You know you're rich, right?

I was surprised when someone said something to me this week about "the top 1% of the world's wealth" that I mentioned in my previous post, as if I had been bragging. It made me realize that my point may have been missed so I wanted to clarify that I wasn't trying to be a braggadocio. Everyone who lives in America (not Africa or Argentina) and is reading this right now on their own computer is probably in the top 10% of the world's wealth. And those of us who have professional degrees and live in higher cost areas (which drive higher salaries) are probably in the top 1% of the world's wealth, because literally billions of people in the world live on a few dollars a day. If you don't believe me, you'll be humbled by going to www.globalrichlist.com or www.leastof.org and entering your annual salary.

Such a good reminder that we're called to be responsible with what we're given, and that many of us have been given much. Enjoy, and feel free to share those links!

To whom much has been given, much will be required; and to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded. (Luke 12:48)

How Africa Ruined My Life, In a Beautiful Way

I’ve been hesitant to post on here, because I didn’t want anyone at work to know about my covert job search. But last week, the proverbial cat was let out of the bag anyway, so now I am much more comfortable posting on this blog without concern that someone might stumble upon it. I’m not making a grand announcement to everyone “Hey, I quit my job last week” but they’ll all figure it out soon enough.

The short version of my life is that I grew up poor (not destitute, but in a lower income single mother household) and the value of education and money were instilled in me as a child. I grew up and knew that I needed to go to college in order to make a better life for myself, which I did. I also knew that I needed to be responsible with finances in order to have options. I’ve never desired to be rich in a materialistic sense, but I fully recognize that I am in the top 1% of the world’s wealth by virtue of my education, profession, and the country in which I live.

I came to know God in 2004, and it changed my life in big and small ways. In 2006, I led a mission trip down to indigenous people in the rainforests of Argentina. It was the worst poverty I had (and frankly, have) ever seen. I was talking to Yvan last week about our first trip, and with no prepping I asked him what the single image is from our first trip to Argentina that he can’t get out of his mind’s eye, and he accurately described the exact image that I was picturing when I asked the question: the young boy on the side of the road with the distended belly and unbearable malnourishment. I returned to the materialism of Orange County with anger, guilt, and an understanding that God was calling me to do something. That was definitely the start, but it has been a slow process.

In 2007, God called me (on very short notice) to Kenya. I had felt a pull to Sub-Saharan Africa in 2006, but the team I was leading pretty much told me that if I was leading to Africa, I was leading no one. Looking back, I know Argentina was the right move and God has blessed that decision many times. But Africa felt right from the very beginning. Beautiful faces and beautiful land intermingled with harsh realities of AIDS, orphans, malaria, street kids, and glue boys. I had thought about quitting my job after Argentina and moving to South America to build water towers (finally, my family and professors would be proud that I was using my chemical engineering degree!). But I took smaller steps instead to reallocate my resources and give more to projects where God was doing good work. In Kenya, Pastor Steve reassured me “Tash, sometimes you have to do what you have to do in order to be able to do what you want to do.” Simple, profound, and true. So I returned home from Kenya and didn’t quit my job. Instead, I worked hard to save money and I immediately signed up for the next Kenya trip. I had a birthday party and showed slides of the great ministries in Kenya, asking people to support those programs instead of buying me gifts. I tried to make people aware of life outside of our little bubble here in southern California. That sustained me for a while.

In 2008, Kenya’s post-election violence forced the cancelation of our trip to Kenya. So God called me back to Argentina again. The second trip was rougher, in a lot of ways. But it was incredible, too. We worked with two local churches and served as the hands and feet of God while we assisted with the building of a church in one of the indigenous communities. We encouraged the local pastors in their own outreach initiatives. We continued to lay the foundation for future teams. In April of this year, another team returned, the first team to take resources with them. They installed a water purification system, and another team is heading back this weekend. It’s humbling to see how God used us to lay the groundwork for what is turning into big God work. Anyway, after the second trip to Argentina, I felt those familiar stirrings in my soul. My manager sensed it, too, and must have viewed me as a flight risk because I was granted some “retention” stock shortly thereafter. All the while, I was growing more uncomfortable with my comfortable life. Aside from my travel budget, I tried to do more to live simply in an area not known for simplicity.

Earlier this year, I lived in Ghana for a month. That was the tipping point, and I sense that there is no turning back. All of my previous trips and experiences were building up, and my time in Ghana pushed me over the top. I loved the slower pace of life, the focus on relationships, the overt faith. I came back to the US and was depressed. I’ve grown increasingly annoyed with my life, and I feel spoiled by the things I have. For example, I have a cake transporter that is wonderful when I bake a cake from scratch. I can place two round cakes, frosting in the middle, on the platter and easily transport it to the party. But I don’t use it often enough to warrant its space in my life, and I want to give it to someone who will use it regularly. Multiply that across my life, and you get a sense of the discomfort I have in my life. My life feels cluttered, physically and emotionally, and my desire for simplicity is a constant tug.

When I started running the numbers a few months ago on what it would look like (financially) if I move to Ghana, it was liberating. I was able to let go of my concerns about savings account balance, credit rating, salary, and more. It was intoxicating to think that I could do something completely different with my life. I started dreaming about life in Ghana (or, perhaps I never stopped dreaming about it since the day I left). All the while, I grew more and more uncomfortable in my life here. Not just uncomfortable with my life, but uncomfortable in my life – almost as if I am living a life that was made for someone else, so it doesn’t quite “fit.” I’ve been thinking and journaling a lot. (I wish I could say I have been praying more than journaling…) The feeling hasn’t subsided in the last five months. So Monday, I told my manager that (1) I’m officially stepping off the executive track; (2) I’m done with my job; and (3) if I don’t find a different job that feels right for me by January, I’ll be unemployed and I’ll have plenty of time to figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life.

The responses have ranged from encouragement to shock. Even my closest friends reacted with excitement coupled with some sentiment of “You did WHAT?” My Godfather at work was literally speechless when I told him. Eventually, he told me he wants me to be comfortable with my decision and to pursue my passions, and he agreed to do what he can to help me. Some people definitely think I am crazy for spending 20 years to get somewhere, and then deciding that I don’t want to be here. But I think it’s better to decide that now than in 20 MORE years! Other people think I’m crazy for leaving a good job with a stable company while the economy performs a meltdown all around me. Why purposely make a decision that could easily lead to financial insolvency? I don’t have an answer that is going to satisfy those of you asking me those questions. All I know is that within a matter of months, my comfortable life has been shattered. And it’s beautifully broken.

I don’t know where I am going, or what I am doing, but I do know I am moving. Somewhere. To do something. Either a job that’s more fulfilling or a job that enables me to live a life that is more fulfilling. I’m sure that God is going to let me in on His plan at some point. In the meantime, I’m oing to focus on being ready. God is calling me, and I’m finally brave enough to listen. I heard a quote earlier this year that said something like “The question is not, Is God going to successfully mold me into the woman He has called me to be? The question is rather, How bad is it going to hurt?” I am finally to a point of genuine surrender, whatever that might mean. It’s terrifying, frankly, for this girl who learned as a child that I better be in control or the chaos would spin out of control. But it feels so very right that I can no longer deny it. God has brought me a long way! And, in the words of Mary Mary, “I don’t believe He brought me this far to leave me.” These are some faith-building days in my life.

I don’t know whether the next step in my journey is Ghana, I should know more about that possibility next week. What I do know is that Ghana was the turning point in my life. Ironic that a country known for its oppressive slave trade has become symbolic of liberation in my own life. I also know that Kenya planted seeds much earlier, seeds that sprouted this year and are growing like crazy. Hence the title of this blog. Asante, Kenya, and Medaase, Ghana! Hopefully I’ll see you soon :)

P.S. After reading the comments of people, I realized that I didn’t effectively articulate a really important piece of this year. For any of you who read this blog while I was in Ghana, you know how much I loved my life there. Then I came back to my life in Orange County and it was like a slap in the face. I kept thinking that the sting (of said slap) would subside, but it never did. I realized that having hot water whenever I want it is nice, but not at the expense of real relationships. Living in a beautiful condo is a blessing, but not at the expense of contemplative thoughts. Making a good salary with a stable company in a challenging economy is great, but not at the expense of the things that really make up a life. The cake analogy was a bad one, but the point was that all the “trappings of success” felt unimportant once I returned from Ghana. The good life in Ghana helped me realize that the life I made for myself here was really just a rat race.

