Random Pictures

This is just a typical family visit here in Wiamoase. Everyone gets very excited for me to take their picture.

Here I am with Madame Esther. She is who Chelsea & Mike used to live with and she is wonderful. She is their mom here in Wiamoase!

Here is the room I am staying in. It is very nice and I even have a wonderful fan!

Here are Chelsea & Mike being Ghanaians in the traditional dress.

Here is Isaac and he is weaving his Kente cloth that I explained earlier

Here I am in the traditional ceremonial clothes. Also you can see my braids!


This is the view from the front porch of the flat that I live in. Chelsea & Mike live here on the school campus where they teach. This is just a taste of the beauty & magesty that is Ghana!

I wish I could upload more pictures but it takes a very long time to get them uploaded. So these will have to do for now. I hope that you enjoy them and I will put up more when I get a chance!

Braids, Kente Cloth, and Spirits

Today was an exciting day. I gave in and decided to get my hair braided for a few weeks while I am here in Ghana. My hair was getting crazy and unruly so getting it braided would help solve that problem. I didn’t realize it would weigh so much so now my head is much heavier. Since I haven’t gone to Mampong yet (where we can upload photos) you will have to imagine me with long black braids all over my head. The local Ghanaians think I am much more beautiful with my hair like this.

Which reminds me that everyone here who knows Chelsea and meets me thinks I am her. It is very funny here but I tell them I am her senior sister and they laugh and say that we are the same except I am fatter than her. They are very honest here and supposedly fat is good so they are giving me a compliment.

It took about 3 ½ hours to finish my hair and amazingly enough it was only ten cedi or $10. I think it would something in the hundreds in America to get the same hair style. So I am getting use to my heavy head, long black braids, and all this new hair style entails.

After getting my hair done I met up with one of Chelsea’s friends named Isaac. He took me to his workshop where he makes Kente Cloth-the ceremonial cloth Ghanaians wear here. They wear them around their necks at graduation, for weddings, and other special events. He is going to make something special order for me that I will tell you about later.

Isaac was very kind and he even gave me a thorough introduction to the tools of his trade. He even had Precious write then down for me. They are: Briks ( in English Horse), Akrokrowa, Widea, Waitst stick (ayasedua), Nsadua, Pullar/ Budosar (Ntwisos), Nidai (in English Turner), Kyereye, Gia, Turnt, and Stepper. It was really amazing to watch him weave the cloth and I’m excited about my special project.

Later that night Chelsea Mike and I played a mean game of Phase Ten, Mike one. We have been playing Rummy every once in a while but Chelsea keeps winning so we decided to switch it up. We were going to go to this famous cave tomorrow but it is the day the spirits are there so we can’t go.

The story goes that the long ago the people of Wiamoase we taken to a large cave to be protected and told that they cannot shot inside or around the cave or it will collapse. After a long time the people got very hungry so they sent out a hunter to get them some food. He forgot that he can’t shoot near the cave and shot an animal to feed the people but when he shot then the cave collapsed and all the people died. So there are only certain days you can go or the spirits and demons will be there. Precious thought that on Saturday we would be okay so we planned to go tomorrow but when I was getting my hair braided she was talking to some women about and they got all anxious and told her that the spirits will be there tomorrow and that we can’t go.

So I think that we will clean the house, do some laundry, go to the market, and few other simple things.

Some Things Just Take Time

As I was getting my hair braided for a few hours I had a lot of time to think. I kept seeing Ghanaians walk by with heavy loads on their heads. This is commonplace. Hardly anyone carries things in their hands. Even purses sometimes are carried on their heads so that they have their hands free. They even carry their children on their back wrapped up like a little Jo-Jo kangaroo.

As Americans we cannot carry these heavy things on our heads because our necks are not strong enough. We have not trained our muscles to carry such weight and so it continues to amaze me the amount of weight that is carried on the head of these beautiful Ghanaians.

I had an experience that doesn’t exactly relate but it is close enough. One day in my ASL class my eyes were getting so tired I could hardly keep them open and I looked around to see that many other students in my class felt the same way. After serving my mission among the Deaf society, learning ASL, and being an interpreter I have learned something about those of us who hear. Our eyes are very weak. It is amazing to me how lazy our eyes are! We actually rely on our hearing much more than we would ever imagine. Just think about when you are in class, or in a meeting, or at church. Often we don’t look at the speaker, or teacher and we are writing notes, looking at something else, or day dreaming. Yet because of our hearing we can multi-task. When a person is deaf they have to be watching not only the teacher or speaker but sometimes also their interpreter. Thus their eyes are very strong.

