Squirrel
Sherry Berger Joined: October 17th 2005
Logged in: February 5th 2012
Logged in: February 5th 2012
Spending summers in my home town Philadelphia, time is spent as a graphic designer/art teacher/ and art exhibition/charity fundraiser for the (no name) Art Group. Winter months are spent volunteering abroad and teaching art/english to children in underprivileged areas.
An "around the world" adventure begins January 22, 2006 and ends...
Travel Blog Posts
Golden Bulgaria
---THE UNPUBLISHED NOW PUBLISHED SERIES: BLOG ARCHIVES JULY 2010 --- Mondays are red, the number two is blue, Lisa comes in a multitude of green shades…sometimes olive and other times turquoise depending on her mood. I often subconsciously associate colors to people, places and things, I don’t know why but I read about it in Scientific America once, how right-brained artsy types like myself sort of color code the world, conceive everything more as an aura of color, and how this is "special". It’s like living in a rainbow, and I quite don’t mind. So what do I think of Bulgaria? Bulgaria is gold. The golden fields of sunflowers, glistening golden jars of honey, the golden bricks that lie around the Alexander Nevski church, a church with gold plated domes, the warm golden glow of the ... read more
Sock Momma
Hope this blog find everyone well. I know I’ve been out of touch with most, and I apologize! I’m at the end of my volunteer time in Vietnam (I think) and for sure it has been the busiest yet. With a very fried brain, I can’t conjure up many personal thoughts/reflections at the moment, but I can write a little bit about what I’ve been doing and can post some photos to give you an idea. (If you’re unfamiliar with the project, please see below for links to the beginning stages.) First off, I’ve been in business mode - and have taken an extreme liking to Microsoft excel. Color-coding and organizing in spreadsheets every person and object in our new workshop AND AND (very excited) learning how to track and cross-reference all of it, how fun! ... read more
Me & Harrison
I’m always inspired with how smart children are, 20-month old Harrison has been no exception. With no concept of time, he’s a master at living in the moment. Looking at everything as if it is a fascinating miracle, which means a smooshed bug on the floor is as spectacular as a fancy diamond ring, and a garbage truck is way cooler than...anything. This also means a stroll down the street could take hours as we discuss at length every leaf, stone and bug that come across our path. Life is stress-free, happy and simple, and Harrison keeps me smiling (and busy!) all day long. Thank goodness for kids, who keep it all in perspective. But speaking of time, as lovely as it’s been, being part-time nanny and full-time freelancer has left me quite tired and with ... read more
Me & Nguyen
Warm greetings from Vietnam! I’m full swing back into the disabled woman’s workshop that we began back in March 2008. But one of the most exciting aspects of my return was being able to deliver the memory portraits created by women of (no name) Art Group. ( About the project ). This time I’m happy to post actual video, which really shows the impact of the project. The women were touched beyond words and I was honored to represent the selflessness and talent of our group here in Vietnam. I feel it's proof that sharing one's self, one’s time, talent and skills, is truly priceless. CLICKE HERE FOR VIDEO: MEMORY PORTRAITS, Vietnam But you can’t see these gorgeous here! Prints of the original portraits will be on display at our next exhibit/fundraiser (yes I’... read more
Philly Phanatic
---THE UNPUBLISHED NOW PUBLISHED SERIES: BLOG ARCHIVES JUNE 2008 --- Since my return to Philly, it seems as if I’ve spent mostly all of my time either talking about my past experiences, or planning for the future. I’ve barely spent one moment in the moment, and it’s begun to make me quite sad. What a contrast to travel life, where it’s all about staying in the moment. Traveling alone and living out of a backpack certainly does make life easier in some respects. Not that it doesn’t come with a hefty set of personal responsibilities, but home has brought upon a tricky juggling act of trying to keep balanced… of situating myself, planning, researching cars, laptops, apartments, future plane flights, and organizing paperwork, taxes, phone bills, rent, groceries, medical insurance, car insurance, freelance jobs, socializing and ... read more
Little Beauty
Blogging from May 3-10th, 2008 For my last week, I set out for the Scottish Highlands to join up with Trees For Life, a non-profit organization I’ve been fond of since the (no name) Art Group Candle Project 2004 (our environmental beneficiary). They are also the organization from whom I’ve purchased many little tree gifts from. Volunteering with TFL would be an opportunity to do something a little different, working with the earth instead of people. Gettin dirty and doing something out of my comfort zone keeps it all interesting. About Trees For Life: Trees for life is an award-winning Scottish charity working to restore the Caledonian Forest to 600 square miles of the Highlands west of Inverness.The distinctive Caledonian Forest community, dominated by Scots pine, is substantially depleted and fragmented. Only 1% of ... read more
Sketching
"It will all be ok in the end. If it's not ok, it's not the end." For sometime now, I couldn't stop my gut from wanting to see the castles along the coast of Scotland. This gut decision wasn't the most "logical idea" (as if any of them have been). It came with a pretty pricey plane ticket and an ungodly transit from Vietnam: 4 planes, 2 taxis, 1 bus, and some gold old fashioned time and patience got me here in about 2 days. Still say this is not a bad deal, going across the globe in a weekend. It was the 3 mile hike along the edge of the Scottish coast to Dunnottar Castle, when I realize, it wasn't so much the castles that my gut was after, but what was around them. There ... read more
Me And Karen
The redwood trees are the tallest and strongest trees in the world, living for up to 2,200 years and reaching up to 380 ft. in height. Yet the root system of the redwood tree is surprisingly shallow, there is no main root. The way in which the trees are able to remain upright and strong for millennia is by growing close together with other redwood trees, intermingling and sharing root systems. Lifestart continues to grow on all levels. Karen's workload is shared by many others, adding to the success of the organization. Thank you to everyone who has gone above and beyond in contributions. Dr. John Sherman, aka "Dreamboat Johnnie" Melbourne, Australia Duration: 3 Weeks Karen picked up both John and I from the airport the same night. Within minutes John had me laughing out loud ... read more
Sample Embroidered Card
My main assignment here in Hoi An is running a workshop for some of our gals in the disabled group (aka the Sweethearts). Our goal is to make a small product line of arts/crafts to eventually be sold online. Giving them the ability and skills to create a small range of quality crafts, we hope to provide them with a sustainable income, increased self-confidence and independence in their lives. The workshop runs 4 hours a day/5 days a week, but my schedule has been more like 24/7. It's been quite the challenge to say the least. Coordinating translators, seating, wheelchairs, ramps, tracking down supplies, and most difficult, what on earth could I teach them...and what could they master on their own, in one month. The skill levels and physical/mental disabilities vary greatly making it even more ... read more
Nguyen
Meet our 2nd Nguyen. Nguyen “2” was born with a heart condition, commonly referred to as a “hole in the heart”. In developed countries, this would be detected at an early age and fixed by a fairly simple procedure. But living in Vietnam, Nguyen’s condition was not diagnosed until recently. She needs a complete heart and lung transplant, which at this stage is close to impossible, even if performed in a Western country. At 21 years old, Nguyen has been given a maximum of 2 years to live. She must also be very cautious. We're told that if she catches any kind of infection or virus, she wouldn’t make it past a few days. Nguyen suffers from constant fatigue, nausea, dizziness and poor vision. Yet despite her physical suffering, I have never seen her without a ... read more
