Sounds superb! But first....Michael, I hope you were referring to my looking like Popeye this week? Not to worry - it's getting much better! All is well, actually.....the heat notwithstanding. (ok, so I relented...Gia now has A/C in her bedroom!) Thanks for a crisp journalistic picture of the boat trip - really brings it all to life! Ahh...Eric and clownage. Sounds fun! "Skeletal Sea" is sure to be yet another amazing work of yours....I'm sure the trip will influence many of your songs-to-be :) Well, keep writing and texting - always love to hear from you guys! And happy to know you are not only staying safe and well, but having a fantastic time at every turn! Gia sends good wishes and says that you are in her thoughts....and that she will write some songs as soon as she finishes her summer reading assignments! ;) love, Suze and Gia
senses As you two continue on your journey and send along the well written words that continue to feed the highlight reels in my mind, I do have to wonder what the temperature has been like on the latest leg of the journey--and the smells, bugs, critters and so on. I mean, if you're taking us all along on your journey--these details will truly help immerse me into the adventure even more. But seriously, the trip truly sounds amazing and you both seem to adapting seemlessly--whether or not this is an actual fact, I applaud you both. Paci--I am glad you have finally found your audience and the respect you deserve. I have a delightful image of the crowds behind you on the streets and the smirk you must have on your face on the boat with the captive audience. Continued blessings to you both.
And the adventure continues..... Great to hear from you guys again. This sounds like an amazing journey and a trip of a lifetime. These experiences you will be able to share and use to teach others about the world around us. I can't wait to see how you both incorportate this into your classrooms. I am with you on this trip, I will be on someone's net again soon if you haven't seen me or heard me again already. Look for me. Continue to explore, and enjoy. STay safe. Love all the photos. Looking forward to the next journals to come. Sorry it has taken me so long to send a comment back.
love
your friend
Lucille
bring back a BOXING WARRIOR some of the worlds greatest boxers are from Africa.Find one and bring him to America.We will make him a CHAMPION.and we will also make lot's of MONEY.Be Safe.AL V
Comment on a comment... I find myself being reflective and touched, upon reading Mr. Paci's (Eric's dad) commentary here. His words are significant and poignant.....indeed, despite whatever minor problems we face, life is truly and deeply beautiful. We are lucky, so very lucky. Thank you, Mr. Paci, for writing a thoughtful and so very true post. Something we all should think about, and hopefully will give way to many of us taking action to help improve the problems we all know exist, regarding the welfare of those who are homeless in our area. Best, Suze
Monday morning It's Monday the last day of July and the beginning of yet another "routine" work week. Just thinking of you both and wondering what adventures entertained you over the week-end. We are getting ready for another heat wave - to hit 100 in Boston again on Weds. What is the temp there? You both look cool and comfortable in your pictures. Love you stay SAFE and away from the Bats, vultures, crocks/gators and other dangerous creatures please! Can't they see there is not enough meat on either or your bones to wet their palates? Looking forward to your next post. LOVE Mom
Blog I was keeping it short to let you know I'm following your journey with great interest. Your adventures at the moment are much more exciting and clearly worthy of publication. But if you insist I can certainly add 3 or 4 pages. I will keep short, in deference to the others here who must get through my spam to get to more familiar commentators. I particularly connect with some of the squalor and utter poverty you are being exposed to. Harvard Square homeless are no match for the indigenous of West Africa but in some ways maybe not as well off. The indigenous West Africans have involuntarily accepted their way of life. It's all they know and perhaps they are blessed and relatively happy in their meager subsistance. Noone should have to live like that, we all agree. Yet right here in the US, the richest country in the world, we still allow so many people to fall through the proverbial "safety net" and live in the streets, subject to threats on their health by disease, mental deterioration and other human beings. Your adventures will help to form a new understandind and appreciation for what you have. Perhaps that will also affect many of those who read your blogs. I hope some will even be moved to do more to assist those who have so much less then we do.
Enjoy your new horizons, ponder on the meaning of life, promise yourselves that there is more you can do to bring attention to the sub-human conditions you're being exposed to. Look around and realize that even with all the silly personal little problems we all have, for us life is truly beautiful.
You asked for it ...
