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I've been wondering about Ideal...

What a beautiful letter. I can feel Ethiopia through her. Can't wait 'til she comes back so that we can grill her about her trip. :D

Quote:

Originally posted by AKA2D '91
I was out doing my last minute Essence preparation errands, which was cut short due to this continuing rain. :rolleyes:

Let me hijack right quick!

The rain is a MESS!! I was on my way into the city and the rain started right when I was walking out the door!! I finally made it downtown and it is a MADHOUSE!!!

Have Fun and Be Safe!

I'm home and I'm safe and I love yall!!! :D I'll post more later about my trip, I have to get something to eat.

WELCOME BACK, IDEAL!!! I am happy that you have made it back safely! Please hurry back to GC and tell us all about your experience in the Motherland!!

Welcome back, Soror!

Go get yo' grub on, then get some rest! I can't wait to hear all about your trip!

welcome back, Ideal!

I cant wait to hear from you!!!

Welcome back Soror, I can't wait to see the pics

Welcome back Ideal!!!!!!!!!! I hope you had a wonderful time, I can't wait to hear about it. :D

She's Back-Welcome back Ideal!:D

Welcome back Ideal!! Can't wait to hear you stories and see your pics!!:D

How was your trip, Ideal?

Ideal, you went to Ethiopia?!
Wow! That's beautiful...I see I have alot of catching up to do on GC (reading posts)...

Welcome Home! :)

Ideal, welcome back home. I'm so glad your trip was a successful and safe one. Once again welcome back home.

OK, I'm sure this will be a long post!

Aight yall, I'm ready to share. I don't even know where to begin.

Let me clarify something. I hate to give one sided perceptions. The population in Ethiopia is about 68 million people. 12.6 million are starving. Some say the numbers are closer to 14 million, but 12.6 is the "agreed upon" number. I just wanted to make sure people knew that I didn't see EVERYBODY and their mama out naked and skinny and starving. It's nothing like that. When you see stuff like that on TV it is staged that way. I mean, the people are staving, but no one is naked like that. They have the kids remove their clothes so that you can see the effects of the famine. People are not running around naked over there. And everyone is not poor. Well, not by Ethiopian standards. Most people would still be poor by American standards. It is a poverty unlike anything I've ever seen in America. Anyway, I wanted to give you some sort of perspective.

I really don't know where to begin. What do y'all want to know? :confused: I'm overwhelmed. There's so much to tell, and I feel like I've been talking too much. I have to clean my apartment, but I'll be procrastinating checking this thing, lol. So ask me questions, and then it'll help me with what to even begin to tell you.

Welcome back Ideal!!!! I can't wait to hear more! Hmmmm....that gives me an idea....check your PM in a little bit.

Okay, clean your PM box and then remind me that I need to ask you something. :)

Ideal, Welcome Back!!! Praise be to God that you had a safe & meaningful journey! I'm patiently waiting for more on your experience.:)

Re: OK, I'm sure this will be a long post!

Quote:

Originally posted by Ideal08 (in part and paraphrased)
What do y'all want to know? :confused: Ask me questions, and then it'll help me with what to even begin to tell you.

OK, I have some questions:

1. How was your presence received? I believe that we have all heard stories about Africans not being very... hospitable (for lack of a better term) to Black Americans. Is that true? Did you have that sort of experience?

2. Although you already brought it up, but do you believe that the poverty is "glamourized" for TV? I mean, we see the "nekkid" kids and the flies and stuff, but is it really like that?

3. Did you have a chance to visit any of the schools? How did their education prepare them? What type of job opportunities are they provided?

4. Did you see the effects of the AIDS epidemic firsthand?

5. Are Africans very spiritual people? What religion is practiced there?

That's all for now. I will think of more to post later....

Quote:

Originally posted by RedefinedDiva
OK, I have some questions:

1. How was your presence received? I believe that we have all heard stories about Africans not being very... hospitable (for lack of a better term) to Black Americans. Is that true? Did you have that sort of experience?

They were very hospitable!! Now, they were very taken with the White people, let's get that straight. I mean, they weren't impressed with my presence at all, because I look like them. They didn't always know that I was American, and this is tripped out. They were shocked that there were so many Black people in America. The assumption is that America is rich and White. So I thought they were very nice. So I didn't have that experience. One dude said to me, "Black people, we are Diamond!" And he put his fist in the air! At first I thought he was giving me the Black Power sign, then I realized he was just saying we are strong, so it was not quite the Black Power sign. Then I had another man (the first dude's father, actually) tell me that they love Black people. When I was leaving, the man that runs OXFAM gave me a hug and as he did so, he said, "My sister." That's love, man. :)

2. Although you already brought it up, but do you believe that the poverty is "glamourized" for TV? I mean, we see the "nekkid" kids and the flies and stuff, but is it really like that?