In both these examples it is true that you can gain a strong neck or strong eyes but it takes a lot of work-sometimes it takes years to gain the strength you need to accomplish the task at hand. I think this is true about a lot of little things in life. We are currently in the “instant gratification” stage in America where we want everything now. Some things just take time.

"Obruni, Obruni, How are you doing?"

It was only 2 days in when my first tragedy hit. I was having a friend of mine, Precious, take my picture and she accidentally dropped my camera. Because it was turned on and ready for her to take the lens was out and it hit the ground the wrong way and it no longer works. In America this would not be good but I could get it fixed or heaven forbid I buy another camera. Here in Wiamoase it is devastating!

There are so many things that I want to capture and bring home for others and for my memories so I hope to figure something out soon. Also we had another problem. Mike woke up this morning and stepped on the floor into water. The toilet had leaked all night and flooded part of the house. So we all got up very early to hand mop the floor until there was no more water. Then we hung everything that was wet out to dry.

I am sorry there are no pictures yet as we have to go to a bigger city, Mampong, in order to put pictures up. But as I sit here typing I will describe the scenery. Everything is very green and lush. There are chickens and cows wandering around, and the dang rooster that don’t shut up all day. The school campus I live on is very quiet today because the students went home for the semester and will return a week before I leave. There are short palm trees dispersed among some other kinds of trees we don’t have in America. I love trees so you can imagine my joy of being here in Africa.

I was walking down the red dirt road today and I was thinking how hot and beautiful Wiamoase is and how grateful I am to be experiencing it first hand. I hadn’t walked to far when I was surrounded by school kids all yelling, “Obruni, Obruni, How are you Obruni?” Some little kids are scared of me and don’t know what to think-they think I am a ghost with my white skin. Other kids just want to touch me and so they wipe their hands and gather around to touch. Some kids want to share with me their limited English. It is very heart warming and I feel a little bit like a celebrity. There are more marriage proposals, people who jokingly want me to take their child with me to America, and always the Ghanaians are so kind and loving!

A wise man, Samuel,that I met today told me that it is good that I have come to Ghana so I can be grateful for all I have in America. He said that when things might be rough with Obama and the economy that it is okay because it is worse in Ghana. He told me to be grateful and to share that message with my people. And so I am humbled by his words and my first hand experience here in Ghana.

Akwaaba!

I have arrived in Ghana safe and sound! After flying to Salt Lake City, staying the night and then flying to New York I was on my way to Ghana!

My sister Chelsea and her husband Mike were there to greet me when I exited the airport. I was lucky all my bags arrived. When I say all my bags I mean my one carry on bag with all my clothes, shoes, etc for my entire trip, my backpack, and e HUGE bags full of goodies for the Strayers (my sis and her hubby) and the Ghanaians!
After meeting up with them we had a long journey home. We headed to the Circle, where we could take a tro tro to Kumasi. While we waited for the tro tro to fill I ate some local food. I ate a boiled egg with some sort of spices and I had some amazing fresh pineapple.

First we took a tro tro (sort of like a mini van) from Accra (the city I flew into) to another main city called Kumasi. I guess because it was Sunday it was pretty much a ghost town and that made the transportation faster and run a bit more smoothly I should mention that I had a great seat on the tro tro. I got to sit up front next to the window. So although it was around a 5 hour drive in the sweltering heat-it turned out okay!

Once in Kumasi we stopped for lunch before our next tro tro ride. We ate at a place called Chopsticks. Mike ordered fried rice and chicken and Chelsea order Spring rolls, chicken and fries. We all shared some meat kebobs: goat, beef, and chicken. I like the goat the best but after seeing so many cute little goats on the sides of the road I did feel a little guilty. We ate our food outside and enjoyed our Cokes and then we headed to the nest tro tro station.

