Welcome to Guinea

Nna and me, I nou cené!

I drag down my carry-on from the overhead compartment and roll my way to the nearly empty  customs line.  I hand my passport and customs card to the man behind the window and he opens my passport, flips through the thin, light-blue pages and lands upon my bright blue Guinean visa - recently issued in Bamako, Mali.  He looks down at the visa, looks up at me, picks up his stamp and as the stamp meets the paper says “Welcome to Guinea!”

I pull my suitcases off the luggage conveyor belt and groan my way through security and up an inclined, twisting ramp to get to the parking lot where Abdoulaye is waiting for me.  A family in front of me gets close to the end of the ramp and a woman from the other side breaks through security to hug her daughter.  The daughter's white husband and two children with skin the color of café-au-lait stand somewhat awkwardly to the side while the mom squeals and squeezes her daughter tighter to her.  As I approach, the mom remembers the other members of the family and releases her daughter to pull in her grandchildren.  As they disperse to their car and I spot Abdoulaye in the sea of faces, I wonder how long it has been since they have seen their grandmother?

As I slip by, as much as you can slip anywhere with two suitcases and sizable carry-ons, I see Abdoulaye standing with three, beaming friends.  We shove my luggage into the car and pile inside.    Abdoulaye hands me a bottle of water and I drink deeply as I look out the window.  Night is falling and street vendors are lighting candles in plastic variations of hurricane lamps and setting them in the middle of their tables.  The traffic is bad and cars honk all around us.  As we drive by, I try and recognize things from my trip to Guinea in 2009 though I am unsure what I am looking for.  People?  Food?  Places?  We only spent a day or two in Conakry but I am grasping for familiarity.  Abdoulaye says something and brings me back inside the car.  I realize I don't need to grasp for familiarity when I have him sitting next to me.

We turn right onto an unpaved, rocky road.  Oumar, one of Abdoulaye's closest friends, is sitting in the front seat with one of my suitcases weighing on his lap.  He points out his boutique where he sells sodas, soaps, and snacks and I say I am so sorry for how heavy my suitcase is.  He smiles and says, “Don't worry, you'll pay me back with English lessons!”

And then, we are there.  Abdoulaye opens the door and I scoot out of the car on his side.  His dad, Baba,'s compound is bordered by a row of shops along the road and inside surrounded by three single-family homes around his own house for his family.  Women stand in the courtyard, their heads slightly cocked and with smiles on their faces as they appraise me.  Little girls whose names I do not know run up to me and hug my legs.  Abdoulaye's mom, who he calls Nna, stands up on the porch and throws her arms open.  “I nou cené!” she shouts.  Welcome to Guinea.

Welcome to America

I've been back in Virginia Beach all of about 72 hours and they've been filled to the brim.  After Mom picked me up from the Amtrak bus station at 19th and Pacific (so convenient!), I met Dad, Sheri, and Uncle Jimmie at All American Frozen Yogurt, a shop my brother Michael and sister Lindsay manage.  Saturday I headed to The Exchange Party at Camp Pendleton followed by a charity dinner for Horizons held at the Norfolk Marriot.  Welcome back to America!

Today we got dim sum for lunch and visited Sheri's dad before heading to the Commodore to see The Hunger Games (which I only knew about from Taylor Swift's song :).  I got the sweetest treat of the day when I met Jackie and Taylor, two dear friends in Virginia Beach for the weekend, for dinner at my Dad and Sheri's house.  Lucky me!  Trying to keep my momentum going - a busy week ahead!

There was an 80's cover band at The Exchange Party - the Deloreans.  They were so much fun!

Back to Bamako!

Less than 24 hours ago I sat on the floor of my childhood home – luggage, carry-ons, and gifts strewn about me – and, with the help of my sister Lindsay, prioritized possessions in order to make (luggage) weight for my return to trip to Mali. Every so often I would step on the scale holding one of my suitcases and Lindsay would lean over to locate the arrow teetering between dashed numbers. After unloading some lotions and body sprays, stationery, and a few other items deemed non-critical to my return, we were satisfied that we had made it close enough to the 80 pound weight limit. We zipped up my groaning suitcases and carry-ons and rolled them to the trunk of my mom's car and just like that, after four months stateside, I was ready to return to Mali.

At the Norfolk airport I was surrounded by an honest-to-goodness entourage. All my parents saw me off as well as my aunt Laurie, Uncle Frank, and my brother, Michael. Even one of our dogs, Levi, made the trip out to bid me farewell. My luggage came in a few pounds over (and when I say a few pounds I mean...more than a few pounds) but the generous check-in lady waved me on and wished me a safe return to Mali. I think this is the first time I have ever traveled abroad and not had to unload and relocate items in the airport lobby for exceeding the luggage weight limit. I liked the feeling.

