tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25552390114886792112024-03-07T23:34:46.048-05:00Audrey's African AdventuresDISCLAIMER: This blog is dedicated to my explorations of travel, volunteerism, fun, and living life to the fullest. This web site is maintained by Audrey Kidwell, a regular person. It's content is the opinion of the ME, and reflects the positions of no one else.Audrey Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10058442137997723570noreply@blogger.comBlogger101125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2555239011488679211.post-35994300028938208802015-07-04T12:49:00.002-04:002020-12-17T14:38:44.944-05:00Moving on<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
After much thought and reflection, I have decided to move my blog over to a new platform. I needed something that could grow with me.<br />
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All of my memories from the Peace Corps and Burkina Faso will still be here.<br />
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Audrey Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10058442137997723570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2555239011488679211.post-7412675179896745422015-06-22T21:45:00.000-04:002015-06-23T09:25:59.818-04:00Off the beaten path<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-plVOGmqNN-4/VYi5vj3plMI/AAAAAAAAHHM/ryPOWXuHzQM/s1600/togo%2Bheader.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-plVOGmqNN-4/VYi5vj3plMI/AAAAAAAAHHM/ryPOWXuHzQM/s320/togo%2Bheader.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Recently I was discussing with a colleague some of the
fun, off the beaten path vacations I’ve taken. We shared stories of our fun adventures and
the places we discovered when we were least expecting it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Traveling as a child we were typically always off the beaten
path, as we camped for most of our family vacations. BUT the better vacations
where the ones where we had an end destination, but not set path. I can
remember many times that it was our curiosity as children that created the best
vacations. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">So it’s no shock that my traveling style as a child
has followed me into adulthood. One of my favorite less planned trip was one I
took with a fellow Peace Corps volunteer to Togo and Benin, small countries in
West Africa.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><u>LOME</u></span><br />
<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 10pt;">Founded by the Ewe people<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 10pt;">End of the 19th Century the Germans came and relocated the capital to present day Lome<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 10pt;">10km from the Ghanaian Border<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.1200008392334px;">Like most African countries there is always a market, and not all markets are created the same. The Grand Market, is set up differently than ones I had experienced, so we spent a long time going in circles. Since Lomé is one of the major ports in West Africa, everything is really cheap. Most Burkinabé make trips here to buy stuff really cheap, in bulk and return to Burkina to re-sell it to us. In the morning we shopped, after lunch we went to the Fetish market. This is a traditional market, where you can find anything you want for you aliments. <a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-KIRk0bpw5xw/Tha_kIpfdmI/AAAAAAAAFYU/9PZt9NHMJAw/IMG_303311.jpg?imgmax=800"></a>We first took a tour of the market learning what each different object does, then after that we met with the Chief of the Market, taking us into a tiny room where he further explained some small objects, one for health, love, travel, family, etc. After that he blessed us and we were free to explore the market on our own.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.1200008392334px;">Just East of Lome is a little beach town called Coco Beach. There are little shacks all up and down the beach. It provides a clean and relaxing getaway from the city. Fresh seafood is also always a plus! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.1200008392334px;"><o:p></o:p></span><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Grand Popo</span></u><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10pt;">During the years of the Slave Trade, Grand Popo was one of the major ports, after the fall of slavery, this town become nothing more than a relaxing beach town.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.1200008392334px;">We stayed at this little hostel on the beach run by some Rastafarian men. I remember spending a lot of time at the hotel due to all the rain, but we were the only tourist there, so we received a lot of attention from the staff.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.1200008392334px;">The next day also provided a lot of rain, but in the afternoon the sky cleared. 5km from Grand Popo there is a huge lake, that connects to another lake in Togo, by a river. This section of the lake connects to the ocean. We took a canoe ride to see some mangrove trees, ran into a fisherman who was picking up his daily catch, and then landed on this little island. We took a tour of it, learned about its history, voodoo, saw a few different style colonial houses, and had a man climb a tree for us and cut us down some fresh coconut. </span><br />
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<u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Togo
Quick Facts:<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Togo: Means
–“Upon the Hill” in Ewe (local Language)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">57,000 square
kilometers (Half the size of England)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Capital: Lomé<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">French Speaking
West Africa’s smallest nation<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Used to be a
part of the Slave Coast<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Portuguese
landed first in Togo where they set up trade posts</span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Benin Quick Facts:<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Used to be called
Dahomey during the colonial period, adopted its current name from an old West
African Kingdom located in present day Nigeria.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">113,000 Square
miles (size of Louisiana)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Capital: Port Novo<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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landed in Benin to set up ports<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Ouidah</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The Next day we headed east to Ouidah. We arrived by mid-morning,
with no rain this time, found a place after searching for a long time. The city
was a lot bigger than we expected. There were actual roads, with traffic. The
afternoon turned into a nice day, so we made a picnic in the park, did a nice
walking tour of the area. We took a tour of this old Portuguese fort, that
they turned into the history museum for Ouidah. This fort once occupied 5
different countries, the Portuguese being the first and the French being the
last. It’s a small, but well preserved. The next day we met up with some other
volunteers and went to the Python Temple, Sacred Forest, and Point of no
return, and Door of return. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0-NdgZY9_C8/VYi5valj70I/AAAAAAAAHHE/cK1n_nIQXvs/s1600/IMG_3174.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0-NdgZY9_C8/VYi5valj70I/AAAAAAAAHHE/cK1n_nIQXvs/s320/IMG_3174.JPG" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The python temple was fun, we were the first people of
the day, so the building wasn’t crowded, and we got plenty of time to play with
pythons. In this building they breed pythons, and will rent them to families
for protection. Then we headed over to the forest, where we learned about all
the different vodu Gods, and other sacred things. After this it started
to rain really hard again, so we holed up in a restaurant for a while.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The Point of no Return is referring to the slave trade
that used to happen. There is a 4km stretch of road that you can take a tour of
to learn about the final days/final walk of slaves in Africa. The Point of no
return is the last stop on the beach, where a port used to be. Once a slave got
onto a boat they would never be coming back. A few years ago a body of a slave
was found and returned to the port where it was shipped from. The body returned
to Ghana, and since then most other slave ports now have a door of return. It
is in hopes that one day people will discover where their ancestors came from
and they will return to learn about their heritage. Both places are funded by
UNESCO, and worth seeing if you are ever in Benin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Voodoo
is believed to be started in Western Africa- Benin or Nigeria(depending on who
you ask). In Benin Voodoo became a national religion in the 90’s, but the
people that practice it use voodoo consider it a spirit, demigod or
intermediary. They use this to interact with other spirits, ancestors or their
supreme God Mawu. Voodoo is only white magic (good stuff) but can be used badly
by sorceresses. In this case people will other offer offering, or buy a fetish
(a regular object infused with a sacred power) to counter act the black magic,
protect the home, or help a sick person. Normally each village has a vodu to protect
their village. They build a shrine to this vodu and each year villagers make
offerings, sacrifices for their protection.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bH32Vg2qPOU/VYi5vnGJQEI/AAAAAAAAHHI/Sx32FvZkFk8/s1600/IMG_3334.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bH32Vg2qPOU/VYi5vnGJQEI/AAAAAAAAHHI/Sx32FvZkFk8/s320/IMG_3334.JPG" width="227" /></a><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">When
slaves were traded they took this religion to North and South America. When the
Brazilians returned to Benin between the 17th -19th century they
brought back voodoo mixed with their local traditions introducing different
parts of that into the voodoo tradition in Benin (like voodoo dolls).<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Cotonou<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Economic Capital and Port City<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">West Africa’s least enticing cities<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">There
are mottos everywhere, we spent most of our time in traffic. We found the first
hotel we came across, which was a bad choice since it was dirty and near the
Grande market, so it never quitted down. Since we didn’t like our hotel we
spent the whole day outside. We went to the Grande Marché, where I bought a lot
of shoes. We decided to cut our time in Cotonou early since we couldn’t handle
all the moto traffic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><u>Natitingou</u><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It’s a 12 hours bus ride north. It was really nice, a
lot better than the ride down. We got a hotel room and called it a night. The
next day we went 17km to a village where there is a waterfall and hiking. We
spent the whole day playing in the waterfall and finally got some sun. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; text-align: justify;">This post is a highlight of my favorite off the path places visited while in Togo and Benin in 2011. You can read the full posting here: </span><a href="http://oddreeanywhere.blogspot.com/2011/07/going-costaltogo-and-benin.html" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; text-align: justify;" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Going Costal...Togo and Benin</span></a></div>
Audrey Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10058442137997723570noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2555239011488679211.post-25364936026639339802015-05-19T09:00:00.000-04:002015-05-20T09:13:29.457-04:00*Book Review*<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"> Photo courtesy of <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">Pixabay.com</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I
need to preface this post with this statement, I LOVE CRIME NOVELS! Detective
novels, movies, and tv shows are my jam! The suspense of what is going to
happen next, or trying to figure out who did it, is far scarier than anything
with a lot of violence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">I
subscribe to </span><a href="http://www.shelf-awareness.com/#&panel1-3" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="color: blue;">Shelf
Awareness</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"> were I get a daily e-mail in my inbox. The newsletter highlights
fun things happening in the world of books. </span><span style="line-height: 17.1200008392334px;">I've</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"> found some really fun new authors!