Once we got to the tro tro station we found a tro tro going to Wiamose and loaded in. The thing you have to understand about the tro tros is that they don’t leave until they are full so you could wait a long time or just a few minutes. We waited for a while and then headed home. Once we got to Wiamose we loaded in a taxi for the next little bit and then arrived at the Strayer’s flat.

I met the neighbors, moved in to my cozy room, we unloaded the bags I brought (I felt a bit like Santa) and my sister and her husband were really excited about the goodies I had delivered, and then I headed to bed exhausted.

So far Ghana is amazing and I look forward to many more African Adventures!

And so it begins...

Just so everyone knows the little bag on the right is my bag-the only one with stuff for me (clothes, medicine, etc.) The other 3 bags are chalked full with things for Chelsea, Mike, and the Ghanians. I feel a bit like Santa with so much goodness to share when I get to West Africa!

Thanks Jacob for helping with the shirts, skirts, tie clothes drive and for the pill bottles. The first aid kits were a smashing success thanks to my Enrichment night in my Ward. Thanks ladies for pitching in and putting all of them together!

Thanks Mo Mo for helping out in so many ways to get me off and on my way to Ghana! I will miss you but can't wait for the butterfly!

Here I am a bit overwhelmed by the amount of "stuff" we have to go through to determine what makes the cut and goes to Ghana and what stays behind.

Again thanks Jacob and everyone who helped out. Thanks to those who wrote their testimonies for the Ghanian saints, donated time, money, and other items. A little really does go a really long way!

So I begin my journey to Ghana, West Africa! I am very excited, a bit nervous, but mostly I can't believe the time has actually come. Though initially the trip was going to be my entire family (I am sad they weren't able to come). Then it was going to be me and some of my amazing cousins (I am sad they can't come either) now I go alone.

This trip will be and already is much different than my Italy trip I did on my own. I am so excited that Chelsea and Mike will be on the receiving end to help me out a lot while I am in Ghana!

A BIG shout out to everyone who helped make this trip possible and know that you will be making many people happy. I will try to update the blog when I can. I can also access my email and facebook so drop me a line when you get a chance.

Again many thanks!!

In the Spirit of Gratitude & Thanksgiving...

Well as you can see above I am just scratching the surface of the things that I am gathering to take to Ghana with me.  If you haven't taken the time to check out Give to Ghana you really should! I know that times are tough but just think it's also the season of grateful and approaching the season of giving.  Every little bit helps.  If you would like to help donate items please leave a comment. If you would like to donate some $$money to help also leave a comment and I will send you my mailing address. Remember that a little goes a long way!

I also have a wonderful friend who is gathering things to send to the Ghanian Branch (LDS) such as CTR rings, white shirts, ties, skirts, old church magazines, and so forth. He would love to have help in this endeavor.  Again I can connect you to him if you leave a comment.

Lastly my ward (again LDS) is going to put together First Aid Kits (from off the website) so if you would like to help out in that endeavor please let me know.

I will be leaving in only a few short weeks so stay tuned for much more exciting news!!!

A Fountain of Gas

So the other day I was getting some gas and talking on the phone (yes I love to multitask) and I wasn't paying much attention to the gas (it usually does its own thing). Then all of a sudden I see gas spewing out of my gas tank like a raging fountain. So I run over and pull down the stop thingy but the gas just keeps spewing all over the place. My care was literally taking a shower in gasoline.  It was late at night so nobody else is at the gas station so I run frantically into the store part and start yelling....gas spewing....gas all over the place...shut off the gas... and I notice that there is a little old lady attendant who didn't even flinch at my yelling or the fact that I wasn't making much sense.

At this point I run back outside and to my relief the gas has ceased spewing and not instead of showering in gas my car is simply taking a bath in a lake of gasoline.  this guy (who literally appears out of nowhere (and there is no other car around) tells me to slowly back my car up. So I repark and get the receipt for gas. 

The mystery guy and I walk inside and I tell the little old the happenings. She asks me about how much gas I think is outside on the ground. I look at my receipt and tell her 7 gallons. She asks me why I think that much and tell her that my gas tank holds about 10 gallons and my receipt has me charged for 17 gallons. Mystery guys pipes in and tells me my Toyota Corolla (which I have named Bella) can hold 12.75 or something gallons and it only looks like there is about 3 1/2 gallons of gas on the ground! (I am annoyed by mystery man at this point--how does he know either of that information--I'm pretty sure I could never get 12 gallons of gas in my car and I'm also pretty sure by the lake of gas that there's more than 3 1/2 gallons of gas out on the ground.