After a puddle jumper flight to JFK, I sat near my gate and settled in for a four-hour layover. I talked with Marija and Kate on the phone and people watched metropolitan Europeans with asymmetrical haircuts, metal-buckle boots, and skinny jeans walk by with Cartier and FAO Shwartz bags in hand. Next to my gate was a nail salon with a billboard the size of two unfolded pizza boxes on the back wall. The sign read:

“You won't be able to say you had any regrets. Have you considered joining the Peace Corps?”

One of the last things I delicately crammed into my carry-on was a small stack of magazines. I chose three from the top of a towering pile on my dresser – two New Yorkers and a Vanity Fair. Once on the plane to Paris I pulled out the first New Yorker dated December 5, 2011 and opened it.

After reading a review of “The Artist,” which my dad says is a must-see (I watched it on the plane!), and a spotlight on one of the Occupy Wall Street protestors, I arrived to a Personal History essay entitled Mapping Home: Learning a new city, remembering the old by Alexandar Hemon. Hemon writes about his upbringing and home in Sarajevo and then his subsequent, and unexpected, transition to life in Chicago when he came to the United States with the International Visitor Program on March 14th^th 1992. When war broke out in Bosnia, Hemon's family urged him to stay and so he did. He applied for political asylum and then, he says, “The rest is the rest of my life.”

Hemon talks about how Chicago was nothing like his home in Sarajevo. He did not feel connected. He did not have a local butcher nor a movie theater to frequent and so he wandered and never felt quite at home. Then, one of his best-friends from Sarajevo came to visit in 1997 and he realized he did have a home in Chicago. He showed his friend his favorite coffee shop and his first apartment. He showed him where he got breakfast on the weekend and where he canvassed as a Greenpeace volunteer. He showed him the life he had built for himself in the United States.

During my four month time stateside friends and family would often ask when I was returning home. Then they would laugh and say, well, I guess Mali is your home now! It is something I think a lot about.

I am now sitting on the plane that will take me back to Bamako. The sun has just set but the sky is not yet ready for night to fall. A blood orange strip slices the horizon while a deepening blue shades upwards to a few stars that are in a rush to make their nightly appearance.

Hemon's personal essay was powerful and, while I could never imagine what it is like to be pulled from my home because of war, he makes his experience a relevant one for people like me who have more than one place they call home. He closed his piece with this statement:

“The two places had now combined to form a complicated internal landscape, a space where I could wander and feel at home, and in which stories could be generated. When I came back from my first visit to Sarajevo, in the spring of 1997, the Chicago I came back to belonged to me. Returning from home, I returned home.”

Returning to Mali with heavy luggage, a light heart, and no regrets – Alexandar Hemon captures how I feel.

Check out this link for some fun photos my friend Valerie Demo took at First Landing Park!

Boston Beauties (and a little bit o' Salem)

Marija took me to the beautiful Bapst Art Library to study.  We got lots accomplished!  And this might be my favorite picture of us together that we've ever taken.  And we've taken a lot.

David is a cousin of mine that lives in Massachusetts with his wonderful wife and family.  The last time I saw him he was getting married in Rockport, MA - look at the beautiful babies he and his wife made since!

Karen and Marija are choosy ladies.  Jukebox music at Tom English's Cottage and literature for Nellie at the apartment.

Suzy and I became pool sharks :)

What a treat it was to visit Boston!  Great food at the likes of The Paramount and The Publick House, and great studying and dart/pool playing at Bapst library and Tom English's Cottage (respectively).  I loved getting the chance to see my cousin David and his wife Natalie and their beautiful children while seeing downtown Salem and eating the best chicken wings I've ever had!  (David is a chef - and a darn good one at that!)   So many thanks to Marija & Chris for hosting me and Suzy for bringing me all the way to Vermont to start grad school!  I'm surrounded by treasures!! 

See more pictures from my east coast ventures here!

Heading North!

had to make this one x-large - I love it!

Mom & Memaw picking me up from Sandy's in October (2011)

Imagine this beautiful trellis surrounded by a few more puddles and heavy rain clouds.

Does this picture make you hungry?

I am making my way up the eastern seaboard (and a little bit inland) on my way to SIT to begin graduate school (the time is finally here!).