I wish I could say that I surrendered to God’s will for my life because I knew it was the right thing to do, because I love Him, because He has changed my life. Those things are true, but I really took the big step because I have been feeling miserable. And all the while, God has been tying up loose ends on my life here, so I know it’s time to leave. I truly don’t know what’s next, but I finally got to the point where I trust that God does have a plan for me, and I need to yield to it even though I have no idea what it is. I am confidant that the next step (whatever it is) moves me in the direction of becoming the woman that God has called me to be. Thanks again for your support and encouragement!

Thoughts about Ghana, nearly 3 months later

It’s been a while since I posted here, but I wanted to post today because I have a few things to say about Ghana and Takoradi.

First, a new video that our team started in Ghana and finally finished a few weeks ago:


Another IBM team just left Takoradi this weekend. There were 11 or 12 of them (there had only been 8 of us) and they lived in the same place (Valley Beach Hotel), working at different companies. I followed their blogs every weekend and one of the guys from Italy wrote about “African time.” Here was the comment I left for him because he specifically wrote “We're so lucky, our life is so much better, we all think. But are we so sure of that? How can we tell?” and I felt compelled to respond:

While many Americans and Europeans grow frustrated with
the concept of African time, I quite enjoyed not being a slave
to time. I live and work in southern California, and having
been home from Ghana for a few months, I am still trying
to figure out how to make my life less of a "rat race."
Each time I go to Africa, I have similar feelings of "We're
so lucky, our life is so much better, we all think. But are
we so sure of that? How can we tell?" I have "concluded"
(too strong a word, but the best I have) that East and West
Africans have it right: they value people over possessions
and relationships over results, and in the end that's more
important than what most of us consistently strive to
attain. I'd sacrifice some of the creature comforts (not
all!) for more real life. And I think that next time I go
to Africa, I may never leave.

Finally, I had to laugh when I read some of the blogs. They were talking about their overall experiences in Takoradi, Ghana, living exactly where I lived (one of them probably lived in my room!). You know how when you fall in love with someone, you wear rose-colored glasses and you don’t notice his/her faults, or you notice them but they don’t annoy you? After you guys have read how much I loved Takoradi, I just had to paste some blog entries from the IBMers who live/work in North America:

* Driving in Takoradi is reminiscent of watching a very complicated ballet – one that Barishnekov himself would be proud of. There are traffic lights on virtually all of the corners of downtown Takoradi, but none of them work. Not one. And nobody with whom I spoke could ever remember when or if they ever did. Rather than approaching this as we do in the West (treat as a 4-way stop, allow those on the right to proceed first), the residents all plow straight into the intersection as if it were a round-about (traffic circle). Right of way is established by a series of nods, waves, and gentle & friendly toots on the horn. At any given time in downtown you will hear several car horns tooting. This seemingly chaotic approach seems to work very well – I saw no accidents while I was there, and there was traffic all the time.
* Goats are everywhere. They wander casually through the streets and the back alleys. Together with chickens, they are domesticated and roam freely throughout the city. Unlike dogs, however, these cute little goats that you see frolicking in the streets will soon be dinner for some family.
* To me, it is like I have stepped back in time to between the 1950s and the 1970s (depending on the situation).
* The local television stations cannot get the sound mixing right – the sound is either deafeningly loud, or so soft that you have to turn the volume up to maximum just to hear what they are saying. This becomes a problem when you switch the station to one with the sound mixed in the opposite way – you effectively blow the TV speakers and your ear drums out.
* The telephones (land lines) are push button, but when you press a number (like 7, for example), it will make the sound as if you had dialled it on a rotary dial phone. It is exactly as I remember it when we switched from rotary to push-button phones in the late 1970s. A more modern example is that of mobile phones. Blackberries and iPhones are not really prevalent here but everyone seems to have snazzy cell phones. Most people, however, appear to have 2 and sometimes even 3 mobile phones. The primary reason for this, as it was explained to me, was that no one provider is consistent or reliable enough, so you need to rely on more than one provider. Each provider requires you to carry different hardware.
* The service industry is as it was in North America in the 1970s. People are very friendly, but they do not anticipate or predict what a customer may want. Srini likes hot milk with his morning coffee. We stayed at the hotel for over 3 weeks, and after the second or third request, one would expect that hot milk would be provided automatically for him. Every morning for three weeks, without fail, Srini had to request his hot milk for his coffee. Every three or four days, corn flakes were put out for those who wished to have them for breakfast. No milk, though. Every single time the Corn Flakes were serviced we had to request that a jug of milk also be put out - it was not done automatically. This is not a knock against the hotel – this is pervasive throughout the country, and the hotel is just one example.
* Things are generally inexpensive in Takoradi, but trying to get change from a purchase can be a painful experience. The bank machines give out money in 20, 10, and 5 Ghana Cedi notes, but it doesn’t help much. If you try to pay for anything with a 20 or 10 Cedi note, you will struggle to find merchants who can easily give you change. Taxi drivers, restaurant wait staff, downtown merchants, at museum gates, or with tour guides – you name it, they all struggle to find correct change. They do not open for business with a mindset that they will need to provide change.

I supposed those comments offer you a more realistic view of Takoradi than my own love letters did :) I enjoyed it so much there that these minor inconveniences didn’t at all detract from the joy I experienced there. I am still wistful, and optimistic that I’ll be able to get back there some day soon. The best word I have is that I felt CHERISHED when I lived in Ghana.

Good Friday

Yesterday was Good Friday, which I think is appropriate because it’s bittersweet. Obviously, no one was THINKING that it was Good when, two thousand years ago, Jesus was crucified. But as I reflect on Good Friday, I remember that God truly does work all things for the good for His children. I also recognize that life is often bittersweet, in that usually my life is full of blessings while it has some sad moments and challenges. I have found that my life is never all sad or all good, there are usually aspects of both that encourage me to focus on the good.

I was feeling the “bitter” and the “sweet” of my life all week. I had a reunion phone call with the IBM team with whom I lived in Ghana. It was wonderful to hear everyone’s voices and to catch up, but it was also sad to realize that we may never all be in the same place at the same time again. The beginning of our call was lively and exciting, and after we caught up then we all kind of turned to nostalgia for Takoradi, missing Ghana, and sadness that our trip was over.

I took my final anti-malaria pill yesterday, a tangible reminder that my African adventure (this one, at least) is truly over. I also took my braids out, a bittersweet occasion all to itself (sadness that they’re gone and excitement to get my scalp washed). I feel so grateful for having had the experience, but I am also sad that it ended. To tame the “bitter” I am focusing on the many sweet memories I created, which I will treasure forever. I am constantly reminded that I am a blessed woman.

Over the last 10 days since being back in southern California, I waver between feeling disconnected and feeling loved. I am so glad that my friends have rallied around me to remind me that I am treasured, because the transition has been more challenging than I expected. I’ve been through this cultural readjustment before (returning from missions trips) but this time has been more difficult than I imagined. My closest friends are calling and texting me regularly to check on me and make sure I am doing okay. I was in a funk for the first week and I knew that I had a 50/50 chance to either come out of it or to dip into a depression, and I’ve done everything I can to stack the deck in my favor.