Mystery man does redeem himself however when he helps little old lady attendant figure out how to reimburse me for the 7 gallons of gas not in my tank but outside on the ground.  So in the end I didn't have to pay for said lake of gas.

However I'm pretty sure that any good I have done in the entirety of my 28 years to help the planet (namely recycle etc.) was undone by the 7 gallons of gas that spewed forth from Bella!  yikes!

November is National Adoption Month

I love November!  My mom, sister, and brother-in-law all celebrate their birthdays, we have Thanksgiving, and it is National Adoption Month!

In the years past I have been able to really work on the adoption awareness campaign leading up to November as the NAM!  I love adoption and all that it represents, it's what I want to do when I finish grad school, it's personally in my family currently, and it's about love!

Take a minute to do something- even if it is just learning more about adoption this month. You might be surprised at how many people you know have their lives touched by adoption in some way or another!

5th ward talent show

Me, Laura, & Pamela.  I love my friends!

Jacob & Brett doing some Yoga!

Pamela & I. She sang a fun song & I read a few poems.

Happy Halloween!

I went Gothic for Halloween and loved it! I even sprayed my hair black!

Here is Kris as Clark Kent/Superman!

Here is Cory & I.  IT's always great when Cory comes to town!

Here we are getting ready to go to the big ASU dance on the top of the parking garage!

Aren't my roommates just beautiful!

Me & My Migraines

Migraines might be nothing new to some of you but they are to me. Well I guess not completely new I think I've had maybe 3 in my life before I moved to Arizona. I certainly didn't have chronic migraines and although they were painful they weren't debilitating!

A few weeks ago I started have these terrible migraines! I'm telling you the kind that make you throw up, go blind, and so forth.  So naturally the first time this happened for me I decided I would just go to sleep--sleep it off you might say.  Well I did that only my "sleep it off" turned into a sort of coma of sorts and I didn't wake up for another 11 hours. 

You might be thinking wow that is bad but not that bad if it helped get rid of the migraine--and I would have to agree with you.  At least I can go to sleep and wake up without my head feeling like it's about to explode.

The problem--and where the debilitating part comes in when I tell you that I've had 7 migraines in a little over 2 weeks! Each time resulting in pain, sickness (yes throwing up), and then an 11 or so hour "coma" for relief.

So thus my drama with my migraines! I started putting up taglines on my facebook about my migraines and got so many people suggesting things about migraines. I felt that I had joined some club of the sufferers. Seriously though there is way too much info for a migraines sufferer to figure out what is causing their migraine. I mean I stopped eating certain foods, started eating other foods, tried to de stress, then tried to figure out what could have been my trigger etc.

In the end I ended up at the doc's office at my school (I have student health insurance) knowing she would most likely tell me the same things a gazillion other people had told me.  Well she listened and actually empathize with me noting, "Yes I can see why you want to figure this out as these migraines seem to be taking away chunks of your life!"  ( Isn't it great when you go to the doctor and feel validated for your suffering!).  So she gave me a few prescriptions and a referral to see an eye specialist (we both thought this might be the trigger as I had eye issues earlier around the time of my migraines starting).

So I set out to go see an Opthamologist and they wouldn't see me. Seriously I called 3 and they all said that I needed to go to a Neurologist not an Eye Doctor.  In fact 2 of the Eye specialists I called referred me to a Neuro-Opthamologist. I didn't even know there was such a doctor (aka Occular-Neurologist).  

And so I begin my journey of figuring out what is up with my brain! ( sorry this post is so boring but it is really what is going on in my life these days)

Benefit Concert for Nie Nie in Mesa!

I think by now most of you know about Stephanie & her husband Christian who were in a plane crash and badly burned. Stephanie has a blog that many people frequent (her sister Jane also writes about Stephanie & Christian).  I won't get into much detail here because I feel like if you have a blog or read a blog you know this story. It has been all over the news, all over blogs, tons of fundraisers, and much more...

