfast at 7:30 like usual. Breakfast was pretty much the same although we have now been getting fresh squeezed guava juice every morning. It's amazing! After breakfast we went to Mr Sheyni's school AIC. Mr. Sheyni is the person who owns the hotel we stay in and pretty much everything else around Kigoma. He started a school which is very very nice compared to the other schools we visit. They have computers, chemistry labs, and fiction books to read. The classrooms are nicer than some of the American classrooms I've been in.
Although the school is nice, the kids are still in need. Many of them have sponsors which enable them to attend this school and some of them board here as well. Mr. Sheyni also sponsors several of the children. Last time we were here we provided shoes to older kids & this time we did the kindergarten classes. The distribution went well. Everyone seems to have gotten it down. I was a sizer again along with Jessica. Two little boys came through our lines with Obama belts on. We gave all the kids big sparkly rings as they came through....even the boys loved them! The teachers did too!
After we gave out the shoes we played with the little kids for awhile & I handed out more sunglasses. Laurie brought big red clown noses for the kids so they looked adorable with their noses & sunglasses on & they loved it. Apparently our group did too as they all hijacked the noses for a group photo!
We took a group photo w/ the kids & then asked if we could play w/ the older kids. A bunch of people played soccer, some people jumped rope & everyone handed out gifts. I handed out pop rocks & it was funny to see the kids figuring out what was going on but they loved it! Gil would take some to show them what would happen and then he tried to video them doing them. It was pretty funny. They kept lining up to get more.
The only bad part was that the kids threw the wrappers on the ground but thanks to Laurie they all got picked up! She had started going around w/ a bag putting the wrappers inside & all the kids thought she was giving away something so they ran over to her. She somehow managed to get them excited about running around the school picking up trash!
Once we were done playing we ate lunch in their dining hall. We had chicken & rice & an apple which I was pretty excited about. If I don't see another banana for awhile I'll be ok with that.
After lunch we said our goodbyes & headed to Hope of the Nations...our last school for this trip. This was a favorite from last time so I was excited to get back. It was the first day of school for the kids so they tried to sing for us but some had forgotten the words.
Last time we were here we did not give out shoes but this time we were able to. The kids loved them. I also handed out the rest of my sunglasses. Because this was the last school everyone was giving away a lot of stuff so the kids were very happy. One of the best things about this school is the staff. This school was started by an American couple who we got to meet last time. This time they had returned to America & left the school in the hands of Happiness. This school has a micro business program & teaches the mothers of the children how to make & sell things. Happiness started out as a mother coming to this program & is now the director so she has an amazing story. Her name also fits her because she smiles all the time! Not only is she now the director of the school but she also has 6 orphaned children living with her! She is truly an inspiration for everyone. We were also able to purchase things from the mothers & everyone really loved that. I bought several aprons, bags, necklaces & some really cool pants that Nora is making me wear in Vegas! She bought a dress so we'll be representing Kigoma at the shoe show! A little bit before we were getting ready to leave I ran back in the room where they were selling everything to see if I could find one more bag. I found one I loved & when I said I was going to buy it the lady yelled "yes" & pumped her fist. My $20 bag will feed her & her family for awhile so that is how much that money means to them.
After the distribution we went back to the hotel so everyone could get ready for dinner. Everyone that is except Katie & I. We went to buy books for one of the schools we visited last time & that our group had raised money for. Remind me to skip this part should the opportunity ever arise again! I won't go into all the details but lets just say buying that many school books in Kigoma is not an easy task. The book stall was tiny, it was super hot, we were in direct sun & we'd already had a long day. Next time I'm skipping out! But we did manage to get them so hooray for us!! That's the stall and Katie w/ the owner of the book shop below.
We went back to the hotel & met for dinner later. When I got to the pavillion the wait staff was there to greet me as usual but this time two of them said "what's up?" Somehow they knew that phrase but didn't know how to respond so I taught them to say "not much." they thought that was awesome. All night we kept saying to each other "what's up""not much". There was also an amazing sunset! Dinner was about the same as every other night but dessert was ice cream & fruit.
After dinner several of us stayed down at the table & sat around & talked. I learned two valuable lessons one, if you hold your iPad close to your face in Africa it gets a stronger connection per Amber (as shown below). Or maybe it's just Amber's face. Two, if you hold your car alarm up to your chin you get a longer range of service via Laurie. Yes these are the kinds of conversations you have when you are dead tired. They were super funny though and I don't think I have ever laughed so hard but clearly it's time to go to bed!
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Day 5
Day 5
Kigoma
Just a few things I wanted to touch on from the days before since I'm not as sleep deprived! Neighbors Without Borders (the school from yesterday) has lost a lot of its funding since the last time we were here. They were teaching a lot of trades like tailoring, carpentry, etc and those programs are not as fully functional as they were before. This is such a great school so it was sad to see that. Also when I said the first distribution was a tad unorganized I was being generous. Katie said it was the worst distribution she's ever done! I'm happy to say it did get better though! Ha! Also it was very very humid so between that & no sleep we have a little bit of an excuse!
So dinner last night was great as usual. We had cream of tomato soup, bread, beef or chicken with rice and vegetables (sort of like stir fry but not all put together), and salad. It was Patty's birthday so they made a birthday cake & sang to her! The cake was kind of like gingerbread but a little thicker. They gave me the biggest piece known to man while Sasha who was sitting beside me got a tiny little sliver. Katie ended up eating the top of my cake because she wanted the icing. Dinner was at 6:30 so we got done early enough for all of us to get a lot of sleep last night which was definitely needed.
This morning we all met for breakfast around 7:30 am. Breakfast consisted of fresh pineapple, fresh watermelon, cereal (frosted flakes or rice krispies), granola which Amber termed "air" because it had no taste, pancakes which are more like Crepes here, scrambled eggs, baked beans, & toast. It's buffet style so you can choose whatever you want. The scrambled eggs were good but you could tell they cooked them in a lot of butter! After breakfast we got on the first bus & headed to the 1st distribution.
Today we started at Sanganigwa B which is a school for street children. There are a few kids that stay there but generally they sleep elsewhere & just come there for school & food. This is the school where Anthony (the boy I still email with) was last time. This distribution went much smoother. I was a sizer along with Nora. The kids range in age and most of them did not know English but there were a few that did. After getting everyone through the line for new shoes we had a lot of time to play with the kids. Last time we did more distributions so we had less time to play. This time it's the opposite. We jumped rope, played hopscotch, and threw balls around. We passed out loads of stickers, silly bands, & painted tons of fingernails.
I passed out some sunglasses (mlwani-a word I remember well from last time) and took tons of pictures. I kept telling the kids to "cheka" (smile) and they would start giggling. They think it's funny when you know Swahili. I also learned the word for line (mustali) and for wait (sabeeli). I also talked to one of the older boys whose name was Abel. He is in grade level 4 & waiting for his results to move on to 5. After 6 is when they go to college or university. The grade levels are different than ours. He said he is studying economics & wants to be an economist. It's crazy that a kid who has no parents & lives like this even knows what an economist is. That's what is so amazing about Africa. The kids have big dreams despite having any kind of role model in their life.I also saw a boy here wearing a Rams Marshall Faulk jersey. He didn't speak English very well but with the help of another kid I explained to him that his jersey was from my city and that it was a football jersey. When you talk about football here you also have to explain what American football is because here soccer is very big. After I had explained it to him and had taken his picture, Marshall went up to him and started to tell him. I got their picture together as well. I thought it was pretty cool to see a little piece of home all the way in Kigoma.
We tried to take a group photo but it was pretty much a disaster so we scratched that pretty quickly because it was getting ready to storm so we got on the bus & moved to the next stop.
The next distribution was at Mwandiga Orphange. This is a Muslim school we visited last time. We got to the orphanage & waited on the bus for the hotel to bring us our lunches. While we were waiting the kids saw the bus & came out & surrounded it. Hundreds of kids were just standing outside & some of the group started taking their picture out the windows. Every time the flash would go off the kids would yell & laugh!
At one point Laurie had to go to the bathroom so one of the guides took her to find it & when she walked off the kids started swarming her! That's her in the blue shirt to the right.
