Finally! Since we've come home, we have had an easier time posting and uploading pictures. So, if you click on the following link, you will be able to see just a little bit of our hundreds of pictures.
Hope Kids
These pictures are mostly of the students at Hope for the Deaf School. Hopefully they will give you the first glimpse of the faces and the friends that we have gained from living in Liberia for the summer. Going through these pictures bring up so many memories, I wish we could share them all. I am going to try to focus on one or two pictures in the future and expand on what those pictures mean and the story behind them, to give you an even deeper glimpse into life in Liberia.
In the mean time, enjoy the first set of pictures from Liberia.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Friday, August 15, 2008
The TRC
After we got home I spent some time searching for other people who may have blogs about Liberia or time that they spent there. I discovered one in particular that caught my attention. The author has written a lot on Liberia if you want more information than we can give from our time there. She also has a lot of handy links to even more information.
If you scroll down the main page you will find a posting about the Truth and Reconiliation Commission and the job they are doing. I took the time to share my impressions from the Liberian people in comparison to the notes that she takes from a report by Amnesty International. The mood: disappointed. You can find all of that right here.
If you scroll down the main page you will find a posting about the Truth and Reconiliation Commission and the job they are doing. I took the time to share my impressions from the Liberian people in comparison to the notes that she takes from a report by Amnesty International. The mood: disappointed. You can find all of that right here.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Updates on Blog
Hello everyone!
We are settling into life back home and are getting ready to move, start a new job, and start law school, so we are keeping busy. We did our first trip presentation at our home church in Hudson. We will be doing more in the next couple of months. We would like to keep the blog going for now. We will post pictures and stories from the trip. It will be much easier now that we are home. So, enjoy the stories, and if you have any questions, let us know!
Peace
We are settling into life back home and are getting ready to move, start a new job, and start law school, so we are keeping busy. We did our first trip presentation at our home church in Hudson. We will be doing more in the next couple of months. We would like to keep the blog going for now. We will post pictures and stories from the trip. It will be much easier now that we are home. So, enjoy the stories, and if you have any questions, let us know!
Peace
Friday, August 1, 2008
Home Sweet Home
Hello everyone. We just wanted to write and let you know that we made it home safe and sound. The traveling was long (almost 30 straight hours) but went smoothly.
We have to adjust a little bit to being home. Drinks with ice are almost too cold for our teeth (AC is almost too cold as well, we almost needed a blanket in the coffee shop last night). And we forget sometimes that the electricity isn't going to be turned off.
We have taken a couple of days off to regroup and are spending the next couple of weeks traveling around IL visiting with family and friends so give us a call.
Our first formal presentation about the trip will be at the Hudson UMC in Hudson, IL on August 10th.
Okay, I guess that's all for now.
We have to adjust a little bit to being home. Drinks with ice are almost too cold for our teeth (AC is almost too cold as well, we almost needed a blanket in the coffee shop last night). And we forget sometimes that the electricity isn't going to be turned off.
We have taken a couple of days off to regroup and are spending the next couple of weeks traveling around IL visiting with family and friends so give us a call.
Our first formal presentation about the trip will be at the Hudson UMC in Hudson, IL on August 10th.
Okay, I guess that's all for now.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Catching up
Hello friends!
We know we haven't been posting lately, but we have been busy. This past week, I have been working with the kids, getting them ready for the closing ceremony for the school. I have taught them some Deaf jokes and stories. The ceremony will be next Wednesday, and Aaron and I are guest speakers. We have had our speeches prepared for about week now. We have been doing our mothers proud! :)
Aaron is conducting a workshop with the human rights monitors tomrrow (saturday) on engaging community leaders into human rights efforts. He has been preparing for that all this week.
We have also been doing a lot of paperwork, writing up reports for the organizations we have been working with. So we are getting tired. We only have 8 more days left! We can't believe it. So, we are starting to get ready to go. This may be the last post before we get back...the computer on the compound has been used alot lately, but we will be sure to post when we get back in the states and reflect on everything we have experienced.
Hope all is well.
Peace,
Tricia
We know we haven't been posting lately, but we have been busy. This past week, I have been working with the kids, getting them ready for the closing ceremony for the school. I have taught them some Deaf jokes and stories. The ceremony will be next Wednesday, and Aaron and I are guest speakers. We have had our speeches prepared for about week now. We have been doing our mothers proud! :)
Aaron is conducting a workshop with the human rights monitors tomrrow (saturday) on engaging community leaders into human rights efforts. He has been preparing for that all this week.
We have also been doing a lot of paperwork, writing up reports for the organizations we have been working with. So we are getting tired. We only have 8 more days left! We can't believe it. So, we are starting to get ready to go. This may be the last post before we get back...the computer on the compound has been used alot lately, but we will be sure to post when we get back in the states and reflect on everything we have experienced.