Dad / Gabe
Fantastic photos....love the bats, especially! Ahh...Michael....sounds like you've got a reasonable replacement for your usual "Anna's" fix! I am envious - I adore friend plantains! Looking forward to the next adventure installment. Thanks for the message above - hopefully Gia won't actually break anything....but then again.....you know her - and me! Kidding...confident that it will go well tomorrow, she's ready for it! Wanted to video tape it, but can't get the borrowed camcorder to work...so just photos it will be. Will take lots though! Wrote some lack-of-sleep induced nonsense in an email to you, so I think I will stop now before I write more of the same! Good luck, stay safe and well, have fun! Until next time....love, Suze
Envious... Oh, the beach... so gorgeous. Now I'm REALLY envious, although I must admit that the vulture makes me a little nervous -- I don't even throw crusts and tidbits to those nasty seagulls. It's definitely an adventure -- vacation is where you know what to expect most of the time -- it most often doesn't include suspended rope bridges, vultures on the beach, and throngs of kids surrounding you. Sounds like you are having a time of your life -- enjoy. Looking forward to seeing your next post -- am enjoying the pictures immensely. Stay safe. Love, Shirley
Juggling I knew clown school was going to pay off some day!!! :)
I love this picture and yes you do deserve a lot of respect for much more than juggling! Love Mom
My heart is smiling So nice to hear from you once again, a few days without a post from you seems like months. I am enjoying every word of your blog, believe it or not Eric, I am wishing I was traveling this amazing journey with you. Maybe Madagascar with you and Gabrielle! It is never too late for Suncreen - you need protection continually when in the sun even if you got a burn!!! Love you much .. Looking forward to your next log. Love MOM
Our adventurers! You make this trip sound like your pioneers, what with the bridge, crocs, and crumbling plaster.
Try going thru the Ted Williams Tunnel!
Ack. I wouldn't ever do that. NEVER NEVER NEVER. I'm scared of walking down the hilly streets of Medford, nevermind walking across one of those bridges.
Back again but not for long Hello Mike and Eric its good to catch up with how things are.
This is really the first chance I have had to read about your great adventures and catch up.
I decided to "bag school" last week and head off to Hoylake to watch the Open Golf. Not a European or Brit in site as Tiger blotted all with cool, calm efficiency to win back to back British Open's. I went on Thursday and Friday but it was hot and you couldn't really get near the better players. I sat at home with Frank on the Saturday and at our Peter's on the Sunday.
I decided to miss the big friendly game at Gresty road when the might of Liverpool came to town on Saturday.
Classy Crewe played their usual high standard passing game according to the papers but lost 1-0 with a young 17 year old scoring in the 12th minute.
Liverpool made 8 changes in the second half and guess what 10500 watched the game. It was really muggy on Saturday so I just watched the golf. Eileen has been pretty poorly since Thursday but today has woken up much better. I stayed at their house on Wednesday and Thursday but our Peter was on the late shift.
Weather remains brilliant and I have told our Peter how to connect and keep up with whats going on... fat chance!
I will try and ring Suzanne tonight and have been putting it off due to a phone problem.
Its a great idea this blog and I am so pleased that you managed to get the diary up to date. I was pannicking a bit thinking about how and why we hadn't decided on a maximum time betwwen getting any form of contact. No luck getting any text messages by the way.
I am off again on Thursday as I fly to Norway till Monday so again doubt I will be in contact until I get back. What I can do though is text Suzanne incase there is any mither!!
I thought being a Crewe Bloke I would throw in a couple of local words for your pupils to try and get their heads around.. Is that Bletch on your trousers?
Frank and Peter are fine and I am a bit more positive as I have now started some treatment for the leg injury and hope to be back on tarck after I get back from Norway.. Need to start running..
Well that will do for now, take good care and enjoy every second.
Love Always our kid.. from our kid!