When she got back she said she now knows what it feels like to be a celebrity surrounded by paparazzi! Ha! The kids are just so excited to see us so they run up to you immediately.
Our lunch finally came so they had to move all the kids back so they could bring it on the bus & so we wouldn't be eating in front of them. We had rice & beef along with a banana. Once we were done we headed in. This school had a ton of kids that needed shoes. This time I was a fitter. Just in case someone didn't read the blogs from my last trip a shoe distribution sort of goes like this: the kids line up in 2 lines. 2 people size the kids on a size chart and write the size on their hand. They then go to the fitter/ washer. If the place wee are in has water we will wash their feet but because some do not have it or only get it sparingly sometimes we just size. Each washer/fitter has a runner so when the kid sits down you look at their hand & the runner goes to get a pair of shoes out of the pile. You then make sure the shoe fits & the kid is on his way. Laurie was my runner & we were very quick! Our first customer of the day! Isn't she beautiful?
The funny thing about this distribution is that for the second time today St. Louis was represented. The team next to us fitted a girl wearing a St. Louis Blues shirt! I could not believe it. Another piece of home. What are the odds? Two in one day!
Because there were so many kids on this trip we also had a couple of people managing the line & they kept telling us we were super fast! After all the kids were done we went back outside to play. Katie had the kids all lined up playing Simon says but without the Simon part. She would do something & they would do it back. It was so funny & she had already been doing it for a very long time to keep the kids entertained so she was running out of stuff to do.
We tried to hand out gifts to the kids but it got way out of control so we had to stop. I thought poor Meredith was going to get knocked down! So we called it a day & headed back to the hotel. Unfortunately that just happens sometimes & it's hard to control that many kids so it's better to just leave. One thing that was special about this distro for me was that a woman on my last trip (Michele) had asked me before I left if I could take a pair of shoes over for her. Michele does shoe drives for Soles4Souls & someone had donated shoes to her & wrote her a note saying they would like their shoes to go to Tanzania specifically. He also said "too bad I can't get a picture to see who receives them." we'll Michele knew I was coming so she asked me if would give them out & get a pic & I was able to on this distro. The boy that got them loved them & they were all black which means he can use them as school shoes. Yay!
While todays distributions went much smoother they were still hectic because there were so many kids. We gave out over 750 pairs of shoes in just those 2 schools!! That is how great the need is here so if you are thinking about doing a trip please just do it! You will not regret it I promise!
We got back to the hotel a little early since we had to leave Mwandiga earlier than expected. Danielle, Amber, Sasha & I decided we would go sit by the pool & have a cocktail. Unfortunately they didn't have any! They don't stock alcohol here but can get it if someone requests it the day before No one had told them to get wine & beer for our group so we just had sodas instead. Katie said she's going to make us all wait until our last dinner now just to see if we go into withdrawal! It rained really hard earlier in the day so it really cooled off. It was actually a little chilly sitting out by the pool. While we were out there one of the staff members came over & gave us a Swahili lesson. I'm sure I won't remember anything though. I can't say enough how nice the staff is here or just everyone in general. The staff will teach you Swahili words every time they see you which is fun. At dinner they usually teach me the words of what we are eating so I learned "samaki" (fish) and "saladi" which is salad. We also had chicken or vegetable curry with rice, potatoes, pumpkin soup, and rolls. There is no shortage of white carbs at our dinners!! The fish was excellent! We also had "pilipili" on the table which is hot sauce. Meredith, Marshall & I all tried it & it was HOT! I am still waiting for the appearance of that spicy ketchup we had last time but haven't seen it so far. For dessert we had some kind of awesome warm chocolate cake or brownie with ice cream on top. It was so good!
For some reason we had a lot of laughs at this dinner & someone decided we should play a round of telephone before returning to our rooms. Patty came up with 2 phrases & they went around the table. She came up with hard ones & we were all cracking up by the end. After that we called it a night! Overall a great day!
Kigoma
Just a few things I wanted to touch on from the days before since I'm not as sleep deprived! Neighbors Without Borders (the school from yesterday) has lost a lot of its funding since the last time we were here. They were teaching a lot of trades like tailoring, carpentry, etc and those programs are not as fully functional as they were before. This is such a great school so it was sad to see that. Also when I said the first distribution was a tad unorganized I was being generous. Katie said it was the worst distribution she's ever done! I'm happy to say it did get better though! Ha! Also it was very very humid so between that & no sleep we have a little bit of an excuse!
So dinner last night was great as usual. We had cream of tomato soup, bread, beef or chicken with rice and vegetables (sort of like stir fry but not all put together), and salad. It was Patty's birthday so they made a birthday cake & sang to her! The cake was kind of like gingerbread but a little thicker. They gave me the biggest piece known to man while Sasha who was sitting beside me got a tiny little sliver. Katie ended up eating the top of my cake because she wanted the icing. Dinner was at 6:30 so we got done early enough for all of us to get a lot of sleep last night which was definitely needed.
This morning we all met for breakfast around 7:30 am. Breakfast consisted of fresh pineapple, fresh watermelon, cereal (frosted flakes or rice krispies), granola which Amber termed "air" because it had no taste, pancakes which are more like Crepes here, scrambled eggs, baked beans, & toast. It's buffet style so you can choose whatever you want. The scrambled eggs were good but you could tell they cooked them in a lot of butter! After breakfast we got on the first bus & headed to the 1st distribution.
Today we started at Sanganigwa B which is a school for street children. There are a few kids that stay there but generally they sleep elsewhere & just come there for school & food. This is the school where Anthony (the boy I still email with) was last time. This distribution went much smoother. I was a sizer along with Nora. The kids range in age and most of them did not know English but there were a few that did. After getting everyone through the line for new shoes we had a lot of time to play with the kids. Last time we did more distributions so we had less time to play. This time it's the opposite. We jumped rope, played hopscotch, and threw balls around. We passed out loads of stickers, silly bands, & painted tons of fingernails.
I passed out some sunglasses (mlwani-a word I remember well from last time) and took tons of pictures. I kept telling the kids to "cheka" (smile) and they would start giggling. They think it's funny when you know Swahili. I also learned the word for line (mustali) and for wait (sabeeli). I also talked to one of the older boys whose name was Abel. He is in grade level 4 & waiting for his results to move on to 5. After 6 is when they go to college or university. The grade levels are different than ours. He said he is studying economics & wants to be an economist. It's crazy that a kid who has no parents & lives like this even knows what an economist is. That's what is so amazing about Africa. The kids have big dreams despite having any kind of role model in their life.I also saw a boy here wearing a Rams Marshall Faulk jersey. He didn't speak English very well but with the help of another kid I explained to him that his jersey was from my city and that it was a football jersey. When you talk about football here you also have to explain what American football is because here soccer is very big. After I had explained it to him and had taken his picture, Marshall went up to him and started to tell him. I got their picture together as well. I thought it was pretty cool to see a little piece of home all the way in Kigoma.
We tried to take a group photo but it was pretty much a disaster so we scratched that pretty quickly because it was getting ready to storm so we got on the bus & moved to the next stop.
The next distribution was at Mwandiga Orphange. This is a Muslim school we visited last time. We got to the orphanage & waited on the bus for the hotel to bring us our lunches. While we were waiting the kids saw the bus & came out & surrounded it. Hundreds of kids were just standing outside & some of the group started taking their picture out the windows. Every time the flash would go off the kids would yell & laugh!
Our lunch finally came so they had to move all the kids back so they could bring it on the bus & so we wouldn't be eating in front of them. We had rice & beef along with a banana. Once we were done we headed in. This school had a ton of kids that needed shoes. This time I was a fitter. Just in case someone didn't read the blogs from my last trip a shoe distribution sort of goes like this: the kids line up in 2 lines. 2 people size the kids on a size chart and write the size on their hand. They then go to the fitter/ washer. If the place wee are in has water we will wash their feet but because some do not have it or only get it sparingly sometimes we just size. Each washer/fitter has a runner so when the kid sits down you look at their hand & the runner goes to get a pair of shoes out of the pile. You then make sure the shoe fits & the kid is on his way. Laurie was my runner & we were very quick! Our first customer of the day! Isn't she beautiful?