Hope all is well.
Peace,
Tricia
Monday, July 7, 2008
A Typical Day in Africa
Hello all,
Just wanted to share with you a day in Africa, or at least Liberia...We have gotten accostumed to having our days not go as planned...and this last Saturday was no exception. Here's how it went.
9:15-Woke up, having missed 16 calls, on each of our phones. (It is almost a sin not to answer your phone here...even if you are in church)
9:30-Planned a "possible" lunch date around 1:00 or 2:00 but cannot go past 3:00 because we have another engagement
10:30-a friend stopped by and told me he heard we had a lunch date set, but I had not received a call back confirming yet
10:35-Call confirming lunch date, pick us up at 12:30
12:00-Student from school stops by to visit
12:45-Driver comes to pick us up and we say goodbye to student; we thought out friend was going to be in the car with us but is nowhere to be found-so we leave anyways
12:55-Call from friend-he is coming to our house-and he hangs up
1:00-Call friend back and ask where he is...we will come and pick him up
1:10-Pick our friend up, and he asks, " Where is E.?" He is back at our house, he was supposed to come with us, as well as the student who came by to visit (we had no idea and sent her home); so we head back into town
1:20-Stop by school-the local Federation for the Deaf decided to hold a meeting, that I (Tricia) am supposed to attend, but that we had no idea about since they never confirmed the meeting-they just showed up and expected for it to work out
1:30-finally leave for lunch
1:40-Have lunch
2:45-Get ready to leave for 3:00 appointment
3:30-Arrive at last appointment
So...hopefully this helps you experience what it can be like sometimes here. My mom thinks that we don't plan or schedule things out very well or far in advance....we plan far in advance compared to our Liberian friends.
Just a taste of Africa...
Tricia
Just wanted to share with you a day in Africa, or at least Liberia...We have gotten accostumed to having our days not go as planned...and this last Saturday was no exception. Here's how it went.
9:15-Woke up, having missed 16 calls, on each of our phones. (It is almost a sin not to answer your phone here...even if you are in church)
9:30-Planned a "possible" lunch date around 1:00 or 2:00 but cannot go past 3:00 because we have another engagement
10:30-a friend stopped by and told me he heard we had a lunch date set, but I had not received a call back confirming yet
10:35-Call confirming lunch date, pick us up at 12:30
12:00-Student from school stops by to visit
12:45-Driver comes to pick us up and we say goodbye to student; we thought out friend was going to be in the car with us but is nowhere to be found-so we leave anyways
12:55-Call from friend-he is coming to our house-and he hangs up
1:00-Call friend back and ask where he is...we will come and pick him up
1:10-Pick our friend up, and he asks, " Where is E.?" He is back at our house, he was supposed to come with us, as well as the student who came by to visit (we had no idea and sent her home); so we head back into town
1:20-Stop by school-the local Federation for the Deaf decided to hold a meeting, that I (Tricia) am supposed to attend, but that we had no idea about since they never confirmed the meeting-they just showed up and expected for it to work out
1:30-finally leave for lunch
1:40-Have lunch
2:45-Get ready to leave for 3:00 appointment
3:30-Arrive at last appointment
So...hopefully this helps you experience what it can be like sometimes here. My mom thinks that we don't plan or schedule things out very well or far in advance....we plan far in advance compared to our Liberian friends.
Just a taste of Africa...
Tricia
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Deaf Educator Workshops
As Aaron stated in the last post, I have had the opportunity to conduct some Deaf Educator Workshops at the schools in Monrovia. The first one was completed this last week, and two more will be completed in the following weeks at different schools. Since there is no training for Special Education teachers, let alone, Deaf Educators, the teachers were excited to be participants.
I originally planned to do a five day workshop but as Africa goes, it got narrowed down to two days, and it was really rainy the second day, so attendance was lower...but overall, I believe it was successful. Even though it was hard to share the knowledge I gained in 4 years at ISU in just two days, I was able to share some important points. Hopefully the information will stick with the teachers.
The rest of this week, I plan to do some more observations in the classroom at Hope for the Deaf, to gather more information about the students before I go. I am starting to write up a report about my work here, so that will keep me busy as well.
Hope all is well for you.
Peace,
Tricia
I originally planned to do a five day workshop but as Africa goes, it got narrowed down to two days, and it was really rainy the second day, so attendance was lower...but overall, I believe it was successful. Even though it was hard to share the knowledge I gained in 4 years at ISU in just two days, I was able to share some important points. Hopefully the information will stick with the teachers.
The rest of this week, I plan to do some more observations in the classroom at Hope for the Deaf, to gather more information about the students before I go. I am starting to write up a report about my work here, so that will keep me busy as well.
Hope all is well for you.
Peace,
Tricia
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