hi mar mar Oh Marla please stay safe!! Just catching up on your blogs after a long couple weeks at school. I am just registering for my student teaching, and look forward to being done and finally able to take some great backpacking trips with Christopher. He is currently in Switzerland and has been there for a good three weeks, so I'm looking forward to his return. I really enjoy looking at your pictures. Chris's dad is starting a school somewhere in Africa, can't exactly remember the town, but once I remember I'll let you know...any who...really makes me want to travel there with him and teach down there for a while. Miss you and love you so much. Thinking of you always! Xoxox Lyssa
Glad You Vented Glad you were able to vent and get your frustrations out in the open. In fact, the place sounds incredibly disorganized and not somewhere I would like to travel. Really enjoyed your beautiful and interesting pictures. That boating incident was very scary! Interested in knowing more about your sound track and how to be able to hear it.
Your dad was here visiting for five days and we had a wonderful time. He got a chance to touch base with everyone
in the family. Of course, we watched a Pomona Men's Team soccer game and walked around the college campuses.
All the days he was here it was around 100 degress and as soon as he left the temperature dropped. And he went
home to near frost conditions!!
Take care. Much Love!
If you want to, Hei mutsi, i really dont mind if you want to share the blog with others at all, do what you like with it :D im putting up some photos from dodi island today so you cna see what that is all like.
glad Hei MarMar,
OK, so that was pretty graphic for the old Momba. I am soooo glad that all ended well, but I still lost some sleep pondering the other possibilities. Great pictures! Thanks! Do you want me to forward your blog to the paper? How about sharing it with the hospital or whomever taught the babysitting class? Let me know. Back to the tomatoes for the lasagne. Love ya, Momba
Amazing Trip What an amazing and adventurous trip! You and your friends are sure brave.
I am in awe that such experiences don't seem to frighten any of you.
Thanks also for your explanation about the appointment of the Ashanti Chief--
very interesting cultural insights.
I always look forward to your Blog about your life in Ghana. So different.
All is well here. Your Dad will be visiting for 5 days starting next Wednesday, 9/23.
We are all looking forward to that.
Take Care!
How cool is that! Hei MarMar, glad to hear about your trip to Kumasi. What a lot of time to spend on a bus! Could you tell a difference in the peoples of this region as compared to the ones who live in Accra, besides language, of course. Thanks for the update. Now back to my spaghetti sauce... Love, Momba
Hello Marla: Glad to here that you are doing well in Ghana. It sounds like an intgeresting experience which will stay with you the rest of your life. We have a gentleman at our church who is from Ghana. He told me he would like to talk with you when you get back to test your language skills. Stay safe Love grandpa
give lots of details on locations, OK? Hei MarMar,
I am trying to follow your journeys on an outdated map, and the one to the left of the comment section doesn't have much detail. So, if you could, please describe your travels in detail so that I can find you :) Also, keep writing and add photos; I love to read/see what is new! Love, Momba
Chinese Influences? Hei MarMar,
Does China have an obvious presence in Ghana? Today I heard that China is making contributions to many countries in Africa and also seeking to benefit from the many natural resources there. Do you see this? If so, what form does it take? Are there many Chinese students studying there? How did classes go this week? Have a great weekend! Love, Momba
LOVE you! mar mar,
ooh it all sounds amazing, even if some things don't go as planned, it just makes the adventure better...or at least i think so and hope you do too! sadly, i can not find a measuring tape for the LIFE of me right now...must have misplaced it, so i need to go buy one quick to get you those measurements.
hope you are staying well hydrated! want you to stay healthy! beyond that, it is sooo much fun sitting here in duluth and reading up on you. already looking forward to christmas and hearing your stories.
much love, rissa roo.
jij well its more of a job for everyone in fact. yesterday i met a few new people when i was doing mine. Men and children all help out with the washing, it really is a community thing. I will try to put up some more pictures of the Volta region and the thigns i have been doing lately. Miss you!
xoxo
washing machine not so bad Hi there MarMar,
Well, even as you wash clothes by hand my machine is busy churning away and I am grateful for it :) Does this job fall only to the women? Mothers? In years past this would have been an enormous job for me to do for the whole family. We had a good time at Ryan and Kami's wedding. Biking today in perfect 70 F weather. Gardening this evening with beans, cucumbers, tomatoes, potatoes and onions in abundance! Hope you are eating well. Also, would love to see pictures of the dresses that you had made. email me soon! Love, Momba
Hello Dearest Marla,
Thinking about you and sending you LOVE and PRAYERS that this experience will be all you need it to be and that your needs whether physical, spiritual, emotional, intellectual will be met! I admire your courage! What a learning experience.
LOVE YOU BUNCHES,
Grandma J
ahhh madina madina madina o'ro o'ro o'ro
and when the vegan stand opens (if it hasnt already) ur going to love it :)
and same happened to me with the rooms, got my real one after about a week..