I have intentionally been out with friends every night, even at the expense of getting my condo and life back in order. I am grateful for all the warm and loving “welcome homes” I have received. And I’ve enjoyed seeing how God is using people and circumstances to send me love on a daily and hourly basis, when I need it most. Thanks to all of you for letting God use you to remind me that He loves me! I’ve also been thrilled that so many friends from out of town have ended up being here over the last week, giving me plenty of opportunities to hang out with people who I love and miss.

As with anything in life, I return a different person. And I have a feeling that this experience is going to be a defining moment in my life. I don’t yet exactly know how, but I do know that I am already changed, that I want to change, and that I am still changing. I am eager to see how God uses this in my life, and I trust that He will work it all for the good.

The two videos

For those of you who are having a tough time finding the videos amidst all the other text, here are the links to the videos. Each video has music, pictures, and some words to help narrate. Enjoy!

Ghana video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFXE41LagS0

South Africa Safari video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9z3yC3M_cGs

Video from my South African Safari

Okay, since I’ve been up for so long, I might as well finish these posts, right? First, let me say Happy Birthday, Sis! I’ll call you later today.

We’ve already established (elsewhere in this blog) that I am pretty lousy at goodbyes. But something in me tells me that this Africa blog isn’t done yet :)

The last six weeks in Africa (Ghana and South Africa) were an incredible blessing and I am so grateful to have had the experience. Truthfully, I am a little depressed to be gone from Africa, but making these two videos (scroll down to the bottom of the April page for my Ghana video) has been a nice reminder of the people who made the trip so special. I hope you enjoy the blog, the pictures, and the videos! Thanks for supporting me and joining me for this wild ride.

For now, here is my South African Safari video:


Blessings to you all!

Final day in South Africa

Warthogs woke me this morning.


And Morris delivered my cheetah on our last drive! On our very first day, he asked what I would like to see and I requested a male lion and a cheetah. On our first drive, he showed me a male lion, and on our last drive he showed me not just one cheetah, but four!!! A mama with two boys, and a lone female. They were beautiful, and I was very excited. Morris is awesome!




We also saw rhino, zebra, giraffes, wildebeest (and a carcass from last week), elephants, African hawk eagle, baboons, impala, and more.

I packed up and checked out of Shiduli, and Dylan came to fetch me. We had a nice time on the 6-hour drive through the Drakensburg mountains back down to Johannesburg, and he had me crying with laughter as he told me about his tough day yesterday that culminated in a honey badger stealing his dinner. The Drakensburg range juts up several thousand feet from a grassy plain below, so the drive offered wonderful views. At one point, we were stopped (lots of roadwork underway in preparation for the 2010 World Cup) so we bought some homemade marula beer from a woman on the side of the road. Someone suggested I try it before leaving, and Dylan obliged even though he cautioned me against it. As soon as I opened the bottle, his face soured at the smell. I took a sip, and he agreed to take a small taste, too. We both thought it was disgusting, so we screwed the lid back on and put it back on the side of the road so the lady could re-sell it.

We stopped for lunch in Dullstrom (home of South Africa’s highest railway station at 6811 feet above sea level) at a great place called Harrie’s pancakes, where we each had a savory pancake before splitting a sweet one for dessert. My savory pancake was delicious, and the easiest description would be to say it was a thai burrito wrapped in a pancake instead of a tortilla. Don’t knock it until you try it :) I’m still impressed with the quality (clean, nice) of the public toilets in South Africa. We stopped at one this afternoon and there were flowers on the counter. Wonderful! While I was in the ladies room, Dylan went in and bought me jelly babies so I could try them before leaving. The name and package make me laugh, but the oddest thing is that the candies are actually shaped like babies (belly buttons, diapers, and all). I tried each of the 6 flavors, and pineapple was my favorite. I told him “these candies are wrong in so many ways” and he just laughed.

This blog really should end with Dylan dropping me off at the airport so I could catch my two long flights back to southern California, but I must share one new experience I had on the first leg of my flight (Johannesburg to Amsterdam). After some technical difficulties (not sure what, they never told us), we backed away from the gate and within a few minutes the pilot announced overhead that a passenger had been “cruel” to the flight attendants so we’d be turning around and returning him to the gate. Evidently, the guy was drunk and berated a flight attendant, so they kicked him off the plane before we even left. In the end, our flight was delayed over an hour, but I had a long enough layover in Amsterdam that it didn’t affect my connection at all. Also, sleep deprivation over the last week definitely has its upside! I slept for 8 hours on the flight and felt great heading into the second half. On the last 10 hours of the flight, I read and made these videos.

I made it to LAX this afternoon and now it’s 5am and I still can’t get to sleep. I have to work today, so it will be a long day… No matter, it was well worth it!

Last Full Day in Shiduli

I woke up this morning to the sound of an animal that I can’t identify. Maybe a rhino? Our morning drive was wonderful. I am amazed at how different each game drive is. Shiduli is a private game lodge situated in the Karongwe Game Reserve (which is a 20,000 acre private reserve that serves five private lodges). We rarely run into any other vehicles on our game drives, so it really does feel private. Morris knows the rangers at the other lodges, so they communicate via radio when one of them spots certain animals.

This offers a very different experience than Kruger, and I like them both. At Kruger, we slowly meandered around and would happen upon animals. (I have heard that Kruger can get very busy, but Dylan and I rarely felt crowded.) Here, Morris drives around and spots animals, but we rely less on the element of serendipity. Sometimes, we’re in hot pursuit of an animal (i.e., last night we needed to get to the rhinos before dark, and today we heard from the other ranger that the lions were in a specific area so we drove quickly over to that area).

This morning, we saw bushbabies (we saw their eyes the other night in the dark), impala, giraffes, kudu, duiker, wildebeest, hippos, terrapin, and probably more animals that I forgot. (I am embarrassed to admit that with all the animals I have seen, some of the drives and days are blurring together. What a blessing, right?)

The highlights of the morning drive for me were the rhinos, elephants, and lions. We found the rhino family again this morning, which is exactly what I wished for last night. We saw them this morning at dusk, so we watched them while the sun came up. The baby girl is so cute, and she didn’t have a name. We have seen this family for the last three days, so I asked Morris if we could name her. He agreed, and at that time she was eager to get her mom to move along (she kept rubbing against her mom, then walking away and hoping she would follow). I asked what the Tsonga word is for “eager” and he said “Longi-la” (not sure of the spelling) so I named her Longi-La.


When Paul radioed Morris to tell us he found a lion family, we started driving quickly over to the area. Along the way, we passed through a herd of elephants and they were not very relaxed (Morris said they can smell the lions, so were agitated). One of the elephants trumpeted and charged towards us, so we had to get out of there quickly. That was definitely the most excitement I’ve had so far on a drive. He chased us for a while but finally stopped (maybe he knew that chasing us would bring us closer to the lions). Seeing what the elephants do to trees here makes me want to not have them use their trunks or tusks on our vehicle! Morris and I laughed at the end.


We did finally find the lions. There were two cubs (10-months in age) and they were frolicking while their parents were out hunting. Morris tells me that even though the lions are getting large, they still don’t know how to hunt very well and might get killed by a zebra (they stick their heads in a bush and kick backwards hard with both feet) or giraffe because they wouldn’t attack the prey in the right place. So instead, they stay behind to play while mom and dad look for food. They climbed in (and nearly fell out of) a tree; they wrestled; and they played with each other. It was enjoyable to watch them have so much fun!



At one point on our drive, we were on a very narrow trail and had been driving for a while. As we rounded a corner, a tree was blocking the road (probably an elephant knocked it over). We couldn’t turn around easily, and backing all the way out was not an option. Luckily, our Land Rover was full today (Morris, his mate, Marcus, and 5 of us including 2 men). First, Morris and his mate tried. Next, Marcus joined. Finally, the two guys jumped out and they all moved the tree. It was great.

This afternoon, I sat around the pool under an umbrella and read. I also listened to a sermon (an old one on iTunes). Earlier this week, a lioness killed a warthog right here, and she broke the electric fence in the process so there were warthogs at the lodge today. They crouch on their “elbows” when they eat grass, which looks silly and vulnerable.

