New Year's Celebration -Extreme North

Darrell and I took this video during our visit to the Extreme North in 2005. We were invited to a traditional dance that took place at one of the local hotels. We are able to upload videos, so I chose this as my first video upload. We had a great time celebrating and dancing.

Darrell and I met up with a group of people in Long Beach and went kayaking!! So much fun! We also touched moon jellies--the non-stinging sorts.

I bought a new bike. I have been cruisin' around Long Beach ever since picking up this beach cruiser. It has been one purchase that I have not regretted.

I took a trip down to Portland, to visit Claire, a friend from high school. She did an excellent job at showing me around the city. We took this picture at the rose garden.

Next up, wedding number two in Washington state. Darrell's sister had her wonderful wedding in a small, quaint church. I had a wonderful time meeting all of his family members.

After the wedding, Darrel and I took a drive up to Cedar Point, an amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio. We rode lots of rollercoasters and ate tons of horrible food!! I need to watch out--I don't want to gain back all of the weight I lost in Cameroon!!

My brother's wedding....

Wedding number one of three. Him and his wife (it's funny to say that now) had a wonderful ceremony in a beautiful church. I was one of seven bride'smaids. Congratulations, again!

While in Ohio, I was able to stop by my college alma mater, Miami University (not in Florida). I met up with my economics professor. Economics was my most disliked class,but I really enjoyed prof. Hart. We had a wonderful lunch together. Later, I hung out with my friend Amber as we walked around uptown, trying to spot all of the changes that have taken place in the last 5 years.

Trekking up to Ohio

As my parents and I travel to Ohio for my brother’s wedding, I’m thinking of all of the different places I’d like to visit in the future. Mostly, I’m thinking of my cross country road trip with my boyfriend! It’s going to be so much fun. I enjoy traveling and I encourage everyone to do so. You meet so many wonderful and amazing people and see things you wouldn’t normally see (or things you could only see off of google images).

It is also a small world:

1. Darrell and I met a man and his neice while waiting in one of the various lines at the Eiffel tower. The neice was visiting her uncle in Europe. After talking with them, I found out that she goes to a high school close to where I went to high school. And, it is even a high school my basketball team used to play.
2. On the flight from Zurich to Atlanta, I sat next to a friendly man from Ohio also. His son attends the university that I graduated from.
3. My parents and I stayed in a campground in Knoxville, TN. The morning before heading out we met a nice couple who stayed in the RV next to us. My parents were explaing to them how I just returned from Africa. And, the woman says I know so much about Africa. I was stunned because not so many people know much about Africa (or Cameroon for that matter). Well, she explained that she was from Cape Town (where I spent my spring break) and her husband was born and raised in Long Beach, CA where I lived and will return to this summer!

It is such a small world. And, you can find some of the most interesting people when traveling. You never know who you’ll run in to. I always imagine that one day I will come across a long lost friend of mine while wondering the halls of the airport. And, I think it will happen one day. HAPPY TRAVELS.

(This is a picture of my parent’s RV (the one on the right). We spent the night at a campground outside of Knoxville, TN.)

Random thoughts and shots around Paris

I have just recently returned to the US from Paris, France only to be welcomed with a sore throat and a headache. Before arriving, I spent three days in Paris with my boyfriend, Darrell. Paris is not on my top ten list of places to travel to, despite the wonderful reviews it receives. It is a beautiful city, with tons of cafes, shopping malls, beautiful historic buildings, and TOURISTS!

On Day one, Darrell met me at the airport and we took off to our hotel, Michelet Odeon near the Luxembourg gardens. We dropped our bags and walked to the Notre Dame cathedral, where we took a few pictures but were scared from entering after viewing the long line of people. We wondered around a bit more then decided to go to the Eiffel tower. I was shocked at how industrial the tower looked in person. But, nevertheless, we were there and we were going to stand in line to head up to the top. Once, at the top, we had beautiful views of the city. The entire trip up to the top and back down (including waiting in lines, purchasing tickets, and taking the elevator) totaled three hours!! At that point, I was quite turned off to the idea of waiting in lines since I had just flown 6 hours from Africa and had a hellish last week at school.

The following day we walked around some more, ate at a few cafés, and visited the Parisian shopping malls, Printemps and Lafayette Galleries. I wondered the aisles of the shopping mall, amazed at the selections of designer clothing. And, no, I didn’t buy anything at the mall (but did buy two blouses elsewhere).

The two places on my list to go in Paris were the Eiffel tower and the Louvre. Unfortunately, the Louvre is closed on Tuesdays. On Wednesday Darrell and I met up with a friend of mine named Sandrine in Reims (a 45minute train ride from Paris), in the Champagne country, which is the only place true champagne comes from. We enjoyed walking around, viewing the cathedral, and of course touring one of the champagne caves (and the tasting of course). Darrell and I bought a vintage bottle of champagne! And, I can’t wait to open it. I will admit that this trip to Reims was my favorite part of the whole trip to Paris. The town is simple, small, and welcoming and we had a wonderful time.

After returning by train to Paris, at 5:00pm we dashed off to the Louvre. Since it was around 5:30 when we arrived, there were no lines to the Louvre. But, don’t let the lack of lines fool you, the place was still crowded! We spent almost 2 1/2 hours in the Louvre and still didn’t get to see everything. By the end of that time, my legs ached and I was exhausted. But, we saw the important pieces like the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo.

My trip to Paris ended quickly, as I dashed off to the airport at 4:45 am on the last day.

Je suis a Paris!

You know you're tired when...

Stressful, Tiresome, and Busy. Those are the three words that would be describe my last week in Cameroon. Definitely not how I would want to spend my last days in Cameroon. In hindsight, I think I would have booked my flight out of Yaounde a week after school got out instead of two days after the final bell rings. Between dealing with school business and arranging my personal things, I have had no time to take in the beauty that I will leave behind nor properly say good-bye to the wonderful people I've met here.

Today, I knew I was tired when my eyes started burning after I tried removing my eye make up with make up remover. After applying the liquid to my eyes, and feeling the burning sensation, I decided to check the bottle. I had applied NAIL POLISH REMOVER to my eye instead of make up remover! I'm so lucky I'm not leaving Cameroon blind.

I can even tell I'm tired when I'm speaking with my co-workers. I will walk into their classroom, stand, and just stare around at the walls not realizing I actually did have something to say to them.

This week I have gone to many going away parties for teachers who are leaving as well as families who will no longer return. At one house, there were drummers who filled the brunch with a lovely sound. I couldn't leave there without doing a bit of dancing. And, of course, I had to say good-bye to my dance and drum instructors. I learned a lot about Cameroon culture from them.

I've done all this and I still have to pick up a skirt I ordered, visit the market one last time, and say bye to my friends at the orphanage.

At this point, I'm too overwhelmed and tired to be excited! But, I'm sure when I board the plane on Sunday, all will be well.