The funny thing about this distribution is that for the second time today St. Louis was represented. The team next to us fitted a girl wearing a St. Louis Blues shirt! I could not believe it. Another piece of home. What are the odds? Two in one day!
Because there were so many kids on this trip we also had a couple of people managing the line & they kept telling us we were super fast! After all the kids were done we went back outside to play. Katie had the kids all lined up playing Simon says but without the Simon part. She would do something & they would do it back. It was so funny & she had already been doing it for a very long time to keep the kids entertained so she was running out of stuff to do.
We tried to hand out gifts to the kids but it got way out of control so we had to stop. I thought poor Meredith was going to get knocked down! So we called it a day & headed back to the hotel. Unfortunately that just happens sometimes & it's hard to control that many kids so it's better to just leave. One thing that was special about this distro for me was that a woman on my last trip (Michele) had asked me before I left if I could take a pair of shoes over for her. Michele does shoe drives for Soles4Souls & someone had donated shoes to her & wrote her a note saying they would like their shoes to go to Tanzania specifically. He also said "too bad I can't get a picture to see who receives them." we'll Michele knew I was coming so she asked me if would give them out & get a pic & I was able to on this distro. The boy that got them loved them & they were all black which means he can use them as school shoes. Yay!
While todays distributions went much smoother they were still hectic because there were so many kids. We gave out over 750 pairs of shoes in just those 2 schools!! That is how great the need is here so if you are thinking about doing a trip please just do it! You will not regret it I promise!
We got back to the hotel a little early since we had to leave Mwandiga earlier than expected. Danielle, Amber, Sasha & I decided we would go sit by the pool & have a cocktail. Unfortunately they didn't have any! They don't stock alcohol here but can get it if someone requests it the day before No one had told them to get wine & beer for our group so we just had sodas instead. Katie said she's going to make us all wait until our last dinner now just to see if we go into withdrawal! It rained really hard earlier in the day so it really cooled off. It was actually a little chilly sitting out by the pool. While we were out there one of the staff members came over & gave us a Swahili lesson. I'm sure I won't remember anything though. I can't say enough how nice the staff is here or just everyone in general. The staff will teach you Swahili words every time they see you which is fun. At dinner they usually teach me the words of what we are eating so I learned "samaki" (fish) and "saladi" which is salad. We also had chicken or vegetable curry with rice, potatoes, pumpkin soup, and rolls. There is no shortage of white carbs at our dinners!! The fish was excellent! We also had "pilipili" on the table which is hot sauce. Meredith, Marshall & I all tried it & it was HOT! I am still waiting for the appearance of that spicy ketchup we had last time but haven't seen it so far. For dessert we had some kind of awesome warm chocolate cake or brownie with ice cream on top. It was so good!
For some reason we had a lot of laughs at this dinner & someone decided we should play a round of telephone before returning to our rooms. Patty came up with 2 phrases & they went around the table. She came up with hard ones & we were all cracking up by the end. After that we called it a night! Overall a great day!
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Day 4
Day 4
Dar Es Salaam-Kigoma
The 3:45 wake up call came very early but we managed to get in gear & make it in time for the bus ride to the airport. Not much talking going on!! I'm happy to report that this time we took an actual airline to Kigoma...no crop dusters on this trip!! Yay!! We had 2 short flights to get to Kigoma & surprisingly enough I didn't sleep on either one. Once we got to Kigoma we were greeted by our guide for the week & got boxed lunches to eat on the bus. We had some kind of yummy chicken salad sandwich w/ fries. Sadly our last guide Bernard is not on this trip. We have Badi instead but Ramadan did return so it was fun to catch up with him on the way to our first distribution. (Update: He has a new baby boy who is 3 months old & has something wrong with his legs & will need an operation when he's a little older.)
The first distribution was at Neighbors Without Borders. The kids were on break again this year but about 45 came back to see us. The distribution went a little crazy & was just a tad bit unorganized but everyone had fun seeing the kids. It was nice to be able to walk around when we toured the school & not have to worry about taking pictures of everything since I had seen it all before. These kids were a little older & were so happy to get new shoes. After the distribution we all sat in a circle while the kids said thank you & then sang to us. This is the group that sang a song & called out our names to come dance in the circle which they did again. It was so fun and it just gives you a small sampling of how much joy they have! (Short video below.)
We decided to sing Take Me Out to the Ballgame to them which amazingly enough was not my suggestion! Ha! After that we took a little tour of the city & walked through one of the markets & then to the fish market which was something we didn't do last time. I got some pretty cool pics of the thousands of sardines laying out which looked very cool.
Then we went to the hotel to relax for a bit before dinner.
People asked why I wanted to come back to a place I had already been but the people are so wonderful & it's neat to recognize people from last time. It's also fun to watch this group experience this for the first time!
Oh and one last thing. The zebras are still here and the mothers had their babies!! I got a pic on up my iPad so hopefully I can upload it from here!
Dar Es Salaam-Kigoma
The 3:45 wake up call came very early but we managed to get in gear & make it in time for the bus ride to the airport. Not much talking going on!! I'm happy to report that this time we took an actual airline to Kigoma...no crop dusters on this trip!! Yay!! We had 2 short flights to get to Kigoma & surprisingly enough I didn't sleep on either one. Once we got to Kigoma we were greeted by our guide for the week & got boxed lunches to eat on the bus. We had some kind of yummy chicken salad sandwich w/ fries. Sadly our last guide Bernard is not on this trip. We have Badi instead but Ramadan did return so it was fun to catch up with him on the way to our first distribution. (Update: He has a new baby boy who is 3 months old & has something wrong with his legs & will need an operation when he's a little older.)
The first distribution was at Neighbors Without Borders. The kids were on break again this year but about 45 came back to see us. The distribution went a little crazy & was just a tad bit unorganized but everyone had fun seeing the kids. It was nice to be able to walk around when we toured the school & not have to worry about taking pictures of everything since I had seen it all before. These kids were a little older & were so happy to get new shoes. After the distribution we all sat in a circle while the kids said thank you & then sang to us. This is the group that sang a song & called out our names to come dance in the circle which they did again. It was so fun and it just gives you a small sampling of how much joy they have! (Short video below.)
We decided to sing Take Me Out to the Ballgame to them which amazingly enough was not my suggestion! Ha! After that we took a little tour of the city & walked through one of the markets & then to the fish market which was something we didn't do last time. I got some pretty cool pics of the thousands of sardines laying out which looked very cool.
Then we went to the hotel to relax for a bit before dinner.
People asked why I wanted to come back to a place I had already been but the people are so wonderful & it's neat to recognize people from last time. It's also fun to watch this group experience this for the first time!
Oh and one last thing. The zebras are still here and the mothers had their babies!! I got a pic on up my iPad so hopefully I can upload it from here!
Day 3
Day 3
Zurich - Dar Es Salaam
Today was a travel day. Up early to catch a flight & make our way to Tanzania. We took Swiss Intl again & this time I sat next to Gil. We had terrible turbulence right after we took off & of course I got sick. I did manage to hold it I until I could go to the bathroom but still no fun! On this flight I watched Footloose & again fell asleep halfway through. I managed to wake up in time to eat dinner & finish the movie & then I was out again. Once I woke up a second time I scrolled through the movies & decided to watch Contagion. Now if you know me you know I'm already a germaphobe. I had also been warned not to watch it on the plane (Thanks Jenna!) but I did anyway. I think I was too tired to really get too freaked out but I definitely whipped out the hand sanitizer & used it a hundred times from that point on.
We got to Dar around 9 pm. I missed the breakfast round on the plane again so I was starving. A few of us decided to go up to the rooftop restaurant & grab some food. Since I was sick at this point in the trip last time it was a new experience for me. We ordered some Kilamanjaros & some food & it took forever!! By the time we got our food & paid it was about 11:30. We had to leave the next morning at 4:15!! We came back, showered, got our stuff ready & finally went to bed around 1. Day 4 is not looking like its going to be very pleasant but having a beer after all the travel was definitely worth it!!