Occasionally they post links with the option of getting a free copy of a book,
yet to be published. This is the best, coming home and having a free book
waiting in the mail for me. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">A
while ago, I got a book in the mail called “Crime of Privilege” by<span style="color: blue;"> <a href="http://www.walterwalkerauthor.com/"><span style="color: blue;">Walter Walker</span></a></span>. I have a bit of a
back log in my reading requests (for work and fun). Once I started this book, I
wonder how I overlooked it in the first place, it should have been read the
moment I got it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">What
I love about reading this book, is trying to figure out who did what. There is
a list of characters, all whom have some part to play. The main character is
George Becket. He is an assistant D.A. in Cape Cod. This character really made
me mad, I felt times he was being a baby, or just letting things happening. He
wasn’t living life, but just going through the motions of living. He was a
lawyer, has friends in high places, and he just acts like a bum.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">An excerpt from the book:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>“A
murder on Cape Cod. A rape in Palm Beach.</i></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">All
they have in common is the presence of one of America’s most beloved and
influential families. But nobody is asking questions. Not the police. Not the
prosecutors. And certainly not George Becket, a young lawyer toiling away in
the basement of the Cape & Islands district attorney’s office. George has
always lived at the edge of power. He wasn’t born to privilege, but he
understands how it works and has benefitted from it in ways he doesn’t like to
admit. Now, an investigation brings him deep inside the world of the truly
wealthy—and shows him what a perilous place it is.”</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">This
book is a realist portrayal of the justice system when it comes to the wealthy.
George finally comes to and starts asking the right questions. It takes him on
a journey across the world, but it’s hard to decipher who is pulling the
strings in this investigation. I felt the ending was less climatic than the
rest of the book, justice </span><span style="line-height: 17.1200008392334px;">wasn't</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"> really served, but again that is a very
realistic outcome. The main character and the book felt like a real investigation,
and not one that is solved in a 60 minute television show. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Check
out the book <a href="http://www.walterwalkerauthor.com/books/crime-of-privilege-tr/crime-of-privilege-hc"><span style="color: blue;">HERE!</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Audrey Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10058442137997723570noreply@blogger.com40tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2555239011488679211.post-33824455490537504902015-05-06T19:57:00.000-04:002015-05-06T20:41:35.051-04:00A Reflection of Service<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z-y3dufQFHk/VUqkPeAe5_I/AAAAAAAAG9E/5_t8GWjhNak/s1600/81F9A2BA2D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z-y3dufQFHk/VUqkPeAe5_I/AAAAAAAAG9E/5_t8GWjhNak/s1600/81F9A2BA2D.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">After recently
celebrating my 6th anniversary of meeting a great guy, we reflected on my <span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.peacecorps.gov/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Peace Corps</span></a> </span>experience. Discussing how we met, the people I
worked with, but mostly laughing at the craziness that was my
service. Surprisingly, I still find myself running into people who are interested in learning more about Peace Corps, or my experience overseas. After most encounters I think back to those 3+ years. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Waking up every day to a
new experience might frighten some, but to volunteers serving in the Peace Corps
it’s just a regular day. I lived in <a href="http://oddreeanywhere.blogspot.com/2008/08/and-winner-is.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Burkina Faso</span></a>, a country in
Western Africa, serving from 2008-2012. As a health volunteer I taught health
education and outreach. I spent most of my time weighing babies, teaching
mother’s proper food preparation, and children how to wash their hands. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Teaching overseas in a another language was really hard, and sometimes felt very daunting. During training, Peace Corps helps to teach the common language spoken, which in my case was French,
but like most African communities the local tribal language is also very
prevalent. Even though I used, Moore, the local African language more than
French, my skill level was far from being perfect. Each program I put on was
a struggle, always needing a translator. Which to most, would be great, but I seemed to never be able to get the translator to show up at the
same time as my women, or vice versa. Rainy season was a whole different story;
I just knew people wouldn't show up to programs because everyone and I do mean EVERYONE was
in the field farming.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-13DY0h3Tr7s/VUaGQ60K4fI/AAAAAAAAG8c/4V7qsoWRPbY/s1600/PST%2Band%2BTheater%2B028.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-13DY0h3Tr7s/VUaGQ60K4fI/AAAAAAAAG8c/4V7qsoWRPbY/s1600/PST%2Band%2BTheater%2B028.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></span></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">2010</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">While on vacation in the United States for a short time in 2010, I would get all sorts of questions. The most common
was, "What did you like or didn't like about being overseas?" The one thing I
did not like, was having to barter for my food. It’s
petty, but going from booth to booth to get all my vegetables, fighting for a
fair price is not how I like to spend my time. That was something that would never change, but I learned to deal with it. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I loved the sense of
community. My village was small, were everyone knew each other. Not in the way
were you know everyone’s business, but when there was a crisis everyone banned
together. I loved everyone knowing my name, or when I was gone people took
turns feeding and caring for my dog. These villagers lack in resources and
materials, but they are rich. They have a strong community, stronger than most
communities I've been a part of in the US. One person may have nothing but
together they have it all.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">When most people ask me
to describe my 3+ years worth of experience in a sentence or two, I
usually say, <b>“It was great!</b>” which is was, but it is better
described as a roller-coaster. Once you start you’re normally scared for the
future, you don’t really know what you got yourself into. Then you
get used to the roller-coaster and start to like it. During the ride you have a
lot of ups and downs, but in the end you love it so much it leaves you wanting
more, and you beg to ride it one more time. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">That’s exactly how my
Peace Corps experience was, it left me wanting more. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">View some of my pictures
of my service <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/aud0408/MyFirstTwoYearsOld" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">here</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Audrey Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10058442137997723570noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2555239011488679211.post-2742826126592908862015-04-30T09:30:00.000-04:002015-05-03T14:56:01.889-04:00Small Packages<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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About a week ago I came home to find a neat little box on kitchen table. I hadn't ordered anything, or at least thought I hadn't, so when I opened the box, I was surprised to find it was a book. Not any book, but a book about the <a href="http://welcome.miami.edu/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">University of Miami</span></a><span style="color: blue;">,</span> as written by Dr. Butler himself. </div>
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Dr. Butler may not be known in all circles, but to the UM community, he is the creator of all good things; the person who started the spark for service on campus.</div>