Take care... I'm enjoying the accounts from you both. I hope you are having a great time -- it seems that you are. The bridge looks like excellent fun! Stay safe. See you soon... Shirley
Melodrama Hi , Enjoy the beaching for a few days. You both deserve it. Thanks for the real pictures, waiting for more. Eric, your face and holding on really do show how you feel. Those of us who know you , Eric did have to expect a little bit of melodrama from you, but when one is more scared/fearful than another, things do look so much different to that person. Either way it was a feat, I'd love to do but know I would never attempt to do. I'd be one of the ones who turned around. Hey, by the way did you travel back and forth on the bridges( both ways) or take another route or keep on going further to another place. I can't imagine doing it once never mind twice. I can't wait to hear your stories in person. I know yours vs Mike's will be so different in some aspects and worth great discussions as you both relive moments again. Stay safe the both of you. Sounds like you both are having a wonderful, exciting and amazing journey. Anxiously awaiting to follow along the rest of the way with you both my friends.
Love your friend.
P.S I know the budget is slim so I promise to get you both Lunch time and coffee on day on in September
Lucille
Lucille
I read the whole thing Hey, Mike! Hey, Eric! It's me again (Kylie), and surprisingly, (did I spell that right?) Your travel journal wasn't as long as I thought it was, so I read the whole thing. It's really intreging (okay, I know I spelled that wrong). I think that walking on the bridges would be really awsome. But that's easy for me to say, right? I'm scared of heights too, but not as much. Something that's been bugging me, is that my posts on this sight take days to show up, and by then you've already written more entries, and I have no idea if you've even been reading what I'm saying. When you said 'you can post to this site if you want,' did you mean the class website, or this one? I don't know if I can become a member and have my posts show up immediatly. But anyway, everything in Ghana sounds so fun!
Good luck!
-Kylie
Hey, we love melodrama!! Hi Michael.....edits have been read, but I rather like Eric's more "colorful" treatment of the experience - it really had me on the edge of my seat! However, I am now happier to know that you don't actually have a sunburn and weren't potential dinner material - thanks for clarifying! Great photos! (can't wait to see the one of the bats!) I could definitely get into crossing a bridge like that - you look quite relaxed indeed! Keep the photos coming - they are bringing everything to life so nicely. Looking forward to hearing the next adventure....you are inspiring both Gia and I daily. For now....take good care and be safe and well. Miss you much. Lots of love, Suzie p.s.....guess where we will be at Midnight tonight? Oh yes, Harvard Square.....the Saturday evening showing of Gia's favorite movie. (give me strength, haaa). Should be fun!
Kakum National Park and the bridges Well. WOW!!!!!!, WHAT AN ADVENTURE AND EXPERIENCE. Eric, I knew you could and woud do it. The detailed description of your crossings were very vivid. I tried to visualize each crossing as if I was there too, but I would have been the chicken who could never get to the other side, or even on one. You both are very brave, I wouldn't be. That is what makes you great adventurers. I'm sure you now know that you can do anything you ever want to no matter how difficult or scary it may seem. The journey continues to amaze and I'm sure you both are having the best experiences. Continue the journey and have fun and stay safe to you both. Looking forward to continuing to follow along with your travels.
love your friend,
Lucille
Amazing accomplishment! Wow and wow.....that is *some* story, you are both brave and fearless (as we knew you would be, of course!). Maybe the next time (notice that I'm confident that there will be one), you can juggle and walk the bridges? If they can do it in the circus, then so can you! Kidding, but I'll bet you are very proud of yourself, Eric! Glad Mike didn't become supper for any creature...but wait.....what *sunburn*? Suncreen, you guys....suncreen!!!! Glad to hear from you again....for now - love, Suzie
deleted_20337
deleted_20337
Sounds superb!
But first....Michael, I hope you were referring to my looking like Popeye this week? Not to worry - it's getting much better! All is well, actually.....the heat notwithstanding. (ok, so I relented...Gia now has A/C in her bedroom!) Thanks for a crisp journalistic picture of the boat trip - really brings it all to life! Ahh...Eric and clownage. Sounds fun! "Skeletal Sea" is sure to be yet another amazing work of yours....I'm sure the trip will influence many of your songs-to-be :) Well, keep writing and texting - always love to hear from you guys! And happy to know you are not only staying safe and well, but having a fantastic time at every turn! Gia sends good wishes and says that you are in her thoughts....and that she will write some songs as soon as she finishes her summer reading assignments! ;) love, Suze and Gia