So Interesting and Different I'm amazed everytime I read your Blog. Everything seems soooo very different and unusual. The customs and lifestyle seem strange, uncomfortable, and inconvenient to me. And the fact that school is suppose to start Monday, but won't just doesn't even make sense. Guess I'm so used to our very "on time", scheduled culture.
When your classes finally do start, I would love to hear about what you are taking and your schedule, if there is one.
Brenae left last Monday for the long drive to Sea Brook, Texas (near Houston) to live with some Church friends, go to school, and work part-time at a preschool. The trip went well except for a driving rainstorm near the end. Her Toyota Camry was packed to the brim with as many belongings as she could take. A friend accompanied her on the drive,
which included two overnight stays--one at the friend's relatives and the other in a hotel. The friends flew back home
after they arrived. She is now decorating her room and getting ready to start school, which definitely starts this coming week. Bryant is also starting his Senior year at Hope University (Fullerton, CA) this coming Wednesday. He is taking four classes, all on Tuesdays and Thursdays. He'll basically be in classes from 9am to 4pm on those days.
Hope you're doing well (hanging in there) under some very trying (from my point of view) conditions.
Good to hear from you :) Hi Marla. Thanks for blogging. I am always interested in hearing what is going on with you in Ghana.
It sounds like you are having a good time thus far.
Take care and have a good week...
Love,
Dad
Indigo Hei MarMar,
I ran across an Malian artist that works in indigo textiles. Apparently indigo orriginated some 5000 years ago in various countries including Ghana. The process involves fermenting plant leaves with bacteria and then dyeing cotton with the liquid. The color is yellow until exposed to air, at which time it turns blue and is colorfast. You can check out the artist online: aboubakar-fofana with a "com" ending. I wonder if you are seeing any of the artform in the markets? Thinking of you this morning, and yes I'd love to get a dress!! :) Love, Momba
Marla, looks like you're surviving well and getting settled in. You will be wonderful at the orphanage, they will adore you. Elisa said you could get married many times over! She and your Mom came over last night and helped make the favors for the wedding tables. I couldn't have done it without them. We will miss you at the wedding. The weather here is very warm today, almost 90. Sounds like the same thru the rest of the week. I'm taking Molly for a while on Thursday so Kami can get some things done. Ryan is out of town and thought she could use a break. We'll go for a long walk, she likes that. Stay safe, don't get married too soon!
All of this sounds amazing!! You were totally smart in buying a ring. Have you started research yet? And is the internet/power as spotty as you thought it would be? I am glad you are keeping this travel blog-- it's so interesting and fun to read. Everyone at work keeps asking about you, too. (Including Sam Bains). I hope you are well and are handling the heat ok--
Send me your new address as soon as you get it, so that when I return from Greece I can send you something!
Love, Katelyn
hiya mum hey mum,
Im in the middle of registering ofr classes at the moment, it takes quite a while and several trips across the campus. Im eating just fine, lots of fruit as usual. im taking lots of photos and stuff. today im getting hte two dresses i ordered to be made for me... if you want a dress to thats great just email me you measurements and hte type of colors you would want. its about 7.5 USD for a dress! I dotn know my address yet, but as soon as i do ill let you know.
xoxox
Enjoying Your Blogs The beach sounded great. Lucky the ring came in so handy. Seems like you're already having many interesting experiences. Really enjoyed the pictures. Assuming you're sleeping well at night, now that the netting is up.
Will the water in your building always be cold or is that a temporary inconvernience? Where are you going to buy/get food/meals? And when does school officially start? Is the Orphanage at which you'll be working on the college campus?
Take Care! Much Love, Grandma A.
Thunder Storms Again Hei MarMar,
You brought the thunderstorms with you this summer, and last night we had another doosie. So what is the weather like there? Rain? Humidity? Do you have the right clothes? As I recall, school doesn't start for another week, so what are you doing in the meantime? Will the durbar take place soon? Any new words that you have learned? Have you managed to register for classes? If so, what are they? Did you get into the drumming class? I'm sooo glad to hear about the water, as that must make life easier and more like home. Be sure to EAT! Take pictures, OK. I hope that you can send an address soon, since I have a package ready to go... nothing very great, but still a package :) Love you, Momba
rissa roo
non-member comment
hi mar mar
Oh Marla please stay safe!! Just catching up on your blogs after a long couple weeks at school. I am just registering for my student teaching, and look forward to being done and finally able to take some great backpacking trips with Christopher. He is currently in Switzerland and has been there for a good three weeks, so I'm looking forward to his return. I really enjoy looking at your pictures. Chris's dad is starting a school somewhere in Africa, can't exactly remember the town, but once I remember I'll let you know...any who...really makes me want to travel there with him and teach down there for a while. Miss you and love you so much. Thinking of you always! Xoxox Lyssa