i can't believe i've only been in philly for the past two two and a half(ish) days. i've done so much, learned so much, met so many people, it feels like it's been way longer. alas, here i am, on the the eve of my departure, feeling surprisingly calm.
highlights of the past two days:
9.19.07
-saw the liberty bell, betsy ross' house, independence hall, along with more cool historical stuff, i'm sure. philadelphia is a cool place in general i decided.
-had a philly cheesesteak sandwich for the first time. can't get much more authentic than that.
-met some more wonderful people. i've almost got all the names down now. there are about 30 people in the togo group altogether-- 16 in the girls' education and empowerment (gee) program and 14 in the natural resource management (nrm) program.
-talked about anxieties and aspirations as we anticipate leaving.
-had dinner at an indian restaurant. it was buffet style, which was fabulous since i got to try several dishes i hadn't tried before. i wonder if they'll have indian food in togo...
-stopped by an irish pub before heading back to the hotel. it was a good ambiance, although the music they were playing sounded like someone was singing karaoke, but there wasn't any karaoke anything around. kinda confused me for a little bit.
9.20.07
-talked about how to cope with getting unwanted attention in togo. it's hard to tell what that's going to be like.
-had a chinese lunch with a great group of people.
-talked about what tomorrow is going to be like-- it sounds like it's going to be a lot of sitting. we take a bus to the clinic to get some shots, take a bus to the airport, take a 7 hour plane ride to france, and a 6 hour plane ride to togo. fortunately i brought plenty of stuff to keep me occupied, not to mention a group of 30 people to talk with.
-when we were walking to dinner, we asked a guy on the street for suggestions of where to go and as he was leading us to bucca di beppo (mmm...), he randomly took us into a kinko's because there was a guy in there he knew who is from ghana. he was telling us how great ghana is, so i'm definitely going to be visiting some time in the next two years. anyone who wants to come along is more than welcome to join me.
-had an amazing dinner
-saw a ton of bats (we all decided they were bats) when we were walking back. normally i wouldn't be happy that flying rats (i'm not a big fan of bats) were all over the place, but they were just doing their own thing relatively far away from me and it was actually kind of neat to see it.
-saw a march/demonstration go by of people who want the boys of the jena six case to be let go(to read more about the case: http://www.whileseated.org/photo/003244.shtml).
- saw about a million and one motorcycles go by all at once.
all in all, it's been a pretty eventful last couple days. i'm so glad i've gotten to spend some time here, i'm for sure going to come back some day. i'm super excited to take the bus up to new york. i hope i get to see a lot on the way. i'll just tell the bus driver that i'm feeling nauseous so that he will pull over and i can sneak some pictures along the way. pictures never work as well when the bus is moving.
i'm all packed and ready to get poked tomorrow. please pray for safe flights.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
good flights. settling in to hotel. making new friends.
after getting only 2 hours of sleep last night (2 more than i had planned on getting) i got to the airport on time and was out for most of my time on the planes. it made the day go by quick. even spending almost 3 hours in the dallas airport went by fast. i got to the airport and didn't know what i was supposed to do. i didn't know if i was supposed to look for someone or get a shuttle. i was half expecting someone to be there holding a sign that said peace corps or my last name but that wasn't the case. and getting on a shuttle wasn't really an option since i didn't know what hotel i was going to be staying at. luckily i had written down the name and number of someone i could contact. so after getting my luggage i took a cab to the hampton inn. the person i had talked to said that a cab wouldn't be too expensive since the hotel was fairly close to the airport. this cab driver apparently didn't know it isn't supposed to cost too much to drive someone to the hampton because he charged me $26. but on the bright side, i really enjoyed the drive there. from what i've seen, i decided i like it here. i'll see how i feel by the end of the week.
i checked in and by the time i got to my room, i had met 4 other girls that are here and going to togo. introductions out of the way, i told them i was hungry and was going to find some food before it got too much later. i brought some soup back and ate it while we chatted for a good 2 hours or so. i like them all. i'm looking forward to getting to know them better. it's really nice to be able to talk to people who have many of the same questions i've had for the past couple months but are just as excited for the experience. i think we're all equally unsure of what to expect.
one of the girls has a friend who lives in philly and is going to show her around the city tomorrow morning. i have to get up at 9am ... which is 6 am in normal oregon time. i'm not feeling super tired right now since i slept a decent amount on the planes, but i know i'll regret staying up tomorrow if i don't try to go to sleep soon. with that said, bonsoir!
i checked in and by the time i got to my room, i had met 4 other girls that are here and going to togo. introductions out of the way, i told them i was hungry and was going to find some food before it got too much later. i brought some soup back and ate it while we chatted for a good 2 hours or so. i like them all. i'm looking forward to getting to know them better. it's really nice to be able to talk to people who have many of the same questions i've had for the past couple months but are just as excited for the experience. i think we're all equally unsure of what to expect.
one of the girls has a friend who lives in philly and is going to show her around the city tomorrow morning. i have to get up at 9am ... which is 6 am in normal oregon time. i'm not feeling super tired right now since i slept a decent amount on the planes, but i know i'll regret staying up tomorrow if i don't try to go to sleep soon. with that said, bonsoir!
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
africa's women: a journey of hope
http://www.theotherjournal.com/article.php?id=86
here is an article that i recently came across. it makes me sad when i hear about economic disparities that exists throughout the world, but it's important to recognize that when we speak of poverty, we shouldn't limit it to economic hardship. here is an excerpt from the article:
"Materially, America may be very developed, but in other aspects of life, Africa has significant contributions to offer. In Africa, the elderly don’t die alone. If an extended family member is in need, others in the family with their own meager resources make sure the need is met. In the African context, there is no such concept as “inconvenience.” Unexpected visitors are blessings, and there’s always room at the table for one or two more. Older siblings help with school fees for the younger ones. Here people know how to celebrate, to dance, to sing, without spending a fortune to do so. Yes, life is hard, but people know how to find and express joy in the midst of what they have, with each other. People greet each other with “God is good…” to which is replied, “…all the time, and all the time…” “God is good!” concludes the first. Is this simplistic optimism…or is it a view of reality which addresses life from the perspective of eternal priorities?"
this is a description of the african culture that i've heard from a number of sources and i feel so blessed to have the opportunity to be going to a place that has a reputation of richness in the realm of community. i am going to "serve" this community, but know they will inevitably serve me more than i could hope to serve them.
here is an article that i recently came across. it makes me sad when i hear about economic disparities that exists throughout the world, but it's important to recognize that when we speak of poverty, we shouldn't limit it to economic hardship. here is an excerpt from the article:
"Materially, America may be very developed, but in other aspects of life, Africa has significant contributions to offer. In Africa, the elderly don’t die alone. If an extended family member is in need, others in the family with their own meager resources make sure the need is met. In the African context, there is no such concept as “inconvenience.” Unexpected visitors are blessings, and there’s always room at the table for one or two more. Older siblings help with school fees for the younger ones. Here people know how to celebrate, to dance, to sing, without spending a fortune to do so. Yes, life is hard, but people know how to find and express joy in the midst of what they have, with each other. People greet each other with “God is good…” to which is replied, “…all the time, and all the time…” “God is good!” concludes the first. Is this simplistic optimism…or is it a view of reality which addresses life from the perspective of eternal priorities?"
this is a description of the african culture that i've heard from a number of sources and i feel so blessed to have the opportunity to be going to a place that has a reputation of richness in the realm of community. i am going to "serve" this community, but know they will inevitably serve me more than i could hope to serve them.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