Ok, this one is hard. No, it's not really like that as far as them being naked. Everyone has on clothes. Now they are old, dirty, torn and tattered, but they are dressed. Some of the kids in the village only had on shirts and not bottoms, but no one was completely naked. The flies, YES. I HATE FLIES. I hope I never see another one as long as I live. I HATE FLIES. HATE THEM. It feels so good to not have to deal with that. That is one thing I do NOT miss. They are all over you. It is SO GROSS. And it's worse on them, but we can't figure out why that is. I mean, the flies are bothersome. But they are over them a lot more than us. We tried to figure it out and couldn't. Maybe it's their smell, because there is an odor. And there are a lot of runny noses. You want to just wipe their noses. And they really do just let the flies crawl on them. But it still doesn't look like it does on TV. They aren't just out in the open for no reason, chillin, naked. Some people are plowing land, some people are going to get water, some kids are with the livestock. You don't get to see the whole picture. Now on the other hand, I had to think about why they show that stuff. Y'all, it's harder than you think to share this with people. I have no idea how to explain to you what I've seen. Until you can see the pictures, that will help. But the thing is, you want people to be as moved as you were by what you saw. But you won't be as moved, because you didn't see it. And we want you to be moved. We want people to want to help. and people should help. So you appeal to their emotions. Humans are driven by emotion, in everything we do, whether we like to admit it or not. So to get help, they try to move people. But I think they went too far. Because I've seen a video where you can hear the dude asking the mothers to lift their kids' clothes, so you can see the stomach and how skinny the kids are. On the one hand, you need to see it because you can't really see it in the clothes (until you hear the age of the child). But on the other hand, it's like, come on now. This is a hard one. I do think it is definitely overdone and gives a false perception of what the country is like. It's not all desert, either. There are lush, green areas that are just beautiful. But you know what, it does seem like all of the distribution centers (where they give away the bags of wheat) are in desert areas. Dang, I just thought about that, that's why it's like that on TV. But there are areas that are pretty and green and mountainous(sp?).

3. Did you have a chance to visit any of the schools? How did their education prepare them? What type of job opportunities are they provided?

I did visit a couple of schools. Understand that nothing over there is anything like over here. So erase what you are picturing. There is no plumbing in the schools because there is no water system. So there are no bathrooms. Basically the building is comprised of classrooms. Now, I didn't see schools in the city, only in the villages. I don't know what they are like in Addis, they may be bigger or different. Like, I'm sure in Addis, where most places have running water, the schools have bathrooms. But the ones I visited didn't. The students are VERY smart. And they WANT to learn. Some walk as far as 2 hours to get to school. But it is not a smooth transition from primary school to high school. Sometimes, there just isn't a high school in the area, and the closest one is too far to walk to. So it's not like here where everyone goes to school. You may only be able to send one of your kids to school because they only have so much space. So I don't really know how many go on to college, but some do. I met a couple of accountants. Now, one of them lived in a city where there is no bank, so he works as a tour guide. Some come to America and go to college, then go back over there to work. It just depends, I guess. It's not like here, they aren't really using education to prepare people for jobs. I'm not sure how to explain that, though. I'll have to get back to you on that.

4. Did you see the effects of the AIDS epidemic firsthand?

No, I didn't. The day that the group went to the AIDS orphanage, I was sick and couldn't go. :( So I didn't really SEE it, but it was discussed a lot. In addition to the famine and the drought, huge portions of money raised by NGO's go to support AIDS/HIV initiatives.

5. Are Africans very spiritual people? What religion is practiced there?

The ones that I met were spiritual. The religions that I came in contact with most were Islam and Christianity. It is said that the Ark of the Covenant is in the holy city of Axum, so you can imagine the level of spirituality there, especially. I did visit a lot of churches, the rock hewn ones in Lalibela were AMAZING.

That's all for now. I will think of more to post later....

How did I do? lol Ask more, I'll clean in the meantime. I am so slow. I want to clean my apartment, but I have been away from a computer for some SERIOUS quality time, and I am addicted, lol. It's a shame, truly.

Shalom Ideal08.....

SKEEEE-WEEEEE My Soror and WELCOME Back Home----I am so glad you made it back home from the Motherland safe and sound!

I have many questions to ask, yet I will hold off and just ask only one for now......

Question: Did you bring me back some sand?:D

Shalom~

Shalom08
Tau Upsilon Omega
Spring '03

Re: Good questions!

