Beautiful Dar es Salaam

Day 10 in our new home!  Here are a few photos from our apartment balcony and our evening walks...

Tanzania 2020

I am glad to have fresh motivation for updating this blog.  We accepted teaching positions at the International School of Tanganyika in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in East Africa! 

In addition to updating this blog, I am creating a newsletter for family & friends. Email me if you wish to be included in my mailing list.

2017: Ecuador (Highly Recommended!)

Today I revisited this blog to search for photos of our China experience.  A whole calendar year has again slipped by without comment in this space.  The international highlight was our trip to Ecuador.  Although it had been high on our desired destination list for some time, it moved to the top of the list when a family friend asked if we would take her there upon her high school graduation.  Yes! Si!  Ben had taught school there in the late 1990's and had visited again in 2006.  Before we knew it, there were 6 enthusiastic young folks joining this adventure.

The takeaway on Ecuador is simply this: if you have the opportunity to visit, GO!!!  The people are lovely, scenery and climate remarkable and variety impossible to describe.  Food is also delicious, and due to recent governmental stability and other improvements, the roads are superb and transit from the Andes Mountains to the Pacific Ocean is quite manageable.

Here is a sampling from July 2017...

Puerto Lopez, Ecuador

el Placer de Toache

River in el Placer de Toache

 Dairy Land in the Andes

 School where Ben taught in 1998

 Blue footed boobies on Isla de la Plata

 Beach in Puerto Lopez

 Crossing the border from Colombia at Ipiales

 Ben's new pan flute from Otovalo craftsman

 Shepherdess in early morning, Otovalo

 Mt. Chimburazo

 Fellow passenger on bus to Cuenca

Incan ruins in Cuenca 

 Hat factory in Cuenca

 Local artist friend in Cuenca

 With friends in Cuenca

 Mitad del Mundo (Middle of the World)

 Standing room only bus in Quito

 Bread maker in Quito

 Hosteleria in Banos

 Artists in Otovalo market

 Bus station in Santo Domingo de los Colorados

 Amazing flowers in the tropical area

 Sea turtles in the Pacific near Isla de la Plata

 Bananas everywhere

Lunch of trout, plaintains, yam soup, fresh tree tomato juice, rice in Colombia

Impromptu Sign Language lesson for children in rural school

2 years, 3 continents, 4 countries

I recently met with a former professor for lunch.  She mentioned that during the summer of 2013, she had followed our trip to Spain via this blog.  I purposed to revisit this temporarily abandoned site.  One reason for the long pause is that so much has happened and I felt that I needed to go back and fill in the blanks...and while I waited, new discoveries were made, new friends made, new languages explored...and yet no writing or reflection in this manner.  Perhaps one day I will upload photos of our special opportunities and unique privileges.  For the present, I will simply list the dates and locations of our journeys.  Remarkably, in each place we met members of the local Deaf communities!

Spring 2014: I graduated from EKU with a degree in Deaf Education and began working for Fayette County Public Schools with deaf and hard of hearing students.

Summer 2014:  This was our summer of American travel.  After visiting family in New York and New England, we toured Washington, D.C.  Highlights included campus tours of Rochester Institute of Technology and NTID as well as Gallaudet University where I gathered on site information to share with my students whom I hope will one day enter these institutions of higher learning.  We then traveled to Georgia, Missouri, and Oklahoma.  Although we really enjoy train travel when abroad, we agree that one outstanding feature of travel in the USA is our interstate highway system.

Summer 2015:  We had a family reunion in Branson, Missouri.  Then, we visited Ben's sister in Dominican Republic where we were fortunate to meet several new friends.

Winter 2015:  Over our school break, we visited Ben's former "home" in Argentina and spent a day in Chile during our return flight.

Summer 2016:  Ukraine was our destination to spend a month with some of our cousins.  Again, we met several Deaf folks who patiently communicated with us as we learned some Russian Sign Language.

This list represents time/location and perhaps some photos will be added later.  The primary purpose of this post is to give myself permission to move forward with my blog without the burden of catching up on everything!

Savannah, Georgia and Tybee Island

 

For winter break, Ben and I went to visit my family in Georgia.  We took a day trip to Savannah, a place I'd never visited, although I had grown up less than 3 hours away. 

 

We checked Lonely Planet and Yelp to locate a place for brunch and we decided on B. Matthews Eatery at the corner of Bay St. and Habersham.  You can check out their website: http://bmatthewseatery.com/. We had shrimp & grits and fried green tomatoes benedict--both were delicious!!! 

 

Parking was very easy to find and from there we simply walked across the boulevard, down "historic steps" (with signs warning us not to slip) and strolled along River St.

 

 

 

After 2 hours in Savannah, we headed to Tybee Island, about 20 minutes away by car.  Our family went here one time shortly after we moved to Georgia in the late 1980's.  Since that time the local historical societies have done a great job in their restoration efforts.  The lighthouse keeper's cottage is nicely furnished with many original pieces and the 15 minute film gives a good summary of the historical significance of the site.  The 178 steps to the top of the lighthouse are worth climbing.  (caution: take time to stretch or you might end up sore for days like I did!)  Happily, we found the staff at the lighthouse were very friendly and informative. http://www.tybeelighthouse.org/

 

Included in the $9 admission fee for the lighthouse and surrounding buildings, is admission to Fort Screven.  This has some interesting historical notes and displays.  The docent informed us that they are continuing to work toward restoration of this defense structure that dates back to 1855. http://visittybee.com/what-to-see-and-do/attractions/fort-screven/

 

 

   

 

Before heading back to Jefferson County, we walked over to the beach.  It was 75 degrees...quite nice for December 21st!

 

 

Back home in Lexington, Kentucky for New Year's Eve with family & friends...Ben introduced some of our friends to the Argentine custom of drinking mate. :)  Happy New Year to all!!!