On the afternoon drive, we saw many birds (including bee eaters), butterflies, and animals (bushbuck, jackals, wildebeest, impala). We saw the largest herd of giraffes I have seen (a dozen giraffes), and we saw an iguana-like creature called a water monitor. Morris got out of the truck today to follow some cheetah tracks (I asked him the first day if we could find a cheetah), but he wasn’t able to find the cheetah for me yet. This evening, we saw night jars (birds that prefer to be out at night), too.

The highlight of the evening drive was finding the big daddy lion. He has a lush black mane, two wives, and three children. He got his grub on yesterday with the warthog, so he’s still digesting all that food. He weighs 280 kg (!) and was lazy today trying to digest his huge meal. At one point, it was dark and we were parked 10 feet from him and he called for his wife. It was great, and the only other thing he could have done for me was to roar. But being that close, I might have been really scared if he had roared. Dylan’s book says a lion’s roar can be heard for 5km!

I learned that Shiduli means termite mound, and that there are macro and micro termites. Macro termites are photosensitive and live in the huge hills we see everywhere, and inside is a fungus that helps process the food that termites can’t digest. The mounds also produce mushrooms after rains, which I am told are delicious. For dinner, we had mushroom pesto as a starter and someone asked if it was termite mushrooms :)

First day in Shiduli

After four hours of sleep, I woke up and couldn’t get back to sleep. I was ready by the time Morris called to wake me up, so I headed down to the dining area for tea (rooibos, of course) and rusks. The morning drive was bookended by hippos with lions in the middle. We saw a baby hippo running before the sun came up, and we ended our drive at a dam where we watched five hippos playing in the water. In the middle, we watched a family of lions (mom, dad, and three cubs). Dad laid around the whole time, only one time sitting up to yawn and then fall back over for the rest of the time. It was great to watch.

The tourist group from France left right after breakfast, so I had the entire resort to myself until this afternoon when a half dozen new people arrived. Even though I was tired, I decided not to sleep and instead I sat under a huge umbrella at the pool, listening to the waterfall while I read a book that I’ve been trying read for months.

Our afternoon game drive was fantastic! Morris looks at animal droppings and tracks to help us find the animals. We saw wildebeest, warthog, and a herd of zebra right away, than saw impala and kudu before seeing jackals scare some baby giraffes. The adult giraffes weren’t concerned with the jackals, but their little ones ran scared.

We also saw a lot of different birds (including red-billed and yellow-bird hornbills, martial eagle, and a magpie shrike). I learned from Morris that hornbill dads put the mom and babies in a hole, seal it with dung, and then go out to get them food. It sounds good, except that if anything happens to dad while he’s out looking for food for the family, the whole family dies because mom can’t get out of the hole.

For me, the best part today was the elephants, because we saw the same herd as yesterday and today they flirted and played with us. Morris would back up, they would follow. He was very careful to ensure we never ended up in the middle of the herd with no way out (especially since one of the males is known to attack Land Rovers), but the elephants came within feet of us. It was really a pleasure to be there with them, even though we had to leave when one of the teenage elephants trumpeted at us because he was getting annoyed. After another beautiful sunset, we saw a family of rhinos (mom, dad, and a 4-month old baby girl). I hope to see them again tomorrow in the light, because that baby was adorable!

I was looking at the stars (they are just amazing here, and I’m still awestruck by the Milky Way) again tonight and Marcus showed me Leo and the Southern Cross, among others. The heavens truly do declare the glory of God! For now, I am off to bed early because I didn’t get to nap today. I have some daddy long legs and lizards living in the room with me, but I don’t mind because that means I probably won’t see any spiders. Life is good, I am blessed. Oh, and even though they’re manky (that’s the South African term for raggedy) now, I still adore my braids and the way I can just tie them up for the game drives.

Leaving Kruger National Park

I woke up just after 4am (my neighbors were noisy as they left camp) so I was packed and ready to go early today. We headed out while it was still dark and as the sun rose we saw all the mist in the air. Three days in a row now, we’ve seen hyenas, and this morning we saw some pups and a pregnant mother. We stopped at a hide over Lake Panic (I’d like to know how it got its name) and watched the peaceful lake while the fog rolled away. We saw a hippo sleeping, we saw a stork eating, and as we left the lake we saw Nyala (a type of antelope) for the first time.

We were on a mission to see cats today, specifically leopards, lions (a big male), and cheetahs. While I haven’t seen a cheetah yet, I did see leopard and a pride of lions today. The leopard was especially fulfilling, because we’ve been scanning trees for leopards for the last two days. Today, the leopard we saw was small and she was interested in us, so she came literally within 10 feet of us and stared at us the whole time. It was so cool! She was beautiful.


Dylan has trained me to see animals, and I am making progress but of course he’s much better than me. He saw a herd of zebras that I struggled to see even with the binoculars! We saw zebras, elephants, and giraffes today. He is letting me identify the gender of the giraffes we see, and it made me laugh today when we approached a giraffe and he asked “Do you want to sex that one, too?” I explained that it would sound better if he asked me to identify the gender instead. Another funny time today was when he had to break out his Leatherman to open my bottle of water. I appreciated his effort and commitment so much, but the whole situation was so funny that I was crying with laughter. Yesterday, he was convinced that a hippo was a rock (it turned out to be a hippo) and today he was convinced that a rock was a leopard (wishful thinking).

We left Kruger through Phabeni Gate (a new gate, constructed in 2002) and made our way towards Shiduli. We passed through Blyde River Canyon, seeing the 3 Rondavels, and stopping at God’s Window and Bourke’s Luck Potholes. God’s Window is incredible, and it feels like the top of the world. Just amazing, sweeping views. I can’t imagine how anyone could stand up there and not believe in a magnificent, mighty, and majestic God. As is so often the case, pictures don’t do it justice.


After God’s Window, we stopped to see Bourke’s Luck Potholes, which we really enjoyed. They are a chain of fascinating (and huge) potholes that were scoured into the rock by sand and stones flowing through two rivers.



After passing through a mountain tunnel that Dylan told me was the longest he’s ever seen (for the record, I think it might be the shortest mountain tunnel I’ve ever seen, so we laughed about that), we arrived at Shiduli. This private lodge (www.shidulilodge.co.za) will be my home for the next few days. Dylan dropped me off and went to go visit his uncle and grandparents.

As I mentioned before, Pierre did a great job organizing this trip for me. As part of that, he saved the best accommodations for last. When I arrived today, the manager greeted me by name before I even introduced myself. Turns out they are booked solid today: me plus a tour of 29 people from France that was going to arrive later. They greeted me with a scented towel to freshen up and then offered me some delicious iced tea with a grape in the bottom of the champagne glass. My room is very nice and the grounds are beautiful. This is truly a luxury resort, and a great way to unwind for a few days after the hectic pace of the last two months. My thatched room doesn’t have a clock (or cell phone coverage or internet access), so my personal ranger Morris calls me to wake me up and to invite me to game drives. I’m still feeling like a princess in Africa :)

After lunch (seriously, the amount of food is out of control, especially since there is no exercise on safari), I got settled into my room and unloaded the pictures from our morning game drive before heading out for the afternoon/evening game drive. The hotel staff keeps reminding me that the French tour is only here for 20 hours, and that it will be “normal” again as soon as they leave. They seem friendly, but I understand what the staff means because on our afternoon game drive, I was really missing the silence that Dylan and I usually share. Their camaraderie is great, but the incessant chatter makes it difficult to enjoy the Bush and its own sounds. The good news is that it helps remind me of the French I so long ago lost.