Speaking of find raisers... A good friend of mine, Mindy Gledhill, will be performing a concert on October 25, 2008 at 7:00 PM in Mesa, AZ. She will be performing at Mountain View High School (2700 E Brown Rd.  Mesa, AZ 85213). Tickets are $15 and all tickets and CD's will benefit Nie Nie and her family!  Please go to Mindy's website to get tickets and invite your friends!

Multi Stake/ Regional Rodeo!

This Rodeo/Dance was a huge girl's choice dance. I took Nate (pictured next to me) who I met through Pamela.  There was barrel racing, tug-o-war ( I took video but it wasn't loading well), egg toss, and much much more!

Nat & Kylee

Nate & Kylee          Natalie & Jason

Robert & Pamela           Nate & Kylee

Whitney & Tyler      Kylee & Nate (and fake barbed wire)

Can you see how much dust was in the air? It reeked havoc on just about everyone!

  
Jacob & Amy       Amy & Brett (Enjoying the Rodeo)

                                                                          Kris & Laura

                                                                          Kylee & Natalie

After the Rodeo shin dig a bunch of us went and had a bonfire!  It was fun and I was introduced to Sobee bombs! For those of you who haven't seen them (I had never heard of them but everyone else seemed to know about them--must be an AZ thing) it is where you fill a Sobee bottle with gasoline, put the lid back on, poke a small hole, then place it in the fire. They explode and it looks really cool!

Pamela's Birthday!

Kylee & Pamela 

For Pamela's birthday she invited some of her friends and instead of us giving her gifts she made us all an authentic Italian (she served her mission in Rome) feast!

Happy Birthday Pamela!

Conference Weekend

I love the mountains!

Jodi & I played with Kris' nieces and nephews while were watching the BYU game! Go Cougs!

Miranda & I at Temple Square! It rained the entire weekend we were in Ut. It had been 106 in Mesa so I didn't even think about bringing an umbrella or coat or anything.

Miranda, Kris, Karen, & I had tickets to the Saturday afternoon session of General Conference!

Mirand, Karen, & I at the Joseph Smith Memorial building. I had just finished watching a photographic portrayal of the life of Christ. It's called, Reflections of Christ, by Mark Maybry (he lives in Mesa, AZ) and it is truly incredible. It will be touring the states soon but if you don't get to see it live be sure and go to the website.

Meet Deja & Kiki, my best friend's new little "Girls".  I was afraid they wouldn't like me but they did and I enjoyed watching conference with them on my lap. We got along great and I think I will make a great auntie!

"In our lovely desert..."

Amazingly on our way home we stopped at a Wendy's/Gas Station and I ran into my brother's best friend from when they were kids. It was so great to see Jason again!

September

My good friend Kris (on top) just recently moved to Arizona and Alex helped him out. It was great to have a few familiar faces around!

(L-R) Whitney, Tyler, Kirsten, Kylee, & Cory.

We went to see Rob Gardner's "Black Beard: The Musical" and it was fantastic!

Whitney, you are too cool!

Tyler & Whitney (some of my new greatest friends ever)!

It was great to have Cory come visit from Kingman, AZ for the weekend!

Cory & I found this crazy secret device in my room--a red light blinks whenever there's a sound but it doesn't react to motion???

The Porters took us all out to dinner at Carrabas for Jodi's Birthday!

(L-R) Top: Kylee, Steve & Liz Porter. 

(L-R) my roommates: Becky M., Katie F., & Jodi C. (& Catie Porter)

Cory & I played Basketball @ Golfland and then with our tickets we bought bouncy balls!

A day in the life

My sister Chelsea and her husband Mike currently live in Ghana, West Africa. It is unbelievable to hear about life where they live. Check out a day in their life!

"These are a few of my favorite things..."

You know when discover something you really love and you can't wait to share it with everyone. Well I want to share some great music that I am listening to these days. I know many of you have already discovered these songs and great musicians-but for those of you who see these songs or names of artists and have no idea who the are--please check them out!