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Walking around campus, you'll see the various spots names after him, such as the atrium at the wellness center. Most importantly he founded The Volunteer Services Center in 1989, but it's known now as <a href="http://www.miami.edu/sa/index.php/service_and_leadership_center" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">The William R. Butler Center for Volunteer Service and Leadership Development.</span></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cover of "Following My Bliss: Becoming Global"</td></tr>
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I had the privilege of working for this establishment for two and a half years. Honestly, it really just happened, I had never thought of working with college students, or knew that volunteer offices existed on college campuses. I had just been accepted to the University of Miami's <a href="http://www.education.miami.edu//Program/Programs.asp?Program_ID=134" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Community and Social Change</span></a> masters program, and was on the job hunt. </div>
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I applied to be an <a href="http://www.nationalservice.gov/programs/americorps" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">AmeriCorps</span></a> volunteer in South Florida, and within a day, I got a phone call asking if I would like to be a VISTA at the Butler Center. I said yes at the opportunity, and as they say, the rest is history. Over my time spent at the Butler center, I got to meet the man who created this office. He often spoke to the underclassman, listening to him speak is awe inspiring, being able to take the needs of the students, and morph it into tangible experiences.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wTkdxJr51g4/VUF3WBBzsQI/AAAAAAAAG5Y/lnNUxHHXJZI/s1600/real.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wTkdxJr51g4/VUF3WBBzsQI/AAAAAAAAG5Y/lnNUxHHXJZI/s1600/real.jpg" height="144" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dr. Butler and I at Celebration of Involvement Awards<br />
2013</td></tr>
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Dr. Butler spoke so effortlessly about helping others, always striving to do good, never making it seem like it's his duty, but simply how things ought to be. While my time working at the Butler Center was limited, I feel a sense of pride knowing that I worked in an office, created by such a kind and caring human. </div>
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It really is the small things in life that make me happy. It's nice to know, that not only he thought of me, but sent me a book too! I won't spoil the details of the book, but my picture makes an appearance! </div>
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Audrey Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10058442137997723570noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2555239011488679211.post-63036628489547944242015-04-24T15:02:00.001-04:002015-05-11T08:34:17.659-04:00I'm BACK!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;">Welcome to my new and improved blog!</span><br />
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As some of you many know, I kept a blog about my experiences as a Peace Corps volunteer in Burkina Faso, West Africa. Since returning to the US in 2012, I have posted a handful of blog posts on things that interested me, but never kept it going.</div>
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Now that I have a new job, new city, and in a new stage of my life, I am ready to make a commitment to the blog world. </div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uD_Mc2vi22M/VTqSGYjTaQI/AAAAAAAAG4U/9npQIQ4r_jU/s1600/Audrey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uD_Mc2vi22M/VTqSGYjTaQI/AAAAAAAAG4U/9npQIQ4r_jU/s1600/Audrey.jpg" width="158" /></a></div>
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I've decided to keep all my old posts up about Burkina Faso, to intrigue everyone to visit the wonderful country, but just did a little re-branding! I'll be adding posts about my fun travel adventures, getting to know my new city, weekend volunteer projects, and things that I just truly enjoy!</div>
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Stay tuned!!!</div>
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Audrey Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10058442137997723570noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2555239011488679211.post-43531744587230472332014-04-25T10:32:00.001-04:002015-04-24T15:27:49.145-04:00Wedding bells are a ringing! <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="text-align: left;">Last month I had the honor of being the Ordained Minister for a friends wedding. Annette and I met in October 2008 as we left for Burkina Faso. I can't believe</span><span style="text-align: left;"> that it has been 5 years since we left for Burkina, but more importantly, I can't believe that we have been back in the US for 2 years. It was wonderful to spend time with her and see her in her "American Habitat."</span></div>
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Annette was married in a small chapel at Kansas University in Lawrence, KS. Please enjoy the video of my performance during the ceremony and a few pictures from the weekend. </div>
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(I might make this a career!)</div>
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Audrey Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10058442137997723570noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2555239011488679211.post-48209939574232144792013-07-30T12:15:00.000-04:002015-04-24T15:27:36.321-04:00Miami Vice<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">July 27</span><sup style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">th</sup><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> marks my 1 year in Miami. This
time last year I was driving my little Saturn, Eva to Atlanta for training, where I would then meet my father and brother to continue onto Miami. Time has
gone by pretty fast. I look back on this year and I see a jam packed year. I
was very busy all the time, but work and school were very enjoyable, and have
given me some wonderful opportunities. I went to phenomenal speakers, such as
Temple Grandin, Sonya Sotomeyer, and Will Allen. I listened to the President
speak along with Mitt Romney (I also sat in the traffic they created too).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">School this past year, opened me up to so many ideas
and ways of learning I could never imagine. After the first week of school, I
knew I was in the right place. Our cohort came from all over the US to take
part in the program. We each brought different views on everything, but are
still focused around social change. Have such a great job and studies really
helped with tolerating the busy schedule. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Here is a re-cap of my year in Miami. </u></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m3PiBcL72Bo/Uffkgo6338I/AAAAAAAAGfw/lcVkv37oNyc/s1600/DSCN0742.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m3PiBcL72Bo/Uffkgo6338I/AAAAAAAAGfw/lcVkv37oNyc/s320/DSCN0742.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><i>Hurricanes-</i></b> I made it through my first tropical
storm, Isaac and Hurricane, Sandy. Neither of which were bad enough to evacuate
or do major damage to Miami. I also got to experience my first hurricane day,
where school and work were closed due to the weather.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><i>Saturn-</i></b> My loyal Saturn of almost 12 years finally
went to car heaven. I started having issues in January and it was downhill from
there. It was really hard to let her go. I remember going with my father to the
dealership in Greenwood, IN to pick her out and driving her off the lot on
Halloween. It was a great first car, and we’ve been through some good times. I
currently own (or my father per say) a red Chevy sonic, named Minni.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YAScnGJ99gU/Uffkjbo8a-I/AAAAAAAAGf4/MfM_B8uLDAk/s1600/DSCN0745.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YAScnGJ99gU/Uffkjbo8a-I/AAAAAAAAGf4/MfM_B8uLDAk/s320/DSCN0745.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><i>Work-</i></b> Being an AmeriCorps volunteer was hard or
harder than I expected. Coming right out of Peace Corps, I knew the commitment
that would be involved with the job. I never knew to what extent it would drain
me sometimes. However, the Butler Center was such an amazing place to work. The
students who work in the office have such an amazing drive for service, and
it’s refreshing. They truly are the reason this office does such great work.