Pierre told me that the private lodge would be a very different experience than the public Kruger experience, and he was right. I can’t say which I prefer, but they are very different and I feel fortunate that he was wise enough to ensure that I have both on this single trip (while staying within my time, money, and location constraints). I can’t adequately explain the difference in seeing the animals, but it’s very different. Kruger enabled me to see lots of animals, and the private lodge is allowing me to see their behavior better. Kruger has paved roads and dirt roads, but we’re not allowed to go off-road. Here, it’s a private reserve so the Land Rovers can do what they want. We’ve crossed rivers and literally driven into bushes and over small trees. It’s great!


The Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland is one of my all-time favorite rides, and safari in an open Land Rover is a million times better! There are more golden orb spiders here than even in Kruger, and their gold webs are intricate and beautiful throughout the reserve. Often, we have to stop and let Morris’s mate move the web so we can drive through. (They’re very big spiders, but not scary because they don’t bite humans.)

On the afternoon game drive, I saw baboon, warthogs, impala, kudu, giraffe, elephants, rhinos, and lions. We saw a herd of ~15 elephants, which was wonderful. We sat there in our Land Rover for a while and watched them eat before demolishing the trees. Their immense size allows them to knock over huge trees with apparently no effort. Amazing to be so close to see and hear them (even when a big elephant relieved himself, both ways). We saw a family of three rhinos, including a baby. And we saw a pride of lions: dad has a black mane and there are three cubs. Being so close in an open vehicle is a great experience, even though I didn’t get good pictures because it was dusk. (A funny aside, one of the French guys was growling in an attempt to get the massive lion, laying 20 feet away, to look our direction. Um, we’re in an open vehicle with the engine off, and the lion can probably pounce from where he is to where we are. Needless to say, Morris stopped the guy’s stupid behavior right away.)

I have really enjoyed the sunsets in Africa. The colors, and the trees on the horizon, make the view spectacular. Tonight, I watched the sun dip behind a mountain while I sat in the middle of the bush. On our night drive, we saw a jackal. Morris also comes to fetch me and walks me to dinner, and tonight we had Moroccan and South African dinner around a fire under the stars. It was delicious, but the best part was the Shangaan-style singing and dancing after dinner.


The key benefit of the French tourists is that they pay extra to have a show after dinner, which I got to enjoy since I am here. So our hotel staff sang, drummed, and danced for 45 minutes after dinner. I loved it! One of my favorite things about Africa is the rhythm and harmony. The rhythm of life. The rhythm of music. The harmony of it all. How people can sing a capella at any given moment and have their songs stir my soul. How their music and dancing persuade my hips to move, too. I’m seriously wanting to move to Africa, and have been praying that God will make it clear for me so I can do His will and not my own.

Skukuza Camp in Kruger National Park

I slept well in my thatched roof hut last night, and woke up before dawn. On our way out of camp, we saw mongoose and I told Dylan that was a good sign of things to come. We had three routes to choose between, and I didn’t have a preference. We started out in one direction and less than a minute later, he felt like we should go in a completely different direction so we turned around. He was right!

Within minutes, we saw a pack of 5 wild dogs! There are only ~400 in all of Kruger, which is almost 7,580 square miles (larger than Israel, almost as large as Massachusetts) and Dylan hasn’t seen African wild dogs in over 5 years, so we were excited to see more than 1% of the whole population as the sun was rising. The dogs were on Dylan’s side, and he asked if I could smell them (we were less than 15 feet from them). I couldn’t, so I crawled across him to get closer. It was funny because then all I could smell was him (freshly showered) and when I said “I can only smell you” he thought I was telling him he smelled like a wild dog. I finally did smell the dogs, and I can’t really describe it except it’s kind of a cross between musty and dried blood?




In addition to the mongoose and wild dogs, we saw more hippos, elephants, giraffes, impala, kudu, bushbucks, hyenas, crocodiles, warthogs (aka Little Tuskers), another large herd of buffalo, squirrel, lizards, and bats. We saw a lot of birds today, including vultures, giant kingfisher, woodland kingfishers, ducks, Egyptian geese, stork, oxpeckers, and a bateleur eagle (whose name is derived from the French word for acrobat).


We are having fun on our drives. Most of the time we are silent, just listening to the sounds of the birds and insects while we look for interesting animals. Sometimes (especially when I am likely to fall asleep) we talk, about everything from domestic abuse to domestics (many people in South Africa have domestics aka maids). We’ve talked about differences and similarities between ZA and USA: food, eating habits, divorce rates, marriage age, language, nicknames, and more. And we always have some good laughs. Sometimes we think a rock or log is an animal (i.e., see the wood giraffe and real giraffes below):




Today, I announced that down a certain path I had seen either a hyena or a warthog (they look VERY different, so that was a random announcement but it turned out that it was a hyena). And we had a chuckle when I asked a question about whether a certain path was the same one we took yesterday afternoon, instead of saying “no” Dylan said “not really, but close” because he didn’t want to hurt my feelings.

I really enjoy the water pressure here in Skukuza, so I took the time to wash my braids this afternoon before the evening game drive. They’re in pretty good shape overall, except the roots look raggedy. My guess is that I typically lose ~100 hairs per day, but since they’re all braided together right now, the hairs fall out of my scalp but are stuck in the braid. As a result, the white bulb at the follicle (which I have never really noticed that much before) sticks out from the braid near the base of my scalp, and it kind of looks like dandruff, which isn’t so nice. I can pull them out (it doesn’t hurt, I pull it out of the braid since it has already come out of the scalp), but it’s a slow process because I have to pull each hair out one by one. So for now, I look like I have a crazy case of dandruff…. Nonetheless, the braids have been WONDERFUL and functional throughout Africa, and they were well worth the effort. I’ll just have to get them taken out as soon as I get home.

Our afternoon drive was low-key. We saw baboons that made us laugh (like always) and many of the animals that we’d already seen. We enjoyed ourselves, despite not finding the elusive cats. We had dinner under the stars (there are countless stars, and I can see the Milky Way so clearly) and topped it off with a small taste of Amarula (my fav drink since Geoff introduced it to me many years ago). We laughed about different words used in America and South Africa. My favorites so far are salty cracks (saltine crackers), robot (stop light), and jelly babies (a candy shaped like human babies, very strange to me). Dylan’s favorite is still charley horse. I also enjoy the use of “fancy” instead of “want” and “best” instead of “favorite.”

Lower Sabie To Skukuza

I slept in my tent to the sound of various animals, then Dylan woke me up before sunrise. We were packed and out of the camp before 6am and were treated to wonderful animal sightings right away. First, we saw wildebeest and then within 5 minutes we saw spotted hyenas. Since they’re scavengers, I expected them to be ugly with matted fur. Dylan says they do smell bad, but they looked nice this morning.


He is letting me a read a book published in 2007 about animals in the Kruger, so I am learning a lot as we go. For example, hyenas are capable of eating up to 1/3 of their body weight in a single sitting if they are hungry. Wow! Also, though hyenas are scavengers, they kill more than half the time in Kruger because there isn’t enough to scavenge. Females are larger and have more testosterone than the males, so they’re more aggressive and they dominate the social hierarchy.

More tidbits I’ve learned so far: Hippos account for more deaths in Africa than any other mammal, because they’re very aggressive (that lazy “yawn” we see is actually the hippo displaying its large teeth as a warning). Giraffes, with their long necks, have 7 vertebrae in their necks just like humans do. Today I was able to tell the difference between male and female giraffes by looking at their horns (not really horns, just nubs from the skull) with my binoculars: males are bald at the tip while females are fuzzy. Elephants have 6 sets of molars but they are only used one set at a time (if the last set wears down completely, the elephant will starve because it won’t be able to chew effectively), and they have the largest brain of any land animal.

For breakfast, we had tea and rusks (hard sweet biscuits that you dip in tea or coffee) and then later we had brunch (I had scrambled eggs, feta, and tomatoes stuffed in a pita) at Lower Sabie. Throughout our drive, we saw some of the same animals we saw yesterday (impala, warthogs, elephants, rhinos, zebras, buffalo, monkeys) and some new animals (hippos, crocodiles, turtles, giraffes, baboons, hyenas, kudu, and waterbucks). We also saw a lot of birds, including a martial eagle. My favorite are the rollers (lilac-breasted and others, they all have beautiful colors).