My current Playlist called, "Thursday"
1. "Near to You" by A Fine Frenzy CD: One Cell in the Sea
2. "Home" by Scott Alan CD: Dreaming Wide Awake
3. "Fall for You" by Secondhand Serenade CD: A Twist in My Story
4. "Hymn" by Brooke Fraser CD: Albertine
5. "Gravity" by Sara Bareilles CD: Little Voice
6. "If I own Today" by Scott Alan CD: Dreaming Wide Awake
7. "This is Me" (Acoustic version) by Demi Lavato CD: Camp Rock
8. "Sampson" by Regina Spektor CD: Begin to Hope
9. "Shadowfeet" by Brooke Fraser CD: Albertine
10. "Say" John Mayer Single: Say

My advice would be to check the links on here or check them out on itunes to see if you like their stuff but I love these artists. Here are a few more random things I love:

Black Beard: the Musical By: Rob Gardner
I have talked about my friend Rob many times on this blog. If you don't know about him you should. Check out his music at Spire, his non profit. Aside from some very moving religious music Rob has also written the book, music, and characters for a new musical called, "Black Beard." It is most likely headed to Broadway so if you are in Arizona area don't miss the chance to see this amazing show. I went and was blown away by the music! If you are interested let me know and I can get you a HUGE discount as I'm part of Spire.

Big Bang Theory By: Shaun Barrowes
If you love jazz, like I do, then you will love this new CD by a friend of mine. He is up and coming and you will soon be hearing his name all over the country. His music is playing all over the world on the radio and he is getting ready to go on tour very soon.

The Sum of All Grace By : Mindy Gledhill
Beside being a friend of mine Mindy is a mother, a wife, and an amazing artist and musician. I own many LDS CD from various musicians but when it's Sunday and I need some inspiration I keep coming back to this CD. Her lyrics and voice are mesmerizing!

Quiet Hearts

"In the quiet heart is hidden sorrow that the eye can't see."

I've been thinking a lot about hearts lately. It's a topic I love to read about, study, and ponder. This morning the above line from a song kept running through my mind. I don't know if you are like me but it seems that in this noisy world we live in it is hard to "hear,"see," or even "feel" the sorrow in other people's hearts. Yet it seems like when my heart is aching, burdened, or broken--it seems to hear the quiet hearts around it. Shouldn't it be the opposite. Shouldn't my blaring broken heart drown out all others?

It seems to me that when my heart is screaming to be heard it is screaming above the noise and confusion of the world and it seems to be able to only hear other screaming hearts. I am amazed at how this works in my life.

I have a million more thoughts on this topic but I will leave it with this. I hope that your quiet heart is heard!

Smiling Tears

Sometimes I think that change is hard. Like in my title that are some things in life, some changes you make, that you want to have happen but they are sad. Thus, smiling tears. 

 I wrote a poem years ago called, "Smiling Tears" when I was getting ready to leave for my LDS mission. I had wanted to go on a mission since I was 10 so after and 11 year wait I couldn't go soon enough. With most of my guy friends on missions, my two best friends on their mission in Russia, and my call to serve in San Diego  in hand, I was more than excited to begin that journey. At the same time I knew what I was leaving behind. I would be leaving behind my family, my music, and my friends.  My little sister was very young only 4 and turned 5 while I was in the MTC. By the time I got home she had changed so much.  My mission was a big change in my life that I really wanted but it was a smiling tears moment.

In my life, as with most people, there are many significant smiling tears moment. Recently my move from Boston to Mesa was a big smiling tears experience for me.  Don't get me wrong I am glad to be here in Arizona (will be even happier come October). I love my classes, my teachers, my new internship, and my program.  I like my roommates and my new ward, but I desperately miss Boston!

I think I'm finally getting a bit settled into my new life and I realize how much I've changed in my life the past few months. Change is good but sometimes it hurts really bad!

So for all of you who are experiencing smiling tears with me I wish you well!

Character

"Worthy character will strengthen your capacity to respond obediently to the direction of the spirit as you make vital decisions. Righteous character is what you are becoming. It is more important than what you own, what you have learned, or what goals you have accomplished. It allows you to be trusted. Righteous character provides the foundation of spiritual strength. It enables you in times of trial and testing to make difficult, extremely important decision correctly even when they seem overpowering."  

~Richard G. Scott~

Cages or Wings?

The other day I heard a song that had the line: "cages or wings which do you prefer? Ask the birds?" I didn't think much about it until today. I am curious what you have to say about this question??  To the bird a cage is limiting but it is also safety. Wings create freedom but also mean they an be eaten by cats etc.  So which do you choose...of course we are not talking about birds here!