On Saturday morning, Mom loaded Memaw and I (and some snacks) into the car and took us to Williamsburg to meet Aunt Sandy for a trade-off and then brunch at the Trellis - what a treat!

Once in Richmond I dropped off my bags and met up with Laura and Jackie (next time, Amanda & Ryan!).  After seeing my cousin Dave's beautiful new home, Sandy, Memaw, Megan, Dave & I headed for dinner at Stella's.  I shared artichoke moussaka and a kale salad with Sandy that were scrumptious.  Later that night Jackie, Laura, Taylor, Seth and I made a late night run to Country Style Donuts for a sweet treat.  Food spoiled much?

It is just the beginning of the journey and I am looking forward to the rest - stay tuned for more!

**And we did lunch at the Franklin Inn - grilled cheese and chili!

The King & I, Martin Short & the Sandler Center, oh my!

Source.

Last night Dad and Sheri took me along with them to see Martin Short at the Sandler Center for the Performing Arts.  What a treat!  We had dinner before the show at Havana Nights Jazz & Cigar Club
and went back for dessert and a little jazz music afterwards! 

Source.

On January 8th, Memaw invited Mom and I to see the King & I - also at the Sandler Center.  I did not know so many of the songs I had heard while growing up like 'Getting to Know You' and 'Shall We Dance' had come from this production!  While the end of the piece left me a little uncomfortable (the whole 'westernizing' the Siamese people...) - spending time with Memaw & Mom is precisely my cup of tea!

home is where you are

As I walk into Shogun the heavy smell of fried rice and soy sauce washes over me while waitresses glide by in swishing kimonos. The smells and sounds bring back a wave of memories. Birthdays, awards, proms – I have celebrated many occasions here with my family and friends over steaming plates of sautéed vegetables and steak and shrimp dinners. Along with the delicious food another constant is Pang – one of Shogun's Teppanyaki chefs who prepares flaming Japanese meals on an iron griddle before amazed patrons. My first boyfriend, childhood friends, an awkward ring-dance date and of course family – he has met them all and seen us grow up behind steam clouds and plates piled-high with zucchini and soy beans.

Pang prepares vegetables and scallops - yum!

But at Shogun my memories go beyond food. For as long as I can remember there has been a tall glass case just beyond the entrance of the restaurant and on the way to the bathroom that is filled with inexpensive trinkets and shiny earrings laid on embroidered pouches. As children, my sister Lindsay and I would excuse ourselves to the bathroom during dinner just to look at the treasures behind the sliding glass door and talk about which ones we wished we had. My Dad had no qualms about sending us to the corner in public for misbehaving and sometimes, after yet another time-out and sometimes just because, Pang would slip away from our table after preparing the meal and take a pair of earrings or chopsticks from the case by the restrooms for Lindsay and me. Gifts or not, time-outs or not, we always looked forward to eating out at Shogun and seeing Pang.

Dance at the Moulin de la Galette by Renoir

While waiting for our table to clear and during our meals we would catch up with Pang. From middle school to high school and finally college and beyond, Pang followed all of our studies and paths in life and always had an anecdote to share with us relating to our lives. For me it became art history when I majored in it at Mary Washington, along with French. On a college break a few years back, my family reconvened at Shogun as usual to catch up and celebrate another semester behind us. After the meal, Pang asked us to wait and came back a few minutes later with an extra-large, framed print of Renoir's Dance at the Moulin de la Galette. There used to be a Big Lots next to Shogun and there is still a CHKD thrift shop where Pang said he would drop in before work and scoop up deals like this print. Always a sucker for a deal and beautiful frames and prints I oohed and aahed over it along with the rest of the family. And then he gave it to me, just like that.

Last year we spent Dad's birthday in Vegas - this year we decided to up our MSG intake and head to Shogun!  Delicious!

After being home for the past three months, we finally made our annual family visit last week for my Dad's birthday. I cannot remember the last time Lindsay and I looked into the tall glass case at the end of the hallway and we no longer get sent to the corner for speaking out of turn. As we put on our coats and prepared to leave this last time, Pang asked me if I was still interested in art history since it has been nearly 4 years since I graduated. 'Of course!' I replied and then he darted to the back of the restaurant, reappearing a few moments later with two large, framed prints and an art history textbook. We talked about the prints and where they came from and then he offered me the book – some things never change!

Visiting Shogun, like spending quality time with sweet friends and family as I have done these past three months, feels like coming home. 'Is it hard to come back?' people ask me when they learn I live in Bamako, Mali, a city over 4500 miles away from Virginia Beach as the crow flies. While I know people struggle and triumph in different ways when they return from the Peace Corps or come home after a long time away, I am blessed that I will soon be returning to Mali and so I know what the (immediate!) future holds. And anyways, with dear friends, good food and a supportive family around the world, wherever I am – home is where you are.