Zurich - Dar Es Salaam
Today was a travel day. Up early to catch a flight & make our way to Tanzania. We took Swiss Intl again & this time I sat next to Gil. We had terrible turbulence right after we took off & of course I got sick. I did manage to hold it I until I could go to the bathroom but still no fun! On this flight I watched Footloose & again fell asleep halfway through. I managed to wake up in time to eat dinner & finish the movie & then I was out again. Once I woke up a second time I scrolled through the movies & decided to watch Contagion. Now if you know me you know I'm already a germaphobe. I had also been warned not to watch it on the plane (Thanks Jenna!) but I did anyway. I think I was too tired to really get too freaked out but I definitely whipped out the hand sanitizer & used it a hundred times from that point on.
We got to Dar around 9 pm. I missed the breakfast round on the plane again so I was starving. A few of us decided to go up to the rooftop restaurant & grab some food. Since I was sick at this point in the trip last time it was a new experience for me. We ordered some Kilamanjaros & some food & it took forever!! By the time we got our food & paid it was about 11:30. We had to leave the next morning at 4:15!! We came back, showered, got our stuff ready & finally went to bed around 1. Day 4 is not looking like its going to be very pleasant but having a beer after all the travel was definitely worth it!!
Day 2
Day 2
Zurich
We landed in Zurich at about 8 am their time. We got shuttles to the hotel & a few of us decided to go shower & get ready to go explore the city. Katie, Danielle, & I had bought tickets to a city tour that started at 1 so we thought we would meet at 10 to go explore a little bit before taking the tour. Wrong. 10 turned into 10:20 & then we missed the train into the city which only runs every half hour so we had to wait for the 11 am one. Good thing because it took 4 of us at least 15 minutes to figure out how to even buy our ticket. Note to self learn a little German before going back to Switzerland. It was pretty cold & windy but it could have been a lot worse. We finally made it into the old town & walked around to find something to eat. After we ate it was basically time to go meet up w/ the tour. We might have gotten a little lost along the way but we finally found it. The tour started out on a big bus driving us around showing us different things. That would have been great had any of us been able to stay awake for it. We all kept dozing off but between the 4 of us we learned a few things. We had a few stops in the city & one was a church that has no decorations on the inside. Not a single cross on the wall. They wanted to go back to basics because they felt it was getting too fancy. It does however have the largest clock face on the outside.
After that we stopped & took a gondola up to a viewing point where you could see the whole city and the alps. It was a pretty amazing view & the gondola was fun. We had hot chocolate at the top & then came back down, boarded the bus & took a ferry across Lake Zurich. We got to stay inside if we wanted but we did get out to take a few pics. Needless to say I fell asleep on the ferry ride as well. Next we drove down the Gold Coast where all the wealthy people live. We drove by Tina Turners house...we were all awake for that part! And then he tour ended. It was a good way to spend 5 hours especially since it was so cold but it was hard for us to stay awake on that moving bus!!
After the tour we set out to find a chocolate shop. We walked around the town & saw the bar district which had a huge street sign w/ no mothers w/ children. Then we found a cute little spot for dinner. Katie had a chicken dish, Sasha had ravioli, and Danielle & I split a fondue pot along w/ salads. We also had some wine from Zurich which was pretty good. Katie & Sasha started fading really hard at that point while Danielle & I had gotten a second wind. (clearly we napped more on the bus! Ha!) We headed back toward the train station but Katie miraculously got a burst of energy when she saw a chocolate shop. We all went in & got some delicious treats & then tried to figure out how to get back to the hotel which is a difficult task when no one remembers the stop the hotel is on. We finally figured it out & made it back with no issues. (well maybe one..we started to get off at the wrong stop but realized it before it was too late.) Zurich is a very pretty town but it's very expensive. It's also very clean & very technologically advanced. I kept saying I felt like I was in a movie when I was on the train. I probably wouldn't go back unless I just needed to stop through on my way to somewhere else. Another group of people rented a car & drove to the alps which they said was really cool. We made it an early night because we were so tired & because we had to get up early to head to our next stop!
Zurich
We landed in Zurich at about 8 am their time. We got shuttles to the hotel & a few of us decided to go shower & get ready to go explore the city. Katie, Danielle, & I had bought tickets to a city tour that started at 1 so we thought we would meet at 10 to go explore a little bit before taking the tour. Wrong. 10 turned into 10:20 & then we missed the train into the city which only runs every half hour so we had to wait for the 11 am one. Good thing because it took 4 of us at least 15 minutes to figure out how to even buy our ticket. Note to self learn a little German before going back to Switzerland. It was pretty cold & windy but it could have been a lot worse. We finally made it into the old town & walked around to find something to eat. After we ate it was basically time to go meet up w/ the tour. We might have gotten a little lost along the way but we finally found it. The tour started out on a big bus driving us around showing us different things. That would have been great had any of us been able to stay awake for it. We all kept dozing off but between the 4 of us we learned a few things. We had a few stops in the city & one was a church that has no decorations on the inside. Not a single cross on the wall. They wanted to go back to basics because they felt it was getting too fancy. It does however have the largest clock face on the outside.
After that we stopped & took a gondola up to a viewing point where you could see the whole city and the alps. It was a pretty amazing view & the gondola was fun. We had hot chocolate at the top & then came back down, boarded the bus & took a ferry across Lake Zurich. We got to stay inside if we wanted but we did get out to take a few pics. Needless to say I fell asleep on the ferry ride as well. Next we drove down the Gold Coast where all the wealthy people live. We drove by Tina Turners house...we were all awake for that part! And then he tour ended. It was a good way to spend 5 hours especially since it was so cold but it was hard for us to stay awake on that moving bus!!
After the tour we set out to find a chocolate shop. We walked around the town & saw the bar district which had a huge street sign w/ no mothers w/ children. Then we found a cute little spot for dinner. Katie had a chicken dish, Sasha had ravioli, and Danielle & I split a fondue pot along w/ salads. We also had some wine from Zurich which was pretty good. Katie & Sasha started fading really hard at that point while Danielle & I had gotten a second wind. (clearly we napped more on the bus! Ha!) We headed back toward the train station but Katie miraculously got a burst of energy when she saw a chocolate shop. We all went in & got some delicious treats & then tried to figure out how to get back to the hotel which is a difficult task when no one remembers the stop the hotel is on. We finally figured it out & made it back with no issues. (well maybe one..we started to get off at the wrong stop but realized it before it was too late.) Zurich is a very pretty town but it's very expensive. It's also very clean & very technologically advanced. I kept saying I felt like I was in a movie when I was on the train. I probably wouldn't go back unless I just needed to stop through on my way to somewhere else. Another group of people rented a car & drove to the alps which they said was really cool. We made it an early night because we were so tired & because we had to get up early to head to our next stop!
Day 1
Day 1
STL-RDU-JFK-ZRH
The next time I think about booking a flight a 7 am flight someone needs to stop me! I drug myself out of bed, got ready & made it to the airport just in time to catch my flight to Raleigh/Durham. I had a 2 hour layover there & let me tell you there is nothing to do at RDU!! Of course I turned to Twitter to pass the time & that's where I "met" another trip participant Danielle. She had taken the red eye from the west coast so she had lots of time to pass at JFK & was tweeting as well. We exchanged some tweets, I ate some lunch & then boarded my flight to JFK to meet up with everyone else.
Once I arrived at the Swiss Intl gate I met Rick & Ellen, husband & wife from North Pole, Alaska. We were the first ones there so we got in line to check in. Of course I was booked in a middle seat so I quickly asked to be moved to an aisle which the guy didn't do but I didn't notice until after I walked away. Thanks Swiss Intl Air guy.
I grabbed a snack & went to our gate where I met Patty. I think she might live in the Atlanta area but I could be confusing that with someone else. I'm lucky I remember everyone's name! Soon after everyone started rolling in. There is Gene & Linda from Atlanta, their youngest daughter Meredith who lives in DC, Nora from Chicago, Amber from Mobile (whom I "met" on FB prior to the trip), Jessica & Marshall a couple from NYC, Karen & Janae a mother daughter from Texas, Laurie, Gil & Danielle who all live in the Bay area but didn't know each other prior, Sasha from New Jersey, me and the trip leader Katie! It's a pretty awesome group of people.