Quote:

Originally posted by Ideal08
How did I do? lol Ask more, I'll clean in the meantime. I am so slow. I want to clean my apartment, but I have been away from a computer for some SERIOUS quality time, and I am addicted, lol. It's a shame, truly.

Girl, You did wonderfully! I can't wait to see the pictures. I want to be in a position where I can have the money to visit. I have wanted to visit Africa for so long. At the same time, I don't feel ready. I have to prepare myself for that experience. I need to learn more and know that I will be able to take in all that comes with that experience.

Thank you for sharing your journey with us!

glad you are back

ideal, i am glad that your trip was so eventful and that you are back safely. judging from your letter, this trip has really put so many things in perspective for you.

what a blessing to have this opportunity.

can't wait to hear more and see pictures.

don't forget, we are suppose to do lunch one day ;) .

Okay, and this may sound stupid, but do you remember the movie "Sarafina"? Do the schools over there resemble that?

What about animals? Did you see a lot of exotic animals and wildlife?

How hot was it? Did your 'naps' just absolutely love it?

Did you bring back anything? Nice fabrics (killer headwraps), jewelry, artifacts?

What is one thing you wish you would have taken with you? What is one thing you wish you would have been able to do?

Quote:

Originally posted by 1savvydiva
Okay, and this may sound stupid, but do you remember the movie "Sarafina"? Do the schools over there resemble that?

What about animals? Did you see a lot of exotic animals and wildlife?

How hot was it? Did your 'naps' just absolutely love it?

Did you bring back anything? Nice fabrics (killer headwraps), jewelry, artifacts?

What is one thing you wish you would have taken with you? What is one thing you wish you would have been able to do?

I don't remember the movie Sarafina, because I've only seen it once and it was a while ago. I'll have to rent it and let you know.

No, they say you have to go to Kenya to see the wildlife. The most exciting thing I saw was the the monkeys, and we got to feed them! :) Other than that, I saw oxen, cows, goats, sheep, donkeys, ostriches, and hippos. But the ostriches weren't just out, they were kinda in this farm like thing. Whatever, I wasn't excited about the animals. I want to go to Kenya next year so I can see the cool animals. :)

It's rainy season in Ethiopia right now, winter for them, so it' wasn't that hot. Mid 70s for the most part, but really cool at night. Girl, I was SO happy to be nappy over there! And I was also happy I didn't get my hair twisted or anything (I didn't have time before I left). When you are riding down those dirt roads with the window down, EVERYTHING gets covered in dust. So my hair got dirty a lot and it was refreshing to be able to rinse it or wash it and not have to worry about it. Loved the natural in Africa!!

Did I bring back anything??? Are you kidding?? I shopped my arse off, for real. I took a decent amount of money over there to buy stuff. I didn't get any material for head wraps, though. They don't sport head wraps like that. The women may cover their hair, but it's with a whole piece of material that acts as a shawl, too. Now, I did get a couple of these. But I didn't get any material for headwraps, and I looked for some. I bought wooden masks and carvings, jewlery, a dress, a purse to match the dress, a mancala game with pink and green stones (had to have this!!), little statues of the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon, coffee (huge export), and a lot of crosses. I got some people specific gifts ;), but for most of the stuff, I don't know who I'm going to give what. No artifacts, though. And I took a ton of pictures!!

Because I am notorious for overpacking, lol, I don't think I needed anything that I didn't have. I would have liked to have a digital camera, though. The kids (and some adults) just loved looking at the pictures after you'd taken them. So part of me wished I'd had one of those. I DID FORGET SOMETHING!! SHOWER SHOES!!!! I was wearing my flip flops when I was packing and completely forgot to pack them. Oh, I did wish I had had those. But that's not something NORMAL people forget, lol.

One thing I wish I would have been able to do is be without the group for a while and have to fend for myself. Like, learn my way around a city and get to know people like that. It's different when you are with a group, no matter how small. You can't really develop personal relationships. I also wish I would have been able to communicate. We are planning on taking students back next year, and I want to learn Amharic by then. I could not STAND not being able to understand what people were talking about. I have got to be able to speak at least a little bit when I go back.

SOOOOO COOOL!

You can still use that material for headwraps...it doesn't have to be a specific kind. You know the bigger the material, the more regal the headwrap! ;) I know that you absolutely loved being natural in Africa, I can only imagine! I was talking about you to my aunt a few days ago. We were watching something on the Disc channel, and I was like, "I cannot wait until Ideal gets back from Ethiopia!" She's like, "Who?" LOL. I guess you are so excited you can't get to sleep, huh?