I found this banner (and bought it!) in Phoenix

2011 trifles & treasures and onto 2012!

What a trip 2011 was!  Ups, downs and all arounds!  I learned a lot this year, made some wonderful friends and celebrated some beautiful moments.  Weddings, babies, heartbreaks - I think all my emotional bases were covered and I can't wait to see what 2012 has to offer!

Looking back through my old blog, I'm so glad I have a digital scrapbook of all these moments in my life and I am looking forward to continuing the blogging in 2012!  Here are some of my favorite posts from 2011:


January: happy times.  sad times.
February: musical times.
March: thankful times and on-the-edge kind of times.
April: yellow dress times and romantic times.
May: internet times.  learning times.
June: long-term visitors and a wedding!
July: books, 3 years in Mali and veterinarians.
August: a new baby!
September: bad news and a new bridge.
October: international engagement part I. i.e. part II
November: a new blog and a new movie!
December: phoenix phriends and seattle by storm!

closing out 2011 right with my treasure of a friend and bride-to-be, Kate

showering Fredericksburg with our bridal love

see more pictures from Kate's bridal shower here!

Top 5 reasons I am feeling pretty thankful

Mom's birthday scone from Panera+memory book present

Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday of the year, has come and gone.  The last leaves of the year are falling from the trees in the park by my house and a new moon rose the day after Thanksgiving to usher in the Christmas season.  It seems like just last week I was admiring Halloween decorations and now the neighborhood is a sparkling display of twinkling lights and larger-than-life blow-up snowmen.  While it is hard to be away from Mali for so long, especially with my sweetheart there and not here (along with cherished friends!), I do have a lot to be grateful for this holiday season.  What better way to celebrate my gratitude than a top-five list?  John, my step-dad, did not actually ask me to tell him my top five November - but let's pretend he did since he listened to my answers.

1. Family and friends

• John wanted me to itemize friends and family here in order of my thankfulness for them but I'm going to ignore him just this once.  I feel so incredibly blessed to be engaged to such a treasure of a man, surrounded by family that supports me and all my quirks and loved by friends who are (sometimes!) even quirkier.  You guys are wonderful. 

2. Taylor Swift

• Taylor here is representing music and happy, bubbly moments of all kinds for me.  But I do just think she's the bees knees.  And John says that's because I haven't been a victim to her media overexposure.  But I also think John is sometimes a cynic. :)
• As though to answer my need for more Taylor in my life, 60 minutes did a special on her.   

3. Whales 

• Maybe it's because I was born in Virginia Beach and down the road from the Virginia Marine Science Museum.  Maybe it's because I have an affinity for large animals related to whales (see #4).  More likely it's because of all the good memories I associate with the Voyage of the Mimi and the 5th grade at Red Mill Elementary with Kate and Theresa.  Whatever the reason - I love whales!

4. Hippos

• Not only does Hippo translate to 'Mali' in Bambara (HOW FORTUITOUS I WAS SENT TO MALI FOR THE PEACE CORPS!!!!), they're also really cute.  

5. Babies

• Seems like I'm surrounded by some of the most precious baby treasures out there (also see below!!).  I'm almost counting down the hours until I meet Mia Rose, Joe & Ashley's 7 month-old baby girl!  Someone at church today said holding them is contagious.  While I'm sure I'll 'catch' the baby bug one day - for now they're just nice to hold until they poop :)

As I write this post, I look around my room and see my bed overflowing with magazines accumulated under my name over the past year while I was in Mali.  My closet is bursting at its proverbial seams with shoes, shirts and dresses pulled from Tupperware bins stored away in my absence.  Framed pictures of Abdoulaye and me compete for dresser space with books from the library and receipts from recent trips to TJ Maxx.  I'm facebook chatting with one of my best friends from my childhood and looking through pictures from the past week and feeling my heart swell.  Thanksgiving has come and gone and while I did not have to come to Virginia to realize I have a lot to be thankful for - it is is nice to come home to be surrounded by the reasons.

Looks like baby Ella captured my lens at Sheri's Thanksgiving feast!  She's such a doll baby, I couldn't help it! 

Memaw's lemon cake - kicking it up a notch after the scone!

I'm also thankful for timers, afternoon sunlight and family photos!

Amanda's birthday party included, but was not limited to, Wii 'Just Dance'!

Are you feeling especially thankful for anything?