For this trip we stopped over in Zurich Switzerland so we took Swiss International. It was nice but not as nice as some other international airlines I've flown & definitely not as nice as Emirates from last time! Our flight left at 6 pm so I was pretty tired by the time we finally took off. Luckily there was an empty aisle seat that I could move to so imwas much more comfortable! I ended up sitting next to Sasha so we talked for awhile & it turns out she works for Kenneth Cole & knows my current rep Tony & my old rep Will. Too funny! Again the shoe industry is a small small world! After a bit of chatting I ate dinner & started to watch The Help but fell asleep halfway through. After a very long nap I woke up & restarted the movie. I made it through & then fell asleep again & missed breakfast! Thankfully the 7 hour flight went by pretty fast & I got caught up on my sleep. Or so I thought...
STL-RDU-JFK-ZRH
The next time I think about booking a flight a 7 am flight someone needs to stop me! I drug myself out of bed, got ready & made it to the airport just in time to catch my flight to Raleigh/Durham. I had a 2 hour layover there & let me tell you there is nothing to do at RDU!! Of course I turned to Twitter to pass the time & that's where I "met" another trip participant Danielle. She had taken the red eye from the west coast so she had lots of time to pass at JFK & was tweeting as well. We exchanged some tweets, I ate some lunch & then boarded my flight to JFK to meet up with everyone else.
Once I arrived at the Swiss Intl gate I met Rick & Ellen, husband & wife from North Pole, Alaska. We were the first ones there so we got in line to check in. Of course I was booked in a middle seat so I quickly asked to be moved to an aisle which the guy didn't do but I didn't notice until after I walked away. Thanks Swiss Intl Air guy.
I grabbed a snack & went to our gate where I met Patty. I think she might live in the Atlanta area but I could be confusing that with someone else. I'm lucky I remember everyone's name! Soon after everyone started rolling in. There is Gene & Linda from Atlanta, their youngest daughter Meredith who lives in DC, Nora from Chicago, Amber from Mobile (whom I "met" on FB prior to the trip), Jessica & Marshall a couple from NYC, Karen & Janae a mother daughter from Texas, Laurie, Gil & Danielle who all live in the Bay area but didn't know each other prior, Sasha from New Jersey, me and the trip leader Katie! It's a pretty awesome group of people.
For this trip we stopped over in Zurich Switzerland so we took Swiss International. It was nice but not as nice as some other international airlines I've flown & definitely not as nice as Emirates from last time! Our flight left at 6 pm so I was pretty tired by the time we finally took off. Luckily there was an empty aisle seat that I could move to so imwas much more comfortable! I ended up sitting next to Sasha so we talked for awhile & it turns out she works for Kenneth Cole & knows my current rep Tony & my old rep Will. Too funny! Again the shoe industry is a small small world! After a bit of chatting I ate dinner & started to watch The Help but fell asleep halfway through. After a very long nap I woke up & restarted the movie. I made it through & then fell asleep again & missed breakfast! Thankfully the 7 hour flight went by pretty fast & I got caught up on my sleep. Or so I thought...
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Kigoma Project Update
Back in June I was lucky enough to go on a trip with 23 amazing individuals to Tanzania through Soles4Souls to distribute shoes to children in need. (You can read about it here.) I had no idea what it would be like or what kind of people I would meet but it turned out to be one of the most amazing things I've ever done. Since we got back we have all been continuously working on how to help going forward. We are currently working on getting books and school supplies to these places. We all believe that education is the key to helping them out of poverty and we need your help!
Most schools in Africa are lucky if they have one book per classroom. Can you imagine going to school & having to share one book with the entire class including the teacher? The good news is that the cost per book is extremely low compared to the cost of textbooks in the US. The bad news is that we need books for every grade level and every class. Our goal is to raise $6000 and that's where you come in!
We have set up a fundraising website with the help of Soles4Souls and we even have a name! The Kigoma Project. And it's tax deductible! I will be going back in January with Soles4Souls and we are planning on being able to get the books for them then. I will continue to share the story of The Kigoma Project with you so that you can see what a difference you are making. Please feel free the share this post or the donation page to all of your friends and family. The more awareness we have the better the world can be.
If you would like to help The Kigoma Project you can donate here:
http://www.soles4soulsfundraising.org/cgi-bin/view_profile.cgi?id=2508
Most schools in Africa are lucky if they have one book per classroom. Can you imagine going to school & having to share one book with the entire class including the teacher? The good news is that the cost per book is extremely low compared to the cost of textbooks in the US. The bad news is that we need books for every grade level and every class. Our goal is to raise $6000 and that's where you come in!
We have set up a fundraising website with the help of Soles4Souls and we even have a name! The Kigoma Project. And it's tax deductible! I will be going back in January with Soles4Souls and we are planning on being able to get the books for them then. I will continue to share the story of The Kigoma Project with you so that you can see what a difference you are making. Please feel free the share this post or the donation page to all of your friends and family. The more awareness we have the better the world can be.
If you would like to help The Kigoma Project you can donate here:
http://www.soles4soulsfundraising.org/cgi-bin/view_profile.cgi?id=2508
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Cookie Dough Cupcakes
First make the cookie dough:
1 stick butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/8 cup water
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1 tsp salt
1 1/8 cups flour
1/2 cup chocolate chips (I use mini)
Blend the butter and sugars in a mixer on low speed until fluffy. Add the water, vanilla, and salt. Mix until well blended. Add the flour a little at a time. Blend flour completely and then add chocolate chips. Mix just enough to combine. Shape the dough into little balls and freeze on a baking sheet. Honestly sometimes I just mix up the dough & just put it in a container and freeze it then just spoon out little bits when I get ready to make the cupcakes but doing the balls will make the dough spread more evenly in the cupcake. (I just get lazy! Ha!)
Mix the cake mix according to directions. Preheat oven to 350 F. Fill the cupcake lines about 2/3 full. I have a scoop from Pampered Chef that is perfect..I think it's the large one. Place the frozen cookie dough ball in the center of each cupcake. Don't worry if the cake batter doesn't cover it, it will during baking.
Bake cupcakes about 16-18 minutes.
Cookie Dough Frosting:
3 sticks softened butter
3/4 cup light brown sugar packed
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
Mix butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the powdered sugar a little at a time and mix until smooth. Beat in the salt, milk, and vanilla until smooth.
Honestly I prefer using cream cheese frosting because I feel like the cookie dough frosting is too sugary for me but other people love it so just depends on what kind of mood I'm in. Either way sprinkle them with mini chocolate chips.
Be warned, if you make these and take them anywhere you will be harassed until you bring them back again. They are that good!
Also, for those that are wondering since the dough doesn't have eggs it is perfectly safe to not cook all the way and to leave sitting out. This is actually the same dough I use for the cookie dough egg rolls I posted a few posts back.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
What a Difference a Month Makes!
I have a few updates on my trip to Africa. First off I would just like to say that I am so incredibly honored to have shared my experience with 23 amazing people who continue to impress me with their generosity every day. After you read this I hope you will see how amazing they are as well!
When we came back from Tanzania we were all filled with the desire to do more. We were warned that this would happen and told to start small and think of things we could do that were not overwhelming so we didn't stress ourselves out trying to come up with something to do. My group didn't take that advise. We were all about doing things that would make a big impact. Because we continued to work together, tackling something big didn't seem so bad.
Within the first couple of weeks one participant, Harriet, reached out to one of the schools that had no water. She paid their back bills and paid their water bill for the next couple of years going forward. Wow. That was pretty amazing!
We've been back for a little over a month now and last week another participant, Ben, reached out to our group and said he had spoken to someone at another school and we needed $675 to get their back bills paid, new pipes installed, and to pay their water bill for a year going forward but the catch was we needed to get it by next week. The day the email was sent out I had back to back meetings with no time to respond with my donation. By the time I was done & ready to respond later that afternoon, the money had already been raised and we had successfully completed getting water restored in school #2. That's how awesome the people I went with are. In fact Ben turned away more than one of us so we already know that some of us will be donating to the next project.
We have a lot of things that we would like to do. Sometimes the communication is a little slow in coming but we are working on it. I finally got a contact today at another school without water so hopefully we'll be working on water for our 3rd school soon. There are many other projects in the work and we hope to have a fundraising site so people can donate money to help us as well.