The professional staff became such good friends, and I am lucky to never had a
horrible boss. The whole job bundle really was great. I liked my VISTA leaders,
Butler Center employees, and Student Affairs department at UM. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i><b>Visitors-</b></i>Being in Miami does have its perks, either
people are passing through Miami onto their next destination, or they really
want to visit. I’ve had such luck with having both types pass through my year
here in Miami.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3mqOpbwZDn0/UfflwWdDsmI/AAAAAAAAGgI/66AUYcccO2Q/s1600/DSCN1594.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3mqOpbwZDn0/UfflwWdDsmI/AAAAAAAAGgI/66AUYcccO2Q/s320/DSCN1594.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The first visitors (after my dad and brother moved
me in) were Bethany and Keith, they were on their way home from living in the
US Virgin Islands. They had a stopover due to issues with their dogs, and had
to rent a car to head home. We had a lovely dinner together before they headed
north. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pBKtISC50-g/Uffk8RwDLfI/AAAAAAAAGgA/wJwtOLtUWe4/s1600/DSCN0455.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pBKtISC50-g/Uffk8RwDLfI/AAAAAAAAGgA/wJwtOLtUWe4/s320/DSCN0455.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">My parents and little brother made the 18+ hour car
drive down to celebrate Christmas in Miami with me. They spent almost two weeks
here, and I finally got to do some fun touristy things. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Spring semester was quite busy; Anne-Claire came to
Miami for a few different reasons, each time making sure to see me. Shanna came
for a long weekend, the coldest Miami weekend I might add, Heather brought me
some PC Love, and Sarah and I spent a nice weekend together at Disneyworld.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Lastly, I had the Wilson sisters come to visit this
past July. So in total and not counting duplicate visits, I had 11 visitors.
Not too shabby if I ask myself. I also went to Tampa a few times to visit my
older brother and his family while they were on vacation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RD-R5mXSfhw/UfflxJ0fuGI/AAAAAAAAGgQ/_eym_aIttfY/s1600/DSCN1603.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RD-R5mXSfhw/UfflxJ0fuGI/AAAAAAAAGgQ/_eym_aIttfY/s320/DSCN1603.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Update on me:</b></i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> As most of you may know I have
accepted a position with the Butler Center full time. I am the Volunteer and
Community Outreach Coordinator. It is very similar to what I was doing as a
VISTA, but there are some added duties. I am excited to see what this year
brings. I finish with my Masters in Community an Social Change in December. </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">I've</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> only got 2 electives left. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Not sure how long I will be in Miami, but I am here
for now and enjoying it. (PLEASE VISIT) </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">For
all you loyal blog readers, I’m going to try my hardest to keep my blog up to
date will all my adventures big and small. I choose to keep my original Peace
Corps blog, since it is where my blogging days started. The adventure in my
life did not stop with Burkina, and while I am no longer in Africa, a little
piece of me will always be there. <span style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Please keep in Touch!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Audrey<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Audrey Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10058442137997723570noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2555239011488679211.post-71846352103506647262012-11-29T08:18:00.000-05:002015-04-24T15:27:07.027-04:00Where has the time gone<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It's already December! This semester has flown by! I have had the chance to meet some wonderful people through work and school. The choice to move to Miami was a right one, even though I still hate my daily commute, Miami is warming up to me.<br />
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Click <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/11/28/3118115/women-build-helps-a-miami-single.html">HERE</a> to read an article about the Women s Build at Habitat for Humanity I participated in with some lovely ladies in my Community and Social Change Program!<br />
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I promise there is more to come. Once school ends on the 14th I'll have ALL Christmas break to upload some good posts, and pictures! </div>
Audrey Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10058442137997723570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2555239011488679211.post-83788815157693331232012-09-02T21:28:00.001-04:002015-04-24T15:26:49.254-04:00It's cool to be uncool....<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Just a little blurp on my grad school experience:<br />
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I just finished my first week in my masters program. It was an intense but amazing experience.
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The class met Monday-Friday from 9 to 5. It was such a breath of fresh air to do something everyday and really enjoy it. I loved going to class and listening to everyone.<br />
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It was really intense, everyday receive a lot of useful information, and continually being inspired by my peers.<br />
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I feel so much more inspired to be an agent of change. I am sure this program is what I was meant to do.<br />
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To learn more about the Community and Social Change Program, visit their <a href="http://www.education.miami.edu/program/Programs.asp?Program_ID=134&Src=Graduate">website</a>:</div>
Audrey Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10058442137997723570noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2555239011488679211.post-11268038680508520832012-09-01T23:57:00.000-04:002015-04-24T15:26:27.860-04:00My best friend Isaac<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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This posting is dedicated to the tropical storm, Isaac. Being from Indiana I have never dealt with such nonsense as a Hurricane or Tropical storm, so imagine my surprise when Isaac started heading my way. He was only classified as a tropical storm when he passed through South Florida.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxjIfub8FzlcrHU4amSUVDoL8PeKaCEZdIHiUVSbRyV7ou9Os-oFDoeArIlWn95sOp5k_Q0kwQIvR7SQrImfQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwhHzguaztuRMQY5QJrTx1DKq6_t7JnGtEaFWgiumXVCCJ7S4en23PFcoPPAcqQTuPk1OTKD_xA0C0nXrJQmg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;"> It mostly rained with A LOT of rain! We also got a hurricane day, which is similar to snow day, but without snow and you can't really go outside. I spent my free day doing homework and relaxing. Here are some videos I took of the weather outside. The video's are of the wind and rain, and the crazy bird outside my window who held on for dear life!</span><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwSBME_697tJNru6d5GHu8NseQyi3ZjtpZCbgziHNy7q74yduyLcIaRi-cfp34BDwq0rqFHdl3Ql2hFXkoB1g' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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Audrey Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10058442137997723570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2555239011488679211.post-915955156083909942012-08-28T12:44:00.003-04:002015-04-24T15:26:16.205-04:00I love to Read<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Book count for Peace Corps Burkina Faso:
<b>290</b> books in 3 years<br />
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Book count for AmeriCorps Miami:
<b>1 </b>Book in 1 month!<br />
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hmmmmm. something needs to change!</div>
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Audrey Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10058442137997723570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2555239011488679211.post-23425220565061315182012-08-27T11:31:00.000-04:002015-04-24T15:25:28.103-04:00Ba ba Baco Raton<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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About 2 weeks ago I went to Baco Raton, FL for an AmeriCorps retreat. We had a 3 day event, held at the FAU campus.
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Yy6x0fDeJf8/UDuTwnnLD6I/AAAAAAAAFm8/d6Es9UO0Uio/s1600/FAU_SIGN%2B%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Yy6x0fDeJf8/UDuTwnnLD6I/AAAAAAAAFm8/d6Es9UO0Uio/s320/FAU_SIGN%2B%25281%2529.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fZk6YmUv4AM/UC6DvJ0hJEI/AAAAAAAAFmY/FuQsJsG17R8/s1600/DeVos-Blum%2BFamily%2BYMCA%2Bof%2BBoynton%2BBeach.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fZk6YmUv4AM/UC6DvJ0hJEI/AAAAAAAAFmY/FuQsJsG17R8/s200/DeVos-Blum%2BFamily%2BYMCA%2Bof%2BBoynton%2BBeach.jpg" height="134" width="200" /></a>The campus is decent, but I only really saw a small portion of it. The retreat was a learning experience, and an overall fun one. The days were spent in and out of sessions on different topics pertaining to the AmeriCorps experience. I felt it was a much more beneficial training than the previous one in Atlanta. I finally got to meet all the other VISTA volunteers serving in Miami.
Getting to Boca Raton, was an interesting experience. I finally had one of my first public transportation experiences in America. I took the Tri-rail, which starts in Miami-Dade and goes to Palm County. Getting to the rail station was more difficult than actually taking the train. Living in North Miami put me close to the station, which is nice, not having to drive far, but it was the in the ghetto.<br />
There is "public" parking, but consist of only 20 spots, which are all full on a Monday morning. After conferring with a fellow volunteer, i decided to leave my car, and hope for the best. In the end it was fine, but I get nervous about leaving my belongings in an unfamiliar place for the first time. The tri-rail was such a nice train!