OH...did I tell you I have some hand-carved monkeys from Nigeria? A friend of mine went to Africa a few years ago, and he brought me back the three-piece set of the monkeys...See no Evil, Hear no Evil, Speak no Evil. I only wish they were larger. I also have some jewelry from when my g-ma went to Camaroon (sp?) last year. I can't wait to go experience Africa for myself!

Check your PM in a few if you are still up.

Quote:

Originally posted by 1savvydiva
OH...did I tell you I have some hand-carved monkeys from Nigeria? A friend of mine went to Africa a few years ago, and he brought me back the three-piece set of the monkeys...See no Evil, Hear no Evil, Speak no Evil.

Why did I try to find some of these????? Why could I no find a set? Dang!!! I'll look again next year. I have film that I have to use up to put in today. maybe I'll take pictures of the stuff I bought, lol, to waste film. I need to hang out with my sorors ;) so that I can take some cute pictures in Black and White. I can't wait to get my pictures. I'm so excited.

Y'all, I still can't quite believe that I went to Africa. Did I tell y'all that it was the closest I've ever felt to God? EVER. His creation is absolutely magnificent. Awesome. I decided that I am going to take a trip across the country in my car. I'm thinking about maybe spring break, I don't know. What I do know is that I've been out of the country twice, and never out west in America and it doesn't make any sense. I want to see some national forests and mountains to see if it can rival what I saw in Africa. The Allegheny Mountains cannot. So I want to see the Rockies. I just want to see stuff now. EVERYTHING. So, my Cali Sawrahs, I'll be out your way sometime next year!!!! I've never driven across the country before, it sounds cool. Why don't WE ever do stuff like that?

God answers prayer, please believe it. There is no way you can go and see this stuff and not believe He exists. His creation is PERFECT. It's so beautiful. I meditated a lot while I was over there. It was just the perfect place to talk to God. There are a lot of quiet places. I felt like I could literally go sit on the mount and talk to God. Now, if there were White people around, we'd attract a crowd. But one time, at the rock quarry, I just separated myself from the group, and went and sat on a slab of granite. Y'all, this rock quarry was one of my favorite places in all of Ethiopia. A rock quarry. Who knew? I loved it!!! I would go there again and again and again. It was a wonderful place to sit and have a little talk with Jesus. :) It's stuff like that that I will cherish and never forget about my trip.

I did cry over there because I got overwhelmed with not knowing what country my people come from. It's disheartening when they ask you where you are from, they mean what country in Africa. And you have to explain that you, your parents, and your grandparents, and whoever else you know is American. :( Y'all, I truly understood at that moment the feeling of being stripped of your history. We don't even know where we come from. All we know is Africa. No idea what part of the continent. That is just sad. :( I would love to trace my lineage back to see where we came from. I have to pray on that, because that is a skeerious task right there.

I am still not done cleaning, so I have to go, lol. I just wanted to come and talk to y'all a little bit. :) I had really missededed y'all. :) My name is Monique, AKA Ideal08, and I am a GreekChat Addict. :D

YAY!!!! She's back!!!!

Quote:

Originally posted by 1savvydiva
"I cannot wait until Ideal gets back from Ethiopia!" She's like, "Who?" LOL.

I did the same thing with my husband. He was like "what's an Ideal?" :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

I'm so glad you're home safe and that your experinence was so wonderful. I'love reading your commentary. I'm going to be glued to the computer today waiting for you to post answers. No work for me today! LOL!

Re: YAY!!!! She's back!!!!

Quote:

Originally posted by toocute
I did the same thing with my husband. He was like "ehat's an Ideal?" :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

I'm so glad you're home safe and that your experinence was so wonderful. I'love reading your commentary. I'm going to be glued to the computer today waiting for you to post answers. No work for me today! LOL!

I will probably not be on the computer today because I am expecting company. ;) But I'll be back tomorrow, because I will be posting my pictures in yahoo or something somewhere. Once the pictures are up, it's open for whatever!!!! I can't wait to get them developed!!!! :)

I feel so loved. I'm glad y'all were talkin' bout me while I was gone. It was a trip, because I thought of Deltabrat while I was over there... I just got done reading her post over on the Blvd. Still overwhelmed by all of this.

Welcome Back Ideal!!!!! I read your posts regarding your trip and it was really touching. :) Now hurry up and get those pictures!!! LOL.

Glad to see your back. Your stories so far are wonderful. When are you going to post your pics?

Quote:

Originally posted by treblk
Glad to see your back. Your stories so far are wonderful. When are you going to post your pics?