I don't think any of us realized the impact that we can make with so little effort. We just changed the lives of hundreds of kids for $675 that we raised in one afternoon. That is completely amazing to me. I can't wait to go back in January and see what changes have taken place. And I can't wait to see what we can do going forward. People ask me why I don't just donate the money I am spending on the 2nd trip but it's not just a trip. It's an ongoing experience. I can now be a leader for the next group and say look at what we've done. 24 people came together and this is what we did and this is what you can do too. Then maybe someone else will go back and get the next 24 and so on and so forth. Not to mention the amount of people that I have talked with this trip about who are considering doing a trip or donating money. It just keeps going and going and going.
I went on that trip thinking I would make a difference by giving kids some shoes and have a little fun while doing it. I never expected that I would become a voice and change their lives even more. My first group will have a special place in my heart forever but I can't wait to go again and share this with even more people!
If you would like to help out with the January trip you can donate to my fundraising page. If you would like to help out with further projects please let me know and I will contact you with our next thing!
When we came back from Tanzania we were all filled with the desire to do more. We were warned that this would happen and told to start small and think of things we could do that were not overwhelming so we didn't stress ourselves out trying to come up with something to do. My group didn't take that advise. We were all about doing things that would make a big impact. Because we continued to work together, tackling something big didn't seem so bad.
Within the first couple of weeks one participant, Harriet, reached out to one of the schools that had no water. She paid their back bills and paid their water bill for the next couple of years going forward. Wow. That was pretty amazing!
We've been back for a little over a month now and last week another participant, Ben, reached out to our group and said he had spoken to someone at another school and we needed $675 to get their back bills paid, new pipes installed, and to pay their water bill for a year going forward but the catch was we needed to get it by next week. The day the email was sent out I had back to back meetings with no time to respond with my donation. By the time I was done & ready to respond later that afternoon, the money had already been raised and we had successfully completed getting water restored in school #2. That's how awesome the people I went with are. In fact Ben turned away more than one of us so we already know that some of us will be donating to the next project.
We have a lot of things that we would like to do. Sometimes the communication is a little slow in coming but we are working on it. I finally got a contact today at another school without water so hopefully we'll be working on water for our 3rd school soon. There are many other projects in the work and we hope to have a fundraising site so people can donate money to help us as well.
I don't think any of us realized the impact that we can make with so little effort. We just changed the lives of hundreds of kids for $675 that we raised in one afternoon. That is completely amazing to me. I can't wait to go back in January and see what changes have taken place. And I can't wait to see what we can do going forward. People ask me why I don't just donate the money I am spending on the 2nd trip but it's not just a trip. It's an ongoing experience. I can now be a leader for the next group and say look at what we've done. 24 people came together and this is what we did and this is what you can do too. Then maybe someone else will go back and get the next 24 and so on and so forth. Not to mention the amount of people that I have talked with this trip about who are considering doing a trip or donating money. It just keeps going and going and going.
I went on that trip thinking I would make a difference by giving kids some shoes and have a little fun while doing it. I never expected that I would become a voice and change their lives even more. My first group will have a special place in my heart forever but I can't wait to go again and share this with even more people!
If you would like to help out with the January trip you can donate to my fundraising page. If you would like to help out with further projects please let me know and I will contact you with our next thing!
Friday, July 22, 2011
Catching Up
I have really been slacking on the blog posts but I promise I'll get back at it soon! For now here's a few things I've been doing over the past couple of weeks!
Went to the July Underground Dinner with my friend Jenni which was amazing as usual. We also met up with some people I know from Twitter (@cashewchicken, @ketzermusic, and @ironstef.) I had asked Bryan one time if he had ever gone & he said he hadn't so as soon as I got the password I shared it with him and he recruited the others & we all met up. It was my first time meeting them in real life and they turned out to be pretty okay (ha!) so it was really fun! We even all went to dinner the next week at Stellina (my favorite!) and we're all going to the underground dessert thing next week. People always ask me why I like Twitter and that's exactly why! It's a great place to meet people who have the same interests as you! Oh and at the dinner my friends Jason & Courtney turned up randomly so that was fun too. They were getting ready to leave for their big move to LA so it was nice to see them before they left. They also randomly showed up at Stellina the same night too!
Last Saturday I went antiquing with my friend Gena. She just moved into a new house & asked me if I wanted to go. I don't think she knew what she was getting herself into. I have been antiquing with my mom & oldest sister my whole life so I'm pretty much a pro at finding things and knowing how to get them back into shape. Gena had never even been to an antique store before so it was a very funny experience. The key words of the day were "You can paint it!" which she didn't seem to know you could do! Anyway, we found quite a few things and packed them all into the back of my Mazda Tribute with the seats folded down. We each bought a chair, we each bought huge mirrors, and she bought two nightstands and a stool. Not to mention that we went to HomeGoods afterwards and bought more things including 3 lamps & a canvas print. (I was trying to decide if I actually need this print but then a fellow blogger posted one on her blog today that looks almost identical but costs much much more so I'm now keeping it!) Needless to say my car was jam packed and it took some very creative maneuvering to get it all in and out of the car! My chair needs to be reupholstered and the frame needs to be painted but it's going to look awesome when it's done so when I start that project I'll post some pics on here.
I also signed up to go back to Africa with Soles4Souls in January. We'll be visiting some of the same places we did last time & will get to spend even more time with the kids. I can't wait to go back! Everyone is so surprised when I tell them I am going back so soon but I really can't wait! This time we are going via Switzerland so I'm pretty excited about that! My mom and I are also planning a trip for next summer too. Nothing is finalized yet but it looks like Holland, Luxembourg, Belgium, and Paris might be in our future! More details to come!
That's the update for now! I might have another post this weekend because I'm going to attempt to make a headboard...we'll see how it goes!
Went to the July Underground Dinner with my friend Jenni which was amazing as usual. We also met up with some people I know from Twitter (@cashewchicken, @ketzermusic, and @ironstef.) I had asked Bryan one time if he had ever gone & he said he hadn't so as soon as I got the password I shared it with him and he recruited the others & we all met up. It was my first time meeting them in real life and they turned out to be pretty okay (ha!) so it was really fun! We even all went to dinner the next week at Stellina (my favorite!) and we're all going to the underground dessert thing next week. People always ask me why I like Twitter and that's exactly why! It's a great place to meet people who have the same interests as you! Oh and at the dinner my friends Jason & Courtney turned up randomly so that was fun too. They were getting ready to leave for their big move to LA so it was nice to see them before they left. They also randomly showed up at Stellina the same night too!
Last Saturday I went antiquing with my friend Gena. She just moved into a new house & asked me if I wanted to go. I don't think she knew what she was getting herself into. I have been antiquing with my mom & oldest sister my whole life so I'm pretty much a pro at finding things and knowing how to get them back into shape. Gena had never even been to an antique store before so it was a very funny experience. The key words of the day were "You can paint it!" which she didn't seem to know you could do! Anyway, we found quite a few things and packed them all into the back of my Mazda Tribute with the seats folded down. We each bought a chair, we each bought huge mirrors, and she bought two nightstands and a stool. Not to mention that we went to HomeGoods afterwards and bought more things including 3 lamps & a canvas print. (I was trying to decide if I actually need this print but then a fellow blogger posted one on her blog today that looks almost identical but costs much much more so I'm now keeping it!) Needless to say my car was jam packed and it took some very creative maneuvering to get it all in and out of the car! My chair needs to be reupholstered and the frame needs to be painted but it's going to look awesome when it's done so when I start that project I'll post some pics on here.
I also signed up to go back to Africa with Soles4Souls in January. We'll be visiting some of the same places we did last time & will get to spend even more time with the kids. I can't wait to go back! Everyone is so surprised when I tell them I am going back so soon but I really can't wait! This time we are going via Switzerland so I'm pretty excited about that! My mom and I are also planning a trip for next summer too. Nothing is finalized yet but it looks like Holland, Luxembourg, Belgium, and Paris might be in our future! More details to come!
That's the update for now! I might have another post this weekend because I'm going to attempt to make a headboard...we'll see how it goes!