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On our last day we did a direct service project. Everyone was divided into 6 different projects. My group went to the local YMCA. We helped the teachers during their teacher work day. We literary pulled everything out of their classrooms washed it, cleaned the room and put everything back in the class. They were switching their summer classrooms into the fall. We also color organized the entire craft closet. There were about 10 volunteers along with 5 teachers, and we accomplished all their cleaning for their entire week in just 3 hours! I think I washed enough plastic fruit for a lifetime!
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Other groups participated in beach clean up, mowing yards at the soup kitchen, worked at the butterfly garden. It was nice to physically do some volunteer work in the community.
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Audrey Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10058442137997723570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2555239011488679211.post-3702577737480055592012-08-10T09:12:00.001-04:002015-04-24T15:25:09.377-04:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Hey Everyone! The volunteer who replaced me, DOUG is trying to get latrines for our village, Nakaba! It's a wonderful project!
<a href="https://donate.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projdetail&projdesc=686-225">Here</a> is the link to the Peace Corps page, where you can read the project description and donate. He still needs about 2500.00 more!
Here are some pictures to remind you of how awesome Nakaba is!
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8wZIpjau9YQ/UCUIbojgg7I/AAAAAAAAFlk/eO5ZLtIyo7Y/s1600/IMG_0681.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8wZIpjau9YQ/UCUIbojgg7I/AAAAAAAAFlk/eO5ZLtIyo7Y/s200/IMG_0681.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a>
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MtCAfke-DTU/UCUIb1OAxuI/AAAAAAAAFlw/YIk_mZoSQbE/s1600/IMG_0901.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MtCAfke-DTU/UCUIb1OAxuI/AAAAAAAAFlw/YIk_mZoSQbE/s200/IMG_0901.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a>
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(Benga(my DOG), My head nurse @ a meeting, and my girls planting trees!)</div>
Audrey Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10058442137997723570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2555239011488679211.post-14745995184582102002012-08-05T12:01:00.001-04:002015-04-24T15:21:31.493-04:00Welcome to Miami!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I’ve been in Miami just over a week. So far it’s treated me pretty well (minus all the crazy drivers). After having a two week training in Atlanta for AmeriCorps, I met up with my father and little brother for the trip to Miami. We arrived on Friday and quickly moved me in. We spent the weekend getting things organized and in Sunday observed the day of rest by heading to the beach. I’m only 4 miles from a beautiful beach. <br />
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On Monday I made my first commute to the University of Miami, for my first day of work. I was greeted by a great staff. They seem very energetic, and friendly. My first day went over well, I took a campus tour, got to know the office, and the gist of things. <a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-Bgm9wvs1iEI/UB6YyyKyBFI/AAAAAAAAFkQ/PsjhA1WhJ4c/s1600-h/182096_10102047853402285_1767906363_n%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img align="left" alt="182096_10102047853402285_1767906363_n" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-0_Wj_FkuNYc/UB6YzdufcJI/AAAAAAAAFkY/qL9aGHuxe8I/182096_10102047853402285_1767906363_n_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" height="183" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; float: left; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="182096_10102047853402285_1767906363_n" width="244" /></a>Overall the week went by without a hitch. There isn’t much to do at this moment, since there are no kids on campus. Orientation starts in 2 weeks! Then things will pick up, and I’m sure I’ll be wishing for more free time!<br />
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The apartment complex is nice, but very big. There are way to many people here to get a good sense of community. The complex has 5 building, each building having 12 floors! I am continually running into new people. My room and part of the apartment is all organized and put together. I’m keeping it to a minimum, since I don’t plan to live in Miami permanently. <br />
Here are some photo’s of my room, and the “park” from my balcony. Our living room isn't done yet and probably wont be for a while. We aren’t in a rush to decorate, and my roommate and I work all week long.<br />
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<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-bq_vqr2eZLs/UB6YzoeehYI/AAAAAAAAFkg/5fwK_X8n-EM/s1600-h/IMG_6733%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="IMG_6733" border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-gRE1mFz5ojA/UB6Y0Q98F1I/AAAAAAAAFko/dQSRDlxvG-A/IMG_6733_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" height="200" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="IMG_6733" width="150" /></a><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-KOxEaWggnpk/UB6Y0heZ2RI/AAAAAAAAFkw/GlMXkvRlD0Q/s1600-h/IMG_6738%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="IMG_6738" border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-DD74gH7le1c/UB6Y1MrnkxI/AAAAAAAAFk4/K8w2aMQ7QTo/IMG_6738_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" height="200" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="IMG_6738" width="150" /></a><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-exRpzK9mZfk/UB6Y1n7CUaI/AAAAAAAAFlA/wi1nFYfFKMM/s1600-h/IMG_6740%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="IMG_6740" border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-lat721ZnMkg/UB6Y2BaWwEI/AAAAAAAAFlI/BZjv9Z4TWDQ/IMG_6740_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" height="150" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="IMG_6740" width="200" /></a><br />
This past weekend I visited the Bass Museum of Art. (<a href="http://www.bassmuseum.org/">website</a>). They had a special event where you paid an entrance, and got all the drinks and appetizers you wanted, and got to look around at some of their special exhibits. The museum was nice, but some of the pieces where a little random. One room an modern and renaissance pieces, and some where not explained. My favorite exhibit was done by artist Charles Ledray, called “Workworkworkworkwork”. He basically made miniature clothing, but it was more than that, the way he presented it was really interesting. . The event was a good experience, and I met some very nice people. I can now check that of fmy list of stuff to do, but I wouldn’t mind going back when it was in full force. <br />
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The rest of the weekend I finished getting my stuff together and relaxing, since my next few weekend are full due to work. I also got to experience my first TAX FREE WEEKEND!!! All basics are tax free clothing, school supplies, the list goes on. All stores across the state participate. I didn’t buy much, just the necessities, and I stuck to the list of what is tax free and what is not, so I saved some good money!! Also, the Wal-Mart parking lot was crazy! I waited in line for 10 minutes just to get a parking space, but the actual lines in the store were not that bad!<br />
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I like Miami so far, but I guess we’ll see after this year!</div>
Audrey Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10058442137997723570noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2555239011488679211.post-89078984732444471712012-07-10T14:23:00.002-04:002015-04-24T15:19:48.652-04:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Moving to Miami!
