getting caught up

OK, Here it is the 20th of January and I have not gotten out of November and Ghana, so Goodbye Africa and Hello Christmas. Christmas this year was a little tough. Just like my blog I was definitely still in a Ghanaian state of mind and buying gifts for people who really don't need anything was dificult. A lot of charitable donations were made this year in people's honor rather than handing them a scarf or new pair of socks and underware. Decorating the tree was a family event as you can see below, I the one behind the camera so you know I was there. The big discussion is icicles or no icicles- Jay is a tinsel man whlie the rest of us are not. Secretly I was glad he could find no tinsel on his shopping trip but later found and bought 5 boxes of them that he never runs out of the stuff. If some tinsel on the tree makes this man happy so be it, I don't mind vacuuming it up for the next 3 months ;)


Jay makes sure the lights are evenly spaced on the tree.

Kyle is happy that this line of lights was working... we definitely need to go out next year and get some more lights. We prefer the old fashioned big bulbs and we have more that don't work now than ones that do.

Shelby makes like a reindeer, or maybe it was a moose.

One reason

This photograph is just one of the reasons why I travel. On my second day in the village James and I went out for a walk. There was a lot of excitement from the people as we walked around... visitors are rare. My camera stood out and the calls of, "White Lady, White Lady, Photo, Photo," began. As we passed the small market one woman came up to me and the kids told me she wanted me to photograph her with her mother and her children. after I took the shot I turned my camera around and showed them the image I captured. This was the first time the older woman had seen her image this way and was very excited. I only wish I had a second camera around to have caught her reaction.. It was priceless. That's OK though because I will always remember itand that's what really matters. It is those small moment connections with people that I love. Sharing something new, or maybe something old with people, a realization of how we are all the same no matter where we are from is worth the money and time spent and the discomfort that sometimes accompanies travel. I pray that there will be many more opportunities waiting for me.

More kids

How beautiful is this little boy? I just love his eyes. He was around a lot while I was in the village but never spoke to me. I wish I was good at learning languages but that is definitely not a gift given to me. I just thought this kid is one of the most beautiful children I have ever seen.
And this little boy always was looking at me as if I was a science experiment. He had this way of tilting his head as he looked at me and I wish I could have known what he was thinking. Maybe I am better off not knowing though.

More favorite pictures

OK..I know I have not been really good with posting things here and people have been asking...sorry. The holidays came and all and Blogger has switched to a new format and I can't seem to get more than one or two pictures up at a time and got toally fustrated after writing a whole story and downloading pictures and then having it not post...but enough of my whining... I am learning and now I will just create a few posts rather than one. Enough of that..

I totally fell in love with the kids of this village, actually I have always loved the kids I have met in Africa but on this trip I got to spend more time with certain kids and they now hold a very special place in my heart.

This little girl is Rebecca, one of Cosmos' daughters. She is 5 years old and thought I was fascinating (read like a science experiment.) I don't think she ever met someone like me and I just made her laugh. It was neat to see her warm up to me as my time in the village lent on. In the beginning she would just stare at me but by the time I left she would stay close to me. The best part is that neither of us really understood the language of the other, but that didn't really seem to matter. Friendship really doesn't have anindividual language- its universal.


This little boy, I never learned his name, was so adorable but he never quite warmed up to me. He would cry and hide any time he saw me. He had never seen anyone who looked quite like me (not many white people have ever been to the village and certainly not any in his memory.)It presented a dilemna for him when I would be playing with the kids on the porch. We would all be singing and laughing and he wanted to be a part of that but it would mean he would have to come somewhat close to me. What's a boy to do? He started out by standing on the outskirts and then eventually would move in a little closer. Now he never was one of the kids coming up to me to feel what my light skin felt like but he would join us on the porch as the week wore on. I was amazed when he subjected himself to getting photographed my me..a true testament to the power of peer pressure. I wasn't questioning it...I was thrilled to get his portrait to remember him by.

the heat

I just wanted to share how hot I was while in Ghana.... I took this photo on e of the first days I was there. Yes, I know this is not the most flattering shot of me but it is true to how I felt at the time. when I look at it I can see how much I felt the humidity. But here is the amazing thing about being there... even though I was hot and sweaty, I would soon forget about it. While looking at this picture I could imagine I was totally miserable but I wasn't. You just kind of think..gee its hot and then you get over it. But I didn't want to forget so voila... you have this picture