This afternoon, we headed out to find dogs and cats (African wild dogs, cheetahs, leopards, and big lions). The book says there are only 5,000 total African wild dogs in the world, and they’re considered one of the most endangered animals on earth but I have faith that we’ll see some. We just missed a lioness (but we heard the baboons barking to warn other animals) and are hoping to see the other animals tomorrow. We didn’t see any of them this afternoon despite our best efforts, and I think Dylan was sadder than I was because he wants me to have a fantastic trip, which I am. It also made us both appreciate how blessed we were to see so many animals yesterday. Tomorrow morning, I am sure we’ll see a lot of animals again.

On our afternoon game drive, I think the baboons were a highlight. Baboon babies are so cute, but the adult males are so ugly to me, especially since they tend to be really mean. Anyway, as the sun sets the baboons congregate in the roads because the blacktop stays warm longer. Baboons are not afraid or even concerned with cars. They lounge around, right in front of a car, eating rocks (I think they do this to clean their teeth?). It doesn’t sound that funny, but it really is quite amusing:


The cutest thing for me is the little babies, hanging on mom’s butt or belly, and wrestling with each other.


Female baboons, when in heat, have swollen rumps that look quite painful.


And please don't think I am perverted, but this is very bizarre to me. Vervet monkeys have blue testicles when they are ready to mate, which is strange because nothing else on their body is blue:


We had some good laughs today outside the baboons and monkeys, too. Dylan tells me my sneeze sounds like a hyena, and he also thinks the phrase “charley horse” for a calf cramp is very funny. He’s also amused that I had to shave my legs last night because his legs were better shaved than mine, and it was making me feel insecure.

For dinner, we decided to go to a restaurant called Selati, which is in an old train (Selati Railway line, never finished). I had line fish with monkey gland sauce (sounds gross, but it’s actually just a chutney and onion sauce, no monkey glands in it). I plan to get to bed soon because tomorrow we’re leaving again at 5:30am. Tonight’s accommodations for me are really nice (we’re staying in Skukuza, the largest camp in Kruger), because I have a toilet in my room instead of having to trek across a field with a flashlight. Moving on up! Pierre did a great job ensuring that my rooms will get better as my trip progresses.

Kruger National Park: Crocodile Bridge Camp

I booked a one-woman safari with FireFinch Safaris (www.firefinchsafaris.com) primarily because Pierre was helpful, responsive, honest, and he created a custom tour for my desires, interests, and budget. He always responded to emails within a day, and he took great care of all the logistics. He’s on a one-month training (living in Kruger) so Andria and Dylan have taken over for the last week. Andria did shopping and food preparation based on the food and drink preferences that Pierre requested from me. Pierre ensured that, having spent a month working in Ghana, I would have the things I need here that I couldn’t pack (flashlight, mosquito coil, extra bug repellent, binoculars). And Dylan (Pierre’s little brother, who loves the Bush and has spent most of his life in and around the Bush) is my guide, driver, cook, and companion for the trip. Throughout the planning of the trip, they have all been super communicative (via email and SMS), which I really appreciate. If the service pre-trip is indicative of how my safari will go, I am in for a real treat!

Dylan is not on African time, because he showed up early instead of late :) He picked me up and we headed to Kruger National Park so I can see the Big 5 (Buffalo, Elephant, Lion, Leopard, and Rhino) and other animals. He also told me about the Little 5 (Buffalo Weaver, Elephant Shrew, Ant Lion, Leopard Tortoise, and Rhino Beetle). We saw the terrain change between Joburg and Kruger, moving from Highveld to Lowveld (“veld” is the Afrikaans word for grasslands). The maize (which they call mielle) turned to citrus farms, banana farms, and sugar farms. We stopped for lunch in Nelspruit and made it to Crocodile Bridge Camp at ~2:30pm.


After unpacking, we headed out for our first game drive. Dylan wasn’t sure what we would see, but I was optimistic that we’ll see the Big 5 on this trip. He said only one time ever (he’s lived here his whole life) has he seen the Big 5 in a single day, and he comes here several times per month. I can’t reduce my South African Safari to a desire to see the Big 5, but I do hope to see them as part of my trip. We didn’t see the Big 5 today, but we did see 4 of the 5 on our first 3-hour game drive! First we saw wildebeest, then impala, then elephants (including a calf). We saw some beautiful birds, including bright blue starling, brown snake eagle, Wahlberg’s eagle, vulture (not beautiful), lilac-breasted roller (called roller because they roll in the air when they fly), guinea fowl (which are cute with blue heads and I don’t think I’ll eat again), hornbills, and lots of franklins. We saw warthogs and white rhinos (all rhinos are grey in color, but white rhinos have square lips to graze on grass, and are generally bigger because they are actually wide rhinos) but haven’t seen any black rhinos (very rare, smaller, aggressive, and hook lips because they are browsers).

Dung beetles lay their eggs in dung (usually elephant, rhino, or buffalo) and roll it into a ball (the size of a golf ball). They stand on their front legs and roll the dung ball backwards with their back legs like a wheelbarrow, and then they bury the ball so the eggs hatch. Sounds crazy, but actually quite interesting and dare I say cute. Ant hills and termite hills here typically have trees growing out of them, because impalas and other antelope will eat seeds and then do their thing on ant hills, so their droppings provide a great place for seeds to germinate. Centipedes are called shongalolo, which is a fun name.

We saw vervet monkeys, and they were running away so we looked and saw three lion cubs! They were adorable, but their mom must have been out hunting because we never saw her. Dylan says he’s not satisfied until we see a male lion, but I was thrilled to see lions on our first day. We needed to rush back to camp after watching the lions (gates close at 6:30pm) and saw a group of zebras on the roadside. The landscape was breathtaking as the sun was setting, as both sides of the horizon were ablaze with purple and the trees looked incredible. Our rush back to camp was halted with the largest herd of buffalo Dylan has ever seen. There were at least 300 buffalo, and they were leisurely crossing the road so we couldn’t drive. We waited almost 20 minutes for the buffalo to cross (we couldn’t drive through them because a bull could charge our truck and do some serious damage to the truck and us). We waited patiently and finally were able to drive through, making it back to camp just in time.

Right now, Dylan is making braai (he’s barbecuing dinner for us) while I sit outside our tents and ask him loads of questions to make sure I have the animals right. He’s making potatoes, butternut squash stuffed with feta and spinach, salad with avocado, and kebabs (called sosatie, mine made of chicken). Everything is made on the braai except the salad.

Current score on Day 1 of the one-woman safari: We’ve seen 4 of the Big 5. Even better, Dylan doesn’t laugh at me when I refer to The Lion King. So far we’ve seen Pumbaa (warthog), Zazu (hornbill), Nala and Simba (lion cubs). We will likely also see hyenas, a male lion (Mufasa), and maybe meerkat (Timon), but not Rafiki.

Johannesburg, South Africa

I blogged every day in South Africa, but didn't have internet access so I wasn't able to post them. I'll post them all this week, in the order I wrote them. Here is the first one:

Bill picked me up at the airport at 7am, even after he had a late night himself the previous evening (thanks for everything, Bill, you’re the best!). We made it to his house, where I took a shower and planned to rest. After I had showered, I wasn’t tired so we had lunch (first time I had salad in a month) at Nando’s and headed through downtown Joburg to the Apartheid Museum. The museum was very interesting, and I learned a lot. In the beginning, we entered through separate entrances (he entered through the white gate, I entered through the non-European gate) and we were actually separated – I could see him but couldn’t get into the section where he was. In addition to background of how South Africa came to be populated (Dutch settlers, Indian servants, native Africans), the museum gave good insight about how Apartheid came into existence. There was also a nice room honoring Helen Suzeman and an exhibition on Nelson Mandela. There were parts of the museum that were downright depressing, but the ending was encouraging and I was really glad we went.