Same blog different City....</div>
Audrey Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10058442137997723570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2555239011488679211.post-87270883455676665512012-02-09T02:12:00.001-05:002015-04-24T15:24:48.389-04:00Our Trip in Photo’s!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-BotwxzgERv4/TzNxUHdd38I/AAAAAAAAFe0/YlVRK8C4KfI/s1600-h/0093.jpg"><img alt="009" border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-ieotUmpC9uI/TzNxW6pPdKI/AAAAAAAAFe8/dudXcfDwzTk/009_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" height="244" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="009" width="164" /></a>Chantal and I gearing up for Victoria Falls. <img align="right" alt="004" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-LRmVuN85rGI/TzNxY_y8DhI/AAAAAAAAFfE/Z_Hjudy5ERg/004_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" height="164" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; float: right; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="004" width="244" /> <br />
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Victoria Falls</div>
<blockquote>
<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-g7llXrkwlnc/TzNxbinCQvI/AAAAAAAAFfM/SuvwFLkj1uo/s1600-h/0583.jpg"><img alt="058" border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-lNvZzSyVFmU/TzNxdq6W3hI/AAAAAAAAFfU/mvR01btLhz4/058_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" height="164" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="058" width="244" /></a><br />
<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-D5Vyeith-9s/TzNxhsLx2xI/AAAAAAAAFfc/t1mMm6wv88Y/s1600-h/Feb.-4-2012-553.jpg"><img alt="Feb. 4, 2012 (55)" border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-bm_TsISS6Ns/TzNxjqrbOcI/AAAAAAAAFfk/S9MVDsHcQM0/Feb.-4-2012-55_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" height="244" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Feb. 4, 2012 (55)" width="184" /></a>Crossing the Border <a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-ygR4NYJz1t8/TzNxpKH-kpI/AAAAAAAAFfs/jAKU8uWTEwc/s1600-h/Feb.-4-2012-1443.jpg"><img alt="Feb. 4, 2012 (144)" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-ZXe-jBuitnM/TzNxrCYniCI/AAAAAAAAFf0/9NMU4DIba1I/Feb.-4-2012-144_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" height="184" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Feb. 4, 2012 (144)" width="244" /></a>Elephant riding in the Zambezi!<br />
WINDHOEK, Namibia:<br />
<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-a5HJ6bg0a6M/TzNxvTbmN_I/AAAAAAAAFf8/Xf9XlBa9qcg/s1600-h/Feb%2525206%25252C%2525202012%252520%25252814%252529%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Feb 6, 2012 (14)" border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-di5mokx4AnM/TzNxxKTo3lI/AAAAAAAAFgE/pm8eQViOodw/Feb%2525206%25252C%2525202012%252520%25252814%252529_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" height="244" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Feb 6, 2012 (14)" width="184" /></a><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-pb6bqUsG9lE/TzNx0F05dnI/AAAAAAAAFgM/VIqdSqMbCgI/s1600-h/Feb%2525207%25252C%2525202012%252520%25252810%252529%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Feb 7, 2012 (10)" border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-0aZCaFl6YR4/TzNx2Awy7hI/AAAAAAAAFgU/qekqvLiUe9U/Feb%2525207%25252C%2525202012%252520%25252810%252529_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" height="244" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Feb 7, 2012 (10)" width="184" /></a><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-g7YQ_wawK9k/TzNx6vFtxCI/AAAAAAAAFgc/qfh1yhQjENQ/s1600-h/Feb.%2525208%25252C%2525202012%252520%25252817%252529%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Feb. 8, 2012 (17)" border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-SZnpIhumOU0/TzNx88xFulI/AAAAAAAAFgk/CDnAJQsMeRs/Feb.%2525208%25252C%2525202012%252520%25252817%252529_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" height="184" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Feb. 8, 2012 (17)" width="244" /></a></blockquote>
Here are some photos of our trip. Today we are heading to Swakopmund, for a little relaxing on the beach, and sand surfing on the dunes, before heading to Cape Town next week.</div>
Audrey Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10058442137997723570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2555239011488679211.post-57461410470833863072012-02-02T01:53:00.001-05:002015-04-24T15:24:40.297-04:00Animals, Animals, and more Animals, OH MY!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
There is nothing like sitting on a bus waiting for a herd of Elephants to cross the road. Since arriving in Botswana, we have been lucky enough to catch a lot of African animals just chilling on the roadside. Our first encounter was with the caribou which are like the deer of Africa. Going from Francistown to Kasane, we go through the outskirts of a few big game parks. We saw a lot of elephants, a pack of zebras, giraffes, and a family of monkeys. <br />
<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-QBK_Ps_KqoU/TyoylEDBViI/AAAAAAAAFeE/HFEAu-MzZLw/s1600-h/Jan%25252029%25252C%2525202012%252520%2525282%252529%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img align="left" alt="Jan 29, 2012 (2)" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-ciqFbzOI7Ww/TyoyoG8Y_VI/AAAAAAAAFeM/otcTTDLTbns/Jan%25252029%25252C%2525202012%252520%2525282%252529_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="152" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; float: left; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Jan 29, 2012 (2)" width="201" /></a><br />
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In Kasane we took a boat ride through the Chobe National Park. The park is beautiful and we continued to see so many more animals. In the park you can either take a safari by land, or water. If we would of done it by land we could of gotten closer to the animals, but by water you get to see more, and don’t end up scaring the animals away. We saw hippos, crocs, monkeys, giraffes, multiple types of caribou, a weasel, elephants, and plenty of birds. The park is also on four countries, so while on the water we passed through Zambia and Namibia. <br />
<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-7rYuX2txNno/Tyoy2GDVSKI/AAAAAAAAFeU/cpysp2gTawE/s1600-h/Jan%25252029%25252C%2525202012%252520%25252864%252529%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img align="right" alt="Jan 29, 2012 (64)" border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-CgAeWXpjTL0/Tyoy5hCRUbI/AAAAAAAAFec/x2xUjN4-LHY/Jan%25252029%25252C%2525202012%252520%25252864%252529_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="161" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; float: right; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Jan 29, 2012 (64)" width="213" /></a><br />
After the boat tour, we ate dinner at the hotel we took the tour from. They have a buffet, which was my first buffet in 3 years, but it also serves game meat! I got to try Impala meat(like a deer) and Kudu (another deer) and a few different types of fish. <br />
After Kasane, we traveled north and crossed the border into Zambia. Going from Botswana to Zambia you take a ferry, which I can add to another type of transport we are taking on this trip. Crossing the border was easy, then we went to Jungle Junction. It’s a little island, about a 1km long on the Zambezi. We got dropped off on the Zambezi, and a guide came to pick us up by canoe. Since we were the only 4 people on the island we had a nice view of the river. Our chalet was like the house in the Swiss Family Robinson. In the evening it started raining, so we hung out in our chalet and relaxed.<br />
<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-9yRiVerVnOo/Tyoy8okTQgI/AAAAAAAAFek/-TXFuPqGkPE/s1600-h/Jan%25252030%25252C%2525202012%252520%25252854%252529%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img align="left" alt="Jan 30, 2012 (54)" border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-aDSNzr3ikz4/Tyoy_6_Sv7I/AAAAAAAAFes/b1bt2dZkCnY/Jan%25252030%25252C%2525202012%252520%25252854%252529_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="186" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; float: left; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Jan 30, 2012 (54)" width="140" /></a><br />
From Jungle Junction we went to Livingstone. That is were our group split for a few days. Two of us headed to Luska, and the other two into Zimbabwe. <br />
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Upcoming Events: Victoria Falls, then heading to Namibia!</div>
Audrey Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10058442137997723570noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2555239011488679211.post-29354357902970852572012-01-31T08:01:00.001-05:002015-04-24T15:22:19.414-04:00Leg # 2<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Quick update: We finally met up with Heather, our final group member. We also made safely to Francistown, where our vacation officially starts! After being in West Africa for 3 years, Francistown is like mini America. There are shopping malls, grocery stores, and people don’t sell things from the top of their heads, or go to a farmer’s market for their veggies. <br />