I am broke. :( Tomorrow is payday. :) I will get them developed tomorrow and start to post them! Stay tuned! :D

Quote:

Originally posted by Ideal08
I did cry over there because I got overwhelmed with not knowing what country my people come from. It's disheartening when they ask you where you are from, they mean what country in Africa. And you have to explain that you, your parents, and your grandparents, and whoever else you know is American. :( Y'all, I truly understood at that moment the feeling of being stripped of your history. We don't even know where we come from. All we know is Africa. No idea what part of the continent. That is just sad. :( I would love to trace my lineage back to see where we came from. I have to pray on that, because that is a skeerious task right there.

Ideal, you have me almost in tears over here! Girl, you have a way with words. All of your stories have been beautiful. Are you a journalist? ;) J/K!

I would love to learn about my lineage. That is one of the other things that I want to learn prior to my visit. I want to be semi-prepared for my journey. I want to learn a language or two and be able to communicate. That's a big part of being there. It's more fun to be somewhere and be able to understand what they say.

Oh man. I need to start my Voyage to Africa fund today!

Ideal,

I am so happy that you had safe passage to Africa and back here to the United States. All the updates were truly appreciated and I can tell by the flow of your words that you had a truly emotionally moving experience.

Looking forward to the pics. And again, welcome home Soror!

pNC

Ideal, I'm so happy you had a wonderful experience in Ethiopia. Thank you for sharing it with us. I can't wait to view the pictures.

Oh my! what a breathtaking experience.

I'm so glad you made it back safely. You actually sound as though you've gotten a second wind.

I can't wait for you to post pictures.

Thanks for sharing Ideal!
I can only imagine what an impact your trip had made on you and I hope I get to experience something like this firsthand one day.

Okay, I know I'm supposed to ask some deep, philosophical question about your trip, but mine is pretty basic. How was the food? What did you eat?

Soror Ideal08, i'm glad you got back safely. hopefully, we'll meet up in '04:)

Quote:

Originally posted by RedefinedDiva
Ideal, you have me almost in tears over here! Girl, you have a way with words. All of your stories have been beautiful. Are you a journalist? ;) J/K!

I would love to learn about my lineage. That is one of the other things that I want to learn prior to my visit. I want to be semi-prepared for my journey. I want to learn a language or two and be able to communicate. That's a big part of being there. It's more fun to be somewhere and be able to understand what they say.

Oh man. I need to start my Voyage to Africa fund today!

Ok, we did sign up for Sheba Miles, Ethiopian Airlines version of frequent flyer miles. I am hoping that I will have accumulated enough to maybe fly back for winter break. I know that's a shame, but I want to go back just that bad. I need a Voyage to Africa fund, too, shoot. I want to travel the whole continent. I have got to figure out a way to do it..

Girl, the language barrier is a trip. I would say definitely learn the language before you go. I was so frustrated by that. I am determined to learn Amharic. After I start a class, I'm going to see if I can find me an Ethiopian friend (shouldn't be too hard in this area) who will talk to me to help me with speaking. When I go back next summer, I am going to be able to understand what's going on around me.

The lineage thing. Where do you begin????? *sigh* Alex Haley spent his life researching for Roots, right. I don't have that kind of time. :( I don't know what to do. Has anyone ever done this? Hook a sista up with how to get started.

Oh, I didn't tell yall the most tripped out thing that happened to me. You will love this. I was determined to not go to the bathroom outside. Well, one day, one of the Land Cruisers got a flat, and they had to fix the tire. I had to pee real bad, so I decided I would go ahead and go outside. I realized on this trip how much I have changed as I've gotten older. I've become the type of girl I couldn't stand when I was a kid. From tomboy to princess. Anyway, I had one of the other teachers come with me to go to the bathroom in the bushes. There was a man over there, and I wanted her to distract him while I peed. So I leave her to her distractions, and try to find a good spot. When I couldn't find one, I turn around to go back. I see FIVE more men approaching, and they had SPEARS!!! I was like WTF? Why was it a protected area, a national forest or something. Clearly not a lot of trees, but whatever. They were coming at me with spears. Fully clothed, with spears. It was tripped out. I NEVER tried to go to the bathroom outside after that.

Quote:

Originally posted by Bamboozled
Okay, I know I'm supposed to ask some deep, philosophical question about your trip, but mine is pretty basic. How was the food? What did you eat?

I ate lots of different stuff. Ethiopian food: injera (sour bread that is flat), doro wat (chicken dish), and other stuff I don't know the name of. I had some lamb or goat, not sure which one it was, but it made me sick, lol. It tasted good, though! In some places, the meat isn't good to eat, so I ate a lot of pasta and chips. Chips? French fries, lol. But they call them chips, of course. No one speaks American English. That's about it. I loved the food, though. I'm glad there are a lot of Ethiopian restaurants in DC.