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Anthony's Story
Ever since I have returned from Tanzania my mind has been non stop thinking about what I saw and the kids I met. Everyone has asked how my trip was but I have been kind of distant in really talking about it because I'm not sure what to say or how to express it. This past week I've been really busy with things that have kind of kept my mind off of it and I think that gave me a little distance from it. On Thursday night I was fortunate enough to spend the evening w/ my friend Brie drinking wine and really talking about the trip. Brie and I haven't hung out in forever so I really think it was meant to be that she reached out & invited me over now because she's honestly the first person I've been able to really talk about this with in depth. (She doesn't know this but she will now! Ha!)
It was also on Thursday that a member of our travel group reached out with some ideas of things we could do collectively to help these kids. Things that are relatively small to us but would mean so much to them. Some of the places we went to do not even have drinking water & it's hard to wrap my head around the fact that these kids sit in school & cannot just go to the water fountain when they are thirsty.
Anyway, that's kind of how my weekend started out. What I want to share with you tonight is how it's ending. (Well technically I still have tomorrow before it's officially over but you get what I'm saying.)
While at one of the schools several of us talked to a boy named Anthony (I included his picture below). He is super smart & has such a great warm personality. I told him my name at the beginning of the visit and every time I would pass him he would say "Brandy!" While I was at this particular location I was a sizer therefore I didn't get to spend much time with him because I was sizing all the other kids feet. I did get a chance to take his picture which he asked if I would email him. Luckily two of the other girls on our trip got to talk to him a little more in depth and got his email address. I had promised him that I would email the picture so a few days ago I sent him an email with the picture and asked him to share his story with me. Tonight I received his response which I want to share with you. (His English is very good but sometimes it is still hard to understand but you'll get the picture.)
"In short I started attending at the Centre when I was 10years old, before I was raised with my mother and I could not know whereabout of my father because my mother was suffering from mental sickness so she was moving with me every where in dumples collecting trashes and other wroten things, I did not feel bad because I was young. Despite her mental sickness she never let down I was always on her back whenever she goes, one day she left me on a dumple near the market and she was nearing another dumple, one lady came and took me away my mother chased her but she could not succeed to get me back, she came up to that house of that lady where I was locked in, I heard crying outside, I could no longer listening for my mother crying for me, so I beg out to go with my mother, but the lady did not want my mother to keep straying in dumples with me so she took both of us...! Actually after my mother's death I thought that I can no longer laugh because I was thinking one day to take care of her sickness but the time for her was too short to wait for my dream, but I thank God that now days I can try to laugh and really feel much better when I do laugh...ok my dream is to be come a Doctor(volunteer) and my best area of work with my proffesion I would like to work in areas where there is most vulnerable children because I do not want them to experience what I experienced!"
As you can see Anthony has had a very hard life but what is amazing to me is how positive he is. In talking with him at the center he seemed very joyful and I would not have guessed that this was his story. Knowing his full story makes me feel so much more grateful for everything I have in my life. It's kind of hard to complain about anything when you hear his story. I know that he will do great things in life because he is so positive and the reason that he is able to do it is because he has someone who sponsors him which is enabling him to go to college. He told me that his "heart is yearning" to read more novels which is so great to hear. He also made sure to thank me for sending him an email.
I hope that Anthony's story inspires you in some way. I am planning on going back to Africa with Soles4Souls in January (I think...they are also going in June). I would encourage any of you who are remotely thinking about doing anything like this to just do it. Your life will be changed forever.
It was also on Thursday that a member of our travel group reached out with some ideas of things we could do collectively to help these kids. Things that are relatively small to us but would mean so much to them. Some of the places we went to do not even have drinking water & it's hard to wrap my head around the fact that these kids sit in school & cannot just go to the water fountain when they are thirsty.
Anyway, that's kind of how my weekend started out. What I want to share with you tonight is how it's ending. (Well technically I still have tomorrow before it's officially over but you get what I'm saying.)
While at one of the schools several of us talked to a boy named Anthony (I included his picture below). He is super smart & has such a great warm personality. I told him my name at the beginning of the visit and every time I would pass him he would say "Brandy!" While I was at this particular location I was a sizer therefore I didn't get to spend much time with him because I was sizing all the other kids feet. I did get a chance to take his picture which he asked if I would email him. Luckily two of the other girls on our trip got to talk to him a little more in depth and got his email address. I had promised him that I would email the picture so a few days ago I sent him an email with the picture and asked him to share his story with me. Tonight I received his response which I want to share with you. (His English is very good but sometimes it is still hard to understand but you'll get the picture.)
"In short I started attending at the Centre when I was 10years old, before I was raised with my mother and I could not know whereabout of my father because my mother was suffering from mental sickness so she was moving with me every where in dumples collecting trashes and other wroten things, I did not feel bad because I was young. Despite her mental sickness she never let down I was always on her back whenever she goes, one day she left me on a dumple near the market and she was nearing another dumple, one lady came and took me away my mother chased her but she could not succeed to get me back, she came up to that house of that lady where I was locked in, I heard crying outside, I could no longer listening for my mother crying for me, so I beg out to go with my mother, but the lady did not want my mother to keep straying in dumples with me so she took both of us...! Actually after my mother's death I thought that I can no longer laugh because I was thinking one day to take care of her sickness but the time for her was too short to wait for my dream, but I thank God that now days I can try to laugh and really feel much better when I do laugh...ok my dream is to be come a Doctor(volunteer) and my best area of work with my proffesion I would like to work in areas where there is most vulnerable children because I do not want them to experience what I experienced!"
As you can see Anthony has had a very hard life but what is amazing to me is how positive he is. In talking with him at the center he seemed very joyful and I would not have guessed that this was his story. Knowing his full story makes me feel so much more grateful for everything I have in my life. It's kind of hard to complain about anything when you hear his story. I know that he will do great things in life because he is so positive and the reason that he is able to do it is because he has someone who sponsors him which is enabling him to go to college. He told me that his "heart is yearning" to read more novels which is so great to hear. He also made sure to thank me for sending him an email.
I hope that Anthony's story inspires you in some way. I am planning on going back to Africa with Soles4Souls in January (I think...they are also going in June). I would encourage any of you who are remotely thinking about doing anything like this to just do it. Your life will be changed forever.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Cookie Dough Egg Rolls
While I was in Africa I was lucky enough to purchase some handmade goods from some of the mothers of the children at one of the schools we visited. They were so happy to make some money and we were so happy to buy their things. One of the things I bought was this awesome apron:
If you know me then you know I love to bake...but I'm pretty messy so an apron is something I actually need. I couldn't wait to try it out and lucky for me I had a couple of friends who had birthdays this week. First up Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Egg Rolls.
Now I know this sounds crazy but they are delicious and pretty easy to make. The key is to make an awesome cookie dough that does not contain eggs. Once the cookie dough is made you just plop the dough in the egg roll wrapper, roll them up and freeze for a few hours. You don't have to freeze them but it actually holds everything together so I usually do it. Once they are frozen you heat up some oil and fry them (just pretend the oil is fat free and not adding a million calories.) I like to serve them with vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of chocolate syrup.
Here is the recipe I use:
1 stick of butter or margarine
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c white sugar
1/8 c water
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1 tsp salt
1 1/8 c flour
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 pkg egg roll wrappers
Blend butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add water, vanilla, and salt. Add flour a little at a time. Blend completely. Add chocolate chips and mix until combined.
Add a small scoop of cookie dough to the egg roll. (I use a pampered chef cookie scoop and it was just the right amount.) If you aren't sure how to roll egg rolls you might want to google it. Once the egg rolls are rolled stick them in the freezer for about 3 hours. Once they are frozen heat some oil in a pan. I don't usually heat up enough to submerse the egg rolls, I just use enough to cover about 1/2 the egg roll and then turn them over after a minute or so.
Serve with vanilla ice cream and you'll be the hit of any party!
If you know me then you know I love to bake...but I'm pretty messy so an apron is something I actually need. I couldn't wait to try it out and lucky for me I had a couple of friends who had birthdays this week. First up Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Egg Rolls.
Now I know this sounds crazy but they are delicious and pretty easy to make. The key is to make an awesome cookie dough that does not contain eggs. Once the cookie dough is made you just plop the dough in the egg roll wrapper, roll them up and freeze for a few hours. You don't have to freeze them but it actually holds everything together so I usually do it. Once they are frozen you heat up some oil and fry them (just pretend the oil is fat free and not adding a million calories.) I like to serve them with vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of chocolate syrup.