Bill’s family and I joined Cynthia and Gary for Indian food at dinner, and we called it a night early since I was still tired from my journey. Sunday morning, Percy picked me up and the four of us (Cynthia, Gary, Percy, and I) went to the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site. The Cradle is over 115,000 acres. We started with Maropeng (www.maropeng.co.za), which is a very nice exhibition that opened in ~2005. I saw Mrs. Ples and other fossils, learned about the history of our world, and saw evidence that the whole human race started in Africa. It was interesting, and higher tech than I expected. The end also had a political slant, in a good way, talking about poverty, education, natural resources, and more. I especially enjoyed that part.


After Maropeng, we went to Sterkfontein Caves (www.sterkfontein.co.za, means something like Strong Fountain/Waterfall in Afrikaans) and saw where Little Foot is being excavated. We also saw stalactites and stalagmites, and other rock structures (one that looks like an elephant), and an underground lake.


In terms of animals, I saw a springbok (a jumping buck, like a deer) and some ostriches. I learned that the South African rugby team are the Springboks and the cricket team are the Protea (which is a flower that I haven’t seen yet). We had Thai food for dinner. All in all, it was a great day.

Monday, I went to Diepsloot (a poor township, aka squatter’s camp, where people live in 10’x5’ shacks assembled from scrap metal, wood, plastic and cardboard, even sometimes lacking running water) to help teach the 3rd graders English. (Joburg public school students start learning English in 3rd grade.) My table of students had 6 black South African kids, some with names that were easy for me (a girl named Miranda and a boy named Kelly), some that were straightforward (a boy named Ntando), and one little Zulu girl whose name I can’t even pronounce. It is spelled Sinenhlanhla and the “nhl” is a click sound that I can’t make. I tried several times and she laughed, but I never did get it right despite getting close. I had a nice time and the kids really appreciated the one-on-one attention because the classes are ~60 kids per teacher. As I saw in Kenya, since education is a privilege and not a right, the kids were very happy to be there and well-behaved despite the overcrowded classroom.

After Diepsloot, I went to the township of Alexandra. Jenise’s friend Lance is a civil engineer working on the redevelopment of Alex (www.alexandra.co.za), so he gave me a great tour. Alex is 2 square miles (~1 mile x 2 miles) and was designed for ~70,000 people but today there are more than 700,000 people so the population density is unreal. It is much cleaner than I expected because there are port-a-potties and many of the shacks (6-10 people living in a ~15’x20’ room) have running water. It smelled good and the people were friendly, but I didn’t take any pictures. Most of us could not imagine living in the conditions I saw at either Diepsloot or Alex. Lance and I ended our tour of Alex at Zack’s Shebeen, a (formerly illegal) bar where I had some water since I was heading to the IBM office immediately after.

I spent a few hours at IBM meeting with recruiters and an HR rep, then Carolyn and Roberto picked me up for dinner. We went to Moyos (the Swahili word for “soul”) and I had poitjie (pronounced like “poy-kee” it’s a stew) and pap (made from maize, tastes like light and fluffy mashed potatoes, but better). I tasted Roberto’s ostrich and pumpkin/groundnut mash (yummy!) and had my face painted.

It was such a treat to be there, and I am so grateful that Carolyn came out even though she wasn’t feeling well. I really appreciated their hospitality, something I have consistently enjoyed throughout the continent of Africa. Bill and Laura were also incredibly gracious hosts! They gave me a room with ensuite bathroom, fed me lots of great food, drove me around, and made me feel so welcome even though I know they had to rearrange their own schedules to accommodate me. They even provided me with food for the road and an adapter so I can charge my digital camera on the safari. Thanks a million, Laura and Bill! I hope to be able to return the favor some day.

Video with pictures & music from my Ghana travels

Here is a little video I made with pictures and thoughts about the month I spent in Ghana. Enjoy!

Closing ceremony and leaving Takoradi

I cried like a baby when I left Takoradi. Actually, I started crying the night before, cried more that night, and cried the morning we left. I’m not very good at goodbyes, but I was super wimpy this time. My heart aches for Ghana and the amazing Ghanaian people.

On the work side:

Our closing day was a very long day (over 10 hours with less than an hour lunch break) but also quite good. Seth from AGI drove in from Accra that morning (he left Accra at 4am). Ananda, Rosa, and I presented our findings and recommendations to the senior management of both companies. They had many nice things to say and were very appreciative. For Multiwall, we achieved all of our goals, and since they acted on our recommendations immediately, we actually made TANGIBLE progress in the month. I wish I could provide all the details, because it is very exciting (and astonishing). Over the course of the four-week engagement, we (this is for both companies, so as not to divulge any confidential details about either company):
* Obtained the financial facilities required
* Improved their profitability
* Convinced a supplier (who drives more than 90% of their total raw materials costs) to reduce their price by more than 15%
* Obtained additional orders
* Identified an input supplier that would reduce packaging costs by 50% while cutting delivery time in half (or better)
* Convinced a supplier to ship raw materials despite the (significant) outstanding balance
* For one client, if they fulfill all the orders they currently have with the materials prices they currently have, their turnover will nearly quadruple year-on-year (highest revenue ever) and their GP (which has been negative for the last three years) will skyrocket to over 30%

Since (in both cases) we had given senior management a taste of our recommendations a week prior, they received it well. For me, the best part was when each of the execs stood in turn to let us know what our engagement meant for them. Kweku said “You have given me a new battery. God bless you.” It was wonderful for us to see how we really did make a difference in these companies (in their finances and in the people) in such a short time. And I enjoyed how God permeated even these business discussions, like when the deputy managing director started out his presentation by quoting Esther (referring to how God puts people in positions for times such as this, as in Esther 4:14).

We all exchanged gifts of appreciation (we provided IBM executive gifts to most of the managers and executives, as well as other people who helped us along the way; they provided us with more beautiful Ghanaian clothes). Then the rest of our team (Carolyn, Kacie, Prasad, Volker, and Yaw) presented the various projects and strategic plan for the Sekondi-Takoradi Regional Chamber of Commerce & Industry. This was followed by a presentation from the Chairman, where he shared with us how he and the chamber plan to implement the recommendations made by the IBM team.

After our clients left, the IBM team filled out evaluations and provided feedback and recommendations to Barbara from CDC (cdc.org) about ways to improve the program in the future. In addition, we were asked to type our key accomplishments, after which Barbara provided us with the goals we wrote our very first day in Accra so we could compare and see whether we achieved (personally and professionally) what we had set out to do in the last month. I was happy to see that I accomplished everything I wanted to, including learning a lot, making new friends, enjoying myself, and having fun! This was truly the best experience I’ve ever had in my career at IBM, and I still count myself blessed to have participated. We learned some great lessons, which all of us will take back to our home countries.

Here is an article (entitled The World Is IBM's Classroom) that Business Week published earlier this month about IBM’s Corporate Service Corps:
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_12/b4124056268652.htm

Now, on the more personal side of things:

After the closing session, we ate some Ghanaian desserts (yoyi are fuzzy dried blackberries with seeds that are literally as hard as rocks; dzowoe is corn flour mixed with pepper and sugar for a sweet with some heat that creeps up on you; cube tofi is dried coconut and sugar; and nkati cake is kind of like peanut brittle). Caesar was on his way to pick up Ananda, Rosa, and I for a farewell dinner with Multiwall, so I started saying goodbye to the hotel staff and people who I wouldn’t see again before leaving. As I said, I am not good at goodbyes, so I cried. The Multiwall executives treated us to a nice dinner at LagoonSide (I tried guinea fowl for the first time) and thanked us again. It was a wonderful evening with Kwamena, Caesar, Kweku, Kojo, Andrew, and Theodora. Of course, I cried saying goodbye to Caesar and Theodora, but I have beautiful gifts from each of them so I can remember them fondly and often.

