Return to Ethiopia - Fundraising

[RedefinedDiva]

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!

[darling1]

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 .

[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?

[Ideal08]

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.

[1savvydiva]

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.

[Ideal08]

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.

[toocute]

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?"

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!

[Ideal08]

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

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.

[FeeFee]

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

[treblk]

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

[Ideal08]

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!

[RedefinedDiva]

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!

[pointNclick]

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

[CountryGurl]

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.

[Kisha]

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.