<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-oFGWw_Srj9Y/TyflDGticnI/AAAAAAAAFd0/V-J6PAzZdnw/Jan%25252027%25252C%2525202012%252520%25252814%252529%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800"><img alt="Jan 27, 2012 (14)" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-k-wP-HP5l3M/TyfmQ9dsSaI/AAAAAAAAFd8/g6Io0IA7rbU/Jan%25252027%25252C%2525202012%252520%25252814%252529_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" height="184" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Jan 27, 2012 (14)" width="244" /></a> <br />
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Since there was no direct bus from Jo’Burgh to Francistown we had to stop in Gaborone. We arrived, EARLY, but at night, so we didn’t get to see much, since early the next morning we took off for Francistown. Since our arrival, we took a tour of the town, which is really nice. Francistown in the 2<sup>nd</sup> largest city in Botswana. It’s also halfway between Gaborone and Kasane, a large tourist city. <br />
Since there isn’t a lot of touristy things to do, we have been doing things, that Heather participated in while a volunteer here. Friday morning we went to the Prison of Immigrants and played volleyball all mornings. People who illegally sneak into Botswana, and then get caught go to this prison, while waiting for a visa, or asylum seekers. Most people here have been denied asylum or a visa and are awaiting to be returned back to their country of origin. Heather got involved here and would do educational programs for the women, and recreational activities for the men, since this was her last time going, we decided to play volleyball. I felt we gave them a good run for their money. They were pretty competitive, but I was on the winning team! <br />
<br />
<br />
Next leg: <br />
Kasane-boat cruise <br />
Livingstone- Fisherman’s village, Victoria Falls <br />
Luska <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
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</div>
Audrey Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10058442137997723570noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2555239011488679211.post-63593419791445682042012-01-25T14:37:00.002-05:002015-04-24T15:22:02.809-04:00Leg #1<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Burkina to Jo’Burgh (Leg 1) From the time we closed our service to when we actually arrived in Southern Africa<br />
<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G3MRtqIXI-8/TyBcnVdJBhI/AAAAAAAAFds/wkuD90EetZ0/s1600/IMG_5060.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G3MRtqIXI-8/TyBcnVdJBhI/AAAAAAAAFds/wkuD90EetZ0/s200/IMG_5060.JPG" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5701658959095072274" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; height: 150px; width: 200px;" /></a><br />
3/4 of the group @ the bus station in Burkina Faso. Our bus left for Accra, Ghana at 9:30( only an hour late). The actual ride was great, we barely made any stops, no break downs, or major problems. We made it to Accra in about 20 hours. After sitting on a bus all night we arrived at 6:30am, and headed strait to the hostel. The Hostel is a nicely run place, that is home to a lot of British volunteers. We mostly laid around either in our room, or on the beach. Our week of COS was super stressful, then to get directly on a 20 hour bus was even worse, so two full days of nothing, felt nice<br />
<br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--qXWCyc9m1w/TyBbUONd53I/AAAAAAAAFdU/1aLUcqjH-D0/s1600/IMG_5069.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--qXWCyc9m1w/TyBbUONd53I/AAAAAAAAFdU/1aLUcqjH-D0/s200/IMG_5069.JPG" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5701657531221141362" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; height: 150px; width: 200px;" /></a><br />
<br /><br />Surprising the Accra Airport is really nice. We had to spend a few hours in the lobby, but when check in time came, it was efficient. The flight from Accra, Ghana to Jo’Burgh, South Africa was smooth. Air Namibia, was a good airline, even though their airport is super small. We left at 11pm on Monday night and arrived in Jo’Burgh at 9am, Tuesday. We stayed with one of my friends, aunt. She lives in a nice area just north of the city. We spent the day getting ready for our long haul to Francistown, and the actual bulk of our trip.<br /><br />Leg 2: Heading to Botswana to see Heather!</div>
Audrey Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10058442137997723570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2555239011488679211.post-55811930711802888162012-01-21T16:21:00.001-05:002015-04-24T15:23:59.356-04:00Southern Africa Trip!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Our Calendar is as follows: <br />
<br />
5 countries in 40 days!<br />
<br />
Chantal, Erik, and I start our trip Jan 20, by a long bus ride to Accra, Ghana. We are spending 3 days in the <a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-vAbXJebHWWY/TxssO1IrU7I/AAAAAAAAFdA/Jy3dp0y5MR4/s1600-h/southern_africa_map2.jpg"><img align="left" alt="southern_africa_map" border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-Mg4JIkZLzbE/TxssPzAdf7I/AAAAAAAAFdI/viHdYaJIv2M/southern_africa_map_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" height="417" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; float: left; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="southern_africa_map" width="354" /></a>Capital, until our flight leaves. <br />
<br />
Jan 24 Ghana<br />
25th Jo’Burgh<br />
26-28- Francistown, Botswana<br />
29-30- Kasane, Botswana<br />
31-3 Lusaka, Zambia<br />
Feb- 4-5 Livingston, Zambia (Victoria Falls)<br />
6- ON A BUS ALL DAY<br />
7-17- Windhoek and Swapamund, Namibia<br />
18-27- Cape Town, South Africa<br />
28- Qatar!<br />
29- AMERICALAND!!!<br />
<br />
Will keep you updated along the way!!!</div>
Audrey Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10058442137997723570noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2555239011488679211.post-72103557923777026942012-01-21T16:19:00.001-05:002015-04-24T15:23:24.199-04:00Good Bye Burkina!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I did it, I’m done! <br />
<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-ZBjJzzHhQCM/TxsrzmdJ8aI/AAAAAAAAFcg/pVek3ZAbzW8/s1600-h/IMG_49174.jpg"><img alt="IMG_4917" border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-DEL4RqVHv6I/Txsr0sE_XWI/AAAAAAAAFck/vfoBUbOXepc/IMG_4917_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" height="185" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="IMG_4917" width="245" /></a> <br />
Me and my children!!<br />
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<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-7u33leU_0mc/Txsr1ynO6uI/AAAAAAAAFcw/UIGLjTUejig/s1600-h/IMG_49843.jpg"><img alt="IMG_4984" border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-ab0Mbyus3j0/Txsr3YwXlOI/AAAAAAAAFc4/-wVFO2bH6gg/IMG_4984_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" height="244" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="IMG_4984" width="184" /></a><br />
Kipthy and I @ our house.</div>
Audrey Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10058442137997723570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2555239011488679211.post-69111108129580865032012-01-05T04:41:00.001-05:002015-04-24T15:23:05.607-04:00The final countdown….<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Here it goes, I have 9 days left in village and 16 left in Burkina. For the last month I have been wishing away my days, so I could hurry up and leave. I spent Christmas in my old village of Nakaba. For three days I partied with friends, made promises to never forget them, and said my final good-byes. Christmas was a bitter sweet time to be saying good-bye, everyone was happy to be celebrating the birth of Our Lord, Jesus Christ, while I went from house to house to say “Au Revoir!” I tried to make it to every single house in Nakaba, but at the end of the day, it was way to much. I tired to keep a happy face, mostly because Burkinabe don’t like people who cry or are unhappy, but who knows if I will ever see these people again. My babies are going to grow up with out me.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">The hardest part was leave my faithful comrade, Benga. My old boss, finally got a job transfer to the main hospital in Koupela. He had spent 10 years in Nakaba, when most nurses only spend 2 years. He took his whole family, and even the family dog, he asked me what I thought was best for my dog, and I told him,Benga should stay in Nakaba. He now resides at the house of the new head. The day I showed up, I went to meet the new nurse and before I even finish saying hello, Benga comes running down the path way,and if he had been bigger, he would of tackled me to the ground. We spent 3 great days together, and saying good-bye to someone who doesn’t respond was really hard. I know my village will take care of my dog, and Benga will be a great keeper of the hospital.</span><br />