Packing was much more challenging than I expected, because I have amassed a lot of beautiful Ghanaian clothes (my birthday, a dress I bought myself, plus gifts from friends and clients). So I finally had to surrender and find a box. I ultimately left behind as much as I could (things I wouldn’t need in South Africa that I could leave with the hotel, like books and games and some toiletries), packed as much as possible into my suitcase, and packed everything else into a box (which I shrinkwrapped at the airport and checked as luggage, since shipping a 10-lb box is over $300). I am not much a “gift girl” but I really am happy with the clothing, scarves, shoes, jewelry, and wood carvings I received as gifts.

The morning that we left Takoradi was especially difficult for me. The hotel staff (even the people who don’t work that early) came in early to see us off. Theodora, who has provided Ananda, Rosa, and me with snacks for the last month), was the first person I saw when I came out of my room, and I cried. She had been at the mortuary until 3am (a relative died the previous week) and opted not to sleep because she knew she wouldn’t wake in time to see us off. She brought a dozen bags of fried plantain chips for our journey, and she hugged and waved us goodbye before heading back to her office (near her home, while our hotel is out of the way). Isaac was also there, along with most of the hotel staff. I cried saying goodbye to everyone, and then we all boarded a bus and they waved us goodbye as we drove away.

On our way back to Accra, we stopped in Cape Coast to visit the Cape Coast Castle (very sad to see the dungeons where slaves were kept, but the area and the sea are beautiful and Eric gave us a wonderful tour). We also stopped in Kakum, but there were lots of school groups there so we never did make it across the canopy, which means I definitely have to go back to Ghana :) When we finally made it to Accra, the Protea Hotel let Volker and me take showers in an unused room even though we weren’t staying there for the night. Ananda, Prasad, and Volker left for the airport first, and I followed. Yaw accompanied me, in an effort to see his cousin (we missed him) and to help me carry the aforementioned box of Ghanaian clothes. Many thanks for your help, Yaw!! I met a South African named Enver, and we spent the next few hours chatting and enjoying ourselves before boarding the overnight flight to Johannesburg.

I was utterly exhausted (emotionally and physically), so I fell asleep (in a middle seat!) before the plane even took off. My heart is aching for Ghana and the Ghanaian people, and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity. Next blog will be about my time in South Africa. Hope you’re all doing well!

P.S. here is a snap of Prasad with the African girls:

My (limited) vocabulary in Ghana

The official language of Ghana is English, but everyone also speaks an Akan language. So the Ashanti speak Ashanti Akan (called Twee) and the Fanti speak Fanti Akan (called Fanti), for example. After being here for a month, it’s sad to see how little Twee and Fanti I have learned. But, something is better than nothing, so here are my key phrases from Ghana. Most are Twee but some are Fanti (I’ll try to note which are which, but I might be incorrect.) Please note that they might not all be spelled right. And in terms of pronunciation, “dw” sounds like “j” while “wo” is backwards c that sounds like a tiny “o” and “ky” sounds like “ch.”

Tasha’s Ghanaian Vocabulary

Nyame nhyira wo = God bless you
Akwaaba = Welcome
Maaa akye = Good morning
Maaa aha = Good afternoon
Maaa adwo = Good evening
Da yie = Sweet dreams
Me do wo = I love you (not in a romantic way, but an affectionate way)
Me pa wo cho = please (literally, I beg you)
Me da ase = thank you
Men da ase = no thanks needed (like you’re welcome)
Mereko ma ba = I’ll be right back
Ete sen = how are you?
Wo ho te sen = how are you?
Wo nso = also
Eye = (I’m) fine
Eh kye ri a te = I’ll see you soon
Me hu ana dwo = I’ll see you tonight
Me hu o kye na = I’ll see you tomorrow
Wai ah dia = Well done (Twee)
Embo na edwuma = Well done (Fanti)
Obroni = white person (not offensive)
Obibini = black person (not offensive)
Efua = Friday girl
Kwame = Saturday boy
Kofi = Friday boy
Ekua = Wednesday girl
Kweku = Wednesday boy
Yaw = Thursday boy

Ghanaians really appreciate my efforts to speak their language, so they always smile and are ready to help!

My best birthday ever

I celebrated my best birthday ever yesterday in Takoradi, Ghana. The primary reason it was the best ever is that I received many blessings throughout the day. I woke up to have many wonderful blessings proclaimed upon me, from Theo, Helena, Derrick, and Nana. And the blessings continued as the day went on:

“Look up to the sky and see how beautiful God has made it to look. So today as you go out you will determine to think only the best, to work only for the best, and to expect only the best. Today by the grace of God you will forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future. Today your life, family, and business are blessed. Whatever you touch prospers. You shall hear great news. Today the goodness and mercy of the Almighty God shall follow. And you must live for God alone. Happy Birthday!”

“Tasha, if there is something that you’re dreaming of, then may it all come true because you deserve it all, my dear. Happy Birthday to you!”

“Happy Birthday, Tasha! May God richly bless you so you may live longer, up to 100 years and above.”

“God has a true meaning of the names of His favourites like you, and it is:
T – To the end of the world, God is with you
A – As the eye of God, anyone who touches you touches God and will face the predicaments
S – So precious to God that He uses you to glorify His creation
H – He will bless you on this day and the rest of your 80 years left on earth
A – As you enjoy the blessings, good health, and prosperity of God, don’t forget to thank Him.
Happy Birthday, Sweetness!”

“Your best years are still ahead of you. You are not getting older, you’re getting better. Happy Birthday, T!”

“Happy Happy Happy Birthday. Have a wonderful day. May God give you many many healthy, happy, and successful years. May today be the beginning of God’s great promise in your life.”

Another reason my birthday was the best ever is that I didn’t work much. Ananda and Rosa agreed to work long hours (including part of a holiday and part of a Saturday) so that we could take off my birthday. We worked for a few hours total, and even that was from the lobby of the hotel, so it was very low-key and it made it much more enjoyable for me. Thanks, Rosa and Ananda, for being the best teammates!

The day was full of love, blessings, fun, and surprises. We had lunch with Nana, Kwesi, Charles, and James at God is Love chop bar (yes, that is really its name). I enjoyed the best fufu and light soup so far in Ghana. Helena and Vivian used a stick I found outside to curl the ends of my hair since the salon near our hotel was closed. When Derrick got off work, we met him at the course to golf along the beach and enjoy the wonderful sea breezes.

I was also blessed with a lot of gifts. The morning brought me a card (with a picture of me and my braids) from Nana on my bed, as well as a collection of gifts from Helena. Samson knocked on my bedroom door as soon as he got here to wish me a Happy Birthday and give me a great big birthday hug (he was as excited about my birthday as I was). Isaac texted me and then gave me love when he got to the hotel in the evening.

I received a lot of traditional Ghanaian clothing. Helena gave me an entire outfit (bubu and scarf, necklace, and shoes) as well as a keychain. Samson, Vivian, and Helena helped me get the hair and dress correct:


Then had me sit in a chair like the African Princess that I have been feeling like all month (see the shoes that match?):


And finally here I am with Boakye, Samson, Charles, Solomon, and Helena on my best birthday ever:



Charles and Kwesi gave me a traditional shirt that I wore to dinner later in the evening. We had dinner at Raybow, complete with a cake, singing, and dancing. The cake was actually tasty (banana flavored), but the funny thing is I had to dis-assemble it to cut and serve it. I had to remove the frosting, peel off some ribbon that covered the top and sides, and only then was I able to cut the cake. It was quite fun:


The best part is that in Ghana, when they sing you Happy Birthday, they add a whole verse of "May God Bless you" and then I get to sing back and tell them how old I am. What a wonderful experience for me to celebrate my birthday here.

Many thanks to all my friends and loved ones for their birthday wishes!