1 stick of butter or margarine
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c white sugar
1/8 c water
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1 tsp salt
1 1/8 c flour
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 pkg egg roll wrappers
Blend butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add water, vanilla, and salt. Add flour a little at a time. Blend completely. Add chocolate chips and mix until combined.
Add a small scoop of cookie dough to the egg roll. (I use a pampered chef cookie scoop and it was just the right amount.) If you aren't sure how to roll egg rolls you might want to google it. Once the egg rolls are rolled stick them in the freezer for about 3 hours. Once they are frozen heat some oil in a pan. I don't usually heat up enough to submerse the egg rolls, I just use enough to cover about 1/2 the egg roll and then turn them over after a minute or so.
Serve with vanilla ice cream and you'll be the hit of any party!
Post Tanzania Thoughts
I’m finally back from my trip to Africa with Soles4Souls after about 30 long hours worth of flights! I returned last Friday and have been thinking about what I wanted to write for this blog ever since. When I would tell someone that I was going to Tanzania to pass out shoes to orphanages and schools I heard the same response over and over again…”what a life changing experience.” I knew I would come back with a different mindset but I had no idea how hard it would be to express it.
I have always been someone that wants to help people. I volunteer with several local charities and I’m always trying to think of a way I can do more. I thought this was a great opportunity to see firsthand the difference I could make in someone’s life. I have always loved this quote by Edward Everett Hale: “I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything but I can do something.” Sometimes volunteer work can be frustrating because you don’t see the results and you wonder if you are actually making a difference. This opportunity was a completely different experience and it’s been very hard to process and take in.
We spent the week in Kigoma which is a town in western Tanzania. We visited 8 orphanages/schools and were able to provide hundreds of kids new shoes! Some of the places we visited were nicer than others but the reaction to us coming was all the same. As soon as the kids would see our big purple bus pull up they would run out to greet us. It was sometimes overwhelming to hear the roar of the children as we were getting off the bus. They would patiently wait while we got set up and then they would line up to receive their new shoes. Each distribution ran the same with one or two people sizing the kids feet on paper size charts and then sending them to the next group of people to get their feet washed and then finally to get their new shoes. After the kids had received their shoes we would have time to play and talk with the kids.
I was lucky enough to be a sizer for two of the days we distributed. Because I’m the kids shoe buyer I get asked a zillion questions everyday about kids sizing, and the sizing chart we have on our website has been a pain in my side since the day I started here (until my hero Bill came along and redid it for me! Yay!) So it was kind of funny that I would be a sizer on this trip. I say I was lucky to do it because it allowed me to see what the kids were wearing (or in some cases not wearing) before they would get their new shoes. Some of the kids had shoes but they were badly worn or just not appropriate for the conditions they live in. Children in America have a pair of shoes for every activity they do. Soccer or baseball cleats for sports, dress shoes for church, tennis shoes for play, here most have one pair of shoes for everything they do. Imagine trying to play soccer in boys dress shoes. And on top of that imagine those shoes being two sizes too small. Many of the children had no shoes at all and their feet were cut and scratched from everyday life. In the moment I wasn’t thinking of these things because I was trying to entertain the kids but it was definitely something I thought about once it was over.
The kids we helped this week were given Crocs and they treated them like gold. Many of us in the fashion industry think Crocs are silly and we would never wear them but these kids would get them and then rush over to the side to take them off and put their old shoes back on so they could save them. I saw one boy who just couldn’t decide if he should keep the strap on top of the shoe or wear it around his heel. They were so happy to have these new shoes and they could not stop smiling! Sometimes we would not have a child’s exact size so we would give them a size too big so that they could grow into it but I didn’t hear one single complaint. Some of the bigger sizes ran out quickly and we would have to take the child’s information so that we could send a pair to them later and again, not a single complaint. These kids stood in line with 100 other kids and not once did I see pushing or fighting. There was no complaining or whining. There was just pure joy at the fact that someone was there to help them and give them something they so desperately needed. Something that we all take for granted.
There is so much more I could say about these amazing kids and that has been my issue in telling everyone about my experience. When someone says to me, “How was Africa?” I’m not sure what the correct response is. Amazing doesn’t seem like the right way to describe it. While my experience was amazing it just doesn’t seem like the most fitting word to use. This trip made me think. It made me reevaluate a lot of things. It made me see how much joy I, one person, could bring to a child’s life. I was able to give them hope just by showing up. I was able to provide them love (even if it was just for one day) through a hug. Yes the shoes were important but listening to some of their stories or playing with them was just as important. So I think the best answer I could give to the question, “How was Africa?” would be, “You just have to go and experience it for yourself.”
Here are a few pictures for you to enjoy!!
I have always been someone that wants to help people. I volunteer with several local charities and I’m always trying to think of a way I can do more. I thought this was a great opportunity to see firsthand the difference I could make in someone’s life. I have always loved this quote by Edward Everett Hale: “I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything but I can do something.” Sometimes volunteer work can be frustrating because you don’t see the results and you wonder if you are actually making a difference. This opportunity was a completely different experience and it’s been very hard to process and take in.
We spent the week in Kigoma which is a town in western Tanzania. We visited 8 orphanages/schools and were able to provide hundreds of kids new shoes! Some of the places we visited were nicer than others but the reaction to us coming was all the same. As soon as the kids would see our big purple bus pull up they would run out to greet us. It was sometimes overwhelming to hear the roar of the children as we were getting off the bus. They would patiently wait while we got set up and then they would line up to receive their new shoes. Each distribution ran the same with one or two people sizing the kids feet on paper size charts and then sending them to the next group of people to get their feet washed and then finally to get their new shoes. After the kids had received their shoes we would have time to play and talk with the kids.
I was lucky enough to be a sizer for two of the days we distributed. Because I’m the kids shoe buyer I get asked a zillion questions everyday about kids sizing, and the sizing chart we have on our website has been a pain in my side since the day I started here (until my hero Bill came along and redid it for me! Yay!) So it was kind of funny that I would be a sizer on this trip. I say I was lucky to do it because it allowed me to see what the kids were wearing (or in some cases not wearing) before they would get their new shoes. Some of the kids had shoes but they were badly worn or just not appropriate for the conditions they live in. Children in America have a pair of shoes for every activity they do. Soccer or baseball cleats for sports, dress shoes for church, tennis shoes for play, here most have one pair of shoes for everything they do. Imagine trying to play soccer in boys dress shoes. And on top of that imagine those shoes being two sizes too small. Many of the children had no shoes at all and their feet were cut and scratched from everyday life. In the moment I wasn’t thinking of these things because I was trying to entertain the kids but it was definitely something I thought about once it was over.
The kids we helped this week were given Crocs and they treated them like gold. Many of us in the fashion industry think Crocs are silly and we would never wear them but these kids would get them and then rush over to the side to take them off and put their old shoes back on so they could save them. I saw one boy who just couldn’t decide if he should keep the strap on top of the shoe or wear it around his heel. They were so happy to have these new shoes and they could not stop smiling! Sometimes we would not have a child’s exact size so we would give them a size too big so that they could grow into it but I didn’t hear one single complaint. Some of the bigger sizes ran out quickly and we would have to take the child’s information so that we could send a pair to them later and again, not a single complaint. These kids stood in line with 100 other kids and not once did I see pushing or fighting. There was no complaining or whining. There was just pure joy at the fact that someone was there to help them and give them something they so desperately needed. Something that we all take for granted.
There is so much more I could say about these amazing kids and that has been my issue in telling everyone about my experience. When someone says to me, “How was Africa?” I’m not sure what the correct response is. Amazing doesn’t seem like the right way to describe it. While my experience was amazing it just doesn’t seem like the most fitting word to use. This trip made me think. It made me reevaluate a lot of things. It made me see how much joy I, one person, could bring to a child’s life. I was able to give them hope just by showing up. I was able to provide them love (even if it was just for one day) through a hug. Yes the shoes were important but listening to some of their stories or playing with them was just as important. So I think the best answer I could give to the question, “How was Africa?” would be, “You just have to go and experience it for yourself.”
Here are a few pictures for you to enjoy!!
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