<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-sFb97D7XJOU/TwVveC6WhRI/AAAAAAAAFcM/R_HY0en7tsI/s1600-h/IMG_4770%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><img alt="IMG_4770" border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-EdXthp0aN_M/TwVv0jG874I/AAAAAAAAFcU/mo2wIMqCfAA/IMG_4770_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="191" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="IMG_4770" width="253" /></span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">(On Christmas, with all the women in my Family.)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Here is something I wrote about my village of Nakaba, which no matter how I phrase it, it’s true:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">“At the end of my two years in Nakaba, I know I helped change my community. I showed them how to combat their problems, by identifying and using their local resources. I may have been the push they needed, but they did the work themselves. During my service, this community showed me what it is like to be an agent of change.”</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">For what it is worth,Thank you Nakaba!</span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Now I’m in my other village, just hanging with the few friends I do have. These next weeks are going to go by so fast, I’m trying to savor everything. After I leave here, I’m in Ouaga for a week to finish up paper work,medical stuff, etc… which will be easy,since the hard part is already done!!</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">I’ll update one last time before I leave, and also while I am on my AWESOME SOUTH AFRICAN VACATION!</span><br />
<br />
<u><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Mail:</span></u><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Kirstin</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Emerald</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Mom</span></blockquote>
</div>
Audrey Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10058442137997723570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2555239011488679211.post-53355450199525762832011-12-19T04:37:00.001-05:002015-04-24T15:22:32.711-04:001 Month to go!!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
*With just a little over a month left(35 days to be exact) left in Burkina. I have exactly a month left in village, and then a week in Ouaga to finish all my medical, and paper work. The end of my service is so close, but yet so far away. Hopefully things will start to pick up. Next week is my birthday, then Christmas, then New Years, and then I have 2 weeks left in village. <br />
<br />
*As for village, I started to give away my stuff, writing my final reports, “closing up shop” as they say. I don’t have anything to do at work, so I spend most of my days reading books, packing, and hanging with my favorite 2 year old. Overall, I’m bored, and ready to leave!!!<br />
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*I don’t have anything new to update, just wanted to send a little note to everyone who reads my blog. <br />
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No mail received.</div>
Audrey Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10058442137997723570noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2555239011488679211.post-49140757109489739762011-11-08T05:11:00.001-05:002015-04-24T15:15:31.593-04:0030 Days of Thanks and Fêtes!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So, September ended and now it’s November! My time in Burkina is coming to a close, I officially have 70 days left of my Peace Corps Service. This is my favorite time of year in Burkina and it is going to go by really fast. <br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-size: small;">Let me recap on what’s been going on:</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></strong>
<u>50th Anniversary Fair:</u><br />
“In 2011, the Peace Corps will commemorate 50 years of promoting peace and friendship around the world. Join us in supporting the agency's mission and legacy of service by honoring our past, demonstrating our effectiveness, and inspiring the next generation of Volunteers through education and engagement.” <br />
<br />
In Ouaga we held a fair or expo on Peace Corps. Each volunteer would have a booth to showcase the work they have been doing with their villages. Some volunteers brought in their tailors, sold soap, etc. While other volunteers actually brought in their dance or theater groups. My association, Weog la Viim, had an informational booth. We also had general booths explaining Peace Corps, and a time line of volunteers in Burkina. Overall the fair was a great success. We had many Burkinabe come. My association have a 30 minute presentation on Weog, explaining our role in the community and some of our major projects. It was 3 long days, but I feel my association benefited from the fair,a long with a little networking too!<br />
<br />
<u>Senegal:</u><br />
The first week in October, I took a week vacation to Senegal. I went with another volunteer to visit our friend who is in PC Senegal. We stayed in Dakar for the whole week, only taking a day trip to another village. We flew from Ouaga to Dakar, with a short layover in Bamako, Mali. Air Burkina is a really nice company, despite all that we heard prior to booking our ticket. Once arriving in Dakar, it was like being dropped into a downtown metro area. Despite being hassled by the taxi drivers, I didn’t feel like I was in West Africa at all. Each day was filled with swimming in the ocean, thanks to our friend, who lived only 2 blocks from the beach. We visited some of the “sights” Dakar had to offer. The trip was very relaxing, and much needed. I’m just sad that it had to end…. I added photos to my Pisca Album. <br />
<br />
Between Senegal and now I took my GRE, which is by far one of the weirdest experiences in Burkina. I studied all day every day for two strait weeks, prior to the test, the day of the actually test I felt confident. When arriving at the American Language Center I really thought it would be filled with PC volunteers and maybe a few expats, but it was packed with Burkinabe! Most of them have been taking a weekly class to prepare for this test, and had current copies of the book, mine being outdated my 2 years.. The proctor showed up 2 hours late! After taking the test, I felt glad to have it over, but I realized this would never happen in the US. The whole point of a standardize test, is for everything to be the same, and I defiantly don’t feel the same, as if I would have taken it in the US. I guess I will know better next time. <br />
<br />
<u>November: The month of giving thanks, and parties!:</u><br />
I started this month long party off with Halloween! I carved a watermelon, and asked children to come to my house to ask for candy. The children were more amused with why I carved a face into a watermelon, than why I wanted to finally give them candy. The next day was All Saint’s day. It is hugely celebrated here by the Christian population. I started the day off by going to church, then hanging out with my local dolo (local beer) lady. We went to a few houses to celebrate the holiday, were I continued to eat and drink. The next day was All Souls Day, and the church met at dusk at the cemetery to pray for the departed. It was a really cool experience. Seeing the power of pray, all these people huddles around the headstones, saying the rosary, as the sun is fading into the background.<br />
<br />
The next Saturday was<u> Tabaski</u>.<br />
A little history of Tabaski: People are expected to dress in their finest clothing to perform the prayer, in a large congregation in an open field, or mosque.They are asked to sacrifice their sheep or ram as a symbol of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his only son. The sacrificed animals, have to meet certain age and quality standards or else the animal is considered an unacceptable sacrifice. The meat from the sacrificed animal is divided into three parts. The family retains one third of the share; another third is given to relatives, friends and neighbors; and the other third is given to the poor and needy. <br />
<br />
I dressed up in my best MouMou and headed to prayer with my family. I didn't actually pray, since I wanted to take pictures of the experience. After watching the slaughtering of the goat, my family went to the house of a holy man, to “start” the party. After that I went back to my house to finish helping the women prepare the food. Around 1pm I finally ate, and that started the tour of food, as my friend and I joked about. After excusing my self from my house, my friend and I went to 7 other houses that night. We covered everyone I worked with, along with some friends I made. We ate a lot of meet, and drank Fanta's, while I passed out candy to the kids, only after making sure they knew my name. The night ended late and with a full stomach. The next day however is also acceptable wish people a happy Tabaski. My house was full of people this weekend, and I have never ate so much in my life. I experience Tabaski once before while I was in training, but never have I got the full experience like I did this year. Needless to say I think I will be stuffed until Thanksgiving rolls around! <br />
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The next few weeks, are kind of lax. I don’t have much going on. I am going to be having a few new PC trainees at my site, and I have a small project I need to finish up. It will be a nice to regroup and exercise, before hitting Thanksgiving. I plan to eat as much Turkey as I can get! I’m going to have a small 3rd year Thanksgiving in Ouaga, then I was invited to another volunteers site to celebrate too! <br />
<br />
I added photos of Senegal and some of the stuff I have been doing these past few weeks in my Pisca Web Album (link is posted to the right.)<br />
<u><br /></u>
<u>Mail Received:</u><br />
Aaron<br />
Parents<br />
Bethany<br />
Tab<br />
<br />
<br />
</div>
Audrey Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10058442137997723570noreply@blogger.com0